There has been plenty of recent research on Vitamin D, as we have discussed before. With this much new information about how important the “sunshine vitamin” is for us, it shouldn’t be surprising that scientists are re-evaluating just how much we need to stay healthy. Read the rest of this entry »

Multilevel marketing (MLM) is rampant in the fitness and health fields. It’s everywhere from promotion of supplements to exercise programs and more. While some of them are excellent as our reviews here reflect many if not most of them are dubious at best. That’s why it’s always a present surprise to find a study that affirms that an existing MLM product not only works but does so much more than the marketing people thought to mention.

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A lot has been made of new research showing that tanning beds can be “addictive.” Indeed, some people — including many dermatologists — want to see tanning beds banned! The FDA Advisory Panel wants restrictions on the use of tanning beds by minors. Politicians have imposed additional taxes on tanning bed use like the taxes on cigarettes. But here’s the problem: tanning beds can be of great benefit to people with vitamin D deficiency, and that is more common than you think.

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Much ado has been made about yogurt as a treatment for “irregularity,” so much so that one major vendor of yogurt specifically markets their new blend of bacteria and fermented milk for the improvement of “long intestinal transit time.” It all sounds wonderful, just eat a cup of yogurt and the trains run on time. That’s actually proven to be true in multiple studies, which is great for most people.

For those who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a condition that makes a mockery of regularity, things are always a little more vexing. For them, yogurt induced regularity would be a godsend. Publishing in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, researchers have taken a good look at this very question. Read the rest of this entry »

While many researchers have been looking to exotic plants of the tropics and Far East for life extending and enhancing compounds, it turns out that one of the hottest areas for research is a humble fruit native to North America. Cultivated since the 1800s and harvested wild from bogs and forests by Native Americans for centuries, the blueberry has long been known to be loaded with vitamin C and more recently been noted for a variety of other beneficial plant compounds. Blueberries are fairly low calorie and carry a low glycemic load and should be on the shortlist of anyone looking for a healthy snack.

Recent years have seen volumes of research on the compounds in blueberries. Our friends at the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry have published no less than 53 papers in last year on the berry. Topics have been wide ranging, most recently they’ve found some interesting effects on vision and memory. Read the rest of this entry »