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Editor's
Note
Good
nutrition today means more than just thinking about calories
in and calories out. It's about understanding food components
that help you to invest in your health, like healthy fats, friendly
bacteria, antioxidants, and fibre. Arming yourself with the right
facts and not stuffing yourself with unhealthy foods are both
vital for eating to stay healthy. In this nutrition-filled issue,
we present the straight goods on some touted health foods, such
as whole grains and probiotics, clear up rumours about fruit
juice, and provide some tips on healthy eating with diabetes
in the thick of springtime, food-filled festivities. Good nutrition
is a key part of good health, so read on to fill up on some healthy,
nutritious news.
Angela
Pirisi |
The Whole Truth about Whole Grains
What you need to know to make whole grains a healthy part of your diet
Probing
About Probiotics
Understanding
the hype, hope, and facts about "friendly bacteria"
Juicy
News
Learn how
fruit juices are getting a healthy facelift
Dining
with Diabetes
How to watch
your blood sugar during springtime feasting
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Red
Bell Peppers Top Green Ones for Vitamin C
Red bell peppers contain a lot more vitamin C than green bell
peppers. The red ones pack about 142 mg per 1/2 cup, raw, whereas
green ones contain only 60 mg. (Source:
USDA, Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005).
Honey
Calms Kids' Cough
Honey is a more effective cough suppressant in children,
than dextromethorphan (main ingredient in cough suppressants),
according to a study published in the Archives
of Pediatrics & Adolescent
Medicine.
A
Cup of Tea Is Relaxing – Really
UK scientists have found that drinking four cups of
black tea every day for six weeks reduced blood levels
of the stress hormone cortisol by 20 per cent more than
the placebo group.
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New Health Perk for Coffee
Want to ward off ovarian cancer? One way may be to go for coffee, suggests
a new Harvard study. Data from over 121,000 women in the US Nurses'
Health Study revealed that that those consuming three or more cups
(over 500 mg) daily reduced their risk by over 20 percent compared
to women who drank less coffee. The protective effect seemed to be
even sharper in post-menopausal women (43 percent lower risk) and younger
women who had never used oral contraceptives (35 percent lower risk).
The anti-cancer properties seem to stem from the caffeine in coffee,
since decaf didn't show the same benefits. These preliminary findings
suggest that coffee's protection may have something to do with an effect
on female hormones. The researchers caution, however, that more research
is needed before they'd advise women to drink more coffee. |
Book
Deciphers Good & Evil Foods
Probiotics, genetically modified foods, food additives, and antioxidants
have all raised both hope and fear in consumers. In An Apple A Day
(HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., 2007), by McGill University's Dr. Joe
Schwarcz, the Montreal scientist delves into the research, trends,
facts, and myths that surround each for a healthy serving of the truth.
The author, director of the university's Office for Science and Society,
aims to synthesize study findings and news headlines to create a balanced
perspective of the pros, cons, and promises of purported superfoods
and components, such as fibre, lycopene, and flavonoids - usually,
people get swayed by each new set of study findings. Schwarcz leaves
readers with the sage advice to take what they hear and read with a
grain of salt, encouraging consumers to fret a little less about contaminants
in our food, and to question a little more the marketers pushing nutritional
magic bullets. |
High-Fat
Stress
Eating
a single high-fat meal - think eggs and bacon - can significantly
increase the body's response to both physical and mental stress, suggest
findings from the University of Calgary. They fed study participants
a high-fat breakfast one day and a low-fat breakfast the next day to
compare how the body reacts differently to stress after each type of
meal. They measured blood pressure, heart rate, and vascular resistance
(how difficult it is to physically push blood through the circulatory
system) following each meal. Blood pressure and vascular resistance
responses were 50 percent higher compared to the effects of consuming
a low-fat meal. Bottom line? If stress is a killer, a high-fat diet
may be an accomplice. Eating a healthier, lower-fat diet may help to
reduce the negative effects of stress on health.
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Can
Multivitamins Help Manage Weight
Findings from Laval University in Quebec suggest that multivitamins and minerals
could help weight loss efforts. How? Results from a study that involved 267 men
and 320 women, aged 20-65, showed that regular multivitamin use reduced appetite
in women aiming to lose weight, and was linked with lower body weight and fat
mass in men. The Canadian study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition,
seems to suggest that food restriction, the basis of many diets, also reduces
the body's intake of essential nutrients, which can affect hunger. It could be
because some vitamins and minerals are involved in the synthesis of various hormones
and signalling pathways in the brain that that control food intake, the authors
speculate. |
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