HEALTH NEWS Chamomile Rinse Matches Chlorhexidine in Reducing Plaque and Gum Inflammation, Trial Finds A few minutes of sprinting could make a bigger impact than 90 minutes of moderate running Ultra-processed foods linked to higher prostate cancer risk in men Cinnamon Supplementation Associated With Lower Blood Sugar and Cholesterol in Review of 21 Meta-Analyses Healthy lifestyle cuts hearing impairment risk by 14%, metabolism is key driver Chamomile Rinse Matches Chlorhexidine in Reducing Plaque and Gum Inflammation, Trial Finds Western University of Arad (Romania), August 12 2026 (Natural News) A chamomile herbal rinse reduced plaque buildup and gum inflammation on par with chlorhexidine. Researchers enrolled 175 healthy adults and divided them into five groups: chamomile, sage, ginger, placebo, or chlorhexidine rinses, the report stated. Over twelve weeks, researchers tracked plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation using standardized dental indexes. Participants rinsed daily with their assigned solution, and measurements were recorded at intervals across the study period. Chamomile’s effect relies on plant compounds including apigenin and chamazulene, which act through anti-inflammatory pathways, while chlorhexidine works through strong antimicrobial action, researchers said. Chamomile flower material contains acylated derivatives of apigenin 7-O-glucoside. Every active rinse, including chamomile, produced significant reductions compared to placebo. Chamomile performed statistically on par with chlorhexidine, the rinse most dentists reach for first. Chlorhexidine is a prescription-strength antiseptic that dentists consider the gold standard for controlling plaque. Long-term chlorhexidine use commonly causes tooth staining, taste changes, and irritation of soft tissue inside the mouth. A few minutes of sprinting could make a bigger impact than 90 minutes of moderate running Rockefeller University, August 13 2026 (Eurekalert) Three minutes of sprinting can do something that 90 minutes of moderate exercise apparently cannot: dramatically reshape the molecular contents of the bloodstream. Rockefeller researchers comparing different intensities of exercise found that six sets of 30-second, all-out sprints altered nearly a quarter of the proteins measured immediately afterward. Moderate, continuous cycling for 90 minutes altered fewer than one-quarter of one percent. And while moderate running on a treadmill changed more proteins than cycling, it still altered far fewer than a quick sprint. Sprinting triggered changes in more than 200 metabolites. It also caused an immediate surge of proteins involved in blood-vessel growth, tissue remodeling, and hormonal signaling. Some of these proteins appear to enter the bloodstream through an expedited cell signaling process known as ectodomain shedding—rather than being newly made and secreted, portions of proteins already sitting on the cell surface were cleaved off and rapidly released into circulation. The researchers also found that human fat cells exposed to blood collected after sprinting underwent extensive changes in gene activity, shifting how the cells process fuel, respond to hormones, and sense nutrient availability. Not so with moderate exercise which produced a more modest response. It was not until three hours after completing that exercise that a meaningful wave of the fatty acids and liver-derived proteins that typically appear in response to the demands of endurance exercise were found in the bloodstream. Ultra-processed foods linked to higher prostate cancer risk in men Florida Atlantic University, August 12 2026 (News-Medical) Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) account for nearly 60% of adults' and 70% of children's energy intake in the United States. New research from Florida Atlantic University provides evidence that men with higher consumption of UPFs have increased risks of prostate cancer. Published in The American Journal of Medicine, the study provides analyses from a large and nationally representative data from 17,024 U.S. men ages 18 and older. Researchers used two 24-hour dietary recalls to calculate the percentage of daily calories participants consumed from UPFs. Men in the three higher-consumption groups of UPFs had a 29% greater risk of prostate cancer, while those in the two highest-consumption groups had a 30% greater risk, compared to those in the lowest consumption group. After adjustments, the increased risk remained significant, ranging from 24% to 31%. Men with the highest UPF intake alone had a possible 34% higher risk, although the finding did not reach statistical significance, potentially reflecting the smaller number of prostate cancer cases in that group. Cinnamon Supplementation Associated With Lower Blood Sugar and Cholesterol in Review of 21 Meta-Analyses Lanzhou University Second Clinical Medical College (China), August 11 2026 (Natural News) A pooled analysis of 21 meta-analyses, including 139 placebo-controlled comparisons, found cinnamon supplementation associated with lower HbA1c, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and blood pressure, according to a report published in Frontiers in Nutrition. The report stated that the strongest effects occurred at daily amounts above 1.5 grams, or roughly three-quarters of a teaspoon, for periods of two months or less. Compared with placebo, cinnamon supplementation was tied to a measurable reduction in HbA1c, the blood test doctors use to track blood sugar control over the previous several months, the article stated. Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol also declined, and blood pressure readings improved, according to the analysis. Ceylon cinnamon, sometimes labeled 'true cinnamon,' contains only trace amounts of coumarin, while Cassia cinnamon, the variety commonly found on supermarket shelves, contains higher levels, according to the article. For daily use, experts cited in the report recommend limiting Cassia cinnamon to about one teaspoon or less, with occasional larger amounts considered unlikely to cause harm. Healthy lifestyle cuts hearing impairment risk by 14%, metabolism is key driver Fudan University (Japan), August 12 2026 (News-Medical) Hearing impairment ranks as the third largest contributor to global disability among sensory disorders, with prevalence rising across younger and middle-aged populations alongside older adults. The Fudan University team conducted an analysis of 441,844 UK Biobank participants aged 40 to 69 at baseline, with a median follow-up of 14.22 years. The researchers constructed a comprehensive lifestyle score spanning seven behaviors: smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, sleep duration, sedentary time, social engagement, and dietary supplement use. Over the study period, 20,743 incident cases of hearing impairment were documented. Participants with an ideal lifestyle had a 14% lower risk of developing hearing impairment than those with a poor lifestyle. Among individual factors, smoking cessation offered the greatest preventive benefit, followed by reduced sedentary time; dietary supplement use showed no protective effect, and social contact frequency was not significantly associated with hearing risk. The study’s core insight emerges from its quantitative mediation analysis, which revealed metabolic dysfunction as the dominant biological pathway linking lifestyle to auditory health. Metabolic biomarkers–most notably BMI and HDL-c–mediated approximately 16.5% and 14.0% of the total lifestyle–hearing association respectively. In contrast, each inflammatory marker contributed less than 6% of the effect, playing only a secondary role.
