Eating more fruits and vegetables can help control weight, but a study suggests that it depends on which fruits and vegetables you eat.

Researchers recorded diet information for 117,918 men and women in their 30s and 40s and followed them for 24 years. An overall increase in a daily serving of vegetable or fruit over a four-year period led to less weight gained — 0.25 pounds less for vegetables, and 0.53 pounds for fruit.

Increased intake of berries was linked to a 1.11-pound lower weight gain, and of citrus fruits a 0.27-pound lower gain. Adding a daily serving of tofu or soy was tied to 2.47 pounds less weight gained, and of apples or pears 1.24 pounds less. Potatoes, peas and corn were not linked to smaller gains.

Drug combo may aid Alzheimer's

Agitation and aggression are common in Alzheimer's patients, and there is no effective treatment. Now researchers report that a combination drug already in use for treating certain neurological problems may be a better remedy.

The scientists randomized 152 Alzheimer's patients to a 10-week course of the cough suppressant dextromethorphan and quinidine, used to control heart rhythm disorders, and 127 to placebo. Aggression scores declined to 3.8 from 7.1 in the dextromethorphan-quinidine group and to 5.3 from 7.0 in those who took a placebo.

Sitting is bad for children, too

Children who sit too much may face adult-size health consequences, said a study of healthy girls. After the girls had reclined for three uninterrupted hours, their arteries no longer functioned as well, with arterial dilation — the normal and healthy widening of blood vessels — falling by as much as 33 percent. "For perspective," lead study author Ali McManus said, in adults, a sustained 1 percent decline in vascular function "has been shown to increase cardiovascular disease risk by 13 percent."

Thankfully, the girls' arteries returned to normal rapidly.

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