Gary‘s Daily Health News - Vol. 17

Flavonoids may be ‘important to promoting broad health and wellbeing in aging’: Harvard study

Harvard School of Public Health

 

Higher intakes of flavonoid compounds in the diet during middle age may boost healthy aging in women, according to data from 1,517 women from the Nurses’ Health Study.

 

Women with the highest average intakes of flavones, flavanones, anthocyanins, and flavonols had the greatest odds of healthy aging, defined as “no major chronic diseases or major impairments in cognitive or physical function or mental health”.

 

The findings were further substantiated by consistent data from flavonoid-rich foods, including oranges, berries, onions, and apples, said scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) and the University of Bordeaux, and Harvard School of Public Health.

 

“Flavonoids may contribute to reducing chronic diseases and maintaining physical, cognitive, and mental health with aging via their potential to decrease oxidative stress and inflammation, which are 2 general pathways underlying many age-related chronic diseases and health conditions,” they wrote in the American Journal of 

 

Study details

 

Led by Cécilia Samieri, the researchers analyzed data from 13,818 women in their late 50s at the start of the study (1984–1986). The women had no chronic diseases at the start of the study, and were followed for an average of 15 years.

 

Data obtained using food-frequency questionnaires indicated that 1,517 women survived into their 70s and met the criteria for ‘healthy aging’. Results indicated that women with the highest average intakes of flavones, flavanones, anthocyanins, and flavonols had significantly greater odds of healthy aging. Specifically, flavones, flavanones, anthocyanins, and flavonols increased the odds of healthy aging by 32%, 28%, 25%, and 18%, respectively.

 

The potential healthy aging potential of flavonoids appears to have biological plausibility, with data from a range of different studies supporting the potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the compounds, their ability to improve glucose metabolism and insulin resistance, as well as their cognitive benefits by decreasing neuroinflammation.

 

“Our findings suggest that intake of dietary flavonoids at midlife may be related to improved odds of overall health and wellbeing in aging,” they wrote. “Because the avoidance of the spectrum of health conditions in aging may be of more importance to individuals than avoiding any single chronic disease, these findings could help the adherence to public health recommendations regarding diet quality.”

 

 

 

Study reveals how excess carbohydrates may contribute to metabolic dysfunction

By studying how cells from healthy normal weight and overweight participants broke down carbohydrates in real time, researchers have found clues about what triggers metabolic distress 

Brigham and Women's Hospital, October 22, 2021

A high body mass index (BMI) is closely correlated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. For decades, nutrition guidelines have emphasized the necessity of decreasing intake of dietary fats. Yet, even as studies demonstrate ties between foods laden with simple carbohydrates and metabolic dysfunction, much remains unknown about how the body processes large amounts of carbohydrates eaten in a single meal. To study how cells break down carbohydrates in real time, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center studied healthy normal weight and healthy overweight participants as they consumed excess carbohydrates. Their findings revealed that excess carbohydrates can contribute to metabolic dysfunction by blocking the synthesis of important antioxidants and demonstrated that high insulin levels under such circumstances can exacerbate the issue. Findings are published in the American Journal of Physiology – Endocrinology and Metabolism. 

“When we treat people with type 2 diabetes, the focus is often on lowering blood sugar rather than preventing carbohydrate overfeeding, which is very common in our society,” said Nawfal Istfan, MD, PhD, of the Brigham’s Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension. “But our study shows that if overfeeding isn’t controlled, some of the traditional ways of treating diabetes, like giving patients more insulin to lower blood sugar, can potentially be more harmful.”

Researchers tracked the activity of the electrons in the cells of 24 non-diabetic participants who consumed large quantities of carbohydrates in proportion to their weight (in some cases over 350g of carbohydrates). They found evidence, more pronounced in participants with high BMIs, that the cells were using electrons from glutathione, a “master antioxidant,” to help store excess carbohydrates as fats. This supported their hypothesis that overconsuming carbohydrates may contribute to metabolic distress by limiting antioxidant synthesis in the body.

