In a small study, researchers in North Carolina found lead contamination in spices and herbal remedies in the homes of children with elevated blood lead levels. The food items that had the highest levels of lead in the North Carolina study included samples of chili powder/red pepper, cumin, coriander, anise, turmeric and vanilla.
This Radio 4 programme looks at food as part of a prescription for health and wellbeing. What has gone wrong with our diets in the UK and how are doctors and experts trying to redress the balance to get us well again?
In recent years, studies of sperm quality in different populations from developing countries have shown a decrease that could have consequences for the survival of the human species. The decrease in sperm quality has been related to unhealthy lifestyles. Stress, the consumption of drugs, tobacco and alcohol and unhealthy diets seem to be the principal modifiable factors.
Convincing young children to try new foods can be a dinner time stressor for any family, but for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) meal time challenges are often not just a phase.
Researcher Meghan Azad, a University of Manitoba pediatrics and child health assistant professor, is breaking new ground with her findings on how breastmilk affects the baby's gut flora.
Recent headlines claim that a glass of wine or a pint of beer a day shortens your life. But these conclusions are based on a partial view of the alcohol debate.
New figures reveal huge rise in children and young people with diabetes linked to obesity.
Nearly one in four young women have a mental illness, with emotional problems such as depression and anxiety the most common, figures for England show. The official NHS report found young women aged 17 to 19 were twice as likely as young men to have problems, with 23.9% reporting a disorder.
Mental ill-health is costing the UK more than £94bn every year, counting treatment, social support costs and the losses to the economy from people who cannot work, according to the OECD.
Eating leafy greens, dark orange and red vegetables and berry fruits, and drinking orange juice may be associated with a lower risk of memory loss over time in men, according to a new study.
Cognitive difficulties in patients with diabetes, caused by repeated episodes of low blood sugar, could be reduced with antioxidants, according to a new study. The study findings suggest that stimulating antioxidant defenses in mice reduces cognitive impairments caused by low blood sugar, which could help to improve the quality of life for diabetic patients.
Almost 8 percent of American children have food allergies, and 1 in 5 of them suffer an allergic reaction severe enough to wind up in hospital, a new study finds.
Two new studies came to opposite conclusions about preventing heart disease with fish oil. What the heck is going on? Factors such as quality and dosage are at play, muddying the waters.
When healthy people eat a low-gluten and fibre-rich diet compared with a high-gluten diet, they experience less intestinal discomfort including less bloating. Researchers at University of Copenhagen show that this is due to changes of the composition and function of gut bacteria.
Akkermansia muciniphila inhabits the large intestine and is thought to account for between 1 percent and 5 percent of all intestinal bacteria in adults. Scientists suspect it helps preserve the coat of mucus that lines the walls of our intestines. It may also play a role in making the polyphenols we eat in plant-based foods more available to our cells.
Milkshakes with “alarmingly high” levels of sugar are being sold across UK high street restaurants and fast food chains, according to a survey by UK lobby group Action on Sugar.
Pregnant women who increase their intake of omega-3 long-chain fatty acids are less likely to have a premature birth, according to a new Cochrane Review, updating initial research carried out in 2006.
Study finds that individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression have diets that are more inflammatory and higher in calories.
Researchers have shown that so-called 'brown fat' interacts with the gut hormone secretin in mice to relay nutritional signals about fullness to the brain during a meal. The study bolsters our understanding of a long-suspected role of brown adipose tissue (BAT) - a type of body fat known to generate heat when an animal is cold - in the control of food intake.
Why do some people manage their emotions with food while others don’t? One psychological concept that helps to explain this difference is 'adult attachment orientation'.