1. Wholegrains: Lower blood pressure
A new study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association says that people with high cholesterol levels may benefit from including wholegrains in their diet.
3. Soy Protein: Role in cholesterol reduction
A new meta-analysis complied by researchers from Tulane University in New Orleans supports the inclusion of soy protein in place of saturated fats as part of a diet to prevent, and even lower, high blood cholesterol levels.
4. Grains in the News:
Wheat allergies: Gone in a decade?
Researchers from the Netherlands, presenting at the recently held Festival of Science in the UK, told delegates that they are working towards eradicating food allergies.
Grains : World first summit
The first ever 'World Grains Summit' was held in San Francisco last month (September). The conference featured three days of innovative programming, symposia, technical sessions and special events. Co-hosts of the conference were AACC International and Master Brewers Association of the Americas.
Glycemic index : New definitions spark debate
A new set of definitions related to glycemic carbohydrates - announced the recent World Grains Summit - have inspired heated debate among industry members at an open forum.
A small study into the effects of soluble and insoluble fibre on blood pressure indicates that individuals with slightly high cholesterol levels may benefit from including plenty of wholegrains in their diets.
Wholegrains have received considerable attention in the last year, especially in the US where the FDA permits foods containing at least 51 per cent wholegrains by weight and are low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol to carry a health claim, which links them to a reduced risk of heart disease and certain cancers.
The term wholegrain is considered to be more consumer-friendly than the term fibre, which leads some manufacturers to favour it on product packaging since it is likely to strike more of a chord of recognition for its healthy benefits.
High blood pressure is known to increase the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. Amongst other factors, elevated cholesterol can contribute to high blood pressure, since the latter is caused by a narrowing of the arteries or loss of elasticity.
The study, conducted by researchers at the US Department of Agriculture and published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found evidence to suggest that wholegrain fibre could significantly lower blood pressure levels in people with slightly elevated cholesterol.
The study group (seven men, eight pre-menopausal women and eight post-menopausal women) followed the American Heart Association's 'Step 1' controlled diet for two weeks. This was followed by three five-week periods during which the refined carbohydrates, representing 20 per cent of total energy, were replaced with whole wheat and brown rice, or barley, or a combination of the two.
The researchers measured the participants' blood pressure and weight on a weekly basis. The subjects' blood pressure was seen to decrease in all phases of the study. Systolic blood pressure went down an average of 2.2 mm Hg with the 'Step 1' diet, and by 1.4 to 6.7 mm Hg more on the following three wholegrain diet phases.
Diastolic blood pressure went down by an average of 2 mm Hg with the 'Step 1' diet and 2.9 to 3.7 mm Hg more with the wholegrains.
Although the study group was very small, the researchers also made some interesting observations concerning the effects of the men versus the two groups of women. The men showed the greatest decline in blood pressure when they were following the combined wheat, rice and barley diet, while the women, taken as a whole group, saw greatest effect with the barley phase. The interventions had less effect on the post-menopausal women than they did on the pre-menopausal women and the men.
Overall, the researchers concluded: "In a healthful diet, increasing wholegrain foods, whether high in soluble or insoluble fibre, can reduce blood pressure and may help to control weight".
2. Cereals: Wholegrain better for weight-loss | ( back to contents )
People can lose weight in many ways, but not all are healthy. Researchers found eating high-fibre wholegrain cereals turns out to be one of the healthy ways to lose weight.
Eating high-fibre cereals can not only help lose weight, but contribute nutrients such as fibre, magnesium and vitamin B-6, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
In the study, sponsored by Kraft, Dr Kathleen Melanson, an assistant professor of nutrition science at the University of Rhode Island, followed 180 overweight, sedentary adults who were instructed to exercise and use a reduced-calorie diet full of wholegrain cereals for six months. For comparison, one group did exercise only and another did exercise and used a calorie-reduced diet without wholegrain cereal.
Participants in both groups using a calorie-reduced diet lost more weight than the exercise-only group, with 5.4kg lost by each person who both did exercise and ate a calorie-reduced diet, according to the study.
However, the group using wholegrain cereals had a lower intake of saturated fat and high intake of fibre, magnesium and vitamin B-6, indicating use of high-fibre wholegrain cereals delivers a better profile of nutrients.
Still, the wholegrain cereal group did not gain enough calcium and vitamin E. The same deficiency was also found in the other two groups. Researchers suggested that participants weren't drinking enough milk or eating enough of other calcium and vitamin E rich foods.
In an effort to lose weight, many people avoid carbohydrates-based foods such as cereals as they believe using grain products could counteract their weight loss effort. However, previous studies by other researchers have already shown that eating grain products is not responsible for the obesity epidemic.
3. Soy protein: Role in cholesterol reduction | ( back to contents )
A recently published meta-analysis of published studies provides support for the inclusion of soy protein in place of saturated and trans-saturated fats and cholesterol as part of a diet to prevent and lower high blood cholesterol levels.
