Dr. Steve Info: Wednesday

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WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP

7:00am Segment:

So which diet is the best?

I always say the best diet is one you can live with, so it's not a diet, but a lifestyle choice. Overall, diets that are low in saturated fat like south beach and the Ornish diets do lower cholesterol and benefit the heart while the Atkins diet caused LDL cholesterol - that's the bad cholesterol - to go up by about 7 percent. The numbers went down by about the same amount with south beach and Ornish diets. I personally recommend a Mediterranean diet that's low in saturated fat and involves eating mostly good fats, mono-unsaturated fat, whole grains low fat dairy and plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Speaking of diets, how dangerous is it to be overweight?

Speaking of diets, how dangerous is it to be overweight?

Obviously it's not good to be obese, but according to a new government study being 25 pounds overweight doesn't appear to raise your risk of dying from cancer or heart disease. Having said that being overweight is still not good for you. Studies show overweight people have a higher chance of dying from diabetes and kidney disease. So being overweight doesn't uniformly increase your risk of death from every cause instead it may only be hazardous for specific causes.

So what's the difference between overweight and obese?

In general, people who are more than 30 pound overweight for their height are considered obese. If this study has you scratching your head you're not alone. So think of it this way, being a little overweight is not as deadly as you may think but being obese is still bad for you. Many researchers say you may be able to be fit and fat, however, you still have to focus on eating healthy and exercising. This is no excuse to be a couch potato.

Finally, just about everyone is chugging energy drinks these days, but are they safe?

It doesn't matter what they call it or how they package it energy drinks all have one thing in common they're stimulants. And that can affect your nervous system, which in turn affects your heart rate and blood pressure. There's nothing magical about these concoctions. Now researchers from Wayne State University are telling people what I’ve been telling you since the beginning. Energy drinks can raise your blood pressure and heart rate and could potentially cause problems if you have high blood pressure and heart disease. They found that within a few hours of having two energy drinks, systolic blood pressure (top number) increased by about 10 percent, diastolic blood pressure increased by about 8 percent... And heart rate increased by as much as 11 percent

Ask The Doctor 8:00am Segment:
1. I crave something sweet after every meal. Why is that? Is there something wrong with me?
Monique from Bronx

Monique there are a number of reasons why people crave sweets even after meals. The first problem may be your diet. If you don't eat much all day and have a big meal at dinner that could be causing your problem, try eating small frequent meals during the day.

And make sure that all of your meals have plenty of protein and less fat. Carbs are ok as long as they're good carbs like whole grains and fruits and vegetables. Stress may also cause cravings. So get on an exercise regimen and try some yoga or meditation. That can also help.

2. Are cold sores really a form of herpes? And why do people get them?
Ronald K from Brooklyn

Ronald, cold sores, fever blisters, sun blisters, call them what you want they are caused by the same thing, herpes virus. Many children actually get cold sores from their parents when they kiss them because they don't realize that the disease is spread through direct contact. A cold sore is contagious when the blister is present and starts to ooze. So avoid sharing things like razors or towels. Once you have herpes you have it for life. It stays dormant in your system stress, exposure to the sun a cold or fever can cause an outbreak.

3. How do you treat an open wound... i got this from opening a cup of soup last nite?
Matt from Chelsea

Matt, the best way to treat any wound is to first apply direct pressure to stop the bleeding. Once that's accomplished you can wash or irrigate the wound with cool soapy water for about 5 minutes. A mild soap will do just fine. Never pour alcohol, peroxide, iodine or mercurochrome directly on a wound. These can actually delay healing. And alcohol burns like crazy. After you've cleaned the wound apply an antibiotic ointment like bacitracin and cover it with a bandage for a few days to keep it clean and prevent infection.

4. Is it true that breast feeding really helps you lose baby weight faster?
Melissa from Manhattan

Melissa, breast feeding actually burns between 200 to 500 calories a day but besides helping you lose weight breast feeding also helps women build strong bones protect against ovarian and pre menopausal breast cancer, and actually relax you because your body releases hormones when you breast feed, and it's free!