A recent study has revealed that high-fat cheese and cream might play a role in preventing dementia.
This research, published in Neurology The Medical Journal of the American Academy of Neurology, indicates that individuals consuming two servings of high-fat cheese daily as part of a balanced diet had a lower likelihood of developing dementia.
“For decades, discussions surrounding high-fat versus low-fat diets have influenced health guidance, often branding cheese as an unhealthy option,” remarked Dr. Emily Sonnestedt, the study’s lead author and an associate professor at Lund University in Sweden.
“Our findings suggest that certain high-fat dairy products might actually diminish the risk of dementia, thereby challenging longstanding beliefs about fat and cognitive health.”
The study evaluated data from 27,670 older adults, monitoring their health over an approximate span of 25 years to identify who developed dementia.
Researchers also requested participants to track their dietary intake for a week and assess any changes in their eating habits over recent years.
Results showed that individuals consuming a nutritious diet with at least 50 g (1.8 oz) of high-fat cheese per day had a 13 percent reduced risk of dementia compared to those who ingested less than 15 g (0.5 oz).
Focusing on vascular dementia, a condition characterized by insufficient blood flow to the brain, cheese consumers experienced a 29% lower risk.
Additionally, participants consuming 20 grams (0.7 ounces) of heavy cream—such as whipped cream, clotted cream, or double cream—had a 16 percent decreased risk of dementia.
Conversely, no similar association was found with low-fat cheese, cream, or other dairy products.
“These findings imply that not all dairy items equate when it comes to cognitive health,” stated Sonestedt.
Items like buttermilk, yogurt, and kefir show no impact on dementia risk – Credit: Getty
An essential factor in this study is its execution in Sweden, where cheese is frequently consumed uncooked.
When cheese is melted, its composition transforms and the fat separates, potentially influencing how our bodies absorb it.
The researchers advocate for similar studies in other nations since outcomes might differ in places like the United States, where cheese is often heated prior to consumption.
“Additional research is essential to verify our findings and explore whether specific high-fat dairy products truly offer some level of protection for brain health.”
Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss presented on an iPhone (left) alongside a smaller e-paper display (right) showing the same artwork
Kingston Frameworks; Kunli Xiong et al. (2025)
A groundbreaking type of color e-paper is capable of showcasing vivid, high-resolution, full-color images and videos with minimal power consumption, heralding a potential new era for display technologies.
Unlike conventional LED screens, which produce colors through the emission of red, green, and blue light, e-paper screens utilize small molecules to generate images. Historically, these screens were restricted to black and white, but advancements have now allowed for color displays. However, they still face challenges in updating quickly enough for video playback.
To address this issue, Kunli Shion and their team at Uppsala University in Sweden have engineered electronic paper featuring pixels constructed from tungsten oxide nanodisks. Each pixel measures roughly 560 nanometers, resulting in an impressive resolution of 25,000 pixels per inch (PPI), whereas typical smartphone displays generally have resolutions in the hundreds.
The tungsten oxide nanodiscs are designed in various sizes and spacings to reflect distinct bands of light. By arranging them together, a range of colors can be created, with brightness adjustable through short electrical pulses that position ions within each disk. Once set, these ions maintain their placement, allowing the color to persist without a continuous power source.
The researchers constructed an e-paper display that measures just 1.9mm by 1.4mm, roughly 1/4000 the size of a conventional smartphone display, and utilized it to showcase a 4300×700 pixel segment of Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss – achieving remarkable resolution for such a compact device. It is also capable of refreshing approximately every 40 milliseconds, making it suitable for video display.
Another significant advantage of this novel e-paper technology is its remarkably low energy consumption, as noted by Xiong. The display utilizes about 1.7 milliwatts per square centimeter for video and around 0.5 milliwatts per square centimeter for still images.
“What I find impressive about this development is its capacity to support video at a rapid pace while consuming minimal energy, as each element remains switched after being activated,” comments Jeremy Baumberg from Cambridge University.
AI relies on data centers that consume a significant amount of energy
Jason Alden/Bloomberg/Getty
Optimizing the choice of AI models for various tasks could lead to an energy saving of 31.9 terawatt-hours this year alone, equivalent to the output of five nuclear reactors.
Thiago da Silva Barros from France’s Cote d’Azur University examined 14 distinct tasks where generative AI tools are utilized, including text generation, speech recognition, and image classification.
We investigated public leaderboards, such as those provided by the machine learning platform Hugging Face, to analyze the performance of various models. The energy efficiency during inference—when an AI model generates a response—was assessed using a tool named CarbonTracker, and total energy consumption was estimated by tracking user downloads.
“We estimated the energy consumption based on the model size, which allows us to make better predictions,” states da Silva Barros.
The findings indicate that by switching from the highest performing model to the most energy-efficient option for each of the 14 tasks, energy usage could be decreased by 65.8%, with only a 3.9% reduction in output quality. The researchers believe this tradeoff may be acceptable to most users.
Some individuals are already utilizing the most energy-efficient models, suggesting that if users transitioned from high-performance models to the more economical alternatives, overall energy consumption could drop by approximately 27.8%. “We were taken aback by the extent of savings we uncovered,” remarks team member Frédéric Giroir from the French National Center for Scientific Research.
However, da Silva Barros emphasizes that changes are necessary from both users and AI companies. “It’s essential to consider implementing smaller models, even if some performance is sacrificed,” he asserts. “As companies develop new models, it is crucial that they provide information regarding their energy consumption patterns to help users assess their impact.”
Some AI firms are mitigating energy usage through a method known as model distillation, where a more extensive model trains a smaller, more efficient one. This approach is already showing significant benefits. Chris Priest from the University of Bristol, UK notes that Google recently claimed an advance in energy efficiency: 33 times more efficient measures with their Gemini model within the past year.
However, allowing users the option to select the most efficient models “is unlikely to significantly curb the energy consumption of data centers, as the authors suggest, particularly within the current AI landscape,” contends Priest. “By reducing energy per request, we can support a larger customer base more rapidly with enhanced inference capabilities,” he adds.
“Utilizing smaller models will undoubtedly decrease energy consumption in the short term, but various additional factors need consideration for any significant long-term predictions,” cautions Sasha Luccioni from Hugging Face. She highlights the importance of considering rebound effects, such as increased usage, alongside broader social and economic ramifications.
Luccioni points out that due to limited transparency from individual companies, research in this field often relies on external estimates and analyses. “What we need for more in-depth evaluations is greater transparency from AI firms, data center operators, and even governmental bodies,” she insists. “This will enable researchers and policymakers to make well-informed predictions and decisions.”
According to new research published in the journal Food, daily consumption of mango (Mangifera indica) over a period of 24 weeks has shown improvements in both short- and long-term glycemic control, reduced insulin resistance, increased insulin sensitivity, and favorable changes in body composition for pre-diabetic patients. These findings indicate that incorporating fresh mangoes into the diet may aid glycemic control for those at high risk for type 2 diabetes, offering a practical food-based strategy to enhance body composition.
Daily consumption of mangoes for 24 weeks significantly enhanced glycemic control, insulin sensitivity, and body composition in adults with diabetes, underscoring the potential of mangoes as an effective dietary strategy for metabolic health. Image credit: Mohan Nannapaneni.
Currently, over 130 million adults in the United States are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes, as reported by the CDC.
Predictions indicate that by 2030, nearly 40% of U.S. adults will be affected by prediabetes.
Early identification and prevention at the prediabetic stage is crucial, as many individuals remain unaware of their condition until complications arise.
Nutrition plays a vital role in glycemic control, and a balanced diet can promote both enhanced blood glucose regulation and overall long-term health.
In a diabetes prevention program, lifestyle interventions resulted in a 58% reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes, compared to a 31% reduction with metformin versus placebo. Thus, identifying accessible natural strategies to mitigate these risk factors is essential for delaying diabetes onset and minimizing associated complications.
Dietary practices enriched with fruits, vegetables, and bioactive compounds have shown beneficial effects on glycemic control and metabolic health.