Soy has a healthy reputation which, combined with improved taste and major marketing efforts over the past decade, has led to its progression from a niche health food to a mainstream staple.
However, the opinions and communications of scientists researching soy can have an impact on sales. Industry executives have expressed frustration that they are not able to explain fully in their consumer marketing precisely how soy may be helpful in addressing certain health concerns or conditions.
Bernard Deryckere, president of the European Natural Soy Association (ENSA), said earlier this year that while the future looks strong, soy currently falls into a "legislative vacuum" and EU regulations need to be updated. For instance, what customers know of as soy milk cannot be labelled as such because vegetable-based products are not allowed to be called 'milk' – a scenario that leads to consumer confusion.
"Our products are still considered as food for a particular nutritional use," he said. "Thus, it is crucial for our association to raise awareness among EU officials about health benefits of soy's consumption which is part of a healthy balanced lifestyle for all categories of people."
For the new meta-analysis (published in the September issue of The American Journal of Cardiology) researchers led by Kristi Reynolds, PhD, of Tulane University in New Orleans, said some studies have indicated a link between intake of soy protein, decreased total and low density lipoprotein (LDL or 'bad') cholesterol and triglycerides, and increased high density lipoprotein (HDL, or 'good') cholesterol.
They considered a total of 41 randomised controlled trials that used isolated soy protein intervention as the only intervention and measured changes in serum lipids, published in the English language between 1966 and 2005. A total of 1,756 adults were involved in these trials.
Reynolds and her team found significant reductions in mean serum total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides associated with soy protein supplementation (averages –5.26ml/dl, –4.25mg/dl and –6.26mg/dl respectively).
HDL cholesterol was seen to increase by an average of 0.77mg/dl. Moreover, the doses of soy protein and isoflavones were seen to have some bearing on net changes in serum lipids.
Although some scepticism surrounds the conclusions drawn by meta-analyses since the quality of the studies included can vary wildly, the researchers interpret their results as an indication that supplementation with soy protein reduced serum lipids among adults with or without hypercholesterolemia.
"Replacing foods high in saturated fat, trans-saturated fat, and cholesterol with soy protein may have a beneficial effect on coronary risk factors," they concluded.
The market for nut-free or wheat-free bakery products could see a slump within the next decade if research into the eradication of food allergies is successful.
Allergy sufferers, forced to shun some food products, could soon be able to indulge thanks to new scientific findings, Dutch researchers have told the BA Festival of Science in England.
Such news may put a dampener on the 'free-from' food market that has been enjoying sales growth of over 300 per cent in the UK since 2000, according to market analyst Mintel.
Dr Ronald van Ree, from the University of Amsterdam told attendees in Norwich, said recent advances in biotechnology have identified the specific molecules in foods that induce food allergies. Such knowledge could also lead to genetic engineering techniques to change these molecules so that they no longer cause an allergic response, he said.
"Importantly, this allows scientists to develop hypo-allergenic variants of these molecules for application in safer immunotherapy that will induce little or no side-effects."
Allergen labelling regulations that came into force last year in the EU require companies to label all pre-packed foods if they contain any of the 12 listed allergenic foods – a list which includes cereals containing gluten, peanut, soybean and sesame seeds.
An estimated four per cent of adults and eight per cent of children in the 380 million EU population suffers from some form of food allergy, according to the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations.
However, Australian research into food allergies has found that wheat and other grain products are rated below foods such as nuts, fish, shellfish, milk and eggs as the most common triggers for food related allergic symptoms.
Even in studies of perceived food hypersensitivity, products such as milk, fruit, vegetables, seafood, dairy products, chocolate, spices, herbs, beans, eggs, peanuts, additives, meat and nuts are all reported more often as a cause of symptoms than wheat or any other cereal grain.
In one of the few population-wide studies conducted into food hypersensitivity, the prevalence in 18,000 Britons was estimated at between 1.4% and 1.8% of the population. But hypersensitivity to wheat was calculated to be only 0.2% of participants in this study.
The first ever World Grains Summit was held in San Francisco in September, attracting visitors from food and beverage industries around the globe for four days of exploration of the latest developments in grain-based science and technology.
Jointly hosted by the American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC) and the Master Brewers Association of the Americas (MBAA), the summit presented more than 250 posters and plenary sessions, as well as exhibition space for ingredients manufacturers and technology experts.
A key speaker featured at the conference was consumer trend tracker and food trends expert Phil Lempert. His presentation, 'Food for Thought: A Look into the Future of the Grain-based Food & Beverage Industry', explored future trends and their impact on this segment of the industry.
Lempert discussed the changing consumer-demographic, psychographic shifts and impacts on the grains industry; the changing retail environment; and the emerging trends - a combination of 'what shoppers want' and the top trends broken down into 5, 10, 20 and 30 year opportunities.
