Janet Schwartz, an assistant marketing professor from Tulane University, and Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University, conducted three field experiments in Chinese fast-food restaurants in which servers asked customers if they wanted to downsize portions of rice or noodles. The researchers discovered that as many as a third of all diners were happy to limit their portion size if asked. Findings from the research were published in the February 2012 issue of the journal Health Affairs.

Large portion sizes are a key contributor to obesity, and research shows the average portion served in restaurants has ballooned during the last decade. In particular, Schwartz said, restaurants pile on inexpensive yet caloric starches like pasta, rice or French fries to persuade patrons that they’re getting a good deal.

Schwartz’s and Ariely’s research encompassed 970 customers who ordered rice or noodles to accompany their Chinese entrée. When asked: “Would you like a half-order to save 200 calories?” between 14 and 33 percent of the diners said yes.

Surprisingly, accompanying the offer with a 25-cent discount didn’t spur any more takers, nor did posting the calorie content of the rice or noodles. In fact, the researchers found that significantly more customers—21 percent versus 14 percent—accepted the downsizing offer without being provided calorie information.

The patrons who opted for the smaller portions also didn’t compensate by ordering more caloric entrees, nor did it change the amount of uneaten food at the end of the meal.

Schwartz hopes the study will help restaurants to understand that limiting portion size won’t alienate customers. “I think the restaurant industry may find this counterintuitive, but it’s an interesting and easy strategy to implement that could help their customers make healthier choices,” she said.

Read Dr. Murray’s recommendations to help combat obesity

A study published in January 2012 in the FASEB Journal found that boosting the good bacteria in your intestines can help reduce the risk of death from heart attacks. Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin divided rats into three groups. The first group was fed a standard diet, and the second group was given the antibiotic vancomycin in its drinking water. The third group was fed a probiotic supplement that contained Lactobacillus plantarum—a bacteria that helps the body produce less leptin, which is a protein hormone that has a key role in regulating appetite and metabolism.

At the end of the study, compared to the standard-diet group, the antibiotic group had 38 percent less leptin in its blood, which resulted in a 27 percent reduction in the severity of heart attacks. Even more impressive, the probiotic group had 41 percent less leptin and a 29 percent reduction in heart attack severity.

“Our discovery is a revolutionary milestone in the prevention and treatment of heart attacks,” the study’s lead author John Baker, MD, told NutraIngredients.com. “The biochemical link between intestinal bacteria, their metabolites and injury to the heart will reduce the risk of death from a heart attack and, coupled with the use of probiotics, will ultimately be able to improve the overall cardiovascular health of the human population.”

Added Gerald Weissman, MD, editor-in-chief of the FASEB Journal: “Just as physicians use cholesterol levels, blood pressure and overall body composition as measures of heart disease risk, we may soon evaluate our body’s susceptibility to disease by looking at the microbes that inhabit the gut.”

Another January study published in the British Journal of Dermatology showed that probiotics and prebiotics (carbohydrates or fiber that help feed the good bacteria in your gut) significantly reduced the severity of eczema in children.

The Taiwanese study involved 60 children ages 2 to 14. About 75 percent had severe eczema, and 25 percent had moderate eczema. The children were divided into two groups: One group received 950 mg per day of the prebiotic fructo-oligosaccharide, while the other group took 950 mg of the prebiotic plus 4 billion colony-forming units of the probiotic Lactobacillus salivarius daily for eight weeks.

By the end of the study, fewer than 10 percent of the children had severe eczema, about 40 percent had moderate eczema, and more than 50 percent had mild eczema. However, the children who took the prebiotic-probiotic combo fared better: Moderate or severe symptoms improved in 30 percent of those in the prebiotic group and in 52 percent of those in the probiotic-prebiotic group.

“In light of our findings, the use of combinations of prebiotics, which selectively promote the growth of certain bacterial species and their activities, and probiotics, which elicit immune-modulating effects, may be an effective strategy for treating childhood eczema,” said lead study author Keh-Gong Wu, MD, of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan.

