Debbie Mandel's Weekly Wellness Newsletter

Daily consumption of a half cup of broccoli sprout beverage produced rapid, significant and sustained higher levels of excretion of benzene, a known human carcinogen, and acrolein, a lung irritant, in a trial involving nearly 300 Chinese men and women living in one of China's most polluted regions.

From the Univ of Montreal studies on animals show that retinoic acid, a derivative of Vitamin A induces normalization of blood glucose and reduction of obesity. It is an important contribution to understanding RA action on the liver, fat, muscles, and the heart, and on retinoid metabolism, energy metabolism, fatty acid oxidation, and insulin resistance. This research identifies new metabolic effects of retinoids and may lead to anti-obesity and anti-diabetic medicines.

Waiting until marriage to have babies is now “unusual” among less-educated adults close to 30 years old, sociologists have found.

For prediabetics many interventions focus on lifestyle changes and weight loss, but new research on periodic fasting has identified a biological process in the body that converts bad cholesterol in fat cells to energy, thus combating diabetes risk factors.

According to a new study by social scientists at Cornell University, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and Facebook, emotions can spread contagiously among users of online social networks.

Chairs provide great support during long meetings, but they may also be holding us back. Standing during meetings boosts the excitement around creative group processes and reduces people’s tendencies to defend their turf, according to a new Washington University in St. Louis study that used wearable sensors to measure participants’ activity levels.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that persons with lower blood levels of vitamin D were twice as likely to die prematurely as people with higher blood levels of vitamin D.

People with diets higher in protein, especially from fish, may be less likely to have a stroke than those with diets lower in protein, according to a meta-analysis published in the June 11, 2014, online issue of Neurology.

White-bread lovers take heart. Scientists are now reporting that this much-maligned food seems to encourage the growth of some of our most helpful inhabitants — beneficial gut bacteria. In addition to this surprising find, their study in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry also revealed that when looking at effects of food on our “microbiomes,” considering the whole diet, not just individual ingredients, is critical.