Food Research: Nuts, peanuts, but not peanut butter, may protect against death from cancer ♦ High salt prevents weight gain in mice on a high-fat die ♦ Large doses of antioxidants may be harmful to neuronal stem cells

Nuts, peanuts, but not peanut butter, may protect against death from cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, and other major causes A study confirms a link between peanut and nut intake and lower mortality rates, but finds no protective effect for peanut butter. Men and women who eat at least 10 grams of nuts or peanuts per day have a lower risk of dying from several major causes of death than people who don't consume nuts or peanuts.

Regular soda, please: Hormone that differentiates sugar, diet sweeteners could exist in humans We've all been there: We eat an entire sleeve of fat-free, low-calorie cookies and we're stuffing ourselves with more food 15 minutes later. One theory to explain this phenomenon is that artificial sweeteners don't contain the calories or energy that evolution has trained the brain to expect from sweet-tasting foods, so they don't fool the brain into satisfying hunger. However, until now, nobody understood how organisms distinguish between real sugar and artificial sweetener.

High salt prevents weight gain in mice on a high-fat diet In a study that seems to defy conventional dietary wisdom, scientists have found that adding high salt to a high-fat diet actually prevents weight gain in mice. The findings highlight the profound effect non-caloric dietary nutrients can have on energy balance and weight gain, and suggest that public health efforts to continue lowering sodium intake may have unexpected and unintended consequences.

Large doses of antioxidants may be harmful to neuronal stem cells Stem cells are especially sensitive to oxygen radicals and antioxidants shows new research.