February 2009
View or print a copy of the entire February 2009 issue of Environmental
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Research Roundup February 2009
Subscribers Only Beta-alanine supplements may improve muscle endurance in older men and women. Researchers in England gave 2.4 grams of beta-alanine a day to 12 older men and women; they gave placebos to 14 others. After 90 days, those who took beta-alanine saw a 67% improvement in their fitness compared to a 22% improvement in the placebo group. Beta-alanine is an amino acid supplement widely used by athletes and body builders, but this research suggests it could help prevent falls and prolong independent living among older men and women.
Barley Boasts a Bonanza of Fiber and Selenium
Subscribers Only The Folklore. Initially cultivated in Southeast Asia and Ethiopia, barley was used for food and fermented into wine, a popular beverage in ancient Babylonia. In ancient Greece and Rome, barley was a major food for athletes; gladiators were called hordearii, "eaters of barley." The Facts. Barley is available in many forms—whole, pearled, flakes, grits, meal, flour—which vary in fiber and nutrients, though all are nutritious. Barley is a good source of the B vitamin niacin and the minerals copper and selenium, but it shines in fiber content. Cup for cup, even pearled barley (the most common form) contains nearly twice the fiber of brown rice and six times that of white rice. All barley contains both soluble and insoluble fiber, both of which provide health benefits, including helping lower total and low-density lipoprotein ("bad" LDL) cholesterol; slowing the absorption of glucose, which stabilizes blood sugar levels; promoting regularity; and increasing satiety.
Proposed Rules for Organic Fish Run Fast and Loose With USDA Standards
Subscribers Only Organic Seafood Soon a Reality? The National Organic Standards Board, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which sets standards for all organic foods, proposed organic standards for farmed fish this past November. What about wild? Logic dictates that anything wild is naturally organic. Ironically, however, wild fish will never be labeled organic, because there’s no control over what they eat and what’s in their environment, making it impossible to ensure adherance to any organic standards. Environmentalists and consumer advocates criticize the proposed standards, because they are weaker than existing standards for other foods. Moreover, they don’t encourage seafood sustainability.
Don’t Cry Over Onions
Subscribers Only Onions contain allinase, an enzyme that’s activated when you slice and dice. It interacts with compounds in the onion, releasing a vapor that causes your eyes to sting and tear, though how much varies from onion to onion and even person to person. But don’t vilify those volatile vapors, because it’s these same sulfur-containing compounds that give onions their distinct flavor and aroma, as well as their health-promoting properties. Several methods have been suggested to make onion-chopping more bearable. All have limited success. Perhaps this "official" trick will work for you: the National Onion Association suggests chilling onions at least 30 minutes before cutting to slow the chemical reaction. Also, use a sharp, straight (not serrated) knife to minimize activation of allinase. And cut the root end last; it has the highest concentration of tear-inducing compounds.
Little Evidence of a Diet Link to Fibromyalgia
Subscribers Only Despite popular book titles to the contrary, there is no real "fibro- myalgia diet." Little progress has been made in unraveling a diet connection to what causes fibromyalgia, though the latest thinking is that diet may play a role in helping reduce the pain that accompanies the condition. Trouble is, experts aren’t quite sure yet exactly which foods are best or whether avoiding certain foods would help.Fibromyalgia Defined. Fibromyalgia is a nonspecific disorder—some say syndrome—that’s described as a constellation of symptoms causing muscle pain and unrelenting fatigue. Sufferers have "tender points" on the body, generally on the neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms and legs, as well as sleep disturbances and gastrointestinal symptoms.
Variety of Vegetable Soups: Convenient, Nutritious...Salty
Subscribers Only Campbell Soup was one of the few companies not to lose stock value last fall. Why? There’s no reason not to love economical, tasty soup, especially when times are tough and you could use a dose of nostalgia. Soup can also be nutritious if you choose wisely. What’s more, soup’s high water content promotes a feeling of fullness. Whether eaten before your meal or as the meal itself, it can help you maintain a healthy weight. Vegetable soups, in particular, fill an important nutrition void by contributing as much as a serving of oft-neglected veggies. For example, one cup of almost any soup in Campbell’s Select Harvest line, plus every flavor in its new five-product V8 line, provides one-half cup of vegetables—a full serving. And most vegetable soups offer more fiber and less saturated fat than beef- or chicken-based soups.
Strange New (Secret?) World of Genetically Engineered Animals
Subscribers Only You may have heard of genetically modified (GM) plants—think soybeans—but did you know genetically engineered (GE) animals are coming down the pike? And if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has its way, you won’t know when food from GE animals are gracing supermarket shelves or be able to identify them. That’s because, as it did with plants, FDA put no labeling provision in the recently drafted guidelines for foods from GE animals.
