Orange Juice Limits Oxidative Stress from High-Fat, High-Carb Meal

Eating foods containing flavonoids -- orange juice, in this case -- along with a high-fat, high-carbohydrate fast-food meal neutralizes the oxidative and inflammatory stress generated by the unhealthy food and helps prevent blood vessel damage, a new study by University at Buffalo endocrinologists shows.Free radicals, or reactive oxygen species, are known to induce inflammation in blood vessel linings and contribute to the risk of heart attack and stroke. Study researchers say the potent preventative effect of orange juice likely is linked to its heavy load of the flavonoids naringenin and hesperidin, which are major antioxidants."Our data show, for the first time to our knowledge, that drinking orange juice with a meal high in fat and carbohydrates prevented the marked increases in reactive...

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Possible Link Between Vitamins, Breast Cancer?

A study recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that older women who use multivitamins might be more likely to develop breast cancer than those who do not use the supplements. Or it might just be a statistical anomaly. Or people may use multivitamins because of other unhealthful behaviors - such as lack of a good diet.Over 35,000 Swedish women, ages 49 to 83, were interviewed over a 10-year time span. All of the women were cancer-free at the beginning of the study, but 974 of them had developed the disease within the decade.Those who used multivitamins were 19-percent more likely than non-users to develop cancer, though only 293 of over 9,000 vitamin users developed the ailment. In comparison, 681 of the more than 26,000 women who did not use vitamins were...

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Vegetables Extend Life, Meat Shortens It

At least for women with ovarian cancer.See video he...

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Chocolate reduces blood pressure and risk of heart disease

Chocolate may be good for you – at least in small quantities and preferably if it's dark chocolate – according to research that shows just one small square of chocolate a day can lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease. The study is published online today (Wednesday 31 March) in the European Heart Journal [1].Researchers in Germany followed 19,357 people, aged between 35 and 65, for at least ten years and found that those who ate the most amount of chocolate – an average of 7.5 grams a day – had lower blood pressure and a 39% lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to those who ate the least amount of chocolate – an average of 1.7 grams a day. The difference between the two groups amounts to six grams of chocolate: the equivalent of less than one small...

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One Hour Of Exercise A Day?

*Journal of the American Medical Association:Among women consuming a usual diet, physical activity was associated with less weight gain only among women whose BMI was lower than 25. Women successful in maintaining normal weight and gaining fewer than 2.3 kg over 13 years averaged approximately 60 minutes a day of moderate-intensity activity throughout the study. The study involved34 079 healthy US women (mean age, 54.2 years) from 1992-20...

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Flaxseed lowers high cholesterol in men

ΩA new study from Iowa State University's Nutrition and Wellness Research Center (NWRC) may give men a way to combat high cholesterol without drugs -- if they don't mind sprinkling some flaxseed into their daily diet.Suzanne Hendrich, an ISU professor in food science and human nutrition, led a study that examined the effects of flaxseed lignan in 90 people diagnosed with high cholesterol. The results showed that consuming at least 150 milligrams of flaxseed lignans per day (about three tablespoons) decreased cholesterol in men, but not women, by just under 10 percent over the three months that they were given the flaxseed.While Hendrich admits that's considerably less than the expected outcome from cholesterol-lowering drugs -- approximately 10 to20 percent for three months, depending on the...

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Soy Isoflavones Fail to Prevent Bone Loss

Researchers supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) provided convincing evidence questioning the notion that soy isoflavone tablets can help preserve bone mineral density (BMD) in women after menopause. Their study, the longest ever to evaluate the effect of soy isoflavones on BMD, appeared recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.Isoflavones are naturally occurring compounds found in soybeans. Because they are structurally similar to estrogen, researchers have thought that they may hold promise as an alternative to estrogen therapy to protect postmenopausal women from osteoporosis. Several studies have explored the effects of soy isoflavones on bone health, but results have been mixed, ranging from a modest impact to no...

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Curcumin Fights Liver Damage

*Curcumin, one of the principal components of the Indian spice turmeric, seems to delay the liver damage that eventually causes cirrhosis, suggests preliminary experimental research in the journal Gut.Curcumin, which gives turmeric its bright yellow pigment, has long been used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine to treat a wide range of gastrointestinal disorders.Previous research has indicated that it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which may be helpful in combating disease.The research team wanted to find out if curcumin could delay the damage caused by progressive inflammatory conditions of the liver, including primary sclerosing...

