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Tag: Health Food

  • Some mosquitoes like it hot

    Some mosquitoes like it hot

    Newswise — Certain populations of mosquitoes are more heat tolerant and better equipped to survive heat waves than others, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

    This is bad news in a world where vector-borne diseases are an increasingly global health concern. Most models that scientists use to estimate vector-borne disease risk currently assume that mosquito heat tolerances do not vary. As a result, these models may underestimate mosquitoes’ ability to spread diseases in a warming world.

    Researchers led by Katie M. Westby, a senior scientist at Tyson Research Center, Washington University’s environmental field station, conducted a new study that measured the critical thermal maximum (CTmax), an organism’s upper thermal tolerance limit, of eight populations of the globally invasive tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus. The tiger mosquito is a known vector for many viruses including West Nile, chikungunya and dengue.

    “We found significant differences across populations for both adults and larvae, and these differences were more pronounced for adults,” Westby said. The new study is published Jan. 8 in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

    Westby’s team sampled mosquitoes from eight different populations spanning four climate zones across the eastern United States, including mosquitoes from locations in New Orleans; St. Augustine, Fla.; Huntsville, Ala.; Stillwater, Okla.; St. Louis; Urbana, Ill.; College Park, Md.; and Allegheny County, Pa.

    The scientists collected eggs in the wild and raised larvae from the different geographic locations to adult stages in the lab, tending the mosquito populations separately as they continued to breed and grow. The scientists then used adults and larvae from subsequent generations of these captive-raised mosquitoes in trials to determine CTmax values, ramping up air and water temperatures at a rate of 1 degree Celsius per minute using established research protocols.

    The team then tested the relationship between climatic variables measured near each population source and the CTmax of adults and larvae. The scientists found significant differences among the mosquito populations.

    The differences did not appear to follow a simple latitudinal or temperature-dependent pattern, but there were some important trends. Mosquito populations from locations with higher precipitation had higher CTmax values. Overall, the results reveal that mean and maximum seasonal temperatures, relative humidity and annual precipitation may all be important climatic factors in determining CTmax.

    “Larvae had significantly higher thermal limits than adults, and this likely results from different selection pressures for terrestrial adults and aquatic larvae,” said Benjamin Orlinick, first author of the paper and a former undergraduate research fellow at Tyson Research Center. “It appears that adult Ae. albopictus are experiencing temperatures closer to their CTmax than larvae, possibly explaining why there are more differences among adult populations.”

    “The overall trend is for increased heat tolerance with increasing precipitation,” Westby said. “It could be that wetter climates allow mosquitoes to endure hotter temperatures due to decreases in desiccation, as humidity and temperature are known to interact and influence mosquito survival.”

    Little is known about how different vector populations, like those of this kind of mosquito, are adapted to their local climate, nor the potential for vectors to adapt to a rapidly changing climate. This study is one of the few to consider the upper limits of survivability in high temperatures — akin to heat waves — as opposed to the limits imposed by cold winters.

    “Standing genetic variation in heat tolerance is necessary for organisms to adapt to higher temperatures,” Westby said. “That’s why it was important for us to experimentally determine if this mosquito exhibits variation before we can begin to test how, or if, it will adapt to a warmer world.”

    Future research in the lab aims to determine the upper limits that mosquitoes will seek out hosts for blood meals in the field, where they spend the hottest parts of the day when temperatures get above those thresholds, and if they are already adapting to higher temperatures. “Determining this is key to understanding how climate change will impact disease transmission in the real world,” Westby said. “Mosquitoes in the wild experience fluctuating daily temperatures and humidity that we cannot fully replicate in the lab.”

    Washington University in St. Louis

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  • Food as Medicine: How Strawberries Can Reduce Diabetes Risk

    Food as Medicine: How Strawberries Can Reduce Diabetes Risk

    Strawberries may seem like a small dietary addition, but their health benefits pack a serious punch.

    For more than a decade, UNLV professor Arpita Basu has been studying how strawberries can help reduce the risks of diabetes and improve overall metabolic and cardiovascular health.

    “I’m quite passionate about the concept of food as medicine,” said Basu, a registered dietitian and associate professor in the School of Integrated Health Sciences. “It’s gratifying when working with patients and research study participants to give them something natural – instead of medication – to lower their risk of diabetes.”

    Basu is now studying how bioactive compounds in strawberries may contribute to lowering a person’s risk for diabetes. She’s also conducted studies over the years examining the health benefits of tea, berries, and cocoa.

    We caught up with Basu to learn more about her latest research and how a simple serving of strawberries each day can immensely improve our health.

    What makes strawberries so healthy?

    Any fruits with a deep color are typically good for you. The darker the color, the greater amount of health benefits. 

    This is especially true for strawberries because they are all red in color. All that red comes from different plant pigments. Some people use red wine as another common example, but berries have less sugar content than grapes. 

    How do strawberries reduce the risks of diabetes and other health afflictions?

    A key takeaway from our strawberry studies – which I’ve been conducting at UNLV since 2017 – is a marked improvement in blood total and LDL cholesterol among participants. And better numbers in these areas is shown to reduce the possible risk of heart attack and stroke. 

    And one thing to point out is that you don’t need to consume a pound of strawberries a day to see a difference. There is some good research out there showing that consuming even half a cup of strawberries each day will provide your body with benefits. 

    Can you explain your theory of using food as medicine?

    When people feel helpless about their situation, that’s when I generally see a lot of interest from them about which foods they should consume – whether it’s to prevent their risk of diabetes or something else. So, thinking of food as a form of medicine incentivizes people to eat better. 

    Americans don’t eat anywhere near enough fruits and vegetables in this country. It’s an urgent issue. According to the CDC, 80 million Americans have pre-diabetes and, most likely, one-in-two people with pre-diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes. This will lead to both health and economic burdens on so many people. 

    In addition to my work with strawberries, I also do nutrition epidemiology research because I want to study what people are habitually consuming. I did an interventional study on the effectiveness of blueberries for women with gestational diabetes, for example, and saw improvements in blood glucose levels.

    This is the importance of food as medicine. None of these adults were taking medications to manage blood glucose at the time.

    There’s so much out there on which foods are healthiest for us. Any tips to cut through the clutter and make the right decision for ourselves?

    As a registered dietician, I get questions about which foods certain people should eat all the time. And as a researcher, I know that there is so much information out there. When I put myself in someone else’s shoes, I think we tend to overload the public with information and it can become confusing.

    I try to make recommendations by realizing what’s realistic in terms of dietary changes, food access, etc. Foods make up our diets, but if we don’t have the means, which should we focus on? Just food? Or a specific diet? It’s almost like the chicken and the egg. Something that works for me might not work for someone else.

    What’s next for your research?

    During our previous studies, which consisted of eight-week and 12-week trials, we worked with adults who had elevated LDL cholesterol and features of metabolic syndrome. Our studies showed some great results in that two-and-a-half servings of strawberries each day looked to be very beneficial in improving insulin resistance and lowering risk of diabetes. 

    Our study was funded by the USDA and the California Strawberry Commission, which gave us a wonderful opportunity to support our farmers producing these great fruits. For our next study, we are hoping to work with 60 adults who have pre-diabetes to measure the benefits of strawberries. It will be a larger study, but we are excited to see what the results show.

    University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)

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  • Produce Prescription Programs Yield Positive Health Benefits for Participants, Study Finds

    Produce Prescription Programs Yield Positive Health Benefits for Participants, Study Finds

    Newswise — Around the country, non-profits and local governments are testing the idea of food as medicine through “produce prescription programs”—with promising results, according to researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

    By prescribing free, healthy foods similar to how doctors prescribe medications, clinicians and policy makers hope to remove financial barriers to accessing fruits and vegetables to individuals with diet-related illness. Specifically, produce prescriptions offer vouchers, debit cards, or loyalty cards to access free or discounted produce at grocery retail and farmer’s markets and typically enroll food-insecure households. A Tufts-led pooled analysis of nine such programs found these programs were associated with positive benefits, from halving food insecurity to lowering blood pressure. The study, which is the largest known evaluation of these programs to date, was published August 29 in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

    The researchers analyzed surveys and medical records from over 1,800 children and 2,000 adults who had been identified as low-income and at risk for cardiometabolic diseases. Study participants had been enrolled in produce prescription programs operating across 22 sites in 12 U.S. states from 2014 to 2020. Each program was operated by Wholesome Wave, a national nonprofit that works to address disparities in diet-related disease and enhance nutrition equity by making fruits and vegetables more accessible and affordable to low-income community members through systems change.

    The data showed an increase in fruit and vegetable intake (by about a serving per day among adults) as well as improved clinical biomarkers of cardiometabolic health for adults. For example, diabetic patients saw a 0.3 percentage point drop in hemoglobin A1C, an indicator for average blood sugar levels in the previous three months, and a decrease in body mass index by 0.4 kg/m2 among those with overweight or obesity. In patients with hypertension, blood pressure also dropped by 5-to-8 millimeters of mercury. The improvement for these clinical biomarkers of cardiometabolic health were greater among participants with uncontrolled diabetes, obesity, or stage 2 hypertension.  

    The study also revealed improvements in fruit and vegetable intake, food security, and self-reported health status among child participants. While body mass index was not noticeably reduced in children, the researchers say these benefits reflect critical measures for their development, long-term health and well-being.

    “We were excited to see the results, which showed that participants who receive this incentive consume more fruits and vegetables, yielding clinically relevant outcomes,” says senior study author Fang Fang Zhang, a nutritional epidemiologist and Neely Family Professor at the Friedman School. “We need larger-scale implementation of these programs, which may play a role in improving care, in particular for lower-income adults with obesity, diabetes, or hypertension.”

    The records reviewed were from patients who were enrolled in the nine produce prescription programs for an average of six months, usually after being referred by their physician. Most participants received a voucher or card that could be redeemed at selected grocery stores and/or farmers’ markets. Prescriptions covered an average of $43 per household per month in adult programs, and $112 per household per month in programs for children.

    “Our findings provide important new evidence from a diverse set of programs for meaningful benefits of produce prescriptions, highlighting the need for clinical, policy, and healthcare payer and providers’ efforts to implement produce prescription programs,” says Zhang.

    “There is much we still need to learn about which programs are likely to be effective, how long they should operate, what happens to patient health outcomes when they end and more,” says first author Kurt Hager, who completed the work as a doctoral student at the Friedman School and is now an instructor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. “The future of Food is Medicine will likely see pilots and expansion occurring alongside ongoing evaluations that will continually improve the quality of services provided.”

    Researchers across institutions have been conducting analyses of these and similar programs, with most finding net positive benefits for patients, but differences in the extent of those gains and how the programs were implemented. Such studies can help to guide the implementation of the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, which, among other things, calls for expanded produce prescription programs for people enrolled in Medicaid, Medicare, Veterans Affairs, and the Indian Health Service.

    “This research is a step in the right direction and in alignment with the comprehensive National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health,” says Alison Brown, a registered dietician and program director in the Prevention and Population Science Program in the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. “However, more rigorous ‘food is medicine’ studies are needed to add to our scientific knowledge and inform evidence-based policies.”

    Further research will help to fill some existing information gaps. While the observed gains for participants were clinically and statistically meaningful, the new study lacked a control group, which means the benefits could be attributed to other factors. Some of the programs were also in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have impacted their efficacy, as participants were less likely to redeem their vouchers.

    Research reported in this article was supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, and by the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute under award R01HL115189. Complete information on authors, funders, and conflicts of interest is available in the published paper. This content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

     

    Tufts University

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  • New study will compare microbes on fresh produce from gardens versus supermarkets

    New study will compare microbes on fresh produce from gardens versus supermarkets

    BYLINE: Laurel Hamers, University Communications

    Newswise — EUGENE, Ore. – August 21, 2023 — The journey that your fruits and veggies take to get to your plate might affect the beneficial microbes they bring you.

    New University of Oregon research will investigate how microbes found on produce affect the gut microbiome, and compare how those microbes differ between produce from a home garden versus those from the supermarket.

    The project is led by Gwynne Mhuireach, a research assistant professor in the Institute for Health in the Built Environment. Her pilot study is supported by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.

    We take in millions of microbes every day via the food we eat. While some microbes can cause disease, many others are beneficial—and even necessary—for health.

    “The veggies you get in the supermarket have been through so much on their supply chain processing,” Mhuireach said. Previous studies suggest that they’ve lost most of the microbes they started with by the time they reach a consumer’s kitchen. “But then they also have new microbes from being handled and being in storage.”

    Produce from a backyard garden or a community garden is also filled with microbes but its journey from plant to plate is much shorter, and the environment in which it’s grown is different too. These fruits and vegetables are more likely to be surrounded by a variety of other plants, for example, rather than grown in vast monoculture fields.

    “I want to see if there’s a vast difference, microbiologically speaking, between garden and supermarket veggies,” Mhuireach said. And she wants to see whether those microbial differences can in turn impact people’s gut microbiomes.

    Each participant will spend a week eating produce only from their own garden or a community garden, and another week eating a similar meal plan but with only supermarket produce. They’ll collect daily fecal samples, which Mhuireach and her team will submit for genetic sequencing to identify the microbes within. That will allow the researchers to track how the gut microbiome is changing over time in response to different diets.

    Depending on the preliminary results, Mhuireach hopes to expand to a larger sample. Her team is currently recruiting participants for the study. Interested participants can learn more about the study and find a link to the eligibility screening survey here: https://gffstudy.com/

    This research is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture.

    About the College of Design The University of Oregon’s College of Design is home to creative practitioners, social scientists, biologists, and planners. It offers numerous undergraduate degrees and graduate accredited degrees, independent centers and institutes, and a myriad of minors and certificates at its Eugene and Portland campuses. The college is comprised of the Department of the History of Art and Architecture, School of Architecture & Environment, School of Art + Design, and School of Planning, Public Policy and Management. 

    University of Oregon

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  • Promoting Legume Consumption and Reducing Red Meat Safely Supports Bone Health and Protein Intake

    Promoting Legume Consumption and Reducing Red Meat Safely Supports Bone Health and Protein Intake

    Newswise — A study conducted at the University of Helsinki demonstrated that the partial substitution of red and processed meat with pea- and faba bean–based food products ensured sufficient intake of amino acids in the diet and did not negatively affect bone metabolism.

    “Decreasing the consumption of red and processed meat in the diet to the upper limit of the Planetary Health Diet while increasing the consumption of legumes cultivated in Finland, such as peas and faba beans, is safe from the perspective of protein nutrition. Similarly, bone health is not compromised by such a dietary change either,” says Docent Suvi Itkonen from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry.

    In the BeanMan study, 102 Finnish men followed a study diet for six weeks.

    • One group consumed 760 grams of red and processed meat per week, which accounted for 25% of the total protein intake. The amount corresponds to the average protein consumption of Finnish men.
    • The other group consumed food products based on legumes, mainly peas and faba beans, corresponding to 20% of the total protein intake. In addition, the amount of red and processed meat consumed per week in this group amounted to the upper limit of the Planetary Health Diet (200 g or 5% of the total protein intake).

    Otherwise, the study subjects followed their habitual diet but were not allowed to eat other red or processed meat or legumes than those provided by the study.

    The researchers did not find any differences between the dietary groups in markers of bone formation or resorption. Neither did the intake of calcium or vitamin D differ between the groups. Calcium intake was in line with the current dietary recommendations, and the intake of vitamin D was very close to the recommendations. Mean essential amino acid and protein intakes met the recommendations in both groups.

    “Reducing read meat consumption is extremely important in terms of environmental impact,” Itkonen notes.

    Increasingly plant-based diets are becoming more and more popular, and the recently updated Nordic Nutrition Recommendations also emphasise the restriction of meat consumption and the moderation of dairy consumption.

    “In this study, the subjects consumed dairy products as in their habitual diets, thus their calcium and vitamin D intakes were unchanged. However, in terms of bone health, it is important to bear in mind that if one reduces the amount of dairy in the diet, it is necessary to ensure the intake of calcium and vitamin D from other sources. These sources can be plant-based beverages and yoghurt-like products fortified with those nutrients or, when necessary, dietary supplements,” Itkonen points out.

    Other findings in the BeanMan study related to, among others, lipid metabolism, gut health and nutrient intakes will be published later.

    Leg4Life (Legumes for Sustainable Food System and Healthy Life – Palkokasveilla kohti kestävää ruokajärjestelmää ja terveyttä) is a multidisciplinary project funded by the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland. Leg4Life aims to achieve a comprehensive societal change towards a healthier food system and climate neutral food production and consumption by increasing the use of legumes. There are five extensive work packages in the project that cover the whole food chain from field to dinner table, all researching legumes that thrive in Finnish boreal conditions.

    University of Helsinki

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  • Olive oil and fresh, sun-ripened plant-based foods: the Mediterranean Diet as a winning combination for health

    Olive oil and fresh, sun-ripened plant-based foods: the Mediterranean Diet as a winning combination for health

    Newswise — A researcher from the University of Warwick says that to promote better health within Western societies, it’s essential to reshape our food culture. This means moving away from unhealthy, ultra-processed, sugar-laden, and fibre-depleted foods and gravitating towards wholesome, fibre-rich, plant-based foods reminiscent of the Mediterranean diet.

    Dr Thomas Barber is an Associate Clinical Professor and lead of Obesity Services at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire. He has been exploring the secrets to a healthier life and the transformative potential of the ‘Mediterranean Diet. The key to its success lies within ‘healthy fats’, particularly olive oil. With overwhelming evidence supporting the health-promoting effects of the Mediterranean Diet (MD), researchers say it’s time to embrace this approach to food for a better and healthier future.

    The Mediterranean diet has long been revered for its ability to reduce the risk of heart disease, enhance cognitive function, and maintain a healthy weight. So, why isn’t everyone adopting this path to well-being? As its name suggests, the MD thrives in Mediterranean countries, where olive oil, fresh fruits, and vegetables abound throughout the year. Yet, this very abundance points to a significant hurdle faced by the rest of the world.

    You might want to try vegetable-heavy dishes, like griddled chicken with quinoa Greek salad, salmon with hummus & and roasted tomatoes, or stuffed peppers, finished with an olive oil-based dressing and fresh fruits for dessert.

    “Availability of the MD’s essential components, particularly during winter months, might explain the lack of its widespread adoption outside the Mediterranean regions,” explains Dr. Thomas Barber. “But, it’s not just about availability. Millennia of cultural integration and alignment with the Mediterranean lifestyle and climate make it harder for non-Mediterranean populations to fully embrace the MD.”

    Over generations, the MD has become ingrained in Mediterranean cultures, seamlessly blending into the fabric of their daily lives. The joy of eating alfresco and the reduced reliance on hot food naturally complement the dietary principles of the MD. For those from non-Mediterranean backgrounds, cultural hurdles present challenges in adopting this healthy lifestyle. Moreover, the palatability of ingesting substantial amounts of fruit, vegetables, and olive oil daily can be an obstacle for many.

    In addition, researchers celebrate the environmental impact of the MD, as it’s very environmentally friendly as well, particularly regarding water usage and CO2 emissions. The EAT-Lancet Commission, tasked with developing healthy and environmentally sustainable diets by 2050, produced targets that are very similar to traditional MD.

    “This calls for a collective ‘to-do’ list to encourage and inspire each other to cook from raw ingredients and rediscover the joy and fulfilment of healthy eating as our ancestors have done for aeons,” adds Dr Thomas Barber.

    University of Warwick

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  • With Support from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, East Hollywood Community Garden Kicks Off the Summer

    With Support from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, East Hollywood Community Garden Kicks Off the Summer

    Newswise — East Hollywood (July 24, 2023) – Expanding its commitment to the health and well-being of the people in its community, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles sponsored the Summer Kickoff of the East Hollywood Community Garden, and was joined by more than 100 area residents and CHLA team members at the garden’s recent celebration.

