1.Cholesterol: Diet good as drugs
Researchers in Canada have found that a diet rich in fibre, soy and vegetables can lower cholesterol just as much as taking a statin drug. They said people who can't tolerate statin drugs because of side effects could use this diet to the same effect.
2. Magnesium: Preventing colorectal cancer
High levels of dietary magnesium may help protect women from developing colorectal cancer, according to a new Swedish study. The researchers found women with the highest intakes of the mineral had a 40 per cent lower risk of developing the disease than those with the lowest intakes.
3. Healthy Heart: Don't miss breakfast
Missing breakfast has been shown to raise cholesterol levels and reduce the body's response to insulin in a small study that raises concern for the increasing numbers of people that skip the first meal of the day.
4. Grains in the News:
National Grains Campaign: US initiative
The Grain Foods Foundation has launched a multi-million dollar campaign to educate consumers on the nutritional benefits of bread and other grain products.
Selenium fortified bread: UK launch
UK supermarket Waitrose has introduced a selenium-enriched bread, designed to give British consumers their daily required intake of the mineral.
Low GI white bread: Chasing the GI trend
Warburtons has laid down the gauntlet to its mainstream UK rivals by developing white bread with a low glycaemic index as both consumers and producers become more aware of the benefits 'GI' can have in controlling diabetes, obesity and energy levels.
Researchers in Canada have found that a diet rich in fibre, soy and vegetables can lower cholesterol just as much as taking a statin drug. They said people who can't tolerate statin drugs because of side effects could use this diet to the same effect.
"Dietary combinations may not differ in potency from first-generation statins in achieving current lipid goals for primary prevention," write David Jenkins of St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto and colleagues in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The team tested a 'portfolio' diet, which was high in soy protein, almonds, and cereal fibre as well as plant sterols, on 34 overweight men and women. They compared it with a low-fat diet and with a normal diet plus a generic statin drug lovastatin.
The portfolio diet was almost as effective as statins, reducing LDL by nearly 30 per cent after a month. Statins lowered LDL by 33 per cent while the low-fat diet reduced LDL 8.5 per cent.
Almost one fifth of global stroke events and more than half of global heart diseases are attributable to high cholesterol levels. Plant sterol-lowering foods have been demonstrated in previous studies to effectively lower cholesterol.
High levels of dietary magnesium may help protect women from developing colorectal cancer, according to a new Swedish study.
Using a population-based prospective cohort of 61,433 women, researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden found women with the highest intakes of the mineral had a 40 per cent lower risk of developing the disease than those with the lowest intakes.
"This population-based prospective study suggests that a high magnesium intake may reduce the occurrence of colorectal cancer in women," conclude Susanna Larsson and colleagues in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
A number of animal studies have previously suggested that the mineral could play a role in the prevention of the cancer, but there has been little data in humans. The findings are significant as researchers have recently identified a deficiency of the mineral in European populations. The best sources of magnesium in the diet are nuts, wholegrains, beans and green vegetables.
Missing breakfast has been shown to raise cholesterol levels and reduce the body's response to insulin in research that raises concern for the increasing number of people who skip the first meal of the day.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham in the UK also found that women tended to eat more calories during the day if they had skipped breakfast, raising the risk for weight gain if they missed breakfast regularly over the long-term.
Breakfast consumption has long been recommended by nutritionists, despite inconclusive evidence of the health benefits, according to a report in last month's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Yet analysis by industry research company Datamonitor shows breakfast is the meal most likely to be skipped during the day, often replaced by snacking or 'desktop dining'. UK consumers are more likely than their European counterparts to miss breakfast, skipping on average 113 breakfasts a year per person in 2003. Datamonitor forecasts this will increase to almost 120 in 2008.
The new finding suggests that this trend could have long-term implications for heart health. Previous research has found that people who eat wholegrain cereals tend to have lower cholesterol and insulin levels as well as lower body weight.
The study recruited 10 healthy women with a normal weight to test the effects of skipping breakfast over a short period. The women were asked to eat bran flakes with low-fat milk before 8am for two weeks followed by their normal mealtimes. They were also allowed two snacks during the day.
After a two-week break, the group then crossed over to skip breakfast in the morning, instead eating it between midday and 1.30pm , followed by two additional meals and two snacks. Both diets allowed a biscuit between 10.30am and 11am .
