Doing research while doing time
Looking more closely at links between nutrition and behavior, a new study in the United Kingdom will track more than 1,000 prisoners. The study aims to find if the significant reduction in antisocial behavior seen in similar studies resulted from dietary adequacy and optimum nutrient dosages. Experts say the results could lead to nutrition guidelines for mental health, not just physical.

Good-bug knowledge gap
A recent survey shows a disconnect between consumer spending and consumer knowledge of probiotics. The good bugs have ballooned into a $1 billion-a-year industry in the U.S., but according to a national Opinion Research Corp. survey, 85 percent of Americans know “little to nothing” about probiotics. Cleveland-based probiotics manufacturer Ganaden Biotech sponsored the survey.

Teen girls hold chemical load
Notorious for obsessing over makeup and hairstyles, teenage girls have cause to think twice about what products they slather on. Research released in September by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group showed that blood and urine samples of 20 teenage girls revealed the presence of 16 chemicals from four different families—phthalates, triclosan, parabens and musks—linked to health effects ranging from cancer to hormone disruption.

Natural Foods Merchandiser volume XXVI/number 8/p. 26