Nutrition & Wellness

The April 2014 issue of Food Technology magazine published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) features Contributing Editor A. Elizabeth Sloan's insights on the top 10 functional food trends for 2014. Sloan gathers data from a multitude of industry resources to come up with the following trends. Specialty Nutritionals: Consumers who once relied heavily on … [Read more...]

Ever wonder why that diet didn't work? An Israeli study tracking the blood sugar levels of 800 people over a week suggests that even if we all ate the same meal, how it's metabolized would differ from one person to another. The findings, published November 19 in Cell, demonstrate the power of personalized nutrition in helping people identify which foods can help or hinder their … [Read more...]

If that last run left your knees a little cranky or your feet seeking relief, it doesn’t have to come from a pill bottle. Oregon researchers found dramatic and surprising pain relief from a key ingredient in one of your grandmother’s favorite pies. Lisa Ann McCall has been running since the early 80’s and still loves it. “You can see different sights,” McCall said. “You … [Read more...]

As unlikely as it sounds, green tomatoes may hold the answer to bigger, stronger muscles. Using a screening method that previously identified a compound in apple peel as a muscle-boosting agent, a team of University of Iowa scientists has now discovered that tomatidine, a compound from green tomatoes, is even more potent for building muscle and protecting against muscle … [Read more...]

If you're a man, how much you eat may have more to do with the gender of your dining companions than your appetite. A new Cornell University study, published in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science, found that men will eat significantly more food in the company of women than they will with other men. For the study, researchers observed 105 adults lunching at an … [Read more...]

Eating one serving a day of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can significantly reduce "bad cholesterol" and therefore the risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study has found. However, most people in North America would have to more than double their consumption of these foods known as pulses to reach that target, said the researchers at St. Michael's Hospital. The … [Read more...]

A new UCLA psychology study provides evidence that being overweight makes people tired and sedentary -- not the other way around. Life scientists led by UCLA's Aaron Blaisdell placed 32 female rats on one of two diets for six months. The first, a standard rat's diet, consisted of relatively unprocessed foods like ground corn and fish meal. The ingredients in the second were … [Read more...]

Eating sweet foods causes the brain to form a memory of a meal, according to researchers at Georgia State University, Georgia Regents University and Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center. The findings, published online in the journal Hippocampus, show that neurons in the dorsal hippocampus, the part of the brain that is critical for episodic memory, are activated by consuming … [Read more...]

In a recent study funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, University of Georgia researchers found that produce that contained bacteria would contaminate other produce items through the continued use of knives or graters--the bacteria would latch on to the utensils commonly found in consumers' homes and spread to the next item. Unfortunately, many consumers are … [Read more...]

We all know what it's like to take a bite of something expecting one taste and getting another -- it can be an enjoyable or disgusting experience. New research published in Food Research International reveals that being pleasantly surprised or disappointed with a food product can actually change a person's mood. Using different methods to measure people's emotional … [Read more...]

The latest results from a 25-year study of diet and aging in monkeys shows a significant reduction in mortality and in age-associated diseases among those with calorie-restricted diets. The study, begun at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1989, is one of two ongoing, long-term U.S. efforts to examine the effects of a reduced-calorie diet on nonhuman primates. The study … [Read more...]

With the world population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, engineers and scientists are looking for ways to meet the increasing demand for food without also increasing the strain on natural resources, such as water and energy -- an initiative known as the food-water-energy nexus. Ramesh Raliya, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher, and Pratim Biswas, PhD, the Lucy & … [Read more...]

    Dental researchers at the University of Adelaide are warning parents of the dangers of soft drinks, fruit juice, sports drinks and other drinks high in acidity, which form part of a "triple-threat" of permanent damage to young people's teeth. For the first time, researchers have been able to demonstrate that lifelong damage is caused by acidity to the … [Read more...]

Energy drinks have grown in popularity for many Americans, but there is growing concern about the health risks of consuming them in large quantities. Because men are the main consumers of energy drinks, a research team lead by Dr. Ronald F. Levant, a professor of psychology at The University of Akron, set out to study a possible link between masculinity, expectations about the … [Read more...]

