Milk May Boost Weight Loss
Drinking a cup or two of milk a day might help overweight dieters lose even more weight. In a new study, dieters who consumed milk or milk products lost more weight on average than those who did not.Researchers in Israel placed more than 300 overweight men and women ages 40 to 65 on either a low-fat, low-carb or Mediterranean diet for two years. Regardless of meal plan, dieters who drank 12 ounces (a cup and a half) of milk each day lost 12 pounds at the end of two years, compared to only 7 pounds for dieters who drank less than half a cup of milk per day, according to their research published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. For each extra 6 ounces of milk per day — about three-quarters of a cup — dieters lost an additional 10 pounds in six months.
The researchers found that people who lost weight increased levels of Vitamin D in their blood, supporting other studies that found obesity is linked with the lack of Vitamin D. Soaking up rays of sun can naturally produce Vitamin D, as can drinking fortified milk, fatty fish and eggs. Four cups of milk has the recommended 400 international units (IU) of Vitamin D that recent studies show Americans aren’t getting. To see more of The Orlando Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.OrlandoSentinel.com. Copyright © 2010, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Marissa Cevallos, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.
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Are your dieting habits putting your bones at risk?
DIETING by teenage girls desperate to reach ’size zero’ could be putting their bones at risk, say British researchers.
They found bone strength is linked to fat levels – meaning the pressure to be thin may increase the chances of fractures.
A long-term child development study shows fat mass is more important to bone development in girls than boys.
It has long been known that being anorexic leads to prematurely thin bones, but the latest study suggests a reason for decreased bone strength.
A team from Bristol University looked at more than 4,000 young people aged 15, scanning their bones to calculate their shape and density, as well as how much body fat they had. Read More…
Date: Jan 6, 2009
© 2010 Daily Mail. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company
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Avoid Cancer by Cutting the Fat
Lower your intake of calories and fat this holiday season, and you could lower your risk for diabetes, heart disease — and cancer, experts say.
Kalli Castille, director of nutrition at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Tulsa, said emerging research shows there is a strong link between obesity and cancer risk.
According to a recent report by the American Institute for Cancer Research, more than 100,000 cases of cancer each year are caused by excess body fat.
So decreasing your intake of fat and calories to get yourself to an ideal body weight may help prevent cancer. But you can eat smart and still enjoy yourself during the holidays and into the new year. Read More…
Date: Dec 20, 2009
© 2009 Tulsa World. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
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Suffering Withdrawal from Dieting?
YO-YO dieting may produce withdrawal symptoms similar to those suffered by alcoholics and drug addicts, a study suggests.
Many people go on a diet only to find themselves locked into a cycle of caloriecutting and bingeeating.
The new research on rats suggests they may be experiencing effects in the brain seen in relapsing drug users.
One group of rats was given standard food and sugary chocolate flavoured rations at five and two day intervals. A second group only received standard food.
Diet-cycled rats began to turn their noses up at their “standard” food while pouncing on the sugary treats.
Date: Nov 11, 2009
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Adequate Vitamin K to Keep You Young
U.S. researchers suggest ensuring optimal dietary intakes of vitamin K can help prevent age-related conditions such as bone fragility and heart disease.
Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists said vitamin K is concentrated in dark green plants such as spinach or Swiss chard, and is either not present or present in only small amounts in most multivitamin pills.
Joyce McCann and Bruce Ames analyzed data from hundreds of published articles dating back to the 1970s designed to test Ames’ “triage” theory that provides a new basis for determining the optimum intake of individual vitamins and minerals.
The analysis, which strongly supports Ames’ theory, scheduled to be published in the October issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, supports recommendations by some experts that non-clotting functions requiring vitamin K may need higher intakes than are currently recommended.
Vitamin K is known as the “Koagulation” vitamin because about half of the 16 known proteins that depend on vitamin K are necessary for blood coagulation. The other vitamin K-dependent proteins are involved in a variety of different functions involving the skeletal, arterial, and immune systems, the researchers said.
