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REGULARSNEWS
GHNEWS
Daily cuppa may
Higher protein meals could help
burn fat faster say Aussies
lower blood pressure
In Australia lead researcher Dr. Marijka Batterham, of the
University of Wollongong in New South Wales has released
According to the American details of their research that shows higher protein diets could
Heart Association hibiscus tea help obese people lose weight.
can lower the blood pressure Batterham says “Our research suggests that people with higher
of mildly hypertensive and pre- body fat burn fat better after a high-protein meal than people
hypertensive adults. Their with lower levels of body fat”
study is based on 65 volunteers The findings, based on 18 adults whose post-meal metabolism was
split into two groups; one tested on 3 separate days was published in the journal Nutrition &
group was given three cups of Dietetics. Their average age was 40 years, eight subjects were
hibiscus tea a day, while the overweight, six subjects had a normal weight, and four were obese.
other drank a placebo with When participants ate a breakfast with one third of calories
artificial hibiscus flavourings. coming from protein and only a third from carbohydrates the
The group who drank hibiscus researchers found it was shown that obese subjects could burn fat
tea experienced a 7.2% drop closer to the rate at which thinner subjects could.
in their systolic blood pressure, London Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston says “This is no
compared to a 1.3% drop in surprise, we use protein to balance metabolism, moderate blood
the placebo group. sugar levels and create nutritional sustainability so that you feel
fuller for longer. Typically people eat far too many simple
Medicinal plants facing extinction
carbohydrates and I think this research has a much to do with
reducing the ratio of bread used in the control meals as it does with
15,000 of the world’s known 50,000 species of medicinal plants the increased protein. It’s good to see someone doing research into
are threatened with extinction due to commercial over- type of calories and metabolism rather than just out dated calorie
harvesting, warns a report from the conversation group Plantlife. restriction. This research also proves the basic nutritionist’s premise,
Sara Oldfield, secretary general of the NGO Botanic Gardens everybody is different and need to be treated as individuals.”
Conservation International has described the dramatic loss of
medicinal plant diversity being reported in China, India, Kenya,
Tanzania and Uganda as a “quiet disaster”. Oldfield points out
Alzheimer’s – risk reduced by coffee
that the majority of the world’s populations, including 80% of A new study suggests that regular consumption of
Africans, rely on herbal medicines obtained from wild plants. coffee can help cut the risk of Alzheimer’s
A statement from Plantlife said: “Commercial collectors disease. The research, published in the
generally harvest medicinal plants with little care for Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found
sustainability. This can be partly through ignorance, but happens that middle-aged adults who drank
mainly because such collection is unorganised and competitive”. three to five cups of coffee every day
reduced the risk of developing the
Omega 3 could help
condition by two thirds. The Finnish and
Swedish scientists behind the study surveyed
premature girls
the dietary habits of 1,500 middle-aged men and women over
several decades. Their findings suggest that moderate coffee
An Australian study has found that supplements of drinkers are the least likely to develop the symptoms of dementia.
omega-3 fatty acid DHA could help the neurodevelopment
of premature baby girls, according to a report in food-e-news. The
research also found that prematurely-born boys don’t receive the
Plants may hold key to bone health
same benefits. During the research 600 infants received The antioxidant pigments found in plants may protect against
randomised high or low doses of docosahexaenoic acid from day bone loss among older adults, reports nutraingredients.com.
two of their lives until the expected delivery date. The Australian The American study, which was published in the American
scientists behind the study found that problem-solving ability, Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests that the intake of
memory and the capacity for understanding language was higher cartenoids could be linked to an increased level of protection
in girls who had been given a higher dose of DHA. against deterioration in bone mineral density.
06 GOHEALTHYMAR/APR2009 READ THIS & PREVIOUS EDITIONS ONLINE AT WWW.GOHEALTHYMAG.CO.UK
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