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Alcohol in moderation is good for sick hearts too

*A study by the Catholic University of Campobasso, Italy, shows that a regular and moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial for people who had a previous heart attack or other ischemic vascular eventsIt was still an open question in medicine. Whereas scientific research has shown beneficial effects of moderate alcohol consumption in healthy people, it was not clear whether this could be valid also for patients who already had heart attack, stroke or another ischemic vascular event. A positive answer comes now from a study performed by the Research Laboratories at the Catholic University of Campobasso, Italy: moderate consumption, defined as one or two glasses of wine a day or the equivalent amounts of beer or other alcoholic beverages, significantly reduces the risk of death from any cause...

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Link between sunlight, multiple sclerosis

*For more than 30 years, scientists have known that multiple sclerosis (MS) is much more common in higher latitudes than in the tropics. Because sunlight is more abundant near the equator, many researchers have wondered if the high levels of vitamin D engendered by sunlight could explain this unusual pattern of prevalence.Vitamin D may reduce the symptoms of MS, says Hector DeLuca, Steenbock Research Professor of Biochemistry at University of Wisconsin-Madison, but in a study published in PNAS this week, he and first author Bryan Becklund suggest that the ultraviolet portion of sunlight may play a bigger role than vitamin D in controlling MS.Multiple sclerosis is a painful neurological disease caused by a deterioration in the nerve's electrical conduction; an estimated 400,000 people have...

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Walnuts good for the heart & prostate

Walnuts slow prostate tumors in miceUC Davis research shows walnuts affect genes related to tumor growth(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Walnut consumption slows the growth of prostate cancer in mice and has beneficial effects on multiple genes related to the control of tumor growth and metabolism, UC Davis and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif. have found.The study, by Paul Davis, nutritionist in the Department of Nutrition and a researcher with the UC Davis Cancer Center, announced the findings today at the annual national meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco.Davis said the research findings provide additional evidence that walnuts, although high in fat, are healthful."This study shows that when mice with prostate tumors consume...

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Aspirin use lowers breast & ovarian cancer risk

*Postmenopausal women who regularly use aspirin and other analgesics (known as painkillers) have lower estrogen levels, which could contribute to a decreased risk of breast or ovarian cancer."We observed some significant inverse associations between concentrations of several estrogens and the use of aspirin, aspirin plus non-aspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and all analgesics combined," said Margaret A. Gates, Sc.D., research fellow at the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School."Our results suggest that among postmenopausal women, regular users of aspirin and other analgesics may have lower estrogen levels than non-users," Gates added.These study results are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal...

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Optimism Boosts the Immune System

*Feeling better about the future might help you feel better for real. In a new study, psychological scientists Suzanne Segerstrom of the University of Kentucky and Sandra Sephton of the University of Louisville studied how law students' expectations about the future affected their immune response. Their conclusions: Optimism may be good for your health.Other studies have found that people who are optimistic about their health tend to do better. For example, people who are optimistic about heart transplant surgery recover better from that grueling operation. But it's not clear how optimism affects your health — or whether pessimism makes you less healthy.For this study, reported in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, the researchers recruited first-year...

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Spice Up Your Health This Barbecue Season

A new study at The University of Western Ontario finds the sauces you use when firing up the barbecue this summer may provide unforeseen health benefits.The research, led by Western biology and psychology postdoctoral fellow Raymond Thomas, shows common marinades may be more than just tasty sauces – they can also provide a major source of natural antioxidants. The paper was co-authored by Mark Bernards and Christopher Guglielmo in Western’s department of biology.Foods rich in antioxidants play an essential role in preventing cardiovascular diseases, cancers, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, inflammation and problems associated with cutaneous aging. “Herbs and spices are excellent sources of antioxidants, but estimating consumption rates can be difficult considering...

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Are Hand Sanitizers Better than Handwashing Against the Common Cold?