Dr. Murray notes that the quality of a probiotic supplement depends primarily on proper manufacturing and the “hardiness” of the strain. “Consumers must utilize products developed and manufactured by companies that have done the necessary research to insure the viability of their product,” he said. “I personally endorse the Ultimate Probiotic supplements that I developed for Natural Factors.”

A Canadian study published in December 2011 by Nutrition & Diabetes found that the dietary fiber PolyGlycopleX (PGX) suppressed hunger for as long as 4.5 hours in women on a 1,000-calorie-a-day diet. PGX is the most viscous and soluble fiber available, meaning that the health benefits linked to soluble dietary fibers— including promoting satiety and stabilizing blood sugar levels—are significantly magnified with PGX. Research shows that PGX raises levels of the appetite-suppressing hormone PYY while reducing levels of the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin.

In the Canadian study, 45 women, ages 20 to 50 with body mass indexes between 25 and 35, ate 1,000 calories a day for three days, supplemented with either 5 grams of PGX or a placebo before breakfast, lunch and dinner. On the third day, the PGX group had between 6.3 and 10.3 percent less hunger, appetite, desire to eat and prospective consumption than the placebo group. Specifically, the women who took PGX reported less hunger for 2.5 to 4.5 hours after lunch, and 2.5 hours after dinner.

Both groups lost about the same amount of weight: 3.1 pounds for the placebo group, and 2.9 pounds for the PGX group.

“This study indicates that the supplementation of highly viscous PGX to meals could be a useful weight-management aid during a low-calorie diet to help lessen feelings of hunger and to moderate food portions,” the researchers concluded.

Other detailed clinical studies published in major medical journals and presented at worldwide diabetes conferences have shown that PGX:

• Stabilizes blood sugar in the overweight and obese
• Reduces appetite and promotes effective weight loss, even in the morbidly obese
• Reduces after-meal blood-glucose levels when added to or taken with foods
• Reduces the glycemic index of any food or beverage
• Increases insulin sensitivity and decreases blood insulin
• Improves diabetes control and dramatically reduces diabetics’ need for medications or insulin
• Lowers blood cholesterol and triglycerides

A study of 21,993 kids from two-parent homes shows that if dad is down, kids suffer, although not as much as if they have a depressed mother. The research, which was published in the December 2011 issue of Pediatrics, found that children had a 19 percent risk of emotional or behavioral problems if their mother had depression or other emotional issues, and a 11 percent risk if their father was depressed. If both parents were depressed, their kids had a 25 percent chance of emotional or behavioral problems. Children in households in which neither parent was depressed had a 6 percent risk.

The research also showed that kids age 12 to 17 were more likely to feel the effects of a parent’s depression than their younger siblings, and white children were more affected than black, Hispanic or Asian children.

Medical experts speculate that depression affects parenting skills—for instance, depressed parents may be more irritable and less emotionally available to their kids. The researchers cited previous studies that show that infants with depressed dads cry excessively, and children younger than 2 are less likely to comply with parental guidance and more likely to have speech and development delays if their fathers are depressed.

In addition, “a recent meta-analysis of data from 28 studies revealed that paternal depression is associated with a significant decrease in positive paternal parenting practices, which may serve as a mechanism by which depression is transmitted between
generations,” the researchers said.

Noting that “to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to use a representative U.S. sample to demonstrate that living with fathers with depressive symptoms and other mental health problems is independently associated with increased rates of emotional or behavioral problems of children,” the researchers said their findings “raise questions of great importance about how to educate the health care workforce about this, how to develop and implement strategies to facilitate identifying fathers with mental health problems, and how to develop referral systems and ways to reimburse for this vital work.”

The good news, experts hope, is that the study will encourage depressed dads to seek help. Read more about Depression and Dr. Murray’s scientifically proven recommendations to help treat it.

The Swedish study, which was published in October 2011 in the international headache journal Cephalalgia, shows that consistent exercise may help prevent migraines just as well as relaxation therapy or the drug topiramate.

