Harvard Health Content API

Former pro football players are much more likely than average to die from brain diseases, a study finds. The study was done by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). It was based on a 1994 study of 3,439 former NFL players. All had spent at least 5 seasons in the league. Researchers looked at death certificates for 334 players who died. They were 3 times as likely as the general public to die of diseases that damage the brain. Seven had Alzheimer’s disease. Seven had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, often called Lou Gehrig’s disease). Death rates from those 2 diseases were 4 times average. Death rates from Parkinson’s disease were average. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disease long known to occur in boxers, has also been found recently in the brains of deceased NFL players. It is believed to be caused by repeated concussions.

In a 23-year study, cutting calories by one-third improved monkeys’ health, but didn’t extend their lives. Those results, published August 29, contrast with another recent study that did show longer life for monkeys on very-low-calorie diets. Other studies have found that earthworms, mice and other animals live longer with fewer calories. The new study included 120 rhesus macaques. They were randomly divided into two groups. One group ate a normal controlled diet. The other group ate about 30% fewer calories. The restricted diet included vitamin and mineral supplements. When the study began, 86 monkeys were young, up to age 14. The others were 16 to 23 years old. The average macaque lives about 27 years. After 23 years, the calorie-restricted monkeys weighed less and had lower rates of diabetes than the other group. The younger monkeys also had lower rates of cancer.

Organic foods have few, if any, health advantages over conventional foods, a research review finds. The researchers looked at thousands of prior studies. They focused on 237 that met their standards for how well the research was done. Only 17 studies compared how the foods affected people. The others focused on properties of the foods themselves. Nutrient levels varied greatly, with no clear patterns. Organic produce was 30% less likely to have pesticide residue than conventional produce. Children in 2 studies were less likely to have pesticides in urine if they ate organic diets. But researchers said the amounts were small and within safety limits. Bacteria levels were about the same in both kinds of meats. But the bacteria in the conventionally produced meats were more drug-resistant. They were 33% more likely to resist multiple antibiotics.

Eating chocolate may reduce men’s chance of having a stroke, a new study suggests. The study included more than 37,000 men. At the beginning of the study, they answered questions about what they ate. In the next 10 years, about 2,000 men had a first stroke. Those who ate the most chocolate had a 17% lower risk of stroke than those who ate none. The amount eaten by the top group was equal to about one-third cup of chocolate chips per week. In Sweden, where the study was done, about 90% of the chocolate eaten is milk chocolate, study authors said. The same researchers also found similar results by combining results from 5 prior studies on chocolate and stroke. Those studies included a total of 4,200 strokes. People who ate the most chocolate had a 19% lower risk of stroke than those who never ate chocolate. The journal Neurology published the study.