The Telangana Science Journal, October 2006, Issue 106

Contents

Diet and Exercise	Miscellaneous	Recipes
Vegetables - Brain Food Grapes Coffee Slimming Helps Reduce Cancer Risk Trans Fat Omega-3 Oils Halloween tips Tea Canola Oil Turmeric Benefit Nuts and Legumes Watch Your Calorie Intake	Drug Reactions Hair Discloses Secrets Intelligence is Inherited TV Causes Autism in Children Down Syndrome Playtime Tuberculosis in Europe	Mixed Nut Munchies Mixed Fruit Shake How to Press Tofu How to Make Seitan

Diet and Exercise

Vegetables - Brain Food
A vegetable-rich diet could be the fountain of youth for your brain. New research on vegetables and aging found that eating vegetables appears to help keep the brain young and may slow the mental decline sometimes associated with growing old. On measures of mental sharpness, older people who ate more than two servings of vegetables daily appeared about five years younger at the end of the six-year study than those who ate few or no vegetables. Green leafy vegetables including spinach, kale and collards appeared to be the most beneficial. The researchers said that may be because they contain healthy amounts of vitamin E, an antioxidant that is believed to help fight chemicals produced by the body that can damage cells. The study was published in the journal Neurology and funded with grants from the National Institute on Aging. Overall, people did gradually worse on these tests over time, but those who ate more than two vegetable servings a day had about 40 percent less mental decline than those who ate few or no vegetables.

Grapes
The skin and seeds of grapes are a rich source of proanthocyanidins, a class of antioxidant flavonoids that remove harmful free oxygen radicals from cells. Grape products (juice and red wine) are known for their heart healthy effects, especially in lowering levels of blood cholesterol, and because grape seeds contain higher concentrations of these chemicals, they are widely marketed as a dietary supplement.

Chemicals found in grape seeds significantly inhibited growth of colorectal tumors in both cell cultures and in mice, according to researchers who have already demonstrated the extract's anti-cancer effects in other tumor types. Their study, published in the October 18 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, documented a 44 percent reduction of advanced colorectal tumors in the animals, and also revealed, for the first time, the molecular mechanism by which grape seed extract works to inhibit cancer growth. The authors found that it increases availability of a critical protein, Cip1/p21, in tumors that effectively freezes the cell cycle, and often pushes a cancer cell to self destruct.

Another study at a Society for Neuroscience conference in Atlanta, showed that resveratrol increases levels of an enzyme in the brain, heme oxygenase, that was already known to shield nerve cells from damage.

Coffee
Caffeine has a stronger disruptive effect on daytime, catch-up sleep after a night of sleep deprivation than it does on a normal night's sleep, a new study shows in Neuropsycho pharmacology, August 23, 2006. Consuming caffeine at night is known to make it more difficult to fall asleep and to worsen sleep quality. Recent studies have suggested that caffeine is a measure of choice to counteract the effects of sleep deprivation on alertness and performance.

Decaf is not Really Decaf
"Decaffeinated" may not mean completely caffeine-free. A study published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology finds that most decaffeinated coffee contains some small amount of caffeine -- and if you drink enough decaf, that small amount can add up. The study's findings are important for people who are trying to avoid caffeine.

Slimming Helps Reduce Cancer Risk
Fatty tissue may decrease the body's ability to kill off cancer, says a study that found making mice leaner seemed to help them fight skin tumors. Scientists have long known that people who are overweight are at increased risk of certain types of cancer. The question is why, and whether slimming down will lower that risk or do any good after a tumor forms. Rutgers University scientists took a closer look at that question using mice engineered to get skin cancer, and reported Monday that fat cells may secrete substances that short-circuit one of the body's main anti-tumor defenses. Exercising mice experienced higher levels of apoptosis, the self-destruction of bad cells, in both sun-damaged skin and in already-formed skin tumors. The researchers then tried the experiment again, by removing pads of fat from chubby mice instead of having them exercise. Getting rid of fat stimulated tumor-cell death, they report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Trans Fat
Trans fats, also known as partially hydrogenated oils, were created as a replacement for saturated fats, long known to cause heart disease. Like saturated fats, trans fats are tasty, partially solid, and don't spoil, making them ideal ingredients in cookies, candy bars, and that crispy outer coat of a French fry. Many restaurants use them in deep fryers, where they can be stored and reused, and the fats are ingredients of many solid margarines.
But a now-ponderous stack of research has shown that trans fats raise heart disease risk four to five times more sharply than do saturated fats. Trans fats both raise "bad" cholesterol, or LDL, and cause "good" cholesterol, or HDL, to drop, while saturated fats only raise LDL. Moreover, trans fats are linked to ailments such as diabetes and dementia, according to the department of nutrition at Harvard University's School of Public Health.

