1. Are meds making me fat?
2. A healthier snack bar!
3. Green tea-cancer link?

Are meds making me fat?  A few months ago I started suffering regular heartburn, and it got so bad that I finally saw my doctor. He blamed a bacterial overgrowth and prescribed a six-week course of antibiotics. Thankfully, it worked, but now I have another problem: Since starting those meds, I’ve gained 10 pounds, plus I’m always hungry. Is there a connection?

It’s quite possible that the medication has led to your weight gain. Overgrowth of H. pylori bacteria has been implicated in acid reflux, but the bacteria also help control the appetite-increasing hormone ghrelin. In fact, British researchers found that within 24 hours of taking antibiotics, subjects’ H. pylori levels dropped enough to significantly increase ghrelin production in the stomach, triggering hunger and overeating. Fortunately, now that your antibiotic regimen has ended, the few H. pylori remaining in your gut will reproduce to restore healthy levels, allowing them to normalize ghrelin production. To speed results, try adding soy to your diet. One study found that 18 mg daily of soy isoflavones (found in about 8 oz. of soy milk) helped reduce ghrelin levels among women with an H. pylori deficit, resulting in decreased appetite and weight loss.

A healthier snack bar!   I look forward to a daily candy-bar break, but after gaining 14 pounds since Halloween, I switched to energy bars. Well, three weeks later I haven’t shed an ounce. Turns out these “healthy” bars are loaded with sugar and partially hydrogenated oil. Is there a bar that will satisfy my snack attacks and help me lose?

Nutritious energy bars do exist, although many are actually worse for you than candy bars, thanks to added sugar, trans fats or partially hydrogenated oil (all common weight-gain culprits). A better bet: raw-food bars. They’re made with fruit, nuts and seeds, so they’re high in filling fiber. Even better, many contain ingredients that can speed weight loss. One of my favorites: Living Fuel CocoChia Snack Bars ($34 for 12, at livingfuel.com), which taste just like real candy bars. They’re made with coconut, a rich source of medium-chain fatty acids, which are proven to boost metabolic rate by up to 50 percent. They also contain probiotics, gut-friendly bacteria that improve digestion and help reduce sugar cravings. Other brands to try include ThinkOrganic! and LäraBars, both available at health-food stores in flavors like apple pie and cashew-pecan. 

Green tea–cancer link?   Over the past year I’ve been drinking green tea since I heard it can ward off heart disease, which runs on my dad’s side of the family. But now I’m hearing that it actually may be harmful. Should I ditch the habit?

The recent news on green tea dangers comes from a University of Mississippi study, which found that mega-dose supplements can activate cancerous-tumor growth. But the researchers assure it’s perfectly safe and beneficial to enjoy up to three cups daily. While they admit that more research is needed to confirm the negative effects of highly concentrated extracts, they advise supplement takers to opt for lower-concentration brands. That said, I personally recommend drinking even less green tea (maybe no more than a cup a day) because it’s been found to contain high levels of potentially harmful pesticide residue.