Reduced calorie intake has show to extend the lifespan of mice of up to 40 percent longer and now new research suggests that eating a reduced calorie diet later in life can still improve longevity. Professor Stephen Spindler (University of California) and his collaborators will be reporting their findings at the Society for Experimental Biology’s Main Meeting in Glasgow being held today.

Eating a low calorie diet that is nutrient dense has shown to help prevent cancer, and also increase longevity in mice studies. Spindler and his colleagues would like to find drugs to mimic the longevity effect because of the difficulty for most people to eat a low calorie and nutritiously dense diet. One drug that is normally used to treat diabetic patients is showing some promise of mimicking a reduced calorie diet. Spindler and the researchers are not sure if healthy people would benefit from taking this drug and if taken over a lifetime, there is a toxicity that could contradict the longevity benefits.

Duke University researchers say that eating and drinking certain foods may help smokers kick the habit. Water, milk, fruits and vegetables worsened the taste of cigarettes. Other foods and drinks had the opposite effect.

Researchers say that their research could lead to a “quit smoking diet”. They may also be able to develop a gum or lozenge making cigarettes less palatable. Other substances, like alcohol, coffee and meat actually enhanced the taste of cigarettes. Those consumables should be avoided if you are trying to quit.

The “Mediterranean” diet is all about eating plenty of fruits, vegetables and nuts may help to reduce the incidence of asthma and respiratory allergies according researchers who report their findings in a study that will be published in the upcoming issue of Thorax.

The researchers studied almost 700 children, ranging in age from 7 to 18 years old, from four different rural areas on the island of Crete. This Greek island has been found to have children with very little cases of asthma and respiratory allergies. However skin allergies are still relatively common.

The researchers had the parents of these children, fill out a detailed questionnaire about their child’s allergies and asthma, as well as their dietary habits. The researchers determined the “Mediterranean” diet by a set of 12 food requirements. These included eating fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, legumes, nuts, and olive oil on a regular basis.