Diet News and Research

Latest Diet News and Research

Reducing children's sugary beverage intake may help manage obesity

Sugary drinks are the single biggest contributor to the obesity epidemic in the United States, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, two-thirds of adults and one-third of the children in the U.S. are overweight or obese. Registered dietician Leah Holbrook, Coordinator of the Long Island Center for Pediatric Obesity Prevention in the Department of Family Medicine at Stony Brook School of Medicine, says that these sobering statistics and the fact that beverages account for nearly half of the added sugars in our diet are a wakeup call for Americans to reduce their sugary drink intake.

21 Mar 2012

State-level resources may contribute to risk of heart disease in women

According to new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), a state's level of wealth or poverty is linked with levels of cardiovascular inflammation in women.

21 Mar 2012

Meditation improves ability to cope with stress and increases telomerase activity

Calmly meditating produces exciting, beneficial effects on your body. It can protect your DNA against cancer-promoting genetic developments and free you from everyday stresses and distractions. That's why meditation is one of the most powerful, but often neglected, tools for maintaining optimal health.

21 Mar 2012

Feeding babies on demand improves their IQ: Study

A new study shows that who are fed when they are hungry – with breast milk or formula – achieve higher scores in Sats tests at ages five, seven, 11 and 14, and that by the age of eight they have an IQ four to five points higher. However, mothers who keep to scheduled feeding times score better on wellbeing measures, and report feeling more confident and less tearful.

20 Mar 2012

UAB to present at annual American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions

The University of Alabama at Birmingham has a number of presentations and experts available to comment on news being presented at the annual American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions that begin Saturday, March 23, 2012, in Chicago.

20 Mar 2012

Peer mentor intervention improves glucose control in African American veterans with diabetes

by peer mentors has a statistically significant effect on improving glucose control in African American veterans with diabetes, according to a study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion.

20 Mar 2012

Thousands of cancer cases could be prevented by 2025 with better diet & exercise: Australian study

According to new research nearly 43,000 cases of cancer could be prevented in 2025 if Australians eat better and exercised more. Cancer Council researchers estimate about 170,000 cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2025 - a 60 per cent increase on the number of diagnoses in 2007. The researchers say governments must act to reduce the future burden of cancer.

19 Mar 2012

Americans not adhering to the 7 healthy heart recommendations

A new study of nearly 45,000 adults showed that participants who met more of seven recommended cardiovascular health behaviors or factors (such as not smoking, having normal cholesterol levels, eating a healthy diet), had a lower risk of death compared to participants who met fewer factors. The study was published in Journal of American Medical Association. The study is being published early online to coincide with its presentation at a specialty meeting of the American Heart Association.

19 Mar 2012

Eating salmon benefits pregnant women and their babies

University of Granada researchers have proven that eating two servings of salmon reared at a fish farm (enriched with omega-3 fatty acids and only slightly contaminated) a week during pregnancy is beneficial both for the mother and child.

19 Mar 2012

EU-funded 'afresh'-project looks at food and physical activity

Food and physical activity are looked at together in the EU-funded "afresh"-project. Eight regional clusters - strong in food and/or health - currently are setting up their joint future agenda aiming at the prevention of diet-and activity related deseases like obesity, diabetes, cardiovasculaire deseases, osteoporose, etc.

19 Mar 2012

Study of genes may hold the key to improved skin care

Ever wonder why two people who are the same age may look years apart? While extrinsic factors such as sun exposure and smoking can contribute to skin aging, intrinsic factors - namely the genes inherited from our parents - can have an even greater influence on how our skin ages.

17 Mar 2012

Tiny Tim may have suffered from rickets and TB

Le Bonheur Professor Russell Chesney, M.D. believes he knows what was ailing Tiny Tim, the iconic character from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Based on detailed descriptions of both the symptoms and living conditions of 18th century London, Dr. Chesney hypothesizes that Tiny Tim suffered from a combination of rickets and tuberculosis (TB).

17 Mar 2012

Depression increases risk of death in PCI patients

Depression increases the risk of death in patients who have a coronary stent implanted. After seven years of follow up, depressed patients were 1.5 times more likely to have died than non-depressed patients. The findings were independent of age, gender, clinical characteristics, anxiety and the distressed (Type D) personality.

16 Mar 2012

Kyolic AGE may reduce duration of cold and flu symptoms by 61%

Americans looking to impact their cold and flu symptoms this season may have a new weapon at their disposal. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study just published by the University of Florida determined that Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract (AGE) may reduce the duration of symptoms associated with common colds or flus by as much as 61 percent.

16 Mar 2012

Smartphone technology can help assess and treat schizophrenia

Psychiatry is employing smartphone technology as an innovative tool in the assessment and treatment of schizophrenia and other serious mental illness. Prominent in this endeavor is Dror Ben-Zeev, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School and director of the Thresholds-Dartmouth Research Center in Chicago.

16 Mar 2012

Sleep less, eat more – Recipe for weight gain

Scientists at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., studied a group of 17 healthy volunteers between the ages 18 and 40 for a week in their homes, monitoring how much each of the typically slept and ate.

15 Mar 2012

Dietary cadmium may lead to increased risk of breast cancer

Dietary cadmium, a toxic metal widely dispersed in the environment and found in many farm fertilizers, may lead to an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

15 Mar 2012

Low-carb, reduced glycemic load and portion-controlled diets effective for obese children

A new study of three diets with obese children shows that all diets are effective in managing weight but that a reduced glycemic load diet - one that accounts for how many carbs are in the food and how much each gram of carbohydrate raises blood glucose levels - may be most promising.

15 Mar 2012

Highlights from Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

The Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) is the first comprehensive study to look at the effectiveness of different treatments for low back and leg pain. It was designed to provide data and outcomes to guide doctors and their patients in their treatment choices for three common spinal disorders: intervertebral disk herniation (IDH), degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS), and lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

14 Mar 2012

Earlier start of micronutrient supplementation better for pregnant women and the unborn child

When pregnant women take supplements with micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), the growth of their unborn child improves. The improvement is cumulative, so researchers from the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine report : the earlier in pregnancy the supplementation starts, the better. In developing countries, where women often have a poor diet, these supplements really make a difference.

14 Mar 2012