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An observational study led by Professor Hiroaki Kanouchi presents the first evidence that eating sunomono—a Japanese vinegared side dish—correlates to lower blood pressure categorization in men. "The benefits of vinegar in a healthy diet are well known. Our research is the first observational study of these benefits; we didn't ask participants to change anything," explained Professor Kanouchi. Previous studies have shown that subjects drinking 30 mL of vinegar daily had lower blood pressure but also lost weight that could account for the lower blood pressure. Sunomono is a traditional side dish made with sliced cucumber or seaweed in rice vinegar,...

Common compounds produced by gut microbes quench colitis in mice Common molecules made by bacteria in the gut may act as chill pills for the immune system. Molecules secreted by intestinal bacteria work to prevent misplaced immune attacks in inflammatory bowel diseases like colitis, a new study finds. “It is a huge advance,” says Sarkis Mazmanian of Caltech. “This opens up the notion that a very easy and potentially very safe therapy for inflammatory bowel disease could exist.” Decades of research have hinted that microbes play a role in immune-related diseases such as obesity, allergy, inflammatory bowel disease and colon...