Mangoes, being tropical fruits, are rich in several bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, ascorbic acid, dietary fiber, phenolic compounds, gallbladder acid, and quercetin.
“It’s not merely about the sugar content; the overall context of the food is crucial,” stated Dr. Raedeh Basiri, a Clinical Nutrition Researcher at George Mason University.
“This study stands as the first long-term clinical trial to showcase the metabolic and body composition benefits of mangoes for individuals with prediabetes.”
“Essentially, it’s about more than just the sugar present in food. The naturally occurring sugars in mangoes and other fruits are balanced by the fiber and other vitamins and nutrients that confer additional health advantages.”
“Foods with added sugars, like breakfast cereals and low-sugar snacks, often lack the same nutritional value and may even elevate the risk of diabetes.”
“The objective is to urge people to include whole fruits like mangoes in their dietary strategies for healthy eating and diabetes prevention.”
“Individuals at high risk for diabetes should emphasize not only the sugar content of their food but also how the sugar is delivered.”
Dr. Basiri and her team divided participants into two groups: one receiving fresh mangoes daily and the other receiving low-sugar granola bars.
Throughout the six-month study, researchers measured participants’ blood glucose levels, their insulin response, and body fat.
The results showed that the high-sugar content in mangoes (32 grams of sugar) was more beneficial than the low-sugar granola bars (11 grams of sugar).
The group consuming mangoes daily exhibited improved glycemic control, heightened insulin sensitivity, and reduced body fat.
“Our findings reinforce and broaden the emerging evidence on the metabolic advantages of consuming fresh mango daily among pre-diabetic individuals,” the researchers noted.
“Participants who ate an average of one mango each day for 24 weeks recorded lower fasting blood glucose levels compared to the control group.”
“Future studies should utilize objective dietary biomarkers (like plasma carotenoids and urinary polyphenols) to enhance accuracy and credibility.”
“Additionally, exploring the mechanisms underlying these observed effects, including the role of bioactive compounds in mango on insulin signaling and inflammation, is essential, especially across diverse populations.”
“Longer follow-up periods and comparisons with other fruits and dietary strategies could provide clarity on the specific benefits of mangoes for metabolic health.”
“Final investigations should delve into broader health advantages of mango consumption beyond glycemic control and body composition, including potential impacts on metabolic pathways and variations in gene expression, as individual responses to the same foods can differ.”
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Raedeh Basiri et al. 2025. Daily mango intake improves blood glucose and body composition outcomes in prediabetic adults: a randomized controlled study. Food 14 (17): 2971; doi: 10.3390/foods14172971
In response to inquiries about Artichoke recipes made to OpenAI’s ChatGPT in mid-2023, whether for pasta or guidance on rituals related to Moloch, the ancient Canaanite deity, the feedback was quite harsh—2 watts—which consumes approximately the same energy as an incandescent bulb over two minutes.
On Thursday, OpenAI unveiled a model that powers the widely-used chatbot GPT-5. When queried about Artichoke recipes, experts suggest that the energy consumed for similar pasta-related text could be multiple times greater (up to 20 times).
The release of GPT-5 introduced a groundbreaking capability for the model to answer PhD-level scientific inquiries, illuminating rationales for complex questions.
Nevertheless, specialists who have assessed energy and resource consumption of AI models over recent years indicate that these newer variants come with a cost. Responses from GPT-5 may require substantially more energy than those from earlier ChatGPT models.
Like many of its rivals, OpenAI has not provided official data regarding the power consumption of models since announcing GPT-3 in 2020. In June, Altman discussed the resource usage of ChatGPT on his blog. However, the figures presented—0.34 watt-hours and 0.000085 gallons of water per query—lack specific model references and supporting documentation.
“More complex models like GPT-5 require greater power during both training and inference, leading to a significant increase in energy consumption compared to GPT-4.”
On the day GPT-5 launched, researchers from the University of Rhode Island AI Lab found that the model could consume up to 40 watts to generate a medium-length response of approximately 1,000 tokens.
A dashboard released on Friday indicated that GPT-5’s average energy use for medium-length responses exceeds 18 watts, surpassing all other models except for OpenAI’s O3 inference model launched in April, developed by Chinese AI firm Deepseek.
According to Nidhal Jegham, a researcher in the group, this is “significantly more energy than OpenAI’s prior model, GPT-4O.”
To put that in perspective, one watt of 18 watt-hours equates to using that incandescent light bulb for 18 minutes. Recent reports indicate that ChatGPT processes 2.5 billion requests daily, suggesting that GPT-5’s total energy consumption could match that of 1.5 million American households.
Despite these figures, experts in the field assert they align with expectations regarding GPT-5’s energy consumption, given its significantly larger scale compared to OpenAI’s earlier model. Since GPT-3, OpenAI has not disclosed the parameter count of any models. The earlier version contained 17.5 billionparameters.
This summer, insights from French AI company Mistral highlighted a “strong correlation” between model size and energy use, based on their internal systems research.
“The amount of resources consumed by the model size [for GPT-5] is noteworthy,” observed Xiao Len, a professor at the University of California Riverside. “We are facing a significant AI resource footprint.”
AI Power Usage Benchmark
GPT-4 was widely regarded as being 10 times larger compared to GPT-3. Jegham, Kumar, and Ren believe GPT-5 is likely to be even larger than GPT-4.
Major AI companies like OpenAI assert that significantly larger models may be essential for achieving AGI, an AI system capable of performing human tasks. Altman has emphasized this perspective, stating in February: “It seems you can invest any amount and receive continuous, predictable returns,” but that GPT-5 does not surpass human intelligence.
According to benchmarks from a study performed in July, Mistral’s LE chatbot exhibited a direct correlation between model size and its resource usage regarding power, water, and carbon emissions.
Jegham, Kumar, and Ren indicated that while the scale of GPT-5 is crucial, other factors will likely influence resource consumption. GPT-5 utilizes more efficient hardware compared to previous iterations. It employs a “mixture” architecture, allowing not all parameters to be active while responding, which could help diminish energy use.
Moreover, since GPT-5 operates as an inference model that processes text, images, and video, this is expected to lead to a larger energy footprint when compared to solely text-based processing, according to Ren and Kumar.
“In inference mode, the resources spent to achieve identical outcomes can escalate by five to ten times,” remarked Ren.
Hidden Information
To assess the resource consumption of AI models, a team from the University of Rhode Island calculated the average time taken by the model to answer queries—such as pasta recipes or offerings to Moloch—multiplied by the average power draw of the model during operation.
Estimating the model’s power draw involved significant effort, shared Abdeltawab Henderwi, a Professor of Data Science at the University of Rhode Island. The team faced difficulties in sourcing information about the deployment of various models within data centers. Their final paper includes estimates detailing chip usage for specific models and the distribution of queries among different chips in the data centers.
Altman’s blog post from June affirmed their results, revealing that his indicated energy consumption for queries on ChatGPT, at 0.34 watt-hours, closely matches findings from the team for GPT-4O.
Other team members, including Hendawi, Jegham, and others emphasized the need for increased transparency from AI firms when releasing new models.
“Addressing the true environmental costs of AI is more critical now than ever,” stated Marwan Abdelatti, a Professor. “We urge OpenAI and other developers to commit to full transparency in disclosing the environmental impact of GPT-5.”
The dangers that alcohol presents to women’s health have escalated in the last two decades, as more women are drinking more frequently and in larger amounts.
Alcohol-related deaths among women have more than doubled from 1999 to 2020, and deaths due to alcohol-related hepatitis, which causes severe liver inflammation, have almost tripled among women during the same timeframe.
Recent research published this Wednesday in the medical journals Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology has also shown a rise in the risk of alcohol-related liver disease in women, encompassing various types of liver damage that stem from excessive alcohol consumption. Severe damage, known as cirrhosis, can progress to early-stage inflammation, ultimately leading to liver failure.
