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A multinational team of scientists reports that robust safety measures by hospital kitchen staff usually prevent the spread of food pathogens like antibiotic resistant E. coli bacteria, despite its extremely high occurrence in chicken delivered to hospital kitchens. They cautioned that household kitchens, where food safety precautions are less rigidly applied, can be a major focal point of foodborne disease. As much as 80 percent of the raw chicken used in hospital kitchens to prepare meals for patients and staff is contaminated with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL), which produces E.coli. Careful preparation of the chicken eliminates most of the bacteria, but the arrival of the tainted chicken is a major concern.
" Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase–Producing Enterobacteriaceae in Hospital Food: A Risk Assessment. ", Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, March 07, 2014
Recent studies associating the consumption of red and processed meat with a higher risk of colon cancer should be taken with a grain of salt, according to a paper published by 23 scientists. Much of the data were collected from studies in which animals ate large amounts of red meat without a balance of vegetables, fiber, milk or other sources of calcium. These other foods, cooperating with the bacteria that live in the gut, may actually protect the gut from cancer. Meat contains nutritionally beneficial compounds that are not carcinogenic, the researchers concluded, but when consumed in very high amounts may result in an imbalanced diet and thereby increase the risk of developing [colorectal cancer].”
"The role of red and processed meat in colorectal cancer development: A review, based on findings from a workshop.", Meat Science, March 06, 2014
A U.S. study that tracked the dietary patterns of more than 6,000 Americans over 50 for 20 years found that eating an animal-protein-rich diet during middle age puts people at four times the risk of dying or cancer than eating a low-protein diet. That puts protein eating in the same risk category as smoking, the researchers said. Moreover, middle-aged people who eat a lot of animal protein – including meat, milk and cheese – are also more likely in general to die an early death. Protein eaters were 74 percent more likely to die of any cause within the study period than their low protein counterparts. They were also several times more likely to die of diabetes, the study found. The researchers concluded that what's good for a person earlier in life may be damaging at a later stage.
"Low Protein Intake Is Associated with a Major Reduction in IGF-1, Cancer, and Overall Mortality in the 65 and Younger but Not Older Population. ", Cell Metabolism, March 06, 2014
New U.K. research adds to the growing evidence of the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Scientists found that high levels of omega-3 DHA fatty acids in algae and seafood are also linked to improved sleep. The study involved 362 healthy seven- to nine-year olds who were all struggling readers. About 40 percent of the kids were reported – via parental questionnaires – to have regular sleep disturbances. For the study, these children were monitored nightly with wrist sensors. Those who received daily omega-3 supplements slept nearly an hour longer than those taking a placebo, and had seven fewer waking episodes per night. “Alarmingly low levels” of omega-3s in the blood of children could be related to poor sleep and, in turn, behavior and learning and learning problems, the researchers concluded.
"Fatty acids and sleep in UK children: Subjective and pilot objective sleep results from the DOLAB study – a randomized controlled trial. ", Journal of Sleep Research, March 06, 2014
An eight-year study in Finland that followed children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has found a significantly higher risk of obesity among ADHD kids by age 16. Children with ADHD were more sedentary as teenagers. The study followed 7,000 Finnish children, about nine percent of whom were diagnosed with ADHD. Oddly enough, given that the disorder has to do with “hyperactivity”, a key factor in the onset of obesity among ADHD teenagers was their lack of activity. “We think encouraging children with ADHD to be more physically active could improve their behavior problems as well as help them stay a healthy weight,” the researchers concluded.
"Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms Are Risk Factors for Obesity and Physical Inactivity in Adolescence. ", Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, March 04, 2014
Sticking to a Japanese-style diet that includes lots of fish would help American men reduce the risk of heart disease, according to a multinational study led by U.S. scientists. They followed 300 American and Japanese men for five years, noting their consumption of omega-3-rich oily fish and monitoring factors like cigarette smoking, cholesterol levels, alcohol consumption, diabetes rates and blood pressure. After adjusting for those factors, the U.S. men had three times the incidence of coronary artery calcification as the Japanese men. Significantly, the levels of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids in the blood were more than 100 percent higher in the Japanese than in the white men.
