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Friday, April 19, 2024
Detoxification

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Do you suffer from gas, bloating, or other digestive issues? You’re definitely not the only one out there – but it doesn’t have to be this way.

We all know the foods we like and dislike, and some of us are even in tune enough to know the foods that do and don’t sit well within our body – but how well do we really understand the process of our own digestion? Certain physical cues often indicate whether everything is running, ahem, smoothly, and others are often common signs that your digestive system isn’t working properly.

I’m hesitant to choose a favorite system of the human body, but the intricacies and needs of our digestive system are fascinating. The very process of digestion itself involves taking all our wonderful, nutritious foods (or those less so), and breaking them down into the minuscule monomers needed for our body’s day-to-day functioning. When you consider every reaction in the human body, right down to a cellular level, that has to go right for this process to work, it can be very humbling.

Digestion is arguably one of the most important functions of the human body. But when something’s not going right with the system, such as an underlying issue or illness, all the wonderful foods won’t be absorbed in the way they should. Luckily, there are a number of signs and indicators that you’ll likely recognize in your own body to suggest your digestive system might not be flourishing.

1. Changes To Bowel Movements

While we all have different experiences of what it means to be ‘regular’, we do have our own natural digestive rhythm. Your bowel movements are one of the best indicators of what’s going on inside your body, and while changes to your usual schedule will come and go – anything significant is usually a symptom of a malfunctioning digestive system. Laurentine has written this amazing article that goes into the details of how to understand what it all means for your health, and how to navigate the Bristol Stool Scale, to shed some more insight on what your movements actually mean.

2. Reflux & Heartburn

Resting at the other end of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is our esophagus, and there are a few issues that can be another indication that something isn’t sitting right with our digestive system. Primarily, these are often reflux or heartburn, coupled with excessive burping in some instances. These symptoms can be caused by a number of digestive issues, ranging from simple food intolerances to bacteria overgrowths or stomach ulcers. If you’re experiencing persistent reflux or heartburn, start by first noticing any patterns with your triggers, and if removing these triggers is unsuccessful, like always, I recommend consulting with a qualified practitioner.

3. Bloating, Cramping & Uncomfortable Gases

Bloating happens when your GIT fills with gases, oftentimes caused by something as simple as a chemical reaction to the food you eat. Common occurrences include both lactose and gluten intolerances, as the digestive system lacks all the tools it needs to break down these foods efficiently. Many allergies and intolerances will also lead to cramping as the tissues in your abdomen struggle to deal with the food that has been put into it, however cramping may also be indicative of conditions such as IBS or gastritis.

4. Changes In Appetite

Much like other aspects of our digestive system, our body will often come to understand what normal looks like. You are the most qualified person to talk about your normal eating habits and patterns, the foods that make you feel good, and those that bring you down. And just as you know what’s normal, it’s good to check-in and ask yourself if there have been any changes of late? This might mean the size and frequency of meals, changes in how your body responds to a certain food, or even skipping meals altogether. These changes could be for any number of reasons, ranging from a shift in our energy expenditure levels to binge eating disorder, or perhaps an underlying chronic illness. So once you begin to identify these changes, whether they’re long-term or just temporary, seek out the protocol best suited to helping you figure out why these are occurring – just to be on the safe side.

5. Malabsorption Of Nutrients

Unless you’ve got a pathology lab in your attic, this can be a little more difficult to diagnose. And as a full disclaimer, Food Matters always recommends you do diagnose and begin treatment plans with a licensed practitioner that works for you. However, some examples of instances include difficulty absorbing iron due to a multitude of underlying causes, or damage caused to the intestines by an autoimmune condition like celiac disease. But the main takeaway is any ongoing malabsorption issues indicate your body may need a deep reset before rebuilding your digestion.

While the causes for your digestive concerns will vary from person to person, there’s one protocol we always suggest for a total reset before taking more extreme measures. A gentle detox is one way to give the digestive system a much-needed rest and reset from life’s daily stressors – including any aggravating foods.

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For people who may wish to lose weight, plant-based diets could be the best solution thanks to the way in which they influence metabolism.

That is the takeaway from a recent study published in the JAMA Network Open.

According to the research results, switching to a low fat, plant-based diet could boost the body’s metabolism enough to burn excess weight and fat — even without vigorous exercise.

Researchers with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) partnered with Dr. Kitt Petersen and Dr. Gerald Shulman of Yale University. Together, they conducted a 16-week trial where participants in the intervention group adopted a low fat, vegan diet.

The study team hoped to find the full impact of a low fat, vegan diet. Could it improve metabolism, reduce visceral fat, and aid in significant weight loss?

Initially, 3,115 people responded to the flyers distributed by the research team. Of these, 244 met the criteria for participation in the study.

Eligible study participants had overweight, with body mass indexes ranging between 28 and 40, and were aged 25–75.

Researchers randomly split the study participants into two groups. The first group followed a 4-month-long low fat, vegan diet, eating fruits, vegetables, pulses, and grains in serving sizes comparable to what they ordinarily consumed at mealtimes. The second group, functioning as the control group, did not change their dietary habits.