When the researchers analyzed biopsies from the participants, they confirmed that in participants with high BMIs, changes in the fat tissue that occurred during the study represented a form of metabolic stress often seen in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

The researchers demonstrated that insulin, which lowers blood sugar by increasing its uptake by the cells, may contribute to metabolic distress when cells are unprepared to process such a large amount of carbohydrates. When an individual consumes carbohydrates in excess, cells break down the molecules and resynthesize them into fats through a “reduction” process that uses electrons. The researchers hypothesized that during fat synthesis, the cells may be “taking electrons away” from other metabolic activities, like the production of antioxidants, which are important molecules that help protect the body from deterioration.

Going forward, the researchers hope to further examine metabolic processes in those with normal versus high BMIs using the quantitative approach from this study, which is common in biochemistry research but not often used to study acute events, like overfeeding, in humans.

“The methodology we used in this study could be used in the future to explore individuals’ predispositions to weight gain,” Istfan said. “There are real differences between patients’ metabolisms, which is something that has been ignored in medicine. Metabolic overfeeding varies between patients, and we need to understand this so we can give more appropriate dietary advice.”

 

 

Fasting is required to see the full benefit of calorie restriction in mice

University of Wisconsin, October 15, 2021

Over the last few decades, scientists have discovered that long-term calorie restriction provides a wealth of benefits in animals: lower weight, better blood sugar control, even longer lifespans.

Researchers have largely assumed that reduced food intake drove these benefits by reprogramming metabolism. But a new study from University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers finds that reduced calorie intakealone is not enough; fasting is essential for mice to derive full benefit.

The new findings lend support to preliminary evidence that fasting can boost health in people, as trends like intermittent fasting continue to hold sway. These human and animal studies have added to the growing picture of how health is controlled by when and what we eat, not just how much.

The research further emphasizes the complexity of nutrition and metabolism and provides guidance to researchers trying to untangle the true causes of diet-induced health benefits in animals and humans.

The researchers discovered that, combined with eating less, fasting reduces frailty in old age and extends the lifespan of mice. And fasting alone can improve blood sugar and liver metabolism.

Surprisingly, mice that ate fewer calories but never fasted died younger than mice that ate as much as they wanted, suggesting that calorie restriction alone may be harmful.

The research was led by UW School of Medicine and Public Health metabolism researcher Dudley Lamming, his graduate student Heidi Pak and their colleagues at UW–Madison and other institutions. The team published their findings Oct. 18 in Nature Metabolism.

Pak and Lamming were inspired to conduct the study because researchers began to realize that previous studies had unintentionally combined calorie restrictions with long fasts by providing animals with food just once a day. It was difficult, then, to distinguish the effects of one from the other.

"This overlap of treatment—both reducing calories and imposing a fast—was something that everybody saw, but it wasn't always obvious that it had biological significance," says Lamming, who has long studied the effect of restricted diets on metabolism. "It's only been in the past few years that people started getting interested in this issue."

To untangle these factors, Lamming's group designed four different diets for mice to follow. One group ate as much as they wanted whenever they wanted. Another group ate a full amount, but in a short period of time—this gave them a long daily fast without reducing calories.

The other two groups were given about 30% fewer calories either once a day or dispersed over the entire day. That meant that some mice had a long daily fast while others ate the same reduced-calorie diet but never fasted, which differed from most previous studies of calorie restriction.

It turned out that many of the benefits originally ascribed to calorie restriction alone—better blood sugar control, healthier use of fat for energy, protection from frailty in old age and longer lifespans—all required fasting as well. Mice who ate fewer calories without fasting didn't see these positive changes.

Fasting on its own, without reducing the amount of food eaten, was just as powerful as calorie restriction with fasting. Fasting alone was enough to improve insulin sensitivity and to reprogram metabolism to focus more on using fats as a source of energy. The livers of fasting mice also showed the hallmarks of healthier metabolism.

