A multinational team of scientists has discovered that the nerve cells in the retina – and perhaps other cells of the central nervous system and brain – depend heavily on vitamin C to function properly. Researchers said special receptors in the brain, called GABA-type receptors, act as an inhibitory "brake" on excitatory neurons in the brain. These receptors in the retinal cells stop functioning properly when vitamin C is removed. It's likely that GABA receptors elsewhere in the brain also require vitamin C to function properly, researchers said. Because vitamin C is a major natural antioxidant, it may preserve the receptors and cells from premature breakdown. The researchers said the findings could have implications for other diseases, like glaucoma and epilepsy, which are caused by the dysfunction of nerve cells in the retina and brain.

The Stepan Company, a provider of food and other types of chemicals, said it has acquired the nutritional fat products of Lipid Nutrition, LLC, and will integrate them into the food and health specialties product lines of its subsidiary Stepan Specialty Products, LLC. The product family, which will include the Clarinol, Marinol and Pinnothin product lines, will be renamed Stepan Lipid Nutrition. Clarinol Conjugated Linoleic Acid is a dietary supplement used to reduce body fat and increase lean muscle mass. Marinol concentrated omega-3 triglycerides are used in clinical and infant nutritional products to promote cardiovascular and neurological health. Pinnothin, derived from pine nuts, functions as an appetite suppressant.

Dairy company Tnuva has introduced a children’s milk product in Israel that contains increased levels of vitamin D and twice the calcium of conventional milk. Both vitamin D and calcium are essential nutrients for growth and bone health in children. A glass of Tnuva’s Milk V contains 400 mg calcium. Milk V is made with LycoRed’s CapsuDar vitamin D solution, which is structured for pasteurizing and performs well under a wide range of pH. A proprietary beadlet technology cross-links the vitamin D inside a gelatin-based matrix, protecting it from oxidation. Tnuva says it led the milk market in Israel in 2010 with 72.4 percent market share.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced he will introduce a bill requiring the FDA to regulate the number of beverages and foods being marketed as dietary supplements, often taregting young adults. The Dietary Supplement Labeling Act would improve the information available to consumers and “curb the prevalence of drinks and foods that are masquerading as dietary supplements” that may contain potentially dangerous ingredients not approved by the FDA. Durbin said makers of dietary supplements that contain additives currently do not have to prove their products are safe before putting them on the market. A key provision of the bill is a requirement that the FDA define what a conventional food is so foods marketed as health aids could be better regulated.

Any adverse effects reported for taking large amounts of omega-3 fatty acid supplements are probably due to problems with the intake of oily substances, rather than with the intake of EPA or DHA, a Norwegian food safety (VKM) has ruled. The panel reviewed safety data on EPA and DHA , two forms of omega-3 fatty acids, finding that levels as high as 6.9 grams a day led to no unfavorable effects. Scientists looked at dosages and effects for an array of conditions such as bleeding times, lipid peroxidation, inflammation and immunity, glucose metabolism and gastrointestinal disturbances. “Negative health effects regarding gastrointestinal function … have been reported, but seem to be associated with intake of an oily substance” rather than with EPA or DHA,” the committee concluded.

U.S. researchers have found that fisetin, a flavonoid that occurs abundantly in strawberries and in other fruits and vegetables, lessens complications of diabetes and could be used to treat other medical conditions. Earlier research has shown that fisetin promotes survival of neurons grown in culture and enhances memory in healthy mice. The new study demonstrates in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes that fisetin prevents both kidney and brain complications. Diabetic mice fed a fisetin-enriched diet remained diabetic, but acute kidney enlargement seen in untreated mice was reversed. High urine protein levels, a sign of kidney disease, also fell. Researchers said the therapeutic effect was associated with reduced levels of proteins known as advanced glycation end-products-or AGEs.

Children who see a lot of television ads for unhealthy food are more likely to want to eat high-fat and high-sugar foods, according to a study by British researchers. For the study, researchers showed 281 children aged six to 13 years old five minutes of commercials for toys and then snacks and fast foods before an episode of a popular TV cartoon. The children were then asked to pick the foods they would like to eat from lists of various branded and unbranded food items. The researchers found that children were more likely to choose unhealthy (fat- and carbohydrate-rich) foods after watching the food commercials. And children who watched more than 21 hours of television a week were more likely to be affected by the food ads.

A British study of the role played by vitamin E (tocopherols) in preventing cardiovascular disease has found that the antioxidant activity of alpha (α)- and gamma (γ) -tocopherols is contradictory, depending on the type of lipoprotein involved. Both types of tocopherols protected against oxidation with very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad cholesterol”). But they actually promoted oxidation when in contact with high density lipoprotein (HDL). The researchers suggest that this conflicting activity could explain why previous studies testing vitamin E supplementation “have not been able to display cardioprotective effects.”

U.S. researchers who analyzed data from a clinical trial involving women with a history of non-melanoma skin cancers found that those who took calcium combined with vitamin D reduced their risk of developing the more dangerous cancer known as melanoma by as much as 57 percent. Non-melanoma skin cancers, such as basal cell or squamous cell cancers, are the most common forms of skin cancer. The researchers cautioned, however, that a daily dose of 1,000 mg of calcium plus 400 IU of vitamin D does not protect against skin cancer in women without such a history. They suggested that the reason for the lack of protective effect may be the low level of vitamin D given to the patients in the trial.

Supplementation with high levels of vitamin D – as much as ten times the recommended daily amount – during pregnancy has been found to be both safe and effective in raising circulating vitamin D to optimum levels, new U.S. research has found. The randomized controlled trial, which involved 350 healthy women who were between 12 and 16 weeks into their pregnancies, was designed to test which daily dosage – 400 IU, 2,000 IU, or 4,000 IU – would sustain optimum vitamin D levels in the blood. They found that women who took the highest level of vitamin D were more likely to achieve and sustain desired levels of circulating vitamin D throughout their pregnancy, without any safety issues.

Researchers who analyzed health and diet data from 474 participants in a longitudinal aging study found that diet soft drink consumption was associated with increased waist circumference in humans. A second study in mice found aspartame raised fasting blood sugar levels in diabetes-prone mice. Taken together, the studies suggest that people who turn to diet beverages and other foods containing sugar substitutes as a weight loss measure may be getting the opposite result. In the human study, diet soft drink users, as a group, experienced 70 percent greater increases in waist circumference compared with non-users. Findings of the animal syudy suggest that heavy aspartame exposure might potentially directly contribute to increased blood glucose levels, and increased risk of diabetes, the researchers concluded.

Researchers from a U.S. genomics company and a Norwegian supplier of krill oil report that a diet supplemented with omega-3-rich krill oil seems to control genes in the liver associated with cholesterol metabolism and the production of glucose and fat. Scientists fed three groups of lab mice either a normal diet with soybean oil, a normal diet plus fish oil and soybean oil, or a normal diet plus Aker Biomarine’s krill oil and soybean oil. After three months, the researchers assayed 20,118 genes, finding that 4,892 genes associated with obesity and insulin resistance were significantly changed in the krill oil group, but only 192 genes in the fish oil group. Further study is needed to determine “if the gene expression patterns observed in this study have effects on metabolic disease,” they concluded.

The European Commission is proposing to close loopholes in current EU legislation related to so-called diet foods because they allow food companies to circumvent tougher European legislation on nutrition and health claims. Specifically, the EU plans to delete the concept of diet foods  – which includes gluten-free food, slimming food and sports foods – from the books altogether because the term “results in an uneven playing food for food operators and unfair competition,” the EC said. The Commission said the new rules, if implemented, would not result in removal of products from the market. Diet foods would henceforth be covered by existing food laws. Moreover, food companies would have two years to make appropriate changes in labeling.

Scientists in Malaysia have found that a six-month regimen of daily supplementation with tocotrienol-rich palm oil raised blood levels of HDL cholesterol among older adults just three months into the program. The vitamin E supplement improved the ratio of HDL cholesterol to total cholesterol by as much as 14 percent compared to five percent in a placebo group. These findings indicate that vitamin E-rich palm oil could help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, because increases in HDL cholesterol have been linked to a 22.5 percent reduction  in  cardiovascular events.

Despite some concerns among older consumers about cholesterol content, eggs are a primary ingredient in the diets of most American households and show no signs of losing that status, according to a report by market researcher Mintel. Ninety-four percent of American homes make steady use of eggs; 92 percent say eggs are an important part of a healthy diet. Mintel suggests that egg marketers should remind consumers over age 55 that eggs in general these days are lower in cholesterol. Nevertheless, older consumers are a good market for egg substitutes and low-cholesterol eggs. Organic producers, however, have a tougher marketing hurdle, Mintel says. Fifty-seven percent of consumers don’t think organic eggs are healthier than conventional eggs.

Despite rumors that the European Parliament intends to cut funding of rural development, members resolved in a non-legislative show of hands to keep the EU agriculture budget untouched for the period 2014 to 2020. The vote puts the sentiments of MEPs on record before European Commission offers its proposals on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy. MEPs say the budget should stay the same so that farmers have monetary incentives to provide secure food supplies, protect the environment, create new jobs and provide for a competitive EU farming sector. The EC will offer its legislative proposals in late autumn. The Parliament will then decide with the Commission on the final legislation.

