How much calcium do women need? Women reach peak bone mass by 18 to 30 years of age. After that, bone mass deteriorates gradually, with accelerated losses occurring at menopause. Extremely low bone mass is called osteoporosis, which results in 1.5 million bone fractures per year.

For years, women were advised to take large amounts of calcium in the diet or as supplements to prevent osteoporosis. Since 2005, however, studies conducted in Great Britain, the United States and Switzerland showed that calcium supplements did not prevent bone fractures in aging women, even when combined with vitamin D. Ouch! (more…)

Here’s another reason to get a daily dose of vitamin D: According to a new report from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, taking 2,000 IUs of this antioxidant daily can cut your risk of breast cancer by half and your risk of colorectal cancer by two thirds. Researcher Cedric Garland, Dr.P.H., suggests you eat vitamin D-rich foods such as: (more…)

No need for clenbuterol, ladies. The Nivea cellulite challenge, also known as the Nivea Good-bye Cellulite, Hello Bikini Challenge, sounds intriguing. Is it a challenge that involves Nivea helping women lose cellulite with a sound diet and exercise? Yes it is, but it involves something else, i.e., using Nivea cellulite gel and Nivea cellulite pills. (more…)

It sounds so logical: Vitamins are good for you – so if you inject, say, vitamin C or D or B12 or, best of all, a great big honking combo of all the antioxidants, your health will naturally become even better. But do you really need vitamin B12 shots?

Some doctors and nutrition specialists, offer vitamin B12 shots as part of their wellness program. “If a person is run-down or jet-lagged, there is this immediacy to a vitamin infusion,” says one doctor. “You feel more energetic right away.” Well…depends. Which vitamins are you injecting? (more…)

This new “fish-in-a-pill” supplement (endorsed by David Beckham) claims to help supply the two servings of fish a week. It is known that fish oil provides many health benefits, but does taking GO3 fish oil really replace eating two servings of fish? Fish contains protein, which GO3 fish oil obviously does not contain. (more…)

The yellow pigment that gives curry its color, curcumin may protect against heart failure.

Curcumin extract also appears to prevent abnormal unraveling of chromosomes under stress, restore heart function, and reduce scarring in lab animals with enlarged hearts. (more…)

It is always a good idea to try non-drug treatments first, but of all fails, here is how common over the counter sleep aids and natural sleep aids stack up.

Over the counter sleep aids (antihistamines such as Simply Sleep and Unisom). Do they work? It is minimally effective in the short term. Recommended? Only for short-term use (1-2 days). After that, they may cause daytime drowsiness and vision problems. (more…)

Look out, Lipitor, a new drain opener could be on its way to drugstores. Merck has developed a pill that’s been shown to simultaneously decrease LDL cholesterol by as much as 40 percent and increase HDL by up to 139 percent. (more…)