A long awaited assessment of potential biomarkers for detecting early ovarian cancer shows that elevated levels of the CA-125 protein still remains the best predictor of disease progression.  The CA-125 test has been around for several decades and can help determine the effectiveness of cancer treatments in patient with ovarian cancer, but it is not very useful as a screening tool.  A report released in March in Cancer Prevention Research indicated none of the 28 potential serum markers tested in the study outperformed the CA-125.

Staying up late every night and sleeping in is a habit that could put you at risk for gaining weight. People who go to bed late and sleep late eat more calories in the evening, more fast food, fewer fruits and vegetables and weigh more than people who go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.

Have you been losing weight and despite staying on your diet and exercising, your weight suddenly stays the same?   Don’t get discouraged, it’s normal for weight loss to slow down and even stop.   This phenomenon is called the “weight-loss plateau” and it’s more common than you think.  Even the best planned weight loss program can become stalled.

A new study discovered that apples promoted good cholesterol levels in the participating women.   Researchers from Florida State University were surprised at the results of their study that included 160 females aged 45-85 randomly selected to received either 75 grams of dried apples or dried prunes for a whole year.  The apple consumption group significantly reduced the blood levels of total cholesterol and low density cholesterol (LDL- bad cholesterol) by 14% and 23%, respectively.