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Tips and tricks for hosting an epic Super Bowl party

1 February 2025 at 04:00

Super Bowl Sunday is often one of the busiest days of the year when it comes to at-home parties.

Whether you're cheering for the Kansas City Chiefs or the Philadelphia Eagles — or if you're just there for the commercials — Super Bowl parties are a great place to eat, drink and socialize.

Fox News Digital asked two event experts what their playbook looks like for throwing an epic Super Bowl party this year.

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Make sure your menu accounts for every type of eater, said Los Angeles-based food expert and event planner Christine Lusita.

"Healthy options, gluten-free, vegan — and of course traditional indulgence," Lusita told Fox News Digital. 

"This sets the tone," Lusita said, and "is especially helpful for those who do have dietary restrictions."

Options that offer popular appeal are a win. 

"Go for a wide range of appetizers, both hot and cold, in addition to the basic chips and dips that we all love," Lusita said. 

"Include veggies and fruit options, as well as main dishes like sandwich boards or hot-food classics like pasta or pizza."

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The food should be not only delicious but easy to grab and low stress for hosts and guests alike, Olivia Pollock, Evite's party and hosting expert in Los Angeles, told Fox News Digital. 

"Think sliders, wings, nachos and dips that people can snack on during every quarter of the game," Pollock said. 

"For something like the Super Bowl, I suggest setting everything out and letting guests munch away during the game."

A buffet "works best," allowing guests to relax, eat at their leisure and enjoy the game, Lusita said.

Pollock also agreed with planning for guests' dietary restrictions. 

In the final quarter, keep your dessert offerings easy. 

"I love to pop in some small dessert options at a party as well," said Lusita. "Easy grab-and-go cookies, brownie bites or ice cream bars are typically a huge hit."

Decorate your party space to excite the team. 

"Set the mood of your party with fun, colorful decor, comfy seating and upbeat music, so when they arrive, it brings the energy up right from the start," Lusita told Fox News Digital.

"Hosting the big game-day party seamlessly is creating a good vibe and giving your guests choices which makes them feel a part of the party." 

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Plus, providing an environment where people can just kick back and relax without having to worry about what they can or can't eat keeps them coming back year after year, she said.

As the host, you want to enjoy the game as well, so allowing guests to mix their own drinks is a winning play.

A do-it-yourself drink bar "is a hit at any gathering, but especially for the Super Bowl," Pollock told Fox News Digital. 

She suggested setting up a station for guests to create their own cocktails and mocktails throughout the game. 

"For some extra fun, make a pre-batched mocktail themed for each team and see whose drink goes quicker," Pollock said. "Plus, guests can always turn their mocktails into cocktails by setting out liquor to add."

Be sure to set out a cooler filled with canned drinks, water and children's options, she said. 

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"It's interactive, keeps things flowing and means you don't have to worry about constantly serving everyone," Pollock said. "Plus, it's a great way to keep the energy up all game long."

Before Super Bowl Sunday arrives, consider a sign-up sheet and have your guests contribute to your party spread

"Guests will most likely show up with something, so a sign-up sheet is a great way to let guests choose what they want to bring and a surefire way to make sure that there's not multiple pots of chili and no dessert," Pollock told Fox News Digital. 

"It also helps take the pressure off you so you can focus on enjoying the game, too."

Kelly Ripa says quitting alcohol had a surprising effect on her weight

24 January 2025 at 15:00

As Dry January has some people putting down the bottle for the first month of the year, the health benefits of eliminating alcohol are in the spotlight.

But TV personality Kelly Ripa, host of ABC’s "Live with Kelly and Mark," revealed that giving up alcohol had an unexpected effect on her.

On Wednesday’s episode, when Andy Cohen co-hosted alongside Ripa, he brought up that he is "in the middle of dry January."

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"Usually, a little weight loss comes my way after," he commented. "That’s not really happening yet."

Ripa responded that when she quit drinking in 2017, she expected there to be a "windfall of weight loss."

"Because everybody’s like, ‘Well you are going to get too skinny … you can’t afford to lose it,’" she said. "I gained 12 pounds!"

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"I don’t understand this ‘magical weight loss’ that people [imply]," she continued. "I think I just took to eating the sugars … because apparently, alcohol is like a lot of sugar."

In 2020, Ripa revealed to People Magazine that she and her friends decided to try a sober month back in 2017, and that she "liked the way [she] felt."

