Dr. Conor Kerley is a dietician and nutrition researcher in Ireland. He was diagnosed with MS as a teenager, and has dedicated his career to studying diet and supplements and how they affect human health. We discuss some of the scientific evidence behind nutrition and various supplements and his recommendations.
A recently compiled list of foods and drinks commonly consumed in the United States suggests why many adults inadvertently consume excessive saturated fat and added sugar in their daily diet.
The study reveals that limiting fat and sugar to the recommended 10% of daily calories is challenging due to various popular sources, such as cheese for saturated fat and soft drinks for added sugar. Unexpected sources like chicken and ketchup contribute to overconsumption, posing risks for cairdiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
The analysis of data from over 35,000 U.S. adults is part of a project to develop a research tool to streamline the assessment of these dietary downsides. The work also aims to raise awareness among consumers about the unexpected sources of fat and sugar that accumulate over the overesearchers hope this will encourage shoppers to read labels and identify these hidden sources.
“Chicken breast is often promoted as a low saturated fat food, but it still contains a small amount of saturated fat. It’s important to be aware that even foods with smaller amounts of saturated fat can contribute to the overall intake, gradually adding saturated fat into the diet,” explained Christopher Taylor, the first author of the study and a professor and director of medical dietetics at The Ohio State University’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
“Meeting less than 10% helps identify major contributors, and allows us to recognize where saturated fat and added sugar might still be present in other food options. This doesn’t mean these are bad choices – it’s about being mindful of how the morning latte might be contributing.”
Lead author Susan Schembre, an associate professor of oncology at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, raised a public health policy concern about the abundant added sugar.
“It’s present in so many unexpected foods and often in surprising amounts,” she remarked.
The researchers examined information from 36,378 adults in the United States, aged 19 and older, who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2018. This survey gathered 24-hour dietary recalls from each participant, providing detailed information on what and when all food and beverages were consumed over the preceding two days.
Here is the rewritten text:The main sources of saturated fat were cheese, pizza, ice cream, and eggs. The leading sources of added sugar were soft drinks, tea, fruit drinks, cakes, and pies. According to the USDA’s “What We Eat in America” food list, other categories contributing to saturated fat intake include cold cuts, cream substitutes, fried potatoes, and whole milk. Categories with added sugar include tomato-based condiments, cereal bars, energy drinks, and yeast breads.
The research team also analyzed variations in the primary sources of saturated fat and added sugar across different race/ethnicity groups and age brackets, which is crucial when evaluating diets for the purpose of developing tailored health interventions, Schembre explained.
“Before you understand what you can intervene on, you have to know what people are consuming,” she said.
The team is developing an app for focused assessment of “nutrients of concern.” They have shown that this analytical method generates a comprehensive list of foods that contribute to most of the saturated fat and added sugar intake. While NHANES data is important for understanding nutrition in the United States, identifying the specific food and beverage sources of fat, added sugar, and soon, sodium, is more efficient and effective for disease interventions.
The analysis revealed that saturated fat made up at least 12% of daily calories, while added sugar intake ranged from 14% to 16% of total calories. Although dietary recommendations often highlight common culprits like pizza and ice cream, this comprehensive list provides valuable and, for some, surprising insights, according to Taylor.
“There are foods that are high in saturated fat and added sugar which are frequently consumed and often targeted. However, there is also a smaller cumulative effect of things that are generally perceived as healthy, but still contribute a little bit,” he said. “When you top it off with some of those higher sources, it ends up taking you over the threshold for 10% of the day’s calories.”
“We’re aiming to find the right balance between addressing the major issues upfront while also recognizing the subtle contributors.”
Research by Professor Neda Akhavan in UNLV’s Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences indicates that the health benefits of potatoes are often misunderstood. Credit: Becca Schwartz/UNLV
Nutrition sciences professor Neda Akhavan’s recent study suggests spuds as a potential superfood for those with Type 2 diabetes
The potato is small enough to fit inside a person’s hand, yet it contains enough nutrients to help whittle waistlines and lower blood sugar in adults with Type 2 diabetes. Despite the fact that potatoes, particularly the skins, are packed with health-boosting nutrients, they routinely get a bad rap among dieters.
There may soon be a change, thanks to new research conducted by Neda Akhavan, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences within UNLV’s School of Integrated Health Sciences. Akhavan recently presented her findings on the cardiovascular benefits of potatoes for individuals living with Type 2 diabetes to the Alliance for Potato Research and Education. “I enjoy researching food items that are often stigmatized in the field of nutrition,” she stated. “Many people think of potatoes as something that is usually fried or high in fat, and we wanted to highlight how a potato, when prepared properly, can be both functional and healthy.”
Akhavan enlisted 24 participants for the study, all of whom had Type 2 diabetes that was well controlled with medication. Funded by the Alliance for Potato Research and Education, this is believed to be the first study of its kind to scientifically measure the cardiovascular benefits of potatoes for adults with diabetes.
Participants in the study group were each given a pre-prepared baked potato with the skin measured to 100g, with only 20 grams of carbohydrates, roughly enough to fit in one hand to incorporate as a snack or side with meals daily. The control group was given a similar potion of white rice with the same number of calories and carbohydrates. The study ran daily for 12 weeks, which is considered the minimum time needed to see changes in indices of glycemic control and cardiometabolic health.
Study participants were permitted to add herbs or spices to the potatoes, or up to ½ tbsp of butter, but they were advised not to fry their potato.
A slight reduction in fasting blood glucose levels was observed in study participants who consumed potatoes. Additionally, improvements in body composition and waist circumference, as well as a decrease in resting heart rate, were noted.
“The results from our study provide evidence that white potatoes can be healthfully incorporated in the diet of individuals with Type 2 diabetes when substituted for other foods with a high glycemic load, such as long-grain white rice,” Akhavan said. “Additionally, there were no harmful effects on measured health outcomes, and some cardiometabolic health benefits were shown, which aligned with what we expected to see. Therefore, diabetics should not shy away from potatoes.”
Akhavan says that just like all foods, moderation – and preparation methods – are key.
“Potatoes are a versatile food and can be eaten with most types of cuisines. However, it’s important to incorporate them into a well-rounded diet,” she said. “For those short on time, consider making a large batch of baked or roasted potatoes and meal prepping to last you a while. I don’t oppose boiling potatoes, but you want to keep as much of the potassium from the skin as possible, and you lose some of that when you boil them.”
Potatoes are the richest source of dietary potassium in Western diets, and high potassium diets have been shown to prevent high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes development. Additionally, potato skins contain a certain type of fiber called “resistance starch,” which have been shown to improve glucose control, lipid profiles, and satiety. Because of these added health benefits, Akhavan recommends eating potatoes with the skin.
So, the next time you want to reach for a banana, she added, reach for that potato instead.
“A lot of people are shocked to learn that a potato has a higher level of potassium than a banana,” she said. “Believe it or not, a baked potato is one of the most satiating foods consumed within the western diet. And, when it is consumed baked, it increases our ability to feel fuller throughout the day.”
Akhavan intends to expand the study in the coming months to include a larger and more diverse participant population, and incorporation of potatoes within a Mediterranean dietary pattern. She also plans to explore the role of potato consumption and its effects on dietary patterns and related health benefits.
Consuming components of the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower levels of perceived stress and mental distress, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. Credit Alachua County
Following the Mediterranean diet rather than the traditional Western diet might reduce stress, according to new research conducted by a team from Binghamton University, State University of New York.
Lina Begdache, associate professor of health and wellness studies, said the findings suggest that people can lower their perception of how much stress they can tolerate by following a Mediterranean diet.
“Stress is recognized to be a precursor to mental distress, and research, including our own, has demonstrated that the Mediterranean diet lowers mental distress,” she said. “Thus, one element of the puzzle may be explained by the fact that the Mediterranean diet may be associated with a decrease in the negative components of perceived stress and an improvement in its positive attributes.”
The Mediterranean diet is plant-based, with healthy fats, and mainly includes wholesome food and a spectrum of natural colours. It stands in sharp contrast to the Western diet, which is known for its high concentration of high-glycemic and low-quality processed foods.
While the Mediterranean diet is known for its benefits to both mental and physical health, little is known about its effect on perceived stress, which is how much stress you are under at any particular time.
