The average American currently has an approximate 60% adherence to the Healthy Eating Index. A recent study suggests that if Americans increased adherence to dietary guidelines by 20%, the United States government could save as much as $30 to $45 billion per year.

For this study, the researchers used the Healthy Eating Index and the Mediterranean-style diet scores to assess the impact of a healthy dietary pattern. They examined two scenarios: A conservative scenario, which looked at improving adherence by 20% — from 60% to 72% — and an ambitious scenario, which looked at improving adherence to 80%.

The researchers determined that if adherence to the Healthy Eating Index increased to 72% (which is approximately 20% more than it is now), then the US could save between $30 and $47 billion a year. If adherence went up to 80%, then the researchers estimated savings could be between $52 and $82 billion.

When the researchers looked at the Mediterranean-style diet scores, they found that the average American currently scores 3.5 out of 9 points. If adherence increased by 20%, annual savings would be between $21 and $26 billion. Increasing adherence to 80% would result in annuals savings of $112 to $135 billion.

Researchers from the consulting firm Exponent led the study. It was presented at the Nutrition 2018 conference, which was held the week of June 9, 2018 and hosted by the American Society for Nutrition.

A recent study suggests that increased levels of vitamin K may help lower rates of low-energy fractures in children and adolescents.

Participants in the study included 20 children with low-energy fractures and 19 children without fractures. Total serum concentrations of vitamin D, calcium, bone alkaline phosphatase, N-terminal telopeptide, uncarboxylated, and carboxylated osteocalcin.

The researchers found no statistically significant differences between the groups when the researchers examined total vitamin D levels, calcium, or other markers of bone health.

However, they did find a significant difference between the groups in the ratio of uncarboxylated osteocalcin to carboxylated osteocalcin. That ratio is a sensitive indicator for vitamin K blood levels. The mean ratio in the fracture group was 0.471 compared to 0.245 in the control group. Participants in the fracture group had a 78.3 times increased risk of fracture compared to the control group.

Researchers from Medical University of Bia?ystok in Poland conducted the study. It was published on June 6, 2018, in the journal Nutrients.

Vitamin K comes in two main forms: K1 (phylloquinone) and K2 (menaquinones). Vitamin K1 is found in green leafy vegetables and makes up approximately 90% of the vitamin K consumption in a western diet.

Vitamin K2 is harder to attain from food sources and therefore makes up only 10% of consumption. It is most common in fermented foods such as cheese but can also be found in meat and soybeans. Both vitamin K1 and K2 are also available in supplement form.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder that affects the large intestine. IBS symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and urgent bowel movements. A recent study suggests that taking a multi-strain probiotic may improve symptoms in people with diarrhea-predominant IBS.

Participants in the study included 400 people with moderate-to-severe symptomatic diarrhea-predominant IBS. Over the course of four months, they took either a multi-strain probiotic or a placebo daily.

At the conclusion of the study, the researchers noted a 70% reduction in abdominal pain, compared with 50% in the placebo group. They also noted that the percentage of people in the probiotic group who rated their abdominal pain as moderate-to-severe dropped from 100% at the beginning of the study to 14% after five months, compared with 48% in the placebo group.

They also saw an improvement in number of bowel movements after two months in the probiotic group, when compared with the placebo. Finally, the probiotic was associated with improvements in all dimensions of quality of life in a 34-item IBS Quality of Life questionnaire.

Researchers from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University conducted the study. It was published on May 25, 2018, in BMC Gastroenterology.

Probiotics can be found naturally in many foods, such as yogurt, milk and sauerkraut. You may also consider taking a high quality supplement but make sure it is packaged to block light, air and moisture, which can easily kill probiotics.

A recent study suggests that omega-3 supplementation may improve child behavior and subsequently improve aggression in parents who are not taking the supplements. The researchers theorized that the improved behavior in the children led to less stress and therefore less aggression on the part of the parents.

Participants in the study included 200 children and their caregivers. The children were randomly assigned to consume either a fruit drink containing 1 gram of omega-3s or the same fruit drink without omega-3s for six months. The caregivers reported inter-partner and child-directed physical assault and psychological aggression at the beginning of the study, at the end of the intervention period, and again at the end of 12 months.

After examining the data, the researchers found a correlation between omega-3 supplementation and reductions in psychological aggression. They also found a correlation between adult psychological aggression and improvements in child externalizing behavior scores.

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Lowell led the study. It was published on May 20, 2018, in the journal Aggressive Behavior.

Because omega-3 fatty-acids are not found naturally in the human body, it is especially important to make sure that they are a part of your daily diet. Oily, dark fish such as tuna and salmon are high in omega-3s. For people who don’t like fish, consider taking a daily high quality non-fish supplement that has been tested for purity and potency.

Previous studies have linked diabetes with cognitive impairment and an increased risk of dementia. A recent study suggests that people with diabetes and prediabetes who have lower sleep efficiency may have poorer cognitive function, when compared with people who have better sleep efficiency. Sleep efficiency is a measure of how much time spent in bed is time spent actually sleeping.

Participants in the study included 162 people, 182 of whom had type 2 diabetes and 81 of whom had prediabetes, with an average age of 54.8 years. The researchers used seven-day actigraphy recordings to determine sleep duration and sleep efficiency. An actigraph is a device worn on the wrist that measures motion. In sleep studies, the time that a person is not in motion is considered periods of sleep. The researchers used the Montreal Cognitive Assessment to measure cognitive function. All of the participants were assessed for obstructive sleep apnea.

