The advice for weight control used to be simple: eat less and exercise more. But emerging research suggests that not all calories are created equal. That bowl of frosted cereal for breakfast has a completely different impact on your body than an equivalent serving of oatmeal with fresh berries. Here are some of the foods that seem to contribute most to widespread obesity, and those with the most promise to help us slim down.

THE OFFENDERS

The sugar trap

Naturally occurring sugars in fruit, vegetables and dairy products give us necessary energy. But the added sweet stuff in our diets not only racks up empty calories, it numbs our cells to insulin, making the heart work harder to pump it out and bring blood sugar down to a normal range. Sugar that is not consumed by the body is also more likely than other calories to be stored as fat. Worse, perhaps, is that sugar releases feel-good opioids and dopamine in the brain and that high is habit-forming. According to researchers at the University of Tennessee, the increase in adults living with obesity is linked to the long-lasting effects of the high-sugar diets among children in the 1970s and 1980s.

Convenient caloriesThat a frozen pizza contributes more to obesity than a salad is no big surprise. But according to a recent report in Cell Metabolism, the first randomized, controlled trial of its kind, the problem is not simply bottom-line caloric intake or levels of macronutrients such as fats.

Over a period of one month, 20 healthy adult volunteers were admitted to the National Health Institutes Clinical Center in Maryland. For two weeks, they were given ultra-processed meals, bagels with cream cheese and turkey bacon, for example, or frozen dinners. For the other two weeks, they were fed unprocessed foods such as oatmeal with fruit and diners such as roast chicken with rice and peas. Both diets contained the same number of calories and the same amount of fat, fibre and carbohydrates. The key difference between the two menus: ingredients predominantly found in industrial food manufacturing, such as hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, flavoring agents, and emulsifiers.

The results were stark: Those on the ultra-processed diets ate faster, and about 500 calories more per day, than those on unprocessed diets. In fact, those on the unprocessed diets lost weight. Why processed foods led to these differences remains to be studied, but the scientists conclusion heavily processed foods cause overeating and weight gain in and of themselves.

Those on the ultra-processed diets ate faster, and about 500 calories more per day, than those on unprocessed diets

Potato chip pile-onClearly, chips arent a health food. Theyre loaded with salt and fried in oil, and people mindlessly crunch through large portions. How bad are they? Harvard University scientists say they are thebiggest culprit behind the pound-a-year weight creep.

By analyzing data collected over 20 years from more than 120,000 men and women in the U.S. who were not obese and were free of chronic diseases, researchers identified a number of specific foods linked to weight gain. Potato chips were the biggest offender: a daily one-ounce serving about 15 chips and 160 calories led to a 1.69-pound increase over four years.

As for healthier veggie sticks and straws? Theyre like a wolf in sheeps clothing, says Anna Taylor, a registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic. (They) lack fibre and protein, and are practically devoid of nutrients.

Grab-and-go smoothiesUnless you make them yourself, smoothies often come with hidden sugar and calories mainly from juice. But the fact that these drinks can pack as much sugar as a few bags of candy is only part of the reason they contribute to obesity. Nutrition and behaviour scientists at theUniversity of Bristol have found thatfruit smoothies and other energy-containing drinks are also less satiating than whole foods. We can gulp down anywhere from 300 to 700 calories of a spinach-and-berry-filled drink that wont keep us feeling as full as a whole-food option such as fruit slices with nut butter.

Refined grainsMany people think of carbs as the enemy when it comes to weight loss. But its important to focus on the right target: white rice, white bread, white pasta and all-purpose flour all of which lack the fibre and key nutrients of their whole-grain counterparts and carry a high glycemic index. The glycemic index is a scale that ranks carb-loaded foods by how much they raise blood sugar. Spanish nutrition researchers reviewed abody of research on diet and obesityand found that people who regularly consume refined grains, as well as other foods with a high glycemic index, have more difficulty managing their weight.

THE HEROES

Nuts to that

Not all fats are a four-letter word. Anew study published in the online journalBMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Healthfound that eating a handful of nuts on a regular basis may help prevent excessive weight gain and lower the risk of obesity. Thats because most of the fat in nuts are good for us: monounsaturated fat, as well as omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fat, are essential to protect our organs, help us absorb nutrients and produce important hormones.

Researchers also say that the fat, protein and fibre combination in nuts takes longer to digest than foods with just carbohydrates and protein, keeping us feeling full longer. They found that a consistent intake of at least a half-ounce of nuts a day was associated with a 23 per cent lower risk of putting on 10 or more pounds over a four-year period. An added bonus, when nuts became a regular part of participants diets, their unhealthy food consumption decreased.

Beans and lentils

The biggest obstacle to lasting weight loss is also the most obvious: hunger. Eating protein at every meal can help, says Alexandra Johnstone, a specialist in obesity and metabolic health at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health at the University of Aberdeen. Plant-based proteins, such as beans and lentils, can also have a positive impact on the trillions of bacteria and microorganisms that live in our digestive tract, according to astudy presented this October at the United European Gastroenterology Week in Barcelona. A healthy gut is foundational, responsible for better food absorption and overall system regulation.

Fermenting is your friend

Naturally fermented foods are also getting a lot of attention from health experts because of their role in strengthening our gut microbiome. Researchers have linked the loss of healthy bacteria and microorganisms to all sorts of health conditions, including obesity. Foods like kombucha tea, kefir, kimchi and sauerkraut are preserved using a traditional process that boosts food shelf life and nutritional value, and provide a dose of healthy probiotics, the microorganisms essential to healthy digestion.

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What to eat (and avoid) if you're trying lose weight - National Post

By Elizabeth PennisiNov. 14, 2019 , 2:00 PM

Nancy Moran has found clues to evolution in some unlikely places. Some 20 years ago, living in Arizona, she would frequent a Mexican restaurant in Tucson for more than its food. She regularly climbed the fire escape behind it to visit the upper branches of a hackberry treealong with all the insects lurking there. One night, she reached into the foliage and scooped up a nondescript bug that helped change the way she and other biologists think about the evolution of complex life.

The sesame seedsize bug she nabbeda psyllid, which causes the plant stems or leaves it feeds on to form hard nodules called galls around the insectharbored symbiotic bacteria that appear to capture a key stage in the evolution of the cell. Their genomes are so shrunken, Moran found when she returned to her lab and analyzed the bug's microbial cargo, that they seem to be losing their ability to live on their own. They may be on their way to turning into organelles, like mitochondria and chloroplasts, which originated as symbiotic microbes early in the history of life but ultimately became dependent wards of the cell.

Moran, an evolutionary biologist now at the University of Texas (UT) in Austin, has built a career from groundbreaking findings made in plant-dwelling insects. Her work on psyllids, aphids, and other sap-sucking insects has uncovered intricate, intertwined relationships with internal bacteria, which help them survive on a meager diet of plant juices. Moran is "one of the people who pioneered symbiosis as a field and did so with rigorous work and creativity," says John McCutcheon, a former postdoc and now an evolutionary biologist at the University of Montana in Missoula.

Today, such symbioses are widely recognized for creating life as we know it. Energy-producing mitochondria power all complex cells; chloroplasts, where photosynthesis takes place, make plant life possible. The cementing of other host-microbial alliances enabled animals to expand what they could eat, diversify into new species, and conquer almost all parts of the planet. We humans are increasingly aware that communities of microbes in our guts, on our skin, and elsewhereour microbiomeshape our physical and perhaps even mental well-being.

Moran, who received a MacArthur "genius grant" early in her career and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2004, has developed her own vital partnership. She has teamed up with Howard Ochman, another UT biologist, for more than 20 years, both personallythey married in 1998and professionally. She has dedicated her career to symbiosis; he has ranged more widely but has contributed fundamental principles about how microbes evolve. "This is quite the power couple," says biotechnologist Andrew Ellington, a UT colleague.

After decades uncovering the evolutionary roots of symbiosis, Moran now looks to microbial communities for ways to address today's challenges. She's studying the gut bacteria in bees, which depend on microbial guests to thrive. That new system, she hopes, will suggest ways to stop the decline of the bees and other pollinators and perhaps yield a simple model for exploring the roles of gut microbes in people.

Honey bees need their gut bacteria to thrive and keep their hives healthy.

While playing outsidewith her seven siblings or hanging out at the Dallas, Texas, drive-in theater her father ran, the young Moran would collect bugs, leaves, and flowers wherever she could. "I was known as the kid who liked plants and insects," she recalls. Her favorites were the tarantulas. (Yes, the entomology Ph.D. knows they are spiders, not insects.) She kept them in jars and fed them crickets. Her family accepted her hobbies, fretting only when, at age 9, she convinced a friend they should test whether the poison ivy next to the school playground really could cause a rash. "That was a horrible disaster," Moran recalls.

Yet she was slow to realize that she could make a career of biology. At UT, she majored first in art and then in philosophy. But an introductory biology class, a university requirement, had an enduring impact. "Once I learned about evolution and natural selection, I decided this was the most interesting thing to spend time on," Moran says.

As a graduate student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Moran trained with the famous 20th century theoretical evolutionary biologist W. D. Hamilton, and they became close friends. "We talked about everything big ideas and what kinds of science make a difference in understanding the evolution of life," Moran says. Entomology remained her first love, however. Every free moment she wriggled into bushes, looked under leaves, and peered into flowers to see what new insect species she could find.

After she took a faculty job at the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1986, a phone call from Paul Baumann, a microbiologist at the University of California (UC), Davis, helped her link her two scientific passions. Baumann was studyingBuchnera, a once free-living bacterium now found solely inside aphids. In the 1960s, a German biologist named Paul Buchner had cataloged these endosymbionts and written a tome with intricate illustrations of where they lived in the aphids, as well as in lice, beetles, and other insects. Buchner suggested those symbioses were essential, life-long relationships that had existed for millions of years.

If so, the microbes and the insects must have evolved togetherand their DNA should tell the tale. To test the idea, Baumann needed Moran's aphid expertise. By sequencing the genomes of various aphid species and theirBuchnera, Baumann and Moran built family trees for both organisms, and found that the microbes had diversified in step with the insects. Using various aphid fossils to date the trees, they found that the partnership began some 200 million years ago. Since then,Buchnerahas passed from one aphid generation to the next, coevolving with its host.

Aphids dine on sap they suck from a plants phloem, or circulatory system, but that diet lacks key nutrients. The insects rely on internal bacteria called Buchnera to convert amino acids in sap, such as glutamate, into ones they are missing. The bacteria, in turn, benefit from other nutrients and shelter provided by the aphid.

C. BICKEL/SCIENCE

For the next 15 years, Baumann, Moran, and their colleagues used similar DNA analyses to document equally long-term relationships between bacteria and white flies, spittlebugs, cicadas, leafhoppers, and psyllids. Some partnerships dated as far back as 270 million years, they concluded. The work "established that symbiosis is a central part of evolution that goes way back," Moran says. She and other biologists propose the microbes helped the insects exploit new food sources and habitats, resulting in a rapid diversification that paralleled the diversification of flowering plants.

"Having her as an organismal biologist and him as a microbiologist was really helpful for the field," McCutcheon says.

The sequencing also suggested why such partnerships have persisted for so long.Buchnera, for example, has genes that enable it to make amino acids not available from sap or from the aphid's own metabolism, compensating for the insect's poor diet. Meanwhile, living in the protected environment of the aphid's specialized bacteria-carrying cells,Buchnerahas lost essential genes, so it has to rely on the aphid to make up for those losses. In the late 1990s, this interdependence seemed remarkable, and it helped reshape how symbiosis was viewed.

Moran's genomic approaches to symbiosis have since inspired many researchers, says Angela Douglas, who studies insect-microbe interactions at Cornell University. Twenty-five years ago, "We were the crazy people" for thinking symbiosis was so important, she recalls. Today, such close connections have proved to be the rule for many host-microbe partnerships.

Moran's later work in insects confirmed the power of symbiosis. She, McCutcheon, and others found that some insects can't survive without multiple symbionts. In the glassy-winged sharpshooter and the cicadaboth also sap-sucking insectsone symbiont supplies eight of the 10 essential amino acids missing in their diet, and another symbiont supplies the other two. In other sap-sucking insects, symbionts serve additional functions, Moran and her colleagues discovered. In aphids, a symbiont makes the insect less susceptible to parasitic wasps by carrying a virus that's toxic to the wasp's young. Other symbionts improve the aphid host's tolerance for high temperatures, enabling it to thrive in new environments. That work illustrated the complexity of microbial partnerships and hinted at the spectrum of advantages that microbial guests confer, a theme increasingly evident in studies of the human microbiome.

A room full of plants teeming with aphids keeps Nancy Moran and her team well-supplied for experiments.

Moran also unexpectedly discovered that deleterious mutations are often common in the hosted microbes, suggesting symbiosis isn't always a win-win for both partners. The microbial genomes were naturally decaying through time for two reasons: The bacteria lacked a sexual phase of reproduction, which could recombine DNA and replace bad genes, and only a few of the bacteria trapped inside an aphid pass along to the next generation, a winnowing that further restricts recombination between microbes. The buildup of mutations steadily erodes the number of working genes in the bacteriaBuchnerahas just 600 genes compared with the 5000 or so poweringEscherichia coliand make those that remain less functional. "The insect is basically relying on a symbiont that's falling apart," Moran says.

She and Japanese colleagues later identified one way aphid endosymbionts cope with the decay: by making a lot of heat shock proteins, which can help stabilize faulty proteins produced from the mutated genes. Another bulwark against decay, Moran suggests, is what's known as horizontal gene transfer, in which essential genes from the partner microbe or outside microbes migrate to the host genomeas genes from mitochondria did. That way they can benefit from the host's sexual reproduction, which enables intact copies to replace mutated ones.

Moran's groundbreaking paper on gene decay came out in 1996. Her lab in Arizona was thriving, but her associate professor's salary barely covered her bills. "I was broke," she recalls, and nearly overwhelmed being a single mom. Divorced for the second time in early 1997, with a 5-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old stepdaughter, she struggled to balance work and family life. "If you have kids, you are not allowed to fall apart," she says. Yet she couldn't travel to scientific meetingskey to any young professor's career.

The MacArthur grant she received in 1997, which paid more than $50,000 annually for the next 5 years, lifted those burdens. She immediately hired a housekeeper and reduced her teaching load.

At the time, Ochman was studying bacterial genomes. Curious to meet this newcomer to microbial evolution, he prodded organizers of one of the exclusive Gordon Research Conferences to invite Moran. So few women were present that Ochman knew exactly who she was. With characteristic directness, he walked up and asked what she was doing with the MacArthur money. Moran, who tends to be reserved, was charmed. They married 14 months later, and he followed her to the University of Arizona. In 2010, Yale University recruited them to set up a center on microbial diversity. In 2013, the couple moved back to Moran's home state.

She says their shared passion for evolutionary biology and Ochman's encyclopedic knowledge of the field have aided her immeasurably. He "has had a huge positive impact on my science."

Nancy Moran met her husband Howard Ochman, who studies microbial evolution, at a scientific conference and their professional and personal lives have become deeply intertwined.

Early on, Ochman had been puzzling over two microbial mysteries: why genomes ofE. colistrains can vary in size by as much as 50%, and how other bacteria abruptly change from benign to pathogenic. By scrutinizing the microbes' genomes, he found that they readily gain and lose genes by swapping them with other bacteria or with their hosts. Such horizontal gene transfer could help explain the genome size variation, how bacteria pick up genes for toxins or other weaponsand also how a symbiont such as the ones Moran studies might shift essential genes to its host.

Moran and Ochman have offices less than 100 meters from each other. He often pops in on her, whether to discuss a possible grant proposal, go over the latest data, or just have lunch. "We spend 18 hours a day together," Ochman says. Yet their personalities are a world apart. Boisterous and impulsive, Ochman jumps quickly into new topics (ape microbiomes recently). Steadfastly loyal, Moran picks a questionor a partnershipand works on it thoroughly. "She is more logical and takes a more long-term view," Ochman says.

Moran's continued insect collecting led her to examples of bacterial symbionts with such tiny genomes that they are inextricably tied to host cells. One wasCarsonella ruddii, from that psyllid from the Mexican restaurant, which proved to have just 160,000 bases compared withE. coli's 5 million bases andBuchnera's 640,000. Other genomes were even smaller. The findings have convinced her that no clear dividing line separates organelles and endosymbionts. "My view is that these words are just labels," she says.

Honey bees have become one of Moran's enduring interests, prompted by her hypothesis that gut bacteria might play a role in the well-documented decline in the bee population. Her team's early work showed the honey bee gut contains eight species of bacteriaa manageable number compared with the hundreds typical of the mammalian gutand that every honey bee around the world has the same set. A student in her lab at Yale figured out how to grow each of the eight kinds in the lab; in contrast,Buchneracontinues to be unculturable.

Nancy Morans molecular and microscopy studies of aphids (in dish) have uncovered key principles of symbiosis.

By isolating pupae before they emerge, Moran's team can keep worker bees from inoculating the young bees with the bacteria. The resulting "microbiome-free" bees, the group found, vividly demonstrate the importance of these microbial guests. Lacking their usual microbiomes, the bees gain less weight, are more susceptible to pathogens, and die sooner. Hives decline.

Recently, Moran's graduate student Erick Motta showed that bees with an intact microbiome become more susceptible to pathogens when exposed to glyphosate, the herbicide marketed as Roundup. Glyphosate has been considered harmless to insects and other animals because it affects an enzyme that only plants and microbes use. But through its effects on microbial guests, the compound may harm insects as well, the work suggested. (When this work was published last year, Roundup's maker issued a statement saying: "No large-scale study has ever found a link between glyphosate and honey bee health issues.")

To Moran, the honey bee microbiome is complex enough to stand in for the human microbiome but simple enough to be dissected in a way the human counterpart cannot be. Moran's work on bees "has been some of the most reliable, clearly articulated work" on gut microbes, says Jon Sanders of UC San Diego, who studies human microbiomes. He expects the honey bee studies will yield insights into how gut microbial communities in general function.

The bee work led to other payoffs after Moran started to work with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). which sought proposals to harness microbial systems. At first she hesitated: "The purpose was to engineer something, rather than simply to understand something, as had been true for all my work up until then," she explains. But she, UT bioengineer Jeffrey Barrick, and Ellington got DARPA funding to devise methods to alter the bee microbiome in ways that would change the insect's traits. Such tinkering might make bees more resistant to stresses, for example, which could help preserve the vital pollinators. To show a proof of principle, UT graduate student Sean Leonard recently engineered a bacterium from the bee gut to produce RNA that increases production of dopamine, a key neurotransmitter. Preliminary results suggest those bees are better learners as a result.

Colleagues are curious to see what Moran learns next from honey bees or any of the insects whose inner lives she probes. "She's not just a one-hit wonder," says Ute Hentschel, a marine biologist at GEOMAR-Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany who studies sponge-microbe symbioses. "She has an amazing capacity to focus things so that [new insights] precipitate out."

Moran believes that, like most complex partnerships, the unions between insects and microbes will take a lifetime to unravel. "The host and the symbiont communicate in ways we don't understand," she says. "We're working to figure that out."

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A love of insects and their microbial partners helped this biologist reveal secrets of symbiosis - Science Magazine

A new study has revealed that millions of Brits dont know what they should be eating to have a healthy, balanced diet

When it comes to food, many Brits are left scratching their heads. Balanced diets and portion sizes could have millions of Brits left confused, a new study has revealed. Looking at the responses of 2,000 British adults, researchers revealed that almost half of us have no idea how much protein, fat, carbohydrates, sugar, dairy, fruit and veg we are supposed to be eating.

A further 49% said they dont understand what a correct portion size would look like, leading to an overwhelming nine out of 10 admitting their diet probably lacks balance. Its no wonder, with a third of adults not eating fruit each week and nearly half (46%) consuming no vegetables at all on a weekly basis. Just a fifth of us are cooking our meals from scratch - and even then, we do it twice a week or less due to the time it takes out of our already busy schedules.

The study went on to reveal that many of us are favouring foods with little-to-no nutritional value. On average, British adults are eating sugary foods four times a week, and resorting to foods high in saturated fats three times a week. Current expert advice suggests we shouldnt be having more than 11% saturated fat from our total daily calorie intake, while sugar should be 5% or less.

Its not all bad news; research revealed that we are consuming plenty of milk, yoghurt and cheese, all of which can be great sources of protein - an essential component in supporting muscle mass - as well as calcium - an important part in maintaining our bones and teeth.

To help us better understand food and nutrition throughout our lives, a group of nutritionists, researchers and health professionals have joined together to form the Food Advisory Board.

Dr Emma Derbyshire, a nutritionist who carried out the study, spoke on behalf of the board: People are being continuously bombarded with nutritional and dietary information. This is leaving them confused as to what they should and shouldnt eat, and ill-informed about the impact dietary restrictions, or fad diets, can have on their health. To ensure you get the key minerals and nutrients needed for maintaining good health, it is recommended you eat a healthy, balanced diet.

This should contain at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day, as well as starchy carbohydrates, choosing higher fibre or wholegrain varieties and potatoes in their skins. It should also include dairy products, such as milk or yoghurt, protein, such as lean red meat, beans, pulses, fish, eggs, and small amounts of unsaturated oils or spreads, like rapeseed or olive oil. There is no need to cut out food groups to be healthy.

While vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian diets are hitting the headlines more than ever, research suggests that few of us are keen to give up on meat entirely. This is despite the health benefits these plant-based diets can offer, ranging from decreasing high cholesterol, lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease - not to mention the environmental benefits.

Eating a balanced, healthy diet isnt just vital for our physical health it can have a significant impact on our mental health too. Our diets can have a huge impact, from helping reduce symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) to boosting fertility, reducing high blood pressure to combatting tiredness and improving our skin.

According to professionals from Nutritionist Resource, the three most important things to keep in mind when trying to eat healthily are to:

By focusing on these three areas, you can feel more energised, achieve a better balance, and feel healthier. Through focusing on all-round good health and benefits over short term changes, you can achieve a more sustainable lifestyle that puts your wellbeing first and starts framing food choices in a more positive way.

