Excessive intake of sugar has been linked to a huge variety of health problems, many of them a consequence of the obesity that's also linked to excessive sugar. That's led many people to switch to drinks with artificial sweeteners that aren't metabolized by the body. A new study is now suggesting that these sweeteners are associated with their own health risks, namely stroke and dementia. But the study doesn't get into causality, and there's enough oddities in the data to suggest that it's not time to purge your fridge just yet.

The study, run by a collaboration of Boston-based researchers, relied on a cohort of individuals that had been recruited starting in 1971. On average, every four years since, the participants have completed follow-up surveys and had their health checked out. Over 5,000 people are in this cohort, and they provide a rich source of epidemiological data.

The authors started out intending to look at whether sugar-rich drinks increased the risk of strokes and dementia. So they eliminated a lot of people from this cohort because they'd previously experienced these or related issues. That reduced the study population considerably: under 3,000 for stroke, and under 1,500 for dementia.

The authors divided these populations based on how many sugar-filled and diet drinks the participants reported having in a week. The boundaries between these groups were set arbitrarily in order to keep the number of people in each group similar. Thus, members of the group that consumed the most sugar averaged more than two sugar-filled beverages per day, which includes soft drinks and juice. The next group consumed upwards of three soft drinks a week, while the group that drank diet drinks were somewhere in between, at more than one a day.

While this won't matter in terms of estimating risk for each of these factors, readers should note that the study measured very different doses.

The consumption of sugary and diet drinks was also measured two different ways. One was based on recent intake according to the most recent follow-up survey. The second was cumulative and based on the responses across the three most recent surveys. In addition, the researchers split up the outcomes: all stroke and ischemic stroke, all dementia and Alzheimer's.

To complicate matters further, the authors analyzed their participants in three different ways. One way took into account only basic demographic information, like age and education. A second added lifestyle factors, like diet quality and physical activity. The third added basic medical statistics like blood pressure, heart problems, cholesterol levels, and more. A number of the things in this last model are known risk factors for stroke and dementia, so this would seem to be the most relevant analysis.

With all that, the researchers had something on the order of 108 individual statistical tests. At this point, a number of false positive results become inevitable. To have confidence in the results, you'd want to see some consistency across groups and things like dose effects.

And here, the results were mixed. There was remarkable consistency when it came to sugary drinks: absolutely none of the tests showed a statistically significant association with either dementia or stroke. So, the authors' original hypothesis turned out to be a bust.

But things were different with diet drinks. Recent intake of diet sodas was associated with strokes, although there was no dose effect, and cumulative intake dropped below statistical significance. For ischemic strokes, the association was consistent across all groups, but again, there was no strong dose or duration effect. Interpreting these results is difficult, though they're certainly worth looking into more carefully.

On the dementia side, things were a bit simpler. While some associations were statistically significant among the heavier drinkers, they vanished entirely when all the health indicators were taken into account. This was also true when cumulative consumption was analyzed. This suggests that both diet drink intake and dementia are probably both associated with one of the health issues controlled for in this statistical model.

The authors's conclusion is stark: "Artificially sweetened soft drink consumption was associated with a higher risk of stroke and dementia." But that seems to be overselling the results for dementia. For stroke, there do seem to be more consistent associations that are worth following up on.

But, as the authors spend extensive time in the paper discussing, there's no way of telling why this association exists at this point. "Sicker individuals [may] consume diet beverages as a means of negating a further deterioration in health," they posit. "Indeed, in our study, diabetes mellitusa known risk factor for dementiawas more prevalent in those who regularly consumed artificially sweetened soft drinks."

In other words, don't clear out your fridge just yet.

Stroke, 2017. DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.016027 (About DOIs).

Excerpt from:
Study claims a link between diet sodas and stroke and dementia - Ars Technica

Eating a diet with a higher amount of plant protein may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to researchers from the University of Eastern Finland. While plant protein may provide a protective role, meat protein was shown to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

More than 29 million people in the Unites States are affected by diabetes, with type 2 diabetes accounting for between 90 and 95 percent of all cases. An essential part of managing diabetes is partaking in regular physical activity, taking medications to lower blood glucose levels, and following a healthful eating plan.

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, healthy eating consists of consuming a variety of products from all food groups, with nonstarchy vegetables taking up half of the plate, grains or another starch on one fourth of the plate, and meat or other protein comprising the final fourth.

It is recommended that fatty or processed meat should be avoided and that lean meat, such as skinless chicken, should be opted for as an alternative.

Meat consumption has frequently been explored as a variable associated with diabetes, and previous research has found a link between a high overall intake of protein and animal protein, and a greater risk of type 2 diabetes. Eating plenty of processed red meat, in particular, has been connected with the condition.

