– The first medical news today: Not low-carb diet or no-carb diet, but a moderate intake of carbs seems to be the best choice. 15 428 participants of both sexes were observed for 25 years. A moderate intake of carbohydrates was the best choice for longevity. Life expectancy was the highest with a moderate carb intake corresponding to 50 to 55% of daily calories. This result was seen both in a prospective cohort study and a meta-analysis. In practical terms, this means that half of breakfast, lunch and dinner should consists of vegetables, a quarter of a protein source, such as eggs, fish or poultry, and only a quarter of a carb source. And sugary drinks and products, for example soft drinks, commercial orange juice with added sugar and sweet snacks, should be avoided as much as possible.
– The second medical news today: Clinically relevant gastrointestinal bleedings from stress ulcers should be avoided in intensive care units. For this end, 3298 critically ill patients at risk for stress ulcer bleeding in intensive care units received prevention, either with pantoprazole (a proton-pump inhibitor) or placebo. Gastrointestinal bleedings occurred in 2.5% of the patients who received pantoprazole (the proton-pump inhibitor), compared with 4.2% with placebo. In addition, the proton-pump inhibitor pantoprazole was safe.