Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden compared mortality and Vitamin D levels in 1194 elderly men with an average age of 71 at the start of the study. Over the next 12.7 years 584 of these men or 49% died. In men with plasma Vitamin D levels less than 46 nmol/ L there was a 50% higher total mortality.

Forty-eight men and mostly women (4 men and 40 women) with an average body mass index of 37.8 (very obese) were supplemented with a freeze-dried blueberry beverage (50g freeze-dried blueberries) or placebo liquid (sham treatment for comparison of effect) for eight weeks in a randomized controlled trial.  All subjects had metabolic syndrome.      The systolic blood pressure dropped 6% and the diastolic pressure dropped 4% greater in the blueberry group (placebo group drop was 1.5% and 1.2% respectively). Blood sugar and cholesterol was not affected.

Daily supplements of L-Carnitine may reduce muscle soreness in middle-aged individuals and accelerate post-exercise recovery, says a new study. Two grams of L-Carnitine per day was found to have beneficial effects on muscle soreness after exercise, as well as positive effects on a range of biochemical markers like free radicals, and muscle tissue disruption, according to findings published in Metabolism. “The major finding and new discovery of the present study were that l-Carnitine supplementation can beneficially affect post-exercise markers of metabolic stress, muscle disruption, and muscle soreness in men and women older than 40 years,” report researchers from the University of Connecticut.

  There is now evidence that major depression is accompanied by inflammatory and oxidative stress and oxidation of nitrogen compounds and by lowered antioxidant activity. Researchers from Maes Clinics in Antwerp measured plasma Coenzyme Q10 levels in 35 depressed patients and 22 normal volunteers. Treatment resistance, severity of illness and the presence of chronic fatigue were also compared.