Eats « Weekly Gravy

Another reason breast is best: Breast milk boosts levels of chemicals crucial for brain growth and development in premature babies with a very low birth weight, a new study reveals. “Our previous research established that vulnerable preterm infants who are fed breast milk early in life have improved brain growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes,” said Catherine Limperopoulos, director of MRI research of the developing brain at Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C. However, she added, “It was unclear what makes breastfeeding so beneficial for newborns’ developing brains.” For the new study, her team used “proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy” to solve the mystery. The non-invasive imaging reveals the chemical makeup of specific brain structures, enabling researchers to measure metabolites essential for growth. With this technology, the researchers examined the brains of very low birth weight babies (under 3.3 pounds). The infants were born after no more than 32 weeks of pregnancy. The team focused on the right frontal white matter and the cerebellum, a brain region that’s involved in balance, muscle coordination and supports high-order mental functions. Compared to formula-fed babies, those fed breast milk had significantly higher levels of inositol in the cerebral white matter, and significantly higher creatine levels. Study lead author Katherine Ottolini explained that “key metabolite levels ramp up during the times babies’ brains experience exponential growth.” The percentage of days infants… read on >

Sticking with a diet starts with having a plan that maps out meals and snacks based on foods that help you feel full longer. After all, if you feel satisfied, you’ll be less likely to rummage through your kitchen cabinets looking for treats. But sometimes cravings can get the better of you. You might be tempted by the whiff of a bakery as you walk to work, want something sweet to cheer you up when you’re down, or just reach for food because you’re bored. The answer is to create a strategy for dealing with a craving as soon as you feel one coming on. Pick a time when you’re not hungry (perhaps right after a meal) to plan how you’ll cope with a craving. Write down actions that you can take that fit with your lifestyle. This way, you’ll enjoy the alternative course of action rather than feeling like you’re punishing yourself. Your “best” action might be doing a crossword, picking up a crochet project or turning on dance music. What if you feel a craving this very second? Here are four things you can do right now: Phone a friend. Sometimes calling in reinforcements can keep you on track or simply divert your attention from food. Try to find nonfood topics of conversation, and chat until the craving passes. Drink a tall glass… read on >

When you want to create a festive celebration without a fat and calorie overload, a seafood-based salad is the perfect choice. To step up the extravagance, make it with crabmeat. Crab is high in vitamin B12 and is a delicious, lean protein to pair with fresh greens. If you’re buying pre-packaged crabmeat, check it for any bits of shell, then give it a rinse under cold running water and set it aside to drain before using. You can also buy king crab legs at your fish counter and easily pick the meat out of the shells yourself after steaming them. Another special ingredient in this salad is low-calorie hearts of palm, the tender center of a plant typically found in Costa Rica. It gives this salad an exotic spin and a zesty flavor. You can find hearts of palm in cans or glass jars at most markets. Both parts of this recipe can be made in advance. Drizzle on the dressing just before serving to avoid making the greens soggy. Citrusy Crab Salad For the salad: 4 cups baby spinach, rinsed and drained 4 hearts of palm stalks, rinsed, drained and sliced into discs 6 ounces crabmeat, picked over, rinsed and drained 1 avocado, thinly sliced For the dressing: 1 navel orange 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4… read on >

Parents of kids with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may change their child’s diet in the hope it might ease the disorder’s symptoms. But a new study suggests it might not be worth the effort. The researchers found that while kids with ADHD are more likely to have unhealthy diets, their poor diets weren’t at the root of their ADHD symptoms. “In contrast to what may be expected, we observed that a poor diet does not predict the level of ADHD symptoms in children, either diagnosed or not. So, based on our study, dietary changes may not prevent or reduce ADHD symptoms,” said study author Trudy Voortman. She’s an assistant professor of nutritional epidemiology at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Diet has long been suspected to play a role in ADHD. People have tried avoiding certain nutrients or adding supplements to improve symptoms, according to background information in the study. But the researchers wanted to know if the quality of a child’s overall diet might make a difference in their symptoms. They studied nearly 3,700 children with ADHD from Rotterdam at ages 6, 8 and 10. The researchers figured out each child’s dietary quality score based on the foods they reported eating when they were 8. Voortman said that children with ADHD had higher than recommended amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meats.… read on >

You can often lose weight by making small yet strategic calorie cuts at every meal, rather than eliminating entire meals or cutting portions so severely that you never feel satisfied. You probably already know that a cup of blueberries with a dollop of creamy yogurt has a fraction of the calories of a slice of blueberry pie. But there are many other ways you can trim the calories in favorite meals without diminishing their satisfying taste. Here are five ideas that each shave off about 200 calories. If your idea of a big breakfast is a fatty sausage, egg and cheese sandwich, have a veggie-filled omelet instead. Make it with one whole egg and two extra whites for more protein, and “overload” it with tomatoes, peppers and onions. Ditch the bread and high-calorie sandwich condiments at lunch by wrapping up lean protein, such as slices of roasted chicken, in large leaves of romaine lettuce with a touch of balsamic vinegar or hot sauce. To get the toothy appeal of steak, make your main course grilled portabello mushrooms and serve them with a side of mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes. With some no-salt seasoning, you won’t taste any difference. There’s no need to give up your favorite red sauce if you use it to top spaghetti squash rather than spaghetti, plus you can eat twice as… read on >

