In this new study, published in Nature Microbiology, Professor Anders Rosengren and colleagues have instead looked at prediabetes. This condition is a precursor to type 2 diabetes, with slowly rising blood sugar levels due to impaired insulin production.
The study encompassed 89 people with elevated fasting blood sugar, an indicator of prediabetes. Other criteria included the participants being overweight or obese and 35-75 years old.
The participants were randomly assigned sulforaphane or a placebo for twelve weeks. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was assigned which. A total of 74 participants completed all stages of the study.
The results show that participants taking the sulforaphane compound had a higher average reduction in fasting blood sugar than those taking the placebo. The difference between the two groups in the study was considerable.
University of Gothenburg. “Reduced prediabetes in people who ate broccoli compound.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250214003212.htm (accessed February 21, 2025).
Eat More Broccoli. Sauteed in extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Lots of garlic.
‘Dessert Stomach’ Is Real And It Lives in Your Brain – Newsweek
Understanding why we always have room for dessert could lead to new treatments for obesity, researchers have revealed.
— Read on www.newsweek.com/dessert-stomach-real-brain-neurons-mice-2030775
Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Cooking #9
Celery leaves. I always tossed them out until The Boss informed me she doesn’t like big chunks of celery in dishes I make that use celery for an ingredient. I recently discovered you can use celery leaves like a fresh herb, finely chopped and added to your creation in lieu of big chunks of celery. So far I haven’t gotten any complaints about the tiny green stuff floating in the soup.
10 Ways To Use Celery Leaves In The Kitchen.
Read More: https://www.tastingtable.com/1572645/uses-celery-leaves/
Memo to Self – instead of buying celery with less leaves buy celery with more leaves, especially bunches with dark green leaves which have a more intense flavor than the stalks.
Researchers Find Brain Cells That Tell You To Stop Eating (in mice)
“These neurons are unlike any other neuron involved in regulating satiation,” says Alexander Nectow, a physician-scientist at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, who led the research with Srikanta Chowdhury, an associate research scientist in the Nectow lab. “Other neurons in the brain are usually restricted to sensing food put into our mouth, or how food fills the gut, or the nutrition obtained from food. The neurons we found are special in that they seem to integrate all these different pieces of information and more.”
“Essentially these neurons can smell food, see food, feel food in the mouth and in the gut, and interpret all the gut hormones that are released in response to eating,” Nectow says. “And ultimately, they leverage all of this information to decide when enough is enough.”Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “Researchers discover the brain cells that tell you to stop eating.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250205131107.htm (accessed February 8, 2025).
I need more of these brain cells.
Egg prices are predicted to increase 20.3 percent in 2025
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-price-outlook/summary-findings
OK, so currently $9.00 x 20% = $1.80 so eggs could cost $11.80 a dozen this year.
Eat More Beans, Peas and Lentils
The scientific report has some positive recommendations. It recommends that Americans eat more beans, peas, and lentils and eat less red and processed meat. It recommends that Beans, Peas, and Lentils move from a subgroup of the Vegetables Food Group to a subgroup of the Protein Food Group. When listing foods in the Protein Food Group, Beans/Peas/Lentils should be listed first, followed by Nuts/Seeds/Soy products, then Seafood, and lastly Meats/Poultry/Eggs. – 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s Scientific Report Recommends Eating More Beans, Peas, and Lentils and Eating Less Red and Processed Meat – http://www.vrg.org/blog/2025/01/31/2025-dietary-guidelines-advisory-committees-scientific-report-recommends-eating-more-beans-peas-and-lentils-and-eating-less-red-and-processed-meat/
If you want to geek out on the full report here’s the download link – https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/2025-advisory-committee-report
U.S. rates of nutrition-related chronic health conditions are high, and data show significant differences in prevalence across socio-demographic groups. For example, the prevalence of obesity is lower among non-Hispanic Asian children compared to all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined, and the prevalence is lower in non-Hispanic White children compared to non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic and/or Latino children. Obesity is significantly lower among children with higher family income compared to those with lower family income. Among adults, the prevalence of obesity is lower among non-Hispanic Asian adults and higher in non-Hispanic Black adults. Prevalence of hypertension is higher in non-Hispanic Black adults than adults of all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined. Diabetes is lower in non-Hispanic White adults compared to all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined, while gestational diabetes is highest among non-Hispanic Asian adults and lowest among non-Hispanic Black adults. Income data show that among adults, the prevalence of obesity, of hypertension, and of diabetes are higher among families with lower incomes compared to higher incomes.
I’ve not read the entire report but judging from what I’ve read so far it is definitely Geek Paradise.
When You Realize a Lot of Your Recent Posts Have Been Rants About Egg Prices
You naturally post this:
$9.00 US for One Dozen Eggs
Remember my rant Eggs Cost How Much? (Happy New Year!). I am now eating my words about California. At the grocery store today the price for one dozen jumbo eggs was $8.99 US. Back in October I Just Paid $2.15 for a Dozen Eggs.
I’m still in shock.
Broccoli Stalk (stem) Recipes
I’ve always called them stalks. Stems/stalks, same thing.
Don’t Throw Out Your Broccoli Stems, Make These 7 Tasty Recipes Instead – https://vegnews.com/broccoli-stem-tasty-recipes
Yup. Another electronic sticky note.
I might try the Stir-Fried Broccoli Stems recipe.
Eat Less Processed Red Meat
Yikes
To examine the risk of dementia, researchers included a group of 133,771 people with an average age of 49 who did not have dementia at the start of the study. They were followed up to 43 years. Of this group, 11,173 people developed dementia. Participants completed a food diary every two to four years, listing what they ate and how often. Researchers defined processed red meat as bacon, hot dogs, sausages, salami, bologna and other processed meat products. They defined unprocessed red meat as beef, pork, lamb and hamburger. A serving of red meat is three ounces, about the size of a deck of cards. Researchers calculated how much red meat participants ate on average per day. For processed red meat, they divided participants into three groups. The low group ate an average of fewer than 0.10 servings per day; the medium group ate between 0.10 and 0.24 servings per day; and the high group, 0.25 or more servings per day. After adjusting for factors such as age, sex and other risk factors for cognitive decline, researchers found that participants in the high group had a 13% higher risk of developing dementia compared to those in the low group. Is Eating More Red Meat Bad for Your Brain? – https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/1082
This large study is a collaboration funded by the National Institutes of Health to NYU Langone Health and includes authors from Johns Hopkins University and other U.S. institutions. The new study relies on information gathered from the ongoing Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS), which since 1987 has closely tracked the vascular health and cognitive function of nearly 16,000 participants as they age. ARIC-NCS is also, the researchers say, the longest-followed cohort of African Americans for researching cognition and heart health. Published in the journal Nature Medicine online January 13, the study concludes that from 1987 until 2020, there were 3,252 study participants who were documented as having developed dementia. This translates to an overall lifetime risk for dementia among middle-aged Americans of 42 percent, which is an average of the 35 percent risk in men and the 48 percent risk in women. The excess risk in women was largely due to their lower death rates. United States Dementia Cases Estimated to Double by 2060 – https://nyulangone.org/news/united-states-dementia-cases-estimated-double-2060
garyskitchen.net 