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Dr Damien Downing, a specialist in allergy, environment and nutrition, is current president of the British Society for Ecological Medicine, on the editorial board of Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, Chief Medical Advisor of cancer charity Yes to Life (www.yestolife.org.uk), and author of numerous books including The Vitamin Cure for Allergies. Bruce Lipton, PhD, is an internationally recognized leader in bridging science and spirit. Stem cell biologist, bestselling author of The Biology of Belief and recipient of the 2009 Goi Peace Award, he has been a guest speaker on hundreds of TV and radio shows as well as a keynote presenter for national and international conferences. Dr Sarah Myhill has worked in the UK National Health Service and in private practice since 1981. Honorary Secretary of the British Society for Ecological…

Want to live long and stay healthy? You can increase your chances with the F-word—that's flavonoids. The more flavonoid-rich foods and drinks in your diet, the greater your chances of living a long life without chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer and neurological disease. The key could be in the variety of flavonoids we consume—getting different colors and types also makes a difference and could have more impact than relying on just one type of flavonoid source, say researchers from Queen's University Belfast. Flavonoids are found in plant foods; powerhouses include tea, onions, berries, oranges, apples, grapes, red wine and dark chocolate. To assess the health benefits of flavonoids, the researchers tracked nearly 125,000 participants aged 50–70 years for over a decade. They discovered that consuming…

If you're drinking your coffee black and without sugar, you are doing your body a favour. People who drink their coffee on the darker side reduce their chances of dying from a chronic disease by up to 17 percent compared to those who never drink the brew. But these health benefits disappear if you add lots of sugar and fats like cream, say researchers from Tufts University after analyzing data from around 46,000 people. If you keep the cream and sugar very light, you can still enjoy the health benefits, the researchers say. Stick to half a teaspoon or less of sugar and no more than 1 tablespoon of cream or half-and-half. Ideally, drink one to three cups a day, the researchers say. One cup of coffee gives you an…

Smoking cannabis may be as dangerous for the heart as smoking cigarettes—and that's still true if you're consuming the edible form, which people chew to ease depression and anxiety. As with most things, the poison is in the dose. If you're a “chronic” user— consuming it three days a week—your blood vessels are likely to show the same damage as in cigarette smokers. Vascular function is halved, increasing the risk of heart attack and hypertension (high blood pressure). Researchers from the University of California at San Francisco noticed the damage to the cardiovascular system when they observed the effects on 55 people who had been consuming marijuana for the past 10 years, on average for three days a week. Smoking the plant also lowered levels of nitric oxide, a heart-protective…

Some blindingly obvious news just in—singing helps soothe and comfort your baby. Although it's been practiced by parents since the beginning of time, scientists have just proved it works. An international team led by scientists at Yale University has established that singing “significantly” improves the baby's mood. They recruited 110 new parents and encouraged half of them to regularly sing to their baby. If they weren't sure what to do, the parents were also sent how-to videos, some songbooks and a weekly newsletter. The researchers didn't suggest when the parents should sing; parents instinctively did it when their babies needed comfort. During the four weeks of the study, parents answered questions about infant mood, fussiness, time spent soothing, caregiver mood and how many times they sang to their baby. Child…

The measles jab could soon be given as early as the fourth month of life—five months earlier than babies receive it under the current recommendation. Medical researchers are asking health agencies to review the current vaccine schedule, which includes giving babies their first measles jab at nine months and a booster between 15 and 18 months. The vaccine can be given at six months if there is a major measles outbreak. Researchers from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia say only 30 percent of children are protected by their mother's antibodies by the time they are four months old, especially in developing countries. They scanned 34 journal articles with data from 8,000 babies under nine months old in low- and middle-income countries and found the babies' measles antibody rates…

It may not be all in the head—but “latchkey incontinence,” a sudden and uncontrollable desire to urinate when you see running water or get to your front door, could be controlled by the mind. Mindfulness meditation could reduce these embarrassing incidents, say researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, who tested mindfulness against noninvasive brain activation on 61 women who regularly suffered situationally triggered bladder leaks. The women either listened to a 20-minute mindfulness meditation, underwent tDCS (transcranial direct-current stimulation) or both while looking at triggering images such as a public toilet or a running tap. After completing their assigned treatment four times within a week, participants in all three groups reported they had better bladder control in their trigger situations, fewer episodes of urgency and fewer leaks. Situational urgency urinary…

IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) sufferers are often put on the restrictive low-FODMAP diet—but the richer Mediterranean diet could have the same healing benefits for many of them. Researchers at the University of Michigan tested the two diets on a group of 20 IBS sufferers. They found that both options helped to decrease abdominal pain intensity by 30 percent in a month. Low-FODMAP was marginally better—it helped 81 percent of patients improve, compared to the 73 percent success rate of the Med Diet—but it's very restrictive and hard to maintain, the researchers say. There's also the danger that the diet can create nutritional deficiencies. The Med diet is less restrictive, and fewer foods are eliminated. Neurogastroenterol Motil, 2025; doi: 10.1111/nmo.70060…

We all know we should be eating less, but how do you cut back if you don't have the willpower? Try throwing some hot chilies onto the plate. Plenty of people like to add spice to their meals—and it does reduce the amount you're eating. Oral burn, as it's known, really can help you cut down on calories by slowing down the rate at which you eat, say researchers from Penn State. They tested the idea on 130 volunteers who were served either beef chili or chicken tikka masala, and both meals came in mild and spicy versions. The spiciness was controlled by varying the ratio of hot versus sweet paprika added to the dishes while keeping chili flavor constant. The researchers recorded the participants while they ate their meals.…