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Dec. 1, 2008 -- Getting too little vitamin D may be an underappreciated heart disease risk factor that's actually easy to fix.\n\nResearchers say a growing body of evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of heart disease and is linked to other, well-known heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 11, 2009) - For every gram of salt that Americans reduce in their diets daily, a quarter of a million fewer new heart disease cases and over 200,000 fewer deaths would occur over a decade, researchers said at the American Heart Association's 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

Hara hatchi bu, the Okinawan people's habit of eating only till they are 80 percent full, is thought to be one of the secrets of their extraordinary health and longevity. In addition to one of the highest percentages of people in the world who live past 100, Okinawans appear to be less prone to heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Indeed, ever since it was discovered in the 1930s that laboratory rats fed a caloric-restricted (CR) diet lived almost twice as long as their well fed counterparts, scientists have pursued caloric restriction research in the hopes of finding novel strategies for extending human life and preventing disease. Given the growing older population at risk for memory problems and the rising rates of obesity, the role of diet in maintaining peak brain performance has taken on added importance.

Scientists say a natural supplement made from tomatoes, taken daily, can stave off heart disease and strokes. The tomato pill contains an active ingredient from the Mediterranean diet - lycopene - that blocks "bad" LDL cholesterol that can clog the arteries.

March 23, 2009 -- Men and women who eat higher amounts of red meat and processed meat have a higher risk of dying from cancer, heart disease, and other causes compared to those who eat less, according to a new study. Those in the study who ate the most red meat took in about 4.5 ounces a day -- the equivalent of a small steak.

Israeli 'cancer shift' over heart disease mortality may be led by greater risk in women with high intake of n-6 fatty acids. Shapira N. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2007 Oct;16(5):486-94. PMID: 17923822 doi: 10.1097/CEJ.0b013e3280145b6d Population studies of Israeli Jews, Arabs, and women support the association of high n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake with increased cancer risk and higher female sensitivity. Research findings suggest that gender and sex hormones may influence n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism and carcinogenesis. This appears to be the first time gender has been proposed to modulate national cancer epidemiology, suggesting implications for differential nutritional prevention, warranting further research.