The Claim: Sugar in the Diet Can Lead to Acne

Any link between sugar and acne has long been dismissed. But now scientists are taking another look.
In recent years, studies have shown that what matters may not be sugar itself but a food’s glycemic index, or the speed and extent to which it raises blood glucose levels. Foods that have a high glycemic index — and as a result raise glucose levels rapidly — cause the body to release a flood of insulin and other hormones, which some scientists suspect can stimulate oil production and inflame the skin.
To test the theory, scientists recruited 50 men and boys ages 15 to 25, all of them with acne, and followed their progress for 12 weeks. Some subjects stuck to a typical diet that included high-glycemic foods like white bread, sweetened cereals and pasta, and the others were given foods higher in protein and lower on the glycemic scale, like fish, whole-grain breads and fruit.
At the end of the study, published in 2007, the subjects on the low-glycemic diet had far greater reductions in skin lesions and other symptoms of acne than the control group. They also showed reductions in their levels of free, circulating androgens, the male hormones known to cause acne, suggesting that hormones played a role.
Other studies have found similar connections between high-glycemic foods and acne, though scientists say more research is needed.

Rockets hold down LeBron, rout Cavs

HOUSTON (AP)—LeBron James missed shots, complained to the refs and went an entire game without an assist for the first time in his career.
The Houston Rockets, meanwhile, showed they just might be contenders in the Western Conference with a 93-74 win over James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Yao Ming scored 28 points and Ron Artest added 15 while harassing James on defense most of the night, leading the Rockets to their six consecutive win and ninth straight at home.
“It is a big win,” said Yao, who hit 13 of 15 shots, despite Cleveland’s constant double-teams. “We played against one of the best quality teams in this league. That is a really good test for us to see how far we can go.”
James scored 21 points, but went 7-for-21 from the field with three turnovers. He left for good with 4:03 left, the only time in 493 NBA games (counting playoffs) he failed to record an assist.
“I’m not happy with that at all,” James said. “I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have an assist, but as a team, we didn’t move the ball at all. We’ll just move on to the next game.”
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To make matters worse, forward Ben Wallace broke his right leg in the second quarter and will miss 4-6 weeks, the team said. Wallace is Cleveland’s best interior defender, but went out after Yao accidentally kicked him.
“I’ll definitely be back for the playoffs, I’m hoping to come back before then,” Wallace said. “Realistically, I don’t know how much I’d help the team, just coming back for the playoffs. It’d be tough, I’d be out of rhythm. I don’t want to go out there and put my team at a disadvantage. It’s more on me to catch up with them.”
The Cavaliers had season-low point totals in the first (11) and third (10) quarters, and their 34 percent shooting (27-for-80) was also a season worst. Cleveland looked just as bad as it did in a 92-77 loss in Houston last season— James had 32 in that one, but the Cavs shot 39.7 percent.
“We just can’t seem to get into a good flow against the Houston team,” James said. “A lot of credit has to go to them, they are a very good team. Offensively, we couldn’t make a shot and we could never get in any rhythm.”
Von Wafer scored 19 points and Luis Scola added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Rockets. Houston had 25 assists, its sixth straight game with 20 or more, and went 8-for-19 from 3-point range.
But the Rockets are more satisifed with their defense lately—they’ve held their last six opponents to an average of 83.6 points.
“You may get into the second round (of the playoffs), but if you want to make a serious run and be a serious contender,” said Wafer, “you’ve got to be able to continue to play defense. We are trying to come together as a unit.”
Mo Williams also scored 21 for the Cavs, who had a five-game winning streak snapped.
Shadowed by the equally strong Artest from the opening tip, James missed three of his first four shots, part of Cleveland’s 2-for-10 start. The Cavs double-teamed Yao whenever he touched the ball, but Scola scored eight early points to help Houston build a lead.
James was called for a charge late in the opening quarter when he spun into Shane Battier on a drive. The Cavs went 3-for-17 from the field in the quarter and trailed 19-11.
“They wanted us to take jump shots,” said Cleveland coach Mike Brown. “They gave us the jump shot, but we just couldn’t convert it.”