URL: www.upi.com
Date: Sept 22, 2009
Copyright 2009 by United Press International
Diabetics With Low Vit D At Greater Risk
Diabetics deficient in vitamin D can’t process cholesterol so it builds in blood vessels, increasing heart attack and stroke risk, U.S. researchers said.
Principal investigator Dr. Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, a Washington University endocrinologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, said when people are deficient in vitamin D the macrophage cells — dispatched by the immune system in response to inflammation — eat more cholesterol, which they can’t get rid of.
“Vitamin D inhibits the uptake of cholesterol by cells called macrophages,” Bernal-Mizrachi said in a statement. “The macrophages get clogged with cholesterol and become what scientists call foam cells, which are one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis.”
The researchers studied macrophage cells taken from people with and without diabetes, and with and without vitamin D deficiency. When vitamin D levels were low in the culture dish, macrophages from diabetic patients were much more likely to become foam cells.
The study, published in the journal Circulation, found vitamin D regulates signaling pathways linked both to uptake and to clearance of cholesterol in macrophages.
Date: Aug 24, 2009 URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2009 by United Press International
Mangosteen Juice May Fight Inflammation
Mangosteen juice has anti-inflammatory properties which could help prevent heart disease and diabetes in obese patients, U.S. researchers said.
Mangosteen is a tropical fruit, not related to the mango, and is rare in the produce sections of grocery stores in North America and Europe, but available frozen or canned.
A study, published in Nutrition Journal, said the juice of the exotic “superfruit” lowered levels of C-reactive protein — a biomarker for inflammation.
Dr. Jay Udani of Medicus Research in Northridge, Calif., worked with a team of researchers to carry out a randomized, double-blind placebo controlled trial.
“For people drinking over half a liter of mangosteen juice a day, the degree of reduction in C-reactive protein levels was statistically significant — a reduction of 1.33mg/L compared to an increase of 0.9mg/L in the placebo group,” Udani said in a statement. “Further studies with a larger population are required to confirm and further define the benefits of this juice, which was safe at all dosages tested.”
The American Journal of Kidney Disease published a case study of a possible adverse effect from chronic consumption of mangosteen juice containing xanthones. A patient suffered severe acidosis — low blood pH — possibly attributable to a year of daily use to lose weight, the case study said.
Date: October 19, 2009 URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2009 by United Press International
Lactose Intolerance Lower Than Previously Thought
Prevalence of lactose intolerance may be far lower than previously estimated, according to a study in the latest issue of Nutrition Today.(1) The study, which uses data from a national sample of three ethnic groups, reveals that the overall prevalence rate of self-reported lactose intolerance is 12 percent – with 7.72 percent of European Americans, 10.05 percent of Hispanic Americans and 19.5 percent of African Americans who consider themselves lactose intolerant.
These new findings indicate that previous estimates of lactose intolerance incidence – based on the incidence of lactose maldigestion – may be overestimated by wide margins. Previous studies have found lactose maldigestion, or low lactase activity in the gut, to occur in approximately 15 percent of European Americans, 50 percent of Mexican Americans and 80 percent of African Americans.(2,3,4) The new study shows that lactose intolerance, based on self-reported data, may actually occur far less frequently than presumed.
“There’s so much confusion surrounding lactose intolerance,” said Theresa Nicklas, DrPH, of the USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine and lead study author. “By getting a better handle on the true number of people who deal with this condition every day, the nutrition community can be better equipped to educate and provide dietary guidance for Americans, including strategies to help meet dairy food recommendations for those who self-report lactose intolerance.”
