Niacin, known also as vitamin B3 or nicotinic acid, has long been seen as one of the best weapons in cholesterol management. It is cheap and effective. It is able to lower levels of fatty acids, triglycerides, and to a lesser extent, LDL- the "bad" cholesterol. At the same time it can impressively raise HDL levels (the "good" cholesterol). There's just this one drawback. Nobody likes taking niacin because for most people, it causes alarming and embarrassing flushing, an intense rush of blood to the face and other skin surfaces along with itching, prickling sensations.

A Medical College of Georgia study has shown that individuals with schizophrenia are at high risk for type 2 diabetes.

In the study, 50 people newly-diagnosed with schizophrenia or related psychotic disorders with no other known risk factors were looked at. 16 percent either had diabetes or an abnormal rate of glucose metabolism, says Dr. Brian Kirkpatrick, MCG Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior.

A new bio marker for breast cancer metastasis called Tumor Microenvironment of Metastasis (TMEM) has been found by researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The density of TMEM was found to be associated with the development of distant organ metastasis via the bloodstream, the most common cause of death from breast cancer. The discovery was published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research March 24, 2009 online edition.

The study may result in the first test to predict the likelihood of breast cancer metastasis via the bloodstream. This is a development that has the possibility of changing the way breast cancer is treated.

About 36% of East Asians (Japanese, Koreans and Chinese) have an enzyme deficiency that causes their skin to redden, or flush, when they drink alcohol. Heavy alcohol consumption significantly raises the risk for esophageal cancer among such individuals, say scientists at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and Japan's Kurihama Alcohol Center. A paper⁽¹⁾ on the topic is in the March 24, 2009 issue of PLoS Medicine.

Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits, whether in an ice-cold smoothie or warm strawberry shortcake. Packed with phytochemicals, the strawberry plant (scientific name Fragaria ananassa) belongs to the family Rosaceae, which includes roses, apple trees and plum trees. Botanically speaking, Fragaria ananassa is not a berry, and not even a fruit. A fruit is defined as a mature, thickened ovary of a seed-bearing plant, along with it’s parts like the fleshy layers of tissue (the pulp).