A diet high in polyphenols could help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and associated health risks, according to a new study by the University of Glasgow. Researchers from the university’s Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences (ICAMS) say their findings suggest that as far as polyphenol-containing fruit drinks go, there are possible benefits for cardiovascular health. Their research, published today in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, was funded by The Coca-Cola... ...Read more »

A University of Sydney survey has found that only 54 per cent of Australians aged between 18 and 24 know the recommended daily amounts of fruit and vegetables to eat each day. The survey of 106 university students aged 18 to 24 was published in the Dietitians Association of Australia’s journal, Nutrition and Dietetics. Many of the survey’s participants also did not know the correct serving sizes for three (grapes, carrots and lettuce) of the four foods tested in the study – although... ...Read more »

Scientific researchers have formulated a new type of sugar that might help prevent heart disease, according to latest research from The University of Melbourne, in Australia. Dr Corin Storkey and Professor Carl Schiesser from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology at The University of Melbourne, together with Professor Michael Davies from the Heart Research Institute, in Sydney, have formulated promising heart disease preventatives based on sugar and selenium. Their... ...Read more »

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at McMaster and McGill universities, in Canada, has found that a diet containing plenty of fruit and raw vegetables could alter a gene that puts people at risk of heart disease. The researchers said the study involved analysing more than 27,000 individuals from five ethnicities – European, South Asian, Chinese, Latin American and Arab – and the affect that their diets had on the effect of the ‘9p21’ gene. The ‘9p21’ gene... ...Read more »

We can lower our risk of heart disease significantly, just by using flour containing 40 per cent lupin beans in the place of conventional wholemeal flour, according to research by Victoria University dietitian Dr Regina Belski and colleagues from The University of Western Australia. Over the course of a year, working with the Centre for Food and Genomic Medicine in Perth, researchers monitored more than 100 overweight, but otherwise healthy, Western Australian men and women, to whom they provided... ...Read more »

Eating a fatty fast food meal is never good for you, but washing that meal down with a coffee is even worse, according to a new University of Guelph study. Researcher Marie-Soleil Beaudoin has discovered not only that a healthy person’s blood sugar levels spike after eating a high-fat meal, but that the spike doubles after having both a fatty meal and caffeinated coffee – jumping to levels similar to those of people at risk for diabetes. “The results tell us that saturated fat interferes... ...Read more »

A study conducted by Menzies Research Institute Tasmania (Menzies) suggests that skipping breakfast over a long period of time may increase risk of heart disease and diabetes. The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and funded by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Heart Foundation, the Tasmanian Community Fund, and Veolia Environmental Services, examined data from a national study to compare breakfast habits to health risk factors. First... ...Read more »

A leading US health body, the Institute of Medicine, yesterday called for front-of-pack labelling focussing on saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and total caloric information.A report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) said the four nutrient elements were routinely overconsumed and associated most strongly with diet-related health problems such as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. “Calories, saturated fat, trans fats, and sodium present... ...Read more »

A Heart Foundation investigation into margarine and butter has shown that butter has, on average, 20 times the trans fat levels of margarine. “This news will come as a big surprise to many people who choose butter believing that it’s ‘natural’ and therefore healthier – but it simply isn’t the case,” said Susan Anderson, the Heart Foundation’s National Director Healthy Weight “Butter is mostly made of the fat that raises your bad cholesterol levels – saturated fat at... ...Read more »

A new report by the University of Queensland and Deakin University has highlighted the need for preventative health, recommending a 10% junk food tax, salt limits in bread, margarine and cereals, increase alcohol tax, a ban on alcohol ads and an increased drinking age of 21. The Assessing Cost Effectiveness of Prevention (ACE-Prevention) project is the result of five years of research, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.  It is the most comprehensive evaluation of health... ...Read more »