Women are more susceptible to alcohol-related liver disease than men due to several factors. One reason is that they typically have lower body weight and a higher body fat percentage, leading to elevated alcohol concentrations in the blood that the liver must process. Additionally, women naturally possess fewer enzymes called alcohol dehydrogenases, which assist in metabolizing alcohol, resulting in higher blood alcohol levels.
These biological differences, combined with a significant spike in alcohol use and conditions like bulimia, put women at a heightened risk for alcohol-related health issues.
“Historically, there have been differences in the prevalence rates of alcohol consumption between men and women. Essentially, that gap has now narrowed, with the male-to-female drinking ratio nearing one-to-one,” stated Shelley McKee, director of the Yale Score Program on Gender Differences in Alcohol Use Disorders.
McKee noted that shifting lifestyles have led to increased alcohol consumption among women. Today’s young adults drink less than previous generations, yet more women are enrolling in college than men. This trend is typically linked to an uptick in alcohol consumption, she explained.
“Combine that with the fact that women are postponing childbirth and marriage, which allows them more freedom to continue drinking during college,” McKee added.
Catherine Keys, an epidemiology professor at the Postal Public Health School at Columbia University, observed that high alcohol consumption among women is most prevalent in middle-aged individuals. While some researchers attribute this trend to workplace stress and drinking culture, Keys emphasized that many women drink more simply for enjoyment. She pointed out that wine and spirits are often marketed to women as luxury items or relaxation aids.
Experts express that raising awareness of the health risks associated with alcohol consumption can encourage women to cut back.
“We’re excited to help you get started,” remarked Jessica Mellinger, a senior staff doctor at Henry Ford Health, Michigan’s health system. The more individuals consume, the greater their likelihood of developing alcohol-related liver disease at every stage, she added.
A study released this Wednesday revealed that heavy drinkers now exhibit more than double the rates of alcohol-related liver disease compared to 20 years ago. Researchers suspect this may be due to individuals at risk for liver disease—including women, those with obesity, and people with diabetes—drinking more than they did decades prior.
“Modern American drinkers are not the same as they were 20 years ago,” stated Dr. Brian Lee, lead author and liver specialist at Keck Medicine at the University of Southern California.
Using data from a national government-led survey, researchers analyzed drinking behaviors and liver health in the U.S., classifying heavy drinkers as men consuming at least 30 grams of alcohol daily and women consuming at least 20 grams.
Among heavy drinkers, the incidence of severe liver damage has more than doubled in 22 years, rising from nearly 2% between 1999-2004 to over 4% from 2013-2020.
The presence of metabolic syndrome—characterized by symptoms such as obesity and hypertension that elevate the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke—among heavy drinkers has also increased from 26% to almost 38%. Both obesity and type 2 diabetes can lead to fat accumulation in the liver, heightening the risk of liver disease.
“It could be a perfect storm situation. We are seeing increased alcohol consumption alongside changes in the prevalence of these [health] conditions,” Keys remarked.
Lee emphasized the importance of individuals being honest with their healthcare providers about their alcohol intake so that doctors can determine the need for liver disease screenings.
“The risk of liver disease might be greater than you think,” he cautioned. “The reality is that liver disease often presents no symptoms, even in cases of cirrhosis, which is a terminal condition. I often say it’s both a blessing and a curse.”
Keys noted that women, in particular, often delay seeking medical help for heavy drinking due to societal stigma.
“It’s becoming a hidden trend where women postpone seeking help for serious alcohol-related conditions,” she stated.
Spider-like organisms dwelling near methane seepage seem to infiltrate the seabed, consuming microbes within their bodies that oxidize energy-dense gas. This discovery broadens the understanding of entities that rely on symbiotic associations with microorganisms in these alien settings.
Shana Goffredi from Occidental College, California, along with her team, has investigated marine arthropods named for their resemblance to ahinides, which thrive near three distinct methane seeps in the Pacific Ocean. They previously identified three new species from the sea spider genus Celico Sura, noted to be plentiful exclusively near these gas seepages.
In contrast, other sea spider species, which do not inhabit methane seep regions, primarily feed on various invertebrates. However, researchers have found that these newly identified sea spiders primarily acquire nutrition by ingesting a specific range of bacterial species residing in their bodies. These bacteria are capable of converting methane and methanol from the seepage into energy, something the sea spiders alone would not access.
Scientists observed that bacteria remained confined to the spiders’ exoskeletons, resembling “microbial fur coats,” and formed clusters that Goffredi describes as “volcanic-like.” The bacterial layer exhibited patterns resembling marks from a lawnmower, indicative of feeding by the spider’s robust “lips” and three tiny teeth.
To confirm that ocean spiders were actually consuming the bacteria, researchers employed radioactive labeling techniques to monitor the assimilation of methane carbon by laboratory sea spiders. “I observed methane being absorbed into the microorganisms on the spider’s surface, and subsequently traced carbon molecules migrating into the spider’s tissues,” Goffredi explains.
Researchers believe that ocean spiders do not consume all microorganisms growing on their exoskeletons. The species inhabiting the exoskeleton differ from those typically found in their surroundings, indicating a selection process is at play, Goffredi remarks. “The spiders are clearly cultivating and nurturing a unique microbial community.”
Sea spiders are not the first to cultivate microorganisms for chemical energy. “With every observation of these ecosystems near methane seeps, this phenomenon becomes increasingly evident,” notes Eric Cordes from Temple University, Pennsylvania. He previously collaborated with Goffredi on related studies, revealing a similar symbiosis in tube worms. The rich biodiversity near methane seepage is sustained not by solar energy but rather through methane and other chemicals. “That’s truly remarkable,” he remarks.
Cordes emphasizes that bacteria might also be transported along the surface of sea spiders. Unlike livestock on a farm, they gain superior protection and access to pastures. For instance, if methane seepage shifts to another area of the seabed, sea spiders could transfer bacteria to new locales. “Sea spiders maintain these organisms in an ideal habitat,” he adds.
Gigantic herbivores in the Americas vanished roughly 10,000 years ago, disrupting the long-range seed dispersal of sizable fleshy plant species. The Anachronistic hypothesis of the Neotropics, proposed in 1982, posits that large fruits evolved to attract these massive animals. While this idea accounts for several significant adaptations in “megafaunal fruit” plants, it lacks strong evidence. Recently, researchers from Chile, Spain, and Brazil uncovered fossil evidence of frugivory, pointing to the existence of the extinct South American species Notiomastodon platensis. Their findings indicate that the extinction of this species and its relatives heightens the risk of giant fruit plants becoming extinct in certain South American regions.
Diversity of extinct mammals inhabiting the environment of Lake Tagua, Chile. Image credit: Mauricio Alvarez.
“In 1982, biologist Daniel Jansen and paleontologist Paul Martin proposed groundbreaking ideas, suggesting that many tropical plants developed large, sweet, colorful fruits to attract large animals like mastodons, native horses, or giant herds,” said iphes-cerca and colleagues.
“The theory, known as the anachronism hypothesis of the Neotropics, has remained unverified for over four decades.”
“Our research provides direct fossil evidence to substantiate this concept.”
In this study, Dr. González-Gurda and co-authors examined 96 fossil teeth from the Pleistocene mastodon, Notiomastodon platensis.
These fossils were collected over a distance of more than 1,500 km, spanning from Los Bilo to Chiloe Island in southern Chile.
Nearly half of the specimens originated from well-known sites such as Lake Tagua, an ancient basin abundant with Pleistocene fauna located in the current O’Higgins region.
To understand the lifestyle of Notiomastodon platensis, various techniques were utilized including isotopic analysis, microscopic examination of dental wear, and fossil calculation analysis,” the authors stated.
“We discovered typical starch residues and plant tissues of fleshy fruits, including the Chilean palm (Jubaea chilensis),” added Professor Florent Rivals, a researcher at ICREA, Iphes-Cerca, and Rovira I Virgili University.
“This directly confirms that these animals regularly consumed fruit and contributed to reforestation.”
“Stable isotopic analysis enabled us to reconstruct the animal’s habitat and diet with high accuracy,” noted Dr. Ivan Ramirez Pedraza, a researcher at Ifes Serca and Rovira I-Vilgiri University.
