Nutrition News

According to new study, one sort of muscular contraction is more successful at developing muscle strength and growth, and instead of lifting weights, the emphasis should be on lowering them.
According to new study from Edith Cowan University (ECU), one form of muscular contraction is more successful at building muscle strength and growth, and the emphasis should be on reducing weights rather than raising them. The team, which comprised researchers from Niigata University, Nishi Kyushu University, and Londrina State University in Brazil, had groups of participants practise three different types of dumbbell curl exercises and measured the effects.

It discovered that individuals who merely reduced a weight showed the same benefits as those who raised and lowered weights, although doing half the amount of repetitions.
Professor Ken Nosaka of ECU stated the findings supported earlier studies demonstrating that focusing on “eccentric” muscular contractions (in which active muscles are stretched) is more significant for building muscle strength and growth than volume.
“We already know that doing one eccentric muscle contraction each day for five days a week – even for three seconds a day – may develop muscular strength, but concentric (lifting a weight) or isometric muscle contraction (holding a weight) does not,” Professor Nosaka explained.

“This recent study demonstrates that by focusing on eccentric muscle contractions, we may be significantly more efficient in the time we spend training while still seeing meaningful improvements.” Many people feel that the lifting movement gives the most advantage, or at least some benefit, in the instance of a dumbbell curl, however we discovered that concentric muscle contractions contributed little to the training benefits.”

According to studies on teenage eating patterns, ultra-processed meals such frozen desserts, prepackaged pastries, and sweets may serve as a “gateway” meal that encourages consumption of additional unhealthy foods.

According to 43% of the teenagers, their intake of ultra-processed foods grew between 2019—the year before pandemic restrictions were put in place—and 2022—the year after they were repealed. 57% of teenagers said they will consume less highly processed food between 2019 and 2022. According to the research, cutting back on certain gateway foods may have an effect on how much total ultra-processed food consumption, which is characterised by high levels of sugar, salt, harmful trans fat, and artificial tastes and colours, is consumed.

Ultra-processed foods such as bread, cereals, desserts, sodas and processed meats comprise more than 60% of the calories Americans eat each day. Previous research has linked high consumption of ultra-processed foods with hypertension, weight gain, increased risk of heart disease and premature death.

“Ultra-processed foods are designed to be hyper-palatable, or engineered to be as addictive as possible,” said Maria Balhara, lead researcher of this study and a student at Broward College in Davie, Florida. “They’re also cheap and convenient, which makes them hard to resist. Most people are eating too many of these foods without realizing it.”

Balhara has a unique perspective regarding adolescent eating behavior: She’s 16 years old, and led the study while dual-enrolled at Broward College while attending Cooper City High School.

Balhara gathered data on how frequently adolescents consumed 12 ultra-processed food products during the previous 8 weeks. Ultra-processed foods included prepackaged cookies, candy, chips, chocolate, energy drinks, frozen desserts, soda, store-bought pastries, store-bought smoothies, syrup-sweetened coffee or tea, white bread and processed meat. Study participants included 315 teens, ages 13-19 recruited from 12 high schools in South Florida between February and April 2022.

Average BMI among participants was 22.8 (indicating normal body weight), and 56% of participants self-identified as white, 25.2 % as Hispanic and 7.6% as Black. In addition, 52.2% of participants identified as female, 41.6% male, 3.2% nonbinary, and the rest did not specify their gender.

Participants completed a survey Balhara developed called the Processed Intake Evaluation (PIE). The survey assessed the frequency of their consumption of the 12 processed foods during the previous 8 weeks in 2022, and questions to gauge their 2022 consumption (after COVID 19 restrictions were lifted) with their estimated consumption in 2019 (before COVID restrictions were implemented).

Also Read: Cravings for fatty foods traced to gut-brain connection: Study

The survey asked the students to report “true” or “false” responses to statements, such as “I often drank soda during the preceding 8 weeks in 2022,” and “I often drank soda prior to the pandemic in 2019.”

