See the February 9, 2012 ScienceDaily article, "What Kind of Chocolate Is Best? The Last You Taste, Says a New Study." Like to save the best for last?
Here's good news: If it's the last, you'll like it the best. That is the finding of a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
The study involved 52 students, women and men, who were told they were participating in a taste test of Hershey's Kisses made with local ingredients. The experimenters drew five chocolates -- milk, dark, crème, caramel, and almond -- in random order from a hidden pocket inside a bag. The participants didn't know how many there would be. After tasting each, they rated how enjoyable it was from 0 to 10.
The results: The last (fifth) chocolate was rated as more enjoyable when it was the "final" chocolate versus just another in the taste test. The designated "last" chocolate was also the favorite 64% of the time, no matter which flavor it was.
Among those who ate only "next" chocolates, the last was chosen 22% of the time -- statistically speaking, a chance occurrence. And the "last" group also rated the whole experience as more enjoyable than "nexts" did. So, do people remember the last food item they ate more than any consumed in the middle of eating?
What's the Healthiest Ancestral Diet for Your Children?
The University of California, Davis studies health benefits related to the Mediterranean diet, which has been found to be healthy for your brain. Check out the PDF file article, Mediterranean diet, red wine and health+KLB - UC Davis. All the way back in 1999, a UC Davis study showed that populations consuming a Mediterranean diet had the lowest mortality of the seven country populations included in the study. Also see, Marketing the Mediterranean Diet: Some Comments on Issues and Opportunities.
According to that marketing article, “the Mediterranean Diet” is a commonly used term in the U.S. denoting healthful eating and a healthy lifestyle. It appears to be inspired by the traditional diets of two Mediterranean countries based on post-World War II studies conducted in Naples, Italy and Crete. Popularization of the Mediterranean diet is associated with increased demand for red wine and olive oil in the United States.
Is the Mediterranean diet really about marketing more wine and more extra virgin olive oil? Follow the money touting each type of diet. Or is it more about actual health from a modified Mediterranean diet? When it comes to your body, in what direction is your health progressing when you eat a Mediterranean diet compared to a pre-agricultural slightly more 'Paleo' diet or a customized diet tailored to your genetic response to foods?
Now in fact, the February 2012 issue of Archives of Neurology reports the Mediterranean diet is healthy for your brain. But is that diet healthy for your bones, blood, and heart when compared to the Paleo diet? That depends on how your body responds to various foods.
Check out the February 14, 2012 ABC news article, Mediterranean Diet May Be Good for the Brain. A Mediterranean diet may reduce small-vessel damage to the brain, according to a new study published in the Archives of Neurology. In other words, a diet made up of fruits, vegetables, olive oil, legumes, whole grains, little red meat and a glass of red wine here and there may be good for your brain.
Researchers from University of Miami and Columbia University analyzed food frequency questionnaires filled out by 966 participants in the Northern Manhattan Study, a study designed to identify risk factors for stroke and coronary disease. Study participants then underwent brain MRI scans to analyze the white matter hyperintensity volume, which is a sign of small vessel disease.
Researchers found that people who closely followed a Mediterranean diet had fewer brain lesions than those who had higher-fat and more red meat-based diets. People who exercised more were also more likely to consume foods associated with the Mediterranean diet.
Perhaps you've been told so many times perhaps to follow your ancestral diet or to follow the Paleo diet. Should you follow the Mediterranean diet or a Paleo low-carb diet with nuts and seeds replacing grains? The Mediterranean diet is higher in grains than the Paleo diet. See, Paleo Diet Lifestyle | paleo diet tips and recipes.
A paleo diet is a diet that follows the principles of eating like our ancestors did before the advent of widespread agriculture and grain farming to achieve great health. Learn about it and enjoy great paleo recipes. Do grains rot your teeth?
Would your body respond better to a Paleo diet or an ancestral diet customized just for you, tailoring your metabolic and genetic response to your genes? Or are you better off with the Mediterranean diet? Authors of the Mediterranean diet also noted that, because the study was observational, it’s difficult to decipher whether the results were due to overall healthy dietary patterns or to the foods themselves.
The Archives of Neurology, a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal, report cites a study by the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine that evaluated the diets of 966 participants. Those on a Mediterranean-style diet had less damage to the small blood vessels in the brain than those not on the diet. Share your favorite recipes from the Mediterranean Diet. Also, consider talking to local dietitians about heart-healthy recipes and lifestyle.
Did you ever wonder how healthy an actual southern European/Mediterranean diet really is compared to a modified Mediterranean diet? Most dietary pattern analyses in southern Europe have relied on a priori food approaches using Mediterranean-style diet indexes, according to last year's study published last year in February, 2011. in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 111, Issue 2 , Pages 241-250. According to that study, these methods may not reflect the current population's food consumption.
