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.

Scientists at the Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil studied ten traditional Peruvian grains and legumes for their potential in managing the early stages of Type 2 diabetes. They found that quinoa was especially rich in an antioxidant called quercetin and that quinoa had the highest overall antioxidant activity (86%) of all ten foods studied. Coming in a close second in antioxidant activity was quinoa’s cousin, kañiwa. This in vitro study led the researchers to conclude that quinoa, kañiwa, and other traditional crops from the Peruvian Andes have potential in developing effective dietary strategies for managing type 2 diabetes and associated hypertension.
Journal of Medicinal Food, August 2009; 12 (4):704-13.

A study conducted by the Cancer Epidemiology Branch in Gyeonggi, South Korea examined the association between fish and fish omega-3 fatty acids intake with the risk of breast cancer among Korean women.  358 incident breast cancer patients and 360 controls with no history of malignant cancer were recruited and given a 103-item food frequency questionairre to determine their dietary intake of fish (fatty and lean) and omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish (eicosapentaenoic acid or EPA and docasahexaenoic acid or DHA).  The study found that high intake of fatty fish was associated with reduced risk of breast cancer in both pre- and post-menopausal women.
BMC Cancer. 2009 Jun 30;9:216 (Kim et al.)

Combining data from the Oxford Vegetarian Study and the EPIC-Oxford cohort, researchers at the University of Oxford found that the incidence of all cancers combined was lowest among the vegetarians and pescatarians. Specifically, vegetarians were at lower risk for stomach and bladder cancer, as well as cancers of the lymphatic and blood tissues. Pescatarians had the lowest risk of ovarian and prostate cancers. However, the authors note the need for further study, as findings from various studies regarding diet type and cancer incidence have been inconsistent.
British Journal of Cancer. 2009 Jul 7;101:192-197. (Key et al.)

Vitamin A deficiency is a major public health problem in developing countries, with women of childbearing age and children being among the most affected. A community based study of postpartum mothers in Ghana set out to determine whether their vitamin A levels would improve if the new moms ate African eggplant leaves (a strong food source of vitamin A). A daily portion of 200g of eggplant leaves was given to mothers in one group for three months, while the control group did not receive any additional vegetables to their diet. After three months, the researchers tested the vitamin A levels in the women’s livers and found a significant improvement in the vitamin A status of the group eating the African eggplant leaves. Vitamin A containing leafy vegetables, like the African eggplant leaves, can be easily cultivated within African communities, making them a sustainable and cheaper alternative to oral supplementation of vitamin A.
African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Development; Vol 9, No 6 (2009). (Tchum et al.)

Scientists at the Functional Food Centre at Oxford Brookes University in England fed 8 healthy human subjects chapatis (unleavened Indian flatbreads) made with either 0g, 2g, 4g, 6g or 8g of barley beta-glucan fiber. They found that all amounts of barley beta-glucan lowered the glycemic index of the breads, with 4g or more making a significant difference.
Nutrition Research, July 2009; 29(7):4806