Researchers from Salt Lake City presented evidence at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Conference in Orlando, Florida, that links vitamin D deficiency to heart disease. For more than a year, the Intermountain Medical Center team followed 27,686 people who were 50 years of age or older with no prior history of cardiovascular disease.

U.S. researchers say a plant long used in Chinese medicine may become a cancer treatment. The researchers at the Medical College of Georgia in Atlanta say they are seeking to refine the treatment of cancer with the anti-inflammatory plant derivative -- celastrol-- taken from trees and shrubs called celastracaea.

A new study in the Feb 2010 issue of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry found that mercury in tuna is higher than expected. Tuna is not on the warning list and advocate groups have warned early that some brands of tuna are high in mercury and asked the Food and Drug Administration to update its fish consumption advisory which was jointly issued by the FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Although everyone needs a healthy amount of salt intake, consuming too much can be deadly. Salt is critical to life, as it helps to maintain the water content in our blood, balances the blood’s acids and bases, and is essential for the movement of electrical charges in the nerves that move our muscles. However, the consumption of too much salt can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease. In addition, a diet high in salt content is often associated with weight gain.

Organic farms are a tiny proportion of all American farms, making up less than 1 percent, according to USDA’s first in-depth survey of organic farming. The Wall Street Journal reported American organic farms number 14,540 out of a total of 2.2 million U.S. farms, and generated $3.16 billion in sales in 2008. They report organic farms use just 4.1 million acres of land out of the 922 million acres of land used by all types of U.S. farms.

Cranberry juice rich in antioxidant procyanidins is effective at boosting the health of blood vessels, thereby supporting previous research supporting the cardiovascular health of such compounds. While the potential heart health benefits of flavonoid-rich diets have been reported previously, there was uncertainty about which constituents in flavonoid-rich foods may be behind the benefits, according to the British and Japanese researchers behind the new study.

Clinical trials have confirmed that saffron, the famous Indian spice, can reverse age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness in the elderly. The trials were conducted in Italy and Australia. Professor Silvia Bisti, a visiting scholar based at The VisionCentre at the University of Sydney, described the results as a breakthrough.

Many people aren't as familiar with vitamin K as with other vitamins, but it's increasingly linked with good health. Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps make four of the 13 proteins you need for blood clotting. Recently, researchers have shown that vitamin K is also involved in building bone: low levels have been linked with low bone density.

Whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not, we take in numerous toxins on a daily basis. They can be in the form of household products, cigarette smoke, junk food, pesticides on vegetables, air pollution and a host of other unpleasant elements that we often have little control over. If that’s not enough, our body also produces toxins. These result from our normal metabolic processes, stress and any illness that we are suffering.

Protein has long been a favourite of serious athletes due to its ability to stimulate muscle growth and recovery, which may ultimately help to enhance athletic performance. Once just a staple in the bodybuilder's tool kit, today's mainstream consumer is picking up on the power of protein, realising how this important nutrient can help build lean muscle and improve body strength.

Ready for some scary news? The Center for Environmental Health has detected high levels of lead in women’s handbags and wallets, with some bags testing up to 100 times higher than the federal limit for lead in children’s products. In children’s jewelry made in China, Associated Press Investigators found troubling quantities of cadmium. And a permit writer for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality discovered that a local cement plant reported emitting just 631 pounds of mercury annually when in fact its emissions were about 2,500 pounds per year.

The immune system is a multilayer masterpiece of barriers—mucosal surfaces, skin and other membranes—and chemical defenders that work together to confront and banish pathogens. Their quest is for balance, as some components promote actions, such as inflammation and apoptosis (cell death), while others counter those actions when the goal is achieved, keeping the system in check.

Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is reckoned by some psychiatrists to affect as many as one child in 20 in the United States and Europe. But ever since its existence was accepted by pyschiatric officialdom, an event marked by its inclusion in a manual known as DSM-III, its cause has been a matter of controversy.

In a study presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™ in Chicago, researchers unveiled findings that show that acupuncture may be an effective treatment for depression during pregnancy.

An extract made from one of the main antioxidants found in green tea may be able to slow the progression of prostate cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers from Louisiana state University and published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

The dental health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids may include anti-bacterial effects, extending the benefits beyond inflammation, says a new study from the University of Kentucky. Omega-3 fatty acids of marine and plant origin were found to have strong anti-bacterial activity against a range of oral pathogens, according to findings published in Molecular Oral Microbiology.

Researchers found that when given access to an online program about fruits and vegetables, participants increased their daily fruit and vegetable intake by more than two servings. Many of the participants continued using the program after the study concluded, and even reported their family members became involved in the program.

Sure, some delicacies might taste just like chicken, but they usually feel and look much different. Soy meat alternatives, such as the soy burger, have become more popular recently, with increased sales of eight percent from 2007 to 2008. Now, scientists at the University of Missouri have created a soy substitute for chicken that is much like the real thing. The new soy chicken also has health benefits, including lowering cholesterol and maintaining healthy bones.

In a follow-up study involving 884 HIV-infected pregnant women, results indicate that vitamin D status may be inversely associated with disease progression, anemia and all-cause mortality. The women were followed up for a median of 69.5 months.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital are leading a five-year nationwide trial to find out whether the dietary supplements vitamin D and fish oil can boost the immune system and fight cancer, heart disease, and a host of other ills.

Increased intakes of soy and its isoflavones may decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes in overweight women, says a new study from Japan. The risk of type 2 diabetes was 40 to 50 per cent lower in overweight women who consumed over 118 grams of soy a day, compared to overweight women who consumed less than 43 grams a day, according to a new study with 25,872 men and 33,919 women aged between 45and 75.

Taking fish oil supplements or eating fatty fish high in omega-3 fatty acids may help prevent the development of psychotic disorders or psychosis in people at extremely high risk of the illness, according to a new study in the Feb 2010 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

Higher food and total folate intake reduced the likelihood of pancreatic cancer in women in a recent National Institutes of Health (NIH) study . However, the same association was not found in men.

Among the many benefits of massage therapy are those related to the body's production and regulation of neurohormones. These are the hormones produced by the nervous system that affect an individual's behavior and general well-being. It has long been suspected that massage therapy offers a number of mood enhancing benefits. Now scientific studies back this up.

Recently in the news there was an important report regarding the cholesterol-lowering drug ezetimibe – being marketed as Zetia. A trial comparing the drug to niacin was halted mid-stream. Why? Most likely because the result was not what they expected. It doesn’t improve HDL. It also increases the thickness of artery walls.