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Starchy snacks may increase CVD risk; fruits and veggies at certain meals decreases risk

Harbin Medical University School of Public Health (China) June 23, 2021 

Can starchy snacks harm heart health? New research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association, found eating starchy snacks high in white potato or other starches after any meal was associated at least a 50% increased risk of mortality and a 44-57% increased risk of CVD-related death. Conversely, eating fruits, vegetables or dairy at specific meals is associated with a reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer or any cause.

“People are increasingly concerned about what they eat as well as when they eat,” said Ying Li, Ph.D., lead study author and professor in the department of nutrition and food hygiene at Harbin Medical University School of Public Health in Harbin, China. “Our team sought to better understand the effects different foods have when consumed at certain meals.”

Li and colleagues analyzed the results of 21,503 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003 to 2014 in the U.S. to assess dietary patterns across all meals. Among the study population, 51% of participants were women and all participants were ages 30 or older at the start of the study. To determine patient outcomes, researchers used the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Death Index to note participants who died through December 31, 2015, due to CVD, cancer or any cause.

Researchers categorized participants’ dietary patterns by analyzing what types of food they ate at different meals. For the main meals, three main dietary patterns were identified for the morning meal: Western breakfast, starchy breakfast and fruit breakfast. Western lunch, vegetable lunch and fruit lunch were identified as the main dietary patterns for the mid-day meal. Western dinner, vegetable dinner and fruit dinner were identified as the main dietary patterns for the evening meal.

For snacks, grain snack, starchy snack, fruit snack and dairy snack were identified as the main snack patterns in between meals. Additionally, participants who did not fit into specific meal patterns were analyzed as a reference group. The researchers noted that the Western dietary pattern has higher proportions of fat and protein, which is similar to many North American meals.

Participants in the Western lunch group consumed the most servings of refined grain, solid fats, cheese, added sugars and cured meat. Participants in the fruit-based lunch group consumed the most servings of whole grain, fruits, yogurt and nuts. Participants in the vegetable-based dinner group consumed the most servings of dark vegetables, red and orange vegetables, tomatoes, other vegetables and legumes. Participants who consumed starchy snacks consumed the most servings of white potatoes.

According to their findings:

• Eating a Western lunch (typically containing refined grains, cheese, cured meat) was associated with a 44% increased risk of CVD death;
• Eating a fruit-based lunch was associated with a 34% reduced risk of CVD death;
• Eating a vegetable-based dinner was associated with a 23% and 31% reduction in CVD and all-cause mortality, respectively; and
• Consuming a snack high in starch after any meal was associated with a 50-52% increased risk of all-cause mortality and a 44-57% increased risk in CVD-related mortality.

“Our results revealed that the amount and the intake time of various types of foods are equally critical for maintaining optimal health,” said Li. “Future nutrition guidelines and interventional strategies could integrate optimal consumption times for foods across the day.”

Limitations to this study include that dietary data was self-reported by participants, which may lead to recall bias. And, although the researchers controlled for potential confounders, other unmeasured confounding factors cannot be ruled out.

Common plant fiber inulin doubled rate of tumor eradication

University of Michigan, June 24, 2021

Many people don’t realize that the trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi residing within the gastrointestinal tract–collectively called the gut microbiome– are connected to overall health, and specifically to cancer.

Manipulating the gut microbiome to produce “beneficial” commensal microbes, which protect the host from pathogens and can boost immune responses, among other things, could potentially help patients respond better to cancer drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy.

To that end, researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a new dietary fiber formulation that improves the potency of immunotherapies against cancer by modulating the gut microbiome. In the future, cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint blockers may benefit from consuming this inulin gel dietary fiber, said James Moon, the John G. Searle Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy. The findings appear in the June 24 issue Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Inulin, a dietary fiber found mostly in chicory root, but also burdock root, artichoke, asparagus, bananas and other plants, is a prebiotic that helps produce colon-residing commensal bacteria. By formulating inulin into a more colon-targeted inulin gel formulation, the team was able to provide a rich source of nutrients to allow beneficial gut microbes to expand more in the gastrointestinal tract.

