Diet

17 January 2013
Viagra's surprising weight-loss properties
German scientists investigating why mice given Viagra were resistant to obesity say they have discovered a "quite amazing" anti-obesity effect related to a cell signaling pathway that tells the body how to store fat...

21 November 2012
Stabbed or shot? Drink up
Hospital patients with traumatic injuries such as fractures, internal injuries and open wounds were far more likely to survive if they had consumed alcohol, and the protective effect increased with the amount of alcohol consumed...

17 October 2012
Significant testosterone deficiency found in obese boys
For the first time, medicos have measured testosterone levels in teens of different weights and found that young obese males have up to 50 percent less testosterone, significantly increasing their potential to be impotent and infertile as adults...

2 October 2012
Blood-brain barrier in obese people hotwired for fatty foods
US scientists say diets high in saturated fat and refined sugar appear to cause changes to the blood-brain barrier of obese people that in turn may fuel overconsumption of those same foods and make weight loss more challenging...

27 August 2012
Tackling obesity by manipulating gut flora
Antibiotics could one day be the standard treatment for regulating weight, suggests a new study that examines the interactions between diet, the bacteria in our gut, and our immune systems...

26 July 2012
Hunter-gatherer study contradicts obesity theory
Comparing the lifestyles of modern African hunter-gatherers and Westerners, scientists found no difference in energy expenditure, leading the researchers to posit that diet - rather than lack of exercise - may be the culprit in the obesity epidemic...

18 May 2012
US diet engenders stupidity
A new UCLA study with rodents is the first to show how a diet high in fructose sabotages memory and learning functions in the brain...

30 March 2012
Slow food, better mood
"The more fast food you consume, the greater the risk of depression," say Euro researchers who have linked the consumption of hamburgers, hotdogs and pizza to a significantly greater likelihood of developing depression...

14 March 2012
Trans fats and aggression: the Twinkie defense gets scientific
Researchers have provided the first evidence linking the consumption of trans fats with a range of adverse behaviors, ranging from impatience to overt aggression...

20 December 2011
Lower calorie intake provides brain boost
A low caloric diet changes the chemistry in the brain, enhancing both cognitive performance and memory, a discovery which scientists hope will yield new drugs to arrest the cognitive decline associated with aging...

25 November 2011
BPA levels in canned soup unexpectedly high
In one of the first studies to investigate levels of the chemical bisphenol A in canned food, Harvard researchers recorded unexpectedly high levels of the plastics additive from tinned soups, prompting a warning for consumers of those products...

9 September 2011
Not all trans fats are created equal
Natural trans fats produced by ruminant animals such as dairy and beef cattle are not detrimental to health and in fact show significant positive health effects...

5 September 2011
Switch hands for a healthier diet
Psychologists from the University of Southern California found that popcorn munching moviegoers ate about the same amount of popcorn regardless of whether it was fresh or one-week old, showing that bad eating habits persist even when the food we're eating tastes bad. But when using the non-dominant hand, moviegoers ate much less of the stale than the fresh popcorn, and this worked even for those with strong eating habits...

28 June 2011
Artificial sweeteners contributing directly to diabetes risk
The findings from two new studies have prompted US health scientists to declare that the promotion of diet sodas and aspartame sweeteners as healthy alternatives may be "ill-advised"...

17 June 2011
Childhood eating disorders skyrocketing
A large Asian study reports that an astonishing 16 percent of 10-12 year-olds are vomiting to control their weight and that nascent eating disorders appear to be much more common among boys...

9 May 2011
"Bad" cholesterol not so evil
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) – popularly known as bad cholesterol – turns out to be critical for building muscle mass, and significant lowering of the body's LDL levels can cause serious health problems...

8 February 2011
Processed food cripples young brain
Somewhat unsurprisingly, a new study has found that infants with a higher intake of processed foods during the first three years of their lives had lower IQs. More surprising is the discovery that the cognitive effects relating to these eating habits in early childhood appear to persist into later life - despite any subsequent improvements to dietary intake...

6 January 2011
Benefits of breastfeeding last into adolescence
Breastfeeding appears to confer advantages well beyond infancy, with European researchers reporting significant differences in muscle strength and aerobic capacity when comparing teenagers who were breastfed as infants with others who were not breastfed...

25 November 2010
High protein low GI diet wins weight loss test
Which diet is the most effective for shedding weight? According to researchers who have just completed the world's largest study into diet, one that is high in proteins with less starch calories is the optimum way to lose weight and maintain a healthy BMI...

15 November 2010
Vitamin D brouhaha gets heavy
While public health professionals continue to argue about whether current federal standards for vitamin D intake are too low, a new study has linked vitamin D deficiency to abnormal weight gain in children...

24 August 2010
Water, the simplest appetite control method
An appetite control agent that requires no prescription, has no side-effects and costs almost nothing? A new clinical trial has confirmed that just two 8-ounce glasses of the stuff, taken before meals, enables people to shed pounds. The new miracle elixir? Water...

7 May 2010
Antioxidant supplements found to induce genetic abnormalities
A chance discovery by Cedars-Sinai researchers has shown that high doses of antioxidant nutritional supplements can increase genetic abnormalities in cells, which may predispose the supplement-takers to cancer...