The researchers did not study the effect of fasting alone on lifespan or frailty as mice aged, but other studies have suggested that fasting can provide these benefits as well.

While the mice that ate fewer calories without ever fasting did show some improved blood sugar control, they also died younger. Compared with mice who both ate less and fasted, these mice that only ate less died about 8 months earlier on average.

"That was quite surprising," says Lamming, although other studies have also shown some negative effects from restricting calories. The team also measured frailty through metrics like grip strength and coat condition. "In addition to their shorter lifespans, these mice were worse in certain aspects of frailty, but better in others. So, on balance their frailty didn't change much, but they didn't look as healthy."

The primary studies were done in male mice, but Lamming's lab also found similar metabolic effects of fasting in female mice.

The research reveals how difficult diet studies are, even in a laboratory environment. That difficulty is magnified for human studies, which simply can't match the level of control possible in animal models. The new study can provide direction to future work trying to answer whether fasting improves human health.

"We need to know whether this fasting is required for people to see benefits," Lamming says. "If fasting is the main driver of health, we should be studying drugs or diet interventions that mimic fasting rather than those that mimic fewer calories."

 

Lockdown wellbeing: children who spent more time in nature fared best

Cambridge, University (UK), October 14, 2021

Children from less affluent backgrounds are likely to have found COVID-19 lockdowns more challenging to their mental health because they experienced a lower connection with nature than their wealthier peers, a new study suggests.

A study has found that children who increased their connection to nature during the first COVID-19 lockdown were likely to have lower levels of behavioral and emotional problems, compared to those whose connection to nature stayed the same or decreased—regardless of their socio-economic status.

The study, by researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Sussex, also found that children from affluent families tended to have increased their connection to nature during the pandemic more than their less affluent peers.

Nearly two thirds of parents reported a change in their child's connection to nature during lockdown, while a third of children whose connection to nature decreased displayed increased problems of wellbeing—either through 'acting out' or by increased sadness or anxiety.

The results strengthen the case for nature as a low-cost method of mental health support for children, and suggest that more effort should be made to support children in connecting with nature—both at home and at school.

The researchers' suggestions for achieving this include: reducing the number of structured extracurricular activities for children to allow for more time outside, provision of gardening projects in schools, and funding for schools, particularly in disadvantaged areas, to implement nature-based learning programs.

The study, published today in the journal People and Nature, also offers important guidance in relation to potential future restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We know that access to and engagement with nature is associated with wide-ranging benefits in children and adults, including lowering levels of anxiety and depression, and reducing stress," said Samantha Friedman, a researcher in the University of Cambridge's Centre for Family Research, first author of the study.

She added: "The COVID-19 lockdowns meant that children no longer had their normal school activities, routines and social interactions. The removal of these barriers gave us a novel context to look at how changes in connection with nature affected mental health.

"Connecting with nature may have helped buffer some UK children against the effects of the lockdown, but we found that children from less affluent families were less likely to have increased their connection to nature during that time."

An increased connection to nature was reflected in reports of children spending time gardening, playing in the garden or doing physical activities outdoors. This was commonly linked to having more time available for these activities during lockdown. Conversely, according to parents, a decreased connection to nature was explained by an inability to access some natural spaces due to travel restrictions in place at the time.

"Connecting to nature may be an effective way of supporting children's wellbeing, particularly as children return to normal routines, such as school and extracurricular activities," said Dr. Elian Fink, a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sussex who was also involved in the study.

She added: "Our findings could be helpful in redesigning lockdown rules should the UK need to return to these conditions in the future, and particularly to countries whose lockdown restrictions prevented children from accessing nature at all.

"Extending the amount of time that children can access nature, or extending the distance that children could be allowed to travel to access nature, could have a beneficial impact on their mental health."

