marconimedical

Why soya may not be such a super food after all

It was hailed as a superfood that could fight breast cancer, strengthen bones and ease the menopause. Once thought of as exotic, today soya can be found in a variety of guises on supermarket shelves, from dairy-free milk and yogurt to vegan cheese and tofu.
Soya was first cultivated in China, where it was used as medicine and in cooking. Last year, more than one million tons of it were imported to the UK. However, there is mounting evidence that soya could, in fact, pose a serious health risk.
Experts claim soya foods might lower testosterone levels in men, hamper thyroid function, cause weight gain and disrupt hormones.
Hailing from the same family as beans, peas and lentils, soybeans are crushed to form soybean meal, which is then used to make edible soya products.
It contains all the essential amino acids to build protein in our bodies, and many vegetarians opt for soy products as a way of upping their daily protein intake.
Surprisingly, according to food-industry estimates, it is also found in 60 per cent of processed foods, adding bulk, flavour and texture.
Breakfast cereals, cereal bars and biscuits, cheese, cakes, dairy desserts, gravies, noodles, pastries, soups, sausage casings, sauces and sandwich spreads, to name just a few, often contain soya.
It appears on food labels as ’soya flour’, ‘hydrolysed vegetable protein’, ’soy protein isolate’, ‘protein concentrate’, ‘textured vegetable protein’, ‘vegetable oil’, ‘plant sterols’, or the emulsifier ‘lecithin’.
Millions believe it to be a healthy option, providing protein with no saturated fat and without the risk of raising cholesterol levels. Yet it seems the very properties that made soya so attractive could also make it a health threat.
The soya plant boasts high levels of phytoestrogens that mimic the action of the body’s own oestrogen. And 100g of tofu contains 12.9mg of phytoestrogens, while 100g of soya yogurt or soya milk contains 11.8mg.
Dr Margaret Ritchie, an expert in phytoestrogens at the University of St Andrews, explains: ‘These oestrogen-like chemicals are up to 20,000 times weaker than natural oestrogen. If a woman is low in oestrogen, as in the menopause, the extra oestrogen absorbed when soya is eaten can help relieve menopausal symptoms.’
It may also reduce the impact of the body’s own oestrogen on breast and womb tissue, protecting against breast and uterine cancers, which are triggered by the hormone.
However, according to recent studies published in the Journal Of Nutrition, soya baby formula could cause problems in male infants.
Research at Edinburgh University into the effects of soya milk on young male monkeys found it interfered with testosterone levels, prompting concerns over fertility and disease in grown men.
Furthermore, studies in Japan suggest a high intake of soy-based products can disrupt the thyroid gland, leading to weight gain, fatigue and mood problems.
Marilyn Glenville, nutritionist and author of the Nutritional Health Handbook For Women, says: ‘Soya can block the uptake of the chemical iodine which is needed for a healthy thyroid. Turnips, cabbage, peanuts and pine nuts have similar effects. If you are diagnosed with a thyroid problem, you’ll be told to restrict your intake of all these foods.’
She adds: ‘The soya in soy burgers and sausages and added as flavour enhancers is highly processed. The soya-bean fibre is removed and the residue is soaked in an aluminium tank, then treated with chemicals such as nitrates, which some studies have linked to cancer.’
Glenville recommends reducing overall intake of processed foods and increasing intake of wholefoods.
The British Nutrition Foundation recommends adding traditional soya-bean products such as tofu, tamari, miso and tempeh to a healthy and varied diet.
‘Don’t overdo it,’ warns Glenville. ‘It is healthy in small quantities, but could be unhealthy if eaten in excess.’ One small portion, about 30g, a day is ideal.
And as there is evidence linking GM soya to a raised allergy risk, ensure any soya products you buy are organic and therefore GM free.

