Cardiovascular Benefits of Dairy Proteins...

Dairy-Souce Proteins, Peptides,Amino Acids Valuable For Helping
Support Cardiovascular Health,According to New Reports.

A combination of milk proteins may reduce hardening of the arteries, says a new study
from Finland that support the cardiovascular benefits of the dairy peptides.

The combination of isoleucyl-prolyl-proline (IPP) and valyl-prolyl-proline (VPP) were
found to reduce arterial stiffness and enhancing the function of the cells lining blood vessels (endothelial cells) in people with hypertension, according
to results published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

About one billion people worldwide suffer from high blood pressure
(hypertension), defined as having a systolic and diastolic blood
pressure (BP) greater than 140 and 90 mmHg. It is a major risk
factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) - a disease that causes
almost 50 per cent of deaths in Europe.

The results fit with wider heart health benefits of the ingredients.
A meta-analysis from Chinese scientists and published in Nutrition
pooled data from the trials showed that the milk tripeptides were
associated with a 4.8 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure
and a 2.2 mmHg reduction in diastolic blood pressure.

Study details...
Researchers from Valio and the Univeristy of Helsinki recruited 89
people with hypertension and randomly assigned them to receive a
low dose of tripeptides (5 mg/day) for 12 weeks, followed by a high
dose (50 mg/day) for a further 12 weeks, or placebo.

t the end of the study, arterial stiffness, measured as augmentation
index (AIx), decreased in the peptide group by 1.53 per cent, while
it increased in the placebo group, report the researchers.

On the other hand, no changes in endothelial function were observed
between the groups. The researchers note that the action of the
peptides may be linked to the angiotensin converting enzyme
(ACE)-inhibitory activity. ACE inhibitors work by inhibiting the conversion of angiotensin I to the potent vasoconstrictor,
angiotensin II, thereby improving blood flow and blood pressure.

"Another mechanism that must be considered is the fact that the
functional stiffness of the large arteries is affected by the distensive
effect that blood pressure exerts on the arterial walls," they wrote.

"Given that both systolic and diastolic blood pressure diminished
in the intervention group, AIx reduction could to some extent be
explained by lowered blood pressure. In any case, regardless of
the underlying mechanism, reduced arterial stiffness is beneficial
to cardiovascular health by reducing cardiac after load and central
systolic augmentation."

Source: European Journal of Clinical Nutrition Published online
"Long-term intervention with Lactobacillus helveticus fermented
milk reduces augmentation index in hypertensive subjects"

Multi-Vitamins May Help Weight Loss in Obese Women...

New study conducted in China reports multi-vitamin and mineral
supplements may help reduce body weight and improve blood fat levels,
according to results of a clinical trial in obese women.

Results of a 26-week randomized,double-blind, placebo-controlled
intervention study with obese women found that multivitamins & minerals
were associated with significantly lower body weight, body mass
index, and fat mass.

Levels of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were also significantly
reduced, while HDL-cholesterol were increased, according to
findings published in the International Journal of Obesity.

Obesity rates have skyrocketed in the US in recent years - 15 per
cent of the population was obese in 1980, compared to 34 per cent
today, according to figures from the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention.

Daily Multivitamin Use...
According to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) State-of-the-
Science Panel, half of the American population routinely use
dietary supplements.

Recent results of the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey showed that 35 per cent of the US adult population
regularly consumes one or more types of multivitamin product
(Am. J. Epidemiol., 2004, Vol. 160, Pages 339-349).

Study Details...
Ninety-six obese women aged between 18 and 55 were recruited
to participate in the study, with 87 completing the 26 weeks of
intervention. Women were randomly assigned to one of three
groups: One received a multivitamin and mineral supplement; the
second received a calcium supplement; and the third received an
identical placebo.

Researchers from the Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene
at Harbin Medical University, reported that the multivitamin and
mineral group lost an average of 3.6 kg (approx. 8 lbs.) of body
weight, compared to 0.9 kg (approx. 2 lbs.) and 0.2 kg (less than
one-half pound) for the calcium and placebo groups, respectively.

