Warm, summery weather can’t help but make us crave cupping our hands around a cool, refreshing beverage. If you find yourself wandering into your local Starbucks for a creamy, icy drink, check out which menu picks you should pass on and which you can feel good sipping. Instead of 16 oz. Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha: Espresso, milk, white chocolate flavored sauce, and peppermint flavored syrup on ice, topped with sweetened whipped cream: 500 calories Go For 16 oz. Iced Skinny Mocha: Bittersweet skinny mocha sauce, espresso, and nonfat milk served over ice: 100 calories Calories Saved 400 Keep reading for more lower-calorie Starbucks beverages.

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar! by Diana Kelly, Prevention Need another reason to hate Mondays? Tight postweekend waistbands. Unless you spent the past two days living like a monk, the cocktails, movie snacks, and dinners out can all add up to one thing: belly bloat . “If you wake up bloated on Monday morning, your weekend food choices are likely to blame,” explains Keri Gans, RD, author of The Small Change Diet. “In fact, overindulging for two days straight can easily cause a gain of three pounds. Fortunately, this weight gain is usually temporary and easy to get rid of in less than a week.” Try These 5 Tasty Low-Sodium Dinner Ideas Feel flat again by Friday with these five easy tips. 1. Season Food Differently You may be attracted to your saltshaker, but water is too. When you take in higher-than-usual amounts of the salty stuff, you’ll temporarily retain more fluid, contributing to that sluggish feeling, a puffy appearance, and extra water weight. Avoid salt, overprocessed foods, and salt-based seasonings. Gans suggests you also ditch the frozen microwaveable meals while you’re de-bloating – they’re packed with sodium. Instead, she recommends a simple turkey sandwich or a salad with chicken for lunch this week. And eat plenty of fruits and vegetables that are packed with water. Add zest to your dinner recipes with fresh herbs and salt-free seasoning blends such as the Original and Italian Medley Mrs. Dash. Four more tips after the break.

A new report from the American Cancer Society shows that death rates from cancer have been going down since 1999, with the risk of death from cancer declining by more than 1% in both men and women. About 1 million deaths from cancer have been avoided since around 1991. That sounds promising, but it's not as good as it could be, says Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society and CNNHealth.com conditions expert. "Our data on cancer causation and cancer prevention tells us that we could have done a lot better," Brawley said. Given all of the available information about how to prevent, screen for and treat cancer effectively, it appears that up to 200,000 lives could have been saved in 2008 if all of those known measures had been taken, Brawley said. More specifically, many of those deaths would not have occurred if more people hadn't been smoking over the past 20 years. That's because it takes about 20 to 30 years of smoking to develop lung cancer. "It's not truly a war if we have 200,000 avoidable casualties in one year and everybody yawns," Brawley said. The American Cancer Society report, called Cancer Statistics, 2012 , estimated that more than 1.6 million new cancer cases and about 580,000 deaths from cancer will occur in the United States in 2012. Besides tobacco, the combination of obesity, high caloric intake and lack of physical activity is causing cancer among many Americans, Brawley said. This will one day surpass tobacco as the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, he said. Cancers of the pancreas, liver and esophagus were found to be on the rise and can all be tied to obesity, Brawley said. Hepatitis B and C, transmitted sexually and through intravenous drug use, may also lead to liver cancer. The report also showed a rise in the incidence of thyroid cancer, which could be because of improved diagnostic methods, as well as increasing rates of throat cancer, which could be tied to the spread of human papillomavirus during the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s. The HPV vaccine, available for young men and women aged 11 to 26, may help prevent cases of cancers of the head and neck, Brawley said, in addition to its role fighting cervical cancer in women and genital warts in men. Access to treatment is another major issue in avoiding cancer deaths, Brawley said. A substantial minority of cancer patients do not get the treatment they need, many times because of lack of insurance coverage. More science needs to be done on other possible causes of cancer from environmental causes, such as air pollutants and chemicals in plastics, Brawley said. Filed under: Breast Cancer , Cancer , Skin Cancer Tagged: Elizabeth Landau – CNN.com Health Writer/Producer

This healthy banana bread recipe from FitSugar reader JuicyNoelle looks delicious. She posted this recipe in our Healthy Recipe group . Banana bread has been one of my favorite foods since I was a little girl. I usually follow a classic banana bread recipe, but this weekend I was inspired to try a little something different. Instead of white flour, I used a whole wheat pastry flour (a healthier alternative to white all-purpose flour). I also included an extra banana, some chia seeds (packed with omega-3s), and a few walnuts (also rich in omega-3s). I also opted to use some dates to help sweeten up the bread instead of so much sugar. It turned out beautifully. I hope you enjoy this bread as much as I do! See the recipe after the break!