Omega-3 Oils
A research paper appears in the October issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, concluded eating omega-3 oil containing food was beneficial, based on studies conducted on fish. The evidence across different studies showed that omega-3 oil containing food consumption lowers the risk of death from heart disease by 36%. Omega-3 oils are found abundantly in flaxseed, flaxseed oil, urad dal, walnuts, wheat germ and fish. Concerns have been raised about chemicals found in fish from pollution. These include mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins. Eating oily fish during pregnancy may increase the risk of delivering the baby too early, scientists believe. The researchers told New Scientist magazine in October the harm is probably caused by high mercury levels in oily fish such as mackerel, salmon and sardines.

Studies have shown that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids reduces the risk of AD. Furthermore, animal studies have shown that the two predominant omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), preserve cognitive function. Researchers say their results, coupled with other studies, "support the idea that omega-3 fatty acids have a role in primary prevention of AD but not in treatment of manifest disease," when the "neuropathologic involvement is too advanced to be substantially attenuated by anti-inflammatory treatment." The results were presented in Archives of Neurology October 2006.

Eating walnuts at the end of a meal may help cut the damage that fatty food can do to the arteries, research suggests. It is thought that the nuts are rich in compounds that reduce hardening of the arteries, and keep them flexible. A team from Barcelona's Hospital Clinico recommend eating around eight walnuts a day. The study, which appears in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, also showed walnuts had more health benefits than olive oil.

Halloween tips for the vegan, sugar-free or health-conscious family
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianfamilies/qt/halloweenhelp.htm?nl=1

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianfamilies/tp/KidsParty.htm?nl=1

Tea
Men who drank black tea four times a day for six weeks were found to have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol than a control group who drank a fake tea substitute, the researchers said in a study published in the journal Psychopharmacology. The tea drinkers also reported a greater feeling of relaxation after performing tasks designed to raise stress levels.

Canola Oil
Canola oil may now be sold to consumers as a product that can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, killing half a million people every year.
Canola oil and certain foods made with canola oil are allowed to start making the claim, the Food and Drug Administration. Labels can say that limited evidence suggests eating 19 grams or about 1 1/2 tablespoons of canola oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to its unsaturated fat content, the FDA said. Canola oil should replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories a person eats each day, FDA said.
Canola is a trademarked cultivar of the rapeseed plant from which rapeseed oil is obtained. Also known as "LEAR" oil (for Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed), Canola oil was initially bred in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur Stefansson in the 1970s. "Canola" is a contraction of "Canadian oil, low acid". Compared with sunflower, corn, peanut, and many other oils, Canola has a low ratio of saturated to unsaturated fat. Rapeseed belongs to mustard family, which includes turnip, cabbage, watercress, horseradish, and radish are also members of this family of plants.

Turmeric Benefit
A diet containing curry powder may help protect the aging brain, according a study of elderly Asians in which increased curry powder consumption was associated with better cognitive performance on standard tests, reported in American Journal of Epidemiology, November 1, 2006. Curry powder is a powdered mixture of spices such as roots like turmeric (http://www.herbalgram.org/iherb/expandedcommissione/he096.asp) and ginger, and seeds like coriander, cumin, mustard etc., used in preparing curry, a dish cooked in Indian style seasoned with spices and fresh herbs such as curry leaves (http://www.vepachedu.org/TSJ/April2004.html#Curry_Leaves), coriander leaves etc. Traditionally, a pinch of turmeric powder is a must in any south Indian dish called curry. Curcumin, found in turmeric powder, possesses potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (See also http://www.vedah.net/TSJ/January2006.html#Turmeric). It's known that long-term users of anti-inflammatory drugs have a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, although these agents can have harmful effects in the stomach, liver and kidney, limiting their use in the elderly. Antioxidants, such as vitamin E, have been shown to protect neurons in lab experiments but have had limited success in alleviating cognitive decline in patients with mild-to-moderate dementia.

Nuts and Legumes
A good diet should include a range of food types, and nuts are no exception. For vegetarians and vegans, as well as non-vegetarians, they offer a good source of protein, plus a range of other beneficial vitamins and minerals. Brazil nuts, in particular, are famed for their high selenium content, whilst almonds are a useful source of vitamin E. Nuts come from different families of plants. Peanuts are not nuts. They are actually a legume and come from pods from leguminous family plant.

