The standard American diet, also known as SAD, has been linked to the state of your gut (the digestive system), which is critical for ensuring good health. According to a recent report by CNN, 100 trillion bacteria live in our gut. These bacteria protect us from dangerous strains and help us digest foods properly. However, if our “good” bacteria, known as probiotics, are damaged through antibiotics or a poor diet, harmful bacteria can take over. To encourage the growth of good bacteria, a person should consume plenty of probiotics, eat a healthy diet with whole grains, vegetables, and less fat, and reduce stress.

Source: CNN

According to a study published in Psychiatry Research, yogurt and pickles (both fermented, probiotic-containing foods), when eaten together, may play a protective role against social anxiety. The study surveyed over 700 young adults about their fermented food consumption, neuroticism (a personality trait that refers to the tendency to respond negatively to threat, frustration, or loss), and social anxiety. Researchers also controlled for other factors that may have influenced the participants' social anxiety such as exercise frequency, healthy eating habits, and demographics. Here’s what the researchers found:

• Participants who ate more fermented foods reported less social anxiety compared with those who ate fewer fermented foods; this relationship was strongest among participants who reported high neuroticism (which was a predictor for higher social anxiety).

While more research is needed to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between fermented foods and lower social anxiety, this study does suggest that fermented foods may help people at high genetic risk for social anxiety. And as the study authors point out, “the fix” is relatively low-impact—and tasty. In addition to yogurt and pickles, kefir, kimchi, miso, and sauerkraut are other fermented foods that contain probiotics.

Source: Psychiatry Research

A meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at data from 24 studies and found people who ate a low-glycemic-load diet were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The range of daily glycemic loads across the studies was approximately 60 to 280 grams and the study's researchers found:

• For every 100-gram decrease in daily glycemic load, diabetes risk dropped by 45%.

• The protective effect of a low-daily-glycemic load was stronger in women.

• European Americans seemed to benefit more from a low-glycemic-load diet than people of other ethnicities.

In light of these results, one of the study's authors concluded that, “Altogether, our meta-analysis supports that glycemic load is an important and underestimated dietary characteristic that, among others, contributes significantly to the incidence of type 2 diabetes.” If you're ready to begin reducing your daily glycemic load, here are a few easy ways to start:

• Choose juicy fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables (such as berries and squashes) with high water and low carbohydrate content have lower glycemic loads than certain starchy fruits and vegetables, like bananas and russet potatoes.
• Cool your carbs. Cooling carbohydrate foods like potatoes, rice, and pasta after cooking them increases their content of resistant starch (indigestible carbohydrates) and lowers their glycemic loads, so consider eating these foods in salads or other unheated dishes.
• Snack on nuts. Nuts and seeds have very low glycemic loads. Keep nut portions to 1 ounce.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

A study found that fish oil increased immune system activity in elderly women who engaged in strength training. Published in the British Journal of Nutrition, the study divided 45 women with an average age of 64 into three groups: one group performed strength training exercises without fish oil for 90 days; the second group performed strength training exercises for 90 days while taking 2 grams of fish oil per day; and the final group took 2 grams of fish oil per day for 60 days, followed by 90 days of strength training while taking 2 grams of fish oil per day. After measuring several immune parameters in the participants before and after strength training and fish oil supplementation, the researchers discovered that:

• Fish oil increased phagocytosis—a part of the immune system’s defensive response to foreign objects (including bacteria and viruses)—in both groups taking the supplement.
• Fish oil also increased immune cell levels (lymphocytes) in the group taking fish oil for 150 days—both before and during strength training.
• Strength training, by itself, did not improve any of the immune parameters measured in the study.

The findings are of potential importance since it is thought that immune function worsens with age, and fish oil may provide one way to counteract that in healthy older women. However, since the study was small, more research is needed to confirm these results.

Source: British Journal of Nutrition

Much to the chagrin of parents everywhere, the tooth-friendly promise of sugar-free products may indeed be too good to be true. Research suggests that sugar-free drinks and candies may damage teeth as much as their sugary counterparts. Flavorings used in sugar-free products often contain high-acid ingredients, such as phosphoric acid and citric acid, that can erode the outer protective layer (the enamel) of the tooth. Researchers from the University of Melbourne published the findings in a report from the Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre. In their experiments, they exposed donated human molars to 23 different drinks including sugary and sugar-free sodas, sports drinks, and milk drinks as well as water for comparison. Following exposure to the beverages, the teeth were analyzed for several markers of tooth damage, such as changes in calcium levels and enamel loss. In addition, the researchers tested 32 sugar-free candies, including lollipops, mints, and lozenges, to understand their potential to cause dental erosion. Here is what the researchers found:

• The sugar-free sodas caused as much dental erosion as the sodas that contained sugar.
• Six of the eight sports drinks caused a statistically significant amount of erosion compared with water. However, two sports drinks with higher calcium content caused less erosion than the other six sports drinks.
• Twenty-two of the sugar-free candies had acid levels that could have potentially cause erosion. Fruit-flavored candies were more acidic than candies flavored with mint or menthol.
• Further testing on donated teeth confirmed that sugar-free candies caused enamel loss and tooth softening.

This research is important for public health, as dental erosion can cause changes in tooth color, shape, sensitivity, and strength, and can eventually lead to tooth deterioration, cracking, and loss. If you do indulge in acidic drinks or snacks occasionally, rinse your teeth afterwards with clean water and postpone brushing your teeth for an hour or so to avoid further damaging your weakened enamel. And, of course, drinking water instead of flavored drinks, and getting regular dental care, will help keep your chompers healthy.

Source: Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre