Olive oil diet may boost fertility increased intake could increase pregnancy rates by up to 40 per cent.

Olive oil is the key to a new 'fertility diet' being tested in a study involving more than 100 couples undergoing IVF.

The test diet is based on using olive oil for cooking, an olive oil-based spread and a daily supplement drink enriched with Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids for six weeks as an addition to their normal diet.

The effects on fertility will be compared to couples on a control diet of sunflower seed oil for cooking, a sunflower oil-based spread and a sham supplement drink.

Previous research suggests omega-3 polyunsaturated fats in olive oil may help faster embryo development

The team carrying out the trial at the University of Southampton say the diet could increase pregnancy rates by up to 40 per cent, based on previous research that found increased intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fats contained in olive oil led to faster embryo development after IVF.

Nicotine watch calls time on smoking

A trial found it did reduce cravings

A watch that releases nicotine when smokers' cravings are worst could help them quit.

Existing aids, such as patches, release nicotine at a constant rate. However, smoker's cravings can be more powerful in the morning because of the long gap of abstinence imposed by sleep, and after meals - possibly because eating prompts, in the brain, the desire to be rewarded.

The SmartStop is worn either as a watch, armband or patch, and contains a small cartridge of nicotine. It can be programmed to your schedule and releases more nicotine for when it calculates cravings will be strongest.

A trial with 36 people at the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland, found it did reduce cravings and more research is planned.

Mistletoe to stop epilepsy seizures

Mistletoe should be tested as a treatment for epilepsy, say Swiss doctors.

Researchers at Fribourg Hospital, Switzerland, have reported the case of a four‑year-old girl who became seizure-free after being given mistletoe extract.

She had previously been treated with different anti-epileptic drugs, diet changes and herbal and homeopathic supplements, but still suffered seizures. These stopped when her dose of a mistletoe supplement was increased, and she remained free of them 12 months later.

The researchers, in the Journal of Child Neurology, suggested this may be due to mistletoe's stimulating effect on the immune system - one theory is that epilepsy seizures are caused by a malfunctioning immune response - and called for further studies.

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