Food prices remain high in developing countries

Food prices are still at high level in developing countries despite an improved global cereal supply situation and a sharp decline in international food prices, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its latest Crop Prospects and Food Situation report published here on Thursday.
This is creating further hardship for millions of poor people already suffering from hunger and undernourishment, the Rome-based organization said.
This year’s world cereal production is forecast to decline by 3percent from the 2008 record, but it would still be the second largest crop ever, according to FAO’s first 2009 forecast.
Most of the decrease is expected to be in wheat, mainly due to a significant reduction in plantings in developed countries in response to lower international prices. In developing countries, cereal output could remain close to last year’s good level.
Food emergencies persist in 32 countries, despite good 2008 cereal crops in many of the countries normally most at risk of food insecurity, the report said.
Cereal prices in developing countries remain generally very high — in some cases at record levels, FAO said. Worst affected are the urban poor and food-deficit farmers who are dependent on the market to access food.
Moreover, the global economic recession is drying up remittances from family members working abroad that often sustain the food consumption levels of vulnerable households.
An analysis of domestic food prices for 58 developing countries shows that in around 80 percent of the cases, food prices are higher than 12 months ago, and in around 40 percent of the cases, the prices are higher than three months ago. In 17 percent of the cases, the latest price quotations are the highest on record.
The situation is most dramatic in sub-Saharan Africa. Domestic prices of rice are much higher than 12 months earlier in all countries analyzed, while prices of maize, millet and sorghum are higher in 89 percent of the countries in the region compared to a year earlier.
Food prices remain at high levels in other regions as well, particularly in Asia for rice and in Central and South America formaize and wheat, the FAO said.

Cut belly fat with tart cherries

Natural News posted a new
study from the University of Michigan. Researchers found that adding tart cherries to your diet may help reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. The study fed mice one of two diets: a high fat, moderate carbs diet (45% calories from fat, 40% calories from carbs) OR a low fat, high carbs diet (10% calories from fat, 75% calories from carbs).
Mice that were given added cherry powder to either diet had an 11% reduction in cholesterol after three months. In addition, the mice who had cherry powder had 54% body fat compared to 63% body fat in the mice that did not eat cherry powder. Most of the fat reduction was around the belly area of the mice.
The mice that ate cherry also had a 40% reduction in the TNF-alpha inflammation marker and 31% reduction in the IL-6 inflammation marker. The researchers found that “the activity of the genes producing these two compounds was reduced in the mice, suggesting that tart cherries may reduce inflammation at a systemic level.”

How an egg a day could keep your blood pressure down

Starting the day on an egg could keep your blood pressure in check, research suggests. Scientists have shown that eggs produce proteins that mimic the action of powerful blood pressure-lowering drugs.
The finding comes a few days after a study exploded the myth that they can increase the danger of heart attacks.
It now appears that eggs may be good for the heart, lowering blood pressure in the same way as Ace inhibitors, prescription-only pills taken by millions around the world. The drugs lower blood pressure by stopping the hormone angiotensin narrowing the body’s blood vessels.
The researchers, from the University of Alberta in Canada, showed that when eggs come in contact with stomach enzymes they produce a protein that acts in the same way.
Fried eggs proved particularly successful at blocking angiotensin, lab-based tests showed, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports. But the researchers, whose study was funded by the poultry industry, said more work was needed to show the effects outside a lab and in the human body.
Earlier this month, British researchers proclaimed that, contrary to popular perception, it is healthy to go to work on an egg. Researchers for the British Nutrition Foundation – part-funded by the poultry industry – concluded that the type of cholesterol found in eggs has minimal effect on raising heart disease risks.
It is saturated fat, rather than the cholesterol found in eggs, that is the main dietary culprit in raising cholesterol levels.
Smoking, being overweight and lack of exercise also influence blood fat and cholesterol levels and heart disease risk.
Researcher Professor Bruce Griffin, of the University of Surrey, said: ‘The ingrained misconception linking egg consumption to high blood cholesterol and heart disease must be corrected. ‘The amount of saturated fat in our diet exerts an effect on blood cholesterol that is several times greater than the relatively small amounts of dietary cholesterol.
The UK public do not need to be limiting the number of eggs they eat. ‘They can be encouraged to include them in a healthy diet as they are one of nature’s most nutritionally dense foods.’ The British Heart Foundation dropped its three-egg-a-week limit in 2005. However, almost half of Britons believe the limit still applies, a poll found. …And a slice of cheese might just prevent cancerEating cheese and other calcium-rich dairy products could cut your risk of cancer.
Such foods appear to be particularly effective against bowel and other cancers of the digestive system, according a U.S. study of almost half a million volunteers.
Researchers tracked the health and dietary habits of more than 490,000 adults for up to eight years.
Women taking in the most calcium, a mineral normally associated with bone health, were 23 per cent less likely to have developed bowel, stomach and other digestive cancers than those who ate the least.
For men, high levels of calcium cut the risk of these cancers by 16 per cent, the journal Archives of Internal Medicine Reports.
These men and women took in more than 1,500 milligrams of calcium a day – more than twice the level recommended by the Food Standards Agency. A 100g wedge of cheddar provides about 720mg of calcium.
The researchers, from the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, said: ‘Calcium has been shown to reduce abnormal growth and induce normal turnover among cells in the gastrointestinal tract.’

