Pregnancy

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States.

The incidence of EO-CRC, which refers to when people under 50 years of age develop the condition, has increased markedly in several wealthy countries.

One 2020 article in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians suggested that over the course of the year, about 150,000 U.S. individuals would receive a diagnosis of colorectal cancer and about 53,200 would die as a result.

The authors also predicted about 18,000 cases of individuals younger than 50 years of age receiving a diagnosis of colorectal cancer, with 3,640 forecasted deaths in this population.

Compared with adults born in the U.S. around 1950, those born around 1990 have twice the risk of developing colon cancer and four times the risk of developing rectal cancer.

A new study in the journal Gut links drinking two or more SSBs per day in adulthood with a doubling in the risk of bowel cancer before the age of 50 years.

Researchers found that each daily SSB serving among adult women may be associated with a 16% higher risk of developing EO-CRC.

Also, the study found that each additional SSB serving per day among individuals aged 13–18 years may be linked to a 32% increase in the risk of developing EO-CRC.

Examples of SSBs include soft drinks, pre-packaged fruit drinks, energy drinks, and sports drinks. Sugary drinks are the leading source of added sugars in the American diet.

In fact, from 1977 to 2001, energy intake from SSBs increased by a whopping 135%.

Unique epidemiologic evidence

For this study, the researchers used data from 95,464 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study II. This is an ongoing monitoring study of 116,430 U.S. registered nurses, all women, who were aged 25–42 years when they enrolled in 1989.

Every 4 years beginning in 1991, the women in the study reported on what they ate and drank using validated food frequency questionnaires.

In 1998, researchers asked the participants to recall their health status and lifestyle habits as teenagers.

Also, 41,272 of the women reported on what they typically ate and drank as well as on the quantities of these items between 1960 and 1982. They were aged 13–18 years at this point.

The participants also gave information on potentially influential factors, including their family history of bowel cancer, their lifestyle habits, and any regular use of aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or vitamin supplements.

Over 24 years of monitoring, 109 women developed bowel cancer before the age of 50 years.

The study authors write that their findings “add unique epidemiologic evidence that SSB intake may partly contribute to the rapid increase of CRC in younger adults.”

Notes on the study

It is important for researchers to understand what is behind this increase, said study co-author Dr. Jeffrey Meyerhardt. He is the clinical director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA.

“It is presumed that exposures early in life are contributing to this rise,” Dr. Meyerhardt told Medical News Today. “Studying exposures that can be prevented is [essential] to getting control of this rising health issue.”

Substituting SSBs with reduced-fat milk or whole milk appears to be beneficial, according to study co-author Dr. Yin Cao. She is an associate professor of surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO.

“In this study,” she told us, “we showed [that] replacing one daily serving (8 oz) of SSBs with an equivalent amount of reduced-fat milk or total milk was associated with a 35–36% lower risk of EO-CRC.”

“During the second half of the 20th century, for which average U.S. per capita soft drink consumption has dramatically increased by ~500%, milk consumption has declined by half. Milk is a good source of calcium, a mineral found to be protective of colorectal cancer.”

“We postulate [that] low milk consumption could be plausibly linked with the increased risk of EO-CRC, and further research on this topic is in the pipeline.”

The researchers point to several limitations of their study. First, they caution that this was an observational study, which can only establish correlation, not cause. They also note that the majority of the participants were white women, so the findings may not apply to men or other ethnic groups.

Even so, the study provides insight into possible actions that public health leaders might take, Dr. Cao explained.

“Particularly in adolescence,” she wrote, “the immature and rapidly growing organs could be more susceptible to exposures that could lead to cancer development.”

“Campaigns, education programs, and interventions targeting the young population to reduce SSB intake and/or replace SSBs with other healthier beverages could help reduce the accrual of time at risk and convert this window of increased susceptibility into an opportunity for better health outcomes later in life.”

Eating fruit is a delicious way to satisfy hunger and meet daily nutritional needs. However, most fruits contain sugar. This has raised questions about whether fruits are suitable for people who have diabetes.

Diabetes is a chronic but manageable condition in which the body struggles to control the levels of blood sugar.

Is fruit dangerous for people with diabetes? This article will suggest fruits to eat and avoid if you have diabetes, as well as examining the relationship between fruit and blood sugar.

List of fruits for diabetes

fruits for diabetes on heart shaped platter
People with diabetes can eat fruit.

Below is a list of fruits divided by GI index, as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Low GI and GL fruits

Some fruits have a GI of under 55 and a GL under 10, including.

  • apples
  • avocados
  • bananas
  • berries
  • cherries
  • grapefruit
  • grapes
  • kiwi fruit
  • nectarines
  • orange
  • peaches
  • pears
  • plums
  • strawberries

Medium-GI fruits (GI of 56 to 69)

A fruit with a GI of between 56 and 69 is considered to be a medium-GI food. All fruits listed below still have GL levels under 10.

  • honeydew melon
  • figs
  • papayas
  • pineapples

High-GI fruits

Fruits with a GI higher than 70 are high-GI and a GL of greater than 20 is high GL. While these are safe to eat with diabetes, it is important to eat larger quantities of lower-GI fruits instead.

  • dates (high GL)
  • watermelon (low GL)

Fruit and diabetes

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) advises that any fruit is fine to eat for a person with diabetes, so long as that person is not allergic to a particular fruit.

meta-analysis published in 2014 in the British Medical Journal found higher fruit intake was significantly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

The preparation of fruit, however, can affect blood sugar. Fresh or frozen fruits are better than processed fruits straight from a can or jar, such as applesauce and canned fruit. Processed fruits also include dried fruit and fruit juices.

People with diabetes should eat processed foods sparingly or avoid them completely. The body absorbs processed fruits more rapidly, leading to higher blood sugar levels. Processing fruits also removes or reduces levels of certain key nutrients, including vitamins and fiber.

The National Institute of Diabetic and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) recommends that people with diabetes should avoid fruit juices or canned fruits with added sugar.

Fruit blends like smoothies also have high sugar content and are more rapidly absorbed leading to higher spikes in blood sugar.

What is the glycemic index?

For a person with diabetes, one way to select safe and suitable fruits and other high-carbohydrate foods is to check the glycemic index (GI).

GI is a rating of foods on a scale from 1 to 100. The score indicates how quickly the food item may raise blood sugar levels.

High GI foods are absorbed faster than medium or low GI foods.

Glycemic load (GL) takes into account the GI of a food plus the number of carbohydrates in a serving. GL may be a more accurate way of assessing how food affects blood sugar management over time. Low-GI and low-GL foods are better for helping control blood sugar levels.

People may be surprised to learn that many fruits have a low glycemic index. People digest starchy vegetables, such as potatoes and grains, more rapidly, so these have a higher GI index.

The longer a carbohydrate-rich food is cooked, the higher the GI value. Fat, fiber content, and cooling carbohydrates after they have been transformed into resistant starches via cooking can all dramatically lower GI values.

Benefits for diabetes

lemon eyes
Fruit plays a key role in helping people with diabetes feel full and absorb sugar slowly.

Eating enough fiber plays an important role in managing diabetes.

A diet high in soluble fiber can slow the absorption of sugar and control its levels in the blood. Many fruits are high in fiber, especially those with the skin or pulp included.

Many fruits are filling because of their high fiber and water content.

Diets containing enough fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of obesityheart attack, and stroke. Obesity has been linked to type 2 diabetes.

Fruits are high in fiber and nutrients, so they are a good choice in meal planning. Fruits that have been processed such as applesauce and fruit juices have had their fiber removed and should be limited.

Other health benefits of fruit

The good news is that fruit is healthy to eat for people with diabetes, according to the NIDDK.

People with diabetes should eat a balanced diet that provides enough energy and helps to maintain a healthy weight. Some fruits are high in sugar, such as mangoes, but can be part of a healthy diet in moderate amounts.

Fruits can also satisfy a sweet tooth without resorting to candy and other foods with low nutritional value. Most fruits are high in nutrients and low in fat and sodium. Fruits also often contain nutrients not found in other foods.

Bananas contain potassium and tryptophan, an important amino acid. Citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits are high in vitamins A and C, which are powerful antioxidants.

How much fruit should I eat?

Most guidelines recommend that adults and children eat five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. This does not change for people with diabetes.

The United States guidelines recommend that people fill half of their plate at each meal with fruits and vegetables.

People with diabetes should focus on non-starchy vegetables for 50 percent of the meal, rather than depending on fruit. The remaining half of the meal should be protein and high-fiber starches like beans or whole grains. Many experts also recommend including healthy fat at each meal to encourage feeling full and enhance absorption of antioxidants and vitamins.

One serving is a medium-sized fruit, or a serving the size of a baseball. Smaller fruits, such as berries, have one-cup as the serving size.

A half-cup is also the serving size for processed fruit products, such as applesauce and fruit juice. The serving for fried fruits like raisins and cherries is 2 tablespoons per serving size.

Like vegetables, it’s great for people to eat a variety of fruits to get their needed nutrients, as well as to enjoy their varied flavors.

Dietary tips

To achieve the desired five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, people should aim to have fruit or vegetables throughout the day.

Here are a few ideas to help with menu planning:

Citrus fruits

Citrus fruits are versatile and easy to add to meals. Add lemons and limes to seafood, sauces, or glasses of iced tea or water.

People can make their own fruit water by adding citrus slices to a pitcher of water. Let the water sit overnight to create a refreshing drink.

Berries

Berries are tasty when eaten raw and can also be cooked into a compote to spoon into oatmeal or meat.

Put whole fresh or frozen berries into a saucepan with a tablespoon or two of water. Cook on medium or low heat until the berries have broken down into a thick sauce.

One serving is half a cup.

Apples

Apples are a popular fruit. They are delicious raw for a snack or dessert. When cooked, apples have a deeper flavor, making them a favorite in cooked desserts when spiced with cinnamon or ginger.

recipe from the ADA suggests marinating apples in a small amount of honey and spices and then cooking them on a grill. To finish, roll the apples in crushed walnuts or pecans.

While still containing honey, this is a healthier alternative to many apple-based baked goods.

Avocados

Avocados are high in fat, but they contain monounsaturated fat, the type of fat that is beneficial for the body.

They are eaten raw and can be served sliced, in salsas, or as guacamole. Avocados are easy to prepare by slicing them in half around the pit. Discard the pit and mash the avocado.

Add herbs and vegetables to taste. Lime or lemon can also be added to avocado for a citrus boost.

One in seven pregnancies worldwide ends in miscarriage, and eleven percent of women endure a failed pregnancy at least once in their lifetime, experts said Tuesday.

Some 23 million miscarriages occur every year, according to data pieced together from around the globe by an international team of 31 researchers.

But the actual tally is sure to be “substantially higher” due to underreporting, they said in a trio of studies published in The Lancet.

Two percent of women — one in 50 — have experienced two miscarriages, while less that one percent have been through three or more.

Levels of care for women suffering miscarriage is highly uneven across countries, and even within many wealthy nations, the data showed.

“A new system is needed to ensure miscarriages are better recognised and women are given the physical and mental health care they need,” the researchers said in a statement.

Misconceptions about miscarriage are widespread.

Many women believe they occur only rarely, for example, or that they can be caused by lifting heavy objects or previous contraceptive use.

They may also think that there’s no effective treatments to prevent a miscarriage, especially in women at high risk.

Such misconceptions can be damaging, leaving women and their partners feeling at fault and discouraging them from seeking treatment and support, the authors note.

Miscarriage can also lead to isolation, since many women might not tell their family, close friends, or even their partner about the loss of a pregnancy.

“Silence around miscarriage remains not only for women who experience it, but also among health care providers, policymakers and research funders,” said co-lead author Siobhan Quenby, a professor at the University of Warwick and director of Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research.

A miscarriage is widely defined as the loss of a pregnancy before 20 to 24 weeks of gestation, with the exact time period varying from country to country.

Unrecognised trauma
A review of published academic literature up to mid-May 2020 identified many causes for miscarriages, including a more advanced maternal age, previous miscarriages, and a father older than 40.

Other risk factors correlating with pregnancies that end spontaneously are being extremely under- or over-weight, smoking, alcohol consumption, persistent stress, working night shifts, and constant exposure to air pollution or pesticides.