Large U.S.-based chain restaurants that voluntarily list calorie counts on their menus average nearly 140 fewer calories per item than those that do not post the information, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health-led research suggests. The findings, published in the November issue of Health Affairs, come as all American chain restaurants with more than 20 … [Read more...]

People who live alone are more likely to have unhealthy diets lacking key foods, QUT research has found. The study reported inadequate cooking skills, no partner to go shopping with, the increasing cost of food and a lack of motivation to cook were among the reasons people living alone had different eating practices. Men living alone were more likely to have a poor diet than … [Read more...]

A former principal deputy commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing a solution to the current gridlock over the regulation of dietary supplements: Focus less on whether these vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts actually do what they claim and instead take important steps to improve their safety. Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD, associate dean for public … [Read more...]

We hate to ruin Thanksgiving, but a new report appearing in the Nov. 2015 issue of The FASEB Journal suggests that for some people, overindulgence at the dinner table or at snack time is enough to trigger signs of metabolic disease. Specifically, in some people just one high-calorie shake was enough to make people with metabolic disease worse, while in others, relatively short … [Read more...]

Diet diversity, as defined by less similarity among the foods people eat, may be linked to lower diet quality and worse metabolic health, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. The study was published today in PLOS ONE. "'Eat everything in … [Read more...]

Forgotten trees from long lost orchards and 20th-century city landscaping are being rediscovered in urban areas, and their fruits are proving not only largely free of urban pollutants, but more nutritious than their retail counterparts. Scientists at Wellesley College have joined forces with the League of Urban Canners (LUrC), based in Cambridge/Somerville and greater Boston … [Read more...]

Eating a lot of fibre-rich foods, such as fruit, vegetables, and legumes--typical of a Mediterranean diet--is linked to a rise in health promoting short chain fatty acids, finds research published online in the journal Gut. And you don't have to be a vegetarian or a vegan to reap the benefits, the findings suggest. Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which include acetate, … [Read more...]

Pumpkin products proliferate this time of year -- and not just for traditional pies and breads, but for whimsical goodies that may not live up to the pumpkin's healthy reputation. Appealing to palates are pumpkin donuts, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin latte -- even chocolate pumpkin candy. "If you believe the sales pitch, the pumpkin is the happiest, healthiest food ever," said … [Read more...]

New research from the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit at the University of Southampton in the UK indicates that neighbourhood exposure to fast food outlets is potentially linked to poorer bone development in early childhood. The study looked at the bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) of 1107 children at birth and at four and/or six years of age and … [Read more...]

A diet high in processed fructose sabotages rat brains' ability to heal after head trauma, UCLA neuroscientists report. Revealing a link between nutrition and brain health, the finding offers implications for the 5.3 million Americans living with a traumatic brain injury, or TBI. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1.7 million people … [Read more...]

Falling levels of polyamines, compounds present in all living cells, cause circadian rhythms to slow down in older mice, reports a study published October 8 in Cell Metabolism. This effect was reversed by dietary supplementation with a type of polyamine called spermidine, which is abundant in foods such as soybeans, corn, green peas, and blue cheese. No studies have yet been … [Read more...]

Dietary fat may impact the severity and duration of autoimmune flare-ups, suggests a study published on October 20 in the journal Immunity. Adjusting the length of fatty acids consumed by mice altered the function of T helper cells in the gut--either intensifying or alleviating symptoms in an animal model of the autoimmune disease (i.e., multiple sclerosis). A team led by … [Read more...]

Smoking is a known factor in many serious health issues: stroke, myocardial infarction, cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, to name but a few. In their recent research in Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, Syaheedah et al. sought to study what impact antioxidants in honey have on the oxidative stress in smokers. Smoking introduces free radicals into … [Read more...]

A new study in mice reveals that increased body weight and high blood sugar as a result of consuming a high-fat diet may cause anxiety and depressive symptoms and measurable changes in the brain. Also, the beneficial effects of an antidepressant were blunted in mice fed a high-fat diet. "When treating depression, in general there is no predictor of treatment resistance," … [Read more...]