Latest news with #fruitsAndVegetables
Medscape
03-07-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Certain Plant-Based Foods May Cut Crohn's Disease Risk
TOPLINE: A high combined intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and potatoes was associated with a reduced risk for Crohn's disease — driven largely by specific foods such as apples or pears, bananas, mushrooms, and onions or garlic. Alternatively, a high intake of potatoes was associated with an increased risk for ulcerative colitis. METHODOLOGY: The International Organization for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease recommends eating more fruits and vegetables for their fiber benefits, but current guidelines do not distinguish between subcategories despite their differing compositions and potential effects on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) risk. Researchers analyzed data of 341,519 participants without IBD (mean age, 52.1 years; 70% women) from a popular European cohort to evaluate how consumption of individual fruits, vegetables, legumes, and potatoes influenced the risk for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. At baseline, validated food frequency questionnaires were used to assess dietary intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and potatoes (including other tubers). Participants in the lowest vs highest quartiles had median daily intakes of 291.6 vs 840.9 g/d of combined fruits, vegetables, legumes, and potatoes; 17.0 vs 100.3 g/d of apples/pears; 6.6 vs 14.0 g/d of bananas; 2.1 vs 6.2 g/d of mushrooms; 4.1 vs 11.9 g/d of onions or garlic; and 64.7 vs 82.1 g/d of potatoes. TAKEAWAY: The median follow-up period was 13.4 years, during which 149 participants developed Crohn's disease and 379 developed ulcerative colitis. A higher combined intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and potatoes was associated with a lower risk of developing Crohn's disease (highest vs lowest quartile; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.44; 95% CI, 0.26-0.76) but not ulcerative colitis (aHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.76-1.50). A subsequent post hoc analysis showed that the pooled intake of apples or pears, bananas, mushrooms, and onions or garlic was linked to a comparable risk reduction for Crohn's disease as total fruit, vegetable, legume, and potato intake (highest vs lowest quartile; pooled aHR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.33-1.02). However, a higher intake of potatoes was associated with a higher risk of developing ulcerative colitis (highest vs lowest quartile; aHR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.05-2.17). IN PRACTICE: 'In conclusion, we found that high combined intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and potatoes is associated with a lower risk of developing CD but not UC. This was particularly apparent for apple/pear, banana, mushrooms, and onion/garlic intakes. A higher risk of UC was observed for a higher intake of potatoes,' the authors of the study wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Antoine Meyer, MD, PhD, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif, France. It was published online in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. LIMITATIONS: This study relied on food frequency questionnaires measured only at baseline, which may not have fully captured dietary changes over time. The mostly older, female population may not have represented the broader European or younger populations. As with all observational studies, residual confounding from unmeasured factors could not be ruled out. DISCLOSURES: The cohort was supported by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, and other sources. Some authors declared receiving speaker fees, grants, consulting fees, and travel support from various pharmaceutical companies. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
Fox News
20-06-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Eating more fruits and vegetables linked to surprising effect on sleep
Your daily meal selections could influence the quality of your sleep, new research says. A study from the University of Chicago Medicine and Columbia University found that increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables could help promote more restful sleep. Previous research has shown that people who lack quality sleep may be more likely to indulge in unhealthy foods that are high in fat and sugar — and now this new finding sheds more light on how consumed foods impact sleep. In the small study — which was published in "Sleep Health: The Journal of the National Sleep Foundation" — 34 healthy young adults reported their daily food consumption and wore a tracker to measure how often they woke up or changed sleep patterns during the night, according to a press release. Those who reported eating more fruits and vegetables during the day were found to have "deeper, more uninterrupted sleep." Greater amounts of healthy carbohydrates, like whole grains, were found to have that same benefit, the study found. "Dietary modifications could be a new, natural and cost-effective approach to achieve better sleep," said co-senior author Esra Tasali, MD, director of the UChicago Sleep Center, in the release. "The temporal associations and objectively-measured outcomes in this study represent crucial steps toward filling a gap in important public health knowledge." Based on the study findings, the researchers concluded that people who eat at least five cups of fruits and veggies per day could have a 16% increase in quality of sleep compared to those who eat none of those foods. "Small changes can impact sleep. That is empowering — better rest is within your control." "16 percent is a highly significant difference," Tasali said in the release. "It's remarkable that such a meaningful change could be observed within less than 24 hours." "Based on current data, the experts confidently advise that regularly eating a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables is best for long-term sleep health," the release stated. The American Heart Association provides the following examples of fruit and veggie servings that equate to 1 cup of produce. Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, head sleep expert at Wesper in Michigan, said that most sleep professionals recognize that a healthy diet supports overall well-being, including sleep quality — "so the findings of this study are not entirely unexpected." "However, it's important to note that this was a relatively small study composed primarily of young adult male participants, which limits generalizability," Rohrscheib, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. "While the results were statistically significant, the overall reduction in sleep fragmentation was modest, about 16%." The study was also observational in nature, she noted, which means it lacked the control of a randomized trial. "Ideally, future research would compare a group consuming a fruit- and vegetable-rich diet to a control group with limited intake to better establish causality," the doctor added. The researchers plan to conduct more studies to confirm that eating produce causes better sleep and to determine the "underlying mechanisms of digestion, neurology and metabolism" driving this impact, the release stated. For more Health articles, visit "People are always asking me if there are things they can eat that will help them sleep better," said co-senior author Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research at Columbia, in the release. "Small changes can impact sleep. That is empowering — better rest is within your control."
