Diet News and Research

Latest Diet News and Research

A healthy heart means all the usual plus don't fight with your spouse

According to researchers in the U.S. older couples who argue and row harm their hearts.

6 Mar 2006

Future looks sick for fat kids

Current estimates predict the number of obese school children in Europe will reach 6.4 million by the year 2010 if present trends continue.

6 Mar 2006

Association between body size and the built environment

Researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health are studying the link between the urban environment and how it might contribute to the cause or origins of obesity.

1 Mar 2006

Why people of African descent are more vulnerable to tuberculosis infection

A team of scientists has identified a cellular mechanism that may help explain the puzzle of why people of African descent are more susceptible to tuberculosis infection and why, once infected, they develop more severe states of the disease than whites.

27 Feb 2006

Charles Darwin proven right on natural selection

The famous scientist would be pleased because a study published online this week provides the first clear evidence that natural selection, his favored mechanism of evolution, drives the process of species formation in a wide variety of plants and animals.

27 Feb 2006

Potatoes increase risk of diabetes

Researchers at Harvard University are warning that people who love to eat potatoes run the risk of diabetes.

27 Feb 2006

Effect of artificial sweeteners in weight control and energy intake

It is widely believed by the public that replacing sugars with artificial sweeteners will help reduce calorie (energy) intake and aid weight loss. As a result sales of foods and drinks sweetened with artificially sweeteners are at an all time high, as are rates of overweight and obesity.

24 Feb 2006

Low sugar, reduced calorie apples

The technology to produce low sugar fruits with up to half the calories of the natural variety has been developed by US scientists, writes Jennifer Rohn in Chemistry & Industry magazine.

24 Feb 2006

Genetic variations help predict risk for salt-induced high blood pressure

Researchers led by UVa Health System pathologist Robin Felder, Ph.D., have demonstrated that looking for several variations of genes that control blood pressure can predict the risk for high blood pressure caused by high levels of salt.

23 Feb 2006

Women from Venus love chocolate from Mars

CocoaVia the long-awaited chocolate from confectionery giant Mars is about to hit the market.

22 Feb 2006

Organic diet for children means less exposure to pesticides

In a new study researchers in the U.S. have shown that organic diets meant that children had less exposure to two common pesticides.

21 Feb 2006

$Calcium and Vitamin D helps reduce risk of hip fractures in older women$

Calcium and Vitamin D helps reduce risk of hip fractures in older women

Taking calcium and Vitamin D slightly decreased the risk of hip fractures in older women, but not the risk for other types of fractures or for colorectal cancer, according to the latest findings from the federally funded Women's Health Initiative. Additionally, the supplements slightly increased the incidence of kidney stones.

21 Feb 2006

Lifetime calorie restraint to prevent obesity is the most powerful way to reduce age-related health problems

University of South Florida researcher Barbara Hansen, PhD, will likely never be invited to talk about weight loss on Oprah. Her message is mundanely common sense, not faddish - she doesn't drop phrases like "low carb," or "low fat," or "geared to your body type" or "put your body into fat-burning mode."

20 Feb 2006

Mystery of evolutionary growth in hominid brain size

Forget the textbook story about tool use and language sparking the dramatic evolutionary growth of the human brain. Instead, imagine ancient hominid children chasing frogs. Not for fun, but for food.

19 Feb 2006

Organic diets lower children's exposure to pesticides

Organic diets lower children's dietary exposure to two common pesticides used in U.S. agricultural production, according to a study by Emory University researcher Chensheng "Alex" Lu, PhD. The substitution of organic food items for children's normal diets substantially decreased the pesticide concentration to non-detectable levels.

19 Feb 2006

Fat chance of getting consistent advice on diets

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Dietary Modification Trial, which involved nearly 49,000 women aged 50 to 79, over an eight year period, has confirmed that fat balance and fat quality are the key factors to be considered when people are aiming for good health and a lower risk of disease.

19 Feb 2006

Bathroom scale model of weight loss most effective

According to a researcher in the U.S. losing and keeping off weight requires a lifelong commitment and effort.

19 Feb 2006

Rimonabant produces sustained weight loss long term

Use of the weight-loss medication rimonabant produced modest yet sustained weight loss after 2 years, and improved HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, according to a study in the February 15 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

17 Feb 2006

Vitamin E is one of the first lines of defense in human lung tissue against the ravages of cigarette smoke

A new study has found that supplements of vitamin C can largely stop the serious depletion of vitamin E that occurs in smokers, demonstrating for the first time in humans a remarkable interaction between these two antioxidants as they work together.

17 Feb 2006

Scientists put ehrlichiosis under the genomic spotlight

Ehrlichiosis is no star of science. This emerging disease has an awkward name, vague flu-like symptoms, and a nasty habit of being caused by bacteria that live inside ticks and flatworms.

17 Feb 2006