

Protecting Nerves
Vitamin E and omega-3 protect against nerve damage Vitamin E reduced chemotherapy nerve damage Chemotherapy can damage nerves in the hands and feet—known as peripheral neuropathy—reducing sensitivity to temperature, touch, and pain. There is no preventive treatment. In this analysis, doctors reviewed eight studies covering 488 cancer patients on chemotherapy who took a placebo or 450 to 900 IU of vitamin E per day, from the start of therapy up to three months afterward. Overa


Exercise
Resveratrol sped recovery after intense exercise Less muscle damage, inflammation, and soreness Physical training coaches use jumping exercises at maximum muscle force to increase power. But untrained athletes may fail to adapt, become overloaded, and sustain muscle damage. In this study, doctors gave 36 untrained men a jumping test designed to cause muscle damage before taking a placebo, 500 mg, or 1,000 mg of resveratrol per day, for seven days before being tested again. Af


Mind & Mood
Omega-3 and vitamin D preserved memory in AD, reduced depression Omega-3 preserved memory in AD In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), memory continually deteriorates. In the first phase of this study, 33 people with mild to moderate AD took 2,300 mg of omega-3 fish oil per day, or did not take omega-3 supplements. Doctors tested memory at the start of the study, and again at the end. After three months, memory function remained stable in those with mild AD who had taken omega-3, while


Heart & Circulation
Iron and folic acid provide heart and kidney protection Circulating iron protects the heart To determine iron deficiency, doctors typically measure iron and ferritin stored in the body. While iron stores may be sufficient, too little circulating iron may prevent the body from working properly, leading doctors to consider “functional” iron deficiency (FID)—circulating and stored—rather than “absolute” iron deficiency (AID)—stored iron only. Here, doctors evaluated FID and AID


Expectant Moms
Pregnant women can develop vaginal yeast infections, which doctors say may be due to the high estrogen levels during gestation. While the pregnancy is safe, physical and emotional symptoms can be uncomfortable. In this study, 78 pregnant women with vaginal candidiasis took a placebo or a combination of lactobacillus probiotics, twice per day. After eight weeks, while the placebo group had not improved, irritation, discharge, burning, and other symptoms had decreased by 45 per


Digestion
Probiotics and oat beta-glucan strengthen the gut Probiotics protect the gut in NAFLD The job of the small intestine is to digest and absorb nutrients through its mucosal membrane lining, and to act as a first line of defense against pathogens. When the lining functions properly, bacteria and toxins can’t pass through and leak into the bloodstream, while beneficial nutrients can. Since the liver accepts blood directly from the gut, doctors wanted to examine the role the small


Mother & Child
Nutrients, before and during pregnancy, promote healthy births Folic acid, multivitamins, healthy hearts Women who took either folic acid or multivitamins, during or before conception, were more likely to give birth to children with healthy hearts compared to women not taking these supplements. In this study, doctors measured folic acid and multivitamin-mineral supplements in 63,939 mothers with a single birth between 2013 and 2018. Overall, babies whose mothers took folic ac