Members of both groups curbed their daily alcohol consumption for the duration of the study. Women could drink a single alcoholic beverage daily, while men could have up to two drinks per day. Neither group began an exercise routine or deviated from any existing physical habits during the 16-week trial.

Study outcome and implications

Researchers took measurements at the beginning and end of the trial. By the end of the study, the plant-based diet group averaged an 18.7% increase in their after-meal calorie burn. They also saw an average weight loss of about 14 pounds (lb).

Additionally, the vegan diet group experienced a decrease in insulin resistance and a reduction in body fat. Crucially, this group saw a significant loss of visceral fat, the more detrimental type of fat that gets stored around the internal organs.

By contrast, the control group experienced no significant loss of weight or reduction in body fat. After comparing the two groups, it was clear to researchers that the low fat, vegan diet had a measurable impact on the weight and health of the intervention group.

Lead study author Dr. Hana Kahleova, director of clinical research at the PCRM, considers the results “groundbreaking for the 160 million Americans struggling with overweight and obesity.”

She adds, “Over the course of years and decades, burning more calories after every meal can make a significant difference in weight management.”

Findings back up existing research

These findings are consistent with a number of previous studies that have shown plant-based diets to be associated with reduced excess body fat. As reviewed recently by Rami S. Najjar and Rafaela G. Feresin in Nutrient:

“Plant-based diets can reduce body fat […] [and] cumulatively lead to reduced calorie intake and increased energy expenditure.”

It is worth noting that the PCRM and Yale University researchers focused on people without a history of diabetes. The pool of participants also skewed heavily toward one gender, with females constituting 86% of all participants.

Additional research might be needed for those already experiencing related health issues, or with a more balanced group of participants.

Still, there is enough existing research to suggest that no matter a person’s current diabetes status, their health outcomes could improve through following a diet mainly consisting of fruits and vegetables.

At least one participant in the clinical study decided to make a permanent change to his lifestyle. Sam T., who lost 34 lb during the 4-month study, continued with the plant-based diet. He reached his goal weight and began partaking in half-marathons and marathons.

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Encouraging people to eat more dried fruit — without added sugar — could be an effective way to boost their intake of vital nutrients, researchers have concluded.

Low consumption of fruit in the United States and other countries is a major contributor to diet-related disease and disability, according to a recent analysis.

Fruit is a good source of nutrients, such as fiber and potassium, that many people lack in their diet. It also contains bioactive nutrients that provide extra health benefits, including polyphenols and carotenoids.

Research suggests that eating fruit is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

However, only about 24% of females and 14% of males in the U.S. eat the recommended daily amount of fruit, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Several factors might contribute to people’s low intake of fresh fruit, including limited availability, high cost, and perishability.

Recommending that people eat more dried fruit could be one solution.

Healthful snack?

Dried fruit offers several advantages over fresh fruit in terms of cost, availability, and ease of storage and transport. It could also replace more unhealthful snack food that is high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat.

At the same time, however, there are concerns about overconsumption leading to excess calorie intake because dried fruit is such an “energy dense” form of fruit.

Previous observational studies have found that eating dried fruit is associated with health benefits. However, the evidence is inconclusive because people who eat more dried fruit may tend to have a more healthful diet and lifestyle overall.

The new study by researchers at Pennsylvania (Penn) State University in University Park aimed to get around this difficulty by comparing days when particular participants reported eating dried fruit with days when they ate none.

They found that people tended to consume more key nutrients on the days they ate dried fruit, including dietary fiber and potassium. However, they also consumed more calories.

“Dried fruit can be a great choice for a nutritious snack, but consumers might want to be sure they’re choosing unsweetened versions without added sugar,” says Valerie Sullivan of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD, who was a grad student at Penn State when she led the study.

“Portion sizes can also be tricky because a serving of dried fruit is smaller than a serving of fresh since the water has been taken out. But the positive is that dried fruit can help people potentially consume more fruit because it’s portable, it’s shelf-stable, and can even be cheaper.”

The research appears in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Health and nutrition survey

For their analysis, the scientists drew on survey responses from 25,590 individuals who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2016.

The respondents provided information about the food they had consumed in the past 24 hours (called “dietary recalls”).

Dried fruit accounted for only 3.7% of all the fruit consumed. However, a total of 1,233 participants reported consuming dried fruit on one out of two dietary recalls, allowing the scientists to compare their intake on these days.

Data were also available on the participants’ health, including their body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and seated resting blood pressure.

Even after adjusting for demographic and lifestyle factors, the participants who ate significant amounts of dried fruit tended to have better diets, a lower BMI, a smaller waist circumference, and lower systolic blood pressure compared with those who did not.

When the researchers compared the days when a participant ate dried fruit with those when they did not, they found that the average intake of total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, potassium, and polyunsaturated fat was greater on the days they ate dried fruit.

Active lifestyle

Taken together, the findings suggest that people who ate dried fruit expended more energy, compensating for the extra calories.

“In our study, people who consumed dried fruits had a higher calorie intake but a lower BMI and waist circumference, which suggests they were more physically active,” says co-author Penny Kris-Etherton, Evan Pugh University Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State.