If you struggle with making healthy food choices and creating a balanced diet, working with a nutrition professional can help. Providing insights into the impact that food and nutrients have on health and wellbeing, speaking with a nutritionist can help you to improve your mood and overall health, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Working with a professional will also help ensure that you are making safe lifestyle changes that are right for you.

A nutritionist can help you to assess your current eating habits and identify any areas which may be negatively impacting your health. They can help you to develop the confidence in making healthier food choices, by helping you to learn more about what your body needs. Tailoring your food to help manage any diet-related or long-term illness, a nutritionist can help take the hard work out of planning healthy meals, as well as helping you to navigate the multitude of conflicting information available on what you should (and shouldnt) be doing and eating.

To learn more about what makes a balanced diet, and to discover how a nutrition professional can help you, visit Nutritionist Resource.

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Do You Know What You Should Be Eating? - Happiful Magazine

High blood pressure happens when the force of blood pushing against your artery walls is consistently too high and your heart has to work harder to pump blood around your body. If you have high blood pressure, your arteries lose their stretchiness and become stiff or narrow, and this narrowing makes it easier for fatty material to close your arteries up, a process that lead to a heart attack. Lifestyle factors play a key role in keep your blood pressure reading under control so it is important make healthy changes to your diet and keep active to ward off the risks.

Knowing what to eat and what to avoid can seem overwhelming but sticking to certain food groups offers a simple yet effective way to keep the risks at bay.

Foods rich in the mineral magnesium, for example, have been shown to have a positive effective on high blood pressure.

According to Harvard Health, magnesium helps regulate hundreds of body systems, including blood pressure, blood sugar, muscle and nerve function.

As the health site notes, you need magnesium to help blood vessels relax, and relaxing blood vessels allows more blood to flow through your arteries - process that lowers blood pressure.

READ MORE:High blood pressure: Including this herb in your meals could help lower levels

Several studies demonstrate the blood pressure-lowering benefits of magnesium, including a meta-analysis of 34 clinical trials, involving over 2,000 people.

The meta-analysis reported in a lower blood pressure and improved blood flow in those who took magnesium.

A previous study by the University of Hertfordshire in 2012 revealed that not only could magnesium reduce blood pressure, the effect increased in line with increased dosage so the higher the intake of magnesium, the greater the drop in blood pressure.

According to Holland and Barrett, its thought that magnesium helps the body release prostacyclin, a hormone-like compound that reduces tension in blood vessel walls.

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Wholegrain foods are a rich source of magnesium and have been shown to have a positive effect on high blood pressure.

One study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested that three servings of wholegrain foods per day can lead to a significant reduction in high blood pressure.

To gather the findings, some of the study-participants were given three servings of whole-grain foods each day, in the form of wheat, or both wheat with oats, while the rest received refined cereals and white bread (made of refined flour).

In both the whole-grain and refined-grain groups, the participants were encouraged to eat what they normally ate apart from consuming their apportioned servings.

Commenting on the findings, study lead Dr Frank Thies said: "We observed a decrease in systolic blood pressure of 5-6 mm Hg in the volunteers who ate the whole-grain foods, and this effect is similar to that you might expect to get from using blood pressure-lowering drugs.

He continued: This drop in systolic blood pressure could potentially decrease the incidence of heart attack and stroke disease by at least 15 and 25 percent respectively.

Systolic blood pressure indicates how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls when the heart beats, and diastolic blood pressure - the other number to record blood pressure - indicates how much pressure your blood is exerting against your artery walls while the heart is resting between beats, according to the American Heart Association.

As Blood Pressure UK explains, systolic blood pressure is more important than diastolic blood pressure because it gives the best idea of your risk of having a stroke or heart attack.

Wholegrain foods are also rich in the mineral potassium, which alongside magnesium, has a positive effect on high blood pressure.

The primary benefit is that potassium counters the negative effect of salt, which pushes up your blood pressure.

As Holland and Barrett explains, potassium, like magnesium, also helps the walls of the blood vessels relax.

These minerals work to maintain a healthy blood pressure, so eating a balanced, colourful diet is a must, advises the health body.

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High blood pressure: Include these foods in your diet to lower your reading - Express

The organizers of the Dog Aging Project plan to use big-data tools to study canine health and apply their findings to human health issues as well. (Dog Aging Project / UW / Texas A&M Photo)

Scientists are looking for 10,000 good dogs to take part in a 10-year effort aimed at tracking their health and identifying factors that can lengthen their lifespan.

The pets that are selected for the Dog Aging Project could come in for some scientific pampering, including genome sequencing and health assessments.

But that doesnt mean the projects organizers at the University of Washington, Texas A&M University and other research institutions are totally going to the dogs. The larger purpose of the campaign and the reason why its getting $15 million in direct funding from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health is to pick up new clues about the aging process in humans.

Researchers can use dogs as a model for human health studies, just as they use lab mice, said project co-director Matt Kaeberlein, a professor of pathology at the UW School of Medicine. And for this projects purposes, pets bring an extra advantage.

Unlike laboratory animals, they also share our environment, he told GeekWire. So we absolutely believe that, in that respect, pet dogs are going to be superior to laboratory models for understanding the aging process in humans, because were able to capture that environmental diversity.

Kaeberlein and his colleagues have been ramping up the project for several years, but now theyre ready for prime time: The official launch comes today in Austin, Texas, at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.

Dog owners can nominate their canines as candidates for study on DogAgingProject.org. The nomination process entails setting up a secure user portal and providing health and lifestyle information about their dogs. Participants will also be asked to share their pets veterinary medical records.

The organizers hope well more than 10,000 pet owners will apply. Theres no restriction on the age of the pet, or their breed. It doesnt matter if theyre healthy or suffering from chronic illness, if theyre male or female, if theyre neutered or not.

All owners who complete the nomination process will become Dog Aging Project citizen scientists, and their members will become members of the Dog Aging Project pack, another project co-director, Daniel Promislow of the UW School of Medicine, said in a news release. Their information will allow us to begin carrying out important research on aging in dogs.

Ten thousand dogs will be selected to reflect a representative range of doggie demographics. Each of those dogs will go through low-pass whole genome sequencing and periodic assessments of physical function. Eventually, the researchers hope to tease out correlations between genetic factors and health conditions on a grand scale.

About 500 middle-aged, mid- to large-sized dogs will be chosen for a clinical trial thats aimed at assessing the effects of a drug known as rapamycin on cognition, heart function and lifespan. Rapamycins potential as an anti-aging drug, for pets as well as people, is what led Kaeberlein and Promislow to come up with the Dog Aging Project in the first place.

But thats just one aspect of the project. The organizers hope their project will become the canine equivalent of large-cohort human research projects like the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging or the Framingham Heart Study.

Over the long run, the projects finding could provide cold, hard data to support (or debunk) longstanding ideas about whats good for dogs, ranging from environmental conditions to exercise to diet.

Diet in particular is a really important one because there are very strong opinions out there on different diets for dogs, and very little data to actually support those opinions, Kaeberlein said. Our hope is that well be able to contribute to that fairly quickly. Is it really the case that a raw-food diet is good, bad or indifferent for most dogs, or certain breeds of dogs? The data just isnt out there . Were hopeful that well be able to bring some rigorous science to address questions like that.

The goal isnt just to have dogs live longer, but to find ways to keep dogs as well as their humans healthier longer.

As a veterinarian, it is important to me that our work benefits dogs directly, said project co-director Kate Creevy, an associate professor of veterinary internal medicine at Texas A&Ms College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. But our work with dogs has the added value of shedding light on the human aging experience as well.

The funding from the National Institutes of Health will cover the first five years of the project, and the organizers are hopeful that the effort will be supported and perhaps even expanded for a full 10-year run.

Kaeberleins interest in canine health and longevity isnt purely clinical. His family has three dogs: an 8-year-old German shepherd, a 14-year-old Keeshond and a mixed-breed rescue dog that Kaeberlein figures is 13 to 15 years old which qualifies as senior-citizen status in dog years.

I love my dogs, and I certainly recognize that if were able to extend the healthy period of life for our pets, that has intrinsic value, he said. Both for the dogs and for the owners.

More than 40 researchers are working on the Dog Aging Project. In addition to UW and Texas A&M, participating institutions include Purdue University, Princeton University, Arizona State University, Cornell University, University of Massachusetts Medical School, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Childrens Hospital. Veterinary schools at the University of Georgia, North Carolina State College, Iowa State University, Colorado State University, Oregon State University and Washington State University are also involved. The project is supported by NIA/NIH grant 1U19AG057337 and private donations.

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Scientists put out the call for 10,000 canines to join the Dog Aging Project - GeekWire

Collagen powders

Like protein powder, collagen powder can be combined with hot or cold liquids to add nutrition to your diet.

To add to anything: Vital Protein Collagen Peptides

This is probably one of the most versatile collagen peptides products on the market. This flavorless collagen peptide powder is easily dissolvable in hot and cold liquids and can even be added to things like salad dressing, soup, coffee, and pancake mix. Vital Protein Collagen Peptides is also Whole30-approved and Paleo-friendly.

For on the go: Vital Protein Collagen Peptide Powder Stick Supplement

If you like to drink protein shakes after a workout, you know it can be annoying to lug around a big tub of collagen peptides protein powder. That's why these 10-gram powder sticks by Vital Protein are a great option for busy people, gym-goers, and those who want to continue taking collagen peptide while traveling.

For gut support: Ancient Nutrition Bone Broth Collagen

Fans of Ancient Nutrition love that this collagen protein powder not only helps with joint and skin health but also seems to help gut conditions, like leaky gut. We like that it's hormone-free, cage-free, and cruelty-free, but we should warn you that this bone broth collagen protein powder has a pretty polarizing taste. While some users have been able to mask the taste with other flavored powders, some have a hard time stomaching the bone broth flavor.

Capsules, pills, and gummies

If you're already take a daily vitamin or supplement, it will be easy to add one more capsule to your routine.

For healthy hair and nails: Codeage Multi Collagen Protein Capsules

We like these collagen peptides protein capsules because they're made from hormone-free, grass-fed, pasture-raised bovine. They're also non-GMO and preservative-free. Users have noticed that their nails and hair grow back faster and stronger with Codeage, and those who suffer from joint pain have also experienced improvement with their pain levels.

A vegan option: Garden of Life Organic Plant Collagen Builder

If you'd prefer a plant-based collagen supplement, this is a great option. Users say that it helps fight hair loss and strengthens nails. We love that it's certified USDA Organic, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, and kosher. This supplement also contains high polyphenolic pomegranate to protect against UV rays and help support skin health.

An affordable choice: Youtheory Collagen Advanced with Vitamin C

This collagen-peptides and vitamin C supplement is designed to fight the effects of aging by improving skin, hair, nails, tendons, and ligaments. Users have noticed reduced joint pain and plumper skin after taking this product. Be aware: Some find these penny-sized pills too big to swallow.

To fight wrinkles: Sanar Natural Premium Collagen Peptides Pills

These collagen peptide pills from Sanar Natural use a specially designed wrinkle formula to improve the look and feel of skin. But even with its wrinkle-fighting focus, these pills should still reduce joint pain. Users love the way their skin looks when taking this product. And we love that you only have to take one easy-to-swallow pill rather than the two- to three-pill doses that some other brands require.