    The event showcased the fertile, green space located right in the middle of East Hollywood, and the opportunity it offers to grow fresh fruits and vegetables while connecting neighbor with neighbor.

    “Thank you to the Los Angeles Community Garden Council for welcoming us to this beautiful space,” says Ellen Zaman, Executive Director for External Affairs at CHLA. “In addition to providing medical care to many children in the community, CHLA strives to create hope and build healthier futures for children, and this mission includes supporting community health, wellness, happiness and good nutrition. This garden is an oasis and sanctuary for the East Hollywood community, and we are looking forward to a long partnership.”   

    CHLA’s participation as a garden sponsor represented another step in the hospital’s efforts as a food access hub, reducing food insecurity by increasing the availability of high-quality, nutritious food, says David Valdez, Project Manager in the hospital’s Office of Community Affairs. “Community gardens are a gift to the neighborhood,” he says. “We are widening access to sources of fresh produce, promoting food harvesting, encouraging healthy eating, and improving nutrition education throughout the areas in which we work and live.”

    CHLA’s involvement in the East Hollywood Community Garden is part of a collaboration with the Los Angeles Community Garden Council (LACGC), which governs 42 community gardens across the city. Independently, CHLA partnered with Los Angeles City College in 2021 to build “The City’s Garden” on the school’s campus. “We’re supporting the creation of a network of gardens,” Valdez says. “That’s the goal.”

    The Summer Kickoff served as a kind of post-pandemic grand reopening for the East Hollywood Community Garden, which had been unable to host any large gatherings for the past three years. Since July 2019, the garden has been a place where individuals can lease a plot of soil and grow their own fruits and vegetables while sharing gardening tips and enjoying the company of their fellow community members. Visitors who don’t have their own plots can harvest produce in areas designated for communal gardening.

    One of the event’s objectives was simply to bring the garden to the community’s attention. “It was surprising to hear the number of individuals not aware of the garden” Valdez says.

    The garden is adjacent to Madison Avenue Public Park and is surrounded by apartment buildings, sitting right behind the Hollywood Hotel. It’s a short distance from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, a walk Valdez has made many times himself.

    Visitors mill around the East Hollywood Community Garden, a place to grow one’s own fruits and vegetables while mingling with neighbors. He explains that another benefit of these produce gardens is the food education they provide. He gives an example of a young boy who had never seen such dark-green lettuce—which wasn’t lettuce at all, he learned. It was kale.

    “Exposing individuals to new foods, new fruits and vegetables that they might not be aware of or that they might not be used to eating, is important,” Valdez says. “It creates opportunities for new tastes and flavors while also educating individuals about health advantages associated with food choices.”

    He says the ultimate goal of the East Hollywood Community Garden is to relieve food insecurity by making fresh and nutritious foods more available to those who typically don’t have enough access to them. “Helping reduce food insecurity is a great way to effect change for the good of our local neighborhoods and communities.”

    About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles 

    Founded in 1901, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is the largest provider of hospital care for children in California. Renowned pediatric experts work together across disciplines to deliver inclusive and compassionate health care to one of the world’s most diverse populations, driving advances that set child health standards across the nation and around the globe. With a mission to create hope and build healthier futures for children, the hospital consistently ranks in the top 10 in the nation, No. 1 in California and No. 1 in the Pacific U.S. region on U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll of Best Children’s Hospitals. The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles supports the full continuum of child health research and is among the top 10 pediatric academic medical centers for National Institutes of Health funding, meaning physicians and scientists translate discoveries into treatments and bring answers to families faster. Home to one of the largest pediatric training programs in the United States, Children’s Hospital graduates a new class of physicians each year who have learned world-class children’s health care at the forefront of medicine. And as an anchor institution, the hospital strengthens the economic health of surrounding communities by fighting food insecurity, enhancing health education and literacy, and introducing early careerists to health care. To learn more, follow CHLA on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and visit CHLA.org/blog. 

    Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

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  • Researchers Identify Genes that Directly Influence What We Eat

    Researchers Identify Genes that Directly Influence What We Eat

    Newswise — In one of the first large-scale studies of genes related to diet, researchers have uncovered almost 500 genes that appear to directly influence the foods we eat. The findings represent an important step toward using a person’s genetics to develop precision nutrition strategies that help improve health or prevent disease.

    “Some genes we identified are related to sensory pathways — including those for taste, smell, and texture — and may also increase the reward response in the brain,” said research team leader Joanne Cole, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “Because some of these genes may have clear paths toward influencing whether someone likes a food or not, they could potentially be used to create sensory genetic profiles for fine-tuning a person’s dietary recommendations based on foods they like to eat.”

    For the study, the researchers used the UK Biobank, which contains data from 500,000 people, to perform a phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) that identified genes more strongly associated with diet than with any health or lifestyle factor. PheWAS studies are used to find associations between gene variants of interest and a spectrum of human traits and behaviors, including dietary intake.

    “The foods we choose to eat are largely influenced by environmental factors such as our culture, socioeconomic status, and food accessibility,” said Cole. “Because genetics plays a much smaller role in influencing dietary intake than all the environmental factors, we need to study hundreds of thousands of individuals to detect genetic influences amid the environmental factors. The data necessary to do this hasn’t been available until recently.”

    Cole will present the findings at NUTRITION 2023, the annual flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held July 22-25 in Boston.

    One challenge in identifying diet-related genes is that what people eat correlates with many other factors, including health factors such as high cholesterol or body weight and even socioeconomic status. In the new work, the researchers applied computational methods to tease out direct effects of genetic variants impacting diet and separate those from indirect effects such as ones where a gene impacts diabetes and having diabetes requires a person to eat less sugar.

    This study design was possible because the UK Biobank not only contains in-depth genetic information but also detailed health and socioeconomic data. This allowed the researchers to test individual genetic variants for associations with thousands of traits and then eliminate indirect gene variants that were more strongly associated with other factors, such as diabetes.

    The analysis revealed around 300 genes directly associated with eating specific foods and almost 200 genes linked to dietary patterns which group various foods together — for example, overall fish intake or fruit consumption.

    “The study showed that dietary patterns tend to have more indirect genetic effects, meaning they were correlated with a lot of other factors,” said Cole. “This shows how important it is to not study dietary patterns in a vacuum, because the eating pattern’s impact on human health may be completely mediated or confounded by other factors.”

    In the short term, Cole is studying the newly identified diet-related genes to better understand their function while also working to identify even more genes that directly influence food preferences. She would like to pursue several lines of translational research based on these findings. For example, she is interested in studying whether using a person’s genetics to adapt the flavor profile of a diet designed for weight loss could improve adherence.

    It might also be possible to use these new insights to tailor foods to a person’s genetic predisposition. “If we know that a gene encoding an olfactory receptor in the nose increases a person’s liking of fruit and boosts the reward response in the brain, then molecular studies of this receptor could be used to identify natural or synthetic compounds that bind to it,” Cole said. “Then, we could see if adding one of those compounds to healthy foods makes those foods more appealing to that person.”

    Cole will present this research at 2:55 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, during the Personalizing Nutrition – Genetics and Dietary Pattern Interactions Poster Theater Flash Session in the Sheraton Boston, Fairfax (abstract; presentation details).

    Please note that abstracts presented at NUTRITION 2023 were evaluated and selected by a committee of experts but have not generally undergone the same peer review process required for publication in a scientific journal. As such, the findings presented should be considered preliminary until a peer-reviewed publication is available.

     

    About NUTRITION 2023

    NUTRITION 2023 is the flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition and the premier educational event for nutritional professionals around the globe. NUTRITION brings together lab scientists, practicing clinicians, population health researchers, and community intervention investigators to identify solutions to today’s greatest nutrition challenges. Our audience also includes rising leaders in the field – undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. NUTRITION 2023 will be held July 22-25, 2023 in Boston. https://nutrition.org/N23 #Nutrition2023

     

    About the American Society for Nutrition (ASN)

    ASN is the preeminent professional organization for nutrition scientists and clinicians around the world. Founded in 1928, the society brings together the top nutrition researchers, medical practitioners, policy makers and industry leaders to advance our knowledge and application of nutrition. ASN publishes four peer-reviewed journals and provides education and professional development opportunities to advance nutrition research, practice, and education. Since 2018, the American Society of Nutrition has presented NUTRITION, the leading global annual meeting for nutrition professionals.

     

    Find more news briefs and tipsheets at: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsroom/nutrition2023.

     

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    American Society for Nutrition (ASN)

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  • Scientists Name Top Five Foods Rich in Prebiotics

    Scientists Name Top Five Foods Rich in Prebiotics

    Newswise — There is growing evidence that consuming prebiotics — certain types of fiber often found in plants that stimulate beneficial bacteria in your gut — can help to maintain a healthy gut microbiome. In a new study, scientists estimated the prebiotic content of thousands of food types by using preexisting literature to find out which foods offer the highest prebiotic content.

    According to the study, foods that pack the greatest prebiotic punch are dandelion greens, Jerusalem artichokes, garlic, leeks, and onions. In addition to supporting gut microbes, prebiotic rich foods contain high amounts of fiber — something most Americans do not get enough of.

    “Eating prebiotic dense foods has been indicated by previous research to benefit health,” said Cassandra Boyd, a master’s student at San José State University who conducted the research with Assistant Professor John Gieng, PhD. “Eating in a way to promote microbiome wellness while eating more fiber may be more attainable and accessible than you think.”

    Boyd will present the findings at NUTRITION 2023, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held July 22–25 in Boston.

    Prebiotics, which can be thought of as food for the microbiome, are different from probiotics, which contain live microorganisms. Both can potentially benefit microbiome health, but they work in different ways.

    Studies have linked higher prebiotic intake with improved blood glucose regulation, better absorption of minerals like calcium, and markers of improved digestive and immune function. Although most dietary guidelines do not currently specify a recommended daily allowance for prebiotics, the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics — a non-profit scientific organization that established the currently held definition of prebiotics — recommends an intake of 5 grams per day.

