Nutrition Facts and Fun

     I discovered a new website I would like to share with you.  It has a library of short, easy to understand, video segments on various published nutritional research topics.  Dr. Michael Greger, M.D.,  "scours the world of nutrition-related research, as published in scientific journals."  He is licensed as a general practitioner M.D. specializing in clinical nutrition.  The site is still in beta-testing mode, but will soon be adding a new video each day. 

                                      http://www.nutritionfacts.org/
  
     Here are a couple of interesting facts I picked up just this morning:

     Anti-Cancer vegetables:  One study pitted 34 types of vegetables against 8 types of cancer cells measuring tumor proliferation.  The take home data was to eat a variety of vegetables as each targets different cancers.  Eat a portfolio of vegetables.
     Some vegetables, however, do target multiple types of cancers.  Of the salad greens, spinach came in number one and radicchio second.  Beets, also, slow cancer cell proliferation by 50%. 
     But the two families of vegetables absolutely essential for cancer prevention are the cruciferous and allium vegetables.  The one clear winner was garlic which stopped cancer proliferation completely in 7 of 8 types of cancers.

     Aspirin levels in plant foods:  Aspirin is widely distributed in the plant kingdom.  Vegetarians naturally have low levels of aspirin in their blood, sometimes as much as those who take aspirin as a drug.  However the drug aspirin increases the risks of bleeding, as with stroke.  The vegetables with aspirin do not.

     Thousands of vegans studied:  The average BMI (body mass index, a measurement based on weight and height) in this country is 28.8, which falls into the overweight category.  Flexitarians, those eating animal products just occasionally, were also in the overweight BMI group.  Vegetarians, those eating no meat, were also overweight, but healthier than the flexitarians.  Vegans, those eating no animal products of any kind, were the only group falling into the normal BMI group with healthy weights. 
     The researchers thought that possibly the vegans exercised more than the other groups, and did study for that.  In actuality, the vegans in this group exercised less than the other groups.  The vegan group individuals weighed, on average, 40 pounds less than those in the flexitarian group.

     Gut flora and obesity:   Only one in ten cells in your body is actually human.  90% are bacterial.  The human colon is one of the most biodense in the world.  It has effects on hormonal balance, the immune system, and the energy systems of the body.  Researchers compared the colon bacteria of vegans versus that of omnivores.  The vegan colon bacteria had a small capacity for energy gain, maybe a 2% difference. 2% less calories were returned to the body, i.e. 2% more calories were excreted.  Over the course of a year this could mean 5 pounds less of weight gain for a vegan versus an omnivore. This 5 pounds is about the same amount as the average annual weight gain due to aging and changes in set point, and can counteract that gain.

     Interesting research.  My 10% human cells and I are signing out for today.