'News you can use' for a healthier you.

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Here's my latest edition of "news you can use'' -- tips on health, diet and fitness gathered from research studies from journals and universities:

Diet Can Boost Your Mental Health

In the British journal The Lancet Psychiatry, leading academics state that "as with a range of medical conditions, psychiatry and public health should now recognise and embrace diet and nutrition as key determinants of mental health.'' The authors of the review (after looking at many research studies) wrote that "in addition to dietary improvement, evidence now supports the contention that nutrient-based prescription has the potential to assist in the management of mental disorders at the individual and population level.''

Here are a few of the nutrients the researchers believe to be important for brain health: omega-3s, B vitamins (particularly folate and B12), choline, iron, zinc, magnesium, S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe), vitamin D and amino acids. They also believe that, when possible, they should be consumed in food rather than supplement form.

Social Support Online Works for Weight Loss

Go online and lose weight, says a new research study. Dieters who make more connections to weight-loss communities lose more weight.

Bonnie Spring, the lead author of the study and a professor in preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, found that online dieters with high social involvement and investment in a particular site -- who logged in regularly, "recorded their weigh-ins and 'friended' other members -- lost more than 8 percent of their body weight in six months. The less users interacted in the community, the less weight they lost, the study found.

"The scientists found that users who did not connect with others lost about 5 percent of their body weight over six months; those with a few friends (two to nine) lost almost 7 percent; and those with more than 10 friends lost more than 8 percent.

"The researchers also found the larger your clique, the better your weight-loss outcomes. They also found that the frequency with which you report your weight is a good indicator of positive weight-loss outcomes too.''

Get in Shape Before You Get Pregnant to Ensure Your Child is a Healthy Weight

Researchers from the University of Southampton, England, looked at five early-life obesity risk factors: a short duration of breast-feeding (less than one month) and four maternal factors during pregnancy -- obesity, excess pregnancy weight gain, smoking...

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