Vitamin D Deficiency Associated with Increased Risk of Asthma Attacks. Adults who are vitamin D deficient and suffer from asthma are 25% more likely to experience an asthma attack than asthmatics with normal vitamin D levels, suggests research from Tel Aviv University in Israel. Study author Dr. Ronit Confino-Cohen explains, “Our results add more evidence…

Pro-Inflammatory Diet Increases Prostate Cancer Risk. Using data provided by about 2,700 adult Italian males, researchers have linked pro-inflammation diets to increased prostate cancer risk. A pro-inflammatory diet is one that includes high levels of sugar, polysaturated vegetable oils, trans fats, dairy products, feed-lot raised meat, red meat and processed meat, alcohol, refined grains, and…

Epinephrine Injections Save Lives in Schools. Epinephrine injections are given when an individual is experiencing a life-threatening allergic reaction to an insect sting or food. In the United States, about 15% of school-aged children with food allergies have had an allergic reaction at school, and about one-fourth of epinephrine injections given at schools involved children…

Future Saliva Test May Detect Diseases Earlier and Easier. Researchers are working on a simple saliva test that could be capable of the early detection of diabetes, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and neurological disorders. In a comprehensive analysis of RNA molecules in human saliva, researchers found that saliva contains many of the disease-revealing molecules that are…

Colon Cancer Rates on the Rise Among Adults Under 50. An analysis of data from 1975 to 2010 found that overall colon cancer rates in the United States fell by about 1% each year during that time span. However, rates rose by 2% per year among those ages 20 to 34 and nearly .5% annually…

RNA Biomarker Could Be New Screen for Prostate Cancer. Screening for prostate cancer currently involves testing a blood sample to see whether or not high concentrations of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) are present; however, many researchers consider this method to be imperfect. Soon, the PSA screening test may be a thing of the past as scientists…

Babies Benefit if Mothers Follow Lifestyle Advice During Pregnancy. In the largest study of its kind, researchers gave nutrition and exercise advice to pregnant women who were either overweight or obese. Women who received such advice increased their fruit and vegetable intake and reduced saturated fat intake. They also engaged in 15-20 minutes of brisk…

Living Close to a Highway May Raise Your Blood Pressure. If you have high blood pressure and you live close to a major highway, you may want to move. According to a new report, participants in a study who lived within 109 yards (~100 meters) of a busy road had a 22% higher risk for…

Atopic Dermatitis in Children Improved with Vitamin D Supplements. A small study involving 100 school children in Mongolia has found that daily treatment with 1000 IU of a vitamin D supplement significantly reduced the symptoms of winter-related atopic dermatitis. Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the skin, which is uncomfortable and makes patients…

Improved Sleep May Reduce Time Away from Work. It appears that absence from work due to sickness is related to a lack of good sleep. A new study has found that people who regularly get seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep per night are less likely to be absent from work due to an…