“So, when incorporating dried fruits, pay attention to calories and be sure to substitute out calories from low nutrient foods for dried fruits to get the greatest benefit of eating dried fruits,” she adds.

The researchers write that eating dried fruit tended to increase total fruit consumption, rather than replacing other forms of fruit. “Thus, increasing dried fruit consumption might help Americans achieve greater fruit intakes.”

The authors acknowledge that their study did not prove that eating dried fruit improves health, only that there seems to be an association. People who are likely to eat dried fruit may have better health for other reasons, such as taking more exercise or leading less stressful lives.

In addition, they note that the survey relied on the participants’ recollection of what they had eaten over the past 24 hours and their ability to estimate quantities accurately.

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A newly released study found that people with heart failure who received the diabetes drug empagliflozin showed significant improvements in heart structure and function, with many experiencing a reversal of the disease.

Approximately 6.2 million adults in the United States have heart failure. As a result of its high prevalence, the national cost of healthcare services, medicines, and missed workdays related to this disorder reached an estimated $30.7 billion in 2012.

Globally, the disease affects approximately 23 million people.

What is heart failure?

Heart failure occurs when the heart cannot pump blood effectively to other parts of the body, causing symptoms that include shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, weakness and tiredness, and weight gain and swelling in the legs, ankles, feet, or stomach.

It may progress to congestive heart failure due to the buildup of fluids in the lungs, liver, and lower extremities.

Underlying causes of heart failure include coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, obesity, heart valve disease, and diabetes. Over time, these diseases may result in “adverse modeling,” which is the heart’s attempt to compensate for its added workload by getting larger, developing thicker walls, and pumping more frequently.

Among people with heart failure, about 50% present with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The lowered ejection fraction occurs when the heart’s left ventricle cannot pump blood effectively, decreasing the amount of blood that leaves the ventricle to circulate the body after each contraction.

Treatment options for heart failure include taking prescription drugs, reducing the amount of sodium in the diet, consuming a lower volume of liquids, and making any necessary lifestyle changes, such as reaching a moderate weight, quitting smoking, and eating a heart-healthy diet.

New study shows promising results

With limited heart failure treatment options available, researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai set up a clinical trial called EMPATROPISM to investigate the use of empagliflozin, a diabetes drug, for treating HFrEF in people without diabetes.

The researchers presented the trial results on November 13 at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2020, with a pre-proof appearing in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

In the double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study, the scientists divided the 84 participants, who were 18–85 years of age, into two groups. One group received 10 milligrams (mg) of empagliflozin daily, and the other took a placebo.

At the trial’s onset, all of the participants underwent baseline evaluations, which included cardiac MRI, a 6-minute walk test, and a cardiopulmonary exercise test to determine their oxygen levels. They also completed questionnaires regarding their quality of life.

After 6 months of receiving either the placebo or empagliflozin, the participants completed the same tests again.

The researchers found that approximately 80% of those who received the medication showed significant improvement in their condition, with a 16.6% improvement in left ventricle ejection fraction.

They also experienced a reduction in heart size and thickness and had less congestion, indicating that their heart failure had become less severe.

Remarkably, the investigators note that the heart returned to near normal in this group of participants.

Additionally, those who received empagliflozin experienced no severe side effects and saw improvements in their exercise levels and quality of life, which occurred relatively quickly after beginning the medication.

Although empagliflozin is an antidiabetes drug, the investigators noted no adverse blood sugar-related side effects, such as hypoglycemia, in the study participants, despite them not having diabetes.

Conversely, the study participants who took the placebo showed no improvements. Their condition either stayed the same or worsened, with a further reduced ejection fraction, increased heart size and thickness, and an abnormal change in the heart’s overall shape.

According to the researchers, the study results also explain why this medication effectively treats heart failure. They explain that it essentially reverses the adverse modeling that occurs when the heart attempts to restructure itself to compensate for changes associated with other chronic conditions.

Supporting evidence

The EMPEROR-Reduced trial, a slightly earlier study that featured in the New England Journal of Medicine, saw similar results. In this double-blind trial, 3,730 people with HFrEF took either empagliflozin (10 mg once daily) or a placebo, in addition to recommended therapy.

The results concurred with the EMPATROPISM findings, showing that people both with and without diabetes in the empagliflozin group experienced a lower risk of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure than those in the placebo group.

Researchers look to the future

The EMPATROPISM study’s first author, Carlos Santos-Gallego, a postdoctoral fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine, explains the implications of these findings.

He says, “Our clinical trial’s promising results show this diabetes drug can ameliorate lives of heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction, enhance their exercise capacity, and improve their quality of life with little to no side effects.”

“We expect this work will help lead to U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] approval of empagliflozin for this patient population in the coming months.”

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A new study comparing a vegan diet with a mixed diet has found no difference in vitamin B12 levels. However, one-third of the vegan participants were iodine-deficient.

There are many benefits to a vegan diet, including a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

However, a growing concern is the lack of dietary nutrients that are mainly present in animal foods. Two important nutrients are vitamin B12 and iodine.