Health consequences can be severe, especially for women who experience a second or multiple miscarriages.

“Recurrent miscarriage is a devastating experience for most women, but the mental health impact is rarely acknowledged or addressed in medical care,” said co-lead author Arri Coomarasamy, from the University of Birmingham.

“Women can experience trauma and bereavement, which may have no obvious sign and can go unrecognised.”

There is also a link with anxiety, depression and — for about 20 percent of women — post-traumatic stress disorder nine months after a miscarriage.

The authors of the three studies noted that most data comes from wealthier nations, but that the “silence around miscarriage” is found everywhere.

They recommended that national health authorities strengthen miscarriage care services, improve research in prevention, and identify women at high risk.

“For too long miscarriage has been minimised and often dismissed,” The Lancet said in an companion editorial.

“The lack of medical progress should be shocking — instead, there is pervasive acceptance.”

“The era of telling women to ‘just try again’ is over,” The Lancet said.

The miracle tree, Moringa, Moringa Oleifera, or the drumstick is a plant recognized for its medical properties. It is used to treat more than 300 conditions. All parts of the Moringa tree possess some medicinal or nutritional value” says Amrit Walia ( Amritpal Singh Walia ) Co-Founder of Pioneer Sustainable Agriculture PSA organic farm located in Nigeria.

One cup of fresh, chopped leaves contains protein, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Iron, Magnesium, Riboflavin, and Vitamin A.

In this article, you will be able to understand the five prime uses of Moringa leaf that clearly distinguished it as an extraordinary species:

1. Moringa Leaf is Rich in Antioxidants
Moringa acts to reduce high levels of free radicals which may cause oxidative stress leading to diseases like type 2 diabetes or heart disease.

The basic antioxidants in Moringa are beta-carotene and Vitamin C. The exact figure of the number of antioxidants in the Moringa herb is staggering.

A few antioxidants present include propyl gallate, tocopherols (Vitamin E), ascorbic acid, chlorogenic acid, hydroxyanisole (BHT) citric acid, vanillin, potassium, reduced glutathione, and more. Quercetin is also present and crucial in the regulation of blood pressure.

2. Moringa Leaf Regulates Blood Sugar
Moringa herb produces effects similar to isothiocyanates plant compounds able to regulate blood sugar.
Sufficient research shows a significant reduction in blood sugar after short-term use of the herb with meals.

For instance, it was discovered that a group of diabetics who added 50 grams of moringa leaves to a meal reduced the rise in blood sugar by 21%.

3. Moringa Leaf Works to Reduce Inflammation
If you incur injury and develop wounds, Moringa can help you to stop inflammation.

Moringa is stocked with nutrients and antioxidants which are found in other anti-inflammatory foods like tomatoes, fatty fish, olive oil, and certain fruits.

By fighting harmful free radicals, the herb prevents sustained inflammation which can result in chronic problems like cancer or heart disease.

4. Moringa Leaf Promotes Prostate Health and Cure ED
The leaves and seeds of the Moringa plant are rich sulfur-containing compounds called glucosinolates, which fight cancer in the body, more specifically, benign prostate hyperplasias.

The condition which is prone to attack elderly man is characterized by enlargement of the prostate which makes urination difficult. Moringa can reverse the effects of prostate cancer by significantly reducing prostate weight.

The herb also reduces levels of prostate-specific antigen which is produced by the prostate gland.

Moringa can also cure erectile dysfunction. Its leaves contain useful plant compounds called polyphenols which enhance blood flow by increasing nitric oxide production while simultaneously lowering blood pressure.

Conclusion
The points discussed above show how versatile Moringa leaf is in the fields of health and medical care. The plant can be used for detoxification and in the treatment of digestive disorders.

The list of other ailments this wonder plant can treat include the following – scurvy, kidney stones, Athlete’s foot, dandruff, epilepsy, paralysis, convulsions, splenomegaly, epilepsy, antispasmodic, joint pain, edema, rheumatism, arthritis, cardiac hypertrophy, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and many more.

Do you have any experience with the Moringa Leaf extracts? Kindly share with us in the comments below.