“The data points to a forest ecosystem rich in fruit resources, where mastodons roamed across long distances, aiding in seed dispersal. Its ecological role remains pivotal.”
“Dental chemistry offers us a direct glimpse into the past,” commented Dr. Carlos Tornero, a researcher at Ifes Cerca and the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
“Combining various evidence allowed us to strongly affirm the critical role they played within these ecosystems.”
The researchers also employed machine learning models to assess the current conservation status of megafauna-dependent plants across different regions of South America.
Their findings are intriguing: in central Chile, 40% of these species currently face threats. This ratio is four times higher than that of tropical regions where animals like tapirs and monkeys continue to function as alternative seed dispersers.
“If the ecological connection between plants and animals is completely severed, the repercussions will be evident for thousands of years,” states ecosystem researcher Andrea Leuza.
The survey results were published today in the journal Nature’s Ecology and Evolution.
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E. González-Guarda et al. Fossil evidence of material frugivory and its lasting impact on pre-American ecosystems. Nat Ecol Evol Published online on June 13th, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41559-025-02713-8
A 12-week study involving 72 pre-diabetic adults revealed that the consumption of either chickpeas or black beans positively influences inflammation markers in diabetic patients. Additionally, chickpea intake helps in cholesterol regulation.
Incorporating one bean daily can yield significant benefits for both heart and metabolic health. Image credit: PDPICS.
“Pre-diabetic individuals often exhibit poor lipid metabolism and persistent low-grade inflammation, both of which can lead to diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.”
“Our findings indicated that levels of tofu remained constant, yet they may aid in lowering cholesterol within pre-tofu individuals while also diminishing inflammation.”
While black beans and chickpeas are widely consumed, they are frequently neglected in extensive studies examining their effects on cholesterol and inflammation in those at risk for heart disease and diabetes.
This research forms part of a broader project investigating how the intake of black beans and chickpeas influences inflammation and insulin response mediated by intestinal microbiome activity.
“Our study highlights the advantages of bean consumption for pre-diabetic adults, but these legumes are excellent choices for everyone,” stated Smith.
“These insights can help shape dietary recommendations, clinical practices, and public health initiatives aimed at preventing heart disease and diabetes.”
To enhance the practical relevance of the research, the study was conducted with participants in their natural living environments.
Participants were randomly assigned to consume either 1 cup of black beans, chickpeas, or rice (the control group) over the span of 12 weeks.
Blood samples were collected at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks to monitor cholesterol levels, inflammation, blood glucose, and glucose tolerance tests were administered at both the beginning and conclusion of the study.
The group consuming chickpeas saw a significant drop in total cholesterol, from an average of 200.4 milligrams per deciliter at the start to 185.8 milligrams per deciliter after 12 weeks.
In the black bean group, the average level of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6, which is a marker for inflammation, decreased from 2.57 picograms per milliliter at baseline to 1.88 picograms per milliliter after 12 weeks.
No noteworthy changes were noted in markers of glucose metabolism.
“Switching to healthier alternatives, like canned, dried, or frozen beans, is an excellent starting point for those looking to increase their bean intake,” explained the scientist.
“However, it’s crucial to watch for extra ingredients like salt and sugar based on your selections.”
“There are numerous ways to include beans in your regular diet as a budget-friendly method to enhance your overall health and lower the risk of chronic ailments,” Smith added.
“You can blend them to thicken soups, use them as salad toppings, or combine them with other grains like rice or quinoa.”
The findings were reported in a presentation on June 3rd during the Nutrition 2025 annual meeting held by the American Nutrition Association.
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Morgan M. Smith et al. Effects of chronic intake of black beans and chickpeas on metabolism and inflammatory markers in prediabetic adults. Nutrition 2025 Summary #or18-01-25
Artificial intelligence systems may represent nearly 50% of a data center’s power consumption by the end of this year, according to a recent analysis.
These estimates, provided by Digiconomist Tech Sustainability founder Alex de Vries-Gao, echo a prediction from the International Energy Agency regarding AI’s energy needs by the decade’s end, similar to current usage in Japan.
De Vries-Gao’s calculations, as detailed in the Sustainable Energy Journal Joule, are based on the energy consumed by chips developed by companies like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices that are used for training and operating AI models. The study also factors in energy usage of chips from other providers, such as Broadcom.
The IEA reported that all data centers (excluding those for cryptocurrency mining) consumed 415 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity last year. De Vries-Gao asserts that AI currently contributes to 20% of that total.
He highlights various factors influencing his calculations, including energy efficiency in data centers and the power requirements of cooling systems that manage AI workloads. Data centers serve as the central nervous system for AI technology, making their energy consumption a significant sustainability issue for AI development and usage.
De Vries-Gao projects that by the end of 2025, AI systems could consume up to 49% of total data center energy, potentially reaching 23 gigawatts (GW) — double the total energy usage of the Netherlands.
However, De Vries-Gao mentioned that several factors might dampen hardware demand, including reduced interest in applications like ChatGPT. Geopolitical tensions creating restrictions on AI hardware production, such as export limitations, are another hurdle. De Vries-Gao notes the challenges faced by Chinese access to chips, which led to the introduction of the Deepseek R1 AI model that purportedly required fewer chips.
“These innovations could help decrease both AI processing and energy costs,” said De Vries.
That said, he mentioned that enhanced efficiency could further encourage AI adoption. Additionally, a trend referred to as “sovereign AI,” where countries aim to create their own AI systems, might spur hardware demand. De Vries-Gao cited US Data Centre startup Crusoe Energy, which secured 4.5GW of gas-powered energy capacity, making it a leading contender for potential clients like OpenAI through its Stargate venture.
“These early indicators suggest that [Stargate] data centers may increase our reliance on fossil fuels,” noted De Vries-Gao.
On Thursday, OpenAI unveiled its Stargate project in the United Arab Emirates, marking its expansion outside the United States.
Last year, Microsoft and Google acknowledged that AI poses risks to meet their internal environmental objectives.
De Vries-Gao commented that information about AI’s power requirements is increasingly scarce, describing the industry as “opaque.” While the EU AI Act mandates that AI firms disclose energy consumption related to model training, it does not cover daily usage metrics.
Professor Adam Sobey, mission director for sustainability at the UK’s Alan Turing Institute, stressed the importance of enhanced transparency regarding the energy usage of AI systems and the potential savings from advancing carbon reduction sectors like transport and energy.
Sobey remarked, “We don’t necessarily need an extensive number of compelling use cases for AI to offset the energy costs incurred upfront.”
Peanuts are one of the most common foods that people have allergies
naafterphoto/shutterstock
Adults with peanut allergies reduced the risk of a reaction by eating small peanut proteins every day as part of their trials. This approach has already been approved in the US for children with this condition.
Peanut allergies occur when the immune system mistakenly identifies legume proteins as threats. It reacts by producing more IgE antibodies. This is an important part of the immune response, but an allergic reaction causes overdrive. As a result, inflammation increases, causing symptoms such as swelling, itching, and vomiting. In extreme cases, it can lead to anaphylactic shock, a life-threatening response that can affect someone’s breathing or heart rate.
Until recently, the only solution was to avoid peanuts, but an intervention called oral immunotherapy was approved in 2020 for children with allergies in the US. This involves exposing the immune system to peanut protein, which gradually increases allergens.
However, it was unclear whether this approach worked in adults as well. “Although most of the life of an individual with a peanut allergy is spent as an adult, there was no treatment that reduced the fundamental reactivity to peanuts,” he says. Stephen Till King’s College London. “There are some grounds for suspecting that adults are more difficult to fall out than children, as your immune system is easy to fix when you’re young.”
To fill this knowledge gap, Till and his colleagues recruited 21 adults with peanut allergies. At the start of the study, participants on average only 1/8 of the peanuts were eaten before they developed an allergic reaction.
The team fed each participant a protein equivalent to one-fourth of peanuts each day for two weeks. This dose increased slightly every two weeks for several months, but was able to safely and consistently eat the equivalent of four large peanuts of protein every day.
