Eating fewer, regular-sized meals with higher amounts of lean protein can make one feel more full than eating smaller, more frequent meals, according to new research from Purdue University.

“We found that when eating high amounts of protein, men who were trying to lose weight felt fuller throughout the day; they also experienced a reduction in late-night desire to eat and had fewer thoughts of food,” said Heather J. Leidy, an assistant professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri who was a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue for this study.

“We also found that despite the common trend of eating smaller, more frequent meals, eating frequency had relatively no beneficial impact on appetite control. The larger meals led to reductions in appetite, and people felt full. We want to emphasize though that these three larger meals were restricted in calories and reflected appropriate portion sizes to be effective in weight loss.”

The findings are reported in this month’s issue of Obesity. This research was funded by the National Pork Board and the American Egg Board, and additional support was provided by the Purdue Ingestive Behavior Research Center and National Institutes of Health’s Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.

“Our advice for people trying to lose weight is to add a moderate amount of protein at three regular meals a day to help appetite control and the feeling of fullness,” said Wayne W. Campbell, Purdue professor of foods and nutrition. “Egg and lean pork products are good sources for protein, and if they are incorporated at meals when people do not normally consume protein, such as at breakfast and lunch, they may prove to be a nice strategy to control weight; promote satiety, which is the feeling of being full; and retain lean tissue mass, which is essential for people as they age.”

Leidy said men were studied because they tend to eat more meat and are not studied as often as women. Twenty-seven obese and overweight men were divided into a high-protein group and a normal-protein group. They all consumed a calorie-restricted diet for 12 weeks – which was 750 calories less than their normal diet – an average of about 2,400 calories per person. The amount of protein varied between each group.

The normal-protein diet was composed of 14 percent of energy from protein, 60 percent from carbohydrate and 26 percent from fat, and the high-protein diet had the same amount of fat but 25 percent of energy from protein and 49 percent from carbohydrate.

For example, the normal-protein group’s main sources of protein at a breakfast would be sausage made from vegetable proteins. In comparison, the main source for the high-protein group would be sausage, also made from vegetable proteins, as well as an egg substitute and Canadian bacon. The high-protein diet specifically included 25 percent of total protein intake from pork and 15 percent from egg products. Both sources helped contribute the amino acids and nutrients people need daily, Campbell said. This amount of protein for the high-protein group was estimated at 200 calories per meal.

Another difference between the groups is that the normal-protein diet did not include proteins from flesh foods such as meat.

Beans, legumes and soy products also are high sources of protein, but they are not as prevalent in Americans’ diets as dairy and meat products, Campbell said. About 40 percent of the protein Americans consume comes from meat products such as pork, chicken, beef and fish, and another 5 percent comes from eggs and egg products.

“The studies have not been done to show the superiority of these proteins with comparable quantities consumed,” he said. “What our studies are showing is that by increasing protein in the diet with these food products, the benefits of higher protein intake are noticeable.”

Eating frequency also was tested because it is a common belief that eating more frequent, smaller meals a day can lead to weight loss. One of the reasons for this belief is that older studies suggest people who are overweight and obese tend to eat fewer meals.

“As a result, the idea was that fewer, larger meals were contributing or encouraging over-consumption and resulting in obesity and that the people who were more successful with weight control were eating smaller, more frequent meals,” Campbell said. “But our findings turn that on its head. There also seems to be a growing consensus that these other dietary habits may not be accurately reported because obese and overweight people tend to conceal how frequently and how much they eat.”

Eating frequency was determined starting at week seven for three days. Participants consumed the same amount of calories but with a different distribution: three times a day by eating every five hours or six times a day eating every two hours. The large meals were about 750 calories each. The smaller meals consumed every two hours were estimated at about 375 calories each. Participants also recorded their feelings about hunger and feeling full on a time-stamped electronic device every waking hour.

“First, although we found that daily hunger, desire to eat and preoccupation with thoughts of food were not different between the normal- verses higher-protein groups, the higher-protein group experienced greater fullness through the day,” Leidy said. “Second, we had more individuals struggle with complying with consuming six meals a day, specifically, of those in the study who were not compliant, 90 percent were specifically unable to follow the six-meal-a-day eating pattern. People told us anecdotally that they couldn’t stop work to eat a meal, even if it was small.”

It also is important to note that the more frequent meals were literally the main meals split in half, and the participants were not snacking, she said.