Almonds are high in vitamin E (24mg per 100g), rich in calcium (240g per 100g) and good source of protein.
Brazil Nuts are high selenium content - 100g contains about 1530mcg of the mineral. Selenium helps immunity and cell growth, and a deficiency has been linked to male fertility problems. Eating a handful a day (three to four nuts) is an ideal way of boosting your intake.
Cashew Nuts are creamy coloured kidney-shaped nuts. They're a good source of potassium, phosphorous, zinc and iron.
Coconut is the white inner flesh of this nut is typically used in desiccated, flaked or creamed forms. Coconut milk is high in vitamin C.
Hazelnuts are relatively low in fat, but high in vitamin E and B, and make a good snack.
Peanuts are also known as monkey nuts and groundnuts. They contain high levels of protein, calcium and vitamin E.
Pecan Nuts are natives of Americas and related to walnuts, but have a milder flavor. They're a good source of zinc and protein.
Pistachio Nuts are native to the Mediterranean and Middle East and their natural color is tinged with green. They contain good amounts of calcium and protein.
Walnuts are high in unsaturated fats, walnuts offer a good supply of vitamins, minerals and protein. They can be cooked, eaten raw or even pickled. See below for a recipe.

Pesticides and Fruits and Vegetables
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a watchdog group with its eye on pesticide use, apples are on top of the heap for being heavily contaminated with pesticides. EWG have come up with a wallet guide that includes the 12 most pesticide tainted fruits and vegetables. The group calls them the dirty dozen and they include:

• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Cherries
• Imported Grapes
• Nectarines
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Raspberries
• Spinach
• Strawberries
• Peaches

Samples have shown that apples carry up to 36 different pesticides. What’s more they are not the dirtiest of the dozen- peaches have earned that ranking, with samples showing combinations of up to 45 different pesticides. The EWG claims that by avoiding these foods, you’ll lower exposures to harmful pesticides by 90 percent. Washing an apple is no longer a guarantee of removing pesticide residues, either, as many of these pesticides have worked their way into the fruit. Perhaps, it is time to change the old adage to ‘an organic apple a day keeps the doctor away."

Watch Your Calorie Intake
A survey of 300 restaurant chefs around the country reveals that taste, looks and customer expectations are what matter when they determine portion size. Only one in six said the calorie content was very important and half said it didn't matter at all. While it may make diners happy to get piles of pasta and mountains of meat, they'll pay the price in pounds, said doctors at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society.

Miscellaneous
Drug Reactions
Accidental overdoses and allergic reactions to prescription drugs were the most frequent cause of serious illnesses, according to the study, the first to reveal the nationwide scope of the problem. People over 65 faced the greatest risks. Harmful reactions to some of the most widely used medicines, from insulin to a common antibiotic, sent more than 700,000 Americans to emergency rooms each year - the estimate was conservative because bad drug reactions are likely often misdiagnosed. The CDC has estimated that about 130 million Americans use prescribed medication every month. U.S. consumers buy far more medicine per person than anywhere else in the world. The project was developed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Hair Discloses Secrets
Researchers found differences in nitrogen and carbon when samples from females at an eating-disorder clinic were compared with hair from females who didn't have a problem. They said they were able to accurately determine the source 80 percent of the time. Just as it can be used to determine if someone has used drugs or has been exposed to harmful amounts of mercury and lead, hair can show what someone has been eating. Doctors and therapists often must rely upon patients to report what and how much they eat, information that can be unreliable. The Brigham Young University research was conducted by faculty in integrative biology, communications, statistics and geology.

Intelligence is Inherited

Intelligence is probably one of the most heritable things. Intelligence of a child is very much determined by the intelligence of the parents. For decades scientists have been looking for a correlation between breastfeeding and intelligence. Breast-fed children are more intelligent than their bottle-fed counterparts, but this has nothing to do with the content of the milk they receive, a study published in the British Medical Journal said. Researchers, who analyzed data from more than 5,000 children and 3,000 mothers in the United States, found that mothers who breast-feed tend to be more intelligent. The researchers found that children who were breast-fed did better on IQ tests. However, they conclude that this was because their mothers were more intelligent, better educated and able to provide a more stimulating home environment. breast-feeding was "definitely the smart thing to do," because of other benefits to both mother and child, including a stronger ability to ward off infections, respiratory illnesses and protection against developing allergies. Of course, intelligent and well-educated mothers breastfeed their children.