Their answers were used to compute a PIE score of 0-100, with 8.33 points given for answers of “often” or 0 points otherwise. Their scores for 2022 consumption were compared to their scores for estimated 2019 pre-pandemic consumption.

Candy, prepackaged pastries and frozen desserts were found to act as a possible “gateway” to drive increased (or decreased) consumption of other processed food products. Teenagers who changed their consumption of these “gateway” foods were more likely to change their consumption of all other ultra-processed foods as well.

Reduced consumption of processed meats was linked to an 8% reduction in consumption of all other ultra-processed foods among study participants. White bread consumption was linked to a 9% reduction in consumption of all other ultra-processed foods, and prepackaged cookies consumption was linked to a 10% reduction in consumption of all other ultra-processed foods.

“For teenagers whose consumption of ultra-processed foods has not yet been established, certain gateway foods such as candy, store-bought pastries and frozen desserts should be avoided, since increased consumption of these foods appears to lead to increased consumption of other processed foods,” Balhara said.

“The good news,” she adds, “is that even small changes, such as reducing how often you eat a few gateway foods, may reduce overall consumption of unhealthy foods and have a big impact on your overall health.”

“I commend Ms. Balhara for her project, which highlights the importance of establishing good dietary patterns early in life,” said Donna K. Arnett, Ph.D., the executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina, and a former American Heart Association president.

“The relationship between poor dietary quality and cardiovascular risk factors is well-established. While this is a small, preliminary study, it’s an important topic to continue to investigate and help us understand ways we can influence dietary behaviors to promote optimal cardiovascular health for all ages.”

The study’s shortcomings included the fact that the data was self-reported and that it could not be generalised to all teenage demographics. Additionally, the PIE survey has not been verified, and blood tests to assess the effects of participants’ dietary choices were not included in the study’s health data.

Scientists have established a clear relationship between low vitamin D levels and high levels of inflammation, giving an essential biomarker for identifying those who are at higher risk of or have a more severe case of chronic diseases with an inflammatory component.

The study’s findings were published in the journal ‘International Journal of Epidemiology.’ Inflammation is a necessary aspect of the healing process in the body. When it persists, however, it can lead to a variety of complicated disorders such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases.

The study examined the genetic data of 294,970 participants in the UK Biobank, using Mendelian randomization to show the association between vitamin D and C-reactive protein levels, an indicator of inflammation.

Lead researcher, UniSA’s Dr Ang Zhou, said the findings suggest that boosting vitamin D in people with a deficiency may reduce chronic inflammation.

“Inflammation is your body’s way of protecting your tissues if you’ve been injured or have an infection,” Dr Zhou said.

“High levels of C-reactive protein are generated by the liver in response to inflammation, so when your body is experiencing chronic inflammation, it also shows higher levels of C-reactive protein.

“This study examined vitamin D and C-reactive proteins and found a one-way relationship between low levels of vitamin D and high levels of C-reactive protein, expressed as inflammation.

“Boosting vitamin D in people with deficiencies may reduce chronic inflammation, helping them avoid a number of related diseases.”

The study, which was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, also suggests that adequate vitamin D concentrations may reduce the risk or severity of chronic illnesses with an inflammatory component, such as CVDs, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.

Professor Elina Hypponen, senior scientist and Director of UniSA’s Australian Centre for Precision Health, said the findings are significant and explain some of the concerns around vitamin D relationships.

“We have repeatedly seen evidence for health benefits for increasing vitamin D concentrations in individuals with very low levels, while for others, there appears to be little to no benefit.” Prof Hypponen said.

Also Read: PM Modi claims that cooperative federalism enabled India to survive COVID outbreak

“These findings highlight the importance of avoiding clinical vitamin D deficiency, and provide further evidence for the wide-ranging effects of hormonal vitamin D.”

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Researchers describe a new function of vitamin K, which is well recognised for its role in blood clotting. The researchers observed that the completely reduced version of vitamin K effectively inhibits ferroptosis cell death.

Ferroptosis has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, acute organ damage, and a variety of other disorders in recent years. Thus, the current data suggest that vitamin K therapy might be a new and potent method for treating ferroptosis-related disorders.