Festive braids perfect for the holidays Video: Gwen Stefani on Kingston’s “temperamental” style and her new line Best picks: Walmart’s Black Friday door-buster deals Healthy habits to prevent weight gain at work Watch the awesomely intense new trailer for The Hunger Games! Exceptional Thanksgiving food and wine pairings Great gadget gifts for your BFF A Tel Aviv zoo welcomes baby giraffe Miss Piggy’s advice for single girls Baby bump: Thanksgiving foods to avoid while pregnant Fashion inspired by the big screen – Breaking Dawn, The Rum Diary, and more! Bobbi Brown snags a penthouse in West Chelsea Victoria and David cuddle close watching their boys play soccer PopSugar NYC: 7 cookbooks from the city’s finest

Marketing Probe: Merck has been subpoenaed by the Justice Department as part of a criminal probe into the marketing and sales of three drugs since 2004, the WSJ reports . Temodar, PegIntron and Intron A were Schering-Plough products; Merck acquired the company in 2009. Merck is cooperating with the investigation, a spokesman tells the WSJ. Overscanning?: American College of Radiology guidelines say that getting two chest CT scans in a row — one with dye, one without — is rarely necessary, but new Medicare data show that the rate of so-called double scans barely budged in 2009, Kaiser Health News’s Capsules blog reports . Some 5.2% of patients received double scans that year, down from 5.4% in 2008, with 88 hospitals double-scanning 50% or more of patients getting chest CTs. A Boost to Breast-Feeding: Public-health officials are focusing on hospital practices as a way to help women who want to breast-feed produce sufficient milk to do so, the WSJ reports . Encouraging breast-feeding in the hospital by avoiding unnecessary formula and keeping the baby with the mom as much as possible can help establish milk flow early on, experts say. Criticizing Conclusions: Studies by two researchers suggesting things like obesity, smoking and depression can spread through social networks like infectious diseases are coming under fire, the New York Times reports . Other scientists have criticized the methodology and have said observational data can’t be used to support their conclusions. The researchers, Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, say their work has limitations but “maintain that their conclusions are robust,” the paper says. Image: iStockphoto

Amaze friends with this cilantro-lime chickpea salad – Oh She Glows Deciphiring all that foreign language on nutrition labels – That’s Fit Flip over these healthy burger recipes – Health Does your head feel lighter? That’s because junk food shrinks your brain – That’s Fit.ca Why indulging this Memorial Day could be a good thing – Self The basics on getting started with a plant-based diet – Mind Body Green Celebrate Memorial Day with these healthy grilling recipes – Health

Other than milk from lactating mothers, any other nipple or breast discharge is likely to cause alarm and worry. However not all such discharge is cause for alarm though in cases unusual discharge could be the symptom of a serious problem. Breast Discharge can be of different types and can be indicative of the underlying cause that gives rise to the discharge – it could be cloudy white, in which case the most likely cause for the discharge could be a condition called galactorrhea. During pregnancy, a clear or light whitish discharge from the nipples could be noted. Whitish yellow or greenish pus like discharge from the nipples is most likely to be caused by an infection. A bloody discharge could indicate an infection or intraductal papillomas; on the other hand discharge that contains blood could also mean breast cancer. All breast discharge is not necessarily abnormal , however all not nursing related discharge should be reported to the doctor for evaluation according to Mayo Clinic. For men, no nipple discharge is ever normal and must invariably be checked. The discharge could be clear and watery or it could be thick and sticky and can be due to any of the many causes given below. While breast cancer is an apprehension that is most likely to come to mind when there is any breast discharge, this is most likely among women over 40 years of age. However the likelihood of it being breast cancer is high only if the discharge is bloody, and there is also a lump in the breast, and only one breast is affected. The reasons for nipple discharge could be any of the following ones: An abcess in the breast could cause fluid leakage from the breast. Infection of the breast, such as of the milk ducts or other parts of the breast, may result in discharge. Sometimes it could be excessive breast stimulation that causes the breast discharge. Hormonal imbalances could also result in discharge. Fibroadenomas, solid, noncancerous tumors that often occur in women during their reproductive years could also cause fluid leakage from the breast. Fibrocystic breasts with nodular or glandular tissue may also cause discharge. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), usually thought of as the earliest form of breast cancer may also be responsible. Paget’s disease, one of the rarest forms of breast cancer can also cause the discharge. Mammary duct ectasia can cause discharge when a milk duct becomes dilated, and the duct fills with fluid which then discharges. Galactorrhea (spontaneous flow of milk from the breast, unassociated with childbirth or nursing caused by hormonal imbalance or excessive stimulation). Prolactinoma is a condition where the hormone prolactin is produced by a noncancerous tumor (adenoma) of the pituitary gland in the brain. Certain medications can also cause certain fluid leakage from the breast . False pregnancy or Pseudocyesis can also be responsible. Over exercise can also cause discharge. Trauma or physical injury could sometimes cause nipple or breast discharge .

