1. Brown Rice: may help prevent Alzheimer's disease
Pre-germinated brown rice, high in levels of the nutrient GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), significantly improved levels of spatial learning in mice in a Japanese study. The authors say it could help prevent Alzheimer's disease.
2. Landmark UK Study: what's the best diet?
The UK's Government Funded food watchdog, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has earmarked nearly seven million dollars for a four year study examining the impact of changes in the amount and composition of fat and carbohydrate on heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The global incidence of these risk factors, collectively known as the 'metabolic syndrome', is soaring.
4. Fermentable Fibre: beneficial for liver disease and brain dysfunction
Treating patients with cirrhosis of the liver with synbiotics (or fermentable fibre) can alter the flora in the gut. The resulting reduction of pH levels in the gut and ammonia levels in the blood can significantly reduce brain dysfunction - a common symptom of this disease.
Oats Okay For Kid With Coeliac Disease
Contrary to popular belief, a diet containing moderate amounts of oats may be okay for children with coeliac disease, a disorder in which diarrhoea and other symptoms occur when certain grain products are eaten.
Folate May Also Prevent Brittle Bones
Folic acid - the B vitamin found commonly in supplements and increasingly in a wide range of bread products - is already known to prevent severe birth defects and to lower risk of death from heart disease. But it could also help to prevent broken bones in the elderly, suggest two major studies.
UK Mums Confused About A Balanced Diet
Research conducted in the UK has found that British mums are confused about good nutrition. Although 82 per cent of mums claimed to know enough about nutrition, 74 per cent were unable to correctly identify what makes up a daily balanced diet.
Go-Grains Diet Plan For Healthy Weight
Achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight is a lifelong challenge for many people. The key to success lies in learning healthy eating habits that allow you to lose weight gradually (no more than ½ -1kg per week) and keep it off.
Pre-germinated brown rice, high in levels of the nutrient GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), significantly improved levels of spatial learning in mice, according to research in the Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin published by the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.
The authors say brown rice could help prevent Alzheimer's disease, which is rapidly increasing around the world. Alzheimer's disease is characterised by numerous senile plaques resulting in neuronal loss. The beta-amyloid peptide that makes up these plaques has been shown to lead to brain dysfunction, causing learning and memory impairment in rodents.
The new study found that the brown rice, which had been soaked in water to induce slight germination and contained around 13 times the amount of oryzanol and 15 times the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) of polished rice, improved the learning ability of mice and prevented impairment of spontaneous alternation behaviour in the animals.
GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, is sometimes taken to enhance sleep quality and is also used increasingly in bodybuilding supplements for its effect on growth hormone levels.
In contrast, the beta-amyloid protein impaired spontaneous alternation behaviour in the control group fed polished or white rice, a staple of the Asian diet.
The researchers suggest the large amount of GABA in the brown rice may enhance glutamate release and the sensitivity of NMDA receptors. The activation of these receptors is thought to underlie learning and memory.
There are currently around 18 million people with dementia in the world - the most common cause of this dementia is Alzheimer's disease. By 2025 this figure will rise to 34 million, with 71 per cent of these likely to live in developing countries.
The researchers said they will conduct further research to compare the effects of brown rice with pregerminated brown rice to confirm the current findings.
The UK's Government Funded food watchdog, the Food Standards Agency (FSA), has earmarked nearly seven million dollars (£2.7 million) to examine the impact of changes in the amount and composition of fat and carbohydrate on heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.
Led by the British Medical Research Council, the study will take four years and involve scientists from the MRC's centre for Human Nutrition Research at Cambridge, Imperial College London, King's College London, the University of Reading and the University of Surrey.
The researchers will look at the how types and amounts of fat and carbohydrate in the diet relate to the risk of people developing heart disease or type-2 diabetes.
Heart disease kills more people around the world than any other disease, according to the World Health Organisation, and there are currently more than 194 million people with diabetes worldwide.
A total of 650 volunteers will have their diets modified and the results monitored. It is hoped that this will enable the FSA to recommend the sorts of diets that will reduce the likelihood of these health problems.
The global incidence of risk factors for these diseases, collectively known as the 'metabolic syndrome', is soaring. The clinical conditions linked to the metabolic syndrome are obesity, type 2 diabetes, abnormal blood fats and raised blood pressure.
