Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Latest Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Depression and diabetes linked to increased risk of death from heart disease in women

Depression and diabetes appear to be associated with a significantly increased risk of death from heart disease and risk of death from all causes over a six-year period for women, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Jan 2011

Brits get free healthy food vouchers in 2011

As the festive season comes to a close the British government has announced a £250 million ($390 million) industry-financed plan to promote healthy eating. Now millions of people will receive vouchers offering discounts on healthy foods. It is a part of the coalition government’s ‘Change4Life’ programme that is targeting Britain’s growing rates of obesity. The Change4Life campaign was initially begun in 2009 by the previous Labour government, which said that if the plan failed to reduce obesity within three years it might look at regulating the food industry. Now the eight month old Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition feels regulations do not do the job but a gentle push towards healthy habits may help.

3 Jan 2011

Fear of the fat promoted to curb obesity

The Australian Medical Association has recommended the use of graphic television advertisements in Victoria to warn people about the risks of eating fatty foods. Rising rates of obesity has prompted these extreme measures. The proposed ads in television and newspaper would cost $25 million and would show the effects of fat on the body’s internal organs. The AMA’s proposals are part of a submission calling for $63 million to fight obesity.

3 Jan 2011

People magazine features another Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet success story

For the second time in three years, Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet success stories are celebrated in People magazine's annual Half Their Size cover story. Marty and Grace Moorehead of Phoenix lost 182 and 51 pounds respectively by following celebrity weight-loss expert Dr. Sanford Siegal's 36 year old weight-loss regimen under the supervision of their own physicians. Marty Moorehead lost half of his 360 pounds and has kept the weight off for a year. The People article is online at http://tinyurl.com/2vl2apk.

3 Jan 2011

Mediterranean diet helps more than one chronic condition

In a study that was published in the Oct 13, 2001 issue of Diabetes Care, authors had reported that Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of developing diabetes significantly. Those on this diet were 52 percent less likely to develop diabetes, compared with those who adhered least to the diet. Salas-Salvadó J. of Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Reus, Spain and colleagues compared two groups of subjects following two Mediterranean diets, one with nuts at 30 grams per day and the other with olive oil at 1 liter per week, with those on a low-fat diet.

2 Jan 2011

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts announces new community partner strategy

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA), a locally-based, community-focused health plan, announced its new community partner strategy at a reception earlier this month. To support the Commonwealth, the company will focus on four key areas: healthy child development, education enrichment, healthy environments and family nutrition, and sustainable health care.

30 Dec 2010

Low levels of microbe-killing molecules improve survival rate of people with CGD

Investigators at the National Institutes of Health have observed that the survival rate of people with a rare immunodeficiency disease called chronic granulomatous disease is greatly improved when even very low levels of microbe-killing molecules are present.

30 Dec 2010

Omega-3 fatty acids may reduce inflammation, disease symptoms and cartilage degeneration

Omega-3 fatty acids from seafood may reduce inflammation, symptoms of gum disease and risk of abnormal heartbeats early after cardiac surgery. One type of omega-3, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), may also have lasting benefits in visual function for years in children whose mothers consume sufficient prenatal DHA.

30 Dec 2010

Top weight-loss behaviors

Losing weight and saving money are the top New Year's resolutions expected to vex Americans this year, experts say.

29 Dec 2010

Santarus, Pharming submit RHUCIN BLA to FDA for treatment of HAE attacks

Specialty biopharmaceutical company Santarus, Inc. and biotech company Pharming Group NV today announced the submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to obtain marketing approval for RHUCIN® (recombinant human C1 inhibitor) for the treatment of acute angioedema attacks in patients with Hereditary Angioedema (HAE).

29 Dec 2010

Fried fish consumption linked to high stroke rates: Study

Researchers from Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia), the University of Alabama (Birmingham, Alabama), and Boston University (Boston, University) have found that omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish has “favourable effects on platelet aggregation, blood pressure, lipid profile, endothelial function, and ischemic stroke risk.” The team led by Dr. Fadi Nahab decided to look into the racial and geographical aspects of preparing and eating fish and its effects.

28 Dec 2010

Breast cancer survival techniques for dealing with challenges on the job and in life

As Lecheler celebrates the New Year, she is sharing her breast cancer survival techniques with business executives and others who are looking for a resolution they can keep - having a healthier and happier 2011. Lecheler offers up her integrated healing tips in her new book The Spirit to Heal.

28 Dec 2010

New findings reveal long-term influences of infant formula composition

New findings from the Monell Center reveal that weight gain of formula-fed infants is influenced by the type of formula the infant is consuming. The findings have implications related to the infant's risk for the development of obesity, diabetes and other diseases later in life.

27 Dec 2010

Pros and cons of apps for common New Year's resolutions

With about 400,000 apps available for Smartphones and news ones added daily, there is an app for almost everything, from losing weight to finding a job.

24 Dec 2010

Paternal diet affects lipid metabolizing genes in offspring

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Texas at Austin have uncovered evidence that environmental influences experienced by a father can be passed down to the next generation, "reprogramming" how genes function in offspring. A new study published this week in Cell shows that environmental cues-in this case, diet-influence genes in mammals from one generation to the next, evidence that until now has been sparse.

24 Dec 2010

U.N. food official highlights food security challenges in world's most populous nation

U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to food Olivier De Schutter said Thursday that recent food price spikes in China, "in the world's most populous nation," underscore the country's food security challenges resulting from decreasing amounts of arable land, Agence France-Presse reports.

24 Dec 2010

Study shows vegetarian diet lowers blood, urine phosphorous levels

Phosphorous levels plummet in kidney disease patients who stick to a vegetarian diet, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The results suggest that eating vegetables rather than meat can help kidney disease patients avoid accumulating toxic levels of this mineral in their bodies.

24 Dec 2010

Mobile trends, FDA regulations to be explored at Digital Health Summit 2011

Mobile technology has changed the way we live our lives. Going beyond business productivity, mobile devices have become the preferred way for consumers to manage everything from their finances to personal health, with the latter being the fastest growing corner of the category.

23 Dec 2010

MCP-1 protein may contribute to failure of AV fistulas created for vascular access in dialysis patients

A protein implicated in the development of vascular diseases may also contribute to the failure of arteriovenous (AV) fistulas created for vascular access in dialysis patients, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

23 Dec 2010

Dieting trends in 2011

As the hectic holiday season comes to a close and a new year approaches, many consumers are once again vowing to adopt weight loss goals to shed those unwanted pounds. But with obesity increasing at alarming levels across the globe, a number of health experts are urging a new approach to help fight the nation's burgeoning weight problem.

23 Dec 2010