The new research - published in the British Journal of Nutrition - adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that the source of dietary protein may be important in altering the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The researchers set out to investigate the links between different dietary protein sources and type 2 diabetes risk. They used data from the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (KIHD), which was carried out at the University of Eastern Finland.

When the KIHD study began in the years between 1984 and 1989, the diets of 2,332 men aged 42 to 60 years old were assessed. None of the individuals had type 2 diabetes at the onset of the study. Over the course of the 19-year follow-up, 432 men were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Jyrki Virtanen, a certified clinical nutritionist and an adjunct professor of nutritional epidemiology at the University of Eastern Finland, and colleagues discovered that a diet high in meat was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The association was seen across all types of meat in general, including processed and unprocessed red meat, white meat, and variety meats.

The researchers say that the association may be a result of other compounds found in meat other than protein, since meat protein alone was not connected with the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Men who included a higher intake of plant protein in their diets also had healthier lifestyle habits. However, their lifestyle habits were not shown to fully explain their reduced risk of diabetes.

Male study participants who had the highest intake of plant protein were 35 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than men with the lowest plant protein intake. Furthermore, using a computer model, Virtanen and team estimate that replacing around 5 grams of animal protein with plant protein per day would diminish diabetes risk by 18 percent.

The link between plant protein and reduced diabetes risk may be explained by the effect of plant protein in the diet on blood glucose levels. Those people who consumed more plant protein had lower blood glucose levels at the start of the study.

The primary sources of plant protein in this study were grain products, with additional sources including potatoes and other such vegetables.

A diet preferring plant protein to meat protein may help protect against type 2 diabetes. The authors conclude that:

"Replacing 1 percent of energy from animal protein with energy from plant protein was associated with [an] 18 percent decreased risk of type 2 diabetes. This association remained after adjusting for BMI. In conclusion, favoring plant and egg proteins appeared to be beneficial in preventing type 2 diabetes."

Overall protein, dairy protein, and fish protein were not connected with a risk of type 2 diabetes, the researchers note. The team also revealed that, confirming the group's earlier studies, a higher intake of egg protein was identified as able to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Learn how legumes may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Go here to read the rest:
Diet rich in plant protein may prevent type 2 diabetes - Medical News Today

JACKSONVILLE Lets get to it

Tim from Jacksonville:

7-9?

John: I received this admittedly long-winded, meandering email shortly after the Jaguars 2017 schedule was released, so I can only assume its a request to predict wait for it: the Jaguars 2017 record! And yeah, I actually think 7-9 is about right. I could see 8-8, but its tough to predict a five-game turnaround for a team that finished 3-13 the previous season and hasnt finished .500 or better since 2010. I wrote and said Thursday I believed this schedule very manageable if the Jaguars are really improved. Much will hinge on the ability of the quarterback position to be more efficient and to dramatically reduce mistakes. Once we get a better feel for that area, well have a far better feel for the teams outlook for 2017.

Alan from Ellington, CT:

How does a trade work? What would happen if on draft day when the clock is ticking two general managers make a trade for picks and a veteran player? Later that day, one general manager says he didnt trade the player, just the pick. Who else would know?

John: All trades must be documented with and cleared through the league office.

Travis from High Springs, FL:

Hi John, Poz has been my favorite player since we acquired him, and I think possibly our best. Do you think that there should have at least been a competition in training camp for the position? I'm just a fan, so I don't even pretend to know or understand everything about the NFL. But I find it strange to just move a player that's been statistically close to the top every year at his position without even having a competition.

Mike from Section 238:

John: Yes.

Logan from Wichita, KS:

John: The quarterbacks in the 2017 NFL Draft are rated at numerous levels, but Ive come to believe more and more the word risk for the most part is pretty near meaningless when it comes to drafting quarterbacks. The risk is enormous when selecting any quarterback, and there have been few players at the position with consensus high ratings in recent drafts: Andrew Luck and to a far lesser degree Jameis Winston, and well, the list of cant-miss guys runs out pretty fast. If the Jaguars love a quarterback and passionately believe hes a big-time player, then they should take him at No. 4. If they do, then theyll learn when he begins playing if he was worth the risk. Until then, you just dont know.

Scot from Aurora, IL:

I don't care about the schedule. This is the NFL and you have to beat good teams. Just win baby. Also, gimme one for Poz. He's a consummate professional and flat-out balls on the gridiron.

John: Hey, one fer just winning and one fer Poz!

