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Previous studies in the US and Europe have reported that dietary fiber may help protect against heart disease. Now a new Japanese study has found a similar association, suggesting that the cardiovascular benefits of fiber may extend beyond the Western diet.

Two new studies presented at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society suggest a role for vitamin D in the prevention of diabetes and other chronic diseases. The so-called sunshine vitamin, proven to be important in bone health, has lately been linked to possible benefits against a wide range of diseases.

Previous studies have suggested that B vitamins might help protect against depression, but these were mostly snapshots at a single point in time. Now a new study connects B-vitamin intake among 3,503 seniors, initially free of depression, over a span of 12 years: For every 10-milligram increase in daily vitamin B6, risk of developing depression declined by 2%. The same was true for every additional 10 micrograms of vitamin B12.

If recent headlines have made you rethink your use of calcium supplements, Tufts Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD, has some words of wisdom for you: This is absolutely no reason to panic.

Hows that again? You may need more folate and fish to help prevent hearing loss? Those are the latest findings of the Blue Mountains Hearing Study, which suggest ways nutrition might protect against the most common sensory disorder in the United States, affecting more than 36 million Americans.

Sweet potatoes are a traditional fall food, often gracing the family Thanksgiving menu. Today, the average American eats about four pounds of sweet potatoes a year, down from an average of 30 pounds in 1920. Given the nutritional density of the affordable, easy-to-prepare sweet potato, our ancestors had the right idea: Sweet potatoes arent just for covering with marshmallows at the holidays.

Higher levels of vitamin B6 and a common amino acid called methionine may reduce your risk of lung cancer, the worlds most common cause of cancer death- whether or not youve ever smoked. A study involving nearly 400,000 participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) reports that higher blood levels of vitamin B6 and methionine, found in most proteins as well as nuts and seeds, were associated with reduced rates of lung cancer regardless of smoking status.

B everages sweetened with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup can boost your risk of type 2 diabetes-even if the calories dont make you fat. An analysis of 11 studies totaling more than 300,000 participants fnds that consump- tion of such sweetened drinks appeared to increase the risk of diabetes independent of their effects on obesity. People drink- ing one or two non-diet drinks daily were 26% more likely to develop diabetes than those sipping less than one a month. Consumption of sweetened drinks was also linked to a 20% greater risk of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that can lead to diabetes and heart disease.

Eating just one more serving of fruits or vegetables daily cut the risk of dying from heart disease by 4% in an observational study of more than 300,000 Europeans in 10 countries. And people who ate the most produce-eight or more daily portions-were 22% less likely to die of heart disease than those eating two or fewer daily portions of fruits and vegetables

Heres more evidence that eating like a Mediterranean might help protect your aging brain: In a new study comparing the eating habits and mental abilities of nearly 3,800 older Chicagoans, those who stuck most closely to a Mediterranean-style diet pattern saw a slower rate of cognitive decline with aging. People who ate most like Mediterraneans had brains that functioned as if they were several years younger