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In a living systematic review and meta-analysis in The BMJ, scientists from the United Kingdom, along with international collaborators, continue to collate and analyze emerging evidence of how COVID-19 affects women and their babies during and shortly after pregnancy.

In the latest update, the team confirms that pregnant women attending or admitted to the hospital from whatever cause continue to be at a greater risk of severe COVID-19 than nonpregnant women of similar ages.

Preexisting diabetes, chronic hypertension, asthma, smoking, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, being aged 35 years or over, and having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above were all associated with greater odds of severe COVID-19 and requiring admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Nonwhite ethnicity was linked with a greater likelihood of ICU admission, but not necessarily with severe COVID-19.

Meanwhile, babies of mothers with COVID-19 were more likely to require admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The authors note that this could be due to hospital policies for observation and quarantine of babies in contact with COVID-19.

Dr. John Allotey, the study’s first author and a lecturer in epidemiology and women’s health at the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health at the University of Birmingham in the U.K., comments: “Pregnant women should be considered a high risk group, particularly those identified to have risk factors, for severe COVID-19 based on our findings.”

“Mothers should also be reassured that the risks to their babies are very low,” he continues.

Reviewing the evidence

The research team started work on the review in April 2020. For its first iteration, they collated data from available publications between December 2019 and June 2020.

Each week, the researchers looked for newly published data, which they aimed to review every 2–4 months. For the recent update, they added new studies published up until October 2020.

The review now includes data from 192 studies and 29 different countries. Of these studies, 115 were new editions to the latest update.

Overall, the data show that 10% of pregnant women who are either admitted to the hospital or visiting the hospital receive a positive SARS-CoV-2 test.

Pregnant women are more likely than nonpregnant women to have an asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.

However, the reason for this may lie in the strategy for testing.

Pregnant people routinely undergo COVID-19 testing when they attend hospital appointments, while nonpregnant individuals most likely have a test when they experience symptoms.

“[The] true prevalence of [COVID-19] in pregnancy is likely to be lower than the current estimate if all pregnant women, including those not attending the hospital, are included,” the authors comment in the paper.

While the risk of severe COVID-19 was greater for pregnant women than for nonpregnant women overall, there were specific risk factors that the team identified.

These include age, BMI, preexisting conditions, as well as conditions developed during pregnancy.

The researchers found that pregnant women or those who had recently given birth were more likely to die if they had COVID-19 than those who were the same age but not pregnant. In addition, the rates of premature birth and stillbirth were higher for women with the disease.

However, the team caveat that the premature births are likely to be the result of medical decisions to induce early delivery in those with COVID-19 as the number of spontaneous preterm births was the same as baseline levels. The number of stillbirths across all of the studies included in the review was very small (9 out of 5,794 women with COVID-19).

More data needed

One further issue that this review found is that women who were of nonwhite ethnicity were more likely to require admission to the ICU for COVID-19 treatment.

There was a link between nonwhite ethnicity and a greater likelihood of ICU admission, based on four studies covering 31,456 individuals. Four smaller studies covering 2,263 women suggested that nonwhite ethnicity may result in having a 6% lower chance of severe disease. However, this figure could vary between 43% less likely and 57% more likely.

Other studies have previously found disparities in maternal outcomes between people of different ethnicities.

“The observed disparity could be attributed to associated comorbidities, socioeconomic characteristics, and factors related to access to and quality of care in the preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum periods,” the review’s authors write in their discussion. “The multifaceted contributors to ethnic disparities need to be investigated to reduce mortality and morbidity related to both [COVID-19] and pregnancy.”

The team highlights several limitations of their review, including the fact that the studies included in the analysis did not use the same methods to collect and gather data. This is an issue that all systematic reviews face.

Senior study author Professor Shakila Thangaratinam, who is the Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Women’s Health, comments on the team’s finding:

“In the current situation, where evidence is rapidly produced, our living systematic review — underpinned by robust methods and continually updated at regular intervals — is crucial to address important research questions and to shape healthcare policy and clinical decision-making.”

