Move Over Vegetarians, Make Way for the Flexitarians

Newswise — CHICAGO- While the number of consumers who follow strict vegetarian or vegan diets in the U.S. is relatively small, research shows that the number of consumers who are reducing their consumption of animal-based products is on the rise.

These “occasional” vegetarians (also called flexitarians) can be categorized into two groups, semi-vegetarians and meat reducers. Semi-vegetarians follow a vegetarian diet part of the time, but still eat some meat and dairy products. Meat reducers are not trying to follow a vegetarian diet, but are just trying to reduce the amount of meat they eat. In the November 2011 issue of Food Technology magazine, published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), Associate Editor Karen Nachay writes about how manufacturers are increasingly targeting these groups with better-tasting products, attractive packaging and product variety.

Due to the increasingly popular flexitarian lifestyle, large food manufacturers like Kraft Foods, ConAgra Foods, General Mills, and others have acquired smaller vegetarian food producers or launched their own lines of vegetarian food products. Three-quarters of MorningStar Farms’ consumers are flexitarians; therefore the company is constantly developing new flavors and products that appeal to these consumers.

In the past, processed vegetarian burgers were bland and tough, and usually only die-hard vegetarians were the targeted consumers. There are an increasing number of people who are interested in eating healthier or want to reduce their meat intake without sacrificing taste. Whereas today, updates in processing technologies, food flavors and sauces are making it possible for vegetarian food manufacturers to create foods with more meat-like textures, better flavor and convenience that are more appealing to flexitarian consumers.

Up until recently, soy and wheat protein were the main proteins used in vegetarian meal options. But today with so many people having soy and wheat protein allergies, vegetable protein, from sources such as peas, are being used. Beans and chickpeas are especially popular in vegetarian restaurant items as well.

Released: 11/16/2011

Source: Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)

Related Link:

http://newswise.com/articles/move-over-vegetarians-make-way-for-the-flexitarians

OMEGA-3 Reduces Anxiety And Inflammation In Healthy Students

Newswise — COLUMBUS, Ohio – A recent study gauging the impact of consuming more fish oil showed a marked reduction both in inflammation and, surprisingly, in anxiety among a cohort of healthy young people.

The research, supported by the Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), was conducted by a team of scientists that has spent more than three decades investigating links between psychological stress and immunity.

“The findings suggest that if young people can get improvements from dietary supplements, then the elderly and people at high risk for certain diseases might benefit even more,” said Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and author of the study, which was published this month in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.

“The more we understand about the complex interplay between inflammation and immunity, the closer we’ll get to figuring out which lifestyle choices and changes have the biggest impact on long term health.”

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have long been considered as positive additives to the diet.

Earlier research suggested that the compounds might play a role in reducing the level of cytokines in the body, compounds that promote inflammation, and perhaps even reduce depression.

Psychological stress has repeatedly been shown to increase cytokine production so the researchers wondered if increasing omega-3 might mitigate that process, reducing inflammation.

To test their theory, they turned to a familiar group of research subjects – medical students. Some of the earliest work these scientists did showed that stress from important medical school tests lowered students’ immune status.

“We hypothesized that giving some students omega-3 supplements would decrease their production of proinflammatory cytokines, compared to other students who only received a placebo,” explained Kiecolt-Glaser.

“We thought the omega-3 would reduce the stress-induced increase in cytokines that normally arose from nervousness over the tests.”

The team assembled a field of 68 first- and second-year medical students who volunteered for the clinical trial. Half the students received omega-3 supplements while the other half were given placebo pills. The students were randomly divided into six groups, all of which were interviewed six times during the study. At each visit, blood samples were drawn from the students who also completed a battery of psychological surveys intended to gauge their levels of stress, anxiety or depression. The students also completed questionnaires about their diets during the previous weeks.

“The omega-3 supplement the students received was probably about four or five times the amount of fish oil you’d get from a daily serving of salmon,” explained Martha Belury, professor of human nutrition and co-author in the study.

Part of the study, however, didn’t go according to plans.

Changes in the medical curriculum and the distribution of major tests throughout the year, rather than during a tense three-day period as was done in the past, removed much of the stress that medical students had shown in past studies.

