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Vitamin C May Improve Mood

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Vitamin C May Improve Mood, According To New Study... Important New Research On Vitamin C For Cognitive and Mental Function Supplementation with vitamin C could improve the emotional state of hospitalized patients, according to new research. The trial, published in the journal Nutrition , suggests that increasing vitamin C levels in acutely hospitalized patients, who often have vitamin deficiencies, could measurably improve mood response scores by 34 percent. "About one in five acute-care patients in our hospital have vitamin C levels so low as to be compatible with scurvy," said research scientists at McGill University, Canada. "Patients are rarely given vitamin supplements. Most physicians are simply unaware of the problem. Subclinical  deficiencies of vitamin C and D have each been linked to psychological abnormalities, so we examined that aspect in our clinical trial," they added. Deficiency The term hypo-vitaminosis C usually implies a deficienc

Citrus Compounds May Reduce Cancer Risk

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  Important New Research On How Antioxidants, Carotenoids, Flavonoids & Phytonutrients From Citrus Fruit Sources Are Beneficial For Cancer Risk Reduction Daily consumption of citrus may reduce the risk of a range of cancers, especially pancreatic and prostate cancer, suggests a new study from Japan. Eating citrus daily was associated with a 11 and 14 percent reduction in the incidence of all types of cancer for men and women, respectively, according to a study with 42,270 people living in North Eastern Japan. Findings published in the International Journal of Cancer also indicate that co-consumption with one cup of green tea a day produced an enhanced protective effect. "Because of the popularity of citrus and green tea among the Japanese people, these findings suggest that a possible joint effect between them may have implications for public health," wrote the researcher scientists from Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine. A daily serving of citrus ma

Vitamin E May Boost Brain Health After Stroke

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May prevent nerve cell death in the brain following a stroke, suggests new research on this emerging form of Vitamin E. Alpha-tocotrienol, one of eight forms of Vitamin E, was found to inhibit an enzyme from releasing fatty acids that eventually kill neurons, according to findings from a study with mouse brain cells published in the Journal of Neurochemistry. The beneficial effects are observed at low levels of the nutrient, researchers from Ohio State University report following their National Institutes of Health-funded study. "Tocotrienol - a natural dietary form of the nutrient Vitamin E, can be just as effective as drugs or other therapeutic agents, if not more so, in neural protection, opening up new possibilities into prevention and even treatment of stroke and other neuro-degenerative diseases" the researchers noted. The potential neuroprotective effects of nanomolar levels of tocotrienol were first reported a decade ago. This latest study from The Ohio Stat

Mango Fruit Prevents or Stops Certain Colon & Breast Cancers

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Mango Fruit Has Been Found To Prevent or Stop Certain Colon And Breast Cancer Cells, Food Scientists Find... That's according to a new study by Texas AgriLife Research food scientists, who examined the five varieties most common in the U.S. The tropical mango is an ancient fruit heavily consumed in many parts of the world, known to have beneficial digestive health aspects. The National Mango Board commissioned a variety of studies with several U.S. researchers to help determine its nutritional value. As a superfood providing valuable nutrients and enzymes as well as high antioxidant levels, Mango is beneficial to health, similar to blueberry, acai and pomegranate. The research team checked mango against cancer cells anyway, and found it prevented or stopped cancer growth in certain breast and colon cells. " If you look at it from the physiological and nutritional standpoint, taking everything together, it would be a high-ranking super food,"they noted. "It would

Cranberry Now Recognized For Heart Health

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Flavonoid - OPCs (oligomeric procyanidins) Now Recognized As Beneficial for Heart Health... Fruit Sources of Antioxidants, Carotenoids, Phytochemicals Suppling High OPC Flavonoid Levels Are Proven Beneficial For Supporting Cardiovascular Health. 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 specific phytochemicals present in flavonoid-rich foods provide the most the benefits, according to the British and Japanese researchers behind the new study. Findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry indicate that oligomeric procyanidins (OPC) had "by far the most potent effects" on the function of the endothelium (the cells lining blood vessels). The research also

Omega-3 May Slash Psychotic Disorder Risk

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Supplements of omega-3-rich fish oil may reduce the likelihood of developing psychotic disorders in high-risk people, say results of a new clinical trial. Twelve weeks of supplementation with fish oil rich in EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) reduced the risk of progression to full threshold psychosis by 22.6 per cent, compared to placebo, according to findings published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The link between omega-3 and cognitive function and behaviour is not new, with various studies reporting beneficial results for the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Some of the more promising data has been reported for DHA, with memory function improvements found for healthy older adults with a decline in cognitive function that occurs naturally with age, and known to precede diseases such as Alzheimer's. The new study is the first of its kind to show benefits of omega-3 fatty acids in a help seeking group at ultra-high risk of psychosis, claim the res

Western Diets Turn on Fat Genes

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Those extra helpings of gravy and dessert at the holiday table are even more of a problem to your waistline than previously thought. According to a new research report recently appearing online in The FASEB Journal , a diet that is high in fat and in sugar actually switches on genes that ultimately cause our bodies to store too much fat. These foods strike you with a double-problem as the task of converting high-fat and high-sugar foods to energy is made even more difficult because these foods also turn our bodies into "fat-storage containers." In the research report, scientists show that foods high in fat and sugar stimulate a known opioid receptor, called the kappa opioid receptor (KOR), which plays a role in fat metabolism. When this receptor is stimulated, it causes our bodies to hang on to much more fat than they'd do otherwise. According to the researchers involved in the study, "the data presented here support the hypothesis that overactivat