News summary

Clue to controlling appetite

Research in the US suggests that beginning a meal with a salad can lead people to eat fewer calories overall at that meal. Dr Barbara Rolls, of Pennsylvania State University, says existing research had shown that eating low-calorie but filling foods can reduce the amount of food people eat during the rest of the meal. Dr Rolls? investigations show that women who eat a salad containing 50 calories eat 7 per cent less during their meal than when they did not have the salad. She notes too that portion size seem to be a factor: study subjects offered a 100-calorie salad in different portion sizes ate less during their main course after the larger portion. “It’s a whole sequence of cues, basically all leading you to think you’ve eaten more,” says Dr Rolls.
(Reuters Health Online)
www.reutershealth.com

Fats and gallstones

Men whose diet is relatively high in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are at a reduced risk of developing gallstones, according to research in the US. Scientists at the University of Kentucky Medical Center say the risk of gallstone disease among men who have the highest unsaturated fat intake is 18 per cent lower than in those with the lowest levels. “Although the optimal amount of unsaturated fat intake is still unknown, our findings support the notion that, in dietary practice, a higher intake of…unsaturated fats can confer health benefits,” they conclude.
(Reuters Health Online)
www.reutershealth.com

Snack food fat levels

Research indicates that sandwiches sold in the leading shops contain excessive amounts of fat. Food Standards Agency guidelines allow for about 86g of fat for the average man, and 61g for the average woman, per day. However, some pre-packed sandwiches, in particular those based on cheese, contain as much as two-thirds of that figure in a single serving, according to DailyDietTracker, a diet and fitness website which carried out the survey.
(The Independent)
www.independent.co.uk

Food extract “enhances cancer drug”

Scientists in Canada say a compound derived from fruit and vegetables could enhance the effects of a drug used against bladder and bowel cancer. Mitomycin C, which damages DNA in tumour cells and prevents them from growing, is activated by enzymes produced naturally in the body. It can cause severe side effects such as anaemia in high doses. Now scientists at the Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology say the use of dimethylfumarate (DMF) in tandem with mitomycin C in mice produced better results than the drug did alone. Dr Asher Begleiter says the finding shows that patients may be effectively treated with smaller doses than at present.
(Reuters Health Online)
www.reutershealth.com

US guidelines challenged

Cholesterol reduction guidelines issued in July by the US National Institutes of Health are being challenged by a consumer organisation. The Center for Science in the Public Interest wants the NIH to appoint an independent review panel. This follows the revelation that eight of the guidelines? nine authors failed to disclose financial associations with the manufacturers of cholesterol reducing agents. The new guidance recommends reducing the threshold for treating low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels from 130 mg/dl (3.4 mmol/l) to 100 mg/dl for patients without heart disease and from 100 mg/dl to 70 mg/dl for those with existing heart disease. However, primary prevention is unproved even in patients with multiple risk factors?including diabetes, according to the CSPI.
(BMJ Online)
www.bmj.com

School meal improvements in the US

The education authorities in the US are embracing healthy eating in schools, with more than half of 180 district-level food service officials at the recent annual meeting of the School Nutrition Association reporting that their schools were making significant improvements in nutrition. Under the current regulations, the federal government subsidises district food costs as long as meals adhere to specified guidelines for fat content and other factors. Districts may offer unsubsidised lunches that are not part of the federal programme, and where less nutritious foods are permitted.
(The Washington Post Online)
www.washingtonpost.com

Scepticism about new diet

A low carbohydrate diet that includes coconut oil is the way to lose weight, according to the author of a book on a new regime, but science has yet to be convinced. Cherie Calbom?s The Coconut Diet: The Secret Ingredient that Helps you Lose Weight While you Eat your Favourite Foods claims that the oil is effective because it contains medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) which are metabolised quickly, converting fats to energy rather than letting them be stored. However, some experts are worried about the amount of saturated fat in such a diet as Calbom recommends. In addition, says Jackie Lowden, a dietician at the British Dietetic Association, “MCTs are good for you, but there’s such a small quantity of them in coconut oil that I can’t see there being any benefits once you’ve taken all that fat into consideration. The only way I can see it working is that it fills you up and stops you snacking.”
(The Daily Telegraph) www.telegraph.co.uk