"Not that I was a heavy drinker — I wasn’t someone who got drunk — but even like two glasses of wine at a girl’s night out dinner, I would feel it the next morning," she said.

"I just didn’t really feel the need or desire to go back to it," Ripa went on. "It wasn’t really a choice or a thought, it was just, ‘Yeah, I guess I don’t drink anymore.’"

Dr. Kathleen Jordan, Midi Health chief medical officer and women’s health and weight management specialist, shared some health benefits of eliminating or limiting alcohol, including reduced cancer risk and weight loss.

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"Less drinking eliminates the hundreds of calories in the drinks themselves (anywhere from 160 to 400 or more calories per drink) and less drinking is often accompanied by less late-night snacking," the California-based doctor told Fox News Digital.

"Less alcohol also helps your body get a good night’s sleep, while bad sleep is associated with weight gain. Alcohol interferes with the ability to reach a deep sleep, which then contributes to daytime fatigue and sluggishness – and ultimately to weight gain."

But limiting alcohol might not pose these benefits for everyone, Jordan noted.

If low or moderate drinkers experience weight gain after eliminating alcohol, the expert said that’s most likely due to substituting drinking with snacking or sugary mocktails.

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Jordan recommended replacing alcohol with different variations of water instead, including bubbly, flat or garnished water, which will satiate "nervous eating" and the habit of drinking.

Dry January also occurs when the climate is cold and dark, with most Americans tending to spend more time indoors. 

To support the benefits of not drinking and prevent weight gain, Jordan advised keeping up with physical activity even during the winter months.

Alcohol linked to cancer risk in US surgeon general's new advisory

3 January 2025 at 08:09

The U.S. surgeon general has released a new advisory warning of alcohol-related cancer risk.

Dr. Vivek Murthy issued the guidance on Friday following research that has linked alcohol to at least seven types of cancer.

In particular, the advisory notes that alcohol can increase the risk of throat, liver, esophageal, mouth, larynx (voice box), colon and rectal cancers.

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Alcohol consumption has been named as the "third leading preventable cause of cancer" in the country, the advisory noted, with tobacco and obesity taking the top two spots.

"Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States — greater than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities per year in the U.S. — yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk," said Murthy in the advisory. 

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"This Advisory lays out steps we can all take to increase awareness of alcohol’s cancer risk and minimize harm."

The advisory breaks down four different ways in which cancer can increase cancer risk.

In one mechanism, the alcohol breaks down into a chemical called acetaldehyde, which damages DNA and increases cancer risk.

Alcohol also induces "oxidative stress," the advisory warns, which damages protein, DNA and cells, and also causes inflammation.

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In a third mechanism, alcohol changes hormone levels, namely estrogen, which can increase the risk of breast cancer. More than 16% of all breast cancer cases have been linked to alcohol, the advisory states.

Finally, cancer creates conditions in which alcohol is more easily absorbed into the body.

Individual risk for alcohol-related cancers will also depend on "a complex interaction of biological, environmental, social and economic factors," the same source stated.

In the new advisory, Murthy calls for a warning label to be placed on alcoholic beverages stating that they may increase cancer risk.

The advisory also calls for a "reassessment of the guideline limits" for alcohol consumption and encourages people to be cognizant of the risk when deciding how much to consume.

The surgeon general also calls for doctors, health professionals and community groups to emphasize the link between alcohol and cancer to help raise awareness of the risk.

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, applauded Murthy's advisory.

"Too many Americans are living with an outdated assumption that some amount of alcohol is not only harmless, but also good for you," he told Fox News Digital. "Increasing evidence shows that isn't true."

Though wine and other alcoholic beverages may relieve stress and dilate arteries in the short term, the doctor warned that alcohol is a "proven toxin" with direct links to liver, heart and brain disease

"Even though traditional advice has been up to one drink a day for women and two drinks per day for men, in fact, no amount of alcohol is healthy," Siegel said.

Multiple studies have shown that 25% of people increased their alcohol use during the pandemic, according to Siegel.

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"This was in part because of stress and also because of social isolation — and the numbers have persisted since the pandemic ended," he said.

"The timing of this advisory is right on the mark."

