Adding the omega-3 fatty acid DHA to infant formula may improve the visual acuity of the infants according to a new clinical trial. Addition of DHA, one of the two important fats in fish oils, led to improvements in eye health of infants, compared to infants fed non-supplemented formula. “The [DHA Intake And Measurement Of Neural Development] (DIAMOND) is the first double-masked, randomized, controlled, parallel-group, prospective, dose-response study of DHA in term infant formula,” wrote the researchers, led by Eileen Birch from the Texas-based Retina Foundation of the Southwest.

     Increased intakes of Alpha- and Beta-carotene may reduce the risk of breast cancer among female smokers according to the results of a new study from Sweden. Although expert advice is clearly to avoid smoking altogether, the results suggest female smokers could benefit from upping their intakes of carotenoid-rich foods, particularly those rich in Alpha- and Beta-carotene. The role of Beta-carotene in cancer is controversial, with several studies reporting that Beta-carotene may increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers.

     Statin drugs often trigger severe muscle pain (myalgia) causing the patient to stop the use of the cholesterol lowering drug. In their study researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine placed 43 adults with high cholesterol on either pravastatin (20mg twice a day) or Red Yeast Rice (2400mg twice a day) for 12 weeks along with a healthy diet and lifestyle modification. The twist is that all of these patients had to stop using other statin drugs previously due to intolerable muscle pain.

Sterols are found in the cell wall structure of plants. When swallowed they reduce the absorption of cholesterol from food because they look like but do not act like cholesterol. Adding Sterols to foods gives them remarkably powerful cholesterol lowering activity.

        Scientists at the University Of South Florida College Of Medicine tested the ability of Green Tea’s most valuable antioxidant EGCG in combination Fish Oils to inhibit the onset of Alzheimer’s. This is because EGCG makes the dangerous protein that sets in the Alzheimer’s diseased brain more soluble through the activity of an enzyme known as alpha-secretase; however, the amount needed to benefit a human would be very large. Fish Oils have been shown to reduce the risk of dementia.