Eating soy may improve weight loss in women who have already gone through menopause, according to findings presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior. Soy is a vegetable used to make milk, oil and other food products, and contains a variety of nutrients, including compounds similar to estrogen, that can lead to many health benefits when added to one’s diet.

Adding cashew seed extract to one’s diet may help lower diabetes risk, according to findings published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. This is because compounds in cashew seeds have been found to improve the body’s response to insulin. During a recent study, a team of investigators examined human cells, which contribute to blood sugar control, that were exposed to different extracts taken from the leaves, bark, seeds and apples of cashew trees.

Male patients who have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may have a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease later in life, according to findings published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. In an effort to determine how OSA affected heart health, researchers enrolled 1,927 men and 2,495 women with no record of cardiovascular problems into a study.

Maintaining a proper diet and monitoring insulin intake can not only improve longevity, but it may also improve cognitive function, according to a study published in Public Library of Science Biology. Using worms, a team of researchers from Princeton University examined how a low-calorie dietary regimen and reduced insulin intake could affect metabolism, memory, stress response and development.

Colonoscopy preparation medications may be equally effective when taken either the night before or the day of the procedures, according to findings published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. For this study, more than 100 colonoscopy patients were split into two groups and were given either the entire dosage of the preparation drugs the morning of the procedure or half of the required amount of preparation drugs the night before and half in the morning.

Increasing one’s intake of vitamin B3 may help prevent fungal infections, according to a study published in the journal Nature Medicine. This discovery could lower the risk of these types of diseases, which can be dangerous to people with altered immune systems, including those with AIDS, cancer and organ transplants.

Prolonged urinary tract infections (UTIs) may be linked to an overreaction by the immune system, according to a study published in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

Irritable bowel disease (IBD) is a digestive disorder that affects more than 5 million people in the world. In order to assist research efforts towards preventing this disease, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation has given $200,000 is grants to medical teams developing protective treatments.

Walking to school every day may reduce stress levels and lower the risk of suffering from heart problems in adolescents, according to findings published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

People who have a smaller waistline may be better protected against all causes associated with death, according to a study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Men who had minimally invasive surgery for prostate cancer may have a higher rate of survival, according to findings published in the journal Cancer.

Individuals who are diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in their 20s may be less likely to experience remission stages as they age, according to findings published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. In fact, patients who have developed the disorder by age 50 years and older will see better results from treatments that alleviate symptoms.

Incorporating a low-calorie diet and daily exercise into one’s lifestyle may slow the mental physical aging processes, according to findings published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

People who suffer from anxiety disorders may have an increased risk of being diagnosed with heart disease, according to a report published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. In an effort to determine the effects of the mental illnesses on heart health, two groups of researchers observed two groups of people who had been diagnosed with at least one form of anxiety disorder.

An irregular genetic strand may increase the risk of suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to research conducted at Ohio State University.