Researchers from Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam compiled data from nine different studies on bone mineral density (BMD) and diet type. While two of the nine showed vegetarians to have significantly lower average BMDs than omnivores, thus putting them at greater risk for osteoporosis, the pooled data showed no significant statistical difference. The results did suggest that vegetarian diets, and especially vegan diets, are associated with a lower BMD; however, the magnitude of the association is clinically insignificant.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2009 Oct 1;90:943-50. (Ho-Pham et al.)

Australian researchers studied fourteen people who ate a control meal and three different cereals with different levels of oat beta glucan. They then collected blood samples for four hours after each meal, and found a significant dose response between higher levels of oat beta glucan and higher levels of Peptide Y-Y, a hormone associated with appetite control.
Nutrition Research, October 2009; 29(10):705-9
 

Nicola McKeown and a team of Tufts researchers studied 434 older (age 60 to 80) adults, comparing their diet to their body fat and abdominal fat composition. No significant association was found between body composition and intake of total fiber or vegetable and fruit fiber. Whole grain intake and cereal fiber intake, however, correlated strongly with lower BMI, lower total percent body fat and lower abdominal (“trunk fat”) mass in older adults.
Journal of Nutrition, October 2009; 139(10);1950-1955. DOI:10.3945/jn.108.103762

Lillian Abugoch James of the University of Chile reported on the composition, chemistry, nutritional and functional properties of quinoa. She cited the pseudocereal’s “remarkable nutritional qualities” including its high protein content (15%), “great amino acid balance,” and “notable Vitamin E content.” Beyond its nutritional profile, Abugoch recommends quinoa to food manufacturers because of its useful functional properties, such as viscosity and freeze stability.
Advances in Food and Nutrition Research, October 2009; 58:1-31

In the fight against diabetes and obesity, foods that produce a low insulin response and suppress hunger can be extremely useful. Scientists at Lund University in Sweden examined the effects on 12 healthy subjects of breakfasts made from different rye flours (endosperm, whole grain rye, or rye bran) produced with different methods (baking, simulated sour-dough baking, and boiling). This cross-over study showed that the endosperm rye bread and the whole grain rye bread (especially the “sourdough” one with lactic acid) best controlled blood sugar and regulated appetite.
Nutrition Journal. September 25, 2009; 8:42

Increasing attention is being paid to overall dietary patterns and their relationship to health, rather than single nutrients or foods. In one such study of more than 50,000 African-American women, researchers led by Tanya Agurs-Collins of the U.S. National Cancer Institute found that eating a “prudent diet” (high in fruits, vegetables, fish and whole grains) rather than a “Western diet” (more refined grains, processed meats, sweets) cut the risk of breast cancer. The findings were especially strong for thinner, younger women and for certain types of breast cancer.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, September 2009; vol 90, No. 3, 621-628. DOI:10.3945/ajcn.2009.27666

In a new study published by the Nutrition Journal, Swedish researchers report that eating rye at breakfast suppresses appetite over the next few hours much better than wheat. Attributing this to the power of rye fiber, particularly in rye bran, the researchers fed sixteen volunteers breakfasts including bread containing varying levels of rye, but all with the same caloric value. Those who ate the bread with the highest levels of rye fiber reported a lowered desire to eat in the hours between breakfast and lunch, while those who ate bread made with wheat flour felt hungrier earlier. Researchers concluded that the consumption of rye, whether through pure rye bran or sifted rye flour, created a feeling of satiety unmatched by wheat.
Nutrition Journal, August 26, 2009; 8:39. DOI:10.1186/1475-2891-8-39

At the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, researchers fed rye bread (with three varying levels of rye bran) and wheat bread to 16 people, then asked them to rate their appetite (hunger, satiety and desire to eat) for 8 hours afterward. [It’s not known if the wheat bread was whole wheat or refined wheat.] All through the morning and into the afternoon, the three rye bread breakfasts all decreased hunger and desire to eat, compared to the wheat bread control, with the rye bread containing the highest level of bran providing the strongest effect on satiety.
Nutrition Journal. August 26, 2009; 8:39

A study conducted by the Korean Food Research Institute measured the anti-diabetic effect of kochujang, a traditional Korean food. In the study, diabetic rats were fed a high fat-diet including 5% of calories from two different kinds of kochujang powder or the equivalent amount of nutrients, for eight weeks.  Kochujang powder was made by fermenting two different kinds of soybeans, red peppers, glutinous rice and malts.  The study found that kochujang improved glucose homeostasis by reducing insulin resistance in the rats.  The diet was also found to reduce hepatic glucose output, triacylglycerol accumulation and to increase glycogen storage.
Nutrition Journal. 2009 Jul-Aug;25(7-8):790-9. (Kwon et al.)

White rice, the staple food in Japan, is a high glycemic index food. Researchers at the University of Tokushima found that glucose levels were lower after meals when subjects switched from white rice to barley.
Rinsho Byori. August 2009; 57(8):797-805

Anne Lee and colleagues at Columbia University’s Celiac Disease Center found that the nutritional profile of gluten-free diets was improved by adding oats or quinoa to meals and snacks. Most notable increases were protein (20.6g vs 11g) iron (18.4mg vs 1.4mg, calcium (182mg vs 0mg) and fiber (12.7g vs 5g
Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, August 2009; 22(4):359-63. Epub 2009 Jun 10.

Scientists in São Paulo, Brazil, studied ten traditional foods native to the Peruvean Andes, to measure healthy compounds in the foods that are thought to manage early stages of diabetes and high blood pressure. Purple corn scored highest in free-radical-scavenging antioxidant activity, and also had the highest total phenolic content and highest alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity. The researchers concluded that these native foods, including purple corn, could be useful in designing health-management programs for diabetes and hypertension.
Journal of Medicinal Food. August 2009; 12(4): 704-13.