Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Exercise - Fitness, Nutrition / 21.09.2015

Beetroot juice WikipediaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chris Thompson BSc MSc ANutr AFHEA University of Exeter St. Luke's Campus Exeter Devon Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: Dietary nitrate has been shown to favourably alter the contractility of type II muscle fibres and enhance blood flow to working muscles that are predominantly type II. Dietary nitrate may also improve perfusion to areas of the brain responsible for cognitive function. It is therefore possible that through these mechanisms, nitrate-rich beetroot juice supplementation may improve both physical and cognitive performance during exercise which reflects the high intensity intermittent nature of team sport play. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Response: Participants were able to complete greater total work during an intermittent sprint test following nitrate-rich beetroot juice supplementation. We also found that dietary nitrate enabled a reduction in response time to decision making during the cognitive tasks performed throughout the exercise test. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Pediatrics / 18.09.2015

Juliana F. W. Cohen, ScD, ScM Harvard T. H Chan School of Public Health Department of Health Sciences, Merrimack College North Andover, MAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Juliana F. W. Cohen, ScD, ScM Harvard T. H Chan School of Public Health Assistant Professor Department of Health Sciences School of Science and Engineering Department of Health Sciences, Merrimack College North Andover, MA  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Cohen:  There is a substantial amount of variation in the amount of time students have to eat lunch because there are no national standards for lunch period lengths. This study found that when students had less than 20 minutes of seated time in the cafeteria, they were less likely to select a fruit and consumed significantly less of their entrees, milk and vegetables compared with students who had at least 25 minutes to eat their lunch. (more…)
Author Interviews, Lifestyle & Health, Sugar / 18.09.2015

Louise Brunkwall Nutritionist, MPH and Phd-student Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease, Genetic Epidemiology Lund University, Clinical Sciences Malmö, Sweden MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Louise Brunkwall Nutritionist, MPH and Phd-student Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease, Genetic Epidemiology Lund University, Clinical Sciences Malmö, Sweden  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There has been a huge interest for sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) the last years and SSB has been associated with various diseases like type 2 diabetes and obesity, while juice for example which have approximately the same amount of energy have not. We find this very interesting and wanted to know more about who the people were that consumed a lot of these different beverages. We started of by looking at diet and found that the different beverages were associated with different dietary patterns. Sugar sweetened beverages were associated with a more unhealthy diet while juice was associated with a more healthy diet. We see the same for tea which is a beverage previously associated with a lower risk of several diseases, that it is associated with an overall very healthy diet. Therefore we draw the conclusions that beverages are a part of the overall diet which might contribute to the previous findings of associations with different diseases. This also tells us that it is of great importance to know more about the overall diet than just consumption of a single product when investigating beverages-dieases association studies. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Depression, Fish / 12.09.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Fang Li Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, The Medical College of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, People's Republic of China Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Fish, rich in multiple beneficial nutrients, including  n-3 polyunsaturated fattyacids, high-quality protein, vitamins and minerals, have been hypothesized to protect against chronic diseases generally , such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Depression is a common mental health disorder,with an estimated 350 million people affected. We hypothesis that fish consumption may be benefical in depression prevention. Several epidemiological studies have investigated associations between fish intake and depression risk, but the findings are inconsistent. Therefore we conducted a meta-analysis to expect to find this association. A total of 26 studies involving 150 278 participants were included in the present meta-analysis.The pooled relative risk of depression for the highest versus lowest consumption of fish was 0.83 (95% CI 0.74 to 0.93). The findings remained significant in the cohort studies.This meta-analysis indicates that high-fish consumption can reduce the risk of depression. (more…)
Author Interviews, Frailty, Geriatrics, Nutrition / 07.09.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Alberto Lana Department of Medicine, Preventive Medicine and Public Health Area School of Medicine and Health Sciences University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Lana: Healthy diets are associated with lower risk of frailty among elderly, but we thought that knowing the role of particular foods is essential to establish prevention measures. Dairy products are substantial sources of proteins, vitamins, and minerals, especially for older adults. Thus, dairy products could theoretically reduce the incidence of frailty. But high milk consumption could also have deleterious effects because it adds saturated fatty acids to diet and could increases oxidative stress. So the advice regarding dairy consumption remains unclear. Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? Dr. Lana: According to our results, clinicians should recommend replacing whole-fat products with low-fat ones. Generally, patients should be educated to perform always healthy dietetic choices. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Depression, Nutrition / 03.09.2015

