Diet & Health

Data from 11 different cohort studies, involving more than 600,000 people from around the world, has found that:

A small trial involving seven older adults with insomnia has found that when they consumed 8 ounces of tart cherry juice twice daily for two weeks, they were able to sleep more than an hour longer each night (averaging 84 minutes) compared to when they took the placebo, and their sleep tended to be more efficient.

Montmorency tart cherries are a natural source of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle. The juice also helped to increase the availability of tryptophan, an essential amino acid and a precursor to serotonin that helps with sleep.

A study involving 12 rhesus macaques, of whom some were given access to alcohol, has found that those who drank moderately showed enhanced responses to a smallpox vaccine (compared with the control group of monkeys who drank sugar water), indicating a bolstered immune system, while heavy drinkers showed greatly diminished vaccine responses.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-12/ohs-sma121713.php

A Finnish study has found that people who increased their intake of fatty fish to a minimum of 3–4 weekly meals had more large HDL cholesterol in their blood than people who were less frequent eaters of fish. Large HDL particles are believed to protect against cardiovascular diseases.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-03/uoef-iio030314.php

A study involving healthy men and women fed a baseline diet containing 550 mg choline/day (the adequate intake level set by the Institute of Medicine) for 10 days, then put on a low choline diet (50 mg choline/day) for up to 42 days, has found that the "right" amount of choline depends on many factors, including gender, age, and ethnicity.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-03/foas-osd032714.php

Preliminary studies have demonstrated that grape skin extract exerts a novel inhibitory activity on hyperglycemia and could be developed to aid in diabetes management.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-05/wsu--gse050814.php

A Swedish study has found that those who ate poor breakfasts as year 9 students had a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome 27 years later, compared with those who ate more substantial breakfasts.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-01/uu-pbi012914.php

A study involving 362 children with reading problems has found that 16 weeks of daily 600 mg supplements of omega-3 DHA from algal sources improved their sleep. According to a sleep questionnaire filled out by parents, 40% of these children had significant sleep problems. Monitoring of 43 of the poor sleepers found that children taking daily supplements of omega-3 had nearly one hour (58 minutes) more sleep and seven fewer waking episodes per night compared with children taking a placebo.

A mouse study suggests that merely changing meal times could have a significant effect on the levels of triglycerides in the liver. Levels of triglycerides followed a circadian rhythm, with levels peaking about eight hours after sunrise (note that mice are nocturnal). Mice generally eat 20% of their food during the day, and 80% at night. Mice lacking a functional body clock eat constantly during the day. When normal mice were given the same amount of food, but had to eat it only at night, there was a quick and dramatic 50% decrease in overall liver TAG levels.