Nutrition News

Study: Boost from Morning Coffee Can’t Be Replicated with Plain Caffeine

Habitual coffee consumers justify their life choices by arguing that they become more alert and increase motor and cognitive performance and efficiency; however, these subjective impressions still do not have a neurobiological correlation. Using functional connectivity approaches to study resting-state fMRI data in a group of habitual coffee drinkers, Picó-Pérez et al. show that coffee consumption decreased connectivity of the posterior default mode network (DMN) and between the somatosensory/motor networks and the prefrontal cortex, while the connectivity in nodes of the higher visual and the right executive control network (RECN) is increased after drinking coffee; the data also show that caffeine intake only replicated the impact of coffee on the posterior DMN, thus disentangling the neurochemical effects of caffeine from the experience of having a coffee. Image credit: Sci.News.
Jun 29, 2023 by News Staff

Plain caffeine only partially reproduces the effects of drinking a cup of coffee, activating areas of the brain that make you feel more alert but not the areas of the brain that affect working memory and goal-directed behavior, according to new research. Habitual coffee consumers justify their life choices by arguing that they become more alert and increase motor and cognitive performance and efficiency; however, these subjective impressions still...

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Prunus mume. Image credit: Manseok Kim.

Japanese Plum Juice Concentrate Improves Cardiovascular Health

Jun 14, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Fruit from the Japanese plum tree (Prunus mume) is a traditional food in Japan. Traditionally referred to as ‘Ume,’ the raw fruit contains toxins,...

Dopamine release following intragastric glucose and lipid infusions in lean participants and participants with obesity before and after weight loss. Image credit: van Galen et al., doi: 10.1038/s42255-023-00816-9.

Brain Responses to Nutrients are Severely Impaired in Humans with Obesity, Study Shows

Jun 13, 2023 by News Staff

Importantly, the impaired neuronal responses are not restored after diet-induced weight loss, according to a new study led by Amsterdam University Medical...

Strong evidence suggesting that frying in space is possible. Image credit: Lioumbas et al., doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.112249.

Is Frying Possible in Space?

Jun 12, 2023 by Natali Anderson

French fries are a very popular food commodity across many cultural backgrounds on Earth and as such they may be appreciated by long-term space travelers....

Dave et al. demonstrated that grape consumption does not perturb the eubiotic state of the microbiome with normal, healthy human subjects; grape consumption does change taxonomic composition of the microbiome, enzyme levels, KEGG pathways, and the metabolome. Image credit: NoName_13.

Grape Consumption Modulates Human Microbiome, Study Suggests

May 29, 2023 by Natali Anderson

In new research, scientists from Western New England University and elsewhere investigated the potential of grapes to modulate the human microbiome and...

Yeung et al. examined the effect of daily multivitamin/multimineral supplementation on memory in older adults. Image credit: Ri Butov.

Daily Multivitamin Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults, New Study Finds

May 25, 2023 by News Staff

Multivitamin supplementation holds promise as a safe and accessible approach to maintaining cognitive health in older age, according to new research led...

Espresso coffee is brewed by first grinding roasted coffee beans into grains. Hot water then forces its way through a bed of coffee grains at high pressure, and the soluble content of the coffee grains dissolves into the water (extraction) to produce espresso.

New Study Explains Why More Finely Ground Coffee Beans Brew Weaker Espresso

May 9, 2023 by Natali Anderson

A recent experiment showed that, contrary to theoretical predictions, beyond a cutoff point, grinding coffee more finely results in lower extraction. One...

Watermelons. Image credit: Jorge Furber.

Regular Watermelon Consumption Improves Heart Health and Diet Quality, Two Studies Suggest

May 5, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Two new studies in the journal Nutrients suggest that watermelon consumption can increase nutrient intake and overall diet quality in both children and...

Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins, which inhibit the adherence of Escherichia coli to the urothelial cells lining the bladder. Image credit: David Mark.

Cranberry Product Consumption Reduces Risk of Symptomatic UTIs in Women

Apr 20, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Cranberries — as cranberry juice, tablets or capsules — have been used for many years to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs). They contain...

In a randomized controlled trial, a significant increase in urinary phenolic metabolites was observed in healthy young adults who consumed skin roasted peanuts and peanut butter daily for 6 months compared to those who consumed a control butter (cream without fiber or polyphenols). Image credit: Petra Pezibear.

Peanut Consumption Could Have Positive Impact on Vascular Biomarkers in Healthy Young Adults

Mar 27, 2023 by News Staff

New research from the University of Barcelona and the CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición suggests that the urinary phenolic metabolites...

