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Research Archive

Welcome to our Chinese medicine and acupuncture research news pages. We add to the content of these pages continuously as more research news comes in. Browse through the complete archive below or use the category links on the right.

Please note that the most twenty recent research archive items are free to view but access to the thousands of items in the archive require a journal subscription.

Processed foods linked with depression

Categories: Diet research

UK researchers have discovered a link between processed foods and depression. People who consume a diet rich in high-fat dairy products and fried, refined and sugary foods are at increased risk of developing depression, whereas those whose diet is rich in fish, fruit and vegetables are at lower risk. The analysis, part of the Whitehall II population-based study of middle aged London civil servants ...

Flaxseed protects against osteoporosis

Categories: Diet research

The addition of flaxseed oil to the diet could reduce the risk of osteoporosis in post-menopausal and diabetic women. Egyptian researchers looking at mouse models of the two conditions found that the presence of flaxseed oil in feed over a two month period improved serum levels of biomarkers associated with bone health and had a beneficial effect on bone mineral density. The study authors believe ...

Healthy diet helps generate brain cells

Categories: Diet research

Spanish researchers have determined that a diet rich in polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids (termed the LMN diet) stimulates neurogenesis - the production and differentiation of the brain's stem cells into various types of new neurones. Mice fed an LMN diet for 40 days (equivalent to five human years) were found to have more newly generated cells in two areas of the brain where neurogenesi ...

Western diet turns on fat genes

Categories: Diet research

A diet high in fat and sugar has a double-whammy effect on the waistline, because it switches on genes that cause fat to be stored, according to new research. This study of mice found that foods that are high in fat and sugar stimulate the kappa opioid receptor, which plays a key role in fat metabolism. When this receptor is stimulated, it causes far more fat storage than would otherwise have occu ...

When you eat as important as what you eat

Categories: Diet research

The Chinese belief that meal timing is important to health is being backed up by Western science. Animal experiments have revealed that the daily expression patterns of thousands of metabolic genes in the liver are more dependent on the timing of food intake than on the body's circadian clock, as previously thought. The results of the US study suggest that the times at which eating and fasting occ ...

Health benefits of Mediterranean diet dissected

Categories: Diet research

A large Greek prospective cohort study (23,349 participants) has investigated the relative importance of the individual components of the Mediterranean diet. The dominant components of the Mediterranean diet that score as a predictor of lower mortality are moderate consumption of alcohol, low consumption of meat and meat products and high consumption of vegetables, fruits and nuts, olive oil and l ...

Diet and heart disease

Categories: Diet research

A systematic review of the evidence for links between dietary factors and coronary heart disease shows that strong evidence supports the association of intake of vegetables and nuts and a Mediterranean diet as protective factors, while intake of trans-fatty acids and foods with high glycaemic index are identified as harmful factors. Moderate evidence exists for a protective effect of fish, marine ...

Vegan nuns have same bone density as meat eaters

Categories: Diet research

A study comparing the bone health of vegan Buddhist nuns with non-vegetarian women has found that their bone density was identical. The cross-sectional study showed that, although vegans had lower dietary calcium and protein intakes than omnivores, veganism did not have adverse effect on bone mineral density and did not alter body composition. (Veganism, bone mineral density, and body composition: ...

Diet and exercise reduce cancer

Categories: Diet research

Over 40% of bowel and breast cancer cases in the UK would be prevented by healthy diet, physical activity and weight maintenance, according to a landmark report that sets out recommendations for policies to reduce the global number of cancer cases. The report, Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention, published by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), estimates that about 43% of bowel cancer cases ...

Mediterranean diet protects against cognitive decline

Categories: Diet research

Older people who follow a Mediterranean diet are less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and less likely to progress from MCI to Alzheimer's disease (AD). US researchers analysed data from 1393 cognitively normal individuals and 484 individuals with MCI who had a mean age of 77 years. Study participants were given a score of 0 to 9 based on their adherence to a Mediterranean diet. S ...