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Popular morning snack and dinner staple found to contain alarming levels of autism-linked chemicals
People vying to be healthy may want to think twice before reaching for two popular nutritious staples. The Environmental Working Group, a health advocacy organization, recently released its 'Dirty Dozen 2025' list - where it ranked the fruits and vegetables covered in the most toxic chemicals. After analyzing the Department of Agriculture's data on levels of pesticide contamination in different fruits and vegetables, the group ranked 47 of them based on their toxicity levels. Of these, they found the top 12 fruits and vegetables covered in pesticides. While usual suspects such as spinach, strawberries and kale took the top three spots, researchers noted that blackberries were a new addition to the list. Over 80 percent of samples of the popular berry, which is usually priced at $6 for 12oz, were found to be covered in two or more pesticides, placing it 10th on the list. The agency noted the most common pesticide they found on blackberries was cypermethrin - a toxic synthetic insecticide linked to autism. Also new on the list, landing in 12th place, were potatoes - the most commonly eaten vegetable in the US. The researchers found nearly all of the 1,000 samples of potatoes had high concentrations of chlorpropham, a plant growth regulator banned in the European Union due to its hormone-disrupting and cancer-causing properties. Alexis Temkin, EWG's Vice President of Science told CNN: 'The guide is there to help consumers eat a lot of fruits and vegetables while trying to reduce pesticide exposure. 'One of the things that a lot of peer-reviewed studies have shown over and over again (is) that when people switch to an organic diet from a conventional diet, you can really see measurable levels in the reduction of pesticide levels in the urine.' Organic produce is grown without synthetic pesticides, with farmers opting for more natural options that are less persistent in the environment. She noted that her team found 50 different pesticides across a variety of fruits and vegetables that made the Dirty Dozen list. Coming in fourth were grapes, fifth were peaches and sixth were cherries. These fruits were followed by nectarines, pears and apples at seventh, eighth and ninth place, respectively. The EWG ranked blueberries in 11th place. The agency noted blackberries had never made it on the list before as they hadn't been tested prior to 2023. However, both the EWG and Department of Agriculture examined 294 non-organic blackberry samples from July through December 2023 and found at least one pesticide in 93 percent of them. Most notably, they discovered the presence of cypermethrin, which is banned in the EU to due to its dangers to human health. While cypermethrin has proven beneficial in killing harmful insects in berries, certain studies have shown that consumption by pregnant woman may increase the risk of autism. A 2019 BMJ study found that a baby had a higher risk of developing autism if its mother had been exposed to cypermethrin within 6,500 feet of their home during her pregnancy. Cypermethrin has also been found to disrupt thyroid hormones, which are critical to brain development. At times, direct exposure to the insecticide may also cause irritation to the skin and eyes, numbness, tingling, itching, a burning sensation, loss of bladder control, incoordination, seizures and in severe cases, death. Since fruits such as blackberries are promoted for being rich in antioxidants and vitamins, they are often included in recommended healthy diets for children and pregnant women to help improve their nutrition levels. However, this may put them at a higher risk of being exposed to the insecticide. While insecticides are added into blackberry fruits as they grow, potatoes are covered in pesticides after they are harvested and ready to eat. Temkin said: 'It's applied after harvest to essentially prevent potatoes from sprouting while they're in storage or in transit. 'Because it's applied so late after harvest and so close to when consumers might be exposed or eating potatoes, that's partially what leads to some of these really high concentrations.' Between 2022 to 2023, the Department of Agriculture collected and tested more than 1,000 samples of potatoes for pesticides after washing and scrubbing each piece. They found that over 90 percent of samples contained twice the acceptable levels of chlorpropham allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency even after washing and scrubbing. The toxic pesticide has been linked to causing changes in blood cells and harm to the thyroid by reducing the production of certain hormones such as thyroxine - which is responsible to maintain the growth of cells. Low levels of thyroxine can cause DNA mutations and excessive growth of cells across the body - which may pave the way for cancer development. Similarly to cypermethrin, a 2024 Medicina study also found that prenatal exposure to chlorpropham has been found to increase a baby's risk of developing autism. Chlorpropham was banned in the EU in 2019 after officials found that people, particularly children, were being exposed to more than acceptable levels of chlorpropham through non-organic potatoes. Despite the results, Temkin noted the annual report is not meant to discourage consumers from eating fruits and vegetables but instead to encourage people to buy organic food. Multiple studies have shown that those who consume organic food have lower exposure to synthetic pesticides as organic farming prohibits the use of such chemicals. The EWG recommends buying organic whenever accessible because food residues are a main source of pesticide exposures for many people. For people looking to eat cleaner fruits and vegetables, the EWG found pineapple to be the least contaminated produce tested, followed by sweet corn (fresh and frozen), avocados, papaya, onions, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, cabbage, watermelon, cauliflower, bananas, mangos, carrots, mushrooms and kiwi. If you do opt for a dirty dozen, be sure to wash it with water or solutions of baking soda or vinegar.
