Compared to the subjects who ate a bagel breakfast, men and women who consumed two eggs for breakfast as part of a reduced-calorie diet:

•   lost 65 percent more weight
• exhibited a 61 percent greater reduction in BMI
• reported higher energy levels than their dieting counterparts who consumed a bagel breakfast

The egg and bagel breakfasts provided the same number of calories and had identical weights (energy density), which is an important control factor in satiety and weight loss studies.

In addition, they also found supporting data that yes, you can enjoy your eggs without increasing your risks for heart disease. For more on the health benefits of eggs, check out the visit the Egg Nutrition Center.

Share This

The two companies are partnering to introduce a breakthrough, zero-calorie, all-natural sweetener from the stevia plant. It’s called PureVia™ and will debut in a new nutritionally enhanced PepsiCo beverage called “SoBe Life,” to be launched in Latin America, starting with Peru. PureVia™ tabletop sweetener will launch in the United States this fall before expanding into drink and food products around the world. PureViaTM will be available initially in three SoBe Life flavor blends: Tropical Pomegranate, Strawberry-Kiwi and Orange-Tangerine.

Looks like they’ve even gotten the marketing campaigns rolling:

Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/pepsicopurevia/34235/

Share This

Under the assumption that intake of olive oil in the dose provided here was inert, our results support that increasing omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in late pregnancy may carry an important prophylactic potential in relation to offspring asthma.”

In fact, the hazard rate for children of mothers consuming fish oil supplements during the third trimester to suffer from asthma in general was reduced by an impressive 63%. The relative risk for the offspring to be affected by allergic asthma was even further reduced to 87%.

“Our finding of lower occurrences of asthma in children of mothers who received supplements of marine omega-3 fatty acids in pregnancy is in line with 2 retrospective and 3 prospective studies. It is biologically plausible that increasing the intake of marine omega-3 PUFAs in the third trimester of pregnancy could have a preventive effect against asthma in the offspring. The marine omega-3 PUFAs, EPA and DHA, may affect fetal immune function through many different mechanisms.”

I just don’t understand why they would assume that olive oil is inert, when numerous studies have already demonstrated that olive oil exert various health benefits, although perhaps not in asthma or  allergies. If you’d like to read the manuscript yourself, you may refer to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Image Credit: sofijab

Share This

The occurrence of cardiovascular events crucially depends on the stability of the plaque that has formed in your blood vessels. Metalloproteinases are enzymes which destabilize plaques, thus enhancing the risk for suffering a stroke or heart attack. The team of Francesco Visioli now tested whether an extract prepared from wild artichoke is able to reduce the activity of metalloproteinases in a cell culture model.

“In this study, we sought to determine whether supplementation with Cynara cardunculus [wild artichoke] or its main identified constituents, namely luteolin-7-glycoside, apigenin, and caffeic acid, modulates metalloproteinase-9 expression and activity in cell culture.”
“In summary, our results show that Cynara cardunculus, a wild plant traditionally part of the Mediterranean diet, is a powerful inhibitor of metalloproteinase-9, by interfering with its transcription and production. The inhibitory effects most probably are not due to an individual component of wild artichoke, but, rather, to minor constituent fraction(s) as a whole. In promoting the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, the role of wild plants as important meal components deserves further appraisal.”

In short, the study, which has been part of the project ‘Local Food-Nutraceuticals’, shows again that:

1) adherence to a Mediterranean-like diet has the potential to maintain your cardiovascular health and that

2) the sum of food constituents is more effective than its parts.

Share This

Share This

Check it out!

Share This

In the future, ready-to-eat- spinach leaves may be coated with thin, pliable, edible film containing substances such as carvacrol, an antibacterial compound found naturally in oregano.

Photo Credit: thomas pix

Share This

This video is brought to you by the authors of Eat, Shrink & Be Merry (I hope to review the cookbook of the same title soon!).

Share This

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet have now, for the first time, showed that the frequency of meals, regardless of their content, affects the chances of developing metabolic syndrome. The study, which was based on a survey and medical examination of over four thousand 60-year old men and women, shows that irregular eating is associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome.

No more skipping mealtimes!

Share This

The sweetener is a refined extract from the stevia plant, native to South America. Stevia has long been a popular sweetener among natural-foods advocates, but until now, was not permitted as a food additive in the United States because of lingering questions about its safety.

In May, Wayzata-based Cargill, in partnership with Coca-Cola, unveiled a battery of scientific studies that they say conclusively demonstrated its safety. After the studies were presented to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the refined version of the sweetener can now be marketed in the United States.

Initially, Truvia will only be available at select Manhattan D’Agostino supermarkets or online , for $3.99 plus shipping & handling.

Image: from Truvia website

Share This