Travis from St. Louis, MO:

Brett Favre had only one season in which he didn't throw over 10 interceptions. Peyton Manning had two 20-interception seasons in his first four seasons. I'm not trying to compare Bortles to them, but his performance in my opinion has had more to do with a bad offensive line and no help from the running game. When you have to throw 40 times in a game, you are more than likely going to throw more picks. Im not trying to give him excuses he needs to improve decision making and pre-snap reads but I feel his ability to extend plays and his toughness is something that can't be overlooked. This is a make-or-break season for sure, and I can't wait to watch him torch the league. I'll be back at the end of the season to gloat.

John: Bortles without question has been under too much pressure in his career, and he without question is a tough, resilient player. What are and will continue to be in question are his decision-making, pocket awareness, accuracy and pre-snap reads; some of those issues have had to do with protection and some havent. I think Bortles will get the opportunity to perform in what essentially in many ways will be a fresh start this season. That could benefit him and lead to the strides he needs to make. Well see.

Brad from Section 115:

Hi, John, I am one of the people disappointed at no prime-time games. Dont they have flex scheduling in the second half of the season? Could the Jags get a prime-time game if they are relevant or play someone else that becomes relevant?

John: Yes.

Michael from Section 122:

Why can't you refer to the London game as the moneymaker or something else? It is a home game in name only. As fans, we get only seven in-season home games. The owner can call it a home game, but we don't. Every time I see you write, it lowers my respect for your journalistic reputation.

John: I refer to the Jaguars game in London as what it is under NFL rules: one of eight home games. It is also very much a home game in the sense that the Jaguars receive significant local revenue from the game that they do not receive from a road game. In that sense, the London home game is a critical piece of what makes the Jaguars sustainable for the long-term in Jacksonville. Fans can call the London game what they like, and I have written often that I understand that there is a large group of fans who never will like the idea of the home game in London. Thats fine, because intrinsically it is a tough thing to accept. Still, accepted or not, it is by definition a home game and one that is important to the franchise.

Frankie from London, UK:

Mr O! As we move closer to the NFL draft, the leading candidates for the Jaguars' No. 4 overall pick appear to be Leonard Fournette, Jonathan Allen and Solomon Thomas. I'd be satisfied with any of them. That's a good thing ... right?

John: Sure, but as it moves closer this feels more and like a draft in which the unpredictable happens. Ive been leaning Fournette/Allen all along. Now, Im not remotely sure.

John from Starke, FL:

Good day, John: I haven't written since last year; I've been in hibernation. I had big hopes for 2016, but we won more games in 1995 our first year. I don't care about free agency, I don't care about the draft, and I don't care about the schedule. The only concern for 2017 is BB5. He is on the hot seat and he and he alone will dictate the season. So, all of the offseason stuff doesn't count unless the team produces more W's. Now, wake me up when the season starts, John. Can you do that for me? It's back to hibernation.

John: Its all about the quarterback. Sleep tight.

Nate from York, PA:

Al talks about MJD and Josh Scobee playing for other teams in their career, but if I remember correctly, Fred Taylor also played with the Patriots towards the end of his career.

John: Yes, he did. Thats why when Al asked about the greatest player in franchise history to only play for the Jaguars the answer was not Fred Taylor.

Johnathan from New York:

John, I don't always diet and exercise, but when I do, I expect the results to be instant, dramatic and spectacular.

John: I dont always diet and I exercise in my own sad, desperate, lunging way. I gave up hoping for spectacular results a while back. Then again, I gave up hope on pretty much all fronts a while back, too.

Go here to see the original:
O-Zone: Diet and exercise - Jacksonville Jaguars (satire)

The foods we choose to put on our plates or toss away could have more of an ecological impact than many of us realize.

On Earth Day, here are some ways to consider how our diet impacts the planet.

Waste not, want not

You've heard the numbers on food waste. More than 30 percent of available food is tossed each year in America. It's enough to fill Chicago's 1,450-foot-tall Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) 44 times over.

The U.S. has set an official goal to reduce food waste by 50 percent by the year 2030. Universities have begun to chip away at the food waste issue by promoting ugly fruit and vegetables and shifting away from pre-cooked, buffet style food, instead serving more cook-to-order options that can cut down on waste. Food service companies are working with farmers and chefs to get more blemished but edible produce into cafeterias across the country. Even religious groups are getting into the act, raising attention to the problem of food waste among the faithful and connecting with restaurants, retailers and food banks to help redirect food to hungry mouths that might otherwise end up in landfills.

And there are a host of proposed solutions. Check out this report that highlights which solutions are likely to provide most bang for the buck. Among the most cost-effective strategies: educating consumers on food waste including changes you can make in your own kitchen. (Here are some tips to get you started like how to tell if eggs are still good past their expiration date.)

Rethink your beef and lamb habit

Everything we eat has an environmental footprint it takes land, water and energy to grow crops and raise livestock. The folks at the World Resources Institute have calculated the greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing a gram of edible protein of various foods.