Vitamin K is a potent ferroptosis suppressor

Since ferroptosis prevention is considered a highly promising approach for the therapy of many degenerative diseases, new mechanisms and compounds regulating ferroptosis are extensively being explored. To identify these new molecules, a team of researchers led by Dr. Eikan Mishima and Dr. Marcus Conrad, both from the Institute of Metabolism and Cell Death at Helmholtz Munich, along with collaborators from Tohoku University (Japan), University of Ottawa (Canada) and Technical University of Dresden (Germany), systematically studied a number of naturally occurring vitamins, as well as their derivatives. “Surprisingly, we identified that vitamin K, including phylloquinone (vitamin K1) and menaquinone-4 (vitamin K2), is able to efficiently rescue cells and tissues from undergoing ferroptosis” Dr. Eikan Mishima, first author of the study explained.

Unraveling the long sought-after vitamin K reducing enzyme FSP1

In 2019, a team of researchers led by Dr. Marcus Conrad found ferroptosis suppressor protein-1, or FSP1, as a unique and potent regulator of ferroptosis. The researchers discovered that the completely reduced form of vitamin K (vitamin K hydroquinone) is a potent lipophilic antioxidant that suppresses ferroptosis by trapping oxygen radicals in lipid bilayers. Furthermore, they discovered that FSP1 is the enzyme that effectively converts vitamin K to vitamin K hydroquinone, resulting in a unique non-canonical vitamin K cycle. Because vitamin K is essential for blood clotting, the researchers discovered that FSP1 is responsible for a vitamin K-reduction pathway that is resistant to warfarin, one of the most routinely used anticoagulants.

Breakthrough in understanding vitamin K metabolism

According to the findings of a recent study, children rank meals perceived to be natural as having higher levels of flavour, safety, and desire than those perceived to be produced.

According to researchers, people have a well-documented preference for natural foods. However, new research has discovered that this dietary preference occurs in early and middle childhood as well. Researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Yale examined the preferences of over 374 adults and children in the United States when they were given with apples and orange juice and told about their origins.

In one research, 137 youngsters between the ages of six and ten were presented three apples. One was developed on a farm, one in a lab, and another on a tree within a lab, they were informed.

The researchers assessed the children’s apple preferences using questionnaires and statistical models in terms of perceived tastiness, perceived safety, and willingness to consume. The same research included adults to compare age groups.

Researchers discovered that both toddlers and adults preferred apples produced on farms to those cultivated in laboratory.

When asked why they preferred the farm apple, children were more likely to mention freshness, being outside, or sunlight. Naturalness was mentioned more frequently by adults.

In a second trial, 85 children aged five to seven and 64 adults were presented four different types of orange juice: one described as squeezed on a farm, one with no information about it, one with chemicals reportedly removed, and one with chemicals added.

The researchers discovered that information about the juice’s naturalness had a substantial impact on its assessment. Based on perceived flavour, safety, and willingness to eat, participants preferred the more natural choice.

Both studies showed that age had little effect on the outcome, with children as young as five and as old as ten responding similarly.

Researchers say the findings suggest the belief that natural foodstuffs are good could be established at five-years-old — and possibly even younger.

Dr Matti Wilks, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, said: “Overall we provide evidence that, at least in the United States, our tendency to prefer natural food is present in childhood. This research offers a first step towards understanding how these preferences are formed, including whether they are socially learned and what drives our tendency to prefer natural things.”

According to a new study, eating one avocado every day for six months had no effect on belly fat, liver fat, or waist circumference in those who were overweight or obese. It did, however, result in a small drop in harmful cholesterol levels.

The team, which included Penn State researchers, discovered that those who ate avocados had higher quality diets over the study time.

While previous, smaller studies indicated a relationship between consuming avocados and decreased body weight, BMI, and waist circumferences, this was the largest, most comprehensive study on the health benefits of avocados to date, due to the vast number of participants and duration of the study period.