Kellogg India has launched a TV advertising campaign for 100 percent whole wheat All Bran. The campaign for the high-fiber cereal, Kellogg’s second-best selling brand globally, is targeted at women and features actress Tisca Chopra, who has appeared in movies, theatre and television serials. The basis for the campaign is research that finds fiber intake among women in India is between 25-30 grams a day on average, with only one to two grams at breakfast. Indian dietary guidelines recommend 40 grams of fiber a day for women, of which 10 grams should be consumed at breakfast.

Dieting adolescents who develop extreme weight control behaviors and binge eating are likely to continue these harmful activities into adulthood, U.S. research has found. The researchers analyzed data from a 10-year longitudinal study that examined eating, activity, and weight-related variables among more than 2,000 young people. Among females, the use of extreme weight control behaviors increased from 8.4 percent to 20.4 percent between early adolescence and early young adulthood and from 12.6 percent to 20.6 percent between middle adolescence and middle young adulthood. Extreme weight control behaviors among males increased from 2.1 percent in middle adolescence to 7.3 percent in middle young adulthood. The findings point to a need for “early and ongoing efforts aimed at the prevention, early identification, and treatment of disordered eating behaviors in young people," the researchers concluded.

U.S. researchers who gathered data on lifestyle factors and weight gain from three different studies found that consuming less processed and sugary foods and beverages, getting more physical activity, watching less TV, and getting more hours of sleep at night all tended to contribute to a reduction in long-term weight gain. The data from the studies were collected over 12 to 20 years from more than 120,000 healthy, non-obese nurses and health professionals, many of whom gained weight during the study. Foods associated with the most weight gain included potato chips and other potato foods, sugary beverages, unprocessed and processed meats. The researchers recommended eating minimally processed foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts, and fewer highly processed foods, such as white bread, white rice, etc.

Indian researchers who looked at the impact of dietary vitamin A on the activity of an enzyme that controls glucose metabolism have found that the vitamin reduced abdominal fat and overall body weight in obese rats. The animals in the study were fed either a vitamin A-enriched diet or a standard diet. At the end of the experiment, the researchers found that the vitamin A diet “significantly decreased body weight, visceral fat mass and 11b-HSD1 [the enzyme] activity in visceral fat of the obese rats.” The researchers suggested that further research is needed to understand how 11b-HSD1 activity is regulated by nutrients like vitamin A. The results of that research may lead to development of dietary therapies to prevent obesity and insulin resistance.

Scientists in the U.S. and Nepal who analyzed data from two studies involving more than 5,000 children and pregnant women who took vitamin A supplements found that, after 15 years, the vitamin had no impact on whether asthma developed. In one study preschool children were given either vitamin A or a placebo. In the second study, one-third of the mothers took vitamin A before, during and after pregnancy, and one-third took no supplement. Ten to fifteen years later the researchers used questionnaires and tests to detect the presence of asthma. The results showed no difference between the groups of children, all of whom lived in a rural area of Nepal where chronic malnutrition is common.

Researchers in the U.K. have found that a 70 ml (2.4 oz.) “shot” of beetroot juice delivers a large number of bioavailable antioxidants and polyphenols “in a small convenient volume.” Beetroot contains pigments known as betalains that comprise betacyanins, betaxanthins and other healthful phenolic compounds. In addition to these biologically accessible antioxidants, beetroot contains nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, folic acid, iron, zinc, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, niacin, biotin, vitamin B6 and soluble fiber. Consuming beetroot juice offers a more convenient alternative to eating the vegetable, the authors wrote, adding that their findings “clearly demonstrate that antioxidants [in the beetroot juice] become more accessible following digestion than those in other vegetable juice products.”

With demand for fresh strawberries on the rise, there is a need for growing regions that have optimal conditions beyond California and Florida. For this study, scientists experimented with “high tunnels” as a technique for extending the growing season in less-than-perfect climates, such as in the high-elevation valleys of the Intermountain West. They found that the tunnels boost out-of-season yields and total seasonal production. And with early yields sold at a 50 percent price premium, a 4.3 m x 29.3-m high tunnel using the in-ground production system generates an additional $2,770 in revenue compared with field production and a profit increase of $1,658. The researchers concluded that high tunnels are an effective and economical system for extending the strawberry growing season in states like Utah.

