Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Latest Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Arsenic in rice worrisome

Studies have shown that rice takes up more arsenic from soil than other crops. Now a new study shows that higher arsenic levels are ingested by women who eat as little as half a cup of cooked rice in a day. Currently, there are no limits on the amount of allowable arsenic in rice in the United States. But the Environmental Protection Agency has set arsenic limits in water of 10 parts per billion.

7 Dec 2011

Personalized action plans to combat depression

A new book co-authored by the director of the University of Louisville Depression Center recognizes that depression is different for everyone and provides techniques and strategies for each person to develop a personalized action plan to combat depression.

7 Dec 2011

Pycnogenol enhances mental performance

Keeping your brain in shape-no sweat. Health-conscious consumers may not realize that supplementing a healthy diet is just as important to maintaining mental performance as it is to maintaining six-pack abs.

7 Dec 2011

Racial differences in inflammation might explain survival paradox among dialysis patients

In the general population, African Americans die at earlier ages than whites, but among patients on dialysis, African Americans live longer than whites. A new study helps explain this paradox and could help prolong the lives of all patients on dialysis.

7 Dec 2011

Scientists help uncover evolutionary history of TAS2R38 bitter taste receptor gene

Long the bane of picky eaters everywhere, broccoli's taste is not just a matter of having a cultured palate; some people can easily taste a bitter compound in the vegetable that others have difficulty detecting. Now a team of Penn researchers has helped uncover the evolutionary history of one of the genes responsible for this trait.

7 Dec 2011

Evaluation method supports soy as high-quality protein

The importance of protein in the human body is undeniable. However, the idea of what makes a protein a "quality protein" has not been as easy to determine. A new study from the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry takes a closer look at the criteria for determining the quality of a protein.

7 Dec 2011

First international agricultural communications symposium to be held on Feb. 17 at U of I

Is it possible to find common ground among colliding beliefs surrounding food and agriculture? Food security is one of the most pressing issues facing world leaders today, and despite the technological tools available to help more of the world's population reach self-sufficiency, an epic communications challenge remains.

7 Dec 2011

INT-777 shows promise against metabolic syndrome

Heart disease is a major cause of death in industrialised countries, and is strongly associated with obesity and diabetes. Many scientists believe that what links these conditions is a chronic, low-grade inflammation.

7 Dec 2011

Smoking, excess weight, unhealthy diets and alcohol cause cancer

More than 100,000 cancers - equivalent to one third of all those diagnosed in the UK each year - are being caused by smoking, unhealthy diets, alcohol and excess weight, according to new research by Cancer Research UK.

7 Dec 2011

Study evaluates whether genetic GST polymorphisms increase risk of ALD in alcoholics

It has been widely observed that only a small percentage of alcoholics develop cirrhosis of the liver, the most advanced form of alcoholic liver disease (ALD); the reason why all alcoholics do not develop such disease is not known. The present study from Spain, that includes original work and a meta-analysis, evaluates whether genetic polymorphisms that determine levels of glutathione-S-transferases (GST) relate to the risk of developing ALD among alcoholics.

6 Dec 2011

Communication break down in warning parents about their overweight children

A new analysis of national survey data finds that less than one-quarter of parents of overweight children recall ever being told by a doctor or other health care provider that their children were overweight.

6 Dec 2011

Alzheimer's Australia, Bupa Health launch brain health app in the UK

The Bupa Health Foundation and Alzheimer's Australia have announced the UK launch of a world-first brain health app, the latest digital tool to help in the fight against dementia.

6 Dec 2011

Endocrine Society supports policies that aim to combat pediatric obesity

Today, The Endocrine Society issued a Position Statement supporting policies that bring together doctors and other healthcare providers, family, schools and the community to combat pediatric obesity through education and encouragement of lifestyle modifications.

6 Dec 2011

DD and autism screening should be routine for all children seen in epilepsy clinics

Research presented today at the American Epilepsy Society's 65th annual meeting suggests that systematic screening for developmental delay (DD) and autism should be routine for all children seen in epilepsy clinics.

6 Dec 2011

Low vitamin D levels may predispose one to type 2 diabetes

A new study shows that people with lower vitamin D levels were more likely to be obese and have higher degrees of insulin resistance, when the hormone becomes less effective at lowering blood sugar.

6 Dec 2011

Health coverage increases dramatically in parts of China between 1997 and 2006

Health care coverage increased dramatically in parts of China between 1997 and 2006, a period when government interventions were implemented to improve access to health care, with particularly striking upswings in rural areas, according to new research by Brown University sociologist Susan E. Short and Hongwei Xu of the University of Michigan.

6 Dec 2011

Obesity maybe passed down from fathers to kids: Study

Australian researchers have found that the sperm of overweight fathers appears to carry a molecular signal that causes their offspring to inherit obesity. This may be more severe in female children and males they add.

5 Dec 2011

Subconscious nervous impulses may be prognostic markers for weight-loss outcome

A recent study of obese volunteers participating in a 12-week dietary weight-loss program found that successful weight losers had significantly higher resting nerve activity compared to weight-loss resistant individuals.

5 Dec 2011

Treatments for lymphoma with no side effects

Larry Conrad went in for his annual physical on his 50th birthday. During his exam, his doctor found swollen lymph nodes in his armpits and groin. Conrad had a cough and said he'd lost weight because he 'felt full all the time'. His doctor ordered a series of tests, and Conrad was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the most common type.

2 Dec 2011

ACS' 243rd National Meeting & Exposition to be held in San Diego

The American Chemical Society's (ACS') 243rd National Meeting & Exposition, one of the largest scientific conferences of the New Year, will be held March 25-29, 2012, in San Diego, Calif. It will take place at the San Diego Convention Center and at area hotels.

2 Dec 2011