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Eating fatty foods during stressful periods can impair the body's 'recovery' from the effects of stress, research suggests. Different findings have shown consuming foods high in fat before a mentally stressful episode can reduce brain oxygenation and cause poorer vascular function in adults. "When we get stressed, our heart rate and blood pressure go up, blood vessels dilate, and blood flow to the brain increases. We also know that the elasticity of our blood vessels—which is a measure of vascular function—declines following mental stress. We found that consuming fatty foods when mentally stressed reduced vascular function by 1.74% (as measured...

New research has found that daily strawberry consumption could help reduce the risk of dementia for certain middle-aged populations. "Both strawberries and blueberries contain antioxidants called anthocyanins, which have been implicated in a variety of berry health benefits such as metabolic and cognitive enhancements," said Krikorian. "There is epidemiological data suggesting that people who consume strawberries or blueberries regularly have a slower rate of cognitive decline with aging." Krikorian said strawberries contain additional micronutrients called ellagitannins and ellagic acid that have been associated with health benefits. About 50% of individuals in the U.S. develop insulin resistance, commonly referred to as...

Researchers suggest that blending certain ingredients in smoothies can influence whether your body is getting a nutritional boost. The study used smoothies to test how various levels of polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme in many fruits and vegetables, affects the levels of flavanols in food to be absorbed by the body. Flavanols are a group of bioactive compounds that are good for your heart and cognitive health and are naturally found in apples, pears, blueberries, blackberries, grapes and cocoa—common smoothie ingredients. Slice an apple or peel a banana and the fruit will quickly turn brown. That happens because of polyphenol oxidase,...

Healthy diets are rich in antioxidants like amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin C, but exactly how beneficial these micronutrients are for cardiovascular health has long been controversial. Now a new meta-analysis provides some clarity. Researchers reviewed 884 studies available on micronutrients taken as dietary supplements. They identified several micronutrients that do reduce cardiovascular risk—as well as others that offer no benefit or even have a negative effect. "We developed a comprehensive, evidence-based integrative map to characterize and quantify micronutrient supplements' potential effects on cardiometabolic outcomes," said Simin Liu, MD. Antioxidant supplementation has long been thought to play a...

Up to three quarters of patients receiving cancer chemotherapy suffer from "chemo brain"—a long-term side effect that makes it harder to remember things. Maria Lehtinen, Ph.D. and Naama Kanarek, Ph.D. conducted studies showing the importance of the CSF in promoting brain health and growth, together with the choroid plexus, the little-known brain tissue that produces CSF. Separately, Kanarek has been studying the metabolic effects of the chemotherapy drug methotrexate. In mice, they found methotrexate caused oxidative damage to both the CSF and the choroid plexus. Lehtinen, Kanarek, and colleagues further showed that methotrexate prevented the choroid plexus from secreting superoxide...

A major risk factor for diabetes, insulin resistance occurs when the cells of the body do not respond to insulin and cannot make use of the glucose (sugar) in the blood stream. The condition is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. George King, MD, identified a pathway in which the cells lining the blood vessels—called endothelial cells—drive the body's metabolism. In a reversal of scientific dogma, the findings suggest that vascular dysfunction may itself be the cause of undesirable metabolic changes that can lead to diabetes, not an effect as previously thought. In addition to being...

People with higher levels of antioxidants in their blood may be less likely to develop dementia, according to a study. The study found that people with the highest levels of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin and beta-cryptoxanthin in their blood were less likely to develop dementia decades later than people with lower levels of the antioxidants. Lutein and zeaxanthin are found in green, leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, broccoli and peas. Beta-cryptoxanthin is found in fruits such as oranges, papaya, tangerines and persimmons. "Extending people's cognitive functioning is an important public health challenge," said study author May A. Beydoun,...

SÃO PAULO, July 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The growing demand for healthiness and products that help support the immune system is expanding the use of botanical ingredients in the global market. The powerful antioxidant effect of quercetin and rutin has brought these bioactive compounds to the forefront, especially for application in food supplements of natural origin. According to research by the Nielsen market intelligence agency on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, consumers are prioritizing products that help them protect their health, particularly those that offer immunity benefits.

Going without sleep for too long kills animals but scientists haven’t known why. Newly published work suggests that the answer lies in an unexpected part of the body. Feeling dead tired? Scientists may finally be on the verge of learning why too little sleep is inevitably fatal. Inside a series of tubes in a bright, warm room at Harvard Medical School, hundreds of fruit flies are staying up late. It has been days since any of them have slept: The constant vibrations that shake their homes preclude rest, cling as they might to the caps of the tubes for respite....

BEIJING — Fear of mortality is one reason Americans spend so much on “antioxidant” products, including Vitamin C supplements and beta-carotene, which promise a longer healthier life. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than half of adults in the U.S. consume some kind of antioxidant product, spending $37 billion each year. But a study conducted in China – where aging is akin to a national obsession these days – claims that antioxidants don’t work as billed. The study is published in the journal Redox Biology. A new study finds that antioxidant supplements may be more harmful to the...