At the conclusion of the study, the researchers found that the average sleep duration was six hours per night. The average sleep efficiency was 82.7%, which means that 82.7% of time spent in bed was spent in sleep.

They also found that duration of sleep and the severity of obstructive sleep apnea were not related to cognitive function. However, better sleep efficiency was correlated with better cognitive function scores for both diabetic and prediabetic participants. In addition, having diabetes was associated with lower cognitive function score.

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago conducted the study. It was published online ahead of print on June 6, 2018, in Acta Diabetologica.

Some methods to try to improve your sleep include eating less high fat foods, eliminating “blue light” (such as the light from your phone) just before bed, eliminating caffeine before bed time, and increasing exercise levels.

Height loss is common in older women and may increase the risk of disease and death. A recent study suggests that performing strenuous exercise at least three times per week as a teenager may help reduce the likelihood of height loss later in life. It also found that older age, heavier weight, and use of corticosteroids may contribute to a height loss of one inch or more.

Participants in the study included 1,024 women with an average age of 66 who were enrolled in the Buffalo Osteoporosis and Periodontal Disease Study. The researchers measured their height at the beginning of the study and again five years later. Demographics, lifestyle, medicatl history, and medication use were assessed at baseline.

The researchers found that the average height loss was four-tenths an inch. The 70 women who experienced height loss of more than one inch tended to be older in age, weighed more at the beginning of the study, and had higher intake of corticosteroids. The women who had the least height loss had exercised strenuously — meaning enough to work up a sweat and raise their heart rate — at least three times a week as teenagers.

Researchers from University at Buffalo conducted the study. It was published May 7, 2018, in Menopause.

Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health.  The Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adults aged 18-64 get at least two and a half hours (150 minutes) each week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity. Older adults should follow the adult guidelines as their abilities allow and should perform exercises that maintain or improve balance.

Many people lose weight as they age, but that weight loss may not be beneficial. A recent study suggests that weight loss may decrease bone density, architecture, and strength.

Participants in the study included 769 women and 595 men who were members of the Framingham Offspring Cohort and had a mean age of 70 years. All of the participants underwent high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) scanning at the tibia and radius from 2012 to 2016. The researchers took weight measurements every four to six years to assess recent weight change over six years and long-term change over 40 years.

At the conclusion of the study, the researchers noted that both short-term weight loss and long-term weigh loss contributed to micro-architectural deterioration of the bones, when compared with people who did not lose weight. They also found that people who lost 5% or more weight over 40 years were at a three-fold increased risk of fracture.

Researchers from Boston University School of Public Health conducted the study. It was published online ahead of print on May 29, 2018, in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Workout recovery supplements are popular because they allow people to get back to their routines more quickly. A recent study suggests that L-carnitine supplements may help reduce muscle soreness and injury and increase blood flow in both young and older people.

Researchers from Tufts University searched PubMed for human trials that included “carnitine AND exercise AND recovery.” They did not include trials where l-carnitine was given in combination with other products (multi-ingredient supplements) or the outcome was not related to post exercise recovery.

The researchers found that L-carnitine supplementation was linked with reduced muscle soreness and injury and increased blood flow after a workout. They also found that these factors contributed to recovery.

In addition, studies in older adults found L-carnitine can lead to increased muscle mass, decreased body weight, and reduced physical and mental fatigue.

The study was published on March 13, 2018, in Nutrients.

L-carnitine is an amino acid that can be found in red meat, pork, seafood, chicken, and dairy. Additionally, the body produces carnitine naturally.

A recent study suggests that less than 20% of a person’s gut processes is due to genetics, with the rest being attributed to environmental factors. It also identified biomarkers for the build-up of fat around the waist, which is called visceral fat. Visceral fat is associated with a range of health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

For this study, researchers examined the fecal metabolome of 500 pairs of twins. Fecal metabolome is the community of chemicals produced by gut microbes in the feces. They found that 17.9% of gut processes could be attributed to hereditary factors, while the other 67.7% was from environmental factors. The most important environmental factor was diet.

The researchers suggest that this finding means that people can change their diet in order to change their gut microbiome and, ultimately, lose visceral fat.

Researchers from King’s College London conducted the study. It was published on May 28, 2018, in Nature Genetics.

Only 30% of the human gut bacteria has been mapped but previous studies have found that having a varied composition of bacteria in your digestive system is essential for good gut health and for good health overall.

Many expectant mothers are vitamin D deficient, which may put their babies at risk, as fetuses are entirely reliant on their mothers for vitamin D. A recent study suggests that vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy may reduce the risk of infants being small for gestational age and may also improve growth during infancy.

For their analysis, researchers screened 728 potential studies and narrowed it down to 24 randomized controlled trials with a total of 5,405 participants. All of the studies researched the relationship between vitamin D supplementation and infant health. The main outcomes and measures were fetal or neonatal mortality, small for gestational age, congenital malformation, birth weight, and preterm birth.

Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of small for gestational age without risk of congenital abnormality. Neonates with vitamin D supplementation had higher weight at birth, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months. In additiona, no negative side effects were seen with vitamin D supplementation.

Researchers from the University of Montreal and McGill University conducted the study. It was published on May 29, 2018, in JAMA Pediatrics.

Vitamin D can be found in milk, fortified cereals, fish, and eggs. Your body also processes vitamin D from the sun, but it becomes harder for our bodies to process it as we age. A high-quality vitamin D supplement is always a good option if you feel that you’re not getting enough through diet and sun.