Relaxation techniques and topiramate (marketed as Topamax) are well-documented migraine treatments, but the researchers noted that previous studies offer conflicting evidence about whether exercise promotes or prevents migraines.

The Swedish study included 91 men and women between the ages of 18 and 65. Each participant had two to eight migraines per month prior to the study. They were placed into three groups: relaxation, drug and exercise.

The relaxation group did five- to 20-minute relaxation sessions, incorporating breathing and stress-management techniques, with a physiotherapist once a week. The drug group took up to 200 mg a day of topiramate. The exercise group rode an exercise bike for 40 minutes three times a week. Each session included a 15-minute warm-up, a 20-minute workout and a five-minute cool down.

The study lasted 12 weeks, with three- and six-month follow-ups. In the last month of the study, researchers found that the number of migraines was reduced by 0.83 in the relaxation group, 0.93 in the exercise group and 0.97 in the drug group. These numbers are statistically the same, leading researchers to conclude that each type of treatment is equally effective at reducing migraines.

The researchers concluded that exercise may be a viable option for “patients who do not benefit from or do not want to take daily medication.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that taking topiramate may increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and pregnant women who use the drug have an elevated risk of giving birth to a child with a cleft lip or cleft palate.

Read Dr. Murray’s suggestions for the treatment of Migraine Headache

The award, which will be given during the NPA’s annual convention in June, recognizes an individual who has made long-time contributions to the natural products industry. The NPA noted the breadth and depth of Dr. Murray’s accomplishments, including:

• Playing an instrumental role in bringing to North America many safe and effective natural products, including glucosamine sulfate, Ginkgo biloba extract, PGX and PharmaGABA
• Director of product development and education for Natural Factors, a manufacturer of nutritional and herbal supplements
• President and CEO of Dr. Murray Natural Living Inc.
• Former faculty member and current member of the Board of Regents of Bastyr University
• Coauthor of A Textbook of Natural Medicine, the definitive textbook on naturopathic medicine for physicians, as well as the consumer version, the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine
• Best-selling author of more than 20 other books, including Dr. Murray’s Total Body Tune-Up, The Pill Book Guide to Natural Medicines, The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, and his latest book, What the Drug Companies Won’t Tell You and Your Doctor Doesn’t Know

The Natural Products Association is a nonprofit group of individuals and companies that advocates for the rights of consumers to have access to products that will maintain and improve their health. It leads grassroots lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. and nationwide, and issues the NPA Natural Seal, a rigorous certification process for natural personal care and home care products.

Previous NPA President’s Award winners include Jeffrey Bland, PhD, former professor of biochemistry at the University of Puget Sound and a previous director of nutritional research at the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine; Earl Mindell, PhD, best-selling author of the Vitamin Bible and other books; Richard Passwater, PhD, a pioneer in antioxidant and selenium research; and exercise guru Jack LaLanne.

For more information on the Natural Products Association, go to www.npainfo.org.

Scientists have long believed that age-related declines in memory, reasoning and comprehension begin around our 60^th birthday, but new evidence from France’s Center for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health shows they may actually occur in people as young as 45. Researchers say risk factors for heart attack and stroke, such as smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, may contribute to this cognitive decline by affecting brain blood vessels and cells.

“There is emerging consensus that ‘what is good for our hearts is also good for our heads,’ making aggressive control of behavioral and cardiovascular risk factors as early as possible key targets for clinical practice and public health,” wrote French researcher Archana Singh-Manoux, PhD, in a study published in January 2012 in the British Medical Journal. “Determining the age window at which potential interventions are likely to be most beneficial is also a crucial next step.”

Singh-Manoux and her team analyzed a British study of Whitehall civil servants. The decade-long study began in 1997 and included 5,198 men and 2,192 women between the ages of 45 and 70. During the course of the study, participants were tested three different times on verbal and mathematical reasoning, short-term memory and vocabulary.

