Category: Scientific/Technical Items
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Study Examines Effect of Early Microbiota Disruption on Obesity
A recent study examining early microbiota disruption has purportedly suggested “that antibiotic exposure during a critical window of early development disrupts the bacterial landscape of the gut, home to trillions of diverse microbes, and permanently reprograms the body’s metabolism, setting up a predisposition to obesity.” Laura Cox, et al., “Altering the Intestinal Microbiota during a…
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FDA Presents 4-MEI Exposure Assessment Data at ACS Annual Meeting
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) researchers recently presented dietary exposure assessments for 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) at the 248th American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting held August 10-14, 2014, in San Francisco. Contributing to FDA’s review of available toxicological data for 4-MEI found in Class III and IV Caramel colors produced using ammonium compounds, the scientists analyzed…
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Trio of Studies Tackle Health Effects of Salt Consumption
Three studies recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) have answered the Institute of Medicine’s call for additional data on the effects of salt consumption on human health, raising questions about the relationships between sodium intake, blood pressure, cardiovascular events, and mortality. Relying on the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) cohort study that…
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The Globe and Mail Criticizes Society’s Fear of Sugar
National Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail has traced the history of sugar from its roots as a luxury to its current incarnation as a “forbidden fruit, the momentary pleasure infused with a lifetime of guilt.” Author John Allemang argues that the human taste for sweetness is natural and that “when we denounce sugar, we…
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Study Claims SSBs Consumed During Adolescence Could Impair Memory
An animal study presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB) held July 29-August 1, 2014, in Seattle, Washington, has reportedly claimed that “daily consumption of beverages sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup or sucrose can impair the ability to learn and remember information, particularly when consumption occurs during…
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NEJM Article Questions Usefulness of Nutrient-Content Claims
A recent perspective article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has questioned whether nutrient-content claims—such as “sugar-free,” “high in oat bran,” or “contains 100 calories”—are confusing to consumers. Authored by Allison Sylvetsky and William Dietz, the article claims that sugar- and calorie-related claims “may lead parents to underestimate the products’ energy content and…
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NRC Report Classifies Styrene as “Reasonably Anticipated Human Carcinogen”
Directed by Congress to conduct an independent review of the styrene assessment in the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP’s) 12th Report on Carcinogens (12th RoC), the National Academies National Research Council (NRC) recently issued a report concurring that there is “compelling evidence… to support a listing of styrene as, at a minimum, reasonably anticipated to be…
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High-Salt Diet Linked to Doubled CVD Risk in People with Diabetes
A recent study has allegedly concluded that high dietary sodium intake doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with type-2 diabetes. Chika Horiakwa, et al., “Dietary Sodium Intake and Incidence of Diabetes Complications in Japanese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes–Analysis of the Japan Diabetes Complications Study (JDCS),” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, July…