tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48039810643168764802024-03-18T19:57:35.130-07:00Health and Science PortalAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-74299145805301067922018-02-15T03:03:00.004-08:002018-02-15T03:03:54.710-08:00INPST website was moved<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; line-height: 115%;">INPST has moved to:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> <a href="http://inpst.net/">http://inpst.net/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.5pt; line-height: 115%;">#INPST #Science #Health #Diet #Nutrition #Chemistry #Biology
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-36960475291655977092018-01-13T02:24:00.002-08:002018-01-13T02:24:36.373-08:00International Natural Product Science Taskforce (INPST)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The International Natural Product Science Taskforce (INPST)
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#Phytochemistry #Pharmacology #Pharmacognosy #Nutrition
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-11142206352310495762018-01-08T23:55:00.000-08:002018-01-08T23:55:18.001-08:00Discovery and resupply of pharmacologically active plant-derived natural products: A review.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Discovery and resupply of pharmacologically active plant-derived natural products: A review.<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/goog_1411102179"><br /></a>
<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26281720">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26281720</a><br />
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#Science #Medicine #Health #Chemistry #Pharmacology #Pharmacognosy #Ethnopharmacology #Phytochemistry #Biotechnology #Research #SciComm<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-3456168839985871982017-07-19T22:55:00.001-07:002017-07-20T23:17:50.327-07:00Evaluation of anti-inflammatory properties of herbal drugs: how useful could be ATR-FTIR spectroscopy?<br />
<b>Abstract</b><br />
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Inflammation is a hallmark of some of today's most life-threatening diseases such as arteriosclerosis, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. Herbal medicines (HMs) are re-emerging resources in the fight against these conditions and for many of them, anti-inflammatory activity has been demonstrated. However, several aspects of HMs such as their multi-component character, natural variability and pharmacodynamic interactions (e.g. synergism) hamper identification of their bioactive constituents and thus the development of appropriate quality control (QC) workflows. In this study, we investigated the potential use of Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy as a tool to rapidly and non-destructively assess different anti-inflammatory properties of ethanolic extracts from various species of the Genus Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae). Reference measurements for multivariate calibration comprised <i>in vitro</i> bioactivity of crude extracts towards four key players of inflammation: Nitric oxide (NO), interleukin 8 (IL-8), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β/δ (PPAR β/δ), and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cells (NF-κB). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a statistically significant, quantitative pattern-activity relationship between the extracts' ATR-FTIR spectra and their ability to modulate these targets in the corresponding cell models. Ensemble orthogonal partial least squares (OPLS) discriminant models were established for the identification of extracts exhibiting high and low activity with respect to their potential to suppress NO and IL-8 production. Predictions made on an independent test set revealed good generalizability of the models with overall sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 100%, respectively. Partial least squares (PLS) regression models were successfully established to predict the extracts' ability to suppress NO production and NF-κB activity with root mean squared errors of cross-validation (RMSECV) of 8.7% and 0.05-fold activity, respectively.<br />
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<b>Conclusions</b><br />
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Taken together the present work has demonstrated the potential use of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy for the quantitative assessment of <i>in vitro</i> anti-inflammatory activity of Lonicera. In particular, our data i) revealed a significant quantitative pattern-activity relationship between the here investigated extracts IR spectra and their <i>in vitro</i> bioactivities, ii) yielded chemometric models tailored to predict bioactivity towards NO, IL-8 and NF-κB with reasonable accuracy, and iii) allowed reliable assessment of bioactivity of extracts prepared from accessions from different origins (i.e. China, Austria), species (i.e. <i>L. japonica</i>, <i>L. macrantha</i>) and even plant organs (i.e. flower buds, leaves). The latter point underpins that the here presented approach was capable of capturing the pharmacological activity-related spectral patterns in a wide array of biologically diverse samples which goes beyond previous studies where metabolomic fingerprint data has been exploited for the prediction of bioactivity of samples from a single species only [40]. Finally, we want to point out that although correlation between spectral patterns and bioactivity does not necessarily imply a direct, causal relationship they possibly provide valuable information that might help guiding discovery of the underlying active principle(s). In light of the here presented results we conclude that ATR-FTIR in combination with pharmacological assays holds promise for the assessment of HMs beyond mere authentication and quantification of marker compounds.<br />
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<b>Full text access</b><br />
(the full text can also be obtained directly from the authors)<br />
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R. Nikzad-Langerodi, S. Ortmann, E.M. Pferschy-Wenzig, V. Bochkov, Y.M. Zhao, J.H. Miao, J. Saukel, A. Ladurner, E.H. Heiss, V.M. Dirsch, R. Bauer, A.G. Atanasov, Assessment of anti-inflammatory properties of extracts from Honeysuckle (Lonicera sp. L., Caprifoliaceae) by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, Talanta, Available online 18 July 2017, ISSN 0039-9140 <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2017.07.045">doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2017.07.045</a><br />
Link from Elsevier for a free access to the publication (valid for 50 days, until September 09, 2017): <a href="https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1VP-m_w5I5HBE" target="_blank">https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1VP-m_w5I5HBE</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post: </b>natural products, medicinal plants, scientific studies, research, biochemistry, herbal medicine, botanicals, phytotherapy, natural product, phytochemistry, pharmacognosy, phytochemicals, bioactivity, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, traditional Chinese medicine, anti-inflammatory activity, plant quality control, chemometrics, cell-based assays, Lonicera, ATR-FTIR fingerprint, herbal medicines.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-86132879588980928912017-07-11T23:27:00.001-07:002017-07-11T23:27:27.496-07:00Nutrigenomics in cancer: revisiting the effects of natural compounds<br />
<b>Abstract</b><br />
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Nutrigenomics effects have an important role in the manipulation of dietary components for human benefit, particularly in cancer prevention or treatment. The impact of dietary components, including phytochemicals, is largely studied by nutrigenomics, looking at the gene expression and molecular mechanisms interacting with bioactive compounds and nutrients, based on new 'omics' technologies. The high number of preclinical studies proves the relevant role of nutrigenomics in cancer management. By deciphering the network of nutrient-gene connections associated with cancer, relevant data will be transposed as therapeutic interventions for this devastating pathology and for fulfilling the concept of personalized nutrition. All these are presented under the nutrigenomics canopy for a better comprehension of the relation between ingested phytochemicals and chemoprevention or chemotherapy. The profits from the nutrigenomics progress, with a particular focus on the coding and noncoding genes related to the exposure of natural compounds need to be validated. A precise attention receives the evaluation of the role of natural compounds in tandem with conventional therapy using genomic approaches, with emphasis on the capacity to inhibit drug resistance mechanisms. All these relevant nutrigenomics aspects are summarized in the present review paper. It is concluded that further nutrigenomics studies are required to improve our understanding related to the complex mechanisms of action of the natural compounds and for their appropriate application as gears in cancer therapy.<br />
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<b>Conclusion and perspectives</b><br />
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It is clear that these natural phytochemicals act as key signaling molecules as one might observe from the nutrigenomics pattern of these molecules. In spite of the increased number of investigations, the results remain inconclusive, and only few cases are implemented into clinical trials. These preclinical data are useful and can serve as a base for developing novel antitumor agents, with superior pharmacologically and biologically active effects. The failure of some clinical trials can be justified by the lack of natural matrices retrieved in the natural source. The enriched plant extract can be delivered in a partially oxidized form, due to the low stability of these natural phytochemicals. The genomic investigation allows the biological elucidation of the capacity of phytochemicals to modulate transcriptomics profiles, which is a highly complex task. An important role in the validation of preclinical data on clinical trials is to consider the environmental risk factors that might affect the disease model making the validation on humans very difficult. The different toxic environmental exposure is a major component of genomic studies related to natural compounds as benefactors in cancer neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This might create a different response rate, or a combination of toxic agents with phytochemicals. An important role is played by epigenetic events and their<br />
relationship with transcription factors. Prior to become a true daily reality, nutrigenomics is anticipated to validate proof of concept for its main identified mechanisms, and then to be implemented in clinical practice. Diverse pro/contra opinions were addressed to natural phytochemicals, based on genomics evaluation. These missing puzzle pieces make it difficult to assess whether a particular phytochemical has an overall positive or negative effect on cell proliferation. The further application of genomic approaches will elucidate the different molecular mechanisms targeted, and will allow the identification of the doses having chemopreventive/therapeutic or detrimental effects. There is no doubt about the benefit of these natural compounds in human health and in the same time it is very difficult to ignore the controversial data due to the extensive range of experimental and preclinical models used for the evaluation the biological effect. These discrepancies can be reduced with the development of a natural product database and standardization of the protocols. The process of novel drug discovery or drug design from natural products is based on the integration of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics data. The natural compounds have multifaceted properties due to the heterogeneity of the different molecular structures that are retrieved from natural sources. In spite of all these difficulties it is important to introduce in daily practice the concept of personalized diet that supports the chemotherapeutic treatment.<br />
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<b>Full text access</b><br />
(the full text can also be obtained directly from the authors)<br />
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Braicu C, Mehterov N, Vladimirov B, Sarafian V, Nabavi S, Atanasov AG, Berindan-Neagoe I. Nutrigenomics in cancer: revisiting the effects of natural compounds. Semin Cancer Biol. 2017 Jul 1. pii: S1044-579X(17)30171-2. doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2017.06.011. Review. PubMed PMID: 28676460.<br />
<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044579X17301712" target="_blank">http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044579X17301712</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post:</b> natural products, food ingredients, medicinal plants, scientific studies, patients, research, clinical science, pathophysiology, health, biochemistry, diet, food, dietary ingredients, foods, healthy lifestyle, herbal medicine, botanicals, phytotherapy, natural product, phytochemistry, pharmacognosy, phytochemicals, phytonutrients, flavonoids, phytochemical supplements, phytonutrient supplements, polyphenols, bioactivity, bioactive compounds, food and nutrition, nutrition, nutritional supplements, cancer, nutrigenomics.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-77478423382810072552017-07-05T23:32:00.003-07:002017-07-09T06:16:15.673-07:00Human Microbiome Project: A Brand Makeover Opportunity<b><br /></b> <b>Guest post by Sudhir Ahluwalia.</b><br />
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The <a href="http://hmpdacc.org/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff6600; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">Human Microbiome Project</a> (HMP) launched in 2008 as an extension of another ambitious global project—the Human Genome Project. HMP seeks to understand the metagenome (the combined genomes of all the microbes) of 300 healthy people. Five body areas are being sampled: skin, mouth, nose, colon and vagina.</div>
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The project is generating a huge amount of scientific research aimed at achieving a better understanding of gut-based microorganisms. As we understand the role and dynamics of these microorganisms (collectively, we can also call them the microbiome), we get to better appreciate their role in maintaining health and in helping to prevent and treat many ailments.</div>
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The microbiome helps digest food, regulate the immune system and protect the body from harmful microorganisms. The intimate connection between gut-based bacteria and the brain is also being uncovered. New scientific interpretations to old concepts of gut “think" and gut “feel" are being offered. Emeran Mayer, M.D., Ph.D., discussed this connection and interpretation in detail in his book “The Mind-Gut Connection."</div>
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Mayer goes through the history of the earth to explain the phenomenon. Single-celled bacteria found in abundance in the primeval seas had an extremely limited genetic code. That made standalone survival impossible. The harsh conditions of the primeval seas could be overcome only by symbiotically sharing individual microorganism capability, and collectively leveraging that for survival of the ancient microbiota.</div>
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The primeval organisms have since disappeared. A new set of microorganisms now reside in the human gut. But the principle mechanism of information exchange between bacteria has endured. Mayer characterized this communication and symbiosis between microbiota to form the basis of the gut mind, which in turn has a huge impact on human health.</div>
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Explanations regarding the importance of the gut microbiome to human health and well-being are new. But the association of health and the gut has been known to man since ancient times. Both in Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) systems, the role of the gut is central to disease treatment and good health.</div>
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The connection of the gut microbiota and diet is leading to spinoff recommendations. In their 2015 book “The Good Gut," Justin and Erica Sonnenburg shared a seven-day microbiota-friendly diet for North Americans. The rich-in-fiber diet is intended to feed the human gut microbiota, as a healthy microbiota is critical to individual health.</div>
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The importance of probiotic bacteria in human digestion is now universally accepted. Physicians commonly recommend probiotic foods and other nutraceutical supplements to patients suffering from a variety of ailments. This has helped enhance the brand of this class of nutraceutical products.</div>
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But it is the drug and food companies that have leveraged these recommendations. They have created a range of consumer health products. These now have become a major source of revenue for these companies.</div>
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Probiotics have now become a household name the world over. We have probiotic yogurts and fermented foods that build the microbiota in the gut. Today, these consumer food products are fully integrated into the healthy food consumption basket of people.</div>
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On the other hand, the natural products industry, which is almost exclusively nutraceutical and food-based, continues to struggle. I find this contradictory. The mainstream health care industry has jumped on the health bandwagon and created a mass market for these products.</div>
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Pharmaceutical and natural product companies will further leverage the research outcomes from the HMP, and further expand their brands and product profiles in the health food market. The Project is still ongoing. It is an opportunity for the natural products industry to rebrand and redefine its role in the health care sector.</div>
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I do not think this will require a major redesign of the natural industry. Today, the natural products industry is investing a lot of sweat and resources to convince consumers that their products and natural commodities are good for their health. Expanding the product and industry beyond the traditional natural product consumer fan base has been a challenge.</div>
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The counter narrative presented by the pharmaceutical and medical community is often that the scientific basis of the natural products industry is tenuous. They have leveraged this, and are rapidly occupying the traditional natural products market base.</div>
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The industry is trying to collaborate with research institutions, conduct animal trials and bring evidence to support the efficacy of the products they wish to market. Others are innovating and trying to leverage biotechnological solutions to convince consumers of the uniqueness and scientific support of their brands.</div>
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Rebranding of natural product lines will entail getting the mindshare of the consumer. The HMP provides the opportunity to make that connection. The association between natural products and the gut is clearly understood by the natural products industry.</div>
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A chorus of voices will need to be generated to make that connection. Building the chorus and communication is at the heart of any rebranding. While the industry will need to associate itself with each HMP subproject, writers and journalists will have to add their voices and take it to their fan base. With a bit of effort rebranding, it can be achieved.</div>
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<i style="color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Sudhir Ahluwalia (<a href="http://www.sudhirahluwalia.com/" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #006eac; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">sudhirahluwalia.com</a>) is an author, ex TATA business consultant, a member of the Indian Forest Service and a columnist. His latest book on Biblical herbs - Holy Herbs: Modern Connections to Ancient Plants is now available in book stores across India, <a href="http://amazon.in/" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0186ba;" target="_blank">amazon.in</a> and <a href="http://amazon.com/" rel="noreferrer" style="color: #0186ba;" target="_blank">amazon.com</a>. </i><br />
<br style="color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" />
<i style="color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/sudhirahluwalia" style="color: #006eac; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">@sudhirahluwalia</a></i><br />
<i style="color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Web: <a href="http://www.sudhirahluwalia.com/" style="color: #006eac; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">www.sudhirahluwalia.com</a></i><br />
<i style="color: #525252; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ899fvTPPjw3XkVijk8p_A" style="color: #006eac; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ899fvTPPjw3XkVijk8p_A</a></i></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-10102136077493838972017-07-01T07:14:00.004-07:002017-07-01T07:23:04.785-07:00Microbiota in Obesity and Metabolic Diseases: Effects by Medicinal Plant and Food Ingredients<br />
<b>Abstract</b><br />
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Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of three or more metabolic disorders including insulin resistance, obesity, and hyperlipidemia. Obesity has become the epidemic of the twenty-first century with more than 1.6 billion overweight adults. Due to the strong connection between obesity and type 2 diabetes, obesity has received wide attention with subsequent coining of the term “diabesity.” Recent studies have identified unique contributions of the immensely diverse gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of obesity and diabetes. Several mechanisms have been proposed including altered glucose and fatty acid metabolism, hepatic fatty acid storage, and modulation of glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1. Importantly, the relationship between unhealthy diet and a modified gut microbiota composition observed in diabetic or obese subjects has been recognized. Similarly, the role of diet rich in polyphenols and plant polysaccharides in modulating gut bacteria and its impact on diabetes and obesity have been the subject of investigation by several research groups. Gut microbiota are also responsible for the extensive metabolism of polyphenols thus modulating their biological activities. The aim of this review is to shed light on the composition of gut microbes, their health importance and how they can contribute to diseases as well as their modulation by polyphenols and polysaccharides to control obesity and diabetes. In addition, the role of microbiota in improving the oral bioavailability of polyphenols and hence in shaping their antidiabetic and antiobesity activities will be discussed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_dPWzUsEFACDqsEef6jVnWn49pAOAB6A-2HBXu8rURw051nOwB9A1jsmf_zzGNJnu-iKZzz2zirAqTdbUb95bqf1B_7_A5O02UwG8fOPLNwq2Fw6QQvRIuoP9qHkUEi__dna7lhtyIMy/s1600/Microbiota+and+Herbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1258" data-original-width="1600" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_dPWzUsEFACDqsEef6jVnWn49pAOAB6A-2HBXu8rURw051nOwB9A1jsmf_zzGNJnu-iKZzz2zirAqTdbUb95bqf1B_7_A5O02UwG8fOPLNwq2Fw6QQvRIuoP9qHkUEi__dna7lhtyIMy/s320/Microbiota+and+Herbs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Summary</b><br />
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The healthy human gut represents a complex and highly variable ecological system consisting of several microbes belonging to bacteria, fungi and virus domains, in addition to host epithelial cells. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Fusobacteria are the major phyla colonizing the stomach and intestine of healthy adults. The exact role of gut microbiota is not fully elucidated but many studies implicate microbiota to perform tasks that are known to be useful for the human host such as modulating intermediate metabolism and the immune system. Diet-induced changes in the composition/diversity of gut microbes are thus believed to participate in the pathogenesis of certain diseases through modifying different metabolic processes in the host.<br />
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Less diverse intestinal microbiota have been reported in metabolic disorders. While the association between increased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and metabolic diseases is still controversial, more recent studies associated Akkermansia and Lactobacillus species with central obesity and fasting hyperglycemia.<br />
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Polyphenols, oligo-, and poly-saccharides can influence the composition of gut microbiota by favoring beneficial bacteria and inhibiting growth and activity of pathogenic species and thus constitute a promising avenue for the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders.<br />
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<b><br /></b> <b>Future Challenges and Opportunities</b><br />
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Given all the above considerations, the perspectives for targeting the gut microbiome in the context of metabolic diseases keeps being highly relevant and timely. First and foremost, there remains a need to refine research on specific microbes that may be more specifically involved in metabolic diseases rather than considering broader categories, such as phyla. Among challenges that should be met, more studies should focus on the roles and potential mechanisms of action of non-bacterial gut microbes, since these remain poorly understood. Continued research efforts should also result in the better understanding of the modes of action of pre- and pro-biotics in metabolic diseases, notably in terms of metabolic and inflammatory mediators.<br />
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There also remains a lot to be done to further elucidate the intricate interactions between prebiotics (polyphenols and fibers) on the one hand, and probiotics (gut microbes), on the other, notably in what pertains to the metabolism of prebiotics by the latter and the influence this has on the bioactivity of the former. In this context, experimental approaches and tools have now evolved that can meet this challenge. For instance, one could think of combining bacterial metagenomics with plant metabolomics and hence study relationships through the use of powerful bioinformatics.<br />
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Overall, and in a very pragmatic sense, academics and industrial partners will need to work together to develop safe and reliable products that can help prevent and mitigate the ill effects of metabolic syndrome and related obesity and diabetes. In this context, a promising approach may be to further explore symbiotic products that can combine pre- and pro-biotics in novel and efficient ways.<br />
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<b>Full-text access</b><br />
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Eid HM, Wright ML, Anil Kumar NV, Qawasmeh A, Hassan STS, Mocan A, Nabavi SM, Rastrelli L, Atanasov AG and Haddad PS (2017) Significance of Microbiota in Obesity and Metabolic Diseases and the Modulatory Potential by Medicinal Plant and Food Ingredients. Front. Pharmacol. 8:387. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00387<br />