Three participants dropped out of the study due to an allergic reaction, while three other participants left for reasons not related to treatment. “This dropout number is acceptable for this type of treatment.” Cezmi Akdis At the Swiss Allergy and Asthma Institute.
The remaining 15 participants participated in an allergy test for eating an increase in peanut protein under the supervision of the researchers. All but one of them were able to eat five peanut equivalents without an allergic reaction.
In another part of the experiment, the team analyzed blood samples collected from participants before and after receiving oral immunotherapy. This revealed that the intervention had high levels of IgG antibodies that counteract the effects of IgE antibodies.
“It’s very promising,” Akudith says. “This approach means that adults with peanut allergies may be relieved of the anxiety of eating peanut-contaminated foods.”
However, this is a relatively early stage test, and a larger test is needed to verify the results and establish how long the protection will last, he says. “I think you need to take peanuts daily or regular over the long term to maintain resistance to allergens,” Aqudith says. “People take pills every day, so I think people affected by peanut allergies are following this type of method.”
Do not try to treat allergies without medical supervision.
People report lower alcohol cravings when using semaglutide
ShutterStock/David MG
According to the first randomized clinical trials of drugs for this purpose, semaglutide appears to help people who are truly obsessed with alcohol reduce their intake.
Semaglutide, sold under brand names including Wegovy and Ozempic, uses the work by mimicking the intestinal hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), so the technical term is GLP-1 receptor It's an agonist. This drug was first used to treat type 2 diabetes, but to reduce appetite, Wegovy is also approved for weight loss 8 countries. Semaglutide also offers tips to help with an extraordinary number of medical conditions.
Regarding alcohol use, there was a 2024 survey that 84,000 people injected Ozempic or Wegovy because of a lower risk of alcoholism. The results were promising and showed correlation rather than causality.
But now, Christian Hendershot The University of Southern California and his colleagues completed the first randomized clinical trial of the effects of semaglutide on alcohol use disorders.
Their trial involved 48 US people diagnosed with the condition, of which 34 were women and 14 were male. Half received a weekly low-dose injection of semaglutide for 9 weeks, and the rest received a placebo injection.
Semaglutide patients no longer consumed drinks per drinking session, reducing their weekly alcohol cravings compared to placebo drinks.
“There was no evidence of any significant adverse effects or safety concerns for drugs in this population. Overall, we found that it reduces the amount of alcohol people consume across several different drinking outcomes,” Hender said. Shot says.
“The results are promising.” Long Xu at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Ohio. “Despite the small sample size, this randomized clinical trial highlights the therapeutic potential of semaglutide in the treatment of alcohol use disorders.”
ziyad al-aly At Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, the study added ” yet another evidence of GLP-1RAS . [GLP-1 receptor agonists] It could help with addiction disorders.”
He needs greater research to answer questions about whether people will increase their drinking, especially when they leave semaglutide, particularly what the long-term impact is, and whether people will increase their drinking. He says. Bone and muscle mass.
The study should be treated as a promising first evidence, says Hendershot, but more research is needed. People should not start taking semaglutide due to alcohol problems, he says.
“This is the first study like this and people are excited about it, but we have approved effective drugs for alcohol use disorders, so more research has been conducted. Until now, people are encouraged to pursue and approve the existing medicines there right now,” says Hendershot.
IBM optical module prototype for connecting chips with optical fibers
IBM’s Ryan Rabin
Fiber optic technology helps chips communicate with each other at the speed of light, allowing them to transmit 80 times more information than using traditional electrical connections. This could significantly reduce the training time required for large-scale artificial intelligence models from months to weeks, while also reducing data center energy and emissions costs.
Most cutting-edge computer chips still communicate using electrical signals transmitted over copper wires. But as the tech industry rushes to train AI models at scale, a process that requires networks of AI superchips to transfer large amounts of data, companies are using fiber optic speed-of-light communications to link chips together. I am very passionate about this.
This technology is not new. The Internet already relies on undersea fiber-optic cables that stretch thousands of kilometers between continents. But to transmit data between fingernail-sized chips, companies need to connect as many hair-thin optical fibers as possible to the end of each chip.
“As everyone knows, the best communication technology is fiber optics. That’s why fiber optics is used everywhere for long-distance communications.” Mukesh Khare A preview of the technology was given at a press conference at IBM Research. “This co-packaged optical innovation essentially brings the power of fiber optics to the chip itself.”
Khare and his colleagues have developed an optical module that allows chipmakers to add six times more optical fibers to the edge of a chip than with current technology. This module uses a structure called an optical waveguide to connect 51 optical fibers per millimeter. It also prevents optical signals from one fiber from interfering with adjacent fibers.
“What IBM has really done here is take advantage of all of its materials and packaging technology, its history of leadership in that field, to truly break down the way waveguides can be used to achieve high-density optical fiber. “It’s about doing it,” he says. dan hutchison at TechInsights, a semiconductor technology research company headquartered in Canada. “For me, when I saw this, it was a big step forward.”
The result is enhanced chip-to-chip communication, potentially allowing AI developers to train large language models in less than three weeks instead of three months. Switching from wires to fiber optics for chip communications could also mean cutting energy costs for training such AI models by a factor of five.
IBM has already put its optical modules through stress tests that include high humidity and temperatures ranging from -40°C (-40°F) to 125°C (257°F). Hutcheson expects large semiconductor manufacturing companies may be interested in licensing the technology.
“We are in the early days of all of this, but semiconductor technology is the hottest area right now in terms of high-performance computing and AI technology,” he says.
Drinking alcohol is bad for you, but it is often a social activity.
Violeta Stoymenova/Getty Images
Rigorous research suggests that drinking even small amounts of alcohol can shorten your lifespan, and that only people with serious health problems would benefit from moderate drinking. That's the conclusion of a review of 107 studies that looked at how drinking alcohol at specific ages affects the risk of dying from all causes.
“People need to be skeptical of the claims that the industry has been peddling for years.” Tim Stockwell “They clearly have a strong interest in promoting their products as not cancer-causing but as life-prolonging,” said researchers from the University of Victoria in Canada.
Stockwell says people should be told that while the risks of moderate drinking are small, it's not beneficial. “It may not be as dangerous as a lot of other things, but it's important that consumers are aware,” he says. “I also think it's important that manufacturers inform consumers of the risks through warning labels.”
The best way to assess the effects of alcohol would be to randomly select people who drink and who don't drink as children, and then monitor their health and drinking for the rest of their lives. Because such studies are not possible, researchers instead have to ask people about their drinking habits and follow them over a much shorter period of time.
By the 2000s, a number of studies of this kind had been done, suggesting that the relationship between alcohol consumption and risk of death at a given age follows a J-shaped curve: drinking a little alcohol slightly reduces your risk of dying from any cause compared with a non-drinker, but as you drink more alcohol, your risk increases sharply.
Stockwell says he was convinced the science was well-established at the time, but he and other researchers have since Such studies have serious flaws.
The main problem is that they often don't compare people who have never drunk alcohol to people who have. Many studies instead compare people who no longer drink to people who still drink. People who stop drinking, especially later in life, often have health problems, so moderate drinkers seem healthy in comparison, Stockwell says.
Although some studies claim to compare current drinkers with “never drinkers,” the definition of the latter group often actually includes occasional drinkers, Stockwell says. For example, one study defined people who had up to 11 drinks a year as lifetime abstainers.
“In our opinion, the majority of research has not addressed this potential source of bias,” Stockwell says, “To be clear, people have tried to address this, but we don't think they've done so adequately.”
In fact, his team found that of 107 studies they reviewed, only six adequately addressed these sources of bias, and none of those six found any risk reduction with moderate drinking.
” [high-quality] “The research suggests a linear relationship,” Stockwell says, “the more you drink, the higher your risk of heart disease. Our study looks at total mortality, and it's clear that heart disease is the main issue.”
The review says that it is very clear that lower quality studies are more likely to suggest a beneficial effect. Duane Mellor At the British Dietetic Association.
