Billed as a lifesaver for families who crave the comfort of a sit-down dinner but lack the time to prepare it, meal assembly is a hot trend designed to make family meals easier. And with many stores employing, contracting and selling franchises to registered dietitians, customers can dish up knowing nutrition is on the menu.
Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Pfizer Inc today announced the formation of Balance It Out: Arkansas, a new school-based community program to reduce the number of children who are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, effectively diminishing their risk of developing chronic illness. In December 2006, the program will begin in Little Rock, AR, with a health fair for state employees designed to increase awareness of health risk factors and steps to prevent disease. Beginning in early 2007, the program will reach children and their families in the Dollarway (Pine Bluff), Harrison and Paragould school districts.
In a study published in the November 3 issue of the journal Science, an international group of ecologists and economists shows that the loss of biodiversity is profoundly reducing the ocean’s ability to produce seafood, resist diseases, filter pollutants, and rebound from stresses such as over fishing and climate change.
A new study by scientists at the MUHC has revealed that a diet low in folate may increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer. Published in the scientific journal Cancer Research today, the study not only illustrates a way to prevent the disease but also provides further insight into the mechanisms of the disease, which could lead to novel therapies. Using animal models, the MUHC study is the first to demonstrate directly that diets low in folate cause colorectal cancer, and follows on the heels of earlier research by the same team that revealed how high folate diets can protect against heart disease.
Chemicals commonly used to treat heartburn also display fighting power against the oral bacteria linked with gum disease, according to researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center and G?teborg University in Sweden.
Chronic alcohol abuse disrupts the proteins that keep fluids out of the lung, lowers a protective antioxidant, disrupts immune defenses and can lead to a condition known as “alcoholic lung,” according to research to be presented at the conference, “Physiological Genomics and Proteomics of Lung Disease.” The findings give insight into how excessive drinking can harm the molecular life of the lung and lead to serious illness, including pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS.
A collaborative effort between the Arizona Cancer Center and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to understand the influence of diet on recurrence of colorectal adenomas (polyps) a precursor to cancer indicates that a high-fiber diet may be more important for men than women. Although the reason for a sex difference is unknown, researchers suggest that it may be related to hormonal effects or the difference between the sexes in location of polyp formation.
Novozymes launches another cost-effective new baking enzyme to replace chemical emulsifiers and reduce costs in bread-making.
Overweight aged male mice whose high calorie (fat) diet was supplemented by resveratrol, a natural compound found in common foods like grapes, wines and nuts, had better health and survival than aged overweight mice who did not receive it, according to a study published online in the Nov. 1 issue of Nature. The study was conducted and supported in part by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
An extensive NIH-supported study has found that low-intensity laser treatment, thought to be possibly beneficial in slowing or preventing the loss of vision from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is ineffective in preventing complications of AMD or loss of vision. This is the major conclusion of the Complications of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Prevention Trial (CAPT), a research study of more than 1,000 people that will be published in the November 2006 issue of the journal Ophthalmology. The study was supported by grants from the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health.