Daily supplements of L-Carnitine during pregnancy may decrease levels of free fatty acids linked to insulin resistance and gestational diabetes, says a new study led by Prof. Alfred Lohninger from the Medical University of Vienna. Insulin resistance during pregnancy can lead to gestational diabetes, which affects up to an estimated 10% of pregnancies.

A high intake of Selenium could have a beneficial effect on bladder cancer risk, according new research. A meta-analysis of seven previously published studies found that Selenium’s potential protective effect was seen mainly among women, which suggests gender-specific differences in selenium accumulation and excretion. “Results suggest a beneficial effect of high selenium intake for bladder cancer risk,” wrote the researchers, led by Dr Núria Malats, from the Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center.

A daily supplement of a freeze-dried strawberry powder improved heart health markers in people with metabolic syndrome, says new data from Oklahoma State University. LDL-cholesterol levels were reduced by 11% following eight weeks of strawberry powder supplementation, according to findings of a study with 27 obese people. Furthermore, the strawberry group also experienced a decrease in levels of a compound called vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) of 18 percent.

In a press release concerning new evidence of a connection between low melatonin and increased cancer risk by research scientists at the Center for Interdisciplinary Chronobiological Research of the University of Haifa in Israel it was stated that there was an association between light at night and an increased risk of cancer; and it is likely due to light-induced suppression of the hormone melatonin. Previously the same researchers found that men and women who reside in areas in which there is greater night-time exposure to artificial light have an increased risk of prostate and breast cancer. Suppression of melatonin, a hormone released by the pineal gland in response to darkness, was hypothesized to be the cause of the finding.