But he points out that this doesn't take into account the social aspects of moderate drinking. “While it's healthier to socialize without drinking alcohol, the benefits of spending time with other people are likely to outweigh the risks of consuming one or two units of alcohol,” he says. “Perhaps the challenge is to limit alcohol intake in this way.”
Three years ago, Google launched an ambitious plan to address climate change, aiming to achieve “net zero” emissions by 2030. This goal entails not emitting more climate-affecting gases into the atmosphere than it removes.
However, a recent report released by Google indicated that it is far from reaching this objective. Emissions are projected to increase by 13% in 2023 compared to the previous year and have surged by 48% since the base year of 2019.
The company attributes last year’s emission growth to electricity-intensive agriculture. The burning of coal or natural gas for electricity production releases greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane, contributing to global warming and more extreme weather events.
Despite being a leader in climate change initiatives, Google faces challenges in meeting its net-zero target. Experts suggest that the rapid expansion of data centers, which require significant energy and resources, could hinder the transition to clean electricity and exacerbate climate change.
To address these issues, Google’s chief sustainability officer, Kate Brandt, emphasized the need for continued evolution and innovation in the company’s approach. She acknowledged the uncertainties surrounding the environmental impact of AI and the importance of partnering with cleaner companies and investing in sustainable practices.
Ultimately, achieving a net-zero goal by 2030 will require concerted efforts and collaboration across industries to accelerate the transition to clean energy sources and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Google’s commitment to using renewable energy and implementing energy-efficient practices in its data centers and offices is a step in the right direction. However, there is a need for ongoing improvement and collaboration to address the challenges posed by climate change.
Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages. In a new study, scientists from the University of California, San Diego and others conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of coffee intake among US-based 23andMe participants. They investigated genetic correlations and conducted a phenotype-wide association study across hundreds of biomarkers, health, and lifestyle traits, and compared their results with the largest GWAS of coffee intake from UK Biobank.
Coffee drinking is an inherited habit and carries a certain amount of genetic load. Image courtesy of Sci.News.
“To create the GWAS, we collected genetic data and self-reported coffee consumption,” said lead author Dr. Hayley Thorpe, a researcher at Western University and the University of Guelph.
“Our goal was to identify associations between genes known to be associated with coffee consumption and health-related traits and conditions.”
“We used these data to identify regions in the genome that are associated with a higher or lower likelihood of drinking coffee.”
“And then we identify the genetics and biology that underlie coffee consumption.”
“Many people are surprised that coffee consumption has genetic effects,” said co-author Abraham Palmer, PhD, a research scientist at the University of California, San Diego.
“From previous papers, we had good reason to suspect that there was a gene that influenced coffee intake.”
“So it wasn’t a surprise to us that in both cohorts we looked at, there was statistical evidence that this is a genetic trait.”
“In other words, the specific genetic variants we inherit from our parents influence how much coffee we drink.”
“The genetic influence on coffee consumption was the first of two questions we wanted to answer,” said Sandra Sanchez Loij, PhD, a research scientist at the University of California, San Diego and senior author of the paper.
“The second thing is what coffee lovers really want to know: Is drinking coffee good or bad? Does drinking coffee have positive health consequences or not?”
The group’s genome-wide association study of 130,153 US-based 23andMe study participants, compared with a similar UK Biobank database (334,649 British individuals), found consistent positive genetic associations between coffee consumption and adverse health outcomes such as obesity and drug use.
A positive genetic association is a link between a particular gene variant (genotype) and a particular condition (phenotype).
Conversely, a negative genetic association would be a clear protective trait that would thwart the onset of the disease.
When it comes to mental illness, the findings are more mixed.
“For example, if you look at the genetics of anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder and depression, in the 23andMe data, they tend to be positively correlated with the genetics of coffee consumption,” Dr. Thorpe said.
“However, in UK Biobank we see the opposite pattern of negative genetic correlation, which is not what we expected.”
“There were other instances where the 23andMe sets did not match the UK Biobank, but the biggest discrepancies were for psychiatric disorders.”
“It’s common in this field to combine similar datasets to increase research power. This information tells us pretty clearly that combining these two datasets was not a smart idea. And we ended up not doing so.”
“Mixing databases can mask effects, leading researchers to erroneous conclusions, or even cancel each other out.”
“There are a few ideas as to how the differences in results could have arisen. First, the studies were comparing apples with oranges,” Dr. Sánchez Loisi said.
“For example, the 23andMe survey asks, ‘How many 5-ounce (cup-sized) cups of caffeinated coffee do you drink per day?’ Compare this to UK Biobank’s, ‘How many cups of coffee do you drink per day (including decaffeinated coffee)?'”
“The study did not take into account the variety of ways coffee is presented, beyond serving size and whether it’s caffeinated or decaffeinated.”
“We know that in the UK instant coffee is generally preferred, whereas in the US ground coffee is more commonly preferred,” Dr Thorpe said.
“And then there’s the Frappuccino, the American fad of drinking coffee loaded with added sugar,” Dr. Sánchez Loij added.
“There are other caffeinated drinks out there and, particularly in the UK Biobank context, tea was not included in the GWAS that looked solely at coffee,” Dr Palmer said.
“GWAS shows that the genotype-phenotype relationship is more different than that between coffee and tea.”
“Genetics influences a lot of things. For example, it influences your height.”
“And these things would probably play out in the same way whether you lived in the US or the UK. But coffee is a decision people make.”
“Coffee comes in many forms, from instant to Frappuccino, and is consumed within different cultural norms in different places,” Dr Sánchez Loij said.
“Someone with one genotype may end up with a completely different phenotype if they live in the UK and the US.”
“And that’s exactly what the data tells us, because in the case of height, behavior doesn’t really matter, but behavior and selection in the environment affect it in different ways. So genotype-environment interactions complicate the picture.”
Team paper Published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
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HHA Soap othersGenome-wide association study of coffee consumption in UK/US participants of European descent revealed cohort-specific genetic associations. NeuropsychopharmacologyPublished online April 17, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41386-024-01870-x
A new study led by scientists at the University of New South Wales confirms that eating fruit can help ward off depression – but eating vegetables does not.
High fruit intake is associated with a reduced risk of developing depression.
Depression is a major public health concern: the global impact of depressive disorders is estimated to be over 50 million years of life lived with disability, making depression the largest contributor to non-fatal disease burden.
More than 80% of this burden is borne by low- and middle-income countries.
Compared with depression in younger adults, depression in older adults has a greater impact on physical and cognitive abilities and is associated with reduced quality of life and increased all-cause mortality.
A growing body of evidence suggests that diet, particularly increasing fruit and vegetable intake, may be important in reducing the risk of depression.
“The aim of this new study was to examine the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and depression in adults aged 45 and over,” said researcher Dr Annabel Mattison, from the University of New South Wales.
The study involved 7,801 non-depressed, community-dwelling adults from multiple sites across six continents, including the United States, Sweden, Brazil, Nigeria, Malaysia and Australia.
The results showed a beneficial association between higher fruit intake and a lower risk of depression over a nine-year period.
“This intriguing finding of a protective relationship between fruit consumption and risk of depression points to the need for greater emphasis on diet in healthcare,” said Dr Mattison.
The results suggested a benefit to vegetable consumption, but the benefit was not statistically significant.
“The reason we found a beneficial association with fruit consumption but not with vegetable consumption may be because fruits are typically consumed raw, whereas vegetables are typically consumed cooked, which may affect their nutritional value,” Dr Mattison said.
“Fruit and vegetable intake was self-reported via a comprehensive food frequency questionnaire, a short food questionnaire, or a dietary history.”
“Depressive symptoms were assessed using validated scales, and depression was defined by applying validated cut-offs.”
“We used Cox regression to examine the association between baseline fruit and vegetable intake and incident depression over 3- to 9-year follow-up periods.”
It has been suggested that the high antioxidant, dietary fiber, and vitamin content of fruits and vegetables may have beneficial effects on depression through a variety of mechanisms, including their role in inflammation, oxidative stress, and gut microbiota.