Dr. Mila Kingsbury PhD Senior Research Associate at Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine University of Ottawa MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Mila Kingsbury PhD Senior Research Associate at Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine University of Ottawa   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Kingsbury: Eating a healthy diet, including enough fruits and vegetables, is good for physical health, and some evidence suggests that it may be good for mental health, too. Specifically, intake of fruits and vegetables has been associated with lower risk of depression. However, there are very few longitudinal studies on this topic. Most studies haven’t accounted for the effects of other related lifestyle factors such as smoking and exercise, nor for the fact that the links between lifestyle and mental health are bidirectional (i.e., depression can also hinder our ability to engage in healthy behaviours). Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Kingsbury: While we found an association between fruit and vegetable consumption and psychological distress and depression two years later, depression and distress also predicted future fruit and vegetable consumption. Importantly, these associations became non-significant when we controlled for lifestyle factors like smoking and exercise. (more…)
Author Interviews, NYU, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 02.09.2015

Brian D. Elbel, PhD, MPH Associate professor, Departments of Population Health, Division of Health and Behavior and Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine Marie Bragg, PhD Assistant professor Department of Population Health Jonathan Cantor, MS Department of Population Health, Section on Health Choice, Policy and Evaluation NYU Langone Medical Center MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Brian D. Elbel, PhD, MPH Associate professor, Departments of Population Health, Division of Health and Behavior and Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine Marie Bragg, PhD Assistant professorDepartment of Population Health Jonathan Cantor, MS Department of Population Health, Section on Health Choice, Policy and Evaluation NYU Langone Medical Center  MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Response: On July 17th, 2014 the New York City Council proposed the “Healthy Happy Meals” bill in an effort to improve the nutritional value of fast food restaurant meals marketed to children. The bill states a restaurant cannot offer an incentive item (i.e. a toy) in combination with the purchase of a meal unless the meal met several nutritional standards. The meals with toys would be required to:
  • Be less than 500 hundred calories total
  • Be less than 600 milligrams of sodium total
  • Have less than 35% of total calories come from fat
  • Have less than 10% of total calories come from saturated fat
  • Have less than 10% of total calories come from added sugar
  • Contain one half cup of fruit or vegetable or one serving of whole-grain products
This study examined potential reductions in purchased calories, sodium and percentage of calories from fat that could occur among children if the policy were to go into effect. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings? Response: Researchers collected receipts for fast food purchases for 422 children who were accompanied by 358 adults. On average, adults purchased 600 calories for each child, with 36 percent of those calories coming from fat. One third of the children in the sample had a children’s meal, with 98% of the purchased children’s combination meals would be restricted from handing out a toy with the meal if the bill passed. If the bill passed, there would be a 9% reduction in calories purchased for kid’s meals, the equivalent of 54 calories. Similarly, researchers found that there would be a 10% (83 mg) reduction in sodium purchased and a 10% reduction in the percentage of calories from fat purchased for children. This all assumes that children ordered what they did previously but the meals meet the nutrition criteria. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Nutrition, Weight Research / 28.08.2015

Dr Aseem Malhotra MBChB, MRCP Honorary Consultant Cardiologist - Frimley Park Hospital Consultant Clinical Associate to the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Science Director- Action on Sugar Saving Londoners Lives - External Advisory Board MemberMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Aseem Malhotra MBChB, MRCP Honorary Consultant Cardiologist - Frimley Park Hospital Consultant Clinical Associate to the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Science Director- Action on Sugar Saving Londoners Lives - External Advisory Board Member   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Malhotra: It is a review of all the research up to date on what is the impact of diet on health. What type of diet has the most robust evidence for weight and health and how this can be translated into policy to rapidly reduce the burden of chronic disease. Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? Dr. Malhotra:
  • That "low fat" diets to do not improve health outcomes and the public should stop counting calories.
  • That a high fat Mediterranean diet is more powerful in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke than any medical treatment.
  • That it's effect is independent of cholesterol lowering.
  • That rapid weight loss through calorie counting combined with exercise doesn't only not improve health outcomes in the long term for diabetics but can also be potentially harmful by increasing CVD risk.
(more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Weight Research / 25.08.2015

Candida Rebello, PhD candidate Louisiana State University Pennington Biomedical Research Center School of Nutrition and Food Sciences Baton Rouge , Louisiana MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Candida Rebello, PhD candidate Louisiana State University Pennington Biomedical Research Center School of Nutrition and Food Sciences Baton Rouge , Louisiana   MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Oats contain a soluble fiber called beta-glucan. When mixed with liquids, this fiber induces viscosity or what is commonly called thickening. The degree of thickening depends on a number of factors such as the structure and concentration of the fiber, its molecular weight, and the ease with which the fiber will absorb water. These qualities of the fiber can be affected by various processing techniques used in the preparation of food products. Viscosity affects appetite by influencing the way foods interact with the mouth, as well as the stomach and intestines. Viscosity in the stomach can cause distension and promote a feeling of fullness. Viscosity in the intestinal tract delays digestion and absorption allowing nutrients to interact with cells and release hormones that reduce hunger and keep a person full for a prolonged period after eating a meal which is termed satiety. Viscosity in the mouth also affects appetite and all these effects often work in concert. In animal studies, oat beta-glucan has been shown to influence appetite regulating hormones, as well as reduce food intake and body weight.1,2 In human trials, several studies have shown that oat beta-glucan reduces appetite.3-10 In this study, we found that instant oatmeal eaten at breakfast reduced hunger, increased fullness, and reduced food intake at lunch, compared to an oat-based ready-to-eat cereal containing equal calories. Instant oatmeal had greater viscosity than the ready-to-eat cereal. (more…)
Author Interviews, Colon Cancer, Nutrition / 23.08.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Andrew Kunzmann & Dr Helen Coleman Joint first authorsCentre for Public Health Queen’s University Belfast Northern Ireland Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: There is now a large amount of evidence to suggest that individuals who consume diets high in fiber tend to be at a lower risk of bowel (colorectal) cancer. However, it is not known whether this association begins at the early stages of bowel cancer development or at later stages, in individuals with polyps (adenomas) that can lead to bowel cancer if left untreated. The best source of dietary fiber (cereals, fruit or vegetables) for bowel adenoma and cancer prevention is also debatable. We analysed data from individuals taking part in a large U.S trial assessing bowel screening, who completed a dietary questionnaire and received sigmoidoscopy screening at the start of the trial and received further screening 3 to 5 years later. This allowed us to investigate whether individuals with higher fiber diets had a lower risk of developing their first left-sided adenoma, but also for having adenomas recur at a later time, or indeed risk of bowel cancer, than individuals with diets low in fiber. By analysing only the screened participants, everyone had an equal opportunity to have their recurrent adenomas diagnosed – something that previous studies of dietary fiber have been unable to address. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition / 17.08.2015

Karen Hardy ICREA, Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies Departament de Prehistòria Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Barcelona, SpainMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Karen Hardy  ICREA, Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies Departament de Prehistòria Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain   MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Hardy: There continues to be little clear agreement on what quantitatively constitutes a healthy diet. The global increase in the incidence of obesity and diet-related metabolic diseases have intensified interest in ancestral or “Palaeolithic” diets as it is clear that to a first order of approximation our physiology should be optimized to the diet that we have experienced during our evolutionary past. However, reconstructing ancestral diets is very challenging, and exactly what was eaten during the Palaeolithic remains largely unknown. Until now, there has been a heavy focus on the role of animal fats and protein in the development of the human brain and there is little doubt that increases in meat consumption from around 3.4 million years ago, was a major driver. However, the role of carbohydrates, particularly in the form of starch-rich plant foods, has largely been overlooked. But the human brain today uses up to 25 % of the body’s energy budget and up to 60 % of blood glucose as a general rule, while pregnancy and lactation in particular, place additional demands on the body’s glucose budget. In this study we integrated multiple lines of evidence from human genetics, archaeology, anthropology, physiology, and nutrition, to hypothesise that cooked carbohydrates played an important part in the evolution of the body, and particularly the brain, over the last 800,000 years. Our results suggest that while meat was important, brain growth is less likely to have happened without the energy obtained from carbohydrates. While cooking has also been proposed as contributing to early brain development, it has a particularly profound effect on the digestibility of starch. Furthermore, humans are unusual among primates in that they have many copies of the salivary amylase gene (average of around six salivary amylase genes, other primates have only two) leading to more efficient starch digestion. This suggests that cooking starch-rich plants and having more amylase coevolved. We don’t know exactly when the number of amylase gene copies multiplied, but genetic data suggest it was in the last million years; a timeframe that brackets archaeological evidence for cooking and when our brain size increase accelerated (around 800,000 years ago). Salivary amylases are largely ineffective on raw crystalline starch, but cooking substantially increases both their energy-yielding potential and glycemia. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JACC, Nutrition / 12.08.2015

