Category: Research Studies

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Make Homemade Veggie Burgers

Krista Navin has been a vegetarian since she was a teen, and says these imitation meats have been creeping onto more menus. It really hit home when Burger King replaced its veggie patty — made by vegetarian stalwart brand Morningstar Farms — with the Impossible Whopper. “I find those types of burgers uniquely off-putting,” Navin says. “I think they have actually done a really good job making them like the real thing and that is exactly the thing I don’t want.”

It’s Time to Put Actual Veggies Back Into Veggie Burgers — https://www.eater.com/23274496/veggie-burger-vegetarian-should-be-made-from-vegetables

Results from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), which included participants aged 35 and older, showed that higher intake of UPF was significantly associated with a faster rate of decline in both executive and global cognitive function.”Based on these findings, doctors might counsel patients to prefer cooking at home [and] choosing fresher ingredients instead of buying ready-made meals and snacks,” co-investigator Natalia Goncalves, PhD, University of São Paulo Medical School, Brazil, told Medscape Medical News.“Participants who reported consumption of more than 20% of daily calories from ultraprocessed foods had a 28% faster rate of global cognitive decline and a 25% faster decrease of the executive function compared to those who reported eating less than 20% of daily calories from ultraprocessed foods,

More Evidence Ultraprocessed Foods Detrimental for the Brain – Medscape – Aug 01, 2022. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/978365?src=rss

UPF consumption was associated with worse performance in Animal Fluency among older people without pre-existing diseases. Decreasing UPF consumption may be a way to improve impaired cognition among older adults.

Association between ultra-processed food consumption and cognitive performance in US older adults: a cross-sectional analysis of the NHANES 2011–2014 — https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-022-02911-1

“You used to eat those commercially prepared veggie burgers.”

“I don’t eat them anymore. It’s better to make your own.”

Faithful followers know what happened during the inferno summer of 2022 because of my earlier post on Spinach, Mushrooms and Onion. I’m still working feverishly to reduce the number of packages of frozen vegetables to make room for other items. The other day I used up a package of frozen spinach and about a cup and a half of cooked chickpeas to make Chickpea and Spinach Burgers.

Yup, that’s right. No recipe. The Boss said,

“Go ahead and toss all of the spinach in the mix.”

So I did. Instead of Chickpea and Spinach Burgers I ended up making Spinach Burgers with a Small Spattering of Chickpeas Somewhere in the Mix.

I promise to post if and when I’m totally happy with the results.

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Eat Eggs

Eggs are a rich source of dietary cholesterol, but they also contain a variety of essential nutrients. There is conflicting evidence as to whether egg consumption is beneficial or harmful to heart health. A 2018 study published in the journal Heart, which included approximately half a million adults in China, found that those who ate eggs daily (about one egg per day) had a substantially lower risk of heart disease and stroke than those who ate eggs less frequently*. Now, to better understand this relationship, the authors of this work have carried out a population-based study exploring how egg consumption affects markers of cardiovascular health in the blood.

eLife. “How eating eggs can boost heart health.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220524124839.htm (accessed May 25, 2022).

Results – Egg consumption was associated with 24 out of 225 markers, including positive associations for apolipoprotein A1, acetate, mean HDL diameter, and lipid profiles of very large and large HDL, and inverse associations for total cholesterol and cholesterol esters in small VLDL. Among these 24 markers, 14 were associated with CVD risk. In general, the associations of egg consumption with metabolic markers and of these markers with CVD risk showed opposite patterns.

Conclusions – In the Chinese population, egg consumption is associated with several metabolic markers, which may partially explain the protective effect of moderate egg consumption on CVD.

Pan et al. investigated associations of self-reported egg consumption with plasma metabolic markers and these plasma metabolic markers with the risk of cardiovascular diseases. In general, there was some impact on metabolic markers which could protect against CVD. The paper will interest scientists in the field of nutritional epidemiology.

Association of egg consumption, metabolic markers, and risk of cardiovascular diseases: A nested case-control study — https://elifesciences.org/articles/72909

To review the study shortcomings hop over to the full study and read the editorial decision letter.

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Stanford Center on Longevity – Diet Research Update

There are a growing number of diet choices that promote healthier eating. Common among several of the most-well known diets (e.g., paleo, Mediterranean, vegan), is an emphasis on the consumption of plant-based foods (sometimes alongside animal protein, sometimes without), and the avoidance of added sugar, refined grains, and ultra-processed foods. There is increasing evidence that consuming more plant-based foods is beneficial to our overall health, especially our immune system health. There are also data indicating that consuming more plant protein than animal protein is healthy for both ourselves and the environment.

Diet — https://longevity.stanford.edu/research-update-on-diet/

Reality check below –

We have a lot of work to do.

Do your part by reading the entire research update and sharing the love.

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Higher protein intake leads to healthier eating (maybe)

Eating a larger proportion of protein while dieting leads to better food choices and helps avoid the loss of lean body mass, according to a new study.

Rutgers University. “Higher protein intake while dieting leads to healthier eating.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220627141426.htm (accessed June 28, 2022).

Small study (n=200) and diet was self-selected. The relationship between higher protein intake and overall diet quality may be a spurious finding.
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Time Restricted Eating Diets Don’t Work

The study, published online in JAMA Internal Medicine by Dylan A. Lowe, PhD, also of UCSF, involved 116 participants who were randomized to a 12-week regimen of either three structured meals per day or time-restricted eating, with instructions to eat only between 12:00 pm and 8:00 pm and to completely abstain from eating at other times.

