Diet
Children's fruit drinks need clearer labels
Health and nutrition experts recommend that children do not consume drinks with added sugars or nonnutritive sweeteners, yet drinks containing both represent a major portion of beverages consumed by children. One reason may be that the labels of drinks marketed to kids do not help parents and other consumers differentiate among fruit juice and sugar-laden, artificially flavored drinks, finds research from NYU School of Global Public Health. While the FDA regulates drink labels, it permits a wide range of names, claims, and fruit images on packaging that do not necessarily reflect the... more »
Mediterranean diet helps preserve cognitive function
According to a recent analysis of data from two major eye disease studies, adherence to the Mediterranean diet - high in vegetables, whole grains, fish, and olive oil - correlates with higher cognitive function. Dietary factors also seem to play a role in slowing cognitive decline. Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health, led the analysis of data from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and AREDS2. They published their results today in the journal *Alzheimer's and Dementia*. "We do not always pay attention to our diets. We nee... more »
Fruit may mask taste of dark green vegetables in commercial baby foods
Commercially prepared baby foods that purport to be loaded with dark green vegetables are sweetened with fruit puree and often don't contain a high percentage of dark green vegetable content, according to a team of researchers. The resulting lack of dark green vegetable taste matters, said team leader John Hayes, associate professor of food science at Penn State, because young children don't learn to like the taste of broccoli, spinach, brussels sprouts and kale, to name a few, unless they repeatedly are exposed to them. So, they may not want to eat them later. "Other research indic... more »
Fiber consumption linked to lower breast cancer risk
Consuming a diet high in fiber was linked with a reduced incidence of breast cancer in an analysis of all relevant prospective studies. The findings are published early online in *CANCER*, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society (ACS). Because studies have generated inconsistent results regarding the potential relationship between fiber intake and breast cancer, Maryam Farvid, PhD, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and her colleagues searched for all relevant prospective studies published through July 2019. When the investigators pooled data from the 20... more »
Heavy drinking into older age adds 4 cm to waistline
More than half of drinkers aged 59 and over have been heavy drinkers and this is linked to a significantly larger waistline and increased stroke risk, according to a new UCL study. The study, published in the journal *Addiction*, examined the association between heavy drinking over a lifetime and a range of health indicators including cardiovascular disease. The researchers used data from the Whitehall II cohort, which collected information from UK civil servants, aged 34-56 years at study outset, since 1985-88. The final sample for this study was made up of 4,820 older adults, aged... more »
Health-promoting antioxidants in coffee brewed without heat can differ significantly from a cup of joe prepared the traditional way, particularly for dark roasts
------------------------------ Cold brew may be the hottest trend in coffee-making, but not a lot is known about how this process alters the drink's chemical characteristics. Scientists now report that the content of potentially health-promoting antioxidants in coffee brewed without heat can significantly differ from a cup of joe prepared with the same beans in the traditional way, particularly for dark roasts. The researchers are presenting their results through the American Chemical Society (ACS) SciMeetings online platform. "This study can inform coffee enthusiasts about how they ... more »
Foods high in vitamin D may benefit heart health
Consuming foods high in vitamin D may have heart-protective effects, according to new research published in the *Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics*. The study was conducted during 2001-2012 and included 1,514 men and 1,528 women from the greater Athens area, in Greece. In the lowest, middle, and highest categories of vitamin D intake, cardiovascular events (such as heart attacks and strokes) occurred in 24%, 17%, and 12% of men and 14%, 10%, and 11% of women. In contrast with vitamin D supplementation trials that have shown modest to neutral beneficial effects on heart health... more »
Drinking green tea may help with food allergies
SHINSHU UNIVERSITY SHARE PRINT E-MAIL [image: IMAGE] IMAGE: GRAPH OF ORAL ADMIN OF FP AUGMENTING THE IMMUNE RESPONSE. view more CREDIT: TASUKU OGITA PH.D., THE INSTITUTE FOR BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES, SHINSHU UNIVERSITY, JAPAN. Research findings suggest gut microbes can effect allergic immune responses. Tasuku Ogita who has recently joined Shinshu University is an expert on teas and their effects on gut bacteria. In this study, his team looked at green tea and the abundance of Flavonifractor plautii (FP) bacteria found in the gut. FP has been reported to be a part of the catechin me... more »
Exercise
Improving cognitive performance: coordinated and challenging sports that require complex movement patterns and interaction with fellow players are significantly more effective
E-MAIL A healthy body is home to a healthy mind: sporting activity can improve your cognitive performance. However, there are numerous different types of sports and a wide range of exercise and training. Which type and how much exercise will keep your mind in top shape? This is the question that has been explored by researchers at the University of Basel and their colleagues at the University of Tsukuba in Japan through a large-scale analysis of the scientific literature. They have used this analysis to derive recommendations that they recently published in the journal *Nature Hu... more »
COVID-19: Exercise may protect against deadly complication
Regular exercise may reduce the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome, a major cause of death in patients with the COVID-19 virus, a top exercise researcher reports. He is urging people to exercise based on his findings, which also suggest a potential treatment approach. A review by Zhen Yan, PhD, of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, showed that medical research findings "strongly support" the possibility that exercise can prevent or at least reduce the severity of ARDS, which affects between 3% and 17% of all patients with COVID-19. Based on available information,... more »