    For the study, researchers used previously published scientific findings to analyze the prebiotic content of 8,690 foods contained in the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies, a resource many scientists use to study nutrition and health.

    About 37% of the foods in the database were found to contain prebiotics. Dandelion greens, Jerusalem artichoke, garlic, leeks, and onions had the greatest amounts, ranging from about 100-240 milligrams of prebiotics per gram of food (mg/g). Other prebiotic rich foods included onion rings, creamed onions, cowpeas, asparagus, and Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal, each containing around 50-60 mg/g.

    “The findings from our preliminary literature review suggest that onions and related foods contain multiple forms of prebiotics, leading to a larger total prebiotic content,” said Boyd. “Multiple forms of onions and related foods appear in a variety of dishes as both flavoring and main ingredients. These foods are commonly consumed by Americans and thus would be a feasible target for people to increase their prebiotic consumption.”

    Based on the team’s findings, Boyd said a person would need to consume approximately half of a small (4-ounce) onion to get 5 grams of prebiotics.

    Wheat-containing items rank lower on the list. Foods with little or no prebiotic content include dairy products, eggs, oils, and meats.

    The researchers hope the study will provide a basis to help other scientists assess the health impacts of prebiotics and inform future dietary guidelines. They noted that more research is needed to understand how cooking impacts prebiotic content and to better assess foods that contain multiple ingredients.

    Boyd will present this research at noon EDT on Saturday, July 22, during the Food Science and Nutrition Poster Session in the Hynes Convention Center Hall C (abstract; presentation details).

    Please note that abstracts presented at NUTRITION 2023 were evaluated and selected by a committee of experts but have not generally undergone the same peer review process required for publication in a scientific journal. As such, the findings presented should be considered preliminary until a peer-reviewed publication is available.

     

    About NUTRITION 2023

    NUTRITION 2023 is the flagship meeting of the American Society for Nutrition and the premier educational event for nutritional professionals around the globe. NUTRITION brings together lab scientists, practicing clinicians, population health researchers, and community intervention investigators to identify solutions to today’s greatest nutrition challenges. Our audience also includes rising leaders in the field – undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. NUTRITION 2023 will be held July 22-25, 2023 in Boston. https://nutrition.org/N23 #Nutrition2023

     

    About the American Society for Nutrition (ASN)

    ASN is the preeminent professional organization for nutrition research scientists and clinicians around the world. Founded in 1928, the society brings together the top nutrition researchers, medical practitioners, policy makers and industry leaders to advance our knowledge and application of nutrition. ASN publishes four peer-reviewed journals and provides education and professional development opportunities to advance nutrition research, practice, and education. Since 2018, the American Society of Nutrition has presented NUTRITION, the leading global annual meeting for nutrition professionals. http://www.nutrition.org

     

    Find more news briefs from NUTRITION 2023 at: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsroom/nutrition2023.

     

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    American Society for Nutrition (ASN)

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  • Study challenges advice to limit high-fat dairy in global diet

    Study challenges advice to limit high-fat dairy in global diet

    Newswise — Sophia Antipolis, 7 July 2023:  Unprocessed red meat and whole grains can be included or left out of a healthy diet, according to a study conducted in 80 countries across all inhabited continents and published today in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Diets emphasising fruit, vegetables, dairy (mainly whole-fat), nuts, legumes and fish were linked with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and premature death in all world regions. The addition of unprocessed red meat or whole grains had little impact on outcomes.

    “Low-fat foods have taken centre stage with the public, food industry and policymakers, with nutrition labels focused on reducing fat and saturated fat,” said study author Dr. Andrew Mente of the Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. “Our findings suggest that the priority should be increasing protective foods such as nuts (often avoided as too energy dense), fish and dairy, rather than restricting dairy (especially whole-fat) to very low amounts. Our results show that up to two servings a day of dairy, mainly whole-fat, can be included in a healthy diet. This is in keeping with modern nutrition science showing that dairy, particularly whole-fat, may protect against high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome.”

    The study examined the relationships between a new diet score and health outcomes in a global population. A healthy diet score was created based on six foods that have each been linked with longevity. The PURE diet included 2-3 servings of fruit per day, 2-3 servings of vegetables per day, 3-4 servings of legumes per week, 7 servings of nuts per week, 2-3 servings of fish per week, and 14 servings of dairy products (mainly whole fat but not including butter or whipped cream) per week. A score of 1 (healthy) was assigned for intake above the median in the group and a score of 0 (unhealthy) for intake at or below the median, for a total of 0 to 6. Dr. Mente explained: “Participants in the top 50% of the population – an achievable level – on each of the six food components attained the maximum diet score of six.”

    Associations of the score with mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke and total CVD (including fatal CVD and non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure) were tested in the PURE study which included 147,642 people from the general population in 21 countries. The analyses were adjusted for factors that could influence the relationships such as age, sex, waist-to-hip ratio, education level, income, urban or rural location, physical activity, smoking status, diabetes, use of statins or high blood pressure medications, and total energy intake.

    The average diet score was 2.95. During a median follow-up of 9.3 years, there were 15,707 deaths and 40,764 cardiovascular events. Compared with the least healthy diet (score of 1 or less), the healthiest diet (score of 5 or more) was linked with a 30% lower risk of death, 18% lower likelihood of CVD, 14% lower risk of myocardial infarction and 19% lower risk of stroke. Associations between the healthy diet score and outcomes were confirmed in five independent studies including a total of 96,955 patients with CVD in 70 countries.

    Dr. Mente said: “This was by far the most diverse study of nutrition and health outcomes in the world and the only one with sufficient representation from high-, middle- and low-income countries. The connection between the PURE diet and health outcomes was found in generally healthy people, patients with CVD, patients with diabetes, and across economies.”

    “The associations were strongest in areas with the poorest quality diet, including South Asia, China and Africa, where calorie intake was low and dominated by refined carbohydrates. This suggests that a large proportion of deaths and CVD in adults around the world may be due to undernutrition, that is, low intakes of energy and protective foods, rather than overnutrition. This challenges current beliefs,” said Professor Salim Yusuf, senior author and principal investigator of PURE.

    In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, US stated: “The new results in PURE, in combination with prior reports, call for a re-evaluation of unrelenting guidelines to avoid whole-fat dairy products. Investigations such as the one by Mente and colleagues remind us of the continuing and devastating rise in diet-related chronic diseases globally, and of the power of protective foods to help address these burdens. It is time for national nutrition guidelines, private sector innovations, government tax policy and agricultural incentives, food procurement policies, labelling and other regulatory priorities, and food-based healthcare interventions to catch up to the science. Millions of lives depend on it.”

     

    European Society of Cardiology

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  • Not eating enough of these six healthy foods is associated with higher cardiovascular disease and deaths globally

    Not eating enough of these six healthy foods is associated with higher cardiovascular disease and deaths globally

    Embargoed by the European Heart Journal until Thursday, July 6 at 7:05 (EDT)

    Newswise — HAMILTON, ON (July 6, 2023) – A study led by McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences researchers at the Population Research Health Institute (PHRI) has found that not eating enough of six key foods in combination is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults.

    Consuming fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fish and whole-fat dairy products is key to lowering the risk of CVD, including heart attacks and strokes. The study also found that a healthy diet can be achieved in various ways, such as including moderate amounts of whole grains or unprocessed meats.

    Previous and similar research has focused on Western countries and diets that combined harmful, ultra-processed foods with nutrient-dense foods. This research was global in scope and focused on foods commonly considered to be healthy.

    The World Health Organization estimates nearly 18 million people died from CVD in 2019, representing 32 per cent of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85 per cent were due to heart attacks and strokes. PHRI researchers and their global collaborators analyzed data from 245,000 people in 80 countries from multiple studies. The results were published in the European Heart Journal on July 6.

    Researchers derived a diet score from PHRI’s ongoing, large-scale global Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study, then replicated that in five independent studies to measure health outcomes in different world regions and in people with and without prior CVD.

    “Previous diet scores – including the EAT-Lancet Planetary Diet and the Mediterranean Diet tested the relationship of diet to CVD and death mainly in Western countries. The PURE Healthy Diet Score included a good representation of high, middle, and low-income countries,” said Salim Yusuf, senior author and principal investigator of PURE.

    As well as being truly global, the PURE Healthy Diet Score focused on exclusively protective, or natural, foods.

    “We were unique in that focus. The other diet scores combined foods considered to be harmful – such as processed and ultra-processed foods – with foods and nutrients believed to be protective of one’s health,” said first author Andrew Mente, PHRI scientist and assistant professor at McMaster’s Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact.

    “There is a recent increased focus on higher consumption of protective foods for disease prevention. Outside of larger amounts of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, the researchers showed that moderation is key in the consumption of natural foods,” he said.

    “Moderate amounts of fish and whole-fat dairy are associated with a lower risk of CVD and mortality. The same health outcomes can be achieved with moderate consumption of grains and meats – as long as they are unrefined whole grains and unprocessed meats.”

    The PURE Healthy Diet Score recommends an average daily intake of: Fruits at two to three servings; vegetables at two to three servings; nuts at one serving; and dairy at two servings. The score also includes three to four weekly servings of legumes and two to three weekly servings of fish. Possible substitutes included whole grains at one serving daily, and unprocessed red meat or poultry at one serving daily.

    There was no specific funding for this analysis, although each study that contributed data was funded separately and conducted over a 25-year period.

                                                                         -30-

    A photo of Andrew Mente can be found at: https://macdrive.mcmaster.ca/d/d7cfaeb9c6ac4cfb80f0/

     

    McMaster University

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  • Shoppers prioritize price over health for food choices

    Shoppers prioritize price over health for food choices

    Key Takeaways:

    • When food consumers are properly incentivized, they will choose healthier options.
    • When financial incentives are removed, consumers are more likely to choose less healthy options by comparison.

    Newswise — BALTIMORE, MD, June 9, 2023 – A new study of food consumer shopping behaviors has found that when faced with a choice – lower prices or healthier foods – they will likely choose lower prices.

