January 30, 2009 Green Tea helps shrink belly fat (and it’s not the caffeine) Researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University along with other clinical research institutions placed 107 overweight to obese adults on either 625mg of Green Tea antioxidants with 39mg caffeine or a sham supplement lacking Green Tea but providing 39mg of caffeine every day for 12 weeks. They were placed on 180 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. The antioxidant group lost more fat than the sham group.

January 29, 2009 DHA from Algae reduces elevated triglyceride levels Researchers from Martek Biosciences analyzed results from 16 published clinical trials using the supplement DHA from Algae (this oil is usually derived from fish) to reduce serum triglyceride levels. The DHA was used alone or in combination with statin drugs. The results of the analysis shows that DHA from algae at a dosage of 1000mg to 2000mg a day used either alone or with statins can lower the level of triglycerides by up to 26% with the best effects achieved in the patients with the highest triglyceride levels In some patients heart rate and blood pressure were significantly improved towards normal.

January 28, 2009 Calcium supplements do not cause but actually help prevent kidney stones Researchers from Creighton University in Omaha analyzed the high quality available studies concerning Calcium and also noting kidney stone risk and they claim that contrary to popular belief Calcium supplements do not increase the risk of kidney stones, they actually prevent them. The amount of evidence showing the protective effect comes from a substantial body of evidence both from controlled clinical trials and from observational studies.

January 27, 2009 The combination of ALCAR with ALA helps reverse the decay seen to energy production in the brain of old rats Scientists from the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia, University of California, at Irvine investigated the decay that happens to the power plants of our cells (mitochondrial decay) and the oxidative damage that results from aging using an animal model. The effects of ALCAR with ALA (Acetyl-L-Carnitine plus Alpha-Lipoic Acid) were tested in the brains in old rats and these rats were compared to brain health in both young and old rats not fed ALCAR and ALA. The brain mitochondria of old rats, compared with young rats, had significantly decreased antioxidants with more oxidative damage to lipids and proteins.