Nutrition & Wellness News

While taste drives most food choices, eating nutrient-rich foods that provide the most nutrition per calorie is one of the best ways to "Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right," according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. As part of the 2014 National Nutrition Month® theme, the Academy encourages everyone to choose the most nutritionally-packed foods you can from each of the … [Read more...]

Eating a vegetarian diet appears to be associated with lower blood pressure (BP), and the diets can also be used to reduce blood pressure. Factors such as diet, body weight, physical activity and alcohol intake play a role in the risk of developing hypertension. Dietary modifications have been shown to be effective for preventing and managing hypertension. The authors … [Read more...]

A team of volunteers ate half a kilo of strawberries a day for a month to see whether it altered their blood parameters in any way. At the end of this unusual treatment, their levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides reduced significantly, according to the analyses conducted by Italian and Spanish scientists. Several studies had already demonstrated the antioxidant … [Read more...]

High prices for fresh fruits and vegetables are associated with higher Body Mass Index (BMI) in young children in low- and middle-income households, according to American University researchers in the journal Pediatrics. "There is a small, but significant, association between the prices of fruit and vegetables and higher child BMI," said Taryn Morrissey, the study's lead … [Read more...]

With the recent rise in popularity of naturally-derived supplements to maintain a healthy body, there has been a great deal of attention toward development of the so-called "brain foods," which can enhance brain function. Of particular importance is the natural red pigment astaxanthin (ASX) abundant in both salmon and in crustaceans such as shrimp and crab. ASX has a powerful … [Read more...]

Researchers studied the effect that the addition of almonds can have on a person's diet quality, based on data collected from 28 parent-child pairs living in North Central Florida. The parents were instructed to eat 1.5 ounces of whole almonds each day during the three-week intervention portion of the research period, and the children were encouraged to eat half an ounce of … [Read more...]

Women with weight problems were more impulsive than average in a food-related psychology test, a new research paper has shown. This suggested that they are more instinctively stimulated by images of food as well as lacking contemplative will power. Further, some women reported food craving even if they had eaten recently, a symptom of possible food addiction. "All addictions … [Read more...]

White-bread lovers take heart. Scientists are now reporting that this much-maligned food seems to encourage the growth of some of our most helpful inhabitants -- beneficial gut bacteria. In addition to this surprising find, their study in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry also revealed that when looking at effects of food on our "microbiomes," considering the … [Read more...]

People with diets higher in protein, especially from fish, may be less likely to have a stroke than those with diets lower in protein, according to a meta-analysis published in the June 11, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "The amount of protein that led to the reduced risk was moderate -- equal to 20 grams per day," … [Read more...]

Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology identify links between the palatability of various tastes and circulation in different parts of the face. Tastes deemed 'pleasant' increase blood flow in the eyelid according to a recent study by Hideaki Kashima, Yuka Hamada and Naoyuki Hayashi from the Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Kyushu University and Tokyo Institute of … [Read more...]

Researchers have identified a peptide and hormone that when administered to a specific area of the brain may reduce the desire for food. The study, which appears in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, may one day lead to medications that treat obesity and binge eating disorders. Obesity is a complex disorder affecting more than 78 million Americans which involves an … [Read more...]

As high doses of green tea extract supplements for weight loss become more popular, potential liver toxicity becomes a concern. In the last decade, dozens of people have been diagnosed with the condition. However, drinking green tea in the weeks before taking supplements likely reduces risk, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural … [Read more...]

Lingonberries almost completely prevented weight gain in mice fed a high-fat diet, a study at Lund University in Sweden has found -- whereas the 'super berry' açai led to increased weight gain. The Scandinavian berries also produced lower blood sugar levels and cholesterol. The Lund University research team used a type of mouse that easily stores fat and therefore can be … [Read more...]

All those people who've been telling us for years that we should eat more healthy foods and cut our calories -- stop, take a moment, and celebrate. It appears that we actually listened. A new, extensive study from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Gillings School of Global Public Health says that it wasn't the Great Recession or any economic downturn that … [Read more...]

