Topic: health research

Red Wine’s Benefits, Hold the Wine

Red Wine's Benefits, Hold the Wine

You’ve all heard how red wine, in moderation, is good for your health. Soon, though, you may be able to get the benefits of red wine even while teetotaling.

Chemists at Columbia University have figured out how to synthesize the polyphenols, or chemical compounds, derived from resveratrol, the molecule found in the skin of grapes that scientists think is the agent behind red wine’s heart-protecting abilities (for reasons no one is sure of, white wine just doesn’t have the same benefits). Researchers say the synthetic polyphenols could lead to developing medications that mimic the effects of resveratrol without the red wine (while I can’t imagine who has trouble consuming red wine, I hear this is a problem for some). More »

Study Says Smoking May Increase Risk for Lung Disease…Duh.

Study Says Smoking May Increase Risk for Lung Disease...Duh.

In today’s headlines that could have been written 40 years ago: ScienceDaily says “Smoking May Increase Risk for Lung Disease.” Yes, that’s right, folks: Smoking is still bad for you. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s hospital found that one out of every 12 adult smokers have abnormal lung densities, which are associated with reduction in lung volume. It’s usually risk of cancer that scares us off from smoking, but haven’t we known that cigarettes cause busted lungs for awhile now? More »

Five Servings a Day Will and Won’t Keep Cancer Away

Five Servings a Day Will and Won't Keep Cancer Away

Last night’s “Five Portions a Day ‘Saves Lives’” headline on the BBC caught our attention, not because we’re excited to learn that eating our fruits and “veg” (as the Brits would say) will save our lives, but because we’re pretty sure we saw headlines earlier this week saying that fruits and vegetables won’t prevent cancer, after all. And sure enough, when we clicked on the article, we saw a “related story” that confirmed our confusion: “Five-a-Day ‘Will Not Cut Cancer’.” More »