    The study found that when you give food consumers temporary incentives to buy healthier foods, they will likely to choose those healthier foods. But when you take away the discounts, consumers are more likely to return to old behaviors of buying the less healthy/less expensive options.

    The study, “The Persistence of Healthy Behaviors in Food Purchasing,” was conducted by Marit Hinnosaar of the University of Nottingham and Centre for Economic Policy Research in London.

    Hinnosaar conducted in-depth research into the U.S. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). WIC gives vouchers for specific foods to mothers and their children age 5 and younger. In 2009, WIC policy reform changed the composition of food vouchers, introducing vouchers to encourage purchase of healthier products. To conduct her research, Hinnosaar used NielsenIQ household-level scanner data of grocery purchases.

    “I conducted what you might call ‘difference-in-differences’ analysis to assess the immediate and long-term impacts of the healthier choice incentive program,” says Hinnosaar. “The product categories most targeted by the program were bread and milk.”

    Hinnosaar says that the evidence points to a decrease in purchases of healthier options after participants left the program.

    “During the incentive program, vouchers were restricted to whole wheat bread and low-fat milk,” she says. “Since some of these options tend to be more expensive, once the vouchers were no longer available for these products, consumers tended to choose items based on price.”

    Still, there was no measurable difference in the total quantities of products in the WIC vouchers during or after the program. These products included bread, milk, fruits and vegetables, juice, eggs and cereal.

    “Based on these findings, it is possible to conclude that a modest post-program subsidy once program participants leave the program – to incentivize healthier food choices – may be a more sustainable way to lengthen the program’s impact and lead to long-term healthier food purchases.”

    Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)

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  • Almond Milk Yogurt: More Nutritious Than Dairy-Based Yogurt

    Almond Milk Yogurt: More Nutritious Than Dairy-Based Yogurt

    Newswise — AMHERST, Mass. – In a nutritional comparison of plant-based and dairy yogurts, almond milk yogurt came out on top, according to research led by a University of Massachusetts Amherst food science major.

    “Plant-based yogurts overall have less total sugar, less sodium and more fiber than dairy, but they have less protein, calcium and potassium than dairy yogurt,” says lead author Astrid D’Andrea, a graduating senior whose paper was published May 25 in a special issue of the journal Frontiers in Nutrition titled Food of the Future: Meat and Dairy Alternatives. “But when looking at the overall nutrient density, comparing dairy yogurt to plant-based yogurt, with the nutrients that we looked at, almond yogurt has a significantly higher nutrient density than dairy yogurt and all other plant-based yogurts.”

    Working in the lab of senior author Alissa Nolden, a sensory scientist and assistant professor of food science, D’Andrea was interested in comparing the nutritional values of plant-based and dairy yogurts, an area of research she found lacking. Driven by concerns over environmental sustainability and eating less animal-based food products, the plant-based yogurt market is expected to explode from $1.6 billion in 2021 to $6.5 billion in 2030.

    “Plant-based diets are gaining popularity, especially in American culture, but just because it’s plant-based doesn’t mean it’s more nutritious,” says D’Andrea, of Hazlet, N.J., who is heading to graduate school in food science at Penn State. “There has to be specific research that answers that question.”

    D’Andrea collected nutritional information for 612 yogurts, launched between 2016 and 2021, using the Mintel Global New Products Database, accessed through UMass Libraries. She used the Nutrient Rich Foods (NRF) Index, which assigns scores based on the nutrient density of foods. “This allowed us to compare the nutritional density of the yogurts based on nutrients to encourage (protein, fiber, calcium, iron, potassium, vitamin D) and nutrients to limit (saturated fat, total sugar, sodium),” D’Andrea writes in her paper.

    The researchers chose the NRF model based on the nutritional benefits of dairy yogurt, which provides a complete protein, something plant-based products are unable to do.

    Of the 612 yogurts analyzed, 159 were full-fat dairy, 303 were low- and nonfat dairy, 61 were coconut, 44 were almond, 30 were cashew and 15 were oat. The researchers used the NRF Index to rank the yogurts from the highest to lowest nutrient density: almond, oat, low- and nonfat dairy, full-fat dairy, cashew and coconut.

    D’Andrea attributed the high scores of almond and oat yogurts to their low levels of total sugar, sodium and saturated fat. She and Nolden say the study’s findings can inform the food industry on ways to improve the formulation and nutritional composition of plant-based yogurts.

    One option the researchers offer is creating a hybrid yogurt that is both plant- and dairy-based. This will add protein, vitamin B12 and calcium while still minimizing total sugar, sodium and saturated fat.

    “Going from dairy all the way to plant-based is a big change,” Nolden says. “There are changes in the nutritional profile, and there’s change in the sensory profile, which might prevent consumers from trying it.”

    In fact, a recent study conducted in the Nolden lab led by former UMass Amherst visiting researcher Maija Greis investigated consumer acceptance of blended plant-based and dairy yogurt and found that people preferred the blended yogurt over the plant-based one.

    “Blending provides advantages,” Nolden says. “It provides a complete protein, and the dairy part helps to form the gelling structure within the yogurt that so far we are unable to replicate in a plant-based system.”

    The UMass Amherst team says further research is warranted, based on their findings that suggest a way to maximize the nutrition and functional characteristics of yogurt.

    “If we can blend plant-based and dairy yogurt, we can achieve a desirable sensory profile, a potentially better nutritional profile and have a smaller impact on the environment,” Nolden says.

    University of Massachusetts Amherst

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  • Natto: A Stress-Busting Food

    Natto: A Stress-Busting Food

    Newswise — Health is wealth as the saying goes and new research now shows that it is possible to have a healthy, less stressed society through familiar and inexpensive foods. One such food might be the Japanese natto which is made from softened soybeans that have been boiled or steamed and fermented with a bacteria called Bacillus subtilis var. natto. Bacillus subtilis var. natto is found in soil, plants, animals, and the human stomach and intestines. Most of the natto consumed in Japan is made from the Miyagino strain.

    A research group led by Professor Eriko Kage-Nakadai at the Graduate School of Human Life and Ecology, Osaka Metropolitan University, examined the effects of Bacillus subtilis var. natto consumption on the lifespan of the host using Caenorhabditis elegans worms. The researchers found that Caenorhabditis elegans fed Bacillus subtilis var. natto had a significantly longer lifespan than those fed the standard diet, and further elucidated that the p38 MAPK pathway and insulin/IGF-1-like signaling pathway, which are known to be involved in innate immunity and lifespan, were involved in the lifespan-enhancing effects of Bacillus subtilis var. natto. They also examined stress tolerance, which has been shown to have a correlation with longevity, and found that resistance to UV light and oxidative stress is enhanced.

    Professor Nakadai concluded, “For the first time, we were able to demonstrate the possibility of lifespan-extending effects of Caenorhabditis elegans through the ingestion of Bacillus subtilis var. natto. We hope that future experiments on mammals and epidemiological studies will help to realize a healthy and longer-living society if we can apply this research to humans.”

    The research results were published online in the Journal of Applied Microbiology on April 20, 2023.

    Osaka Metropolitan University

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  • Study Links Poor Diet to 14 Million Cases of Type 2 Diabetes Globally

    Study Links Poor Diet to 14 Million Cases of Type 2 Diabetes Globally

    Newswise — A research model of dietary intake in 184 countries, developed by researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, estimates that poor diet contributed to over 14.1 million cases of type 2 diabetes in 2018, representing over 70% of new diagnoses globally. The analysis, which looked at data from 1990 and 2018, provides valuable insight into which dietary factors are driving type 2 diabetes burden by world region. The study was published April 17 in the journal Nature Medicine.

    Of the 11 dietary factors considered, three had an outsized contribution to the rising global incidence of type 2 diabetes: Insufficient intake of whole grains, excesses of refined rice and wheat, and the overconsumption of processed meat. Factors such as drinking too much fruit juice and not eating enough non-starchy vegetables, nuts, or seeds, had less of an impact on new cases of the disease.

    “Our study suggests poor carbohydrate quality is a leading driver of diet-attributable type 2 diabetes globally, and with important variation by nation and over time,” says senior author Dariush Mozaffarian, Jean Mayer Professor of Nutrition and dean for policy at the Friedman School. “These new findings reveal critical areas for national and global focus to improve nutrition and reduce devastating burdens of diabetes.”

    Type 2 diabetes is characterized by the resistance of the body’s cells to insulin. Of the 184 countries included in the Nature Medicine study, all saw an increase in type 2 diabetes cases between 1990 and 2018, representing a growing burden on individuals, families, and healthcare systems.

    The research team based their model on information from the Global Dietary Database, along with population demographics from multiple sources, global type 2 diabetes incidence estimates, and data on how food choices impact people living with obesity and type 2 diabetes from multiple published papers.  

    The analysis revealed that poor diet is causing a larger proportion of total type 2 diabetes incidence in men versus women, in younger versus older adults, and in urban versus rural residents at the global level.

    Regionally, Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia —particularly in Poland and Russia, where diets tend to be rich in red meat, processed meat, and potatoes —had the greatest number of type 2 diabetes cases linked to diet. Incidence was also high in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially in Colombia and Mexico, which was credited to high consumption of sugary drinks, processed meat, and low intake of whole grains.

    Regions where diet had less of an impact on type 2 diabetes cases included South Asia and Sub-Sharan Africa —though the largest increases in type 2 diabetes due to poor diet between 1990 and 2018 were observed in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 30 most populated countries studied, India, Nigeria, and Ethiopia had the fewest case of type 2 diabetes related to unhealthy eating.

    “Left unchecked and with incidence only projected to rise, type 2 diabetes will continue to impact population health, economic productivity, health care system capacity, and drive heath inequities worldwide,” says first author Meghan O’Hearn. She conducted this research while a PhD candidate at the Friedman School and currently works as Impact Director for Food Systems for the Future, a non-profit institute and for-profit fund that enables innovative food and agriculture enterprises to measurably improve nutrition outcomes for underserved and low-income communities. “These findings can help inform nutritional priorities for clinicians, policymakers, and private sector actors as they encourage healthier dietary choices that address this global epidemic.”

