Nibbles: Fast food and Alzheimer’s, calcium and metabolic syndrome, and what Americans want in their food supply
Mice fed junk have damage like beginnings of Alzheimer’s
When mice were given a steady diet of fat, sugar and cholesterol for nine months they showed early signs of the brain abnormalities that plague people with Alzheimer’s. A study in Sweden looked at mice with a genetic variation that impairs a mechanism in the body for transporting cholesterol (in humans, the gene variation is known as apoE4 and affects 15 to 20 percent of us). The mice fed a junky diet had chemical variations similar to those seen in early Alzheimer’s, which prevent normal cell function in the brain and eventually lead to the cells’ death. Eating lots of cholesterol also seemed to impair a compound related to memory storage, researchers said.
Common pollutant may affect obesity
A common chemical used as a pesticide and wood and textile preservative that can also affect gene activity may play a role in some people developing obesity, according to a study in the journal BioScience. The chemical, tributyltin, affects receptors in cells at very low concentrations and causes female mollusks to develop male characteristics. In humans, it’s possible the chemical’s activation of retinoid X receptors could switch on genes that regulate fat growth and metabolism, ultimately leading to obesity. Researchers in Japan say it’s plausible that chemical pollutants play a role in obesity since the rise in people’s weights has been mirrored by the rise in chemical use.
Exercise, calcium may cut risk of metabolic syndrome
A study looking at 5,000 adults from Illinois found that getting the recommended levels of exercise and calcium made people less likely to have metabolic syndrome, a collection of ailments including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and abdominal obesity. People who didn’t get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days were 85 percent more likely to have metabolic syndrome than those who regularly moved, while not getting enough calcium made people 61 percent more likely to have the health problem. In addition, more African Americans had the syndrome, as well as more people in low income brackets.
Indian minister says kids should learn yoga
India’s health minister says all schoolchildren should learn yoga in the hope that getting them moving will reduce incidence of diabetes and high blood pressure in the future. This comes a week after a religious panel in Malaysia said Muslims shouldn’t do yoga because the Hindu chants involved might corrupt them. Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said yoga can reduce stress, which in turn may lower the risk of some diseases that are all too common in India today. Starting next year all students will be required to learn and practice yoga, Ramadoss said.
Americans want more inspections, labels
Finally a survey by Consumer Union finds that 48 percent of Americans have lost confidence in food safety, and just 54 percent think the country is doing all it can to ensure the food supply is safe. Eighty-one percent say they worry about the safety of imported food, while 83 percent say they’re worried about harmful bacteria and chemicals in food. Ninety-four percent said country of origin labeling should be required at specialty meat and fish markets (which are now largely exempt), and 95 percent want labels on packaged and processed foods. Nearly seven in 10 said cloned animals should be prohibited from the food supply.
(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)
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I wonder what kind of fat the mice in that Swedish study were fed. After all, I’ve often read that all types of fat shouldn’t be lumped into the same category. I couldn’t find an answer to this question in the article about the study. If they were fed a “junky” diet, maybe they were fed trans-fats?
A good book to read is “7 Steps To A Healthy Brain” by Dr. Paul Winner. The book discusses easy things we all can do to keep ourselves well and brain healthy.