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Researchers have found a correlation between a compound found in fruits and vegetables and a reduction in the symptoms of endometriosis. In an article, the researchers outline how flavonoids may be able to help suppress the symptoms of inflammatory diseases like endometriosis. In endometriosis, cells similar to those in the lining of the uterus begin growing in other places in the body, causing inflammation. The painful condition affects millions of women, and there is no cure. Flavonoids have been associated with anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral medical benefits, but the details of how they work have remained a mystery. "We...

People who eat or drink more foods with antioxidant flavonols, which are found in several fruits and vegetables as well as tea and wine, may have a slower rate of memory decline. Flavonols are a type of flavonoid, a group of phytochemicals found in plant pigments known for its beneficial effects on health. The people were divided into five equal groups based on the amount of flavonols they had in their diet. To determine rates of cognitive decline, researchers used an overall global cognition score summarizing 19 cognitive tests. After adjusting for other factors, researchers found that the cognitive score...

A daily cup of tea could help you to enjoy better health late in life. However, if you're not a tea drinker, there are other things you can add to your diet. The key is flavonoids, which are naturally occurring substances found in many common foods and beverages such as black and green tea, apples, nuts, citrus fruit, berries and more. A study of 881 elderly women (median age of 80) has found that the participants were far less likely to have extensive buildup of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) if they consumed a high level of flavonoids in their diet....

Intense light activates proteins shown to protect against lung damage in mice, a discovery that could have major therapeutic implications for treating acute lung injury in humans, according to a new study. "Acute lung injury has a mortality rate of 40%," said lead author Tobias Eckle, M.D. "No specific therapy exists, and novel treatment options are needed." Eckle's team, which previously demonstrated that light can protect against cardiovascular disease, housed mice under intense rather than ambient light for seven days. This prompted a strong increase in the trough and peak levels of the pulmonary circadian rhythm protein - Period 2...

Study shows low intake of flavonoid-rich foods linked with higher Alzheimer's risk over 20 yearsOlder adults who consumed small amounts of flavonoid-rich foods, such as berries, apples and tea, were two to four times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and related dementias over 20 years compared with people whose intake was higher, according to a new study led by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University. The epidemiological study of 2,800 people aged 50 and older examined the long-term relationship between eating foods containing flavonoids and risk of Alzheimer's...

Scientists have discovered a chemical extract in green tea that can treat two types of skin cancer, without producing the harmful side effects associated with chemotherapy.While the epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) compound is too weak to make an impact when consumed in tea, scientists were able to kill or shrink two-thirds of cancer cells within a month when they applied the extract to tumor cells in the lab. What's more, the chemical compound did not appear to affect any other healthy cells or tissues in the body.Researchers from the universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow believe that their study is the first...

Salk scientists say: It's not an apple a day after all -- it's strawberriesLA JOLLA, CA-A recent study from scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies suggests that a strawberry a day (or more accurately, 37 of them) could keep not just one doctor away, but an entire fleet of them, including the neurologist, the endocrinologist, and maybe even the oncologist. Investigations conducted in the Salk Institute's Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory (CNL) will appear in the June 27, 2011, issue of PLoS ONE. The report explains that fisetin, a naturally-occurring flavonoid found most abundantly in strawberries and to a lesser...

Flavonoids, a group of compounds found in fruits and vegetables that had been thought to be nutritionally important for their antioxidant activity, actually have little or no value in that role, according to an analysis by scientists in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. However, these same compounds may indeed benefit human health, but for reasons that are quite different - the body sees them as foreign compounds, researchers say, and through different mechanisms, they could play a role in preventing cancer or heart disease. Based on this new view of how flavonoids work, a relatively modest intake...

More Benefits of Dark Chocolate Discovered Date Published: Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that eating even small quantities of high-quality dark chocolate every day can greatly lower your risk of stroke and heart attack. According to the report, the chemicals in dark chocolate help to reduce the speed of blood clotting by limiting the clumping of blood platelets. Dr. Diane Becker reported the findings this week in Chicago at the annual American Heart Association meeting.The study was initially designed to test the effects of aspirin on blood clotting, but too many of BeckerÂ’s subjects had...

TUESDAY, June 1 (HealthDayNews) -- For those who think the world is a bitter place, medical science offers this sweet health tidbit: Chocolate might be good for you. Not just any chocolate, and always in moderation, said Mary Engler, a professor of physiological nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing. But her new study does find that biting into the right stuff can make arteries expand, increasing blood flow and thus reducing cardiovascular risk. Milk chocolate won't do, Engler sressed, because it's, well, too milky. Look for darker chocolates, because darkness is an indicator of high...