Keep It Dark on V-Day
Subscribers Only Profess your love on Valentine’s Day with dark chocolate and it will go straight to the heart. You may know dark chocolate is rich in naturally occurring flavonoids, those heart-healthy polyphenol compounds. But did you know flavonoids have anti-inflammatory properties that can lower CRP? Dark Chocolate Rx. Two recent studies—from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and from Italy—suggest that regularly eating dark chocolate can lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). The Johns Hopkins study found benefits after just a week of eating 3½ ounces of dark chocolate (containing 70% cacao solids and 700 milligrams of flavonoids) a day, lowering CRP levels 23% in women. The Italian research—a population study that relied on self-reports—found that just 2/3 of an ounce of dark chocolate (20 grams of flavonoids) every three days reduced CRP.
Move Over Cholesterol: Two Tests Trump One
Subscribers Only The number one killer in the U.S. is cardiovascular disease (CVD)—a cause of heart attacks and strokes. For years, blood cholesterol has been the benchmark for risk. But now researchers realize that inflammation is central to the development of CVD. A protein called C-reactive protein (CRP) is one of the best markers for inflammation. Until now, however, scientists have debated whether it was any better than LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol in accurately predicting who is at risk. Now we know the answer. CRP Proves Mettle, Lauded by Experts. This past November, three studies were presented at an American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans. Combined with earlier research, the findings favor combining high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) testing with LDL-cholesterol to determine CVD risk. The studies confirm that hsCRP results can identify people at risk for a heart attack or stroke who might otherwise be classified at a lower risk based solely on their LDL levels.
Whittle Your Weight By Fixing 6 Common Eating Mistakes
Subscribers Only If you’re like many people, your New Year’s resolve to eat better in 2009 may already be a distant memory. But don’t lose hope. Lasting weight loss—or maintaining your weight as you age—results from good eating choices made every day all year long. It may just take correcting a few common eating missteps. Going too long without food. This often starts with skipping breakfast then continues throughout the day. The result is constant nagging hunger. Little known secret? You should diet on full stomach. Sound counterintuitive? It’s not. Hunger is the death knell of any weight-loss diet; when famished, you reach for the first food that comes into view and probably too much of it. Eating often, however, keeps you in control of what you eat, instead of the food controlling you. It perks up your body’s metabolism, too. Plan to put something worthwhile in your mouth every three to four hours. Back to breakfast—the most commonly skipped meal: Studies show that most people who’ve lost weight and kept it off eat breakfast every day.
Eating More Soy Means Less Colon Cancer
Subscribers Only People who eat a lot of soy, especially postmenopausal women, have a much lower risk of colon and rectal cancers than those who eat less. Those are the new findings from researchers with the Shanghai Women’s Health Study, a large population study in China that studied more than 68,000 women aged 40 to 70. Researchers tracked the women’s soy intake and their incidence of colorectal cancers for more than six years. The results? The women who ate the most soy products were 30% less likely to develop either kind of cancer compared to women who ate the least. For each additional five grams of soy (about one ounce of tofu) eaten per day, risk dropped by about 8%.
Eating The Mediterranean Way: Good For A Lot More Than Just Your Heart
Subscribers Only Ever since researcher Ancel Keys discovered that people living near the Mediterranean Sea suffered fewer heart attacks than Northern Europeans and Americans, the so-called Mediterranean Diet has been touted for heart health. A slew of studies has provided plenty of evidence to back up the diet’s cardio-protective claims of lower low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and triglycerides. Now, it seems the traditional "Med" way of eating benefits more than your heart. New findings suggest it reduces the risk of diabetes, certain cancers, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease—and can help you live a longer, happier life. At the recent 15th Anniversary Mediterranean Diet Conference in Boston, sponsored by Oldways, a food issues think tank, international scientists, nutritionists and chefs presented cutting-edge research plus practical ways to translate Med eating to your own lifestyle. EN was there to bring you the inside scoop.
9 Healthful Ways To Boost Your Brain Function And Smarten Up Now
Subscribers Only Just like the rest of your body, your noggin’ needs nourishment—and exercise. Research on brain health shows that what you eat and how you live can affect memory, mental acuity, concentration and possibly help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Research from the Chicago Health and Aging Project suggests that older folks who eat at least two cups of vegetables a day can slow mental decline by about 40% more than those who eat less than one serving a day. Eating fruit did not offer the same mental benefits; what people put on veggies (e.g., salad dressing or margarine, which both contain vitamin E) may give vegetables the edge. Still, many animal studies suggest that the antioxidants in certain fruits—notably blueberries—help reverse age-related declines in thinking and neuromotor skills by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain. While researchers caution they don’t know if the cognitive benefits seen in animals translate to humans, the research suggests a way the brain might protect itself from mental decline.