Our leg veins have a tough job, which is to pump blood back up to the heart against gravity. When the small valves within those veins become weak, they are no longer able to keep blood from drifting back down and pooling in the legs. This situation is known as venous...
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Avoid and improve varicose veins
Our leg veins have a tough job, which is to pump blood back up to the heart against gravity. When the small valves within those veins become weak, they are no longer able to keep blood from drifting back down and pooling in the legs. This situation is known as venous...
B-vitamin cuts Alzheimer’s risk
Vitamin B-3 (niacin) may protect against the development of Alzheimer’s disease and the cognitive decline associated with aging, say researchers who studied almost 4,000 people aged 65 and older. Dietary questionnaires revealed that those with the lowest intake of...
Lutein shines in aging vision trials
Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of vision loss in aging Western societies. Cataracts occur when protein in the eye lens becomes damaged, clouding vision. Two recent studies indicate that lutein, a type of carotenoid, can actually help...
Tea tree for dandruff and bad breath
Those with a dandruff problem may find help with tea tree oil, say researchers at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia. Since tea tree oil has antifungal properties and dandruff is related to the yeast Pityrosporum ovale, the researchers theorized that tea...
Help cut cholesterol with green tea
In a trial at the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, researchers set out to determine if green tea consumption, which has been associated with decreased cardiovascular risk, had any impact on cholesterol levels. In...
Milk thistle has anticancer benefits
Silibinin, found in milk thistle extract, is a naturally occurring flavonoid shown to have promising anticancer activity. At the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, researchers found that silibinin was beneficial for bladder cancer. Targeting a...
Smart Fats: brain food for all ages
The human brain is mostly fat, and good fat at that! To develop, grow and protect itself properly, the brain relies on us to give it a steady supply of this good fat, which cannot be made by the body but must come through the diet. However, most of us don’t give our...
Green tea inhibits cancer cells
Recent studies have reported that polyphenols, compounds found in green tea, may offer protection against certain cancers and may aid in the destruction of cancer cells. Now, Mayo Clinic researchers have found that another component in green tea helps kill the most...
Nutrition Notes: The price of junk food
A new report on our eating habits reveals that almost a quarter of the calories we consume comes from nutrient-poor selections — better known as “junk food.” According to survey responses, soft drinks are the number one source of calories. They accounted for 7.1% of...