New Medical Specialty Proposed for Combined Depression and Heart Disease

March 15, 2013 | by

New research suggests that there is a strong link between depression and heart disease. Angelos Halaris, M.D., Ph.D., a psychiatrist at the Loyola University Medical Center, is so impressed by the strength of the correlation that he proposes a new medical subspecialty specifically to study and treat combined depression/heart disease patients. The new subspecialty, “Psychocardiology,” would be for the purpose of increasing physician and patient awareness of the strong link between the two disease processes, and would also increase the likelihood that patients with one of the two diseases — who would therefore be at risk of developing the other — would receive appropriate monitoring.

Psychocardiology

Food Tank’s 13 Resolutions to Change the Food System in 2013

January 3, 2013 | by

As we start the new year, approximately 180 million Americans have made a New Year’s resolution [1-3]. Two of the top five resolutions for 2013 focus on food, specifically weight loss (#1) and healthier eating (#5).

Ellen Gustafson and Danielle Nierenberg, co-founders of the food think tank Food Tank that launches on January 10th, have also been thinking about resolutions for the year ahead. They think eaters, farmers and policy-makers need new, bigger resolutions to fix the food system — real changes with long-term impacts on plates and in fields and boardrooms all over the world — and offer 13 resolutions to change the food system in 2013.

Food Tank

NIH Study Finds Leisure-time Physical Activity Extends Life Expectancy As Much As 4.5 Years

November 7, 2012 | by

Leisure-time physical activity is associated with longer life expectancy, even at relatively low levels of activity and regardless of body weight, according to a study by a team of researchers led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study, which found that people who engaged in leisure-time physical activity had life expectancy gains of as much as 4.5 years, appeared Nov. 6, 2012, in PLoS Medicine [1].

Couple riding bikes

The Facts on Flax

October 18, 2012 | by

Flax, or linseed, has been cultivated for centuries. Its fibers were used to make linen in ancient Egypt. More recently, flax seeds have become popular among health-conscious consumers. Several studies suggest that it may help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. Flax contains high levels of three nutrients that are good for our health.

Flax seeds

Study Reveals How Green Tea Improves Memory

October 5, 2012 | by

Green tea has been enjoyed for centuries, and its benefits have been widely touted. It is reputed to help treat many of modernity’s worst ills, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, HIV infection, and neurodegenerative diseases. New work done in China furthers the observations that green tea can help prevent neurodegeneration. The report, published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, starts to elucidate the mechanism by which it does so [1].

Green tea