Nutritional benefits round out Watermelon's scrumptious taste

David Templeton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Watermelon may be the best picnic dessert nature ever created with its sweet juice cleverly bound inside that spongy red (sometimes yellow) matrix, and fully protected by psychedelic green rind.

Talk about a party orb.

But much like the thespian whose good looks overshadow brilliant acting skills, the watermelon's sweet, colorful qualities long have undercut its attributes as a wholly nutritious fruit whose tasty powers hydrate as well as heal.

And no matter how you slice it, this green cannonball of nutrition is attracting scientific attention as an elixir that reduces muscle pain after workouts and a whole lot more. Studies also have shown beneficial effects on arterial plaque in cardiovascular disease, prostate and other cancers, erectile dysfunction, menopause, acid reflux and potentially Alzheimer's disease, among others.

A recent study, for example, found that "watermelon extract supplementation reduces blood pressure and arterial stiffness," in older adults in cold weather, so it "can prevent the progression of hypertension and the hypertensive response to cold exposure," said the author Arturo Figueroa-Galvez, associate professor at Florida State University's department of nutrition, food and exercise sciences.

Another of his studies found that the supplement also reduced ankle blood pressure in obese adults with hypertension. Studies by others found that watermelon compounds reduced inflammation in prostate, gastrointestinal and other cancers, while a study published recently showed that lycopene, which provides the red pigmentation in watermelon and tomatoes, potentially reduced the inflammatory cascade of Alzheimer's disease.

In April yet another study found lycopene reduced reflux disease in animals, in part, by inhibiting acid pathways in the stomach.

"Watermelon is a pretty well-documented source of vitamin C, vitamin A and potassium," said Penelope Perkins-Veazie, a professor of horticulture in the Plants for Human Health Institute at North Carolina State University. She said she's been studying watermelon nutrients for 15 years.

Most noteworthy are watermelon's two "secondary metabolites," citrulline and lycopene, which have been the focus of recent research. Citrulline, a nonessential amino acid, is abundant in watermelon, yellow watermelons having four times that of red watermelon.

As it turns out, citrulline is involved in producing nitric oxide, a potent molecule that relaxes blood vessels and lowers blood pressure, "with benefits to the brain, heart and in a cycle of amino acids necessary to properly flush the kidneys," said Perkin's Veazie, who has a Ph.D. in horticulture.

Lycopene is actually more abundant and more easily available in watermelon than tomatoes, where it's bound up in cellular walls, even if tomatoes draw more research attention due to their importance in the American diet. Perkins-Veazie said lycopene shows clear benefits in reducing plaque buildup in arteries and preventing prostate cancer.

Botanically, watermelon is a fruit in the same cucurbit family as pumpkins, squash and cucumbers, which often are mistaken as vegetables.

The longstanding bias against watermelon stems from its 21 grams of carbohydrates, mostly sugars, in every two-cup serving, with only a single gram of fiber. "People are concerned about the sugar, but compared to processed products it tastes sweet but isn't loaded with sugar," Perkins-Veazie said. "It's counterintuitive, but there is an enzyme present to regulate the glucose."

Despite the sugars (equally divided among sucrose, glucose and fructose), two cups of watermelon have only 80 calories with no fat, sodium or cholesterol. "Using the same watermelon extract used in my previous human studies, watermelon supplementation did not increase body weight and improved blood lipids in rats," Dr. Figueroa-Galvez said.

Watermelon originated in southern Africa and became nature's canteen. Rather than transport water long distances, travelers took watermelons, which are 92 percent water and don't begin rotting for three weeks.

Watermelon's key season is July 1 through Labor Day, with a tag team of suppliers from Florida in April, followed by Texas and Georgia, before California supplies the nation with watermelons through October. During winter months, Mexico and Guatemala are the source.

Stephanie Barlow, spokeswoman for the National Watermelon Promotion Board, said the fruit offers consumers health, value and versatility all year-round, all parts being edible, including the rind and seeds.

"We're really focusing on health," she said. "All pre-packaged foods have a smattering of health claims so our health message has to be the strongest one."

