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Consuming two tablespoons of honey can help balance blood sugar and improve cholesterol levels, according to a new study.
Experts said replacing added sweeteners in the diet – such as sugar in tea – with honey can lower the risks of illnesses associated with eating too much sugar, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Researchers at the University of Toronto analysed the results of 18 trials including more than 1,100 participants and found that raw honey from a single floral source had the most positive effect on the body.
They found it lowered fasting blood glucose and the number of low-density lipoprotein (or “bad cholesterol”) in the blood.
Consuming honey also increased high-density lipoproteins (“good” cholesterol”) and showed signs of improving inflammation.
All participants in the study followed a generally healthy diet, and sugar accounted for 10 per cent or less of their daily caloric intakes.
The study found that honey from a single floral source “consistently produced either neutral or beneficial effects” on the body.
Participants were given an average of 40 grams, or about two tablespoons of honey daily over the course of eight weeks.
Most of the benefits were observed in people who consumed raw honey, from False Acacia or Black Locust trees.
However, honey lost many of its health benefits after it was heated above 65 degrees Celsius.
Tauseef Khan, a senior researcher at the University’s Faculty of Medicine, said the results were surprising because honey “is about 80 per cent sugar”.
“But honey is also a complex composition of common and rare sugars, proteins, organic acids and other bioactive compounds that very likely have health benefits,” Khan said.
Experts said the results showed that not all sugars should be treated the same by health and nutrition officials.
“We’re not saying you should start having honey if you currently avoid sugar,” Khan said. “The takeaway is more about replacement – if you’re using table sugar, syrup or another sweetener, switching those sugars for honey might lower cardiometabolic risks.”
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter
Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter
Consuming two tablespoons of honey can help balance blood sugar and improve cholesterol levels, according to a new study.
Experts said replacing added sweeteners in the diet – such as sugar in tea – with honey can lower the risks of illnesses associated with eating too much sugar, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Researchers at the University of Toronto analysed the results of 18 trials including more than 1,100 participants and found that raw honey from a single floral source had the most positive effect on the body.
They found it lowered fasting blood glucose and the number of low-density lipoprotein (or “bad cholesterol”) in the blood.
Consuming honey also increased high-density lipoproteins (“good” cholesterol”) and showed signs of improving inflammation.
All participants in the study followed a generally healthy diet, and sugar accounted for 10 per cent or less of their daily caloric intakes.
The study found that honey from a single floral source “consistently produced either neutral or beneficial effects” on the body.
Participants were given an average of 40 grams, or about two tablespoons of honey daily over the course of eight weeks.
Most of the benefits were observed in people who consumed raw honey, from False Acacia or Black Locust trees.
However, honey lost many of its health benefits after it was heated above 65 degrees Celsius.
Tauseef Khan, a senior researcher at the University’s Faculty of Medicine, said the results were surprising because honey “is about 80 per cent sugar”.
“But honey is also a complex composition of common and rare sugars, proteins, organic acids and other bioactive compounds that very likely have health benefits,” Khan said.
Experts said the results showed that not all sugars should be treated the same by health and nutrition officials.
“We’re not saying you should start having honey if you currently avoid sugar,” Khan said. “The takeaway is more about replacement – if you’re using table sugar, syrup or another sweetener, switching those sugars for honey might lower cardiometabolic risks.”
Scientists say a black hole has begun ejecting material years after it consumed a small star, a phenomenon described as similar to “burping” after a meal and a first for researchers.
A study published on Oct. 11 in The Astrophysical Journal suggests the black hole, in a galaxy 665 million lights years away from Earth, is shooting material at half the speed of light after ripping apart a star that wandered too close to it in October 2018.
The research team behind the study says it is unsure why this outflow was delayed by several years.
“This caught us completely by surprise — no one has ever seen anything like this before,” lead author Yvette Cendes, a research associate at the Center for Astrophysics, a collaboration between Harvard University and the Smithsonian, said in a news release.
Researchers observed the event while revisiting tidal disruption events (TDE), when encroaching stars are “spaghettified” by black holes.
Radio data from the Very Large Array of radio telescopes in New Mexico showed the black hole had reanimated in June 2021, they say.
As a star nears a black hole, gravitational forces stretch it out, the researchers say. The material then spirals around the black hole and heats up, creating a flash that astronomers can observe millions of light years away. Some material is occasionally flung into space.
But the scientists say this outflow normally happens quickly after a TDE, not years later.
“It’s as if this black hole has started abruptly burping out a bunch of material from the star it ate years ago,” Cendes said.
Even though the material is travelling at 50 per cent the speed of light, most TDEs have outflow that travels at 10 per cent of the speed of light, Cendes said.
The team says the results may help scientists better understand the feeding behaviour of black holes.
One question researchers hope to explore is whether this phenomenon happens more often than previously thought.
Summary: Consuming green vegetables and adding a daily chlorophyllin supplement helps alleviate symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease, researchers report. Additionally, chlorophyllin supplements help significantly reduce mortality risks associated with IBD.
Source: APS
The dietary supplement chlorophyllin alleviates inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, according to researchers from the Center for Diabetes and Metabolism Research at Sichuan University in China and from Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
In addition, chlorophyllin significantly reduces mortality related to IBD, weight loss, diarrhea and hidden blood in the stool, intestinal epithelial damage and infiltration of inflammatory cells.
The findings are published ahead of print in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, and the study has been chosen as an APS select article for August.
Chronic gastrointestinal disorders such as IBD affect tens of millions of people living in the U.S. IBD has created a global health burden because of the rising cost of treating the condition.
While the exact cause of IBD isn’t fully understood, some contributing factors include stress and environmental, lifestyle, and dietary choices, such as high consumption of meat or fish.
Chronic inflammation, abnormality in autophagy—the body’s process of cleaning out damaged cells to make room for newer, healthier cells—and lysosomal stress (an abnormality in an organelle leading to inflammation) are also linked to the condition.
Researchers believe these findings could be a pathway to a less intrusive treatment for IBD. Image is in the public domain
Current therapeutics for IBD include medications that suppress the immune system (immunosuppressants) and surgery. However, long-term use of immunosuppressive treatments could result in severe adverse effects, including opportunistic infections and even organ failure.
In this study, researchers found taking an oral chlorophyllin supplement—a compound derived from the green pigment found in plants—reduced colitis and abnormalities in the intestinal epithelia of mice.
Also, consumption of green vegetables and chlorophyllin may be helpful for IBD recovery, in part through alleviation of inflammation and autolysosomal flux (a process that uses lysosome to degrade and remove toxic molecules and organelles).
Green pigment found in these foods and supplements can initiate a feeding signaling to modulate autophagy in the cells, which suppresses IBD symptoms.
Researchers believe these findings could be a pathway to a less intrusive treatment for IBD.
“Consuming green-colored vegetables or green pigment supplement such as chlorophyllin might help people with inflammatory bowel disease,” said Xiaofeng Zheng, Ph.D., of Sichuan University and a co-author of the study.
About this diet and inflammation research news
Author: Press Office Source: APS Contact: Press Office – APS Image: The image is in the public domain
See also
Original Research: Open access. “Liver-on-a-chip devices: the pros and cons of complexity” by Philip Dalsbecker et al. American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology
Abstract
Liver-on-a-chip devices: the pros and cons of complexity
Physiologically relevant and broadly applicable liver cell culture platforms are of great importance in both drug development and disease modeling.
Organ-on-a-chip systems offer a promising alternative to conventional, static two-dimensional (2-D) cultures, providing much-needed cues such as perfusion, shear stress, and three-dimensional (3-D) cell-cell communication.
However, such devices cover a broad range of complexity both in manufacture and in implementation. In this review, we summarize the key features of the human liver that should be reflected in a physiologically relevant liver-on-a-chip model.
We also discuss different material properties of importance in producing liver-on-a-chip devices and summarize recent and current progress in the field, highlighting different types of devices at different levels of complexity.
Humans have an evolutionary preference for sweetness. Sweet foods, like fruit and honey, were an important energy source for our ancestors.
However, in the modern world, sweetened foods are readily available, very cheap, and advertised extensively. Now, we are consuming too much sugar in foods and drinks – the kind that is added rather than sugar that is naturally occurring.
Consuming too much added sugar is bad news for health. It is linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay.
Because of these health concerns, manufacturers started using non-nutritive sweeteners to sweeten food as well. These sweeteners contain little to no kilojoules and include both artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, and those that come from natural sources, such as stevia.
Our research, published today, shows the amount of added sugars and non-nutritive sweeteners in packaged foods and drinks has grown a lot over the last decade. This is especially true in middle-income countries, such as China and India, as well as in the Asia Pacific, including Australia.
From lollies to biscuits to drinks
Using market sales data from around the globe, we looked at the quantity of added sugar and non-nutritive sweeteners sold in packaged foods and drinks from 2007 to 2019.
We found per person volumes of non-nutritive sweeteners in drinks is now 36 percent higher globally. Added sugars in packaged food is 9 percent higher.
Non-nutritive sweeteners are most commonly added to confectionery. Ice creams and sweet biscuits are the fastest-growing food categories in terms of these sweeteners. The expanding use of added sugars and other sweeteners over the last decade means, overall, our packaged food supply is getting sweeter.
Our analysis shows the amount of added sugar used to sweeten drinks has increased globally. However, this is largely explained by a 50 percent increase in middle-income countries, such as China and India. Use has decreased in high-income countries, such as Australia and the United States.
It is recommended men consume less than nine teaspoons of sugar a day, while women should have less than six. However, because sugar is added to so many foods and drinks, over half of Australians exceed recommendations, eating an average of 14 teaspoons a day.
The shift from using added sugar to sweeteners to sweeten drinks is most common in carbonated soft drinks and bottled water. The World Health Organization is developing guidelines on the use of non-sugar sweeteners.
Rich and poor countries
There is a difference in added sugar and sweetener use between richer and poorer countries. The market for packaged food and beverages in high-income countries has become saturated. To continue to grow, large food and beverage corporations are expanding into middle-income countries.
Our findings demonstrate a double standard in the sweetening of the food supply, with manufacturers providing less sweet, “healthier” products in richer countries.
Unexpected consequences of control
To reduce the health harms of high added sugar intakes, many governments have acted to curb their use and consumption. Sugar levies, education campaigns, advertising restrictions, and labeling are among these measures.
But such actions can encourage manufacturers to partially or completely substitute sugar with non-nutritive sweeteners to avoid penalties or cater to evolving population preferences.
In our study, we found regions with a higher number of policy actions to reduce sugar intakes had a significant increase in non-nutritive sweeteners sold in drinks.
Why is this a problem
While the harms of consuming too much added sugar are well known, relying on non-nutritive sweeteners as a solution also carries risk. Despite their lack of dietary energy, recent reviews, suggest consuming non-nutritive sweeteners may be linked with type 2 diabetes and heart disease and can disrupt the gut microbiome.
And because they are sweet, ingesting non-nutritive sweeteners influences our palates and encourages us to want more sweet food. This is of particular concern for children, who are still developing their lifelong taste preferences.
Additionally, certain non-nutritive sweeteners are considered environmental contaminants and are not effectively removed from wastewater.
Non-nutritive sweeteners are only found in ultra-processed foods. These foods are industrially made, contain ingredients you would not find in a home kitchen, and are designed to be “hyper-palatable”. Eating more ultra-processed foods is linked with more heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and death.
Ultra-processed foods are also environmentally harmful because they use significant resources such as energy, water, packaging materials, and plastic waste.
Foods that contain sweeteners can receive a “health halo” if they don’t contain sugar, misleading the public and potentially displacing nutritious, whole foods in the diet.
Focus on nutrition
When making policy to improve public health nutrition, it is important to consider unintended consequences. Rather than focusing on specific nutrients, there is merit in advocating for policy that considers the broader aspects of food, including cultural importance, level of processing, and environmental impacts. Such policy should promote nutritious, minimally processed foods.
We need to closely monitor the increasing sweetness of food and drinks and the growing use of added sugars and non-nutritive sweeteners. It is likely to shape our future taste preferences, food choices, and human and planetary health.
Cherie Russell, PhD Candidate, Deakin University; Carley Grimes, Senior Lecturer Population Nutrition, Deakin University; Mark Lawrence, Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University; Phillip Baker, Research Fellow, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Deakin University, and Rebecca Lindberg, Postdoctoral research fellow, Deakin University.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Summary: Middle-aged and older adults with depression may be more vulnerable to the effects of dietary inflammation, increasing the risk of frailty and other health disorders.
Source: Hebrew SeniorLife Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research
A new study published in The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences found a link between depression, diet, and the development of frailty.
Frailty, defined as a recognizable state of increased vulnerability resulting from a decline in function across multiple physiological systems, affects 10-15% older adults and often co-occurs with other health conditions, like depression. Diet is thought to be a major contributor to frailty development.