<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318041532_Significance_of_Microbiota_in_Obesity_and_Metabolic_Diseases_and_the_Modulatory_Potential_by_Medicinal_Plant_and_Food_Ingredients" target="_blank">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318041532_Significance_of_Microbiota_in_Obesity_and_Metabolic_Diseases_and_the_Modulatory_Potential_by_Medicinal_Plant_and_Food_Ingredients</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post: </b>microbiota, natural products, food ingredients, obesity, metabolic diseases, medicinal plants, studies, scientific study, patients, research, clinical, pathophysiology, health, open access, journal, open access journals, science journal, free journal publication, online journal, open access publishing, open access articles, science magazine, journal science, journal of science, biochemistry, obesity, high fat diet, coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, diet, food, nutrition, dietary, foods, healthy lifestyle, alternative medicine, ethnobotanical plants, ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, herbal medicine, herbal plants, herbal products, herbal remedies, herbal supplements, herbs, holistic medicine, medicinal herbs, medicinal plants, medicinal plants and their uses, natural medicine, natural remedies, botanicals, phytotherapy, natural product, phytochemistry, pharmacognosy, phytochemicals, phytonutrients, flavonoids, phytochemical supplements, phytonutrients supplements, polyphenols, bioactivity, bio active, bioactive, bioactive compounds, food and nutrition, nutrition, nutritional supplements, gut microbiota, probiotics, gut bacteria, gut flora, probiotic supplements, prebiotics, stomach bacteria, intestinal flora, bacteria in stomach, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, pre-biotics, pro-biotics, plant metabolomics, bacterial metagenomics, </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">weight loss, weight reduction.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-79309125340091014372017-06-17T00:37:00.002-07:002017-07-18T20:19:48.036-07:00Food choices: what can kill you or make you live longer?<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"Background: Suboptimal diet is one of the most important factors in preventing early death and disability worldwide. Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis was to synthesize the knowledge about the relation between intake of 12 major food groups, including whole grains, refined grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, eggs, dairy, fish, red meat, processed meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages, with risk of all-cause mortality. Design: We conducted a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar for prospective studies investigating the association between these 12 food groups and risk of all-cause mortality. Summary RRs and 95% CIs were estimated with the use of a random effects model for high-intake compared with low-intake categories, as well as for linear and nonlinear relations. Moreover, the risk reduction potential of foods was calculated by multiplying the RR by optimal intake values (serving category with the strongest association) for risk-reducing foods or risk-increasing foods, respectively. Results: With increasing intake (for each daily serving) of whole grains (RR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.89, 0.95), vegetables (RR: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.95, 0.98), fruits (RR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.92, 0.97), nuts (RR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.84), and fish (RR: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.88, 0.98), the risk of all-cause mortality decreased; higher intake of red meat (RR: 1.10; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.18) and processed meat (RR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.36) was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality in a linear dose-response meta-analysis. A clear indication of nonlinearity was seen for the relations between vegetables, fruits, nuts, and dairy and all-cause mortality. Optimal consumption of risk-decreasing foods results in a 56% reduction of all-cause mortality, whereas consumption of risk-increasing foods is associated with a 2-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality. Conclusion: Selecting specific optimal intakes of the investigated food groups can lead to a considerable change in the risk of premature death."<br />
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<b>Covered topics (the letter size corresponds to the frequency of mentioning in the text):</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsvcWuFiekoqHIVuQz_rfsgJrO4jY0-wfPNsvx6OvKI9ocphsrp2ww6rLaWeHy4l-7CBsGd3luz6VvhqypLRcYgQuy182ZX3az6Lp7yc_eCZdh5QP9RqWNhmYreqxFwHdKCUTS8d2cUkK/s1600/Total+mortality.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Food choices: what can kill you, what will make you live longer self-made word-cloud" border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="1109" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsvcWuFiekoqHIVuQz_rfsgJrO4jY0-wfPNsvx6OvKI9ocphsrp2ww6rLaWeHy4l-7CBsGd3luz6VvhqypLRcYgQuy182ZX3az6Lp7yc_eCZdh5QP9RqWNhmYreqxFwHdKCUTS8d2cUkK/s320/Total+mortality.jpg" title="Food choices: what can kill you, what will make you live longer image 1" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Strengths and limitations (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"Dietary information of most of the included studies derives from food frequency questionnaires, which represent a subjective approximation of past dietary behaviors rather than an assessment of absolute intakes. Hence, our results may reveal higher accuracy than is actually available (140). Substantial heterogeneity was found with respect to the analyzed population size, follow-up duration, baseline age, and food consumption. We conducted subgroup analyses for sex, follow-up duration, geographic location, number of cases, and dietary assessment methods in order to explore high degrees of statistical heterogeneity. Overall, for most food groups, high levels of statistical heterogeneity persisted in subgroup analyses. People with a high intake of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, or legumes might have different lifestyles or a different socioeconomic status from those with lower intakes, representing important confounders (141). However, our main results were confirmed by sensitivity analyses including only studies with a low risk of bias [adjusted for important lifestyle factors (smoking, physical activity, and BMI)]. Another important limitation was the indication of small study effects such as publication bias in the analyses of vegetables, fruits, nuts, dairy products, and red meat. The results of the nonlinear association between dairy and all-cause mortality should be interpreted with caution because these observations were largely influenced by 2 cohort studies showing a strong positive association (93). Among the strengths of the present meta-analysis are the a priori published systematic review protocol (14), the comprehensive literature search, and the large numbers of prospective studies, death cases, and food groups included. Furthermore, we performed different types of analyses (high compared with low intake, dose-response meta-analysis, nonlinear dose-response analysis, and subgroup and sensitivity analyses), which allowed us to detect associations where the relation was nonlinear and find an optimal consumption with the lowest risk of all-cause mortality. Finally, we assessed the quality of the studies using meta-evidence for each food group through use of the NutriGrade scoring system.<br />
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In conclusion, an optimal intake of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and fish, as well as reduced consumption of red and processed meats and SSBs, can lead to an important decrease—by ∼80%—in the relative risk of premature death when compared with intakes always from the highest risk category. To obtain a complete picture, it seems useful to extend the type of food groups and the clinical end points to be considered. We will in the future develop methods that are able to rank foods and diseases according to their contribution to the prevention of chronic diseases."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
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Schwingshackl L, Schwedhelm C, Hoffmann G, Lampousi AM, Knüppel S, Iqbal K,<br />
Bechthold A, Schlesinger S, Boeing H. Food groups and risk of all-cause<br />
mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Am J<br />
Clin Nutr. 2017 Jun;105(6):1462-1473. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.117.153148. Epub 2017 Apr<br />
26. PubMed PMID: 28446499.<br />
<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316523321_Food_groups_and_risk_of_all-cause_mortality_a_systematic_review_and_meta-analysis_of_prospective_studies" target="_blank">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316523321_Food_groups_and_risk_of_all-cause_mortality_a_systematic_review_and_meta-analysis_of_prospective_studies</a><br />
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<b>Further reading:</b><br />
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<b>Mortality rate</b> (Wikipedia, accessed on June 17, 2017):<br />
"Mortality rate, or death rate,[1] is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year; thus, a mortality rate of 9.5 (out of 1,000) in a population of 1,000 would mean 9.5 deaths per year in that entire population, or 0.95% out of the total. It is distinct from "morbidity", which is either the prevalence or incidence of a disease,[2] and also from the incidence rate (the number of newly appearing cases of the disease per unit of time).<br />
...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortality_rate" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Food group</b> (Wikipedia, accessed on June 17, 2017):<br />
"A food group is a collection of foods that share similar nutritional properties or biological classifications. Nutrition guides typically divide foods into food groups and recommend daily servings of each group for a healthy diet. In the United States for instance, USDA has described food as being in from 4 to 11 different groups.[1]<br />
...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_group" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Webmaster:</b><br />
<br />
Prof. Atanas G. Atanasov (Dr. habil., PhD)<br />
<a href="https://about.me/Atanas_At" target="_blank">https://about.me/Atanas_At</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post:</b> studies, scientific study, patients, research, clinical, pathophysiology, health, open access, journal, 2017 health food benefits supported by science, open access journals, science journal, free journal publication, online journal, open access publishing, open access articles, science magazine, journal science, journal of science, biochemistry, obesity, high fat diet, coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, dose response, food groups, meta-analysis, mortality, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, fish, red meat, processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, diet, food, nutrition, dietary, foods, food groups, risk of all-cause mortality, longevity, living longer, life extension, healthy lifestyle.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-66979242333955989332017-06-04T11:29:00.001-07:002017-06-04T11:29:11.985-07:00Is obesity of the mother affecting the IQ of the child?<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"Globally, more than 20% of women of reproductive age are currently estimated to be obese. Children born to obese mothers are at higher risk of developing obesity, coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and asthma in adulthood. Increasing clinical and experimental evidence suggests that maternal obesity also affects the health and function of the offspring brain across the lifespan. This review summarizes the current findings from human and animal studies that detail the impact of maternal obesity on aspects of learning, memory, motivation, affective disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, and neurodegeneration in the offspring. Epigenetic mechanisms that may contribute to this mother-child interaction are also discussed."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTG72KB9lldXlcQAZpwaw1pdUjLnN7xvWwMuN2BRs6q2gl_-osiSvJYxuR1P3EL2-xqMSXYJu5nGxh5O727IcEBzyp59DOXRIZjhfHtqEMBT8KXIALiYeYEAEMx9zwIVcXhVDZDXJOIU8n/s1600/Maternal+obesity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Is obesity of the mother affecting the IQ of the child self-made word-cloud " border="0" data-original-height="1015" data-original-width="1600" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTG72KB9lldXlcQAZpwaw1pdUjLnN7xvWwMuN2BRs6q2gl_-osiSvJYxuR1P3EL2-xqMSXYJu5nGxh5O727IcEBzyp59DOXRIZjhfHtqEMBT8KXIALiYeYEAEMx9zwIVcXhVDZDXJOIU8n/s320/Maternal+obesity.jpg" title="Is obesity of the mother affecting the IQ of the child image 1" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Conclusions (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"The gestational environment plays a critical role on the long-term health of the fetus. Results from animal studies examining the impact of maternal obesity on the cognitive performance and behaviour of the offspring are currently mixed. Inter-experimental differences in diet composition (e.g., purified high fat or cafeteria diet), initiation (e.g., before or at the start of breeding), and duration (e.g., throughout gestation and/or lactation) of dietary manipulation make direct comparisons of results difficult. It is likely that timing of dietary intervention, age, sex, species, and maternal-pup interactions all contribute to the resistance or susceptibility of the offspring to developing anxiety, depression, memory impairments, and changes in motivation and attention. Current data from human cohort studies support a negative association between high maternal BMI and child IQ, as well as risk of developing depression and anxiety. A clear association between maternal obesity and increased risk of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder in the offspring has not yet been established and may be influenced by additional biological or social factors. To date, most of the work on the associated epigenetic mechanisms have focused on DNA methylation, and differential patterns of methylation have been identified in the brains of offspring born to lean vs. obese mothers in rodent models. Undoubtedly, new and exciting findings will soon help to unravel the complex processes that influence the developmental programming of the brain."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
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Contu L, Hawkes CA. A Review of the Impact of Maternal Obesity on the<br />
Cognitive Function and Mental Health of the Offspring. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 May<br />
19;18(5). pii: E1093. doi: 10.3390/ijms18051093. Review. PubMed PMID: 28534818.<br />
<a href="http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/18/5/1093/htm" target="_blank">http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/18/5/1093/htm</a><br />
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<b>Further reading:</b><br />
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<b>Obesity</b> (MedlinePlus):<br />
"Obesity means having too much body fat. It is different from being overweight, which means weighing too much. The weight may come from muscle, bone, fat, and/or body water. Both terms mean that a person's weight is greater than what's considered healthy for his or her height.<br />
Obesity occurs over time when you eat more calories than you use. The balance between calories-in and calories-out differs for each person. Factors that might affect your weight include your genetic makeup, overeating, eating high-fat foods, and not being physically active.<br />
Being obese increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and some cancers. If you are obese, losing even 5 to 10 percent of your weight can delay or prevent some of these diseases. For example, that means losing 10 to 20 pounds if you weigh 200 pounds.<br />
...<a href="https://medlineplus.gov/obesity.html" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Intelligence quotient (IQ)</b> (Wikipedia):<br />
"An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from several standardized tests designed to assess human intelligence. The abbreviation "IQ" was coined by the psychologist William Stern for the German term Intelligenzquotient, his term for a scoring method for intelligence tests at University of Wrocław he advocated in a 1912 book.[1] Historically, IQ is a score obtained by dividing a person’s mental age score, obtained by administering an intelligence test, by the person’s chronological age, both expressed in terms of years and months. The resulting fraction is multiplied by 100 to obtain the IQ score.[2] When current IQ tests were developed, the median raw score of the norming sample is defined as IQ 100 and scores each standard deviation (SD) up or down are defined as 15 IQ points greater or less,[3] although this was not always so historically. By this definition, approximately two-thirds of the population scores are between IQ 85 and IQ 115. About 5 percent of the population scores above 125, and 5 percent below 75.[4][5]<br />
Scores from intelligence tests are estimates of intelligence because concrete measurements (e.g. distance, mass) cannot be achieved given the abstract nature of the concept of "intelligence".[6] IQ scores have been shown to be associated with such factors as morbidity and mortality,[7][8] parental social status,[9] and, to a substantial degree, biological parental IQ. While the heritability of IQ has been investigated for nearly a century, there is still debate about the significance of heritability estimates[10][11] and the mechanisms of inheritance.[12]<br />
IQ scores are used for educational placement, assessment of intellectual disability, and evaluating job applicants. Even when students improve their scores on standardized tests, they do not always improve their cognitive abilities, such as memory, attention and speed.[13] In research contexts they have been studied as predictors of job performance, and income. They are also used to study distributions of psychometric intelligence in populations and the correlations between it and other variables. Raw scores on IQ tests for many populations have been rising at an average rate that scales to three IQ points per decade since the early 20th century, a phenomenon called the Flynn effect. Investigation of different patterns of increases in subtest scores can also inform current research on human intelligence<br />
...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
<br />
<b>Epigenetics</b> (Wikipedia):<br />
"Epigenetics are stable heritable traits (or "phenotypes") that cannot be explained by changes in DNA sequence.[1] The Greek prefix epi- (Greek: επί- over, outside of, around) in epigenetics implies features that are "on top of" or "in addition to" the traditional genetic basis for inheritance.[2] Epigenetics often refers to changes in a chromosome that affect gene activity and expression, but can also be used to describe any heritable phenotypic change that doesn't derive from a modification of the genome, such as prions. Such effects on cellular and physiological phenotypic traits may result from external or environmental factors, or be part of normal developmental program. The standard definition of epigenetic requires these alterations to be heritable,[3][4] either in the progeny of cells or of organisms.<br />
The term also refers to the changes themselves: functionally relevant changes to the genome that do not involve a change in the nucleotide sequence. Examples of mechanisms that produce such changes are DNA methylation and histone modification, each of which alters how genes are expressed without altering the underlying DNA sequence. Gene expression can be controlled through the action of repressor proteins that attach to silencer regions of the DNA. These epigenetic changes may last through cell divisions for the duration of the cell's life, and may also last for multiple generations even though they do not involve changes in the underlying DNA sequence of the organism;[5] instead, non-genetic factors cause the organism's genes to behave (or "express themselves") differently.[6]<br />
One example of an epigenetic change in eukaryotic biology is the process of cellular differentiation. During morphogenesis, totipotent stem cells become the various pluripotent cell lines of the embryo, which in turn become fully differentiated cells. In other words, as a single fertilized egg cell – the zygote – continues to divide, the resulting daughter cells change into all the different cell types in an organism, including neurons, muscle cells, epithelium, endothelium of blood vessels, etc., by activating some genes while inhibiting the expression of others.[7]<br />
Historically, some phenomena not necessarily heritable have also been described as epigenetic. For example, epigenetic has been used to describe any modification of chromosomal regions, especially histone modifications, whether or not these changes are heritable or associated with a phenotype. The consensus definition now requires a trait to be heritable for it to be considered epigenetic.[4]<br />
...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post:</b> studies, scientific study, patients, research, clinical, pathophysiology, health, open access, journal, open access journals, science journal, free journal publication, online journal, open access publishing, open access articles, science magazine, journal science, journal of science, biochemistry, autism, autism spectrum disorder, signs of autism, obesity, weight loss, lose weight, weight reduction, cognitive function, epigenetics, high fat diet, maternal obesity, mental health, offspring brain, coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, asthma, learning, memory, motivation, affective disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, neurodegeneration.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-61404979547663698602017-06-02T21:41:00.003-07:002017-06-03T07:42:22.265-07:00Phytochemicals and phytotherapy for cancer precision medicine<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
<br />
"Concepts of individualized therapy in the 1970s and 1980s attempted to develop predictive in vitro tests for individual drug responsiveness without reaching clinical routine. Precision medicine attempts to device novel individual cancer therapy strategies. Using bioinformatics, relevant knowledge is extracted from huge data amounts. However, tumor heterogeneity challenges chemotherapy due to genetically and phenotypically different cell subpopulations, which may lead to refractory tumors. Natural products always served as vital resources for cancer therapy (e.g., Vinca alkaloids, camptothecin, paclitaxel, etc.) and are also sources for novel drugs. Targeted drugs developed to specifically address tumor-related proteins represent the basis of precision medicine. Natural products from plants represent excellent resource for targeted therapies. Phytochemicals and herbal mixtures act multi-specifically, i.e. they attack multiple targets at the same time. Network pharmacology facilitates the identification of the complexity of pharmacogenomic networks and new signaling networks that are distorted in tumors. In the present review, we give a conceptual overview, how the problem of drug resistance may be approached by integrating phytochemicals and phytotherapy into academic western medicine. Modern technology platforms (e.g. "-omics" technologies, DNA/RNA sequencing, and network pharmacology) can be applied for diverse treatment modalities such as cytotoxic and targeted chemotherapy as well as phytochemicals and phytotherapy. Thereby, these technologies represent an integrative momentum to merge the best of two worlds: clinical oncology and traditional medicine. In conclusion, the integration of phytochemicals and phytotherapy into cancer precision medicine represents a valuable asset to chemically synthesized chemicals and therapeutic antibodies."<br />
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<b>Covered topics (the letter size corresponds to the frequency of mentioning in the text):</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnsMBUhmmPwO6P1m8pI8-r0BgWOtN0xQL9WvLEvEj7uigM4T7hl0Jfa3vqsUvCCJICCdDPltdRwfMqW_f5Z47heZWiTVOzKK0Mr6s85WmnXrIPLGCsmWAiaCIzK5APMphwaVTb5c8IfDg7/s1600/Precision+medicine+in+cancer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Phytochemicals and phytotherapy for cancer precisionmedicine self-made word-cloud" border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="1600" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnsMBUhmmPwO6P1m8pI8-r0BgWOtN0xQL9WvLEvEj7uigM4T7hl0Jfa3vqsUvCCJICCdDPltdRwfMqW_f5Z47heZWiTVOzKK0Mr6s85WmnXrIPLGCsmWAiaCIzK5APMphwaVTb5c8IfDg7/s320/Precision+medicine+in+cancer.jpg" title="Phytochemicals and phytotherapy for cancer precisionmedicine image 1" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Conclusions and perespectives (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"The fact that chemosensitivity testing was not established as routine laboratory method may have historical reasons. In times as combination therapy protocols were established as being superior to monotherapy, data showing that tumors can reveal resistance towards many drugs at the same time was compromising the utility of drug combination regimens.<br />
On the one hand, clinical experiences showed combination therapy protocols were able to improve treatment results, but sustainable use of patients from cancer is far from reality in many cases. On the other hand, molecular mechanisms were discovered in basic sciences that explained the appearance of broad spectrum resistance phenomena (e.g. ABC-transporter-mediated multidrug resistance, apoptosis resistance etc.). A re-thinking may lead to a revival of predictive testing. Rather than prediction of drug sensitivity (which is not sufficiently reliable), drug resistance can be predicted with high precision. With multi-modal treatment options at hand, the knowledge about high probability that a specific drug would fail in a specific patient is valuable, because it allows early to switch to other more effective drugs or therapy strategies.<br />
The development of resistance and the severe side effects of classical cytotoxic cancer therapy lead to a paradigm shift from the poorly specific cytotoxic anticancer drugs to targeted drugs, which were expected to be more tumor-specific. Indeed, this turned out to be a thriving concept with numerous new drugs on the market, which of course did not replace the classical cytotoxic drugs, but did supplement the armory to fight cancer. Although treatment outcomes could be further improved by targeted drugs they unfortunately also reveal side effects and are subject to resistance development. In this context, the therapeutic potential of phytochemicals cannot be overseen. They were already valuable in the era of cytotoxic drugs. Paclitaxel, vincristine, camptothecin, etoposide are just a few examples for established plant-drived anticancer drugs. There is a plethora of literature demonstrating that phytochemicals are also valuable for targeted cancer therapy.<br />
Cancer stem-like cells are rare self-renewing omnipotent cells, which proliferate upon appropriate stimulation and differentiate into heterogeneous lineages in tumors. They are frequently resistant to conventional chemo- and radiotherapy. Interestingly, natural products have been described to inhibit cancer stem-like cells [103-107]. This is a new field of research that is worth being investigated in more detail to understand the full range of mechanisms, which are responsible why some natural products are able to attack stem-like cells.<br />
With the recent developments in bioinformatics, network pharmacology emerges as novel concept in therapy research. Phytotherapy with mixtures of several herbs as well as isolated single compounds exert their bioactivity by targeting multiple sites in diseased cells. A challenge for research in network pharmacology will certainly be to extract meaningful information from thousands of data points. What is a mechanistically relevant signal and what is background noise? Finding the needle in the haystack will be a task for the future and smart computer algorithms are required. Network pharmacology has to cope with multiple dimensions of problems. The multi-targeted nature of drug action, resistance development, side effects on normal organs and tissues, inter-individual biological variations, as well as inter- and intra-tumoral differences have to be considered. Especially the problem of tumor heterogeneity and possibilities to tackle with genetically diverse tumor subpopulations deserve attention from our point of view. Heterogeneous tumor populations represent a main reason for the development of resistant refractory tumors. Resistance also prevents to apply doses high enough to kill all cells, because of the severe side effects of anticancer drugs. Therefore, novel strategies to eradicate heterogeneous tumor subpopulations might not only fight the development of drug resistance but also facilitate to reduce side effects.<br />
Integrating precision medicine into routine cancer therapy is certainly one of the predominant tasks of the next years to come (Figure 6). To realize this concept, it is not only necessary to establish the scientific basis allowing routine application in the clinic, but also to develop and integrate economic models, which allow the implementation of personalized medicine [108-111]. This is true independent of whether synthetic drugs or phytotherapeutic approaches will be used. While there is a plethora of literature on the preclinical activity of phytochemicals and medicinal plant preparations, results from clinical trials are still relatively rare. However, there are well-done clinical trials that provide evidence that phytochemicals and plant preparations are indeed active in the clinical setting [111-119]. For the sake of future patients, health care systems in industrialized and developing countries should do any effort to improve cure rates of tumor diseases."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
<br />
Efferth T, Saeed MEM, Mirghani E, Alim A, Yassin Z, Saeed E, Khalid HE, Daak<br />
S. Integration of phytochemicals and phytotherapy into cancer precision medicine.<br />
Oncotarget. 2017 Apr 27. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.17466. [Epub ahead of print]<br />
Review. PubMed PMID: 28514737.<br />
<a href="http://www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget/index.php?journal=oncotarget&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=17466&path%5B%5D=55890" target="_blank">http://www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget/index.php?journal=oncotarget&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=17466&path%5B%5D=55890</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Further reading:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Precision medicine</b> (Wikipedia):<br />
"Precision medicine (PM) is a medical model that proposes the customization of healthcare, with medical decisions, practices, or products being tailored to the individual patient. In this model, diagnostic testing is often employed for selecting appropriate and optimal therapies based on the context of a patient’s genetic content[1] or other molecular or cellular analysis. Tools employed in precision medicine can include molecular diagnostics, imaging, and analytics.[2]<br />
...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_medicine" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Cancer</b> (MedlinePlus):<br />