TV Causes Autism in Children
Watching too much television in childhood could cause autism, experts have warned.
They are suggesting parents limit their children's viewing - and say the under-twos should be barred from watching TV altogether. Rates of autism are soaring, with ten times as many youngsters diagnosed with the condition as 30 years ago. More than one in 100 British children has autism or a related condition such as Asperger's. Autism charities say the rise is down to better awareness of the condition and improved diagnosis. Others, however, believe the increase is linked to the MMR jab or even to chemicals found in pesticides. The latest study, in the U.S., looked at whether there was a link between rising rates of autism and the increasing availability of children's TV, videos and DVDs. The research team concluded that the results were "awfully suggestive" of a link between watching TV and autism. Many parents reacted angrily to being told they could have harmed their children's health by letting them watch their favorite cartoons. Studies have also shown that older fathers are far more likely than younger ones to have autistic children. Children born to men of 40 and over are nearly six times more likely to suffer from autism than those born to men under 30.

Down Syndrome
I is a fact that as women get older, they are more likely to have a child with Down Syndrome. However, other factors also play a role. According to new research in Germany, the risk of a child being born with Down Syndrome is also dependent on how many existing siblings the child has and how big the gap is between the child and his immediate preceding sibling. The research is published in Springer’s journal Naturwissenschaften. Down Syndrome rates were significantly higher in older mothers in their first pregnancy than in older mothers who had already had children. Only late first pregnancies were more likely to produce a Down Syndrome baby, not late second or third pregnancies. In addition, the larger the gap between pregnancies, the higher the rates of Down Syndrome. Down Syndrome is the result of the genetic abnormality trisomy 21. Trisomy has been the focus of extensive medical research but the exact mechanism is still not understood. One feature common to most trisomies is an increase in frequency of trisomic pregnancies with increasing maternal age. There is strong evidence for uterine selection against genetically disadvantaged embryos. However, as women approach the menopause and the risk of future infertility increases, this selection, or filtering stringency, is expected to relax.

Playtime
For healthy kids, more unstructured playtime may be just what the doctor ordered. That's what the American Academy of Pediatrics is saying in a new report. The report finds that spontaneous, free playtime is being sacrificed as U.S. kids are becoming increasingly "overscheduled." One downside of this is that constant, scheduled activities can lead to higher stress levels for parents and children, and even contribute to depression in kids, the report says. Plus, numerous studies have found that unstructured play is important for healthy childhood development, allowing children to become creative, to develop their own interests and problem-solving skills, and to relate better to other people.

Baby Massage
Baby massage is an old eastern Indian tradition of massaging babies from newborn. Some cultures say it stimulates their survival mechanisms and help them resist disease. It is now widely accepted that giving your baby a regular (daily) massage aids good health and increases bonding and a whole range of benefits, including the following, both for you and for your child:
fosters more trust and confidence in you and your baby,
induces a more relaxed state in your baby,
encourages muscular coordination,
calms the emotions and relieves trauma,
helps promote sleep,
stimulates your baby’s immune, circulatory and respiratory systems,
aids digestion and elimination,
is a natural response to your baby’s inherent need for tactile stimulation,
visibly improves the texture of the skin,
helps with colic, constipation and wind, and
helps the parent to communicate better, being more aware of the baby’s body language.

However, do not wake your baby for a massage. Never massage if the baby’s body language is telling you not to. Do not massage if your baby is feeling poorly. It is best to wait 48 hours after immunization. International Association of Infant Massage.

Tuberculosis in Europe
Tuberculosis, a respiratory illness spread by coughing and sneezing, is the world's deadliest infectious disease that is curable. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.7 million people died from TB in 2004. Of the 20 countries in the world with the highest rates of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, 14 are in "the European region," according to a recent global survey by the WHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. European countries also have the highest rate of extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis known as XDR-TB.

In Europe, 50 people get sick with TB and eight people die of the disease every hour, said Pierpaolo de Colombani, a WHO tuberculosis expert. About 15 percent of all TB cases in Europe are multi-drug resistant. But the incidence of TB varies widely from West to East. For instance, Sweden has four new cases per 100,000 people a year, compared with 177 for Tajikistan.
The rate of incidence of TB in the Western European countries that belonged to the EU before it enlarged in 2004 is 13 cases per 100,000 people every year. That number doubles in the 10 new EU members. It doubles again to 53 in Romania and Bulgaria and yet again to 98 in the former-Soviet republics farther East. But migration and EU expansion could change things.

Health and Nutrition

Issue 106