The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) has developed five facts for contact lenses or glasses / spectacles: 1. People Can Keep Wearing Contact Lenses. There is currently no scientific evidence that contact lens wearers have an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 compared with glasses / spectacles wearers. Patients should consult their eye care practitioners with questions. 2. Good Hygiene Habits are Critical. Thorough handwashing and drying are essential, as well as properly wearing and caring for contact lenses, ensuring good contact lens case hygi... more »
Loss of smell and taste validated as COVID-19 symptoms
SHARE PRINT E-MAIL [image: IMAGE] IMAGE: CAROL YAN, MD, AN OTOLARYNGOLOGIST AND HEAD AND NECK SURGEON AT UC SAN DIEGO HEALTH. view more CREDIT: UC SAN DIEGO HEALTH SCIENCES Loss of smell and taste has been anecdotally linked to COVID-19 infections. In a study published April 12, 2020 in the journal*International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology*, researchers at UC San Diego Health report the first empirical findings that strongly associate sensory loss with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. "Based on our study, if you have smell and taste loss, you ... more »
Cronavirus: Normal speech may produce enough aerosolized particles
------------------------------ Normal speech by individuals who are asymptomatic but infected with coronavirus may produce enough aerosolized particles to transmit the infection, according to aerosol scientists at the University of California, Davis. Although it's not yet known how important this is to the spread of COVID-19, it underscores the need for strict social distancing measures -- and for virologists, epidemiologists and engineers who study aerosols and droplets to work together on this and other respiratory diseases. Aerosols are particles small enough to travel through the... more »
Potential harms of chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for treating COVID-19
Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin are being used to treat and prevent COVID-19 despite weak evidence for effectiveness, and physicians and patients should be aware of the drugs' potentially serious adverse events, states a review in *CMAJ*(*Canadian Medical Association Journal*). "Physicians and patients should be aware of several rare but potentially life-threatening adverse effects of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine," says Dr. David Juurlink, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and a senior scientist at ICES. The r... more »
General Health
Parents who are using popular low-riding pushchairs could be exposing their babies to alarming levels of air pollution,
In a paper published by *Environment International*, experts from Surrey's Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) investigated the amount of harmful air pollutants babies potentially inhale while out in a pram with their parents or carers. The study looked at three different pushchair types -- single pushchairs facing the road, single pushchair facing the adult and double pushchairs facing the road -- and assessed the difference in concentration of pollutants compared to those experienced by adults. The GCARE team also investigated whether pushchair covers altered exposure lev... more »
Early bedtime may help children maintain healthy weight
Going to bed early and following a consistent bedtime routine may help reduce children's risk of becoming overweight or obese, according to a new study published in *Acta Paediatrica*. In the study of 1,258 Indigenous Australian children with an average age of 6 years, children who consistently went to bed late experienced greater weight gain over several years than those who went to bed early. The findings highlight the importance of looking beyond sleep duration and highlighting the benefits of early bedtimes for children. "While we know it can be hard to get children to bed early, ... more »
Excess weight during pre-school linked to higher bone fracture risk
Pre-school children who are overweight or obese have a higher risk of bone fractures during childhood than normal weight pre-schoolers, according to a study published in the *Journal of Bone and Mineral Research*. The study included 466,997 children with weight and height measurements at age 4 years who were followed for a median of 4.9 years. Fractures occurred in 9.20% of underweight, 10.06% of normal weight, 11.28% of overweight, and 13.05% of obese children. Compared with normal weight, overweight and obesity were linked with 42% and 74% higher risks of lower limb fractures, resp... more »
Supplements , Treatments
Probiotics may help treat acne
Acne is caused by chronic inflammation and is often treated with antibiotics. A recent analysis published in *Dermatologic Therapy* indicates that probiotics may be an effective alternative. The analysis examined the results of all relevant published studies on the use of probiotics in creams or oral medications for treating acne. The results suggest that probiotics may help augment the skin's natural defenses against acne. "Further research is recommended that looks into the long-term effects of probiotics on acne lesions given the short-term type of studies cited," said senior aut... more »
Daily users with severe pain report worsening health OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY SHARE PRINT E-MAIL COLUMBUS, Ohio - Medical marijuana users who say they have high levels of pain are more likely than those with low pain to say they use cannabis three or more times a day, a new study finds. However, daily marijuana users with severe pain also reported their health had become worse in the past year. The results don't necessarily mean that marijuana is not effective in treating at least some kinds of pain, according to the researchers. But it suggests more research is needed before marij... more »
Treatment relieves depression in 90% of participants in small study
A new form of magnetic brain stimulation rapidly relieved symptoms of severe depression in 90% of participants in a small study conducted by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The researchers are conducting a larger, double-blinded trial in which half the participants are receiving fake treatment. The researchers are optimistic the second trial will prove to be similarly effective in treating people whose condition hasn't improved with medication, talk therapy or other forms of electromagnetic stimulation. The treatment is called Stanford Accelerated Intellige... more »
Hangover drug shows wider benefits in USC research
A well-known hangover drug not only helps soothe pounding headaches but also triggers profound changes that protect the liver, USC scientists report in new findings that could help prevent alcohol-related harm. The study focuses on dihydromyricetin (DHM), also known as ampelopsin, an over-the-counter herbal remedy. When researchers at the USC School of Pharmacy sought to understand how it works, their investigation revealed a sequence of metabolic changes responsible not only for easing headaches but also benefitting the liver. "We know DHM helps the body to metabolize alcohol faster... more »
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