Since increasing daily consumption of dairy can be an effective strategy for ensuring adequate intake of shortfall nutrients (such as calcium, magnesium and potassium),(5) those who do experience symptoms of lactose intolerance should know there are several practical solutions that can allow for consumption of milk and milk products. In fact, according to a recent study in the Journal of Sensory Studies, adults who identified themselves as lactose intolerant reported a higher liking of lactose-free cow’s milk compared to non-dairy, soy-based substitute beverage.(6)
“Those with lactose intolerance are often relieved to know they can still enjoy the great taste and health benefits of dairy if they follow certain strategies,” said Orsolya Palacios, PhD, RD, and lead author of the study. “The symptoms of lactose intolerance vary greatly for each individual, and there are options in the dairy case that allow almost everyone to take advantage of the health benefits provided by the recommended three daily servings of dairy foods.”
Recommended Solutions for Incorporating Dairy
Several health authorities have addressed ways that those with lactose intolerance can benefit from dairy’s unique nutrient package of nine essential nutrients including calcium, potassium, magnesium and vitamin A, identified as “nutrients of concern” by the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans.(7) The Dietary Guidelines encourages people with lactose intolerance to try lower-lactose dairy food options to ensure they get the essential nutrients found in dairy. In a supplement to the October issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association (JNMA), the National Medical Association states that dairy milk alone provides a key package of essential nutrients, and that African Americans should use dietary strategies to increase the amount of dairy foods they consume. And in a 2006 report, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends children with lactose intolerance still consume dairy foods to help meet calcium, vitamin D, protein and other nutrient needs essential for bone health and overall growth. The report cautions that lactose intolerance should not require avoidance of dairy foods.(8)
The National Dairy Council has identified some strategies to help people with lactose intolerance enjoy the taste and nutrition of dairy:
– The good news is lactose-free milk is regular milk, just without the lactose.
– It provides the same unique package of nine essential nutrients as found in the equivalent form of regular milk (reduced-fat, fat-free,etc.) – calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins A, D and B12, riboflavin and niacin (niacin equivalents).
– Try drinking small amounts of milk with meals.
– Consuming milk with other foods or a meal can make it easier to digest, so try milk on cereal, in smoothies or licuados, and enjoy a glass of milk with lunch or dinner.
– Try cooking with milk. p> — Make oatmeal with milk instead of water and add milk to soups, sauces, casseroles, etc.
– Try eating yogurt.
– Yogurts that contain live and active cultures can make it easier for the digestive system to digest lactose.
– Try aged cheeses.
– Aged cheeses like Swiss, Parmesan, Gouda, Colby, provolone, Cheddar,
Edam, Fontina, Gruyere, Muenster and Monterey Jack have very little lactose.
For more information, visit www.nationaldairycouncil.org, and get the latest dairy and nutrition news from NDC’s blog, www.thedairyreport.com. URL: http://www.nationaldairycouncil.org www.prnewswire.com
Copyright © 2009 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved
Bad Economy Has Us Turning to Salty Snacks
A new study says that when our economic chips are down … we eat ‘em.
A Chicago company that analyzes consumer trends worldwide for a variety of different industries, Mintel, said it has discovered a direct correlation between the health of the nation’s economy and the amount of salty snacks Americans consume each year.
The company’s thesis — that snack-food purchases increase as recessions deepen — is borne out by the fact that, after several years of modest growth, potato chip sales have rocketed up 22 percent since the start of the current recession.
“I hadn’t heard about potato chips as economic indicators, but our business is up,” said Haley Thomas, director of sales and marketing for Ballreich Bros. Inc., a large regional manufacturer of snack foods in Tiffin.
“I think people are staying home more, not going out as much, and chips are an easy side item. They’re also a comfort food for when people aren’t feeling so good about their situation,” Ms. Thomas said.
Mintel’s most recent study of salty snack foods, which looks at sales trends back to 2004, found that potato chips weren’t the only salty snack on the rise; tortilla chip sales were up 18 percent — primarily from increases in meals prepared at home.
Sales of snack nuts and seeds increased 5 percent, while popcorn went up 9 percent over the period, said Mintel senior market analyst Chris Haack.
