Discover the Science of Health
Today is World Vegan Day, an annual event celebrated on November 1st. World Vegan Day is an opportunity to promote the benefits of a vegan diet (a vegan diet involves eating only plant-based foods) and veganism in general. People observing the day celebrate the benefits of veganism for humans, animals and the environment. The day also kicks off World Vegan Month.
According to new research, supplementation with vitamin C could improve the emotional state of hospitalized patients [1]. The study, published in the journal Nutrition, demonstrates that increasing vitamin C levels in acutely hospitalized patients results in a rapid, statistically and clinically significant improvement in mood state.
Sixty percent of patients in hospitals have extremely low levels of vitamin C. Their plasma levels are less than half that of normal levels; one in five patients have levels so low that they have scurvy, a condition characterized by general weakness, anemia, gum disease and skin hemorrhages as a result of vitamin C deficiency. But rather than giving them sauerkraut, like eighteenth century sailors received to combat scurvy on long voyages, Dr. John Hoffer at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal gave them vitamin C supplements. He found that their moods improved significantly.
Celiac disease is a genetic digestive disorder triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other foods containing wheat, barley or rye. Researchers now report that there is a factor independent of diet that contributes to oxidative stress in celiac disease patients; children with celiac disease have higher than normal levels of two oxidative DNA damage biomarkers, regardless of what they eat [1].
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease in which the consumption of gluten — a protein found in all forms of wheat, including spelt, kamut, semolina and triticale, as well as in barley and rye — induces an inflammatory reaction that destroys the gut. It occurs in almost 1% of the population, although in the United States as many as 97% of cases remain undiagnosed. Most autoimmune diseases are thought to be caused by an interaction between a genetic predisposition and an environmental trigger, but celiac disease is the only one for which the environmental trigger is known: gluten.
Have you ever wondered if those healthy fast food meals are really any better for you? McDonald’s has the Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait, Wendy’s offers Garden Sensations salads and at Burger King you can even get a veggie burger.
Yogurt, salad, veggie burger … these are all healthy foods.
However, new research suggests that healthy fast food meals have the same effect on your cardiovascular system as a burger, fries and a soda.
In February 2007, researchers at Appalachian State University announced the results of a clinical study on the flavonoid quercetin at the Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, held in Charlotte, N.C. Their results showed that quercetin may help reduce illness and maintain mental performance in physcially stressed test subjects. I’ve written about the antioxidant quercetin in a previous article as an alternative to dichloroacetate (DCA), a chemotherapeutic agent that was recently shown to selectively inhibit cancer cell growth in lung, breast and brain tumor cells grown in culture and lung tumors grown in immunocompromisted rats.