"Cancer begins in your cells, which are the building blocks of your body. Normally, your body forms new cells as you need them, replacing old cells that die. Sometimes this process goes wrong. New cells grow even when you don't need them, and old cells don't die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass called a tumor. Tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors aren't cancer while malignant ones are. Cells from malignant tumors can invade nearby tissues. They can also break away and spread to other parts of the body.<br />
Cancer is not just one disease but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Most cancers are named for where they start. For example, lung cancer starts in the lung, and breast cancer starts in the breast. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis. Symptoms and treatment depend on the cancer type and how advanced it is. Most treatment plans may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy. Some may involve hormone therapy, immunotherapy or other types of biologic therapy, or stem cell transplantation.<br />
...<a href="https://medlineplus.gov/cancer.html" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Phytotherapy</b> (Encyclopaedia Britannica):<br />
"Phytotherapy, the use of plant-derived medications in the treatment and prevention of disease. Phytotherapy is a science-based medical practice and thus is distinguished from other, more traditional approaches, such as medical herbalism, which relies on an empirical appreciation of medicinal herbs and which is often linked to traditional knowledge. An herbalist’s approach generally has not been evaluated in controlled clinical trials or in rigorous biomedical studies, whereas numerous trials and pharmacological studies of specific phytotherapeutic preparations exist. The interpretation and acceptance of such evidence for phytotherapeutic practices varies. In some countries, it is considered sufficient to license phytotherapeutic products as medicines, whereas in other countries, phytotherapy is viewed as a form of traditional medicine.<br />
...<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/phytotherapy" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Phytochemical</b> (Wikipedia):<br />
"Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them thrive or thwart competitors, predators, or pathogens. The name comes from the Greek word phyton, meaning plant. Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons and others as traditional medicine.<br />
As a term, phytochemicals is generally used to describe plant compounds that are under research with unestablished effects on health and are not scientifically defined as essential nutrients. Regulatory agencies governing food labeling in Europe and the United States have provided guidance for industry limiting or preventing anti-disease claims concerning phytochemicals on food product labels.<br />
...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytochemical" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post:</b> drug resistance, network pharmacology, polypharmacology, targeted chemotherapy, precision cancer treatment, studies, scientific study, patients, research, clinical, pathophysiology, health, open access, journal, open access journals, science journal, free journal publication, online journal, open access publishing, open access articles, science magazine, journal science, journal of science, treatment, remedy, therapy, medicine, medication, medical treatment, relieve symptoms, relief, pharmacology, biochemistry, clinical pharmacology, medical pharmacology, pharmacological, pharmacy, precision medicine, individualized therapy, targeted therapy, molecular medicine, precisionmedicine, precision medical, pharmacogenomics, genetic testing, pharmacogenetics, pharmacogenetic testing, cancer, cancer research, tumor, carcinoma, malignant, melanoma cancer, oncology, alternative medicine, ethnobotanical plants, ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, herbal medicine, herbal plants, herbal products, herbal remedies, herbal supplements, herbs, holistic medicine, medicinal herbs, medicinal plants, medicinal plants and their uses, natural medicine, natural remedies, botanicals, phytotherapy.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-73053560256234665832017-05-31T11:35:00.003-07:002017-05-31T11:35:57.729-07:00Is it feasible to cure prodromal Alzheimer's disease with a peptide nasal spray?<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
<br />
"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease. Imbalance between the production and clearance of amyloid β (Aβ) peptides is considered to be the primary mechanism of AD pathogenesis. This amyloid hypothesis is supported by the recent success of the human anti-amyloid antibody aducanumab, in clearing plaque and slowing clinical impairment in prodromal or mild patients in a phase Ib trial. Here, a peptide combining polyarginines (polyR) (for charge repulsion) and a segment derived from the core region of Aβ amyloid (for sequence recognition) was designed. The efficacy of the designed peptide, R8-Aβ(25-35), on amyloid reduction and the improvement of cognitive functions were evaluated using APP/PS1 double transgenic mice. Daily intranasal administration of PEI-conjugated R8-Aβ(25-35) peptide significantly reduced Aβ amyloid accumulation and ameliorated the memory deficits of the transgenic mice. Intranasal administration is a feasible route for peptide delivery. The modular design combining polyR and aggregate-forming segments produced a desirable therapeutic effect and could be easily adopted to design therapeutic peptides for other proteinaceous aggregate-associated diseases."<br />
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<b>Covered topics (the letter size corresponds to the frequency of mentioning in the text):</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjyY1mqyZMGv2UGNVCXIt54-e1k01uJnA3cycrN4q6wClvrfRgYUEU0Z-mE7k8tSdWH-125Ke9u2wJAoxYwDV68cohxdA2MqB9dZ3r2UbrYGE2KI7HkaIA3fT856YF_jvviOPpwwmbCDT/s1600/Prodromal+Alzheimer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cure prodromal Alzheimer's disease with a peptide nasal spray self-made word-cloud" border="0" data-original-height="1022" data-original-width="1600" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjyY1mqyZMGv2UGNVCXIt54-e1k01uJnA3cycrN4q6wClvrfRgYUEU0Z-mE7k8tSdWH-125Ke9u2wJAoxYwDV68cohxdA2MqB9dZ3r2UbrYGE2KI7HkaIA3fT856YF_jvviOPpwwmbCDT/s320/Prodromal+Alzheimer.jpg" title="Cure prodromal Alzheimer's disease with a peptide nasal spray image 1" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Discussion (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"In this study, we demonstrated that the peptide R8‐Aβ(25–35) reduced the formation of amyloid fibrils by Aβ40 in vitro, as well as amyloid plaques and disease manifestation in vivo. In a companion study, therapeutic peptides designed by the same modular principle also delayed disease in the R6/2 transgenic mice, a widely used mouse model for Huntington's disease (unpublished data). Thus, our data illustrated the possibility that this principle may be extended to design therapeutic peptides for other neurodegenerative diseases.<br />
<br />
A variety of therapeutic peptides to decrease the formation of amyloid fibrils has been proposed (Funke & Willbold, 2012); our bipartite design works by attaching a polyR stretch to the peptide sequence derived from the disease‐specific pathogenic peptide/protein prone to aggregation. This approach possessed several unique features and advantages. First, the sequence directly taken from the pathogenic peptide/protein not only significantly reduced the labors of finding and optimizing a suitable peptide sequence, but also guaranteed high affinity with the target through its self‐aggregating property. Second, the multi‐charges in polyR rendered the designed therapeutic peptide (i) soluble in an aqueous environment and therefore simplifying the processes of synthesis and subsequent application, (ii) cell‐penetrable (Mitchell et al, 2000), making it suitable for both extracellular and intracellular peptide/protein aggregation, and (iii) able to slow down oligomer/amyloid formation by charge repulsion after its binding to the pathogenic peptide/protein. Third, combination of the polyR with the sequence from disease‐specific pathogenic protein/peptide provided great feasibility and flexibility in applying this design across different misfolded aggregate‐associated diseases.<br />
<br />
Although many therapeutic peptides have been designed, only a few of them were tested in vivo (Permanne et al, 2002; van Groen et al, 2008; Frydman‐Marom et al, 2009; Funke et al, 2010; Shukla et al, 2013; Lin et al, 2016). In this study, we have demonstrated the feasibility of intranasal administration of therapeutic peptidic prodrugs. When combined with technology in delivery, our study showed a proof of therapeutic principle for neurodegenerative diseases through intranasal delivery. The dose used in this study was only 2 nmoles (6 μg) per day, which was quite low compared with previous studies (Permanne et al, 2002; van Groen et al, 2008; Frydman‐Marom et al, 2009; Funke et al, 2010). Using this dosage, we attempted to investigate the level of the therapeutic peptide in the brain during consecutive intranasal treatment (experimental set 5 in Appendix Figs S3 and S6). However, the peptide concentration was low and could not be reliably detected. As shown in Fig 5, after three consecutive treatments at higher amount (9 nmoles), there was 5.16 nmole of the peptide in the brain at 6 h after the final treatment and 3.62 nmole of the peptide in the brain 24 h after the final treatment. Although the current method was geared toward maximizing our ability to detect the intracerebral peptide rather than producing an accurate number in its efficiency in brain entrance, an estimated value was still achievable. Since the treatment continued for 3 days, the amount of intracerebral peptide before the 3rd dose was expected not to be more than 3.62 nmole observed 24 h after the 3rd treatment. Thus, at least 1.54 nmole (5.16 minus 3.62) or 17% of the daily dose of 9 nmole peptide entered brain. These results indicate that this peptide had a reasonably high therapeutic efficacy. Future studies will be conducted for optimal dosage.<br />
<br />
The peptide treatment did not significantly decrease the numbers of the ThS‐positive amyloid plaques, but reduced the size of the individual plaques and the total area of these plaques. One possibility is that most of the Aβ reduction is diffusely deposited Aβ. Alternatively, when we started treatment, the cores of plaques might have already formed at 4 months, but our peptide slowed down the speed of the accumulation of the transgenic Aβ of these plaques. Moreover, when we quantified SDS‐soluble Aβ and SDS‐insoluble Aβ separately (Fig 4C–F), we found that SDS‐insoluble Aβ reduced after peptide treatment whereas SDS‐soluble Aβ increased. Aβ accumulation is due to the imbalance of Aβ production and Aβ degradation. Our peptide treatment likely functions to inhibit Aβ from self‐association, but may not directly impact on the Aβ degradation rate. The clearance of excessive Aβ depends on several Aβ‐degrading enzymes, such as neprilysin (the most important one) and insulin‐degrading enzyme, which were found to be downregulated in old mice (Caccamo et al, 2005). However, by preventing Aβ from aggregation, our peptide could render it more accessible to these Aβ‐degrading enzymes and/or other degradation machinery in the brain. Recently, it has been reported that polyhydroxycurcuminoids upregulate neprilysin in the brain (Chen et al, 2016). Combining the peptide inhibitor and the neprilysin activator might additively enhance Aβ clearance.<br />
<br />
Comparing peptide therapy and antibody therapy, the cost of peptide synthesis is much lower than the cost of producing monoclonal antibody. Moreover, as the peptide worked in vivo without incorporating non‐natural or D‐form amino acid, there was no worry for the toxicity caused by non‐natural amino acids. Consistent with this, the preliminary tests for liver and kidney function indicated no clear toxicity in the mice receiving the peptide for 8 months (Appendix Fig S7).<br />
<br />
Lastly, to determine whether the peptide treatment induced an antibody response against Aβ peptide, the serum of the mice treated for 15 days was tested and showed no evidence of immunoreactivity against the peptide (experimental set 6 in Appendix Figs S3 and S8). In summary, intranasal administration of our bipartite peptide designed on the principle of modular combination may serve as an effective and user‐friendly disease‐modifying therapy for Alzheimer's disease and a template for developing effective therapy against other protein aggregation‐associated diseases."<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
<br />
Cheng YS, Chen ZT, Liao TY, Lin C, Shen HC, Wang YH, Chang CW, Liu RS, Chen<br />
RP, Tu PH. An intranasally delivered peptide drug ameliorates cognitive decline<br />
in Alzheimer transgenic mice. EMBO Mol Med. 2017 May;9(5):703-715. doi:<br />
10.15252/emmm.201606666. PubMed PMID: 28356312; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5412883.<br />
<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5412883/" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5412883/</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Further reading:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Alzheimer's disease</b> (MedlinePlus):<br />
"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia among older people. Dementia is a brain disorder that seriously affects a person's ability to carry out daily activities.<br />
AD begins slowly. It first involves the parts of the brain that control thought, memory and language. People with AD may have trouble remembering things that happened recently or names of people they know. A related problem, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), causes more memory problems than normal for people of the same age. Many, but not all, people with MCI will develop AD.<br />
In AD, over time, symptoms get worse. People may not recognize family members. They may have trouble speaking, reading or writing. They may forget how to brush their teeth or comb their hair. Later on, they may become anxious or aggressive, or wander away from home. Eventually, they need total care. This can cause great stress for family members who must care for them.<br />
AD usually begins after age 60. The risk goes up as you get older. Your risk is also higher if a family member has had the disease.<br />
No treatment can stop the disease. However, some drugs may help keep symptoms from getting worse for a limited time.<br />
...<a href="https://medlineplus.gov/alzheimersdisease.html" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
<br />
<b>Amyloid beta</b> (Wikipedia):<br />
"Amyloid beta (Aβ or Abeta) denotes peptides of 36–43 amino acids that are crucially involved in Alzheimer's disease as the main component of the amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer patients.[2] The peptides result from the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which is cleaved by beta secretase and gamma secretase to yield Aβ. Aβ molecules can aggregate to form flexible soluble oligomers which may exist in several forms. It is now believed that certain misfolded oligomers (known as "seeds") can induce other Aβ molecules to also take the misfolded oligomeric form, leading to a chain reaction akin to a prion infection. The seeds or the resulting amyloid plaques are toxic to nerve cells. The other protein implicated in Alzheimer's disease, tau protein, also forms such prion-like misfolded oligomers, and there is some evidence that misfolded Aβ can induce tau to misfold.[3][4]<br />
A recent study suggested that APP and its amyloid potential is of ancient origins, dating as far back as early deuterostomes.[5]<br />
...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyloid_beta" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Prodromal Alzheimer's</b> (Glasgow Memory Clinic):<br />
"Q: What is Prodromal Alzheimer’s disease?<br />
A: Prodromal Alzheimer’s disease is the very early form of Alzheimer’s when memory is deteriorating but a person remains functionally independent.<br />
Q: How is Prodromal Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed?<br />
A: A person must have memory impairment (mild cognitive impairment) but also have a positive biomarker test. The biomarker tests can be a protein that is measured in spinal fluid or a new type of scan (PET scan) that can detect the amyloid protein that accumulates in the brain in people with Alzheimer’s disease.<br />
Q: Why is there so much interest in Prodromal Alzheimer’s disease?<br />
A: The purpose of identifying people with this very early stage of Alzheimer’s disease allows the opportunity for early intervention, for example to discover if a vaccine can prevent the condition deteriorating.<br />
...<a href="http://glasgowmemoryclinic.com/faqs/prodromal-alzheimers/" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Webmaster:</b><br />
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Prof. Atanas G. Atanasov (Dr. habil., PhD)<br />
<a href="https://about.me/Atanas_At" target="_blank">https://about.me/Atanas_At</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post:</b> studies, scientific study, patients, research, clinical, pathophysiology, health, healthy, amyloid beta, peptide therapy, intranasal administration, </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">open access, journal, open access journals, science journal, free journal publication, online journal, open access publishing, open access articles, science magazine, journal science, journal of science, treatment, remedy, therapy, medicine, medication, medical treatment, relieve symptoms, relief, pharmacology, biochemistry, clinical pharmacology, medical pharmacology, pharmacological, pharmacy, Alzheimer, dementia, alzheimer's disease, dementia stages, alzheimer's symptoms, dementia symptoms, prodromal alzheimer's, prodromal alzheimer's disease, alzheimer's stages, stages of dementia, early signs of alzheimer's.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-68015980756642912172017-05-29T10:11:00.001-07:002017-07-18T20:08:10.203-07:00Health benefits of bananas supported by scientific findings<br />
<b>Guest post by Leo Tat.</b><br />
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Bananas are among the most commonly consumed fruits in the world.<br />
In the United States, people eat more fresh bananas than any other fruit, including apples and oranges, in the course of a year (1).<br />
The reason for their popularity boils down to their great taste, convenience as a snack and overall health benefits.<br />
Below are the top 15 benefits of bananas that are proven by scientific evidence.<br />
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1. Bananas Contain Many Nutrients and Few Calories</h3>
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<a class="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bananas</a> are a nutrient-dense fruit. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans established by the federal government, people should get the majority of their nutrients from fresh foods (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">2</a>).</div>
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Bananas combine high levels of nutrients with very few calories. A medium-sized banana (about 7 inches long) contains only 105 calories.</div>
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Yet the same medium-sized banana also contains the following nutrients (<a class="" href="https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2159?fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=35&offset=&sort=&qlookup=banana" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3</a>):</div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Vitamin B6</span> – .43 mg</div>
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This is 33 percent of the recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, for adults ages 19 to 50 (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional/#en1" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">4</a>). Vitamin B6 is beneficial for metabolic and immune function.</div>
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It also helps with a fetus’ developing brain (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-Consumer/" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">5</a>).</div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Magnesium –</span> 32 mg</div>
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This is 8 percent of the RDA for adult women and 10 percent of the RDA for adult men.</div>
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Many of the body’s processes rely on magnesium. Magnesium helps control blood pressure, blood sugar, muscle function and the operation of the nervous system (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-Consumer/" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">6</a>).</div>
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Adequate magnesium intake can also help ward off anxiety (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00048670802534408" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">7</a>).</div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Vitamin C –</span> 10.3 mg</div>
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This is 11 to 13 percent of the RDA for adult men and women, respectively. Bananas provide 68 percent of the RDA for children ages 1 to 3.</div>
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<a class="" href="https://www.authoritydiet.com/health-benefits-vitamin-c-why-good-you/" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Vitamin C</a> helps boost immunity, combat toxins in the body and create collagen, which is important for healing wounds (<a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-Consumer/" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8</a>).</div>
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<span class="tve_image_frame" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="banana pieces" class="tve_image lazyloaded" data-essbisindex="3" data-lazy-src="//www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/banana-pieces.jpg" height="459" src="https://www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/banana-pieces.jpg" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 688px;" width="688" /></span></div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Potassium – </span>422 mg</div>
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There is no RDA for potassium, but an intake of 4.7 grams per day is recommended for all adults. One banana accounts for about ten percent of this total.</div>
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Research shows that people in North America do not consume enough potassium.</div>
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Consuming 4.7 grams a day can help regulate blood pressure and prevent kidney stones. It can also reduce the risk of bone loss (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.nap.edu/read/10925/chapter/7#187" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">9</a>).</div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Fiber –</span> 3.1 g</div>
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Bananas contain 8 to 12 percent of the RDA for <a class="" href="https://www.authoritydiet.com/why-fiber-important-good-you-heath-benefits/" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">fiber</a> for men and women, respectively.</div>
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Fiber helps regulate blood sugar levels, improve digestion and lower the risk of heart disease (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/sites/fnic.nal.usda.gov/files/uploads/macronutrients.pdf" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">10</a>).</div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Folate –</span> 24 mcg</div>
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A medium banana contains about 6 percent of the RDA for folate for adults.</div>
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<a class="" href="https://www.authoritydiet.com/folate-vs-folic-acid-whats-difference-same/" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Folate</a> is responsible for the division of cells and the creation of DNA and genetic materials (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-Consumer/" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">11</a>).</div>
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One medium banana also contains about 1 gram of protein and .39 grams of fat. It also only has 1 mg of sodium and no cholesterol.</div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">High levels of vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and other nutrients are found in bananas, and the fruit is low in calories, cholesterol, fat and sodium.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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2. Bananas May Improve the Health of the Digestive System</h3>
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Thanks to high levels of dietary fiber, the fruit aids digestion by helping food move through your digestive system more smoothly (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-3010.2008.00705.x/abstract" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">12</a>).</div>
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Resistant starch, one of the types of fiber in bananas, acts as food for beneficial bacteria in our guts.</div>
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It also improves gut health by stimulating blood flow, fluid absorption and electrolyte uptake in the colon (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11427691" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">13</a>).</div>
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The other primary type of fiber, pectin, possibly helps fight against colon cancer (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12680234" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">14</a>). Greener bananas contain more pectin than ripe bananas.</div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The fiber in bananas can improve digestion, feed bacteria in the intestines and fight colon cancer.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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3. Bananas Regulate Blood Sugar</h3>
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<span class="tve_image_frame" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="blood sugar test" class="tve_image lazyloaded" data-essbisindex="4" data-lazy-src="//www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/blood-sugar-test.jpg" height="375" src="https://www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/blood-sugar-test.jpg" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 250px;" width="250" /></span></div>
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In addition to aiding digestion, resistant starch and pectin help regulate blood sugar levels after eating (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2849298" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">15</a>).</div>
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Resistant starch moves through the digestive system without being absorbed. </div>
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That means that it helps you feel full without adding calories.</div>
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Carbohydrates account for 90% of a banana’s calories. </div>
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It’s important to note that these carbs start mainly as starch (in a green banana) and turn into sugars as the banana ripens (in a yellow banana).</div>
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Under-ripe bananas are lower on the <a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.glycemicindex.com/" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">glycemic index</a>, a scale of the speed at which blood sugar levels are raised by certain foods, than ripe bananas (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1464-5491.1992.tb01883.x/abstract;jsessionid=5CC4FAFD7AE6487E5F103A974F193C57.f02t04" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">16</a>).</div>
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Green bananas rate at around 30 on the glycemic index. Yellow bananas rate at around 60 (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18835944/" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">17</a>).</div>
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Although some people believe that patients with diabetes should avoid bananas, research shows that underripe bananas are an acceptable snack (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1464-5491.1992.tb01883.x/abstract" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">18</a>).</div>
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The resistant starch in bananas can improve the body’s reaction to insulin, helping it to convert blood sugar to energy. </div>
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This has been shown to help people with diabetes lose weight (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/7/5/1953/htm" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">19</a>).</div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bananas are low on the glycemic index. They can help your body use sugars for energy and help you feel full longer, possibly resulting in weight loss.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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4. Bananas Are Good For Your Heart</h3>
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The high level of potassium in bananas supports better heart health.</div>