James M. Shikany, DrPH Professor of Medicine Division of Preventive Medicine University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL MedicalResearch.com Interview with: James M. Shikany, DrPH Professor of Medicine Division of Preventive Medicine University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL   Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Shikany: There is a growing interest in the field of nutritional epidemiology in relating overall dietary practices to various disease endpoints. For example, the assessment of dietary patterns in a population may be more meaningful than concentrating on isolated nutrients or foods because they more closely reflect how people eat in the real world. Previously, we looked at how the degree to which one adhered to 5 dietary patterns identified in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study was associated with the risk of stroke. In the current study, we investigated how the degree to which one adhered to these dietary patterns was related to the risk of incident acute coronary heart disease. The main finding was that a Southern dietary pattern (characterized by added fats, fried foods, eggs and egg dishes, organ meats, processed meats, and sugar-sweetened beverages) was associated with a significantly greater hazard of incident acute coronary heart disease in REGARDS participants. The association persisted following adjustment for sociodemographics, lifestyle factors, and energy intake. Specifically, following multivariable adjustment, participants in the highest quartile of consumption of the Southern pattern experienced a 56% greater hazard of incident coronary heart disease compared with those in the lowest quartile of consumption of this pattern. Another pattern we observed – the Plant-based pattern – characterized by vegetables, fruits, beans, yogurt, poultry, and fish was not associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, University Texas, Weight Research / 28.07.2015

Junfeng Jiao, PhD Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture Director, Urban Information Lab Austin, TexasMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Junfeng Jiao, PhD Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture Director, Urban Information Lab Austin, Texas Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Jiao: The increase in obesity rates has been explained by dietary changes including the consumption of high-energy, low-nutrient foods. Over the past thirty years, trends reveal increases of eating away from home. Public Health professionals have hypothesized that the heightened exposure to the ubiquitous fast food establishments may be an avenue through which health and diets are impacted. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Jiao: This study examined whether the reported health impacts of eating at a fast food or quick service establishment on a frequent basis were associated with having such a restaurant near home. Results indicated that eating at a fast food or quick service restaurant two times or more per week was related with perceived poor health status, overweight, and obese. Simply living close to such establishments was not related to negative health outcomes such as being overweight or obese, having cardiovascular disease (CVD) or diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Weight Research / 25.07.2015

