Free Republic

A combination of intermittent fasting and a specialized biomedical bandage can restore bone healing in aged mice to levels seen in young animals, according to research. "Key to bone repair is a type of cell called osteoprogenitors, which create new bone tissue," explains Joshua Reeves. First, they analyzed the changes that occur in the bone of mice during aging, finding a clear decline in both bone structure and healing capacity with age. The team noticed a reduction in blood vesselspwithin periosteal bone-forming tissue, beginning in adulthood. They also observed changes in aging osteogenic (bone-forming) compartments, including increased actin levels and...

Nutrition researchers studied 80 people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and found those who followed an alternate-day fasting diet and exercised were able to improve their health. The researchers report that over a period of three months people who exercised and alternated feast and fast days—eating without restriction one day and eating 500 calories or fewer the next—saw increased insulin sensitivity and decreased liver fat, weight and ALT, or alanine transaminase enzymes, which are markers for liver disease. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a buildup of fat and inflammation in patients who drink little to no alcohol. Approximately 65% of...