Probiotics are having their heyday in the realm of children’s health: past research has associated them with reduced risks of respiratory infections and milk allergies, among other things. Now, more current research has found that synbiotics—probiotics combined with prebiotics—may increase weight loss and improve markers of cardiovascular health in children who are obese. For the study, which was published in the journal Beneficial Microbes, researchers followed 77 children with obesity for one month. All of the children were put on a reduced calorie diet and participated in a physical activity program. In addition, half of the children were randomly selected to receive a daily synbiotic supplement, while the other half did not receive the supplement. Through measuring the children’s weight, body-mass index, cholesterol levels, and other markers of cardiovascular health at the beginning and end of the study, researchers found that:

• On average, the children who took the synbiotics lost more weight than the children who didn't take the synbiotics. They also had greater reductions in body-mass index and triceps skin-fold thickness (a measurement used to estimate body fat).
• Children in the synbiotics group had greater decreases in LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, and markers of oxidative stress. These findings suggest that they experienced greater overall improvement in their cardiovascular health.

While these findings are interesting, the study was relatively short and didn't use a placebo control group. Therefore, more research is needed to understand if synbiotics could someday be used to help children with obesity to lose weight. In the meantime, if you’d like to boost your child’s intake of synbiotics, look no further than your grocery store aisles. Fermented and cultured foods such as kefir, buttermilk, yogurt, and unpasteurized sauerkraut contain probiotics. Vegetables such as garlic, onion, and green peas, fruits such as bananas, nectarines, watermelon, and grapefruit, and legumes such as lentils and chickpeas, are all sources of prebiotic fibers. When it comes to synbiotic supplements, check with your pediatrician if you’re interested in finding one that’s right for your child.

Source: Beneficial Microbes

Most people have a favorite apple variety—maybe yours is McIntosh, Jonagold, or Granny Smith—but all apples have some important things in common: vitamins, minerals, fiber, and polyphenols. Apples contain vitamin E and potassium—nutrients that are especially important for heart health. They also have small but notable amounts of B vitamins and calcium. Their fiber, which includes both insoluble fibers like cellulose and soluble fibers like pectin, makes them a prebiotic food, helping to support healthy colonies of friendly gut bacteria. Pectin is reported to have cholesterol-lowering and blood sugar-stabilizing effects as well. Apples also have plant chemicals known as polyphenols, which are found mainly in the peels. Polyphenols provide apples with their color and flavor and protect the fruit from light damage, fungi, and insects. When we eat whole, unpeeled apples, their polyphenols act as antioxidants that contribute to many of apples’ health benefits.

Source: Nutrients

A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology and reported on by NutraIngredients found that antioxidant supplements may increase the likelihood of healthy aging in men, and also might be beneficial for people with low levels of certain antioxidants. The study was based on data from 3,966 men and women with an average age of 65 who had participated in the Supplementation with Antioxidant Vitamins and Minerals (SU.VI.MAX) Study (1994–2002) and the SU.VI.MAX 2 Follow-up Study (2007–2009). In the initial SU.VI.MAX study from 1994 to 2002, participants were randomly assigned to receive either a daily placebo or a combination of antioxidants, including vitamin C (120 mg), beta-carotene (6 mg), vitamin E (30 mg), selenium (100 µg), and zinc (20 mg). Using data from the SU.VI.MAX 2 study, researchers looked at various markers of healthy aging to evaluate participants' aging status, including the absence of major chronic diseases and good physical and cognitive functioning. Here is what researchers found:

• Antioxidant supplementation was associated with an increased probability of healthy aging among men, but not among women.
• Antioxidant supplementation was associated with an increased probability of healthy aging for men and women with low vitamin C levels, for men with low zinc levels, and for men consuming fewer than five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

While it is unclear why there was a disparity between men and women, researchers posit that the women in the study population may have had higher antioxidant levels than the men. Overall, the study concluded that getting an adequate amount of antioxidants from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is important for healthy aging. Some particularly good food sources of antioxidants include broccoli, carrots, citrus fruits, kale, spinach, sweet peppers, tomatoes, and watermelon.

Source: American Journal of Epidemiology

The humble avocado may not look like much—green and scaly with a giant seed in the middle—but according to new research, eating one avocado daily could be a powerful way to help curb high cholesterol. The research, which was supported by a grant from the Hass Avocado Board, was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The study examined the effects of three different cholesterol-lowering diets on 45 overweight or obese participants with low to high cholesterol; every participant tried each diet for five weeks. The three diets consisted of a lower-fat diet (24% fat) and two moderate fat diets (34% fat). One of the moderate fat diets included one avocado (136 g) daily, while the other did not. Here’s what the researchers discovered:

• All three diets lowered cholesterol in the participants, but the moderate fat diet that included an avocado lowered it the most: these participants saw their LDL ("bad") cholesterol drop by 13.5 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) and other non-HDL cholesterol drop by 14.6 mg/dL. Non-HDL is any type of cholesterol other than HDL ("good") cholesterol. Those on the other moderate fat diet experienced LDL and HDL decreases of 8.3 mg/dL and 8.7 mg/dL, and those eating the lower-fat diet experienced LDL and HDL decreases of 7.4 mg/dL and 4.8 mg/dL.
• The avocado-containing diet also significantly decreased small, dense LDL particles—small LDL particles have been associated with a greater risk of coronary heart disease.
• The avocado-containing diet also decreased the ratio of LDL to HDL.

While this study involved a small number of participants and therefore requires more research, the findings are promising as they offer a safe and tasty way to lower cholesterol.

Source: Journal of the American Heart Association

Get moving to protect your telomeres! No, “telomeres” isn’t a new slang term for your knee joints; telomeres are located at the end of DNA strands in your cells and protect the strands during cell division and replication. As we age, our cells’ telomeres naturally fray and shorten. Unfortunately, health and lifestyle factors like obesity, smoking, insomnia, and diabetes can speed up this process. The good news is that research has found an association between physical activity and a lower risk of telomere shortening. The study was reported on by the New York Times and published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. The study looked at data from 6,503 people, aged 20 to 84, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2002. Participants answered survey questions, indicating which of the following activities they had engaged in over the last month : (1) moderate-intensity physical activity, (2) vigorous-intensity physical activity, (3) walking/cycling for transportation, and (4) muscle-strengthening activities. Researchers scored the surveys by granting one point for each activity and compared those scores to each person’s telomere length (determined from the participants’ blood samples). Here is what they found:

• Engaging in more forms of exercise was associated with a greater risk reduction: People who engaged in all four types of exercise had a 52% lower risk of being among the group with the shortest telomeres, compared with people who did not exercise at all.
• Engaging in fewer forms of exercise still appeared to be beneficial: compared to non-exercisers, the likelihood of having the shortest telomeres was 3% lower in people who participated in a single type of exercise; 24% lower in people who participated in two types of exercise; and 29% lower in people who participated in three types of exercise.

This research is interesting because it suggests that a variety of regular exercise may slow the aging process. However, this study only demonstrated that people who exercise may have longer telomeres. More clinical research is needed to show a cause-and-effect relationship between exercise and telomere length. In addition, while other research has linked shorter telomeres to a shorter life, additional research is needed to understand if longer telomeres translate into better quality of life. In the end, one message is still clear: exercise is good for you.

Source: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise