If you’ve ever had a problem with rodents and woken up to find that mice had chewed their way through the Cheerios, the Famous Amos, three packages of Ramen noodles, and even that carton of baker’s yeast you had bought in a fit of “Ladies of the Canyon” wistfulness, you will appreciate just how freakish is the strain of laboratory mouse that lacks all motivation to eat.
The mouse is physically capable of eating. It still likes the taste of food. Put a kibble in its mouth, and it will chew and swallow, all the while wriggling its nose in apparent rodent satisfaction. Read the rest of this entry »
A new study suggests people who choose plain water to quench their thirst over other beverages have healthier diets.
According to Reuters, the study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who drink water tend to eat a diet higher in fiber and lower in sugar and calorie-dense foods.
According to researchers involved with the study, the findings do not prove that drinking water makes people eat healthier. Rather, it suggests a connection between the two. Read the rest of this entry »
According to a new study, vegetable consumption may be linked to lower blood pressure due to the presence of a specific amino acid.
The compound in question is glutamic acid, and according to the work conducted at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, boosting its intake may contribute to better health of the circulatory system.
The researchers analyzed data from the International Study on Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure which involved 4,680 people aged between 40-59 in rural and urban populations in China, Japan, the UK and the U.S. Read the rest of this entry »
Nearly half of patients who completed 56 weeks of treatment with Orexigen Therapeutics Inc’s experimental obesity treatment, Contrave, lost at least 10 percent of their weight in a late-stage study and the drug also appeared to help cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
The drug demonstrated an even greater improvement in non- weight loss measures in patients considered to be at high risk of heart disease, according to data released on Saturday.
Orexigen released top-line data in July from a trio of Phase III trials showing Contrave met its primary goal of at least 5 percent weight loss compared with a placebo. Read the rest of this entry »
When Kathy Perusse had weight-loss surgery and shed 120 pounds, she may have done more than make her own life easier.
She went on to have two daughters, and she may have boosted their chances of avoiding becoming obese, like her two older children are.
That’s the implication of research suggesting that something in an obese woman‘s womb can program her fetus toward becoming a fat child and adult. It’s not about simply passing along genes that promote obesity; it’s some sort of still-mysterious signal. Read the rest of this entry »
A dramatic rise in antidepressant prescriptions issued by GPs has been caused by a year on year increase in the number of people taking antidepressant drugs on a long-term basis, according to researchers from the University of Southampton.
In a paper, published in the printed edition of British Medical Journal (BMJ) tomorrow, scientists found that despite a drop in the number of new patients diagnosed with depression over 11 years, the number of prescriptions doubled.
“We estimate that more than 2 million people are now taking antidepressants long-term over several years, in particular women aged between 18 and 30,” comments Tony Kendrick, a professor in Primary Medical Care of the University’s School of Medicine, who led the study. Read the rest of this entry »