A tasty alternative: MAV Nutrition Extra Strength Collagen Gummies

These delicious collagen gummies are made with Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Biotin, Zinc, and Selenium to improve the look and feel of hair, skin, and nails. These gummies are great for people who are looking to reap the benefits of collagen without downing big pills or adding collagen powder to their morning coffee. Users routinely notice stronger nails and shinier hair after taking these gummies.

Liquid-based collagen

Liquid-based collagen is an easy, convenient option for those who prefer not to take the time to mix powder.

For aching joints: Heivy Liquid collagen supplement collagen drink

This liquid collagen supplement is specially formulated for joints and bones. Users say daily consumption of this supplement has helped with joint pain and improved some joint performance. Unlike many collagen products that are made from bovine parts, Heivy Liquid collagen is made from marine fish collagen.

A hydrating drink: Vital Proteins Collagen Water

It's easy to add collagen to your diet when it tastes like flavored water and comes in a bottle that's easy to grab and go. This collagen water includes 10 grams of collagen per bottle and is sweetened with whole-food ingredients no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners. Choose from a variety of flavors like strawberry lemon, blackberry hibiscus, and blueberry mint.

Bone broth

Many bone broth drinkers swear by its immune system-boosting powers, and it can be enjoyed on its own or used as the base of a soup or stew.

For cold days: Bare Bones Beef Bone Broth

Some of us prefer to eat our nutrients rather than take a supplement. Bone broth is an excellent source of collagen, and it makes a good pick-me-up on a cold winter's day. This shelf-stable bagged version is very drinkable and makes a tasty base for a variety of soups.

For a little variety: Kettle & Fire Bone Broth Variety Pack

If you're new to bone broth and not sure whether you prefer beef or chicken or if you're a regular bone broth drinker who likes to change it up this variety pack is the perfect way to add naturally occurring collagen to your diet. Users who practice intermittent fasting find this broth to be suitable, and the flavor is enhanced by the addition of vegetables and herbs.

So, does incorporating collagen products work?

Yes, they will have a positive effect on certain aspects of your self-care routine but they aren't going to be a miracle cure. We spoke to a nutritionist who said the biggest effects will be seen in joint strength (especially for those who workout regularly or have extreme joint issues). The benefits on skin elasticity and nail strength are marginal for most. Like most things in the supplement world, people who have bigger issues will benefit the most.

See original here:
This trending product promises to improve your skin and fingernails, but does it work? - Chicago Tribune

Plant-based meat alternatives continue to appeal to American diners, according to a new study from market research firm The NPD Group. Sales have risen from $118.7 million in 2017 to $192.1 million this year and our national obsession with hamburgers is playing a big role.

The most visible factor in this growth is the rise of cutting-edge, plant-based meat alternatives such as Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger, which are redefining the concept of a traditional veggie burger. Meat alternative providers, particularly in the burger plant-based category, have done a good job on the taste front and in making vegetables reproduce the meat-eating experience, said NPD analyst Darren Seifer.

NPD found that plant-based hamburgers are largely responsible for the increase in Americans consumption of plant-based proteins at restaurants, with nearly 80 percent of that growth coming from Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat. Aside from burgers, sales of plant-based versions of wings, sausage and meatballs have risen by double digits over the past year and sales of plant-based Italian sausage have skyrocketed by 416 percent in that time.

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NPD found that 16 percent of Americans say they regularly use plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products, such as almond milk and meat substitutes. More unexpected, though, is that 89 percent of the people eating all of these tell NPD that theyre not vegetarian or vegan they just like variety in their diets.

Consumers like having the option of mixing plant-based dairy and meat alternatives with dairy and meat consumption, Seifer said. Plant-based food consumption is not about rejecting traditional protein sources, its about having options.

Millennials and younger consumers are the ones driving the demand for many of these products, but theyre not the only ones eating them. Since the core consumer groups for plant-based dairy and meat alternatives are younger, NPD forecasts that plant-based foods, to varying degrees, do have staying power, he said.

NPD found that Gen Xers are more likely to adopt these products as they age and make health considerations more of a priority when choosing foods. Overall, NPD found that about 20 percent of people say they use what they eat and drink to help manage a health condition.

This trend also dovetails with the years-long embrace of more high-protein diets and eating plans. NPD found that 61 percent of Americans say they want more protein in their diets, and Seifer said many perceive plant-based proteins, even when they go through multiple steps to resemble, say, ground beef, are perceived as being better for you.

Consumers arent seeing plant-based proteins as processed. They perceive them as having a healthier profile than meat and not overly processed, he said.

Given the relative dearth of diners who embrace an all-vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, though, Seifer said taste will continue to be the key component that determines whether a plant-based alternative to a pantry or fridge staple succeeds or fails.

Attributes such as health and convenience go far to drive consumption, but if the flavor profile falls below consumers expectations, then the product will likely have a short run, he said. Now there is no compromise when choosing a vegetable-based burger in terms of taste.

Martha C. White is an NBC News contributor who writes about business, finance, and the economy.

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Almost 90 percent of the people eating non-meat burgers are not vegetarian or vegan - NBCNews.com

Nov. 14, 2019

Heres thething about bats: They can fly. And they do that in the dark.

Those twofactors make bats, which make up 20 percent of the mammal species, extremelydifficult to study.

Geneticist Faith Walker and wildlife ecologist Carol Chambers wanted a better look at the 1,406 known species of bats, so after years of trying to meet the bats where they were, the two Northern Arizona University researchers instead turned to what the bats left behind: feces. Research into bat guano led to the creation of the Species from Feces assay, which can test DNA from bat guano and tell the researchers which species of bats live in a particular area.

