Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Latest Diet & Nutrition News and Research

The single life can increase some people's dementia risk

The researchers from the Karolinska Institute suggest that people who have a particular gene variation and live alone in middle-age, have a higher risk of developing dementia.

5 Jul 2009

Discovery of new gene associated with diabetes

Research led by the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) has identified a new gene associated with diabetes, together with a mechanism that makes obese mice less susceptible to diabetes.

5 Jul 2009

Report card on UK's health

Medical scientists from Southampton have contributed to a major new report, setting out plans to enhance the nation's health by improving diet, increasing physical activity and cutting harmful drinking.

2 Jul 2009

Drink milk to lose weight!

According to the latest research milk helps satisfy hunger by making people feel full and could be useful in weight loss.

2 Jul 2009

Doping drug does little to improve cyclists' performance

Scientists in New Zealand say many top cyclists may be putting their health at risk for no competitive gain by taking the doping drug pseudoephedrine.

2 Jul 2009

Young black women prone to gain more unhealthy abdominal fat than Hispanics, study shows

Black women ages 20 to 29 have increased amounts of unhealthy abdominal and visceral fat than Hispanic women the same age, and young women of both age groups have more as compared to their elders, according to researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues.

1 Jul 2009

Vegetarians less likely to develop cancer than meat eaters

Vegetarians are 12 per cent less likely to develop cancer than meat eaters, according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer.

1 Jul 2009

Specially bred purple sweet potato with anti-cancer components

A Kansas State University researcher is studying the potential health benefits of a specially bred purple sweet potato because its dominant purple color results in an increased amount of anti-cancer components.

30 Jun 2009

CHOICE shows high levels of dangerous trans fats in Australian food supply

According to the consumer group CHOICE tests have proven that Australian manufacturers are continuing to use dangerous levels of unhealthy fats in processed foods.

29 Jun 2009

Soy consumption and risk of COPD and respiratory symptoms

People who eat lots of soy products have better lung function and are less likely to develop the smoking-associated lung disease COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). A study published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Respiratory Research has shown that consumption of a wide variety of soy products can be associated with a reduction in the risk of COPD and other respiratory symptoms.

28 Jun 2009

How ‘high carb’ foods cause heart attacks

It has been commonly known for a number of years that certain foods, such as white bread and corn flakes, are bad for cardiac health, but new research from Israeli scientists shows just how 'high carb' foods cause heart attacks.

28 Jun 2009

Heart attacks kill 10,000 Australians each year and many could be avoided

A new report by Access Economics has revealed that this year 80,000 Australians can expect to be treated in hospital for heart attacks or chest pain - at a cost to the economy of $18 billion and 10,000 people will die from a heart attack.

28 Jun 2009

Possible link between insulin glargine and cancer prompts urgent call for more research

The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) has made an urgent call for more research into a possible link between use of insulin glargine (an insulin analogue) and increased risk of cancer, following evidence from studies in Germany, Sweden and Scotland. However, until this further research becomes available, these experts are stressing that patients with diabetes taking Lantus should continue to do so, although some might wish to consider alternative types of insulin. The studies are reported in Diabetologia (the journal of EASD), edited by Professor Edwin Gale of the University of Bristol.

28 Jun 2009

NewsHour features two health experts on President Obama's global health initiative

On the NewsHour Insider Forum, Ray Suarez interviews global health experts Michele Moloney-Kitts, assistant U.S. global AIDS coordinator, and Christine Lubinski, head of the Center for Global Health Policy and Advocacy about President Obama's $63 billion global health initiative.

24 Jun 2009

Longer life linked to specific foods in Mediterranean diet

Some food groups in the Mediterranean diet are more important than others in promoting health and longer life according to new research published on bmj.com.

24 Jun 2009

Firms tweak benefit plans in District of Columbia and Baltimore area

The Washington Post reports that "More Washington- and Baltimore-area employers are shifting health-insurance costs to workers, offering high-deductible health plans and imposing restrictions on prescription-drug coverage to save money in the recession, according to a new survey by area human resources managers to be released today. But to keep good workers from jumping ship, according to the survey, more employers are offsetting the restrictions by beefing up other perks -- giving staff more flexibility in taking time off and working from home, and extending benefits to domestic partners."

23 Jun 2009

1.02 billion starving people worldwide, U.N. says

For the first time, the number of chronically hungry people worldwide is greater than 1 billion, according to a recent U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statement, the Financial Times reports (Blas, Financial Times, 6/19).

23 Jun 2009

Diet and exercise to alleviate treatments for prostate cancer

A DVD, developed by academics at the University of Hertfordshire, which illustrates the positive effects of diet and exercise in the treatment of prostate cancer, will be launched tomorrow.

23 Jun 2009

UNHCR calls for world to do more to protect refugees

To mark World Refugee Day on June 20, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) urged the "international community to do more to protect and care for refugees around the world," VOA News reports (Schlein, VOA News, 6/20).

22 Jun 2009

Experts explore link between allergies and interstitial cystitis

Allergy testing and treatment may offer a new therapeutic option for many patients with interstitial cystitis (IC). IC is a severely painful bladder condition affecting as many as 8 million women and 1.5 million men in the United States. Patients and the providers who treat them have long noticed a correlation between allergies and IC.

22 Jun 2009