When deciding which fruit to feature in your breakfast bowl, research points toward red raspberries. Findings from various animal studies suggest that red raspberries, which are an excellent source of vitamin C and high in fiber, are associated with a decreased risk of several health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes-related complications, and bone inflammation. Here is a quick look at some of the red raspberry-related research presented at the 2016 Experimental Biology conference and published in the FASEB Journal:

• Bone backup. Red raspberry polyphenols (antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables) were found to prevent the release of inflammatory chemicals and to inhibit the expansion of the number of bone cells that cause bone breakdown in cultured cell lines from mice. This indicates these polyphenols might have the potential to help prevent bone loss.
• Diabetes defense. Diabetic, obese rats were divided into two groups and fed either freeze-dried red raspberries or a placebo for eight weeks. The red raspberry group, but not the placebo group, was protected against a rare diabetes complication called cachexia—appetite and weight loss, fatigue, and muscle atrophy—that is usually associated with extreme nerve pain. They also had lower fasting blood sugar than the placebo group, although this difference was not statistically significant.
• Cardiovascular care. Researchers fed obesity-prone rats a high-fat diet in addition to either a freeze-dried red raspberry powder or a sugar placebo for eight weeks. At the end of the study, the two groups did not show differences between body weight gain, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, or systolic blood pressure; however, the red raspberry group had lower fasting triglycerides and blood sugar levels, as well as lower heart rates, than the placebo group. The red raspberry group also experienced heart enlargement and wall thickening, which may indicate a reduced heart failure risk.

Source: EurekAlert!

Doctor's office lollipops and after-school cookies may be putting your child way over their recommended sugar intake on a daily basis, reports CNN. US dietary guidelines recommend limiting added sugars to 10% of daily caloric intake. For an active four to eight year old, that's about 33 grams per day, which is less sugar than one can of soda contains. While putting a cap on your child's sweet-tooth can be difficult, it's important to keep an eye on this sugary situation, which could lead to weight gain and health conditions like type 2 diabetes. Fairly painless ways to limit added sugars in your home include keeping an eye on ingredient labels for hidden sugars and replacing sugar-heavy snacks and treats with sugar-free ones. Teaching your child to make smart sugar choices can also help. Kathy Isoldi, a registered dietitian nutritionist and associate professor of nutrition at Long Island University, Post, explains how:

• Don't restrict sweets completely. Depriving your child of sweets could lead them to overindulge whenever they have the chance. Instead, provide them with a balanced diet so they can learn to self-regulate when eating treats and to enjoy healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
• Stick to one treat per day. Some limitations, such as only allowing dessert after dinner, are a good thing. But be sure to give them the freedom to choose what they'd like and in what quantity, which can help them learn their own limits and may help avoid eating issues down the road. If you're worried they'll overdo it, start small. For example, offer them one cookie, but give them another if they ask.

Source: CNN

Fibrocystic breast disease (also called fibrocystic breast changes) is a common and often painful non-cancerous breast condition. Some women have experienced improvement in, or elimination of, the lumps by completely removing methylxanthines (caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine) from their diets for one to six months. For women over age 45, it may take longer (a year or more in some cases) to see improvement. Methylxanthines are present in foods and beverages such as coffee, tea, colas, and chocolate, and in some medications. Merely cutting back on methylxanthines is less effective than avoiding them completely.

Nutritional supplements that have been found to be beneficial for fibrocystic breast disease include vitamin E, thiamine (vitamin B1), and iodine. Consult your doctor to determine the appropriate dosages, particularly in the case of iodine, which can sometimes cause adverse effects at the dosages needed to be effective.

Source: Nutritional Medicine

The ever-versatile tomato may do more than tempt your taste buds. Findings from an animal study suggest that lycopene, a member of the carotenoid family of pigments found primarily in tomatoes, may someday have a role in treating postmenopausal bone loss (osteoporosis). Published in the journal Bone, the study was performed using 264 female rats divided into two groups. One group received an operation that removed their ovaries, while the other group received a mock operation that did not remove their ovaries. The rats with no ovaries were then divided into five further groups: the first three groups received corn oil containing 15 mg, 30 mg, or 45 mg of lycopene, respectively; the fourth group received corn oil with no lycopene; and the fifth group received 2 μg/kg of alendronate (a drug commonly used to treat osteoporosis). The group of rats that still had their ovaries was given corn oil with no lycopene. All the rats received their treatment daily for 12 weeks. Researchers measured markers of bone loss in the rats to determine if the lycopene had any effect and found:

• The ovary-free rats receiving lycopene had lower markers of bone turnover than the ovary-free rats not receiving lycopene. This finding suggests the lycopene may have prevented or slowed the bone turnover that naturally occurs in the absence of ovarian hormones.
• The ovary-free rats receiving lycopene also experienced a smaller drop in bone mass and bone strength, and showed less evidence of bone deterioration, than the ovary-free rats not receiving lycopene.

While this research is interesting, it’s important to note that similar research in humans is needed before lycopene supplements should be recommended to prevent postmenopausal bone loss. In addition, this relatively short three-month study does not demonstrate the long-term effects that lycopene may have on bone loss. Lycopene is an antioxidant and researchers are also exploring its potential benefits for reducing high blood pressure, preventing asthma symptoms, protecting the heart and blood vessels, and preventing some cancers. In the meantime, since the amounts of lycopene used in this study could easily be achieved through diet alone, it might not hurt to add tomatoes to your next meal.

Source: Bone

Struggling with on-the-job training or final exams? Cinnamon could potentially be helpful. New animal research has found that cinnamon may help learning ability in mice. Published in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, the study used a Barnes maze, a standard elevated circular maze consisting of 20 holes, to identify the learning abilities of a group of mice. The mice were trained for two days and then tested to determine which mice had learned to navigate the maze to find the target hole (labeled as “good learners”), and which mice hadn’t learned to navigate the maze to find the target hole (labeled as “poor learners”). Researchers then fed all of the mice ground cinnamon for a month and studied how it affected their hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for memory and learning. They also studied changes to two proteins in their brains involved in memory and learning: CREB, which tends to be lower in poor learners than in good learners, and GABRA5, which tends to be higher in poor learners than in good learners. After retesting the cinnamon-fed mice, researchers found that:

• In the poor learners, memory and learning improved to levels found in the good learners. However, memory and learning abilities did not improve significantly in the good learners.
• The mice’s bodies metabolized a component of the cinnamon into sodium benzoate, a chemical which the study cited as a drug treatment for brain damage, and which is widely used as a food preservative. Upon entering their brains, the sodium benzoate increased CREB, decreased GABRA5, and stimulated the ability of their hippocampal neurons to change.

These findings suggest that cinnamon helped the mice with slower learning abilities come up to par with their faster-learning counterparts. Because it’s unclear how much cinnamon the mice were given, it’s relevance to humans is unclear. Only more research will tell if cinnamon affects humans in the same way. But, at the very least, cinnamon sprinkled on your morning toast or cappuccino is a delicious way to start your day of training or studying.

Source: Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology