Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Latest Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Understanding how individuals respond to aspirin

Researchers have learned new information about how different people respond to aspirin, a globally prescribed drug in cardioprotection. The research team, led by scientists at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom and including representatives from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Colorado, identified more than 5,600 lipids — or fats — in blood platelets and gained new insights into how these cells respond to aspirin.

29 Apr 2016

Studies on role of vitamin A in heart health have drawn opposite conclusions

Vitamin A is involved in many bodily processes, including vision and skin health, but its role in the heart is unclear. While vitamin A is critical for heart development of embryos—vitamin A deficiency during pregnancy leads to an abnormal heart and prenatal death—studies on vitamin A's role in heart health have drawn opposite conclusions.

29 Apr 2016

Daily chocolate consumption may improve cardio-metabolic health

A new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition appears to back up the adage that a little of what you fancy does you good.

29 Apr 2016

Maternal exposure to air pollution increases risk of long-term health problems in children

Even small amounts of air pollution appear to raise the risk of a condition in pregnant women linked to premature births and lifelong neurological and respiratory disorders in their children, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

28 Apr 2016

Latest popular diets have nutrient gaps

Paleo, high-protein, low-carb, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan eating lifestyles have all exploded in popularity in the last few years. Whether people adopt these diets in order to lose weight or maintain overall wellness, consumers that follow them may be missing out on some essential nutrients. In the April issue of Food Technology Magazine, Linda Mila Ohr writes about the nutrient gaps in these various diets and how consumers can make sure they get the nutrients they need.

28 Apr 2016

Culturally sensitive lifestyle intervention promotes healthy-living behaviors among Latinas

A culturally sensitive lifestyle intervention showed promise at motivating Latinas living in the U.S. to eat better and exercise more by connecting healthy-living behaviors with the lives of saints and prominent religious figures, new studies found.

28 Apr 2016

Bonn researchers identify new technique to measure activity of brown fat cells

Brown fat cells can burn fat to generate heat. University of Bonn researchers have discovered a new method to measure the activity of brown fat cells in humans and mice. The researchers showed that microRNA-92a can be used as an indirect measure for the activity of energy consuming brown fat cells. They showed that a small blood sample was sufficient. Results were published in "Nature Communications," a well-known scientific journal.

27 Apr 2016

New book aims to guide women through menopause

As preteens, girls often take health classes to teach them about their changing bodies during puberty. For moms-to-be, classes deal with pregnancy and newborn care.

27 Apr 2016

Study reveals how visceral fat contributes to insulin resistance, inflammation

Researchers have long-known that visceral fat - the kind that wraps around the internal organs - is more dangerous than subcutaneous fat that lies just under the skin around the belly, thighs and rear. But how visceral fat contributes to insulin resistance and inflammation has remained unknown.

26 Apr 2016

Exposure to blue light may lead to eyestrain but does not damage retina

Nearly 90 percent of adults use digital devices for two or more hours per day, according to The Vision Council's 2016 Digital Eye Strain Report, exposing consumers to blue light that some suggest is dangerous.

26 Apr 2016

New study finds no increase in food-specific IgE levels linked to food allergies

A new study using 5,000 stored blood samples found no increase in the presence of food-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) — a blood marker associated with food allergy — in children's blood between the 1980s and the 2000s.

26 Apr 2016

Nepal, one year on – VSO heads up new recovery and reconstruction hub.

VSO and the UK government (DfID) have set up the ‘National Disaster Recovery Coordination Secretariat’ (NDRCS) in Kathmandu. It aims to help rebuild Nepal, following the devastation of two earthquakes (25th April and 12th May 2015) which claimed nearly 9,000 lives and left hundreds of thousands people homeless.

25 Apr 2016

Mediterranean diet reduces risk of recurrent heart attacks or strokes

A "Mediterranean" diet, high in fruit, vegetables, fish and unrefined foods, is linked to a lower risk of heart attack and stroke in people who already have heart disease, according to a study of over 15,000 people in 39 countries around the world. The research also showed that eating greater amounts of healthy food was more important for these people than avoiding unhealthy foods, such as refined grains, sweets, desserts, sugared drinks and deep-fried food - a "Western" diet.

25 Apr 2016

Fructose common in western diet can damage brain genes

A range of diseases -- from diabetes to cardiovascular disease, and from Alzheimer's disease to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- are linked to changes to genes in the brain. A new study by UCLA life scientists has found that hundreds of those genes can be damaged by fructose, a sugar that's common in the Western diet, in a way that could lead to those diseases.

25 Apr 2016

Infant BMI better predicts early childhood obesity

Babies with a high body mass index (BMI) at age two months are at risk for obesity at age two years, say pediatric researchers. The authors, in an online study published today in Pediatrics, say that BMI better predicts early childhood obesity than weight-for-length, the current standard measurement.

22 Apr 2016

NASA's research program uses omics to look more closely at individual health

NASA's Human Research Program is releasing the first half of a video series entitled Omics: Exploring Space Through You to highlight its Twins Study, in conjunction with its National DNA Day Reddit Ask Me Anything event at 10 a.m. CDT/11 a.m. EDT, Monday, April 25, 2016. The series explores space through you by using omics to look more closely at individual health.

22 Apr 2016

Assessing body composition may help predict cardiovascular and total mortality

Researchers from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA found that cardiovascular disease patients who have high muscle mass and low fat mass have a lower mortality risk than those with other body compositions. The findings also suggest that regardless of a person's level of fat mass, a higher level of muscle mass helps reduce the risk of death.

22 Apr 2016

Study links duration, timing of sleep to cardiovascular health

No one is telling you what time to go to bed with this, but researchers are making a strong case that the duration and timing of your sleep are closely associated with whether your behavior is heart-healthy.

22 Apr 2016

Researchers use highly accurate biomarker to measure aging in HIV infected patients

Thanks to combination antiretroviral therapies, many people with HIV can expect to live decades after being infected. Yet doctors have observed these patients often show signs of premature aging.

22 Apr 2016

More cautious blood pressure-lowering strategy may be reasonable for elderly CKD patients

New research indicates that higher systolic blood pressure is linked with poor outcomes in patients with kidney disease, although the association diminishes with advanced age. The findings, which come from a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), provide valuable information concerning patients who are often excluded from blood pressure-lowering clinical trials.

22 Apr 2016