Cleveland Cavaliers' Loren… AP - Feb 26, 11:18 pm EST
James was resting on the bench at the start of the second period and Williams’ 3-pointer from the top of the key ended a six-minute field goal drought for Cleveland.
Kyle Lowry scored on consecutive trips, then assisted on Yao’s layup and Brent Barry’s 3-pointer as Houston pushed the lead into double digits.
James kept missing shots in the second quarter and earned another offensive foul after bumping into Battier again. He sank a 3-pointer from the wing, his second basket in nine shots, before Artest drove for a left-handed dunk for a 37-29 Rockets lead.
The Cavs shot 31 percent (14-for-45) from the field in the first half and trailed 45-40 at the break.
The Rockets had assists on their first five baskets of the second half and Aaron Brooks’ 3-pointer put Houston up 56-46. James tried a no-look, over-his-head pass to Anderson Varejao later in the period, but the ball sailed out of bounds.
“Couldn’t get a rhythm, man,” James said.
The Cavs shot 5-for-17 from the field and coughed up five turnovers in the third quarter to trail 68-50.
James took a rest and returned with 7:21 left in the game, but the Rockets never lost control. Yao blocked James on a dunk and Wafer swished a 3-pointer at the other end for an 85-68 lead.
Notes
Cavs G Delonte West had four points and three turnovers after missing Tuesday’s game against Memphis with soreness in his right wrist. On Wednesday, West visited a doctor in Houston who confirmed that his wrist fracture was healing properly. … Rockets F Carl Landry missed his fourth straight game with a sprained right ankle. … The Cavs are 18-4 against the West this season.

'Slumdog' celebrations fill Mumbai's crowded slums

MUMBAI, India - Children broke into Bollywood dance numbers and crowds cheered in the narrow lanes of a teeming Mumbai slum on Monday as they gathered to root for the hometown heroes who nabbed the Oscars ' highest honor.
Two of the child actors in " Slumdog Millionaire " were plucked from a desperately poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Mumbai to star in the rags-to-riches tale that stormed the Academy Awards .