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Potassium lowers and regulates blood pressure. It also decreases the risk of heart disease by more than 25% (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25190445" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">20</a>).</div>
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Increased potassium intake has also been linked to a 24% lower stroke risk (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23558164" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">21</a>).</div>
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The <a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://dashdiet.org/default.asp" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">DASH diet</a>, a nutritional plan for people with high blood pressure, focuses on lowering the intake of sodium and increasing the intake of potassium.</div>
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Studies show that the potassium boost is especially effective for lowering blood pressure (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/clc.4960221503/epdf" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">22</a>).</div>
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The magnesium found in bananas also supports a healthier heart. </div>
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Research has found that people who are deficient in magnesium may be at a higher risk for chronic cardiovascular diseases (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11811859" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">23</a>).</div>
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<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The potassium and magnesium bananas contain benefit the health of the heart.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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5. Bananas Fight Free Radicals</h3>
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<div class="thrv_wrapper tve_image_caption alignright" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box !important; color: #424242; float: right; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 250px;">
<span class="tve_image_frame" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Bananas on white background" class="tve_image lazyloaded" data-essbisindex="7" data-lazy-src="//www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/bananas.jpg" height="167" src="https://www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/bananas.jpg" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 250px;" width="250" /></span></div>
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Bananas contain high levels of antioxidants. The most prevalent are dopamine and catechins (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814602001863" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">24</a>).</div>
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Toxins can damage molecules and atoms in the cells, causing them to lose an electron.</div>
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These atoms and molecules become free radicals, attaching themselves to any other atoms or molecules in the body with an extra electron. </div>
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This damages those particles to which they attach.</div>
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Free radical damage can lead to premature aging and many degenerative diseases.</div>
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Antioxidants fight free radicals, helping improve people’s health, especially in individuals who are prone to cancer or other degenerative conditions (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.2001.10719185" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">25</a>).</div>
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<div class="tve_cb tve_cb6 tve_purple" data-tve-custom-colour="92916894" style="background: rgb(164, 119, 220); border-radius: 32px; border: 2px solid rgb(151, 104, 209); box-shadow: transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px inset, transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px !important; box-sizing: content-box; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">
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<div class="thrv_wrapper thrv_icon aligncenter" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: table; font-size: 40px; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
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<div class="tve_empty_dropzone" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Antioxidants in bananas help prevent damage from free radicals.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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6. Bananas Fight Cancer</h3>
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Antioxidants found in bananas also help fight against cancer.</div>
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Catechins, one type of antioxidants in bananas, are especially effective at fighting cancerous cells. They’ve been shown to reduce tumor cell growth (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23953879" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">26</a>).</div>
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Riper bananas have more of a substance called tumor necrosis factor, which fights abnormal cells.</div>
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Yellow bananas with many dark spots are better than green bananas when it comes to fighting cancer (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/fstr/15/3/15_3_275/_pdf" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">27</a>).</div>
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Bananas also tend to promote bile acid binding in the colon (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814606002056" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">28</a>). </div>
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This can help to remove toxic bile acids from the digestive system and possibly reduce the risk of colon cancer (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471491411000979" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">29</a>).</div>
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Antioxidant administration is often used as a supplement to traditional cancer treatments (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/News/ADA_Antioxidants.aspx" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">30</a>).</div>
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<div class="tve_cb tve_cb6 tve_purple" data-tve-custom-colour="22800264" style="background: rgb(164, 119, 220); border-radius: 32px; border: 2px solid rgb(151, 104, 209); box-shadow: transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px inset, transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px !important; box-sizing: content-box; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">
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<div class="thrv_wrapper tcb-flex-row tcb-resized tcb-resizing tcb--cols--2 tve-flex-start" style="-webkit-box-align: start; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-lines: single; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: flex-start; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: flex; flex-flow: row nowrap; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px !important; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Antioxidants in bananas can reduce tumor cell growth caused by cancer and reduce toxins that contribute to cancer.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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7. Bananas Can Improve Insulin Sensitivity</h3>
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Those struggling with insulin resistance might benefit from eating more bananas. Insulin resistance may also be referred to as metabolic syndrome.</div>
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Insulin is a hormone that helps the body use the glucose that is created from the carbohydrates that you eat. Insulin helps the body use glucose for energy.</div>
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In insulin-resistant individuals, the cells don’t respond to insulin, so the glucose isn’t used as effectively for energy and may be stored as fat (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/Diabetes/insulin-resistance-prediabetes/Pages/index.aspx" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">31</a>).</div>
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<span class="tve_image_frame" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Indian male doctor eating banana over white background" class="tve_image lazyloaded" data-essbisindex="5" data-lazy-src="//www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/doctor-eat-banana.jpg" height="459" src="https://www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/doctor-eat-banana.jpg" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 690px;" width="688" /></span></div>
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Insulin resistance is often considered a precursor to diabetes.</div>
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Greener bananas have been shown to increase insulin sensitivity, the healthy reaction of cells to insulin. </div>
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While the exact reason for this is not yet clearly understood, it boils down to the high levels of resistant starch found in the fruit (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22357745" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">32</a>).</div>
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<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
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<div class="tcb-flex-col tve_empty_dropzone" data-css="tve-u-1586343852e" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 84.4%; outline: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="tve_empty_dropzone" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Resistant starch in bananas can improve insulin sensitivity.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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8. Bananas Promote Kidney Health</h3>
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The average banana contains 420 milligrams of potassium.</div>
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Potassium is vital for controlling kidney health. It helps regulate blood pressure and reduce the risk of kidney diseases.</div>
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The consumption of bananas has been shown to decrease the risk of renal cell carcinoma, a type of cancer.</div>
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Researchers found that women who ate just two to three bananas every seven days were about one-third less likely to develop kidney disease (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15455348" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">33</a>).</div>
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People can lower their risk of kidney disease by up to 50% by eating a banana almost every day (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2090280" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">34</a>, <a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15455348" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">35</a>).</div>
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People with diabetes may also experience kidney problems. </div>
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One study found that eating a type of pasta made from green bananas helped prevent kidney damage in patients with type 1 diabetes (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26910629" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">36</a>).</div>
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<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
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<div class="tcb-flex-col tve_empty_dropzone" data-css="tve-u-1586344c775" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 84.4%; outline: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="tve_empty_dropzone" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The potassium in bananas promotes better kidney health, reducing the risk of related diseases.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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9. Bananas Promote Bone Health</h3>
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Magnesium is an essential nutrient for bone health.</div>
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Bananas contain high levels of magnesium, translating into stronger and firmer bones.</div>
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Magnesium has been found to increase bone mineral density (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16274367" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">37</a>). The chief way that it does this is by helping the body better absorb calcium.</div>
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<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The magnesium in bananas promotes better bone health.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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10. Bananas Reduce Muscle Soreness</h3>
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<div class="thrv_wrapper tve_image_caption alignright" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box !important; color: #424242; float: right; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 250px;">
<span class="tve_image_frame" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="man with sore muscles" class="tve_image lazyloaded" data-essbisindex="6" data-lazy-src="//www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/sore-muscles.jpg" height="375" src="https://www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/sore-muscles.jpg" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 250px;" width="250" /></span></div>
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Yet another benefit of the potassium found in bananas is reduced muscle soreness.</div>
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Potassium is an electrolyte. It carries an electric charge and can help regulate hydration and muscle function.</div>
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When you sweat, you lose electrolytes, including potassium (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002350.htm" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">38</a>). </div>
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The imbalance can result in muscle spasms and soreness (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003178.htm" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">39</a>).</div>
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This is one of the main reasons why bananas are a great post-workout meal. </div>
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They reduce soreness after exercise, promote speedier recovery, rehydrate the body, and replenish electrolytes (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13404940/" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">40</a>).</div>
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Eating a banana will also help reduce the soreness associated with a hangover (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.phytojournal.com/vol1Issue3/Issue_sept_2012/9.1.pdf" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">41</a>).</div>
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<div class="tve_cb tve_cb6 tve_purple" data-tve-custom-colour="94103094" style="background: rgb(164, 119, 220); border-radius: 32px; border: 2px solid rgb(151, 104, 209); box-shadow: transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px inset, transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px !important; box-sizing: content-box; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">
<div class="tve_cb_cnt tve_empty_dropzone" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="thrv_wrapper tcb-flex-row tcb-resized tcb-resizing tcb--cols--2 tve-flex-start" style="-webkit-box-align: start; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-lines: single; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: flex-start; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: flex; flex-flow: row nowrap; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px !important; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="tcb-flex-col tve_empty_dropzone" data-css="tve-u-1586346b205" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 15.6%; outline: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 59px;">
<div class="thrv_wrapper thrv_icon aligncenter" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: table; font-size: 40px; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
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<div class="tcb-flex-col tve_empty_dropzone" data-css="tve-u-1586346b204" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 84.4%; outline: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="tve_empty_dropzone" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bananas reduce muscle soreness thanks to the potassium they contain.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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11. Bananas Boost the Immune System</h3>
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Bananas are loaded with essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.</div>
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Many of these nutrients, including iron, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B6, <a class="" href="https://www.authoritydiet.com/best-vitamin-c-supplements/" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">vitamin C</a>, selenium and protein, benefit the immune system. </div>
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They ensure that the immune system is functioning properly.</div>
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Ripe bananas especially boost white blood cells’ ability to fight illness (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/fstr/15/3/15_3_275/_pdf" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">42</a>).</div>
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<div class="tve_cb tve_cb6 tve_purple" data-tve-custom-colour="14008144" style="background: rgb(164, 119, 220); border-radius: 32px; border: 2px solid rgb(151, 104, 209); box-shadow: transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px inset, transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px !important; box-sizing: content-box; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">
<div class="tve_cb_cnt tve_empty_dropzone" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="thrv_wrapper tcb-flex-row tcb-resized tcb-resizing tcb--cols--2 tve-flex-start" style="-webkit-box-align: start; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-lines: single; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: flex-start; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: flex; flex-flow: row nowrap; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px !important; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="tcb-flex-col tve_empty_dropzone" data-css="tve-u-158634987e9" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 15.6%; outline: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 59px;">
<div class="thrv_wrapper thrv_icon aligncenter" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: table; font-size: 40px; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
</div>
<div class="tcb-flex-col tve_empty_dropzone" data-css="tve-u-158634987e8" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 84.4%; outline: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="tve_empty_dropzone" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bananas contain over a dozen nutrients that maintain normal immune system response.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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12. Bananas Can Prevent Asthma</h3>
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Though the reason isn’t yet clear, initial studies have shown that bananas might help prevent asthma, especially in children.</div>
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<span class="tve_image_frame" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="child with asthma" class="tve_image lazyloaded" data-essbisindex="8" data-lazy-src="//www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/asthma.jpg" height="459" src="https://www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/asthma.jpg" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 688px;" width="688" /></span></div>
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These studies show that children who eat one banana every day are 33% less likely to develop asthma than those that don’t eat one banana every day (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17301090" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">43</a>).</div>
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More research is needed before this is 100% proven.</div>
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<div class="tve_cb tve_cb6 tve_purple" data-tve-custom-colour="37721207" style="background: rgb(164, 119, 220); border-radius: 32px; border: 2px solid rgb(151, 104, 209); box-shadow: transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px inset, transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px !important; box-sizing: content-box; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">
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<div class="thrv_wrapper tcb-flex-row tcb-resized tcb-resizing tcb--cols--2 tve-flex-start" style="-webkit-box-align: start; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-lines: single; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: flex-start; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: flex; flex-flow: row nowrap; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px !important; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="tcb-flex-col tve_empty_dropzone" data-css="tve-u-158634ae3c6" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 15.6%; outline: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 59px;">
<div class="thrv_wrapper thrv_icon aligncenter" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: table; font-size: 40px; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
</div>
<div class="tcb-flex-col tve_empty_dropzone" data-css="tve-u-158634ae3c5" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 84.4%; outline: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bananas might help prevent childhood development of asthma, although more research is required.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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13. Bananas Can Aid in Weight Loss</h3>
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Bananas are a great food for weight loss.</div>
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They’re low in calories, contain ample nutrients, and fill you up. </div>
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Once again, it’s resistant starch that comes into play, making you feel fuller and suppressing your appetite later on (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24499148" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">44</a>).</div>
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Though no research has specifically linked bananas to weight loss, countless studies have shown that eating more fruits and vegetables is a viable way to lose weight (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20022464" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">45</a>).</div>
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Other studies show that resistant starch is an appetite suppressant (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24499148" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">46</a>).</div>
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<div class="tve_cb tve_cb6 tve_purple" data-tve-custom-colour="2515521" style="background: rgb(164, 119, 220); border-radius: 32px; border: 2px solid rgb(151, 104, 209); box-shadow: transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px inset, transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px !important; box-sizing: content-box; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">
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<div class="thrv_wrapper tcb-flex-row tcb-resized tcb-resizing tcb--cols--2 tve-flex-start" style="-webkit-box-align: start; -webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-lines: single; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; align-items: flex-start; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: flex; flex-flow: row nowrap; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px !important; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<div class="thrv_wrapper thrv_icon aligncenter" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: table; font-size: 40px; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
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<div class="tve_empty_dropzone" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bananas aid in weight loss because they’re low in calories and make you feel fuller.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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14. Bananas Provide a Boost of Energy</h3>
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<div class="thrv_wrapper tve_image_caption alignright" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box !important; color: #424242; float: right; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: normal; margin: 10px 0px 10px 20px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 250px;">
<span class="tve_image_frame" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="woman having post workout banana" class="tve_image lazyloaded" data-lazy-src="//www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/post-workout-banana.jpg" height="376" src="https://www.authoritydiet.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/post-workout-banana.jpg" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-shadow: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 250px;" width="250" /></span></div>
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Bananas provide a quick boost of healthy energy thanks to the vitamins and nutrients they contain.</div>
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A large banana also contains approximately 16 grams of sugar (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2208" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">47</a>).</div>
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Bananas contain tyrosine, an amino acid that helps encourage alertness and motivation. </div>
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When you combine that with natural sugars and vitamin B6, which helps your body use oxygen, you get an energy boost from bananas (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0037479" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">48</a>, <a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.caam.rice.edu/~cox/wrap/norepinephrine.pdf" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">49</a>).</div>
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Bananas are a particularly powerful source of an energy boost during exercise (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3355124/" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">50</a>).</div>
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<div class="tve_cb tve_cb6 tve_purple" data-tve-custom-colour="98769916" style="background: rgb(164, 119, 220); border-radius: 32px; border: 2px solid rgb(151, 104, 209); box-shadow: transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px inset, transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px !important; box-sizing: content-box; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">
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<div class="thrv_wrapper thrv_icon aligncenter" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: table; font-size: 40px; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
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<div class="tcb-flex-col tve_empty_dropzone" data-css="tve-u-158634d3064" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 84.4%; outline: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="tve_empty_dropzone" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The nutrients, including fructose, in bananas promote higher energy levels.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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15. Bananas Can Improve Mood</h3>
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Eating a banana can improve your mood and reduce stress.</div>
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The combination of vitamins and nutrients they contain, including vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, fiber, potassium, and iron, all contribute to a better mood (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24134856" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">51</a>).</div>
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The sugars that they contain provide a quick boost of energy while the fiber in bananas is a long-lasting energy source. </div>
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Both improve memory, concentration, and overall mood (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1062203/" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">52</a>).</div>
