In a small Tufts trial of 25 older adults reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, three months of a multivitamin with 30 mg of zinc raised serum zinc and increased the number and effectiveness of T-cells compared with a multivitamin carrying only 5 mg.
Food Consumer
Supplements
Nutrition supplement lowers death risk in hospitalized patients
In an Abbott-supported trial of 652 malnourished patients aged 65 and older hospitalized with heart or lung disease, those given a high-protein supplement with HMB and vitamin D were 50 percent less likely to die within 90 days of discharge. Readmission rates did not differ.
Drug
Paternal x-ray exposure raises childhood leukemia risk
A 2010 case-control study found babies whose fathers had an abdominal x-ray before conception were 17 percent more likely to develop leukemia, 47 percent more likely after more than one x-ray, and over 256 percent more likely if the father had an intravenous pyelogram.
Vitamins
Slowing Parkinson’s with CoQ10, decreasing hospitalizations, and more
Benita Lee's primer on coenzyme Q10 notes the body holds about 2 grams, concentrated in the heart, and needs 30-100 mg from the diet while European and Asian intakes average 3-6 mg. Levels drop with age, smoking and certain diseases, and statins can block a step in its synthesis.
Vitamins
Vitamin E, beta-carotene cut risk of Parkinson's disease
In a Japanese case-control study of 249 Parkinson's patients and 368 controls, high intake of vitamin E and beta-carotene was associated with 55 percent and 44 percent lower risk of the disease. No association appeared for vitamin C, alpha-carotene, cryptoxanthin, vegetables or fruit.
Vitamins
Ascorbate against MSG induced neurotoxicity
Researchers at the University of Navarra reported that glutamate kills dopaminergic neurons by driving oxidative stress, and that vitamin C protected the cells in a laboratory model of human neurons exposed to prolonged glutamate.
Vitamins
Vitamin C prevents esophageal cancer
A dose-response meta-analysis of more than a dozen reports found vitamin C intake inversely associated with esophageal cancer risk, suggesting supplements may cut it by up to 42%, with each additional 50 mg a day linked to a 13% lower risk.
Vitamins
Vitamin C lowers risk of lung cancer
A meta-analysis of 18 reports linked high vitamin C intake to a 17 percent lower rate of lung cancer diagnosis than low intake, with a dose-response pattern of 7 percent lower risk for each additional 100 mg a day. The association was stronger in studies of Americans.
Disease
Potential risk factors for primary brain tumors
A Canadian review links adult primary brain tumors to genetic variants, pesticide exposure, farming or hairdressing work, processed meat and hair dye, and childhood cases to high birth weight and pesticide exposure. A separate meta-analysis tied vitamin C intake to lower glioma risk.
Phytochemicals
Turmeric/curcumin help skin diseases
A systematic review of 18 clinical studies found ten reporting significant improvement in skin conditions, among them acne, alopecia, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and vitiligo, with oral or topical turmeric or curcumin. The reviewers call this early evidence and want more studies.
Drug
Dental CT scan linked to cancer risk
A retrospective cohort study of 505 patients by Taiwanese researchers links dental CT scans to some cancer risk, with mandible scans delivering higher x-ray doses than maxilla scans. Estimated lifetime risk ran from 1 in 16,196 for a 30-year-old woman to 1 in 114,680 for a 70-year-old man.
Chemical
Common flame retardants linked to thyroid diseases in women
A Harvard Chan School study using 2003-2004 NHANES blood samples found women with high PBDE flame retardant levels more likely to have thyroid disease, with higher risk in postmenopausal women and less effect in men. Some PBDEs have been banned since those samples were drawn.
Advisories
Does chocolate really help weight loss?
Johannes Bohannon published a small, weak study claiming chocolate aids weight loss, then revealed on his blog how journals and hundreds of media outlets ran it without questioning its limitations. The piece warns that published findings often deserve less trust.
Supplements
Red grape seed extract helps hyperlipidemia
In a trial of 70 patients with mild to moderate hyperlipidemia, eight weeks of red grape seed extract at 200 mg a day lowered triglycerides, LDL and total cholesterol while raising HDL, apolipoprotein AI and paraoxonase activity.
Diet
Healthy diet lowers breast disease risk
Women who mostly ate a healthy pattern of fish, poultry, eggs, low-fat dairy, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and fruit were 56% less likely to develop benign breast disease than those eating a Western-style pattern, a British Journal of Nutrition study found.
Herbs
Cinnamon Helps Type II Diabetes
Pauline Maddox reviewed 15 trials using one to six grams of cinnamon daily: six showed significantly lower HbA1c and 10 lower fasting glucose. She concludes cinnamon can be recommended, though cassia cinnamon carries coumarin, which can harm the liver at high or prolonged doses.
Supplements
Many natural weight loss pills are adulterated with drugs
Researchers testing 160 “100% natural” weight loss supplements bought online found 56% contained at least one of six prescription drug ingredients, most often sibutramine and phenolphthalein. Some drugs detected were withdrawn years ago because of toxicity.
GMO
News we've all been waiting for
The Institute for Responsible Technology says US food companies are turning from GMOs, citing non-GMO commitments from General Mills, Post, Hershey's, ConAgra, Unilever and others and a survey finding 58% of Americans seek non-GMO brands. It asks for donations to go global.
13770 stories