Two commonly administered substances were today attributed with some new anti-cancer properties: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active constituent of cannabis, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oil.
Reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, THC was shown to induce human glioma (brain cancer) cell death through a process known as autophagy, [...]

A bright spark in Russia decided to investigate whether beekeepers appear young for their age on account of eating a lot of honey. They do!
Maybe it’s time to increase one’s honey intake!
Products of bee-keeping and prophylaxis of premature aging
Adv Gerontol. 2008;21(2):252-7. PMID: 18942370
Dubtsova EA, Kas’ianenko VI, Komissarenko IA, Lazebnik LB.
Natural bee honey is one [...]

A Malaysian study has looked at the effects of a ginger extract on levels of NF-kappa-beta and TNF-alpha, two nasties associated with cancer and inflammation, and found that it reduces the levels of these in rats with liver cancer.
This is good news for lovers of ginger, such as myself. Cheers!
Ginger extract (Zingiber officinale) has anti-cancer [...]

Alzheimer’s researchers at the UCLA Department of Neurology, in collaboration with Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, have discovered a possible mechanism for how red wine might help reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Polyphenols are a group of chemical substances found in plants, characterized by the presence of more than one phenol [...]

Good news for green-tea drinkers and supplementers like me. The Journal of Investigative Dermatology reported a few days ago on the mechanism of the inhibition of UVB-induced skin tumor development.
The article is reasonably technical, but I’ll summarize the results here:
Green tea polyphenol (GTP) supplementation in mice prevents photocarcinogenesis (i.e., skin cancer). I’ve not mentioned this [...]

A number of studies in recent times have cast doubt over the efficacy of gingko biloba for most of its touted benefits, and today another study published this week in JAMA concludes that gingko biloba supplements have no effect on the incidence or severity of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
More than 3,000 participants aged more than [...]