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Beneficial Health Effects (beneficial + health_effects)
Selected AbstractsA review of recent studies in China on the possible beneficial health effects of teaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Issue 4 2006Yong-xing Zhu Summary Tea is one of the most heavily consumed beverages in the world. The relationship between tea drinking and human health is becoming a subject of intense study by scientists throughout the world. In this paper, we first provide a comprehensive analysis of the medical literature on tea published in China during the past 20 years, and then highlight some recent studies in China on the relationship between tea and several human diseases. During the period 1982,2002, 691 research papers related to tea and health have been published in 290 Chinese journals. These studies showed that tea and tea constituents have various biological activities and suggested that tea drinking might be beneficial to human health. Tea has potential in the prevention or adjuvant treatment of several diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases and obesity. The trend and future direction in medical research on tea in China are also briefly discussed. [source] The perceived effects of holiday-taking upon the health and wellbeing of patients treated for cancerINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 3 2003Philippa Hunter-Jones Abstract The role that holidays play within health and wellbeing has been addressed infrequently within academic research. Much of the work that does exist has tended to focus upon illnesses or health complaints arising as a consequence of travel. Any beneficial health effects of travel largely have been neglected. This paper reports the empirical findings of a qualitative study conducted to determine the perceived effects of holiday-taking upon the health and wellbeing of a group of cancer patients, a population ignored by the tourism community. Four perceived effects are identified relating to personal health, social effectiveness, personal identity and regaining independence, and the implications of these findings discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Tolerance to challenges miming gastrointestinal transit by spores and vegetative cells of Bacillus clausiiJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 6 2006G. Cenci Abstract Aims:, To study Bacillus clausii from a pharmaceutical product (Enterogermina O/C, N/R, SIN, T) and reference strains (B. clausii and Bacillus subtilis) for eco-physiological aspects regarding the gut environment. Methods and Results:, Spores and vegetative cells were challenged in vitro miming the injury of gastrointestinal transit: pH variations, exposure to conjugated and free bile salts, microaerophilic and anaerobic growth. No relevant differences were found studying the growth at pH 8 and 10, whereas at pH 7 the yields obtained for O/C and SIN were higher than those obtained for N/R and T strains. The spores were able to germinate and grow in the presence of conjugated bile salts (up to 1%, w/v) or free bile salts (0·2%) and also exhibited tolerance for the combined acid-bile challenge. As evidenced by lag-time, growth rate and cell yield the tolerance of Enterogermina isolates for conjugated salts was comparable with that of B. clausii type strain (DSM 8716T), and resulted higher than that observed for B. subtilis (ATCC 6051T). All the considered B. clausii strains demonstrated microaerophilic growth, but only some grew anaerobically in a nitrate medium. Conclusions:, The ability of B. clausii spores to germinate after an acid challenge and grow as vegetative cells both in the presence of bile and under limited oxygen availability is consistent with the beneficial health effects evidenced for spore-forming probiotics in recent clinical studies. Significance and Impact of the Study:, The experimental evidence from this study emphasizes some functional properties of B. clausii strains regarding their use as probiotics. [source] IMPROVEMENT OF PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF NONFAT FERMENTED MILK DRINK BY USING WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATEJOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 3 2009ASLI E. OZEN ABSTRACT The use of whey protein concentrate (WPC) for the improvement of physical properties of nonfat fermented milk drink was investigated. Drinks were prepared from nonfat milk powder and WPC at different proportions. Rheological properties, serum separation and particle size of the drinks were measured. The effect of WPC on the physical properties of the drinks was evaluated by comparison with those of commonly used stabilizers, including propylene glycol alginate and locust bean gum. WPC addition caused an increase in the consistency coefficient and thixotropy and a decrease in the particle size of the samples. There was no serum separation in the sample with 2% WPC. Large unstable aggregates were observed in the sample with 3% WPC, which also exhibited the highest serum separation. WPC up to a level of 2% positively influenced the physical properties of nonfat fermented milk drink similar to stabilizers. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Fermented milk drinks are consumed especially for their beneficial health effects. Physical properties of fermented milk drinks influence their quality and consumer acceptability. Hydrocolloid stabilizers are used for the improvement of physical properties of fermented milk products. Whey protein concentrates (WPC) with high protein content can be used to substitute hydrocolloid stabilizers. In this study, the effect of the addition of WPC with 75% protein in place of a part of the nonfat milk powder on the physical properties of nonfat fermented milk drink with 6% dry matter was investigated. Use of an appropriate level of WPC was found to be important for obtaining a desirable effect on the physical properties of nonfat fermented milk drink. The effect of WPC was found to be comparable to those of commonly used hydrocolloid stabilizers. Use of WPC also enhances the nutritional value of the product as whey proteins have a high biological value. [source] Can the combination of flaxseed