Vitamin B12 is essential to the body

Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, helps the body form nerves, red blood cells, and DNA. Maintaining adequate vitamin B12 levels is also crucial for cell metabolism and supporting the nervous system.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the average adult needs about 2.4 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin B12. The only natural sources of vitamin B12 are animal-based. They include various types of meats and fish, as well as dairy products, clams, and eggs.

As vitamin B12 does not occur naturally in plant-based foods, those eating only these foods are at risk for vitamin B12 deficiency. A 2017 study in the journal Nutrients found that 69.9% of males and 83.4% of females who were under the age of 55 years and identified as vegan lacked sufficient vitamin B12.

Since vitamin B12 is vital in making red blood cells, insufficient levels can increase the risk of anemia. Also, without vitamin B12, the brain cannot function correctly, which can lead to cognitive impairments. There is also evidence of a link between this vitamin deficiency and depression, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia.

Importance of iodine in the diet

Iodine is another essential nutrient for the body. Iodine is crucial to making thyroid hormones, and the recommended intake for an adult is 150 mcg. However, about 38% of the world’s population lack adequate iodine levels.

Iodine is in fish, eggs, and dairy products. Unlike vitamin B12, iodine is naturally available to vegans in seaweed.

Despite some natural sources, getting sufficient iodine can still be challenging for vegans. A 2011 study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found vegans to be at high risk for iodine deficiency.

Low iodine levels can force the thyroid to absorb iodine from the blood, which may lead to hypothyroidism. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy or in young children may also impair cognitive development and increase the risk of intellectual disabilities.

A growing trend for vegan diets

Despite the nutritional concerns, eating plant-based foods remains increasingly popular. For instance, a 2017 study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found that in 2012, 1.9% of people in the U.S. followed a vegan or vegetarian diet for health reasons. This was an 18.8% increase from 2002.

In response to the rising interest in veganism, researchers at the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment sought to find any updates regarding the average vegan’s nutritional health.

The study appears in the journal Deutsches Ärzteblatt.

Study design

The researchers selected a total of 72 participants aged 30–57 years from Berlin, of whom 36 were vegan, and 36 were eating an omnivorous diet consisting of both plant and animal foods.

The team used questionnaires to collect demographic information from these individuals, including their age, education level, and lifestyle factors.

Using the German Nutrient Database, the researchers used a 3-day dietary protocol to measure nutrient intake in both groups. They excluded dietary supplement use from the calculations.

The researchers also took 60-milliliter blood samples and 24-hour urine samples to observe vitamin and mineral levels. They identified some of these, such as vitamin B12, through biomarkers. For example, high concentrations of holotranscobalamin indicate a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Key research findings

During the 3-day recording, those on a vegan diet showed lower concentrations of cholesterol than the omnivores.

The vegan group also consumed more fiber, vitamin E, vitamin K, and folate. However, these participants did not eat as many foods high in vitamin B12, vitamin D, and iodine as the omnivores.

In the blood, the vegan participants had lower levels of vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin E, vitamin A, selenoprotein P, and zinc than the omnivores. However, they had high levels of folate and vitamin K1.

In the urine samples, iodine and calcium levels were low in those following a vegan diet.

A surprising finding was the lack of vitamin B12 deficiency in vegans. The researchers attribute this to a growing knowledge of the lack of vitamin B12 in plant-based diets.

“Most vegans are aware that a vegan diet is associated with the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, and vitamin B12 is by far their most frequently taken supplement,” write the authors.

Another interesting finding was that both groups had low iodine levels, although this was more apparent in vegans. Only 8% of vegans achieved adequate iodine levels compared with 25% of omnivores.

Study limitations to consider

Understanding the study’s recruitment process is important when interpreting the data. The authors note that participants were most likely a convenience sample. This means that they chose people who were easy to reach, as they enrolled people who responded to their announcement.

A convenience sample may have created bias in the results, as the people who took the time to respond may already have been health conscious. However, the subjectiveness in recruitment remains debatable.

“Since the same recruitment strategy was used for vegans and omnivores, and a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 was chosen as an exclusion criterion, it can be assumed that the level of health consciousness was similar in both groups,” note the authors.

The study also used a small sample size of 72 participants, which is unlikely to be representative of the general population in Germany.

Final thoughts

“Consequently, the results of our study provide first insights into the current vitamin and mineral status in vegans versus omnivores in the German population,” write the authors.

This updated nutritional information could help guide vegans toward prioritizing iodine in addition to vitamin B12 supplementation.

Doing so may help circumvent the health risks associated with following a plant-based diet.

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A new study confirms that older men may lack the bodily cues that help younger men remain hydrated.

Smart thermostats have nothing on our hypothalamus. This is the gland that helps us maintain a healthy body temperature.

When we get too hot, the hypothalamus causes our skin to produce sweat that cools us down as it evaporates. We then become thirsty, and we should drink to replace the water that we lost through sweating.

However, if we sweat too much or do not drink water to replenish our fluids, we can become dehydrated.

Without enough water in the body, we lose the ability to cool ourselves with sweat, and the body can overheat. This increases our chance of experiencing heatstroke and other heat-related damage to our bodies.