“The definition for a snack can vary, but it is usually accepted to be under 250 calories and between meals,” Leidy said. “Unfortunately, many people easily exceed that today when they combine oversized soft drinks and large portion sizes.”

This study also follows an acute clinical study conducted in a laboratory setting by the same researchers that was published in Obesity in September. In that study, they found that higher protein intake promotes satiety and challenged the concept that smaller, more frequent meals increases the feeling of fullness.

Other research by Leidy and Campbell have shown that restricted-calorie diets high in protein also help retain lean body mass as people lose weight, which is critical for older adults, Campbell said. However, a loss in bone density for postmenopausal women was linked to eating high protein from meat sources.

“Unfortunately, older people are not immune to the obesity epidemic, and they also are likely to lose muscle as they age,” Campbell said. “The combination of overweight, over fat and under muscle is not a good combination for health or quality of life. One of the themes of our research group is to help adults successfully age, and we would like to evaluate the effectiveness of a higher-protein diet with these types of food in this age group while also monitoring key aspects of long-term health such as metabolic syndrome, which includes blood pressure and glucose and cholesterol levels.”

The most recent article was co-authored by Purdue doctoral student Minghua Tang, postdoctoral research associate Cheryl L.H. Armstrong and undergraduate student Carmen B. Martin.

Source:
Amy Patterson Neubert
Purdue University
Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness From Medical News Today

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A new study from Northwestern Medicine shows a high-fiber diet could be a critical heart-healthy lifestyle change young and middle-aged adults can make. The study found adults between 20 and 59 years old with the highest fiber intake had a significantly lower estimated lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease compared to those with the lowest fiber intake.

The study will be presented March 23 at the American Heart Association’s Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention Scientific Sessions 2011 in Atlanta, Ga. This is the first known study to show the influence of fiber consumption on the lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease.

“It’s long been known that high-fiber diets can help people lose weight, lower cholesterol and improve hypertension,” said Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, M.D., corresponding author of the study and chair of the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a cardiologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “The results of this study make a lot of sense because weight, cholesterol and hypertension are major determinants of your long-term risk for cardiovascular disease.”

A high-fiber diet falls into the American Heart Association’s recommendation of 25 grams of dietary fiber or more a day. Lloyd-Jones said you should strive to get this daily fiber intake from whole foods, not processed fiber bars, supplements and drinks.

“A processed food may be high in fiber, but it also tends to be pretty high in sodium and likely higher in calories than an apple, for example, which provides the same amount of fiber,” Lloyd-Jones said.

For the study, Hongyan Ning, M.D., lead author and a statistical analyst in the department of preventive medicine at Feinberg, examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally representative sample of about 11,000 adults.

Ning considered diet, blood pressure, total cholesterol, smoking status and history of diabetes in survey participants and then used a formula to predict lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease.

“The results are pretty amazing,” Ning said. “Younger (20 to 39 years) and middle-aged (40 to 59 years) adults with the highest fiber intake, compared to those with the lowest fiber intake, showed a statistically significant lower lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease.”

In adults 60 to 79 years, dietary fiber intake was not significantly associated with a reduction in lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease. It’s possible that the beneficial effect of dietary fiber may require a long period of time to achieve, and older adults may have already developed significant risk for heart disease before starting a high-fiber diet, Ning said.

As for young and middle-aged adults, now is the time to start making fiber a big part of your daily diet, Ning said. “The study suggests that starting a high-fiber diet now may help improve your long-term risk.”

Source:
Erin White
Northwestern University
Nutrition / Diet From Medical News Today

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As evidence regarding the health benefits of consuming dark chocolate and cocoa mounts, there has been an increasing debate about which cocoa and chocolate products deliver the most beneficial compounds, known as flavanols, and if steps in cocoa and chocolate production diminish the levels of cocoa flavanols.

In a recently published paper, scientists reported on the effect of conventional production methods of cocoa beans on the levels of flavanols, natural antioxidants. The study, conducted by researchers at the Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition®, investigated cocoa beans and cocoa powders and described production steps that retain naturally occurring flavanols and reported that alkali processing causes a loss of up to 98% of one important flavanol, epicatechin, in the final product.

