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In the NewsJuly 9, 2008Scientists Learn How Food Affects The Brain: Omega 3 Especially Important Omega-3 fatty acids -- found in salmon, walnuts and kiwi fruit -- provide many benefits, including improving learning and memory and helping to fight against such mental disorders as depression and mood disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia, said Gomez-Pinilla, a member of UCLA's Brain Research Institute and Brain Injury Research Center.
Synapses in the brain connect neurons and provide critical functions; much learning and memory occurs at the synapses, Gomez-Pinilla said.
"Dietary deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in humans has been associated with increased risk of several mental disorders, including attention-deficit disorder, dyslexia, dementia, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia," he said. "A deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in rodents results in impaired learning and memory." Children who had increased amounts of omega-3 fatty acids performed better in school, in reading and in spelling and had fewer behavioral problems, he said. April 30, 2008Report Calls for Better Animal Waste Treatment
During the past several decades, the United States has increased meat production while consolidating livestock production into fewer, larger farms. The result has been rapid growth in poorly treated animal waste lagoons, the spread of resistance among infectious bacteria due to the use of antimicrobials for livestock disease prevention, animal welfare procedures that severely restrict natural animal behaviors, and a rural population incapable of competing with wealthy food industry corporations
LOS ANGELES - An undercover video showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with forklifts has led to the largest beef recall in the United States and a scramble to find out if any of the meat is still destined for school children's lunches.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is the subject of an animal-abuse investigation.
The recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., the federal agency said. The company provided meat to various federal programs.
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FOIE GRAS, enjoyed as a luxury since ancient Egyptian times, may be linked to the onset of diseases including Alzheimer's, type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers have suggested.
The scientists who carried out the study say those with a family history of such illnesses should consider avoiding foie gras.
The possible risk comes from "amyloid" proteins found in the delicacy, which is made from the swollen livers of force-fed geese and ducks. The proteins have been linked to the onset of all these conditions.
In their study, the researchers found mice fed on foie gras started growing amyloid proteins in various organs. They observed a similar result when extract of foie gras was injected into the rodents' bloodstream.
"It may be hazardous for individuals who are prone to develop other types of amyloid-related disorders such as Alzheimer's or type 2 diabetes to consume such products," said Alan Solomon, an expert in amyloid diseases at the University of Tennessee medical school, who led the research.
Foie gras has long been controversial because of the way food is forced down the birds' throats.
In Britain it fetches premium prices with Fortnum and Mason offering a 310g goose liver - enough to make starters for four or five people - for 60 pounds.
But one department store chain, House of Fraser, recently announced it would stop stocking foie gras.
Amyloid disease occurs when proteins that would normally be soluble undergo a change in shape.
This makes them form insoluble clumps in organs that damages the way they work. Such abnormal behaviour by proteins seems to play a role in many diseases, including BSE, Alzheimer's, type 2 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.
Scientists have produced evidence to suggest that Europe was right to ban the beef industry from using growth promoters to increase yield.
A US study has linked use of the chemicals to damage to human sperm.
The University of Rochester found men whose mothers ate a lot of beef during pregnancy had lower sperm counts.
The Human Reproduction study found they were three times more likely to have a sperm count so low they could be classified as sub-fertile.
The use of growth promoting chemicals was banned in Europe in 1988.
But although the US banned the use of some growth promoters in 1979, others, such as the sex hormones testosterone and progesterone, are still in use in the beef industry.
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Small portions. In Japan, food is served on separate small plates and bowls instead of on one big plate. Diners take turns having little tastes of everything, Moriyama says. Serving smaller portions may be one of the best secrets for eating healthfully and losing weight. Research shows that when we're served more, we tend to eat it -- whether we planned to and were hungry for it or not.
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A rice foundation. The Japanese diet includes huge amounts of rice -- six times more per person than the average American's diet, Moriyama tells WebMD. A small bowl is served with almost every meal, including breakfast. A low-fat, complex carbohydrate, rice helps fill you up on fewer calories, leaving less room in your belly for fattening foods like packaged cookies and pastries, which can contain heart-damaging trans fats. For extra health benefits, serve rice the Japanese way, cooked and eaten with no butter or oil.
Veggie delight. " Japan is kind of a vegetable-crazed nation," Moriyama says. When Japanese women were asked which home-cooked meals they most loved to prepare for their families, "mixed vegetables simmered in seasoned broth" received the highest ranking. Red bell peppers, green beans, zucchini, eggplant, onions, burdock, tomatoes, green peppers, lettuce, carrots, spinach, bamboo shoots, beets, lotus root, turnips, daikon (or giant white radish), shiitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and seaweed (or sea vegetables), such as kombu, nori, and wakame all have a place in the Japanese diet.
As many as four or five different varieties are served in a single meal -- and no one thinks it odd to have vegetable soup or a salad for breakfast. Veggies are served simmered in seasoned broth, stir-fried in a small bit of canola oil, or lightly steamed -- all methods that maintain a maximum amount of nutrients.
A good catch. Fish, especially fatty fish -- like Japanese favorites salmon and fresh tuna, mackerel, sardines, and herring -- are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are known for their heart-health and mood-boosting benefits, Moriyama tells WebMD. And though Japan accounts for only 2% of the world's population, its people eat 10% of the world's fish. The flipside of Japan's fish craze means the Japanese eat less red meat, which contains artery-clogging saturated fat that, if eaten to excess, can lead to obesity and heart disease.
Soy good. When consumed in moderation, natural soy products like tofu and edamame beans are a great protein alternative to red meat because they have little or no saturated fat, says Moriyama. Japanese meals often include more than one soy-based dish, like miso soup (miso is fermented soy beans) and chunks of tofu.
Japanese cooking methods here.
Science Daily - A non-human, cellular molecule is absorbed into human tissues as a result of eating red meat and milk products, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, published online the week of September 29, 2003 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers also showed that the same foreign molecule generates an immune response that could potentially lead to inflammation in human tissues. Carbohydrates, should provide the bulk of energy requirements - between 55 and 75 percent of daily intake and free sugars should remain beneath 10 percent. Protein should make up a further 10-15 percent of calorie intake and salt should be restricted to less than 5 grams a day. Intake of fruit and vegetables should be plumped up to reach at least 400 grams a day.
A new study of heart disease patients finds that "normal" blood pressure may not be low enough. By reducing their pressure well below the levels suggested by national guidelines, patients had fewer heart attacks, strokes, cardiac arrests, hospitalizations for chest pain, procedures to open blocked coronary arteries, and deaths.
In addition, lower blood pressure appeared to slow or stop the growth of the fatty deposits called plaque in the coronary arteries, compared with patients taking a placebo, whose plaque growth continued over the two-year study.
The international study, led by Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic, is being published today in The Journal of the American Medical Association. It found that for every 16 heart disease patients with normal blood pressure given drugs to lower it, 1 adverse event could be prevented.
Although the study was modest in size, with 1,991 patients, all with normal blood pressure, experts said its surprising result reopened this longstanding question: How low should blood pressure go?
The question takes on special urgency because millions of Americans have heart disease severe enough to cause the adverse symptoms.
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