Some surprising research has been revealed regarding foods and the support for our health. We have always known that broccoli is good for us; it is being tested as a cancer fighter. However, researchers now think that it could also combat age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is the most common cause of eyesight loss in the elderly.
There appears to be one compound in broccoli that is having a positive effect on health, and researchers have supercharged it 10 times to help prevent AMD. The compound, indole-3-carbinol (I3C), helps the body clear toxins, a natural process that weakens in our bodies as we grow old.
In cases of AMD, the compound helps to detoxify the retina, say researchers at the Buck Institute for Research on Ageing. However, people would have to eat ‘unreasonable’ amounts of broccoli to obtain the benefits just from diet alone. Therefore, the supercharged version has been tested as an injection.
Apparently, this may only be part of the picture, as fats from omega-3 fatty acids also seem to help protect against AMD, according to other research. This means adding nuts, fish, dairy and vegetable oils to the diets as we grow older, which will help towards our eyesight health (Sci. Rep.,2016).
I have previously written about ‘good mood food’. Now research has been carried out at the University of Queensland, Australia, to show that fruit and vegetables can make us happier. It can take up to two years before the full benefits kick in. However, that is quicker than the speed at which diet can impact on our health.
Not surprisingly, people who haven’t been eating any fruit or vegetables beforehand, experienced the greatest boost in happiness. The researchers measured the well-being of 12,385 volunteers who had kept food diaries and assessed their happiness and life satisfaction over a six-year period. They found that eating up to eight portions of fruit and vegetables raised the sense of satisfaction, well-being and happiness as much as finding work when we have been unemployed.
Adding probiotics to your diet can help you lose weight
Probiotics add friendly bacteria to your gut, in particular when you have taken a course of antibiotics, which kill all the good bacteria. It has now been found that adding probiotics to your diet can help you lose weight. The new study found that those who take multiple species of probiotics each day and continue for at least eight weeks benefit the most.
The researchers stress that the weight loss is ‘modest’, but can be enough to prevent Type 2 diabetes, for example, in someone who is already overweight. In a review of 25 previously published studies relating to the effectiveness of probiotics, and involving almost 2,000 people, researchers at the Taizhou People’s Hospital in China found that taking probiotics significantly reduced body weight and BMI (body mass index).
Although it has often been claimed that probiotics make our gut more efficient and so help us lose weight, it is a benefit that has not been scientifically proved, say the researchers (Int. J. Food Sci.,Nutr.,2015)
Coffee is a confusing drink. There is no doubt, in excess, it is not good for us. I stopped drinking it many years ago and experienced painful side effects for at least a week until I realised how badly it had been affecting my body.
One week we are told it is good for us and the next we are told it is bad. So researchers have reviewed 1,277 studies published from the mid-1970s onwards. The conclusion is related to how many cups of coffee you drink each day. They found that around three cups per day has a generally neutral effect on our health and may even be beneficial. However, I still don’t have any conclusive answers.
The researchers found that for most healthy adults, the benefits of coffee drinking outweigh any risks when it comes to life expectancy, heart disease, cancer, neurological problems, stomach complaints and general health.
However, it is difficult to be certain, say researchers from the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health in Coleraine. Most studies were observational (the participants reported any changes to their health). Therefore, it is not easy to prove cause and effect when it comes to lifestyle factors such as drinking coffee. In addition, no one is entirely sure what it is in coffee that has the positive effects on health (Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf., 2016). I have never drunk it again, so I would think either abstinence or very small amounts would be the answer.
Another confusion is regarding butter. Apparently, there is no evidence it causes heart disease and it may even protect against type 2 diabetes. Therefore, eating 14g of butter each day may not cause cardiovascular disease. This is following reviews of nine international studies tracking more than 636,000 people. They found that those who were eating butter every day had a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The conclusion was that current dietary guidelines need to be reviewed, as they promote non-hydrogenated vegetable oils over saturated fats (PLoS One, 2016).
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