In addition, significant reductions in BMI and waist circumference
were observed in the multivitamin and mineral group, while the
changes in the other groups were not significant.

"To our knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the effects of
multivitamin and mineral supplementation on lipid profile in obese
subjects," wrote the researchers.

Calcium and Dairy Intake...
On the other hand, the calcium group only experienced cholesterol
improvements, with HDL levels increasing and LDL decreasing,
compared with the placebo group.

A relationship between dairy intake and weight reduction has been
recorded in numerous studies, and dairy industries in Europe and
the US have been promoting milk-based products for consumers
who want to slim for some time. The subject, however, remains
controversial.

Some experts are arguing that calcium and vitamin D are the active
nutrients behind the effects of dairy. Other researchers have
previously said that dairy can help reduce body fat and that calcium
only accounts for about 40 per cent of the fat reduction effect.

Source: International Journal of Obesity
Published online
"Effects of multivitamin and mineral supplementation on adiposity,
energy expenditure and lipid profiles in obese Chinese women"

Omega-3 Fatty Acids May Boost Brain Function In Boys

According To an Important New Study...
Supplements including the omega-3 fatty acid DHA
(docosahexaenoic acid) may alter the function of the brain
associated with working memory, according to results of
a new study with healthy young boys.

Using neuro-imaging,scientists from the University of Cincinnati
showed for the first time that supplementation with Omega-3 (DHA)
alters the functional activity in cortical attention networks in
humans.

"The present findings add to an emerging body of evidence from
preclinical and clinical imaging studies that suggest that dietary
DHA intake is a robust modulator of functional cortical activity,"
wrote the researchers in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The new study helps verify a previous study from the European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for DHA-related brain and eye health
claims for infants. EFSA's Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and
Allergies (NDA) said DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) levels of 100mg
of per day were appropriate for 7-24 month-old infants along with
200mg per day for pregnant and lactating women.

The DHA claims relating to brain health stated: "DHA intake can
contribute to normal brain development of the foetus, infant and
young children" Another omega-3 fatty acid, known as ALA (alpha
linolenic acid), was affirmed as important for the normal brain
development of children up to the age of 18 but no specific dosage
levels were identified.

Study Details
While there is a growing body of evidence linking DHA to cognitive
function, the researchers note that it is unkown how DHA
supplementation may affect functional cortical activity in humans.
In order to fill this knowledge gap, they recruited 33 health boys
aged between 8 and 10 and randomly assigned them to receive
one of two doses of DHA or placebo for eight weeks.

Brain activation patterns were measured using functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI) during a test of sustained attention while
playing video games. The results showed that DHA levels in the
membrane of red blood cells (erythrocytes ) increased by 47 and
70 per cent in the low and high dose DHA group, while the placebo
groups experienced an 11 per cent drop in DHA levels.

The most significant finding from the fMRI data was an indication
of significant increases in the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex part of the brain in the DHA groups - an area of the brain
associated with working memory. Changes in other parts of the
brain, including the occipital cortex (the visual processing centre)
and the cerebellar cortex (plays a role in motor control) were
observed.

"These findings suggest that this imaging paradigm could be useful
for elucidating neurobiological mechanisms underlying deficits in
cortical activity in psychiatric disorders associated with DHA
deficiencies, including ADHD and major depression," concluded
the researchers.

The study was co-funded by Martek, the National Institutes of Health,
and the Inflammation Research Foundation.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Published online "Docosahexaenoic acid supplementation increases
prefrontal cortex activation during sustained attention in healthy boys:
a placebo-controlled, dose-ranging, functional magnetic resonance
imaging study"

High Calcium Intakes May Improve Male Survival...

Intakes of calcium above the recommended daily levels may reduce the risk of dying
from heart disease and cancer by 25 per cent, says a new study from Sweden.

Average daily intakes of 1,953 m of the mineral were also associated with a non-significant lower risk of mortality from only heart disease,
compared to average daily intakes of 990 mg per day, according to findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Recommended daily intakes of calcium for people between 19
and 50 years of age are 1,000 mg for both men and women,
according to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

On the other hand, intakes of magnesium were not associated
with mortality from all-causes, heart disease or cancer, report
researchers from the Karolinska Institutet.