*A new study suggests that hand sanitizers containing ethanol are much more effective at removing rhinovirus from hands than washing with soap and water. Sanitizers containing both ethanol and organic acids significantly reduced recovery of the virus from hands and rhinovirus infection up to 4 hours following application. The researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville and Dial Corporation, Scottsdale, Arizona detail their findings in the March 2010 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.Rhinovirus is the known cause of approximately 30 to 35% of common cold cases in adults. Hand-to-hand contact is one of the main avenues of transmission contributing to the spread of rhinovirus infections. In the study researchers compared the effects...

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Good fat cuts heart risk by a fifth, study shows

*A Harvard Medical School study says for every 5% increase in polyunsaturated fat consumption there was a 10% fall in heart disease.The reports adds to the growing evidence about polyunsaturated fats, found in some fish and vegetable oils.The team analyzed the findings from eight previous studies, covering more than 13,000 people, in their research.Saturated fats raise the levels of bad cholesterol that block the arteries to the heart.In comparison, polyunsaturated fats have the opposite effect by increasing the levels of good cholestero...

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Failed college dreams don't spell depression, study finds

*High school seniors, take note: A wise person once said, "It is better to shoot for the stars and miss than aim at the gutter and hit it."That's right on, says Florida State University Sociology Professor John R. Reynolds, who just completed a study to determine whether unrealized educational expectations are associated with depression among adults. Reynolds also is the director of the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy at Florida State.He and co-author Chardie L. Baird, an assistant professor of sociology at Kansas State University, found no long-term emotional costs of aiming high and falling short when it comes to educational aspirations, despite several social psychological theories that would seem to suggest otherwise. The researchers' conclusion: Society should not discourage...

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Selenium Protects Men Against Diabetes, Study Suggests

The role of selenium in diabetes has been controversial, with some studies suggesting that it raises diabetes risk and others finding that it is protective. Now, research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism, has shown that, for men, high plasma selenium concentrations are associated with a lower occurrence of dysglycemia.Tasnime Akbaraly, from the University of Montpellier, worked with a team of researchers to follow 1162 healthy French men and women for nine years, monitoring plasma selenium concentrations and incidence of dysglycemia.She said, "Our results showed that for French elderly males, having plasma selenium concentrations in the top tertile of the population distribution (1.19-1.97 μmol/L) was significantly associated with a lower risk of developing...

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Low levels of vitamin D linked to higher rates of asthma in African American Kids

^StudyResearchers at Children’s National Medical Center have discovered that African American children with asthma in metropolitan Washington, DC, are significantly more likely to have low levels of vitamin D than healthy African American children. This study supports recent research that suggests vitamin D plays a greater role in the body than just keeping bones healthy. Vitamin D deficiency has been recently linked to a variety of non-bone related diseases including depression, autoimmune disorders, and now asthma.“It’s been well-documented that as a group, African Americans are more likely than other racial groups to have low levels of vitamin D,” said Robert Freishtat, MD, MPH, an emergency medicine physician and lead author on the study. “But we were shocked to see that almost all of...

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Studies find treating vitamin D deficiency significantly reduces heart disease risk

Preventing and treating heart disease in some patients could be as simple as supplementing their diet with extra vitamin D, according to two new studiesPreventing and treating heart disease in some patients could be as simple as supplementing their diet with extra vitamin D, according to two new studies at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Murray, Utah.Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute last fall demonstrated the link between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk for coronary artery disease. These new studies show that treating vitamin D deficiency with supplements may help to prevent or reduce a person's risk for cardiovascular disease and a host of other chronic conditions. They also establish what level of vitamin D further enhances that...

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Vitamin D levels have different effects in blacks and whites

Vitamin D is quickly becoming the "go-to" remedy for treating a wide range of illnesses, from osteoporosis to atherosclerosis. However, new evidence from a Wake Forest University School of Medicine study suggests that supplementing vitamin D in those with low levels may have different effects based on patient race and, in black individuals, the supplement could actually do harm.The study is the first to show a positive relationship between calcified plaque in large arteries, a measure of atherosclerosis or "hardening of the arteries," and circulating vitamin D levels in black patients. It appears in the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism."In black patients, lower levels of vitamin D may not signify deficiency to the same extent as in whites," said the study's...