Benjamin D. Horne, PhD, MPH, FAHA, FACC Director, Cardiovascular and Genetic Epidemiology, Intermountain Heart Institute Adjunct Assistant Professor, Genetic Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine, University of UtahMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Benjamin D. Horne, PhD, MPH, FAHA, FACC Director, Cardiovascular and Genetic Epidemiology, Intermountain Heart Institute Adjunct Assistant Professor, Genetic Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine, University of Utah Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Horne:  A rapidly expanding set of results from animal studies exists regarding the effects of intermittent fasting among animals. Many pilot studies of intermittent fasting have been performed now, too, but the body of literature regarding the human response to fasting is incomplete. This study sought to determine how preliminary and incomplete the evidence is in humans regarding the health benefits and the harmful side-effects of intermittent fasting. The purpose was to determine how reliable the evidence is that people should be engaging in fasting to improve their health. In particular, one major concern is that diet gurus and even some scientists are marketing intermittent fasting to the public through diet books and other methods that produce additional income for them, but it is unclear whether their claims can be supported. The main findings of the study are that only three controlled clinical trials of intermittent fasting in humans have been published that were designed rigorously and included a control group in addition to the fasting intervention arm of the study. One of the three had a pre-specified primary outcome (weight loss) and another used the Bonferroni correction to account for inflated false positive results due to multiple hypothesis tests (the third study unfortunately did neither, which is the common approach in human studies of intermittent fasting). These three controlled trials only used surrogate or intermediate endpoints, though, such as weight, cholesterol, or other risk factors for disease. The three trials also have substantial limitations, including small sample sizes (~30 people total), a fasting regimen that was studied for less than three months, and no evaluation of clinical safety outcomes. Only one of the three trials was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, a site instituted as part of the FDA Modernization Act and a pre-requisite for trials that are published in scientifically sound medical journals and are to be reviewed by the FDA. Two observational studies of the association of intermittent fasting with clinical events (i.e., coronary artery disease diagnosis and diabetes diagnosis) also have been published. These two studies included 200 patients and 445 patients. They were performed in patients drawn from a general population in which a large proportion of people engage in fasting intermittently over a period of decades. These observational studies provide the only evidence that fasting is associated with a lower risk of disease outcomes. Such studies are limited, though, by adjustment for only known or measured confounders, making it possible that some important factors may be unobserved in the studies that would account for the fasting benefit that was observed. No randomized controlled clinical trial of fasting for clinical events or disease outcomes has been performed, though, thus these five studies are the whole body of reliable evidence that intermittent fasting is beneficial to humans. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, PLoS / 23.07.2015

Dr. Stephanie K. Venn-Watson Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, MS Director, Translational Medicine and Research Program National Marine Mammal FoundationMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Stephanie K. Venn-Watson Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, MS Director, Translational Medicine and Research Program National Marine Mammal Foundation
    Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Venn-Watson: Bottlenose dolphins, just like people, can develop a condition called metabolic syndrome. In humans, metabolic syndrome is also called prediabetes, which affects 1 in every 3 adults in the U.S. Some human studies have suggested that eating a diet high in fish may lower the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Other similar studies, however, have had inconsistent findings. To better understand how fish diets may be associated with dolphin metabolic health, we compared 55 fatty acids among 49 dolphins and their dietary fish. We were surprised to find that the strongest predictor of lower, healthier insulin levels in dolphins was a saturated fat called, heptadecanoic acid (or C17:0). When we provided a diet higher in C17:0 to six dolphins over six months, their insulin, glucose, and triglycerides normalized. We also saw an immediate decrease in ferritin, a protein which - at high levels - may be a risk factor for metabolic syndrome. In addition to some fish, C17:0 is present in dairy fat, including whole fat milk and butter. C17:0 was not present in nonfat dairy products. We hypothesize that movement towards nonfat dairy foods may be lowering human C17:0 blood levels, which may be contributing to the global rise in metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Diabetes, Nutrition, Pediatrics / 22.07.2015

Prof. Lu Qi, Assistant Professor, Department of Nutrition Harvard School of Public Health and Channing Division of Network Medicine Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MAMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lu Qi, MD, PhD, FAHA Associate Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor of Nutrition HarvardSchool of Public Health Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Lu Qi:  Most previous studies focus on the effects of either lifestyle or prenatal malnutrition on diabetes risk; no study has assess these two types of risk factors in combination. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Nutrition / 16.07.2015

Dr. Vincent L. Cryns MD Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Department of Medicine University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Madison, WisconsinMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Vincent L. Cryns MD Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Department of Medicine University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Madison, Wisconsin Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Cryns: It’s been known for quite some time that many tumors are highly vulnerable to deficiencies in certain amino acids such as methionine, causing tumor cells to stop growing or die. What’s been missing is a molecular explanation for these effects that would allow us incorporate this approach into a rationally designed clinical trial. In our work, we have demonstrated that “starving” triple-negative breast cancer cells of methionine uncovers a “fatal flaw” by increasing the expression of a cell death receptor (TRAIL-R2) that we can activate with a therapeutic antibody to efficiently kill the tumor cells. What’s especially exciting is that we can use a specific diet to metabolically prime cancer cells to respond to a targeted cancer therapy. (more…)
CDC, Nutrition / 15.07.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Latetia V. Moore Ph.D. MSPH Epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Moore: For this study, CDC researchers analyzed the average daily fruit and vegetable intake from the 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for the 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC) and the percent of each state’s population meeting fruit and vegetable intake recommendations.  BRFSS is the sole source of dietary information (systematic surveillance) for most states. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Moore: Researchers found that in every state less than 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. are consuming enough fruits and about 1 in 10 are consuming enough vegetables. Estimates ranged from 8% meeting fruit recommendations in Tennessee up to 18% in California, and for vegetables from 6% in Mississippi to 13% in California. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, Nature, Nutrition / 01.07.2015