Processed foods are getting more healthful as they take on more characteristics of natural and organic foods, including reduced sodium and sugar and more good fats and fiber. Driving processed food makers in that direction are several forces: front-of-packaging labeling, government initiatives, physician statements on the links between diet and obesity and diabetes, and rising consumer interest in living a healthier lifestyle. But these trends present technical challenges as food processors struggle, for example, to reduce sodium and sugar content levels, or increase omega-3 fatty acids and fiber content, while maintaining flavor and texture. Campbell’s Soup  says it tested "well over 200 batches" of lower-sodium recipes for its vegetable beef soup without finding any that satisfied consumers.

The use of nanomaterials in food processing is likely to increase significantly in the years to come, once the federal government clarifies its stance on safety issues. According to this Food Safety News report, many discussions focused on nanoparticles during the recent Food Expo scientific sessions, though there were almost no displays of nanoparticles-based food innovations among the thousands of exhibits – a “perplexing” phenomenon. Many exhibitors claimed to be developing food applications using nanoparticles, but declined to talk about them. According to one exhibitor, the main reason for the reticence is "the ongoing concern about possible health hazards or adverse reactions from nanomaterial.” The situation is likely to change only when federal regulators provide a clearer idea of what’s acceptable in food and packaging.

A Kansas State University survey conducted among college students in the U.S., Ireland and France finds that American undergraduates are less skittish than their European counterparts about eating food products derived from cloned animals. The survey also found that K-State sociology and English students were less likely to consume cloned products than agriculture students. When told that both the FDA and the European Food Safety Authority found no safety risk in eating cloned animal products, many students said they’d be more likely to eat such foods. The researchers said their findings suggest that people with ethical and moral concerns about animal cloning are likely to avoid cloned products if they should come to market and are labeled as such.

Many children and teens, especially females, overeat to ease stress, boredom and depression, according to a ten-year U.S. study. And they often become addicted to these unhealthy foods, making it difficult to lose weight or keep from gaining weight. The study involved 29,406 young people who ranged in age from eight to 21 years (ninety-four percent were females). Information was collected on a Web site through bulletin board posts, etc. Thirty-two percent of the participants said they chose sugar-sweetened beverages, junk food, and fast food when sad, depressed, stressed, nervous, lonely, tired or bored. The solution to the problem? “Taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages, and possibly junk food and fast food, and restriction of such outlets to children, would seem warranted and even embraced by some children.”

Canadian dietary supplement maker Atrium Innovations Inc. and the Institute of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods (INAF) announced a multi-year commitment to study the impact of nutrition on metabolic syndrome. The two organizations have budgeted more than $5 million for the collaborative effort, which includes some funding from governmental agencies. Atrium CEO Pierre Fitzgibbon said the goal of the “sophisticated science-based approach” will be to develop products that help consumers “maintain their health and prevent serious diseases.” A particular focus of the research initiative is to gain a better understanding of metabolic syndrome, and to investigate the impact of small fruits, fish oil, probiotics and systemic enzyme therapy on inflammation.

Reacting to the explosion of imported, FDA-regulated products, materials and ingredients, the agency has proposed reforms designed to better protect the health of American consumers. The problem is getting worse, thanks to rising productivity among Western economies, growing global demand for products, and faster and easier transfer of goods across borders. The four key reforms include partnering with international regulators, developing international data information systems and networks, developing an information gathering system focused on risk analytics, and working with public and private third parties and industry “to allocate FDA resources based on risk.” We can no longer rely on historical tools, activities and approaches,” said Acting Principal Deputy Commissioner of Food and Drugs John M. Taylor.

Research conducted by scientists in Nigeria and Italy has found that some unconventional African grains have the potential to produce nutrient-rich and flavorful breads. Researchers evaluated the qualities of the African cereals Acha (Digitaria exiliis) and Iburu (Digitaria iburua) in producing sourdough bread. According to the researchers, bread produced from Acha and Iburu sourdough flour showed lower specific volume and higher density compared to wheat sourdough breads. They were preferred because of their hardness and resilience, as well as color, acid taste and flavor, high levels of free amino acids, and overall acceptability. The researchers suggested that using selected starters with the dough increased the nutritional and sensory qualities of the Acha and Iburu breads and their potential for use in the baking industry.

Nestlé announced it will purchase the business of a leading Serbian food and beverage producer whose products include dry spices and seasonings, soups and dressings, chocolate drinks and tea, and candies. The deal includes the acquisition of Centroproizvod A.d.’s iconic C brand, as well as a factory in Surčin in the Serbian capital Belgrade. Centroproizvod A.d. is expected to have sales of CHF 30 million (RSD 2.5 billion) in 2011. The acquisition will boost Nestlé’s presence in the Adriatic region, company officials said. Centroproizvod’s leading product, Začin C seasoning mix, a blend of spices and dry vegetables that is added to cooked meals, is a household name across Serbia.