nutrients

Our curated list of 10 kitchen weighing scales offers a variety of options that cater to every need, whether you're looking for advanced digital features, connectivity to nutrition apps, or simply a durable and straightforward device. These scales are chosen for their accuracy, ease of use, and ability to seamlessly integrate into your daily routine, making the task of monitoring your intake of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates simpler. By equipping your kitchen with one of…

Ordinarily, once a fern's leaf fronds have died, the plant has no further use for them. Such is not the case with the Cyathea rojasiana fern, though – a scientist has discovered that its dead fronds become "zombie leaves" which suck nutrients from the soil.While studying another type of plant in a Panamanian forest reserve, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Prof. James Dalling and colleagues noticed something interesting about the Cyathea rojasiana tree ferns, which are only found in Panama.When fronds of the…

Genetic inheritance is a physical link that tethers our birth parents; one-half of two sets of chromosomes meshing together to form our own unique set of molecular instructions for life.As cooperative as this sounds, the stakes for each parent aren't the same, making those chromosomes a battleground over the mother's and offspring's future.New research in pregnant mice reveals an example of genetic trickery that manipulates the mother's response to glucose so that more sugary nutrients are delivered to their growing…

New research indicates that brain responses to nutrients are diminished in people with obesity and don’t improve even after weight loss. The study revealed that individuals with obesity released less dopamine in a brain region crucial for food intake motivation, compared to those with healthy body weight. Additionally, obese participants showed reduced brain activity upon nutrient infusion into the stomach. The lack of brain response improvement after weight loss could explain why most individuals regain weight after…

Researchers from Yale found that obesity is associated with diminished brain response to nutrient intake, which doesn’t recover even after weight loss. The study offers insights into why maintaining weight loss is challenging for some people and emphasizes the significant role of the human brain in obesity.A new research study reveals a diminished response to nutrients among people with obesity — and that this brain response is not recovered after weight loss.After a person eats, the gut dispatches a series of signals to…

Mouse embryos, like the one depicted here, die in utero if they are missing the choline transporter FLVCR1. But giving them supplemental choline can increase their lifespan. Credit: Laboratory of Metabolic Regulation and Genetics at The Rockefeller UniversityProteins integrated into the cell membrane play a crucial role in transporting nutrients to the intended destination within our cells. If this transportation system malfunctions and metabolites are unable to reach their target, it can have adverse effects on human…

Taking vitamin D supplements was linked to lower rates of attempted suicide and intentional self-harm among former military members, new research found. In the study, scientists looked at data about a large group of U.S. veterans and determined that those given supplemental vitamin D were at lower risk for attempting suicide or self-harming than those who weren’t. However, the study can only show a correlation, not a cause-and-effect relationship, and the research has limitations.The work, published in the journal PLoS…

Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)The potential benefits of taking vitamin D supplements may be affected by your weight and height, new research suggests. The study found that overweight and obese people taking these supplements experienced a smaller increase of vitamin levels and other related markers relative to those with a lower body mass index. The study is a reanalysis of the VITAL trial, a large-scale project that tested whether proactively taking vitamin D or marine omega-3 supplements could reduce older people’s…

Bacterial colonies would rather perform "evolutionary suicide" than put up with cheater strains that leech off the colony without giving anything back. That's the finding made by a team of researchers who modeled how a colony responds to freeloading bacteria that consume more than their fair share.  Bacteria often work together as a colony to survive, producing resources that are used by other bacteria.For example, bacteria often secrete enzymes that break down food sources into nutrients, which benefits neighboring…

Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)Doctors in the UK say a man’s intense supplement regimen landed him in the hospital with vitamin D poisoning. In a new case report, they detail how their patient became sick soon after he started to take large doses of vitamins and minerals. Though vitamin D overdose is uncommon, the study authors say, cases seem to be on the rise globally. According to the paper, published in BMJ Case Reports, the middle-aged man was referred to an emergency department by his general practitioner. For…