News
Zinc may benefit common cold symptoms
17 February 2011
According to a new review, zinc supplements may reduce the severity and duration of symptoms associated with the common cold.
19 March 2014
According to a new study increased intakes of omega-3 fatty acids may improve attention, processing speed, executive function and hand-to-eye coordination in malnourished children.
The randomized controlled trial measured neuropsychological parameters of 50 malnourished children bet- ween the age of 8 and 12 who received a daily omega-3 supplement (180 mg docosahexaenoic acid and
270 mg eicosapentaenoic acid) or placebo for 3 months (1). The study results showed that over 50% of the children in the supplement group showed greater improvement in 11 of the 18 neuropsychological variables than the participants in the placebo group. Coordination, processing speed, attention, perceptual integration and executive function were improved in over 70% of the children who received omega-3 fatty acids. No benefits were observed for memory.
The researchers commented that these results do not support their initial hypothesis that expected an impro- vement in memory due to previous findings on the role of omega-3 fatty acids in the number of neurons in the hippocampus. Although this improvement occurred in the intervention group, it was also evident in the placebo group, indicating that memory may be more sensitive to external stimulation to the effect of ome- ga-3 fatty acids. Experts noted that the recommended time between memory testing of children is one year, not three months as in the new study. Thus, the investigation of effects of omega-3 fatty acids on memory warrants repeating with a modified experimental design.
17 February 2011
According to a new review, zinc supplements may reduce the severity and duration of symptoms associated with the common cold.
18 August 2014
According to a new review current evidence does not support the hypothesis that calcium supplements increase the risk for post-menopausal women to develop heart disease.
15 February 2013
A growing body of research suggests that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life – i.e. the nine months spent in the womb and the first two years after birth – are vital to their long-term health.