Food science & nutrition. (Science News of the year: the weekly newsmagazine of science).Vegetarians' vitamins Vegetarians' low intake of vitamin [B.sub.12] may cause an overabundance o·ver·a·bun·dance n. A going or being beyond what is needed, desired, or appropriate; an excess: teenagers with an overabundance of energy. of the amino acid homocysteine Homocysteine Definition Homocysteine is a naturally occurring amino acid found in blood plasma. High levels of homocysteine in the blood are believed to increase the chance of heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and osteoporosis. and thus increase their risk of heart disease (161: 100). Cancer-fighting folate folate /fo·late/ (fo´lat) 1. the anionic form of folic acid. 2. more generally, any of a group of substances containing a form of pteroic acid conjugated with l-glutamic acid and having a variety of substitutions. Even a little supplemental folate during a mother's pregnancy appeared to reduce the risk that her child will develop acute lymphoblastic leukemia acute lymphoblastic leukemia n. Abbr. ALL Lymphoblastic leukemia occurring mainly in older adults, characterized by rapid onset and progression of symptoms. Also called acute lymphocytic leukemia. (161: 8). Dietary folate also helped avert colon cancer in women (161: 253). Wholesome grains Diets rich in whole rather than processed grains may help protect overweight people from diabetes and heart disease by improving their, management of blood sugar concentrations (161: 308). Fat of the sea A diet containing fish oil that's rich in omega-3 fatty acid omega-3 fatty acid n. Any of various polyunsaturated fatty acids that are found primarily in fish, fish oils, vegetable oils, and leafy green vegetables, and that seem to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack. cut inflammation of the colon in rats, so it might benefit people with colitis (161: 53). To life! People fighting high blood pressure benefited from drinking cocoa (161: 142) and red wine (161: 8), thanks to the actions of plant polyphenols, which both beverages contain in abundance. Big red Lycopene lycopene /ly·co·pene/ (li´ko-pen) the red carotenoid pigment of tomatoes and various berries and fruits. ly·co·pene n. , which makes tomatoes red and in people's diets might help guard against prostate cancer, was found more abundant in watermelons than in tomatoes (162: 29). Not too sweet Honey can contain traces of potent liver-damaging compounds produced naturally by many flowering plants (161: 317). Soy excess Large doses of the estrogen-like hormones in soybeans and soy-based infant formulas weakened the immune systems of mice (161: 325 *). Corn conundrum Although cooking sweet corn reduced its concentration of the antioxidant vitamin C, the process increases corn's overall disease-fighting antioxidant activity (162: 141). A twist Moderate alcohol consumption appeared to reduced a drinker's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of age-related dementia (161: 67 *). Stomach stalker A chemical abundant in broccoli killed ulcer-causing Helicobacter pylori bacteria in the laboratory and inhibited stomach cancer in mice (161: 340). Garlic and HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. Garlic supplements interfered with one of the drugs people take to fight an HIV infection (161: 8). * An asterisk indicates that the text of the item is available free on SCIENCE NEWS ONLINE (http://www.sciencenews.org). |
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