While previous studies established a link between an inflammatory diet – including artificial trans fats (like partially hydrogenated oil), refined carbohydrates, and saturated fats – and the risk of development frailty, this is one of the first studies to try to understand the impact of depression on dietary inflammation and frailty.
Titled, “Association of pro-inflammatory diet with frailty onset among adults with and without depressive symptoms: results from the Framingham Offspring Study,” the study attempted to determine if individuals with depressive symptoms are more vulnerable to frailty development in response to dietary inflammation.
The study utilized data from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort. The 1,701 non-frail participants reported their diet and depressive symptoms at baseline and were followed for ~11 years when frailty status was reassessed.
The study found an association between inflammatory diet and increased odds of frailty appeared somewhat stronger among those with depressive symptoms.
The researchers hypothesize that since individuals with depressive symptoms typically have higher levels of inflammation, adding dietary inflammation on top of that accelerates the development of frailty.
Courtney L Millar, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Fellow, Marcus Institute of Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, and Harvard Medical School, is the lead author. “This study found that depressive symptoms may exacerbate the development of frailty in response to consuming an inflammatory diet. This suggests that consuming a diet rich in anti-inflammatory compounds (e.g., fiber and plant-based compounds called flavonoids) may help prevent the development of frailty,” Dr. Millar said.
“Our exploratory data also suggests that when middle-aged and older adults consume a pro-inflammatory diet, they are more likely to newly develop depressive symptoms and frailty at the same time rather than develop either condition alone,” she added.
This research follows two prior studies conducted by Dr. Millar, one published in May in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that showed that consuming a Mediterranean-style diet may prevent the development of frailty, and one published in February in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that showed a pro-inflammatory diet increased the risk of frailty development.
Diet is thought to be a major contributor to frailty development. Image is in the public domain
“This study contributes to the understanding of the relationship between dietary inflammation, depression, and frailty,” Dr. Millar said.
“For those with depression, it may be even more important to increase their intake of fruits and vegetables that are rich in fiber, flavonoids as well as other dietary antioxidants.”
The Framingham Heart Study, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of South Carolina collaborated on this observational study.
Funding: This study was primarily funded by the National Institute of Aging (NIA) (grant no. T32-AG023480), the Beth and Richard Applebaum Research Fund, as well as the Boston Claude D. Pepper Center OAIC (OAIC; 1P30AG031679).
Other authors included: Alyssa B. Dufour, Ph.D., Assistant Scientist II, Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research; James R. Hebert, D.Sc. Health Sciences Distinguished Professor and Director, South Carolina Statewide Cancer Prevention and Control Program, the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC and Department of Nutrition, Connecting Health Innovations LLC, Columbia, SC; Nitin Shivappa, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., Ph.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; Olivia I. Okereke, M.D., M.S., Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and Department of Epidemiology, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health; Douglas P. Kiel, M.D., M.P.H., Director, Musculoskeletal Research Center and Senior Scientist, Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research; Marian T. Hannan, D.Sc., M.P.H., Co-Director, Musculoskeletal Research Center and Senior Scientist, Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research; and Shivani Sahni, Ph.D., Director, Nutrition Program and Associate Scientist, Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research.
About this depression and aging research news
Author: Margaret Bonilla Source: Hebrew SeniorLife Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research Contact: Margaret Bonilla – Hebrew SeniorLife Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Closed access. “Association of pro-inflammatory diet with frailty onset among adults with and without depressive symptoms: results from the Framingham Offspring Study” by Courtney L Millar et al. Journal of Gerontology
Abstract
See also
Association of pro-inflammatory diet with frailty onset among adults with and without depressive symptoms: results from the Framingham Offspring Study
Background
Dietary inflammation is associated with increased risk of frailty. Those with depressive symptoms may be at higher risk of frailty onset since they typically have higher levels of inflammation. The study objective was to determine the association between a pro-inflammatory diet and frailty onset in those with and without clinically relevant depressive symptoms.
Methods
This prospective study included 1,701 non-frail individuals with self-reported baseline (1998-2001) data available for the evaluation of energy-adjusted dietary inflammatory index (E-DII TM) (calculated from food frequency questionnaires), depressive symptoms (from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression; CES-D), and follow-up frailty measurements (2011-2014). Frailty was defined as fulfilling ≥3 Fried frailty criteria. Results are presented by baseline CES-D scores <16 or ≥16 points, which denotes the absence or presence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms, respectively. Logistic regression estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) between E-DII and frailty onset, adjusting for confounders.
