A very low calorie diet can help the heart age more slowly, according to researchers who released what they call the first-ever human study on the subject. The findings confirmed earlier studies on mice and rats that demonstrate the cardiac benefits of a restricted calorie diet.

The study looked at the heart function of 25 members of the Caloric Restriction Society, ages 41 to 64, who consume 1,400 to 2,000 nutritionally balanced calories per day. They were compared to 25 people who eat a typical Western diet, consuming 2,000 to 3,000 daily calories on average

A new study should provide more reassurance to breastfeeding mothers who worry about past exposure to lead. The study shows very little of the toxin is excreted in the breast milk and the use of calcium pills may help bring down its levels even more.

Dr. Adrienne S. Ettinger, of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and colleagues examined the contribution of lead exposure, breastfeeding practices, and calcium intake to levels of lead in breast milk among 367 women in Mexico City

Homeless alcoholics may benefit from a regular dose of liquor, according to the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

"Once we give a 'small amount' of alcohol and stabilize the addiction, we are able to provide health services that lead to a reduction in the unnecessary health services they were getting before," says Dr. Jeff Turnbull, one of the authors of the report

A new study finds that young girls with eating disorders can still reach normal height if they eat a sufficient amount over a period of years.

Researchers examined 46 prepubescent girls who were an average of 13 years old and weighed about 77 pounds, with heights that were below average

Records from four European countries show that, on average, survivors of generations with rampant childhood infection were shorter and died sooner than counterparts from generations with less childhood disease.

When rates of infection dropped due to improved public health practices, adult survivors grew taller and lived longer