The health benefits of… aubergines

Full of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre and with the potential to lower cholesterol and help manage weight, aubergines are a great choice for salads, stews and beyond. Our nutritionist shares the health benefits, ongoing research and history behind this versatile ingredient… Along with tomatoes, potatoes and bell peppers, the aubergine (solanum melongena) belongs to the nightshade plant family (Solanaceae). In fact, aubergines grow in a manner much like tomatoes, hanging from the vines of a plant that grows several feet in height. They have a deep purple, glossy skin…

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Coping with ‘fear of missing out’ over the holidays

Have you heard the phrase “Fear of missing out”? It’s commonly known by its acronym, FOMO, and while many say it comes from using social media too much, you don’t have to be online for it to have an effect on your life. The fear of not staying “connected” may cause problems, said Dr. Joe Taravella, a licensed clinical psychologist at New York University Langone Medical Center’s Rusk Rehabilitation. “It can lead to cognitive distortions and that is people thinking… that they’re truly missing out on things,” he said. FOMO…

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Older women with breast cancer still left out of medical trials

Older women are still underrepresented in medical trials evaluating treatments for breast cancer, according to a new study. Of three different types of trials evaluated by researchers, only one had an increase in enrollment of older women with breast cancer between 1985 and 2012. The other two had decreases. Seeing how older people react to cancer therapies “is crucial to inform decision-making and to optimally serve patients’ medical, emotional, and functional needs,” the authors of the study write in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, online December 19. “As physicians and…

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Older women with breast cancer still left out of medical trials

Older women are still underrepresented in medical trials evaluating treatments for breast cancer, according to a new study. Of three different types of trials evaluated by researchers, only one had an increase in enrollment of older women with breast cancer between 1985 and 2012. The other two had decreases. Seeing how older people react to cancer therapies “is crucial to inform decision-making and to optimally serve patients’ medical, emotional, and functional needs,” the authors of the study write in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, online December 19. “As physicians and…

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Low thyroid linked to negative reproductive health of women

Low thyroid functioning may be directly linked to negative impact on women’s reproductive health, medical experts here said on Monday. According to them, Hypothyroidism — when the thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone — is more common a cause for infertility and miscarriage in women than most of them realize. “Thyroid disorders are very common during pregnancy. Over 25 per cent women develop hypothyroidism during the 6th week. Secretion of thyroid hormone is important for both placental and foetal development and the level needs to increase by 50 per…

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Certain high BP drugs cut spread of cancer in body

A team of researchers has found that drugs used to treat high blood pressure can block the spread of cancer. The findings were published in journal of Nature Communications. Calcium channel blockers are currently used to treat hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, but their potential use in blocking cancer cell metastases has not been previously reported. By screening already approved drugs, the team led by Postdoctoral Researcher Guillaume Jacquemet and Academy Professor Johanna Ivaska from University of Turku in Finland discovered that calcium channel blockers can efficiently stop…

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