Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is an orange-yellow colored polyphenol derived from turmeric (Curcuma longa), a spice often found in curry powder. The medicinal use of the turmeric plant has been described in ancient Indian and Chinese thousands of years ago. In India, turmeric has traditionally been used primarily for arthritis and muscular disorders, whereas in China, it has been […]
A growing body of research has shown the link between obesity and sleep loss. However, it was unclear the “chicken and egg” relationship between the two – does sleep loss result in weight gain, or does weight gain lead to poor sleep quality? A study in PLOS Biology suggested that it is not the sleep loss that leads […]
We all know that a healthy diet may benefit the brain. It turns out that not only what foods you eat but also what foods you eat together may be associated with your risk of dementia. The recent study conducted by researchers from University of Bordeaux in France found that people whose diets consisted mostly of […]
Inflammation is a part of the immune response that can prevent infection through production of pro- inflammatory cytokines and generation of inflammatory mediators in response to pathogens.[1] Inflammation is an essential part of human immune response. However, when the inflammatory process is poorly controlled, it can cause undesirable damages including massive tissue destruction. [2,3,4] Traditional Chinese Medicine […]
It may sound like a common sense – the balance between weight gain and weight loss is predominantly determined by what you eat, how much you eat, and by how much exercise you get. A research from Vanderbilt University published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology showed that another important factor is often neglected – the study shows […]
According to a recent analysis of data from two major eye disease studies, adherence to the Mediterranean diet — high in vegetables, whole grains, fish, and olive oil — correlates with higher cognitive function. Dietary factors also seem to play a role in slowing cognitive decline. Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of […]
Regular tub bathing is linked to a lower risk of death from heart disease and stroke, indicated in a long-term study published online in the journal Heart. And the higher the ‘dose,’ the better it seems to be for cardiovascular health, with a daily hot bath seemingly more protective than a once or twice weekly one, the […]
By now, we all know that too much salt is bad for you – too much salt consumption raises blood pressure and increases the risk of heart attack or stroke. Five grams a day is the maximum amount of salt that adults should consume according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). It corresponds approximately […]
Our gut is inhabited by a huge number of different kinds of bacterial species. The bacterial species that are present can vary from person to person. As we age, the composition pf bacterial species changes and often become imbalanced. A study from the University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands, published in journal Frontiers in Immunology, suggests that the imbalances in […]
Inflammation is the body’s primary defense mechanism against infections, wounds, and pathogens. However, uncontrolled inflammatory response caused by a sub-optimal immune system can lead to many problems. For example, in the case of COVID-19, for people with dysfunctional immune systems, we see the virus causing an uncontrolled immune response, triggering an overproduction of immune cells and their signaling […]