Feb. 6, 2013 -- The standard advice about which fats are best for heart health is under debate again.

Triggering it is new research, just published in BMJ, finding that a form of omega-6 fatty acid found in vegetable oils may actually boost heart disease risk. Omega-6 fatty (More)
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Feb. 5, 2013 -- Higher fitness levels in middle age are linked with a lower risk of dementia later in life, a new study suggests.

"We already know exercise has cardiovascular and many other benefits, but this may give people more incentive to get moving," (More)
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Feb. 5, 2012 -- Today's baby boomers may live longer than their parents, but they are less healthy overall, a new study finds.

"U.S. baby boomers have higher rates of chronic disease, more disability, and lower self-rated health than members of the previous generation at the same age," write the authors of the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Dana King, MD, of the West Virginia University School of Medicine, analyzed data from the (More)
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Feb. 5, 2013 -- Healthy young men who watch TV for more than 20 hours a week have almost half the sperm count of men who watch very little television. But men who do 15 or more hours of moderate to vigorous exercise every week have sperm counts that are 73% higher than those who exercise for less than five hours a week, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Allan Pacey, PhD, British Fertility Society chairman (More)
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Feb. 4, 2013 -- Today, on World Cancer Day, the organization behind this annual event is aiming to dispel several myths about cancer.

The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) is trying to counteract the myths that cancer is a death sentence and a disease of the wealthy, the elderly, and developed countries.

In fact, more than half of the deaths from cancer (55%) happen (More)
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Feb. 1, 2013 -- Not all cancer screening tests are helpful, and some are potentially harmful, according to a new Consumer Reports rating.

In the new report, Consumer Reports recommends only three of 11 common cancer screening tests, and then only for certain age groups.

Screenings for cervical, (More)
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Feb. 1, 2012 -- We know we don't have a "magic bullet" yet when it comes to weight loss, but at least we can count on some old standbys -- like eating a little less each day adds up over time, breastfeeding means lean children, and when all else fails, sex can burn the (More)
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Jan. 31, 2013 -- The risk of hospitalization or death from heart disease is almost a third lower in vegetarians than in people who eat meat and fish, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Oxford in England say the health benefits of not eating meat likely stem from having lower (More)
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Jan. 30, 2013 -- PepsiCo recently announced it would remove brominated vegetable oil (BVO) from its Gatorade drinks in response to customer concerns.

Just what is BVO? And what is it doing in your sports drink?

To learn more, we reached out to food chemists Kantha Shelke, PhD, a Chicago scientist who consults with food companies to develop new products, and Walter Vetter, PhD, who is studying BVO at the University of Hohenheim in (More)
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Jan. 29, 2013 -- Older women with heart problems may be at greater risk for mental changes that are thought to signal the beginnings of a type of dementia, a new study shows.

Called vascular dementia, it is a type of mental decline that's thought to be caused by (More)
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