(Reuters) - A decades-old medical mystery - why antioxidants such as vitamin E and beta carotene seemed to accelerate the growth of early lung tumors in high-risk populations such as smokers, rather than protect them from cancer, as theory suggests - may have been solved, according to research published on Wednesday. In essence, "antioxidants allow cancer cells to escape cells' own defense system" against tumors,... That lets existing tumors, even those too small to be detected, proliferate uncontrollably. .... The antioxidants caused a 2.8-fold increase in lung tumors, made the tumors more invasive and aggressive, and caused the mice to...

It sounds like the ingredient list for an indulgent dessert. But red wine, chocolate and strawberries are more than a guilty pleasure. They could all help guard against diabetes. A study found for the first time the high content of flavonoids found in berry fruits may regulate blood glucose levels, and stave off type 2 diabetes. Flavonoids are antioxidant compounds found in plants, as well as tea, red wine and chocolate, which can protect against a wide range of diseases, including heart disease, hypertension, some cancers and dementia. The study found the main protective effect came from higher intakes of...

EATING MELATONIN-RICH CHERRIES ARE ‘‘NATURAL” WAY TO RESET YOUR BODY CLOCK WHEN CROSSING TIME ZONES Research Reveals that Cherries Boost Your Body’s Melatonin Levels to Help Prevent Jet Lag After Long International Flights It takes mere seconds to reset our watch to a different time zone, but our body’s internal time clocks often take longer to sync up in our new locale. Experienced travelers often stash a bottle of melatonin supplements in their carryon bag to help adjust, but experts say there may be a more natural and tasty way to get melatonin: cherries. Recent studies have revealed that cherries...

Athens, Ga. - A new University of Georgia study has found that select varieties of sorghum bran have greater antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties than well-known foods such as blueberries and pomegranates. Researchers measured polyphenolic compounds, which naturally occur in plants to help fight against pests and disease, and found that the black and sumac varieties of sorghum have significant levels of antioxidants. Many fruits also contain these compounds, they said, though sorghum bran may prove to be the richest and cheapest source. “Since most human chronic disease states are associated with chronic inflammation and high oxidative stress, a food ingredient...

Pity all those earnest folks who guzzle down a pricey bottle of fancy tea, hoping for a healthy dose of cancer-fighting "antioxidants" and "flavonoids." This news is hard to swallow: Those drinkers would have to down up to 20 bottles of the stuff to get the same amount of beneficial substances found in a single cup of humble, home-brewed tea. (study)

Researchers find red hot Super Fruit aids sleep in older adultsLANSING, Mich., July 12, 2010 – Drinking tart cherry juice daily could help reduce the severity of insomnia and time spent awake after going to sleep, according to a new study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food1. A team of University of Pennsylvania, University of Rochester and VA Center of Canandaigua researchers conducted a pilot study on the sleep habits of 15 older adults. The adults drank 8 ounces of tart cherry juice beverage (CheriBundi www.cheribundi.com) in the morning and evening for 2 weeks, and a comparable matched juice...

Long-term supplementation with dietary antioxidants has beneficial effects on sugar and fat metabolism, blood pressure and arterial flexibility in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism report these positive results in a randomized controlled trial of combined vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium capsules. Reuven Zimlichman worked with a team of researchers from Wolfson Medical Center, Israel, to carry out the study in 70 patients from the centre's hypertension clinic. He said, "Antioxidant supplementation significantly increased large and small artery elasticity in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors....

A diet rich in natural antioxidants improves insulin sensitivity in insulin-resistant obese adults and enhances the effect of the insulin-sensitizing drug metformin, a preliminary study from Italy finds. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego. "The beneficial effects of antioxidants are known, but we have revealed for the first time one of their biological bases of action—improving hormonal action in obese subjects with the metabolic syndrome," said principal author Antonio Mancini, MD, an endocrinology researcher at Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome. The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of...

Hold off on the megadoses of antioxidant vitamins like C and E. A study by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute shows that you can overdose on these health aids, and the result could be mutated stem cells that cause cancer. There's no cause for alarm if you're staying within suggested doses of your vitamins or nutritional supplements. This study looked only at what happens when people take much more than the standard amounts of antioxidants. Researcher Eduardo Marbán and his colleagues' stumbled on the antioxidant problem while they were researching tissue engineering for human hearts. Using stem cells, Marbán and...

London, ON – A new study at The University of Western Ontario finds the sauces you use when firing up the barbecue this summer may provide unforeseen health benefits. The research, led by Western biology and psychology postdoctoral fellow Raymond Thomas, shows common marinades may be more than just tasty sauces – they can also provide a major source of natural antioxidants. The paper was co-authored by Mark Bernards and Christopher Guglielmo in Western’s department of biology. Foods rich in antioxidants play an essential role in preventing cardiovascular diseases, cancers, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, inflammation and problems associated...