Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Latest Diet & Nutrition News and Research

Study sheds light on how high-fibre diet affects the gut environment

Savvy consumers and health professionals know that fibre is an essential nutrient associated with important health benefits, yet barriers such as overall poor tolerance to higher-fibre diets may be why average intake is far less than experts recommend.

7 Sep 2012

'Toolkit' for African cancer advocates to be launched on September 15

Cancer kills more than seven million people a year throughout the world. This is more than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined, and African countries, which carry a large part of the burden, are the least able of all developing countries to cope with the challenges it presents, says a consortium of international cancer organizations.

7 Sep 2012

Videogames can be used for educational and treatment purposes for young people with ASD

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 88 children in the U.S. has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a broad group of neurodevelopmental disorders.

7 Sep 2012

New findings establish connection between microRNAs and cellular metabolism

New findings establish a connection between microRNAs and cellular metabolism, suggesting that a drug designed to inhibit these tiny molecules -- once considered to be "junk" DNA -- would have a positive effect against obesity.

7 Sep 2012

Researchers turn skin cells into embryonic Sertoli-like cells

Using a stepwise trans-differentiation process, Whitehead Institute researchers have turned skin cells into embryonic Sertoli-like cells.

7 Sep 2012

Small weight gain enough to increase a college student's systolic blood pressure

As a college student, you may be happy simply not to have gained the "Freshman 15." But a University of Illinois study shows that as little as 1.5 pounds per year is enough to raise blood pressure in that age group, and the effect was worse for young women.

7 Sep 2012

Nutritional benefits of organic foods questioned

Strong evidence to support the supposed nutritional benefits of eating organic over conventional foods is lacking in the scientific literature, show results from a systematic review.

6 Sep 2012

Better recognition of rising burden of cancer in Africa needed

6 Sep 2012

Injecting capsule with heat-generating cells reduces abdominal and belly fat in mice

The injection of a tiny capsule containing heat-generating cells into the abdomens of mice led those animals to burn abdominal fat and initially lose about 20 percent of belly fat after 80 days of treatment.

6 Sep 2012

Study sheds light on why women gain fat following menopause

A high-fat diet triggers chemical reactions in female mice that could explain why women are more likely than men to gain fat in the abdomen after eating excess saturated fat, new research suggests. The study also sheds light on why women gain fat following menopause.

6 Sep 2012

UC Davis plans to open West Coast Metabolomics Center

With a $9.3 million startup grant from the National Institutes of Health, the University of California, Davis, has announced plans to open the West Coast Metabolomics Center, a high-tech consortium of research and service laboratories that will help scientists better understand and develop more effective treatments for complex diseases like diabetes, cancer and atherosclerosis.

6 Sep 2012

Nearly one-third of under-five children malnourished in southern Afghanistan, survey shows

Approximately one-third of children under the age of five in southern Afghanistan, about one million, have acute malnutrition, "with a level of deprivation similar to that found in famine zones, a government survey has found, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid that has been poured into the region," the Guardian reports.

6 Sep 2012

Key facts about polycystic ovary syndrome

September marks Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) awareness month and with this condition affecting millions of women in the world, there are some key facts about the condition to highlight that can affect a women's fertility when suffering with the disorder.

6 Sep 2012

Study sheds light on lingering effects of natural disasters, mass shootings and terrorist attacks

Repeated exposure to violent images from the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the Iraq War led to an increase in physical and psychological ailments in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults, according to a new UC Irvine study.

6 Sep 2012

UEA, IFR to study protective effects of broccoli consumption against prostate cancer

The Prostate Cancer Foundation is providing $1M of funding to the Institute of Food Research and the University of East Anglia (UEA) to study the protective effects of broccoli consumption against prostate cancer.

6 Sep 2012

TSC and PTEN genes important in controlling blood precursor cells in Drosophila

UCLA stem cell scientists have shown that two common tumor suppressor genes, TSC and PTEN, are vital to regulating the stem cell-like precursor cells that create the blood supply in Drosophila, the common fruit fly.

6 Sep 2012

Exposure to household chemical may raise cardiac risk

Exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid may be associated with cardiovascular disease and peripheral arterial disease, say researchers.

5 Sep 2012

Concise guide to treat children who have swallowed powerful neodymium magnets

Children who swallow powerful neodymium magnets are at risk of serious complications, requiring emergency evaluation and possible treatment. That's the message of a new clinical algorithm published in the September issue of The Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, official journal of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN).

5 Sep 2012

Chemical properties of green tea benefit memory and spatial learning

It has long been believed that drinking green tea is good for the memory. Now researchers have discovered how the chemical properties of China's favorite drink affect the generation of brain cells, providing benefits for memory and spatial learning. The research is published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research.

5 Sep 2012

ImmusanT commences Nexvax2 clinical trials for celiac disease in New Zealand, Australia and the U.S.

ImmusanT announced today that it has initiated clinical trials in New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. to evaluate Nexvax2, the first therapeutic vaccine for patients with celiac disease. Nexvax2 is designed to re-establish patients' tolerance to the toxic effects of gluten, a protein in wheat, barley and rye, and allow them to return to a normal diet.

5 Sep 2012