There are 1,200 varieties of watermelon grown in 96 countries, she said, noting that square ones are being grown in square containers in Japan so they fit into smaller refrigerators. There are even a few orange watermelons.

The 100 seeds in a watermelon are heavier than the flesh, she said, and act like marbles, damaging the flesh and causing them to rot more quickly. That helps explain why in the market today, she said, "It's a landslide majority of seedless watermelons."

(c)2015 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Spice up your diet for a longer life, study suggests

Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times

If you like eating spicy foods, researchers have some good news: You're likely to have more years to enjoy them.

Compared to people who ate spicy foods less than once a week, those who at them at least three to five times per week were 14 percent less likely to die while they were being tracked by the international research team. In addition, those who ate spicy meals once or twice a week were 10 percent less likely to die during the study period, according to a report published this week in the medical journal BMJ.

Scientists have long recognized that spices have beneficial health effects. In particular, capsaicin -- the ingredient that gives chili peppers their bite -- has been shown to fight inflammation, high blood pressure, obesity and cancer, among other ills. Experts also speculate that the antibacterial properties of spices might improve health by influencing the community of microbes in the gut.

To try to get a better handle on some of these questions, an international group of researchers turned to 487,375 people who were participating in the China Kadoorie Biobank study, an effort that aims to track the causes of chronic diseases in the world's most populous country. All of the participants were between the ages of 30 and 79 when they entered the study, and they were tracked for an average of 7.2 years.

Upon joining the study, the volunteers answered detailed questions about their health history, lifestyle choices and eating habits -- including how often they ate spicy foods. The researchers synced up their answers with death records to see whether they could find any correlations between spice consumption and causes of death.

Overall, they found that the more often spicy foods were eaten, the more likely they were to be alive at the end of 2013. This was true even after taking age, gender and other factors into account.

But not all causes of death appeared to be influenced by spice consumption, according to the study. Compared to those who ate spicy foods less than once a week, those who ate them six or seven days a week were 29 percent less likely to die of respiratory diseases, 22 percent less likely to die of ischemic heart disease, 8 percent less likely to die of cancer, and 14 percent less likely to die of all other causes.

When the researchers analyzed women separately from men, they found that women who ate spicy foods most often were 45 percent less likely to die of infections compared to women who ate them less than once a week. There was no such link for men.

Nor did the researchers see any association between spice consumption and the risk of death due to diabetes or cerebrovascular disease in either men or women.

The source of dietary spiciness seemed to make a difference, the researchers found. Among the study volunteers, those who reported eating fresh chili peppers saw a stronger link between the frequency of spice consumption and the risk of death due to cancer, heart disease and diabetes than did volunteers who ate only dried chili pepper, chili sauce, chili oil or other spices, according to the study. The difference could be because of the fact that fresh chili pepper contains more capsaicin and nutrients like potassium and vitamins C, A, K and B6, the researchers noted.

It's possible that at least some of the association between spicy foods and health could be because of the fact people who are already ill might prefer foods that are bland. But the researchers noted that they did not include people in the analysis if they had cancer, heart disease or a history of stroke at the start of the study.

Although the study included nearly half a million volunteers who were tracked for a total of 3.5 million person-years, the researchers emphasized that they couldn't show a causal relationship between eating spicy foods and living longer. Still, they said the findings from this and other studies could help scientists devise functional health foods, including herbal supplements.

(c)2015 Los Angeles Times

Many experts optimistic about FDA-approved weight-loss balloons

by Ameet Sachdev, Chicago Tribune

There's a new weapon in the fight against obesity: balloons

For many struggling with their weight, a new device has been approved that will give them another medical alternative to treatments such as prescription drugs and surgery.

It involves inserting a small balloon into the stomach through the mouth. The saline-filled balloon is meant to be a temporary measure to curb the appetite and help patients lose weight.

The federal Food and Drug Administration recently approved two intragastric balloons made by different companies in the space of two weeks. Both are aimed at adults with body mass indexes (BMI) of 30 to 40 who couldn't lose weight through diet and exercise.