Time-Restricted Eating Shows No Weight Loss Benefit in RCT – Medscape – Oct 01, 2020 — https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/938433#vp_2

Despite the lack of evidence I intend to continue my time restricted eating strategy. I do not eat anything between the hours of 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM.

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Protein for Older Adults

There is reliable research that suggests that older adults need slightly more protein than younger adults do. A somewhat higher protein intake, especially when combined with resistance training can build muscle in older adults. This increased muscle can help to offset the muscle loss that is a part of the aging process. Muscle loss can increase the risk of falls and keep older people from doing the tasks they’d like to do.

VRG Blog – https://www.vrg.org/blog/2022/02/03/protein-for-older-adults/

The latest data from a decades-long health survey finds that—yet again—the vast majority of Americans have a poor diet and many of us are inactive. Specifically, just 10 percent of Americans eat enough vegetables, and only 12 percent eat enough fruit, according to recent responses to the CDC’s survey, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance system. Recent responses also reveal that 25 percent of Americans don’t do any exercise outside of any work activity.

90% of the US Has a Poor Diet — https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/01/even-before-covid-americans-were-failing-at-health-basics-diet-exercise/

Lee SH, Moore LV, Park S, Harris DM, Blanck HM. Adults Meeting Fruit and Vegetable Intake Recommendations — United States, 2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022;71:1–9. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7101a1

In this cross-sectional study of 10 837 adults aged 65 years or older in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the mean primary American Heart Association score had a significant 8% decrease. The proportion of older US adults with poor diet quality significantly increased from 51% to 61%, and the proportion with intermediate diet quality significantly decreased from 49% to 39%; the proportion of older US adults with ideal diet quality remained consistently low. These findings suggest that diet quality decreased among older US adults from 2001 to 2018.

Trends in Diet Quality Among Older US Adults From 2001 to 2018 — https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2789924

To say most of us know very little about nutrition would be an understatement.

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More Coffee Please

New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) finds that the consumption of healthy plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, and legumes, is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in generally healthy people and support their role in diabetes prevention…The study found that compared with participants who did not develop T2D, those who were diagnosed with the disease during follow-up had a lower intake of healthy plant-based foods, as well as lower scores for PDI and hPDI. In addition, they had a higher average BMI, and were more likely to have high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, use blood pressure and cholesterol drugs, have a family history of diabetes, and be less physically active.

Diabetologia. “New study reveals that healthy plant-based diets are associated with a lower risk of developing diabetes.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220410110753.htm (accessed April 11, 2022).

Journal Reference: Fenglei Wang, Megu Y. Baden, Marta Guasch-Ferré, Clemens Wittenbecher, Jun Li, Yanping Li, Yi Wan, Shilpa N. Bhupathiraju, Deirdre K. Tobias, Clary B. Clish, Lorelei A. Mucci, A. Heather Eliassen, Karen H. Costenbader, Elizabeth W. Karlson, Alberto Ascherio, Eric B. Rimm, JoAnn E. Manson, Liming Liang, Frank B. Hu. Plasma metabolite profiles related to plant-based diets and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia, 2022; DOI: 10.1007/s00125-022-05692-8

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Another Reason Why Black Eyed Peas are Badass

UCR plant pathologist Gabriel Ortiz wanted to understand whether black eyed peas — a hugely popular food in many parts of the world — maintain their ability to attract good bacteria even after being subjected to modern farming practices. In many cases, plants heavily impacted by humans do not benefit as much from relationships with bacteria compared to their wild relatives. However, Ortiz and his team found that the peas maintained their natural ability to form beneficial relationships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

University of California – Riverside. “Black eyed peas could help eliminate need for fertilizer: Popular legume attracts beneficial nitrogen-fixing bacteria.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220120091144.htm (accessed January 20, 2022).

Totally Badass.

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2021 Dietary Guidance to Improve Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Originally published2 Nov 2021https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001031Circulation. 2021;144:e472–e487

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001031

And don’t forget about Heart Healthy Small Bites.

There will be a lot of people picking and choosing specific points from this report to drive their personal agendas. I won’t do that.

But please buy my Future Best Seller.

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More Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) please

Experiments in mice found that CMC, and some other emulsifiers, altered gut bacteria resulting in more severe disease in a range of chronic inflammatory conditions, including colitis, metabolic syndrome and colon cancer. However, the extent to which such results are applicable to humans had not been previously investigated. The team performed a randomized controlled-feeding study in healthy volunteers. Participants, housed at the study site, consumed an additive-free diet or an identical diet supplemented with carboxymethylcellulose (CMC). Because the diseases CMC promotes in mice take years to arise in humans, the researchers focused here on intestinal bacteria and metabolites. They found that CMC consumption changed the make-up of bacteria populating the colon, reducing select species. Furthermore, fecal samples from CMC-treated participants displayed a stark depletion of beneficial metabolites that are thought to normally maintain a healthy colon.

Georgia State University. “Ubiquitous food additive alters human microbiota and intestinal environment.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211130130223.htm (accessed December 5, 2021).

For additional research start here https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/carboxymethylcellulose

Yum.

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