Nutrition Review

Schools urged to keep pupils in at lunchtime

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:56:00 +0000

The newly appointed chairman of the School Food Trust is to urge headteachers to bar pupils from leaving school premises at lunchtime, in an effort to promote healthy eating habits. Rob Rees says schools that have tried out the tactic have found that pupils’ behaviour in the afternoon is improved. Chris Davies, of the National Primary Headteachers’ Association, has criticised Mr Rees’s proposal, describing it as unimaginative.

The dynamics of pricing foods

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:08:00 +0000

Reducing the price of healthy foods may not only encourage their sales right away but could lead to increased consumption even after prices are restore to their previous levels, according to scientists in New Zealand. In a trial taking six months, Dr Cliona Ni Mhurchu and colleagues at the University of Auckland assessed effects of price discounts and nutrition education on improving diets. The results appear in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"Energy" drinks and blood vessel health

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:07:00 +0000

Research in Australia suggests that energy drinks may have an adverse effect on blood vessels. Scientists at the University of Adelaide report in the American Journal of Medicine that a 250ml can of sugar-free energy drink leads to increased platelet aggregation and changes to the inner lining of the blood vessels. Their study sample was made up of 50 healthy volunteers, aged 20 to 24.

Is Omega-3 protective against mental illness?

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:35:00 +0000

Research results published in Archives of General Psychiatry indicate that daily fish oil supplementation can be as effective as drugs at preventing the development of mental illness in those at highest risk. A team composed of scientists from Austria, Australia and Switzerland applied the regime to 81 people deemed to be at particularly high risk of developing psychosis â€" either because of strong family history or because they already showed mild symptoms. They found that a three-month course of the supplement cut the rate of psychotic illness by a quarter.

Low-carb diet as a weight-loss strategy

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:04:00 +0000

Researchers in the US conclude that a low-carbohydrate diet helps people lose as much weight as does a combination of low-fat diet and orlistat. In addition – the low-carbohydrate diet may be better at reducing blood pressure, they say. The results, found by a team at Duke University Medical Center, appear in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Cutting salt - more evidence of the good to be had

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:06:00 +0000

A reduction of as little as 3g in daily salt intake could make a big difference to heart disease risk, according to scientists in the US. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers say such a reduction across the US would have a similar positive effect as would a drop of 50 per cent in the smoking rate and a 5 per cent decline in body mass index among obese adults.

New approach to fasting during labour

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:05:00 +0000

A review of research indicates that women can safely eat and drink during labour if they are at a low risk of complications. It has long been recommended that women fast in case they need to be anaesthetised for treatment. Mandisa Singata of the East London Hospital Complex in East London, South Africa, reports in Cochrane Reviews that the review of five studies on a total of 3,130 women shows that there is no general requirement for fasting and that it would be better to look at preventing regurgitation during an operation, should one become necessary.

Breastfed - are the benefits genetic?

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:04:00 +0000

A study at the University of Southampton concludes that breastfed babies go on to develop greater intelligence than those fed on formula because of their mothers’ intelligence, rather than because of any constituent of breast milk. The researchers, led by Dr Catharine Gale, of the university’s MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre, analysed data from 241 children and their mothers in the UK.

An explanation for some of omega-3's beneficial effects

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:09:00 +0000

Research in the US suggests that omega-3 fatty acids help maintain the DNA of heart patients, if not of healthy people. Dr Ramin Farzaneh-Far and colleagues, at the University of California, San Francisco, report in the Journal of the American Medical Association that there is a “clear association” between blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids and the length of telomeres – protective caps on the ends of chromosomes that carry DNA, degradation and shortening of which can lead to cancer and premature ageing.

Diet and cancer - once again!

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:07:00 +0000

Research results indicate that a diet featuring plenty of fish and fresh vegetables and low in meat and dairy products can help reduce the risk of developing stomach cancer. Dr Carlos Gonzalez and colleagues at the Catalan Institute for Oncology, in Barcelona, report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that their analysis of data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study shows that people with such a diet are 33 per cent less likely than those whose diet is furthest from it to develop the disease.