‘Alcohol gene’ could predict how cocktails may affect you — and there’s a test for it

29 December 2024 at 03:30

Feel like you "can’t handle your alcohol" — or do you experience nausea, facial flushing or a racing heart after enjoying even small amounts of your favorite cocktail?

These could be signs that you have an inherited intolerance to alcohol — and a mutated gene could be the culprit, according to Cleveland Clinic.

This gene mutation hampers the body’s ability to produce an enzyme that helps break down alcohol and eliminate its byproducts from the body, health experts said.

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An at-home DNA test could detect whether you have the mutation causing this alcohol adversity.

The test looks for mutations in the ADH and ALDH genes, which affect metabolism, according to several laboratory company websites that produce the testing kits.

The testing kit, which costs approximately $150, involves swabbing the cheek and mailing the sample back to a laboratory company to see if the gene mutations are present.

Results typically come in less than two weeks, according to several of the testing companies’ websites.

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"A simple mouth swab is all we need to find out whether you have inherited DNA changes that affect your ability to metabolize alcohol and may increase your risk of serious health complications," Genex Diagnostics, a Seattle-based company that specializes in DNA testing, stated on its website.

Dr. Frances Lee — a hepatologist (liver doctor) who specializes in alcohol-related liver disease at Mount Sinai Health Systems in New York City — is not affiliated with any of the lab companies, but commented to Fox News Digital about these testing kits.

"The genes in question are ADH1B, ADH1C and ALDH2," Lee told Fox News Digital.

The ADH1B and ADH1C genes help break down ethanol (alcohol) into the chemical acetaldehyde, he said. The ALDH2 gene then helps to oxidize acetaldehyde into acetic acid.

"This is an important step in the metabolism of ethanol, because acetaldehyde is toxic and inflammatory to cells," Lee said. 

"Variations in the ALDH2 gene can cause acetaldehyde dehydrogenase to work at a slower rate, leading to a buildup of acetaldehyde levels in the body."

Acetaldehyde is also linked to some of the unpleasant symptoms of alcohol intoxication, such as headaches, flushing, hives and nausea, according to Lee.

This type of genetic test may provide an individual with at least a partial explanation for their alcohol intolerance, Lee told Fox News Digital. 

All genetic tests should be approached with caution, as they can sometimes lead to more questions than answers, according to Lee.

Other health experts told Fox News Digital that there are pros and cons to this type of genetic testing.

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"I can envision a case where this test may encourage one to drink less if a previously unknown heterozygosity in ALDH2 is revealed," Lee of Mount Sinai told Fox News Digital. "If that occurs, I would consider this test to have a beneficial outcome." 

There is the possibility, however, that the test may not reveal any genetic variation, which could be interpreted as a license to drink even more. 

"This would be an example of a harmful outcome," Lee said.

While the DNA test can confirm that someone has the defective gene that makes them more susceptible to the effects of alcohol at lower doses, "it should not be used to encourage others that they can drink more [alcohol] without repercussions," Dr. Fred Davis, associate chair of emergency medicine at Northwell Health on Long Island, New York, told Fox News Digital.

For those who want to enjoy an occasional cocktail, Makenzi Mollitor, a registered dietitian and sports dietitian at Long Island University in Brookville, New York, has some advice. 

"If you’re someone who feels like their body is screaming at them even after one drink, then abstaining from alcohol may be best for you," she said to Fox News Digital. "However, alcohol-DNA mutation or not, I urge anyone wanting to consume alcohol to consider both the quality and quantity of their drinks."

Mollitor recommends choosing a quality alcohol, such as orange wine or other naturally fermented, low-sugar wines high in beneficial polyphenols with anti-inflammatory properties.

Spirits that have a higher alcohol concentration, such as vodka, whiskey and rum, could exacerbate symptoms, the dietitian cautioned.

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"No matter what it is you choose to consume, try capping your alcohol intake to the recommended one drink a day for women and two drinks per day for men," Mollitor advised.

Alcohol-related liver disease is the leading cause of liver transplants in the United States, Lee told Fox News Digital. 

Efforts to reduce risk and prevent alcohol-related morbidity and mortality are "tantamount to improving population and individual health," according to the liver transplant specialist.

"For people who are concerned about developing liver disease as a consequence of drinking alcohol, talking to a liver specialist should be the first step," Lee advised. 

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health

Fox News Digital reached out to several laboratory companies that sell the DNA test kits for further comment but has not heard back.

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