Nutrition

If you simply snack on nuts, it's easy to eat too many. A more sensible way to work them into your diet is to make some of the delicious Mediterranean and Mexican nut-based sauces and dips that I'll be offering here this week. They keep well in the refrigerator and can be used to accompany fish, vegetables or poultry. Many serve as a spread or dip with pita or bruschetta - or just eaten on their own.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2009) - New research from Columbia University Medical Center continues to shed light on the benefits of making fish a staple of any diet.

Supplements of vitamin D at 'critical time periods' may be key to reducing the risk of multiple sclerosis, according to a new study from the UK and Canada. Researchers report that vitamin D may interact with a specific genetic component called HLA-DRB1*1501 that is known to increase the risk of multiple sclerosis by three-fold

In a study of 161,808 women who were part of the government-funded Women's Health Initiative research effort, doctors from 40 centers around the country collected data on multivitamin use. While research shows that people who eat nutrient-rich diets filled with fruits and vegetables have lower rates of heart disease and cancer, it hasn't been clear whether taking a daily supplement results in a similar benefit.

Increased intakes of vitamin K2, but not vitamin K1, may decrease the risk of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women, says a new study.\nFor every 10 microgram increase in the amount of vitamin K2 consumed, researchers from the Netherlands report a 9 per cent reduction in the risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD).

A high menaquinone reduces the incidence of coronary heart disease in women.\nGast GC, de Roos NM, Sluijs I, Bots ML, Beulens JW, Geleijnse JM, Witteman JC, Grobbee DE, Peeters PH, van der Schouw YT.\nNutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2009 Jan 27. [Epub ahead of print]\nPMID: 19179058 \ndoi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2008.10.004\n

Expression of the multiple sclerosis-associated MHC class II Allele HLA-DRB1*1501 is regulated by vitamin D.\nRamagopalan SV, Maugeri NJ, Handunnetthi L, Lincoln MR, Orton SM, Dyment DA, Deluca GC, Herrera BM, Chao MJ, Sadovnick AD, Ebers GC, Knight JC.\nPLoS Genet. 2009 Feb;5(2):e1000369. Epub 2009 Feb 6.\nPMID: 19197344 [

ScienceDaily (Feb. 12, 2009) - A Texas AgriLife Research scientist and fellow researchers have discovered that arginine, an amino acid, reduces fat mass in diet-induced obese rats and could help fight human obesity.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 12, 2009) - According to a recent study, diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids protect the liver from damage caused by obesity and the insulin resistance it provokes. This research should give doctors and nutritionists valuable information when recommending and formulating weight-loss diets and help explain why some obese patients are more likely to suffer some complications associated with obesity. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in canola oil and fish.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 12, 2009) - That irresistible craving for a cheeseburger has its roots in the dramatic growth of the human brain and body that resulted from environmental changes some 2 million years ago.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 12, 2009) - Diet - and how it has shaped our genome - occupies much of an evolutionary scientist's time. Anne Stone, associate professor of anthropology in Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, will discuss how diet holds keys to understanding who we are, how we live and form societies, and how we evolved from hunter-gatherers to agriculturists, all the way to modern urban dwellers, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting.

Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E after myocardial infarction: results of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial. Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Infarto miocardico.\nLancet. 1999 Aug 7;354(9177):447-55. Erratum in: Lancet 2001 Feb 24;357(9256):642. Lancet. 2007 Jan 13;369(9556):106.\nPMID: 10465168

Wang C, Harris WS, Chung M, Lichtenstein AH, Balk EM, Kupelnick B, Jordan HS, Lau J. \nn-3 Fatty acids from fish or fish-oil supplements, but not \nalpha-linolenic acid, benefit cardiovascular disease outcomes in \nprimary- and secondary-prevention studies: a systematic review. \nAm J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jul;84(1):5-17. Review. \nPMID: 16825676

Search online for values in the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 19. \nDownload software to search the SR database . \nUSDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods, Release 2 (2006). \nRevised USDA Nutrient Dat

Donaldson MS. Nutrition and cancer: a review of the evidence for an anti-cancer diet. Nutr J. 2004 Oct 20;3:19. PMID: 15496224

Cimetidine - A Common Heartburn Remedy Complements Conventional Cancer Therapy By Cynthia Haines, MD LE Magazine May 2007