Thinking increases calorie intake

Categories: Diet research

An American research team has demonstrated that intellectual work leads to a substantial increase in calorie intake. The team measured the spontaneous food intake of 14 students after three tasks: seated relaxation, summarising text, and completing a series of memory, attention and vigilance tests on a computer. After 45 minutes at each activity, participants were allowed to eat as much as they wa ...

Diet drinks associated with diabetes

Categories: Diet research

Daily consumption of fizzy diet drinks is associated with significantly greater risks for metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) and type-2 diabetes, according to an observational study carried out in the USA. Compared with participants who did not drink diet soda, those who drank diet soda at least daily had a 36% greater relative risk for incident MetSyn and a 67% greater relative risk for incident type-2 ...

Dark chocolate may help weight loss

Categories: Diet research

Danish scientists have shown that dark chocolate is far more filling than milk chocolate, lessening subsequent cravings for sweet, salty and fatty foods. The investigators used a crossover design to compare the effects of dark and milk chocolate on appetite and subsequent calorie intake, in 16 healthy male volunteers. The subjects fasted for 12 hours before consuming 100g of either dark or milk ch ...

Low-carb diets better at controlling diabetes

Categories: Diet research

Very low-carbohydrate diets, consisting of foods with the lowest-possible glycemic index rating, lead to greater improvement in blood sugar control. In a six-month comparison, 84 volunteers with obesity and type-2 diabetes were randomised to either a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet (<20 g of carbohydrate daily; LCKD) or a low-glycemic, reduced-calorie diet (500 kcal/day deficit from weight mai ...

Berry compound reduces effects of ageing

Categories: Diet research

A diet rich in antioxidant compounds from berries and grapes has been shown to reverse cognitive decline and improve memory in laboratory animals of advanced age. In an in vivo study, American scientists tested the effects of seven berry and grape extracts on cell cultures and found that pterostilbene was the most effective at preventing oxidative stress. In the second part of the study, they fed ...

Dark chocolate in moderation reduces inflammation

Categories: Diet research

Dark chocolate contains high concentrations of flavonoids and may have anti-inflammatory properties. An Italian cohort study of 4849 subjects has shown that consuming moderate amounts of dark chocolate can significantly reduce levels of the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP). Investigators related levels of CRP in participants blood to their usual chocolate intake. A J-shaped curve was o ...

Fish and birds in childhood prevent eczema

Categories: Diet research

A Swedish cohort study of 4921 infants has found that introducing fish into the children's diet before nine months of age decreased their likelihood of developing eczema by 24%. Having a bird in the home also had a protective effect, reducing the risk by 65%. Breast feeding and time of milk and egg introduction did not affect the risk. (Early introduction of fish decreases the risk of eczema in in ...

Mediterranean diet prevents chronic diseases-

Categories: Diet research

Adherence to a Mediterranean diet can provide protection against major chronic diseases including heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis by Italian investigators. They analysed 12 studies with a total of more than 1.5 million participants, followed for periods ranging from three to 18 years. The results showed that people ...

Coffee may help protect against type 2 diabetes

Categories: Diet research

Regular consumption of coffee (and possibly black tea) is associated with a lower risk for type 2 diabetes according to the results of a cohort study involving 36,908 Singaporean Chinese men and women. Compared with participants who reported not drinking coffee daily, those who drank four or more cups of coffee daily had a 30% reduction in the risk for diabetes. Compared with participants who repo ...

Eating until full and eating quickly triple obesity risk

Categories: Diet research

A combination of eating until full and eating quickly may increase the risk for becoming overweight by three-fold. 3287 Japanese adults aged 30 to 69 years participated in surveys on cardiovascular risk. Factors surveyed included overweight status and dietary habits of eating until full and speed of eating as measured with questionnaires. Both men and women who reported eating until full and eatin ...