Dr. Kaijun Niu, at Tohoku University Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering in Sendai, and colleagues found men and women aged 70 and older who drank four or more, versus one or fewer, cups of green tea daily were 44 percent less likely to have symptoms of depression.

You can read the rest of the story, here.

Posted by: Dan

Today’s installment focusses on “probiotics,” those (possibly) beneficial bacterium that we consume that may or may not lead to improved health. If you’ve cruised the supermarket shelves lately you’ve doubtless noticed many new products featuring added probiotic ingredients. These products often include claims for improved health and often, improved digestion. The NY TImes examines some of those claims in their health column, The Well:

So what health problems can probiotics really help? After gathering at a Yale workshop to review the available evidence, a panel of 12 experts concluded that there was strong evidence that several probiotic strains could reduce diarrhea, including that associated with antibiotic use. Several studies have also suggested that certain probiotics may be useful for irritable bowel syndrome, with the strongest recommendation for Bifidobacterium infantis 35624, the probiotic in the Procter & Gamble supplement Align.

Whoa, wait, what? A magic bullet that really works? Tell me more:

(Two members of the panel had ties to Procter & Gamble; three others had ties to other companies that sell probiotics.)

Hmm, that sounds like a conflict of interest, anything else I should know?

A variety of other claims for probiotics, like lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, preventing cavities and reducing cancer risk, were not reviewed by the panel.

And scientists continue to debate whether probiotics offer a meaningful benefit to the immune system.

“The evidence for the general immune strengthening is just not there,” said Barry R. Goldin, a Tufts professor who helped discover LGG but no longer receives royalties from the patent.

Okay, so probiotics are not a cure-all but there is evidence that shows improvement in digestive health. I can get behind that.

You can read the entire article, here.

Posted by: Dan

The new AMA policy states:

    • That the AMA support[s] practices and policies in medical schools, hospitals, and other health care facilities that support and model a healthy and ecologically sustainable food system, which provides food and beverages of naturally high nutritional quality.

    • That the AMA encourage[s] the development of a healthier food system through the U.S. Farm Bill and other federal legislation.

    • That the AMA consider[s] working with other health care and public health organizations to educate the health care community and the public about the importance of healthy and ecologically sustainable food systems.

We applaud this move by the AMA and we look forward to our more open dialogue about the food system and its effects on public health.

Posted By: Dan

“Patients who are well-nourished as they’re going through treatment have shorter hospital stays, are better able to tolerate treatment,” not to mention have better quality of life, says Colleen Doyle, nutrition chief at the society, which offers nutrition advice through its hot line at 1-800-ACS-2345.

At Open Hand, we offer prepared meals and groceries for clients living with breast cancer and we have sought to build our programs around the notion that proper nutrition in the form of tasty food is a vital part of treatment. Our grocery program has been particularly successful because it allows clients to choose from an array of healthy options while leaving the final preparation up to the client. We offer lean proteins like fresh and frozen fish, organic tofu and chicken breast. And we always have a rainbow of produce offerings like sweet potatoes, organic kale and chard and whole grains such as quinoa, brown rice and oats are in abundance.

Take a moment to read the rest of the article, it is a useful reminder of the importance of food to health and well-being.

Posted by: Flash

Posted by: Dan

Resolarizing the food economy can support diversified farming and shorten the distance from farm to fork, shrinking the amount of fossil fuel in the American diet. A decentralized food system offers many other significant benefits: Food eaten closer to where it is grown is fresher and requires less processing, making it more nutritious, and whatever may be lost in efficiency by localizing food production is gained in resilience; regional food systems can better withstand all kinds of shocks.

If you have a moment, read the whole article and if you like what you read, buy his books, you won’t be disappointed.