Eats « Weekly Gravy

It’s not just sagging that ages a face, but loss of fat under the skin as well, according to a new study. The findings could help plastic surgeons give their patients a more natural look, the study authors said. For the study, researchers analyzed CT scans of the faces of 19 people, taken at least a decade apart. The study participants were an average age of 46 at the time of the first scan and 57 on average at the second scan. The patients weren’t undergoing facelift surgery or other cosmetic procedures. The scans were useful for measuring changes in fat deposits in the midface, which is the area between the eyes and the mouth. The total volume of facial fat decreased by about 12% at the follow-up scan. Fat volume in the superficial compartment, which is just under the skin, decreased by an average of about 11%, while there was a greater loss in the deep facial fat compartment, an average reduction of more than 18%, the investigators found. The findings support the volume loss theory, according to the report published in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. “In particular, we think that deep facial fat loss removes support from the overlying fat,” said study author Dr. Aaron Morgan, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee. “That causes deepening of the… read on > read on >

Black American children have higher rates of shellfish and fish allergies than white children, a new study finds. The research confirms the important role that race plays in children’s food allergies, the study authors said. “Food allergy is a common condition in the U.S., and we know from our previous research that there are important differences between African American and white children with food allergy, but there is so much we need to know to be able to help our patients from minority groups,” said study co-author Dr. Mahboobeh Mahdavinia. She is chief of allergy and immunology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “In this current paper, our goal was to understand whether children from different races are allergic to similar foods, or if there is a difference based on their racial background,” Mahdavinia said in a medical center news release. The research team studied 664 children, aged 12 and under, who’d been diagnosed with a food allergy. Of those, 36% were Black and 64% were white. Compared to white kids, Black children were more likely to have shellfish and fin fish allergy, and to have a wheat allergy, the investigators found. Cockroach exposure can trigger shellfish and fin fish allergy in children, and there are higher levels of cockroach allergens in poorer inner-city neighborhoods where many Black children live, the study authors noted.… read on > read on >

FRIDAY, Jan. 29, 2021 (American Heart Association News) — New federal dietary guidelines encourage Americans to focus more on eating healthy throughout life, to be flexible in their eating patterns and to cut down on empty calories. The recommendations, released every five years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, are designed to promote nutrition and prevent chronic disease. The guidance influences food and nutrition programs at the federal, state and local levels, and impacts how food companies formulate their products. “The high prevalence of diabetes, cancer and heart disease could be reduced if people ate better,” said Judith Wylie-Rosett, a professor of health promotion and nutrition research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. “Chronic diseases are often related to obesity and poor nutritional habits.” Here are five important takeaways from nutrition experts: There’s flexibility to customize The recommendations emphasize that healthy eating comes in many forms and can be adjusted to fit cultural traditions, personal tastes and different budgets. Swapping out red meat, for example, doesn’t mean people have to force down their least-favorite source of protein. “You can go with a plant-based diet or eat seafood, poultry and legumes rather than red meat,” said Penny Kris-Etherton, a distinguished professor of nutrition at Pennsylvania State University in University Park. The new focus… read on > read on >

While researchers continue to try to find the key that unlocks the cause of Parkinson’s disease, new research suggests that what a person eats could make a difference. Researchers in Canada found a strong correlation between eating either a Mediterranean diet or the MIND diet (which combines elements of the Mediterranean diet and a diet known as Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), and a delay in onset of Parkinson’s disease. “Sticking really closely to these diets, both the MIND and the Mediterranean diet, coincided with a later onset of Parkinson’s disease,” said Avril Metcalfe-Roach, a graduate student at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver. “For women, that was actually up to 17.4 years when they adhered really closely to the MIND diet and for men it was about eight years.” The study, published online recently in the journal Movement Disorders, offers a glimmer of hope because there’s a lack of medications to prevent or delay Parkinson’s disease, the researchers noted. Metcalfe-Roach acknowledged that the study has limitations. It asked the 167 study participants what they ate after they were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and presumed those were eating habits they had maintained for some time. “That is a limitation of our study. We don’t really know how long they have been on those diets, but ideally for neurodegenerative diseases and your health in general,… read on > read on >

In findings that may ring true to parents, a new government survey shows that a paltry 2% of U.S. high school students are eating enough vegetables. The study is the latest look at teenagers’ eating habits by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And experts described the results as “disappointing.” Of more than 13,000 high school students surveyed in 2017, only 2% were getting the minimum recommended allotment of veggies: 2.5 to 3 cups per day. Fruit, meanwhile, was only mildly more popular. About 7% of high schoolers were getting enough, and 100% fruit juice counted toward those servings. The figures show no progress since the CDC’s previous report on the topic: In 2013, as well, 2% of high school kids were eating their veggies as recommended. “The findings aren’t necessarily surprising, but they are discouraging,” said Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut, in Hartford. There have been some positive policy moves in recent years, according to Schwartz, who was not involved in the study. They include efforts to make fresh produce more accessible to low-income Americans through food stamps and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. There are also rules around fruits and vegetables in the National School Lunch Program. The problem is that relatively few high school students participate… read on > read on >