Individuals who eat a diet high in the B vitamins folate and B-6 may benefit from better heart health than those who consume smaller amounts of the vitamins, according to a new study published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers in Japan analyzed the diets of 23,119 men and 35,611 women between the ages of 40 and 79.

A new study may confirm what many individuals who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have suspected for a long time—that stress can trigger their symptoms. According to Reuters, researchers in Canada surveyed 552 men and women with IBD every three months for one year. Among other things, participants reported symptom flare-ups, stressful events and perceived stress.

New research has shown an extract made from a food plant in the Brassica family may be effective in alleviating signs of ulcerative colitis, a form of an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which affects an estimated 2 million people annually in the United States. Researcher Moul Dey screened nearly 3,000 plant extracts for potential anti-inflammatory activity.

A new study has found that many people who have prediabetes are unaware of their status and aren’t taking measures to keep the condition from developing into diabetes. Researchers from the Division of Diabetes Translation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Emory University and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, studied more than 1,400 adults with the condition.

The way a women carries excess weight—around her hips rather than her waist—may increase her risk for experiencing memory problems. Researchers at Northwestern University examined data from the Women’s Health Initiative hormone trials involving 8,745 cognitively normal, postmenopausal women ages 65 to 79.

A new report published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology suggests individuals over the age of 50 consider taking measures to avoid potentially dangerous copper and iron toxicity. Previous studies have linked high levels of these essential nutrients to Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and other age-related disorders.

A new American Journal of Hypertension study has found that some commonly-prescribed drugs used to lower blood pressure may actually have the opposite effect. The study involved 945 patients with high blood pressure who were enrolled in a workplace antihypertensive treatment program from 1981 to 1998. The patients were given a single antihypertensive medication as part of the study.

A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that elderly individuals may benefit from taking daily zinc supplements. Researchers from the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University studied immune response and respiratory infections in about 600 elderly residents living in nursing facilities in the Boston area.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reports that United States hospitals spent $83 billion in 2008 caring for people with diabetes and that one out of every five hospitalizations during that year involved a person with the disease. Diabetes is caused when a person has high blood sugar because their body does not respond well to insulin or does not produce enough of the hormone.

New research reveals the key to losing weight and keeping it off may be as easy as drinking water before meals.