You say tomato...

The hype over tomatoes, specifically the chemical lycopene in the ruby red fruit, is not something a supplement maker can cash in on. So rules the FDA.

Lycopenes, which are in abudance when tomatoes are cooked, has been shown in lab studies to stop the proliferation of several types of cancer cells with especially encouraging results for prostate cancer. But does that rise to the level of something you could or should be taking in a pill?

The FDA says no... and rejected the petition by a supplement maker to tout lycopene as a cancer preventer.

As the American Institute for Cancer Research says - despite our desire to find a super food, there really isn't one ... it's about eating a diet rich in fruits and veggies- as all the chemicals in these foods work together to work their magic - that pulling one out does not make for better health.

Preventing Memory loss from Alzheimers

A fascinating new study is out. It looks at mice who are bioengineered to develope a condition like Alzheimer's disease. The rodents are given a common cancer drug or were placed in a mentally stimulating environment. Lo and behold, they got their memories back.
Researchers with the study, which is published in the current on line edition of NATURE, say this brings hope for the millions suffering with Alzheimers and the millions more expected to develope it as our population ages.
The bottom line to the study is, not that old brain pathways were restored rather, new ones were created thanks to the stimulating environment. The cancer drug, called a HDAC inhibitor, work on the molecular level to free up genes that producer vital growth factors and proteins.
So, what does this mean immediately? Perhaps all those earlier studies suggesting keeping your brain active really will pay off. Only time will tell, but hey, it's free and there are no bad side effects with learning something new every day and challenging your mind.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/index.html