Video:

MEP Clare Daly: Where are the questions about Nord-Stream sabotage? (1:11)

Jordan Peterson Exposes The World Economic Forum | With Joe Rogan (12:21)

Purple fruits and veggies can protect against diabetes, study reveals

University of Turku (Finland), February 16, 2023 

It turns out you may want to not only eat more vegetables but single out the purple ones! Red and purple fruits and vegetables like blueberries and strawberries contain pigments called anthocyanins, which may help ward off diabetes, according to researchers from the University of Turku in Finland. The study authors note that purplish tubers (potatoes) are particularly good for your health.

It turns out that these pigments can reduce the risk of diabetes by acting on energy metabolism, gut microbiota, and inflammation. The effect observed in this research was even greater among foods containing acylated anthocyanin, meaning that a chemical acyl group is added to the sugar molecules of anthocyanin. Acylated varieties are abundant in foods like purple potatoes, radishes, purple carrots, and red cabbages.

“The plant’s genotype defines what kind of anthocyanins they produce. In general, purple vegetables contain many acylated anthocyanins. Also, purple potatoes, especially the Finnish variety called ‘Synkeä Sakari’, is abundant in acylated anthocyanins,” says postdoctoral researcher Kang Chen from the Food Sciences Unit at the University of Turku in a media release.

Foods like bilberries and mulberries contain mostly nonacylated anthocyanins. Although acylation makes it more difficult to absorb during digestion, this isn’t a particularly bad thing, as they have other great functions that make them beneficial to health. These anthocyanins have probiotic properties that allow them to improve and maintain the health of the intestinal lining. They also can suppress inflammation in the body and regulate glucose and lipid metabolic pathways, which all works together to lower risk of diabetes more effectively than its non-acylated counterpart.

“The latest research has shown that the acylated and nonacylated anthocyanins can impact Type 2 diabetes in different ways,” Chen concludes.

Increased B vitamin intake associated with lower pancreatic cancer risk

University of Pittsburgh, February 5, 2023. 

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have uncovered an association between an increase in the intake of vitamin B6 and choline and a lower risk of cancer of the pancreas. The findings were reported online in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

For the current investigation, J. Y. Huang and colleagues utilized data from the Singapore Chinese Health Study that enrolled 63,257 men and women. Dietary questionnaire responses provided information on the intake of one-carbon metabolism-related nutrients, which include vitamins B2, B6 and B12, along with folate, choline and betaine (TMG). As of the end of the 10 year period, 271 pancreatic cancer cases were identified.

Among subjects whose intake of vitamin B6 was among the top 20% of participants, there was a 48% lower risk of developing pancreatic cancer in comparison with those whose intake was among the lowest 20%. For those whose choline intake was highest, the risk of pancreatic cancer was 33% lower.

As possible cancer-protective mechanisms for vitamin B6, the authors cite its role as a cofactor for enzymes involved in DNA synthesis and methylation pathways of one-carbon metabolism, as well as an ability to protect DNA from oxidative damage. In regard to choline, its role as a methyl donor may also help protect against pancreatic carcinogenesis. “To our knowledge, no epidemiological study has studied the relationship between dietary choline and pancreatic cancer risk,” Dr Huang and associates announce.

They conclude that “Future studies are needed to study the underlying mechanisms of how vitamin B6 and choline, as well as other correlated one-carbon metabolism–related nutrients, may protect against the development of pancreatic cancer.”

Nanoparticles in food coloring may be harming your gut health, researchers warn

Cornell University & University of Binghamton, February 16, 2023

Nanoparticles in common food coloring and anti-caking agents may be damaging your gut, researchers from Cornell and Binghamton Universities warn. Specifically, metal oxide particles could be disrupting the health of your intestines.

“We are consuming these nanoparticles on a daily basis,” says senior author Elad Tako, associate professor of food science at Cornell. “We don’t really know how much we consume; we don’t really know the long-term effects of this consumption. Here, we were able to demonstrate some of these effects, which is a key to understanding gastrointestinal health and development.”

Previously, Binghamton researchers led in vitro cellular assessments and screened different nanoparticles food and pharmaceutical industries frequently use. The group then narrowed their focus to specific metal oxide nanoparticles and confirmed proper testing dosages that are suitable for human consumption.

Now, in collaboration with Cornell researchers, study authors used human-appropriate doses of titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide in the Tako laboratory’s in vivo system. 

“We found that specific nanoparticles – titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide – ordinarily used in food may negatively affect intestinal functionality,” Tako reports. “They have a negative effect on key digestive and absorptive proteins.”

The group also examined zinc oxide, a micronutrient, and iron oxide, an iron fortification supplement, to see how they function as well. The team found that zinc oxide nanoparticles support the intestines and may even help them compensate after suffering damage. On the other hand, iron oxide nanoparticles appear to negatively alter intestinal function and overall health. So, while the iron oxide may serve as a viable option for iron fortification, it may not be a strong option for maintaining gut integrity. It turns out zinc oxide would be better for this.