The inulin gel improved immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in rodents with colon carcinoma as well as melanoma. For instance, when inulin gel was combined with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in a colon carcinoma rodent model, the rate of tumor eradication doubled (100% improvement), compared with the immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy alone.

“Consumption of the inulin gel expanded and increased the number of beneficial microbes in tumor-bearing mice,” said Kai Han, postdoctoral fellow and first author of the study. “These are beneficial commensal microbes that are found in cancer patients who respond well to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

“The current approaches to restoring a healthy gut microbiome include oral ingestion of defined probiotics or fecal microbiota transplantation,” Han said. “However, it would be very challenging to develop these as pharmaceutical products due to scale-up manufacturing and quality control.”

The human microbiome has recently emerged as the next frontier in drug development. Intense research interest in the microbiome is driven by evidence linking the potential health benefits of modulating gut microbiota to treating various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, obesity and neurodegenerative diseases. In particular, a series of recent studies showed that the gut microbiome plays a crucial role in cancer patients’ response rate to immune checkpoint inhibitors, Moon said.

“We and others have shown that the gut microbiome has a crucial role in our immune responses,” Han said. “Close to 70% of lymph nodes in our bodies are located in the gastrointestinal tract and therefore, microbes residing in the gastrointestinal tract closely interact with our immune cells. Maintaining a healthy gut microbiome nurtures our immune system so that our immune cells can effectively fight against cancer.”

The group chose inulin because it wanted something that could be readily translated to the clinic. Inulin is a dietary fiber that is widely consumed by the public and is present in many plants. It’s used as a sugar substitute and in candies and butter. By making inulin into inulin gel, researchers found that inulin gel coats the gastrointestinal tract much better, leaving more nutrients to the commensal microbes.

The inulin gel also works with anti-PD-1 plus anti-CTLA-4 combo-therapy, (widely used immune checkpoint inhibitors) that treat many types of cancer, Han said.

Roughly 10-30% of cancer patients respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors, depending on the types of cancer, and there is risk of serious immune-related complications and side-effects, Moon said. For instance, inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract and skin are common. Previous studies have shown that inulin consumption may alleviate gastrointestinal inflammation, such as colitis and IBD.

“So, inulin gel may alleviate gastrointestinal inflammation induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors and we are testing this idea now,” Moon said.

“Generation of systemic anti-tumour immunity via the in situ modulation of the gut microbiome by an orally administered inulin gel”

Blackcurrants good for the brain

New Zealand Institute for Plant Research, June 24, 2021

Research has shown that blackcurrants are good for keeping us mentally young and agile, a finding that could have potential in managing the mental decline associated with aging populations, or helping people with brain disorders such as Parkinson’s disease or depression.

The research, conducted by scientists at Plant & Food Research (New Zealand) in collaboration with Northumbria University (UK), showed that compounds found in New Zealand blackcurrants increased mental performance indicators, such as accuracy, attention and mood. The study also showed that juice from a specific blackcurrant cultivar, ‘Blackadder’, also reduced the activity of a family of enzymes called monoamine oxidases, which regulate serotonin and dopamine concentrations in the brain. These chemicals are known to affect mood and cognition, and are the focus for treatments of both neurodegenerative symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease and mood disorders, including stress and anxiety.

Results of the research have been published online in the Journal of Functional Foods, a leading journal in the field.

“This study is the first to look at the effects of berry consumption on the cognitive performance of healthy young adults,” says Dr. Arjan Scheepens, the Plant & Food Research scientist who led the study. “Our previous research has suggested that compounds found in certain berryfruit may act like monoamine oxidase inhibitors, similar to a class of pharmaceuticals commonly used in the treatment of both mood disorders and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease. This research has shown that New Zealand-grown blackcurrants not only increase mental performance, but also reduce the activity of monoamine oxidases.”

“One of the key trends in the food industry is the development of ingredients and foods that have beneficial effects on human health,” says professor Roger Hurst, Science Group Leader Food & Wellness at Plant & Food Research. “Understanding what, and how, foods affect mental performance could lead to the development of new foods designed for populations or situations where mental performance or mental decline is a factor, such as older people or those suffering from stress, anxiety or other mood disorders. This research shows how blackcurrants can potentially add value, both for the food industry and for people looking for foods that naturally support their own health aspirations.”

Participants in the study — 36 healthy adults aged between 18 and 35 years — consumed a 250ml drink prior to conducting a set of demanding mental performance assessments. The participants consumed either a sugar and taste-matched placebo (no blackcurrant), an anthocyanin-enriched blackcurrant extract (Delcyan™ from Just the Berries) or a cold-pressed juice from the New Zealand blackcurrant cultivar ‘Blackadder’, bred by Plant & Food Research. The assessments showed that after consuming the Delcyan™ and ‘Blackadder’ drinks, attention and mood were improved while mental fatigue was reduced. In addition, blood tests showed that the activity of the monoamine oxidase enzymes (MAO) was strongly decreased after consuming the ‘Blackadder’ juice, indicating the potential for compounds found in ‘Blackadder’ blackcurrants as a functional food ingredient to support brain health or managing the symptoms of disorders like Parkinson’s disease.

Switching from Western diet to a balanced diet may reduce skin, joint inflammation

Foods high in sugar and fat disrupt the gut and trigger psoriasis flares

University of California at Davis, June 23, 2021

The secret to healthier skin and joints may reside in gut microorganisms. A study led by UC Davis Health researchers has found that a diet rich in sugar and fat leads to an imbalance in the gut’s microbial culture and may contribute to inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis.

The study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, suggests that switching to a more balanced diet restores the gut’s health and suppresses skin inflammation.

“Earlier studies have shown that Western diet, characterized by its high sugar and fat content, can lead to significant skin inflammation and psoriasis flares,” said Sam T. Hwang, professor and chair of dermatology at UC Davis Health and senior author on the study. “Despite having powerful anti-inflammatory drugs for the skin condition, our study indicates that simple changes in diet may also have significant effects on psoriasis.”

What is psoriasis?

Psoriasis is a stubborn skin condition linked to the body’s immune system. When immune cells mistakenly attack healthy skin cells, they cause skin inflammation and the formation of scales and itchy red patches.

Up to 30% of patients with psoriasis also have psoriatic arthritis with symptoms such as morning stiffness and fatigue, swollen fingers and toes, pain in joints and changes to nails.

Diet affects the microbial balance in the intestines and skin inflammation

Food is one of the major modifiable factors regulating the gut microbiota, the community of microorganisms living in the intestines. Eating a Western diet can cause rapid change to the gut’s microbial community and its functions. This disruption in microbial balance – known as dysbiosis- contributes to gut inflammation.

Since bacteria in the gut may play key roles in shaping inflammation, the researchers wanted to test whether intestinal dysbiosis affects skin and joint inflammation. They used a mouse model to study the effect of diet on psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. They injected mice with Interleukin-23 (IL-23) minicircle DNA to induce a response mimicking psoriasis-like skin and joint diseases.

IL-23 is a protein generated by the immune cells responsible for many inflammatory autoimmune reactions, including psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Hwang and his colleagues found that a short-term Western diet appears sufficient to cause microbial imbalance and to enhance susceptibility to IL-23?mediated psoriasis-like skin inflammation.

“There is a clear link between skin inflammation and changes in the gut microbiome due to food intake,” Hwang said. “The bacterial balance in the gut disrupted shortly after starting a Western diet, and worsened psoriatic skin and joint inflammation.”

One critical finding of their work was identifying the intestinal microbiota as a pathogenic link between diet and the displays of psoriatic inflammation. The study also found that antibiotics block the effects of the Western diet, reducing skin and joint inflammation.

