Antioxidants have made a fortune for the dietary supplement industry, but how many people really know what they are and why they’re supposedly good for you? One common claim is that the these molecules can protect you from cancer.

Hate the taste of Brussels sprouts? Do you find coriander disgusting or perceive honey as too sweet? Your genes may be to blame.

Many workplaces are sedentary environments, and researchers say it's important that people understand the effects of sitting on their vascular health. By breaking up desk time with a short walk, workers can offset the harm caused to vascular blood vessels.

Food intolerance is often dismissed as a modern invention and a “first-world problem”. However, a study analysing the genomes of 101 Bronze-Age Eurasians reveals that around 90% were lactose intolerant.

A new study of more than 500,000 Chinese adults over seven years finds that participants who ate foods flavored with chili peppers every day reduced their risk of premature dying by 14 percent, as compared to people who ate chili peppers less than once a week.

Cancers have many strategies for avoiding attacks from the immune system. And now scientists have identified a new one.

The need to find fuel to generate energy is a profound drive within the biology of all living organisms: we all need food to survive. So it’s not surprising that our bodies have such a complex system to control food intake, driven by hormones.

Following a healthy diet can be hard. From deciding when and what to eat to how much food you actually put on your plate, the average person makes over 200 food-related decisions each day, most of which are automatic.

The uptick in plastic packaging is a result of schools' efforts to streamline food preparation and meet federal nutrition standards while keeping costs low. "If this is an avoidable exposure, do we need to risk it? If we can easily cut it out, why wouldn't we?" says Jennifer Hartle.

Drinking concentrated beet juice, which is high in nitrates, increases muscle power in patients with heart failure, a new study shows. “It’s a small study, but we see robust changes in muscle power about two hours after patients drink the beet juice,”

"Yoga may be especially well-suited to people with arthritis," says Susan J. Bartlett. "It combines physical activity with potent stress management and relaxation techniques, and focuses on respecting limitations that can change from day to day." 

In this excerpt, Ewald Kliegel provides reflexology techniques for one of the most common human ailments – the headache. The head is prone to different problems – from throbbing temples with the sensation of being trapped in a vice, while a jackhammer is busy at work in the background, to having a brain that feels as though it is made of cotton wool.

When you drop a piece of food on the floor, is it really OK to eat if you pick up within five seconds? This urban food myth contends that if food spends just a few seconds on the floor, dirt and germs won’t have much of a chance to contaminate it.

While excess weight and obesity is a growing global concern, there has been more and more advertising and promotional effort encouraging the consumption of unhealthy food.

The words “stem cell research and therapy” evoke a number of responses. In emotionally vulnerable patients, a sense of hope. In scientists, a great deal of excitement about future prospects.

Severely cutting calorie intake appears to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and make people more sensitive to insulin, according to the largest study to date of sustained calorie reduction in adults.

One in six Australians will have a stroke in their lifetime. That’s about 51,000 strokes per year, or one every ten minutes. Worldwide, stroke is the second most common cause of premature death, after heart disease, and is the leading cause of disability among adults.

A major new initiative called Choosing Wisely has been launched by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. This initiative aims to address a culture of over-medicalisation in health, where treatments are prescribed – not always with much clinical value – when other, better solutions may exist.

"Everybody believes that heat is dangerous but not for them," says Gregory Wellenius. "One of the messages is that this is really across the age spectrum. Heat remains one of the leading causes of weather-related deaths."

There are opportunities to maximize the quality of the foods we consume through careful selection and astute buying. There are also opportunities for some families to become involved in the production of wholesome vegetables by growing vegetables in pots on a patio, lawn space, or by participating in a community garden project.

We all know about the obvious dangers of DIY and construction work – smashed thumbs, stubbed toes and so on. Even hanging wallpaper results in 1,500 British people going to hospital every year.

Autism is commonly, if mistakenly, associated more with logical thinking than creative expression. But new research suggests we might need to rethink our views on creativity and autism.

Conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract are common in modern humans and many are on the rise. The gastrointestinal tract extends from the mouth to the anus, via the stomach and the bowels, which include the small intestine and the large intestine (colon).