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Calcium supplementation for improving bone mineral density in children

There's little question that most kids get too little calcium, but a new review of evidence casts doubt on the value of supplements and calcium-fortified foods to build stronger bones.

18 Apr 2006

Aspirin therapy offers equal heart-protection to both men and women

Previous studies have suggested that when it comes to using aspirin as a preventative for heart attacks, it is less effective in women than in men.

27 Mar 2006

Low-dose aspirin lowers potential for clot-forming blood cells - in both men and women

In what is believed to be the first direct comparison of blood cell testing in both sexes of 81 milligrams of acetyl salicylic acid a day, Hopkins researchers found aspirin therapy prevents the clumping together of these clot-forming cells, called platelets.

23 Mar 2006

Chocolate milk could be key to longer life

The popular saying goes that 70 is the new 60 and 60 is the new 50, unfortunately for much of New Zealand's ageing population declining muscle function means it simply isn't true.

7 Mar 2006

Eating and drinking Cocoa helps you live longer

According to Dutch researchers, men by eating or drinking cocoa lowered their risk of dying from heart disease by 50 percent compared to those who did not eat cocoa, and also lowered their blood pressure.

28 Feb 2006

Women from Venus love chocolate from Mars

CocoaVia the long-awaited chocolate from confectionery giant Mars is about to hit the market.

22 Feb 2006

Chocolate compund that helps heart identified

In a multifaceted study involving the Kuna Indians of Panama, an international team of scientists has pinpointed a chemical compound that is, in part, responsible, for the heart-healthy benefits of certain cocoas and some chocolate products.

23 Jan 2006

Taste encoding in the brain

Instantly reacting to the sweet lure of chocolate or the bitter taste of strychnine would seem to demand that such behavioral responses be so innate as to be hard-wired into the brain.

18 Jan 2006

Single gene may hold key to schizophrenia

By deleting a single gene in a small portion of the brains of mice, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center found that the animals were affected in a way resembling schizophrenia in humans.

18 Jan 2006

Perk up that memory with some caffeine

It seems brain scans confirm what coffee drinkers already know - that caffeine gives the brain a boost.

30 Nov 2005

Link between eating and pain relief - brain stem blocks pain to protect key behaviors

Certain behaviors, such as eating, drinking and urinating, are so crucial to survival that the brains of all vertebrates contain clusters of nerve cells that can suppress pain long enough to allow the animal to eat, drink - or pee - in peace.

15 Nov 2005

Studies outline dangers of mixing stress, deprivation and tempting foods

Two studies in the October issue of Behavioral Neuroscience show that when animals are stressed, deprived and exposed to tempting food, they overeat, with different degrees of interaction.

7 Nov 2005

Hertfordshire group to adopt a new approach to weight loss

A new group which will help women who are seriously overweight to lose weight and keep it off run by the University of Hertfordshire will start in Stevenage in January.

18 Oct 2005

Chemical in cocoa beans can limit the development of fluids that cause diarrhea

A new study conducted by researchers at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is the first to discover that a chemical in cocoa beans can limit the development of fluids that cause diarrhea. Cocoa beans contain a large amount of chemicals called flavonoids.

3 Oct 2005

Flavanols help smokers repair blood vessel function

Phytochemicals known as flavanols, which are found in chocolate, fruits and vegetables, can boost the levels of nitric oxide in the blood of smokers and reverse some of their smoking-related impairment in blood vessel function, according to a new study in the Oct. 4, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

28 Sep 2005