“These students were not anxious. They weren’t really stressed. They were actually sleeping well throughout this period, so we didn’t get the stress effect we had expected,” Kiecolt-Glaser said.

But the psychological surveys clearly showed an important change in anxiety among the students: Those receiving the omega-3 showed a 20 percent reduction in anxiety compared to the placebo group. An analysis of the of the blood samples from the medical students showed similar important results.

“We took measurements of the cytokines in the blood serum, as well as measured the productivity of cells that produced two important cytokines, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα),” said Ron Glaser, professor of molecular virology, immunology & medical genetics and director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research.

“We saw a 14 percent reduction in the amounts of IL-6 among the students receiving the omega-3.” Since the cytokines foster inflammation, “anything we can do to reduce cytokines is a big plus in dealing with the overall health of people at risk for many diseases,” he said.

Inflammation is a natural immune response that helps the body heal, but it also can play a harmful role in a host of diseases ranging from arthritis to heart disease to cancer.
Even though the study showed omega-3 supplements can reduce both anxiety and inflammation – and some of the researchers said that they take omega-3 supplements – the researchers aren’t ready to recommend that the public start taking them daily.

“It may be too early to recommend a broad use of omega-3 supplements, especially considering the cost and the limited supplies of fish needed to supply the oil,” Belury said. “People should just consider increasing their omega-3 through their diet.”

Also working on the research with Kiecolt-Glaser, Glaser and Belury were William Malarkey, professor emeritus of internal medicine, and Rebecca Andridge, an assistant professor of public health.

In addition to support from the CCTS and the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA), the study was funded in part by a grant from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a part of the National Institutes of Health.

Released: 11/9/2011

Source: Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science

Related Link:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/omega-3-reduces-anxiety-and-inflammation-in-healthy-students2

Allergists Report That Wine May Please the Palate but Not the Immune System

Alcohol, smoking can trigger reactions or make allergies worse, allergists say

Newswise — BOSTON— While the health benefits of drinking wine in moderation continue to make news, for some with allergies even a glass a day may be difficult to swallow. At the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Boston, Nov. 3-8, allergists share the latest buzz on allergies to alcohol and tobacco.

“Although it’s rare, allergies to alcohol can cause symptoms such as red, itchy eyes, nasal congestion, upset stomach and difficulty breathing,” said allergist Sami Bahna, MD, ACAAI past president, and chief of Allergy and Immunology at Louisiana State University Medical School in Shreveport. “In most cases, simply understanding what triggers the allergic reaction will help the person find an alternative drink to enjoy.”

Reactions can be triggered by naturally occurring ingredients in beer and wine, including barley, ethanol, grapes, histamine, hops, malt, oats, tryptamine, tyramine, wheat, and yeast. Other potential allergens may be introduced to beer and wine during processing, including egg whites, which are sometimes used as a filtering agent, and sulfites, which occur naturally in wine but also may be added as a preservative.

Allergic reactions to alcohol can produce minor symptoms such as rash, or life-threatening reactions including asthma attacks and anaphylaxis. In his presentation, Dr. Bahna discusses case studies of patients who experience symptoms of asthma and anaphylaxis after drinking wine or beer. He points out that wine, particularly red wine, contains chemicals called tyramines that commonly cause headache.

“Individuals can be allergic to the alcohol itself or an added ingredient, but even when people are not allergic, they may not realize that alcohol can worsen existing allergy symptoms, particularly food allergies,” Dr. Bahna added.

Similar to diagnosing a food allergy, Dr. Bahna explains, once an allergist helps someone pinpoint which allergens are causing a reaction, simply avoiding the beverage is the best solution.

Dr. Bahna also shared research related to tobacco smoke and its effect on allergic disease. While it may seem like common sense that tobacco smoke as a strong irritant worsens asthma, it can also affect seasonal allergy sufferers. Studies show that exposure to smoke can enhance sensitivity to airborne substances like pollen and mold spores, which wreak havoc during spring and fall allergy seasons each year.