The researchers analysed data from 23,366 Swedish men aged
between 45 79, non of whom used dietary supplements. Between
1998 and the end of 2007, they documented 2,358 deaths from
all causes, which included 819 deaths from cardiovascular disease
and 738 from cancer. The highest average intakes, almost double
the recommended levels, were associated with a 25 per cent
reduction in so-called all-cause mortality, compared with the lowest
average intakes, said the researchers.

Magnesium intakes up to about 523 milligrams per day were
not associated with any modifications to the risk of all-cause,
Cardio Vascular Disease, or cancer mortality, they added.

"This population-based, prospective study of men with relatively
high intakes of dietary calcium and magnesium showed that
regular intake of calcium above that recommended daily may
reduce all-cause mortality," they concluded.

The findings relating to heart disease appear to be inline with
findings from other studies, which have reported that the mineral
may lower blood pressure and reduced the risk of hypertension.
Various studies have also linked calcium to reduced risks of
colorectal (when combined with vitamin D) and prostate cancer.
However, the new study found no significant relationship between
calcium intakes and the risk of mortality from cancer.

Source: American Journal of Epidemiology
Published online
"Dietary Calcium and Magnesium Intake and Mortality:
A Prospective Study of Men"

Beer May Help Prevent Osteoporosis

Beer is a Rich Source of the Dietary Mineral Silicon and
May Help Prevent Osteoporosis

Phoyo of beer A new study suggests that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon,a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density.

Researchers from the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of
California, Davis studied commercial beer production to determine the relationship
between beer production methods and the resulting silicon content,concluding that beer is a rich source of dietary silicon.

Details of this study are available in the February issue of theJournal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, published byWiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Society of Chemical Industry.

The study examined a wide range of beer styles for their silicon
content and have also studied the impact of raw materials and the
brewing process on the quantities of silicon that enter wort and beer.

Silicon is present in beer in the soluble form of orthosilicic acid
(OSA), which yields 50% bioavailability, making beer a major
contributor to silicon intake in the Western diet. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dietary silicon (Si), as soluble
OSA, may be important for the growth and development of bone
and connective tissue, and beer appears to be a major contributor
to silicon intake. Based on these findings, some studies suggest
moderate beer consumption may help fight osteoporosis, a
disease of the skeletal system characterized by low bone mass
and deterioration of bone tissue.

The researchers examined a variety of raw material samples and
found little change in the silicon content of barley during the malting
process. The majority of the silicon in barley is in the husk, which is
not affected greatly during malting. The malts with the higher silicon
contents are pale colored which have less heat stress during the
malting process. The darker products, such as the chocolate,
roasted barley and black malt, all have substantial roasting and
much lower silicon contents than the other malts for reasons that are
not yet known. The hop samples analyzed showed surprisingly high
levels of silicon with as much as four times more silicon than is
found in malt. However, hops are invariably used in a much smaller
quantity than is grain. Highly hopped beers, however, would be
expected to contain higher silicon levels.

The study also tested 100 commercial beers for silicon content
and categorized the data according to beer style and source. The average silicon content of the beers sampled was 6.4 to 56.5 mg
per liter.

"Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest
in silicon," concludes the study. "Wheat contains less silicon than
barley because it is the husk of the barley that is rich in this element.
While most of the silicon remains in the husk during brewing,
significant quantities of silicon nonetheless survives into the beer."

Whole Grains Take a Bite Out of Type 2 Diabetes Risk

WEDNESDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) -- Brown rice is better than white rice at reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, but whole grains are the most effective at lowering the risk, study findings show.

U.S. researchers analyzed data from 39,765 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and 157,463 women in the Nurses' Health Study I and II. None of the participants had diabetes, heart disease or cancer at the start of the studies. Their consumption of brown and white rice, as well as other foods, was assessed every two to four years.

During 3.3 million person-years of follow-up, there were 10,507 incidents of type 2 diabetes. After adjusting for a number of dietary and lifestyle risk factors, the researchers found that people who ate five or more servings per week of white rice were 17 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who ate less than one serving of white rice per month.