Not surprisingly, they found that foods such as beans, fish, nuts and egg have the lowest impact. Poultry, pork, milk and cheese have medium-sized impacts. By far, the biggest impacts, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, were linked to beef, lamb and goat. (As we've reported, that's partly because the need for pastureland drives deforestation in places like the Brazilian Amazon.)

Why? According to WRI, beef uses 28 times more land per calorie consumed and two to four times more freshwater than the average of other livestock categories. What's more, cows are less efficient than other animals, like pigs and poultry, at converting feed into food.

Still, telling people to go cold turkey with their red meat isn't likely to inspire real change. But this message might resonate: Even if you don't give up on red meat consumption entirely, just cutting back can significantly impact your diet's carbon footprint.

And these days, there are lots of vegan substitutes like plant burgers that sizzle, smell and even bleed like the real thing that can deliver the meaty taste you crave as you try to scale back.

Keep an eye out for more 'plant-based' dishes on restaurant menus

As interest in plant-centric diets booms, new food businesses have taken root from the veggie-centric fast-casual chains Beefsteak (from celebrity chef Jose Andres) and Chloe (an all-vegan restaurant) to the vegan meal-kit company Purple Carrot.

Now, a new initiative from the World Resources Institute called the Better Buying Lab is bringing together big companies (including Panera Bread, Sodexo, Google, Unilever and Hilton) to develop and test strategies to nudge consumers towards choosing more sustainable foods. One initiative is to get more plant-based dishes onto menus.

"If you look at menus across the U.S., there tends to be [the same] 25 dishes that are on the majority of menus," says Daniel Vennard, director of the Better Buying Lab at WRI. Think burgers, chicken dishes, etc. "Not many [plant-based] dishes have scaled to become national favorites," Vennard says.

His group is working to change that. It's teaming up with chefs from its member companies to create new recipes likely to have broad appeal. Promising ideas include the concept of "superfood salads" containing combinations of nuts, seeds, greens, veggies and avocado.

He points to ideas already out there as well, such as burgers that blend meat and mushrooms. As we reported several years ago, some taste-testing has found that diners warmed up to the idea of blended burgers, and in fact many tasters preferred them to all-beef patties. And an ongoing competition from the James Beard Foundation has encouraged chefs around the country to give blended burgers a try on their menus. (Not everyone is a fan, though.)

"What we're trying to do is shift consumers towards eating more sustainable food, but we're not advocating for a no-meat diet," explains Vennard. "We're saying, 'Let's moderate.' "

Read this article:
Chew On This For Earth Day: How Our Diets Impact The Planet - NPR - NPR

A new striped median has transformed a de-facto three-lane street into a two-lane, which is hopefully calming traffic somewhat. Photo: Anna Weaver

Streetsblog reader Anna Weaver alerted me to an interesting new pavement marking treatment on Chestnut Street between the Hancock Tower and Water Tower Place. While the block previously had no lane markings, making it a de-facto three-lane westbound street, the city recently striped a median that serves as a bit of a road diet, transforming it to a two-lane thoroughfare. Hopefully, this is calming traffic somewhat.

Thats not to say that the block is currently a pedestrian paradise. Theres a busy mid-block crosswalk between the two tourist attractions. Judging from numerous photos Anna sent, people on foot still have to navigate a snarl of traffic, and drivers arent always obeying the state law by yielding to people in the crosswalk.

There are a couple of yellow diamond Pedestrians Ahead signs at the next intersection east, at Mies Van Der Rohe Way. But, as Anna pointed out, the caution sign on the south side of Chestnut is obscured by a light pole and One-Way sign. The two signs are also located half a block away from the mid-block crossing, perhaps too far away to give a timely warning.

What the mid-block crossing is really crying out for is a State Law: Stop for Pedestrians Within Crosswalk sign. As you can see from this August 2016 Google Street View, it used to have one installed in the middle of the street, right before the crosswalk.

However, Anna says multiple Stop for Pedestrians were installed at this location, destroyed by drivers, and then obliterated again. She says it seemed to be the only such sign in the 42nd Ward. Since the sign hasnt been reinstalled along with the new striping, perhaps the city has given up on in-stalling in-road signs at this location. A good alternative might be to install signs on poles on the sidewalk, where theyd be relatively safe from getting run over.

This post is made possible by a grant from the Illinois Bicycle Lawyers at Keating Law Offices, P.C., a Chicago, Illinois law firm committed to representing pedestrians and cyclists. The content is Streetsblog Chicagos own, and Keating Law Offices neither endorses the content nor exercises any editorial control.

See the original post:
Eyes on the Street: A Road Diet of Sorts on Chestnut by the Hancock Tower - Streetsblog Chicago (blog)