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<div class="tve_cb tve_cb6 tve_purple" data-tve-custom-colour="50332358" style="background: rgb(164, 119, 220); border-radius: 32px; border: 2px solid rgb(151, 104, 209); box-shadow: transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px inset, transparent 0px 0px 0px 0px !important; box-sizing: content-box; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">
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<div class="thrv_wrapper thrv_icon aligncenter" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: table; font-size: 40px; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
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<div class="tcb-flex-col tve_empty_dropzone" data-css="tve-u-158634f0971" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 84.4%; outline: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 0px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="tve_empty_dropzone" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The vast array of nutrients in bananas can improve the mood by reducing stress and boosting energy.</span></div>
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16. Bananas Are Easy to Eat</h3>
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There’s little denying that bananas are one of the easiest foods to add to your diet.</div>
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You can eat them by themselves or pair them with other nutritious foods.</div>
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Their thick skin protects them so that you don’t need a separate container to bring a banana with you as a portable snack.</div>
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Bananas also make a delicious addition to blended drinks like smoothies and shakes as well as yogurt, cereal and oatmeal.</div>
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<div class="thrv_wrapper thrv_icon aligncenter" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: table; font-size: 40px; line-height: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; margin-top: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="tve_sc_icon icon-bulb" data-tve-icon="icon-bulb" style="background: padding-box padding-box transparent; border-radius: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "icomoon important"; font-size: 60px; height: 60px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; speak: none; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;"></span></div>
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<span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">K</span><span class="bold_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">EY POINT</span>: <span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bananas are easy to incorporate into your diet.</span><span class="italic_text" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
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Do Bananas Have Any Negative Effects?</h2>
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Bananas have few, if any, negative health effects.</div>
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Perhaps the only one is that they might cause an allergic reaction in some people with latex allergies.</div>
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Studies show that between 25% and 50% of people with such allergies might have an allergic reaction to bananas and other fruits (<a class="" data-tcb-events="" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12440950" rel="" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">53</a>).</div>
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For those that are concerned with blood sugar levels such as diabetics or those on a <a class="" href="https://www.authoritydiet.com/why-do-low-carb-diets-work-reasons/" style="background: transparent; color: #7bc143; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">low carb diet</a>, green bananas would be a better option.</div>
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Bananas Are Extremely Nutritious</h2>
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Bananas are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet.</div>
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They’re easy to consume and are very affordable in most places.</div>
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There is little reason not to add this nutritious fruit to your diet to experience the wide range of banana health benefits.</div>
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Do you eat bananas as part of your diet or for health? Let me know below in the comments.</div>
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<span style="color: #424242; font-family: "open sans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 17px;"><i>Leo Tat is an evidence-based nutrition blogger at <a href="http://authoritydiet.com/">AuthorityDiet.com</a> where you can find nutritional articles backed by science journal citations. By having the evidence at hand behind the claims, you can come to an informed decision on what to eat and when to eat for optimal health. </i></span></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-55694803180168593002017-05-28T20:19:00.004-07:002017-05-30T23:39:09.764-07:00What are the effects of ketogenic diet on cardiovascular health?<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
<br />
"The treatment of obesity and cardiovascular diseases is one of the most difficult and important challenges nowadays. Weight loss is frequently offered as a therapy and is aimed at improving some of the components of the metabolic syndrome. Among various diets, ketogenic diets, which are very low in carbohydrates and usually high in fats and/or proteins, have gained in popularity. Results regarding the impact of such diets on cardiovascular risk factors are controversial, both in animals and humans, but some improvements notably in obesity and type 2 diabetes have been described. Unfortunately, these effects seem to be limited in time. Moreover, these diets are not totally safe and can be associated with some adverse events. Notably, in rodents, development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and insulin resistance have been described. The aim of this review is to discuss the role of ketogenic diets on different cardiovascular risk factors in both animals and humans based on available evidence."<br />
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<b>Covered topics (the letter size corresponds to the frequency of mentioning in the text):</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJY0s82rOwoJCTaLY37Ez4iEk3r-Pwgg2rZbWqwyBk33iGypi_nV4txP2H0eA2EheZoMhc5nTAltwdwI5zojZTxoWmt0Ffrc7jchSaoQwH0NYekmJRHtuK8d8dwdf6sDelLBtQQcTya7j/s1600/Ketogenic+diet+and+CVD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1600" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCJY0s82rOwoJCTaLY37Ez4iEk3r-Pwgg2rZbWqwyBk33iGypi_nV4txP2H0eA2EheZoMhc5nTAltwdwI5zojZTxoWmt0Ffrc7jchSaoQwH0NYekmJRHtuK8d8dwdf6sDelLBtQQcTya7j/s320/Ketogenic+diet+and+CVD.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Conclusions (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"Based on the available literature, KD may be associated with some improvements in some cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and HDL cholesterol levels, but these effects are usually limited in time. As KD are often rich in fats, some negative effects could happen. Mainly in rodents, developments of NAFLD and insulin resistance were described. In humans, insulin resistance is also a potential negative effect, but some studies have shown improvements in insulin sensitivity. Nevertheless, many subjects contemplating such diets are overweight or obese at baseline, and even a moderate weight loss could be metabolically beneficial for them. However, it is mandatory to maintain body weight after weight loss, which is usually a major problem. More studies are therefore warranted to better assess the effects of long term use of KD on metabolic diseases and cardiovascular risk factors, but also to better define which dietary macronutrient composition is optimal."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
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Kosinski C, Jornayvaz FR. Effects of Ketogenic Diets on Cardiovascular Risk<br />
Factors: Evidence from Animal and Human Studies. Nutrients. 2017 May 19;9(5).<br />
pii: E517. doi: 10.3390/nu9050517. Review. PubMed PMID: 28534852.<br />
<a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/5/517/htm">http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/5/517/htm</a><br />
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<b>Further reading:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Ketogenic diet </b>(Wikipedia): "The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that in medicine is used primarily to treat difficult-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. Normally, the carbohydrates contained in food are converted into glucose, which is then transported around the body and is particularly important in fueling brain-function. However, if there is very little carbohydrate in the diet, the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies. The ketone bodies pass into the brain and replace glucose as an energy source. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the blood, a state known as ketosis, leads to a reduction in the frequency of epileptic seizures.[1] Almost half of children, and young people, with epilepsy who have tried some form of this diet saw the number of seizures drop by at least half, and the effect persists even after discontinuing the diet.[2] There is some evidence that adults with epilepsy may benefit from the diet, and that a less strict regimen, such as a modified Atkins diet, is similarly effective.[1] The most common adverse effect is constipation, affecting about 30% of patients—this was due to fluid restriction, which was once a feature of the diet, but this led to increased risk of kidney stones, and is no longer considered beneficial.[2][3]<br />
The original therapeutic diet for paediatric epilepsy provides just enough protein for body growth and repair, and sufficient calories[Note 1] to maintain the correct weight for age and height. The classic therapeutic ketogenic diet was developed for treatment of paediatric epilepsy in the 1920s and was widely used into the next decade, but its popularity waned with the introduction of effective anticonvulsant drugs. This classic ketogenic diet contains a 4:1 ratio by weight of fat to combined protein and carbohydrate. This is achieved by excluding high-carbohydrate foods such as starchy fruits and vegetables, bread, pasta, grains and sugar, while increasing the consumption of foods high in fat such as nuts, cream and butter.[1] Most dietary fat is made of molecules called long-chain triglycerides (LCTs). However, medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs)—made from fatty acids with shorter carbon chains than LCTs—are more ketogenic. A variant of the classic diet known as the MCT ketogenic diet uses a form of coconut oil, which is rich in MCTs, to provide around half the calories. As less overall fat is needed in this variant of the diet, a greater proportion of carbohydrate and protein can be consumed, allowing a greater variety of food choices.[4][5]<br />
In the mid-1990s, Hollywood producer Jim Abrahams, whose son's severe epilepsy was effectively controlled by the diet, created the Charlie Foundation to promote it. Publicity included an appearance on NBC's Dateline programme and ...First Do No Harm (1997), a made-for-television film starring Meryl Streep. The foundation sponsored a multicentre research study, the results of which—announced in 1996—marked the beginning of renewed scientific interest in the diet.[1]<br />
Clinical trials and studies in animal models (including C. elegans[6]) suggest that ketogenic diets provide neuroprotective and disease-modifying benefits for a number of adult neurodegenerative disorders.[7][8] As of 2012, there is limited clinical trial data in these areas, and, outside of paediatric epilepsy, use of the ketogenic diet remains at the research stage.[3][9][10]<br />
...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Cardiovascular diseases</b> (WHO/Europe): "Cardiovascular diseases are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels and include:<br />
*coronary heart disease: disease of the blood vessels supplying the heart muscle;<br />
*cerebrovascular disease: disease of the blood vessels supplying the brain;<br />
*peripheral arterial disease: disease of blood vessels supplying the arms and legs;<br />
*rheumatic heart disease: damage to the heart muscle and heart valves from rheumatic fever, caused by streptococcal bacteria;<br />
*congenital heart disease: malformations of heart structure existing at birth;<br />
*deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism: blood clots in the leg veins, which can dislodge and move to the heart and lungs.<br />
Heart attacks and strokes are usually acute events and are mainly caused by a blockage that prevents blood from flowing to the heart or brain. The most common reason is a build-up of fatty deposits on the inner walls of the blood vessels. Strokes can be caused by bleeding from a blood vessel in the brain or by blood clots. ...<a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases/cardiovascular-diseases/cardiovascular-diseases2/definition-of-cardiovascular-diseases">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)</b> (Mayo Clinic): "Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is an umbrella term for a range of liver conditions affecting people who drink little to no alcohol. As the name implies, the main characteristic of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is too much fat stored in liver cells.<br />
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a potentially serious form of the disease, is marked by liver inflammation, which may progress to scarring and irreversible damage. This damage is similar to the damage caused by heavy alcohol use. At its most severe, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis can progress to cirrhosis and liver failure<br />
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is increasingly common around the world, especially in Western nations. In the United States, it is the most common form of chronic liver disease, affecting an estimated 80 to 100 million people.<br />
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease occurs in every age group but especially in people in their 40s and 50s who are at high risk of heart disease because of such risk factors as obesity and type 2 diabetes. The condition is also closely linked to metabolic syndrome, which is a cluster of abnormalities including increased abdominal fat, poor ability to use the hormone insulin, high blood pressure and high blood levels of triglycerides, a type of fat.<br />
...<a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease/home/ovc-20211638">read more</a>".<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post:</b> diet, studies, scientific study, patients, lipid, treatment, ketosis, ketone, fat, research, nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics, nutrition, energy, ketones, dietary, metabolism, ketogenic, carbohydrate, glucose, food, metabolic, clinical, pathophysiology, ketogenic diet, ketone bodies, low carbohydrate diet, low-glycemic index diet, health, healthy, NAFLD, cardiovascular risk factors, fibroblast growth factor (FGF21), insulin resistance, ketogenic diets, type 2 diabetes, metabolic diseases, open access, journal, open access journals, science journal, free journal publication, online journal, open access publishing, open access articles, science magazine, journal science, journal of science, treatment, remedy, therapy, medicine, medication, medical treatment, relieve symptoms, relief, obesity, weight loss, lose weight, weight loss diet, weight loss programs, diet plans, weight gain, weight reduction.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-88419877437330208312017-05-27T04:04:00.000-07:002017-05-30T23:40:05.092-07:00The pomegranate walnuts snack and the science behind its health benefits<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3TwdzWxyqMb4md6TJhDnm37mrci699PTwnaVO4O4ZSI3ysSWblTKV5YISGFP5gB6qmMmALzzDu6Je-CxKPPFksuygruCdMSkxEE2IJVO1R4p7-ssJDasEIYIG04txAlzJI-hV_Dw96XV/s1600/DSCN1382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3TwdzWxyqMb4md6TJhDnm37mrci699PTwnaVO4O4ZSI3ysSWblTKV5YISGFP5gB6qmMmALzzDu6Je-CxKPPFksuygruCdMSkxEE2IJVO1R4p7-ssJDasEIYIG04txAlzJI-hV_Dw96XV/s320/DSCN1382.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Featured open access scientific review on health effects of pomegranate:</b><br />
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Zarfeshany A, Asgary S, Javanmard SH. Potent health effects of pomegranate.<br />
Adv Biomed Res. 2014 Mar 25;3:100. doi: 10.4103/2277-9175.129371. eCollection<br />
2014. Review. PubMed PMID: 24800189; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4007340.<br />
<div>
<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4007340/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4007340/</a></div>
Abstract<br />
Accumulating data clearly claimed that Punica granatum L. (pomegranate) has several health benefits. Pomegranates can help prevent or treat various disease risk factors including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, oxidative stress, hyperglycemia, and inflammatory activities. It is demonstrated that certain components of pomegranate such as polyphenols have potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic effects. The antioxidant potential of pomegranate juice is more than that of red wine and green tea, which is induced through ellagitannins and hydrosable tannins. Pomegranate juice can reduce macrophage oxidative stress, free radicals, and lipid peroxidation. Moreover, pomegranate fruit extract prevents cell growth and induces apoptosis, which can lead to its anticarcinogenic effects. In addition, promoter inhibition of some inflammatory markers and their production are blocked via ellagitannins. In this article, we highlight different studies on the therapeutic effects of pomegranate and their suggested mechanisms of actions.<br />
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<br />
<b>Featured open access scientific review on health effects of walnuts:</b><br />
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Kris-Etherton PM. Walnuts decrease risk of cardiovascular disease: a summary of efficacy and biologic mechanisms. J Nutr. 2014 Apr;144(4 Suppl):547S-554S. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.182907. Epub 2014 Feb 5. Review. PubMed PMID: 24500935<br />
<a href="http://jn.nutrition.org/content/144/4/547S.long">http://jn.nutrition.org/content/144/4/547S.long</a><br />
Abstract<br />
Given the pressing need to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality, there has been a focus on optimizing dietary patterns to reduce the many contributing risk factors. Over the past 2 decades, many studies have been conducted that have evaluated the effects of walnut consumption on CVD risk factors. Walnuts have been shown to decrease low density lipoprotein cholesterol (by ∼9-16%) and blood pressure (diastolic blood pressure by ∼2-3 mm Hg), 2 major risk factors for CVD. In addition, walnuts improve endothelial function, decrease both oxidative stress and some markers of inflammation, and increase cholesterol efflux. The effect of walnuts on multiple CVD targets over relatively short periods of time supports recommendations for their inclusion in a heart-healthy diet.<br />
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<b>Further reading:</b><br />
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<b>Pomegranate</b> (Wikipedia): "The pomegranate, botanical name Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree in the family Lythraceae that grows between 5 and 8 m (16 and 26 ft) tall.<br />
The fruit is typically in season in the Northern Hemisphere from September to February,[2] and in the Southern Hemisphere from March to May. As intact arils or juice, pomegranates are used in baking, cooking, juice blends, meal garnishes, smoothies, and alcoholic beverages, such as cocktails and wine.<br />
The pomegranate originated in the region of modern-day Iran, and has been cultivated since ancient times throughout the Mediterranean region and northern India.[3] It was introduced into Spanish America in the late 16th century and California, by Spanish settlers, in 1769.[3]<br />
Today, it is widely cultivated throughout the Middle East and Caucasus region, north and tropical Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, the drier parts of southeast Asia, and parts of the Mediterranean Basin.[3] It is also cultivated in parts of Arizona and California.[4] In recent years, it has become more common in the commercial markets of Europe and the Western Hemisphere.[3][4]<br />
...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Walnut</b> (Wikipedia): "A walnut is the nut of any tree of the genus Juglans (Family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, Juglans regia. Technically a walnut is the seed of a drupe or drupaceous nut, and thus not a true botanical nut. It is used for food after being processed while green for pickled walnuts or after full ripening for its nutmeat. Nutmeat of the eastern black walnut from the Juglans nigra is less commercially available, as are butternut nutmeats from Juglans cinerea. The walnut is nutrient-dense with protein and essential fatty acids.<br />
...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walnut">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Webmaster:</b><br />
<br />
Prof. Atanas G. Atanasov (Dr. habil., PhD)<br />
<a href="https://about.me/Atanas_At">https://about.me/Atanas_At</a><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post:</b> diet, healthy diet, nutrients, nutrigenomics, nutrigenetics, nutrition, dietary supplements, open access, journal, open access journals, science journal, free journal publication, online journal, open access publishing, open access articles, science magazine, journal science, journal of science, food and nutrition, food, treatment, remedy, therapy, medicine, medication, medical treatment, relieve symptoms, relief, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory activities, pomegranate, walnuts, cardiovascular disease (CVD), LDL, HDL, blood pressure, cholesterol efflux, endothelial function, ellagitannins, free radicals, polyphenols, metabolism.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-77771100636861597032017-05-25T08:33:00.003-07:002017-05-31T05:04:58.910-07:00Gut microbiota and autism: what is the connection?<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
<br />
"Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are a common comorbidity in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Many studies have shown alterations in the composition of the fecal flora and metabolic products of the gut microbiome in patients with ASD. The gut microbiota influences brain development and behaviors through the neuroendocrine, neuroimmune and autonomic nervous systems. In addition, an abnormal gut microbiota is associated with several diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ASD and mood disorders. Here, we review the bidirectional interactions between the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract (brain-gut axis) and the role of the gut microbiota in the central nervous system (CNS) and ASD. Microbiome-mediated therapies might be a safe and effective treatment for ASD."<br />
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<b>Covered topics (the letter size corresponds to the frequency of mentioning in the text):</b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyu68dtfjOrK9m0B6SGkLt5yXUuG-J0mfvD9Z0yPYaSYqoXKqU3HbfSKjgryWn7o6KEMUaDsakMi5Lsh_vltn_xahfchfelh18gW2TJik9kdg0R2llzwXVuXG8sj_nRxhRdNx6ndC0V0C/s1600/Autism+and+microbiota.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1600" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyu68dtfjOrK9m0B6SGkLt5yXUuG-J0mfvD9Z0yPYaSYqoXKqU3HbfSKjgryWn7o6KEMUaDsakMi5Lsh_vltn_xahfchfelh18gW2TJik9kdg0R2llzwXVuXG8sj_nRxhRdNx6ndC0V0C/s320/Autism+and+microbiota.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Conclusion (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"In this review, we summarize the information from multiple studies showing that an abnormal gut microbiota is related to ASD. First, we reviewed the relationship between the gut microbiota and the CNS. Second, we defined the role of the gut microbiota in ASD. Finally, we described some potential therapies for modulating the gut microbiota in patients with ASD. Many recent clinical studies have shown that treatments that regulate the gut microbiota result in improvements in ASD symptoms (Critchfield et al., 2011; Tomova et al., 2015). However, well-designed research studies with more participants are needed to provide more evidence that supports the effectiveness of these treatments."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
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Li Q, Han Y, Dy ABC, Hagerman RJ. The Gut Microbiota and Autism Spectrum<br />
Disorders. Front Cell Neurosci. 2017 Apr 28;11:120. doi:<br />
10.3389/fncel.2017.00120. eCollection 2017. Review. PubMed PMID: 28503135; PubMed<br />
Central PMCID: PMC5408485.<br />
<a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fncel.2017.00120/full">http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fncel.2017.00120/full</a><br />
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<b>Further reading:</b><br />
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<b>Autism spectrum disorder</b> (MedlinePlus): "Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that begins early in childhood and lasts throughout a person's life. It affects how a person acts and interacts with others, communicates, and learns. It includes what used to be known as Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorders.<br />
It is called a "spectrum" disorder because people with ASD can have a range of symptoms. People with ASD might have problems talking with you, or they might not look you in the eye when you talk to them. They may also have restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. They may spend a lot of time putting things in order, or they may say the same sentence again and again. They may often seem to be in their "own world."<br />
At well-child checkups, the health care provider should check your child's development. If there are signs of ASD, your child will have a comprehensive evaluation. It may include a team of specialists, doing various tests and evaluations to make a diagnosis.<br />
The causes of ASD are not known. Research suggests that both genes and environment play important roles.<br />
There is currently no one standard treatment for ASD. There are many ways to increase your child's ability to grow and learn new skills. Starting them early can lead to better results. Treatments include behavior and communication therapies, skills training, and medicines to control symptoms.<br />
...<a href="https://medlineplus.gov/autismspectrumdisorder.html">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Gut microbiota</b> (Wikipedia): "Gut flora (gut microbiota, or gastrointestinal microbiota) is the complex community of microorganisms that live in the digestive tracts of humans and other animals, including insects. The gut metagenome is the aggregate of all the genomes of gut microbiota.[1] The gut is one niche that human microbiota inhabit.[2]<br />
In humans, the gut microbiota has the largest numbers of bacteria and the greatest number of species compared to other areas of the body.[3] In humans the gut flora is established at one to two years after birth, and by that time the intestinal epithelium and the intestinal mucosal barrier that it secretes have co-developed in a way that is tolerant to, and even supportive of, the gut flora and that also provides a barrier to pathogenic organisms.[4][5]<br />
The relationship between some gut flora and humans is not merely commensal (a non-harmful coexistence), but rather a mutualistic relationship.[2]:700 Some human gut microorganisms benefit the host by fermenting dietary fiber into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as acetic acid and butyric acid, which are then absorbed by the host.[3][6] Intestinal bacteria also play a role in synthesizing vitamin B and vitamin K as well as metabolizing bile acids, sterols, and xenobiotics.[2][6] The systemic importance of the SCFAs and other compounds they produce are like hormones and the gut flora itself appears to function like an endocrine organ,[6] and dysregulation of the gut flora has been correlated with a host of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions.[3][7]<br />
The composition of human gut flora changes over time, when the diet changes, and as overall health changes.[3][7] A systematic review from 2016 examined the preclinical and small human trials that have been conducted with certain commercially available strains of probiotic bacteria and identified those that had the most potential to be useful for certain central nervous system disorders.[8]... <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Inflammatory bowel disease</b> (Mayo Clinic): "Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) involves chronic inflammation of all or part of your digestive tract. IBD primarily includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Both usually involve severe diarrhea, pain, fatigue and weight loss. IBD can be debilitating and sometimes leads to life-threatening complications.<br />
Ulcerative colitis (UL-sur-uh-tiv koe-LIE-tis) is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes long-lasting inflammation and sores (ulcers) in the innermost lining of your large intestine (colon) and rectum.<br />
Crohn's disease is an IBD that cause inflammation of the lining of your digestive tract. In Crohn's disease, inflammation often spreads deep into affected tissues. The inflammation can involve different areas of the digestive tract — the large intestine, small intestine or both.<br />
