Optimum Vitamin D Blood Level For Reducing Major Medical Risks In Older Adults

In testing older patients’ blood vitamin D levels, there’s uncertainty about where the dividing line falls between enough and not enough. The threshold amount has become controversial as several scientific societies set different targets

Diets High In Beta-Carotene Have A Potential ‘Dark Side’

New research suggests that there could be health hazards associated with consuming excessive amounts of beta-carotene. This antioxidant is a naturally occurring pigment that gives color to foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes and certain greens. It also converts to vitamin A, and foods and supplements are the only sources for this essential nutrient…

Irreversible Damage To Teeth Caused By Sports And Energy Drinks

A recent study published in the May/June 2012 issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry, found that an alarming increase in the consumption of sports and energy drinks, especially among adolescents, is causing irreversible damage to teeth – specifically, the high acidity levels in the drinks erode tooth enamel, the glossy…

Better Than Antibiotics: Garlic Compound Fights Source Of Food-Borne Illness

Researchers at Washington State University have found that a compound in garlic is 100 times more effective than two popular antibiotics at fighting the Campylobacter bacterium, one of the most common causes of intestinal illness. Their work was recently published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy…

Hope For Anti-Aging Pill Restored As Controversy On Life-Extending Red Wine Ingredient Resolved

A study in the May issue of the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism appears to offer vindication for an approach to anti-aging drugs that has been at the center of heated scientific debate in recent years. The new findings show for the first time that the metabolic benefits of the red wine ingredient known as resveratrol evaporate in mice that lack the famed longevity gene SIRT1…