Latest news with #AmericanSocietyForNutrition
News.com.au
28-06-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Daily Aussie habit that could add years to your lifespan
For many Aussies, drinking coffee is a quick way to get a sure-fire energy boost. But a new study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, suggests it might also support longer-term health, specifically, healthy ageing. While the study hasn't been peer-reviewed or published yet, it was thorough and tracked a large group of women over many decades. It adds to the growing body of research linking coffee to a longer life and various health benefits, including lower risks of certain chronic illnesses. Fang Fang Zhang, a professor of nutritional epidemiology at Tufts University who wasn't involved with the study, told The New York Times that the findings connecting coffee with healthier ageing weren't surprising. 'The data is quite consistent that coffee consumption is actually beneficial,' she said. The study methodology Researchers followed more than 47,000 female nurses over several decades, starting in the 1970s. The women answered questions about various lifestyle factors every few years, including how much coffee, tea, and cola (Coca-Cola or Pepsi) they drank. In 2016, the researchers looked at how many were still alive and met the criteria for 'healthy ageing'. Just over 3700 women met this definition: they were 70 or older, in good physical and mental health, with no cognitive impairment or memory loss, and free from 11 chronic diseases like cancer, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. They found a correlation between the amount of caffeine consumed (mostly from coffee) between ages 45 and 60 and the likelihood of healthy ageing. After adjusting for other factors that could affect ageing, such as diet, exercise, and smoking, the women who consumed the most caffeine (nearly seven small cups a day) were 13 per cent more likely to age healthily than those who had the least (less than one cup a day). Drinking tea or decaf coffee wasn't linked to healthy ageing, possibly because the overall consumption of tea and decaf was lower among the study participants, making it harder to see benefits. What other research says The study lead warned that just because drinking seven cups of coffee daily was associated with healthier ageing doesn't mean everyone should do so, nor is it necessarily healthy. However, many other studies have found similar links between regular coffee consumption and health benefits. A team from Queen Mary University, London, recently revealed that caffeine can help you live longer by influencing how cells grow, repair, and respond to stress. The British researchers believe this could significantly boost longevity and even help ward off dementia, diabetes, and heart failure. Another study from May this year, involving over 46,000 adults, found that those who drank one to three cups of coffee daily were 15 per cent less likely to die within the next nine to 11 years compared to those who didn't drink caffeinated coffee. The takeaways While these studies can't prove cause and effect, the consistent benefits observed suggest they are unlikely to be due to other factors, experts say. Interestingly, drinking coffee is often linked with habits like smoking and less exercise. However, the fact that benefits are still seen after accounting for these factors hints that coffee might really have a positive effect. Experts also warn that adding too much cream or sugar can negate some of the health benefits of coffee, so keep that in mind next time you order your cup of Joe.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Controversial ‘unhealthy' food can actually prevent heart disease and Type 2 diabetes: study
Has everything we know gone to seed? For years, wellness influencers and nutrition gurus have waged war on a common cooking oil, treating it like a toxic product better suited among your cleaning supplies than your kitchen gear. But a new study — presented at this year's annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition — has planted a seed of doubt in this well-trodden conviction. The findings suggest that people with high levels of linoleic acid actually have a lower risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, thanks to reduced inflammation. Since linoleic acid is found in seed oils — which are derived from the seed of a plant, such as sunflower, canola and sesame — this association seemingly tramples the widespread belief they are 'bad' for you. 'There has been increasing attention on seed oils, with some claiming these oils promote inflammation and raise cardiometabolic risk,' Kevin C. Maki, adjunct professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, said in a statement. 'Our study, based on almost 1,900 people, found that higher linoleic acid in blood plasma was associated with lower levels of biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk, including those related to inflammation.' While these results align with previous research, this study was based on bloodwork, meaning that it makes a stronger argument than observational evidence. 'Although other studies have assessed relationships between linoleic acid and cardiometabolic risk factors, our study used objective biomarkers rather than diet records or food frequency questionnaires to assess linoleic acid intake,' said Maki. 'We also measured a range of markers of inflammation and indicators of glucose metabolism.' He noted they tested for other inflammation biomarkers and consistently found that 'people with higher levels of linoleic acid in their blood tended to have a healthier overall risk profile for heart disease and diabetes.' Experts, meanwhile, are increasingly chiming in to say that seed oils aren't as unhealthy as some might have you think. 'Seed oils are objectively quite healthy, in that they're typically low in saturated fats,' said Kerry Beeson, a nutritional therapist at Prep Kitchen. 'There is some concern over the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 in these oils, with much higher levels of omega-6 present, potentially connected to inflammation,' Beeson previously told reporters. 'However, there is no strong evidence that high levels of omega-6 are associated with disease.' Still, since seed oils are already so widespread in what we consume — from processed food to dressing to takeout — Beeson can see the argument for opting for something else in the kitchen. 'Aim to eat a wide variety of healthy fats in your diet, avoid eating lots of processed foods, don't rely too heavily on seed oils in cooking — try incorporating other oils like coconut and olive oil — and eat plenty of omega-3 fatty acids in your diet, from oily fish, flaxseeds, chia seeds or walnuts,' she said.