Collagenous (kuh-LAJ-uh-nus) colitis and lymphocytic colitis also are considered inflammatory bowel diseases but are usually regarded separately from classic inflammatory bowel disease.<br />
.... <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/inflammatory-bowel-disease/basics/definition/con-20034908">read more</a>".<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post:</b> gut microbiota, probiotics, gut bacteria, gut flora, probiotic supplements, prebiotics, stomach bacteria, intestinal flora, bacteria in stomach, autism, autism spectrum disorder, autism spectrum, signs of autism, autism symptoms, open access, journal, open access journals, science journal, free journal publication, online journal, open access publishing, open access articles, science magazine, journal science, journal of science, treatment, remedy, relief, therapy, medicine, medication, medical treatment, relieve symptoms.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-90385107144835215042017-05-23T22:42:00.003-07:002017-07-09T06:15:55.939-07:00Are ancient grains nutritionally better?<br />
<b>Guest post by Sudhir Ahluwalia.</b><br />
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The four major grains in use in the world—wheat, rice, corn and sorghum—come from a common ancestor that grew 65 million years ago. Wild cereal grains were discovered from Ohalo II site in Israel. These dated as far back as 23,500 years ago. (<a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v430/n7000/full/nature02734.html">Nature. 2004 Aug 5;430(7000):670-3</a>). Agriculture likely began in the dying years of the Ice Age about 11,700 years ago. Evidence of use of sickles to harvest wild barley has been unearthed from the Levant region, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.<br />
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The earliest popular grains in use were modern wheat precursors—spelt, emmer, kamut (Khorasan wheat) and einkorn, along with barley, rye and sorghum. Cultivation initially must have been largely dry land, with crops dependent on rain. Irrigated cultivation is said to have begun in Mesopotamia and China only after circa 5000 BC.<br />
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The <a href="https://wholegrainscouncil.org/">Whole Grains Council</a> has defined ancient grains to be those “whose roots go back to the beginnings of time." Genetically speaking, ancient grains haven’t changed much over hundreds of years. Modern wheat, corn or rice are not ancient grains. They are an outcome of constant breeding. In the process, their genetic composition has changed.<br />
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Barley, black and red rice, blue corn, oats, teff, wild rice and millets are other prominent ancient grains. All these grains come from the same family—Poaceae. Amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat are too often mischaracterized as ancient grains. Many of the ancient grain-based products available on shelves contain some of these grains. Amaranth and quinoa belong to Amaranthaceae, while buckwheat is from the Polygonaceae family. The nutritional profile and their use, though, are like the true grains belonging to the Poaceae family.<br />
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Unlike wheat, rice and corn, ancient grains such as sorghum, teff, barley and millets are typically dry land farmed. These are widely cultivated in many parts of Asia and Africa. Millets, sorghum and teff are traditionally cultivated by the poorest farmers who cannot afford access to irrigation, fertilizer, insecticides and pesticides.<br />
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In India and Africa, millets, sorghum and teff are consumed more by rural and poorer communities than the wealthier sections of society. The popularity of ancient grains, though, is of late rising. People have begun to believe the grains are healthier compared to hybrid wheat, corn and rice. Farm gate prices of ancient grain are lower when compared to wheat, corn and rice.<br />
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There is a wide acceptance that food containing higher fiber content is good for health. High-fiber food helps build a gut environment where good bacteria can proliferate. Foods are labeled high in fiber when they contain at least 5 g of fiber per serving. Many of the high-fiber food products available on the shelves contain fiber supplements artificially added to the product. Bran and other food fibers are popular supplements.<br />
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The fiber content of some ancient grains such as barley (17.3 percent), bulgur wheat (18.3 percent) and rye (15.1 percent) is very high. Others, including millet (8.3 percent), oats (10.6 percent) sorghum (6.3 percent) and spelt wheat (10.7 percent) have a fiber content range comparable to that found in whole wheat and corn—12.2 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively (USDA Nutrients Database SR 26, updated September 2013). When grain is debranned to make macaroni, noodles and other products, its fiber content drops to levels ranging from 2.8 to 4.3 percent.<br />
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When comparing ancient and traditional grains, one cannot conclude that ancient grains’ nutritional profiles are outright superior. However, some ancient grains such as barley are a rich source of selenium; teff and spelt have high values of magnesium; oats are rich in thiamin; etc. Traditional grains are also rich in some micronutrients. The nutritional content of any grain, though, is affected by the soil and growth conditions.<br />
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Careless hulling impacts the nutritional profile. It is not just the bran or fiber that is lost, but the protein layer just below the outer skin of the grain is also damaged. Whole grain or splits should be carefully hulled to protect the fiber coat and the underlying layer of protein. The inner part of the grain is largely starch. It’s no wonder debranned grain and products made from such grain, ancient or otherwise, have a poorer nutritional profile.<br />
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Multigrain food products are one approach that works well. They offer a broader range of micronutrients available from different grains. This mix need not be composed only of ancient grains, but can include other grains, too.<br />
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The difference between traditional and ancient grain has less to do with nutrition and more with an unaltered genetic profile. Maybe in the future we will discover a biomarker that could be a cure of an untreatable ailment. Until that time, the attraction to ancient grains is probably more a reflection of a desire to look for a superfood: a nutritional El Dorado.<br />
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<i>Sudhir Ahluwalia (<a href="http://www.sudhirahluwalia.com/">sudhirahluwalia.com</a>) is a business consultant. He has been management consulting head of Tata Consultancy Services, an IT outsourcing company in Asia; business advisor to multiple companies; columnist and author of the upcoming book “Holy Herbs." He has also been a member of the Indian Forest Service.</i><br />
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<i>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/sudhirahluwalia">@sudhirahluwalia</a></i><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-25882914115637975352017-05-22T21:37:00.000-07:002017-07-23T20:30:34.428-07:00Complementary and integrative medicine for headache: a review<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"Headaches, including primary headaches such as migraine and tension-type headache, are a common clinical problem. Complementary and integrative medicine (CIM), formerly known as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), uses evidence informed modalities to assist in the health and healing of patients. CIM commonly includes the use of nutrition, movement practices, manual therapy, traditional Chinese medicine, and mind-body strategies. This review summarizes the literature on the use of CIM for primary headache and is based on five meta-analyses, seven systematic reviews, and 34 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The overall quality of the evidence for CIM in headache management is generally low and occasionally moderate. Available evidence suggests that traditional Chinese medicine including acupuncture, massage, yoga, biofeedback, and meditation have a positive effect on migraine and tension headaches. Spinal manipulation, chiropractic care, some supplements and botanicals, diet alteration, and hydrotherapy may also be beneficial in migraine headache. CIM has not been studied or it is not effective for cluster headache. Further research is needed to determine the most effective role for CIM in patients with headache."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb5VkCzqHM63gLAkqaIpru9wnLVkYKPa1hu7F9lQZfb5ovsiJvw7VWfwyIhRqZdXvAmgMOJtiiojxS46B8kv0jJYUcVSKTMWCwLrgdHxdijgNp_ksGxi4sWj1eAjPSOETuPM2Kt-CMhSb/s1600/Headache+treatments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Complementary and integrative medicine for headache a review image 1" border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyb5VkCzqHM63gLAkqaIpru9wnLVkYKPa1hu7F9lQZfb5ovsiJvw7VWfwyIhRqZdXvAmgMOJtiiojxS46B8kv0jJYUcVSKTMWCwLrgdHxdijgNp_ksGxi4sWj1eAjPSOETuPM2Kt-CMhSb/s320/Headache+treatments.jpg" title="Complementary and integrative medicine for headache a review image 1" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Conclusion (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"The use of CIM therapies has the potential to empower patients and help them take an active role in their care. Many CIM modalities, including mind-body therapies, are both self selected and self administered after an education period. This, coupled with patients’ increased desire to incorporate integrative medicine, should prompt healthcare providers to consider and discuss its inclusion in the overall management strategy.<br />
Low to moderate quality evidence exists for the effectiveness of some CIM therapies in the management of primary headache.<br />
The evidence for and use of CIM is continuously changing so healthcare professionals should direct their patients to reliable and updated resources, such as NCCIH."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
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Millstine D, Chen CY, Bauer B. Complementary and integrative medicine in the<br />
management of headache. BMJ. 2017 May 16;357:j1805. doi: 10.1136/bmj.j1805.<br />
Review. PubMed PMID: 28512119.<br />
<a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j1805.long">http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j1805.long</a><br />
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<b>Further reading:</b><br />
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<b>Complementary and integrative medicine</b> (MedlinePlus): "Many Americans use medical treatments that are not part of mainstream medicine. When you are using these types of care, it may be called complementary, integrative, or alternative medicine.<br />
Complementary medicine is used together with mainstream medical care. An example is using acupuncture to help with side effects of cancer treatment. When health care providers and facilities offer both types of care, it is called integrative medicine. Alternative medicine is used instead of mainstream medical care.<br />
The claims that non-mainstream practitioners make can sound promising. However, researchers do not know how safe many of these treatments are or how well they work. Studies are underway to determine the safety and usefulness of many of these practices.<br />
To minimize the health risks of a non-mainstream treatment<br />
*Discuss it with your doctor. It might have side effects or interact with other medicines.<br />
*Find out what the research says about it<br />
*Choose practitioners carefully<br />
*Tell all of your doctors and practitioners about all of the different types of treatments you use<br />
...<a href="https://medlineplus.gov/complementaryandintegrativemedicine.html#summary" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Headache</b> (Wikipedia): "Headache is the symptom of pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It occurs in migraines ( sharp, or throbbing pains), tension-type headaches, and cluster headaches.[1] Frequent headaches can affect relationships and employment.[1] There is also an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches.[1]<br />
Headaches can occur as a result of many conditions whether serious or not. There are a number of different classification systems for headaches. The most well-recognized is that of the International Headache Society. Causes of headaches may include fatigue, sleep deprivation, stress, the effects of medications, the effects of recreational drugs, viral infections, loud noises, common colds, head injury, rapid ingestion of a very cold food or beverage, and dental or sinus issues.<br />
Treatment of a headache depends on the underlying cause, but commonly involves pain medication. Some form of headache is one of the most commonly experienced of all physical discomforts.<br />
About half of adults have a headache in a given year.[1] Tension headaches are the most common, affecting about 1.6 billion people (21.8% of the population) followed by migraine headaches which affect about 848 million (11.7%).[2]... <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headache" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Headache treatment options</b> (WebMD): "There are many headache remedies. Medications can ease your pain, but changing your lifestyle to control stress or avoid triggers works well, too, and may prevent you from getting headaches. What works for one person may not work for another, so work with your doctor to find the best remedy for you.<br />
Medications for Headaches<br />
Different types of medicine treat different types of headaches.<br />
Tension headaches: Pain relievers such as acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen, usually help. But be careful. Taking too many of these pills can cause hard-to-treat rebound headaches. If you need to take these drugs often, see your doctor. Do not give aspirin to anyone under age 19 -- it raises their risk for a serious condition called Reye's syndrome.<br />
Migraines: One type of drug, called triptans, is the mainstay of migraine treatment. They include eletriptan (Relpax), naratriptan (Amerge), rizatriptan (Maxalt), sumatriptan (Imitrex, Zecuity), zolmitriptan (Zomig), and others. You can take them as pills, injections, and skin patches.... <a href="http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/understanding-headache-treatment-medref#1" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post:</b> complementary and integrative medicine in the management of headache, alternative medicine, ethnobotanical plants, ethnobotany, herbal medicine, herbal plants, herbal products, herbal remedies, herbal supplements, herbs, holistic medicine, medicinal herbs, medicinal plants, medicinal plants and their uses, natural medicine, natural remedies, open access, journal, open access journals, science journal, free journal publication, online journal, open access publishing, open access articles, science magazine, journal science, journal of science, natural product, natures products, pharmacognosy, phytochemicals, phytonutrients, phytochemical supplements, phytonutrients supplements, pharmacology, microbiology, biochemistry, clinical pharmacology, medical pharmacology, pharmacological, pharmacology and toxicology, pharmacy, bioactivity, bio active, bioactive, bioactive compounds, food and nutrition, nutrition, headache, migraine, migraine symptoms, migraine headache, migraine relief, sinus headache, headache causes, migraine treatment, migraine medication, migraine medicine, migraine remedies, headache relief, headache remedies, ocular migraine, tension headache, migraine cure, cluster headaches, stress headache, tension headache relief, severe headache, constant headache, traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, massage, yoga, biofeedback, meditation, spinal manipulation, chiropractic care, nutritional supplements, botanicals, diet alteration, hydrotherapy.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-20422436080813952102017-05-21T01:13:00.001-07:002017-05-31T07:33:58.510-07:00Precision nutrition in obesity and weight loss: the significance of gene-diet interactions<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"The rapid rise of obesity during the past decades has coincided with a profound shift of our living environment, including unhealthy dietary patterns, a sedentary lifestyle, and physical inactivity. Genetic predisposition to obesity may have interacted with such an obesogenic environment in determining the obesity epidemic. Growing studies have found that changes in adiposity and metabolic response to low-calorie weight loss diets might be modified by genetic variants related to obesity, metabolic status and preference to nutrients. This review summarized data from recent studies of gene-diet interactions, and discussed integration of research of metabolomics and gut microbiome, as well as potential application of the findings in precision nutrition."<br />
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<b>Conclusions (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"The obesity epidemic during the past decades has coincided with a profound shift of unhealthy dietary patterns, a sedentary lifestyle, and physical inactivity. Genetic predisposition to obesity may have interacted with such an obesogenic environment in determining the obesity epidemic. Increasing evidence has shown the potential effects of gene–environment interactions on obesity. Data from dietary intervention trials suggest that changes in adiposity and metabolic response to low-calorie weight-loss diets could be significantly modified by genetic variants, especially those related to obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolism and food preference. While further external replication and a large-scale analysis would be necessary to confirm these findings, the positive results obtained thus far tend to support precision dietary interventions considering genetic predisposition to diseases, genetic variants determining dietary preference and metabolites, as well as phenotypes and intermediate metabolites. The idea of precision nutrition and dietary intervention is considered as each dietary habit and advice is individually tailored to prevent chronic diseases on the basis of genomic background, habitual food and beverage consumption, nutrient intake (especially those contributing to risks of diseases), and also a person’s metabolomics, microbiome, and other omics profiles. On the other hand, few studies investigate potential roles of metabolomics mechanisms and gut microbiome that may act at the interface of genetic variation and environment in affecting obesity and health. Research integrating data on genes, dietary habits, metabolites and gut-microbiome in investigation of human health would be one of the most exciting areas in precision nutrition in the near future."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
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Heianza Y, Qi L. Gene-Diet Interaction and Precision Nutrition in Obesity. Int<br />
J Mol Sci. 2017 Apr 7;18(4). pii: E787. doi: 10.3390/ijms18040787. Review. PubMed<br />
PMID: 28387720; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5412371.<br />
<a href="http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/18/4/787/htm">http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/18/4/787/htm</a><br />
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<b>Further reading:</b><br />
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<b>Nutrigenomics</b> (Wikipedia): "Nutrigenomics is a branch of nutritional genomics and is the study of the effects of foods and food constituents on gene expression.[1] This means that nutrigenomics is research focusing on identifying and understanding molecular-level interaction between nutrients and other dietary bioactives with the genome. Nutrigenomics has also been described by the influence of genetic variation on nutrition, by correlating gene expression or SNPs with a nutrient's absorption, metabolism, elimination or biological effects. By doing so, nutrigenomics aims to develop rational means to optimise nutrition with respect to the subject's genotype. By determining the mechanism of the effects of nutrients or the effects of a nutritional regime, nutrigenomics tries to define the causality or relationship between these specific nutrients and specific nutrient regimes (diets) on human health. Nutrigenomics has been associated with the idea of personalized nutrition based on genotype. While there is hope that nutrigenomics will ultimately enable such personalised dietary advice, it is a science still in its infancy and its contribution to public health over the next decade is thought to be major.[2] Whilst nutrigenomics is aimed at developing an understanding of how the whole body responds to a food via systems biology, research into the effect of a single gene/single food compound relationships is known as nutrigenetics.[3] ...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrigenomics" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Obesity</b> (MedlinePlus): "Obesity means having too much body fat. It is different from being overweight, which means weighing too much. The weight may come from muscle, bone, fat, and/or body water. Both terms mean that a person's weight is greater than what's considered healthy for his or her height. Obesity occurs over time when you eat more calories than you use. The balance between calories-in and calories-out differs for each person. Factors that might affect your weight include your genetic makeup, overeating, eating high-fat foods, and not being physically active. Being obese increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and some cancers. If you are obese, losing even 5 to 10 percent of your weight can delay or prevent some of these diseases. For example, that means losing 10 to 20 pounds if you weigh 200 pounds... <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/obesity.html" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Precision nutrition</b> (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health): "Precision medicine—tailoring drugs and therapies to a person’s genetic profile—has been touted in recent years as a way to maximize the benefits of treatment while minimizing side effects. Experts are now wondering if personalizing an individual’s diet according to their DNA profile—called precision nutrition—can also improve health... <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/precision-nutrition-hype-or-hope/" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<b>Weight loss</b> (Wikipedia): "Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other connective tissue. Weight loss can either occur unintentionally due to malnourishment or an underlying disease or arise from a conscious effort to improve an actual or perceived overweight or obese state. "Unexplained" weight loss that is not caused by reduction in calorific intake or exercise is called cachexia and may be a symptom of a serious medical condition. Intentional weight loss is commonly referred to as slimming... <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_loss" target="_blank">read more</a>".<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post:</b> diet, gene-diet interactions, genetic predisposition, genes, genetics, genetic variants, healthy diet, microbiota, nutrients, nutrigenomics, nutrigenetics, nutrition, obesity, precision nutrition, precisionmedicine, precision medicine, personalized treatment, personalized medicine, weight loss, open access, journal, open access journals, science journal, free journal publication, online journal, open access publishing, open access articles, science magazine, journal science, journal of science, food and nutrition, diet, food, treatment, remedy, therapy, medicine, medication, medical treatment, relieve symptoms, relief, gut microbiota, probiotics, gut bacteria, gut flora, probiotic supplements, bacteria in stomach, prebiotics, stomach bacteria, intestinal flora.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-16792380979118235092017-05-18T00:35:00.000-07:002017-05-31T05:08:07.953-07:003D-printed artificial ovaries display restoration of fertility in a new study<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"Emerging additive manufacturing techniques enable investigation of the effects of pore geometry on cell behavior and function. Here, we 3D print microporous hydrogel scaffolds to test how varying pore geometry, accomplished by manipulating the advancing angle between printed layers, affects the survival of ovarian follicles. 30° and 60° scaffolds provide corners that surround follicles on multiple sides while 90° scaffolds have an open porosity that limits follicle-scaffold interaction. As the amount of scaffold interaction increases, follicle spreading is limited and survival increases. Follicle-seeded scaffolds become highly vascularized and ovarian function is fully restored when implanted in surgically sterilized mice. Moreover, pups are born through natural mating and thrive through maternal lactation. These findings present an in vivo functional ovarian implant designed with 3D printing, and indicate that scaffold pore architecture is a critical variable in additively manufactured scaffold design for functional tissue engineering."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeHUR9Gu9w4bjga-nD19RZIEUDmf6h8Afacj2KiJFD8q8HD6CsK6a-cOhiACdY1xG4sg6uxvWrdit7k0vCl1Z_bDplIYLFqKoxpd-lwrCpyrgjXKZPQMZp43BAES_y-3SoqoaypAmFlNf4/s1600/3D+ovaries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeHUR9Gu9w4bjga-nD19RZIEUDmf6h8Afacj2KiJFD8q8HD6CsK6a-cOhiACdY1xG4sg6uxvWrdit7k0vCl1Z_bDplIYLFqKoxpd-lwrCpyrgjXKZPQMZp43BAES_y-3SoqoaypAmFlNf4/s320/3D+ovaries.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Discussion (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"In this work, we investigated how scaffold pore geometry affected the growth and maturation of ovarian murine follicles as well as developed a bioprosthetic ovary that restored ovarian function in vivo in mice. Microporous architectures were achieved through 3D printing partially crosslinked, thermally regulated gelatin. We found that specific scaffold architectures created a 3D feel by providing appropriate depth and multiple contact sites for the ovarian follicle, which resulted in optimal murine follicle survival and differentiation in vitro. The open micropores within the hydrogel scaffold provided sufficient space and nutrient diffusion for follicle survival and maturation in vitro and in vivo, as well as space for vasculature to infiltrate when implanted in vivo without the need for significant scaffold degradation as is required when using hydrogel encapsulation22,23. The techniques developed here are the necessary first steps to validate the significant undertaking of exploring such an approach for creating a human bioprosthetic ovary.<br />
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Importantly, we accomplish on-platform ovulation through a biomaterial that did not require mechanical manipulation or digestion of the material to release an egg. Mechanical manipulation or enzymatic digestion of the biomaterial may impact the health of the generated egg and therefore reducing intervention by using our scaffolds may be more desirable for future in vitro fertility applications such as in vitro fertilization. Furthermore, live birth was achieved with the implant alone; angiogenic growth factors, hormone stimulation and embryo transfer were not required18,19,51,57,58. Since exogenous hormones were not given to the animals, ovulation was triggered endogenously which depends on estradiol and inhibin production from the follicles seeded within the implanted bioprosthesis59. Subsequent events also signified that the bioprosthetic ovary was an active participant in the reproductive axis in vivo, including ovulation of a healthy egg through the scaffold, and progesterone production from the remaining CL to produce a receptive uterine wall and stimulate lactation. The resulting pups from the bioprosthetic ovary developed normally with their own reproductive competency, as they were all able to sire or deliver healthy litters. These results highlight the high functionality of our bioprosthetic ovary using a scalable and adaptable method.<br />
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In future years, the 3D printed bioprosthetic scaffold can be repopulated with ovarian tissues (either native or iPS derived)60. The advantage of 3D printing is the opportunity to scale the size of the tissue to the size needed for the transplant recipient (e.g., for a child who is transitioning through puberty or for an adult). Furthermore, the construct could be printed with embedded vasculature to help alleviate nutrient demands in large (multi-cm) tissues. With these first steps presented here, the use of 3D printing will allow for new investigations in reproductive biology. For example, varying stiffness with multi-material printing as well as varying pore size can be used to create a construct that separates quiescent and growing follicle pools, which is necessary for transplant longevity and continued hormone cyclicity61,62. Future studies will require optimizing the number of cells transferred to the scaffold and the assessment of durable function; these studies are ongoing. While additional experimentation is required to establish that human folliculogenesis will be supported in a similar manner as the mouse follicles shown here, and that the isolated follicles are free of cancerous cells, this bioprosthetic ovary may become a promising solution for restoring hormone and fertility function in oncofertility patients. Outside of reproductive biology, our findings will likely impact others developing tissue units and other spheroid cultures63, and underscore the importance of independently investigating the impact of architectural variables when designing scaffolds for other soft tissue and organ targets."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
