A new study has reportedly found that U.K. residents with at least two fast-food restaurants within 500 meters of their homes have significantly increased odds of developing Type-2 diabetes. Danielle Bodicoat, et al., “Is the number of fast-food outlets in the neighborhood related to screen-detected type 2 diabetes mellitus and associated risk factors?,” Public Health Nutrition, November 2014. After analyzing data from three cross-sectional studies with a total of 10,000 participants, University of Leicester researchers estimated that for every additional two outlets per neighborhood, the population would have one additional diabetes case, “assuming a causal relationship between the fast-food outlets and diabetes.” “The observed association between the number of fast-food outlets with obesity and type 2 diabetes does not come as a surprise; fast-food is high in total fat, trans-fatty acids and sodium, portion sizes have increased two to fivefold over the last 50 years and a single fast-food meal provides…
Category Archives Scientific/Technical Items
A new study exploring the link between cardiovascular disease and a gut bacteria metabolite known as trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) has reported that “higher TMAO levels predict higher future risk of death from heart failure, independent of other clinically used blood tests or risk factors.” W.H. Wilson Tang, et al., “Prognostic Value of Elevated Levels of Intestinal Microbe-Generated Metabolite Trimethylamine-N Oxide in Patients With Heart Failure: Refining the Gut Hypothesis,” Journal of the American College of Cardiology, November 2014. Led by the Lerner Research Institute’s Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine Chair Stanley Hazen, a Cleveland Clinic team followed 720 patients with stable heart failure over a five-year follow-up period, finding that “higher plasma TMAO levels were associated with a 3.4-fold increased mortality risk.” They also noted that patients with elevated levels of TMAO and B-type natriuretic peptide “had more than a 50 percent mortality rate over [five] years.” This latest study builds…
A recent study has purportedly linked sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption to accelerated cell aging, estimating that “daily consumption of a 20-ounce soda was associated with 4.6 years of additional biological aging.” Cindy Leung, et al., “Soda and Cell Aging: Associations Between Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Leukocyte Telomere Length in Healthy Adults From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys," American Journal of Public Health, October 2014. University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers apparently analyzed stored DNA from more than 5,000 adults enrolled in the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, which included 24-hour dietary recall assessments. According to a UCSF press release, the study authors reported that “telomeres—the protective units of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes in cells—were shorter in the white blood cells of survey participants who reported drinking more soda.” Although this effect paralleled the telomere shortening allegedly seen in smokers, the consumption of…
A recent study has purportedly found that “a very large amount of BPA [bisphenol A] is transferred from thermal paper to a hand as a result of holding a thermal receipt for only a few seconds immediately after using a product with dermal penetration chemicals.” Annette Hormann, et al., “Holding Thermal Receipt Paper and Eating Food After Using Hand Sanitizer Results in High Serum Bioactive and Urine Total Levels of Bisphenol A (BPA),” PLOS One, October 2014. Designed to mimic scenarios common in fast-food restaurants, the study measured dermal, serum and urine BPA levels in subjects asked to use hand sanitizer, handle a receipt and then consume 10 french fries. The data evidently showed that holding a thermal receipt for 45 seconds after using a hand sanitizer “resulted in the maximum amount of BPA that was swiped from the palm and fingers,” though this measurement “likely underestimates the amount of free…
Investigators with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have for the first time identified a hormone that, when stimulated by fructose ingestion, could serve as the basis for a reliable fructose-tolerance test. Jody Dushay, et al., “Fructose ingestion acutely stimulates circulating FGF21 levels in humans,” Molecular Metabolism, October 2014. Known as Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21), the hormone in question has been associated with obesity, insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in both humans and animals. In this study, researchers reported that FGF21 levels increased by an average of 400 percent in healthy volunteers who consumed 75 grams of fructose. By comparison, the consumption of glucose had little immediate effect on FGF21 blood levels. “This tells us that fructose actively regulates FGF21 in humans,” explained one study author. “The hormone-like response of FGF21 to fructose ingestion suggests that FGF21 might play an unanticipated role in regulating fructose metabolism. We…
