A correlation between high fruit and fruit drink consumption and
risk of Parkinson's disease has been found by researchers in
Honolulu, believed to be due to plant borne toxins, pesticides or
herbicides.
Vitamin E and C supplements may have a positive effect on cognitive
function in older women due to their antioxidative effects, suggest
Harvard researchers.
The UK's Food Standards Agency is to increase its focus on diet and
health, surveying the use of health claims, and campaigning to
reduce salt in processed foods.
Giving children combined iron-zinc supplements may be less
effective in preventing deficiencies of the minerals than
individual supplementation, find researchers.
International scientists, gathering to discuss the growing body of
research on lycopene at a US conference this week, revealed a new
study suggesting the antioxidant may help male infertility.
While the media is increasingly focusing on childhood obesity and
nutrition, a new study suggests that elderly people who eat more
cereal-based foods are less likely to develop heart disease.
Simple folic acid-iron supplements taken during pregnancy may be
more effective than multiple vitamins in reducing the risk of low
birth weight babies, according to a US study.
Eating broccoli along with chicken gives us double protection
against cancer, say researchers at the UK's Institute of Food
Research. Combining sulforaphane, found in many dark green
vegetables, and selenium-rich foods could...
Vitamin C may be more than a powerful antioxidant and key nutrient
- researchers report that it helped convert lab-based mouse stem
cells into heart muscle cells. This raises questions about the role
of the vitamin in embryo heart...
Eating fish several times a week not only helps keep the heart in
good condition in healthy people, but can also significantly cut
the risk of heart disease in diabetics, at elevated risk of the
disease, report researchers today.
University of Edinburgh researchers are further investigating the
link between a higher fish oil intake and improved heart health.
The team will study the effects of both supplements and eating more
fish.
Green tea, the beverage linked to an increasing number of health
benefits, may also be able to prevent the onset of arthritis,
according to a UK researcher.
US researchers, trying to understand why vitamin A helps fight
certain diseases and not others, say that the vitamin influences
the types and amounts of immune cells and molecules produced in
response to attack.
Researchers say they have completed the genome sequence of one of
the most prevalent bacteria that live in the human intestine,
increasing the potential for new natural products.
Current recommendations for infant nutrition may need to be
reviewed if early findings suggesting a link between lower nutrient
intake and better cardiovascular health later in life are
confirmed, say UK scientists.
Researchers from biopharmaceutical company Zengen announced this
week that supplements of a naturally occurring hormone may be able
to help patients with brain injury.
A framework tool for assessing the scientific support for claims
relating to bone health and osteoporosis has been developed by a
group working towards the European PASSCLAIM recommendations.
Freshly squeezed orange juice is as good for us as pasteurised
orange juice, report scientists this week, which begs the question
- is fresh orange juice worth the greater expense?
Boosting vitamin C consumption may help to prevent arthritis,
suggest researchers in the UK this week. The team has linked low
intake of fruit and vegetables containing the vitamin to higher
risk of inflammatory arthritis. Findings...
Researchers in Hong Kong report that the hormone melatonin, more
commonly used to reduce the effects of jetlag, could protect the
brain from the effects of stroke.
Energy bars with low or moderate levels of carbohydrates may not
help dieters lose weight as they promise to do, as overall energy
contents are similar to that of higher carbohydrate bars, reports a
US study.
Vitamins are increasingly recognised for their role in skin health,
according to experts who yesterday highlighted the new research
showing the benefits of vitamin K and niacin.
Taking supplements of creatine to slow the muscular disease
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may be a waste of time and
money, conclude the authors of a new clinical trial published this
week.
More good news about cranberry juice: researchers have found that
drinking three glasses a day significantly raises levels of 'good
cholesterol', reducing the risk of heart disease.
Confirming findings of a recent study by Japanese researchers, the
WHO's cancer research agency also reported recently on the strong
evidence that eating fruits and vegetables could lower the risk of
cancer, particularly cancers...
Researchers in Canada are developing a natural antibody cocktail
that they claim can help prevent the most common foodborne germs,
including E. coli and Salmonella, which cause thousands to become
ill or even die each year.
Beta-carotene - a naturally occurring antioxidant found in fruits
and vegetables - may reduce cataract risk in male smokers, so
suggests a 12 year US supplementation trial of age-related cataract
in men.
Reviewing current science on salt and its effects on health, UK
scientists say that while there is no proven evidence to support
intake restriction guidelines in the general population, no-one
would be disadvantaged by reducing their...
Waist circumference in young people has risen more steeply over the
past 10-20 years than body mass index, particularly in girls,
report researchers. Waist size is linked to higher risk of diabetes
and high cholesterol.
Drinking up to six alcoholic drinks each week could lower the risk
of dementia for people over 65 years old, according to research
published this week.
Anaemic adults and children cost developing countries billions of
dollars in lost productivity, according to a recent study. The
authors report that on average, a country loses 0.6 per cent of its
GDP due to physical productivity...
A European project is to evaluate the impact of different types of
olive oil and their antioxidant phenolic compounds on oxidative
stress and DNA damage.
Research supporting the potent effects of curcumin, the substance
which gives curry a yellow colour, continues to mount up, with a
new study showing that it may also be able to prevent the onset of
alcoholic liver disease.
A US study reveals that out of more than 250 dietary products
tested, only HMB and creatine supplements have sufficient
scientific evidence to show that their use increases lean body mass
and strength.
A new US/UK collaboration will research ways of increasing yields
in a range of herbal extract products used for medicinal purposes,
in order to make them more readily available.
Will we shortly be able to pluck an oat juice from the supermarket
shelf? The answer is, yes perhaps, as evidence continues of the
benefits of soluble dietary fibre.
Calls for urgent action to treat obesity are again in the
headlines, following a new assessment that up to 1.7 billion people
worldwide could be overweight or obese.
High doses of three common vitamins - folic acid, B12 and B6 - may
be able to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, if the
early results of a pilot study are further confirmed.
Leading orthopaedic surgeons and pharmacologists have confirmed
their backing for chondroitin sulphate supplements as a way of
managing joint discomfort, according to one supplement
manufacturer.
Curcumin, found in the Indian spice turmeric, may be able to slow
down and stop the blood cancer multiple myeloma, suggest
researchers, confirming previous health effects linked to the
spice.
Upping levels of dietary fibre may reduce the risk of heart attack
in patients with previous heart problems, but the type of fibre may
also have a role to play, suggests the results of a study in
northern Italy.