    Other recent studies have estimated that 40% of type 2 diabetes cases globally are attributed to suboptimal diet, lower than the 70% reported in the Nature Medicine paper. The research team attributes this to the new information in their analysis, such as the first ever inclusion of refined grains, which was one of the top contributors to diabetes burdens; and updated data on dietary habits based on national individual-level dietary surveys, rather than agricultural estimates. The investigators also note that they presented the uncertainty of these new estimates, which can continue to be refined as new data emerges.

     

    Research reported in this article was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Complete information on authors, funders, methodology, and conflicts of interest is available in the published paper. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders.

    Tufts University

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  • The heart benefits of walnuts likely come from the gut

    The heart benefits of walnuts likely come from the gut

    Newswise — A new study examining the gene expression of gut microbes suggests that the heart-healthy benefits of walnuts may be linked to beneficial changes in the mix of microbes found in our gut. The findings could help identify other foods or supplements with similar nutritional benefits.

    Researchers led by Kristina S. Petersen from Texas Tech University in Lubbock found that introducing walnuts into a person’s diet may alter the gut’s mix of microbes — known as the microbiome — in a way that increases the body’s production of the amino acid L-homoarginine. Homoarginine deficiency has been linked to higher risk for cardiovascular disease.

    “Research has shown that walnuts may have heart-healthy benefits like lowering cholesterol levels and blood pressure,” said Mansi Chandra, an undergraduate researcher at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. “This motivated us to look at how walnuts benefited the gut microbiome and whether those effects led to the potential beneficial effects. Our findings represent a new mechanism through which walnuts may lower cardiovascular disease risk.”

    Chandra will present the new findings at Discover BMB, the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, March 25–28 in Seattle.

    The researchers used an approach known as metatranscriptomics to study the gene expression of gut microbes. This recently developed technology can be used to quantify gene expression levels and monitor how these levels shift in response to various conditions such as dietary changes.

    “To our knowledge, this is the first study to use metatranscriptomics analysis for studying the impact of walnut consumption on the gut microbiota gene expression,” Chandra said. “These exploratory analyses contribute to our understanding of walnut-related modulation of gut microbiome, which could be very impactful in learning how gut health impacts our heart health in general.”

    The metatranscriptomics analysis used samples acquired from a previously performed controlled-feeding study in which 35 participants with high cardiovascular risk were put on a two-week standard Western diet and then randomly assigned to one of three study diets. The study participants followed each diet for six weeks with a break between each.

    The diets included one that incorporated whole walnuts, one that included the same amount of omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA, and polyunsaturated fatty acids as the walnut diet but without walnuts, and one that partially substituted another fatty acid known as oleic acid for the same amount of ALA found in walnuts but without consumption of any walnuts. The diets were designed to provide information about how walnuts affected cardiovascular health due to their bioactive compounds and ALA content and whether walnut ALA is the best substitute for dietary saturated fat compared to oleic acid.

    For the new work, researchers used metatranscriptomics to analyze gene expression and the bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract from fecal samples collected shortly before the participants finished the run-in diet and each of the three study diets.

    The analysis revealed higher levels of Gordonibacter bacteria in the gut of participants on the walnut diet. This bacterium converts the plant polyphenols ellagitannins and ellagic acid into metabolites that allow them to be absorbed by the body. Participants consuming the walnut diet also showed higher levels of expression for several genes that are involved in important metabolic and biosynthetic pathways, including ones that increase the body’s production of the amino acid L-homoarginine.

    Although more work is needed to confirm these observations, the research could eventually help inform dietary interventions based on walnuts. “Since a lot of people are allergic to nuts, these findings also suggest that other food supplements that boost the endogenous production of homoarginine may also be helpful,” Chandra said.

    Next, the researchers would like to apply metabolomic and proteomic analyses to identify the final products of the genes that showed higher levels of expression. This would allow them to better understand the biological mechanisms at work.

     

    Mansi Chandra will present this research during the Undergraduate Poster Competition from noon to 3:30 p.m. PDT on Saturday, March 25, and during the poster session from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. PDT on Sunday, March 26, in Exhibit Hall 4AB of the Seattle Convention Center (Poster Board No. 25) (abstract). Contact the media team for more information or to obtain a free press pass to attend the meeting.

     

    Image available.

     

    This release may include updated data or information that differs from the abstract submitted to the Discover BMB meeting.

     

    Kristina S. Petersen was previously affiliated with Pennsylvania State University.

     

    This study was funded by the California Walnut Commission. The research was also supported by the Penn State Clinical and Translational Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University Clinical and Translational Science Award and NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (Grant UL1TR000127).

     

    About the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)

    The ASBMB is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization with more than 12,000 members worldwide. Founded in 1906 to advance the science of biochemistry and molecular biology, the society publishes three peer-reviewed journals, advocates for funding of basic research and education, supports science education at all levels, and promotes the diversity of individuals entering the scientific workforce. www.asbmb.org

    Find more news briefs and tipsheets at https://discoverbmb.asbmb.org/newsroom.

     

     

     

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    American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB)

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  • Las setas comestibles son un alimento saludable y mágico

    Las setas comestibles son un alimento saludable y mágico

    Newswise — AUSTIN, Minnesota. Las setas comestibles se pueden encontrar en muchos platos, desde omelets hasta salteados, en los que suelen pasar desapercibidas. Las setas comestibles no solo son versátiles, sino que también aportan muchos beneficios a la salud, que van desde la salud del cerebro hasta la prevención del cáncer. Son naturalmente bajas en sodio y grasa, dos elementos que pueden afectar la salud cardíaca cuando se eleva la presión arterial. 

    Existen numerosos motivos relacionados con la salud para consumir estos hongos casi mágicos, entre ellos: 

    • Prevención del cáncer 
      Los investigadores han descubierto que incorporar cualquier variedad de setas comestibles en la dieta diaria reducirá su riesgo de desarrollar cáncer hasta en un 45 por ciento. ¿Cuántas setas comestibles debería ingerir? La cantidad recomendada es de tan solo dos mitades por día. 
    • Salud del cerebro 
      Las setas comestibles también son una fuente natural de fibra, lo que promueve la salud del intestino nutriéndolo de bacterias “buenas”. Se ha descubierto que estas bacterias son neurotrasmisores o sustancias químicas que envían mensajes entre los nervios. Estos neurotrasmisores favorecen la estabilidad del estado de ánimo, la concentración, la salud del cerebro y el bienestar mental. Una seta comestible que llama mucho la atención cuando se trata de la salud del cerebro es la melena de león. Esta se identifica por su parte superior esponjosa, blanca y larga. La investigación en etapa temprana demuestra que la capacidad de la seta melena de león es proteger contra el daño neurológico y promover el crecimiento del tejido nervioso, que es importante para quienes padecen enfermedad de Alzheimer, esclerosis múltiple y enfermedad de Parkinson. 
    • Aumento de la vitamina D 
      Las setas comestibles que se exponen a la luz ultravioleta, ya sea a través del sol o de una lámpara de luz ultravioleta, contienen vitamina D, un nutriente vital que puede ser difícil de encontrar en la naturaleza. La vitamina D ayuda a que el cuerpo absorba calcio para fortalecer los huesos y los dientes. Tener niveles de vitamina D adecuados también está relacionado con la prevención de la demencia, de la diabetes tipo 2 y del riesgo de muerte prematura. 
    • Fuente de micronutrientes 
      Estas pequeñas cantidades de nutrientes ayudan a tener un sistema inmunitario saludable. Las setas comestibles son una de las mejores fuentes de selenio, que ayuda al cuerpo a producir antioxidantes que pueden reducir el daño celular. 
    • Fuente de vitamina B 
      Las setas comestibles son una buena fuente de vitaminas B2, B3, B5 y B9, también conocidas como folato. Las vitaminas B son fundamentales para el crecimiento y la formación de las células. Esto significa que su cabello, su piel y sus uñas pueden estar más sanos, como también su cerebro y su corazón. 
    • Aumento del calcio y el potasio 
      Un estudio reciente de Mayo Clinic demostró que sumar más calcio y potasio a su dieta podría prevenir la formación y reaparición de cálculos renales. 

    Cómo usar las setas comestibles en las comidas 

    Las setas comestibles que podrían resultarle más conocidas son los champiñones. Pero existen miles de variedades de setas comestibles con diversas formas, tamaños y colores. Las setas comestibles crecen de manera silvestre, pero puede ser difícil identificar cuáles son las variedades aptas para consumo alimentario, por lo que es mejor comprar las variedades cultivadas que se encuentran en el supermercado. 

    El sabor y la textura varían según el tipo de seta comestible del que se trate. Los champiñones o setas comestibles cremini tienen un sabor más leve y una textura más suave que las setas comestibles shiitake, que son más duras y tienen un sabor más terroso. Si bien las setas comestibles enlatadas y frescas tienen beneficios para la salud, las setas comestibles frescas tienen diferente textura. 

    Una característica particular de las setas comestibles es que aportan umami, vocablo japonés que significa sabroso, a las comidas. El umami suele considerarse el quinto sabor básico junto con lo dulce, lo ácido, lo salado y lo amargo. Este sabor parecido al consomé permite que sea una buena alternativa a la carne. Intente reemplazar de un cuarto a la mitad de la carne en una receta con setas comestibles troceadas. Agregue setas comestibles a diversas variedades de platos, incluidas sopas, ensaladas, cazuelas y fideos. 

    Antes de usarlas crudas o de prepararlas para cocinarlas, limpie delicadamente las setas comestibles con agua corriente para eliminar la tierra o use una toalla de papel húmeda. 

    Si necesita un poco de inspiración mientras explora los beneficios para la salud y la versatilidad de las setas comestibles, pruebe estas recetas de Mayo Clinic. 

    Kjersten Nett es una dietista de Nutrición en Sistema de Salud de Mayo Clinic. 