The study used an online survey to collect responses from 376 families in the UK, with children between three and seven years old, between April and July 2020. Over half of these families reported that their child's connection to nature increased during the first COVID-19 lockdown. The remaining parents whose children's connection to nature decreased or stayed the same during this period also reported that their children were experiencing greater wellbeing problems.

A widely-used, gold standard questionnaire was used as a measure of each child's mental health—assessing emotional problems such as unhappiness, worrying, anxiety and depression; and behavioral problems such as anger and hyperactivity.

"Mental health problems can manifest in different ways in different children. We found that a greater connection with nature was associated with reductions in both emotional and behavioral problems," said Fink.

She added: "In reality the contrasting experiences of access to nature between different socio-economic groups may be even starker than our study found because respondents to our online study were largely drawn from more affluent societal groups."

Parents with children between three and seven years old responded to the study survey with reference to one particular child. The researchers focused on this age group because they were likely to experience a lot of disruption due to the pandemic, and also have less understanding of what was happening.

"Our study revealed the wide range of ways that parents can help children get more connected to nature. This might be a bit daunting to some, but it doesn't have to be camping in the woods and foraging for food—it really can be as simple as going for a walk near your house or sitting outside for ten minutes a day," said Friedman.

 

Anxiety Makes It Harder to Listen to Your Intuition

Freie Universität Berlin, Psychologische Hochschule Berlin, University of Basel,  October 19, 2021

 

As an anxious person, I find the mantra “go with your gut” endlessly frustrating. What’s so trustworthy about my gut instinct, which has, at various times, convinced me I’m dying of brain cancer, or about to get on an airplane doomed to crash, or destined to be alone forever? My therapist has had to remind me many times over that my so-called instincts have been wrong before and will be wrong again. But I’ve remained somewhat convinced that there is a “real” gut instinct somewhere beneath all my fake ones, and if only I knew how to access it, I would finally be perfectly wise, centered, and calm.

Unfortunately for me, a new study suggests this is probably not the case, and I am forever doomed to second-(and third-, and fourth-) guessing my every choice. In their study, researchers attempted to examine and compare the intuitive decision-making abilities of anxious, neutral, and optimistic people. More than a hundred participants were randomly assigned to each of these three groups, and “inducted” into the corresponding mood by viewing a series of emotionally coded sentences and images. For example, participants in the optimism group read: “The affection of those we love makes us feel particularly safe and confident. There is always someone who loves us,” and were then shown a picture of a smiling young couple with a shark mascot. (Huh.) Those in the anxious group read: “Safety is not guaranteed neither in our neighborhoods nor in our own homes,” followed by a picture of a man with his arm hooked around a woman’s neck. I’m anxious just reading about it.

Once the mood was set, participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire designed to assess their tendency to make intuitive decisions, and how effectively they did so. While the researchers found that the decision-making abilities of the positive and the neutral mood groups were relatively unaffected by their moods, the anxious group showed a significantly reduced ability to use their intuition. My therapist, as usual, is right: if you’re anxious, your so-called gut is pretty much useless.

The researchers hypothesized that anxiety’s effects on our decision-making is damaging for several reasons: Anxiety makes us risk-averse, pessimistic, and less confident — all qualities which make us likelier to choose what we perceive as the most safe, routine, and unchallenging decision.

In some cases, anxiety can also effectively paralyze us, resulting in no decision made at all. Using one’s intuition, the researchers argue, requires confidence and trust in oneself. If anxious people don’t have that confidence and trust, they may be more likely to ignore subtle emotional or bodily cues which indicate a “hunch.” But any anxious person knows it goes beyond that — many of us deal with what could be considered “cues” and “hunches” all the time: a racing heart, elevated heartbeat, sweating, weird twinges and tingles. For many anxious people, the psychosomatic symptom possibilities are endless, and only infrequently indicate that something is actually wrong. In many cases, it’s wiser for us to ignore these “signs” and symptoms than to take them seriously; I hate to think of how many dollars I’ve wasted on co-pays in my lifetime, visiting an urgent-care doctor with what I think is a life-threatening symptom only to be told there is nothing wrong with me, except that I can’t stop thinking something is wrong with me.

