Newsbriefs: Sugary Beverages; Saturated Fat; Alternate-Day Fasting
Some Beverages Linked to Stroke and Dementia
Research published April 20, 2017 in the journal Stroke suggests that people who consume more sugary beverages, such as soft drinks and fruit juices, are more likely to have poorer memory, smaller overall brain volumes, and smaller hippocampal volumes (the hippocampus is an area of the brain important for memory) than people who consume fewer of these beverages. Researchers also found that people who drank diet soda daily were almost three times as likely to develop stroke and dementia as those who did not consume diet soda. The study did not prove a cause-and-effect link between regular or diet soft drinks and stroke or dementia. However, these beverages have no nutritional value, and they are not included in healthy dietary patterns recommended by nutrition experts.
Saturated Fat May Weaken Cartilage
Diets high in saturated fat have been linked with a higher risk of heart disease, and other chronic health problems. Now, research findings suggest that saturated fat may affect joint health by changing the composition of cartilage, particularly in the weight-bearing joints of the hip and knee. Osteoarthritis develops when cartilage—which forms a shock-absorbing cushion at the ends of the bones in a joint—wears away, causing bone to grind on bone. The researchers studied the effects on joints of a diet rich in saturated fats found in butter, coconut oil, palm oil, and animal fat, and simple carbohydrates (a high-fat, high carbohydrate diet that contains large amounts of processed foods and “junk food”). The data, published April 18, 2017 in the journal Science Reports, showed that this dietary pattern produced osteoarthritis-like changes in the knee, weakening cartilage and making it more prone to damage.
Alternate-Day Fasting Comparable to Conventional Diets
Alternate-day fasting—following a healthy diet but significantly restricting calorie intake every other day—has grown in popularity in recent years, largely because many people have difficulty following a traditional weight-loss plan that requires eating fewer calories every day.
A recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine (May 1, 2017) found that study participants who followed an alternate-day fasting approach achieved similar weight-loss goals as those who followed a reduced-calorie diet every day.
In a study of 100 obese women and men, participants were divided into three groups: those who ate a daily diet based on 75 percent of their daily calorie needs; those who ate 25 percent of their calorie needs on “fast” days and 125 percent of their calorie needs on “feast” days; and a third group that made no change in their eating habits.
After one year, the fasting group lost an average of six percent of their body weight, while the reduced-calorie group lost an average of 5.3 percent of their body weight, a difference that was not statistically significant, nor were there any significant differences in cardiovascular disease risks between the two groups.
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