A study to be published in the April 2009 issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene reports that desserts from restaurants in Mexico are likely to give patients travelers’ diarrhea, and are yet another food to avoid when visiting developing countries where sanitation may not be optimal. Of the desserts sampled, ice [...]

Chemists in Taiwan are reporting that an ingredient in licorice – widely used in various foods and herbal medicines – appears to block the absorption of cyclosporine, a drug used by transplant patients to prevent organ rejection. This drug interaction could potentially result in transplant rejection, causing illness and even death among patients worldwide who [...]

AACR.org – Omega-3 fatty acids appear to protect against advanced prostate cancer, and this benefit may be modified by a genetic variant in the COX-2 gene, according to a report in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Previous research has shown protection against prostate cancer, but this is one [...]

SC.edu – Physically fit women are less likely to die from breast cancer, according to a study by researchers at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health. The findings are published in the April 2009 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®, the official scientific journal of the American College [...]

JAMA / Archives – An actual epidemic of vitamin D deficiency? Yes, and it’s “growing” in the US, according to public health researchers. Average blood levels of vitamin D appear to have decreased in the United States between 1994 and 2004, according to a NIH-funded research report in the March 23, 2009 issue of Archives of [...]

JAMA / Archives – Oral vitamin D supplements at a dose of at least 400 international units per day are associated with a reduced risk of bone fractures in older adults, according to results of a meta-analysis published in the March 23, 2009 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. “The anti-fracture benefits of vitamin D [...]