Newsbriefs: Fruit and Vegetable Consumption; Mushrooms; Hot Flashes

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Remains Low

Just 9 percent of adults eat enough vegetables and only 12 percent get the recommended daily amount of fruit, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Researchers writing in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Nov. 17, 2017, found that just one in 10 adults is eating more fruits and vegetables than recommended in the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The guidelines recommend consuming one-and-a-half to two cups of fruit and two to three cups of vegetables daily—doing so can help protect against heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and obesity.

Mushrooms May Help Prevent Cell Damage

Mushrooms contain high amounts of two antioxidants that may help protect your health, according to a study published Oct. 15, 2017 in the journal Food Chemistry. Researchers found that mushrooms are rich in the antioxidants ergothioneine and glutathione. Antioxidants help protect the body against the adverse effects of unstable, naturally-occurring molecules called free radicals, which cause damage to cells. This damage, referred to as “oxidative stress,” has been linked to many diseases, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, autoimmune disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease. Porcini mushrooms contained the highest amount of both compounds among the 13 species of mushrooms tested. Cooking the mushrooms appeared to have no significant effect on the antioxidants.   

Hot Flashes Linked With Higher Diabetes Risk

Hot flashes during menopause may indicate a greater likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, and the more frequent and intense the hot flashes, the greater the risk. Those are the findings of a study based on data collected by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) and published in the North American Menopause Society journal Menopause (Dec. 6, 2017).

Researchers studied the medical records of more than 150,000 postmenopausal women who participated in the WHI. Having hot flashes was associated with an 18 percent increased risk of diabetes. The risk rose as the duration of the hot flashes and their severity increased. The women’s diabetes risk was also higher when hot flashes were accompanied by night sweats, but only if the hot flashes started during the later portion of the menopause transition.

To reduce your risk of diabetes, get regular exercise, stop smoking, eat a heart-healthy diet, get at least seven hours of sleep a night, and avoid excessive alcohol consumption. Women should also discuss with their doctors other diabetes prevention strategies and how often their blood sugar (glucose) levels should be checked to watch for elevated levels—usually the first sign of diabetes onset. 

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