“The recession isn’t the sole reason for the growth; there’s also been an incredible amount of innovation in the market — offering products that were lower in sodium or were multigrain items — that fueled a lot of the growth,” Mr. Haack explained.
“But the majority of the upswing has been about value; it’s about consumers looking for an alternative to fruit or nuts.”
Amy McCormick, a spokesman for Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., the region’s largest grocery retailer, said the company’s potato chip sales “are up 18 to 20 percent year-to-date” over last year.
However, she said the figures could be swayed by frequent sales, too.
“We can’t attribute that to the recession,” she said.
Of course, theories postulating direct correlations between narrow consumer trends and overall economic activity are nothing new.
Economists, sociologists, and market analysts have tried out everything from skirt hemlines to laxative sales to haircuts as accurate barometers of economic pressures facing the general public since the 1930s. And in many ways, Mintel’s study of “the chip” is probably another example of that, economists say.
“That’s not one of my indicators,” said George Mokrzan, chief economist with Huntington National Bank in Columbus, when told about the potato chip study. “The stuff that I look at are things like debt and employment levels, savings rates, and consumer confidence measures.”
Mr. Mokrzan said consumers eager to leave a bitter recession should be looking more for increases in big-ticket item sales than crumpled potato chip bags.
“What I primarily would be looking for in terms of economic recovery are things that have a lot of cyclical sensitivity: large durable goods, for example, that would respond to lower interest rates.
“More things like that as a measure that consumers are feeling more positive and willing to go out there and make significant purchases,” the economist said.
Date: October 8, 2009
To see more of The Blade, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.toledoblade.com.
Copyright © 2009, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
Inadequate Omega 3 Intake Shortens Lives
A new study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found Omega-3 deficient diets cause up to 96,000 preventable deaths annually in the United States (US).
“The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors” study published in the April 2009 issue of PLoS Medicine estimated the number of deaths resulting from 12 different modifiable and preventable causes to determine how many deaths were attributable to these factors.
Of the 12 dietary, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors examined in the study, Omega-3 fatty acid deficiency ranked as the sixth highest killer of Americans, responsible for a whopping 72,000 to 96,000 preventable deaths yearly. Omega-3 fatty acid deficiency even beat out high trans fat intake, which is responsible for an estimated 63,000 to 97,000 deaths annually.
Researchers retrieved data on exposures to the 12 selected risk factors from US national health surveys, and obtained information on deaths from different diseases for 2005 from the US National Health Center for Health Statistics. They also used previously published studies to estimate how much each risk factor increased the risk of death from each disease, and applied a mathematical model to estimate the number of deaths related to each risk factor.
Tobacco smoking ranked as the highest risk factor with 436,000 to 500,000 attributed preventable deaths, followed by high blood pressure (372,000 to 414,000), obesity (188,000 to 237,000), physical inactivity (164,000 to 222,000) and high salt intake (97,000-107,000).
Studies such as this are becoming increasingly important in the US and around the world as healthcare costs skyrocket. Policymakers use these studies to determine leading causes of mortality among populations, and then to develop and implement public health policies and legislation to help reduce exposure and to prevent death from certain risk factors.
About Omega-3:
Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid (EFA), consisting of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and ALA (alpha-linolenic acid). Oily fish (such as sardines, anchovies, mackerel, and salmon) are the only known natural sources of Omega-3 EPA/DHA. ALA is found in plants, such as flax and chia. It is important to note that only EPA and DHA contribute to the many health benefits associated with Omega-3. While the body can convert ALA into EPA/DHA, it does so very inefficiently (less than one percent), making it impossible to derive Omega-3-related health benefits from plant-sourced ALA. Furthermore, although Omega-3 EPA/DHA is vital to overall good health, the human body is not able to produce it on its own, so supplementation is required, either by eating oily fish or foods fortified with Omega-3 EPA/DHA, or by taking fish oil supplements.
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