    ### 

    Información sobre Mayo Clinic 
    Mayo Clinic es una organización sin fines de lucro, dedicada a innovar la práctica clínica, la educación y la investigación, así como a ofrecer pericia, compasión y respuestas a todos los que necesitan recobrar la salud. Visite la Red Informativa de Mayo Clinic para leer más noticias sobre Mayo Clinic. 

    Mayo Clinic

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  • Can food banks better promote nutrition and health?

    Can food banks better promote nutrition and health?

    Newswise — An estimated 53 million people in the U.S. turned to food banks and community programs for help putting food on the table in 2021. In recent decades, food banks have adopted policies and practices to make sure people not only have access to food but also healthy and nutritious food. 

    But until now, food banks have had few ways to evaluate those initiatives. 

    University of California, Davis, Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension Cassandra Nguyen led a team of researchers to develop the Food Bank Health and Nutrition Assessment to address that concern. Their findings were published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.

    “This tool will allow food banks to reflect on their current practices and determine whether they can adopt additional strategies to promote nutrition and health. It also serves as a benchmark, which they can use to track their progress over time,” said Nguyen, with the UC Davis Department of Nutrition.

    Nutrition policy is more than what’s on the shelf

    Food banks face some common challenges in promoting nutrition, health and equity. While food banks could assess the nutritional quality of their inventory, Nguyen said promoting nutrition requires more than knowing the types of food on the shelf.

    “Food banks can have nutrition policies that outline where they source food and which foods they prioritize when funding is available. They can also ensure that food pantry clients are either represented on advisory boards or are able to provide feedback about foods they would like to receive,” Nguyen said.

    Additionally, food banks can take steps to make sure nutrition education materials and information about federal assistance programs for health and nutrition are available in languages spoken by recipients. 

    Partnerships with outside organizations and local farmers can also increase the variety and availability of nutritious foods. Food banks with diverse connections may also adapt better to unexpected spikes in need, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

    The Food Bank Health and Nutrition Assessment was designed to evaluate these and additional objectives so food banks can identify areas of success as well as potential strategies they hadn’t considered before. 

    Importance of data

    “By having data from this assessment to show that some practices to promote nutrition and health may be difficult to implement, several food banks can raise their voices to advocate for policy changes,” Nguyen said. 

    Food banks with Feeding America and the Midwest Food Bank in four Midwestern states participated in the initial development of the Food Bank Health and Nutrition Assessment. In this small initial sample, most food banks asked food recipients about their preferences or whether diet-related diseases (for example, diabetes) were common, but few had current or former charitable food recipients on advisory boards. 

    The assessment is available for free through Feeding America, the largest nonprofit organization supporting the charitable food system, and online through the University of Illinois Extension. Food bank staff and partnering community-based professionals such as extension staff can use the assessment to improve promotion of nutrition and health.

    Other authors include Caitlin Kownacki, Veronica Skaradzinski, Kaitlyn Streitmatter, Stephanie Acevedo and Jennifer McCaffrey with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Stephen D. Ericson with Feeding Illinois; and Jessica E. Hager with Feeding America.

    Funding for the research was supported by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education, or SNAP-Ed, in Illinois.

    University of California, Davis

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  • TRANSCRIPT AND VIDEO AVAILABLE: Newswise Live Event: Do No-Calorie Sweeteners Affect Health?

    TRANSCRIPT AND VIDEO AVAILABLE: Newswise Live Event: Do No-Calorie Sweeteners Affect Health?

    What: Virtual Press Briefing on New Study of Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners and Glycemic Response.

    When: Tuesday, February 21 2022 at 1:00 PM EST

    Who: Dr. Tauseef Khan, Research Associate in Epidemiology at the University of Toronto

    Details:

    Public health organizations that are working to reduce intake levels of sugars have suggested that sweetness in the diet be reduced (including from both sugars and low-calorie sweeteners), hypothesizing that consumption of sweet-tasting foods leads to a desire for more sweets. 

    This Newswise Live Event will discuss the effects of dietary sweeteners and overall diet quality on metabolic and endocrine health.

    Dr. Khan from the University of Toronto will participate in the expert panel and discuss the different aspects of these effects, with questions prepared by Newswise editors and submissions from media attendees.

    TRANSCRIPT

    Thom: Okay, welcome to today’s Newswise live event. We’re here to talk about no-calorie sweeteners and their effect on health. We have with us today, Dr. Tauseef Khan. He’s a research associate in epidemiology at the University of Toronto. And he’s also affiliated with IAFNS. 

    We’ll get started with Dr. Khan and please Dr. Khan, if you would, tell us a little bit about the study that you’re working on and the results here relating to these no-calorie sweeteners. And how is this different from other papers and studies about these sorts of topics? 

    Dr. Khan: So, as we know that sugars have emerged as a dominant nutrient of concern and the call for its reduction is presented by all health agencies and nutrition organizations, and dietary guidelines. And the focus has been – so one thing that can replace those excess calories or excess sugars is low-calorie sweeteners. However, low-calorie sweeteners have been –  in the media, there has been a certain amount of information given which might hint at harm. So that attention needs to be addressed. Is there harm with the low-calorie sweeteners? And some proposed mechanisms are that they affect sweet taste receptors, which impair your glucose response, and insulin response, or if you eat them with carbohydrates, then there is another acute response leading to glucose intolerance. So, we wanted to answer these concerns actually. 

    First of all, many of these papers or studies did not consider that these low-calorie sweeteners are distinct compounds. So, an effect of one was attributed to all others. Plus, also there are methodological design issues with many of these studies. So how they are taken, what are they taken with, and what are they compared to? So, we want to address that question. 

    So, we undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare non-nutritional sweetened beverages to water and also to caloric sweeteners. 

    So, recent evidence shows that low-calorie sweeteners can replace those calories. However, the question is there is some concern regarding low-calorie sweeteners – Or I would call them non-nutritive sweeteners over here because that’s the name that we have used, the term we have used in the paper. 

    So, eight had been approved by the FDA and the attention has been, as I described, that these non-nutritive sweeteners may affect sweet taste receptors or glucose intolerance, or they might lead to glucose intolerance and then the results are usually given. So, one study is done and it’s attributed to all others. 

    So, we want to address those concerns. 

    So, what we did was- we did a systematic review and network meta-analysis. So, it’s a kind of a review of all acute studies, all studies which looked at the intake of non-nutritive sweeteners in the beverage form in which the non-nutritive sweetener was either single or blend, compared them to water and sugary beverages. And the outcomes we looked at were glucose, insulin, and all other endocrine responses that are related to sweet taste or weight gain or appetite. 

    We looked at three different kinds of studies and one was uncoupling intervention. So where non-nutritive sweetened beverages are consumed without any calories. So, you consume them in water compared to a sugary beverage or compared to water. So, they’re not consumed with any calories. 

    Then the second one was coupling interventions with non-nutritive sweetened beverages consumed with calories. And that can answer the specific question that we want to ask. 

    And another one was the delayed coupling where intervention with non-nutritive sweetened beverages is taken first and within 15 minutes, or there’s a delay of up to 15 minutes and then a meal is taken afterwards. So this answers the question – so if non-nutritive – do they affect these various responses or outcomes of these endocrine hormonal factors and can they then affect your meal response afterwards? This is a result which is a network meta-analysis. So, the advantage of – I’ll just explain what it is. 

    So, these are individual – so this is a big network plot where we have compared the individual sweeteners are here on the axis that is coming down and their individual non-nutritive sweeteners, then blends are here, then water, and these are caloric sweeteners which mean either glucose, sucrose or fructose. 

    So, what’s happening is every bar shows you a comparison. So, aspartame over here is compared to glucose or sucralose is compared to ASK and aspartame or saccharin is compared to over here to water. So, network meta-analysis allows us to compare each non-nutritive sweetener to another. So, every comparison can be compared to another, even if in the original studies they haven’t been compared with each other. And what we see is – anything that is bold is significant effect or anything that is blue is in a significant effect that is non-trivial. So, meaning that they are significant and that response actually needs attention. So, what we see is between the individual non-nutritive sweeteners and water, there’s no difference. They’re actually acting similarly. There is slight deviations here but those are non-trivial or unimportant. However, we see a large difference between the sweeteners and the non-nutritive sweeteners and caloric sweeteners. What it shows is compared to caloric sweeteners and non-nutritive sweeteners are acting similar to water and only caloric sweeteners are increasing glucose response. And this was in 14 trials. And if we see a coupling intervention where non-nutritive sweetener was given with calories, there is no difference between the control arm and the non-nutritive sweetener arm. And this is just one for glucose but we have this for all outcomes. I’m just showing you for glucose but we have all these outcomes, more than 11 outcomes that we have compared. 

    Delayed coupling where the non-nutritive sweetener is given slightly before the calories and calories are taken afterwards. We see no difference between all these non-nutritive sweeteners and sweetener blends and water. So, they’re very similar to water. They’re inert. They have no effect on the subsequent glucose response at all with meals.

     So, what do we find? 

    So, we found that non-nutritive sweetener beverages had no effect on acute glucose, insulin or other endocrine response markers like GLP-1, GIP, PYY, ghrelin, or glucose. These are all appetite or food-related endocrine factors or hormonal factors. 

    Non-nutritive sweeteners were similar to water. The findings are similar to previous reviews looking at this topic, ghrelin, Nicole and Tucker. So, these studies looked at either glucose or insulin but we have looked at all the other outcomes too. The results are similar to recently published systematic reviews in which rigorous methods were used. These were from our group also last year, Lee 2022, which was cohort studies and Maglin 2022, which was RCTs. And we show a similar difference of caloric versus non-nutritive sweeteners. 

    Non-nutritive sweeteners will be similar to water. 

    Our results differ from select narrative reviews, in vitro studies and human studies as they failed to consider key methodological and design issues, which I have described earlier like – a pattern of intake. So, these are three patterns we are looking at, plus the type of non-nutritive sweeteners and the comparator. Are you comparing it to another non-nutritive sweetener? Are you comparing it to blend? Are you comparing it to glucose? Are you comparing it to sucrose? So, all this actually matters. 

