HEALTH
MELBOURNE : SCIENTISTS hope that the harvesting of what they call "booster broccoli"- containing more vitamins and nutrients than other vegetables- will soon begin. Bred from strains of the vegetable naturally high in antioxidants, it joins a growing crop of "super foods" that are believed to be good enough to prevent heart diseases like Alzheimer’s and help weight control. Vital Vegetables chairman John says that capsicums with extra vitamins A, C and E levels, and tomatoes that can reduce risks of prostrate cancer will be released in the next 12 months
.According to him, supermarkets will soon stock foods "boasting higher levels of goodness" for the time poor.
"Our lifestyles seem to get faster all the time. If you can get the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables through eating less, isn’t that kind of the way we are going in the world these days," the Age quoted him as saying. "I think consumers are looking at things that are better for them. And here you’re going to get more bang for your bite," he added.
Two breakfast cereals with the potential to reduce the risk of colon and bowel cancers, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and to help control weight were released by the CSIRO last month.
Dr Bruce Lee, director of the CSIRO’s Food Futures National Research Flagship, says that other super grains to be used in breads, biscuits and pasta can be released by 2012. "You can take supplements or you can get people to eat a healthy diet, but often it is hard to get people to change their dietary habits. The beauty of these types of foods is that you can add the wholegrain into the food – you are not forcing consumers to change their diet to something else," he says.
Expert food tasters are busy in the CSIRO labs in Sydney, helping to develop reduced fat sausages, hamburger, patties and cheeses that retain the foods’ attractive taste. "We all love the convenience of eating fast food, so if you can make fast food that’s still convenient to eat but healthier for you, that would be a positive thing for health," Dr Lee says. "But we’re not talking about a pill that’s going to change a person’s health overnight. We’re talking about providing people with diets that, over a long period of time, may have a positive impact on their health and well being he adds.
However, Mark Lawrence, associate professor of public health and nutrition at Deakin University, is of the opinion that such an approach will not address the underlying problem of poor eating habits. "I have a real difficulty with the argument that you can have your cake and eat it too. What you are doing is rewarding poor dietary behaviour," he says. But Dr Rod Jones, team leader of plant physiology at Victoria’s Department of Primary Industries and a member of the Vital Vegetables group, says that the focus for now is on bolstering foods naturally. "We are trying to get away from the idea that you can get good health from a pill or highly processed product. It’s all about enhancing the natural goodness within fruits and vegetables, he says.
He has revealed that the department is helping to develop lettuce mixes, with more carotene to strengthen eyesight, for commercial release next autumn. According to him, other mixes could help ease ailments such as arthritis.
"We are going down the road where you might find one product with four or five different vegetables that have a different suite of antioxidants to target different health outcomes in a single bag, such as helping people who have arthritis," he says. "More than 90 per cent of the Australian population don’t eat the recommended serve of four to five vegetables and two fruits on a daily basis. So our angle is to make the vegetables, people do eat as healthy as possible, so they are getting more from the little they are eating," he adds.
Eat A Slow-release Energy Breakfast
Complex carbohydrate such as bread and breakfast cereal releases energy slowly and eating a slow-release energy breakfast helps improve memory over a high-sugar breakfast or none at all, says a survey of 4166 UK adults carried out for Farmhouse Breakfast Week.
"You don’t need to feast on a full three-course meal in order to breakfast properly- a quick meal based on complex carbohydrates such as bread, breakfast cereal or porridge will release energy slowly and help maintain blood sugars," says a dietitian at Home-Grown Cereals Authority.
Those who skip breakfast deprive their brains of the ‘fuel’ needed to aid concentration and mental reach beyond their personal health- a boss who skips breakfast can have a negative effect on workforce morale and business decisions," he adds.
Hungry kya? To phir angry kyu?
Drink green coffee to battle bulge
LONDON : WANT to shed flab? Drink green coffee daily, says a new study. Researchers have carried out the study and found that chlorogenic acid 
from green coffee causes significant levels of weight loss—the drink works by reducing sugar absorption from the gut and speeding up the rate at which fat is burned.
In a four-week trial assessing Coffee Shape, the researchers found that those who drank one cup a day lost 3.5 pounds in two weeks, and 4.45 pounds in a month. That compares to drinkers of standard coffee, who on average lose just 0.3lb in two weeks compared to those who drink no coffee at all.
Laurent Fresnel, of ATP Life, makers of Coffee Shape, was quoted by the ‘Daily Mail’ as saying: "Green coffee is similar to green tea. In its raw, unroasted form, it is rich in plant molecules that speed metabolism and aid weight loss.
"These molecules of chlorogenic acid are strong antioxidants that appear to have other health benefits too. Unfortunately, they are destroyed in the roasting process, so are not found in high levels in regular coffee."
Early research suggested the other health benefits of chlorogenic acid and green coffee may be substantial.
In a study published in ‘Diabetes Care’, chlorogenic acid was found to reduce blood sugar levels while increasing sensitivity to insulin, significantly reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Despite its potential, Dr David Ashton, of the Healthier Weight Centre, said; "This may help people lose weight while drinking it but the only way to keep weight off in the long run is through a healthy diet and high activity levels to burn off calories.
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