Columbus, OH, USA. A recent study shows that popular fish oil supplements have an effect on the healing process of small, acute wounds in human skin. But whether that effect is detrimental, as researchers initially suspected, remains a mystery.

The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils are widely considered to benefit cardiovascular health and other diseases related to chronic inflammation because of their anti-inflammatory properties. But insufficient inflammation during the initial stage of wound healing may delay the advancement of later stages.

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Omega-3 fatty acids effect on wound healing. Jodi C. McDaniel, Martha Belury, Karen Ahijevych, Wendy Blakely. Wound Repair And Regeneration 16(3) 337-345

Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Are you having a hard time stretching your grocery dollars during the current economic downturn? You’re not alone. But before you stop buying fresh fruit, meat, vegetables and other items often perceived as costing a lot, check out these tips from a University of Michigan (U-M) Health System dietitian.

Holly Scherer, R.D., a (U-M) dietitian, offers tips for buying fruit, vegetables, and meat for less money. She says you can follow a few easy guidelines and still buy healthy foods, rather than switching to a diet of potato chips, macaroni and cheese, and a fast-food burger.

She suggests that you make your own coffee, buy fruits and vegetables that are in season, occasionally replace m

Tampere, Finland. Delivering what may prove to be a decided mixed blessing to post-op women (and others) everywhere, researchers have shown that having intercourse more often may help prevent the development of erectile dysfunction (ED). The findings of a new baseline study were published in The American Journal of Medicine.

The investigator analyzed data from a five-year study of 989 men aged 55 to 75 in Pirkanmaa, Finland.

The study reports that

Once the researchers had a dependable baseline for data cu

Guelph, Ontario, CAN and Katmandu, Nepal. Cheese is suspect when it comes to a healthy heart. However, researchers in Nepal and Canada now report that yak cheese contains higher levels of heart-healthy fats than cheese from dairy cattle; it may be healthier overall. Producers make the cheese from the milk of yaks. The long-haired humped animals are fixtures in Tibet and throughout the Himalayan region of south central Asia, Mongolia, and a few other countries.

Yak cheese has only recently become available in the United States and is available in select gourmet food stores. Studies by others have shown that certain types of dairy-derived fatty acids, particularly conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), may help fight he