The collection of symptoms that is the metabolic syndrome - insulin resistance, high cholesterol, fatty liver, and a greater risk for diabetes, heart disease, and stroke - are all related to obesity, but, according to a review in the March 9, 2010 issue of Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, not in the way you probably [...]

MUHC.ca - Vitamin D, readily available in dietary supplements or cod liver oil, can counter the effects of Crohn’s disease. John White, an endocrinologist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, led a team of scientists from McGill University and the Université de Montréal who presented their findings about vitamin D and [...]

Soluble fiber - found in oats, apples, and nuts - reduces the inflammation associated with obesity-related diseases and boosts the immune system, according to a new University of Illinois study.
“Soluble fiber changes the personality of immune cells - they go from being pro-inflammatory, angry cells to anti-inflammatory, healing cells that help us recover faster from [...]

Pycnogenol®, an antioxidant plant extract from the bark of the French maritime pine tree, counteracts kidney damage caused by hypertension, lowering urinary proteins and improving blood flow to the kidneys, according to a study published in the March 2010 issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics. The findings were also relevant to complementary [...]

MUHC.ca - There’s an epidemic of vitamin D insufficiency in progress. A ground-breaking study (of women) published in the March 2010 Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found an astonishing 59 per cent of study subjects had too little Vitamin D in their blood.  Nearly a quarter of the group had serious vitamin D deficiency [...]

LoyolaMedicine.org - A daily dose of vitamin D may just be what Chicagoans need to get through the long winter, according to researchers at Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (MNSON). The researchers propose that adequate vitamin D can help lift moods during cold weather months when days are short and more time [...]