“Pregnant women and healthcare professionals will need to take into account the additional risks faced by pregnant women with COVID-19 in making decisions, such as taking-up of vaccines if offered to prevent COVID-19 and plan management in pregnancy.” – Prof. Shakila Thangaratinam

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) additionally state that “[a]lthough the overall risk of severe illness is low, pregnant people are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 when compared to nonpregnant people.”

They advise nonpharmaceutical interventions, such as mask wearing, physical distancing, avoiding crowds, and limiting contact with people who may have been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus to reduce the risk of developing COVID-19.

The CDC also suggest having a COVID-19 vaccine when it is available to pregnant people and speaking with a healthcare professional about any questions or concerns.

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Humans first drank caffeinated tea more than 4,000 years ago in China. Since then, it has become one of the most popular drinks worldwide, second only to water.

Both green and black teas are brewed from the leaves of the same shrub, Camellia sinensis, but green tea, which is made from unfermented leaves, contains more antioxidants.

Oxidation during the fermentation process of black tea reduces its antioxidant levels.

Several studies have found that green tea inhibits the formation of cancers, lowers high blood pressure, and reduces the risk of heart disease.

However, the molecular mechanism responsible for the effect on blood pressure has been unclear until now.

Scientists at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and the University of Copenhagen, in Denmark, have found that antioxidants in tea open ion channels and can relax the muscles that line blood vessels.

They report their findings in the journal Cellular Physiology & Biochemistry.

Preventable risk factor

The discovery could guide the design of more effective antihypertensive drugs, which could potentially improve the health of millions of people around the world.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, controlling or lowering high blood pressure can help prevent chronic kidney disease, heart attacks, heart failure, and possibly dementia.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that almost half of all adults in the United States have hypertension. It estimates that in 2018, the condition played a role in the deaths of nearly half a million people in the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO), meanwhile, estimate that more than 1 billion people worldwide have hypertension.

The new study first shows that two antioxidants in tea, known as catechins, open a protein channel in the membranes of the smooth muscle cells that line blood vessels. This allows positively charged potassium ions to leave the cells.

Channels in nerve and muscle cells maintain voltages across their membranes by allowing negative and positive ions to pass in and out in a controlled way. They are “voltage-gated,” which means that they respond to changes in this voltage by opening or closing.

The researchers found that the catechins in green tea activate a particular type of potassium ion channel, called KCNQ5.

Previous work by some of the same scientists suggests that this protein channel may underlie the antihypertensive effects of several plants used as folk medicines for millennia.

Voltage sensor

For the new study, the researchers used computer modeling and mutated versions of the channel protein to show that the two catechins bind to a section that senses voltage changes.

“This binding allows the channel to open much more easily and earlier in the cellular excitation process,” explains senior study author Prof. Geoffrey Abbott, of the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at the UCI School of Medicine.

In theory, this should make the muscle cells less “excitable” and therefore less likely to contract. They should instead relax, dilating the blood vessel and reducing blood pressure.

To test this theory, Prof. Abbott’s co-authors at the University of Copenhagen measured changes in tension in the walls of arteries from rats. Their findings confirmed that the two catechins from tea relax and dilate arteries by activating the KCNQ5 ion channel.

Milky tea

The authors are confident that adding a dash of milk to black tea does not reduce its antihypertensive effects.

Milky tea, applied directly to cells in the lab, failed to activate their KCNQ5 channels. But this is likely not the case when a person drinks it.

Prof. Abbott explains:

“We don’t believe this means one needs to avoid milk when drinking tea to take advantage of the beneficial properties of tea. We are confident that the environment in the human stomach will separate the catechins from the proteins and other molecules in milk that would otherwise block [the] catechins’ beneficial effects.”

The scientists also discovered that warming green tea to 35°C increased the activation of KCNQ5.

However, lovers of iced tea need not be concerned.

“Regardless of whether tea is consumed iced or hot, this temperature is achieved after tea is drunk, as human body temperature is about 37°C,” says Prof. Abbott. “Thus, simply by drinking tea, we activate its beneficial, antihypertensive properties.”

Electrical activity in the brain

KCNQ5 also exists in the membranes of nerves in the brain, where it helps regulate electrical activity and signal transmission.

People with a disorder called epileptic encephalopathy have a version of the channel protein that does not respond effectively to voltage changes, which leads to frequent seizures.