The potential marketplace is huge. An estimated 45 million to 50 million adults have BMIs of 30 to 40, said Dr. John Morton, president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

The arrival of weight-loss balloons reflects a broader shift in attitudes about people who struggle with their weight. For so long, overweight people have dealt with the guilt and shame of those extra pounds, in addition to health problems like diabetes. That's why weight loss is such a big business.

But it's a business built around self-treatment, leading to the rise of Weight Watchers and other diet companies, weight-loss supplements, health clubs and diet books. The questionable results from the commercial options have begun to change the widespread perception that obesity is simply the result of eating too much or exercising too little.

The medical community took a major step toward reducing the stigma of obesity when the American Medical Association in 2013 officially recognized it as a disease.

With that classification, the pharmaceutical and medical device industry has started investing more in possible treatments. The FDA has approved three weight-loss drugs since 2012. Apollo Endosurgery and ReShape Medical submitted balloons for FDA review last year.

There is a lot of enthusiasm about the balloons among some gastroenterologists because using them is less invasive than weight-loss surgery like gastric bypass. The patient is under mild sedation and the balloon is placed without surgery through a tube inserted in the mouth. The balloon should be removed after six months.

Dr. Rami Lutfi at Presence St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago will be the first physician in the Midwest to offer Apollo Endosurgery's balloon, Orbera. The company paid for him to be trained on how to insert and remove the balloon and how to provide the necessary follow-up care to assure weight loss.

"People still fear surgery," Lutfi said. "The advantage of the balloon is there's no cutting."

But just because there's no cutting and stitching doesn't mean the balloon is risk-free. Patients can suffer severe nausea and vomiting in the first days after placement. Other potential risks include ulcers and balloon deflation.

In clinical data cited by the FDA in its Orbera approval, patients lost an average of 21.8 pounds (10.2 percent of their body weight) after six months, better than the 7-pound loss in patients who only tried diet and exercise. Some patients gained some weight after the device was removed but maintained an average of 19.4 pounds of weight loss nine months after placement.

The ReShape balloon, shaped like a dumbbell, is intended for adults who also have an obesity-related condition like diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Patients with the device lost an average of 14.3 pounds in a clinical study.

But the devices won't be cheap. The Orbera procedure, including a 12-month diet and exercise program, will be $6,000 to $8,000, said Dennis McWilliams, founder of Apollo Endosurgery. And at least initially, he doesn't expect insurance to cover the cost.

The gastric balloon is not a new idea. The FDA first approved a weight-loss balloon in 1985. As now, there was a lot of excitement about the development. But the manufacturer stopped selling it three years later because of problems with spontaneous deflation and questions about its long-term effectiveness.

McWilliams said Orbera has a track record of safety overseas. The device has been used in more than 200,000 patients in about 80 countries, he said.

However, some remain skeptical of the balloons' potential for long-term weight management. A 2007 study found that "compared with conventional management, intragastric balloon did not show convincing evidence of a greater weight loss."

Morton is optimistic that the balloons will fare better than their predecessor from 30 years ago. He views the balloon as a bridge between weight-loss drugs and surgery, similar to a cardiac stent to treat heart disease.

"I can't say it's for everyone," Morton said, "But for the motivated patient it can work."

(c)2015 Chicago Tribune

Multivitamins and supplements: To take or not to take?

From Mayo Clinic News Network

"People ask me this question quite often: 'Should I be taking certain vitamins and supplements?' And the answer is, quite honestly, 'It depends,'" says Anne Harguth, registered dietitian at Mayo Clinic Health System.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, you should meet your nutritional needs primarily through diet. For some people, however, taking certain supplements may be the best way to get nutrients they may be lacking through diet. So, Harguth cautions, it's important to understand the exact impact supplements will have on your body before getting out your wallet.

