Alternative Health News

The blueberry, already labeled a 'super fruit' for its power to potentially lower the risk of heart disease and cancer, also could be another weapon in the war against Alzheimer's disease. New research being presented today further bolsters this idea, which is being tested by many teams. The fruit is loaded with healthful antioxidants, and these substances could help prevent … [Read more...]

It’s used by almost every doctor who has ever practiced medicine. But after two centuries of use, the stethoscope is finally getting an update that can help in the doctor’s office … or from half-way around the world. Thanks to his trusted stethoscope, Cardiologist at Orlando Health, Arnold Einhorn, MD, has detected tell-tale hints of missed beats or leaky lungs for a quarter … [Read more...]

Younger and older women tend to lose lean muscle mass, along with fat, unless they engage in physical activity before they attempt weight loss, a new study from Israel finds. The results were presented at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Societ. "To preserve muscle in metabolic syndrome, irrespective of age, exercise should … [Read more...]

Mice exposed to the fungicide tolyfluanid (TF) showed metabolic changes similar to those that signify the development of the metabolic syndrome. The results, which were presented Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions including increased blood pressure, high blood … [Read more...]

An enhanced diet helped reduce hearing loss in mice with the genetic mutation most commonly responsible for childhood deafness, new research suggests. The study found that an antioxidant regimen of beta carotene (precursor to vitamin A), vitamins C and E and magnesium helped slow progression of hereditary deafness in the mice with a connexin 26 gene deletion. Mutations in … [Read more...]

A recent Finnish study showed that individualized and family-based lifestyle counseling helps 6-8-year-old children increase their physical activity levels and improve their diet quality during a two-year follow-up. The results of the study conducted at the University of Eastern Finland were recently published in Preventive Medicine. "Children from families who participated … [Read more...]

Vitamin C and E supplements may blunt the improvement of muscular endurance -- by disrupting cellular adaptions in exercised muscles, suggests a new study published in The Journal of Physiology. As vitamin C and E supplements are widely used, understanding if they interfere with cellular and physiological adaptations to exercise is of interest to people exercising for health … [Read more...]

Dr Kinesh Patel and Dr Kate Tatham say most medications prescribed in primary care contain animal derived products and it is unclear whether they are suitable for vegetarians. They call for improved labeling, similar to those on food, to help inform doctors, pharmacists and patients about the content of medicines. And they stress that concerned patients should not stop … [Read more...]

Researchers have provided the first functional analysis of a member of a family of transporter proteins implicated in diabetes, obesity, and lifespan. Members of the SLC13 transporter family play a key role in the regulation of fat storage, insulin resistance, and other processes. Some SLC13 transporters mediate the transport of Krebs cycle intermediates -- compounds … [Read more...]

A number of frail, older hospital patients in the UK who are either malnourished or at risk of malnutrition may currently go unreported, according to the findings of a new clinical study. The research, which aimed to investigate and compare the ability to predict malnutrition in a group of frail, older hospital patients using current nutritional risk screening tools, … [Read more...]

Individuals with celiac disease often experience 'brain fog' in addition to intestinal problems, but a new study shows that adhering to a gluten-free diet can lead to improvements in cognition that correlate with the extent of intestinal healing. The Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics findings indicate that ridding the diet of gluten may help address problems that … [Read more...]

Infants as young as six months old tend to expect that plants are food sources, but only after an adult shows them that the food is safe to eat, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The findings show that, after watching an adult put part of a plant and part of a human-made object in her mouth, … [Read more...]

It has been twenty years since federal law made Nutrition Facts a required part of food packages. Almost certainly you have found yourself at the supermarket or in your kitchen staring at those labels, trying to make sense of the many numbers that quantify fat, cholesterol and calorie content along with other measures of how healthy (or unhealthy!) a food is to eat. The Food … [Read more...]

What young men and women expect from their sexual relationships is influenced in different ways by the television programmes they watch, according to a new study in Communication Monographs. Hilary Gamble and Leslie R. Nelson studied the effect of 'relationship television', that is, programmes which feature romantic relationships and themes, on 18-25 year olds. Their … [Read more...]