CNN
24-06-2025
- Health
- CNN
Your daily cup of coffee could help you live longer and healthier, new study says
Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN's Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being. Want to reach older age with a sharp mind and healthy body? Part of the answer may be in your coffee cup, according to new research. 'Women who drank one to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day in their 50s were more likely to reach older age free from major chronic diseases and with good cognitive, physical, and mental health,' said lead study author Dr. Sara Mahdavi, adjunct professor in the faculty of medicine and department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto. Researchers analyzed dietary data from more than 47,000 women who were part of the Nurses' Health Study, according to the research released Monday at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition in Orlando. The study was presented as an abstract, but a more in-depth manuscript of the investigation will be submitted for peer review in the coming months, Mahdavi said. The women were surveyed in middle age and followed for 30 years to understand their rates of death and disease. 'In this study, we found that moderate caffeinated coffee consumption during midlife was associated with a higher likelihood of healthy aging 30 years later,' Mahdavi said. The effects were found in caffeinated coffee in particular, according to the research. The same link was not found for tea or decaffeinated coffee — and drinking more cola or other caffeinated sodas was tied to a lower chance of healthy aging. 'This would imply that coffee in particular has health preserving or promoting effects,' said Dr. David Kao, Jacqueline Marie Schauble Leaffer Endowed Chair in Women's Heart Disease and associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical School in an email. 'As with other studies, they also appear to have found that coffee has a particular benefit over other caffeinated drinks.' That said, the research is high quality, added Kao, who was not involved in the research. The study is also observational, meaning it is limited in its ability to examine direct cause and effect. The new research can only show that a behavior and an outcome are more likely to occur together. Researchers did take that into account and adjusted for other factors that could link coffee drinking and healthy aging such as lifestyle, demographic and other dietary differences, but it is still possible there is another variable at play, Mahdavi said. But the link between coffee and healthy aging isn't surprising –– it is consistent with prior research, Kao said. Moderate coffee drinking has been linked before to lower risks of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, he added. Does this mean you should take on a coffee habit if you don't have one already? Not necessarily, Mahdavi said. 'Coffee may support longevity, but it's not a universal prescription — especially for women. Hormonal shifts influence how caffeine is metabolized, so the benefits depend on timing, biology, and individual health,' she said in an email. Estrogen inhibits a liver enzyme that is crucial for breaking down caffeine, which means that caffeine may last longer in the body of some people, especially those going through hormonal transitions such as menopause or pregnancy or those using oral contraception, Mahdavi said. Midlife, the time period examined in this study, is a life stage marked by hormonal and metabolic shifts for women, she added. 'Moderate caffeinated coffee consumption — typically one to three cups per day — can be part of a healthy diet for many adults,' Mahdavi said. 'However, this should not be taken as a blanket recommendation for everyone to begin or increase coffee intake with the goal of longevity.' For one thing, the data can't say whether increasing coffee consumption would help to preserve health, Kao said. 'In other words, although women who drink 3 cups of coffee/day might have better long-term functioning than non-coffee drinkers, we don't know if non-coffee drinkers started drinking 3 cups a day, whether they would have better functioning than if they remained non-coffee drinkers,' he said in an email. The findings do suggest that people don't necessarily need to decrease their coffee consumption in the name of healthy aging, Kao said. 'Coffee is an important and positive part of daily life in many cultures around the world, he said. 'For many … the knowledge that a daily coffee or 3 is probably not harmful is welcome news.' That said, some people do need to watch their coffee consumption, including those with high blood pressure, heart disease, anxiety and sleep disorders, said Dr. Lu Qi, HCA Regents Distinguished Chair and professor at Tulane University Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans. Qi was not involved in the research but was involved in another recent study showing that having coffee in the morning had a better impact on lowering death rates than drinking it throughout the day. Although coffee may be an enjoyable aspect of good health, it does not replace other healthy behaviors such as eating nutritious foods, exercising and getting good sleep, Mahdavi added.