Dr. Alison Thorburn Ph.D. School of Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University Rockhampton, Queensland 4702, AustraliaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Alison Thorburn Ph.D. Department of Immunology Monash University Victoria, Australia Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Thorburn: Asthma is a highly prevalent disease in the Western World. The prevailing explanation for this has been the hygiene hypothesis, which proposes that a decline in family size and improved hygiene has decreased exposure to infectious agents and therefore resulted in dysregulated immune responses that lead to asthma. However, recently there has been more attention on the role of diet and the gut microbiota in explaining the prevalence of inflammatory diseases in Western World. Indeed, many studies implicate obesity, as well as a high fat, low fruit and vegetable diet with higher prevalence of asthma. On the other hand, a Mediterranean diet, which is high in fruit and vegetables, is associated with lower prevelance of asthma. Interestingly, the consumption of dietary fiber is reduced in severe asthmatics. These and other data suggest that the diet (particularly dietary fibre) and the gut microbiota may play an important role in the development of asthma. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Thorburn: The main findings of this study are that: -        In mice: A high-fiber diet promotes a gut microbiota that produces high levels of anti-inflammatory short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), particularly acetate. Acetate (alkaline form of vinegar) suppressed the development of allergic airways disease (AAD, a model for human asthma) in adult mice and the offspring of pregnant mice. -        In humans: High dietary fiber intake during late pregnancy is associated with higher acetate levels in the serum and a decrease in the percentage of infants showing predictors for asthma development in later life. -        The mechanism underlying these findings involves increasing T regulatory cell number and function through epigenetic mechanisms, which enhance immune regulation to prevent inflammation. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, Nature, Nutrition / 23.06.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Wilhelm Krek Institute of Molecular Health Sciences Zürich, Switzerland MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Prof. Krek: Fructose and glucose are major components of dietary sugars consumed in the western world. A current prevailing view holds that glucose is used directly by various tissues as an energy source while fructose is first and foremost metabolized to fat by the liver arguing that these dietary sugars are metabolized differently despite having identical caloric values. Accordingly, overconsumption of fructose causes fatty liver disease and through dissemination of fat to peripheral organs such that adipose tissue contributes to obesity. The key enzyme in fructose metabolism is ketohexokinase (KHK). KHK-A and KHK-C are two isoforms of KHK that are produced through mutually exclusive alternative splicing of the KHK pre-mRNA. KHK-C displays a much higher affinity for fructose than KHK-A. Unlike other tissues that normally express KHK-A, the liver produces predominantly KHK-C providing a possible explanation of the above-noted pathologies upon overconsumption of fructose. Whether fructose metabolism is subject to signal-induced changes in alternative splicing of KHK isoform expression as a mechanism to mediate context-dependent changes in cell metabolism is not known. In this work, we identify the splicing factor SF3B1 as a key mediator of ketohexokinase alternative splicing and thus activator of fructose metabolism and further show that the SF3B1-KHK system is a direct target of regulation by hypoxia and promoter of heart disease. From the analysis of a series of genetic mouse models of pathologic cardiac hypertrophy and human samples of heart disease, we conclude that activation of the newly identified HIF1α-SF3B1-KHK-C axis and the ensuing promotion of fructose metabolism is essential for pathologic stress-induced anabolic growth and the development of heart disease. (more…)
Abuse and Neglect, Aging, Weight Research / 21.06.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Min Du Ph.D Department of Animal Sciences Washington Center for Muscle Biology Washington State University Pullman, WA Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The beige fat is only recently identified and is highly inducible. we observed that polyphenolic compounds including resveratrol enhances AMPK activity, and hypothesized that resveratrol might enhance the formation of beige fat through activation of AMPK. Therefore, we used resveratrol, a very well characterized polyphenolic compound as a representative of polyphenolic compounds in fruits, to check its effects on the formation of beige fat. We found that resveratrol induced the formation of beige adipocytes both in vitro and in vivo. We further found that the lipid oxidation rate was enhanced due to the formation of beige fat, which is correlated with the anti-obesity effect of resveratrol. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, PLoS, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Vanderbilt / 14.06.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Wei Zheng, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine Anne Potter Wilson Chair in Medicine Director, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center and Danxia Yu, PhD Research Fellow Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Nashville, TN, 37203 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) provide the most authoritative advice in the US about healthy eating. Higher adherence to the DGA, reflected by a higher Healthy Eating Index (HEI) score, has been found to be associated with lower risk of developing or dying from chronic diseases (e.g. diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers) in several US studies. However, these studies recruited mostly non-Hispanic white individuals and middle to high income Americans. It has been reported that racial/ethnical background and socioeconomic status may influence food choices and diet quality. However, no previous study has adequately evaluated the association between adherence to the DGA and risk of death due to diseases in racial/ethnical minorities and low-income Americans. Therefore, it is uncertain whether the health benefits of adherence to the current DGA can be generalized to these underserved populations. We analyzed diet and mortality data from the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), a large, prospective cohort study including approximately 85,000 American adults, 40-79 years old, enrolled from 12 southeastern states between 2002 and 2009. Two-thirds of the SCCS participants were African-American and more than half reported an annual household income <$15,000. During a mean follow-up of 6.2 years, we identified 6,906 deaths in the SCCS, including 2,244 from cardiovascular disease, 1,794 from cancer, and 2,550 from other diseases. Using multivariate analysis methods, we found that participants in the top 20% of the HEI score (highest adherence to the DGA) had only about 80% of the risk of death due to any diseases compared with those in the bottom 20% of the HEI score. This protective association was found regardless of sex, race and income levels. (more…)
AACR, Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Nutrition / 05.06.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ying Wang, PHD | Senior Epidemiologist American Cancer Society, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia Dr. Wang: Several epidemiologic studies and a recent large pooled analysis suggest that higher blood levels of carotenoids, a group of lipid-soluble pigments that are rich in colorful fruits and vegetables, are associated with lower breast cancer risk. What remains unclear is whether or not the effect of carotenoids on breast cancer differ by estrogen receptor status, tumor stage, BMI, and smoking status. We examined plasma carotenoids and breast cancer risk overall, and by aforementioned tumor and participant characteristics in a cohort of 992 postmenopausal women. We found that higher pre-diagnosis plasma α-carotene, but not other subtypes or total carotenoids, was significantly associated with lower invasive breast cancer risk. The inverse association of α-carotene with breast cancer risk seems stronger for estrogen receptor positive tumors than for estrogen receptor negative tumors. There is a suggestive inverse association of total plasma carotenoid levels and breast cancer among ever smokers but not among never smokers. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, Diabetologia, Imperial College, Nutrition / 02.06.2015