Poop doesnt fly around in the dark and its easy tocollect, said Walker, who along with Chambers is co-director of the BatEcology and Genetics Lab at NAU. You can walk around in theday with a collection kit in one hand and a cup ofcoffee in the other andsample in 10 leisurely minutes, instead of the tour de force required by mistnetting (when we net bats we often have four cars, eight people and are outuntil midnight eating Oreos to stay awake). Hence, the fecal methodisfriendlier to bats and us, and it givesa broader timeframe forthe bat species that were using a roost.

Since publishing the Speciesfrom Feces research in 2016, which enabled theresearchers to correctly identify 92 percent of bats to the species level (theother 8 percent can be identified to genus) throughout the world for whichgenetic data are available, theyve helped other researchers and wildlifemanagers use the assay to better understand local populations. However, theywondered what else they could learn from fecalpellets, which they call the gold nuggets of wildlife biology thanks to theirwealth of information about biodiversity, diet and disease without the need fortrapping, handling or even observing the animals in question.

A lot, asit turns out, which led Walker, Chambers and a host of collaborators from NAUand the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to A Fecal Sequel: Testingthe limits of a genetic assay for bat species identification, published todayin PLOSOne.

Thefollow-up study asked a number of different questions, all of which centeredaround potential obstacles in extracting usable DNA from bat guano:

Walker,who was the lead author on the paper, connected the various questions anddetermined what was needed to move forward with the various arms of the study. Then-mastersstudent Abby Tobin used her work in both ecology and caving to study howdifferent gate types at the entrances of abandoned mines influence bats use ofthe mines. Colin Sobek, a genetics research specialist with the Schoolof Forestry and the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute and genetics Ph.D.student Dan Sanchez have been part of the Species from Feces researchfor years and extracted and tested the DNA in the lab. Viacheslav Fofanov,a professor in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systemsmasterminded the lab test for the species rarity question. Nancy Simmons,curator in the Department of Mammalogy at AMNH, conducted bat research in theNeotropics.

To test the assay in a variety of circumstances, researchers stored fecal pellets in both a high-humidity cave and a low-humidity cave near Flagstaff and let them age for up to 30 months. Every six months they would go into the caves and retrieve a subset of pellets, then run the assay on pellets at six, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months. For the rarity test, the team collected pure guano from three bat species and combined the pellets into mock communities, with the rare bat guano represented as a minuscule ratio to the other two. To determine the utility of the assay as a survey tool, they collected single samples of 200 pellets from more than 40 abandoned mines across the Southwest and performed visual surveys; they did the same at bat roosts in archaeological sites in the Belizean tropics.

Onthe whole, the results werent surprising, Walker said. The assay identifiedthe rare bat DNA and verified that humidity contributed to more rapiddegradation than time. It also added to what the original research showed: TheSpecies from Feces assay is an exceptional tool for conducting bat surveys atroosts.

Thebiggest surprise came from the gold nuggets found in the tunnels of Mayatemples. Walker said two of the three bat species found there feed onvertebratesthey found DNA from a local rodent in the guano of the big-earedwoolly bat and cow DNA in the guano of the vampire bat. They also found DNA ofthe teardrop mosquito fish in almost all of the Belizean tunnels, which likelycame from ponds from which bats drink. Thats significant because it shows batsthemselves acting as an environmental DNA filter.

Importantly,our work illustrated that our assay performs well in the tropics, but likelyrequires feces that is relatively fresh (less than 12 months old), Walkersaid. For the tropics it would be best to collect guano from active roosts.DNA does well in dry and dark conditions. Were lucky that for mostsubterranean systems in the U.S. Southwest we have exactly that.

Werealso lucky to have the bat species that we do, she said. Bats are a criticalpart of the ecosystem, and theyre in danger both from changing habitat andfrom a deadly fungus sweeping the nation.

Most people appreciate bats because of the ecosystemservices they provide, particularly eating insects. Insectivorous bats eat anenormousnumber of insects (a single little brown bat can eat up to 1,000mosquitoes an hour, according to Bat Rescue), which can include crop pests andpathogenvectors likemosquitoes, Walker said. In Flagstaff, withWest Nile virus detected last summer, we should be particularly appreciative ofbats. However, the fungal disease called white-nose syndrome iskillingmillions of bats in the U.S. and is now on the West Coast and Texas. It hasntyet arrived in Arizona, and we dont know for certain which species will beimpacted. Hence, having a genetic tool that can be used to rapidly surveysubterranean roosts is important and will allow us to better understand batspecies presence before and after the disease arrives.

Walkerdeveloped this assay to extract DNA from feces and test it to identify thespecies from which it came. Although scientists have been testing fecal DNA fortwo decades, Species from Feces was revolutionary in the extent of the coverageresearchers got across the entire taxonomic order of bats, how reliable andprecise the assay is and the ease with which researchers can now study bats. Theynot only identified which bat species use particular roosts, but scientistsalso have used the Species from Feces assay to confirm visual identificationsof captured bats, identify bat carcasses at windfarms, screen fertilizer todetermine the species that contributed guano, detect nectar-feeding bats fromsaliva on agave flowers and evaluate the effect gates on the entrance to mineshave on neighboring bat populations.

The Species from Feces team has done work for more than 100 federal and state agencies, universities, museums and environmental consultancies in the past three years. Additionally, this assay has expanded well beyond bats; the lab does a lot of mammalian diet work and has identified plant and animal diet in everything from African lions and leopards to wombats and kangaroos to mule and pronghorn to giraffes and hippos. Walker will soon add a 31,000-year-old giant ground bolus sloth to that list to determine if she can identify what the animal ate.

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New research from NAU team expands the answers we can get from bat guano - NAU News