As the study authors point out, the existing research on anxiety’s effect on intuitive decision-making is still quite limited. As anxiety (and depression) continue to grow more prevalent, those of us who suffer from it can only hope that’s likely to change, so that one day we, too, might understand what it means to (successfully) think with our guts.

 

 

Feel Fuller, Longer With Mushrooms

University of Minnesota, Oct. 19, 2021

 If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then mushrooms may be one of the most imperative ingredients. A new study on satiety published in the journal Appetite indicates that eating a mushroom-rich breakfast may result in less hunger and a greater feeling of fullness after the mushroom breakfast compared to the meat breakfast.

"Previous studies on mushrooms suggest that they can be more satiating than meat, but this effect had not been studied with protein-matched amounts until now," said gut health and satiety researcher and study author Joanne Slavin, PhD, RD, professor at the University of Minnesota. "As with previous published research, this study indicates there may be both a nutritional and satiating benefit to either substituting mushrooms for meat in some meals or replacing some of the meat with mushrooms."

Because protein appears to be the most satiating macronutrient according to the scientific literature , researchers wanted to match the amount of protein in the mushroom and meat interventions to essentially control for the influence of protein on satiety. After matching the mushroom and meat by protein content, both ended up containing comparable amounts of calories as well, which is a common way to match interventions in satiety studies.

"This new study adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests mushrooms may aid weight management and satiety, and thus contribute to overall wellness," said Mary Jo Feeney, MS, RD, FADA and nutrition research coordinator to the Mushroom Council. "Consumers are interested in the benefits of protein food choices, so it's important for them to know that plant-based sources of protein, such as mushrooms, can be satisfying."

Mushrooms Curbed Hunger and Prospective Consumption Compared to Meat

The objective of the study was to assess the differences with satiety and a 10-day food intake between Agaricus bisporus mushrooms (commonly known as white button mushrooms) (226g) and meat (28g) in a randomized open-label crossover study. Participants included 17 women and 15 men who consumed two servings of mushrooms or meat for 10 days. Participants were given either sliced mushrooms or 93-percent lean/7-percent fat ground beef to consume for a total of 10 days, twice a day. Portion sizes were based on matching the same protein content and similar calorie counts (±7 calories).

Results showed a significant difference on satiety ratings between the mushroom and meat consumption. Participants reported significantly less hunger (p=0.045), greater fullness (p=0.05) and decreased prospective consumption (p=0.03) after consuming a mushroom breakfast compared to a meat breakfast.

Blending Makes Meals Better

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines encourage healthy eating patterns that are low in saturated fat, which is found in animal proteins . From meatless meals to plant-centric plates, there are many ways to gradually decrease meat consumption without loss of flavor, and research has shown that blending finely chopped mushrooms with meat can be a cooking technique that's both nutritious and delicious.

A one-year randomized clinical trial at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicated increasing intake of low-energy-density foods, specifically mushrooms, in place of high-energy-density foods, like lean ground beef, can be an effective method for reducing daily energy and fat intake while still feeling full and satiated after the meal. Participants following the mushroom-rich diet lost seven pounds, showed improvements in body composition and maintained these changes for six months after losing weight.

Another study conducted by University of California, Davis and the Culinary Institute of America found that substituting mushrooms for a portion of meat helped improve nutrition and flavor. Adding mushrooms to the mix helped lower calorie, saturated fat and sodium intake, while adding nutrients to the plate like B vitamins, vitamin D, antioxidants and potassium (8-percent). Today, the mushroom-meat mix, also referred to as The Blend, is popular both professional chefs and home cooks. For more information on The Blend, visit http://www.blenditarian.com.

