New evidence from Britain suggests that vegetarians are one-third less likely to develop
diverticular disease than are meat eaters. This
disorder, affects the colon and has been associated with diets that are low in fiber. Symptoms include painful abdominal cramps, bloating, flatulence, constipation and diarrhea. A research team from the University of Oxford looked at more than 47,000 British adults participating in a European study of cancer and nutrition; more than 15,000 of them reported that they were vegetarians. After more than 11 years of follow up and adjusting for such factors as alcohol consumption, smoking and
body mass index (BMI), the investigators found that the rate of diverticular disease among the vegetarians was one-third lower than that of other study participants. They also found that those whose consumption of
dietary fiber was about 25 grams a day were at lower risk of being hospitalized or dying from diverticular disease than study participants who consumed less than 14 grams of fiber daily. Diverticular disease may also worsen into a condition known as
diverticulitis. The findings were published online on July 19th on the British Medical Journal's website.
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Here's more evidence that even a little bit of exercise can make a big difference to your health. Researchers in Taiwan followed more than 400,000 people for an average of eight years and found that 15 minutes of exercise daily can boost life expectancy by three years. Compared to inactive individuals, participants who exercised for just under 15 minutes per day were 14 percent less likely to die from any cause during the eight years of the study, and 10 percent less likely to die of cancer. Beyond that, each additional 15 minutes of daily exercise lowered the risk of death - from any cause - by four percent, and the extra physical activity cut the risk of death from cancer by one percent. Earlier this month, a review published online in Circulation showed that people who get 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week reduce their risk of heart disease by 14 percent compared to inactive people and that exercising five hours per week can lower heart disease risk by as much as 20 percent. The new study from Taiwan was published online on August 15 by The Lancet.
Blueberries are a healthy addition to any diet. Among other benefits, they contain anthocyanins - the pigments that make them blue - which act as potent antioxidants. And now researchers have identified two species of wild blueberries with two to four times the antioxidant activity of those on the market. These wild blueberries grow in the high-elevation Andes' forests, which happen to be one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. Researchers from Lehman College in New York and the 