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Laronda MM, Rutz AL, Xiao S, Whelan KA, Duncan FE, Roth EW, Woodruff TK, Shah<br />
RN. A bioprosthetic ovary created using 3D printed microporous scaffolds restores<br />
ovarian function in sterilized mice. Nat Commun. 2017 May 16;8:15261. doi:<br />
10.1038/ncomms15261. PubMed PMID: 28509899.<br />
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15261">https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15261</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-48150353406406709622017-05-14T21:46:00.000-07:002017-05-31T05:08:44.643-07:00Probiotics to combat diabetes in pregnancy<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"The metabolic effects of probiotic administration in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is unknown. The objective of this review was to investigate the effect of probiotics on fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and LDL-cholesterol levels in pregnant women diagnosed with GDM. Seven electronic databases were searched for RCTs published in English between 2001 and 2017 investigating the metabolic effects of a 6-8 week dietary probiotic intervention in pregnant women following diagnosis with GDM. Eligible studies were assessed for risk of bias and subjected to qualitative and quantitative synthesis using a random effects model meta-analyses. Four high quality RCTs involving 288 participants were included in the review. Probiotic supplementation was not effective in decreasing FBG (Mean Difference = -0.13; 95% CI -0.32, 0.06, p = 0.18) or LDL-cholesterol (-0.16; 95% CI -0.45, 0.13, p = 0.67) in women with GDM. However, a significant reduction in HOMA-IR was observed following probiotic supplementation (-0.69; 95% CI -1.24, -0.14, p = 0.01). There were no significant differences in gestational weight gain, delivery method or neonatal outcomes between experimental and control groups, and no adverse effects of the probiotics were reported. Probiotic supplementation for 6-8 weeks resulted in a significant reduction in insulin resistance in pregnant women diagnosed with GDM. The use of probiotic supplementation is promising as a potential therapy to assist in the metabolic management of GDM. Further high quality studies of longer duration are required to determine the safety, optimal dose and ideal bacterial composition of probiotics before their routine use can be recommended in this patient group."<br />
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<b>Covered topics (the letter size corresponds to the frequency of mentioning in the text):</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nuPubXhuyvYYKCkv9fWBGo4X1JlYbaoJi-zsM6xbES3BNpdn_MO3sYGQ9GWEY3iMmwjuBE61KtnAhw90Unp0ShpVzdrbsYOz3AFwXvW7iyJA7mqiy6cl55VdzLtMgsQ9DY7CA8c5EegV/s1600/Probiotics+and+diabetes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nuPubXhuyvYYKCkv9fWBGo4X1JlYbaoJi-zsM6xbES3BNpdn_MO3sYGQ9GWEY3iMmwjuBE61KtnAhw90Unp0ShpVzdrbsYOz3AFwXvW7iyJA7mqiy6cl55VdzLtMgsQ9DY7CA8c5EegV/s320/Probiotics+and+diabetes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Conclusions (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"The present review found that while probiotic supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in insulin resistance in pregnant women with GDM, there was no significant effect on fasting blood glucose or LDL-cholesterol levels. Further high quality studies using defined doses of specific bacterial species are required to confirm these findings and their clinical relevance before their routine use can be recommended in this patient group."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
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Taylor BL, Woodfall GE, Sheedy KE, O'Riley ML, Rainbow KA, Bramwell EL, Kellow<br />
NJ. Effect of Probiotics on Metabolic Outcomes in Pregnant Women with Gestational<br />
Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.<br />
Nutrients. 2017 May 5;9(5). pii: E461. doi: 10.3390/nu9050461. Review. PubMed<br />
PMID: 28475161.<br />
<a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/5/461/htm">http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/5/461/htm</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-69031094684066177472017-05-12T20:11:00.000-07:002017-05-31T05:09:45.383-07:00The apple-walnut-cinnamon smoothie and the science behind its health effects<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0n2diXZjGglbcpDxGsAJmLCMe1k9m_YpJ5-7Y1KYSQzOzD0vK9LYv4Cuv53P7vh4ilMGMRN7x85_ffv2T7xiJFfuWauTQqQ6S32oCvgMmTyWUpUIj0XIZ6uGlsu36T-RPJL_5RnmZ8yu/s1600/DSCN1172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia0n2diXZjGglbcpDxGsAJmLCMe1k9m_YpJ5-7Y1KYSQzOzD0vK9LYv4Cuv53P7vh4ilMGMRN7x85_ffv2T7xiJFfuWauTQqQ6S32oCvgMmTyWUpUIj0XIZ6uGlsu36T-RPJL_5RnmZ8yu/s320/DSCN1172.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<b>Featured open access scientific review on health effects of apples:</b></div>
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Hyson DA. A comprehensive review of apples and apple components and their relationship to human health. Adv Nutr. 2011 Sep;2(5):408-20. doi: 10.3945/an.111.000513. Epub 2011 Sep 6. Review. PubMed PMID: 22332082; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3183591.</div>
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<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3183591/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3183591/</a></div>
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Abstracts</div>
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There has been an increasing appreciation and understanding of the link between dietary fruit and vegetable intake and improved health in humans. The widespread and growing intake of apples and apple juice/products and their rich phytochemical profile suggest their important potential to affect the health of the populations consuming them. This review summarizes current clinical, in vitro, and in vivo data and builds upon earlier published reports that apple may reduce the risk of chronic disease by various mechanisms, including antioxidant, antiproliferative, and cell signaling effects. Exposure to apples and apple products has been associated with beneficial effects on risk, markers, and etiology of cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and Alzheimer’s disease. Recent work suggests that these products may also be associated with improved outcomes related to cognitive decline of normal aging, diabetes, weight management, bone health, pulmonary function, and gastrointestinal protection.</div>
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<b>Featured open access scientific review on health effects of walnuts:</b></div>
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Kris-Etherton PM. Walnuts decrease risk of cardiovascular disease: a summary of efficacy and biologic mechanisms. J Nutr. 2014 Apr;144(4 Suppl):547S-554S. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.182907. Epub 2014 Feb 5. Review. PubMed PMID: 24500935</div>
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<a href="http://jn.nutrition.org/content/144/4/547S.long">http://jn.nutrition.org/content/144/4/547S.long</a></div>
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Abstract</div>
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Given the pressing need to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality, there has been a focus on optimizing dietary patterns to reduce the many contributing risk factors. Over the past 2 decades, many studies have been conducted that have evaluated the effects of walnut consumption on CVD risk factors. Walnuts have been shown to decrease low density lipoprotein cholesterol (by ∼9-16%) and blood pressure (diastolic blood pressure by ∼2-3 mm Hg), 2 major risk factors for CVD. In addition, walnuts improve endothelial function, decrease both oxidative stress and some markers of inflammation, and increase cholesterol efflux. The effect of walnuts on multiple CVD targets over relatively short periods of time supports recommendations for their inclusion in a heart-healthy diet.</div>
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<b>Featured open access scientific review on health effects of cinnamon:</b></div>
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Ranasinghe P, Pigera S, Premakumara GA, Galappaththy P, Constantine GR, Katulanda P. Medicinal properties of 'true' cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum): a systematic review. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2013 Oct 22;13:275. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-13-275. Review. PubMed PMID: 24148965; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3854496.</div>
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<a href="https://bmccomplementalternmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6882-13-275">https://bmccomplementalternmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6882-13-275</a></div>
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Abstract</div>
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BACKGROUND: In traditional medicine Cinnamon is considered a remedy for respiratory, digestive and gynaecological ailments. In-vitro and in-vivo studies from different parts of the world have demonstrated numerous beneficial medicinal effects of Cinnamomum zeylanicum (CZ). This paper aims to systematically review the scientific literature and provide a comprehensive summary on the potential medicinal benefits of CZ.</div>
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METHODS: A comprehensive systematic review was conducted in the following databases; PubMed, Web of Science, SciVerse Scopus for studies published before 31st December 2012. The following keywords were used: "Cinnamomum zeylanicum", "Ceylon cinnamon", "True cinnamon" and "Sri Lankan cinnamon". To obtain additional data a manual search was performed using the reference lists of included articles.</div>
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RESULTS: The literature search identified the following number of articles in the respective databases; PubMed=54, Web of Science=76 and SciVerse Scopus=591. Thirteen additional articles were identified by searching reference lists. After removing duplicates the total number of articles included in the present review is 70. The beneficial health effects of CZ identified were; a) anti-microbial and anti-parasitic activity, b) lowering of blood glucose, blood pressure and serum cholesterol, c) anti-oxidant and free-radical scavenging properties, d) inhibition of tau aggregation and filament formation (hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease), e) inhibitory effects on osteoclastogenesis, f) anti-secretagogue and anti-gastric ulcer effects, g) anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity, h) wound healing properties and i) hepato-protective effects. The studies reported minimal toxic and adverse effects.</div>
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CONCLUSIONS: The available in-vitro and in-vivo evidence suggests that CZ has many beneficial health effects. However, since data on humans are sparse, randomized controlled trials in humans will be necessary to determine whether these effects have public health implications.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-86664914965952629072017-05-07T10:25:00.001-07:002017-07-09T06:14:32.166-07:00Ketogenic diet: highly cited open access scientific publications<br />
I have aimed to compile a list of open access scientific works examining ketogenic diet, which have provoked most interest in the scientific community up to know (quantified by the number of received citations in Scopus). The identified works are listed below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBaE2KxF3FYi3TrmaSrdR8hrzNrmvdpWx69Uw9O9235EuPqFaAx3uTjNAaaemM73l5Ve6_XIgpiCgwke8eXfu6G_dIpJtPJZ97g9Z8AFSbtUbkXt5LZZMq2AeWMTsj9oMCzv4JSwWARMJ/s1600/Ketogenic+diet+highly+cited+studies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBaE2KxF3FYi3TrmaSrdR8hrzNrmvdpWx69Uw9O9235EuPqFaAx3uTjNAaaemM73l5Ve6_XIgpiCgwke8eXfu6G_dIpJtPJZ97g9Z8AFSbtUbkXt5LZZMq2AeWMTsj9oMCzv4JSwWARMJ/s320/Ketogenic+diet+highly+cited+studies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Stafstrom, C.E.a b , Rho, J.M.c d<br />
<b>The ketogenic diet as a treatment paradigm for diverse neurological disorders</b><br />
(2012) Frontiers in Pharmacology, 3 APR, art. no. Article 59, . Cited 96 times.<br />
<a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphar.2012.00059/full" target="_blank">DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2012.00059</a><br />
ABSTRACT: Dietary and metabolic therapies have been attempted in a wide variety of neurological diseases, including epilepsy, headache, neurotrauma, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, sleep disorders, brain cancer, autism, pain, and multiple sclerosis. The impetus for using various diets to treat - or at least ameliorate symptoms of - these disorders stems from both a lack of effectiveness of pharmacological therapies, and also the intrinsic appeal of implementing a more "natural" treatment. The enormous spectrum of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the aforementioned diseases would suggest a degree of complexity that cannot be impacted universally by any single dietary treatment. Yet, it is conceivable that alterations in certain dietary constituents could affect the course and impact the outcome of these brain disorders. Further, it is possible that a final common neurometabolic pathway might be influenced by a variety of dietary interventions. The most notable example of a dietary treatment with proven efficacy against a neurological condition is the high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (KD) used in patients with medically intractable epilepsy. While the mechanisms through which the KD works remain unclear, there is now compelling evidence that its efficacy is likely related to the normalization of aberrant energy metabolism.The concept that many neurological conditions are linked pathophysiologically to energy dysregulation could well provide a common research and experimental therapeutics platform, from which the course of several neurological diseases could be favorably influenced by dietary means. Here we provide an overview of studies using the KD in a wide panoply of neurologic disorders in which neuroprotection is an essential component. © 2012 Stafstrom and Rho.<br />
AUTHOR KEYWORDS: Epilepsy; Ketogenic diet; Neurological disorders; Neuroplasticity<br />
DOCUMENT TYPE: Article<br />
SOURCE: Scopus<br />
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Klement, R.J.a , Kämmerer, U.b<br />
<b>Is there a role for carbohydrate restriction in the treatment and prevention of cancer?</b><br />
(2011) Nutrition and Metabolism, 8, art. no. 75, . Cited 59 times.<br />
<a href="https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-8-75" target="_blank">DOI: 10.1186/1743-7075-8-75</a><br />
ABSTRACT: Over the last years, evidence has accumulated suggesting that by systematically reducing the amount of dietary carbohydrates (CHOs) one could suppress, or at least delay, the emergence of cancer, and that proliferation of already existing tumor cells could be slowed down. This hypothesis is supported by the association between modern chronic diseases like the metabolic syndrome and the risk of developing or dying from cancer. CHOs or glucose, to which more complex carbohydrates are ultimately digested, can have direct and indirect effects on tumor cell proliferation: first, contrary to normal cells, most malignant cells depend on steady glucose availability in the blood for their energy and biomass generating demands and are not able to metabolize significant amounts of fatty acids or ketone bodies due to mitochondrial dysfunction. Second, high insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 levels resulting from chronic ingestion of CHO-rich Western diet meals, can directly promote tumor cell proliferation via the insulin/IGF1 signaling pathway. Third, ketone bodies that are elevated when insulin and blood glucose levels are low, have been found to negatively affect proliferation of different malignant cells in vitro or not to be usable by tumor cells for metabolic demands, and a multitude of mouse models have shown anti-tumorigenic properties of very low CHO ketogenic diets. In addition, many cancer patients exhibit an altered glucose metabolism characterized by insulin resistance and may profit from an increased protein and fat intake. In this review, we address the possible beneficial effects of low CHO diets on cancer prevention and treatment. Emphasis will be placed on the role of insulin and IGF1 signaling in tumorigenesis as well as altered dietary needs of cancer patients. © 2011 Klement and Kämmerer; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.<br />
AUTHOR KEYWORDS: cachexia; cancer; insulin; insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1); Ketogenic diet; low carbohydrate diet; review<br />
DOCUMENT TYPE: Review<br />
SOURCE: Scopus<br />
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Schmidt, M., Pfetzer, N., Schwab, M., Strauss, I., Kämmerer, U.<br />
<b>Effects of a ketogenic diet on the quality of life in 16 patients with advanced cancer: A pilot trial</b><br />
(2011) Nutrition and Metabolism, 8, art. no. 54, . Cited 72 times.<br />
<a href="https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-8-54" target="_blank">DOI: 10.1186/1743-7075-8-54</a><br />
ABSTRACT: Background: Tumor patients exhibit an increased peripheral demand of fatty acids and protein. Contrarily, tumors utilize glucose as their main source of energy supply. Thus, a diet supplying the cancer patient with sufficient fat and protein for his demands while restricting the carbohydrates (CHO) tumors thrive on, could be a helpful strategy in improving the patients' situation. A ketogenic diet (KD) fulfills these requirements. Therefore, we performed a pilot study to investigate the feasibility of a KD and its influence on the quality of life of patients with advanced metastatic tumors. Methods. Sixteen patients with advanced metastatic tumors and no conventional therapeutic options participated in the study. The patients were instructed to follow a KD (less than 70 g CHO per day) with normal groceries and were provided with a supply of food additives to mix a protein/fat shake to simplify the 3-month intervention period. Quality of life [assessed by EORTC QLQ-C30 (version 2)], serum and general health parameters were determined at baseline, after every two weeks of follow-up, or after drop out. The effect of dietary change on metabolism was monitored daily by measuring urinary ketone bodies. Results: One patient did not tolerate the diet and dropped out within 3 days. Among those who tolerated the diet, two patients died early, one stopped after 2 weeks due to personal reasons, one felt unable to stick to the diet after 4 weeks, one stopped after 6 and two stopped after 7 and 8 weeks due to progress of the disease, one had to discontinue after 6 weeks to resume chemotherapy and five completed the 3 month intervention period. These five and the one who resumed chemotherapy after 6 weeks report an improved emotional functioning and less insomnia, while several other parameters of quality of life remained stable or worsened, reflecting their very advanced disease. Except for temporary constipation and fatigue, we found no severe adverse side effects, especially no changes in cholesterol or blood lipids. Conclusions: These pilot data suggest that a KD is suitable for even advanced cancer patients. It has no severe side effects and might improve aspects of quality of life and blood parameters in some patients with advanced metastatic tumors. © 2011 Schmidt et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.<br />
AUTHOR KEYWORDS: cancer patients; Ketogenic diet; pilot study; quality of life<br />
DOCUMENT TYPE: Article<br />
SOURCE: Scopus<br />
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Maurer, G.D.a , Brucker, D.P.a , Bähr, O.a , Harter, P.N.b , Hattingen, E.c , Walenta, S.d , Mueller-Klieser, W.d , Steinbach, J.P.a , Rieger, J.a<br />
<b>Differential utilization of ketone bodies by neurons and glioma cell lines: A rationale for ketogenic diet as experimental glioma therapy</b><br />
(2011) BMC Cancer, 11, art. no. 315, . Cited 50 times.<br />
<a href="https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2407-11-315" target="_blank">DOI: 10.1186/1471-2407-11-315</a><br />
ABSTRACT: Even in the presence of oxygen, malignant cells often highly depend on glycolysis for energy generation, a phenomenon known as the Warburg effect. One strategy targeting this metabolic phenotype is glucose restriction by administration of a high-fat, low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diet. Under these conditions, ketone bodies are generated serving as an important energy source at least for non-transformed cells.Methods: To investigate whether a ketogenic diet might selectively impair energy metabolism in tumor cells, we characterized in vitro effects of the principle ketone body 3-hydroxybutyrate in rat hippocampal neurons and five glioma cell lines. In vivo, a non-calorie-restricted ketogenic diet was examined in an orthotopic xenograft glioma mouse model.Results: The ketone body metabolizing enzymes 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 (BDH1 and 2), 3-oxoacid-CoA transferase 1 (OXCT1) and acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase 1 (ACAT1) were expressed at the mRNA and protein level in all glioma cell lines. However, no activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) pathway was observed in glioma cells, consistent with the absence of substantial 3-hydroxybutyrate metabolism and subsequent accumulation of succinate. Further, 3-hydroxybutyrate rescued hippocampal neurons from glucose withdrawal-induced cell death but did not protect glioma cell lines. In hypoxia, mRNA expression of OXCT1, ACAT1, BDH1 and 2 was downregulated. In vivo, the ketogenic diet led to a robust increase of blood 3-hydroxybutyrate, but did not alter blood glucose levels or improve survival.Conclusion: In summary, glioma cells are incapable of compensating for glucose restriction by metabolizing ketone bodies in vitro, suggesting a potential disadvantage of tumor cells compared to normal cells under a carbohydrate-restricted ketogenic diet. Further investigations are necessary to identify co-treatment modalities, e.g. glycolysis inhibitors or antiangiogenic agents that efficiently target non-oxidative pathways. © 2011 Maurer et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.<br />
DOCUMENT TYPE: Article<br />
SOURCE: Scopus<br />
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Stafford, P.a , Abdelwahab, M.G.b , Kim, D.Y.c , Preul, M.C.d , Rho, J.M.c , Scheck, A.C.b d<br />
<b>The ketogenic diet reverses gene expression patterns and reduces reactive oxygen species levels when used as an adjuvant therapy for glioma</b><br />
(2010) Nutrition and Metabolism, 7, art. no. 74, . Cited 61 times.<br />
<a href="https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-7-74" target="_blank">DOI: 10.1186/1743-7075-7-74</a><br />
ABSTRACT: Background. Malignant brain tumors affect people of all ages and are the second leading cause of cancer deaths in children. While current treatments are effective and improve survival, there remains a substantial need for more efficacious therapeutic modalities. The ketogenic diet (KD) - a high-fat, low-carbohydrate treatment for medically refractory epilepsy - has been suggested as an alternative strategy to inhibit tumor growth by altering intrinsic metabolism, especially by inducing glycopenia. Methods. Here, we examined the effects of an experimental KD on a mouse model of glioma, and compared patterns of gene expression in tumors vs. normal brain from animals fed either a KD or a standard diet. Results. Animals received intracranial injections of bioluminescent GL261-luc cells and tumor growth was followed in vivo. KD treatment significantly reduced the rate of tumor growth and prolonged survival. Further, the KD reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in tumor cells. Gene expression profiling demonstrated that the KD induces an overall reversion to expression patterns seen in non-tumor specimens. Notably, genes involved in modulating ROS levels and oxidative stress were altered, including those encoding cyclooxygenase 2, glutathione peroxidases 3 and 7, and periredoxin 4. Conclusions. Our data demonstrate that the KD improves survivability in our mouse model of glioma, and suggests that the mechanisms accounting for this protective effect likely involve complex alterations in cellular metabolism beyond simply a reduction in glucose. © 2010 Stafford et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.<br />
DOCUMENT TYPE: Article<br />
SOURCE: Scopus<br />
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Westman, E.C.a , Yancy Jr., W.S.a b , Mavropoulos, J.C.a , Marquart, M.a , McDuffie, J.R.a b<br />
<b>The effect of a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-glycemic index diet on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus</b><br />
(2008) Nutrition and Metabolism, 5 (1), art. no. 36, . Cited 115 times.<br />
<a href="https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-5-36" target="_blank">DOI: 10.1186/1743-7075-5-36</a><br />
ABSTRACT: Objective. Dietary carbohydrate is the major determinant of postprandial glucose levels, and several clinical studies have shown that low-carbohydrate diets improve glycemic control. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that a diet lower in carbohydrate would lead to greater improvement in glycemic control over a 24-week period in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Research design and methods. Eighty-four community volunteers with obesity and type 2 diabetes were randomized to either a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet (&lt;20 g of carbohydrate daily; LCKD) or a low-glycemic, reduced-calorie diet (500 kcal/day deficit from weight maintenance diet; LGID). Both groups received group meetings, nutritional supplementation, and an exercise recommendation. The main outcome was glycemic control, measured by hemoglobin A1c. Results. Forty-nine (58.3%) participants completed the study. Both interventions led to improvements in hemoglobin A1c, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and weight loss. The LCKD group had greater improvements in hemoglobin A1c (-1.5% vs. -0.5%, p = 0.03), body weight (-11.1 kg vs. -6.9 kg, p = 0.008), and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (+5.6 mg/dL vs. 0 mg/dL, p &lt; 0.001) compared to the LGID group. Diabetes medications were reduced or eliminated in 95.2% of LCKD vs. 62% of LGID participants (p &lt; 0.01). Conclusion. Dietary modification led to improvements in glycemic control and medication reduction/elimination in motivated volunteers with type 2 diabetes. The diet lower in carbohydrate led to greater improvements in glycemic control, and more frequent medication reduction/elimination than the low glycemic index diet. Lifestyle modification using low carbohydrate interventions is effective for improving and reversing type 2 diabetes. © 2008 Westman et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.<br />
DOCUMENT TYPE: Article<br />
SOURCE: Scopus<br />
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Otto, C.a , Kaemmerer, U.b , Illert, B.c , Muehling, B.a , Pfetzer, N.b , Wittig, R.d , Voelker, H.U.e , Thiede, A.c , Coy, J.F.d<br />
<b>Growth of human gastric cancer cells in nude mice is delayed by a ketogenic diet supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids and medium-chain triglycerides</b><br />
(2008) BMC Cancer, 8, art. no. 122, . Cited 74 times.<br />
<a href="https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2407-8-122" target="_blank">DOI: 10.1186/1471-2407-8-122</a><br />
ABSTRACT: Background: Among the most prominent metabolic alterations in cancer cells are the increase in glucose consumption and the conversion of glucose to lactic acid via the reduction of pyruvate even in the presence of oxygen. This phenomenon, known as aerobic glycolysis or the Warburg effect, may provide a rationale for therapeutic strategies that inhibit tumour growth by administration of a ketogenic diet with average protein but low in carbohydrates and high in fat enriched with omega-3 fatty acids and medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). Methods: Twenty-four female NMRI nude mice were injected subcutaneously with tumour cells of the gastric adenocarcinoma cell line 23132/87. The animals were then randomly split into two feeding groups and fed either a ketogenic diet (KD group; n = 12) or a standard diet (SD group; n = 12) ad libitum. Experiments were ended upon attainment of the target tumor volume of 600 mm3 to 700 mm3. The two diets were compared based on tumour growth and survival time (interval between tumour cell injection and attainment of target tumour volume). Results: The ketogenic diet was well accepted by the KD mice. The tumour growth in the KD group was significantly delayed compared to that in the SD group. Tumours in the KD group reached the target tumour volume at 34.2 ± 8.5 days versus only 23.3 ± 3.9 days in the SD group. After day 20, tumours in the KD group grew faster although the differences in mean tumour growth continued significantly. Importantly, they revealed significantly larger necrotic areas than tumours of the SD group and the areas with vital tumour cells appear to have had fewer vessels than tumours of the SD group. Viable tumour cells in the border zone surrounding the necrotic areas of tumours of both groups exhibited a glycolytic phenotype with expression of glucose transporter-1 and transketolase-like 1 enzyme. Conclusion: Application of an unrestricted ketogenic diet enriched with omega-3 fatty acids and MCT delayed tumour growth in a mouse xenograft model. Further studies are needed to address the impact of this diet on other tumour-relevant functions such as invasive growth and metastasis. © 2008 Otto et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.<br />
