A recent study has reportedly found that “frequent intake of walnuts was associated with a lower risk of incident type 2 diabetes in women.” An Pan, at al., “Walnut Consumption is Associated with Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Women,” Journal of Nutrition, February 2013. Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health apparently tracked nearly 140,000 nurses (from the Nurses’ Health Study) aged 35 to 77 during a 10-year period to determine how many developed type 2 diabetes—which comprises “90 percent of all diabetes cases”—concluding that compared to those who rarely or never ate them, (i) women who consumed a serving (28g) of walnuts at least twice a week reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 24 percent; (ii) women who consumed a serving of walnuts at least once a week reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 13 percent; and (iii) women who consumed a serving…
Category Archives Scientific/Technical Items
Las Vegas, Nevada-based Rockstar, Inc. recently released a “scientific white paper” prepared for the energy drink maker by Intertek Cantox. Signed by University of Kansas Medical Center Department of Pharmacology Professor John Doull, a member of an “Expert Panel convened to evaluate the conditions of use of caffeine in Rockstar products,” the paper reviews scientific literature on the purported health effects of caffeine in adults and youths, and concludes that the estimated daily dietary intakes of the caffeine in Rockstar energy drinks is safe and generally recognized as safe (GRAS) “based on scientific procedures.” The paper also reviews literature on other ingredients, including guarana extract, taurine, milk thistle extract, and ginseng extract, and reports that “the Expert Panel unanimously concluded” that these ingredients are also safe and GRAS. Among other matters, the paper further notes that (i) there is no apparent basis for the claim that the American Academy of Pediatrics…
A recent study has reportedly used whole genome sequencing (WGS) to retrospectively trace the transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from animal to human for the first time. Ewan Harrison, et al., “Whole genome sequencing identifies zoonotic transmission of MRSA isolates with the novel mecA homologue mecC,” EMBO Molecular Medicine, April 2013. According to a March 25, 2013, University of Cambridge press release, U.K. and Danish researchers used WGS to examine two separate cases of MRSA infection in Danish farmers and their animals. The results evidently showed that the MRSA strains under investigation carried the novel mecC gene, which allowed researchers to compare the human infections with those found in the livestock and determine that animals were most likely the source of the new strains. “Having found this new MRSA in both people and animals on the same farm it was likely that it is being transmitted between animals and people. By looking…
An abstract recently presented at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Epidemiology and Prevention and Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions reportedly linked high salt intake to 2.3 million heart-related deaths per year worldwide. According to a March 21, 2013, AHA press release, researchers analyzed data on adult sodium intake from 247 surveys conducted between 1990 and 2010 “as part of the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases Study, an international collaborative study by 488 scientists from 303 institutions in 50 countries around the world.” They then performed “a meta-analysis of 107 randomized, prospective trials that measured how sodium affects blood pressure, and a meta-analysis of how these differences in blood pressure relate to the risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared with consuming no more than 1,000 mg per day of sodium, which the researchers defined as an optimal amount of sodium for adults.” Based on their findings, researchers reported…
Research presented at the American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) latest scientific meeting has reportedly concluded that “sugar-sweetened sodas, sports drinks and fruit juice may be associated with about 180,000 deaths around the world each year,” according to March 19, 2013, press release. Featured at AHA’s Epidemiology and Prevention and Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions, the abstract in question apparently relied on data from the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases Study to calculate “the quantities of sugar-sweetened beverage [SSB] intake around the world by age and sex; the effects of this consumption on obesity and diabetes; and the impact of obesity and diabetes-related deaths.” The results allegedly linked SB intake to 133,000 diabetes deaths, 44,000 deaths related to cardiovascular diseases, and 6,000 cancer deaths worldwide in 2010, raising concerns about the disproportionate impact on low- and middle-income counties. In particular, the report’s authors estimated that in terms of mortality…
A recent study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Institutes of Health has allegedly concluded that sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) “are primarily responsible for the higher caloric intakes” of children who consume them. Kevin Mathias, et al., “Foods and Beverages Associated with Higher Intake of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, April 2013. Using data from 13,421 children enrolled in the What We Eat In America, NHANES 2003-2010 surveys, researchers with the University of North Carolina Department of Nutrition apparently determined “the contribution of SSBs to higher caloric intakes” by comparing the total non-SSB caloric intake of both SSB consumers and nonconsumers. The results purportedly showed that for children ages 2 to 11, “total non-SSB intakes did not differ between nonconsumers and SSB consumers at any level of SSB consumption, indicating that SSBs were primarily responsible for the higher caloric intake among SSB consumers.” The authors also…
A University of Liverpool study contends that “celebrity endorsement of a food product encourages children to eat more of the endorsed product.” The study’s authors also assert that children were prompted to eat more of the endorsed product when they saw the TV celebrity in a different context. The study involved 181 children, ages 8 through 11, some of whom were asked to watch a 20-minute cartoon that included one of three different commercials: one for a particular brand of potato chips endorsed by former soccer star Gary Lineker; one for a different snack food; and one for a toy. Another group of children viewed TV footage of Lineker at an event not related to the snack food. The ads included one for Walker’s potato chips featuring the soccer hero; a promo for a snack food with no celebrity endorsement; and a commercial for a toy, also without a celebrity…
A recent study based on the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) has allegedly identified a “moderate positive association” between processed meat consumption and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other causes. Sabine Rohrmann, et al., “Meat consumption and mortality – results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition,” BMC Medicine, March 2013. Relying on EPIC data from 448,568 healthy adults between ages 35 and 69, researchers reported that consuming more than 160 grams (approximately 5.6 ounces) of processed meat per day was related to moderately higher all-cause mortality. In particular, they estimated “that 3.3 % ... of all deaths could be prevented if all participants had a processed meat consumption” of less than 20 grams (0.7 ounces) per day. The study’s authors noted, however, that unlike similar studies undertaken in the United States, their analysis did not find any association between red meat intake…
A recent study has reportedly identified “an association between postnatal urinary bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations and asthma in children.” Kathleen Donohue, et al., “Prenatal and postnatal bisphenol A exposure and asthma development among inner-city children,” Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, March 2013. Columbia University researchers apparently used urinary samples collected from pregnant women during their third trimesters and from their children at ages 3, 5 and 7 years to conclude that BPA concentrations (i) “at age 3 years were associated positively with wheeze at ages 5 years … and 6 years,” (ii) “at age 7 years were associated with wheeze at age 7,” and (iii) “at ages 3, 5, and 7 years were associated with asthma measured at ages 5 to 12 years.” The authors also noted, however, that “prenatal BPA concentrations were associated inversely with odds of wheeze at age 5 years,” a finding that contradicted their initial hypothesis…
A recent animal study has concluded that exposing rats to a perinatal “junk-food” (JF) diet “results in early desensitization of the opioid system which may explain the increased preference for junk food in these offspring.” Jessica Gugusheff, et al., “A maternal ‘junk-food’ diet reduces sensitivity to the opioid antagonist naloxone in offspring postweaning,” The FASEB Journal, March 2013. Relying on previous research, University of Adelaide scientists apparently surmised that the offspring of dams fed a cafeteria diet would exhibit an increased preference for “palatable” foods thanks to “changes in the µ-opioid receptor expression within the mesolimbic reward pathway.” After the offspring of JF dams were weaned, the study analyzed RNA isolated from the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) of their brains, in addition to examining how they responded to injections of the opioid antagonist naloxone, which suppresses fat and sugar intake by blocking opioid signaling. According to…
