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Red Dye & Gut Health
Eating whole foods is beneficial because whole foods are replete with key nutrients. However, eating whole foods also means avoiding processed foods, which is an important dietary strategy as well. Avoiding processed foods means eliminating additives and preservatives that might seem insignificant, but a recent study has shown that long-term consumption of red food dye,…
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Lycopene & Cardioprotection
Lycopene is thought to be among the most oxygen-quenching carotenoids, and is highly praised for its cardioprotective effects, such as supporting healthy cholesterol levels. It has an acyclic, highly-conjugated hydrocarbon structure that has a direct antioxidant enzyme productive effect that limits the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Furthermore, lycopene has additional cardioprotective effects that inhibit cholesterol…
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Nutritional Epigenomics & Health
The newest discoveries in epigenetics have led to the emergence of epigenetic clock models. These models identify DNA methylation signatures, allowing us to accurately measure or predict a person’s chronological age, disease, and mortality. These clocks have huge potential for developing our understanding of the disparity between increased average lifespan and improvements in health span.
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Mediterranean Diet & Prenatal Stressors
Stressors during pregnancy such as depression and obesity can lead to increased systemic inflammation and contribute to chronic health issues for both mothers and their unborn babies. Yet dietary recommendations to mitigate these stressors, which greatly affect minority women, remain understudied.
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Flavonols & Cognitive Health
Results from a prospective cohort study based in Chicago were recently published in Neurology, describing the associations between dietary flavonol intake and cognitive decline. Nearly 1,000 older adults (average age 81) without dementia were followed for approximately 7 years, as part of the Rush Memory and Aging Project. Using annual validated food frequency questionnaires (self-reported)…
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Lactose Intolerance & Lactase Persistence
A paper published in the Annual Review of Genetics provided a detailed examination of the genetics of lactase persistence and lactose intolerance.
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Magnesium & Vitamin D Activation
A compelling article in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association highlighted the important role of magnesium in vitamin D activation and function.
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Social Connections & Cognitive Function
As we sit down with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving today, it is important to reflect on how central these relationships are to our well-being, with gratitude for the meaning and quality they add to our lives. A recent meta-analysis in The Lancet, Healthy Longevity also suggests that one of the benefits of these…
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Multivitamins & Cognitive Function
Results of one of the few existing long-term randomized trials evaluating the use of multivitamins on cognitive function in older adults were recently published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: the Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association. This study was part of the COSMOS-Mind (COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study of the Mind) 2×2 factorial trial,…
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Elderberry & Immune Health
An interesting study by a group of researchers at the University of Sydney shows how the active component in elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) may help mitigate the negative health effects of the influenza virus in human cells.