Backstage Report: Gasping Over Jennifer and Angelina, Saluting Heath

Kate Winslet got unapologetically Kate Winslet-y. Sean Penn held his fire. Heath Ledger's family kept it together. Penélope Cruz lost it. The Slumdog Millionaire winners raised a glass. And Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston? Well, they sucked the air right out of the room.
The night's backstage doings—and sayings—at the 81st Annual Academy Awards:
5:51 p.m. PT: Well, I snagged a choice seat assignment. It just so happens I'm next to a Spanish radio reporter who translated the end of Cruz's speech for me. Cruz, she said, dedicated her Oscar to her fellow actors and citizens in Spain and thanked them for sharing in her happiness.
• I kinda wish I was sitting next to a burly longshoreman, too, on the off-chance I need a Mickey Rourke acceptance speech translated.
• I just put a call into Nate Silver, the FiveThirtyEight.com guy who called the 2008 presidential election with unerring accuracy and last week said his computer told him Taraji P. Henson had the best shot at winning Best Supporting Actress. Haven't heard back from him yet. Maybe he's arguing with a spreadsheet.
• I have never, ever heard as big a gasp in the press room as when the TV telecast cut to a reaction shot of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt during Jennifer Aniston's presenting gig. At first, I thought Aniston fell out of her dress. Or Jack Black fell into it.
• Silver called back. "I can't say I'm surprised," he says of Cruz's win, which was expected by most people—and things—save for his computer. "I kinda had an asterisk on it. We had Penélope as a pretty good shot ." As for the art of calling the Oscars? Silver admits it's no electoral college: "We're still working out the kinks."
• Dustin Lance Black, the Original Screenplay winner for Milk, was emotional on stage, so I'm not going to flatter myself and say he choked up back here because I'm the all-new Barbara Walters. All I asked him was whether he knew what he was going to say if and when he got to make an acceptance speech. "I had an idea. For me the whole thing was always to pay it forward. Harvey [Milk] gave me his story," Black says, before pausing and tearing up. "Harvey gave me his story, and it saved my life…I just wanted to tell those kids out there it'll be all right."
• Is there a Japanese speaker in the house? This request goes out from an Academy flack who tells us the winner of Animated Short, Kunio Kato, has lost his translator.
• I better start looking for that longshoreman pronto…
• I'm sitting so far in the back of the room that I can't tell if Penélope Cruz or Sophia Loren is with us now.
• OK, it's Cruz, projecting some serious old-school glamour, and talking about Loren, with whom she appears in the upcoming musical, Nine: "Sophia is incredible…She's a woman with a gold of heart. What did I just say?"
• Did I mention Cruz seems to be having a slight out-of-body experience?
• I tell Cruz that all the actresses in her category looked like emotional wrecks when, per the telecast's new format, former winners paid personal tribute to each of the nominees. She didn't disagree. "It was amazing to see all those women up there, and [hear] the beautiful things they said up there...And when it happens [when you win], it was a magical moment, and I [didn't] know if I was going to survive it."
• Count Cruz among the actresses who've fallen under the spell of the wily Woody Allen. "I call Woody sometimes just to say hello," she say of her Vicky Cristina Barcelona writer-director. "I adore him. I think he's so funny."
6:45 p.m.: If the pinchably cute kids from Slumdog Millionaire look like they're having a blast at the show, it's because they are. "It was absolutely the right thing to bring them over [from India] because they're having a lot of fun," Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog's Adapted Screenplay winner tells us.
• WALL-E writer-director Andrew Stanton, winner for Animated Feature, is outlining his theories on disconnectiveness and technology. No offense to Stanton or his film, but Bolt was way easier to follow.
• Hearing people congratulate Heath Ledger's eerily composed family is eerie in itself.
• Heath's sister Kate Ledger expands on her telecast anecdote about how the family knew an Oscar was in the star's future: "When he came home from Christmas a year ago, he had been sending me shots and bits and pieces from [The Dark Knight]…And I said to him, I have the feeling this is it for you, you're going to get a nomination from the Academy."
• On the telecast, the Ledger clan said the Best Supporting Actor Oscar was for Matilda, Heath Ledger's 3-year-old daughter with Michelle Williams, but it's actually not as simple as handing the trophy over to the girl. Since 1951, an Academy rep tells me, winners have been obliged to sign to so-called winners' agreements. The agreements say if they or their heirs ever decide to part ways with their Oscars, they must offer to sell the awards back to the Academy for $1 each. Because she's a minor, Matilda can't legally sign this agreement. So, until she reaches 18, the Academy says, echoing what Ledger's father, Kim Ledger, told us, the award will be placed in a trust with Williams.
• The Ledger family has nothing but praise for Williams, with whom they said they had not yet spoken tonight. "Michelle keeps Matilda closeted in a nice way," Kim Ledger says. "I don't think she'll know much of the fuss [of tonight's show], which I think is a good thing." Sister Kate Ledger confirms: "We're very close with Michelle. She is doing an amazing job with Matilida."
• Mother Sally Bell says she thinks her son, who died in January 2008 at age 28, would have been "quietly pleased" with his win. "He enjoyed the performance, he did. He was very proud of what he did. Heath was never one to be over the top with anything," she says in her own understated way.
• Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Jerry Lewis, who has never been accused of being shy, will not be doing a press conference, an Academy flack announces. In other news, pigs have been spotted flying over the Kodak Theatre.
8:34 p.m.: You can't believe Waltz With Bashir didn't win Foreign Language Film. Your Oscar pool card can't believe it. Yojiro Takita, who won for Japan's Departures, can't either. In fact, he said so. "I don't believe it," Takita said. (Told you so.)
• At the exact moment Kate Winslet's film, The Reader, was going down to Best Picture defeat to Slumdog Millionaire, the Best Actress winner was being blinded by a million flashing camera lights next door in the photography room. She had no idea.
• There are no flashbulbs in the interview room, but the dazed Winslet still has no idea. Awaiting the first question, she takes deep, supposedly soothing breaths. "It's only starting to dawn on me now," she says a bit later, looking down at her Oscar. "Oh. My. God."
• Considering Winslet's won many, many awards this award season, can she really be so unnerved she won tonight? Yup. You see, Winslet, Winslet reminds, has lost at the Oscars many, many times. "Winning is really a lot better than losing," she reveals. "Really a lot better."
• A reporter informs Winslet she's been criticized in her native Britain for being a hyperventilating, crying, perspiring mess at recent award shows. "I really don't care," she says, her wind now restored. "Quite honestly, it makes me sad the country can't be happy for success of their own kind."
• A second reporter informs Winslet that email reaction from Britain is currently running in her favor. "Thank God for that!" she cries.
• A third reporter stands, and now Winslet gets really Winslet-y. She runs from the stage, and wraps the reporter—a reporter!—in a hug. U.K.-based gossip columnist Baz Bamigboye later tells me that while he and Winslet aren't what you'd call chums, he has had a professional relationship with the actress since she was an up-and-comer of 17. "We get on well," he says.
• Sensible Britain will be happy to know Winslet had a very sensible reason for choosing her "gunmetal gray" Yves Saint Laurent gown: "I thought my mom would think it's really pretty."
• Now Sean Penn—Sean Penn!—is acting all Winslet-y, walking over to the offstage Winslet to offer her a congratulatory hug and kiss.
• Penn's Winslet moment has passed, and he again is "Mr. Penn," as the Oscar flack calls him. I have no idea if Mr. Penn is happy, sad or vaguely disinterested to have won the Best Actor Oscar for Milk. Clint Eastwood's onscreen squint has nothing on Mr. Penn's offscreen one.
• About those protest signs Penn mentioned in his Oscar speech: It sounds as if they were the handiwork of the infamously antigay Westboro Baptist Church, which announced plans on its website to picket the show. Backstage, Penn has no response to one of the Kansas-based group's more hateful signs, "Heath in Hell," which it debuted at the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards just days after Ledger's death. Says Penn: "It's just meaningless jibberish."
• If Penn's not going to engage the protesters tonight, then he's not going to criticize President Obama tonight, either, for not embracing gay marriage (even as Obama denounced California's Proposition 8). "The day is going to come," Penn says of gay marriage, "and it's going to come quickly."
• I'll give Penn this: He admits to having known, admired and liked Mickey Rourke for more than 25 years. "He's an excellent bridge-burner at times," Penn says of Rourke without a bit of self-reverential humor.
• Slumdog's Danny Boyle won the Best Director Oscar, but all he's got in his hand right now is a champagne glass. When you're the night's big winner, I guess, you don't have to flaunt it.
• Boyle says the Slumdog team debated long and hard whether to include the film's young Indian actors in the show's awards-season run. "We were very concerned about it distorting their lives," he tells us. "They're young. They should stay in school…But then somebody said to us, look, they will put it in their own memory bank…and they will find a place for it in their own memory bank, and you should not deny it to them."
• Boyle has no idea what the Slumdog kids are inputting in their memory banks right now, as he has no idea where the Slumdog kids are right now. "I guess they've gone to the Governors Ball," he says, and I trust that's a good guess, and we won't need to issue an Amber Alert.
• A reporter identifies herself to Boyle as a correspondent for Rotten Tomatoes. Shouts the excited Boyle: "95!" (A fact check suggests Boyle really must be an dedicated follower of the review site. Slumdog's Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer reading is 94 percent.)
• Slumdog was lyrical, and so is Boyle, who resorts to citing a poem about "putting jukeboxes on the moon" to help sum up his film's Oscar triumph. "That's what tonight feels like," Boyle says. "Just amazing."
··· THEY SAID WHAT? Get today's most commented stories now at www.eonline.comBest & Worst of the Oscars: Hugh Jackmania!Winners! A Complete List From the 2009 OscarsFashion Police: Oscar's Real Winners & LosersOscar Recap: Slumdog Millionaire Cashes In; Ledger, Winslet, Cruz Win; Penn Topples RourkeOscar Red Carpet Quotes: They Said That?

1INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 small bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed
2 cups baby carrots
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
1 (14.25 ounce) can fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 cups MINUTE Brown Rice, uncooked
1 (4 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2COOKING DIRECTIONS

Mix flour and pepper in shallow dish. Add chicken; turn to evenly coat both sides with flour mixture. Shake off excess flour mixture. Heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken, meat-side down; cook 5 to 6 min. or until golden brown. Turn chicken over; add carrots, onions and 1 cup of the broth. Cover. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 20 min. or until carrots are tender and chicken is cooked through (180 degrees F).
Meanwhile, cook rice as directed on package. Spoon onto serving platter. Use slotted spoon to remove chicken and vegetables from skillet; place over rice. Cover to keep warm.
Add Neufchatel cheese and remaining broth to skillet; increase heat to high. Cook until cheese is melted and sauce is well blended, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 3 to 5 min. or until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Spoon over chicken and vegetables; sprinkle with parsley.
Yield: 4 servings

3 STILL HUNGRY?

A warm-hearted supper chock-full of comfort that is so easy to prepare it will quickly become a weeknight staple.
Notes:
Substitute
Substitute bone-in chicken thighs with skin removed for the chicken breasts. Prepare as directed, cooking until chicken is cooked though (180 degrees F).
Makeover Savings
We've taken a family favorite and made a few changes to it that will save fat and calories. We browned the chicken in KRAFT LIGHT DONE RIGHT! Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing instead of oil, used PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese instead of whipping cream and didn't dip the chicken in eggs before coating in flour. All these changes will save you 50 calories and 19 g of fat per serving!

