I didn't know Twinkies could get any worse, but they have

The makers of one of the top-selling junk food products of all time must be getting desperate now because they know they are teetering on the brink of economic collapse as people are finally realizing they don't need to eat as much of these products anymore.

Interstate Bakeries Corp., parent company for Hostess who makes the famous half-billion selling spongy, creme-filled snack cake Twinkies, has now introduced a brand new flavor--well, sorta.

Increasing intake of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, found in popular fish-oil supplements, may protect against blindness resulting from abnormal blood vessel growth in the eye, according to a study published online by the journal Nature Medicine on June 24. The study was done in mice, but a clinical trial at Children’s Hospital Boston will soon begin testing the effects of omega-3 supplementation in premature babies, who are at risk for vision loss.

Abnormal vessel growth is the cause of retinopathy of prematurity, diabetic retinopathy in adults, and “wet” age-related macular degeneration, three leading causes of blindness. Retinopathy, affecting about 4 million diabetic patients and about 40,000 premature infants in the United States, is a two-step disease that begins with a loss of blood vessels in the retina (the nerve tissue at the back of the eye that sends visual signals to the brain). Because of the vessel loss, the retina becomes oxygen-starved and sends out alarm signals that spur new vessel growth. But the new vessels grow abnormally and are malformed, leaky and over-abundant. In the end stage of the disease, the abnormal vessels pull the retina away from its supporting layer, and this retinal detachment ultimately causes blindness.

In the infamous Stanford JAMA study released in March 2007, researchers found the Atkins low-carb diet was most effective not just for weight loss, but also improvements in certain health markers--including reducing blood pressure.

Now this Reuters story about a new study confirms that a high-carb, low-fat diet indeed leads to an increase in blood pressure. The reason why will astound you!

WHAT: The upcoming episode of the Charlie Rose Science Series will focus on obesity, its emergence as the "21st century epidemic," its effects on the U.S. population, and efforts to educate, treat and support adults and children with obesity issues. A diverse expert panel will address this public health issue, scientific, social, economic and cultural factors that influence a person's diet as well as prevention measures.

WHO: Guests will include: -- Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, New York University -- Rudy Leibel, MD, Deputy Director, New York Obesity Research Center -- David Ludwig, MD, PhD, Director of the Obesity Program at Children's Hospital, Boston -- Gina Kolata, Science Reporter, New York Times

WHEN: Begins Airing on Monday, June 25, 2007 on PBS stations. Check your local PBS listings for show times. Also, many of the episodes are available online at http://www.charlierose.com