Monday, February 14, 2011

A diet higher in fiber, particularly grains, may lead to a longer life, a study finds - latimes.com

A diet higher in fiber, particularly grains, may lead to a longer life, a study finds - latimes.com:
"Those who consumed diets higher in fiber had a lower risk of death. The 20% of men and women who ate the most fiber (29.4 grams per day for men and 25.8 grams for women) had a 22% lower risk of dying compared with those who ate the least amount (12.6 grams per day for men and 10.8 for women).

Diets high in fiber were linked with a lower risk of death from all causes, as well as death from cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases and respiratory diseases in men and women. Eating fiber was associated with a lower death risk from cancer for men, but the same was not seen in women."

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Cranberries’ Reputation as Infection Fighter Is Hard to Confirm - NYTimes.com

Cranberries’ Reputation as Infection Fighter Is Hard to Confirm - NYTimes.com:
"Now a large, impeccably designed and executed study of cranberry juice has found that the presumed active compound apparently has no effect. And yet the newest study closed no doors. It may simply mean that the juice works, but by an unknown mechanism.

How can one little berry be so difficult to pin down?

For one thing, the cranberry contains more than 200 active substances in addition to vitamin C, citric acid and an array of other acids.... More to the point, urine from both mice and people who drank modest amounts of cranberry juice also prevented bacterial adherence."