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Short bursts of intense exercise better than long, less strenuous

*High-Intensity Interval Training Is Time-Efficient and Effective, Study SuggestsThe usual excuse of "lack of time" for not doing enough exercise is blown away by new research published in The Journal of Physiology.The study, from scientists at Canada's McMaster University, adds to the growing evidence for the benefits of short term high-intensity interval training (HIT) as a time-efficient but safe alternative to traditional types of moderate long term exercise. Astonishingly, it is possible to get more by doing less!"We have shown that interval training does not have to be 'all out' in order to be effective," says Professor Martin Gibala. "Doing 10 one-minute sprints on a standard stationary bike with about one minute of rest in between, three times a week, works as well in improving muscle...

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Vitamin D and Calcium Interplay Explored

Increasing calcium intake is a common--yet not always successful--strategy for reducing bone fractures. But a study supported in part by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) underscores the importance of vitamin D and its ability to help the body utilize calcium. The study also may explain why increasing calcium alone isn’t always successful in dealing with this problem.Currently, calcium intake recommendations are not tied to vitamin D status, which may explain why markedly different recommended calcium intakes exist among countries. In the United States, the recommended calcium intake is 1,200 milligrams (mg) daily for adults aged 50 and older. The body's skeleton needs adequate dietary calcium to reach its full potential in terms of bone mass. Still, many other factors affect bone mass,...

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Latest Health Research

Most recent health posts:February 20February 3Here's today's summary of health research published since February 21 and my reactions:Now, I definitely have to keep playing soccer until I’m 70:Soccer reduces risk of falls and bone fracturesRegular participation in soccer increases both bone mass and bone density, causes a significant improvement in standing postural balance and improves muscle strength. Together, these effects reduce the risk of falls and bone fractures…. the short- and long-term training effects on bone mineral density were greater for the soccer players than for a similar group of runners… The research shows that 70-year-old men, who have played soccer most of their lives on a recreational basis, have just as good a balance and rapid muscle strength as untrained 30-year-olds...

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February 20 Summary Report

I don’t eat or cook much meat, which is good, as reported here: Frying meat on a gas burner may be more harmful to health than using an electric burner, because of the type of fumes it produces. Cooking fumes produced during high temperature frying have recently been classified as "probably carcinogenic" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).and here:Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are mutagenic compounds that form when meat and fish are cooked at high temperatures especially meats that are grilled, pan-fried, broiled, or barbecued. The National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services categorizes HCAs as human carcinogens that can increase the risk of certain types of cancers.I try to keep a positive attitude, and I'm generally pretty happy and...

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Women who drink moderately appear to gain less weight than nondrinkers

*Red wine bestNormal-weight women who drink a light to moderate amount of alcohol appear to gain less weight and have a lower risk of becoming overweight and obese than non-drinkers, according to a report in the March 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.More than half of American adults drink alcoholic beverages, according to background information in the article. Alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram (with approximately 28 grams per ounce) and alcohol drinking may possibly lead to weight gain through an imbalance of energy consumed and energy burned. However, research has not consistently provided evidence that consuming alcohol is a risk factor for obesity.Lu Wang, M.D., Ph.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, and colleagues studied 19,220...

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Vitamin D lowers kidney cancer risk in men

*Occupational sunlight exposure and kidney cancer risk in menAccording to a new study, men employed in occupations with potential exposure to high levels of sunlight have a reduced risk of kidney cancer compared with men who were less likely to be exposed to sunlight at work. The study did not find an association between occupational sunlight exposure and kidney cancer risk in women. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study is the largest case-control study of kidney cancer to investigate the association with occupational sunlight exposure. The study, however, did not include information on non-occupational sunlight exposure and does not address directly whether sunlight exposure can help prevent kidney cancer.Research suggests that...

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Vitamin D Crucial To Activating Immune Defenses

*Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that Vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune defenses and that without sufficient intake of the vitamin, the killer cells of the immune system – T cells - will not be able to react to and fight off serious infections in the body.For T cells to detect and kill foreign pathogens such as clumps of bacteria or viruses, the cells must first be 'triggered' into action and 'transform' from inactive and harmless immune cells into killer cells that are primed to seek out and destroy all traces of a foreign pathogen.The researchers found that the T cells rely on vitamin D in order to activate and they would remain dormant, 'naïve' to the possibility of threat if vitamin D is lacking in the blood.Chemical Reaction that Enables ActivationIn...

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