The study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, compared the effects of various common production methods on freshly harvested unfermented and naturally farm-fermented beans. Levels of epicatechin and catechin, a less active flavanol antioxidant, were compared in beans that were unfermented and in beans that underwent medium (about 5 days) and long fermentation (about 10 days). Long fermentation previously has been shown to impact the level of epicatechin in cocoa beans, and the authors reported loss of both flavanols as fermentation time increased.

Beans were roasted to temperatures of 120°C and the researchers found that temperatures of 70°C or higher caused some loss (up to 88% at 120oC) of epicatechin. Catechin levels, however, increased as roasting temperature increased. Additionally, natural cocoa powders and powders that had been treated with different levels of alkali also were measured. The study found that by far the greatest flavanol losses occurred during alkali processing. The results also suggested that epicatechin may be converted to catechin by alkali processing.

“This study is meant to address the impact of processing on the level of beneficial flavanol antioxidants found in cocoa beans” said Dr. Mark Payne, lead author of the paper. “We found that the processing step which causes the most loss in the flavanol epicatechin is the alkali processing step. Here the epicatechin, which is thought to be most beneficial, appears to be converted to catechin which has been shown to be less active in the body.”

“Most of the world’s cocoa beans undergo a natural, field fermentation on the farm and then roasting,” said Dr. David A. Stuart, co-director of the Hershey Center. “Both steps are critical to the flavor development for chocolate and cocoa powder. It is important that we understand the balance in creating the wonderful flavor of chocolate with the health benefits of cocoa powder and dark chocolate. This study has gone a long way in furthering that understanding and is the first systematic study of the whole process, from bean to powder, that we are aware of.”

Notes: The Hershey Center For Health & Nutrition® investigates and promotes the chemistry and health benefits of cocoa, chocolate, nuts and other ingredients.

Source:
Mark J Payne
The Hershey Company
Nutrition / Diet From Medical News Today

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The Mediterranean diet has proven beneficial effects not only regarding metabolic syndrome, but also on its individual components including waist circumference, HDL-cholesterol levels, triglycerides levels, blood pressure levels and glucose metabolism, according to a new study published in the March 15, 2011, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study is a meta-analysis, including results of 50 studies on the Mediterranean diet, with an overall studied population of about half a million subjects.

“The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome is increasing rapidly throughout the world, in parallel with the increasing incidence of diabetes and obesity, and is now considered a major public health problem,” said lead investigator Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Ph.D., associate professor in Biostatistics-Epidemiology of Nutrition, Department of Science of Dietetics – Nutrition, Harokopio University of Athens. “Additionally, the metabolic syndrome is one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease (directly or indirectly), associated with personal and socio-economic burdens. As a result, prevention of this condition is of considerable importance.”

The Mediterranean diet is a dietary pattern characterized by high consumption of monounsaturated fatty acids, primarily from olives and olive oils; daily consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals, and low-fat dairy products; weekly consumption of fish, poultry, tree nuts, and legumes; a relatively low consumption of red meat; and a moderate daily consumption of alcohol, normally with meals.

The Mediterranean diet, according to Dr. Panagiotakos and Christina-Maria Kastorini, MSc, Ph.D. cand., is one of the best-known and well-studied dietary patterns, which has been shown to be associated with decreased mortality from all causes, lower risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and some types of cancer. Additionally, it has a beneficial effect on abdominal obesity, lipids levels, glucose metabolism and blood pressure levels, which are also risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of the Mediterranean diet as a whole, as well as the effects of the individual components of the diet, and especially olive oil, fruits and vegetables, whole grains and fish, also confer to the beneficial role of this pattern.

“To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first work that has systematically assessed, through a large meta-analysis, the role of the Mediterranean diet on metabolic syndrome and its components,” he said. “Our results add to the existing knowledge, and further demonstrate the protective role and the significance that lifestyle factors, and mainly dietary habits, have when it comes to the development and progression of the metabolic syndrome.”

Encouraging adherence to a healthy dietary pattern like the Mediterranean diet, as well as the adoption of an active lifestyle, seems to be a cornerstone in developing public health strategies for the prevention of the metabolic syndrome, Dr. Panagiotakos suggested. Taking into account the limited financial resources many countries face in the 21st century, better eating seems to be an effective and affordable means for preventing cardiovascular diseases, at the population level, he suggested. In addition to its various health benefits, this dietary pattern can be easily adopted by all populations and various cultures.