28 April 2010
Soda drinks found to accelerate signs of aging
New research shows that the phosphates in popular sodas accelerate signs of aging and may also increase the prevalence of age-related complications such as kidney disease, cardiovascular calcification and skin atrophy...

27 January 2010
Antioxidants found to impair muscle function
Antioxidants increasingly have been praised for their benefits against disease and aging, but new studies show they can also seriously impair muscle function by limiting oxygen in the bloodstream...

26 January 2010
Traveling into the future... with sugar
Researchers looking into how blood glucose levels impact our thought processes have found that when we have more energy available (higher levels of blood glucose), we tend to be more future-oriented in our decision-making...

21 October 2009
High protein diet shrinks brain
Reported in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration, a study by Alzheimer's researchers has unexpectedly found that a high protein diet, such as the Atkins diet, can lead to a smaller brain...

7 January 2009
Surprising finding from calorie-weight study
An international study has failed to find supporting evidence for the common belief that the number of calories burned in physical activity is a key factor in rising rates of obesity...

8 September 2008
Work smarter, eat harder
An intriguing new study has demonstrated that intellectual work induces a substantial increase in calorie intake. The discovery, contend the researchers involved, could go some way to explaining the current obesity epidemic...

6 August 2008
Prof Pooh-Poohs "Exercise Pill" Reports
An expert in exercise and the human metabolic system has criticized recent media stories about the invention of an "exercise pill" as unrealistic and largely ignorant of the benefits that physical activity has on human physiology...

3 April 2008
Water Intake Guidelines Questioned
A study into the health effects of drinking 8 glasses of water a day reveals that most supposed benefits are not backed by solid evidence...

27 March 2008
Brain Has Sixth Sense For Calories
New research suggests that the brain can “sense” the calories in food, independent of our normal tasting mechanism...

12 July 2007
Antibiotics Absorbed By Vegetables
Antibiotics fed to livestock are contaminating corn, lettuce and potato crops via the cattle manure that is used to fertilize the soil...

6 June 2007
Newly Identified "Starvation Hormone" Behind Low-Carb Diet Effectiveness
The effectiveness of low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets appears to depend on increased levels of what researchers have termed the "starvation hormone"...

20 April 2007
Green Tea Suppresses Inflammatory Autoimmune Response
A compound found in green tea appears to reduce the inflammatory responses associated with autoimmune diseases...

14 March 2007
The Skinny On Bad Fat
All fats are not equal, say researchers who are probing the workings of a particular fat found in the belly, which appears to be a big contributor to diabetes, heart disease and other disorders...

20 September 2006
Fat Gets A Makeover
There is an increasing amount of evidence that too little body fat can have some surprisingly dire consequences on your health...

1 September 2006
Veggie Juice Reduces Risk Of Vegetative State
A specific class of antioxidant found in fruit and vegetable juice could stave off Alzheimer’s disease, particularly for those people genetically predisposed to the disease...

3 August 2006
Obesity's Double-Whammy Effect On Healthcare System
Radiologists are finding that conventional x-ray and CT machines aren't powerful enough to effectively penetrate obese patients...

7 June 2006
New Theory On Green Tea's Medicinal Properties
Is it green tea that helps prevent against cancer and cardiovascular disease in chain-smoking Asian populations? Scientists from Yale University have been investigating what is termed "the Asian paradox"...

24 April 2006
Researchers Give Cholesterol Critics The Finger
Cholesterol has had a lot of bad press, but researchers have now discovered that it’s also responsible for giving us the correct number of fingers and toes...

8 March 2006
Wrong Genes And Coffee’s A Heart Stopper
A cup of coffee in the morning may seem innocuous enough, but some genetically predisposed coffee drinkers may be putting themselves at risk of a heart attack...

10 November 2005
Human Guinea Pig Success For Omega 3 Cancer Treatment
Success with omega-3 fatty acids in animal cancer trials have been repeated in a human subject whose lung cancer has now all but disappeared...

16 September 2005
Savoring The Flavoring
Are wine-buffs coaxed into buying their particular brand of poison just because that’s what current trends dictate? Is an appreciation of haute cuisine no more than a learned social behavior? These are just two of the conclusions you could draw from recent research into taste perception. According to the researchers, one person’s taste is unique from the next, with taste and odor perception being dramatically more complicated than our other sense perceptions. To understand why this is so, scientists have had to study taste at the genetic level…

12 August 2005
Food, Notorious Food
Our ancestors had it pretty tough when it came to feeding the family. Leaving the cave to spear something for dinner was fraught with danger and disappointment. We may have it easier nowadays, but have we swapped nutritional content for convenience? Evidence is mounting that the foods we eat are becoming less and less nutritious thanks to factors that seem beyond our control...

3 December 2004
Nutrients Being Bred Out Of Modern Crops
Important nutrients like protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron and riboflavin are being bred out of modern crops as farmers seek higher yields...

Related:
Emerging Threats
Environmental Factors
News From The Lab
Mental Health
Reproductive Health