Health briefs: A caution on celiac disease

People with celiac disease may unknowingly be exposed to gluten in lip, facial or body products, a new study suggests. Gluten -- a protein found in wheat, rye and barley -- damages the intestines of people with celiac disease. George Washington University researchers looked at products from the top 10 cosmetics companies in the United States and found a lack of information about ingredients in the products. "The findings are alarming because gluten-containing cosmetics can be inadvertently obtained by the consumer and use of these products can result in an exacerbation of celiac disease," researcher Dr. Pia Prakash said. "This study revealed that information about the ingredients, including the potential gluten content, in cosmetics is not readily available."

Sleeping 'alone'

Loneliness can be harmful to a person's sleep and health, according to a new study.

Researchers examined levels of loneliness and sleep quality among 95 adults in rural South Dakota. None of the participants was socially isolated, but those who had higher loneliness scores due to perceived feelings of being "alone" woke much more often during the night and were deemed to have what the study authors called fragmented sleep. The findings, published in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Sleep, suggest that fragmented sleep may be one of a number of ways that loneliness can harm health.