Each of these conditions is a risk-factor for the metabolic syndrome in its own right, but if individuals have more than one of these conditions the risk is multiplied.
In most cases, development of metabolic syndrome is caused by eating too much of the wrong kind of foods and taking too little exercise. Western governments are increasingly turning to food choices and consumer diets as a way to tackle rising health concerns. But while food choices could reverse these trends, little is known about specific foods that may help to reduce health risks.
It's hoped this study will shed light on which specific foods can reduce heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, and may even pave the way for a raft of new food formulations.
3. Breakfast eaters can reduce diabetes and heart disease (back to contents)
People who eat breakfast are significantly less likely to be obese and diabetic than those who usually don't.
Obesity and insulin resistance syndrome rates were 35 percent to 50 percent lower among people who ate breakfast every day compared to those who frequently skipped it, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's 43rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.
The researchers said eating breakfast seems to have beneficial effects on appetite, insulin resistance and energy metabolism which combine to help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.'
The researchers summarised a number of beneficial health effects that came from consuming a breakfast meal. Those who ate breakfast were better able to meet their fibre and nutritional needs and they were also less likely to snack inappropriately during the rest of the day.
Breakfast skippers can actually put on weight because they're ravenous by lunchtime and eat larger servings. Those who ate breakfast tended to eat more regular portion sizes at both lunch and dinner meals. The researchers said the effect breakfast has on other meals through the day may be due to the satiating effect of a grains based breakfast, or there may be a hormonal basis for these effects.
When the investigators looked at what people ate at breakfast, they found eating wholegrain cereal each day was associated with a 15 percent reduction in risk for the insulin resistance syndrome.
Wholegrain cereals were defined as those that list a wholegrain or bran first in the ingredients list or those that contain a wholegrain and have at least 2 grams of fibre per serving.
The subjects included 1,198 black and 1,633 white participants of the CARDIA study whose breakfast habits and risk factors for heart disease were assessed over an eight-year period (1992-2000). Participants were aged 25-37 in 1992. The study results accounted for risk factors such as smoking, low physical activity, alcohol use and demographic factors. The CARDIA study is a prospective study of heart disease risk factors among young adults in four communities: Minneapolis; Oakland, Chicago and Birmingham.
Treating patients with cirrhosis of the liver with synbiotics (or fermentable fibre) can alter the flora in the gut. The resulting reduction of pH levels in the gut and ammonia levels in the blood can significantly reduce brain dysfunction - a common symptom of this disease.
A new study has now shown that fermentable fibre not only has a beneficial effect on the liver itself, but also on hepatic encephalopathy, a brain dysfunction which affects many cirrhotic patients and which causes deficits in behaviour, intelligence, consciousness and neuromuscular function.
When the brain dysfunction is minor, it is called minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). Since ammonia has been shown to play a key role in overt hepatic encephalopathy, treatment options for MHE have also focused on reducing ammonia levels in the body.
The latest research published in the May edition of Hepatology on the effects of synbiotics (a combination of prebiotics and probiotics) and fermentable fibre (such oat bran) on gut flora and MHE was carried out by a collaborative research team from Beijing Youan Hospital and Capital University of Medical Sciences, China, University College London, UK and the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
The pilot, placebo-controlled study of 55 people with MHE saw 20 patients treated for 30 days with a daily synbiotic preparation, while 20 others took fermentable fibres for 30 days. The remaining 15 received a placebo treatment for 30 days. After this 30 day period, all the patients were re-screened for MHE.
The researchers also assessed gut flora in faecal samples at day one, day 30, and day 44. They compared their findings with the gut flora of 20 normal healthy volunteers.
After 30 days of treatment, 50 per cent of patients treated with either the synbiotic preparation or fermentable fibre showed a reversal of MHE, compared to a 13 per cent reversal rate in the placebo group. Furthermore, patients in both treatment groups had a lower faecal pH at day 30, along with significantly reduced levels of ammonia in their veins, and significantly reduced serum endotoxin levels.
The researchers said their study was the first to examine the impact of synbiotics and fermentable fibre alone on MHE and other aspects of hepatic function in patients with cirrhosis.