In contrast, people who ate two or more servings of brown rice per week were 11 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who ate less than one serving of brown rice per month, the study authors reported.

"We estimated that replacing 50 grams/day intake of white rice with the same amount of brown rice was associated with a 16 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas the same replacement with whole grains as a group was associated with a 36 percent lower diabetes risk," wrote Dr. Qi Sun, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues.

The study was to be presented Wednesday at the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Conference in San Francisco.

More information

The U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion outlines how to prevent type 2 diabetes.

Natural Phytochemicals in Tea May Boost Attention Span...

New Study: Tea Compounds (L-theanine and Caffeine) May Boost Attention Span

The Natural Phytochemicals From Black Tea Are Reported Beneficial For Supporting
Cognitive and Mental Function

The tea compounds L-theanine and caffeine at levels obtained in
a single cup of tea may improve attention, says a new study from
Unilever.

A combination of 97 milligrams of L-theanine and 40 milligrams
of caffeine was associated with improvements in attention,

Publication of the study comes a year after Unilever-submitted health
claims linking black tea and improved mental focus.

The new study further supports the association between tea and
attention, although it did not report any benefits for alertness.

The study conducted by at Unilever R&D Vlaardingen, recruited 29
healthy regular tea and/or coffee drinkers to take part in the study.
The average age was 30 years old.

People were randomized to consume a drink containing L-theanine
and caffeine mixed with iced tea powder in water, or a placebo
(water with iced tea powder) separated by between 6 and 14 days.
The subjects each completed a cognitive test at baseline, and then
10 and 60 minutes after drinking.

"This study provided further evidence that the L-theanine/caffeine
combination improves attention on the switch task," wrote the
researchers. "The improvement in accuracy in combination with
unaltered response speed is in line with previous studies.

"Tentative evidence was [also] found that the effect of the
L-theanine/caffeine combination on attention is not specific to
the visual modality, as we found faster responses in both the
visual and auditory modality on the intersensory task after the
combination as compared to placebo," they added.

"Taken together with the previous studies, we conclude that a high
dose of L-theanine combined with caffeine, at the level of a single
cup of tea, can help to improve attention," they concluded.

Source: Appetite (Published online)

Low Levels of Vitamin B6 May Increase Heart Disease Risk Reports a New Study...

Low levels of vitamin B6 may increase the risk
of inflammation and metabolic conditions,and subsequently
cardio-disease risk.

A cross-sectional study with 1,205 people found that higher levels
of vitamin B6, were linked to lower levels of C-reactive protein
(CRP), a marker of inflammation, and lower levels of 8-hydroxy-
2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a marker for oxidative stress, both
of which are related to heart disease risk.

C-Reactive Protein is produced in the liver and is a known marker
for inflammation. Increased levels of CRP are a reliable predictor
for the onset of both type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research
Center on Aging at Tufts University report their findings in the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"Our data suggest that vitamin B-6 may influence cardiovascular
disease risk through mechanisms other than reduction of the amino
acid homocysteine and support the notion that nutritional status may
influence the health disparities present in this population," reported
the researchers.

Study details
The team measured levels of PLP, CRP, and 8-OHdG in 1,205
adults aged between 45 and 75 and living in Massachusetts.
Results showed a strong dose-dependent relationship between
PLP levels and CRP levels, with the highest PLP levels associated
with CRP levels almost 50 per cent lower than low PLP levels.

Furthermore, the highest average levels of PLP were associated
with 8-OHdG concentrations of 108 nanograms per milligram,
compared to 124 ng/mg for low PLP levels.

The associations were observed even after the researchers took
into account homocysteine levels.

It is not the first time that PLP levels have been linked to C-Reactive
Protein levels. A Harvard study reported last year that PLP levels
were slightly inversely correlated with blood levels of CRP, and may
also reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by 50 per cent (Cancer
Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, Vol. 18, pp. 1197-1202).

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2010,
"Association of vitamin B-6 status with inflammation, oxidative
stress, and chronic inflammatory conditions: the Boston
Puerto Rican Health Study"