Mardi Gras fun without the fat

Grilled Shrimp RemouladeI’m going to try and take “Fat Tuesday” a little less literally this year with a healthier approach to my Mardi Gras recipes and menu. Of course I’m going to stick to the traditional favorites, but for my party menu I’m going to focus on healthier versions that stay true to those delicious Cajun flavors I love. Maybe I’ll even score a few extra beads for my efforts.
For Mardi Gras, I’m going to cook up a menu of traditional favorites, including:
Grilled Shrimp Remoulade (see recipe below) An updated and untraditional rémoulade makes a tangy sauce for these spice-rubbed shrimp. While this is a favorite on the grill, you can cook the shrimp on a lightly sprayed broiler rack, about 4 inches from the heat, for a winter warmer any night of the week.
Louisiana Red Beans & Rice EatingWell’s quick version gets its smoky goodness from super-lean Canadian bacon and a hit of ground chipotle pepper. It’s delicious as a leftover but will thicken as it stands.
Black-Eyed Pea & Artichoke Salad Frozen artichoke hearts are great to have on hand for just this type of easy salad.
Southern Kale If there is only one argument to make for the healthfulness of Southern food, it's the variety and sheer amount of leafy greens. I prefer kale, but mustard, turnip and collards all have their champions, and many cooks mix them.
Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce Nothing is wasted in a Cajun kitchen where stale bread becomes a luscious dessert.
Grilled Shrimp Remoulade
Rémoulade Sauce1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley1 teaspoon Dijon mustard1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
Shrimp2 teaspoons ground cumin2 teaspoons paprika1 teaspoon ground coriander1/2 teaspoon garlic powder1/4 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper36 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 1 pound)
1. To prepare sauce: Mix mayonnaise, yogurt, parsley, mustard and hot sauce in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate.2. Preheat grill to high.3. To prepare shrimp: Combine cumin, paprika, coriander, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat with spices. Thread the shrimp onto four 12-inch skewers (see Tip, below). Oil the grill rack (see Tip, below). Grill the shrimp until just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Carefully remove the shrimp from the skewers. Serve immediately, with the sauce.
Makes 4 servings.
NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 114 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 1 g mono); 101 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrate; 12 g protein; 1 g fiber; 379 mg sodium. Nutrition bonus: Selenium (28% daily value), Vitamin A (15% dv).
Tip: When using wooden skewers, wrap the exposed parts with foil to keep them from burning. (Contrary to conventional wisdom, soaking skewers in water doesn’t protect them.)
Tip: To oil a grill rack, oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs and rub it over the rack. (Do not use cooking spray on a hot grill.)

The Best (and Worst) Teeth Whiteners

The Best:Rembrandt Whitening Strips, $24.99Aquafresh White Trays, $36.99Supersmile Professional Whitening System, $33Listerine Whitening Quick Dissolving Strips, $26.99GoSMILE Go Travel, $39The "Eh":Sapphire Home Whitening, $250, from a dentistiWHITE Light Activated Teeth Whitening Kit, $44.99Crest Whitestrips Daily Whitening + Tartar Protection, $24.99GoSmile B1 Tooth Whitener, $89The Ones to Run from:Rembrandt 2 Hour Whitening Kit, $24.99Blush Professional Teeth Whitening System, $79.95
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The not so good at New York Fashion Week: Orange fur, acid wash, and how everyone wants us to live in the '80s

Shine editer Joanna and I were talking this morning about how just kind of "bleh" Fashion Week has been, how you can really feel how toned down everything is because of the recession and how we both wonder if maybe designers should have saved money and just skipped this season. Other fashion editors have been talking about how powerful all of the clothes are, how these are tough designs for tough times. While it's true that there's a certain Dynasty meets Tron vibe happening—we've seen tons of black leather, space age metallic fabrics, hoods, and over-the-top '80s-office outfits—that doesn't mean many of these pieces are attractive or something you'd actually want to wear. And that's kind of sad. Anyway, here's the bad news first. We'll round up the best of Fall '09 at the end of the week.