Many women going through menopause experience symptoms that interrupt their lives significantly. A recent study suggests that a supplement containing four Ayurvedic ingredients, Ashwaganhda extract, Shatavari, Guggl, and Guduchi, may help ease menopause symptoms.

Participants in the study included 117 women age 40 to 65. Over the course of 12 weeks, the women took either the supplement or a placebo. They also filled out the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MNQOL), which was self-administered. The questionnaire contains 29 items and measures changes in psychosocial, vasomotor, physical, and sexual areas.

At the conclusion of the study, particiapnts in the supplement group noted a 26.5% improvement in the MNQOL score, compared to a 2.3% increase in the placebo group. Participants in the supplement group also noted fewer feelings of depression, the ability to accomplish more tasks, fewer backaches, fewer hot flashes, and fewer headaches. Finally, they noted improvements in vaginal dryness and avoidance of intimacy.

Researchers from Integrated Health Group and The University of Sydney, both in Australia, led the study. It was published in the March 2018 issue of the Journal of Herbal Medicine.

A recent study suggests that pregnant women with low blood levels of long chain omega-3 fatty acids in their first two trimesters may be at a significantly higher risk of preterm birth.

For this study, researchers examined data from the Danish National Birth Cohort, a nationwide study that followed 96,000 children in Denmark. They looked specifically at blood samples from 376 women who gave birth prematurely between 1996 and 2003, and blood samples from 348 women who had a full-term birth.

After examining the blood samples, the researchers found that the women with the lowest levels of DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty-acids (1.6% or less) were at a 10 times higher risk of early preterm birth when compared with women with the highest levels (1.8% or higher). When they looked specifically at women who were in the lowest group for both the first and second trimester, they found that they were 48 times more likely to have a preterm birth compared to those in the higher groups.

The researchers also noted that the threshold effect for DHA and EPA concentrations was between 2.0% and 2.5%.

Researchers from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Statens Serum Institut in Denmark led the study. It was published online ahead of print on August 3, 2018, in EBioMedicine.

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.

Resistant starch is not digested by the body. Instead, it is fermented in the large intestine and has prebiotic qualities, which means it helps feed probiotics. A recent study suggests that adding resistant starch to a diet may help reduce markers of inflammation and heart rates in people with pre-diabetes.

Participants in the study included 68 overweight adults with pre-diabetes between the ages of 35 and 75. Over the course of 12 weeks, they were given either 45 grams per day of a resistant starch or the same amount of the rapidly digestible starch amylopectin. Ectopic fat depots, energy metabolism by respiratory chamber, and carbohydrate metabolism were measured at baseline and postintervention.

At the conclusion of the study, the researchers noted an average decrease in TNF-alpha levels of 2.1 picograms per mL in the resistant starch group. TNA-alpha is a marker of inflammation. They also noted improvements in heart rate, which decreased by 5 beats per minute. They did not, however, note any differences between the two groups in the areas of insulin secretion, insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, or other markers of inflammation.

Researchers from Pennington Biomedical Research Center led the study. It was published on July 12, 2018, in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Resistant starch can be found in cold cooked potatoes, pasta salad, rice, seeds, lentils, garlic and unprocessed whole grains. It can also be taken in supplement form.

High glucose levels after a meal can impair glycemic control and contribute to the development of pre-diabetes and diabetes. A recent study suggests that a supplement derived from white mulberry, white bean, and green coffee may help reduce glucose and insulin spikes following a high glycemic index meal.

Participants in the study included 150 healthy people who consumed either a supplement containing 600 mg of white mulberry extract, 1,200 mg of white bean extract, and 400 mg of green coffee extract, or a placebo before five different standardized meals. The meals were: a soda and popcorn; breakfast cereal with vanilla milk; a raspberry muffin and blueberry yogurt; french fries with ketchup; and cheese pasta.

The researchers found that the supplement was associated with lower blood glucose and insulin levels approximately 20 to 35 minutes after the meals, when compared with the placebo. However, levels were similar between the groups when they were measured at longer times after the meals.

In addition, fewer episodes of postprandial reactive hypoglycemia were noted in the supplement group.

Researchers from the Medical University of Bialystok in Poland conducted the study. It was published on July 25, 2018, in Nutrients.

As we grow older, we experience physiological changes that can cause glitches in brain functions we’ve always taken for granted. A recent study suggests that an increase in waist to hip ratio in mature adults may be associated with reduced cognitive function.

Participants in the study included 5,186 people greater than or equal to 60 years old who took part in the Trinity Ulster Department of Agriculture aging cohort study. The researchers used neuropsychological assessment measures including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) in order to asses cognitive function.

