Chuckles of the Day

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Scientists Develop Tool for Brain and Behavioral Studies Involving Ultra-processed Foods

Leigh Anne Kelley wrote . . . . . . . . .

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC scientists studying ultra-processed foods have created a new tool for assessing the rewarding and reinforcing properties of foods that make up 58 percent of calories consumed in the United States. The foods have been linked to a wide range of negative health outcomes.

The research, now online and slated for the July 1 edition of the journal Appetite, provides a collection of carefully curated images of minimally processed and ultra-processed foods matched on 26 characteristics, including macronutrients, sodium, dietary fiber, calories, price, and visual characteristics such as a color and portion size.

The work was based on the NOVA classification system — “nova” means new in Portuguese — which groups foods into four categories based on their level of processing. Nutrition researchers at the University of São Paulo in Brazil developed the scale while studying the country’s sharp increase in obesity rates.

The scale has its detractors.

“A major criticism of the NOVA scale is that it’s difficult to use or that foods are classified differently by different people,” said Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, corresponding author and assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. “We found that people with education in nutrition generally agreed on the food classifications, providing some data that it might not be a valid criticism.”

What they did

The NOVA system assigns food to four categories: unprocessed or minimally processed, such as fresh fruit, legumes, or plain yogurt; processed culinary ingredients, such as cooking oils, butter, and salt; processed foods, which combine the two above through simple methods suc as cheese, canned vegetables, or freshly baked bread; and ultra-processed foods, such as soft drinks, flavored yogurt, processed meat, and most packaged breads, made through industrial processing and additives rarely found in a home pantry.

To develop the picture set, a team of psychologists, neuroscientists, and registered dietitians selected foods to represent either minimally processed or ultra-processed foods.

The foods were prepared in a lab, visually represented through professional photography, and controlled for consistency. Researchers also gathered price, food weights, and nutritional information – calories, macronutrients, sodium, and dietary fiber – for the food in each image.

Study participants rated images across a range of qualities to generate a final set of 28 pictures matched across 26 characteristics. To objectively measure NOVA classification, researchers recruited 67 nutrition professionals and asked them to classify the foods as minimally or ultra-processed.

“With this food picture set we can start to infer that any differences between food pictures is due to the degree of food processing, and not all these other factors that we know are potentially impactful,” said Zach Hutelin, the study’s lead author and a Fralin Biomedical Research Institute-based graduate student in the Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Ph.D. program.

Why this matters

Ultra-processed foods are linked with increased risk of developing obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. They represent more than half of calories consumed in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom and have been identified as a global threat to public health.

“There is very little experimental research on ultra-processed foods, and part of what’s been holding us back is better tools for measuring and assessing their effects,” said DiFeliceantonio, who is also associate director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute’s Center for Health Behaviors Research. “The more tools we can provide, the more we can learn.”

The Virginia Tech team is making the pictures and associated data accessible through the Virginia Tech Data Repository of the Virginia Tech University Libraries. This will allow scientists to test hypotheses in behavioral economic and neuroimaging studies.

In the DiFeliceantonio lab, the photos are being used with functional MRI to reveal associated brain activity, with the images isolating the effects of food processing from other characteristics.

Source: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

 

 

 

 

Special Dinner Course of Ginza Tokyo Shiseido Parlour

The price is 18,000 yen (tax included).

Private room of the restaurant

Ultra-Processed Foods Could Be Harming Your Brain

Dennis Thompson wrote . . . . . . . . .

Ultra-processed foods are bad for more than your waistline: New research shows they seem to raise the risk of stroke and dementia-related memory or thinking problems.

A 10% increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods a person eats is associated with a 16% higher risk of cognitive problems, researchers found.

Likewise, greater intake of ultra-processed foods is linked to an 8% increased risk of stroke, results show.

“Our findings show that the degree of food processing plays an important role in overall brain health,” said researcher Dr. W. Taylor Kimberly, a critical care neurologist with Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Ultra-processed foods typically are factory-made fare containing high levels of sugar, fat and salt. They’re a patchwork of ingredients, additives and preservatives engineered for flavor and shelf-life.

Examples include chicken nuggets, frozen meals, hot dogs, canned soups, potato chips, soft drinks, sugary breakfast cereals, ice cream, packaged breads, and condiments like ketchup and mayonnaise.

Ultra-processed foods already have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes, the Cleveland Clinic says.

For this study, published May 22 in the journal Neurology, researchers compared intake of ultra-processed foods to that of unprocessed or minimally processed foods like vegetables, fruits and simple cuts of beef, pork and chicken.

“While a healthy diet is important in maintaining brain health among older adults, the most important dietary choices for your brain remain unclear,” Kimberly said.

Researchers recruited more than 30,000 white or Black people ages 45 or older, and had them fill out questionnaires about what they typically eat or drink.

Researchers used the responses to calculate how much ultra-processed foods were in each person’s daily diet, compared to healthier options.

About 14,000 participants were then tracked over an average 11 years for cognitive decline, and more than 20,000 for stroke.

“We found that increased consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with a higher risk of both stroke and cognitive impairment,” Kimberly said in a journal news release.

On the other hand, eating unprocessed or minimally processed foods was linked with a 12% lower risk of brain problems and a 9% decreased risk of stroke.

Ultra-processed foods had an even greater effect on Black participants, increasing their risk of stroke by 15%.

“More research is needed to confirm these results and to better understand which food or processing components contribute most to these effects,” Kimberly said.

Source: HealthDay

 

 

 

 

Pork Meat Loaf with Tomato Chickpea Sauce

Ingredients

4 (1-inch-thick) slices of Italian bread, crusts removed, bread soaked in 1 cup milk and squeezed dry
4 ounces sliced bacon
4 ounces sliced prosciutto
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
4 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 roasted red pepper from a jar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-1/2 pounds lean ground pork
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
1 cup tomato puree
1 cup chicken stock or low- sodium broth
1/2 cup prepared plain hummus

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a food processor, pulse the bread, bacon and prosciutto. Add the onion, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted pepper and eggs; process to a paste. Pulse in the parsley, thyme, crushed red pepper, oregano and 1 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper. Transfer to a bowl and knead in the pork.
3. Preheat the broiler.
4. Pat the mixture into two 8-inch-long loaves. In a large nonstick roasting pan, heat the 1 tablespoon of oil. Transfer the loaves to the pan and cook over moderate heat until the bottoms are browned, 6 minutes. Brush the tops with oil and broil until slightly browned, 8 minutes. Lower the oven to 350°F.
5. In a cup, combine the tomato puree, chicken stock and hummus. Pour the mixture into the roasting pan and cook for 30 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of one of the loaves registers 180°F. Light the broiler.
   4 Spoon some of the sauce over the loaves and broil for 5 minutes, until browned. Transfer to a platter and serve with the gravy.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: Chef Andrew Carmellini

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