Scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology divided 105 mice into two groups, which were fed either a standardized diet or the same diet with supplemental L-glutamine.

After two weeks, the animals were subdivided into two more groups, with one group in each of the previous categories infected with H. pylori.

The mice were then followed for a 20-week period, and the researchers noted that among the H. pylori-infected animals, the mice that were fed the L-glutamine diet exhibited lower levels of inflammation than did the mice that received the standard diet.

"[T]his result provides us with preliminary evidence that glutamine supplementation may be an alternative therapy for reducing the severity of infection," says Dr Susan Hagen, associate director of research in the Department of Surgery at BIDMC and associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School.

The findings are significant given the fact that since H.pylori was discovered to be among the key contributing factors to stomach ulcers, antibiotics have been used as a standard therapy.

However, the bacteria have become increasingly resistant to them overtime.

Researchers from South Dakota State University analyzed data obtained by taking bone and body composition measurements of rural Hutterite children in South Dakota.

"We looked at multiple measurements over time. We found that lean mass had a positive effect on rates of change," says Howard Wey, an associate professor in SDSU’s College of Nursing.

"Kids with higher lean mass, or muscle, tended to have greater rates of change, and kids with higher fat mass tended to have lower rates of change," he specifies.

The scientists emphasize the significance of the findings lies in the fact that smaller bones are weaker than larger ones.

Parents who want to ensure their children have firmer muscles and less fat as they grow have a range of health resources to choose from.

They include physical exercise and a proper diet rich in bone health-promoting vitamin D, which can be obtained from milk and other dairy products as well as from nutritional supplements.

Celiac disease results from intolerance to gluten and manifests itself through chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain and fatigue.

It also leads to vitamin deficiency which may cause hyperhomocysteinemia, or high levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that has been linked to cardiovascular disease.

The study, conducted by researchers from Mayo Clinic, also found those who did not know they had celiac disease were nearly four times more likely than celiac-free individuals to have died during the 45 years of follow-up.

"Something has changed in our environment to make it much more common," says Dr. Joseph Murray, a gastroenterologist who led the study.

"Until recently, the standard approach to finding celiac disease has been to wait for people to complain of symptoms and to come to the doctor … [now] we may need to consider looking for celiac disease in the general population, more like we do in testing for cholesterol or blood pressure," he adds.

For those searching for an optimal diet, health practitioners have recommended the alkaline diet, which is rich in citrus fruits, vegetables, tubers, nuts and legumes and helps promote bone health into old age.

Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania found that calcitriol, a form of vitamin D, reduced human airway smooth muscle proliferation in cell cultures taken from asthmatics as well as persons without the disease.

The proliferation is a process that leads to reduced lung function over time, leaving patients even more vulnerable when they suffer an asthma attack.

"Calcitriol has recently earned prominence for its anti-inflammatory effects," says Dr. Gautam Damera who participated in the study.
He adds that as such the compound may become an important new therapy, whether used alone or in combination with other medications, for treating steroid-resistant asthma.

The next step for the researchers is to conduct a control trial of calcitriol in patients with severe asthma as part of the University of Pennsylvania’s Airway Biology Initiative. They expect to present data from the trial in about a year’s time.

The current study was described at the American Thoracic Society’s 105th International Conference in San Diego.

Those who are concerned about their intake of vitamin D may consider using nutritional health supplements to enrich their diet.

The research was conducted by a team from Queen Mary, University of London, which used human intestinal cells in the lab and found that when they inflicted damage to them a compound called pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) stimulated the cells to move across the damaged area forming a natural protective barrier.

They also believe the presence of PSTI could reduce further damage by as much as 75 per cent.

The researchers furthermore found that the levels of PSTI increase significantly in the milk produced in the first few days after birth. However, it is not found in commercially available infant formulas.

Professor Ray Playford of Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry says there are a number of benefits for babies who are breast-fed.

"This study is important because it shows that a component of breast milk protects and repairs the babies’ delicate intestines in readiness for the onslaught of all the food and drink that are to come," he adds.

Meanwhile, recent research indicates that women who are pregnant or who have recently given birth may boost their digestive health and control weight by taking probiotics, which are also available in the form of nutritional supplements.

Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease affecting the gums which can progressively lead to teeth loss as well as a range of other health problems. In its various forms, it is believed to affect between 30 to 50 percent of Americans.

Although scientist are not sure about the exact link between periodontitis and coronary heart disease - candidates include inflammation caused by the immune system as well as smoking, diabetes, genetics, mental anxiety, depression, obesity, and physical inactivity - the authors believe the evidence is strong enough to recommend that doctors assess atherosclerotic CVD in their patients with periodontitis.

The paper was published today in the American Journal of Cardiology and Journal of Peridontology.

There is also good news for those struggling with gum disease who are looking for natural remedies as a recent Japanese study has found that compounds in green tea and many nutritional supplements appear to reduce the inflammation associated with periodontal disease.

The researchers believe that the antioxidant catechin is responsible for these beneficial effects.

Researchers from Newcastle University in the UK found that carrots boiled whole contained as much as 25 percent more of the falcarinol, a known anti-cancer compound, than those that were chopped up first.

That type of cooking was also determined to preserve more of the naturally occurring sugars which are responsible for giving carrots their distinctively sweet flavor.

"Chopping up your carrots increases the surface area so more of the nutrients leek out into the water while they are being cooked," explains Dr. Kirsten Brandt, based in Newcastle University’s School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development and the Human Nutrition Research Centre.

"By cooking them whole and chopping them up afterwards you are locking in both taste and nutrients so the carrot is better for you all round," she adds.

Those who are concerned that the way they prepare food may remove some of the nutrients may boost their diet with nutritional supplements.

Pathfinders is built around the seven pillars of personal recovery - hope, balance, inner strengths, self-care, support, spirit and life review - providing counseling, coping skills training, mind and body techniques and lifestyle advice.

In the study, researchers from the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center enrolled 50 breast cancer patients with a prognosis of less than six months survival. The women met with a trained social worker at least monthly, and participated in telephone conversations and e-mail exchanges to identify inner strength, learn coping skills and explore complementary and alternative medical services.

"There is a growing body of data that shows cancer patients have unmet psychosocial needs, and with programs like Pathfinders we are able to care for the whole person," says Dr. Amy Abernethy, an oncologist at Duke University Medical Center and lead investigator on the study.

"As a result, we found that this group of women reported a higher quality of life three months after being diagnosed than was expected," she added.

For those who are looking for natural ways of coping with stress and life’s adversities there is a range of health resources to choose from, including physical exercise, meditation, massages, aromatherapy as well as nutritional supplements.

ABC News has recently reported data from the National Institutes of Health which suggest people who indulge heavily in meat and dairy fats are more likely more to develop the disease.

The NIH researchers analyzed food frequency questionnaires of more than 500,000 people enrolled in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study. They found the rate of pancreatic cancer was 53 percent higher in men who consumed the highest amount of total fats, and 23 percent higher for women on high-fat diets.

The study coincides with new research on the link between diet and pancreatitis, a painful inflammatory condition that often leads to pancreatic cancer.

It has been long known that alcohol, in combination with fatty acids, can produce substances that cause an excessive increase in calcium ions in the pancreatic cell water.

Now scientists from the University of Liverpool and the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Japan identified channels that allow calcium to enter the fluid inside pancreas.

Those who are looking to improve their eating habits may consider the alkaline diet. It is rich in citrus fruits, vegetables, tubers, nuts and legumes may boost bone health into old age.

Retinoic acid has already been known for its anticancer effects, and a team of researchers from the University of Chicago set out to find where the retinoic acid receptors bound to the genome to map out its genetic effects in a cell line derived from patients with estrogen-fuelled breast cancer.

They found that 39 percent of the genome regions bound by estrogen receptor alpha overlapped with those bound by retinoic acid. They also found that the binding of estrogen and retinoic acids receptors to target sites were often mutually exclusive, meaning the two compounds compete to activate or repress many of the same genes.

"This work reveals important insights on the interplay between vitamin A and estrogen action," says Dr. Myles Brown, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

"These insights will hopefully lead to new approaches for the prevention and treatment of the most common form of breast cancer," he adds.

Those who are concerned about their vitamin intake may turn to nutritional supplements.