At some point, virtually every child gets a stomachache. Fortunately, it's usually short-lived and not cause for concern. But what happens when a child's stomach troubles -- including pain and constipation or diarrhea -- don't go away? Harry Cynamon, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), talks about the elusive nature of irritable … [Read more...]

Ron Schmidt was on an Alaskan cruise a year ago when he noticed he had trouble swallowing. "I joked with my friends that I was a slow eater and urged them to continue on to dessert but I knew something was wrong," says the retired outplacement counselor. Schmidt talked to his primary care doctor who referred him to an ear, nose and throat specialist. "They thought it was … [Read more...]

A study published Feb. 21 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) provides clinical evidence of the safety and effectiveness of a new magnetic medical device to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Santiago Horgan, MD, professor of surgery at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and study co-author, was the first surgeon in the United States … [Read more...]

How do epileptic seizures develop? A new model from the Universities of Bonn and Oldenburg may help to answer this question. Physicists at the Universities of Bonn and Oldenburg have developed a model whose behavior -- although based on strict rules -- can apparently change spontaneously. There are also changes of this type in nature, for example, in the development of migraine … [Read more...]

When middle school youth listen to rap music for three or more hours each day, they are more likely to believe that their peers are having sex and subsequently more likely to initiate sex by ninth grade, according to a study by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The findings were recently published in the Journal of Adolescent … [Read more...]

A Chapman University psychologist and his interdisciplinary research team have just published a study examining the sexual satisfaction -- or dissatisfaction -- of heterosexual couples in long-term relationships, and what contributes to keeping sexual passion alive. In one of the largest studies to date that scientifically examines what contributes to a satisfying long-term sex … [Read more...]

Scientists in China have finally succeeded in creating functioning sperm from mice in the laboratory. To accomplish this feat, the researchers coaxed mouse embryonic stem cells to turn into functional sperm-like cells, which were then injected into egg cells to produce fertile mouse offspring. The work, reported February 25 in Cell Stem Cell, provides a platform for generating … [Read more...]

A sweeter version of a widely used plant-derived sweetener is on the way. Researchers have found a way to make thaumatin -- one of the sweetest natural sugar substitutes on the market -- even sweeter. "Making natural sweeteners stronger could be a huge plus to the food industry, especially as there are concerns regarding the consumption of low-calorie sugar substitutes to … [Read more...]

ew research findings indicate that an early onset of dietary treatment may slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The study was conducted on mice, and the results will be published in the February issue of Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland played a key role in the study, which was carried out as part of the … [Read more...]

A new paper published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease provides evidence that cooking foods at high temperatures increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease. This study looked at the content of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in national diets and clinical studies comparing and compared total AGEs to Alzheimer's disease rates. AGEs are a group of compounds that are … [Read more...]

Married couples in low- and middle-income countries around the world that use contraception are having more frequent sexual intercourse than those that do not, new research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests. In findings being presented at the International Conference on Family Planning in Nusa Dua, Indonesia, researchers from the Johns Hopkins … [Read more...]

Dr Kinesh Patel and Dr Kate Tatham say most medications prescribed in primary care contain animal derived products and it is unclear whether they are suitable for vegetarians. They call for improved labeling, similar to those on food, to help inform doctors, pharmacists and patients about the content of medicines. And they stress that concerned patients should not stop … [Read more...]

Fitness bands make it easy for anyone with weight loss or other health goals to track their physical activity and calories burned. The bands, like any accessory, come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes, but an Iowa State University study found not all devices are created equal. Researchers tested eight different activity monitors to determine the accuracy of each … [Read more...]

As Valentine’s Day approaches, love is in the air. One sure-fire way to express love towards someone, be it a partner or even a child, is with a kiss. A recent study in Laterality demonstrates how the direction turned during a kiss differs depending on whether the kiss is shared between romantic partners or between a parent and child. Previous studies suggest couples favour … [Read more...]

High school students going to bed between 10 and 11 p.m. on weekdays get better grades. There is a strong relationship between sleep problems and poor academic performances among adolescents, a new study demonstrates. The study is published in Journal of Sleep Research, and shows that the less the adolescent sleep -- the worse the grades get on average. "Our findings … [Read more...]