As we age, the efficiency of our temperature regulation system declines. Although most research into the effects of dehydration focuses on young adults, a new study in The Journal of Physiology examines its role in the health of older adults.

Older adults may not feel as thirsty as young people and should take care to hydrate when they work or exercise and when the weather is hot.

Dehydration changes as we age

Researchers from the Human and Environmental Physiology Research Unit at the University of Ottawa in Canada explored the paradoxical risk associated with dehydration later in life.

On the one hand, during exercise, dehydration in older adults does not lead as readily to an increase in body temperature through a reduction in heat loss as it does in younger people.

Although this may seem to be a good thing, the lack of sweat and thirst means that the person loses important cues that suggest that it is time to rehydrate.

Without drinking enough water, dehydration in older adults may persist and quietly increase to dangerous levels.

Blood salinity

Scientists have suggested that the reason that older adults feel less thirsty is due to a reduced ability to detect and respond to the level of salt in their blood.

When the balance between water and salt in the blood tips toward salinity, the body of a younger adult responds with feelings of thirst.

The researchers wondered if the same reduced ability to track blood salinity, or “osmolality,” that reduces sensations of thirst may also be the driver behind the less extreme response to dehydration in older adults.

Ten younger men (18–30 years old) and 10 older men (54–67 years old) participated in exercise heat stress tests. The researchers asked them to abstain from consuming alcohol and engaging in strenuous exercise for 24 hours before each session. They also asked them to drink 500 milliliters of water the night before the experiments.

After screening, the men took part in two exercise sessions placed a week apart. At the start of each exercise session, the participants received an intravenous saline solution to increase blood osmolality before entering a heated, whole-body direct-air calorimeter for 1 hour of stationary cycling.

The calorimeter measured the participants’ whole-body evaporative and dry heat loss, and other measurements tracked a range of body indicators of temperature and rate of heat loss.

Analysis of these data revealed a substantive difference in the regulation of body temperature between the younger and older men.

The researchers found that for older men, an increase in blood salinity did not trigger the body’s responses to dehydration as it did in the younger men.

An incomplete picture

Further research will be necessary to help scientists gain a full understanding of heat regulation in older adults.

As first study author Robert Meade says, “While our research design allowed us to test the independent effect of osmolality on heat loss, the effect of reduced blood volume (termed hypovolemia) on sweating in older adults is currently unknown.”

Because the study explored the effects of blood osmolality in physically active participants without any known chronic conditions, it is unclear whether or not the same finding would apply to older adults with common age-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes.

However, Meade concludes:

“Given that common age-related chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes are associated with less efficient regulation of body temperature and hydration status, future research should be conducted to see whether our findings translate to or are exaggerated in those populations.”

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A study in mice suggests that a diet high in the sugar fructose worsens inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Changes in gut bacteria appeared to mediate the effect.

IBD is an umbrella term for several conditions that feature chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. The two most common types of IBD are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Common symptoms of IBD include:

  • persistent diarrhea
  • stomach pain
  • rectal bleeding, or bloody stools
  • unexplained weight loss
  • fatigue

The incidence of IBD has been increasing worldwide.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of adults receiving an IBD diagnosis each year in the United States increased from 2 million in 1999 to 3 million in 2015.

Previous research in animals has found that a diet high in fructose can damage the colon and cause inflammation. This finding suggests that a higher fructose intake may have played a role in the increased incidence of IBD in recent decades.

Population studies have not always shown an association between refined sugar intake and IBD. One large study found no association between any specific dietary pattern and IBD. However, the results showed that a diet high in sugar and soft drinks did increase the risk of ulcerative colitis in cases where vegetable intake was low.

Manufacturers add high fructose corn syrup to sodas, candy, baked goods, and other processed foods.

The consumption of fructose has increased by almost one-third in the U.S. over the past 3 decades, according to some estimates.

“The increasing incidence of IBD parallels higher levels of fructose consumption in the U.S. and other countries,” says David Montrose, Ph.D., of the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, NY, who led the new research.

Montrose and his colleagues at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, NY, wanted to investigate whether fructose worsens inflammation in mouse models of IBD.

They also tested the idea that changes in the community of microorganisms living in the gut, known as its “microbiota,” mediate the inflammatory effects of fructose.

“Our findings provide evidence of a direct link between dietary fructose and IBD and support the concept that high consumption of fructose could worsen disease in people with IBD. This is important because it has the potential to provide guidance on diet choices for IBD patients — something that is currently lacking.” – David Montrose

The team’s study features online in the journal Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Mimicking the effects of IBD

The scientists performed a range of experiments with the aim of investigating the effects of a high fructose diet on three different mouse models of IBD.

In the first model, which uses a chemical called dextran sodium sulfate to provoke the kind of inflammatory response that occurs in IBD, a high fructose diet increased the severity of this inflammation.

In contrast, a high glucose diet did not exacerbate inflammation.

The researchers noted that giving the mice antibiotics reduced the harmful effects of a high fructose diet on the colon, which suggests that bacteria in the gut were mediating the damage.

