Blogs/News

  It’s not the caffeine that promotes a long life, according to a new study. Drinking two to three cups of coffee a day is associated with a longer lifespan and lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with avoiding coffee. And -- these findings applied to decaffeinated varieties. "In this large, observational study, ground, instant and decaffeinated coffee were associated with equivalent reductions in the incidence of cardiovascular disease and death from cardiovascular disease or any cause," said study author Professor Peter Kistler. "The results suggest that mild to moderate intake of ground, instant and decaffeinated coffee should be considered...

  Approximately 42 percent of the U.S. adult population is obese, a state that contributes to the onset of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and other conditions. In the battle against obesity, ceasing to eat after dinner may help. Up until now, few studies have comprehensively investigated the simultaneous effects of late eating (or midnight snacking) on the three main factors in body weight regulation and thus obesity risk: regulation of calorie intake, the number of calories you burn, and molecular changes in fat tissue. "We wanted to test the mechanisms that may explain why late eating increases obesity risk,"...

Researchers found that men who consumed high rates of ultra-processed foods were at higher risk for developing colorectal cancer than those who did not In a new study, researchers linked the consumption of ultra-processed foods and higher colorectal cancer incidence in men. They found that men who consumed high rates of ultra-processed foods had a 29% higher risk for developing colorectal cancer than men who consumed much smaller amounts. The researchers did not find the same association in women. For many Americans, the convenience of pre-cooked and instant meals may make it easy to overlook the less-than-ideal nutritional information, but...

An extensive meta-analysis suggests that vitamin D supplementation may alleviate depressive symptoms in adults with depression. Conducted by an international team of researchers, the meta-analysis includes dozens of studies from around the world. Depressive symptoms cause a significant disease burden worldwide. The therapeutic efficacy of current antidepressants is often insufficient, which is why further ways to alleviate the symptoms of depression have been sought, for example, from nutritional research. Vitamin D is believed to regulate central nervous system functions the disturbances of which have been associated with depression. In addition, cross-sectional studies have observed an association between depressive symptoms and...

Diet matters not only for weight loss/management but for future health. One study, recently published, looked at the dietary habits of women and their risk of breaking a hip. The study of over 26,000 middle-aged women revealed those with a vegetarian diet had a 33% higher risk of hip fracture compared to regular meat-eaters. University of Leeds research investigated the risk of hip fracture in occasional meat-eaters; pescatarians, people who eat fish but not meat; and vegetarians compared to regular meat-eaters. Among 26,318 women, 822 hip fracture cases were observed over roughly 20 years -- that represented just over 3% of...