“The health risks of tobacco smoke are widespread whether your exposure is a result of active smoking, passive exposure through second-hand smoke, or indirect exposure from pregnant mother to her unborn child,” said Dr. Bahna. “People with allergies and asthma should be especially careful to avoid any exposure to tobacco smoke.”

Studies show that tobacco smoke:

• enhances sensitivity to airborne substances like pollen or spores
• increases bronchial sensitivity to specific irritants
• paves the way to the development of asthma
• worsens asthma
• increases the risk of developing COPD
• increases the risk of emphysema and lung cancer.

Allergists have the training and expertise to treat more than just the allergy symptoms. Those who suspect they have reactions to alcohol, food, or tobacco should be evaluated by an allergist—a doctor who is an expert in diagnosing and treating allergies and asthma. To learn about allergies and asthma, take a free relief self-test or find an allergist near you visit http://www.AllergyAndAsthmaRelief.org.

Released: 10/26/2011

Source: American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI)

Related Link:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/wine-may-please-the-palate-but-not-the-immune-system-alcohol-smoking-can-trigger-reactions-or-make-allergies-worse-allergists-say-alcohol-smoking-can-trigger-reactions-or-make-allergies-worse-allergists-say

 

New Findings….Obesity Limits Effectiveness of Flu Vaccines

Newswise — People carrying extra pounds may need extra protection from influenza.

New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that obesity may make annual flu shots less effective.

The findings, published online Oct. 25, 2011, in he International Journal of Obesity, provide evidence explaining a phenomenon that was noticed for the first time during the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak: that obesity is associated with an impaired immune response to the influenza vaccination in humans.

“These results suggest that overweight and obese people would be more likely than healthy weight people to experience flu illness following exposure to the flu virus,” said Melinda Beck, Ph.D., professor and associate chair of nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and senior author of the study.

“Previous studies have indicated the possibility that obesity might impair the human body’s ability to fight flu viruses. These new findings seem to give us a reason why obese people were more susceptible to influenza illness during the H1N1 pandemic compared to healthy weight people.”

The study reports for the first time that influenza vaccine antibody levels decline significantly in obese people compared to healthy weight individuals. What’s more, responses of CD8+ T cells (a type of white blood cell that plays a key role in the body’s immune system) are defective in heavier people.

Researchers studied people at a UNC clinic who had been vaccinated in late 2009 with inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine, the common flu vaccine for that fall and winter season. Although obese, overweight and healthy weight individuals all developed antibodies to flu viruses within the first month after vaccination, the antibody levels in the blood declined more rapidly in obese and overweight individuals over time.

About 50 percent of obese participants had a four-fold decrease in antibody levels at 12 months compared to one month post vaccination. However, less than 25 percent of healthy weight participants had a four-fold decrease in antibody levels.

Also, when study participants’ blood samples were tested in the lab and exposed to a flu virus 12 months after vaccination, about 75 percent of healthy weight people’s CD8+ T cells still expressed interferon-γ, an infection-fighting protein. However, only about 25 percent of obese patients’ cells responded by producing the protein.

When vaccination fails to prevent flu infection, people must rely in part on their CD8+ T cells to limit the spread and severity of infection, said Patricia Sheridan, Ph.D., research assistant professor of nutrition and an author on the paper.

“If antibody titers are not maintained over time in the obese individuals and memory CD+ T cell function is impaired, they may be greater risk of becoming ill from influenza,” Sheridan said.

Heather Paich, a doctoral student in Beck’s lab, added: “The findings also suggest overweight and obese people are more likely to become sicker and have more complications. That’s because influenza-specific CD8+ T cells do not protect against infection, but instead act to limit the disease’s progression and severity of disease.”

In 2005, Beck and her colleagues reported that obesity in mice impaired the animals’ ability to fight influenza infections and increased the percent dying from influenza, compared to lean mice with the same infections. In 2010, her team showed that obesity seemed to limit the mice’s ability to develop immunity to influenza, suggesting vaccines may not be as effective in obese and overweight as in healthy weight humans. Also, the fatality rate was higher in obese mice – none of the lean mice died, but 25 percent of the obese mice died.

