Cocoa shells may help prevent obesity-induced insulin resistance

A study of immune and fat cells from mice found that cocoa shell extract can reduce and prevent some of the cell dysfunctions that can result from obesity.

Dietary supplement improves health and prolongs life in mice

Activating a protein called sirtuin 1 extends lifespan, delays the onset of age-related metabolic diseases, and improves general health in mice. The findings, which appear online in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports, point to a potentially promising strategy for improving health and longevity.

A versatile gut bacterium helps us get our daily dietary fiber

University of British Columbia researchers have discovered the genetic machinery that turns a common gut bacterium into the Swiss Army knife of the digestive tract – helping us metabolize a main component of dietary fibre from the cell walls of fruits and vegetables.

Children With Heart Defects May Benefit From Carnitine Supplement

A common nutritional supplement may be part of the magic in improving the survival rates of babies born with heart defects, researchers report. Carnitine, a compound that helps transport fat inside the cell powerhouse where it can be used for energy production, is currently used for purposes ranging from weight loss to chest pain…

When You Eat Is As Important As What You Eat

When you eat may be just as significant as what you eat, say researchers at Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The study is published in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism. The researchers put two groups of mice on a high-fat diet – one group were restricted to eating for 8 hours per day, while the other group could eat around the clock…

Hope For Anti-Aging Pill Restored As Controversy On Life-Extending Red Wine Ingredient Resolved

A study in the May issue of the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism appears to offer vindication for an approach to anti-aging drugs that has been at the center of heated scientific debate in recent years. The new findings show for the first time that the metabolic benefits of the red wine ingredient known as resveratrol evaporate in mice that lack the famed longevity gene SIRT1…