2014-04-24 00:57:10

Rosalind Franklin should have won the Nobel Prize for discovering the structure of DNA. She died at the very young age of 37 of ovarian cancer in 1958, probably from exposure to the radiation that helped her make this incredible discovery. In 1962, Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins jointly won her Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The Nobel Committee awards Nobel Prizes only to people who are still alive. This brilliant woman made breakthrough studies in DNA, the tobacco mosaic virus and the ... Read more

2014-04-21 15:49:23

In 1982, Ajit Varki discovered Neu5Gc, a sugar chain that is found in meat from mammals but not in the cells of humans. He claimed that when you eat red meat, the Neu5Gc from the meat is absorbed into your body and that this might explain why red meat is associated with increased risk of cancer. This month, 32 years later, he published data showing how Neu5Gc may cause cancer (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published online April 7, 2014). He writes that your natural immunity attacks Neu5... Read more

2014-04-21 15:44:44

Loss of teeth and bleeding gums are associated with increased risk for heart attacks (European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, published online Apr 10, 2014). The patients who retained more of their teeth had significantly lower risk factors for heart attacks: lower fasting sugar, bad LDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, waist circumference, white blood cell count and markers for inflammation. They also had better kidney function and were less likely to have diabetes. People who have bleeding gums have... Read more

2014-04-21 15:41:52

A review of 26 studies of 1,037 people, average age 51 shows that eating three quarters of a cup (4.5 ounces) of cooked beans a day for six weeks lowers LDL levels by five percent, which would result in a five percent reduction in heart attacks (The Canadian Medical Association Journal, published online April 7, 2014). Levels of the good HDL cholesterol were not affected. The average American eats much less than that amount of beans. Legumes include all types of dried or canned beans, dried peas, chick peas, ... Read more