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Chori-Bar: a Low Calorie, Food Supplement to Restore Metabolic Balance
Scientists at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute's (CHORI) Nutrition
& Metabolism Center, led by National Medal of Science winner Bruce N. Ames, PhD,
have developed a
low-calorie
fruit-based high fiber
vitamin and
mineral
nutrition bar called the "CHORI-bar" .
The CHORI-bar combines aspects of the
Mediterranean diet with the most biologically active form of
folate
(5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate). The latter is expected to bypass the need for high
levels of folate required to keep homocysteine at a healthy level in individuals
with the TT MTHFR polymorphism, which is present in half the U.S. population.
The current bar has 36 ingredients and 107 calories. The bar is dense and very
chewy, and the flavors - white chocolate blueberry or fruit cinnamon - is
subtle, and not too sweet.
The bar is claimed to:-
Improve biological indicators (increased
HDL-c and glutathione, lowered homocysteine) linked to risk of
cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, and associated decline in
anti-oxidant defenses. Glutathione is an antioxidant, preventing damage
to important cellular components caused by reactive oxygen species such as
free radicals and peroxides. A higher value of
HDL- c
is beneficial because it protects from the development and progression of
atherosclerotic disease. The lower your HDL-C (1 milligram HDL-C per 1
deciliter of blood), the higher your risk. Studies have shown that for every
1-mg/dL rise in HDL-C (1 milligram HDL-C per 1 deciliter of blood), the risk
for developing
cardiovascular disease decreases by 2% to 3%. As HDL-C in blood
penetrates atherosclerotic plaque in the vessel wall, it mobilizes and binds
cholesterol and transports it back to the liver for elimination through the
gastrointestinal tract.
-
 Help
restore optimal nutritional balance in people eating poor
diets.
Food components such as certain soluble fibers and polyphenols, benefit gut
health but are deficient in typical Western diet, have been included in the bar
along with a number of other ingredients, all aimed at helping to restore
optimal
nutrition.
-
Help develop healthier eating habits. All those who are over weight
tend to avoid taking healthy
meals missing out on essential nutrients needed for growth and
maintenance.
-
Raise glutathione level: - Glutathione is the principal regulator of
the cellular redox environment, and is important for preventing oxidative
stress. Glutathione declines with age and is low in many diseases. Few
drugs and only high doses of certain food constituents have been reported to
raise glutathione, but only 2-weeks consumption of the bar was required.
The CHORI-bar will appear in the August 2012 FASEB Journal (the Journal of
the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology), but the creators
of the CHORI-bar have made public some of the details involved in the test.
Ref:
Dated 22 May 2012
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