Category: Nutrition

The study challenges the assumption that ultra-processed foods are ‘hyperpalatable’ — they are not.

Surprisingly, ultra-processed foods taste no better than unprocessed or minimally processed foods.

Instead, a study suggests that the ratio of carbohydrate-to-fat is the key determinate of how pleasant a food tastes.

The researchers wanted to know if level of processing, carbohydrate-to-fat ratio, and higher energy density (calories) have any influence on the desirability and liking of a food.

Taste perceptions

The team compared the taste perception of highly processed foods with less processed foods among 224 women and men.

Participants were shown images of 32 familiar foods and asked to rate the foods for sweetness, flavour intensity, saltiness, desire to eat, and pleasantness.

They found that neither level of processing nor high calorie foods scored higher on desire to eat (food reward) and liking (pleasantness).

However, foods that combined more equal amounts (in calories) of carbohydrate and fat, and foods tasting more intense, were rated higher on both liking and desire to eat.

These findings back up the theory that humans are naturally designed to like foods with more equal amounts of fat and carbohydrate since fat is the highest source of energy and carbohydrate makes up the largest portion of our diets.

The results also show that less desirable foods were high in fibre, but foods with more intense taste — mainly due to their sweetness, saltiness, or savouriness (umami) — were rated high for pleasantness and desire to eat.

Professor Peter Rogers, the study’s first author, said:

“Our results challenge the assumption that ultra-processed foods are ‘hyperpalatable,’ and it seems odd that this has not been directly tested before.

However, while ultra-processing didn’t reliably predict liking (palatability) in our study, food carbohydrate-to-fat ratio, food fiber content, and taste intensity did—actually, together, these three characteristics accounted for more than half of the variability in liking across the foods we tested.

The results for sweetness and saltiness, are consistent with our innate liking for sweetness and saltiness.

And the results for carbohydrate-to-fat ratio and fiber might be related to another important characteristic that determines food liking.

Our suggestion is that humans are programmed to learn to like foods with more equal amounts of carbohydrate and fat, and lower amounts of fiber, because those foods are less filling per calorie.

In other words, we value calories over fullness.

In turn, this trait helps us to maximize calorie intake and build up fat reserves when food is abundant—which is adaptive in circumstances when food supplies are uncertain or fluctuate seasonally, but not when food is continuously available in excess of our immediate needs.”

Related

• Ultra-processed foods are linked to both depression and anxiety.
• The most addictive foods are highly processed.
• Eating fast foods and processed foods linked to heart disease.
• Eating junk food aggravates inflammatory bowel disease.

The study was published in the journal Appetite (Rogers et al., 2023).

Vitamin D deficiency is more common in winter.

Tiredness, depression and weak muscles can all be signs of vitamin D deficiency.

Depression risk is raised by vitamin D deficiency, according to one study.

This may be because of the role that vitamin D plays in regulating serotonin.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter important for mood.

Similarly, poor sleep and headaches can also be signs of the deficiency.

The current recommendations for vitamin D intake by the National Academy of Medicine are 600 IU per day for adults.

Foods that are rich in vitamin D include oily fish and eggs, but most people get their vitamin D from the action of sunlight on the skin.

Sufficient levels of vitamin D3 can help to restore the cardiovascular system, repairing damage done by diseases like hypertension and diabetes.

The conclusions come from a study that examined the impact of vitamin D3 on a vital component of the cardiovascular system, endothelial cells.

Professor Tadeusz Malinski, study co-author, said:

“Generally, Vitamin D3 is associated with the bones. However, in recent years, in clinical settings people recognize that many patients who have a heart attack will have a deficiency of D3.

It doesn’t mean that the deficiency caused the heart attack, but it increased the risk of heart attack.

We use nanosensors to see why Vitamin D3 can be beneficial, especially for the function and restoration of the cardiovascular system.”

The results showed that vitamin D3 can help to prevent blood clots and reduce oxidative stress in the cardiovascular system.

Getting sufficient levels of vitamin D could help to reduce the risk of heart attacks.

Professor Malinski said:

“There are not many, if any, known systems which can be used to restore cardiovascular endothelial cells which are already damaged, and Vitamin D3 can do it.

This is a very inexpensive solution to repair the cardiovascular system.

We don’t have to develop a new drug.

We already have it.”

The study was published in the International Journal of Nanomedicine (Khan et al., 2018).

Largest study to date builds evidence that vitamin deficiency is linked to chronic headaches.

Low levels of vitamin D are linked to chronic headaches, a large study on the subject finds.

The Finnish study of 2,601 men found that 68 percent were deficient in vitamin D.

Those reporting chronic headaches had lower amounts of vitamin D than those who did not.

Men with the lowest concentrations of vitamin D had twice the risk of chronic headaches as those with high levels of vitamin D.

Chronic headaches were also more likely to occur in the winter months.

During the winter, less sunshine striking the skin means the body is not able to produce enough vitamin D.

Finland is a particularly good place to look at the effect of vitamin D on headaches as it gets much less sun during the winter.

The same is true of other northerly countries — or those where people spend little time outside.

The current medications — painkillers — may be doing more harm than good in some cases.