They concluded that: 'treatment with synbiotics or fermentable fibre alone is an alternative to use of non-absorbable disaccharides, such as lactulose, for the management of MHE in patients with cirrhosis. Significant reductions in viable counts of potentially pathogenic gut flora occur with both treatments."
5. Grains in the news and journals:
Oats may be okay for kids with coeliac disease (back to contents)
Contrary to popular belief, a diet containing moderate amounts of oats may be okay for children with coeliac disease, a disorder in which diarrhoea and other symptoms occur when certain grain products are eaten, new research indicates.
People with coeliac disease are usually advised to avoid foods that contain a wheat protein called gluten, according to the report in the journal Gut.
The researchers note that the treatment of coeliac disease requires lifelong adherence to a strict gluten-free diet which hitherto has consisted of a diet free of wheat, rye, barley, and oats.
However, they note that recent studies, mainly in adults, have indicated that oats are non-toxic to coeliac disease patients.
The researchers in this current study examined whether children with coeliac disease can tolerate oats in their gluten-free diet. They randomly assigned 116 patients to a standard gluten-free diet or to one that included oats.
Compared with the standard diet, the oat diet did not worsen symptoms or adversely affect the function or structure of the small intestine.
The authors note that oats may enhance the taste of the standard gluten-free diet, and could improve dietary compliance among patients, especially teenagers, with coeliac disease.
Folic acid - the B vitamin found commonly in supplements and, increasingly, in a wide range of bread products - is already known to prevent severe birth defects and to lower risk of death from heart disease.
However, two major new studies show it could also help to prevent broken bones in the elderly.
These studies – one from the Netherlands and the other from the US – show that increased homocysteine levels significantly raise the risk of both hip fracture and other broken bones resulting from osteoporosis.
B vitamins including folic acid have been shown to lower levels of the amino acid homocysteine, reducing its potential damage to the arteries and atherosclerosis. High homocysteine levels in the blood have also been linked to risk of dementia in the elderly.
But until now, the only vitamins related to bone health have been vitamin D and vitamin K. The latest findings, published in the 13 May issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, provide another reason to continue the fortification of bread and cereal products with folate.
The World Health Organisation has defined osteoporosis as the second leading health care problem after cardiovascular disease, and its growing incidence and future impact is strongly related to our ageing populations.
The Dutch study found that, in 2406 subjects aged 55 or older, those with the highest homocysteine levels almost doubled their risk of fracture. The researchers said the association between homocysteine levels and the risk of fracture appeared to be independent of bone mineral density and other potential risk factors for fracture.
These findings were confirmed by a Boston team that found the risk of hip fracture nearly quadrupled in men in the top quartile of homocysteine levels and nearly doubled in the top 25 per cent of women.
The US research team concluded: 'These findings suggest that the homocysteine concentration, which is easily modifiable by means of dietary intervention, is an important risk factor for hip fracture in older persons'.
Most UK mothers are unable to identify what foods make up a balanced diet, according to a new survey from the UK.
Consumer research conducted by the UK baking company Warburtons found that, although 82 per cent of mums claimed to know enough about nutrition, 74 per cent were unable to correctly identify what makes up a daily balanced diet.
Particular confusion among respondents surrounded the importance of starchy foods as part of a balanced diet, with almost half of the mothers surveyed (48 per cent) claiming that starchy foods should make up a quarter or less of a balanced diet.
In fact, health authorities recommend that around one third of our diet is to come from starchy foods (preferably wholegrain) for a balanced approach and most meals should be based on starchy foods.
Meanwhile, three out of five mums did not know that fatty and sugary foods should not make up more than about a twelfth of our suggested daily eating pattern. The survey questioned more than 1,000 UK mums to help improve consumer understanding of healthy eating.
The company suggests that radical diets, such as the Atkin's Diet, are partly to blame for confusing rather than clarifying a correct understanding of what makes up a balanced diet.
Achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight is a lifelong challenge for many people.The key to success lies in learning healthy eating habits that allow you to lose weight gradually (no more than half to one kilogram per week) and keep it off.
'Go Grains for a Healthy Weight' is a 5,000kj (1,200 calorie) seven day eating plan which is nutritionally balanced.
It also includes suggestions for increasing your activity level because exercise is an important part of any weight control program. It also includes tips and hints to make weight control easier and delicious recipes that it's hard to believe are low kilojoule.
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