Time to adjust an old adage: It's the phytochemicals in the apple each day that keep the doctor away. A combination of plant chemicals, such as flavanoids and polyphenols -- collectively known as phytochemicals -- found both within the flesh of apple and particularly in the skin -- provide the fruit's anti-oxidant and anti-cancer benefits, say Cornell food scientists. Their … [Read more...]

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved lisdexamfetamine dimesylate, under the brand name Vyvanse, to treat moderate to severe binge eating disorder (BED) in adults, a first of its kind prescription drug specifically indicated for BED. "TOS has long supported new tools to assist with treating obesity," says Martin Binks, PhD, TOS Secretary … [Read more...]

In the largest study of its kind, an international team of experts led by Newcastle University, UK, has shown that both organic milk and meat contain around 50% more beneficial omega-3 fatty acids than conventionally produced products. Analyzing data from around the world, the team reviewed 196 papers on milk and 67 papers on meat and found clear differences between organic … [Read more...]

Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have found that a daily dose of beetroot juice significantly improved exercise endurance and blood pressure in elderly patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF). The study is published in the current online edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology-Heart Failure. Exercise … [Read more...]

Aging is associated with a number of changes that cause the body to function less efficiently, including the way the body controls water and sodium levels. Research has shown that as humans and animals age, they are less able to regulate sodium and water retention, urine concentration and thirst compared to their younger counterparts. A new article in the American Journal of … [Read more...]

Alzheimer´s disease (AD) is the most common disease underlying memory problems and dementia in the elderly. One of the invariable pathologies in AD is degeneration of cholinergic synapses in brain cortex and hippocampus. Despite enormous effort to find out an efficient treatment, current pharmacological interventions are limited to a few drugs that alleviate symptoms but do not … [Read more...]

Almost all of our genes may be influenced by the food we eat, suggests new research published today in the journal Nature Microbiology. The study, carried out in yeast -- which can be used to model some of the body's fundamental processes -- shows that while the activity of our genes influences our metabolism, the opposite is also true and the nutrients available to cells … [Read more...]

Most people are aware that rye bread is healthy, but not many know that what makes bread a healthy food is not only vitamins, minerals, protein and fibre. Rye bread and other wholegrain foods contain a particular group of health-promoting substances. These bioactive go by the name of benzoxazinoids, or BX for short. Their presence in wholegrain was discovered by scientists … [Read more...]

Researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de València have obtained new products fermented with probiotic bacteria from grains and nuts -- what is known as plant-based or vegetable "milks" -- which are an alternative to conventional yogurts. The products are specially designed for people with allergies to cow's milk, lactose or gluten intolerance, as well as children and … [Read more...]

Healthy adults should consume between 20 percent and 35 percent of their calories from dietary fat, increase their consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, and limit their intake of saturated and trans fats, according to an updated position paper from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The position paper "Dietary Fatty Acids for Healthy Adults" has been published in the … [Read more...]

Women who eat more high-fiber foods during adolescence and young adulthood--especially lots of fruits and vegetables--may have significantly lower breast cancer risk than those who eat less dietary fiber when young, according to a new large-scale study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study will be published online February 1, 2016 in … [Read more...]

It's a fishy situation: On the one hand, multiple scientific studies have found that eating seafood helps protect against dementia. On the other hand (or fin), seafood also is a source of the element mercury, which has been thought to cause damage to cells in the brain, contributing to cognitive impairment. Now a study lead by researchers from Rush University Medical Center … [Read more...]

The recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, for vitamin C should be officially doubled to a new level of 120 milligrams per day, researchers conclude in a new report, with potential benefits for everything from heart disease to cataracts and cancer. The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by scientists from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon … [Read more...]

A diet with a high intake of beta carotene, vitamins C and E, and zinc is associated with a substantially reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration in elderly persons, according to a study in the December 28 issue of JAMA. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative disorder of the macula, the central part of the retina, and is the most common cause of … [Read more...]

Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy have discovered that a compound found in the natural food additive annatto prevents the formation of cancer cells and skin damage from UV radiation in mice. In the future the compound, bixin, may be valuable in the prevention and treatment of human skin cancers. Georg Wondrak, PhD, associate professor, and Donna … [Read more...]