Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Latest Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Heavy drinkers have much higher risk of developing cancer

Heavy drinkers of beer and spirits face a much higher risk of developing cancer than the population at large, says a group of Montreal epidemiologists and cancer researchers.

4 Aug 2009

New findings on role of diet on breast cancer risk

How you eat may be just as important as how much you eat, if mice studies are any clue. Cancer researchers have long studied the role of diet on breast cancer risk, but results to date have been mixed.

4 Aug 2009

FDA approves Livalo (pitavastatin), a new cholesterol-lowering drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the 4 milligram maximum dose of Livalo (pitavastatin), a drug intended to improve blood cholesterol levels in persons with elevated or abnormal blood cholesterol levels.

3 Aug 2009

Friendship influences eating behavior, particularly when friends are overweight

A new study of childhood obesity in the United States has found that some social factors, such as the presence of friends, may put overweight youths at greater risk of overeating.

3 Aug 2009

Regular yoga practice associated with mindful eating

Regular yoga practice is associated with mindful eating, and people who eat mindfully are less likely to be obese, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

3 Aug 2009

After-school programs are an important contributor to children's physical activity

Children's after-school activities often consist of sedentary behavior such as watching television, but after-school programs that offer physical activity and healthy snacks could be the best place for children's health.

3 Aug 2009

Breastfeeding can save 1.3 million children annually, WHO says

About 1.3 million children's lives could be saved each year by teaching new mothers how to breastfeed, but many women do not receive help and stop trying, the WHO said on Friday ahead of the start of World Breastfeeding Week, which runs from August 1 through August 7, Reuters reports.

3 Aug 2009

Heavy consumption of beer and spirits to 6 different cancers

Heavy drinkers of beer and spirits face a much higher risk of developing cancer than the population at large, says a group of Montreal epidemiologists and cancer researchers. Their findings show that people in the highest consumption category increased their risk of developing oesophageal cancer sevenfold, colon cancer by 80% and even lung cancer by 50%.

3 Aug 2009

Seven out of ten U.S. children low in vitamin D

Seven out of ten U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone and heart disease, according to a study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The striking findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

3 Aug 2009

FDA approves Onglyza (saxagliptin) for type 2 diabetes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Onglyza (saxagliptin), a once-daily tablet to treat Type 2 diabetes in adults. The medication is intended to be used with diet and exercise to control high blood sugar levels.

2 Aug 2009

Race/ethnicity, income and education associated with sugar consumption

The intake of added sugars in the United States is excessive, estimated by the US Department of Agriculture in 1999-2002 as 17% of calories a day. Consuming foods with added sugars displaces nutrient-dense foods in the diet.

2 Aug 2009

Risk factors of disordered eating in overweight youth identified

University of Minnesota Project Eating Among Teens (EAT) researchers have identified factors that may increase overweight adolescents' risk of engaging in extreme weight control behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, the use of diet pills, laxatives, and diuretics, as well as binge eating.

31 Jul 2009

Research suggests that zinc activates a key protein on T cells needed to fight infections

Everyone knows that vitamins "from A to zinc" are important for good health. Now, a new research study in the August 2009 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that zinc may be pointing the way to new therapeutic targets for fighting infections.

31 Jul 2009

Three organizations form alliance to address global malnutrition

"Three internationally known organizations based in St. Louis - the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children's Hospital" - have entered into a partnership, known as the Global Harvest Alliance (GHA), which aims to "create inexpensive, nutritionally complete food to help the world's hungry and undernourished," the AP/Google.com reports.

29 Jul 2009

No evidence for superior nutritional content of organic produce

There is no evidence that organically produced foods are nutritionally superior to conventionally produced foodstuffs, according to a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

29 Jul 2009

Plenty of dairy foods in childhood may mean a longer life

Milk is an excellent source of calcium and the children who ate plenty of dairy foods such as milk and cheese appeared to be protected against stroke and other causes of death, even though dairy products often contain fats and cholesterol which fur up the arteries and high consumption of dairy products did not raise the heart disease risk.

28 Jul 2009

U.N. allocates $6 million emergency fund to address health problems in Ethiopia

The U.N.'s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) recently allocated $6 million to address several health challenges facing Ethiopia, IRIN reports.

28 Jul 2009

Gates Foundation donates additional $80 million to Indian HIV-prevention program, receives Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will give an additional $80 million to Avahan, a foundation initiative launched in 2003 for HIV prevention programs in India, Bill Gates said on Thursday, the Seattle Times blog, "Business of Giving" reports.

28 Jul 2009

Gene expression patterns in cancer could aid early screening and prevention

Distinctive patterns of genes turned off - or left on - in healthy versus cancerous cells could enable early screening for many common cancers and maybe help avoid them, Medical College of Georgia scientists say.

28 Jul 2009

Intensive glucose control halves complications of longstanding type 1 diabetes

Near-normal control of glucose beginning as soon as possible after diagnosis would greatly improve the long-term prognosis of type 1 diabetes, concludes a study published in the July 27, 2009, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, which updates information about the clinical course of type 1 diabetes.

27 Jul 2009