Controlling MS: Drugs taken orally to control multiple sclerosis are beginning to hit the market, starting with Novartis’s Gilenya, but while they’re attractive to patients, the price is high and the extent of side effects unknown, the WSJ reports . Gilenya costs about $48,000 a year, compared to about $40,000 for currently available injectable drugs. More oral drugs, from Biogen Idec, Teva and Sanofi, could be on the market in 2012 assuming positive data and FDA approval, the paper says. TB Breakthrough: A large study funded by the CDC finds that a three-month tuberculosis-treatment regimen using two drugs taken weekly works as well as a longer regimen with daily pills, the Washington Post reports . The shorter regimen, at $503, is more than twice as expensive as the longer one, but adherence rates were higher. Luck of the Draw?: Two of the three judges on an appeals-court panel that will hear a challenge to the health-care overhaul law on June 1 were appointed by Republican presidents, the WSJ reports . Judges were chosen at random. Last week a randomly selected panel of three judges — all chosen by Democratic presidents — hearing another challenge to the law seemed sympathetic to the Obama administration’s arguments. Missing Knowledge: Experts warn that low autopsy rates may be hampering our understanding of certain diseases and treatments, Kaiser Health News reports . Rates have fallen to about 5% from about 50% in the 1960s, and about 40% of hospitals don’t do autopsies at all, KHN says. And a small number of hospitals charge between $3,500 and $6,000 for the service. Image: iStockphoto

Do you find that you have back pain after spin class? FitSugar reader livingthin turns to an expert for an answer and posted it in our 10 Pounds DOWN! community group . According to a recent stat published in Women’s Health Magazine , 58 percent of professional cyclists experience lower back pain and experts think it may be even more common among casual riders who tend to sit too high or too far back in the seat, reports the magazine. “Sitting on a bike can often cause stiffness in the lower back or pain after a prolonged bike ride,” says Dr. Yoav Suprun, DPT, and owner of SoBe Spine in Miami. “The discs in the lumbar spine move backward (posteriorly) when we slouch forward on the bike (either outdoor or in a spin class). This mechanical change in the resting position of the spine can often start the stiffness followed often by slight pain or discomfort,” explains Suprun. One way to help prevent lower back discomfort (in addition to insuring your bike seat is in the proper position by asking your instructor to set you up properly) is to bend backward before and after a bike ride to make sure the back isn’t stiff, says Suprun. “If it is difficult or painful to bend backward once, try to do 10-15 repetitions into the stiffness. Often the stiffness will subside with repeated movements into extension of the back (back bends).” And Suprun recommends this “slouch-over correct exercise” for during your ride: create as large of a hollow in the small of the back as possible by doing an anterior pelvic tilt (as if pushing the belly button forward) and relax. Do this 15-20 times. “You may feel stiffness or slight discomfort in the first 10 repetitions and then it often becomes easier to do with more repetitions. Once you spend 15-30 minutes on the bike, do 15-20 repetitions of this movement, hold for two to three seconds in the anterior tilt and relax. Repeat 20 times.” Do you have a nagging exercise question or have a stellar workout to share? Post it in our 10 Pounds DOWN! group in the FitSugar Community!