Dagfinn Aune, PhD student Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Imperial College LondonMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dagfinn Aune, PhD student Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Imperial College London Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There are more than 360 million people worldwide that are affected by diabetes, and this number is projected to increase to more than 550 million by 2030, with serious consequences for the health and economy of both developed and developing countries. While previous research has found an association between increased dietary fibre intake and a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes, most of these data come from the United States, and amounts and sources of fiber intake differ substantially between countries. In this article the we evaluated the associations between total fiber as well as fiber from cereal, fruit, and vegetable sources, and new-onset type 2 diabetes in a large European cohort across eight countries, in the EPIC-InterAct Study (and included 12403 type 2 diabetes cases and 16835 sub-cohort members). We also conducted a meta-analysis where we combined the data from this study with those from 18 other independent studies from across the globe. We found that participants with the highest total fiber intake (more than 26 g/day) had an 18% lower risk of developing diabetes compared to those with the lowest total fiber intake (less than 19g/day), after adjusting for the effect of other lifestyle and dietary factors. When the results were adjusted for body mass index (BMI) as a marker of obesity, higher total fiber intake was found to be no longer associated with a lower risk of developing diabetes, suggesting that the beneficial association with fiber intake may be mediated at least in part by BMI. In other words, dietary fiber may help people maintain a healthy weight, which in turn reduces the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. In a meta-analysis of the EPIC-InterAct study and 18 other independent studies (>41000 type 2 diabetes cases) we found that the risk was reduced by 9% for each 10 g/day increase in total fiber intake and 25% for each 10 g/day increase in cereal fiber intake. There was no statistically significant association between fruit or vegetable fiber intake and diabetes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Prostate Cancer / 01.06.2015

