BARELY a day seems to pass without a new study reporting the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. A high intake of omega-3s has been linked with reduced rates of depression, cardiovascular disease and homicide. In pregnant women the consumption of these wonder molecules has even been associated with an uplift of the IQ of their offspring.

THE shelves of every supermarket are packed with probiotic yogurts that can supposedly ease constipation and fend off infections, butter substitutes that claim to reduce cholesterol, tomato extracts said to keep skin looking young while warding off cancer, infant cereals enhanced with micronutrients essential for development, and so on.

In order to provide fresh cooked food under Midday Meal Scheme run by Rural Development Department the Women and Child Development Department will be launching Sanjha Chulha Yojana on November 1, said Minister of State for Women and Child Development Ranjana Baghel here today.

The nutrition levels of displaced children under 5 years of age living in welfare villages in the North have significantly improved since their arrival in the camps in May, Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Nutrition Dr. Athula Kahandaliyanage said yesterday.

In what will be music to the ears of banana cultivators, a Gujarat based agriculture university has successfully converted parts of the fruit's plant, which are usually thrown away as waste, into highly useful products, including an edible candy with nutritional values.