High blood pressure is famously dubbed “the silent killer” because it quietly damages blood vessels and raises risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease. But the story isn’t quite black-and-white: there are situations in which a somewhat higher blood pressure might be tolerated, or conversely,...
Introduction A recent dermatological study has uncovered compelling evidence that dietary fiber does more than support digestion—it plays a crucial role in preventing inflammatory skin conditions and chr...
Veggies vs. heart disease. Numerous studies now link plant-heavy diets to healthier hearts. In general, people who eat more vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and whole grains – and less meat – have better blood pressure, cholesterol and body weight profiles. A key question: how much does this translate to...
Emulsifiers and the gut. Modern foods often contain emulsifiers (like carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80) to improve texture. Recent research raises concerns that these “common” additives may upset our gut microbiome and in turn affect mood. In mice, studies show these emulsifiers can strip away...
Parkinson’s disease arises when dopamine-producing neurons in the brain die off, causing tremors and movement problems. Two early trials now report that transplanting stem cells can regenerate these neurons. In one study, researchers injected neural precursor cells (derived from stem cell...
Promising early data. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) researchers have long searched for a preventive therapy. A recent report brings new hope: an experimental anti-amyloid antibody showed it could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms in genetically at-risk individuals. In a trial of 73 peo...
A new population study finds that quitting alcohol is linked to significant mental health gains. Researchers in Hong Kong analyzed data from thousands of adults and discovered that people who stopped drinking – especially women – showed noticeable improvements in mood and well-b...
Two professional artists born without arms have remarkable “toe maps” in their brains, neuroscientists report. Using high-resolution brain imaging, researchers found that these men’s somatosensory cortex – the area normally devoted to sensation – had distinct clusters for...