Whole food is not to be replaced by supplements, as supplements cannot replicate all the health benefits of whole foods. For example, fruits and vegetables carry many different nutrients that provide health benefits to the human body. So, depending on your diet and current physical state, spending money on supplements may not be necessary. Listed below are Mayo Clinic's three main benefits to whole foods vs. supplements:

Greater nutrition. Whole foods are complex, containing a variety of the micronutrients your body needs -- not just one. An orange, for example, provides vitamin C plus some beta carotene, calcium and other nutrients. It's likely these compounds work together to produce their beneficial effect.

Essential fiber. Whole foods, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes, provide dietary fiber. Most high-fiber foods are also packed with other essential nutrients. Fiber, as part of a healthy diet, can help prevent certain diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and it can also help manage constipation.

Protective substances. Whole foods contain other substances important for good health. For example, fruits and vegetables contain naturally occurring substances called phytochemicals, which may help protect you against cancer, heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Many are also good sources of antioxidants -- substances that slow down oxidation, a natural process that leads to cell and tissue damage.

Vitamin and mineral supplementation is recommended for some people with certain conditions. Supplements may be appropriate for people who:

-- Don't eat well or consume less than 1,600 calories a day.

-- Are a vegan or a vegetarian who eats a limited variety of foods.

-- Don't obtain two to three servings of fish a week. If you have difficulty achieving this amount, some experts recommend adding a fish oil supplement to your daily regimen.

-- Are a woman who experiences heavy bleeding during your menstrual period.

-- Have a medical condition that affects how your body absorbs or uses nutrients, such as chronic diarrhea, food allergies, food intolerance, or a disease of the liver, gallbladder, intestines or pancreas.

-- Have had surgery on your digestive tract and are not able to digest and absorb nutrients properly.

"To sum it up, if you're a pretty healthy person with a well-balanced diet containing a wide variety of foods -- including fruits, vegetables, reduced fat dairy products, whole grains, legumes, lean meats and fish -- you most likely don't need supplements," adds Harguth. "Talk to your health care team and dietitian if you have questions or concerns."

(Mayo Clinic News Network is your source for health news, advances in research and wellness tips.)

(c)2015 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Happy Father's Day to all Father's

FAT THAT IS GOOD FOR THE BRAIN!!!

Fat is essential to brain health

Did you know that brain tissue is made up of nearly 60% fat?(1) A diet low in fat actually robs your brain of the materials it needs to function properly.

I’m not just talking about the essential fatty acids and omega 3’s that are making all the headlines (fats found in food like salmon, avocados and nuts) but also some of the saturated fats which we have been told for years to avoid, including natural animal fats.

Essential vitamins such as A, D, E and K are not water soluble and require fat to get transported and absorbed by the body. These vitamins are crucial for brain health and many of our vital organs.

Vitamin D is now being widely touted as an important element in decreasing susceptibility to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, depression and other brain disorders and omega 3 is said to sharpen your cognitive function as well as to improve your mood.

HAVE YOU EATEN THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF FAT TODAY?

By JUDY MOULAND

With all the different dietary advice flying around these days, how can you even begin to know what food choices to make?

Take fat for example. For years it has been painted as an evil monster and the root cause of high cholesterol, heart disease and obesity. But scientific studies now show that there are many benefits of eating more fat, and it’s time we started rethinking this essential part of our dietary regime.

In short, fat has gotten a bad rap.

In Grain Brain Dr. David Perlmutter describes our ancestor’s diet as being 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% carbs compared to our current diet of  60% carbs, 20% protein and 20% fat. Dr. Perlmutter goes on to explain how the cornerstone of many of today’s health conditions, including Alzheimer’s, ADHD, depression, anxiety and chronic headaches are linked to inflammation in the body and brain triggered by carbs.

Other studies tell us that the obesity epidemic, which has doubled in the last 50 years, is not because of us eating too much fat but because of our consumption of readily available carbs and sugar, including glucose found in fruits and juices.

Excessive glucose is converted by the body and stored as fat. Gary Taubes in Why We Get Fat  says that “if the world had never invented cigarettes, lung cancer would be rare disease. Likewise, if we did not eat such high carb diets, obesity would be a rare condition.”

So fat is not the culprit it is believed to be!!!