A dietary supplement industry trade group has issued a statement disputing the findings of a recent study that said there wasn’t enough evidence that omega-3 fatty acid supplements improve cardiovascular health in heart patients. The Natural Products Association (NPA) pointed to a “wealth of evidence” from epidemiological and observational studies showing that omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial for heart disease. According to the NPA, two studies in particular – the GISSI-Prevenzione trial and the Japan EPA Lipid Intervention study – showed that omega-3 supplements reduced the risk of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and nonfatal stroke.

Natural products company ChromaDex Corp. was awarded a U.S. patent for the  proprietary antioxidant polyphenol pterostilbene, an ingredient in its nutraceutical product line. According to the company, pterostilbene has shown “great promise” for supporting cardiovascular health, cognitive function and anti-aging. The patent covers several claims for pterostilbene, including the lowering of fat levels in the blood and either treating or reducing the risk of dyslipidemias (high blood cholesterol). The company’s proprietary pterostilbene brand (pTeroPure) is a key ingredient in BluScience, ChromaDex's line of dietary supplements.

Though both obesity and smoking push up the costs of health care in the U.S., the incremental costs associated with obesity are significantly higher, according to an analysis of 30,000 individuals by scientists at the Mayo Clinic. The average health care costs for smokers are $1,275 higher than for nonsmokers. But the incremental costs for obese people are $1,850 compared to normal weight individuals. The increased health care costs for obesity are often masked by adjustments for so-called comorbidity costs associated with other chronic health problems that stem from obesity, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Noting the importance of a healthy breakfast – cereal and milk, for example – Kellogg recently partnered with the Action for Healthy Kids, as well as Hilton, Marriott and Sysco, to provide a million breakfasts to needy kids across the U.S. during the 2012-2013 school year. The program includes a grassroots social media marketing effort to enlist the support of Americans. People are encouraged to “Share Your Breakfast” by posting a description of their breakfast on Kellogg’s Facebook or Twitter pages. People who bought a LivingSocial Family Deal during National Breakfast Week received a free breakfast on Kellogg, which also donated a free breakfast to a needy child. Some Kellogg products also featured $5-off-breakfast coupons.

A few proverbs related to diet and nutrition that have been passed down through the generations have  won support from scientists. Kids often turn up their nose at bread crusts, for example, despite grandma’s insistence that they are good for you. Turns out grandma was right. The crust is healthier for you, according to German research that found it contains a cancer-fighting compound and higher levels of antioxidants – in dark-colored breads at least – than the rest of the bread. Other findings: phenolic compounds in apples, especially the peel, may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease; and chicken soup does contain ingredients that seem to reduce inflammation associated with upper respiratory tract infections.

Australian researchers have created a two-step test that targets a part of the peanut protein Arah2 and cost-effectively, conveniently and safely diagnoses a peanut allergy. Current methods for determining a peanut allergy include an oral food challenge that, though definitive, is expensive, time-consuming and risky for patients. The new test involves a two-step process: a blood test, followed by the Arah2 test. The two-step process is so accurate, it reduces the need for oral food challenges four-fold. In addition, patients can visit a GP for the test rather than a specialist allergy clinic.

A British study has found that adolescents at the age of 12 or 13 are most at risk of rejecting the  healthy lifestyle of their youth and turning to unhealthy behaviors. Researchers analyzed data collected from 40,000 U.K. households, including 5,000 young people aged 10 to 15. The data showed that young people who never drank any alcohol were between four and six times more likely to have higher levels of happiness. Likewise, youth who smoked were about five times less likely to have high happiness scores compared to youth who never smoked. Twelve percent of 13-15 year olds said they smoked compared to only two percent of 10-12 year olds.