After taking education levels into account, the testing showed declines in everything but vocabulary at all age levels. Men who were age 45 to 49 when testing began had a 3.6 percent drop in mental reasoning, compared to a 9.6 percent decrease among men older than 65. Women age 45 to 49 also had a 3.6 percent decline, while women older than 65 showed a 7.4 percent decrease.

“Greater awareness of the fact that our cognitive status is not intact until deep old age might lead individuals to make changes in their lifestyle and improve cardiovascular health to reduce risk of adverse cognitive outcomes in old age,” Singh-Manoux concluded.

Dr. Murray points out that dietary factors are clearly important in the development of cognitive decline. A diet high in saturated fat and trans fatty acids, and low in dietary antioxidants, potentially leads to neurologic damage. The key dietary factors that reduce cognitive function loss are higher fish consumption (and omega-3 fatty acids), monounsaturated fatty acids (primarily from olive oil), light to moderate alcohol use (primarily red wine) and increased non-starchy vegetable and fruit consumption. It is likely that the combination of all of these factors provides the highest degree of protection, versus any single dietary factor.

Read more about Alzheimer’s Disease, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol and Obesity

The researchers analyzed data from the OmniHeart Trial, which looked at the effects of three different diets on people with mild hypertension but without diabetes. Researchers monitored blood sugar and insulin levels in 164 people who rotated between diets high in carbohydrates; high in protein; or high in unsaturated fats, like the Mediterranean diet, for six weeks at a time. They found that the high unsaturated-fat diet was the best at improving the body’s insulin use. This is key in preventing type 2 diabetes—a major risk factor for heart disease.

“A lot of studies have looked at how the body becomes better at using insulin when you lose weight,” says Meghana Gadgil, MD, who presented the research at the American Heart Association’s meeting in November 2011. “We kept the weight stable so we could isolate the effects of the macronutrients. What we found is that you can begin to see a beneficial impact on heart health even before weight loss.”

The Mediterranean diet has been found in a variety of studies to lower the risk of heart disease by as much as 70 percent. Key components of the diet include:

• A variety of fruits, vegetables and beans
• Whole grains
• Nuts and seeds
• Unsaturated fats such as olive oil rather than saturated fats such as butter
• Fish and poultry rather than red meat, eggs and dairy products
• Wine in low to moderate amounts

In a study published in the November 2011 issue of Nutrition Research, scientists from the Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Poland, analyzed the effect of a green tea extract on men who were new to strength training, and concluded that the antioxidant-packed drink may help protect muscles from exercise-induced damage.

Thirty-five study participants did four weeks of strength training, during which they were given either a green tea extract or a placebo. The green tea extract contained 640 mg of polyphenols—the substances that give the tea its antioxidant properties.

At the end of the study, researchers collected blood samples while the men were resting, five minutes after they performed a short muscular endurance test, and 24 hours after exercising. They found that the men in the green tea group had higher blood polyphenol levels at rest and five minutes after the endurance test, while men in the placebo group had increased levels of lipid hydroxyperoxides—a marker for oxidative stress.

“It has been suggested that exercise-induced oxidative stress may be associated with muscle fatigue, muscle damage and decrease in physical performance,” the researchers explained.

The antioxidants in green tea may protect against this oxidative stress and “can potentially be recommended to persons who are just beginning to train,” the researchers said.

In a study published in October 2011 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers from the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research analyzed dietary information over a two-year period from 834 people with colorectal cancer and 939 people with no history of the disease.

The researchers found that the risk of cancer in the proximal colon (the left side of the colon, including the appendix) was reduced in people who ate brassica vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and cabbage, but was not affected by eating other vegetables or fruits.

For cancer of the distal colon (the right side, including the large intestine), all fruits and vegetables significantly decreased risk—particularly apples and dark yellow vegetables like squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and carrots.

Fruit and vegetable consumption didn’t affect the incidence of rectal cancer in study participants, but drinking fruit juice was associated with a higher risk of getting the disease.

“Future studies might consider taking into account the location of the tumor when examining the relation between fruit and vegetable consumption and the risk of CRC (colorectal cancer),” the researchers concluded.