Medscape
19-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Diabetes Plus Asthma Equals Greater Metabolic Risk
People with both diabetes and asthma appear to face greater metabolic risks than those with either condition alone, according to new observational data. In a study of more than 18,000 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey during 2001-2020, individuals with both asthma and diabetes (most presumed to have type 2 diabetes) had significantly greater impairments in glucose regulation, insulin sensitivity, and lipid metabolism compared with those who had only one condition alone or neither. Inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) were also elevated in the comorbid group, 'supporting a hypothesis of a shared inflammatory mechanism,' Sixtus Aguree, PhD, assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, and colleagues wrote in a poster presented at NUTRITION 2025, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. The findings 'emphasize the need for integrated clinical strategies that simultaneously target both inflammation and metabolic dysfunction in patients with asthma-diabetes comorbidity,' the authors wrote. 'Routine screening for insulin resistance and inflammatory markers in [these] patients may aid in early intervention and risk reduction.' This points to the need for integrated clinical care, Aguree told Medscape Medical News . 'For managing these comorbid conditions, healthcare professionals need to work together. I think that's a better way to treat the person than working in silos.' Bidirectional Relationship Commenting on the findings, Tianshi David Wu, MD, assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told Medscape Medical News that these findings align with current evidence. 'Diabetes and asthma have a bidirectional relationship,' Wu explained. 'Population studies have shown that patients with diabetes are at higher risk of developing asthma later on, and vice versa. What's still unknown are the mechanisms that explain this finding.' Wu added that the researchers had put forth a reasonable hypothesis — that systemic inflammation may play a key role in this association. 'The best way to prove this would be with a trial that specifically targets the type of inflammation you think is driving both asthma and diabetes to see how it affects these conditions.' As a possible blueprint, he pointed to cardiology, where patients with heart failure and diabetes are preferentially treated with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, which are effective at treating both conditions. 'In the asthma world, I don't think the evidence is there yet to recommend any specific diabetes medication, but there is plenty of real-world data suggesting some benefit, and there are two clinical trials ongoing testing semaglutide and metformin to see if they can improve asthma,' Wu said. Surprising Impact on Insulin Resistance The study included 18,370 nationally representative US adults. Among them, 8.2% had diabetes without asthma, 7.4% had asthma without diabetes, 83.3% had neither (controls), and 1.2% had both. BMI was highest in the combined asthma-diabetes group (35.9 kg/m2 vs. 28.2 kg/m2 in controls, P < .001), as was waist circumference (117.6 cm vs. 97.3 cm, P < .001). Insulin resistance, defined as a homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) > 2.5, was present in 41% of controls, 46.8% with asthma only, 77.3% with diabetes only, and 85.6% with both conditions. The HOMA-IR score in the asthma-diabetes group was significantly higher than in controls (9.85 vs. 2.96, P < .001). Logistic regression analysis confirmed that the odds of insulin resistance were nearly eight times higher in the asthma-diabetes group than in the control group (odds ratio [OR], 7.89, P < .001), even after adjusting for BMI, sex, and medication use. 'We didn't expect insulin resistance to be that much higher in the combination of asthma and diabetes. That shocked us,' Aguree said. Asthma alone was not significantly associated with insulin resistance (OR, 0.76, P = .220), 'underscoring the additive impact of coexisting diabetes,' the authors wrote in their poster. Additional Metabolic Outcomes Absolute values of LDL cholesterol were 115.9 mg/dL and 114.5 mg/dL, respectively, for controls and asthma only, vs 98.9 mg/dL and 104.8 mg/dL for diabetes only and asthma-diabetes groups, respectively. The lower value in those with diabetes is likely due to greater use of statins, Aguree noted. In contrast, compared with controls, those in the asthma-diabetes group had significantly lower levels of HDL cholesterol, while triglycerides and the triglyceride/HDL ratio were higher ( P < .001 for all). Systolic blood pressure was also significantly higher in the comorbid group ( P < .001), as was diastolic blood pressure, although to a lesser extent ( P = .012). A1c levels were 5.41% in controls and 5.46% in the asthma-only group, both significantly lower than levels in the diabetes group (7.34%) and the comorbid group (7.11%), Aguree said. Log-CRP values were 0.530 units higher in the asthma-diabetes group than in controls ( P < .001), as were hs-CRP (1.70 mg/L vs 0.60 mg/L, P < .001). Aguree and colleagues are now expanding their analysis to include longitudinal data and evaluate integrated interventions, such as combined anti-inflammatory and glucose-lowering medications, as a means of reducing the burden of both conditions. Aguree had no disclosures. Wu declared receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health and the American Lung Association.
