Medical Breakthroughs
Another reason to eat chocolate, oily protectors against heart attacks, and why Bugs Bunny will never get cancer.
By Rachel Dowd
Illustration By Karen Greenberg
Illustration By Karen Greenberg
A daily dose of chocolate
may reduce the risk of hypertension and diabetes. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating 3.5 ounces of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate daily for 15 days reduced insulin resistance and lowered systolic blood pressure significantly in healthy patients. White chocolate offered no benefit; milk chocolate wasnt tested. All chocolate is high in calories (about 150 per ounce), so opt for dark in limited amounts.
Fish oil or soy oil
taken in daily supplements improves heart function and protects against heart attacks, concludes a study published in the journal Chest. Investigators gave 58 cardiac patients either 2 grams of fish oil or 2 grams of soy oil each day. After 11 weeks, all the participants exhibited significant improvement in cardiac function, though those taking fish oil saw results within the first three weeks, whereas it took over eight weeks for soy oil to show positive results.
A substance in carrots
seems to offer protection against cancer, according to researchers at the University of Southern Denmark. Rats with precancerous tumors who ate falcarinol (a natural anti-fungal in carrots) or whole carrots with their food for 18 weeks were a third less likely to develop cancer than those who ate neither.
Chiropractic care
may help fight oxidative stress in healthy people. Swedish researchers at the University of Lund compared people undergoing chiropractic care for general wellness to patients with conditions like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. They found that blood levels of thiol, an antioxidant promoting DNA repair, were three times higher in those undergoing chiropractic therapy for overall health than in patients with active diseases. Long-term care (longer than one year) showed the greatest results.
Read more Healthy Eating articles.
may reduce the risk of hypertension and diabetes. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating 3.5 ounces of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate daily for 15 days reduced insulin resistance and lowered systolic blood pressure significantly in healthy patients. White chocolate offered no benefit; milk chocolate wasnt tested. All chocolate is high in calories (about 150 per ounce), so opt for dark in limited amounts.
Fish oil or soy oil
taken in daily supplements improves heart function and protects against heart attacks, concludes a study published in the journal Chest. Investigators gave 58 cardiac patients either 2 grams of fish oil or 2 grams of soy oil each day. After 11 weeks, all the participants exhibited significant improvement in cardiac function, though those taking fish oil saw results within the first three weeks, whereas it took over eight weeks for soy oil to show positive results.
A substance in carrots
seems to offer protection against cancer, according to researchers at the University of Southern Denmark. Rats with precancerous tumors who ate falcarinol (a natural anti-fungal in carrots) or whole carrots with their food for 18 weeks were a third less likely to develop cancer than those who ate neither.
Chiropractic care
may help fight oxidative stress in healthy people. Swedish researchers at the University of Lund compared people undergoing chiropractic care for general wellness to patients with conditions like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. They found that blood levels of thiol, an antioxidant promoting DNA repair, were three times higher in those undergoing chiropractic therapy for overall health than in patients with active diseases. Long-term care (longer than one year) showed the greatest results.
Read more Healthy Eating articles.
