Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Latest Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Preventing muscle wasting with a leucine-rich diet

Muscle in adults is constantly being built and broken down. As young adults we keep the two processes in balance, but when we age breakdown starts to win. However, adding the amino acid leucine to the diet of old individuals can set things straight again.

5 Dec 2005

Iron-biofortified rice improves the iron stores of nonanemic Filipino women

For the past decade, plant breeders have been trying to boost the vitamin and mineral content of rice and other staples through traditional plant breeding and genetic engineering. But the foods have never been tested to see if they actually improve the health of the people who eat them.

5 Dec 2005

Overproduction of food in rich countries is fuelling health problems worldwide

The dairy sector in the European Union is an example of how agriculture subsidies can lead to negative health effects in Europe as well as in developing countries.

2 Dec 2005

Drinking lots of coffee and tea can reduce the risk of chronic liver disease

A study published in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Gastroenterology found that people at high risk for liver injury may be able to reduce their risk for developing chronic liver disease significantly by drinking more than two cups of coffee or tea daily.

2 Dec 2005

Researchers identify a gene affecting blood pressure

Research published by University of Leicester researchers in the top journal "Circulation" identifies a gene that affects blood pressure levels in the general population.

30 Nov 2005

Evolution explains age of puberty

Children aged 10 and 11 are sexually mature, and neither they nor society are suitably prepared for the implications of that.

30 Nov 2005

Non-fat milk products can reduce the risk of hypertension by 50%

The research was carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Navarra and Alvaro Alonso, currently a researcher in the School of Public Health at Harvard University who is the lead author of the article.

30 Nov 2005

Hard to quit smoking even after cancer is diagnosed

According to a new study many people with cancer continue to smoke after their diagnosis, even though they are told that smoking can significantly compromise the outcome of any treatment.

29 Nov 2005

Chronic stress induces rapid occlusion of angioplasty

Chronic stress can induce rapid blocking of arteries after a balloon angioplasty procedure, according to research performed in animal studies at Georgetown University Medical Center. Blocked coronary arteries after angioplasty affect 41 percent of patients who undergo the procedure and can lead to death.

28 Nov 2005

Zinc supplements shown to be good for children with HIV

According to new research zinc supplements are a safe and effective way to reduce illness in children with HIV.

28 Nov 2005

Health reform needs to be championed by health leaders

Health reform needs to be championed by health leaders, responsive to community needs and securely funded, to be sustained and benefit the health of Australians according to a new research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

28 Nov 2005

Lifestyle modification should be the first line of treatment for obesity

A new study shows that treatment with a lifestyle modification program of diet, exercise and behavioral therapy when used in combination with the weight loss medication sibutramine (Meridia) resulted in significantly greater weight loss among obese adults than treatment with the medication alone.

28 Nov 2005

Breastfeeding longer lowers risk of type 2 diabetes

Women who breastfeed longer have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

28 Nov 2005

Dining out may increase cardiovascular disease risk in children

Children who frequently eat out score worse on measures of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk than those who eat more meals at home, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2005.

28 Nov 2005

Zinc supplements safe for chidren with HIV

Zinc-deficient children living in communities where they do not receive adequate amounts of zinc from their diet should be given supplements, even if they are HIV-infected, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions.

26 Nov 2005

New door opens for anti-aging research in humans

A counterintuitive experiment has resulted in one of the longest recorded life-span extensions in any organism and opened a new door for anti-aging research in humans.

26 Nov 2005

People drink less as they age

Previous studies have suggested that people reduce their average alcohol consumption as they age.

26 Nov 2005

Sugary drinks push Latino kids toward type 2 diabetes

Overweight Latino children who consume lots of sugar-especially in sugary drinks-show signs of beta cell decline, a precursor of type 2 diabetes, according to researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

26 Nov 2005

High blood pressure research advances efforts to tailor drugs to individual patients

Having high blood pressure and a particular genetic alteration dramatically increases the risk of heart attack, stroke or death, and may explain why some hypertensive patients fare worse than others - even if they take the same medication, University of Florida researchers announced.

26 Nov 2005