Genetically predicted, lifelong, higher plasma caffeine concentrations were associated with lower body mass index and fat mass, as well as a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Image credit: Sci.News.

Study: Higher Blood Caffeine Levels Might Reduce Body Fat and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Mar 27, 2023 by News Staff

Karolinska Institutet researcher Susanna Larsson and colleagues investigated the potential causal effects of long term plasma caffeine concentrations on...

In two large population-based cohorts, Ochoa-Rosales et al. observed longitudinal associations between higher habitual coffee consumption and lower risk of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Image credit: Sci.News.

Coffee Consumption Reduces Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, New Study Suggests

Mar 24, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Coffee is among the most consumed beverages worldwide. Coffee consumption has been associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes, but underlying mechanisms...

Using an interventional study in healthy, normal-weight participants, Thanarajah et al. demonstrate that, independent of body weight gain and alterations in metabolic markers, exposure to high-fat/high-sugar food: (i) reduces preferences for low-fat food, (ii) plays a critical role in up-regulating brain responses to anticipation and consumption of highly palatable, energy-dense food, and (iii) has a generalized effect on the neuronal encoding of prediction errors in the context of associative learning and independent of food rewards. Taken together, repeated consumption of high-fat/high-sugar relative to isocaloric low-fat/low-sugar food, and in the absence of changes in body weight or metabolic state, can rewire brain circuits and thereby induce neurobehavioral adaptations. Hence, changing the food environment and reducing the availability of energy-dense high-fat/high-sugar food items is pivotal to combating the obesity pandemic. Image credit: Thanarajah et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.02.015.

Daily Consumption of Sweet and Fatty Snacks Alters Our Reward Circuits: Study

Mar 23, 2023 by News Staff

Western diets rich in fat and sugar promote excess calorie intake and weight gain; however, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. To close this gap, researchers...

Duan et al. identified a mechanism of intestinal Th17 cell differentiation that emerges from an intestinal epithelial cell-associated an unfolded protein response. Image credit: Duan et al., doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2023.02.018.

Xanthine Plays Important Role in Gut Health, New Study Suggests

Mar 15, 2023 by News Staff

Xanthine, which is found in coffee, tea and chocolate, may play a role in the generation of interleukin-17-producing T helper (Th17) cells, an important...

The space salad. Image credit: University of Adelaide.

Researchers Create Space Salad for Astronauts

Mar 3, 2023 by News Staff

The space salad contains ingredients — including soybean, poppy, barley, kale, peanuts, sweet potato and sunflower seeds — that could be grown...

In a controlled laboratory protocol, Isherwood et al. investigated if the human circadian system anticipates large meals. Image credit: Rita E.

Human Body Can Predict Timing of Regular Meals: Study

Feb 23, 2023 by News Staff

In new research, scientists at the University of Surrey tested the hypothesis that the human circadian system anticipates large meals. In a controlled...

Daily consumption of strawberries at a dose of two-and-a-half cups per day significantly improved insulin resistance and moderately improved high-density lipoprotein particle size. Image credit: Roberto Barresi.

Dietary Strawberry Consumption May Help Heart Health

Feb 13, 2023 by News Staff

Dietary strawberries significantly improve cardiometabolic risks, mainly via improving insulin resistance and lipid particles, and improve vascular health,...

People who drank 2 cups of coffee per day and people who drank over 3 cups per day had lower systolic blood pressure than non-coffee drinkers by 5.2 mmHg and 9.7, respectively; similar trends were also observed for peripheral pulse pressure, aortic blood pressure and aortic pulse pressure. Image credit: Sci.News.

Regular Coffee Drinking Associated with Lower Blood Pressure

Feb 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to new research from the University of Bologna and the Sant’Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, self-reported regular coffee drinkers have...

Caffeic and chlorogenic acids are commonly found phenolic acids in plant-derived foods and beverages; their corresponding adducts with an amino acid called cysteine have been detected in coffee-containing beverages. Image credit: StockSnap.

Coffee With Milk Have Anti-Inflammatory Effect, New Study Says

Jan 30, 2023 by News Staff

A combination of proteins and antioxidants doubles the anti-inflammatory properties in immune cells, according to a new paper published in the Journal...

Drinking a beetroot juice before exercise makes the aging brain perform more efficiently. Image credit: Ken Bennett, Wake Forest University.

Study: Dietary Nitrate Supplementation Increases Muscle Force during Exercise

Jan 25, 2023 by News Staff

Supplementation of dietary nitrate — commonly found in beetroot juice — increases nitric oxide bioavailability and can enhance exercise performance....

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