Mushrooms: A Nutrient Powerhouse

Often grouped with vegetables, mushrooms provide many of the nutrient attributes of produce, as well as attributes more commonly found in meat, beans or grains. One serving (5 medium/84g) of white, raw mushrooms contains 20 calories, 0g fat, 3g protein and is very low in sodium (15mg/1% recommended daily value). Few foods naturally contain vitamin D, and mushrooms are unique in that they are the only food in the produce aisle that contain vitamin D. Specifically, one serving of raw, UV-exposed, white and crimini mushrooms contains 890 IU and 1086 IIU of vitamin D, respectively.

 

 

Americans are eating more ultra-processed foods

New York University School of Global Public Health, October 14, 2021

Consumption of ultra-processed foods has increased over the past two decades across nearly all segments of the U.S. population, according to a new study by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health. 

"The overall composition of the average U.S. diet has shifted towards a more processed diet. This is concerning, as eating more ultra-processed foods is associated with poor diet quality and higher risk of several chronic diseases," said Filippa Juul, an assistant professor and postdoctoral fellow at NYU School of Public Health and the study's lead author. "The high and increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods in the 21st century may be a key driver of the obesity epidemic."

Ultra-processed foods are industrially manufactured, ready-to-eat or heat, include additives, and are largely devoid of whole foods. Previous studies by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health have found that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with obesity and heart disease.

In the new study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Juul and her colleagues analyzed dietary data from nearly 41,000 adults who took part in the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2001 through 2018. Participants were asked what they ate in the past 24 hours, and the researchers sorted the foods reported into four categories:

1. Minimally processed foods (whole foods), such as vegetables, fruits, grains, meat, and dairy
2. Processed culinary ingredients, such as olive oil, butter, sugar, and salt
3. Processed foods, such as cheese, canned fish, and canned beans 
4. Ultra-processed foods, such as frozen pizza, soda, fast food, sweets, salty snacks, canned soup, and most breakfast cereals 

The researchers then calculated the percentage of calories consumed from each food group. 

Ultra-processed food consumption grew from 53.5 percent of calories in the beginning of the period studied (2001-2002) to 57 percent at the end (2017-2018). The intake of ready-to-eat or heat meals, like frozen dinners, increased the most, while the intake of some sugary foods and drinks declined. In contrast, the consumption of whole foods decreased from 32.7 percent to 27.4 percent of calories, mostly due to people eating less meat and dairy.

People across nearly all demographic groups, regardless of income, increased their consumption of ultra-processed foods, with the exception of Hispanic adults, who ate significantly less ultra-processed foods and more whole foods compared with non-Hispanic white and Black adults. College graduates also ate significantly less ultra-processed foods. Notably, older adults (aged 60+) experienced the sharpest increase in consuming ultra-processed foods: this age group ate the least ultra-processed foods and most whole foods at the beginning of the period studied, yet ate the most ultra-processed foods and least whole foods at the end.

Given the growing intake of ultra-processed foods in the U.S. and mounting evidence linking these foods to chronic diseases, the researchers recommend implementing policies to reduce their consumption, such as revised dietary guidelines, marketing restrictions, package labeling changes, and taxes on soda and other ultra-processed foods. They also support programs and policies to increase the availability, accessibility, and affordability of whole foods, especially among disadvantaged populations.

"In the current industrial food environment, most of the foods that are marketed to us are in fact industrial formulations that are far removed from whole foods. Nevertheless, nutritional science tends to focus on the nutrient content of foods and has historically ignored the health implications of industrial food processing," said Juul.

Moreover, while the study focused on data from before COVID-19, there are indications that the pandemic led to an increase in eating less nutritious, shelf-stable foods.

"In the early days of the pandemic, people changed their purchasing behaviors to shop less frequently, and sales of ultra-processed foods such as boxed macaroni and cheese, canned soups, and snack foods increased substantially. People may have also eaten more packaged 'comfort foods' as a way of coping with the uncertainty of the pandemic," added Juul. "We look forward to examining dietary changes during this period as data become available.