Results
In all study participants, mean (standard deviation; SD) age was 58(8) years and E-DII was -1.95 (2.20; range: -6.71 to +5.40, higher scores denote a more pro-inflammatory diet), and 45% were male. In those without clinically relevant depressive symptoms, one-unit higher E-DII score was associated with 14% increased odds (95% CI :1.05-1.24) of frailty. In those with depressive symptoms, one-unit higher E-DII score was associated with 55% increased odds of frailty (95% CI: 1.13-2.13).
Conclusions
The association between inflammatory diet and increased odds of frailty appeared somewhat stronger among those with depressive symptoms. This preliminary finding warrants further investigation.
Bollywood Hungama News Networkhttps://www.bollywoodhungama.com/
By Bollywood Hungama News Network –
Bollywood actress Shraddha Kapoor’s brother Siddhanth Kapoor has been reportedly detained by the Bengaluru Police for allegedly consuming drugs at a party on Sunday night. Siddhant, who is the son of veteran actor Shakti Kapoor, was amongst the people who was suspected to have consumed drugs.
Shraddha Kapoor’s brother Siddhanth Kapoor detained by Bengaluru Police for allegedly consuming drugs at a party
According to a report in India Today, the Bengaluru Police acted on a tip-off and reportedly raided a hotel on MG Road where the party was taking place. The police suspected few people and the samples were sent for testing. Siddhanth Kapoor’s sample tested positive along with six others.
More details are awaited on Siddhanth Kapoor.
ALSO READ: This video of Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor shooting a peppy romantic number in Spain goes VIRAL
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Paris (AFP) – Consuming artificial sweetener could increase the risk of developing cancer, a large-scale study suggested Thursday, but experts not involved in the research said it was not enough proof to consider changing current health advice.
Sweeteners are consumed by millions every day in products like diet soda, partly as a way to avoid weight gain from sugar — but how healthy these substitutes are themselves has long been a matter of controversy.
To assess the cancer risk of sweeteners, researchers analysed the data of more than 100,000 people in France who self-reported their diet, lifestyle and medical history in intervals between 2009-2021 as part of the NutriNet-Sante study.
They then compared consumption to the rate of cancer, while adjusting for other variables such as smoking, poor diet, age and physical activity.
The participants who consumed the largest amount of sweeteners, “beyond the median amount, had an increased cancer risk of 13 percent compared to non-consumers,” Mathilde Touvier, research director at France’s INSERM institute and the study’s supervisor, told AFP.
The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, said that a higher cancer risk was particularly seen with sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame potassium — both used in many soft drinks including Coke Zero.
Out of the 103,000 participants, 79 percent were women and 37 percent consumed artificial sweeteners.
Soft drinks accounted for more than half of the artificial sweeteners consumed, while table-top sweeteners represented 29 percent.
The study found that “higher risks were observed for breast cancer and obesity-related cancers”.
Touvier said “we cannot totally exclude biases linked to the lifestyle of consumers”, calling for further research to confirm the study’s results.
The US National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK both say that sweeteners do not cause cancer, and they have been authorised for use by the European Food Safety Authority.
‘Not proof’
“The relationship between artificial sweetener consumption and cancer risk is a controversial one, going back to the 1970s when (sweetener) cyclamate was banned for being linked to bladder cancer in rats — although this was never shown to be the case in humans,” said James Brown, a biomedical scientist at Britain’s Aston University.
Brown, who was not involved in the study, told AFP that it was “reasonably well-designed” and had an “impressive” sample size.
But he added he did not “believe the current study provides strong enough evidence” for Britain’s National Health Service to “change its advice just yet”.
Michael Jones of The Institute of Cancer Research, London said that the link reported in the study “does not imply causation” and was “not proof that artificial sweeteners cause cancer”.
He said the findings could suggest that “cancer risk may be raised in the type of person who uses artificial sweetener rather than the sweetener itself.”
Thursday’s findings also do not mean consumers should rush back to sugary drinks — a 2019 NutriNet-Sante study found that they were also linked to a higher risk of several cancer types.
Brown said that not all sweeteners were equal, with some such as stevia showing health benefits.
Artificial sweeteners are “still likely a useful tool that can help reduce weight gain when replacing sugar — if the right sweetener is used,” he said.
