Coffee intake linked to reduced risk of MS

It is estimated that more than 2.3 million people worldwide have multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic disease of the central nervous system - the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease, whereby immune-system induced inflammation damages the protective coating of nerve fibers, called myelin. Symptoms of MS vary but commonly include loss of balance and coordination, blurred vision, extreme fatigue,...

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Eating fish during pregnancy may boost baby's development, not impair it

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and international agencies are in the process of revising guidelines concerning fish consumption in an attempt to better reflect the nutritional benefits of fish. Currently, the FDA recommend that pregnant women should eat fish no more than twice a week. The reason for limiting fish consumption is because much of the mercury in the environment ends up in the world's oceans, so fish contain small...

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Antibiotic breakthrough may signal the end of drug-resistant superbugs

Kim Lewis, a microbiologist and professor at Northeastern University in Boston, MA, and colleagues report their discovery in the journal Nature. Many of the antibiotics in use today were discovered decades ago, and since then, microbes have evolved into resistant strains that do not succumb to them. For instance, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2012, there were about 450,000 new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis...

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Losing just half an hour of sleep 'can impact body weight and metabolism'

For the study, researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in Doha, Qatar, recruited 522 patients who had been recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. At the start of the study, the participants' height, weight and waist circumference were measured and samples of their blood were analyzed for insulin sensitivity. The participants were required to keep sleep diaries, from which their weekday "sleep debt" was calculated. The...

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Drinking beetroot juice reduces high blood pressure, trial shows

One glass of beetroot juice a day is enough to significantly reduce blood pressure in patients with high blood pressure, conclude researchers who conducted a placebo-controlled trial in dozens of patients. beetroot juice Beetroot contains high levels of inorganic nitrate. Other leafy vegetables - such as lettuce and cabbage - also have high levels of the compound, which they take up from the soil through their roots. The trial, conducted at Queen...

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Chocolate could prevent obesity and diabetes, study suggests

More than a third of US adults are obese and are, therefore, at higher risk of type 2 diabetes. But new research suggests a surprising prevention strategy for both conditions - eating chocolate. In a mouse study, led by Andrew P. Neilson of the Department of Food Science and Technology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, researchers discovered that a certain antioxidant in cocoa - the main ingredient in chocolate - prevented...

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Alcohol does not benefit the heart, claims new study

A new BMJ study finds that even among people who drink only light to moderate amounts of alcohol, reducing consumption can improve heart health, reduce body mass index, and bring down blood pressure. The large multi-center international study, which was co-led by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, calls into question previous research that suggests light to moderate drinking may be good for the heart. The...

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