Strawberries may fend off Alzheimer's

Rush University Medical Center, July 28, 2022

 

Could strawberries as a snack or in your cereal, salads or smoothie help protect your brain from Alzheimer's? Maybe so, according to a new study from researchers at RUSH.

RUSH researchers found that a bioactive compound found in strawberries called pelargonidin may be associated with fewer neurofibrillary tau tangles in the brain. Tau tangles are one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, which is caused by abnormal changes with tau proteins that accumulate in the brain. The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

"We suspect the anti-inflammatory properties of pelargonidin may decrease overall neuroinflammation, which may reduce cytokine production," said Dr. Julie Schneider, author of the study. Schneider is associate professor and neuropathologist in the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Among berries, strawberries are the most abundant source of pelargonidin.

 

 

Florida Seaweed may Hold Promise as Protector Against Cancer

 University of Florida College of Pharmacy, July 24, 2022

 

Among all cancers, new cases of prostate cancer are the most prevalent in the United States. While there are numerous tips for preventing and even reversing prostate cancer, one new study suggests a seaweed found off the coast of Florida could hold the key to preventing this and other forms of cancer.

The news potentially brings the U.S. closer to Asian countries in prostate cancer prevalence—countries that incidentally have high rates of seaweed consumption. Researchers with the University of Florida screened several different seaweeds, searching for one with the most cancer-protective promise. They found it in a common green algae known as sea lettuce.

“We now have scientific evidence that this seaweed raises the body’s antioxidant defense system and therefore might potentially prevent a number of diseases, including cancer,” said Hendrik Luesch, Ph.D., lead research and associate professor of medicinal chemistry in the UF College of Pharmacy. “This mechanism appears to be most relevant to prostate cancer.”

“Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables protect the body against these free radicals, mostly through a scavenging process of elimination. Rather than simply removing the damaging free radicals through this direct reaction, compounds in sea lettuce worked through an indirect mechanism, Luesch found. This process increases the levels of a suite of antioxidant enzymes and boosts antioxidants in cells, producing longer-lasting protection. Regulated by stretches of DNA called antioxidant response elements, the enzymes prevent oxidative damage and inflammation.”

Luesch compares the possibilities of sea lettuce compounds to the proven benefits of sulforaphane in broccoli, an enzyme that works through similar methods to prevent damage from oxidative stress and cancer.

 

Fast food diet before pregnancy can impact breast milk and baby's health, say scientists

University of Cambridge, July 27, 2022

A diet high in sugar and fat such as burgers, fries and fizzy drinks can negatively affect a new mother's breast milk and baby's health even before the child is conceived.

The new study using lab mice has found that even relatively short-term consumption of a fast food diet impacts women's health, reducing their ability to produce nutritional breast milk after giving birth. This can affect the newborn's well-being, as well as increasing the risk of both mother and child developing potentially fatal conditions such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes in later life.

Even mothers who appear to be a healthy weight can be suffering from hidden issues such as a fatty liver—which may be seen in people who are overweight or obese—from eating a diet heavy in processed foods, which tend to be high in fat and sugar. This can lead to advanced scarring (cirrhosis) and liver failure.

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