Is the damage caused by an unhealthy diet reversible?

The researchers wanted to test if switching to a balanced diet can restore the gut microbiota, despite the presence of IL-23 inflammatory proteins. They fed mice a Western diet for six weeks before giving them an IL-23-inducing agent to trigger psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis features. Then, they randomly divided the mice into two groups: a group that continued the Western diet for another four weeks and a group that switched to a balanced diet for the same duration.

Their study showed that eating a diet high in sugar and fat for 10 weeks predisposed mice to skin and joint inflammation. Mice that were switched to a balanced diet had less scaling of the skin and reduced ear thickness than mice on a Western diet. The improvement in skin inflammation for mice taken off the Western diet indicates a short-term impact of the Western diet on skin inflammation.

This suggests that changes in diet could partially reverse the proinflammatory effects and alteration of gut microbiota caused by the Western diet.

“It was quite surprising that a simple diet modification of less sugar and fat may have significant effects on psoriasis,” said Zhenrui Shi, visiting assistant researcher in the UC Davis Department of Dermatology and lead author on the study. “These findings reveal that patients with psoriatic skin and joint disease should consider changing to a healthier dietary pattern.”

“This work reflects a successful collaboration among researchers, especially with Professor Satya Dandekar and her team at the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology and Professor Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan at the Department of Medical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine,” Hwang said.

Ginkgo compound alleviates neuroinflammation and promotes autophagy in Alzheimer disease

Soochow University (China), June 22, 2021

According to news originating from Suzhou, People’s Republic of China, research stated, “EGb 761 has some protective effects on AD and can improve the cognitive functions of AD mice. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Soochow University, “Here, we investigated the function of bilobalide, the effective component of EGb 761, in neuroinflammation and autophagy during AD. LPS-treated BV-2 cells were used as an in vitro model for neuroinflammation. The APP/PS1 AD mouse line was used to examine the function of bilobalide in AD. ELISA and qRT-PCR were used to measure the levels of proinflammatory cytokines, including TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-1 beta. Western blotting was employed to determine the protein levels of p-p65, iNOS, COX-2, LC3, beclin-1, p62 and p-STAT3. Immunostaining was applied to examine the number of autophagosomes. LPS treatment induced inflammatory responses and inhibited autophagy in BV-2 cells. Bilobalide suppressed LPS-induced neuroinflammation and promoted autophagy. Furthermore, bilobalide treatment increased the lincRNA-p21 levels, which suppressed STAT3 signalling. Knockdown of lincRNA-p21 reversed the effects of bilobalide. Overexpression of lincRNA-p21 promoted autophagy and inhibited neuroinflammation as well while STAT3 inhibitor blocked the effects of si-lincRNA-p21. In vivo experiments revealed that bilobalide improved the learning and memory capabilities of APP/PS1 AD mice. Bilobalide improves the cognitive functions of APP/PS1 AD mice.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Mechanistically, bilobalide suppresses inflammatory responses and promotes autophagy possibly by upregulating lincRNA-p21 levels.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

Drinking any type of coffee associated with reduced risk of chronic liver disease

Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh, June 22 2021

Drinking coffee that is caffeinated (ground or instant) or decaffeinated is associated with a reduced risk of developing chronic liver disease and related liver conditions, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Public Health.

Researchers at the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh, UK, found that drinking any type of coffee was associated with a reduced risk of developing and dying from chronic liver disease compared to not drinking coffee, with the benefit peaking at three to four cups per day.

The authors studied UK Biobank data on 495,585 participants with known coffee consumption, who were followed over a median of 10.7 years to monitor who developed chronic liver disease and related liver conditions.

Of all participants included in the study, 78% (384,818) consumed ground or instant caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, while 22% (109,767) did not drink any type of coffee. During the study period, there were 3,600 cases of chronic liver disease, including 301 deaths. Additionally, there were 5,439 cases of chronic liver disease or steatosis (a build of up fat in the liver also known as fatty liver disease), and 184 cases of Hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer.

