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Lower levels of certain vitamins and minerals were found to be associated with chronic pain in a study. This is the first study to take a precision medicine approach to chronic pain on a large scale by broadly examining micronutrient levels of people with and without chronic pain and exploring the incidence of chronic pain in people with or without micronutrient deficiencies. The findings could inform personalized nutritional strategies to help manage chronic pain. The research team focused on five micronutrients commonly associated with chronic pain: vitamins D, B12, and C, folate and magnesium. They examined the micronutrient status of...

Chickpeas and lentils, either whole or in flour form, offer more nutritional value to the human diet than products made from oats and wheat, research has found. The researchers looked at the bioavailability of micronutrients in products that are available to the public on supermarket shelves and were surprised at their discovery. "We found that all the pulse products, like chickpea and lentil flours, were excellent sources of micronutrients," says Thi Diem Nguyen, a Ph.D. candidate. "Particularly for zinc and iron nutrition, they outperformed cereal products like oat and wheat flours." Zinc and iron deficiencies can have harmful health consequences,...

Scientists found strong evidence that omega-3 fatty acid, folic acid, and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) provided cardiovascular benefits. In addition, Omega-6 fatty acid, L-arginine, L-citrulline, melatonin, magnesium, Vitamin D, zinc, alpha-lipoic acid, catechin, flavanol, curcumin, genistein, and quercetin also showed evidence of reducing cardiovascular risk. A meta-analysis of more than 884 studies finds omega-3, folic acid, and CoQ10 among the micronutrients that reduce cardiovascular risk. Healthy diets are rich in antioxidants like amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin C, but exactly how beneficial these micronutrients are for cardiovascular health has long been controversial. Now a new meta-analysis published in the...

Selenium supplements can slow the rise in virus levels in HIV-positive patients, which allows the number of beneficial CD4 immune cell to increase, according to results of a clinical trial supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Low blood levels of selenium have been linked to high HIV virulence and more opportunistic infections, Dr. Barry E. Hurwitz and associates at the University of Miami in Florida report in the Archives of Internal Medicine. In lab experiments, the element suppresses HIV-1 replication. Even when antiretroviral therapy (ART) is widely available, failure to keep the virus suppressed "is relatively common,...