This is a resource for those who want evidence-based information on clinical nutrition, the whole food philosophy in clinical practice, and research on Standard Process ingredients. Research summaries of scientific reviews and articles will be updated monthly.

Researchers followed 1,640 subjects 65 years or older and free from dementia at baseline (1990) for 10 years. Dietary flavonoid intake was assessed at baseline and cognitive functioning was assessed at four time points during the study period, using three separate cognitive tests (global mental status, visual memory, and verbal fluency). Cognitive ability on all three tests at baseline was positively correlated with flavonoid intake. Subjects in the two highest quartiles of flavonoid intake had the smallest declines in cognitive function over 10 years compared with subjects in the lowest quartile. These associations persisted after adjustment for age, sex, education, BMI, smoking status, and fruit and vegetable intake. The authors conclude that higher intake of flavonoids from food may be associated with better cognitive evolution over a 10-year period in elderly people. They could not establish causality with certainty. Polyphenols and flavonoids have been linked to reduced risk of several pathologies, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and asthma. Because there is a high correlation between dietary flavonoid intake and fruit and vegetable consumption, the authors were not able to determine whether other phytochemicals in foods contributed to these findings. They also note that one limitation of the study is that flavonoid intake was only measured at baseline and not at subsequent time points to reflect changes in dietary habits.

Researchers conducted a human population-based case control study in 3,015 Asian women participating in the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study. Dietary, lifestyle, and reproductive data were collected from 1459 breast cancer cases and 1556 controls to define two dietary patterns in the population: a "vegetable-soy" pattern based on tofu, cauliflower, beans, bean sprouts, and green leafy vegetables, and a "meat-sweet" pattern based on shrimp, chicken, beef, pork, candy, and desserts. Breast cancer risk was not associated with the level of the "vegetable-soy" dietary pattern (quartiles). Breast cancer was weakly significantly associated with the "meat-sweet" dietary pattern (4th vs. 1st quartile; Ptrend=0.03), but only in post-menopausal women. The effect was somewhat stronger for women with estrogen receptor-positive tumors. The authors conclude that their findings indicate a greater breast cancer risk in postmenopausal Chinese women following a "meat-sweet" western dietary pattern.

The effects of fish oil (Nu-Mega fish oil capsules) and exercise were studied on 81 overweight individuals (28 men and 53 women) aged 25-65 with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or elevated triacylglycerols (24 male and 41 female volunteers completed the study). Individuals were assigned to 1 of 4 groups: fish oil only, fish oil and exercise, sunflower oil only, or sunflower oil and exercise. Subjects consumed 6 grams of fish oil per day (or 6 grams of sunflower oil/day) for 12 weeks. The exercise groups walked 3 days per week for 45 minutes.

Participants in the fish oil groups had a decrease in triacylglycerols, an increase in HDL cholesterol, and improved endothelial arterial function–all heart healthy goals. Both exercise and fish oil decreased body fat and exercise improved arterial compliance.

Researchers demonstrated that treatment with pancreatic enzyme extracts significantly improves survival and slows the tumor growth in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Two separate studies were conducted. Fifteen of the 30 mice in one trial were fed pancreatic enzymes. Mice that consumed the pancreatic enzymes had a significant increase in survival rates compared to the control mice. In the other study, 15 of the 30 mice were treated with oral pancreatic enzymes. Results showed a significant reduction in tumor growth in the treatment group.