“This latest study shows that obese people may have a similar impaired response to influenza vaccines as our mouse models did to influenza virus,” Beck said. “We need to continue to study the effect of obesity on the ability to fight virus infections. Influenza is a serious public health threat, killing up to half a million people a year worldwide. As rates of obesity continue to rise, the number of deaths from the flu could rise too. We need to better understand this problem and to look for solutions.”

Along with Beck, Sheridan and Paich, other UNC nutrition department study authors were Erik A. Karlsson, now a postdoctoral research associate, at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Aileen B. Sammon and Lara Holland, who were undergraduates at the time. Other authors were Michael G. Hudgens, Ph.D., research associate professor of biostatistics in the public health school; and Jean Handy, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology, Samuel Weir, M.D., clinical associate professor of family medicine, and Terry L. Noah, M.D., professor of pediatrics, all from the UNC School of Medicine.

For more information or a copy of the study, see: http://www.nature.com/ijo/index.html

Released: 10/20/2011

Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine

Via Newswise

Related Link:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/obesity-limits-effectiveness-of-flu-vaccines

Food and Nutrition News….Students Coax Yeast Cells to Add Vitamins to Bread

In campus labs, the students developed a genetically engineered yeast to add vitamin A to the diets of malnourished people. Photo Credit: Will Kirk, JHU

Newswise — Any way you slice it, bread that contains critical nutrients could help combat severe malnutrition in impoverished regions. That is the goal of a group of Johns Hopkins University undergraduate students who are using synthetic biology to enhance common yeast so that it yields beta carotene, the orange substance that gives carrots their color. When it’s eaten, beta-carotene turns into vitamin A.

The students’ project is the university’s entry in iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition. After a regional judging earlier this month, the undergraduates’ project, called VitaYeast, has advanced to the iGEM finals, scheduled for Nov. 5-7 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the annual iGEM contest, students from around the world present projects based on synthetic biology, a burgeoning field in which researchers manipulate small bits of DNA and other biological material to make cells carry out new tasks.

The Johns Hopkins participants say that no matter what happens at the iGEM finals, they will continue to tout their enhanced bread as a relatively simple way to help hundreds of thousands of people who are suffering from malnutrition.

Team member Arjun Khakhar, a junior biomedical engineering major, grew up in Bombay, India, where he saw widespread poverty and malnutrition. “The major problem in developing countries right now is not that people are hungry and starving because they don’t have enough food,” he said. “What people don’t have now is the [right type of] food that they need to survive. Vital nutrients like vitamins are just missing from their diets, because they can’t afford fruits and vegetables. That’s what we wanted to provide through VitaYeast.”

Producing a new food to save malnourished people around the globe may sound like an audacious goal for a group of 15 to 20 students who haven’t yet picked up their college diplomas. But Arjun doesn’t think so. “How do I get the idea in my mind that I want to change the world?” he said. “I would ask, How can you not have the idea that you want to change the world?”

To curb global malnutrition, Arjun and his teammates envisioned an enhanced starter dough that could be shared easily and cheaply among large groups of impoverished people. The bread baked from this dough could avert health problems that occur when vitamins and other nutrients are missing from their diets. Such health problems can be serious. The World Health Organization has described vitamin A deficiency as the leading cause of preventable blindness in children.

Yeast, which helps make bread rise, does not normally produce vitamins. To make this happen, the students, representing a variety of science majors, had to genetically tweak the single-cell microbes. The team members figured out how to add to yeast cells certain DNA sequences that triggered a series of biochemical reactions that produced beta carotene. They presented that development at the iGEM regional contest and are continuing to work on yeast that also produces Vitamin C, another crucial nutrient needed in impoverished areas.

As they worked on the VitaYeast project, the students were advised by Johns Hopkins faculty members, including Jef Boeke, a leading yeast expert who is a professor of molecular biology and genetics at the School of Medicine. “One of the great things about iGEM teams, which are mostly made up of undergraduates, is that those students, frankly, will not believe that something is impossible,” Boeke said. “If you tell them that something is impossible, they will go off and do it. I find that to be very exciting.”