Compared to non-coffee drinkers, coffee-drinkers had a 21% reduced risk of chronic liver disease, a 20% reduced risk of chronic or fatty liver disease, and a 49% reduced risk of death from chronic liver disease. The maximum benefit was seen in the group who drank ground coffee, which contains high levels of the ingredients Kahweol and cafestol, which have been shown to be beneficial against chronic liver disease in animals.

Instant coffee, which has low levels of Kahweol and cafestol was also associated with a reduced the risk of chronic liver disease. While the reduction in risk was smaller than that associated with ground coffee, the finding may suggest that other ingredients, or potentially a combination of ingredients, may be beneficial.

Dr. Oliver Kennedy, the lead author said: “Coffee is widely accessible and the benefits we see from our study may mean it could offer a potential preventative treatment for chronic liver disease. This would be especially valuable in countries with lower income and worse access to healthcare and where the burden of chronic liver disease is highest.”

The authors caution that, as coffee consumption was only reported when participants first enrolled in the study, the study does not account for any changes in the amount or type of coffee they consumed over the 10.7-year study period. As participants were predominantly white and from a higher socio-economic background, the findings may be difficult to generalize to other countries and populations.

The authors suggest that future research could test the relationship between coffee and liver disease with more rigorous control of the amount of coffee consumed. They also propose validating their findings in more diverse groups of participants.

Eat plants to stay slim, say Spanish researchers

University of Navarra (Spain), June 22, 2021

People with diets that favour plants over meat can cut their risk of developing obesity by almost half, according to research being conducted in Spain.

Experts at the University of Navarra have been assessing the benefits of “pro-vegetarian diets”, rich in vegetables, fruit and grains.

Plenty of studies have suggested these diets can have a protective role in relation to cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but much less is known about how they affect people’s chances of becoming obese.

The team has therefore been examining the association between varying degrees of pro-vegetarian diet and the incidence of obesity (body mass index in excess of 30).

Some 16,000 healthy, non-obese adults were tracked for an average of 10 years. Participants completed detailed food questionnaires at the start of the study, and a pro-vegetarian diet index (PVI) was used to score each person on the types of food they ate.

Points were given for eating seven plant food groups: vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, olive oil, legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils) and potatoes. Points were subtracted for five animal groups: animal fats, dairy, eggs, fish and other seafood, and meat.

Based on their scores, participants were categorised into five groups – from the 20% with the least pro-vegetarian diet (group one) to the 20% with the most (group five).

Meaty obesity levels

In all, 584 participants became obese. Modelling showed that, compared to the least-vegetarian participants in group one, the most vegetarian (group five) were 43% less likely to become obese.

In groups two, three and four the reduced risk of obesity, compared to group one, was 6%, 15% and 17% respectively.

The results held true irrespective of other influential factors including sex, age, alcohol intake, BMI, family history of obesity, snacking between meals, smoking, sleep duration and physical activity.

The research, which has yet to be published, is limited by the fact that it shows observational differences rather than evidence of cause and effect, the team acknowledged. However, it supports current recommendations to follow plant-rich diets with less meat and animal products.

“Our study suggests that plant-based diets are associated with substantially lower risk of developing obesity,” the authors explained in an abstract presented at the recent European Congress on Obesity in Porto, Portugal.

Academics at the University of Oxford last year estimated that if the world went vegetarian, 7.3 million deaths would be avoided – half of which would be down to a combination of increased fruit and vegetable consumption and reduced calorie intake, leading to fewer people being overweight or obese.

The researchers, from the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, said they didn’t expect everyone to become vegetarian or vegan, but the benefits of shifting diets were considerable, socially, environmentally and economically, they argued.

Professor Maira Bes-Rostrollo, who is leading the research at the University of Navarra, also suggested a “gradual and gentle” approach is required to shift people to more plant-based diets.