World Health Organization (WHO) researchers recently published an analysis of energy drink consumption in Europe that takes into account relevant scientific literature published through June 2014. Joao Breda, et al., “Energy drink consumption in Europe: a review of the risks, adverse health effects, and policy options to respond,” Frontiers in Public Health, October 2014. Noting that most adverse events associated with energy drink consumption are caffeine-related, the study reports that some energy drinks contain “extreme caffeine levels much higher than mainstream brands as they try to establish themselves in the market.” “Consumption of energy drinks among adolescents is associated with other potentially negative health and behavioral outcomes such as sensation seeking, use of tobacco and other harmful substances, and binge drinking and is associated with a greater risk for depression and injuries that require medical treatment,” suggest the study’s authors. “There is an increasing amount of research linking energy drink…
An article examining food addiction in light of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has concluded that the latest edition’s new criteria for substance use disorders (SUDs) “may be valuable for food addiction research, even if some of those symptoms may rarely be endorsed by participants exhibiting addiction-like eating.” Adrian Meule and Ashley Gearhardt, “Food Addiction in Light of the DSM-5,” Nutrients, September 2014. Claiming that further studies are needed to evaluate the new criteria’s relevance to food addiction, the article’s authors explain that DSM-5 now includes the following criteria for SUDs: (i) “failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home as a result of substance use”; (ii) “continued substance use despite social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by substance use”; and (iii) “recurrent substance use in situations in which it is physically hazardous.” The manual has also defined a new symptom of “craving, or…
A review of recent research focused on food consumption and mood regulation has reported that complex biological factors engage both the peripheral and central nervous system “in a bi-directional manner linking food intake, mood, and obesity.” Minati Singh, “Mood, Food and Obesity,” Frontiers in Psychology, September 2014. Summarizing human and animal studies, the article addresses the following topics: (i) the relationship between stress, mood and food intake, (ii) the relationship between mood, food preference and obesity; (iii) “food reward, addiction and obesity”; (iv) “society and food addiction”; (v) the roles of ghrelin, serotonin, leptin, adiponectin, resistin, and insulin in regulating food, mood and obesity; and (vi) “epigenetics, mood and eating disorders.” “Many people find it hard to stop eating a particular food even though they are not hungry,” explains the article author. “Such behaviors activate the brain reward center and alter the brain structure… Through neurobiological data, presence of food…
A recent Nature study has reportedly concluded that non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) elevate blood glucose levels and induce glucose intolerance by modifying gut bacteria. Jotham Suez, et al., “Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota,” Nature, September 2014. Noting that mice given drinking water prepared with either saccharin, sucralose or aspartame showed signs of metabolic problems not evident in mice that received only sucrose water, Israeli researchers evidently hypothesized that gut bacteria mediates the effect of NAS on glucose response. To test this theory, they first showed that eradicating the gut microbiota in these mice also leveled the metabolic differences between the two groups. In addition, germ-free mice that received fecal transplants from those on the NAS diet likewise developed a reduced tolerance to glucose. The study’s authors then obtained gut-bacteria samples from seven human volunteers who consumed the maximum recommended amount of saccharin for one week. When given…
A recent study in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology reportedly attributes an anaphylactic reaction in a 10-year-old girl to the antibiotic pesticide applied to the blueberries in the pie she was eating. François Graham et al., “Risk of allergic reaction and sensitization to antibiotics in foods,” Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, September 2014. The girl was known to be allergic to penicillin and cow’s milk but not to any ingredients in the blueberry pie. Following weeks of testing on the girl and on the sample of pie, researchers concluded that the streptomycin, an antibiotic often used as a pesticide to combat the growth of bacteria, fungi and algae in fruit, caused her reaction. “As far as we know, this is the first report that links an allergic reaction to fruits treated with antibiotic pesticides,” lead author Anne Des Roches was quoted as saying in a September 3, 2014,…
