Uncovering the Significance for Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is deemed to play an important role in the development and nourishment of an infant. The CDC also supports breastfeeding, stating that it can reduce the risk for certain health conditions for both infants and mothers. Breast milk is specifically known to strengthen a child's immune system, supporting the intestinal flora. Until recently, the specific mechanisms of immune-boosting breast milk properties have not been fully understood. Bacteria diversity, or intestinal flora and mucosa that helps protect against many diseases, is developed through interaction with bacteria in the environment. A new protein, called the “alarmins,” control this specific adaptation process which “can prevent dangerous intestinal colonization disorders that can lead to blood poisoning and intestinal inflammation,” relates Leader Prof. Dr. Dorothee Viemann of the Hannover Medical School Clinic. Professor Vietmann also stated that alarmins could be supplemented to newborns who do not have enough or who are not being breastfed, which can help prevent many disorders down the road. The discovery is credited to RESIST Cluster of Excellence at Hannover Medical School. 

For more information, please visit: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200828115338.htm

Food Additive Banned by France: Still in the US

Food additives are very common in the standard American diet. They are added for the purpose of restoring nutrients, fortifying or enriching foods, and improving freshness, taste and even appearance. Hang Xiao, a professor and Clydesdale Scholar of Food Science, along with colleagues at UMass Amherst and in China published research that focused on a specific food additive that caused negative implications on mice. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles, or TiO2 NPs, comes from the food additive E171, which is used in desserts, candy, beverages, and gum to make them look whiter and more opaque. Xiao mentions that exposure is two to four times higher in US children than in adults, which was found in another study. In his study conducted, both the obese and non-obese mice that were fed a diet containing E171 and TiO2 NPS had a disturbance of gut microbiota. Researchers found a decrease of short-chain fatty acids in cecal levels and an increase of pro-inflammatory immune cells and cytokines in the colon, indicating an inflammatory state. Hang Xiao states, "I think our results have a lot of implications in the food industry and on human health and nutrition." For more information, please visit: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200625162252.htm 

Mediterranean Benefits

The Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) has been around as long as the 1940’s and 50’s. The Mediterranean region was the first to adopt this type of diet and lifestyle. The diet focuses on fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grains, and healthy fats like olive oil. This diet limits dairy, poultry, and eggs. The consumption of little to no processed foods but many fruits and vegetables has been strongly linked to a reduced risk of developing several chronic diseases like heart disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The results of a study called “Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet: Insights From the PREDIMED Study” revealed favorable effects of two different versions of the MeDiets on blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, lipid profiles, lipoprotein particles, inflammation, oxidative stress, and carotid atherosclerosis. Like this one, there are many studies supporting the Mediterranean diet and its benefits and should be considered as a new way of helping prevent chronic diseases.

For more information, please visit: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25940230/?from_term=mediterranean+diet+benefits&from_pos=4 

Healing the Cornea with Lipids

Science Daily revealed research on a specific type of lipid that aids the healing of corneal injuries on top of also naturally helping skin injuries. The specific species of lipid is called DOPG, or dioleoyl-phosphatidylglycerol. The researchers experimented with this lipid on growing human cornea cells and on mice in a laboratory. They saw an increase in the signaling pathway that produces the parent phosphatidylglycerol, which opens the possibility of using DOPG in eye drops or using it after eye surgeries. Watsky explains that a corneal scratch allows outside substances to get inside the eye. If someone's body-healing processes are compromised, it can cause permanent scarring and potential vision loss.  They found that DOPG stimulated the healing of a scratched corneal cell layer by about 40%, while a mixture of PGs derived from eggs actually inhibited healing by about 30%. In mice with an impaired ability to heal, injuries were about 50% smaller 28 hours after DOPG treatment, and healing was significantly enhanced in healthy mice, as well. This study, along with a grant from the National Institutes of Health opens up a gateway for future research on PG and DOPG and treating corneal injuries or surgeries.

For more information, visit: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200326080840.htm 

New Treatment Possibility for Type 1 Diabetes

In people that are developing type 1 diabetes, beta cells are being destroyed by the body's immune system. These beta cells come from the pancreatic islets and help to regulate blood sugar levels. Prevention of this development is important because type 1 diabetes is incurable. A research team examined the thousands of proteins present in beta cells and identified one specifically that could be involved in the disease process. The protein focused on was growth differentiation factor (GDF 15), which has been previously known to have protective effects for cells. The researchers discovered a depletion of GDF 15 in the pancreatic islets of those with diabetes. The biggest finding in the study was a 53% decrease in the development of diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice after being treated with GDF 15. The researchers attributed these results to the protective effect of the GDF 15 on the pancreatic islet cells, helping prevent or possibly reverse type 1 diabetes. Mirmira stated, “This thinking is somewhat counterintuitive in the type 1 diabetes field, but it is this kind of out-of-the-box thinking that may lead to therapies we never thought of previously.”  For more information, visit: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200109140958.htm 