Working in lab space provided by Boeke and other faculty members, the iGEM students solved the science challenges and produced samples of their enhanced dough. But would VitaYeast yield bread that looks and smells good enough to eat? As all good cooks know, the proof is in the pudding — or, in this case, the bread basket. To find out, the students purchased a bread-making machine, found a simple recipe online and turned their lab into a makeshift kitchen. “We wanted to simulate the process that a regular person might go through to bake bread,” said team member Steffi Liu, a junior biomedical engineering major from Edison, N.J. “The only thing that’s different in the recipe is that we substituted our vitamin A yeast for the normal dry packaged yeast.”

The resulting bread, she said, “looks exactly the same as normal bread. Definitely the same smell! The lab smelled amazing after we baked the bread. Everybody wanted a bite of it. But obviously we can’t do that.”

Because the lab bread contains a genetically engineered ingredient that has not undergone safety testing or received approval from government regulators, the students are not permitted to eat it. But they are encouraged by the tempting aroma and traditional breadlike texture and appearance.

In recent years, some genetically engineered foods have been rejected by malnourished people merely because they did not look, smell or taste like the familiar food staples. The Johns Hopkins students are banking on greater success, partly because they are thinking small. “VitaYeast is a tiny component – it gets killed in the bread,” said Noah Young, a senior biomedical engineering major from Irvine, Calif. “We’re not genetically modifying the wheat. We’re not genetically modifying the flour or the water. We’re genetically modifying something like 1 percent of the bread recipe. When you bake VitaYeast bread and you look at it, it looks like normal bread.”

As part of the project, team member Ashan Veerakumar, a senior neuroscience major from Toronto, will survey Baltimore area residents about whether they would eat genetically modified food, particularly if it could improve their health. “The thing we’re trying to find out here,” Ashan said, “is whether our project is something the public will accept.”

He and some of the other team members are also looking for outside funding to continue pushing the VitaYeast project forward. Yet before VitaYeast bread can make its way to malnourished people, it must overcome many hurdles, including animal testing and rigorous regulatory reviews.

Still, faculty adviser Boeke is not betting against his student scientists. “Could this notion of releasing a genetically modified organism in a Third World country ever happen?” he asked. “Personally, I think the answer is yes.” Some of the iGEM students, Boeke said, “were ready to rush off and do it right away, and we had to restrain their enthusiasm.” Another faculty member, who is a bioethicist, was called in to urge the students to be more patient in pressing toward their goal. “She’s helped the students understand what the steps are needed to get to that point,” Boeke said. “That will certainly be a multiyear process, at best. But I think it could happen.”

Released: 10/25/2011

Source: Johns Hopkins

Via Newswise

Related Link:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/students-coax-yeast-cells-to-add-vitamins-to-bread

Coffee Consumption Associated With Decreased Risk for Basal Cell Carcinoma

Newswise — BOSTON — Caffeine could be related to an inverse association between basal cell carcinoma risk and consumption of coffee, a study found.

The prospective study, presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011, examined the risks of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and melanoma in connection with coffee consumption and found a decreased risk for BCC only.

“Given the nearly 1 million new cases of BCC diagnosed each year in the United States, daily dietary factors with even small protective effects may have great public health impact,” said researcher Fengju Song, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the department of dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “Our study indicates that coffee consumption may be an important option to help prevent BCC.”

Data were taken from the Nurses’ Health Study (Brigham and Women’s Hospital) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (Harvard School of Public Health). In the Nurses’ Health Study, 72,921 participants were followed from June 1984 to June 2008. In the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, 39,976 participants were followed from June 1986 to June 2008.

The researchers reported 25,480 incident skin cancer cases. Of those, 22,786 were BCC, 1,953 were SCC, and 741 were melanoma.

Song and colleagues reported that women who consumed more than three cups of coffee per day had a 20 percent reduction in risk for BCC, and men who consumed more than three cups per day had a nine percent risk reduction compared with people who consumed less than one cup per month.

The amount of coffee consumption was inversely associated with BCC risk. Those in the highest quintile had the lowest risk, with an 18 percent reduction for women and a 13 percent reduction for men.

Song and colleagues were surprised by the inverse connection in BCC cases only. Animal studies have suggested an association between coffee intake and skin cancer risk, but epidemiologic studies have not conclusively shown the same results, they said.

