Technology Review: Eating According to Your Genome
If you knew that you were especially susceptible to heart disease when you gained weight, would it increase your motivation to diet? How much would you be willing to pay to find out if you are one of the lucky people who can eat as much fat as you want and not have an increased risk of heart disease? Such tests are the goal of nutrigenomics, which seeks to identify the links between nutrition and disease based on an individual’s genome.While the field is still too young to offer personal dietary advice for the average consumer, research has uncovered links among genes, diet, and heart disease.
My guess is that the links that haven’t yet been discovered suggest everyone should maintain a healthy diet.
ScienceDaily: Vitamin D May Reduce Falls In Elderly Nursing Home Residents
New research suggests that reducing the number of falls suffered by seniors in nursing homes may be helped by taking a vitamin, along with other measures known to decrease falls. According to a study in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, seniors taking a high daily dose of vitamin D experienced 72 percent fewer falls compared to those taking a placebo.
Add in the calcium from D-fortified milk, and if they do fall they’re less likely to get hurt.
ScienceDaily: Caffeine May Prevent Heart Disease Death In Elderly
Habitual intake of caffeinated beverages provides protection against heart disease mortality in the elderly, say researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Brooklyn College.
No problem there - I have a habit already!
It might be one of these. On some menus, one plate has 2,000 calories - Diet & Nutrition - MSNBC.com:
The examples included Ruby Tuesday’s Colossal Burger, which weighs in at around 1,940 calories and includes 141 grams of fat. That doesn’t even include the fries on the side. Another entree from Ruby Tuesday, the Fresh Chicken and Broccoli Pasta, has 2,060 calories and 128 grams of fat, thanks in part to a parmesan cream sauce and layer of melted cheese.Other chains are serving up serious splurges as well. On The Border’s Double-Stacked Club Quesadilla has 1,860 calories and 52 grams of saturated fat, the study said.
On the other hand, if you plan to eat more than one thing today these probably shouldn’t be among your choices.
High-fat, Low-carbohydrate Diet Significantly Slows Tumor Growth And Enhances Health In Mice
Boston College biologists have identified an alternative, diet-based method of treating brain cancer that does not involve administering toxic chemicals, radiation or invasive surgery.The biologists found that KetoCal, a commercially available high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet designed to treat epilepsy in children, can significantly decrease the growth of brain tumors in laboratory mice. Moreover, the diet significantly enhanced health and survival rates relative to mice in control groups who consumed a standard low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet.
It is well known that healthy fats promote brain development in children. Very interesting that there may also be a connection for cancer sufferers.
ScienceDaily: Coffee: Aroma, Taste And Dietary Fiber
In the new study, researchers used a special technique for measuring dietary fiber in beverages to show that brewed coffee contains a significant amount of SDF — 02.5 percent to 20.0 percent by weight of powdered coffee bean. “The dietary fiber content in brewed coffee is higher than in other common beverages such as wine or orange juice,” the study states.The findings mean that consumption of 1 cup (about 200 milliliters) of coffee per day represents a contribution of up to 1.8 grams of the recommended intake of 20-38 grams of this essential nutrient, the researchers noted.
Which suggests I’m getting about 15 more grams of fiber per day than I thought!
ScienceDaily: Waist-to-Hip Ratio Affects Breathing In The Morbidly Obese
Canadian researchers from McGill University gathered arterial blood samples from 25 morbidly obese patients who were scheduled for bariatric surgery. Age, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, waist circumference, and W/H ratio were recorded. According to the study, large W/H ratios indicate substantial portions of fat mass surrounding the thorax, which could lead to ventilation abnormalities.
Excuse me, but what is the point of this? For the morbidly obese, breathing difficulty should be a signal to lose weight, with the waist-hip ratio being next to irrelevant. You can change the waist-hip ratio by adding weight on the hips, and I somehow don’t think doing that would help anyone breathe.
Slurp your dinner for healthy weight loss - Nutrition Notes - MSNBC.com
For relatively few calories, soup brings a feeling of fullness and makes it easier to eat less of other foods in a meal. The key for success with this strategy may depend upon serving smaller portions of the other foods.Studies have clearly established that for many of us, eating super-size portions is not necessarily due to hunger; it is a response to seeing more food. If that’s true, then the fact that soup satisfies our hunger won’t necessarily lead us to eat less if we still see large amounts of food.
Soup can also benefit long-term health by serving as a vehicle to work more vegetables into meals. Tomato soup provides a serving of vegetables in the liquid itself, and then you can add a variety of vegetables.
Pureed winter squash is also an excellent base for soup that is packed with nutrients. (Simply puree steamed, microwaved or baked squash, and thin to the consistency you prefer with chicken or vegetable broth or fat-free milk.)
Something I should try. I like soup, but never think of making it.
Pomegranate Helps Diabetic Hearts
A preliminary new study shows that people with diabetes who drank pomegranate juice for three months had a lower risk of atherosclerosis — or hardening of the arteries. In addition, the pomegranate juice appeared to slow the absorption of unhealthy LDL cholesterol by immune cells.People with diabetes have increased risk for atherosclerosis, which contributes to coronary heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, and other circulation problems.
These results suggest that the antioxidants found in pomegranate juice may be especially beneficial in reducing these heart-related risks associated with diabetes.
Yet another in a long stream of positive pomegranate news.
Eating Fabulous » Watercress Reduce DNA Damages Leading to Cancer
Did you know that daily consumption– about 85g daily– of fresh watercress can significantly reduce DNA damage to blood cells due to free radicals, and thus reduce cancer risks? Watercress is a rich source of phytochemicals called glucosinolates, and also contains phenolic compounds and flavonoids.
I didn’t know that, but I’m not surprised.