Medical breakthroughs: time your table for weight loss, try E-nuts for cancer protection, and don't drink and diet

Erratic eating causes people to take in more calories and burn them more slowly than sticking to set mealtimes, concludes a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. For two weeks, obese women ate their normal diets in six regular intervals or on a varied schedule. When munching irregularly, they ate about 81 more calories each day, and exhibited slower calorie burning, higher LDL cholesterol levels, and increased insulin resistance.

A type of vitamin E in seeds and nuts (but not most supplements) may inhibit the growth of prostate and lung cancers. A laboratory study at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute found that gamma-tocopherol, a natural component in walnuts, pecans, and sesame seeds, killed cancer cells, but left healthy cells unaffected. Alpha-tocopherol, a potent antioxidant and the primary vitamin E in body tissue and supplements, did not show anti-cancer properties.

Drinking alcohol without eating raises the chance of developing high blood pressure, say researchers at the University of Buffalo in New York. A study of more than 2,600 men and women showed that those who imbibe without food are about 1.5 times more likely to have hypertension than winers-and-diners and nondrinkers.

A breath of citrus essential oil may help prevent an asthma attack. In an animal study at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, rats with asthma-like symptoms were exposed to limonene, the main component of citrus oil, or eucalyptol from a scented oil warmer continuously for seven days. Inhaling limonene improved lung function and prevented asthmatic symptoms, possibly due to the citrus oil's ability to scavenge ozone, an air pollutant that's been linked to asthma. The eucalyptol had no effect.

Illustration by CALLIE BUTLER

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