Conversely, transplants of fecal material from mice that the researchers fed a high fructose diet exacerbated inflammation in the mice that received them. This adds further evidence of the role of gut bacteria.

When the researchers looked more closely at the layer of mucus protecting the cells that line the colon, they found that the high fructose diet reduced its thickness by about one-fifth.

Bacteria had infiltrated the mucus and were in direct contact with the cells.

The team also discovered that the diet changed the prevalence of several species of bacteria living in the gut.

In particular, it boosted populations of a species called Akkermansia muciniphila. In previous studies, scientists have shown that this species can degrade mucus and that it is linked to inflammation of the colon.

Bacterial model

The second model of IBD that the researchers used in their experiments involved infecting mice with a bacterium called Citrobacter rodentium, which also mimics the inflammation that characterizes the disease.

Feeding these mice lots of fructose promoted the growth of the bacteria and worsened inflammation.

Finally, the scientists confirmed the link between fructose and IBD in a genetic model of the disease. This model recreates the type of immune response that can make some people more likely to develop inflammation of the colon.

Once again, eating large amounts of fructose exacerbated colon inflammation in these animals.

Looking to the future

The researchers acknowledge that the models of the disease that they used may not accurately reflect the complex interaction of diet, microbiota, and disease in humans.

This chemically induced form of colitis is a scientifically valid way of studying IBD in humans, but in this study, the experimenters used very high doses of fructose with few other nutrients.

Therefore, the findings may not translate to humans except in highly specific circumstances.

Looking to the future, the researchers plan to investigate ways to prevent the inflammatory effects of dietary fructose.

People with IBD are at increased risk of colon cancer as a result of a lifetime of chronic inflammation in their gut. The team also plans to evaluate whether eating a diet high in fructose further increases this risk.

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A study links the consumption of ultra-processed foods with the shortening of the body’s telomeres.

Telomeres are structures located at the ends of our chromosomes. Although they contain no genetic information themselves, they preserve the integrity of chromosomes by keeping their ends from fraying, much as shoelace tips protect the laces.

Telomeres become shorter and less effective over time as chromosomes replicate. Scientists view them as markers of an individual’s biological age at a cellular level.

New research indicates that eating ultra-processed foods is linked to the accelerated shortening of telomeres and cell aging.

The researchers, from the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, presented their findings at this year’s European and International Congress on Obesity (ECOICO 2020) in September.

The findings also feature in a study paper in The Americal Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Lucia Alonso-Pedrero, who is a doctoral researcher at this university, led the study.

The rise of ultra-processed foods

The consumption of ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, is on the rise worldwide. UPFs are manufactured food products comprising the building blocks of naturally occurring foods: protein isolates, sugars, fats, and oils.

However, while their components are often extracted from natural sources, UPFs ultimately contain no, or very little, in the way of whole foods.

The companies that produce UPFs often add flavorings and emulsifiers for taste, as well as colorings and other cosmetic additives to achieve the desired appearance. UPFs are nutritionally poor and often unbalanced.

UPFs are highly profitable for their producers due to their inexpensive ingredients, cost effective manufacturing processes, and long shelf life in stores. What makes them so attractive to consumers is their convenience and their relative imperishability.

Previous research has not conclusively established a link between UPFs in general and telomere length (TL). However, researchers have noted associations between TL and alcohol, sugar-sweetened beverages, processed meats, and foods high in saturated fat and sugar.

Other research indicates a UPF connection to several serious conditions, such as obesity, hypertension, depression, metabolic syndrome, some types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes. However, these conditions also tend to be age-related and thus difficult to associate definitively with the consumption of UPFs.

UPFs and telomere length

The NOVA system classifies foods according to the degree of processing that their production involves, as opposed to their nutritional content. The goal of Alonso-Pedrero and her colleagues was to investigate the effect of UPF consumption in older adults using NOVA as a means of categorizing the foods that they consumed.

The researchers began their analysis with data from the SUN project, which the University of Navarra is conducting with other Spanish universities. The ongoing study began recruiting in 2000 and includes volunteers over the age of 20 years. Participants are required to fill out and return questionnaires every 2 years.

In 2008, all SUN participants over the age of 55 years took part in a genetic study that forms the foundation of the new research. A total of 886 individuals — 645 men and 241 women — provided saliva samples for DNA analysis and self-reported their daily food consumption. Their average age was 67.7 years.

The team sorted the participants into four groups of equal size, or quartiles, according to the number of UPF servings that they consumed daily:

  • low: under 2 servings
  • medium-low: 2–2.5 servings
  • medium-high: 2.5–3 servings
  • high: more than 3 servings

In terms of telomeres, Alonso-Pedrero and her colleagues detected a clear correspondence between TL and the consumption of UPFs.

The likelihood of shortened telomeres increased dramatically with the number of UPF servings, starting with the medium-low group. That group was 29% more likely to exhibit reduced TL, while the medium-high group was 40% more likely to do so. Those in the high group were 82% more likely to have shortened telomeres.

The study’s authors write:

“In this cross-sectional study of elderly Spanish subjects, we showed a robust strong association between UPF consumption and TL. Further research in larger longitudinal studies with baseline and repeated measures of TL is needed to confirm these observations.”

