1. Wholegrains: As effective as statin drugs
A new international research review has found that people who eat wholegrain foods regularly can have a 20 to 40 per cent lower risk of heart disease and stroke compared with those who rarely eat wholegrain foods.
2. Soy: May lower blood pressure Latest research shows that soyfoods, already known to lower cholesterol, could benefit sufferers of high blood pressure
4. Lignans: Benefits for brain function
This study shows eating lignans could help preserve cognitive function in older women and may decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease.
5. Grains in the News:
Breakfast: Cereal first choice
A survey by the Grain Information Service in the UK showed that five times more Britons now prefer cereal to bacon and eggs.
A new international research review has found that people who eat wholegrain foods regularly can have a 20 to 40 per cent lower risk of heart disease and stroke compared with those who rarely eat wholegrain foods.
Heart disease is now the leading cause of death in Australia , claiming one life every ten minutes.
The new review, conducted by Dr Peter Clifton and Ingrid Flight from the CSIRO Division of Health Sciences and Nutrition, included research conducted around the world with people from all backgrounds, in all age groups and from different cultures.
Dr Clifton said most Australians would be surprised to know there is this much protection against Australia 's biggest killer available right at their fingertips, just by altering their diet.
"The 20 to 40 per cent reduction in risk of heart disease and stroke by increasing wholegrain food intake is a huge benefit compared to the effect of other foods commonly promoted for heart health,? Dr Clifton said.
"For example, we see a 10 to 15 per cent reduction in heart disease risk with increased fruit and vegetable intake, and about the same risk reduction with use of the cholesterol-lowering sterol margarine spreads.
"However, the benefit of up to 40 per cent reduction in risk from increasing wholegrain intake to around four servings a day is comparable to the effect we get from the powerful ?statin' drugs doctors now prescribe to lower blood cholesterol levels,? Dr Clifton said.
There are currently 15 million prescriptions written each year in Australia for cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, making them the single largest expenditure item on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
One surprising finding in the literature review related to Glycaemic Index (GI) and wholegrain foods.
"If your carbohydrates are wholegrain, they will be protective against heart disease and stroke, even though they have a high GI rating,? Dr Clifton said.
"The protective effect of other components in wholegrain foods appears to outweigh any role played by GI, making it clear that the GI rating for food is only one factor to consider when choosing a healthy diet for optimum health and disease prevention,? he said.
Dr Clifton's review has been submitted for publication in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Eating just 25g of soy protein a day may reduce blood pressure in women, according to research being undertaken in the US and China.
The trial has been set up to assess the effect of protein rich soy foods have over a two to three year period. The research has found that soy intake can reduce both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, particularly in older women.
The research teams measured the usual intake of soy foods of 45,694 participants of the Shanghai Women's Health Study. Women in the trial were aged 40-70 years old and had no history of hypertension, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease when they commenced the study. Blood pressure levels were then measured two to three years after the first collection of data.
The new data showed that soy protein intake was inversely associated with blood pressure, after taking into account body mass index, diet and lifestyle factors.
The study revealed that for women who ate a minimum of 25g of soy protein each day, the adjusted mean systolic blood pressure was 1.9mm Hg lower and the diastolic BP was 0.9mm Hg lower than in women who ate less than 2.5g of soy protein each day.
Research also revealed that the inverse associations increased with age. In the group of women over 60 years old, the corresponding differences were ? 4.9mm Hg for systolic BP and 2.2mm Hg for diastolic BP.
The researchers believe that the isoflavones in soy may increase levels of nitric oxide in the blood, therefore relaxing blood vessels and lowering blood pressure.
Supplementing diets with psyllium husks can double the lipid-lowering effects of statins, according to the results of a study designed to test the safety and efficacy of psyllium as an add-on therapy.
In the 12 week study, patients taking 10mg of psyllium each day netted the same reduction in mean LDL cholesterol levels as patients taking 20mg of the lipid-lowering drug alone. Similar effects were received with total cholesterol reduction.
All treatments were well tolerated. After eight weeks, mean LDL-C levels decreased 55 mg/dL (1.42 mmol/L) from baseline in the group receiving 10 mg of simvastatin plus placebo, and by 63 mg/dL (1.63 mmol/L) in the group receiving 10 mg of simvastatin plus psyllium ( P = .03).
Mean lowering of LDL-C in the group receiving 20 mg of simvastatin plus placebo was statistically similar to that in the group receiving 10 mg of simvastatin plus psyllium.
"The mechanism of cholesterol lowering by psyllium is believed to lie in the ability to modify enterohepatic circulation of bile acids, increasing bile acid synthesis and diverting hepatic cholesterol to bile acid production,? said the researchers.
"Psyllium soluble fibre should be considered as a safe and well-tolerated dietary supplement option to enhance LDL-C and apolipoprotein B lowering,? said the researchers.
Consuming lignans could encourage preservation of cognitive function and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's Disease, according to research being conducted in the Netherlands .
A number of studies over the years have found a link showing diet to be a contributing factor in cognitive decline that may lead to Alzheimer's Disease.
This research aims to observe how the intake of two phytoestrogens, lignans and isoflavones, in the diet can affect cognitive function in postmenopausal women.
