Keep watermelon out of the frig

Government researchers in Washington advise against storing watermelon in the refrigerator if you want to maximize its health benefits.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture study found watermelons stored at room temperature have significantly more antioxidants and other nutrients than those kept in the refrigerator, WebMD reports.

Vegetables: How to select, store and serve these healthy foods

They were probably the last things left on your dinner plate when you were a child. But as an adult, you probably know that vegetables don’t have to be boring or a challenge to eat.

Vegetables are actually quite versatile and fit into any healthy-eating plan. Enjoy them raw or cooked, on their own or in a casserole. Find out why you need to eat vegetables and the best ways to select, store and serve these healthy foods.

Smokers hopeful new drug breaks habit

Chantix, a new stop-smoking drug that partially activates nicotine receptors in the brain, has arrived on the U.S. market.

USA Today says the new drug is different from other products because it levels out the peaks and dips from the roller coaster of nicotine addiction.

In clinical trials, about 22 percent of patients who took Chantix in clinical trials were still not smoking after a year. Thomas Glynn, director of cancer science at the American Cancer Society, told USA Today that fewer than 5 percent of smokers who try to quit on their own can last a year without a cigarette.

The newspaper said Acomplia, a drug available in Europe for weight loss, also has shown potential for helping smokers quit but it has not been approved for use in the United States.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

Processed meats linked with stomach cancer

A Swedish-led study suggests the more processed meat a person consumes, the greater the likelihood of developing stomach cancer.

However, the researchers said there’s not enough evidence to call processed meats a cause of stomach cancer, WebMD.com reported.

Another grape excuse to hit the bottle

Scientists in Italy say they have discovered that the grapes used to make some of the most popular red wines contain high levels of the sleep hormone melatonin. (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture). Melatonin is naturally secreted by the pineal gland in the brain, especially at night. It tells the body when it is time to sleep.

Flavanol-rich cocoa improves blood vessel function in aging baby boomer study participants

Flavanol-rich cocoa could offer powerful cardiovascular benefits for the nearly 78 million baby boomers in the United States today, suggests a new study published in the August issue of the Journal of Hypertension.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that drinking a standardized flavanol-rich cocoa beverage improved several measures of blood vessel function, especially among older study participants. Flavanols are the natural compounds in cocoa that are increasingly being linked to promising circulatory benefits – including improved blood flow and a reduced tendency to form damaging clots.

Natural pine bark extract relieves muscle cramp and pain in athletes and diabetics

A study published in this month’s issue of Angiology shows that supplementation with the pine bark extract Pycnogenol® (pic-noj-en-all) improves blood flow to the muscles which speeds recovery after physical exercise. The study of 113 participants demonstrated that Pycnogenol significantly reduces muscular pain and cramps in athletes and healthy, normal individuals.

Study suggests TV-watching lowers physical activity

A study of low-income housing residents has documented that the more television people say they watched, the less active they were, researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and colleagues report.

The findings of television’s effects on physical activity are the first to be based on objective measurements using pedometers, rather than the study subjects’ memories of their physical activity, say the researchers. The study will be published online by the American Journal of Public Health on July 27 and later in the journal’s September 2006 issue.

Moderate exercise improves survival rates for colon cancer survivors

People who have been treated for colon cancer can substantially reduce the risk that the disease will return and improve their overall chance of survival by engaging in regular exercise, according to new research by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists.

Antioxidants may slow vision loss

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have successfully blocked the advance of retinal degeneration in mice with a form of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) by treating them with vitamin E, alpha-lipoic acid and other antioxidant chemicals.