Women who eat plenty of blueberries and strawberries experience slower mental decline with age than women who consume fewer of the flavonoid-rich fruits, a US study said Thursday. Based on a survey of more than 16,000 women who filled out regular questionnaires on their health habits from 1976 through 2001, the findings showed that those who ate the most berries delayed cognitive decline by up to 2.5 years. Every two years from 1995 to 2001, … full story

Like other parts of the globe, World Health Day was also observed in Pakistan on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the founding of World Health Organization (WHO). Each year on its anniversary, the organization selects a key global health issue and organizes international, regional and local events on the day and throughout the year to highlight the selected area. On this occasion, the WHO has called for an urgent action to ensure that … full story

Eating more blueberries, apples and pears may be linked to lower risk of diabetes, according to a new U.S. study. These fruits are loaded with flavonoids, a natural compound present in certain fruits, vegetables and grains, which some research has tentatively tied to heath benefits such as a lower risk of heart disease or cancer. "People who ate a higher amount of blueberries or apples, they tended to have a low risk of type 2 diabetes," … full story

Renowned experts of the country have urged common people to adopt healthy lifestyle, refrain from smoking, alcohol, exercise daily and use balanced died to prevent themselves from heart ailments, strokes, diabetes, hypertension and mental illnesses. The health experts, each of whom is considered master of his respective field of specialization in the medical profession, said remaining healthy was not as much difficult as it is considered by most … full story

Coffee drinkers have no more risk of getting illnesses such as heart disease or cancer, and are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, according to a German study involving more than 40,000 people over nearly a decade. The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, came in the wake of many previous studies that produced conflicting results, with some tying coffee drinking to an increase in heart disease, cancer, stroke and … full story

In people with low blood levels of vitamin D, boosting them with supplements more than halved a person's risk of dying from any cause compared to someone who remained deficient, in a large new study. Analyzing data on more than 10,000 patients, University of Kansasresearchers found that 70 percent were deficient in vitamin D and they were at significantly higher risk for a variety of heart diseases. D-deficiency also nearly doubled a person's likelihood … full story

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has said that World Diabetes Day 2011 being observed on November 14 around the world draws our attention to the lethality of disease and underscores the need of preventive measures at individual and collective levels. The purpose of observing this day is to highlight the importance of diabetes as a global health threat and to undertake concerted efforts to cope with the disease in a proactive manner, the Prime … full story

Obesity comes with plenty of health risks but there’s one that’s perhaps not so well known — increased risk of developing liver cancer. Now, a team of researchers have confirmed in mice that obesity does act as a “bonafide tumour promoter”, and they have backed it up with real evidence. “Doctors always worry about our weight, but the focus is often on cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, both of which can be managed pretty well with existing … full story

More than the apple, a strawberry a day could keep not just one doctor away, but an entire army of brain, hormone and cancer specialists. Fisetin is a natural flavonoid found very abundantly in strawberries and to some extent in other fruits, vegetables, tea and red wine. It eases diabetes complications, Salk Institute’s Cellular Neurobiology Lab (CFL) said. Flavonoids are natural compounds having similar effects as antioxidants, which help protect … full story

Patients with HIV infection without a prior history of coronary heart disease may be at a higher risk of developing heart failure. “Heavy alcohol consumption, which is more prevalent among HIV-infected people, is also an established risk factor for heart failure,” the study authors write. Adeel A. Butt from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and colleagues analyzed data from HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected veterans enrolled in the … full story