Category: Health/Nutrition

The definition of "organic" is defined by U.S. Department of Agriculture; "natural," however, can be defined differently depending on who's doing the labeling. But both terms mean one thing: higher costs for producers. That's why Ben Wileman hopes that his research will be another tool to help those in the beef industry pondering whether to abandon conventional methods and go natural or organic.

When Kansas State University graduate student Ben Wileman was a practicing veterinarian in Belle Fourche, S.D., natural and organic labels were a big focus for the beef producers he saw.

Foods that may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition, identified as functional foods, are becoming a key part of everyday life, according to a new article appearing in "Food Technology," a publication of the Institute of Food Technologists.

Liz Sloan, has identified the top 10 trends in functional foods.

Sloan, a contributing editor and president of Sload Trends and Solutions, has published her findings in the journal Food Technology. The article noted that the majority of Americans, 69 percent, are incorporating foods into a preventative lifestyle, while 27 percent are utilizing food as a treatment to manage a preexisting health condition. Over a third of shoppers are trying to reduce the risk of developing a health condition, following a doctor’s advice, or manage/treat a specific condition on their own.

Most of the acne treatments on the markets these days are nothing more than a synthetic form of vitamin A - and you can get the vitamin A you need in a more heathful fashion through your diet.

Most of you will know about Accutane, Isotretinoin, or any of the other names given to the synthetic drug prescribed for severe acne sufferers. However, if you have not researched it or taken it yourself you may not be aware that this drug is simply a synthetic (manufactured), pre-formed vitamin A replacement.

A new study indicates that eating foods from the cruciferous vegetable family, which includes broccoli, kale and cauliflower, might help prevent breast cancer in certain cases.

When your mother told you to eat your vegetables it appears that maternal wisdom had a scientific basis. Researchers with Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and the Shanghai Cancer Institute in China have discovered a possible link between a diet rich in certain vegetables and a decreased risk for breast cancer. The study appears in the March issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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Jay Fowke, Ph.D., assistant professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt-Ingram, said research has shown a possible link between a diet rich in certain vegetables and a decreased risk for breast cancer.

The study findings show that sulforaphane, a chemical in broccoli, switches on a set of antioxidant genes and enzymes in specific immune cells, which then combat the injurious effects of molecules known as free radicals that can damage cells and lead to disease.

Eat your broccoli! That's the advice from UCLA researchers who have found that a chemical in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables may hold a key to restoring the body's immunity, which declines as we age.

A food marketing researcher is learning more about consumer attitudes toward organic foods and exploring their influence on U.S. Markets. It seems that the average organic consumer ain't who she used to be.

A food marketing researcher from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia is learning more about consumer attitudes toward organic foods and exploring their influence on U.S. Markets.

Eating curcumin, a natural ingredient in the spice turmeric, may dramatically reduce the chance of developing heart failure, researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre of the Toronto General Hospital have discovered.

In a study entitled, “Curcumin prevents and reverses murine cardiac hypertrophy,” published in the February edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers found when the herb is given orally to a variety of mouse models with enlarged hearts (hypertrophy), it can prevent and reverse hypertrophy, restore heart function and reduce scar formation.

You know that you're supposed to eat your fruit - but do you really know what goodness lurks within? You will after you read this article.

Looking for something to turn back your internal clock by increasing your vitality and improving your appearance? Of course there's no Fountain of Youth, but research suggests that nature has provided us with an answer that comes very close -- fruit. It almost seems too simple: Eat fruit; fool Mother Nature. Yet studies show that by eating four to five servings of fruit each day, you can improve your chances of staying healthy and vibrant as you age. That's because fruit is loaded with phytochemicals, which are natural compounds that may help slow the aging process and reduce the risk of many diseases.

The vitamin D deficiency long interpreted as a cause of disease is more likely the result of the disease process and increasing intake of vitamin D often makes the disease worse.

Low blood levels of vitamin D have long been associated with disease, and the assumption has been made that vitamin D supplements may protect against disease. In the light of new knowledge that hundreds of genes are dependent on vitamin D, this assumption needs to be reconsidered.

The link between eating oatmeal and cholesterol reduction is stronger than when the FDA initially approved the health claim's appearance on food labels in 1997, a new study shows.

A new scientific review of the most current research shows the link between eating oatmeal and cholesterol reduction to be stronger than when the FDA initially approved the health claim's appearance on food labels in 1997.