Showing posts with label fast food. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Memory Food

Learn about your amazing brain!

Date:

February 18, 2020

Source:

University of Technology Sydney

Summary:

A healthy diet is essential to living well, but should we change what we eat as we age? Researchers have found strong evidence of the link between food groups and memory loss and its comorbidities. Her findings point to a need for age-specific dietary guidelines as the links may vary with age -- people aged 80+ with a low consumption of cereals are at highest risk of memory loss and comorbid heart disease.

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A healthy diet is essential to living well, but as we age, should we change what we eat?

Learn about your amazing brain!

UTS research fellow Dr Luna Xu has studied data from 139,000 older Australians and found strong links between certain food groups, memory loss and comorbid heart disease or diabetes.

Dr. Xu found high consumption of fruit and vegetables was linked to lowered odds of memory loss and its comorbid heart disease. High consumption of protein-rich foods was associated with a better memory.

Dr Xu also found the link between food group and memory status may vary among different older age groups. People aged 80 years and over with a low consumption of cereals are at the highest risk of memory loss and its comorbid heart disease, her research showed.

"Our present study implies that the healthy eating suggestions of cereals consumption in the prevention of memory loss and comorbid heart disease for older people may differ compared to other age groups," said Dr Xu, who holds a Heart Foundation postdoctoral research fellowship.

She said the study pointed to a need for age-specific healthy dietary guidelines.

Memory loss is one of the main early symptoms for people with dementia, which is the second leading cause of death of Australians. People living with dementia have on average between two and eight comorbid conditions, which may accelerate cognitive and functional impairment. The most common comorbidities in dementia include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and hypertension.

"The dietary intervention in chronic disease prevention and management, by taking into consideration the fact that older populations often simultaneously deal with multiple chronic conditions, is a real challenge," Dr Xu said.

"To achieve the best outcome for our ageing population, strong scientific evidence that supports effective dietary intervention in preventing and managing co-occurring chronic conditions, is essential."

Learn about your amazing brain!

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Materials provided by University of Technology Sydney. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Blame obesity on Thomas Edison?

A reader-friendly guide to the brain. Click here!

from research organizations

Study finds dopamine, biological clock link to snacking, overeating and obesity

Date:: January 3, 2020
Source:: University of Virginia
Summary:: A new study finds that the pleasure center of the brain and the brain's biological clock are linked, and that high-calorie foods -- which bring pleasure -- disrupt normal feeding schedules, resulting in overconsumption.
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Clock and eating concept (stock image).

Credit: © nehopelon / Adobe Stock

During the years 1976 through 1980, 15% of U.S. adults were obese. Today, about 40% of adults are obese. Another 33% are overweight.

Coinciding with this increase in weight are ever-rising rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and health complications caused by obesity, such as hypertension. Even Alzheimer's disease may be partly attributable to obesity and physical inactivity.

"The diet in the U.S. and other nations has changed dramatically in the last 50 years or so, with highly processed foods readily and cheaply available at any time of the day or night," Ali Güler, a professor of biology at the University of Virginia, said. "Many of these foods are high in sugars, carbohydrates and calories, which makes for an unhealthy diet when consumed regularly over many years."

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In a study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology, Güler and his colleagues demonstrate that the pleasure center of the brain that produces the chemical dopamine, and the brain's separate biological clock that regulates daily physiological rhythms, are linked, and that high-calorie foods -- which bring pleasure -- disrupt normal feeding schedules, resulting in overconsumption. Using mice as study models, the researchers mimicked the 24/7 availability of a high-fat diet, and showed that anytime snacking eventually results in obesity and related health problems.

Güler's team found that mice fed a diet comparable to a wild diet in calories and fats maintained normal eating and exercise schedules and proper weight. But mice fed high-calorie diets laden with fats and sugars began "snacking" at all hours and became obese.

Additionally, so-called "knockout" mice that had their dopamine signaling disrupted -- meaning they didn't seek the rewarding pleasure of the high-fat diet -- maintained a normal eating schedule and did not become obese, even when presented with the 24/7 availability of high-calorie feeds.

A reader-friendly guide to the brain. Click

"We've shown that dopamine signaling in the brain governs circadian biology and leads to consumption of energy-dense foods between meals and during odd hours," Güler said.

Other studies have shown, Güler said, that when mice feed on high-fat foods between meals or during what should be normal resting hours, the excess calories are stored as fat much more readily than the same number of calories consumed only during normal feeding periods. This eventually results in obesity and obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes.

Speaking of the modern human diet, Güler said, "The calories of a full meal may now be packed into a small volume, such as a brownie or a super-size soda. It is very easy for people to over-consume calories and gain excessive weight, often resulting in obesity and a lifetime of related health problems.

"Half of the diseases that affect humans are worsened by obesity. And this results in the need for more medical care and higher health care costs for individuals, and society."

