Food Research: Find way to focus on dietary supplement safety ♦ Living alone can dent healthy diets ♦ Soybean foods may protect menopausal women against osteoporosis

Find way to focus on dietary supplement safety A former principal deputy commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration is proposing a solution to the current gridlock over the regulation of dietary supplements: focus less on whether these vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts actually do what they claim and instead take important steps to improve their safety.

Soybean foods may protect menopausal women against osteoporosis Eating a diet rich in both soy protein and isoflavones can protect menopausal women from bone weakening and osteoporosis.

Living alone can dent healthy diets People who live alone are more likely to have unhealthy diets lacking key foods, research has found. The study reported inadequate cooking skills, no partner to go shopping with, the increasing cost of food and a lack of motivation to cook were among the reasons people living alone had different eating practices

Tomatoes get boost in growth, antioxidants from nano-sized nutrients Researchers are using nano-sized nutrients to boost production of food without straining natural resources.

Women's Health: Popular media influences choice of childbirth ♦ When do mothers need others? ♦ Non-hormonal management of menopausal symptoms

Popular media influences choice of childbirth Women's magazines influence whether women decide to have a more natural childbirth or not, with most of the messages biased towards promoting the benefits of medicalized birth.

Female cystic fibrosis patients need more contraceptive guidance Only half of women with cystic fibrosis report using contraception and frequently apt to become pregnant unintentionally. As recently as the 1960s, children with cystic fibrosis -- an inherited disease that causes thick, sticky mucus to form in the lungs, pancreas, and other organs -- often died before attending elementary school. Today many people with the disease live into their 30s, 40s and beyond

Non-hormonal management of menopausal vasomotor symptoms Hot flashes are a common menopausal symptom. They tend to intensify during the perimenopause and usually subside within 5 years after the final menstrual period. However in some women frequent hot flashes are a long term problem and may last for more than 7 years.

'Thinspiration' images of women on social media sites examined Some of the most popular social media sites are filled with images of extremely thin women that might be harmful to those who view them -- whether they are seeking them or not, according to research. The images were often cropped to remove heads or focus on just a few body parts.

When do mothers need others? New research examines how mothers underwent a remarkable transition from the past – when they had one dependent offspring at a time, ended support of their young at weaning and received no help from others – to the present, when mothers often have multiple kids who help rear other children.