and its lignans with soy and its isoflavones reduce the growth stimulatory effect of soy and its isoflavones on established breast cancer?MOLECULAR NUTRITION & FOOD RESEARCH (FORMERLY NAHRUNG/FOOD), Issue 7 2007Krista A. Power Abstract Consumption of phytoestrogen (PE)-rich foods (i. e., soy and flaxseed (FS)) is increasing because of their suggested health benefits. However, recent studies raise concern over the safety of soy and its isoflavones, particularly genistein (GEN), for postmenopausal breast cancer (BC), due to their potential stimulatory effects on human breast tissue and on the growth of existing tumors in rodents. FS, rich in PE lignans, which is metabolized to the mammalian lignans enterolactone (ENL) and enterodiol (END), has consistently been shown to have tumor inhibitory effects in a human clinical trial as well as rodent BC models. Using the preclinical athymic mouse postmenopausal BC model, combining FS with soy protein or GEN with END and ENL, was found to negate the tumor stimulatory effects of soy protein or GEN alone. The mechanism may be related to the modulation of estrogen receptor and MAPK signaling pathways. If these studies can be confirmed in clinical trials, then consumption of combined soy and FS, or their PEs, may reduce the tumor growth stimulatory effect of soy or GEN. This may indicate that if soy is consumed with lignan-rich foods, it may continue to induce its other beneficial health effects, without inducing adverse effect on postmenopausal BC. [source] Respiratory sinus arrhythmia predicts written disclosure outcomePSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 5 2005Denise M. Sloan Abstract Research has indicated that writing about traumatic experiences is associated with beneficial health effects compared with writing about emotionally neutral topics. What remains unclear are those factors that moderate the beneficial effects associated with written disclosure. This study examined respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a moderator of written disclosure outcome. Findings indicated that individuals with the highest RSA during the first written disclosure session benefited most from written disclosure in terms of physical health complaints and depression symptoms. As expected, RSA did not impact outcome for participants assigned to a control condition. These findings indicate that individuals who display good emotion regulation skills are best served by written disclosure. [source] Effect of dietary substitution of fish oil by Echium oil on growth, plasma parameters and body lipid composition in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.)AQUACULTURE NUTRITION, Issue 5 2009M. DÍAZ-LÓPEZ Abstract Gilthead seabream juveniles were fed on either a fish oil (FO)-containing diet or a diet containing a 50 : 50 blend of FO and Echium oil (EO) to determine the effect of EO on growth, plasma parameters and tissue lipid compositions. After 4 months of feeding, there was a significant increase of 18 : 2n -6 and a reduction of approximately 25% of 20 : 5n -3 in the flesh of fish fed the EO diet. At this point, half of the fish that fed on EO were returned to the FO diet as a third treatment and the trial continued with the three groups for a further 3 months. At the end of the experiment, food intake, survival, growth and plasma parameters were not affected by the inclusion of dietary EO. However, hepatosomatic index (HSI), total lipid and triacylglycerol contents of muscle decreased in fish fed the EO diet. Feeding the EO diet resulted in significant increments of potentially health-promoting fatty acids such as 18 : 3n -6, 18 : 4n -3 and 20 : 3n -6 but reduced n -3 highly unsaturated fatty acids, particularly 20 : 5n -3. When EO-fed fish were returned to the FO diet, tissue lipid contents and HSI tended to increase, but 18 : 2n -6 and 20 : 5n -3 levels were not fully restored to the levels of fish fed the FO diet for the entire trial. Furthermore, the fatty acids present in EO, which may promote beneficial health effects, were reduced. [source] Nutraceuticals in Cardiovascular Prevention: Lessons from Studies on Endothelial FunctionCARDIOVASCULAR THERAPEUTICS, Issue 4 2010Cinzia Zuchi An "unhealthy" diet is considered as a main cause of increased atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in the industrialized countries. There is a substantial interest in the potential cardiovascular protective effects of "nutraceuticals," that is food-derived substances that exert beneficial health effects. The correct understanding of cardiovascular effects of these compounds will have important implications for cardiovascular prevention strategies. Endothelial dysfunction is thought to play an important role in development and progression of atherosclerosis, and the characterization of the endothelial effects of several nutraceuticals may provide important insights into their potential role in cardiovascular prevention. At the same time, the analysis of the endothelial effects of nutraceuticals may also provide valuable insights into mechanisms of why certain nutraceuticals may not be effective in cardiovascular prevention, and it may aid in the identification of food-derived substances that may have detrimental cardiovascular effects. These findings further support the notion that nutraceuticals do need support from large clinical outcome trials with respect to their efficacy and safety profile for cardiovascular prevention, before their widespread use can be recommended. In fact, the term nutraceutical was coined to encourage an extensive and profound research activity in this field, and numerous large-scale clinical outcome trials to examine the effects of nutraceuticals on cardiovascular events have now been performed or are still ongoing. Whereas it is possible that single nutraceuticals may be effective in cardiovascular prevention, this field of research provides also valuable insights into which food components may be particularly important for cardiovascular prevention, to further advice the composition of a particularly healthy diet. The present review summarizes recent studies on the endothelial effects of several nutraceuticals, that have been intensely studied. [source] | |||||||||||||