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A low salt diet is usually recommended for people who have high blood pressure. The study referred to here investigated the effect of salt reduction on vascular function by measuring artery flow-mediated vasodilation (widening of blood vessels) (Dickinson KM, et al, 2009). The researchers compared measurements after 2 weeks of...

This may not be what you want to hear, but there are some interesting evidence why it makes sense to reduce the intake of red meat and processed meat. The study reviewed here investigated the relations of red, white and processed meat intake to the risk for total and cause...

            Potato chips have never been considered a healthy food and the study referred to here provides even more evidence for how unhealthy it is. The study was small, but interesting since several inflammatory markers were measured (Naruszewicz M, et al.). The participants were both...

  The glycemic index is a way to rate how high a certain food will raise the blood sugar when compared to glucose or white bread. The higher the glycemic index of a food the higher it will raise the blood sugar. Glycemic load is another way to rate food...

  Menopause can be a difficult time for some women, but it may not have to be that problematic. There are several things which can be done to make it easier. A healthy diet and exercise have for example shown to be helpful, but a simple thing as taking a...

A lot of evidence is suggesting that a large part of the population have suboptimal levels of vitamin D. The research referenced here reviewed the evidence that vitamin D deficiency is associated with cardiovascular disease and also the evidence that supplementation of vitamin D is associated with reduction in cardiovascular...

You may think it is strange that what you eat can cause anxiety or make you depressed. Food is more than calories which give us energy. Science has demonstrated that the micronutrients in food, the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other substances act as cell signaling molecules. They help the nervous...

Research has documented the importance of having a ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids that is not too high. The study reviewed was interesting because the participants were young, healthy adults (medical students) and the purpose was to determine if omega 3 fatty acids would decrease proinflammatory...

A high intake of white rice is associated with the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Both white rice and brown rice are high glycemic index foods, even if brown rice is a little bit better and contains more nutrients than white rice. High glycemic index foods will raise the...

Research has shown that sleeping 7-8 hours per night can make it easier to lose weight. What makes the study reviewed here interesting is that stress in addition to sleep can have an impact on weight loss (Elder CR, et al. 2011). The participants in this research were obese individuals...

Resveratrol got a lot of attention some years ago when research showed amazing benefits in mice. Resveratrol is still a substance receiving a lot of attention from the research community. Two interesting and recent studies on resveratrol are reviewed here. Both studies were conducted on human. In one of these...

Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are conditions which increase the risk for chronic disease, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are two examples. The study reviewed investigated the effect of oral magnesium supplementation on insulin sensitivity in overweight, insulin resistant, non-diabetic participants (Mooren FC, et al. 2011). The study went on for...

The flax seed is a small seed, but it turns out that it can provide some amazing health benefits. The article reviewed here is a summary of research on flax lignans which are found in the shell of the flax seeds and not in the oil. Flax lignans have been...

Magnesium is one of the most important minerals we have. There are many reasons for that. You may know that magnesium is important for bone formation and that severe deficiencies can cause muscle cramps. What may not be so well known is that magnesium is also important for the cardiovascular...

Numerous studies have been conducted on vitamin D and the benefits it provides. This particular study investigated the association between vitamin D and the metabolic syndrome (Devaraj S, et al. 2010). The metabolic syndrome is a condition which includes elevated blood sugar, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides and also often elevated...

We would all like to improve our memory or at least not see it decline as we get older. The following research may show us one way to do that. The study included healthy individuals aged 55 years or more (Yurko-Mauro, et al. 2010). The participants were randomly assigned to...

  White rice is a common food especially in Asia, but also in the USA. It is very common to have white rice served in restaurants. Refined carbohydrates have been suggested to have a negative impact on the glucose metabolism. For that reason a large study involving 25,666 men and...

I   t has been known for a long time that omega 3 fatty acids, the kind you find in fish and flax seeds, have the ability to reduce inflammation. A recent study where the participants were young women between 18-23 years provides even more evidence (Murakami K, et al,...

We all know that exercise is a necessity if we are going to stay healthy. It needs to be part of a healthy lifestyle. Not everybody enjoys spending a lot of time in the gym however. For those who would rather exercise for a short time when they do, the...

  Getting enough sleep on a regular basis seems to be one of many steps you can take to help stay healthy. In a recent study the researchers checked the blood of the participants for an important inflammatory factor called NF-kappaB which has shown to be linked to diabetes, cardiovascular...