Diabetes: A Risk Factor For Tuberculosis

One possible risk factor for tuberculosis is diabetes, a condition characterized by high blood sugar levels and long-term complications involving the circulation, eyes and kidneys, and the body’s ability to fight infection.
Active tuberculosis can be cured by taking a combination of several antibiotics every day for at least six months, and current control efforts concentrate [...]

Turmeric Keeps Plastic-Packaged Dill Pickles Fresh

Pickled dills in plastic? Turmeric is the key to freshness.
Who knew that a spice used from ancient times as a coloring agent in foods could also keep plastic-packaged dill pickles fresh?
Unlike glass containers, plastic jars or pouches “breathe,” allowing oxygen and other gases to seep inside over time. This can eventually lead to oxidative off-flavors [...]

Breast Cancer Prevention with Whey Protein

Scientists have found that a modified whey protein prevents breast cancer in some laboratory rats. It’s an important medical discovery, considering that 180,000 U.S. women develop breast cancer each year, and 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer over her lifetime.
Breast cancer is a disease where a mutant cell in the breast forms a [...]

Hyperactivity in Children and Food Additives

A study by researchers at the University of Southampton has shown evidence of increased levels of hyperactivity in young children consuming mixtures of some artificial food colours (dyes) and the preservative sodium benzoate.
The possibility of food colours [dyes] and preservatives affecting children’s behaviour has long been an unresolved question for parents.
This significant new research by [...]

Leptin Supplements: A Promising Weight Loss Treatment?

Since the discovery of leptin in 1994, many have hoped that the hormone would be a promising weight-loss treatment for humans. Leptin acts as a signal to help the body decide when it has eaten enough food to feel full. The amount of leptin in the blood has been directly linked to body fat.

Potassium Food Sources & Food High in Potassium

The richest food sources of potassium are fruits and vegetables. People who eat large amounts of fruits and vegetables have a high potassium intake (8-11 grams/day). (National Academies Press; 2004:173-246).
Listed below are some food sources high in potassium from the USDA National Nutrient Database.
Note the potassium content in bananas compared with tomato products. “Fresh” tomatoes [...]

Autism Symptoms Substantially Improved With Early Intervention

Study shows substantial improvement in autism symptoms with early intervention treatment. Intensive intervention given to toddlers with autism as young as three years old can significantly raise IQ levels, potentially allowing them to benefit from mainstream education, new research has revealed.
Researchers at the University of Southampton, led by Professor Bob Remington of the School of [...]

Rheumatoid Arthritis: Dietary Energy Requirements

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease with three diet-associated aspects. One is elevated resting energy expenditure. Another is elevated whole-body protein catabolism – a destructive form of muscle metabolism that translates to muscle wasting. And yet another is low body cell mass, which leads to increased fat mass.
For some people, the benefits of eating [...]

Alzheimer’s and Dementia Prevention a Step Closer

Scientists at the University of Southampton, funded by the UK’s leading dementia research charity, the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, are a step closer to understanding why proteins such as ‘amyloid’ clog-up the brain in Alzheimer’s disease.

Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs and Alzheimer’s Disease

It has been widely reported that drugs that lower cholesterol may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The role of cholesterol in Alzheimer’s disease is attracting increasing attention from researchers and there are conflicting messages coming form a great deal of reports.
Despite the fact that wide-spread opinion about high levels of cholesterol still remains negative, [...]

Cherries May Help Gout & Arthritis Pain Relief

Natural food treatment may be a remedy for gout and arthritis pain relief. A study suggests that natural compounds in cherries may reduce painful arthritis inflammation.
Cherries already have a reputation for fighting inflammation. So what’s new about the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study carried out by ARS scientists and their university colleagues.
“Our test is among [...]

Depression & Anxiety: MBCT Treatment Part 3

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a treatment program for prevention of relapses in depression and the treatment of anxiety disorders.
Is MBCT an acceptable intervention to patients with depression and anxiety?
The course exercises
There was a wide range of views on the course exercises, in particular the body-scan and walking meditation. While some participants found the [...]

Different Foods Increase or Decrease Leptin Levels

More fat in the diet decreases leptin levels while a diet higher in carbohydrates increases leptin levels according to a study. Leptin, made by the body’s fat cells, is thought to help contribute to satiety, a feeling of fullness.

Leptin and Insulin: The Effects of Glucose and Fructose

An upcoming study should help reveal how two kinds of sugars in our foods, glucose and fructose, affect the body’s production of leptin and insulin.
Agricultural Research Service chemist Nancy L. Keim, Peter J. Havel and Craig H. Warden, a genetics and pediatrics researcher at U.C. Davis, are collaborating in this leptin and insulin investigation.
“When we [...]

Diabetes and Cinnamon

ARS scientists and colleagues have isolated and characterized several polyphenolic polymer compounds from cinnamon bark that could one day become natural ingredients in products aimed at lowering blood sugar levels.
The newly identified chemical structures were recently named in a patent application and described in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. ARS chemist Richard A. [...]

Lowering Cholesterol With Dietary Plant Stanols

Several clinical studies have shown that plant stanol esters are effective agents that lower cholesterol. The ability to lower cholesterol with dietary plant stanol ester has been shown to be sustained for periods up to 12 months, but how soon the full cholesterol lowering effect of plant stanol esters can be obtained, is still unclear.
Plant [...]