Echinacea might help cold symptoms to go away a few hours sooner, a new study suggests. But the difference was so small it could have occurred by chance. Researchers recruited more than 700 adults and children with colds for the study. They were randomly divided into 4 groups. Two groups took echinacea pills. One group knew it was taking echinacea. The other group did not know. The third group took placebo (fake) pills. The fourth group didn’t get any pills. People were asked to write down their symptoms twice a day. For those taking echinacea, symptoms ended an average of half a day sooner. The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published the study. The Associated Press wrote about it December 21.
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Discusses the causes of sudden cardiac death and tips for how to prevent it.
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Abdominal fat cells are responsible for many cardiovascular problems.
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Exercise is much more effective than vitamins or supplements at reducing the risk of heart disease. The benefits of exercise against cancer are not conclusive, but it is likely to have other positive effects on overall health.
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OTC disorder, a genetic anomaly that affects the body’s ability to properly metabolize protein, is most commonly seen in children, where it can be fatal, but less severe forms of it can affect adults as well.
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Studies reinforce the benefits of hand washing in preventing illness, and suggest that red wine may provide protection from lung cancer in some people, but B vitamins do not appear to offer any help against Alzheimer’s disease.
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A study comparing popular diet programs found that women lost the most weight with a high-protein diet that also had the benefits of helping to raise HDL cholesterol and lower triglycerides. But whatever the diet, consuming less fat is still a key.
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Results of drug trials and studies: selenium does not lower prostate cancer risk, lifestyle factors have a definite effect on longevity, and a possible correlation between physical warmth and opinion of warmth of personality.
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The New England Journal of Medicine published a study that seems to question the effectiveness of antidepressants. Is that correct? What does this mean about continuing the antidepressant I am taking?
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