The study authors point out that catechins can cross the blood-brain barrier, which prevents larger molecules, including some drugs, from entering the brain.

In theory, drugs modeled on catechin molecules could, therefore, help correct the cause of epileptic encephalopathy.

“Discovery of their ability to activate KCNQ5 may suggest a future mechanism to fix broken KCNQ5 channels to ameliorate brain excitability disorders stemming from their dysfunction,” the researchers conclude.

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For many decades, nutritionists have recommended a balanced diet to provide the body with the proper nutrients to stay healthy. The core components of this diet include vegetables, fruits, grains, proteins, and dairy.

A recent study by researchers at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, MA, provides further evidence for current dietary guidelines and expands on them, finding that consuming at least 2 fruit and 3 vegetable servings on a daily basis may lower the risk of both disease-related death and death from all causes.

The study appears in Circulation, a scientific journal of the American Heart Association (AHA).

Current dietary guidelines

“While groups like the American Heart Association recommend 4–5 servings each of fruits and vegetables daily, consumers likely get inconsistent messages about […] the recommended amount and which foods to include and avoid,” says Dr. Dong D. Wang, M.D., Sc.D., an epidemiologist and nutritionist at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the study.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture published their recommendations in the form of the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

According to this set of guidelines, half of the plate for every meal should contain fruits and vegetables.

However, the guidelines also note that more than 80% of people in the United States do not meet this recommendation and should aim to increase their consumption of nutrient-dense foods.

Participant dietary information

The researchers collected self-reported dietary information from two large cohort studies: the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals’ Follow-up Study (HPFS).

The NHS cohort included registered female nurses between the ages of 30 and 55 years, while the HPFS cohort included males aged 40–75 years with occupations in the health profession. These studies included follow-ups with the participants every 2–4 years to accumulate dietary information over a span of approximately 30 years.

The researchers excluded participants with baseline heart disease, cancer, or diabetes, leaving them with data from 66,719 females and 42,016 males.

They also incorporated data from an additional 26 studies involving a total of 1.9 million participants, which examined the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and death rates.

The high participant numbers and continuous longitudinal assessments provided the team with an extensive collection of data for analysis.

However, it is important to note that the criteria of the two cohorts — occupation and corresponding education — suggest a similar socioeconomic status across the participants, who may have been more likely than other members of the population to have access to a healthy diet. The study does not address the realities and effects of food insecurity.

Nutritional values of fruits and vegetables lower risk of death

The study outcomes showed that an increased intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of death, including death due to cancer, heart disease, or respiratory disease.

Additionally, the researchers saw the lowest risk of death at a threshold of a combined 5 servings, beyond which there was no apparent benefit on risk.

These results point to the nutritional value of these foods. For example, higher consumption of fruits and vegetables increases the intake of potassium and antioxidant activity, which link to lower blood pressure and improved lung function, respectively.

As the data are fully self-reported, there may be discrepancies between the actual and reported intakes. Participants with higher intake, in particular, may have tended to overestimate how many servings they consumed.

This margin of error may blur the defined threshold of 5 servings, so the study authors acknowledge that slightly higher servings (up to 10) could also lead to lowered risk.

This study also expands beyond current guidelines by differentiating among specific groups of fruits and vegetables.

The researchers observed trends with a lowered risk of death for leafy greens and foods rich in vitamin C and beta carotene. Fruits and vegetables that fall into these categories include spinach, kale, carrots, and citrus fruits.

Conversely, they did not identify any trends for fruit juices or starchy vegetables, such as potatoes and peas. One possible reason for the latter is the prominence of canned foods. The canning process may deprive starchy vegetables of their antioxidant properties.

Compared with whole fruits, the fluid form of juices may cause a more rapid elevation of blood glucose and insulin levels, which can increase the risk of disease.

In contrast to the existing guidelines, which include canned foods and juices among the recommended foods and drinks, this study calls for further research on the effects of these items on health.

Continued support for ‘5-a-day’ serving recommendation

Rather than being an interventional study, in which researchers directly implement variables and analyze the effects, this study was observational. As a result, it is not possible to conclude that the trends present in this study indicate a causal relationship.