“Based on the information, we suggest simply being aware,” Tako concludes. “Science needs to conduct further investigations based on our findings. 

Being bullied is associated with mental distress and suicide attempts in teens

Drake University, February 15, 2023

Some forms of bullying are significantly correlated with feeling sad or hopeless and attempting suicide, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by John Rovers of Drake University and colleagues. The correlation is highest when teens are bullied based on their sexual orientation or gender orientation, the study found.

School bullying is a common problem, with research estimating that as many as 30% of American youth suffer from being bullied. There is growing evidence that being bullied can have lasting effects on students’ well-being, health and social adjustment.

The authors of the present study used data from the 2018 Iowa Youth Survey, a broad questionnaire offered every two or three years to both private and public school students in the 6th, 8th and 11th grade across the state of Iowa. They analyzed 70,451 validated responses for correlations between mental health and bullying.

Unadjusted odds ratios indicated that students who reported being physically bullied, and those bullied based on religion, were no more likely to report feelings of sadness or hopelessness than students who reported no instances of being bullied.

However, bullying related to sexual orientation or gender identity, or hurtful sexual jokes and comments, were consistently correlated with feelings of sadness and hopelessness as well as suicide attempts (OR 1.40–2.84). Cyberbullying, social bullying, and bullying based on race also had significant correlations with mental distress and suicide attempts.

The authors conclude that different types of bullying have different correlations with mental health outcomes, and that a better understanding of these differences could help shape bullying mitigation strategies in schools.

Sustained aerobic exercise increases adult neurogenesis in the brain

University of Jyväskylä (Finland), February 8, 2023

It may be possible to increase the neuron reserve of the hippocampus – and thus improve preconditions for learning – by promoting neurogenesis via sustained aerobic exercise such as running.

Aerobic exercise, such as running, has positive effects on brain structure and function, for example, the generation of neurons (neurogenesis) in the hippocampus, a brain structure important in learning. It has been unclear whether high-intensity interval training (HIT), referring to alternating short bouts of very intense anaerobic exercise with recovery periods, or anaerobic resistance training has similar effects on hippocampal neurogenesis in adulthood. 

Researchers from the Department of Biology of Physical Activity at the University of Jyväskylä studied the effects of sustained running exercise, HIT and resistance training on adult hippocampal neurogenesis in adult male rats. In addition to the commonly used Sprague-Dawley rats were also used: Rats with a genetically high response to aerobic training (HRT) and those with a low response to aerobic training (LRT). The exercise training period was 6 to 8 weeks (running, HIT or resistance training) during which control animals of the same rat line/strain remained in sedentary conditions in the home cage.

The results indicate that the highest number of new hippocampal neurons was observed in rats that ran long distances and that also had a genetic predisposition to benefit from aerobic exercise: Compared to sedentary animals, HRT rats that ran voluntarily on a running wheel had 2-3 times more newhippocampal neurons at the end of the experiment. Resistance training had no such effect. Also the effects of HIT were minor. To conclude, only sustained aerobic exercise improved hippocampal neurogenesis in adult animals.

The result is important because, according to previous research, the new hippocampal neurons produced as a result of neurogenesis are needed among other things for learning temporally and/or spatially complex tasks. It is possible that by promoting neurogenesis via sustained aerobic exercise, the neuron reserve of the hippocampus can be increased and thus also the preconditions for learning improved – also in humans.

Positive attitudes about aging reduce risk of dementia in older adults

Yale University, February 7, 2023

Research has shown that older persons who have acquired positive beliefs about old age from their surrounding culture are less likely to develop dementia. This protective effect was found for all participants, as well as among those carrying a gene that puts them at higher risk of developing dementia, a new study led by the Yale School of Public Health has found.

Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the study reports that older persons with positive age beliefs who carry one of the strongest risk factors for developing dementia—the ε4 variant of the APOE gene —were nearly 50% less likely to develop the disease than their peers who held negative age beliefs.

The study is the first to examine whether culture-based age beliefs influence the risk of developing dementia among older people, including those who carry the high-risk gene variant.

“We found that positive age beliefs can reduce the risk of one of the most established genetic risk factors of dementia,” said lead author Becca Levy, professor of public health and of psychology. “This makes a case for implementing a public health campaign against ageism, which is a source of negative age beliefs.”

Levy and her co-authors studied a group of 4,765 people, with an average age of 72 years, who were free of dementia at the start of the study. Twenty-six percent of the participants in the study were carriers of APOE ε4. The researchers controlled for factors including age and health of the participants.

The study demonstrated that APOE ε4 carriers with positive beliefs about aging had a 2.7% risk of developing dementia, compared to a 6.1% risk for those with negative beliefs about aging, over the four-year study duration.