A study that analyzed 213 conventional and purportedly “green” household products such as glass cleaners and bar soaps has found they contained numerous chemicals of concern that were not reported on product labels. The peer-reviewed study, funded by the Silent Spring Institute and conducted at Battelle Labs, found 55 questionable chemicals  – e.g., parabens, phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA),antimicrobials, cyclosiloxanes, glycol ethers, and fragrances – in conventional products tested, and 41 worrying ingredients in most of the “green” products. Manufacturers criticized the study, according to Forbes magazine, “for being biased and for relying in part on old information.” A scientific advisor to a manufacturers group said, “The advice to consumers based on study findings is simply wrong.”

Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc., the manufacturer of Listerine and Reach brands of oral care products, is supporting the American Heart Association's My Heart, My Life heart healthy living campaign. The company has recruited Olympic snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler to help educate American consumers on the importance of having healthy habits and a healthy lifestyle, including having a healthy oral care routine, which includes brushing and rinsing twice daily, and flossing at least once a day. According to J&J, over two-thirds of Americans do not have a sufficient oral care regime.

According to market researchers, fewer than ten percent of U.S. consumers are allergic to the protein gluten, found in wheat, barley and rye. Only one percent suffer from celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder marked by a serious digestive reaction to gluten. Yet 25 percent of consumers have sworn off gluten – thanks to hype from marketers and celebrities – creating a $6 billion a year market. Nutritionists say avoiding gluten is not harmful to people without celiac disease, but it is a waste of money. If a person doesn’t have celiac disease and isn’t gluten-sensitive, they say, go ahead and eat that bread. But that advice does not convince those without gluten sensitivity or celiac disease who swear their gluten-free diet has changed their lives.

With the growing awareness of the potential harm to people with a digestive sensitivity to gluten – the protein found in wheat, barley and rye – U.S. hotels have begun to modify their menus to cater to gluten-averse customers. The USA TODAY report notes that Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar (San Francisco), Fairmont Hotels, Omni Hotels, Marriott International and Washington’s Ritz-Carlton have all begun offering gluten-free fare in their facilities, from room service to minibars to buffets. The changes make for good marketing, say hoteliers: "This is a subtle message that we are attentive to health issues," says the dean of NYU's Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.

Vitamin D inhibits inflammation through a series of molecular and signaling events, as long as there are adequate amounts in the blood, a U.S. study has found. The chain of cellular events runs from the binding of DNA, through a specific signaling pathway, to the reduction of proteins that are known to trigger inflammation. Low levels of vitamin D in the body will not inhibit inflammation, however, and the researchers advised patients with chronic inflammatory disease – asthma, arthritis, prostate cancer, diabetes, etc. – may benefit from vitamin D supplementation to boost concentrations to levels that might provide some immunity.

A Yale University dermatologist says there are safe and effective fat removal options for obese people who are not candidates for liposuction. The new technologies target specific fatty areas using energy delivered as either heat or cold. Radiofrequency, for example, carries energy to fatty areas by driving controlled heat deep within fat cells and destroying them. Not yet approved by the FDA for fat removal, this technology is nevertheless being used successfully by dermatologists to remove small pockets of fat. Cryolipolysis is approved by the FDA for removing areas of fat in the lower abdomen or along the sides of the body. Cryolipolysis freezes lipids in fat cells which then slowly dissolve with no trauma or injury to surrounding tissues.

Though selling unpasteurized, raw milk can save farmers money, it can also put their livelihoods – and the general public – in jeopardy, thanks to the dangers of bacterial contamination, according to researchers at Cornell University who testified before a New Jersey legislative committee. The researchers cited a $2.4 lawsuit in Washington that resulted from raw milk illness that may be traceable to a dairy farm. And 35 people in four states became sick recently after drinking unpasteurized raw milk. The researchers called pasteurization a” proven public health mechanism” that can prevent the health, and legal, problems associated with selling and drinking raw milk.

A study by U.S. researchers has determined that treating uncooked poultry with plasma – a high-energy, charged mixture of gaseous atoms, ions and electrons sometimes called the “fourth state of matter” – significantly reduced the levels of dangerous bacteria. In the study, raw chicken samples contaminated with Salmonella enterica and Campylobacter jejuni – the bacteria found on  70 percent of chicken meat tested – were treated with plasma for varying periods of time. The treatment eliminated or nearly eliminated bacteria in low levels from skinless chicken breast and chicken skin, and significantly reduced the level of bacteria when contamination levels were high.

