October 29th, 2011 by Medgadget in Research
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Researchers have successfully tested the abilities of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) to function as a so called “magnetic tongue”. Antonio Randazzo, Anders Malmendal, Ettoro Novellino and their team reported their findings in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Sensing the smell and flavor of food is a very complex physiological and cognitive process. A food’s components and the taster’s experience at the moment of tasting influence the process. To be able to objectively measure the sensory descriptor, one needs human sensory tests not involving persons as taste testers. Examples of human sensory tests currently used are the electronic nose and the electronic tongue. Current instruments can only Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*
October 5th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in News
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If you have watched any news over the past week you know there is a listeria outbreak from contaminated cantaloupes that has been traced to Jensen Farms in Colorado. The CDC has confirmed 72 illnesses, including 13 deaths linked to the melons and three other deaths may be involved. By now most of the cantaloupes should be gone as they usually last only a couple of weeks. The recalled cantaloupes were shipped between July 29 and Sept 10.
Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. It causes fever, muscle aching and sometimes diarrhea. It feels like a bad flu with headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and in severe cases, convulsions. As with many infections; babies, pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems and older adults are more likely to have severe illness. There are about Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
September 22nd, 2011 by Elaine Schattner, M.D. in Opinion
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Last week I wrote a simple post on eating yogurt with fresh fruit for lunch. It wasn’t until later that I realized why it’s a medical lesson.
It happens that yesterday morning I was up and out early. I saw a former colleague walking along the street. He’d gained weight, and walked slowly. I thought about how hard he works, and what a good doctor I know him to be. And yet any citizen or patient might size him up as heavy, maybe even unhealthy.
The problem is not that he’s uneducated or can’t afford nutritious foods. He knows fully about the health benefits of losing weight and exercise. The problem is the stress and long hours of a busy, conscientious physician’s lifestyle.
When I worked as a practicing doctor and researcher at the hospital, I rarely ate a nutritious breakfast or lunch. My morning meal, too often, consisted of Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Medical Lessons*
August 17th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Health Tips, Research
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Attention, pregnant women! The foods you eat now might influence your babies’ palates after they are born. New research published in the journal Pediatrics, shows that the fetus actually drinks amniotic fluid in the womb. The amniotic fluid is flavored by the foods the mother has recently eaten and flavors can be transmitted to the amniotic fluid and mother’s milk.
It makes sense that as the baby is developing, memories are being created by a sense of taste. Could what a mother eats influence food preferences and odor preferences for life? Researchers fed babies cereal flavored with carrot juice vs. water. They showed that babies who experienced daily carrots in amniotic fluid or mother’s milk ate more carrot-flavored cereal and made less negative faces when eating it.
Julie Mennella studies taste in infants at the Monell Chemical Senses Center (Philadelphia) and she says Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
July 24th, 2011 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Health Tips, Opinion
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For years I have touted the health benefits of the “Mediterranean Diet” and encouraged patients to eat like the Europeans. Fresh farm vegetables, olive oil, fish and red wine have been linked with longevity and good health. I just read in NPR news that young Italians are forgoing the eating patterns of their elders and are imitating the “U.S. diet”. The result is soaring obesity, just like in the United States.
According the the article, young Italians ages 6-12 are sitting in front of the TV and are eating fast foods and soda. In just three generations, the eating habits and activity of kids has changed from their healthy grandparents. Italian health officials say obesity is reaching epidemic proportions.
Part of the diet changes are a result of Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