Because fruits and vegetables contain different nutrients, it is also possible that different types of fruits and vegetables may have different effects on depression risk.
The evidence that citrus fruits and green leafy vegetables reduce the risk of depression is particularly strong.
“Future studies that take into account consumption of different types of fruit and vegetables using standardized measures and focus on a larger number of older people, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, are definitely needed,” Professor Henry Brodaty, from the University of New South Wales, said.
“The expanding research currently being conducted into genes associated with dietary intake provides a promising avenue for influencing fruit and vegetable intake.”
“To better understand the association, the types of fruits and vegetables consumed also need to be taken into account, and studies need to be designed to be more comparable across cohorts.”
of study Published in Journal of Affective Disorders.
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Annabelle P. Mathison others2024. Associations between fruit and vegetable intake and incident depression in middle-aged and older adults in 10 diverse international longitudinal cohorts. Journal of Affective Disorders 359: 373-381; doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.096
Cranberries have the highest polyphenol and antioxidant capacity of any fruit or vegetable, which may help prevent the production of free radicals during exercise, which in turn may improve performance. In a new study, scientists investigated the effects of polyphenol-rich cranberry extract on time trial performance and post-exercise lactic acid response.
Consuming cranberries for 28 days seemed to improve running speed as well as aerobic performance in trained runners. Image credit: Michael Reichelt.
Polyphenols, such as proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins, flavonols, and flavonols, are secondary plant compounds found in fruits and vegetables.
Cranberries have the highest total polyphenol content of the most consumed fruits in the American diet and the highest antioxidant capacity of any fruit and vegetable.
In addition, its polyphenol content is notable due to its high concentration of rare A-type proanthocyanidins, which are believed to be the main contributors to its beneficial effects.
The use of nutritional supplements is increasing among athletes, and many are turning to natural health products to improve athletic performance.
Intense exercise significantly increases the production of reactive oxygen species due to high oxidative metabolic demands.
As a result, polyphenols may provide a natural antioxidant defense against exercise-induced free radical production.
“For elite athletes, any advantage can make the difference between finishing fifth or reaching the podium,” said study lead author Dr. Andreas Bergdahl, a researcher at Concordia University.
For this study, Dr. Bergdahl and his colleagues recruited 14 high-level runners who did at least five hours of endurance training per week.
The athletes ran two time trials during their three visits, one running 1,500 meters and one running 400 meters.
The first visit was used as the baseline. The second time, they administered a single large dose of cranberry extract two hours before the run.
The athletes were then instructed to consume a small amount of cranberry extract every day for 28 days before repeating their third run.
“We chose these distances to test the effects of cranberry extract on different energy systems,” said Dr. Francis Parenteau, lead author of the study. candidate at Concordia University.
“The 400m is short and intense and requires an anaerobic system. The 1,500m uses an aerobic system, but is shorter than what athletes typically run.”
“They weren’t training to run that distance, so we were able to isolate the effect of training as a variable.”
In addition to running time, the researchers also measured post-exercise blood lactate levels, a marker of potential muscle fatigue and oxygen deprivation.
They also fitted the runners with a portable near-infrared spectroscopy device to measure muscle oxygenation levels before, during and after a run.
After analyzing the data, the scientists found that consuming cranberry extract for 28 days showed a trend towards increased speed in the 1,500 meter time trial, but not in the 400 meter.
However, compared to baseline, they found that lactic acid accumulation decreased after 400 meters, but not after 1,500 meters.
Data also showed that cranberry extract promoted better oxygen extraction by muscles, improved lactate clearance, and slowed muscle deoxygenation.
“The benefit of this is that it’s all natural,” Dr. Bergdahl said.
“It’s an ergogenic aid, meaning it enhances performance, but it’s not an anabolic steroid.”
“Athletes can significantly improve their performance simply by consuming more cranberries.”
of study It was published in the magazine physical activity and nutrition.
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Francis Parenteau other. 2023. Cranberry supplements improve physiological markers of performance in trained runners. physical activity and nutrition 27 (4): 8-14; doi: 10.20463/pan.2023.0032
Artist’s impression of WD 0816-310. Astronomers have discovered scars imprinted on the surface left when a star swallows a planet.
ESO/L. Calzada
Astronomers have discovered a white dwarf star with strange metallic scars on its surface. The scar likely formed when the star tore apart and ate a small planet in its orbit.
Researchers often find white dwarfs with traces of metal in their atmospheres that came from planets that fell into the star. It has long been thought that metals should be evenly distributed across the surfaces of these so-called contaminated white dwarfs; Jay Farihi Researchers at University College London have discovered a strange concentration of metal debris.
Researchers monitored the star, called WD 0816-310, for two months using the Very Large Telescope in Chile. They discovered that the white dwarf had an opaque piece of metal on top of one of its magnetic poles, blocking some of the star’s light as it rotated. This position indicates that material may have been funneled into the star by its magnetic field. “This is the same process that causes auroras on Earth: charged particles follow magnetic fields to the surface,” Farihi said.
The planet that WD 0816-310 destroyed was small, probably about the same size as the solar system’s asteroid Vesta, which is about 525 kilometers in diameter. Its interior is now prominently displayed on its host star, which could make it relatively easy to study what its geochemistry was like before it was engulfed. Such studies may even be one of the best ways to observe small worlds outside our solar system, even after they disappear.
And there may be many other stars that have been similarly damaged. “When we find something outlandish, it’s often because they all looked that way and we just weren’t asking the right questions,” Farihi says. “This is the first, but it probably won’t be the last.” In fact, researchers have already discovered two white dwarfs that appear to have similar scars. If we go back and observe similar stars over and over again, we may discover even more stars.
A new study from Toronto Metropolitan University says 100% orange juice and sugar-sweetened beverages are not equivalent when it comes to their effects on food intake and blood sugar response, and should not be placed in the same category when making beverage decisions.
Consuming 100% orange juice before a meal reduces food intake at the next meal and lowers daily blood glucose concentrations in healthy, normal weight adults when compared to orange drink.
The World Health Organization suggests reducing free sugar intake to no more than 10% of daily energy intake to reduce the risk of unhealthy weight and tooth decay.
Consistent with these recommendations, some national dietary guidelines recommend reducing sugar intake from all sources.
However, these recommendations do not differentiate between sources of free sugars and are primarily based on data from observational studies, so the physiological mechanisms underlying the observed effects cannot be readily determined.
“Our findings highlight the importance of considering the source of sugar when considering overall health effects,” said Dr. Nick Bellissimo of Toronto Metropolitan University, senior author of the study. I am emphasizing that.”
The randomized, repeated measures study included 36 adult men and women with normal BMI levels who received 1 cup of 100% orange juice, orange flavored, 2 hours after a breakfast consisting of cereal, 2% milk, and 2% milk. Ingested sugar-sweetened beverages and water. Breakfast bar.
Blood sugar responses, average appetite, and subjective emotions were measured every 15 minutes for 60 minutes in 34 participants.
Glycemic responses and energy intake for the rest of the day were measured in 31 participants using continuous blood glucose monitors and food records.
Subjective sweetness and pleasantness were measured immediately after ingesting the test beverage.
Glycemic responses, average appetite, and subjective emotions were measured every 15 minutes for 60 minutes.
Food intake was measured 60 minutes after the pizza lunch.
Blood sugar levels were lower with 100% orange juice than with orange drink at 15, 30, and 45 minutes, but not after 60 minutes.
Blood sugar levels for the rest of the day were lower after drinking 100% orange juice compared to drinking orange or water.
The findings also showed that food intake at lunch and throughout the day was lower after consuming 100% orange juice compared to consuming orange drink.
Participants also had higher subjective comfort measures and enjoyed 100% orange juice more compared to orange beverages and water.
Using 100% orange juice instead of sugary drinks may reduce your total daily calorie intake and help regulate blood sugar levels.
100% orange juice contains flavonoids such as hesperidin, which can affect sugar absorption by slowing glucose transport, causing a delayed blood sugar response.