“Mouse studies have shown that oral or topical caffeine promotes elimination of UV-damaged keratinocytes via apoptosis (programmed cell death) and markedly reduces subsequent SCC development,” Song said. “However, in our cohort analysis, we did not find any inverse association between coffee consumption and the risk for SCC.”

Song said that additional studies specifically addressing the association between coffee consumption and BCC and the mechanism behind this association are warranted.

Released: 10/19/2011

Source: American Association for Cancer Research

Via Newswise

Related Link:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/coffee-consumption-associated-with-decreased-risk-for-basal-cell-carcinoma

New Research Shows People With a “Sweet Tooth” Have Sweeter Dispositions

Newswise — If you’re dealing with a crabby co-worker or sour-faced friend, perhaps some new research can help. It sheds light on the question: Can eating sweets make you—well—sweet? A new study by researchers at North Dakota State University, Fargo, Gettysburg College and Saint Xavier University suggests people with a “sweet tooth” have sweeter dispositions. The research was conducted by Dr. Brian Meier, associate professor of psychology at Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pa.; Dr. Michael D. Robinson, NDSU professor of psychology; Dr. Sara Moeller, assistant professor at Saint Xavier University, Chicago, Ill.; and Miles Riemer-Peltz of Gettysburg College.

The paper, “Sweet Taste Preferences and Experiences Predict Pro-Social Inferences, Personalities, and Behaviors,” is being published by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2011-19191-001/

According to Meier, “Taste is something we experience every day. Our research examined whether metaphors that link taste preferences with pro-social experiences (e.g., “she’s a sweetheart”) can be used to shed light on actual personality traits and behavior.”

The research included a series of five studies. In one study, the authors found participants who ate a sweet food (a specific brand of chocolate), versus a non-sweet food (a cracker), or no food, were more likely to volunteer to help another person in need. The authors also found in another study that people believe that a person who likes sweet foods like candy or chocolate cake (compared to foods from the other four taste types) is also more agreeable or helpful, but not more extroverted or neurotic.

“It is striking that helpful and friendly people are considered ‘sweet’ because taste would seem to have little in common with personality or behavior. Yet, recent psychological theories of embodied metaphor led us to hypothesize that seemingly innocuous metaphors can be used to derive novel insights about personality and behavior,” said Dr. Meier. “Importantly, our taste studies controlled for positive mood so the effects we found are not due to the happy or rewarding feeling one may have after eating a sweet food.”

According to Dr. Robinson, “Our results suggest there is a real link between sweet tastes and pro-social behavior. Such findings reveal that metaphors can lead to unique and provocative predictions about people’s behaviors and personality traits.”

The authors also showed that people who like sweet foods, versus individuals who do not, were higher in the personality trait of agreeableness and were more likely to volunteer to help clean up their city after it experienced a major flood. In other words, the authors demonstrated people can predict how helpful or nice someone is, based on the extent to which whether he or she prefers eating sweet foods. Preferences for the other four taste types were not predictive of the pro-social trait of agreeableness.

The researchers say that taste metaphors may have different consequences for interpersonal functioning in other cultures. “Although we suggest our results are likely to be found in other cultures, that may not always be the case across all cultures,” said Dr. Meier, who suggests that cross-cultural research of the same type would be informative.

Released: 10/17/2011

Source: North Dakota State University

Via Newswise

Related Link:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/new-research-shows-people-with-a-sweet-tooth-have-sweeter-dispositions

Eating Your Greens Can Change the Effect of Your Genes on Heart Disease

Newswise — Hamilton, ON (October 11, 2011) – A long-held mantra suggests that you can’t change your family, the genes they pass on, or the effect of these genes. Now, an international team of scientists, led by researchers at McMaster and McGill universities, is attacking that belief.

The researchers discovered the gene that is the strongest marker for heart disease can actually be modified by generous amounts of fruit and raw vegetables. The results of their study are published in the current issue of the journal PLoS Medicine.

