Medicine & Healthcare

"Skeletal Muscle Strength as a Predictor of All-Cause Mortality in Healthy Men," "Strength, but not Muscle Mass, Is Associated With Mortality in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study Cohort," "Decreased Muscle and Increased Central Adiposity are Independently Related to Mortality in Older Men," etc.

The hypothesis that diets rich in total and saturated fat and poor in unsaturated fats increase the risk for cardiovascular disease is still vividly debated. The aim of this study was to examine whether total fat, saturated fat, or unsaturated fat intakes are independent risk factors for cardiovascular events in a large population-based cohort. Conclusions: In relation to risks of cardiovascular events, our results do not suggest any benefit from a limited total or saturated fat intake, nor from relatively high intake of unsaturated fat. Leosdottir, Margret; Nilsson, Peter M.; Nilsson, Jan-Åke; Berglund, Göran

Daily intake of fruit and vegetables was associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease when combined with a high dairy fat consumption...but not when combined with a low dairy fat consumption. Sara Holmberg, Anders Thelin and Eva-Lena Stiernström. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6, 2626-2638.

A medical student's journey inside genetics and medicine through Web 2.0.

Symposium: Pleiotropic Actions of Vitamin D. Departments of Pediatrics/Pediatric Allergy & Immunology, University of California at San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA. Jacques M. Lemire, Hans L. Spiegelberg, et al.

"new research demonstrates that ingested vitamin D is immunosuppressive and that low blood levels of vitamin D may be actually a result of the disease process. Supplementation may make the disease worse. "

This article discusses new Duke University research showing a highly significant correlation (p = 0.007) between higher vitamin D intake and MRI brain lesions (http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/meeting_abstract/21/6/A1072), as well as the potential for lesion reversal. These lesions have been associated with cognitive impairment, stroke, psychiatric disorders and mortality. This article also discusses the levels of vitamin D and calcium needed to avoid osteoporosis and vascular calcification in the light of new research on blockage of the vitamin D receptor due to bacterial products and elevated 25D.