Cocoa butter lotion won’t prevent stretch marks
Applying cocoa butter lotion during pregnancy does not help prevent the stretch marks that many women develop, according to a new study.
In the study, the researchers studied the stretch marks that arose in 210 pregnant women who were randomly assigned to apply cocoa butter or inactive “placebo” to their abdomen, breasts, and thighs once daily starting during the first trimester of pregnancy. Eighty-three percent of women completed the study. Overall, 45 per cent of cocoa butter-treated women developed stretch marks compared with 49 per cent of women given placebo lotion. Although the percentage is slightly lower in the cocoa butter group, from a statistical standpoint, the difference was not considered significant, meaning that it may have simply arisen by chance. There was also no difference between the groups in the severity of their stretch marks.

Over weight problems seen even in infants
Garlic supplements may lower blood pressure just as effectively as some drugs used to treat hypertension can, according to a new research review.
New research indicates that problems associated with being overweight occur at a much younger age than previously thought. In a study reported in the journal Pediatrics, overweight infants were at increased risk for developmental delays and possibly breathing problems, such as asthma. Moreover, in most cases, parents were unaware of their child’s weight problem. The study involved 2139 infants not older than age 2 who were admitted for any reason to the Bnai Zion Medical Center in 2004 and 2005. The infants were considered overweight if they had a body mass index (BMI) above the 85th weight-for-height percentile on 2 or more measurements taken at least 3 months part. This means that 85 per cent of children their age and gender have a lower BMI, which is a measure of weight in relation to height.