The main sources of lignans in a western diet are from oil-seeds, such as linseed, broccoli and berries. Isoflavones are found in beans, nuts, legumes, soy foods and also in tea and coffee.
The study involved 394 healthy postmenopausal women who had an intact uterus, at least one intact ovary and had not used hormonal replacement therapy since their last menstrual period. Of these women, 196 experienced a natural menopause between 1969 and 1979 and 207 between 1987 and 1989.
Their consumption of phytoestrogens during the year prior to enrollment in the study was estimated by a validated food frequency questionnaire. Cognitive function was assessed by a mini-mental state examination (MMSE), which involved questions and tasks associated with orientation, registration, attention, calculation, recall and language.
As the diagnosis of dementia was not the aim of the study, the cut-off score for intact cognitive function was relatively high ? 26 or more out of a possible 30. After adjustment for confounders, women who consumed higher levels of lignans performed better in the MMSE, and the results were more pronounced amongst the women who experienced menopause between 1969 and 1979.
The scope of this study did not extend to establishing a reason for this finding but suggested that it may be linked to some other age-related mechanism.
"An alternative explanation is that the protective effect of endogenous estrogens on the nervous system is dependent on cumulative time of exposure rather than on actual levels of intake," the researchers said.
The British are swapping their tradition "fry-up? breakfast in favour of healthier alternatives such as cereal, recent research by the Grain Information service (GIS) revealed.
The study shows that five times more people now prefer a carbohydrate-based breakfast over bacon and eggs. Even at the weekend a breakfast of cereal, toast or croissants were more popular than a cooked breakfast.
The survey questioned more than 1,000 people, aged over 18, across Great Britain about their breakfast habits.
Other findings from the survey included:
Almost 75 per cent of those surveyed ate breakfast most mornings before work
The importance of eating breakfast was known to the older people surveyed but varied in the younger groups
25 per cent of 18-24 year olds surveyed never ate breakfast compared to only 10 per cent of people aged over 35 years
Nearly half of those who skipped breakfast blamed a lack of time
Over 30 per cent said that eating breakfast gave them more energy
The GIS said that their research had shown that Britons were moving away from "fad diets? like Atkins and were going back to basics.
Traditional meals: Skipped in favour of snacks | ( back to contents )
A new report titled The Future of Mealtimes reveals that traditionally structured mealtimes have become more informal and less important to time-restricted consumers. The report, from market analyst Datamonitor (UK), suggests that by the year 2009, nearly three billion less main meals will be consumed at home, with breakfast being the most frequently missed meal.
In turn, the rate of snack consumption by consumers "eating on the go? is increasing, though they are still concerned about their health.
Despite campaigns to reinforce the nutritional value of eating breakfast, it remains the most skipped meal.
"Consumers have limited time in the morning due to work commitments. More and more are opting to sacrifice breakfast or substitute it for a morning snack to save time. In the UK , this is becoming increasingly more possible with the proliferation of products targeting such fragmented consumption,? said Daniel Bone, consumer analyst at Datamonitor.
In 2004, out-of-home consumption in the UK accounted for 31 per cent of all eating occasions, and is set to rise to over 35 per cent by 2009, representing an additional 4.2 billion extra meal and snacks eaten out of home.
The food service industry is set to benefit from increases of out of home eating. Datamonitor forecasts that in Europe , the number of food and drink transactions will increase by 2.6 billion in 2009 relative to 2004.
Despite the missed breakfasts and hectic lifestyles, consumers are more health conscious than ever with people claiming to be more concerned about their health and general well-being.
A new test using DNA technology has been developed in the US to make the detection of Fusarium head blight (FHB), in cereal grains, easier.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Illinois developed the test which now makes it possible to simultaneously identify major head blight pathogens and calculate their toxin profiles.
There are a minimum of 16 species of Fusarium that can cause head blight, a disease that can reduce yields and contaminate cereals with toxins that can make grain unsafe for food or feed. From 1998 to 2000, these pathogens accounted for $2.7 billion in losses to U.S. agriculture.
The DNA test could possibly save the US agricultural industry billions of dollars in the short term and shows great potential in the longer term.
Currently pathogens are detected visually, but this method does not identify which of the species is present in a field. To improve detection and epidemiology, the scientists devised a test that pinpoints nucleotide variations that genetically distinguish one head blight species from another.
The test relies on DNA "probes" designed by the researchers. When a probe matches the DNA in a head blight sample, the DNA is fluorescently labelled and detected using a special camera and a high-power laser, providing unambiguous identification of the head blight pathogen and its toxin potential.
The benefits of omega-3 fatty acids are supported by an abundance of science that demonstrates their safety and efficacy, which has been integral in gaining success in including these lipids in functional foods.
Omega-3 fatty acids have been revealed to reduce the risk of heart disease and may also have an effect on preventing depression and protecting against Alzheimer's Disease.
ProductScan Online, a US based company, says that this research has converted into a trend for more omega-3 fortified foods being developed in Europe and the US .
"There were practically no omega-3 fortified food products to speak of in Europe until 2001 when we reported 17 launches. Since that time, the number has grown slowly and steadily,? said Tom Veirhile, Director of ProductScan Online.
In 2004 there were 28 new products containing omega-3 launched in Europe . New products include dairy drinks for kids, cookies, desserts and even sliced meats and olive products.
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