Whole grains are a classic centerpiece to the morning meal for many families, but students may especially benefit from this practice. Researchers collected data from nearly 700 elementary school students in Kansas (average age = 7.5) to see how eating breakfast relates to standardized test scores. They found that while breakfast eaters scored significantly higher in all test areas, what the students ate made a big difference. Greater servings of whole grains were significantly related to higher scores in reading comprehension and fluency and math, while fruit juice was significantly correlated with lower math and reading comprehension and fluency scores.  
Journal of the American College of Nutrition. 2015 Dec 23:1-8 [Epub ahead of print] (Ptomey LT et al.)

A common belief among athletes is that going gluten-free might help performance. To investigate this popular belief, Australian scientists randomly assigned 13 competitive cyclists without celiac disease to a 7 day gluten containing diet or a 7 day gluten free diet. The cyclists then went through a 10 day washout period, before trying the other diet, serving as their own controls. There was no significant difference in time trial performance of the athletes on either diet, nor were there significant differences in markers of inflammation or intestinal injury.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 2015 Dec;47(12):2563-70.

Cooking vegetables in olive oil is a hallmark of the much-praised Mediterranean diet. To see how different cooking methods affect the antioxidant capacity of vegetables, Mexican researchers compared the antioxidant capacity in potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and pumpkin that were raw, deep fried in olive oil, sautéed in olive oil, or boiled. They found that the veggies deep fried in olive oil had the greatest total phenols, followed by the sautéed veggies, then the boiled veggies. The researchers suggest that “deep frying and sautéing conserve and enrich the phenolic composition.” That said, there is no “bad” way to eat vegetables. Rather, this research shows that if it takes a bit of olive oil to make vegetables most delicious to you, all the better.
Food Chemistry. 2015 Dec 1;188-430-8. (Ramirez-Anaya Jdel P et al).

There is more to healthy eating than just salads — whole grain pasta could be a great pick for dieters looking to curb hunger. In a small study, 8 healthy adults were assigned to a lunch of either a refined grain pasta, a refined grain pasta with lemon juice, a refined grain pasta with legumes, or a whole grain pasta – all with the same amount of calories. Each week, the participants were assigned to a different pasta meal, serving as their own controls. The researchers found that the whole grain pasta “resulted in significantly greater fullness and reduced hunger and prospective [later] food intake.” The scientists also found that whole grain pasta was just as popular among the participants as the other meals, noting that “palatability ratings did not differ.”
Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 2015 Nov 16:1-7. (Cioffi I et al.)

Macular degeneration, an eye condition that can lead to blindness, has no cure or restorative treatment, so prevention is especially important. To study how diet is related to this condition, scientists analyzed the eating patterns of over 2,500 adults, then monitored their eye health for thirteen years. They found that those most closely following the Mediterranean diet (especially those people eating lots of fish and vegetables) were 26% less likely to progress to advanced age-related macular degeneration. Results varied by genetics, with certain gene carriers being more responsive to diet than others.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2015 Nov;102(5):1196-206. (Merle BM et al.)

Chinese researchers analyzed data from nine different studies with 1178 type 2 diabetes patients being treated with the Mediterranean diet. Compared with those on a control diet (which ranged from their usual diet, to a low fat diet, to a high carb diet, to the American Diabetes Association Diet), those on a Mediterranean diet had improved blood sugar control (hemoglobin A1c, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin), improved BMI and weight loss, lower total cholesterol, triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood), and blood pressure, and improved higher HDL (good) cholesterol.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2015 Nov;69:1200-1208. (R Huo et al.) [published online 2014 Nov 4]

In many parts of the developed world, approximately one third of children are overweight or obese, putting them at higher risk for health complications down the road. To determine which foods are most closely linked with excess weight gain in children, researchers analyzed the three-day food records and BMI of over 4,600 British children at ages 7, 10, and 13. Potato chips were most closely linked with excess weight gain in children, along with butter and margarine, battered or breaded fish, processed meats, French fries and roasted potatoes, desserts, and sweets. On the other hand, whole grains were the only food group to be consistently linked with weight loss, suggesting that whole grains may be particularly important for children struggling with their weight.
Health Affairs. 2015 Nov;34(11):1940-1948. (Dong D et al.)

The Glycemic Index is a measure of how much a food spikes your blood sugar (0-55 is low, 56-69 is medium and 70-100 is high). To see if different oat products have different effects on blood sugar, researchers from Quaker Oats tested the Glycemic Index of 72 oat products. They found that steel cut oatmeal, large flake oatmeal, muesli, and granola produced a significantly lower Glycemic Response (53-56, in the low/medium range) than quick cooking and instant oatmeal (71-75, in the medium/high range). The scientists concluded that “smaller particle size and increased starch gelatinisation appear to increase the glycemic response.”
British Journal of Nutrition. 2015 Oct 28;114(8):1256-62. (Tosh SM et al.)

Researchers assigned over 200 patients with well controlled type 2 diabetes who don’t normally drink alcohol to eat a Mediterranean diet, and drink 5 oz of either red wine, white wine, or mineral water with dinner for 2 years. The red wine group significantly increased good cholesterol (HDL and apolipoprotein A), and the white wine group significantly decreased fasting blood sugar. “Slow alcohol metabolizers” (based on whether they carry the ADH1B*1 allele) benefited from both red and white wine on their blood sugar control. Both wine groups had improved sleep quality compared with the water group. The researchers concluded that a Mediterranean diet with moderate wine intake “is apparently safe and modestly decreases cardiometabolic risk” in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Annals of Internal Medicine. 2015 Oct 20:163(8):569-79. (Gepner Y et al.)

Harvard researchers followed over 120,000 adults for 24-30 years, tracking their diet and health records. The scientists found that replacing 5% of daily calories from saturated fat with polyunsaturated fats (found in fish, nuts, seeds, and safflower oil), monounsaturated fats (found in olive oil and canola oil), or whole grains is linked with a 25%, 15%, and 9% lower risk of heart disease, respectively. Additionally, they found that replacing 5% of daily calories from refined grains and added sugars with whole grains or polyunsaturated fats can also significantly reduce heart disease risk, and that replacing saturated fat with refined grains or added sugars does not lower heart disease risk. The researchers concluded, “Our findings provide epidemiological evidence of the current dietary guidelines, which recommend both “replacing saturated fatty acids with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids” and “replacing refined grains with whole grains.”” The Mediterranean diet, which spotlights whole grains, fish, olive oil, nuts, and seeds, is the perfect eating plan to put these lessons into practice.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2015 Oct;66(14):1538-48. (Li Y et al.)

Harvard researchers followed over 120,000 adults for 24-30 years, tracking their diet and health records. The scientists found that replacing 5% of daily calories from saturated fat (like butter, cream, and red meat) with whole grains is associated with a 9% lower risk of heart disease, but replacing saturated fat with refined grains or added sugars does not lower heart disease risk. Additionally, they found that replacing 5% of daily calories from refined grains and added sugars with whole grains or polyunsaturated fats (found in fish, nuts, seeds, and safflower oil) can also significantly reduce heart disease risk. The researchers concluded, “Our findings provide epidemiological evidence of the current dietary guidelines, which recommend both “replacing saturated fatty acids with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids” and “replacing refined grains with whole grains.””
Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2015 Oct;66(14):1538-48. (Li Y et al.)