Research news reports
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 mouse study suggests that resveratrol—a compound abundant in red wine—may moderate some of a high-fat diet’s negative effects on the immune system.
A study involving 74 older adults (70+), of whom 3 had mild dementia, 33 were cognitively normal and 38 had mild cognitive impairment, has found that high levels of "good" cholesterol and low levels of "bad" cholesterol correlated with lower levels of the amyloid-beta plaques in the brain (a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease).
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-12/uoc--hga122613.php
A review of research from 1957 to the present has concluded that a whole diet approach, and specifically Mediterranean-style diets, has more evidence for reducing cardiovascular risk than strategies that focus exclusively on reduced dietary fat.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/ehs-ssw020514.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 British study analyzing data from 7,011 adults who participated in two Health and Lifestyle Surveys, has found that a new method of measuring obesity, A Body Shape Index (ABSI), is a more effective predictor of mortality than Body Mass Index (BMI). You can find an online calculator at http://www-ce.ccny.cuny.edu/nir/sw/absi-calculator.html.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/ccon-nss022414.php
A study involving 39 young adult men and women of normal weight, who ate 750 extra calories in the form of muffins every day for seven weeks, found that those whose muffins were made with palm oil built significantly more fat and less muscle than those whose muffins were made with sunflower oil. Moreover, the palm oil group developed the fat in more dangerous places — in the liver and abdomen. The groups gained the same amount of weight.
A study in which 23 healthy volunteers ate half a kilo of strawberries every day for a month has found that their levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides reduced significantly.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/f-sf-slc022514.php
"Sprouted" garlic — old garlic bulbs with bright green shoots emerging from the cloves — have been found to have even more heart-healthy antioxidant activity than fresh garlic.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/acs-dto022614.php
A study involving 44 middle-aged overweight men who consumed 70 grams of dark chocolate per day over two periods of four weeks, has found that dark chocolate helps restore flexibility to arteries while also preventing white blood cells from sticking to the walls of blood vessels. Both arterial stiffness and white blood cell adhesion are known factors that play a significant role in atherosclerosis.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/foas-wdc022714.php