Not all people who enjoy a glass of wine each day can expect a cardio-protective effect from the drink, according to Canadian and German researchers who conducted a meta-analysis of 44 studies involving nearly a million people and 38,627 ischemic heart disease events, including death. The researchers found that the protective effect can vary by sex, drinking patterns, and other health factors. Alcohol consumption can also be detrimental in the presence of other health problems, such as cancer. “Any advice by physicians on individual drinking has to take the individual risk constellation … into consideration,” the researchers said.

Resisting our various conflicting daily desires – for work, leisure, sleep, eat, have sex, drink alcohol, use tobacco, etc. – is not an easy task, but some of these urges are easier to control than others, according to a U.S. study. Desires for work and entertainment often win out in the daily struggle for self-control, however. For the study of desire regulation, 205 adults wore devices that recorded 7,827 reports about daily desires. Sleep and sex were the strongest desires, but desires for use of media and doing work proved the hardest to resist. Desires for tobacco and alcohol were the weakest, in spite of their addictive nature. Sleep and leisure were the most problematic desires, suggesting "pervasive tension between natural inclinations to rest and relax and the multitude of work and other obligations," the researchers said.

A U.S. researcher who compared the impact of divorce on younger and older married people found that younger people who endure a divorce are more likely to have health problems than older people. Analyzing data from a long-term national survey of 1,282 people, the researcher found that people born in the 1950s who got divorced between the ages of 35 and 41 reported more health problems (in relation to their continuously married counterparts) than those who got divorced in the 44 to 50 age range. "It is not the status of being married or divorced, per se, that affects health, but instead the process of transitioning from marriage to divorce that is stressful and hurts health," the researcher concluded.

U.S. researchers report that variations in the gene CD36 make people’s taste buds more or less sensitive to the taste of fat. The study is the first to identify a receptor on the human tongue that can taste fat, and suggests that some people may be more sensitive to the presence of fat in foods. The researchers suggest that as people consume more fat they become less sensitive to it, requiring more intake for the same satisfaction. A better understanding of how CD36, a protein that facilitates the uptake of fatty acids, works in people could provide a clue to the development of more effective ways to fight against obesity.

A lack of iron in the diet in the early years of life can affect the brain’s physical structure, according to a study by U.S. researchers who measured levels of a protein (transferrin) that transports iron throughout the body and the brain in adolescents. They found that transferrin levels were related to detectable differences in the brain’s macro-structure and micro-structure when the adolescents reached young adulthood. The researchers hope that their discovery may shed some light on the neural mechanisms by which iron affects, neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration.

A Chinese study finds that two types of compounds in coffee significantly inhibit a substance that has been determined to be a cause of type 2 diabetes. The misfolding of human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) causes type 2 diabetes, and the new research shows that drinking four or more cups of coffee daily cuts the risk of type 2 diabetes in half, mainly because of the blocking activity of two components: caffeic acid (CA) and chlorogenic acid (CGA). “CA shows the highest potency in delaying the conformational transition of the hIAPP molecule with the most prolonged lag time.” Another component of coffee extracts –  caffeine – shows the lowest potency in blocking hIAPP.

A U.S. study reported that people whose diet is rich in certain vitamins, as well as omega-3 fatty acids, not only had higher scores on mental thinking tests, they were less likely to experience the brain shrinkage associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D are mainly found in fish, while the B vitamins and antioxidants C and E are found mainly in fruits and vegetables. The researchers also noted that people with diets rich in trans fats are more at risk for brain shrinkage and have lower scores on thinking and memory tests. Trans fats are primarily found in fast, fried and frozen foods, and in baked goods and margarines. The study involved 104 people (average age 87) with very few risk factors for memory and thinking problems.