" Long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and incidence rate of coronary artery calcification in Japanese men in Japan and white men in the USA: population based prospective cohort study. ", Heart, March 04, 2014
An American researcher who analyzed study data from the last 60 years says saturated fats are not to blame for the steady rise of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Instead, he says, look to refined carbohydrates because diets low in saturated fats do not prevent heart disease, contrary to flawed research from the 1950s. Dr. James DiNicolantonio advises those who have experienced a heart attack to not replace saturated fats with refined carbs or omega 6 fatty acids like those found in processed corn or safflower oils. Instead, the best diet for heart health is one rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and low in refined carbohydrates, sugars and processed foods. He urges "a public health campaign”, like the anti-saturated fat campaign, that admits “we got it wrong," he says.
"The cardiometabolic consequences of replacing saturated fats with carbohydrates or -6 polyunsaturated fats: Do the dietary guidelines have it wrong? ", Open Heart, March 04, 2014
U.S. research in mice has discovered a molecule that activates a single protein, delaying the onset of metabolic diseases associated with aging and improving general health. For the study, researchers supplemented the regular diet of mice with 100 mg/kg of the molecule SIRT 1720 – which activates the protein SIRT 1 – beginning at six months and for the remainder of their lives. SRT1720 not only lengthened the lifespan of the mice by an average of 8.8 percent, it reduced body weight and body fat percentage, and improved muscle function and motor coordination.
"The SIRT1 Activator SRT1720 Extends Lifespan and Improves Health of Mice Fed a Standard Diet", Cell Reports, February 27, 2014
A 12-center clinical trial involving patients with advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) demonstrated that a high-carbohydrate, high-caloric diet can delay progression of the disease. A fatal neurodegenerative disorder that destroys the ability to control muscles, ALS leads to respiratory failure and death within three years of diagnosis. For the U.S. study, three groups of patients were fed different diets. After four months, patients given the high-carbohydrate/high-calorie diet experienced fewer adverse events (23 vs. 42), and significantly fewer serious adverse events (0 vs. 9, including deaths from respiratory failure) than the control group.
"Hypercaloric enteral nutrition in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial", The Lancet, February 27, 2014
A 30-year Finnish study involving 3,559 adults has found that a negative response to a single question about physical fitness in mid-life correlates to an increased incidence of dementia. Researchers noted that adults who reported that they were in poor physical condition in their fifties were four times more likely to get dementia during the next thirty years than those who said they were physically fit. The association between poor self-rated physical fitness and dementia was most prominent among people who did not have a strong genetic susceptibility for dementia. People with chronic diseases also had a strong association between poor self-rated physical fitness and dementia.
"Association between mid- to late life physical fitness and dementia: evidence from the CAIDE study", Journal of Internal Medicine, February 26, 2014
A 12-center clinical trial involving patients with advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease) demonstrated that a high-carbohydrate, high-caloric diet can delay progression of the disease. A fatal neurodegenerative disorder that destroys the ability to control muscles, ALS leads to respiratory failure and death within three years of diagnosis. For the study, three groups of patients were fed different diets. After four months, patients given the high-carbohydrate/high-calorie diet experienced fewer adverse events (23 vs. 42), and significantly fewer serious adverse events (0 vs. 9, including deaths from respiratory failure) than the control group.
"Effects of a 12-week community exercise program on older people", Nursing Older People, February 24, 2014
Chicago nursing researchers have launched a four-year clinical study to determine whether vitamin D supplements will improve the moods of type 2 diabetic women between the ages of 21 and 75. The researchers hope to show that a higher dose of vitamin D is an easy and cost-effective way to improve mood, which in turn would make the women more likely to eat properly, take their medication, get enough exercise and better manage their disease overall. Women with low levels of vitamin D who receive weekly doses of 50,000 IUs of vitamin D3 are expected to have better a mood than those who receive weekly doses of 5,000 IUs.
"Study to determine if vitamin D supplements will improve mood in women with type 2 diabetes", News release, Loyola University Health System, February 24, 2014
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Cell Metabolism, March 01, 2014
The New York Times, February 19, 2014
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