A nutrient-lacking diet can cause or worsen ”the blues” and may contribute to:

• Mood swings
• Occasional difficulty sleeping
• Annoying fatigue
• Weight loss
• Occasional Headaches or other bothersome aches

One way to lift your mood and possibly help brighten your outlook is with omega-3 fatty acids. These fats are essential for your diet—and should be supplemented since your body doesn’t produce them on its own. Omega-3s are one of the best sources to help support normal blood clotting, maintain healthy blood pressure levels and balance occasional inflammation. These healthy fats are found in fish, flaxseed, winter squash, olive oil, navy beans and various nuts such as walnuts, Brazil nuts, hickory nuts and macadamia nuts.

Krill oil contains a healthy amount of omega-3 fatty acids like DHA and EPA—which help balance inflammatory precursors.These two fatty acids work together to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, support joint comfort, and keep blood sugar in balance. Krill has also been shown to relieve your premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms, promote healthy metabolic parameters and support your heart function.

Be sure to balance your meats and veggies with healthy amounts of omega-3 fats. You can say “goodbye” to the blues—and improve your overall health, too.

In proper amounts, estrogen supports the body’s inflammatory balance and helps protect your health in many ways. But excess estrogen and xenoestrogens—chemicals in the environment that mimic the effects of estrogen—lead to estrogen dominance. Documented symptoms include…

• Weight gain—especially belly fat—without eating more
• Hot flashes and uncomfortable menopausal symptoms
• Unwanted facial hair
• Vaginal dryness and uncomfortable intercourse
• Bloating and water retention
• Memory loss and “senior moments”
• Mild mood changes
• Occasional headaches associated with the menstrual cycle
• Irregular or skipped menstrual cycles
• Poor sleep quality
• Low sex drive
• Dry skin and wrinkles
• Breast tenderness

Health practitioners have suggested that diet, exercise and nutritional supplements, as well as massages and reflexology treatments, may minimize unpleasant symptoms associated with estrogen dominance and menopause. The supplement di-indole methane, or DIM, can also help support favorable estrogen metabolism in women and men.

The revelation was made at the European Society of Cardiology’s International Conference of Non-Invasive Cardiovascular Imaging. Researchers said that, using computed tomography scans, they found that a mummy dating from more than 3,500 years ago showed signs of atherosclerosis.

Theban princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon, three of whose cardiac arteries were significantly occluded, probably died in her 40s, even though she ate a low-meat diet of primarily grains, vegetables and fruits.

Scientists said that this finding may indicate that humans are genetically inclined to having heart disease, since the mummified Egyptian probably ate well and was not exposed to many of the tobacco- and alcohol-related risk factors that exist today.

With the benefit of advanced technology and scientific health resources, individuals who want to stay healthy longer may feel confident that consuming proper nutrition daily and exercising are steps in the right direction.

Scanning devices that emit ultraviolet (UV) and near-infrared (NI) light may soon be used to detect defects in apples, according to a study published in the journal Sensing and Instrumentation for Food Quality and Safety.

The report stated that the technology is called a high-speed multispectral-hyperspectral line-scanner. As apples whiz by on a conveyor belt, two lamps emit UV and NI light, respectively, while two cameras capture what the light reveals about the fruit.

The NI light can reveal defects in the apples, like bruising or rotten areas, while the UV wavelengths highlight contaminating chemicals coating the fruit’s surface. The technology’s inventors said that while their system can currently analyze three to four apples per second, it may soon be able to process fruit at a much faster rate.

When one bad apple spoils the bunch, it may be helpful to consume a daily vitamin supplement to ensure quality nutrition.

It’s called bitter cumin, and it has been used for centuries as a traditional remedy for stomach aches and balanced blood sugar. Now, a study published in the BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine has stated that bitter cumin contains plant phenols, which are antioxidant compounds that can promote cellular health.

Many chemical reactions in the body involve the creation of charged ions called free radicals. These ions can cause damage to genetic material or cell parts, a process that degrades cellular health and can speed the aging process.

By consuming foods that are rich in antioxidants, health-conscious individuals may be able to reduce the damage caused by oxidative stress. Besides bitter cumin, other foods that contain antioxidants include blueberries, salmon, fresh greens, nuts and fruits rich in vitamin C.

The study’s authors, who hail from the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, said that two specific deficiencies—those of vitamin K and of selenium—are most to blame.

Their reasoning was that other nutrients are more immediately essential for health, making them more likely to be monitored. By contrast, the so-called non-essential vitamin K can go unnoticed, as can the element selenium.

In tests with laboratory rodents, the research team found that mice with moderate selenium deficiencies tended to develop age-related  health changes in cardiovascular, immune, and other functions, sooner than their healthy counterparts.

By taking daily dietary supplements, individuals may be able to ensure that they get adequate doses of both nutrients. Multivitamins containing vital vitamins, minerals and antioxidants may also prevent cumulative oxidative damage in cells.

If not, buckle up. Scientists at the United Kingdom’s University of Warwick recently announced that MGmin-LDL cholesterol is "stickier" than typical LDL cholesterol, making this newly discovered form of cholesterol "ultra-bad."

MGmin-LDL cholesterol is formed when regular cholesterol is given an extra sugar group, a process called glycation. Laboratory tests showed that MGmin-LDL cholesterol is more likely to affect arterial walls, meaning that this ultra-bad cholesterol may be closely tied to cardiovascular health.

For individuals who are interested in supporting their circulatory health, dietary supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids may help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.

Researchers from Beijing’s Gunag’anmen Hospital stated that a traditional herbal medicine called Xiao Chuan (XCP) appears to support healthy lungs, even when breathing is affected by winter weather.

Coming to this conclusion involved administering the herb or a placebo daily to more than 140 adult participants over an eight-week period. Investigators noted that a paste made from XCP muted the effects of a condition that causes breathing problems related to an overabundance of pulmonary mucus.

"XCP patients experienced statistically significant reductions in steroid use and episodes of shortness of breath," lead author Yongjun Bian, M.D., said, adding that "XCP patients also reported an improved quality of life compared to those treated with placebo."

Millions of Americans suffer from lung health issues, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry announced that laboratory rodents fed blueberry peels and the leftovers from blueberry processing tended to have healthier cholesterol levels in comparison to those given a diet without blueberries.

Hamsters fed blueberries exhibited significantly healthier cholesterol levels than those fed on the diet without blueberries, said a team at the Western Regional Research Center in Albany, Calif., which is the prime research branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

While scientists were unsure which of the fruit’s substances led to the dramatic improvement in circulatory health, they suggested that the fiber contained in the berries might have been involved.

Likewise, they noted, blueberries contain large amounts of polyphenols, a class of compounds sometimes added to dietary supplements, which support a balanced inflammatory response.

A similar study conducted earlier this year found that mice fed polyphenol-rich blueberries produced fewer fat cells.

And supporting that finding is a study appearing in the journal Respirology. The study is based on data collected from 112 people with respiratory health concerns.

Scientists noted that individuals with vitamin D deficiencies were almost 13 times more likely to experience negative health consequences, compared to people with adequate nutrient levels.

The study’s authors said that 15 percent of patients with respiratory concerns  had a vitamin D deficiency, which is defined as having fewer than 30 nanomoles of the compound per liter of blood. Likewise, researchers noted that the vitamin D-based effect did not appear to be affected by a person’s age, gender or the state of respiratory function.

Many adults do not get enough sun exposure to account for the recommended daily dose of vitamin D, which is why so many Americans turn to dietary supplements to boost their nutrient levels.