Women who are effectively managing celiac disease – mainly by not eating foods containing gluten – still have a higher risk of depression and disordered eating than the general population, a study by Penn State University researchers finds. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes abdominal pain, constipation, decreased appetite, nausea and vomiting when gluten, a protein composite found in wheat and other grains, is consumed. For the study, researchers, surveyed 177 American women over age 18 diagnosed with celiac disease, about their physical and psychological symptoms. They found that even those managing their illness very well reported higher rates of stress, depression and a range of issues related to body dissatisfaction, weight and shape when compared to the general population.

A study by Norwegian scientists finds that a women’s weight before pregnancy, coupled with the amount of weight gain during pregnancy, are significant indicators of a baby’s birth weight and, possibly, adult weight. The researchers assessed data on pre-pregnancy and pregnancy weight for more than 58,000 women over seven years. It was found that the birth weight of the newborn child increased with increasing maternal pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI); offspring birth weight also increased with increasing weight gain of the mother during pregnancy. Every one kilogram increase in pre-pregnancy BMI increased birth weight with 22.4 g. A subsequent increase in weight gain during pregnancy of 10 kg increased birth weight with 224 g.

A study by British researchers has found that drinking tart cherry juice twice a day leads to longer sleep time, less daytime napping and increased overall sleep efficiency. The researchers attributed the sleep benefits to the melatonin content of the pure Montmorency juice concentrate diluted in a half pint of water. The researchers, whose experiment included 20 adults, found that when participants had two daily glasses of tart cherry juice they slept 39 minutes longer, on average, and had up to a six percent increase in overall sleep efficiency (i.e., significantly less non-sleep time in bed), compared to when they drank a non-cherry, fruit cocktail.

A British study has found that restricting carbohydrate intake two days a week may be a better way to prevent breast cancer and other diseases than simply restricting calories. Researchers compared three diets over four months to determine the effect on weight loss and on blood markers of breast cancer among 115 women with a family history of breast cancer. Patients were randomly assigned to a calorie-restricted, low-carb diet for two days a week; an low-carb, high-protein, high-healthy fat diet for two days a week; or a standard calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet for seven days a week. The intermittent low-carb diet that allowed unlimited protein and fats was superior to the calorie-restricted diet for reducing weight and reducing insulin levels, a marker for breast cancer.

Postmenopausal women on a diet who snacked between breakfast and lunch lost significantly less weight than women who avoided snacks, a randomized U.S. clinical study has found. Researchers found in the year-long study that mid-morning snackers lost an average of seven  percent of their total body weight. But those who ate a healthy breakfast and did not snack before lunch lost more than 11 percent of their body weight. The researchers said snacks can be a source of additional fruits, vegetables, and fiber-rich foods, but “snacking patterns might also reflect unhealthy eating habits and impede weight-loss progress.” They suggested that future studies should focus on the impact of such factors as timing, frequency, and quality of snacks on weight loss.

Obese patients with type 2 diabetes who consumed a low-calorie diet were able to eliminate insulin dependence, according to an unpublished Dutch clinical study. They also showed signs of improved heart function. The researchers used cardiac MRI to analyze cardiac function and pericardial fat in 15 patients after four months of a 500-calories-a-day diet. BMI dropped from 35.3 to 27.5 over four months. Pericardial fat decreased and diastolic heart function improved. After an additional 14 months of follow-up on a regular diet, BMI increased to 31.7, but pericardial fat only increased slightly. "Despite regain of weight, these beneficial cardiovascular effects were persistent over the long term," the researchers concluded.

An increase in physical activity is associated with improvement in the quality of diet, a U.S. study has found. The researchers said that an understanding of the interaction between exercise and a healthy diet can improve both preventative and therapeutic measures against obesity. Data from studies suggest that tendencies toward a healthy diet and the right amount of exercise often go hand in  hand: increasing physical exercise actually tends to improve diet quality. The researchers said that “when exercise is added to a weight-loss diet, treatment of obesity is more successful and the diet is adhered to in the long run."