CNA
14-06-2025
- Health
- CNA
That cup of coffee may have a surprising perk – a healthier, longer life
Most people who drink coffee appreciate the quick jolt of energy it provides. But in a new study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, scientists have found that coffee may offer the much longer-term benefit of healthy ageing. The study has not been peer-reviewed or published, but it was rigorous and included a large number of women who were followed for many years. It also adds to a large body of evidence linking coffee to longer lives and various health advantages, including lower risks of certain chronic diseases – though all of these studies had limitations, including that they were observational and could not prove cause and effect. Still, the results linking coffee to healthier ageing were not surprising, said Fang Fang Zhang, a professor of nutritional epidemiology at Tufts University who was not involved with the study. 'The data is quite consistent that coffee consumption is actually beneficial,' she said. WHAT DID THE NEW RESEARCH FIND? In the study, researchers followed more than 47,000 female nurses for several decades beginning in the 1970s. Every few years, the women answered detailed questions about their diets, including how much coffee, tea and cola (like Coca-Cola or Pepsi) they typically drank. Then, the scientists looked at how many of the women were still alive and met their definition of 'healthy ageing' in 2016. Just over 3,700 women met that criteria: They were 70 or older; reported good physical and mental health, with no cognitive impairment or memory problems; and were free of 11 chronic diseases such as cancer, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. The researchers found a correlation between how much caffeine the women typically drank (which was mostly from coffee) when they were between 45 and 60 years old and their likelihood of healthy ageing. After adjusting for other factors that could affect aging, such as their overall diet, how much they exercised and whether they smoked, those who consumed the most caffeine (equivalent to nearly seven eight-ounce cups of coffee per day) had odds of healthy ageing that were 13 per cent higher than those who consumed the least caffeine (equivalent to less than one cup per day). Drinking tea or decaffeinated coffee was not associated with healthy ageing, the researchers found. That may be because the study participants generally consumed less tea and decaffeinated coffee overall, so perhaps there were fewer chances for the researchers to find benefits linked to them, said Sara Mahdavi, an adjunct professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto who led the study. Tea and decaf coffee also have less caffeine, and tea has different plant compounds from regular coffee, so that may explain the results, too, she added. Drinking cola, another potential source of caffeine, was associated with significantly decreased odds of healthy ageing. Dr Mahdavi cautioned that while drinking up to seven small cups of coffee per day was associated with healthy ageing in her study, that doesn't necessarily mean that drinking that much will benefit everyone, nor that it is healthy to do so. Research in other groups of people suggests that the health benefits of coffee may plateau or even dip when they drink more than three to four cups per day. WHAT DOES OTHER RESEARCH SUGGEST? Many other studies have linked drinking coffee regularly to a lower risk of early death. In a study of more than 46,000 US adults published in May, Dr Zhang and her colleagues found that those who consumed one to three cups of coffee per day were about 15 percent less likely to die within the next nine to 11 years than those who didn't drink coffee. That benefit disappeared, though, for people who said they typically added more than about a half teaspoon of sugar to their coffee and for people who added more than one gram of saturated fat (equivalent to about one tablespoon of half-and-half or 3.5 tablespoons of whole milk) per cup of coffee. Research has also suggested that people who drink coffee regularly have lower risks of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, liver disease, osteoporosis and some types of cancer. These kinds of studies can't prove cause and effect, said Aladdin Shadyab, an associate professor of public health and medicine at the University of California, San Diego. But because the benefits associated with coffee have been so consistent, it's unlikely that they are entirely explained by other aspects of a person's life, Dr Zhang said. If anything, drinking coffee is often associated with unhealthy habits, like smoking and less exercise. The fact that you see benefits after accounting for these differences means that coffee is probably helping, Dr Zhang said. HOW MIGHT COFFEE PROTECT YOUR HEALTH? Researchers aren't entirely sure why coffee may be beneficial. 'It's a bit of a mystery,' said Marilyn Cornelis, an associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. Studies in mice have found that caffeine may improve memory and protect brain cells from damage. And human studies have found links between regular (not decaffeinated) coffee and a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease. Both regular and decaf coffee contain hundreds of chemical compounds, including many that may lower inflammation and prevent cell damage, Dr Mahdavi said. While the new study didn't find a benefit associated with decaf coffee, other research has linked it, along with regular coffee, to lower rates of Type 2 diabetes and other conditions, Dr Cornelis said. Tea also contains many beneficial compounds, and drinking it has been associated with better heart health and a longer life. WHAT'S THE TAKEAWAY? If you drink coffee regularly, consider the new findings and others like it as good news that it may benefit your health – so long as you don't add too much cream or sugar, Dr Zhang said. But if you don't enjoy coffee, Dr Mahdavi added, there's no need to start drinking it. It can interfere with sleep or make some people feel anxious or jittery.