“While the avocados did not affect belly fat or weight gain, the study still provides evidence that avocados can be a beneficial addition to a well-balanced diet,” said Penny Kris-Etherton, Evan Pugh University Professor of Nutritional Sciences at Penn State. “Incorporating an avocado per day in this study did not cause weight gain and also caused a slight decrease in LDL cholesterol, which are all important findings for better health.”

According to Kristina Petersen, associate professor of nutritional sciences at Texas Tech University, consuming avocados on a regular basis increased the overall quality of the participants’ diets by eight points on a 100-point scale.

“Adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is generally poor in the U.S., and our findings suggest that eating an avocado per day can substantially increase overall diet quality,” Petersen said. “This is important because we know a higher diet quality is associated with lower risk of several diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.”

Also Read: Covid case Update: India logs 16,159 new cases

The study, which was just published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, was carried out in collaboration with Loma Linda University, Tufts University, and UCLA, with coordination assistance provided by Wake Forest University.

One Avocado a day

The researchers ran a six-month trial with over 1,000 overweight or obese subjects, half of whom were directed to consume one avocado every day while the other half followed their regular diet and were encouraged to limit their avocado consumption to fewer than two per month. Fat in the belly and surrounding abdominal organs was carefully assessed using MRI before and after the trial.

“While one avocado a day did not lead to clinically significant improvements in abdominal fat and other cardiometabolic risk factors, consuming one avocado a day did not result in body weight gain,” said Joan Sabaté, professor at Loma Linda University School of Public Health. “This is positive because eating extra calories from avocados doesn’t impact body weight or abdominal fat, and it slightly decreases total and LDL-cholesterol.”

They also discovered that eating avocados on a regular basis reduced total cholesterol by 2.9 milligrammes per deciliter (mg/dL) and LDL cholesterol by 2.5 mg/dL.

The researchers stated that they will continue to evaluate data from the study in the future. For example, participants were not advised on how to consume their avocados each day, and future study might look at how people incorporated the avocados into their diet and whether there were any changes in the findings based on how they ate the avocado.

Individuals who drink 1.5 to 3.5 litres of coffee per day, with or without sugar, had a lower risk of death than adults who do not drink coffee at all, according to a recent research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Previous research on the health impacts of coffee has revealed that it is linked to a decreased risk of mortality, but did not differentiate between unsweetened coffee and coffee with sugar or artificial sweeteners. Researchers from Guangzhou’s Southern Medical University utilised data from the UK Biobank study’s health behaviour questionnaire to look at the links between sugar-sweetened, artificially sweetened, and unsweetened coffee intake and overall and cause-specific death.

To determine coffee drinking patterns, more than 171,000 people in the UK without known heart disease or cancer were asked a series of dietary and health behaviour questionnaires. The researchers discovered that people who drank any amount of unsweetened coffee were 16 to 21% less likely to die over the 7-year follow-up period than those who did not.

Sweetened Coffee helps

They also discovered that those who consumed 1.5 to 3.5 cups of sugar-sweetened coffee were 29 to 31% less likely to die than those who did not drink coffee. Adults who drank sugar-sweetened coffee added just around 1 teaspoon of sugar per cup of coffee, according to the authors. Participants who drank coffee with artificial sweeteners had unclear results.

Any accompanying editorial by the editors of Annals of Internal Medicine notes that while coffee has qualities that could make health benefits possible, confounding variables including more difficult to measure differences in socioeconomic status, diet, and other lifestyle factors may impact findings. The authors add that the participant data is at least 10 years old and collected from a country where tea is a similarly popular beverage.

Also Read: Drinking coffee on daily basis may be beneficial to heart? Know how

They caution that the average amount of daily sugar per cup of coffee recorded in this analysis is much lower than specialty drinks at popular coffee chain restaurants, and many coffee consumers may drink it in place of other beverages that make comparisons to non-drinkers more difficult. Based on this data, clinicians can tell their patients that there is no need for most coffee drinkers to eliminate the beverage from their diet but to be cautious about higher calorie specialty coffees.

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