Zesty ginger is more than just a great way to dress up your favorite recipes. It contains a potent immunity booster — its active compound gingerol is an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory compound. Ginger is also a source of vitamin C and the minerals potassium and magnesium. Ginger root is inexpensive and easy to find in the produce aisle of your local grocery store. Look for a piece that’s firm and smooth. It may have many nubs, but they shouldn’t be shriveled. The skin should be a light brown and fairly smooth. Ginger keeps well for up to a few weeks in the produce bin of your fridge. Keep it wrapped in a paper towel and change the towel whenever it gets damp. Many people peel ginger with a spoon, scraping off the skin with an edge. But a veggie peeler works too and may be faster. When a recipe calls for minced ginger, after peeling, make horizontal slices and then cut each slice into matchsticks and cut the match sticks into tiny pieces. For grated ginger, you could use a mini food processor or, even better, a microplane — just run one trimmed end of a piece of ginger across the metal mesh and let the ginger and its juice fall into a bowl. Ginger is perfect for jazzing up salad dressings and marinades and… read on >

The idea behind immunotherapy for peanut allergy is appealing in its simplicity: Ask a patient to eat tiny amounts of peanut every day, and over time their immune system will become desensitized to it. Unfortunately, this cure might be doing more harm than the allergy itself, a new evidence review suggests. People who undergo immunotherapy for their peanut allergies wind up with a large increase in life-threatening anaphylaxis and other allergic reactions, compared to others who either avoid peanuts or are in a placebo group, researchers concluded. Peanut immunotherapy triples a patient’s risk of anaphylaxis and doubles the chances they’ll need to use epinephrine to counter a severe allergic reaction. “We found that patients on immunotherapy, their quality of life wasn’t any better,” said lead researcher Dr. Derek Chu, a fellow in clinical immunology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. “Outside of the clinic, they actually end up having more allergic reactions over time.” Chu’s team discovered this troubling fact after pooling results of 12 peanut immunotherapy trials involving more than 1,000 patients. “If you looked at each study one by one, you might not see that,” Chu said. “When you combine them all, and you analyze all 1,000 patients in unison, then you can actually see it.” Food allergies affect more than 6 million people, including as many as 8% of children and 3%… read on >

Smoothies make for a fast and filling breakfast or snack, but the bloom is off the rose when it comes to their health profile. Turns out that many store-bought smoothies are hidden havens for a crazy amount of calories, many coming not only from the natural sugar in the fruit but also from added sweeteners. Fortunately, you can take control of what goes into your smoothie when you make it at home and even amp up its nutrients. Most smoothies overdo the fruit. One way to cut back but still get fruity flavor is by using fruit that is less sweet, like berries, for example. They’re also among the fruits highest in antioxidants and other micronutrients. Blueberries are particularly beneficial for your brain, blood sugar control and eye health. Fresh or frozen, they are equally nutritious. Blueberries also pair well with greens, and that’s where you can really ramp up a smoothie’s nutrition. By adding spinach, for instance, you’ll get vitamins A and C, fiber and iron. A key smoothie ingredient is Greek yogurt, which adds protein along with creaminess. Yogurt also contains helpful probiotic bacteria that balance the flora in your gut. Another superfood addition is chia seeds. They’re high in fiber, protein and good-quality fat, all of which will help you to feel full longer and give you energy throughout your morning. Just… read on >

Tighter high blood pressure guidelines for children might better spot those at risk for heart disease in adulthood, a new study suggests. Compared to 2004 guidelines, the updated 2017 guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics increased the number of children considered to have high blood pressure. But it wasn’t known if the new guidelines would help predict children who were at higher risk for premature heart disease. “We concluded that compared with children with normal blood pressure, those reclassified as having elevated or high blood pressure were more likely to develop adult high blood pressure, thickening of the heart muscle wall and the metabolic syndrome — all risk factors for heart disease,” said senior study author Dr. Lydia Bazzano. She is an associate professor of epidemiology at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, in New Orleans. For the study, her team tracked data from the Bogalusa Heart Study, which enrolled nearly 4,000 participants at ages 3 to 18, and has followed them for 36 years. The researchers found that 11% of participants were identified as having high blood pressure using the 2017 guidelines, compared with 7% under the 2004 guidelines. In addition, the findings showed that 19% of those with high blood pressure under the 2017 guidelines developed thickening of the heart muscle during the follow-up period, compared with 12% of… read on >