Güler said the human body, through thousands of years of evolution, is hard-wired to consume as much food as possible as long as it's available. He said this comes from a long earlier history when people hunted or gathered food and had brief periods of plenty, such as after a kill, and then potentially lengthy periods of famine. Humans also were potential prey to large animals and so actively sought food during the day, and sheltered and rested at night.

"We evolved under pressures we no longer have," Güler said. "It is natural for our bodies as organisms to want to consume as much as possible, to store fat, because the body doesn't know when the next meal is coming.

"But, of course, food is now abundant, and our next meal is as close as the kitchen, or the nearest fast-food drive-through, or right here on our desk. Often, these foods are high in fats, sugars, and therefore calories, and that's why they taste good. It's easy to overconsume, and, over time, this takes a toll on our health."

Additionally, Güler said, prior to the advent of our electricity-powered society, people started the day at dawn, worked all day, often doing manual labor, and then went to sleep with the setting of the sun. Human activity, therefore, was synchronized to day and night. Today, we are working, playing, staying connected -- and eating -- day and night. This, Guler said, affects our body clocks, which were evolved to operate on a sleep-wake cycle timed to daytime activity, moderate eating and nighttime rest.

"This lights-on-all-the-time, eat-at-any-time lifestyle recasts eating patterns and affects how the body utilizes energy," he said. "It alters metabolism -- as our study shows -- and leads to obesity, which causes disease. We're learning that when we eat is just as important as how much we eat. A calorie is not just a calorie. Calories consumed between meals or at odd hours become stored as fat, and that is the recipe for poor health."

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences and University of Virginia Brain Institute funded the research.

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Materials provided by University of Virginia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Junk food can lead to blindness

The brain, master control for all of our senses, enables our vision. Click here for more information.

September 3, 2019

Source: University of Bristol

Summary:

An extreme case of 'fussy' or 'picky' eating caused a young patient's blindness, according to a new case report. The researchers who examined the case recommend clinicians consider nutritional optic neuropathy in any patients with unexplained vision symptoms and poor diet, regardless of BMI, to avoid permanent vision loss.

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French fries (stock image).

An extreme case of "fussy" or "picky" eating caused a young patient's blindness, according to a new case report published today in Annals of Internal Medicine.

The University of Bristol researchers who examined the case recommend clinicians consider nutritional optic neuropathy in any patients with unexplained vision symptoms and poor diet, regardless of BMI, to avoid permanent vision loss.

Nutritional optic neuropathy is a dysfunction of the optic nerve which is important for vision. The condition is reversible, if caught early. But, left untreated, it can lead to permanent structural damage to the optic nerve and blindness.

In developed countries like the UK, the most common causes of nutritional optic neuropathy are bowel problems or drugs that interfere with the absorption of various important nutrients from the stomach. Purely dietary causes are less common because food supply is good, but elsewhere in the world, poverty, war and drought are linked to malnutrition and higher rates of nutritional optic neuropathy.

Clinician scientists from Bristol Medical School and the Bristol Eye Hospital examined the case of a teenage patient who first visited his GP complaining of tiredness. The link between his nutritional status and vision was not picked up until much later, and by then, his visual impairment had become permanent.

Aside from being a "fussy eater," the patient had a normal BMI and height and no visible signs of malnutrition and took no medications. Initial tests showed macrocytic anemia and low vitamin B12 levels, which were treated with vitamin B12 injections and dietary advice. When the patient visited the GP a year later, hearing loss and vision symptoms had developed, but no cause was found. By age 17, the patient's vision had progressively worsened, to the point of blindness. Further investigation found the patient had vitamin B12 deficiency, low copper and selenium levels, a high zinc level, and markedly reduced vitamin D level and bone mineral density. Since starting secondary school, the patient had consumed a limited diet of chips, crisps, white bread, and some processed pork. By the time the patient's condition was diagnosed, the patient had permanently impaired vision.

The researchers concluded that the patient's 'junk food' diet and limited intake of nutritional vitamins and minerals resulted in the onset of nutritional optic neuropathy. They suggest the condition could become more prevalent in future, given the widespread consumption of 'junk food' at the expense of more nutritious options, and the rising popularity of veganism if the vegan diet is not supplemented appropriately to prevent vitamin B12 deficiency.

Dr Denize Atan, the study's lead author and Consultant Senior Lecturer in Ophthalmology at Bristol Medical School and Clinical Lead for Neuro-ophthalmology at Bristol Eye Hospital, said: "Our vision has such an impact on quality of life, education, employment, social interactions, and mental health. This case highlights the impact of diet on visual and physical health, and the fact that calorie intake and BMI are not reliable indicators of nutritional status."

The team recommends dietary history should be part of any routine clinical examination like asking about smoking and alcohol intake. This may avoid a diagnosis of nutritional optic neuropathy being missed or delayed as some associated visual loss can fully recover if the nutritional deficiencies are treated early enough.

The brain, master control for all of our senses, enables our vision. Click here for more information.

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Materials provided by University of Bristol. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.