Sugar Binges Impact Gut Permeability

Sugar is something that is consumed every day in the average American diet, whether it's from fruits, candy, or pop. Science daily reviewed a research study that explained how short-term high-sugar binges in mice increased chances of inflammatory bowel disease and severe symptoms after only two days. The mice had greater intestinal tissue damage and a defective immune response. One of the researchers explained how these results can be associated with the concept of it being okay to “eat well” all week and binge on junk food on the weekend. These problems can be alleviated with high-fiber foods that will end up producing short-chain fatty acids, which are crucial for an efficient immune response. The researcher explained, "Our study showed that gut permeability increased quite dramatically in the mice on the high-sugar diet -- which means that bacterial products are free to move from the gut... it raises the possibility that this phenomenon might be driving these diseases, but this needs to be looked into." 

For more information, visit: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191114115949.htm 

Risk of Aging: Research Findings on Osteoporosis

Aging is a part of life and comes with the risk of osteoporosis, among other things. Osteoporosis is the reduction of bone mass, which weakens the bone and can cause an increased risk of fracture or breaking. On top of osteoporosis, according to a new article released by science daily, aging promotes the increased production of ApoE. ApoE, otherwise known as apolipoprotein E, is a protein that largely interferes with the healing processes of bone. The study points out that 75-85 year olds had twice as much ApoE in their bloodstreams as 35-45 year olds. The mechanism behind inhibition of healing is that when a bone is broken and fractured, cells are recruited to the site and eventually turn into osteoblasts to form bone. ApoE causes fewer recruited cells to turn into osteoblasts, which leads to interference of bone healing processes. The study also stated that “Past research linked ApoE to Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis, a disease in which fatty plaques narrow the arteries. Too little ApoE and fat build up can cause cardiovascular issues.” With this information, researchers are trying to find a safe level of ApoE that will accommodate the patients' health status.

For more information, visit: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190919122512.htm 

Coffee

The research on whether coffee helps or hurts our bodies is indecisive and constantly changing year to year. A recent study from science daily declared that there is a connection between a decreased chance of developing gallstones from drinking coffee. This article was released on September 5th, 2019. Drinking six or more cups of coffee per day compared to those not drinking coffee resulted in a 23% lower risk of developing symptomatic gallstones in 104,493 subjects. Only a 3% lower risk was associated with those who drank one cup of coffee per day. Although the statistics may be low for decreasing gallstone development, the benefits of coffee drinking reach much further than just this one disease.

For more information, visit: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190905080059.htm 

Building Bones the “Nutritious” Way

Keeping our bones strong as we age has been a very important concept among the health world. Exercise is one of the most important ways to keep our bones working how they should be. Contradicting this statement was the University of Michigan, when they looked at the impact of nutrition on bone strength. A study was conducted, using mice, by cutting out exercise and supplementing a mineral sufficient diet. David Kohn stated that “The longer-term mineral-supplemented diet leads to not only increases in bone mass and strength, but the ability to maintain those increases even after detraining,”. These findings can greatly impact the elderly populations who cannot exercise but can eat a diet sufficient enough in minerals, like calcium and phosphorus, to help prevent osteoporosis. This article and its research findings can also help inform the general population to be aware that eating a nutritious diet everyday can help keep their bones strong and healthy.

For more information about this article and its’ findings visit: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181017080802.htm

Aging Healthily

It is not an easy task staying up to date on the research of the benefits of nutrients like omega-3s. It is also a challenge to incorporate these nutritious foods into our diet.  But, the benefits outweigh the challenges because these fatty acids can actually help people age in a healthier way. Aging in a healthier way is defined as being “free of major chronic diseases and without mental or physical dysfunction”. 

An observational study was conducted by Heidi Lai to connect the association between circulating blood levels of omega-3s and healthy aging among older adults. Baseline measurements took place at 6 and 13 years which looked at EPA, DHA, DPA and ALA. Participants were split into 5 groups and all given different amounts of omega-3s. The rates of unhealthy aging were alarming, being 11% that aged healthily, and 89% aged unhealthily. The groups given seafood sources of EPA were connected to a 24% lower risk of unhealthy aging than the lowest quintile. Groups given seafood sources of DPA showed a decrease of 18-21% in the risk of unhealthy ageing. DHA and ALA had no association. The authors state that the reason for these changes is that “omega-3 PUFAs help to regulate blood pressure, heart rate and inflammation.” 

These findings are a valuable contribution to those that do in depth studies on the benefits of omega-3 PUFAs, showing how much eating seafood can affect the human aging process. Despite the conclusions from the observational study, the author cautions against using these findings to inform the public or to put within nutritional guidelines. But, that does not mean that we should not be reading new research and learning to help ourselves educate others. 

For a more in depth look into this observational research article about omega-3’s see: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181017184956.htm