At the Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, a team of biochemists analyzed the antioxidant activity and phenolic content of several varieties of millet: kodo, finger, foxtail, proso, pearl, and little millets. Kodo millet showed the highest phenolic content, and proso millet the least. All varieties showed high antioxidant activity, in both soluble and bound fractions.
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 9 June 2010; 58(11):6706-14.
Researchers from Arizona State University examined associations between mood and diet type in the context of polyunsaturated fatty acid intake. Vegetarian diets are usually lower in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), which many believe are positively related to neural function and mental health. However, while the vegetarians in this study did consume fewer long-chain omega-3 fatty acids than the omnivores, they reported better moods overall. These results suggest that vegetarian diets are not likely associated with poor mood or depression due to low intake of omega-3 fatty acids and in fact may be associated with improved mood.
Nutrition Journal. 2010 Jun 1; 9:26. (Beezhold et al.)
A Polish team from the Instytut Zywnosci in Warsaw analyzed 22 gluten-free products and 19 naturally gluten-free grains and flours, for gluten content. Gluten content in the products ranged from 5.19 to 57.16 mg/kg. In the inherently gluten-free grains and flours, no gluten was detected in rice and buckwheat samples, but was detected in rice flakes (7.05 mg/kg) in pearl millet (27.51 mg/kg) and in oats (>100 mg/kg). ?(Poland)
Rocz Panstw Zaki Hig. 2010; 61(1):51-5. ??
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Tricia Thompson, MS, RD, a nutrition consultant specializing in gluten-free diets, arranged for gluten-testing of 22 retail samples of inherently gluten-free grains, seeds, and flours. She found contamination of 20 to 2925 ppm in seven of 22 samples, putting them over the proposed FDA limit of 20 ppm, with lower levels in some others. Both articles point to the importance of gluten-free certification even on foods that are naturally gluten-free, such as millet.?(USA)
Journal of the American Dietetic Association. June 2010; 110(6):937-40.
A two-year clinical trial conducted in Japan set out to determine whether consuming a semi-vegetarian diet has a preventative effect against relapse of Crohn’s disease. The participants included twenty-two adult patients suffering from Crohn’s disease who had achieved clinical remission either during medical stay or through surgery. Of these patients, 16 of them consumed a semi-vegetarian diet (SVD) over the course of two years. Remission was maintained in 15 of 16 patients in the SVD group (94%) vs two of six in the omnivorous group. The results of this study suggest that consuming a semi-vegetarian diet may help Crohn’s disease sufferers from experiencing symptoms of relapse.
World Journal of Gastroenterology 2010 May 28;16(20):2484-95 (Chiba et al.)
A study by the Department of Preventative Medicine in Hanyang University, South Korea measured the anti-breast cancer effects of seaweed consumption among South Korean women. Gim and miyeok are the seaweeds most consumed by Koreans. The study group consisted of 362 women aged 30-65 years old with confirmed breast cancer, and controls visiting the same hospital who were matched to cases according to their age and menopausal status. A 121-item food frequency questionnaire measured food intake. The daily intake of gim was lower among the women with breast cancer compared to controls. After results were adjusted for menopausal status, premenopausal women and postmenopausal women both showed inverse associations between gim intake and risk of breast cancer.
British Journal of Nutrition 2010 May;103(9):1345-53. (Yang et al.)
Scientists at Loma Linda University conducted a meta-analysis to explore the health effects of vegetarian diets and the potential biological reasons for the protective effects of plant foods as a potential approach for preventing childhood overweight and obesity. The review of the literature found that vegetarian children tend to have lower BMIs than non-vegetarian children. The authors advocate for food policies that support vegetarian diets and that “reduce the cultural and economic forces that make it difficult to promote plant-based dietary patterns.”
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. May 2010; 91(suppl):1525S–9S. [Sabate J and Wien M]
Reading, writing and researching can bulk up your brain, but did you know that your diet could make you smarter? Eating a Mediterranean-style diet — one rich in olive oil, whole grains, fish and fruit — may protect aging brains from damage linked to cognitive problems, new research finds. Dr. Nikolas Scarmeas, an associate professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, and his colleagues have already shown that a Mediterranean Diet could help lower the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and might lengthen the life of those who have the disease. In his latest study, he may have found out why. After studying a group of male and female participants averaging 80 years of age, he determined that those who most closely followed the Mediterranean Diet had fewer incidents of stroke and brain infarcts – tissue that has died because of reduced or cut-off blood supply. Those who adhered to the Mediterranean Diet to the highest degree lowered their risk of such damage by up to 36%. (Related article).
Presentation at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting, April 10-17, 2010.
Scientists in Seoul, South Korea, fed a high-fat diet to rats for 8 weeks to induce hyperlipidemia, then randomly divided into four diet groups: white rice, sorghum, foxtail millet and proso millet for the next 4 weeks. At the end of the study, triglycerides were significantly lower in the two groups consuming foxtail or proso millet, and levels of C-reactive protein were lowest in the foxtail millet group. The researchers concluded that millet may be useful in preventing cardiovascular disease.
Nutrition Research. April 2010; 30(4):290-6.
For several years, researchers in Boston followed 39,765 men and 157,463 women with no history of type 2 diabetes. During a cumulative 3,318,196 person-years of follow-up, 10,507 people developed type 2 diabetes. After adjusting for age and other factors, the study found that those who ate two or more servings of brown rice per week had an 11 percent lower risk of diabetes compared to those who ate brown rice less than once a month. Conversely, those eating white rice five or more times per week increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 17 percent. Researchers recommended replacing white rice in the diet with brown rice – or, even better, with a variety of whole grains.
Presented at the American Heart Association’s Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism conference, March 3, 2010.
Heart disease is the primary cause of death in the United States. The risk factors for heart disease include high BP, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, tobacco use, lack of exercise, and obesity. Through a review of the literature, scientists at the University of Tennessee evaluated possible links between cardiovascular disease and vegetarian diets. Research indicates an inverse relationship between fruits, vegetables, and fiber consumption and the risk of heart disease. Diets low in saturated fat are also associated with decreased risk of heart disease. Vegetarian diets follow these rules and vegetarians tend to have fewer chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. The authors conclude that a well-planned vegetarian diet with adequate supplementation may be effective for primary prevention of heart disease.
Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. March 2010; 22:134-139. ([Stitcher MA et al.]
Researchers suggest that adding quinoa or buckwheat to gluten-free products significantly increases their polyphenol content, as compared to typical gluten-free products made with rice, corn, and potato flour. Products made with quinoa or buckwheat contained more antioxidants compared with both wheat products and the control gluten-free products. Also of note: antioxidant activity increased with sprouting, and decreased with breadmaking.
Food Chemistry, March 2010; 119 (2): 770-778.
An increasing body of research shows that resistant starch, a newly-recognized type of dietary fiber found in grains, cold potatoes, legumes and other foods, has many health benefits. Now researchers at the University of Toronto have found that certain whole grain varieties with naturally-high levels of resistant starch may be especially good at making us feel full longer. In the study, 17 male volunteers consumed five different test soups, at one week intervals, after which scientists recorded their glycemic response and their food intake at various intervals over the next few hours. Eating whole grain corn soup with 66% resistant starch content reduced subsequent food intake by 15% compared to eating a high-glycemic control soup.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 17, 2010 doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28443
