Overweight people with metabolic syndrome who drank at least 8 ounces of low-sodium vegetable juice with a calorie-controlled DASH diet lost four pounds over 12 weeks, against one pound on the diet alone. Juice drinkers also took in more vitamin C and potassium.
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Nutrition
Vitamins, minerals, supplements, herbs and diet: the research on how what we eat shapes our health.
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Food
Pineapple: The true miracle fruit
Pineapple supplies vitamin C along with B1, B6 and magnesium, and its enzyme bromelain aids digestion. The article cites a Duke University Medical Center study finding bromelain effective against bowel disease and a Natural Health editor's claim that it beats drugs at fighting inflammation.
Phytochemicals
Nigella sativa extract may prevent pancreatic cancer
Thymoquinone, the main compound in Nigella sativa oil, almost completely shut down several inflammatory cytokines in pancreatic cancer cells and blocked NF-kappaB, outperforming trichostatin A, Thomas Jefferson researchers reported at the AACR 2009 meeting.
Nutrition
Mother's sun exposure good for offsprings' bones
A UK study of 7,000 ten-year-olds found children whose mothers' final trimester fell in sunny months tended to have larger bones. The authors tie this to maternal vitamin D, and the piece argues pregnant women should keep their levels adequate, mainly through sunlight.
Diet
Veganism has no adverse effect on bone health
Comparing 105 Vietnamese Buddhist nuns with 105 omnivorous women averaging 62 years old, researchers found no significant difference in bone mineral density or body composition, even though the vegans ate much less calcium and protein.
Vitamins
Deficiency of vitamins A and C increases asthma risk
A Nottingham meta-analysis of 40 studies from 1980 to 2007 found people with low intake of vitamin C ran a 12 percent higher asthma risk and also had low vitamin A levels. Vitamin E intake showed no link, though people with severe asthma had very low blood levels of it.
Food
Breast cancer risk reduced by green tea, mushrooms
In a Chinese study of 1,009 breast cancer patients and 1,009 healthy women, the heaviest mushroom eaters were about two-thirds less likely to have the disease, and those eating dried mushrooms 56 percent less likely. Mushrooms and green tea together showed the strongest association.
Food
Garden pea lowers blood pressure
Rats with severe kidney disease given an enzyme-activated pea protein extract showed a 20 percent drop in blood pressure and 30 percent more urine output after eight weeks. Human testing is planned, and eating peas themselves does not confer the same protection.
Diet
Food choices and health indicators
ARS nutritionist Rhonda Sebastian analyzed two 24-hour diet recalls from more than 2,000 NHANES volunteers and found that among adults aged 31 to 50, a greater share of calories from fast food went with a higher BMI. The link did not appear in 19- to 30-year-olds.
Phytochemicals
Lettuce carotenoids affected by UV light in greenhouse
In an Agricultural Research Service greenhouse study, supplemental UV-A plus UV-B light sharply raised carotenoid and chlorophyll levels in green leaf lettuce while slightly lowering them in red varieties, which instead produced more phenolic compounds.
Diet
Neutralizing acidosis and bone loss among mature adults
In a three-month placebo-controlled trial of adults 50 and older led by Bess Dawson-Hughes, 78 volunteers given potassium or sodium bicarbonate, an amount equal to about nine servings of fruit and vegetables, showed significant drops in markers of bone loss and fracture.
Phytochemicals
Nutrient supports bone health over time
Among 213 men and 390 women averaging 75 years old in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study, carotenoid intake was associated with some protection against bone mineral density loss over four years, at the hip in men and the lumbar spine in women. Other bone sites showed no significant link.
Phytochemicals
Berry compound reduces aging effect
Aged rats fed the berry and grape compound pterostilbene reversed measurable effects of aging on brain function and behavior, ARS and Tufts scientists report. Improved working memory tracked with pterostilbene levels in the hippocampus.
Diet
Pomegranate extract may inhibit inflammatory response in cells
In a cell study by University of South Carolina and Case Western Reserve researchers, the pomegranate extract POMx cut production of two pro-inflammatory cytokines in stimulated human mast cells. The team hopes the effect can be replicated in people to head off chronic inflammation.
Nutrition
Probiotics may ease anxiety
In a preliminary trial, 39 people with chronic fatigue syndrome took Lactobacillus casei Shirota or placebo daily for two months. Those on the probiotic had higher fecal Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria and a significant drop in anxiety symptoms; the researchers cannot yet explain why.
Diet
Hibiscus tea shown to lower blood pressure
In a Tufts study of 65 adults with raised blood pressure who took no medication, three daily cups of hibiscus tea for six weeks lowered blood pressure an average 7.2%, against 1.3% on placebo. Participants starting above 129 mm Hg systolic gained significantly more.
Supplements
Omega-3 fatty acids help cancer patients
In a double-blind randomized trial at Trinity College Dublin, esophageal cancer patients given an omega-3-enriched supplement after surgery kept their muscle mass, while those on a supplement without omega-3 lost about 4 pounds of muscle. The doses far exceeded what food provides.
Supplements
Seaweed extract may reduce the need for NSAIDs
In a study of 14 adults with knee osteoarthritis, Aquamin, a seaweed, calcium, magnesium and selenium supplement, was tied to half the NSAID use after two weeks and greater range of motion than placebo after 30 days. Further study is coming, and it also supplies calcium.
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