“We know that 9p21 genetic variants increase the risk of heart disease for those that carry it,” said Dr. Jamie Engert, joint principal investigator of the study, who is a researcher in cardiovascular diseases at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and associate member in the Department of Human Genetics at McGill University. “But it was a surprise to find that a healthy diet could significantly weaken its effect.”

The research, which represents one of the largest gene-diet interaction studies ever conducted on cardiovascular disease, involved the analysis of more than 27,000 individuals from five ethnicities – European, South Asian, Chinese, Latin American and Arab – and the affect that their diets had on the effect of the 9p21 gene. The results suggest that individuals with the high risk genotype who consumed a prudent diet, composed mainly of raw vegetables, fruits and berries, had a similar risk of heart attack to those with the low risk genotype.

“We observed that the effect of a high-risk genotype can be mitigated by consuming a diet high in fruits and vegetables,” said Sonia Anand, joint principal investigator of the study, and a researcher at the Population Health Research Institute and a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University. “Our results support the public health recommendation to consume more than five servings of fruits or vegetables as a way to promote good health.”

“Our research suggests there may be an important interplay between genes and diet in cardiovascular disease,” says the study’s lead author Dr. Ron Do, who conducted this research as part of his PhD at McGill and is now based at the Center for Human Genetics Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “Future research is necessary to understand the mechanism of this interaction, which will shed light on the underlying metabolic processes that the 9p21 gene is involved in.”

Released: 10/11/2011

Source: McMaster University

Related Link:

http://www.newswise.com/articles/eating-your-greens-can-change-the-effect-of-your-genes-on-heart-disease

Potatoes Reduce Blood Pressure in People with Obesity and High Blood Pressure

Newswise — DENVER, Aug. 31, 2011 — The potato’s stereotype as a fattening food for health-conscious folks to avoid is getting another revision today as scientists report that just a couple servings of spuds a day reduces blood pressure almost as much as oatmeal without causing weight gain. Scientists reported on the research, done on a group of overweight people with high blood pressure, at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), being held here this week.

But don’t reach for the catsup, vinegar or mayonnaise. The research was not done with French fries, America’s favorite potato, but with potatoes cooked without oil in a microwave oven. Although researchers used purple potatoes, they believe that red-skin potatoes and white potatoes may have similar effects.

“The potato, more than perhaps any other vegetable, has an undeserved bad reputation that has led many health-conscious people to ban them from their diet,” said Joe Vinson, Ph.D., who headed the research. “Mention ‘potato’ and people think ‘fattening, high-carbs, empty calories’. In reality, when prepared without frying and served without butter, margarine or sour cream, one potato has only 110 calories and dozens of healthful phytochemicals and vitamins. We hope our research helps to remake the potato’s popular nutritional image.”

In the new study, 18 patients who were primarily overweight/obese with high blood pressure ate 6-8 purple potatoes (each about the size of a golf ball) with skins twice daily for a month. They used purple potatoes because the pigment, or coloring material, in fruits and vegetables is especially rich in beneficial phytochemicals. Scientists monitored the patients’ blood pressure, both systolic (the higher number in a blood pressure reading like 120/80) and diastolic. The average diastolic blood pressure dropped by 4.3 percent and the systolic pressure decreased by 3.5 percent, said Vinson, who is with the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania and has done extensive research on healthful components in foods. The majority of subjects took anti-hypertensive drugs and still had a reduction in blood pressure. None of the study participants gained weight.

Vinson said that other studies have identified substances in potatoes with effects in the body similar to those of the well-known ACE-inhibitor medications, a mainstay for treating high blood pressure. Other phytochemicals in potatoes occur in amounts that rival broccoli, spinach and Brussels sprouts, and also may be involved, Vinson added.

Unfortunately for French fry and potato chip fans, those high cooking temperatures seem to destroy most of the healthy substances in a potato, leaving mainly starch, fat and minerals. Potatoes in the study were simply microwaved, which Vinson said seems to be the best way to preserve nutrients.

The purple potatoes used in the study are becoming more widely available in supermarkets and especially in specialty food stores and farmers’ markets. Vinson said that he strongly suspects a future study using white potatoes, now in the planning stages, will produce similar results. Funding for the study came from the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) State Cooperative Potato Research Program.