Source:
Amanda Jekowsky
American College of Cardiology
Nutrition / Diet From Medical News Today

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Of all the non-starchy vegetables, Americans eat more tomatoes and tomato products than any others. Researchers Britt Burton-Freeman, PhD, MS, and Kristin Reimers, PhD, RD of the National Center for Food Safety & Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology and ConAgra Foods, Inc., looked at the current research to discover the role tomato products play in health and disease risk reduction.

The researchers found that tomatoes are the biggest source of dietary lycopene; a powerful antioxidant that, unlike nutrients in most fresh fruits and vegetables, has even greater bioavailability after cooking and processing. Tomatoes also contain other protective mechanisms, such as antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory functions. Research has additionally found a relationship between eating tomatoes and a lower risk of certain cancers as well as other conditions, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, ultraviolet light-induced skin damage, and cognitive dysfunction.

Tomatoes are widely available, people of all ages and cultures like them, they are cost-effective, and are available in many forms. “Leveraging emerging science about tomatoes and tomato products may be one simple and effective strategy to help individuals increase vegetable intake, leading to improved overall eating patterns, and ultimately, better health.” write the authors.

“Tomatoes are the most important non-starchy vegetable in the American diet. Research underscores the relationship between consuming tomatoes and reduced risk of cancer, heart disease, and other conditions,” the authors conclude. “The evidence also suggests that consumption of tomatoes should be recommended because of the nutritional benefits and because it may be a simple and effective strategy for increasing overall vegetable intake.”

The article is particularly timely since the recently released Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 moved tomatoes to a newly established category of “orange/red” fruits and vegetables to encourage higher consumption of these healthy foods.

The article “Tomato Consumption and Health: Emerging Benefits” in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine is available free for a limited time.

Source:
Ashley Wrye
SAGE Publications
Nutrition / Diet From Medical News Today

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“A great start to a colorful diet includes fruits and vegetables, but you don’t have to stop there,” says Marianne Smith Edge, MS, RD, FADA, Senior Vice President of Nutrition & Food Safety, International Food Information Council Foundation and former President of the American Dietetic Association. “Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables can offer equal nutrition compared to fresh, and other packaged foods such as brown rice, yogurt, cereal, soup and juice can also play an important role in a healthful diet.”

Nutrition Insights to Help You “Eat Right with Color”

• Dive into Color with Functional Foods Functional Foods are foods that may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition. Examples can include fruits, vegetables, whole grains as well as fortified foods and beverages. Whether it’s the deep red in cherries, bright orange in an apricot or the deep green of spinach, the color of certain fruits and vegetables is often connected to the health benefit of the food. Plan meals around a vegetable dish like a soup, stir-fry or veggie kabobs, and try snacking on fruit for dessert.
• Add Variety Everyday The end of summer does not have to mean the end of your favorite seasonal produce. Food processing and technology make it possible for us to enjoy seasonal foods year round. For example, find fresh tomatoes in the produce section of the grocery store (even in the winter!) or add jarred sun-dried or canned diced tomatoes to your favorite recipe. The choices are endless.
• Keep a Food Diary Track the calories you eat and drink, as well as how much you move. Research has found successful weight “losers” tend to regularly track their weight, food intake and activity. Regularly write down what and how much you eat and drink. Aim to record at least three days of intake and activity; the longer your journal, the more information you will give yourself about your daily routine. At the end of each day, add up the number of calories you ate that day. Is it higher or lower than what you need?
• Be a Life-Long Learner There are many misperceptions about food. Know that all foods can be a part of a healthful diet. In fact, the more science-based information you have about your food and how it’s grown and produced, the more you can apply this knowledge to achieve a healthful lifestyle.

Additional Resources to Help Build a Healthful Lifestyle

• Understanding our Food Toolkit
• Backgrounder on Foods with Added Health Benefits
• A Consumer’s Guide to Food Safety
• Finding Balance: Understanding How Calories Work
• Your Personal Path to Health: Steps to a Healthier You!

Source: International Food Information Council (IFIC)
Nutrition / Diet From Medical News Today

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

It’s now been a few weeks since we have made our New Year’s resolutions to eat better and finally lose those last five pounds or more. It’s time to check in and see if you’ve set yourself up for success this year. Brittany Glassett, registered dietitian at Porter Adventist Hospital has a few tips to keep in mind when setting – and keeping – new goals.