Check out the abstract of that study, "Major Habitual Dietary Patterns Are Associated with Acute Myocardial Infarction and Cardiovascular Risk Markers in a Southern European Population,"which reports that, "a dietary pattern with lower fruit and vegetable intakes in women, and a pattern characterized by higher consumption of red meat and alcohol (and lower of dairy products and vegetables) in both sexes, were associated with an increased risk of AMI and adverse cardiovascular risk profiles.
"These findings highlight the importance of sustained recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake and cautious guidance on consumption of alcoholic beverages, which clusters with less healthy dietary patterns of men and women."
In that study, "comparison to women with a “healthy” dietary pattern, those with a “low fruit and vegetables” pattern and a “red meat and alcohol” (also characterized by lower intake of dairy products and vegetables) pattern showed a higher risk of AMI (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.01 to 3.39 and OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.17 to 3.12, respectively).
"Female controls with the 'red meat and alcohol' pattern also had a higher total to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio. In comparison to men with a 'healthy' pattern, those with the 'red meat and alcohol' pattern, similar to the counterpart found in women, were more likely to experience an AMI (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.35 to 2.92). Male controls with this pattern had higher diastolic and systolic blood pressure, C-reactive protein, and uric acid levels," according to the study.
Nutrition Guidelines for Cancer Survivors
Another study also published last year in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in the March, 2011 issue, had been noted in a February 18, 2011 news release, "Further research needed to develop evidence-based nutrition guidelines for cancer survivors," looks at the nutrition of cancer survivors.
Basically what this latest study reveals is that according to the "Commentary in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association," cancer survivors die of non-cancer-related causes at much higher rates than the general public. In 2008, the U.S. economic burden of cancer totaled over $228 billion but only 41% of these costs involved direct cancer care, according to the February 18, 2011 news release. The majority of expenses were attributed to increased morbidity, lost productivity, and premature mortality in that report.
A commentary published in the March 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association examines the current evidence supporting nutrition recommendations for preventing cancer recurrence and managing chronic conditions prevalent in cancer survivors, as well as improving quality of life and decreasing health care costs. The commentary also describes knowledge gaps and suggests future nutrition research directions.
"As the number of cancer survivors continues to increase, opportunities to conduct longer-term research are expanding," commented lead author Kim Robien, PhD, RD, Assistant Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health; and Member, Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship Program, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
"With over 12 million American cancer survivors (about 4% of the population), it is time to concentrate on guidelines to help patients avoid the other complications that lead to death. Data support the hypothesis that nutrition interventions are not only likely to help with cancer outcomes, but can also be important in preventing and managing some of the chronic health conditions that can occur after cancer treatment, such as cardiovascular complications, weight gain, diabetes and other endocrine disorders, functional impairment, osteopenia and osteoporosis," according to the February 18, 2011 news release reporting the outcome of that study.
The authors discuss current recommendations for cancer survivors, which emphasize achieving and maintaining a healthy weight; encouraging regular physical activity (for adults at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day); eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; and limiting red and processed meats and alcohol consumption.
Further, the current recommendations of that new study are that cancer survivors try and obtain their nutrients from foods, rather than supplements since there have been several studies that have linked supplement intake with higher cancer-specific and all-cause mortality among cancer survivors, according to the study.
Important knowledge gaps that call for further research are identified. Because most cancer patients have one or more comorbid conditions, management of these comorbidities by nutritional interventions may improve quality of life for these individuals. Another area of investigation is whether specific cancers require specific nutritional guidelines.
Nutritional Interventions
Finally, the study's authors recognize that any nutritional intervention must work with the individual patient. Despite efforts by the American Cancer Society and the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research to encourage cancer survivors to follow diet and lifestyle recommendations for cancer prevention, evidence suggests that few cancer survivors are doing so, noted the press release, "Further research needed to develop evidence-based nutrition guidelines for cancer survivors."
Further research is needed to determine the optimal method and timing of interventions to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors among cancer survivors. The article is "Evidence-Based Nutrition Guidelines for Cancer Survivors: Current Guidelines, Knowledge Gaps, and Future Research Directions" by Kim Robien, PhD, RD, CSO, FADA, Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, PhD, RD, and Cheryl L. Rock, PhD, RD. It appears in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 111, Issue 3 (March 2011) published by Elsevier.
In an accompanying podcast the authors discuss the importance and implications of "Evidence-based nutrition guidelines for cancer survivors: Current guidelines, knowledge gaps and future research directions." Listen to that podcast, here. Also see the Insider News article, "Scientists discover first breast cancer 'oncogene' for five years." According to that report on the breast cancer 'oncogene', scientists have pinpointed a key cancer-causing gene that, when overactive, triggers a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer to develop.
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