Meng Yang, PhD MPH Research Fellow Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public HealthMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Meng Yang, PhD MPH Research Fellow Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Yang: There are nearly 3 million American men living with prostate cancer. However, there is very little information for patients and clinicians about how to manage patients’ lifestyles, like diet, after prostate cancer diagnosis to decrease the risk of death due to this disease and improve their survivorship. The most important finding is that men initially diagnosed with prostate cancer without metastases whose diet was more “Westernized”, i.e. higher processed meats, refined grains, potatoes and high-fat dairy, had a significantly higher prostate cancer-related death and all cause mortality. Men whose diet was more “prudent”, i.e. higher intake of vegetables, fruits, fish, whole grains and healthy oils had a lower risk of death. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition, Sugar, Weight Research / 08.05.2015

Dr. Dragos Petrescu Department of Public Health and Primary Care CambridgeMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Dragos Petrescu Department of Public Health and Primary Care Cambridge Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is a major contributor to obesity, particularly in children. Recent systematic reviews provide good evidence that reducing portion size reduces consumption. Similarly, evidence suggests that container shapes and product placement in supermarkets can influence consumption. The public acceptability of "nudging" -- altering properties such as the size, the shape, and location of sugar-sweetened beverages -- to improve public health is unknown. Here we compared the acceptability in UK and USA samples of government interventions to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages: three nudge interventions (limiting portion size, changing container shape, and changing shelf location) and two traditional interventions (increased taxation and an education campaign). We found that for the majority of UK and USA samples, the education campaign and the three nudge interventions were acceptable, with education attracting most support.  By contrast, only a minority of participants supported taxation. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition / 27.04.2015

Esther Lopez-Garcia, PhD Dept. Preventive Medicine and Public Health School of Medicine Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Madrid,SpainMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Esther Lopez-Garcia, PhD Dept. Preventive Medicine and Public Health School of Medicine Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Madrid,Spain Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Lopez-Garcia: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is a global indicator of perceived health status, which includes physical and mental domains. Assessing the association between individual foods and HRQL is important because both the food industry and the population as a whole are interested in knowing whether general well-being could be improved by consuming specific foods. Several biological mechanisms might support an association between consumption of yogurt and better Health-related quality of life. However, to our knowledge, the effect of yogurt on HRQL has not yet been studied in epidemiological investigations in the general population. Thus, the objective of this article was to examine the prospective association between habitual yogurt consumption and the physical and mental components of HRQL among the general adult population. In this study, we found no association between yogurt consumption and the physical and mental components of HRQL after 3.5 years of follow-up of a population-based cohort. The results also held for whole-milk and reduced-fat yogurt. (more…)
Author Interviews, Nutrition / 17.04.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Kylie Ball PhD Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, Australia. Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Most Australians (95% of adults) do not eat enough fruits or vegetables for good health. This is concerning as low fruit and vegetable intakes are linked with increased risk for a range of adverse health outcomes, including hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. One of the commonly cited barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption is the high cost of these foods. At Deakin University's Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research (C-PAN), we undertook a randomised controlled trial study in a supermarket setting to test whether addressing this barrier would help people to consume more fruits and vegetables. We found that a fairly small price reduction (20%) was effective in prompting people to buy more fruits and vegetables – about 2-3 more serves of fruit per week, and about 3 more serves of vegetables per week. These findings are exciting, as even small increases in fruit and vegetable consumption across the population can substantially improve the health of Australians. (more…)