By Sharon Miki, on April 7th, 2011
Photo Credit: turtlemom4bacon
According to new research from the University of Western Ontario, tangerines may offer more benefits than simply being tasty. Led by biologists Murray Huff and Erin Mulvihill, the study—published in the journal Diabetes—reveals that tangerines contain a substance called Nobiletin that may help prevent obesity as well as protect against type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis.
The study—funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and the Pfizer Canada Cardiovascular Research Program—followed two groups of mice who were fed diets either with or without Nobiletin added. The group of mice on the Nobiletin-enriched diet experienced no elevation in their levels of dangerous substances such as cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin or glucose.
“The Nobiletin-treated mice were basically protected from obesity,” says Huff, the Director of the Vascular Biology Research Group at Robarts. “And in longer-term studies, Nobiletin also protected these animals from atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque . . . → Read More: Juicy Research: Tangerines Help Fight Obesity, Diabetes, Heart Disease
By Sharon Miki, on February 9th, 2011
What if your doctor could detect your risk for life threatening diseases with less bloodshed than you’d expend on a paper-cut? A University of Victoria researcher is working on developing the technology to do just that.
Dr. Christoph Borchers (Credit: University of Victoria)
Dr. Christoph Borchers, working with the University of Victoria and the Genome BC Proteomics Centre, is conducting research using a machine called the Agilent ion funnel 6490 mass spectrometer. Using the mass spectrometer, Boucher takes the weight of protein molecules in blood to ascertain if certain biomarkers for heart disease or cancer are present. In this way, Borchers’s research could help detect serious diseases with a small amount of a patient’s blood.
According to Borchers, “[w]hen we can quantify the amount of proteins in the blood, then this can be a diagnostic tool for the doctor. If the doctor knows how much of a certain . . . → Read More: More Bang for Your Blood: Using a Single Drop of Blood to Test for Heart Disease, Cancer
By Alexandra Davison, on December 31st, 2010
Photo Credit: Concordia University
Many Canadians suffer from health concerns regarding their weight, especially the growing concerns around obesity. New research now shows that obesity can contribute majorly to other illnesses, with asthma being just one on a list of many.
A new Canadian study looks into what effects obesity can have on asthma, specifically focusing on exercise-induced asthma. Exercise-induced asthma, commonly known as EIA, is a specific type of asthma that induces an asthma attack specifically when exercising. It can happen to people who experience asthma on a regular basis, as well as those who don’t. EIA is generally triggered because of the different ways we breathe when exercising and when at rest. When exercising, we breathe through our mouth—which causes cold, dry air to hit our lungs, thus triggering the attack.
The study—a collaborative effort between Concordia University, Université du Québec à Montréal and Hôpital du Sacre-Coeur de Montréal—examines the high . . . → Read More: Which comes first: exercise-induced asthma or obesity? Concordia researchers ask the classic question
Comments are closed 