To assess this, Begdache and her students surveyed over 1,500 people, asking them what foods they ate and evaluating their perceived stress levelsss. Using a machine learning model, the results show that consuming components of the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower levels of perceived stress and mental distres,s while consuming Western dietary components is correlated with perceived stress and mental anguish.
Begdache said these results close a gap in the literature because most studies on diet and stress focused on how stress affects dietary choices and quality. She and her team are looking at different aspects of brain function and behaviours about dietary patterns.
The decision-making process in our brain has long been a mystery to science. However, researchers at ETH Zurich have decoded the specific brain chemical and nerve cells responsible for such decisions: orexin as the messenger substance and the neurons that produce it.
The neuroscientific principles mentioned are important because a large number of individuals do not engage in sufficient physical activity. Many of us have likely chosen to forgo exercise in favor of other daily temptations at least once or multiple times. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of adolescents and 27 percent of adults do not get enough exercise. Additionally, obesity is rapidly rising, affecting not only adults but also children and adolescents.
“Despite these statistics, many people are able to resist the constantly present temptations and get enough exercise,” says Denis Burdakov, Professor of Neuroscience at ETH Zurich. “We wanted to understand what it is in our brain that assists us in making these decisions.”
Sure, here is the revised text:In their experiments with mice, the researchers demonstrated that orexin plays a crucial role in this process. It is one of over a hundred messenger substances active in the brain. While chemical messengers like serotonin and dopamine have been known for a long time and their functions largely decoded, orexin was discovered relatively recently, around 25 years ago. Scientists are now gradually uncovering its functions, and Burdakov is one of the researchers dedicated to studying orexin.
“In neuroscience, dopamine is often cited as the reason for our choices in various activities,” explains Burdakov. This neurotransmitter plays a crucial role in our overall motivation. “However, our current understanding of dopamine does not provide a simple explanation for why we might choose to exercise over eating,” the scientist elaborates. “Dopamine is released in the brain both when we eat and when we exercise, which doesn’t clarify why we make one choice over the other.”
In order to determine what drives certain behavior, the researchers set up a complex experiment for mice. In this experiment, the mice were given the freedom to choose from eight different options during ten-minute trials. The options included a running wheel and a “milkshake bar” where they could enjoy a standard strawberry-flavored milkshake. According to Burdakov, mice enjoy milkshakes for the same reasons people do: they contain high levels of sugar and fat and taste good.
In their experiment, the scientists compared different groups of mice: one group consisted of normal mice, and the other group had their orexin systems blocked, either with a drug or through genetic modification of their cells.
The mice with an intact orexin system spent twice as much time on the running wheel and half as much time at the milkshake bar as the mice whose orexin system had been blocked. Interestingly, however, the behavior of the two groups didn’t differ in experiments in which the scientists only offered the mice either the running wheel or the milkshake. This means that the primary role of the orexin system is not to control how much the mice move or how much they eat. Rather, it seems central to making the decision between one and the other when both options are available. Without orexin, the decision was strongly in favor of the milkshake, and the mice gave up exercising in favor of eating.
The researchers at ETH Zurich believe that orexin may be responsible for decision-making in humans, as the brain functions involved are practically the same in both species. Daria Peleg-Raibstein, a group leader at ETH Zurich, who conducted the study with Denis Burdakov, stated that further verification in humans is needed. This could involve studying patients with restricted orexin systems due to genetic reasons, which affects about one in two thousand people who suffer from narcolepsy. Another approach would be to observe individuals receiving a drug that blocks orexin, as such drugs are authorized for patients with insomnia.
“If we understand how the brain arbitrates between food consumption and physical activity, we can develop more effective strategies for addressing the global obesity epidemic and related metabolic disorders,” says Peleg-Raibstein. In particular, interventions could be developed to help overcome exercise barriers in healthy individuals and those whose physical activity is limited. However, Burdakov points out that these would be important questions for scientists involved in clinical research in humans. He and his group have dedicated themselves to basic neuroscientific research. Next, he wants to find out how the orexin neurons interact with the rest of the brain when making decisions like the one between exercise and snacking.””