Bad sleep ‘dramatically’ alters body

A run of poor sleep can have a dramatic effect on the internal workings of the human body, say UK researchers. The activity of hundreds of genes was altered when people's sleep was cut to less than six hours a day for a week. Writing in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers said the results helped explain how poor sleep damaged health. Heart disease, diabetes, obesity and poor brain function have all been linked to substandard sleep. What missing Read more

Raw vegetables and fruits counteract heart risk genes

People who are genetically susceptible to heart disease can lower their risk by eating plenty of fruit and raw vegetables, a study suggests. It says five or more daily portions should be enough to counteract culprit versions of a gene on chromosome 9, thought to be possessed by a fifth of people of European ancestry. Healthy diets appeared to weaken its effect. The US researchers investigated more than 27,000 people for their work. The findings were published in Plos Medicine journal. These Read more