Drs. Jonette Keri and Rajiv Nijhawan from the University of Miami in Florida have reviewed the evidence.

Here are the highlights. (more…)

The surest way to know that there is no truly effective treatment for a condition is to count the number of treatment recommendations. The more recommendations, the less likely it is that any of them have a significant effect. I’m not sure if there is a tipping point. Whether 6 or 12 or 20 recommended treatments guarantee that you will have less than complete cure.

Here are some of the recommendations from just one article.

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Researchers in the UK and Columbia reviewed the association between chocolate and the risk of developing cardiometabolic disorders — high blood pressure, abnormally high glucose, elevated triglycerides, low “good” cholesterol, abdominal obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity. (more…)

Researchers at the German Institute of Human Nutrition, in Nuthetal, tell us chocolate appears to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. (more…)

Researchers from the University of Milano, Italy, list what we know. (more…)

During the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting this June, researchers at McMaster University, in Hamilton Ontario will report the results of their review. (more…)

Studies suggest that soy relieves neuropathic pain in animals and reduces pain and improves range of motion in people with osteoarthritis.

Based on this, researchers from the Mayo Clinic thought it reasonable to look for benefits of soy in people with fibromyalgia. (more…)

Dietary sources of flavonoids in Western societies include onions (flavonols); cocoa (proanthocyanidins); tea, apples, and red wine (flavonols and catechins); citrus fruit (flavanones); berries and cherries (anthocyanidins); and soy (isoflavones).

Here’s how far we’ve come. (more…)

Eating foods with a low glycemic index is the way to go if you want to lose weight. That’s the conclusion in the latest Cochrane Review, as reported by Ivanhoe.

What’s your glycemic index IQ? (more…)

Volunteers in a study reported on Medscape were told not to do things known to slow the clotting of blood by inhibiting platelet function.

But some just couldn’t stop eating chocolate. (more…)

“Older women who consume chocolate daily had lower bone density and strength,” according to researchers in Australia. (more…)

Functional Ingredients reports that a California-based juice and smoothie manufacturer, Naked Juice, is selling “the first 100% juice smoothie with probiotics that aid in digestive and immune health.” (more…)

“We expect that the trend towards high-end [chocolate] products, especially those touting wellness benefits, will be the life force in this market for the next several years.”

That’s the conclusion from Tatjana Meerman, publisher of the report, The US Market for Chocolate.

What’s this got to do with probiotics? (more…)

In a small group of people with above-optimal blood pressure, including “small amounts of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate as part of a usual diet efficiently reduced blood pressure,” according to researchers from the University Hospital of Cologne in Germany.

Unfortunately, the researchers could only postulate the long term benefit of blood pressure control, rather than actually show it in this group of volunteers. (more…)

The treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) usually includes lifestyle modifications. These include dietary changes such as avoidance of chocolate, mints, citrus, fatty food, carbonated beverages, tobacco, as well as coffee/caffeinated products. Patients are also advised to lose weight, avoid late evening meals and postprandial recumbent position, and to sleep with their right side down.

Are any of these recommendations useful?

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The risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is directly linked to a woman’s body mass index (BMI), according to the results of a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. (more…)