Other program highlights included a session on 'Biotechnology – 10 years in review', presented by Clive James, chair of the ISAAA board of directors. With 2005 marking the 10th anniversary of the global commercialisation of biotech crops, James reviewed their first decade of commercialisation and discussed future prospects for the second decade, including their contribution to global food, feed and fibre security, a safer environment and a more sustainable agriculture.
The AACC also used the summit as a platform to introduce its newly approved definitions related to glycemic carbohydrates. The four new definitions, from the association's Glycemic Carbohydrate Definition Committee, represent in vivo responses to food ingestion and are determined via carbohydrate concentration in the blood and degree of excretion form the body. The AACC held an open forum on its new definitions.
The World Grains Summit also featured a program of interesting track sessions including: beer and other beverages; breads, breakfast food; grain exchange and pasta/ noodles. Each track offered technical presentations and symposia with invited speakers from around the globe. Topics within tracks addressed processing and raw materials, nutritional aspects, analytical aspects and functional properties, and safety and quality.
Glycemic index : New definitions spark debate | ( back to contents )
A new set of definitions related to glycemic carbohydrates, for the USA, have been approved by a group of industry and science experts, in an effort designed to help food manufacturers communicate how the carbohydrate content of a product will affect blood glucose levels.
However, the definitions, developed by a committee formed by the American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC), remain a contentious matter, and continue to inspire heated debate - even amongst the members of the committee themselves.
The AACC's Glycemic (Net) Carbohydrate Definition Committee presented its definitions in an open forum at the World Grains Summit in San Francisco, where other industry members added their voices to the debate.
Led by Julie Jones of the College of St Catherine, St Paul, Minnesota, the committee has been embroiled in heated discussions surrounding the issue since October 2004. Its final definitions were decided upon as a form of compromise, to "provide a measurable definition that will enable manufacturers to communicate the glycemic response in grams per serving of food".
These were separated into four terms: 'available carbohydrate', 'glycemic response', glycemic carbohydrate', and 'glycemic impact'.
According to the definitions established, available carbohydrate is "carbohydrate that is released from a food in digestion and which is absorbed as monosaccharides and metabolised by the body".
Glycemic response is defined as "the change in blood glucose concentration induced by ingested food".
Glycemic carbohydrate is "carbohydrate in a food which elicits a measurable glycemic response after ingestion".
And glycemic impact is "the weight of glucose that would induce a glycemic response equivalent to that induced by a given amount of food".
"We started with one definition and ended up with four. That's an indication of how complicated the issue is," said Danisco's Stuart Craig, who is also the AACC's international president. "Like the work we've done with dietary fibre in the past, we recognise that this is not by any means the end point," Craig said.
Originally developed over 20 years ago to help diabetics manage their condition, the glycemic index (or GI) ranks foods based on their effect on blood glucose levels.
Foods with a high GI (70 and above) are digested and metabolised rapidly, triggering large fluctuations of blood glucose levels and insulin demand, while low- or medium-GI foods (40-69) are digested and absorbed more slowly, giving a slower and sustained release of energy and contributing to longer-lasting feelings of satiety.
As science emerges showing that low-GI foods can help control weight and more certainly and help reduce the risk of diabetes and related conditions, a wider cross-section of consumers is now selecting foods based on the GI index.
However, a major obstacle when it comes to using GI as a measure of a product's health benefits is that this is not consistent. Scientific literature remains mixed and insufficient, and results in fuelling confusion rather than providing reliable guidance.
Indeed, the glycemic index equation is not as simple as 'low GI = good and high GI= bad'. For example, chocolate cake has what is considered a low GI, while some wholegrain cereals can have a medium to high GI. As a result, one concern expressed by some committee members was that people should not be given the green light to consume high quantities of certain products simply because these have a low GI.
Other industry members yesterday expressed fundamental concerns with using GI as a nutritional measurement. Consumers, they say, want simplicity, not a complicated, misleading measurement such as the glycemic index.
According to Dr David Topping, from Australia's CSIRO, GI is "excessively complicated" and is not useful for consumers. Other nutritional indications, such as wholegrain content, would be more beneficial, he said.
However, consumers have nevertheless caught onto GI as a nutritional indicator, and this has started to affect purchasing decisions.
According to Australian cereal firm Sanitarium, sales of its most popular cereal product, made with 97 per cent wholegrains, actually suffered because of its medium GI level.
"We haven't gone down the GI bandwagon by choice. But that's what consumers want," said the company.
The Glycemic (Net) Carbohydrate Definition Committee's definitions were an effort to address these concerns to an extent, by improving understanding and communication of GI. However, the committee said that more science is necessary to determine the health outcomes of the glycemic index, and until that is available it urges caution in the use of GI labels and claims.
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