Nutrition Review

New indications on appetite regulation

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:57:00 +0100

Research result suggest that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may play a role in regulating appetite. Dr Jack Yanovski, of the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Unit on Growth and Obesity, says BDNF probably works in combination with a variety of other substances, including leptin. The findings are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

MSG "leads to weight gain"

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:57:00 +0100

Research published in the journal Obesity suggests that eating a lot of food containing monosodium glutamate can lead to weight gain. In a study group of rural Chinese, at team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that those consuming the most MSG were more than twice as likely to be overweight as their peers who did not eat it at all. Previous studies show a weight gain in juvenile mice, and also injury to the hypothalamus associated with MSG.

Fruit juice "may interfere with drugs' efficacy"

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:18:00 +0100

Research presented at the American Chemical Society’s conference in Philadelphia suggests a chemical found in grapefruit juice could stop anti-allergy drugs being absorbed properly. It is already known to interfere with blood pressure drugs. A team at the University of Western Ontario, in Canada, said they expect to find that there are more products which are so affected by naringin, which appears to block a mechanism that moves drug molecules out of the small intestine into the bloodstream.

Folic acid - another view

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:30:00 +0100

Research in Norway suggests that there is in fact no great heart health benefit to folic acid fortification. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that while homocysteine levels in the study group fell by 30 per cent after a year of treatment with folic acid and B12, there was no corresponding drop in heart attacks or strokes.

Vitamin D and hip fractures

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:26:00 +0100

A high blood concentration of vitamin D appears to offer older women some protection against hip fracture, according to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Dr Jane Cauley and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh say this may be due not only to the vitamin’s strengthening of bone but also to its beneficial effect on balance and muscle strength, which help prevent falls.

Early diet's effect on learning

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:04:00 +0100

Children’s diets in their pre-school years are more influential than school meals on their ability to learn, say researchers at London and Bristol universities. A team from the Institute of Education and the Children of the 90s study say the association between junk food in the diet at three and slower progress in primary school is seen even after adjustment for social, economic and ethnic factors.

Sport and eating disorders

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:12:00 +0100

Young women who are physically active appear to be more vulnerable than the average to developing eating disorders, say researchers in the US. They are inclined to be dissatisfied with their bodies, to strive to remain thin or to have symptoms of bulimia, and at greatest risk are those who compete at university level and are anxious about their performance. The researchers, at the University of Vermont, report their findings in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

Eggs may aid weight loss

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:11:00 +0100

Overweight adults may be able to improve their weight-loss results by eating eggs regularly. A scientist at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, a part of Louisiana State University in the US, says in a study group of adults aged 25 to 60 those who ate two eggs for breakfast as part of a calorie-reduced diet lost 65 per cent more weight, had a 61 per cent greater reduction in body mass index, and had higher energy levels, than those who ate bagels. Nikhil Dhurandhar believes increased satiety, and energy offered by eggs aids compliance with a reduced-calorie diet. The study, funded by the industry-affiliated Egg Nutrition Center, is published in the International Journal of Obesity.

Benefits of dietary education

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:09:00 +0100

Professional advice can help families improve their diet, according to research in the US. In families assigned to either a nutrition education programme or a standard education programme, those who received training in how to teach children the names various fruits and vegetables showed significantly greater consumption. A team at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, has found that after seven months if a parent ate one additional of fruit or vegetables per day, their children tended to eat half a serving more. The researchers report their results in Preventive Medicine.

Protein deficiency and child development

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:50:00 +0100

Chronic protein deficiency may have a permanent effect on children’s brain development, according to research in India. Dr Bhoomika Kar and colleagues, at the University of Allahabad, report in Behavioral and Brain Functions that the observed cognitive development of 20 malnourished and 20 adequately nourished children indicates that the former have problems with tests of attention, memory, visual perception, verbal comprehension and other processes. In addition – they say there is little improvement with age.