Nutrition & Life

As the White House prepares for the first conference on hunger, nutrition and health in more than 50 years, public health officials point out that providing access to safe potable drinking water must be part of the national conversation. Low income and minority populations in the US are less likely to drink plain water and

Quinoa is a healthy pseudocereal that is much more nutritious than other cereal products. A new Nutrients journal study reports the ability of quinoa to normalize glucose metabolism in the body, particularly among the elderly with impaired glucose tolerance. Study: Glycaemia Fluctuations Improvement in Old-Age Prediabetic Subjects Consuming a Quinoa-Based Diet: A Pilot Study. Image Credit:

A recent study of the gut microbiome of Alaskan brown bears (Ursus arctos) shows that the microbial life in bears’ guts allows them to achieve comparable size and fat stores while eating widely different diets. The work sheds light on the role of the gut microbiome in supporting health in wild omnivores. We think of

Are you an early bird or a night owl? Our activity patterns and sleep cycles could influence our risk of diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. New research published in Experimental Physiology found wake/sleep cycles cause metabolic differences and alter our body’s preference for energy sources. The researchers found that those who

In a large clinical trial that directly compared four drugs commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes, researchers found that insulin glargine and liraglutide performed the best of four medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to maintain blood glucose levels in the recommended range. Blood glucose management is a key component of

Formulas for toddlers are a burgeoning business in the United States: Sales of the drinks more than doubled in recent years as companies convinced parents that their little ones needed the liquid boost. But many experts warn that these products, designed for children ages 1 to 3, fill no nutritional needs beyond what is available

About 40 million adults in the United States regularly take statins to lower their cholesterol levels and reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke, according to American Heart Association data from 2020. However, many of them don’t stand to benefit from these drugs based on new research from David Diamond, a neuroscientist and cardiovascular

A new study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, published by Elsevier, finds that women experiencing food insecurity more frequently report symptoms of food addiction, such as compulsive eating of certain types of food, unsuccessful attempts to cut down and withdrawal symptoms. Further study of addictive mechanisms may be a valuable

On a scale from 0 to 100 of how well people stick to recommended diets, with 0 being a poor diet (think heavy consumption of sugar and processed meats), and 100 representing the recommended balance of fruits, vegetables, legumes/nuts and whole grains, most countries would earn a score around 40.3. Globally, this represents a small,

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 cohort studies involving more than 1 million adults from eight countries finds that moderate consumption of black, green or Oolong tea is linked to a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The findings, being presented at this year’s European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual

A team from Geneva, Switzerland, shows that the disruption of lipid temporal profiles in type 2 diabetes stiffens the membrane of pancreatic endocrine cells, which could alter their function. Like all living beings, human physiological processes are influenced by circadian rhythms. The disruption of our internal clocks due to an increasingly unbalanced lifestyle is directly

Globally, there are approximately 55 million people who suffer from dementia, and the incidence of the disease has steadily increased. The number of the population is expected to triple by 2050, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Dementia affects not only the quality of life of individuals, but also adds significant economic burdens to families

Dietary choices and their consequences may certainly influence cognitive function. A new study led by investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, along with outside collaborators expands on previously published work (focused on Puerto Rican individuals in the U.S.) by including additional races and ethnicities. The

Conventional wisdom holds that low protein intake is essential for kidney disease patients. However, scientists from Osaka Metropolitan University demonstrated that it might not always be the case with their recent study on the relationship between protein intake and skeletal muscle mass in kidney transplant recipients. Their findings were published in Clinical Nutrition. Chronic kidney

Children with certain immunodeficiency diseases carry mutations in genes that regulate the body’s immune system against viral infections and they have a higher mortality rate due to COVID-19. This is according to a study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Most children infected with the

Microbiomes refer to the collective genomes of microorganisms living in a particular environment. The microbiota refers to the community of microbes themselves. For example, the human gastrointestinal tract contains approximately 100 trillion microorganisms (primarily bacteria, but also viruses, fungi, and protozoa). These microorganisms play essential roles in immunity and energy metabolism in humans, extending from

In a large study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS), men and women who drank two or more servings of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) per day, compared to people who never drank, had a five percent increased risk of death from an obesity-related cancer, including gastrointestinal, postmenopausal breast, endometrial and kidney cancer. These

With rising prevalence of depression in adolescents, screening requirements are increasingly falling on pediatric primary care providers, who are encountering more at-risk patients. A new literature review in Harvard Review of Psychiatry underscores the evidence that non-traditional, so-called lifestyle interventions can help providers meet the growing need for youth depression management. The journal is published

Montana health officials are asking state lawmakers to eliminate a board that hears appeals from people who believe they were wrongly denied public assistance benefits. Since 2016, the Board of Public Assistance has heard fewer than 20 cases a year, and very few of those are overturned, but preparing for those appeals and board meetings

Widespread, global failures at multiple levels in the COVID-19 response led to millions of preventable deaths and reversed progress made towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in many countries, according to a new Lancet COVID-19 Commission report. The Lancet Commission on lessons for the future from the COVID-19 pandemic synthesizes evidence from the first