Author Archive
Vitamin C RDA should be doubled to reduce risk of stroke, cancer, heart disease
The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, of vitamin C is less than half what it should be, scientists argue in a recent report, because medical experts insist on evaluating this natural, but critical nutrient in the same way they do pharmaceutical drugs and reach faulty conclusions as a result. This is far from the only example of RDAs being [...]
Onion’s antioxidant potential may offer brain benefits
Supplementing the diet with onion and extracts from the vegetable may protect the brain from additional damage linked to stroke, suggests preliminary data from a study with mice. According to findings published in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrition , the antioxidant potential of onion extracts was associated with higher activity of antioxidant enzymes and lower [...]
Iron Supplements Fight Fatigue
Some women with unexplained fatigue may get a bit more pep from iron supplements – even if they do not have full-blown anemia, a new clinical trial suggests. The study focused on women who were chronically tired and had relatively low iron stores. They did not, however, have full-blown iron-deficiency anemia, in which the [...]
Soy Reduces Inflammation
A study in this month’s Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics shows that soy products have a marked anti-inflammatory effect. Researchers examined the diets and measures of inflammation in 1,005 middle-aged Chinese women who were part of the Shanghai Women’s Health Study. The more soy products the women consumed, the less inflammation they experienced. Inflammation [...]
‘Dessert’ with breakfast boosts weight loss
Starting your morning with a high-protein food and a “dessert” — such as a doughnut or a slice of cake — may help you lose weight and keep it off, a new study suggests. However, several nutritionists said they weren’t ready yet to embrace the study’s conclusions. When researchers from Tel Aviv University’s Wolfson Medical [...]
Juice concentrate supplement may aid childhood weight loss
A supplement made from fruit and vegetable concentrates could help boost health and fight fat in overweight children, say researchers. The study – published in The Journal of Pediatrics – investigated the effects of supplementation with an encapsulated fruit and vegetable juice concentrate (FVJC) along with nutritional counseling on fat levels (adiposity), serum beta-carotene, retinol, [...]
Coffee May Prevent Diabetes and Heart Disease
There’s now one more reason to get your morning fuel from coffee: it’s good for your heart, according to new research. The study, published in an American Heart Association journal, comes from the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical. Based on their findings, researchers now believe drinking two cups of coffee a day [...]
How Anti-Oxidants Can Change Your Life
Antioxidants deserve more attention because they help to remove free radicals or unstable molecules, which can lead to cancer and even premature aging. They are unstable in the sense that they have an incomplete number of electrons around them, which makes them more reactive then their balanced counterparts. Humans typically produce oxygen-containing molecules, which will [...]
Raisins as Effective as Sports Chews for Fueling Workouts
If you’re active, chances are pretty good that you’ve probably encountered some form of gel, goo, or sports chew. These products are touted as a convenient way to stay fueled on a long run, ride, hike, or other endurance activity. But they’re also kind of strange. There’s just something unnatural about the taste and texture [...]
Study unlocks cholesterol-lowering activity of blueberry
The potential cardiovascular benefits of blueberry may be related to the berries’ anthocyanins interacting with bile acids to promote cholesterol reduction, suggests data from a study with hamsters. Dietary supplementation with 0.5 and 1% blueberry anthocyanins was associated with 37 and 66% increases in bile acid excretion, according to data published in the European Journal [...]
