Wine lovers may be in for some bad news. Reports are surfacing that one of the top red wine researchers has falsified some of his findings. In particular, the data that pointed to the health benefits of red wine and its anti-aging properties may be false.

Dr. Dipak K. Das is the director of the cardiovascular research center at the University of Connecticut. An anonymous report dating back to 2008 that Das had falsified his data initiated an investigation that is now coming to light. A 60,000-page report is citing 145 counts of falsified data.

His research includes studies on resveratrol, a compound found in red wine and touted for many benefits. Those benefits have translated to the encouragement of red wine consumption. Studies have suggested that resveratrol may have the ability to stave off the effects of sedentary living, possibly reduce skin cancer risks, lower “bad” cholesterol levels, or even protect the lining of the heart blood vessels.
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According to a recent study published by a joint venture of the University of Texas Southwest’s Medical Center and the Cooper Institute in Dallas, having low levels of vitamin D can be linked to depression.

What is Depression?

Major depressive disorder (MDD) or depression, as it is widely known, is a mental disorder where extreme feelings of sadness persist for months or even years. People that suffer from depression can’t seem to shake the feelings of sadness, hopelessness and despair that they experience. They also tend to lose interest in the activities that they once enjoyed and withdraw from loved ones and friends.

Study Details

The study followed 12,600 adult men and women over a four year period. Participants were divided into groups based on whether they had a past history of depression or not. Their vitamin D levels were tested in addition to taking into consideration whether or not they were currently exhibiting symptoms of depression.
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Have you ever wanted to look at all the different research studies about nutrition reviewed by DietsInReview in one place and see what can be deduced from all of the findings together? That is basically what psychologists call a literature review. If you are paying attention, the findings of a literature review probably will not be too surprising. I wasn’t too surprised by the Good Morning America (GMA) headline “Healthy Diet Best for ADHD Kids” based off a recent literature review by J. Gordon MIllichap, MD and Michelle M. Yee, CPNP titled “The Diet Factor in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” An “ADHD Diet” is something we have talked about before.

The authors, who work at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, seemed most impressed by a diet high in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and low in fats. They also seem somewhat impressed by omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid supplements. The abstract also states that “sugar-restricted, additive/preservative-free, oligoantigenic/elimination, and fatty acid supplements” seem to reduce symptoms of ADHD. Unfortunately, the authors seem to be against recommending additive-free and oligoantigenic/elimination diets, such as the specific carb diet, because they are inconvenient for parents.
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Abra Pappa for Nutritious America

I read an article in the New York Times a few days ago called “The Fat Trap” and I can’t seem to shake it. The article, written by Tara Parker Pope, highlights the newest research in what she called the ‘fat trap’, losing weight but not being able to keep it off.

I found the article to be a somewhat fatalistic snapshot of the journey from weight loss to maintaining a new weight. Some of the points made were valid, like the call to focus on prevention; helping people before weight gain becomes an issue, but most of the research sited in the article seemed fatally flawed to me.

“The Fat Trap” opened with a research study of 50 obese men and women. In the study they had the participants lose weight by going on an extremely low calorie diet of a mere 500-550 calories per day.

The research showed that despite best effort, the 34 participants that ultimately remained in the study regained an average of 11 of the pounds lost and also reported feeling far more hungry and preoccupied with food than they had been before.

What is most perplexing to me is why we continue to conduct research on obesity using the same methods that we know have failed time and time again. Of course, a dramatically reduced calorie diet will result in cravings. When one’s body is depleted of the very sustenance it needs to be satiated there will be cravings to follow.
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by Kelsey Murray

It’s a pretty safe bet to say that most women have been on a diet at least once in their lives. But for 10 percent of women, being on a diet is a part of their daily lives, for their entire lives.

This fact comes from new research from the people behind a new weight loss aid, XLS-Medical Fat Binder. The research revealed that many women give up on their diets because they feel fed-up or frustrated with the entire dieting process. It also showed that more than 10 percent of women try to lose weight by skipping meals.

“The so-called fad diets, or diets that are particularly restrictive in terms of cutting out food groups or meals, are likely to cause binge eating, potentially leading to weight gain not weight loss,” said Juliet Oosthuysen, a marketing manager at Omega Pharma. “A person can be good all week however, undo all that hard work from just one day of binge eating.”

Perhaps this scenario is what causes many women to become frustrated with their diet plans.
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