DOCUMENT TYPE: Article<br />
SOURCE: Scopus<br />
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Zhou, W., Mukherjee, P., Kiebish, M.A., Markis, W.T., Mantis, J.G., Seyfried, T.N.<br />
<b>The calorically restricted ketogenic diet, an effective alternative therapy for malignant brain cancer</b><br />
(2007) Nutrition and Metabolism, 4, art. no. 5, . Cited 117 times.<br />
<a href="https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-4-5" target="_blank">DOI: 10.1186/1743-7075-4-5</a><br />
ABSTRACT: Background. Malignant brain cancer persists as a major disease of morbidity and mortality in adults and is the second leading cause of cancer death in children. Many current therapies for malignant brain tumors fail to provide long-term management because they ineffectively target tumor cells while negatively impacting the health and vitality of normal brain cells. In contrast to brain tumor cells, which lack metabolic flexibility and are largely dependent on glucose for growth and survival, normal brain cells can metabolize both glucose and ketone bodies for energy. This study evaluated the efficacy of KetoCal®, a new nutritionally balanced high fat/low carbohydrate ketogenic diet for children with epilepsy, on the growth and vascularity of a malignant mouse astrocytoma (CT-2A) and a human malignant glioma (U87-MG). Methods. Adult mice were implanted orthotopically with the malignant brain tumors and KetoCal® was administered to the mice in either unrestricted amounts or in restricted amounts to reduce total caloric intake according to the manufacturers recommendation for children with refractory epilepsy. The effects KetoCal® on tumor growth, vascularity, and mouse survival were compared with that of an unrestricted high carbohydrate standard diet. Results. KetoCal® administered in restricted amounts significantly decreased the intracerebral growth of the CT-2A and U87-MG tumors by about 65% and 35%, respectively, and significantly enhanced health and survival relative to that of the control groups receiving the standard low fat/high carbohydrate diet. The restricted KetoCal® diet reduced plasma glucose levels while elevating plasma ketone body (β-hydroxybutyrate) levels. Tumor microvessel density was less in the calorically restricted KetoCal® groups than in the calorically unrestricted control groups. Moreover, gene expression for the mitochondrial enzymes, β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase and succinyl-CoA: 3-ketoacid CoA transferase, was lower in the tumors than in the contralateral normal brain suggesting that these brain tumors have reduced ability to metabolize ketone bodies for energy. Conclusion. The results indicate that KetoCal® has anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic effects in experimental mouse and human brain tumors when administered in restricted amounts. The therapeutic effect of KetoCal® for brain cancer management was due largely to the reduction of total caloric content, which reduces circulating glucose required for rapid tumor growth. A dependency on glucose for energy together with defects in ketone body metabolism largely account for why the brain tumors grow minimally on either a ketogenic-restricted diet or on a standard-restricted diet. Genes for ketone body metabolism should be useful for screening brain tumors that could be targeted with calorically restricted high fat/low carbohydrate ketogenic diets. This preclinical study indicates that restricted KetoCal® is a safe and effective diet therapy and should be considered as an alternative therapeutic option for malignant brain cancer. © 2007 Zhou et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.<br />
DOCUMENT TYPE: Article<br />
SOURCE: Scopus<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-8785123017683293392017-05-03T01:34:00.000-07:002017-07-21T22:20:52.759-07:00Ketogenic diet and its effects in mental disorders<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
<br />
"BACKGROUND:<br />
The ketogenic diet (KD) has been used in treatment-resistant epilepsy since the 1920s. It has been researched in a variety of neurological conditions in both animal models and human trials. The aim of this review is to clarify the potential role of KD in psychiatry.<br />
METHODS:<br />
Narrative review of electronic databases PubMED, PsychINFO, and Scopus.<br />
RESULTS:<br />
The search yielded 15 studies that related the use of KD in mental disorders including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These studies comprised nine animal models, four case studies, and two open-label studies in humans. In anxiety, exogenous ketone supplementation reduced anxiety-related behaviors in a rat model. In depression, KD significantly reduced depression-like behaviors in rat and mice models in two controlled studies. In bipolar disorder, one case study reported a reduction in symptomatology, while a second case study reported no improvement. In schizophrenia, an open-label study in female patients (n = 10) reported reduced symptoms after 2 weeks of KD, a single case study reported no improvement. In a brief report, 3 weeks of KD in a mouse model normalized pathological behaviors. In ASD, an open-label study in children (n = 30) reported no significant improvement; one case study reported a pronounced and sustained response to KD. In ASD, in four controlled animal studies, KD significantly reduced ASD-related behaviors in mice and rats. In ADHD, in one controlled trial of KD in dogs with comorbid epilepsy, both conditions significantly improved.<br />
CONCLUSION:<br />
Despite its long history in neurology, the role of KD in mental disorders is unclear. Half of the published studies are based on animal models of mental disorders with limited generalizability to the analog conditions in humans. The review lists some major limitations including the lack of measuring ketone levels in four studies and the issue of compliance to the rigid diet in humans. Currently, there is insufficient evidence for the use of KD in mental disorders, and it is not a recommended treatment option. Future research should include long-term, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover dietary trials to examine the effect of KD in various mental disorders."<br />
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<b>Discussion (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
<br />
"In neurology, KD is an established treatment option for treatment-resistant epilepsy with evidence from a range of studies including controlled trials. By contrast, KD research in humans with mental disorders, though extending over a 50-year period, has received little attention with few studies other than case reports, small sample size open studies, and no controlled trials. Animal studies have been more systematic, investigating mechanisms as well as outcomes on putative disease analogs in rodents and canines, the latter including randomized controlled trials of KD.<br />
<br />
With respect to mechanisms, the pathophysiology of the mental disorders covered in this review is not clearly understood, though impaired metabolism due to mitochondrial dysfunction has been identified as an important substrate (34). This is congruent with findings in neurological conditions, Stafstrom and Rho concluding that energy metabolism changes induced by KD in neurological conditions suggest a final common pathway implicating mitochondrial function (26). KD may also influence neuronal plasticity by modifying neural circuits and cellular properties to normalize function (26). Mitochondrial dysfunction may be relevant in some mental disorders including schizophrenia, ASD, and ADHD, whereas the improvements seen in anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder may be related to alterations of neurotransmitters.<br />
<br />
One other possible mediator of the beneficial effects of KD in mental disorders is the effect on sleep. In a study of 18 children with treatment-resistant epilepsy, after 3 months of KD sleep was reported to be enhanced with a pattern of significant reduction in total night sleep, preservation of slow-wave sleep, increased rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and decrease in sleep stage 2 (79). The mechanisms by which KD affects sleep is unclear (80), and more studies are necessary to confirm reports that certain dietary patterns and foods improve sleep (81).<br />
<br />
Sleep problems and mental disorders are codependent conditions that exacerbate each other and lead to impaired quality of life and increased disability (82). Impairments of sleep are a widespread feature of mental disorders. Anxious patients have been found to have significantly less sleep period time, total sleep time, percentage stage REM and percent stage 4 sleep, shorter latency to stage REM, and greater percent stage 1 sleep than healthy controls (83). REM sleep abnormalities including shortening of REM latency, lengthening of the duration of the first REM period, and heightening of REM density are found in patients with depression (84). In patients with inter-episode bipolar disorder, shorter sleep onset latency and increased REM density has been observed (85). A decrease of REM sleep latency in schizophrenia has been described (86). Individuals with ASD have prolonged sleep latency, more frequent nocturnal awakenings, lower sleep efficiency, increased duration of NREM stage 1 sleep, and decreased deeper stages of NREM sleep (87). In ADHD, disturbed sleep architecture has been described including shorter REM latencies, reduced REM sleep, and increased delta sleep percentage (88). It should also be noted that sleep deprivation can precipitate mania in bipolar disorder and seizures in epilepsy (89) and can be used as a treatment for depression (90). The specific effects of KD on these mental disorder-related sleep symptoms has not been studied in detail, but interactions are likely and may be possible mediators of a therapeutic effect.<br />
<br />
In epilepsy, KD acts differently to antiepileptic drugs (AED) in seizure prevention. While AED act directly on ion channels and synaptic processes, KD acts through intermediary metabolic pathways (91). Chang et al. showed that an MCT (palm oil and coconut oil) diet, a variation of KD, reduces seizures in children via inhibition on AMPA receptors (12, 92, 93). The questions posed by the literature indicate that the mechanism of action is still unknown, and there may be many potential pathways involved. The mechanism of action appears different from AED and therefore probably psychiatric drugs also, which opens potential avenues for treatment in a manner that may supplement conventional pharmacological treatment approaches. The exact mechanism of action of KD is unclear, and for detailed discussion, see Rogawski et al. (91). Thus, present knowledge indicates that KD exerts its effects on seizure control by mechanisms different from conventional AED and therefore, in psychiatry, this may also be the case although as yet unproven.<br />
<br />
There are a number of reasons why the effectiveness of KD in mental disorders remains unproven. In addition to the low number of human studies, the quality of the studies has some significant limitations. Sample sizes are small, there is no control for placebo effects, and the establishment of ketosis is generally lacking with no confirmatory measurement of ketones in three human studies. There are also significant limitations associated with the diet itself including the detailed regimen, unpalatable food choices, side effects, and duration of diet required. There are also no enforced standards as to what constitutes KD in humans with variable lipid:non-lipid ratios reported. KD monotherapy is used in animal models of mental disorders but remains unexamined in human studies. Ten adult patients with epilepsy followed KD monotherapy, and it was concluded that it may be feasible, well tolerated, and an effective long-term alternative (94).<br />
<br />
To comply with KD, patients who may be acutely unwell are required to measure food portions to ensure that the macronutrient targets associated with the diet are met, and they may find it difficult to adhere to such a demanding diet (47). This is particularly so for patients with mental disorders where symptoms such as impulsivity in mania, apathy, and reduced appetite in depression, food cravings, and binge eating associated with antipsychotic medications may variously interfere with compliance with KD (95). A mitigating factor to the outcomes in children with epilepsy may be that the diet is typically administered in a hospital setting initially and subsequently, by caregivers.<br />
<br />
El-Mallakh and Paskitti have outlined the adverse consequences of KD including constipation, menstrual irregularities, elevated serum cholesterol and triglycerides, hypoproteinemia, hemolytic anemia, elevated liver enzymes, and gall stones (96). Kidney stones have been noted to occur in 1 of 20 children on the diet (97). In a period of almost 2 years, prospective monitoring of 52 children with pediatric epilepsy was conducted. Ten percent of children experienced serious adverse events associated with the diet 1 month after initiation (98). This included presacral and periorbital edema, developmental impairment, and unwanted weight loss in an infant, renal tubular acidosis, viral gastroenteritis, abnormal liver function, and thrombocytopenia. It should be noted that all patients were being treated with concomitant VPA. It was reported in a retrospective study of 158 children with intractable epilepsy that, in 80% emesis, food refusal and hypoglycemia occurred (99).<br />
<br />
By definition, KD is confirmed by the production of ketones measured in the blood or urine. In the reviewed literature covering KD in mental disorders, four studies did not report ketone levels, which severely limit comparability across studies and the ability to invoke any consistent mechanism. One study compared whether measuring serum beta-hydroxybutyrate or urinary ketones was superior to monitor KD (100). In humans, it was found that beta-hydroxybutyrate correlated more strongly with a reduction in seizures than urinary ketones; therefore, future studies should measure ketones in the blood. Another issue is that the lipid:non-lipid ratios used were different (see Tables Tables11 and and2).2). In a study that compared the efficacy and tolerability of the 3:1 versus the 4:1 lipid:non-lipid ratios, the latter was shown to have a higher seizure-free outcome (2).<br />
<br />
One issue when interpreting the results is the levels of evidence in the evidence-based hierarchy. Animal models of mental disorders are considered valuable preclinical tools to investigate the neurobiological basis of a disorder (62). While this may be true, they are nonetheless subject to a number of limitations. One such limitation is the issue of validity, and their use is based on the assumption that humans and animals share basic neurobiological mechanisms associated with the complex behaviors that mimic mental disorders in animals (101).<br />
<br />
Another difficulty posed to practitioners is that there are currently no international protocols guiding the administration of the diet; this is something that may be established from future research into KD. There was only one case study that detailed what the participant, diagnosed with schizophrenia, ate, and it was not established whether this individual was in ketosis. In the various studies in humans, outcomes were assessed following dietary durations that varied from 7 days to 2 years.<br />
<br />
Further research into the neural correlates of KD is needed to help explain the mechanisms by which it acts. Some suggestions regarding methodologies, provided by Fusar-Poli are elaborated below. Changes in glucose metabolism seen in KD could be examined using positron emission tomography fluorodeoxyglucose. To observe the neural correlates of KD, a combination of electrophysiological measures including EEG and magnetoencephalogram and fMRI/PET to combine the high temporal resolution of the former with the high spatial resolution of the latter may be used (102).<br />
<br />
In the neurological literature, a single study, in Alzheimer’s disease, used a synthesized ketogenic compound AC-1202 rather than a KD. AC-1202 is an MCT composed of glycerine and caprylic acid (23). It is not yet clear what role ketogenic pharmacotherapy options might play alongside or as a substitute for KD.<br />
<br />
While these animal studies are placing research into KD on a firm footing and identifying some promising leads, on balance the evidence in humans is insufficient to form an opinion as to the efficacy or lack thereof of this intervention in the mental disorders reported. Further basic research to clarify the specifics of dietary manipulation or supplementation required to produce optimum ketosis in specific models is an obvious intermediate step toward studying the effectiveness of the diet in human mental disorders using conventional phases of research including open-label studies and randomized controlled trials."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
<br />
Bostock EC, Kirkby KC, Taylor BV. The Current Status of the Ketogenic Diet in<br />
Psychiatry. Front Psychiatry. 2017 Mar 20;8:43. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00043.<br />
eCollection 2017. Review. PubMed PMID: 28373848; PubMed Central PMCID:<br />
PMC5357645.<br />
<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314245792_The_Current_Status_of_the_Ketogenic_Diet_in_Psychiatry">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314245792_The_Current_Status_of_the_Ketogenic_Diet_in_Psychiatry</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Keywords relevant for this post: </b>diet, mental disorder, ketogenic diet mental health effects, studies, study, epilepsy, mental disorders, sleep, patients, lipid, treatment, bipolar, asd, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, autism, ketosis, neurological, ketone, fat, research, nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics, energy, ketones, dietary, hydroxybutyrate, attention, brain function, metabolism, behavioral disease, behavior, ketogenic, supplementation, carbohydrate, glucose, hyperactivity, mood, food, metabolic, clinical, pathophysiology, memory, pharmacotherapy, ketogenic diet, ketone bodies, low carbohydrate diet, low-glycemic index diet, neurological disorders, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-5036190407362582052017-04-16T01:06:00.004-07:002017-05-31T05:36:42.521-07:00Health implications of the influence of diet on the gut microbiome<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
<br />
"Recent studies have suggested that the intestinal microbiome plays an important role in modulating risk of several chronic diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. At the same time, it is now understood that diet plays a significant role in shaping the microbiome, with experiments showing that dietary alterations can induce large, temporary microbial shifts within 24 h. Given this association, there may be significant therapeutic utility in altering microbial composition through diet. This review systematically evaluates current data regarding the effects of several common dietary components on intestinal microbiota. We show that consumption of particular types of food produces predictable shifts in existing host bacterial genera. Furthermore, the identity of these bacteria affects host immune and metabolic parameters, with broad implications for human health. Familiarity with these associations will be of tremendous use to the practitioner as well as the patient."<br />
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<b>Conclusion and future directions (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"In conclusion, review of the literature suggests that diet can modify the intestinal microbiome, which in turn has a profound impact on overall health. This impact can be beneficial or detrimental, depending on the relative identity and abundance of constituent bacterial populations. For example, it has been shown that a high-fat diet adversely reduces A. muciniphila and Lactobacillus, which are both associated with healthy metabolic states [53]. This observation provides a good example of how dietary intervention might potentially be used to manage complex diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. Furthermore, advances in microbiome research have suggested novel therapeutic possibilities for diseases that have traditionally been difficult to treat. For example, the fecal microbiota transplant has been used successfully to manage several different conditions, including ulcerative colitis, Clostridium difficile-associated colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and even obesity [156–160]. It is possible that dermatologic conditions, including psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, may also be observed to benefit from re-engineering the gut microbiota. Recent advances in microbiome research offer exciting new tools to possibly enhance human health. Most of the studies reviewed in this manuscript profiled the microbiome using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, which utilizes the hypervariable regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene to identify bacteria present in biological samples. 16S rRNA sequencing is the most commonly used method by medical researchers to study microbial composition, due to its low cost and relatively easy workflow for sample preparation and bioinformatic analyses. However, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing primarily provides information about microbial identity and not function. In order to investigate the microbiome’s functions, many researchers have turned to a shotgun metagenomic approach in which the whole bacterial genome is sequenced. Despite a higher cost and more complicated bioinformatics requirement, shotgun metagenomics provides information about both microbial identity and gene composition. Knowing which genes are encoded by the bacteria present in a sample allows researchers to better understand their roles in human health. With reducing costs of next generation sequencing, improved sample preparation protocols, and more bioinformatic tools available for metagenomic analysis, this technique will be a powerful tool to study microbiome functionality. Performing meta-analyses to correlate the microbiome with host genomes, transcriptomes, and immunophenotypes represents another exciting avenue for investigating human and bacterial interactions.<br />
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Precision medicine is another attractive, novel therapeutic approach for many diseases with strong genetic associations. It is important to note that the host genotype also plays a role in shaping the microbiome, and that this host-microbe interaction is crucial for maintaining human health [161]. Therefore, a better understanding of the interplay between genes, phenotypes, and the microbiome will provide important insights into the utility of precision medicine.<br />
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The observation that diet can modulate host-microbe interactions heralds a promising future therapeutic approach. Already, the gut microbiome has been found to influence the response to cancer immunotherapy [162, 163]. Indeed, personalized nutrition is an emerging concept that utilizes a machine-learning algorithm to predict metabolic responses to meals [164, 165]. This tool has broad implications for individualized patient care through dietary modification. While this and other technology is in the process of being refined and validated, further research using large, long-term clinical trials to evaluate a greater variety of food components would be helpful in making specific dietary recommendations to patients."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
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Singh RK, Chang HW, Yan D, Lee KM, Ucmak D, Wong K, Abrouk M, Farahnik B,<br />
Nakamura M, Zhu TH, Bhutani T, Liao W. Influence of diet on the gut microbiome<br />
and implications for human health. J Transl Med. 2017 Apr 8;15(1):73. doi:<br />
10.1186/s12967-017-1175-y. Review. PubMed PMID: 28388917; PubMed Central PMCID:<br />
PMC5385025.<br />
<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315978151_Influence_of_diet_on_the_gut_microbiome_and_implications_for_human_health">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315978151_Influence_of_diet_on_the_gut_microbiome_and_implications_for_human_health</a><br />
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Prof. Atanas G. Atanasov (Dr. habil., PhD)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4803981064316876480.post-85685250225764707132017-04-10T21:29:00.000-07:002017-05-31T05:37:20.927-07:00Inflammation regulation by short chain fatty acids<br />
<b>Abstract (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"The short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) acetate (C(2)), propionate (C(3)) and butyrate (C(4)) are the main metabolic products of anaerobic bacteria fermentation in the intestine. In addition to their important role as fuel for intestinal epithelial cells, SCFAs modulate different processes in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract such as electrolyte and water absorption. These fatty acids have been recognized as potential mediators involved in the effects of gut microbiota on intestinal immune function. SCFAs act on leukocytes and endothelial cells through at least two mechanisms: activation of GPCRs (GPR41 and GPR43) and inhibiton of histone deacetylase (HDAC). SCFAs regulate several leukocyte functions including production of cytokines (TNF-α, IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10), eicosanoids and chemokines (e.g., MCP-1 and CINC-2). The ability of leukocytes to migrate to the foci of inflammation and to destroy microbial pathogens also seems to be affected by the SCFAs. In this review, the latest research that describes how SCFAs regulate the inflammatory process is presented. The effects of these fatty acids on isolated cells (leukocytes, endothelial and intestinal epithelial cells) and, particularly, on the recruitment and activation of leukocytes are discussed. Therapeutic application of these fatty acids for the treatment of inflammatory pathologies is also highlighted."<br />
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<b>Covered topics (the letter size corresponds to the frequency of mentioning in the text):</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fnRYLmMpvyVFU4-IPDJ3C93qmRfCVxdFxLDwJ11QtF-od8cn3S-B6pfQkYqDsSdcupscidbC_A-AcN9J-1BEp3KZb7pUzBWqHpuAbRssJzmlOZNiAT2sdq_h7yZZcd2HOPGQ1JU7l-_y/s1600/Short+chain+FA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0fnRYLmMpvyVFU4-IPDJ3C93qmRfCVxdFxLDwJ11QtF-od8cn3S-B6pfQkYqDsSdcupscidbC_A-AcN9J-1BEp3KZb7pUzBWqHpuAbRssJzmlOZNiAT2sdq_h7yZZcd2HOPGQ1JU7l-_y/s320/Short+chain+FA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Conclusions (as presented by the authors of the scientific work):</b><br />
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"SCFAs present multiple effects in different cells involved in the inflammatory and immune responses. These fatty acids not only affect the function of leukocytes (e.g., production of inflammatory mediators and ability of leukocytes to migrate) but can also induce apoptosis in lymphocytes [96,97], macrophages [98] and neutrophils [99]. The latter effect may be relevant for the outcome of the inflammatory process and the immune response to bacteria that produce these fatty acids.<br />
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In general, SCFAs, such as propionate and butyrate, inhibit stimuli-induced expression of adhesion molecules, chemokine production and consequently suppress monocyte/macrophage and neutrophil recruitment, suggesting an anti-inflammatory action. However, there is also evidence in favor of a pro-inflammatory action of SCFAs in some conditions [20,100]. This discrepancy may be in part explained by the ability of SCFAs to induce neutrophil migration. In sites of anaerobic bacteria infection or after loss of intestinal epithelial integrity, high concentrations of SCFAs may lead to neutrophil accumulation and amplification of the inflammatory process. Another possible explanation is the fact that these fatty acids may present divergent effects depending on the cell type (e.g., anti- and pro-inflammatory effects of SCFAs on macrophage and microglial cells have been demonstrated [52,97,101]). Therefore, although SCFAs modulate the function of immune cells, more studies are necessary in order to understand the precise role of SCFAs on the interaction between bacteria and host immune cells in vivo, particularly in the GI tract and in sites of anaerobic infections including the skin, oral cavity and respiratory tract."<br />
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<b>Full-text access of the referenced scientific work:</b><br />
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Vinolo MA, Rodrigues HG, Nachbar RT, Curi R. Regulation of inflammation by<br />
short chain fatty acids. Nutrients. 2011 Oct;3(10):858-76. doi:<br />
10.3390/nu3100858. Epub 2011 Oct 14. Review. PubMed PMID: 22254083; PubMed<br />
Central PMCID: PMC3257741.<br />
<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221755956_Regulation_of_Inflammation_by_Short_Chain_Fatty_Acids">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221755956_Regulation_of_Inflammation_by_Short_Chain_Fatty_Acids</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16647143265708680781noreply@blogger.com0