A Surgical Neurology International review surveys pre-clinical and clinical work on natural compounds and supplements proposed as neuroprotective for concussion. The authors report abundant animal evidence but say the clinical evidence remains fairly thin.
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Page 26 of 189
Nutrition
Vitamins, minerals, supplements, herbs and diet: the research on how what we eat shapes our health.
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Food
Palmitate may lead to circadian dysregulation
A University of Toronto report in the American Journal of Physiology links high saturated fat intake to circadian dysregulation, obesity and type 2 diabetes, while polyunsaturated fats improved insulin sensitivity. The article argues palm oil is no safe swap for trans fat.
Phytochemicals
Dietary fiber reduces risk of premature death
A meta-analysis drawing on 908,135 participants found each extra 10 grams of daily fiber associated with 11 percent lower risk of premature death, and high intakes with up to 23 percent lower risk. Cereal fiber and, less strongly, vegetable fiber tracked with lower mortality; fruit fiber did not.
Diet
Diet affects stomach cancer risk
In a case-control study of 53 stomach cancer patients and 53 others in Oman, eating bread, beef, cheese, soft drinks and sweet desserts was tied to significantly higher risk, while fruit, vegetables, fruit juice, yogurt, tea and salad were tied to lower incidence.
Herbs
Traditional Chinese medicine helps IBS-D
A four-week randomized trial found the Chinese herbal formula Yigan Fupi Decoction outperformed pinaverium bromide on bowel symptom severity, defecation state and quality-of-life scores in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome.
Diet
Diet low in FODMAPs help irritable bowel syndrome
A study found a diet low in FODMAPs reduced gastrointestinal symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome patients, easing bloating, abdominal pain and passage of wind. Patients in all subtypes were more satisfied with stool consistency, though IBS-D patients had altered stool frequency.
Vitamins
Vitamin C supplements protect sperm in males with diabetes mellitus
In diabetic mice, daily intraperitoneal vitamin C at 10 mg/kg improved sperm count, motility, morphology and viability. The authors conclude the antioxidant can blunt the damage diabetes does to sperm parameters, chromatin quality and apoptosis in this experimental model.
Supplements
Phaleria macrocarpa extract boosts testosterone in males
Male rats given 240 mg/kg of Phaleria macrocarpa fruit extract by gavage for seven weeks showed sharply higher serum testosterone and more frequent mounting. The researchers suggest the plant could improve fertility in men, though they tested it only in rats.
Biotics
Probiotics may prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus
Chinese researchers report that Lactobacillus casei Zhang suppressed high blood sugar in rats made insulin resistant by a high-fat, sucrose diet, and suggest the probiotic works through a microbiota-based bile acid and chloride exchange mechanism.
Supplements
Soy isoflavones may prevent viral infections
Flavonoids including genistein have reduced the infectivity of many human and animal viruses in tests, possibly by affecting viral binding, entry, replication and host cell signaling. Researchers say more work is needed to confirm broad antiviral effects.
Supplements
Nutraceutical fights human papillomavirus, herpes infections
Researchers in Rome report two trials in which a nutraceutical of coenzyme Q10, vitamin E, selenium and L-methionine, added to cryotherapy or acyclovir, sped healing and cut relapses in patients with recurring HPV warts or genital herpes and shingles, alongside lower viral load.
Phytochemicals
Dietary fiber: What you need to know
A question-and-answer piece defining dietary fiber as food polymers that resist digestive enzymes, listing soluble and insoluble types, and citing effects on glucose and lipid metabolism and protection against conditions from constipation and colon cancer to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Biotics
Probiotics help irritable bowel syndrome, constipation
A review of 43 trials found irritable bowel syndrome symptoms were 21 percent less likely to persist in patients taking probiotics, with reported benefits for stomach pain, bloating and flatulence, plus benefit for chronic idiopathic constipation.
Herbs
Taiwanese herb may help arthritis
Doctors at New Taipei City Hospital report that a supplement made from Vitis thunbergii var. taiwaniana, high in flavones and phenols, scavenged free radicals without apparent toxicity and improved some biomarkers in rabbits with drug-induced inflammatory arthritis.
Supplements
Antioxidants may help fight RA
Forty women with rheumatoid arthritis took a supplement of selenium, zinc and vitamins A, C and E for 12 weeks in an Iranian trial, and disease activity improved significantly. The writer notes these nutrients cut oxidative stress, which is linked to RA.
Diet
The dangers of high meat diet
A review in ISRN Nutrition warns that a high-protein diet, which usually means a lot of meat and dairy, is associated with bone and calcium problems and kidney dysfunction. The author notes many consumers do not understand those effects; Americans now eat more than 15 percent protein.
Supplements
Sea buckthorn oil helps vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women
In a randomised trial, 116 postmenopausal women with vaginal dryness, itching or burning took 3 grams of sea buckthorn oil or placebo for three months. The oil significantly improved vaginal epithelial integrity, which the authors call a potential alternative where estrogen is not an option.
Supplements
Ginkgo biloba, multivitamin-multimineral supplement help Parkinson's disease
A case report describes the author's grandfather, whose disabling Parkinson's disease went unrelieved by carbidopa-levodopa. After six weeks on ginkgo biloba 40 mg three times daily plus a multivitamin-multimineral, his falls dropped and tremors improved 80 to 90%.
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