    This paper actually answers these two very important questions that are raised for acute studies, especially acute responses. One is that there’s uncoupling a sweet taste from caloric content because of non-nutritive sweeteners that disrupt metabolic consequences of sweet taste – through hormonal changes. 

    So, what it says is, that when you take non-nutritive sweeteners there are no calories involved. The body actually acts differently, and in that uncoupling, then the body then has to have a different response and it actually eats – there’s a different glucose or hormonal response because of that sweet taste disruption. However, when we looked at non-nutritive sweeteners uncoupled from calories, they did not elicit any different response. It was similar to water and I haven’t shown this but we also had a subset of people with type two diabetes and they showed the same result. 

    So, this actually answers this sweet and coupling hypothesis. 

    Another hypothesis that is presented in the literature is the non-nutritive sweeteners might alter metabolism when consumed along with carbohydrates. So, on their own they are fine but if you eat them with carbohydrates they have a different response and that is why they might be harmful. However, when we looked at that question – when we looked at the coupled and the delayed coupling studies, delayed coupling was a preload and non-nutritive sweeteners had taken preload. They did not produce any alteration in acute glucose or other metabolic responses and the effect was similar to water. 

    So, we answered these two very important questions that are being raised in literature. 

    In conclusion, that is my final slide, no differences in acute metabolic and endocrine responses were shown. These metabolic responses were glucose. These are the ones that regulate glucose of food intake. When we compared non-nutritious sweeteners, singles or blends with water – across three patterns of intake. Our study actually supports the use of non-nutritious sweetened beverages and an alternative replacement strategy for sugar-sweetened beverages similar to water. 

    That ends my presentation and thank you, and I’m open to questions now. 

    Thom: We’ve got a couple of questions from Marlene at Medscape. You addressed some of them already a little bit, but just to recap, if you could, in a few words. Even these sweeteners, these low-calorie sweeteners and things like soft drinks, your study is showing that they do not increase appetite or cause weight gain, and that’s one of Marlene’s questions from Medscape. 

    Dr. Khan: Yeah. We can talk about appetite and weight gain related to many of these hormonal factors that we study. These are acute trials, so they’re not looking at your weight gain three months down the line or your appetite changes over a long term. We’ll be looking at acute responses within two hours. Does it affect GLP, GIP, which affect appetite? Your glucose-insulin response might affect how your calories are stored as fat or not or if they are burned up. When we look at those short-term studies, there is no effect of the non-calorie sweeteners. The results are limited to short-term responses. However, these short-term responses can be considered to inform a long-term effect also, because if anything is happening long-term, it should then show something in the short-term also. 

    Thom: In light of that, another question from Marlene, that’s a good follow-up to that is, what should then doctors advise patients who want to follow a healthy way of eating and lose weight? The suggestion of substituting these kinds of sweeteners versus others – and as you said, looking at the more long-term patterns versus these acute ones, what would you say in response to that question? 

    Dr. Khan: So Long-term cohort studies – there is some literature published which shows that in the long term when you take low-calorie sweeteners or sweetened beverages, there is an increased risk of weight gain, diabetes, or mortality. However, those studies suffer from major methodological issues, and we addressed them in another paper we published recently in Diabetes Care. What those studies do is a lot of people when they’re taking excess calories, so they’re already at high risk of disease. As soon as either the doctor tells them or consciously, they decide to change and then switch to low-calorie sweeteners. When the study is done, actually they are recorded as taking low-calorie sweeteners, but it actually is that risk – so those who switch to low-calorie sweeteners are actually the ones who are at higher risk of disease already because of the excess intake over a lifetime of intake previously, like over decades. That is something, a phenomenon called reverse causality. 

    The high risk itself makes them switch to low-calorie sweeteners. When we look at those studies, we see that effect. 

    When you actually control for that, and we have done that in the previous paper in Diabetes Care where we looked at people who actually switched from sugar-sweetened beverages to low-calorie sweeteners. Actual switching and adjusting for their weight, and second, those who actually increase their intake of low-calorie sweeteners. In both situations, we found that low-calorie sweeteners actually reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes and mortality, and also was associated with a reduction in weight. Both in the long-term and the acute term, if rigorous methods are used and properly controlled methods are used, then low-calorie sweeteners show that they can be a viable replacement for excess calories.

    Thom:  Another question from Kristy Adams relating to oral health and these non-nutritive sweeteners. She references that the World Health Organization has mentioned that dental caries is the single most common health condition globally. Do these low and non-nutritive sweeteners play a role in reducing sugar consumption to support oral health around the world? 

    Dr. Khan: Thank you for this question. It’s very interesting. The WHO sugar guidelines for adults and children are actually based on oral health. Excess sugars or sugars that you take actually affect your oral health. So a reduction in sugar intake is recommended because of its benefits to oral health, and oral health then has association with chronic disease also. 

    If anything, that can reduce the consistent intake of sugary substances will be beneficial for oral health. So, this is not my area of research, I haven’t seen literature on how low-calorie sweeteners benefit oral health. However, if they are associated with the reduction in replacing those sugar intake, it most likely will affect or benefit oral health also. 

    Thom: What, if any, gaps are there still in this research that you’d like further studies to address? 

    Dr. Khan: Yeah, there are still some gaps. In acute studies, we had very few studies for blends. The majority of trials looked at single non-nutritive sweeteners. However, in industry, the majority of foods have blends in them. 

    More studies or more trials need to be done on blends. That’s one issue. 

    Then there has to be consistency between what we see in human studies and what is seen in animal studies. In animal studies, they give very high dosages, and then they show some effect. However, with humans, the amount is so small, it doesn’t. More studies need to be done regarding those specific non-nutritive sweeteners which have shown some effect in animal studies. But in our study, we show that they are also inert in their effect on humans. 

    Thom: If we don’t have any others coming in the chat, I wanted to ask Dr. Khan about this sweet uncoupling that you referred to. Could you just summarize that for us as best you can, this separation between the taste of sweetness versus actual calories, and help us make a little bit of sense of that for maybe a takeaway here? 

    Dr. Khan: Sweet uncoupling hypothesis is just a hypothesis. It’s not been proven yet. This was presented a few years ago in the literature which says that when there’s uncoupling of sweet taste from calories. When you eat sweet food or caloric sugars, it has sweetness. 

    However, non-nutritive sweeteners are sweet, but they have no calories. 

    The hypothesis was when there is an uncoupling or separation between that, our body becomes confused and it disrupts the metabolic consequences of sweet taste. When you eat non-nutritive sweeteners, you feel the sweetness, but your gut then is expecting calories, but those calories do not arrive. It then starts responding through some acute hormonal changes. These factors GLP, GIP1, or glucose or insulin response actually then is disrupted. That is the hypothesis. 

    Thom: Your feeling is that this study is evidence to disprove that hypothesis? 

    Dr. Khan: Yes. Our study is uniquely placed to answer that question because we looked at studies where non-nutritive sweeteners were separated from calories. It did not elicit any acute hormonal response and they were very similar to water. It was both in healthy people and also in people with type 2 diabetes. 

    I believe our study actually answers that very well. 

    Thom: Fascinating. Thank you so much, Dr. Khan. I think that’s all the questions we have for today. With that, I will say thank you to Steve Gibb from the IAFNS for helping to arrange this and thank you, Dr. Tauseef Khan from the University of Toronto. Really fascinating stuff and good luck with your next studies. Thanks very much. 

    Dr. Khan: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

    Newswise

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  • Top 15 Sources of Sodium Updated in Bid to Reduce Intake

    Top 15 Sources of Sodium Updated in Bid to Reduce Intake

    Newswise — Washington D.C. – Identifying the top sources of sodium in the American diet can inform policies and programs aimed at reducing sodium intake, a key risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Nearly 90 percent of Americans consume sodium in excess of dietary guidance, much of it from prepackaged foods.

    A new study on the subject by researchers at the University of Toronto and supported by IAFNS appears in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients. The scientists studied over 7,000 research subjects using the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey which consists of information on the health and nutritional status, including dietary recall information on foods consumed, of a nationally representative sample of adults and children in the United States.

    Efforts to curtail population sodium intake through consumer education and food labelling campaigns have had minimal impact. This suggested a need to have a more recent assessment of food contributors to sodium intake.

    According to the researchers, the top 15 food categories accounted for 50.83% of total dietary sodium intake: pizza (5.3%); breads, rolls and buns (4.7%); cold cuts and cured meats (4.6%); soups (4.4%); burritos and tacos (4.3%); savoury snacks (4.1%); poultry (4.0%); cheese (3.1%); pasta mixed dishes (2.9%); burgers (2.5%); meat mixed dishes (2.5%); cookies, brownies and cakes (2.4%); bacon, frankfurters, sausages (2.4%); vegetables (2.2%); and chicken nuggets (1.5%).

    According to the authors, “This study found that the top 15 food category contributors to dietary sodium represent just over 50 percent of total dietary sodium intake for American adults, with pizza, breads, cold cuts, soups and burritos being the top five contributors. Our findings were consistent across the population subgroups.”

    The research contributes key data on the food categories that could be reformulated to reduce sodium content to have the greatest impact on North Americans’ diets. The World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that limiting population-level sodium intake can reduce hypertension, an important preventative strategy to lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases — among the leading causes of death in North America. The study provides an updated understanding of the top sources of sodium intake in the American population overall.

    According to the authors, “The present research contributes important information pertaining to the food categories that would be amenable to reformulation and have significant impact on Americans’ diets.”

    Lead author Mavra Ahmed says, “This data is important in light of the FDA Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals which bring renewed focus on the importance of limiting sodium in the food supply and can help focus future efforts.”

    The study can be found by clicking here.

    This research was supported by a competitive grant from the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS) Sodium in Foods and Health Implications Committee. IAFNS is a 501(c)(3) science-focused nonprofit uniquely positioned to mobilize industry, government and academia to drive, fund and lead actionable research. IAFNS has over forty scientific projects and programs all focused on delivering science that matters. Learn more at iafns.org.

    Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences

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