Nutrition News

Occasional erratic heart rhythms appear to cause about one-fifth of strokes for which a cause is not readily established, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012.About one-third of survivors leave the hospital with the cause of their stroke still undetermined.

A novel bacterium, thought to be a common inhabitant of the oral cavity, has the potential to cause serious disease if it enters the bloodstream, according to a study in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. Its identification will allow scientists to work out how it causes disease and evaluate the risk that it poses.

Sudden cardiac death -catastrophic and unexpected fatal heart stoppage -- is more likely to occur shortly after waking in the morning and in the late night. In a report in the journal Nature, an international consortium of researchers that includes Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland and Baylor College of Medicine explains the molecular linkage between the circadian clock and the deadly heart rhythms that lead to sudden death.

Stress has numerous detrimental effects on the human body. Many of these effects are acutely felt by the sufferer, but many more go 'unseen', one of which is shortening of telomere length. Telomeres are protective caps on the ends of chromosomes and are indicators of aging, as they naturally shorten over time. However, telomeres are also highly susceptible to stress and depression, both of which have repeatedly been linked with premature telomere shortening.

The ability to anticipate future events allows us to plan and exert control over our lives, but it may also contribute to stress-related increased risk for the diseases of aging, according to a study by UCSF researchers.

Is fructose being unfairly blamed for the obesity epidemic? Or do we just eat and drink too many calories? Researchers from St. Michael's Hospital reviewed more than 40 published studies on whether the fructose molecule itself causes weight gain.

Intake of curcumin at ‘physiologically attainable’ doses could help to slow the development of prostate cancers by jamming receptors linked to cancer tumour growth, say researchers.

Eating fructose over an extended period of time does not lead to an increase in blood pressure, according to researchers at St. Michael's Hospital. A new study has found that despite previous research showing blood pressure rose in humans immediately after they consumed fructose, there is no evidence fructose increases blood pressure when it has been eaten for more than seven days.

Curcumin, a substance extracted from turmeric, prolongs life and enhances activity of fruit flies with a nervous disorder similar to Alzheimers, according to new research. The study conducted at Linköping University, indicates that it is the initial stages of fibril formation and fragments of the amyloid fibrils that are most toxic to neurons.

Put down those science text books and work at recalling information from memory. That's the shorthand take away message of new research from Purdue University that says practicing memory retrieval boosts science learning far better than elaborate study methods.

Whether you are an athlete, a musician or a stroke patient learning to walk again, practice can make perfect, but more practice may make you more efficient, according to a surprising new University of Colorado Boulder study. The study, led by CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Alaa Ahmed, looked at how test subjects learned particular arm-reaching movements using a robotic arm.

Excessive consumption of phosphate is damaging to health. Therefore, food that contains phosphate additives should be labeled, as recommended by Eberhard Ritz and coauthors in their article in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International [Dtsch Arztebl Int.]