Colds are no fun for anyone, but for newborns, any assault on their still-developing immune systems can be dangerous. But moms-to-be can reduce the risk that their little ones will get sick by taking fish oil supplements.
Supplements
Study: U.S. Calcium Guidelines May Be Too High
Since bones tend to deteriorate with age, it makes sense to take in more calcium as we get older, to help lower the risk of fractures in our hips and limbs. But how much additional calcium is enough? And is there such as thing as too much?
Lazy Cakes: A Sleepytime Snack Elicits Public-Health Outrage
Public health officials and politicians are debating the safety of a new snack on the market — sold as Lazy Cakes, Kush Cakes and Lulla Pies. They’re brownies laced with the sleep aid melatonin.
Svelte 30 Recall: OTC Diet Pill Contains Undeclared Prescription Drug
Svelte 30 Nutritional Consultants, a diet pill manufacturer with an office in Kissimmee, Fla., is voluntarily recalling its “Svelte 30 orange & gray capsules” after a January test conducted by the Food and Drug Administration …
Zinc Won’t Cure Colds, but It Could Make Them Less Miserable
It’s hard to separate hype from health these days, especially when it comes to treating the common cold. Without an effective, proven medical treatment to control sneezes and sniffles, all sorts of remedies — some more valid …
2010: The Year in Preposterous Health Claims
If a product trumpets benefits that seem too good to be true — “Lose weight by eating pizza!” — it probably means they are.
New Guidelines for Vitamin D and Calcium
If you’ve been confused about the flip-flopping reports on the benefits and risks of vitamin D recently, you’re not alone.
Study: Veggies, Still Really Good for You
Your mom wasn’t lying about those veggies. A new study released by the Archives of Internal Medicine reveals that people with high blood levels of the antioxidant alpha-carotene — found in a variety of vegetables — were less …
Halotherapy: Is Salt Treatment For Real?
When it comes to salt, we at Healthland tend to focus on its dietary advantages and disadvantages. But it turns out that there’s a burgeoning new trend in salt consumption: some people are breathing in the mineral, instead of …
FDA Goes After Popular Alternative Treatments for Autism and Alzheimer’s
For many desperate patients, over-the-counter chelation treatments used for conditions including autism, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease, among others, offered hope for a cure. Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is …
Study: Vitamin C May Boost Mood in Acute Care Patients
For years now, a link between vitamin C and mood has been gaining traction in the field of nutritional research. A 2002 study in the journal Biological Psychiatry, for example, found that high doses of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) …
The Cure-All Properties of Ginger
Ginger is a well-known home remedy for pregnant women, patients undergoing chemotherapy, and travelers with weak stomachs, who all use the root to curb nausea. But now a new study in The Journal of Pain finds that two types of …
Got Fish Oil?
Mounting evidence supports the healthy-heart benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. You’ve probably heard of them before; they’re the fatty acids found in fish or fish-oil supplements.
This month, a group of scientists writing in the Journal of the American College of Cardiologyhas gone back to review decades’ worth of past studies on the …