Medical News Today has an article on the results of a study published in the April 2007 edition of The American Psychologist.
Here’s what we know about dieting based on a review of 31 studies where dieters were followed for 2 to 5 years. Continue reading Now we know, dieting does not work
A study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reveals that dieting alone is as effective at reducing weigh and fat as a combination of diet and exercise — as long as the calories consumed and burned are equal.
There was one important difference, however.
Here are the details.
Continue reading Fewer calories or more exercise: Which is best for weight loss?
The answer is yes — especially among people with high blood pressure, diabetes, or low socioeconomic status — according to researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Continue reading Will adopting a healthy lifestyle in middle age improve your health?
Michael Pollan, writing in The New York Times Magazine advises, “If you’re concerned about your health, you should probably avoid food products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it’s not really food, and food is what you want to eat.
What’s this got to do with you?
According to Dr. William McCloskey, the likelihood of drug:grapefruit juice interactions having a negative effect on a patient’s response to the drug has not been clearly established.
This might be due to the fact that many drugs affected by grapefruit juice have a wide therapeutic index. In other words, toxic blood levels are so much higher than the blood levels needed to achieve an effective treatment dose that any increase caused by grapefruit juice is not sufficient to reach toxicity.
That’s not to say there is no risk of a grapefruit juice:drug interaction.
Unfortunately, the source article has been deleted, but here’s the bottom line. If you take any of the drugs listed below and feel you must drink grapefruit juice, first discuss it with your doctor.
3/19/08 11:13 JR
Dr. Eric Ruderman, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago has published a review on Medscape, with lots of space devoted to CAM: exercise, acupuncture, and nutritional supplements. Continue reading An academic allopathic view of CAM options for arthritic pain
This study shows that there are metabolic differences in the way that adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) handle dietary fatty acids compared to young people without ADHD. Continue reading Fatty acids and behavior in adolescents with ADHD
Fortifying food, such as wheat and corn flour, with folic acid reduces the risk of spina bifida in babies.
This public health practice was introduced 10 years ago in North America. Now, that practice is being debated in the UK and worldwide. “Are the benefits to the few outweighed by possible harm to some of the many exposed? Continue reading The pros and cons of folic acid fortification of foods
That’s the title of a new CDC book, which presents “specific interventions that have rigorous scientific evidence of effectiveness” in lowering the risk of falls among the elderly. Continue reading Preventing Falls: What Works
So far, demonstrating a nutritional advantage of organically grown food has been difficult.
Here’s a study that supports the added nutritional benefits of organic tomatoes. Continue reading Organically grown tomatoes contain higher levels of flavonoids
With reports of food poisoning and food recalls, it’s good to know there’s a process that might make our food safer.
Electrolyzed water systems
Continue reading Getting E. coli out of our food supply
Guess what was found? Continue reading Consumer alert: Aspire36 and Aspire Lite Dietary Supplements
A recent review of the medical literature revealed that except for prostate cancer, there was no evidence that vitamin E could protect from getting lung, stomach, esophageal, pancreatic, breast, or thyroid cancer.
Now, this study by researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle reports negative news for the vitamin E supplements and lung cancer. Continue reading Vitamin E supplements and the risk of lung cancer
Not if the diet is high in vegetables, fruit, and fiber, and low in total fat. But don’t be discouraged.
Here are the results from the Women’s Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Randomized Trial. Continue reading Does diet affect the survival of women with breast cancer?
Dr. Linda Bacon is nutrition researcher at the University of California, Davis, and nutrition professor at the City College of San Francisco. In a Medscape editorial she makes some surprising statements about the relationship between obesity and health.
Challenge your assumptions.
Continue reading We’re losing the war on obesity. Does it matter?
March is National Nutrition Month. “More than one-third of adults are trying to lose weight, but few have long-term success.”
If this sounds familiar, one alternative option is to consult a professional.
Medscape printed an article last year that was critical of CAM and any role it might have in the education of medical students. I summarized it here.
Now, a reasoned reply has been published. Continue reading More on teaching CAM in medical schools
Earlier this year a report from the University of Alberta concluded that the environmental impact of food-miles racked up by organic produce when making the trip from farm to grocery store cancels out the benefits of growing it according to organic principals.
Now, there’s this from a technician at Malaspina University College in British Columbia, Canada. Continue reading Are Canadian academics opposed to organic farming?
Ten years ago, the late Dr. William Fair, a surgeon at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and CAM advocate wrote, “epidemiologic and laboratory evidence increasingly demonstrate that nutritional factors, especially reduced fat intake, soy proteins, vitamin E derivatives, and selenium, may have a protective effect against prostate cancer.”
Now, Steffen Theobald, a nutritional consultant and manager at the Scientific Association for the Improvement of Patient Competence in Germany updates the role of nutrition in the development, prevention, and treatment of prostate cancer.
Continue reading A ten-year perspective: The influence of nutrition on prostate cancer
Researchers are studying the potential of snacks as vehicles to deliver more eicosapentaenoic acid, (EPA) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in snacks. Continue reading Trying to make cookies and potato chips healthier