Consumption of 100% orange juice is associated with increased flavonoid intake, decreased added sugar, and higher quality diet.
The researchers said, “Consumption of 100% orange juice as a preload resulted in higher caloric compensation, lower total daily energy intake, and lower blood glucose concentrations compared to orange beverages.”
“Future longitudinal studies are needed to assess whether the habit of replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with 100% orange juice contributes to a healthier body weight and improved glycemic control.”
of paper It was published in the magazine nutrients.
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Stephanie Robayo other. 2024. Effects of her 100% orange juice and moderate sugar-sweetened beverages on subjective appetite, food intake, and glycemic responses in adults. nutrients 16 (2): 242; doi: 10.3390/nu16020242
In the late 1990s, when I was studying for my PhD, I read an article touting the “next big thing” in the food sector. To be honest, the next highlight didn’t seem very appetizing. Apparently, within the next 10 years, we’ll all be eating Beetleburgers.
Entomophagy, the eating of insects, is common in many parts of the world. Considering the ethical issues of livestock farming, the article boldly proclaimed that insect farms are the future of food.
Insects raised without welfare issues are excellent at converting foodstuffs that are unavailable to us into proteins that we can use. Additionally, they require far less space than livestock and produce far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than cows.
But despite some obvious benefits, a quarter of a century later, customers in developed countries still aren’t eating flies or baking with beetles. The reason is obvious. More than 1,000 species of insects are eaten around the world, most commonly in the tropics, but Western societies generally do not eat “bugs.”
Like the bushtucker trial I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here Eating insects is a repulsive idea to many people.
A piglet eats food made from black soldier fly larvae in the animal house at the University of Bologna. – Photo credit: Luigi Avantaggiato
Articles extolling the virtues of eating insects continue to appear frequently in the media. And while the headlines often feature shock values, authors are increasingly focusing on the ethical and climate-friendly aspects of insect farming.
If you look beyond the headline ‘Grasshoppers for Beginners’, you’ll quickly see that insects are already well-positioned to play a more important role in our food chain. Instead of eating fried grasshoppers with a side salad of mealworms, we’re developing better ways than ever to use insects as food for our favorite animals.
Insects could be a protein-rich game changer
The star of this insect animal feed revolution is the black soldier fly (Hermesia Illuscens). Adults are only about 16 mm (about 0.5 inches) long and resemble small, independent wasps. But soldier flies don’t have stingers and don’t sting, so this mimicry is just an evolutionary ploy.
A widely distributed species, the key to the black soldier fly’s importance is its larvae. This is because black soldier fly larvae are “non-selective” feeders. This is a polite way of saying that you will eat almost anything.
Black soldier fly larva. – Photo credit: Luigi Avantaggiato
They thrive on all kinds of food, from manure to animal and vegetable food waste. This property makes it excellent for waste disposal. For this alone, the flight of black soldiers is beneficial to us, but only before we turn them into animal feed.
The waste treatment process is called “ento remediation” and uses large chambers called bioconverters that house large numbers of black soldier fly larvae. These larvae consume food and other organic waste, producing soil-like organic residue that can be used as a rich fertilizer.
Inside the bioconverter, the larvae grow rapidly, and more than 50 percent of the weight they gain is protein. Once they reach the pupal stage (the stage of metamorphosis into an adult), they reach their nutritional peak. At this point, it has already helped convert the waste into fertilizer, which can be harvested and used as animal feed.
Bioconverter at the BEF Biosystem facility in Alessandria, Italy. – Photo credit: Luigi Avantaggiato
Insect animal feed can replace traditional animal feed, which often relies on soybean meal. Soybeans have a high environmental cost due to the land and water required to grow them and the resources required for transportation.
Although much of the research on animal feed production has focused on feeding livestock such as pigs and chickens, the black soldier fly is also attracting attention as a food source for farmed fish. Currently, the majority of feed for farmed fish often consists of fishmeal. Fishmeal is also used as livestock feed and is made by drying and crushing fish.
While this makes good use of fish parts we don’t eat and bycatch that can’t be returned to the ocean, fishmeal production can promote overfishing and the decline of fragile marine ecosystems.
Replacing fishmeal with sustainably farmed insects could revolutionize this important aspect of marine conservation.
Desert locusts (grasshoppers) raised for animal feed at the Italian Cricket Farm in Turin, Italy – Photo credit: Luigi Avantaggiato
From pet food to human food
However, black fruit flies are not the only species raised as animal feed. Some species of locusts breed very well and are relatively easy to maintain.
Insects are small and do not require much space, so it is possible to keep them under strictly controlled conditions to optimize their growth and reproduction. Those who keep reptiles are probably familiar with house crickets (Aketa Domestic). These light brown crickets are widely grown as pet food, but their potential as a source of protein for livestock is also attracting attention.
These insects may also eventually become a more direct part of our diet. The Italian Cricket Farm in Turin, Italy, is investigating the possibility of processing crickets into a protein-rich “insect flour” that can be incorporated into our food products. Currently awaiting European food safety approval, it is precisely this type of processing that could become a culturally acceptable way for insects to enter our diets.
In fact, crickets are quite delicious even when eaten without being processed into flour. A few years ago I ran an insect-eating workshop at the Cheltenham Science Festival. At that time, a local chef prepared a series of dishes for people to try. Beer-battered fried brown crickets sandwiched between sage leaves were a snack that people tried at first out of curiosity, but were so delicious they returned within seconds.
After digesting organic waste at the BEF Biosystem facility in Alessandria, Italy, black soldier fly larvae are harvested and turned into animal feed. Digested organic waste is used as soil fertilizer – Photo credit: Luigi Avantaggiato
Cricket farms in Italy produce around 200,000 crickets a year, which can be scaled up relatively easily. The production efficiency of crickets is amazing. Every 1 kg (2.2 lb) of crickets requires only 1.7 kg (3.7 lb) of feed to produce. Compare this to the 10 kg (22 lb) of feed required to produce 1 kg of beef and the benefits are clear.
Additionally, the final product is incredibly nutritious, containing twice the protein of beef, as well as a variety of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and other nutrients.
Changing tastes and ethics
As with any new idea in food production, potential disadvantages must be carefully considered.
It is clear that what an animal eats can influence the quality of the meat that is subsequently produced. Research on this is ongoing, but data so far suggests that while insect diets can affect the fatty acid content of meat, these changes have no negative impact in terms of taste and are not noticeable. It has been shown that this is not the case.
Another important issue to ponder is the ethics of raising insects. Ethical concerns about animal use are complex and change in response to changes in society and our scientific understanding.
Over the past few decades, we have seen much higher welfare standards introduced into livestock farming than were thought necessary in the past, but many would argue that there is still a long way to go.
These welfare advances have focused primarily on mammals, secondarily on poultry, and to a lesser extent on fish. However, insects are not mentioned at all in ethical discussions about animal use.
Black soldier flies are kept in an “aviary” at the Bug’s Life farm in Perugia, Italy, to encourage breeding. – Photo credit: Luigi Avantaggiato
In fact, we tend to think that insects cannot feel pain or suffering. However, this view is beginning to change.
We are beginning to learn more about the internal world of insects, and are discovering that they may be able to feel what we perceive as pain. Although this is an emerging field of research, the conclusion is that we may need to rethink the way we think about insects in many cases.
Having said that, I think it is actually very unlikely that we will change our views until insects are given the same welfare measures as “traditional” farm animals. The biggest advantage of using insects for food, either directly or through animal feed, is that they are environmentally friendly.
Dredging oceans for fishmeal and growing soybeans for protein feed are environmentally harmful, associated with high carbon costs and habitat loss or degradation.
On the other hand, raising insects has the potential to significantly reduce environmental impact. They occupy less space, use fewer resources to produce more protein, can utilize waste produced by humans, and do not rely on habitat development or displacement.
Crane fly cakes and locust bread may not be on your plate anytime soon, but insect-raised pork, chicken and beef certainly will be. Maybe that article from 25 years ago was onto something after all. Insects may really be the future of food.
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