The researchers also made a number of general observations regarding those who consumed more than 3 servings of UPFs per day. People in this quartile:

  • were more likely to have diabetes, a family history of cardiovascular disease, and abnormal blood fats under their skin
  • were the participants most likely to snack between meals
  • consumed less protein, carbohydrate, fiber, fruit, vegetables, olive oil, and other micronutrients

Individuals who ate more UPFs were less likely to adhere to a healthful Mediterranean diet. In exchange, they consumed more fats, saturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, sodium, sugar-sweetened beverages, cholesterol, fast food, and processed meats.

The study authors also found that those who consumed higher amounts of UPFs were more likely to experience depression — especially when they were less active physically.

Finally, the findings linked the consumption of UPFs to excessive body weight, hypertension, and all-cause mortality.

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If your cholesterol level has crept up over the years, you may wonder whether changing your diet can help. Ideally, your total cholesterol value should be 200 milligrammes per deciliter (mg/dL) or lower. But it is the harmful Low-Density Lipo-protein (LDL) ‘bad’ cholesterol value that experts worry about the most. Excess LDL builds up on artery walls and triggers a release of inflammatory substances that boost heart attack risk.

“To prevent heart disease, your LDL should be 100 mg/dL or lower,” says Dr. Jorge Plutzky, director of preventive cardiology at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. But many Americans have LDL values that are less than optimal (100 to 129 mg/dL) or borderline high (130 to 159 mg/dL).

If you fall into either of those categories, you may be able to nudge down your LDL to a healthier level by changing what you eat, particularly if your current diet could use some improvement. However, most people with higher LDL values likely will also need to take a cholesterol-lowering drug, such as a statin, says Dr. Plutzky.

Dietary directives
Avoiding foods that are high in cholesterol isn’t the best way to lower your LDL. Your overall diet — especially the types of fats and carbohydrates you eat — has the most impact on your blood cholesterol values. “As the American Heart Association has noted, you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck by lowering saturated fat and replacing it with unsaturated fat,” says registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

That means avoiding meat, cheese, and other high-fat dairy products such as butter, half-and-half, and ice cream. Equally important is replacing those calories with healthy, unsaturated fats (such as those found in vegetable oils, avocados, and fatty fish) rather than refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, and white rice. Unlike healthy fats, these starchy foods aren’t very filling, and they can trigger overeating and weight gain.

The other big problem with refined carbs: They are woefully low in fibre, which helps flush cholesterol out of the body.

The fibre factor
Your body can’t break down fiber, so it passes through your body undigested. It comes in two varieties: insoluble and soluble. Fiber-containing foods usually feature a mix of the two.

Insoluble fibre does not dissolve in water. While it doesn’t directly lower LDL, this form of fiber fills you up, crowding other cholesterol-raising foods out of your diet and helping to promote weight loss.

Soluble fibre dissolves in water, creating a gel. This gel traps some of the cholesterol in your body, so it’s eliminated as waste instead of entering your arteries.

Soluble fibre also binds to bile acids, which carry fats from your small intestine into the large intestine for excretion. This triggers your liver to create more bile acids — a process that requires cholesterol. If the liver doesn’t have enough cholesterol, it draws more from the bloodstream, which in turn lowers your circulating LDL.

Finally, certain soluble fibres (called oligosaccharides) are fermented into short-chain fatty acids in the gut. These fatty acids may also inhibit cholesterol production.

The “best” foods
The following 11 foods are good sources of fibre or unsaturated fat (or both). But they’re not in any particular order and are simply suggestions. Most whole grains, vegetables, and fruits are good sources of fiber. And most nuts and seeds (and the oils made from them) provide monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats.

1. Oatmeal. This whole grain is one of the best sources of soluble fiber, along with barley (see “Grain of the month,” at right). Start your day with a bowl of steel-cut or old-fashioned rolled oats, topped with fresh or dried fruit for a little extra fiber.

2. White beans. Also called navy beans, this variety ranks highest in fiber content. Try different types of beans as well, such as black beans, garbanzos, or kidney beans, which you can add to salads, soups, or chili. But avoid prepared baked beans, which are canned in sauce that’s loaded with added sugar.

3. Avocado. The creamy, green flesh of an avocado is not only rich in monounsaturated fat; it also contains both soluble and insoluble fiber. Enjoy this fruit sliced in salad, pureed into dip, or mashed and spread on a slice of whole-grain toast.

4. Eggplant. Although not everyone’s favorite, these deep purple vegetables are one of the richest sources of soluble fiber. One idea: oven-roast or grill whole eggplants until soft and use the flesh in a Middle Eastern dip called baba ghanoush.

5. Carrots. Raw baby carrots are a tasty and convenient snack — and they also give you a decent dose of insoluble fiber.

6. Almonds. Among nuts, almonds are highest in fiber, although other popular varieties such as pistachios and pecans are close behind. Walnuts have the added advantage of being a good source of polyunsaturated, plant-based omega-3 fatty acids.