• Make SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely. For example, instead of resolving to “eat better,” make a goal to eat fast food less than three times per month.
• Write goals down and choose one or two to focus on at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed; once you’ve incorporated one or two changes into your lifestyle, pick another goal to tackle. Remember, it takes about three weeks to establish a new habit.
• Break your goal down into mini-goals. If you want to lose 50 pounds, that’s a pretty big feat and can seem impossible at times. Start with a mini-goal of losing 5 pounds in the next month.
• Get support. Tell family and friends about your goal to help keep you accountable when temptation arises. Better yet, get them on the fast track to being healthy also!
• Plan ahead. Plan all of your meals and go to the grocery store on Sunday. That way you won’t get home from work with nothing to eat but delivery pizza. Also, schedule your workouts just as you would any other meeting.

Six Small Changes That Make a Big Difference:

1. Choose more whole grains. All carbohydrates are not created equal. Unlike refined carbohydrates (white bread, sweets), whole grains contain heart healthy fiber and many vitamins and minerals. The fiber will keep you full between meals to help with weight management goals.
2. Add more color to your plate. Some of the most colorful foods are antioxidant packed fruits and vegetables. Try to have at least three different colors on your plate (white, cream and yellow don’t count!). Make a goal to try a new fruit or vegetable every month.
3. Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast. Eating small, regular meals (every three to four hours) will keep hunger at bay and help you to make better choices at meal times.
4. Don’t drink your calories. Soda, juice and high calorie coffee drinks contain “empty calories” – they provide excessive amounts of calories without providing much, if any, nutrition.
5. Replace vegetable oil with canola oil and olive oil in your kitchen. Olive oil and canola oil contain heart healthy monounsaturated fats whereas vegetable oil contains omega-6 fatty acids, a polyunsaturated fat, which are eaten in excess in the typical American diet. Omega-6 fatty acids promote inflammation in the body, which is associated with many disease states including heart disease.
6. Keep a food diary. Even if it’s for one or two days a week, studies have shown that those who have lost weight and maintained it keep food journals. It really can be an eye-opener!

Source:
Porter Adventist Hospital

Nutrition / Diet From Medical News Today

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/214339.php

A recent study has discovered that daily intake of green tea extract may increase energy and aid with weight loss.

The scientists from the University of Medicine, Berlin, recruited ten healthy overweight and obese men to participate in the randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover trial.

The men were randomly put into one of five supplement groups: Placebo, low-dose EGCG (300 mg), high-dose EGCG (600 mg), caffeine (200 mg), or EGCG plus caffeine (300 mg/200 mg). They took the supplements for three days, then had seven days of washing out their system before moving to the next group. All had attended each group by the end of the study.

The results showed that a daily dose of 300 mg of EGCG led to a 33% increase in fat oxidation, whilst a dose of 200 mg caffeine was linked to a 34.5% increase. When male subjects were given a combination of EGCG (300 mg) and caffeine (200 mg), fat oxidation increased by almost 50%, added the researchers.

Green tea catechins have been studied extensively for their potential in aiding weight loss, with the compound epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) highlighted as the key element.

James Betz, founder and CEO of world leading bioceutical firm, Biotivia, said: “We have been researching the weight loss potential of green tea extract for a couple of years now and this study highlights research we have been working on with our weight loss formula, Bio Shape.”

Bio Shape represents a new and powerful multi-faceted approach to the complex and difficult challenge of weight loss. By attacking the two root causes of weight gain, appetite and metabolism, Bio Shape is able to help those people who want to lose at least 15 pounds or more.

Bio Shape combines the six most effective and scientifically proven weight loss extracts into one product with a far higher potency and purity than any other supplement.

Consisting of resveratrol, Fucoxanthin, Organic green tea, chromium, Garcinia cambogia and Gymnema sylvestre, this potent combination works synergistcally with the body to help suppress appetite and aid in weight loss.

Betz continues: “If you are interested in increasing your daily energy level, or an aid to losing weight, Bio Shape could be of substantial value. Bio Shape is most effective in combination with a program of reasonable physical exercise, and dietary restraint.”

Source:
Biotivia LLC

Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness From Medical News Today

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/214011.php

Sports drinks and enhanced waters have become extremely popular among athletes and consumers who want to live a healthy lifestyle. Yet a growing body of evidence points to old-school beverages tea, coffee and low-fat or chocolate milk as the best elixirs for nutrition, health and workout recovery.

