Archive for August 2016

Catherine (Sananès) Katz, PhD, was trained as a neuroscientist at Princeton, but today she makes her biggest impact on human health by sharing her knowledge of food and her love for cooking.

Question: Is millet as nutritious a grain as quinoa? Can I cook it the same way?
Answer: Millet is an “ancient grain” that is increasing in popularity owing to its nutty flavor, chewy texture and good nutrition. While quinoa is very familiar to Americans and seen everywhere from trendy bowls in fast-casual restaurants to pancakes made by home cooks, millet is just being discovered. Actually, most of us do know millet, at least by sight. It is the small, round, yellow grain found in your backyard bird seed.

It’s been more than 20 years since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the Nutrition Facts Panel on packaged foods a major retread; the current overhaul was long overdue, say nutrition experts.

In early June the FDA took a stand on eliminating excess salt in packaged and prepared foods from the American diet.

Those unsettling espresso jitters may soon be a thing of the past. Scientists at Nestlé Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, are trying to engineer a kinder, gentler time-released coffee buzz that will keep you motoring along in a calm, yet alert, state for most of the day.
Research published in Nature Communications (November 17, 2015) focused on adapting “cubosomes”—lipid molecules and water that mimic natural structures in the human body—to release nutrients, medicines or, in this case, caffeine into the body in a more controlled fashion.

Here’s a taste of what’s cooking in the nutrition world:

This month’s hack comes to us from Sara Moulton, a chef who was among the first crop of Food Network stars and the host of the PBS show Sara’s Weeknight Meals.

Cheat When You Chop

A paper published online June 1 in The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences by scientists from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research in Sydney found that consuming the right amount of fiber from breads, cereals and fruits can help humans to avoid disease and disability into old age.

In a detailed and powerful examination of how dietary fat affects health, researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have shown that consuming higher amounts of unsaturated fats is associated with lower mortality. The findings suggest that replacing saturated fats like butter, lard and fat in red meat with unsaturated fats from plant-based foods—like olive oil, canola oil and soybean oil—can confer substantial health benefits and should continue to be a key message in dietary recommendations.

On June 26, longtime IDEA author and presenter Len Kravitz, PhD, joined the prestigious ranks of the National Fitness Hall of Fame. The organization aims to recognize the accomplishments of “yesterday’s fitness legends and today’s fitness superstars.” To be considered for this honor, an individual must have been involved in fitness for more than 25 years; practice a healthy lifestyle; have genuine concern for the welfare of others; and have work that is nationally recognized.

Antioxidants play an important role in defending cell membranes and
other structures from damage. Studies have found an association between a key regulator of antioxidant signaling, nuclear erythroid-2 like factor-2 (Nrf2), and exercise. According to
new research, the relationship between Nrf2 and exercise may be disrupted with age.

According to researchers from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the CDC, increases in obesity rates tend to wax and wane. For instance, in 2003–2004 rates increased in the U.S. male population but remained static among women. Then, between 2005 and 2014, the rates were stagnant among men, and for women they rose.

Improving the health and wellness of the youth population has become a difficult challenge. A new program called Fit Families aims to tackle that.
One of the unique tenets of Fit Families, which is offered to families for free through the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension service, is its emphasis on improving self-perceptions among its young participants. The program’s organizers believe that if children affected by excess weight or obesity are provided a positive, fun environment rooted in social acceptance, their self-esteem will improve.

Gender and specific genetic markers seem to influence whether exercise can help a person improve depression symptoms, according to a pilot study conducted by researchers from the University of Florida, Gainesville.

In response to the growing popularity of integrative-medical treatments such as acupuncture, yoga, tai chi, meditation, hypnosis and other practices, the Mayo Clinic is collaborating with a lifelong-learning video and audio educational course provider to offer a 12-lecture series for the general public. Lecture topics include mind-body medicine, meditation and moving meditation (yoga, tai chi and qigong), among others.

In another study on muscle, scientists aimed to challenge the widely held notion that external load—provided by lifting weights or performing body-weight movements, for example—is required to achieve hypertrophy.