Regardless, there is plentiful evidence that highlights the benefits of a balanced diet containing plenty of fruits and vegetables. The present conclusions also correspond to findings from similar observational studies on the associations between fruit and vegetable intake and disease.

The findings of this study conform to the overall current dietary guidelines to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Additionally, it provides further insight into the specificities and benefits of fruit and vegetable intake.

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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 trial suggests that in patients who are no longer responding to metformin, taking a combination of two newer drugs is safe and yields clinical benefits for at least 2 years.

Insulin helps regulate the amount of glucose circulating in the blood. In type 2 diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin, its cells no longer respond effectively to the hormone, or both.

In the long term, high blood glucose levels can cause a wide range of debilitating and potentially life threatening complications. These include high blood pressure, damage to organs such as the heart and kidneys, nerve damage, and blindness.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), type 2 diabetes affects more than 30 million individuals in the United States and accounts for 90–95% of all cases of diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes because it mostly affects people over the age of 45. But in recent decades, rates of type 2 diabetes in children, teenagers, and young adults have increased in the U.S.

Lifestyle changes can control or even reverse the condition. Doctors also prescribe drugs to stabilize patients’ blood glucose levels.

The first-line treatment is metformin, but in some patients, the drug’s efficacy can decline over time, necessitating alternative treatments.

Drug combination

A clinical trial called DURATION-8 investigated a combination of two newer drugs — exenatide and dapagliflozin — in patients whose blood glucose levels did not respond to metformin.

Initially, the trial lasted 28 weeks, but it was later extended to 52 weeks. The results suggest that the combination was safe and continued to be more effective than either drug alone.

In addition to stabilizing blood glucose levels, the drug combination was associated with lower blood pressure and body weight.

The researchers report in the journal Diabetes Care that the drug duo remained safe and effective 2 years (104 weeks) after treatment began, following a second extension of the trial.

“Many therapies in diabetes management are short-lived, which is why it is useful to test for long-term effect,” says first author Dr. Serge Jabbour, director of the division of endocrinology and the Diabetes Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA.

Exenatide belongs to a class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, which work by promoting insulin secretion, reducing the release of glucose from the liver, and increasing the feeling of fullness after a meal.

Dapagliflozin belongs to a class called sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, which boost the amount of glucose that is excreted in urine.

“These two classes work synergistically to help control a type 2 diabetes patient’s glucose levels and other measures associated with diabetes,” says Dr. Jabbour. “We can now feel more confident about prescribing these medications long term.”

AstraZeneca, which makes branded versions of both drugs, funded the study. The company also played a role in designing the study, gathering the data, and evaluating it.

Study design

The researchers randomly assigned 695 adults with type 2 diabetes whose blood glucose was not adequately controlled by metformin to three treatment groups:

  • a weekly injection of exenatide and a daily oral dose of dapagliflozin
  • weekly exenatide and daily oral placebo
  • a weekly placebo injection and daily oral dapagliflozin

After 2 years, 431 patients remained in the trial. Most of the participants who dropped out did so because they did not want to sign up to an extension of the trial.

After adjustments for other possible contributing factors, those who received both drugs saw the greatest average reduction in their glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels — a measure of the stability of blood glucose levels — compared with the start of the trial.

In patients who took both drugs, there were also improvements in blood glucose levels after fasting and 2 hours after eating, and reductions in body weight and systolic blood pressure.

The researchers report that patients tolerated well the combination of exenatide and dapagliflozin.

While patients experienced no episodes of major hypoglycemia (dangerously low levels of blood glucose), there were more episodes of minor hypoglycemia in patients who took both drugs compared with the other two experimental groups.

Conclusions

The authors conclude that the clinical benefits of taking both drugs were maintained for 2 years, with “no unexpected safety findings.” They continue:

“Further studies are needed to investigate whether the combination treatment effects observed in DURATION-8 could potentially extend to a reduced incidence of [cardiovascular] and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes.”

The authors acknowledge that the relatively high proportion of patients who withdrew from the study after 1 year limits the “robustness” of its findings after 2 years.

Finally, they note that their findings may not apply to all patients. Treatment should be tailored to individuals and modified according to how well they progress.