Eating twice the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of protein while regularly exercising and eating a healthy diet prevents muscle loss and promotes fat loss, according to a U.S. study. The caloric intake and exercise levels of the men and women in the study were tightly controlled. In addition, they were assigned to groups that ate the normal RDA of protein, twice the RDA and three times the RDA. The researchers concluded that eating twice the RDA of protein helps prevent muscle loss when trying to lose fat, along with adequate exercise and a well balanced diet.
"Effects of high-protein diets on fat-free mass and muscle protein synthesis following weight loss: a randomized controlled trial", The FASEB Journal, August 29, 2013
A Norwegian study in young rats with hyperactivity, poor ability to concentrate and impulsiveness – all symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in humans – has found that the intake of omega-3 fatty acids led to a decline in the symptoms. The rats were given omega-3 supplements while in the womb and from the earliest stages of life. Monitoring of the animals found substantial differences in the behavior of those given the omega-3 supplements as fetuses and as baby rats and those that had not. Male rats showed improved ability to concentrate, while all of the omega-3 rats showed reduced hyperactivity. The researchers cautioned that these findings might not translate to human beings for a variety of reasons.
"Marine omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids induce sex-specific changes in reinforcer-controlled behavior and neurotransmitter metabolism in a spontaneously hypertensive rat model of ADHD", Behavioral and Brain Functions, August 23, 2013
A U.S. study finds a link between the Western junk food diet – high in saturated fat, vegetable oil fats and sugar – and erectile and coronary artery dysfunction , particularly with a sedentary lifestyle. The study was conducted in rats who ate either a healthy diet or a fat-rich diet, and who either exercised or remained sedentary. The findings showed that rats who ate the Western diet but stayed sedentary developed erectile dysfunction and poorly relaxing coronary arteries. But those who ate a junk food diet – and exercised – were able to prevent these problems. Animals who ate a healthy diet avoided both erectile and coronary artery dysfunction.
"Exercise prevents Western diet-associated erectile dysfunction and coronary artery endothelial dysfunction: response to acute apocynin and sepiapterin treatment", AJP: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, August 20, 2013
U.S. researchers who analyzed questionnaire data from an NIH-sponsored diet and health study involving 537,218 people found a 15 percent lower risk of pancreatic cancer among those who ate a healthier diet. The authors evaluated how closely study participants' diets matched the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, as measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2005). The association between a higher HEI score (indicating a healthier diet) and lower incidence of pancreatic cancer was stronger among overweight or obese men compared to men of normal weight, researchers said. But there was no difference for normal vs. overweight or obese women.
"Potential to Link Dietary Patterns in the Food Supply and Populations to Health", JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute, August 15, 2013
Italian researchers who studied more than 22,000 Greek patients for 11 years found that those who followed the Mediterranean diet more closely – and especially ate more low glycemic index foods – were 12 percent less likely to develop diabetes than those who followed the diet less closely. Those whose diet was more rich in high glycemic index carbohydrates were 21 percent more likely to develop diabetes. The researchers said the Mediterranean diet was not associated with weight loss, but with “dietary characteristics”. They suggested that a Mediterranean diet whose foods were low on the glycemic index “may reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes".
"Mediterranean diet and glycaemic load in relation
to incidence of type 2 diabetes: results from the Greek cohort
of the population-based European Prospective Investigation
into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)", Diabetologia, August 15, 2013
A new study by U.S. and Spanish researchers has found a genetic reason to follow the Mediterranean diet: the food apparently interacts with a gene variant associated with type 2 diabetes and eliminates increased stroke susceptibility. The diet puts people who carry the gene variant on an even playing field with people with one or no copies of the variant. The randomized, controlled trial enrolled more than 7,000 men and women who ate either a Mediterranean or low fat control diet and monitored them for cardiovascular disease, stroke and heart attack for almost five years. Researchers said the findings boost the science of nutrigenomics, the study of the links between nutrition, gene function and human health.
"Mediterranean Diet Reduces the Adverse Effect of the TCFL2-rs7903146 Polymorphism on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Stroke Incidence", Diabetes Care, August 13, 2013
In a study in mice, U.S. researchers found that a 25 percent increase in sugar – half dextrose and half fructose – in the diet caused serious health problems. That sugar increase, comparable to three cans of sugary soda added to an otherwise healthy human diet, caused a higher rate of mortality and reduced fertility, the researchers said. The same unhealthy results were seen when mice were inbred and when they consumed the added sugar. To conduct the study, researchers used 377-square-foot "mouse barns" enclosed by 3-foot walls to closely approximate the actual living conditions – and breeding, feeding, and competitive behavior – of house and field mice.
"Human-relevant levels of added sugar consumption increase female mortality and lower male fitness in mice", Nature Communications, August 13, 2013
Patients with type 2 diabetes who ate a healthier diet and drank moderate amounts of alcohol reduced their risk of chronic kidney disease, according to a Canadian study. For the study, researchers examined the association of a healthy diet, alcohol, protein and sodium in 6,213 patients. A lower risk of developing chronic kidney disease and mortality was associated with: higher quality diet (including at least three servings of fruit a week), higher intake of animal protein, and moderate intake of alcohol. Sodium intake was not linked to kidney disease.
"Diet and Kidney Disease in High-Risk Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus", JAMA Internal Medicine, August 12, 2013
A new study confirms that transparent food packages influence snacking habits in different ways, but it depends on the size, visual appeal and healthiness of the food. Participants were placed in a room with snacks – nuts, cookies, M&Ms, Cheerios and Fruit Loops packaged in either transparent or opaque bags – to watch episodes of “The Office”. The participants were told they would be evaluating ads, but the researchers were only interested in their food consumption. The results? Participants ate fewer large, visually appealing snack foods from transparent packages, ate more small foods (like M&Ms) from transparent packages, and ate fewer carrots from transparent packages. "The health food results were somewhat surprising to us," one researcher said.
"The See-Food Diet: How Transparent Packaging Affects Eating", News release, American Marketing Association, August 05, 2013
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Nutrition Horizon , August 16, 2013
Pediatrics Journal, August 12, 2013
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