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Research has indicated that inflammation is one of the reasons for depression. The reviewed study is especially interesting since biomarkers of both inflammation and oxidative stress were measured in the 80 participants diagnosed with depression and also in the control group (Baek D., Park Y., 2013). Levels of omega 3...

If you have watched the news lately, you have probably heard about a study linking increased risk of prostate cancer with omega 3 fatty acids ( Brasky TM, et al. 2013). The media, looking for big headlines, presented this as a new truth about omega 3 fat. Supposedly, it was...

Did you know that magnesium deficiencies have been shown to increase cardiac arrhythmia’s? Magnesium is one of the most important minerals because magnesium affects many functions, but this reviewed research focused on cardiovascular disease. The research included studies of 313.041 individuals and investigated associations of circulating and dietary magnesium with...

Alzheimer’s disease is at least partially caused by decreased clearance of the beta-amyloid peptide breakdown products.  The reviewed research investigated how different diets may affect the removal of these breakdown products (Hanson AJ,et al. 2013). One group of the participants were older adults with normal cognition, while the other group...

The reviewed research evaluated how walking at different times affected the blood glucose after a meals (Dipietro L,et al. 2013). The participants were 60 years or older inactive individuals with elevated fasting blood glucose levels between 105 and 125 mg/dl. The exercise protocols consisted of either 15 minutes of walking...

We all dread Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The reviewed study is interesting because it relates to something we all want to prevent (Douaud G., et al. 2013). Researchers demonstrated that B-vitamin treatment reduced by as much as sevenfold the cerebral atrophy in those gray matter regions most vulnerable to the...

That fat can make you lose weight may sound strange. Even stranger is what the reviewed research documented (Böstrom P, et.al.,2012). When both mice and humans exercise, a membrane protein is cleaved and secreted as a newly identified hormone called irisin.  Irisin acts on what’s called white fat cells, that’s...

Several studies in the last few years have shown that high intensity short interval training is a very effective way of exercising. This means that if you exercise fairly hard, you don’t have to do it for very long, and you don’t have to do it very often either. The...

We can now find more and more research related to the benefits of meditation. A lot of the research is related to the relaxing effects of meditation and it may look like meditation is just another way of getting relaxed. While relaxation can be beneficial in itself, there are more...

Unless you are buying antibiotic-free or organic chicken, you probably know that you’re buying chicken that has been fed antibiotics. What you may not know however is that arsenic-based drugs are permitted in poultry production. Researchers at John Hopkins investigated for that reason how much arsenic chicken meat contained (Nachman...

Have you ever questioned the benefits of omega 3 fat? Even though so much research has been published on the benefits, many people have reservations.   This new study did not rely on self-reported dietary intake, which some of the studies have, but instead used blood tests to measure the...

We all value our eyesight. New research shows us an easy way to help prevent macular degeneration (Merle BM, et al. 2013). 963 participants were followed for 31 months and plasma fatty acids were measured from fasting blood samples, eye examinations were also performed. High plasma omega-3 fatty acids were...

 Recent research indicates that the gut bacterial flora may affect the metabolism including appetite, and the reviewed study evaluated the effects of a whole grain barley kernel product  on markers of metabolism and appetite regulation  in healthy people (Johansson EV,et al. 2013).Boiled barley kernels were compared with white wheat bread...

Are you always tired? Try having your vitamin D levels checked, then take vitamin D if you are deficient. The energy of our cells is produced in the mitochondria of our cells. Poor mitochondrial function has been implicated in fatigue. The reviewed research examined the effect of vitamin D in...

We have all heard that excessive stress is unhealthy. The research referred to here investigated the association between cortisol response and a marker of sub-clinical coronary atherosclerosis (Hamer M., et al., 2009). Cortisol is a stress hormone. The participants were exposed to mental stress through certain tasks. Coronary artery calcification...