For hundreds of years, ancient cultures have relied on tea for medicinal purposes, and modern science is now verifying why. Tea is an antioxidant-rich beverage containing more polyphenols than many fruits and vegetables. Besides being rich in compounds that combat cell-damaging oxidative stress, tea has a chemical makeup that includes enzymes, carbohydrates, protein, and lipids.

Oxidative stress is a molecular imbalance that interferes with the body’s ability to detoxify harmful compounds leading to cellular damage and is associated with chronic health problems such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, dementia, and even cancer. Packed with compounds that protect cells from oxidative stress, tea has emerged as a natural dietary aid to lower the risk of these ailments. Research indicates that tea strengthens the body’s immune system, reduces buildup of plaque on arterial walls, and aids in the control and prevention of diabetes.

Like tea, coffee is packed with polyphenols, and it actually has a higher content of antioxidants than green or black tea and other beverages such as fruit and vegetables juices. New research has suggested that coffee consumption can lower cardiovascular risks as well as lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 50 percent. Coffee also appears to have a positive effect on neurological diseases with coffee consumption possibly reducing the risk of both Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

It is widely known that milk is an excellent source of protein, calcium, and vitamin D and it helps build teeth and bone mass during childhood and adolescence. Recent research findings detail the benefits of whole, low-fat, and chocolate milk when it comes to overall nutrition, bone density, weight loss, muscle-building and more. Other research indicates that when consumed after resistance training, both unflavored and chocolate-flavored versions of reduced-fat milk, improve muscle development, enhance strength, and increase fat loss.

Source: Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)

Nutrition / Diet From Medical News Today

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/213689.php

The study, published in the academic journal Phytomedicine, also suggests this ancient Chinese remedy could play a vital role in protecting the body against cancer.

Led by Dr Ed Okello, the Newcastle team wanted to know if the protective properties of green tea – which have previously been shown to be present in the undigested, freshly brewed form of the drink – were still active once the tea had been digested.

Digestion is a vital process which provides our bodies with the nutrients we need to survive. But, says Dr Okello, it also means that just because the food we put into our mouths is generally accepted to contain health-boosting properties, we can’t assume these compounds will ever be absorbed by the body.

“What was really exciting about this study was that we found when green tea is digested by enzymes in the gut, the resulting chemicals are actually more effective against key triggers of Alzheimer’s development than the undigested form of the tea,” explains Dr Okello, based in the School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development at Newcastle University.

“In addition to this, we also found the digested compounds had anti-cancer properties, significantly slowing down the growth of the tumour cells which we were using in our experiments.”

As part of the research, the Newcastle team worked in collaboration with Dr Gordon McDougall of the Plant Products and Food Quality Group at the Scottish Crop Research Institute in Dundee, who developed technology which simulates the human digestive system.

It is this which made it possible for the team to analyse the protective properties of the products of digestion.

Two compounds are known to play a significant role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease – hydrogen peroxide and a protein known as beta-amyloid.

Previous studies have shown that compounds known as polyphenols, present in black and green tea, possess neuroprotective properties, binding with the toxic compounds and protecting the brain cells.

When ingested, the polyphenols are broken down to produce a mix of compounds and it was these the Newcastle team tested in their latest research.

“It’s one of the reasons why we have to be so careful when we make claims about the health benefits of various foods and supplements,” explains Dr Okello.

“There are certain chemicals we know to be beneficial and we can identify foods which are rich in them but what happens during the digestion process is crucial to whether these foods are actually doing us any good.”

Carrying out the experiments in the lab using a tumour cell model, they exposed the cells to varying concentrations of the different toxins and the digested green tea compounds.

Dr Okello explained: “The digested chemicals protected the cells, preventing the toxins from destroying the cells.

“We also saw them affecting the cancer cells, significantly slowing down their growth.

“Green tea has been used in Traditional Chinese medicine for centuries and what we have here provides the scientific evidence why it may be effective against some of the key diseases we face today.”

The next step is to discover whether the beneficial compounds are produced during digestion after healthy human volunteers consume tea polyphenols. The team has already received funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to take this forward.

Dr Okello adds: “There are obviously many factors which together have an influence on diseases such as cancer and dementia – a good diet, plenty of exercise and a healthy lifestyle are all important.”

Source:
Dr. Ed Okello
Newcastle University

Nutrition / Diet; Cancer / Oncology From Medical News Today

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/212925.php