People are frequently taking the wrong medication, or too much of it, the study’s authors write:

“Primary headaches, including migraine, are among the leading health problems and causes of disability in the modern working population.

Currently, there is a global trend in chronification of migraine and a growing number of cases of medication overuse headache due to improper use and/or overuse of painkillers.”

Low vitamin D has already been linked to depression and negative thoughts as well as being implicated in dementia.

Vitamin D supplements

Foods that have high amounts of vitamin D include oily fish and eggs, but most people get their vitamin D from the action of sunlight on the skin.

That is why levels are typically lower in the body during the winter months in more northern climes.

Finnish researchers are currently testing the effects of higher doses of vitamin D over the longer term.

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Virtanen et al., 2016).

You might be addicted to the foods you eat every day — without even knowing it.

Ultra-processed foods high in carbohydrates and fats, like sweets and salty snacks, are as addictive as nicotine and alcohol, according to a review.

Analysis of 281 studies from 36 different countries reveals that the prevalence of food addiction in adults is 14 percent, a similar rate to alcohol (14 percent) and tobacco (18 percent).

The rate of food addiction in people with binge eating disorder is more than 50 percent and in obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery, it is 32 percent.

While one can quit drinking or smoking, one can’t give up eating, so eliminating addictive foods from the diet becomes more complex.

The authors suggest identifying foods that are highly addictive, along with knowing why, which could help people to avoid consuming them.

Professor Ashley Gearhardt, the study’s first author, said:

“There is converging and consistent support for the validity and clinical relevance of food addiction.

By acknowledging that certain types of processed foods have the properties of addictive substances, we may be able to help improve global health.”

Not all foods are addictive

Since processed foods make up large portions of the Western diet, the issue becomes more challenging.

Dr Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, study co-author, said:

“Most foods that we think of as natural, or minimally processed, provide energy in the form of carbohydrate or fat—but not both.”

One way to distinguish ultra-processed foods (UPFs) from minimally processed foods is that UPFs often contain added fats and refined carbohydrates which are not used in home kitchens but are in food factories.

Minimally processed or natural foods rarely contain equivalent levels of fat and carbohydrates.

For example, an apple contains 55 kcal of carbohydrates and
1.5 kcal of fat (a ratio of roughly 1:0) and 100 grams of salmon contains 0 kcal of carbohydrates and 73 kcal of fat (a ratio of roughly 0:1).

UPFs, by contrast, contain much larger amounts of both carbohydrates and fats, in roughly equal proportions.

For example, a 100-gram chocolate bar has 266 kcal of fat and 237 kcal of carbohydrates, making a ratio of 1:1.

The combination of carbohydrates and fats appears to have an additive effect on the brain’s reward system that potentially increases addiction to these types of foods.

Dr DiFeliceantonio said:

“Many ultra-processed foods have higher levels of both.

That combination has a different effect on the brain.”

Due to food scarcity, some countries are dependent on UPFs as a large source of calories, but people in high-income countries do not need UPFs.

Dr DiFeliceantonio said:

“Given how prevalent these foods are—they make up 58 percent of calories consumed in the United States—there is so much we don’t know.”

Related

• Highly processed foods share many qualities with drugs that people abuse.
• Ultra-processed foods are linked to both depression and anxiety.
• A study challenges the idea that ultra-processed foods are ‘hyperpalatable’.

The study was published in the British Medical Journal (Gearhardt et al., 2023).

Many people experience this unusual sensation even with both feet firmly on the ground.

A sudden sensation of dizziness, or that your head is spinning, could be a sign of vitamin D deficiency.

It is a symptom of a common type of vertigo called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).

Other symptoms include nausea and vomiting, as well as a loss of balance.

However, taking vitamin D and calcium supplements twice a day can reduce the chance of experiencing vertigo, research finds.

The people who are most deficient in vitamin D get the most benefit from it.

Technically, vertigo is the symptom of dizziness and the feeling of the world spinning — it does not have to be in response to heights.

Many people experience vertigo with both feet firmly on the ground.

The condition is rarely serious, but can be very irritating, with 86 percent of sufferers reporting that it interrupts their daily lives and leads to some days off work.

Research finds that taking vitamin D and calcium supplements can prevent it from recurring.

Dr Ji-Soo Kim, study co-author, said:

“Our study suggests that for people with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, taking a supplement of vitamin D and calcium is a simple, low-risk way to prevent vertigo from recurring.

It is especially effective if you have low vitamin D levels to begin with.”

The study included almost one thousand people, around half of whom were given vitamin D supplements and calcium.

People with low vitamin D levels took 400 IU of vitamin D and 500 mg of calcium twice a day.

The results showed that the supplements reduced the recurrence of vertigo by 24 percent.

People who were more deficient in vitamin D got greater benefit from taking the supplements, seeing a 45 percent reduction in symptoms.

Dr Kim said:

“Our results are exciting because so far, going to the doctor to have them perform head movements has been the main way we treat benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

Our study suggests an inexpensive, low-risk treatment like vitamin D and calcium tablets may be effective at preventing this common, and commonly recurring, disorder.”

The study was published in the journal Neurology (Jeong et al., 2020).