Cholesterol levels were higher after skipping breakfast and insulin sensitivity was lower, report the researchers, suggesting that if this habit was continued, the women could put heart health at risk. When the women skipped breakfast they also reported higher calorie intakes.
The researchers concluded that the impaired fasting lipids and insulin sensitivity could lead to weight gain if the observed higher energy intake was sustained.
The US-based Grain Foods Foundation has launched a multi-million dollar public education campaign on the nutritional benefits of bread and other grain products.
Called Grains for Life , the campaign seeks to remind people how grains can contribute to long life and fitness and energy levels through advertisements on the street, in grocery stores, gyms and physicians offices and through the dissemination of fact-packed literature.
"For the most part, consumers are unaware of how bread can contribute to the prevention of heart disease, some cancers, birth defects and diabetes, as well as maintaining optimal health," according to Judi Adams, president of the Grain Foods Foundation.
"Our campaign is designed to balance that equation by reinforcing all the reasons why including bread in your diet is a smart choice," she said.
The campaign aims to redress the worrying findings of a recent survey carried out amongst 2,000 adults on behalf of the foundation, which showed that only 12 per cent of US consumers were aware that bread can help protect against serious health conditions.
Almost a quarter of participants indicated that they thought carbohydrate restriction was a sensible dietary approach.
Co-chair of the Grain Foods Foundation Advisory Board Dr Glenn Gaesser of the University of Virginia said: ". breads and grains are not the bad guy, they do not cause obesity and, in fact, are very healthy foods."
Last year the Grain Foods Foundation reviewed 900 scientific studies linking grains with health, disease-prevention and nutrition. Among its findings, which form the basis of the Grains for Life literature, were three key messages:
Grain-based carbohydrates aren't the problem in obesity, and that diets that rely on restricting any food group could be harmful
Carbohydrates are needed to support a physically active lifestyle and optimal health
Grain products, including those fortified with folic acid, provide good sources of vitamins, minerals, fibre and other healthy components, and may reduce the risk of early mortality and chronic diseases.
UK supermarket Waitrose has introduced a selenium-enriched bread product that is designed to give British consumers their daily required intake of the mineral.
Research published in 2002 revealed that selenium levels in British bread-making wheats are 10 to 50 times lower than in their American or Canadian counterparts, caused by bread-makers switching from Canadian to European wheat. Soil in Europe has lower levels of the mineral, influencing the amount absorbed by wheat grown there.
Daily intake of the mineral is therefore often lower in Britain than the recommended daily intake. This reveals a potential health problem because research over recent years has shown a link between higher levels of selenium and reduced risk of a number of cancers, including breast, prostate and colon. It is also thought to benefit the immune system and regulate blood pressure.
The new bread, introduced by Waitrose this month, is the result of an eight-year research project by the Cambridge company, Nutrilaw, which has been working with farmers to increase selenium in the soil.
Waitrose reports that eating two to four slices of the new bread per day would provide the recommended daily intake of the mineral, with two slices containing 40 micrograms of the mineral.
The UK-based family baking company Warburtons has laid down the gauntlet to its mainstream UK rivals by developing white bread with a low glycaemic index as both consumers and producers become more aware of the benefits 'GI' can have in controlling diabetes, obesity and energy levels.
Independent baker Warburtons says it has used added fibre and a special ingredients formula to develop a white bread with the wheatgerm benefits of wholemeal and a low position on the glycaemic index (GI) - a scale used to measure how quickly certain foods release carbohydrates which then raise consumers' blood glucose levels.
This, claims Warburtons, means its new 'All in One' loaf will "provide a source of longer lasting energy" by releasing carbohydrates into the consumer's bloodstream more slowly and therefore increasing blood sugar levels more steadily.
Most white and wholemeal breads have a relatively high GI position and this has left them open to public criticism as higher GI foods, which cause blood sugar levels to rise more rapidly, have also become increasingly associated with a higher risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
"We see this as being very important in terms of a long-term trend in the market," said Warburtons spokesperson Claire Simpson.
"After Atkins and low-carb diets, there's been a lot more coming into the press about GI and complex carbohydrates and the role that they have, particularly for children," she said.
Even so, the main problem for Warburtons has been how to convey its low GI message to consumers, and the company will print a slogan on 'All in One' packs based on the 'longer lasting energy' idea.
Simpson said: "We needed a consumer-friendly term. We felt that if we started talking about GI tables on products, there would be no great understanding, even though awareness is getting there."
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