The American Chemical Society is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Released: 8/25/2011

Source: American Chemical Society (ACS)

Via Newswise

Related Link:

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Traveling to Mars: Filling the Pantry for the First Voyages to the Red Planet

PhotoCredit: NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA-JSC) Astronauts en route to Mars may not have it as easy as this space shuttle astronaut — they may have to grow their own food.

Newswise — DENVER, Aug. 28, 2011 — A green thumb and a little flair as a gourmet chef may be among the key skills for the first men and women who travel to the Red Planet later this century, according to a scientist who reported here today on preparations for the first manned missions to Mars.

Speaking at the 242nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Maya R. Cooper said that provisioning the astronauts with food stands as one of the greatest challenges in scripting the first manned mission to Mars. ACS, the world largest scientific society, opened the meeting today at the Colorado Convention Center and downtown hotels. With more than 7,500 reports on new advances in science and some 9,500 scientists and others expected in attendance, it will be one of 2011’s largest scientific gatherings.

Cooper explained that the challenges of provisioning space vehicles and Martian surface bases begin with tangible factors, such weight and nutrition, and encompass psychological nuances, such as providing a varied, tasty menu that wards off boredom. The solutions envisioned now include requiring astronauts to grow some of their own food and engage in much more food preparation than their counterparts on the International Space Station.

The major challenge is to balance weight, food acceptability and resource utilization, Cooper explained. She is a senior research scientist at the NASA Johnson Space Center in the Space Food Systems Laboratory in Houston, Texas. For flights on the space shuttles and the International Space Station, astronauts get 3.8 pounds of food per day. For a 5-year round-trip mission to Mars, that would mean almost 7,000 pounds of food per person.

“That’s a clear impediment to a lot of mission scenarios,” Cooper said. “We need new approaches. Right now, we are looking at the possibility of implementing a bioregenerative system that would involve growing crops in space and possibly shipping some bulk commodities to a Mars habitat as well. This scenario involves much more food processing and meal preparation than the current food system developed for the space shuttles and the International Space Station.”

Bioregenerative systems involve growing plants that multi-task. They would supply food, of course. But just as plants do in natural environments on Earth, those growing in bioregenerative systems also would release oxygen for the astronauts to breathe, purify the air by removing the carbon dioxide that crews exhale and even purify water.

Ideally, these plants would have few inedible parts, would grow well with minimal tending and would not take up much room. Ten crops that fit those requirements have emerged as prime candidates for the Mars mission’s kitchen garden. They are lettuce, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, green onions, radishes, bell peppers, strawberries, fresh herbs and cabbages.

Cooper cited another option for these missions, the first of which could launch in the 2030s, according to some forecasts. Shipping bulk commodities to Mars could involve unmanned spacecraft launched a year or two before the astronauts depart to establish stashes of food with long shelf-lives that the crew could use while exploring the Red Planet.

Engaging astronauts in food production and preparation is the latest concept in a 50-year evolution of technology for filling astronauts’ and cosmonauts’ larders, Cooper noted. It began when Yuri Gagarin reportedly munched on paté and caviar during that first manned spaceflight in 1961.

Space food has come a long way since the days of freeze-dried food blocks and squeezing gooey foods out of toothpaste tubes that astronauts ate in the earliest days of space flight. By the late 1960s, astronauts for the first time could have hot food and eat their food with a spoon in a special bowl. Other utensils were introduced in the 1970s with Skylab — the U.S.’ first space station. These astronauts could choose from 72 different foods, some of which were stored in an on-board refrigerator or freezer — a first for space cuisine. In recent years, space shuttle astronauts could drink a coffee with their scrambled eggs for breakfast, snack on chocolates or a brownie and choose from chicken al a King, mushroom soup or rice pilaf among other foods for lunch and dinner — just like on Earth. These prepackaged foods take only a few minutes and little effort to prepare.

“The NASA Advanced Food Technology project is currently working to address the issues of food variety, weight, volume, nutrition and trash disposal through research and external academic and commercial collaborations,” Cooper noted.

The American Chemical Society is a non-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Released: 8/25/2011     Source: American Chemical Society (ACS)

Via Newswise

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