Research may provide new link between soft drinks and weight gain
A University of Cincinnati (UC) study provides new evidence that drinking large amounts of beverages containing fructose adds body fat, and might explain why sweetening with fructose could be even worse than using other sweeteners. Researchers allowed mice to freely consume either water, fructose sweetened water or soft drinks. They found increased body fat in the mice that drank the fruct...Major new UNC-based drinking water study suggests pregnancy fears may be overstated
Fears that chemical byproducts resulting from purifying drinking water with chlorine boost the chances that pregnant women will miscarry were not supported by the results of a major new study. If such threats exist at all, which is uncertain, they likely are modest, it concludes. The national study, directed by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists, contrasts with earlier,...Whisky fans can drink to crop research
Research into the genetics of barley could lead to improved varieties of the crop most commonly used in the production of whisky and beer. Scientists funded in part by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) are beginning a new programme to uncover key genes that control the specific characteristics of different barley varieties. The research, being carried out a...Ultrasounds show mothers' drinking shrinks fetal brain
Routine ultrasounds show that heavy drinkers who continue to imbibe after learning they are pregnant may carry fetuses with reduced skull and brain growth compared to those of abstainers or quitters, says a new study. Although the alcohol-exposed babies' growth remained within normal range, the findings reveal effects of drinking on the developing human brain. The study will appear in the...Brains can recover from alcoholic damage but patients should stop drinking as soon as possible
The findings, published today (18 December 2006) in the online edition of the journal Brain [1], used sophisticated scanning technology and computer software to measure how brain volume, form and function changed over six to seven weeks of abstinence from alcohol in 15 alcohol dependent patients (ten men, five women). The researchers from Germany, the UK, Switzerland and Italy measured the...Kick Smoking with Nicotine Drink
First it was the nicotine patch, then came the gum, inhalers and other products intended to help smokers kick the habit by getting over their nicotine fixation. The new kid on the block in this ever increasing list is a nicotine solution that can be mixed with drinks, which scientists claim could be useful in over coming the addiction. Researchers at Duke University have tested and pate...Drinking arsenic water leads to cancer
According to a press release about one third the population of Bangladesh are at risk of getting cancer from arsenic deposits in well water. Drinking arsenic tainted water for prolonged periods results in skin lesions and cancer of kidney, skin, lung and bladder said the study.// At least 100,000 cases of debilitating skin lesions have already occurred, according to World Hea...Tea drinkers have lower rates of heart disease
In comparison to coffee, tea drinkers have lower rates of heart disease and cancer, although few clinical studies have been done. Doctors are carrying out research into the effect of green tea in men with prostate cancer. They hope it will be just one of the many studies that will be done on the benefits of tea.// Generally tea drinkers are less likely to have heart disease or cancer, although t...