Conditioning Research

What excuse do I need? A compound found in red wine, grapes and other fruits, and similar in structure to resveratrol, is able to block cellular processes that allow fat cells to develop, opening a door to a potential method to control obesity, according to a Purdue University study. It is an interesting mechanism here: Kim found that piceatannol binds to insulin receptors of immature fat cells in the first stage of adipogenesis, blocking insulin's ability to control cell cycles and activate genes that carry out further stages of fat cell formation. Piceatannol essentially blocks the pathways necessary for immature fat cells to mature and grow.

IF YOU are frying a steak and mindful of your health, then marinate it in either beer or red wine. So say food scientists who measured amounts of a family of carcinogens found in fried steaks after steeping them in booze. Interesting report in the New Scientist! I must admit I do like to marinate my meat, often in wine and olive oil. Maybe I'll try some beer. Steak in Guinness has been seen on pub menus. Here is the abstract : The effect of beer or red wine marinades on the reduction of heterocyclic aromatic amines (HAs) formation in pan-fried beef was compared. The cooking experiments were performed under well-controlled temperature and time conditions. The samples were analyzed for HAs contents using solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography−diode array detection/fluorescence detection. Unmarinated samples cooked in similar conditions provide...

Two studies in the new Journal of Nutrition This one is not an excuse to binge on chocolate but here is a new study that indicates that the flavanols in dark chocolate can have some real beneficial effects on health, reducing blood pressure and increasing insulin sensitivity. Blood Pressure Is Reduced and Insulin Sensitivity Increased in Glucose-Intolerant, Hypertensive Subjects after 15 Days of Consuming High-Polyphenol Dark Chocolate Then there is also a study which proposes an explanation for the beneficial effects of moderate wine intake on ischemic cardiovascular disease. Resveratrol, at Concentrations Attainable with Moderate Wine Consumption, Stimulates Human Platelet Nitric Oxide Production

I thought this was interesting....... What happens when red wine meets red meat? If the rendezvous happens in the stomach, scientists in Israel are reporting, wine's bounty of healthful chemical compounds may thwart formation of harmful substances released during digestion of fat in the meat. Read more The Stomach as a “Bioreactor”: When Red Meat Meets Red Wine To determine the stomach bioreactor capability for food oxidation or antioxidation, rats were fed red turkey meat cutlets (meal A) or red turkey meat cutlets and red wine concentrate (meal B). The hydroperoxides (LOOH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels of the stomach contents were evaluated during and after digestion; the postprandial plasma MDA level was also evaluated. In independently fed rats, the stomach LOOH concentration fell substantially 90 min following the meal, and the addition of red wine polyphenols enhanced LOOH reduction 3-fold. A similar trend was obtained for MDA. After pyloric ligation, the stomach contents...

Just a quick heads up on a couple of recent bits of news about the alleged benefits of antioxidants in your diet. Firstly a study that looks at the benefits of eating the herb Rosemary: Rosemary not only tastes good in culinary dishes such as Rosemary chicken and lamb, but scientists have now found it is also good for your brain. A collaborative group from the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham Institute) in La Jolla, CA and in Japan, report that the herb rosemary contains an ingredient that fights off free radical damage in the brain. The active ingredient in rosemary, known as carnosic acid (CA), can protect the brain from stroke and neurodegeneration that is due to injurious chemical free radicals. These radicals are thought to contribute not only to stroke and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s, but also to the ill effects of normal aging on the brain. And secondly one that looks at polyphenols : In the study, French scientists describe how high and low...

I've posted before about the debate over the health benefits of red wine. Praised for its antioxidant properties it seems to be a good thing to drink for health. However, as I mentioned in that post, there remains some debate over the role of antioxidants. Here are a couple of further studies for your consideration, one (potentially) on each side of the debate. First of all.... Red wine is good for you. ... Even relatively low doses of resveratrol—a chemical found in the skins of red grapes and in red wine—can improve the sensitivity of mice to the hormone insulin, according to a report in the October issue of Cell Metabolism Low doses of a red wine ingredient fight diabetes in mice SIRT1 Improves Insulin Sensitivity under Insulin-Resistant Conditions by Repressing PTP1B Cheng Sun, Fang Zhang, Xinjian Ge, Tingting Yan, Xingmiao Chen, Xianglin Shi, and Qiwei Zhai Insulin resistance is often characterized as the most critical factor contributing to the development of type 2 diabet...

With the same disclaimer as on the post regarding the benefits of red wine - i.e. this is not an excuse to get drunk every night - other alcohol can also have beneficial effects. When we hear about the benefits of alcohol it is invariably in the context of red wine . We are told that the flavonoids and various other compounds in red wine are beneficial. Now as I say here I am not now convinced that the benefits are down directly to the flavonoids, based on what Emma writes . However, this study found that there are also benefits in other drinks: specifically - in this study gin and cava! The finding is that booze to some degree is anti-inflammatory. Inflammatory Markers of Atherosclerosis Are Decreased after Moderate Consumption of Cava (Sparkling Wine) in Men with Low Cardiovascular Risk. Atherosclerosis is considered a low-grade inflammatory disease. Polyphenol-rich alcoholic beverages (red wine) have shown a more pronounced antiinflammatory effect than polyphenol-free alcoholic ...