Forums: Nutrition

Hundreds of children and parents gathered at an Orlando church early Saturday to raise awareness about health and obesity. The Walk A Mile With A Child event at Grace Bible Church, sponsored by the National Medical Association, was designed to reach black and Hispanic Orlandoans with a message about the benefits of a commitment to physical fitness. (snip) U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin is lecturing at the NMA opening ceremony today. (snip) "The number of black physicians has been eroding," said Dr. Nelson Adams, of Miami. Adams is former state and national president of the National Medical Association.

An array of studies from scientists at the Agricultural Research Service’s Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, California, is yielding new clues about the roles that compounds from plants may play in preventing cancer and other diseases. For example, molecular biologist Susan J. Zunino has investigated the role that certain compounds in strawberries may have in combating cancer. Her tests with lab-cultured cells of a cancer known as “acute lymphoblastic leukemia” have provided additional evidence that three compounds occurring naturally in strawberries—ellagic acid, kaempferol, and quercetin—can cause death, or significant damage, to certain lines of these leukemia cells. The...

Long-term supplementation with dietary antioxidants has beneficial effects on sugar and fat metabolism, blood pressure and arterial flexibility in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism report these positive results in a randomized controlled trial of combined vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium capsules. Reuven Zimlichman worked with a team of researchers from Wolfson Medical Center, Israel, to carry out the study in 70 patients from the centre's hypertension clinic. He said, "Antioxidant supplementation significantly increased large and small artery elasticity in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors....

A federal nutrition panel wants to change the way Americans eat. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, composed of 13 nutrition experts, is charged with coming up with recommendations that will figure in the government's planned update of the iconic food pyramid. Its findings: People should consume more vegetables and whole grains, and less fatty meats, salt and sugar. The report aims to tackle what is widely seen as a national epidemic of obesity.