7. Kiwi fruit. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to peel these fuzzy, brown fruits. But to avoid the skin, slice one in half and scoop out the inside with a spoon for an easy, fiber-rich, sweet snack.

8. Berries. Because these fruits are packed with tiny seeds, their fiber content is higher than most other fruits. Raspberries and blackberries provide the most, but strawberries and blueberries are also good sources.

9. Cauliflower. This cruciferous veggie not only provides fiber, but it can also serve as a substitute for white rice. Just shred or whirl in a food processor until it resembles rice, then sauté with a little olive oil until tender.

10. Soy. Eating soybeans and foods made from them, such as soymilk, tofu, and tempeh, was once touted as a powerful way to lower cholesterol. More recent analyses showed the effect is modest, at best. Still, protein-rich, soy-based foods are a far healthier choice than a hamburger or other red meat.

11. Salmon. Likewise, eating cold-water fish such as salmon twice a week can lower LDL by replacing meat and delivering healthy omega-3 fats. Other good fish options include chunk light canned tuna and tinned sardines.

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New research has found that a smartphone can accurately detect whether the person who has it is drunk, based on how they are walking.

A new study has found that a smartphone attached to a person can tell when their breath alcohol concentration exceeds 0.08%.

The legal limit for driving in the United States is a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08%. Breath alcohol measures are on average 15% lower than blood alcohol levels.

The research, appearing in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, could be helpful in warning people when they are in danger of causing harm due to the amount that they have drunk.

Alcohol consumption

Many people throughout the world enjoy drinking alcohol safely, without causing harm to themselves or others. Yet alcohol is also the direct or indirect cause of a significant number of health issues, injuries, and deaths.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol use is the third leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., behind smoking and issues concerning physical activity and diet. Approximately 88,000 people die of alcohol-related causes each year.

Estimates show that 5.8% of people 18 or over have alcohol use disorder, a chronic condition that can keep a person from limiting their intake of alcohol, in spite of its negative effects.

Alcohol consumption can impede cognitive and motor performance — the ability to think clearly and move in a careful and controlled way. This increases the risk of harming oneself or someone else.

In 2018, for example, 29% of driving deaths in the U.S. involved someone who had drunk too much.

Finding ways of warning someone when they have had too much to drink could be valuable in encouraging them to take more care.

This was personally important to Dr. Brian Suffoletto, previously of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and now at Stanford Medical School’s Department of Emergency Medicine, and the corresponding author of the study.

“I lost a close friend to a drinking and driving crash in college,” Dr. Suffoletto says. “And as an emergency physician, I have taken care of scores of adults with injuries related to acute alcohol intoxication. Because of this, I have dedicated the past 10 years to testing digital interventions to prevent deaths and injury related to excessive alcohol consumption.”

While devices such as portable breath analyzers are available, there are barriers to their use: They are expensive, and social stigma may stop a person from using one on a night out.

Smartphones could represent an alternative: 81% of people in the U.S. own smartphones, and the vast majority of smartphones have sophisticated sensors that can determine if a person is drunk.

“We have powerful sensors [that] we carry around with us wherever we go. We need to learn how to use them to best serve public health.” – Dr. Brian Suffoletto

Straight line walking

Previous research has found that smartphones are able to determine if a person is drunk using information about their gait — how they walk. One study, from 2016, used machine learning to determine whether a participant was inebriated.

In the present study, the authors wanted to see whether smartphones measuring gait could tell if a person had reached an objective measure of intoxication: a breath alcohol concentration of 0.08%, the level at which people tend to show poor coordination.

For the study, the researchers recruited 22 adults who visited a lab to consume a vodka-based drink that would raise their breath alcohol concentration to 0.2%.

Prior to consuming the alcohol, each participant had a smartphone strapped to their back and was asked to walk 10 steps in a straight line, then back again. Over the next 7 hours, the participants repeated their walks each hour.

The sensors on the smartphones measured each participant’s acceleration, their movements from side to side, and their movements up and down.

Over 90% accurate

By analyzing the data, the researchers found that 92.5% of the time, they could determine that a participant would have exceeded the legal limit of a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08%.

“This controlled lab study shows that our phones can be useful to identify ‘signatures’ of functional impairments related to alcohol.” – Dr. Brian Suffoletto

The study has some limitations. A person is unlikely to keep their phone strapped to their back, and changing its location, by carrying it or putting it in a bag or pocket, for example, could affect the results.

Also, the study measured breath alcohol concentrations, which are on average 15% lower than blood alcohol concentrations. Therefore a breath alcohol concentration of greater than 0.068% would indicate a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit of 0.08%. Assessing how accurate the app is at these lower levels will require further research.

This was a small proof of concept study. Future research with significantly more participants and, ideally, real-world analysis, is needed to confirm that smartphones can regularly be used for this purpose.

Nonetheless, this study lays the groundwork for further research.

“In 5 years, I would like to imagine a world in which, if people go out with friends and drink at risky levels, they get an alert at the first sign of impairment and are sent strategies to help them stop drinking and protect them from high-risk events, like driving, interpersonal violence, and unprotected sexual encounters.” – Dr. Brian Suffoletto

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