After examining the data, the researchers found that a higher waist to hip ratio was associated with reduced cognitive function, including visuospatial/constructional ability, attention, and MMSE. They hypothesized that this was due to increased secretion of inflammatory markers by belly fat.

Researchers from Trinity College in Dublin conducted the study. It was published online ahead of print on July 30, 2018, in British Journal of Nutrition.

The average person with dementia living in a care home receives only two minutes of social interaction each day. A recent study suggests that an e-learning program that trains home care staff to engage in meaningful social interaction with clients who have dementia may significantly improve client wellbeing.

Participants in the study included 280 residents and care staff in 24 care homes. The caregivers took part in an e-learning program based on The Wellbeing and Health for people with Dementia (WHELD) program, with or without Skype supervision. It involves measures such as talking to residents about their interests and involving them in decisions about their care.

The researchers found that both supervised and unsupervised training was associated with improvements in resident wellbeing and staff attitudes to person-centered care. Caregivers increased social interaction from 2 minutes per day to 10 minutes per day. The Skype-supported training led to improved resident wellbeing four months after the trial period completed.

Researchers from the University of Exeter conducted the study. It was published in the February 2018 issue of PLoS Medicine.

Coffee may do more than just wake you up in the morning. A recent report suggests that drinking coffee may lower the risk of death by as much as 17%.

For their roundtable report, researchers referenced a meta-analysis that found a link between coffee consumption and a 17% reduction in risk of all-cause mortality. They also referenced a study by Imperial College London and the International Agency for Research on Cancer that found that people who consumed the most coffee had a lower risk of all-cause death.

They also included a US study that compared drinking one cup of coffee per day to not drinking coffee at all. In that study, the coffee drinkers were 12% less likely to die than those who didn’t drink coffee.

While the roundtable was unable to draw a firm conclusion on the exact mechanisms of coffee, they did agree that there are good indicators that coffee contributes in some way to longevity.

The roundtable report was compiled by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee. The experts included professors, researchers, and doctors from around the world.

High cholesterol levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease. A recent study suggests that taking a resveratrol supplement may help improve total cholesterol levels in people with high cholesterol.

Participants in the study included 71 people with high cholesterol. The researchers took measurements of the participants’ weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Half of the group took 100 mg of resveratrol while the other half took a placebo, over the course of two months.

At the end of the two-month period, the researchers took measurements again and found that the resveratrol group had significant reductions in total cholesterol (from 220 to 201) and triglycerides (from 166.7 to 133.4).

Researchers from the Mexican Institute of Social Security conducted the study. It was published online ahead of print on July 12, 2018, in the journal Nutrition.

Resveratrol can be found in lower levels in a variety of foods including red wine, grapes, grape seed extract, and peanuts. A glass of red wine a day can provide a good amount of resveratrol, but excess drinking may counter balance the positive health benefits. Another good way to get resveratrol is through a high-quality supplement.

Past research suggests that omega-3s may help boost brain function. A recent study supports that, suggesting that high levels of omega-3s may contribute to better executive function in children.

Participants in the study included 307 Ghanaian children. At the beginning of the study, the children averaged slightly more than 4% on the Omega-3 Index.

The researchers then conducted a standardized executive function test called the Dimensional Change Card Sort. Older children performed better than younger children. The researchers also found that the children with the highest Omega-3 Index levels performed the best overall.

Researchers from Michigan State University led the study. It was published in the July 2018 issue of the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

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.

Synbiotics are combination supplements that contain both prebiotics and probiotics. A recent study suggests that taking a synbiotic formulation may help with iron absorption in female athletes.

Participants in the study included 20 female recreational athletes who were given either a synbiotic supplement containing 6 grams of purified guar fiber prebiotic and 8 billion CFU of Bifidobacterium lactis and 140 mg of ferrous sulfate or 140 mg of ferrous sulfate and a placebo. All of the participants followed their usual training regimes and the researchers collected information about diet.

At the half way point of the study, the researchers noted a 41% increase in blood serum ferritin — a marker of iron levels — in the supplement group. The placebo group showed no changes. By the end of the study, the supplement group had doubled their iron levels.

Researchers from Marywood University conducted the study. It will be presented in poster form in June 2019 at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting in Boston.

Bifidobacterium lactis is a probiotic strain that produces lactic acid. It can be found in dairy products, including yogurt, kefir, and buttermilk. It can also be found in fermented vegetables, such as fermented cabbage, kimchi, sauerkraut, and other pickled vegetables. Guar fiber prebiotic is most often taken in supplement form.