Increased intakes of soy and soy products may reduce the risk of dying from breast cancer as well as protecting from breast cancer recurrence according to the findings of a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association . Women with the highest intake of soy protein had a 29 % lower risk of dying from breast cancer, and a 32 % lower risk of breast cancer recurrence compared to patients with the lowest intake of soy protein. The study adds to an ever-growing body of science supporting the role of soy, and the isoflavones it contains, with improved breast health.

Italian researchers from the University of Milan report that dark chocolate containing 860 milligrams of polyphenols led to a 20 % reduction in DNA damage in healthy people two hours after consumption. The researchers enlisted 20 healthy subjects with an average age of 24.2 into their study and they were to start by consuming a balanced diet for four weeks. After two weeks the group was split in two, with one group receiving additional dark chocolate rich in Cocoa polyphenols, while the other received white chocolate that lacks the polyphenol antioxidants.

The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish affect processes strongly connected to disease of the retina of the eye and may help prevented age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The researchers undertook a study within a multicenter phase 3 clinical trial; the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS), to study progression to advanced AMD in 1837 persons at moderate-to-high risk of this condition.      The AREDS was designed to assess the clinical course, prognosis, risk factors, and nutrient-based treatments of AMD and ran from November 1992 to December 2005.

Researchers at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, the Department of Drug Information at Hartford Hospital, and the Cleveland Clinic performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of Green Teas effects on anthropometric variables, including body mass index (BMI), body weight, waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). They performed a systematic literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database through April 2009.      Fifteen studies that included 1243 patients met the inclusion criteria.

 A diet rich in polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease through the production of new brain cells and the strengthening of neural networks, the way the brain processes information, according to a new Spanish study.      Dr. Mercedes Unzeta, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) claims that the study showed that mice fed a diet based on polyphenols and fatty acids, when compared to those in the control group, had more cell growth in the olfactory bulb and the hippocampus, both of which are damaged in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.