Strawberries help reduce cholesterol damage

Researchers at the University of Toronto recently completed a new study on strawberries and their effect on cholesterol. The study looked at 28 men and women with high cholesterol who had been eating a low cholesterol diet. Researchers gave half of the group three cups of strawberries every day for 30 days and the other half more oat bran bread.
At the end of the month, the subjects who ate the strawberries maintained lower cholesterol but also had a reduction of ¡°oxidative damage to LDL cholesterol.¡± In excess, LDL (bad) cholesterol is harmful to our arteries, but it¡¯s even more harmful if it¡¯s oxidized. The antioxidants in the strawberries help reduce the free radicals that cause oxidation in the body.
This small study was backed by the California Strawberry Commission. Although the study clearly helps the Commission promote strawberry sales, these new findings help prove that strawberries, and other antioxidant-rich berries and fruits, are an important part of a healthy diet and disease prevention.
Unfortunately, strawberries are known to have some of the highest levels of pesticides. Try opting for organic or better yet¡­grow them at home. Chelsea Green wrote a great article on The Huffington Post this week with step-by-step instructions on how to grow strawberries at home. Fun and money saving!

What’s the best diet? Eating less food

Low-fat, low-carb, high-protein – there’s a diet plan of every flavor. And if you’re one of the millions of Americans who struggle with weight, you’ve probably tried them all, likely with little success.
That wouldn’t surprise Dr. Frank Sacks, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of a new study published in the February 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, whose findings confirm what a growing body of weight-loss evidence has already suggested: one diet is no better than the next when it comes to weight loss. It doesn’t matter where your calories come from, as long as you’re eating less. (Read about environmentally friendly food.)
“We have a really simple and practical message for people – it’s not so much the type of diet you eat,” says Sacks. “It’s how much you put in your mouth.”
In the analysis of 811 obese patients from Massachusetts and Louisiana, participants were randomly assigned to one of four heart-healthy diets: low fat or high fat, with either average or high levels of protein. All four regimens also included high amounts of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and substituted saturated fat, found in foods such as butter and meat, with unsaturated fat, found in vegetable oil and nuts. The participants were encouraged to exercise 90 minutes a week.
On average, the study participants lost about 13 lbs. after six months of dieting, or about 7% of their starting weight, regardless of which diet plan they followed. At the year mark, the dieters had regained some of the lost weight, and after two years, average weight loss was about 9 lbs. Only about 15% of participants were able to lose 10% of their body weight or more. Across the board, however, patients lowered their risk of diabetes and reduced blood levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) while increasing good cholesterol (HDL) and overall heart health.
Catherine Loria, one of the study’s co-authors and a nutritional epidemiologist with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which funded the study, was encouraged by the findings. “People do have to choose heart-healthy foods,” she says, but “I think the beauty of the study is that they have a lot of flexibility in terms of the dietary approach.”
But that’s where the trouble begins. It’s hard enough to figure out what to eat. Eating less of it is even harder. Researchers had hoped to get study participants to eat 750 calories fewer than they expended each day – an objective that proved impossible. Dieters adhered to the initial plan for the first several weeks, but by the six-month mark, they were consuming only 225 calories less than they expended – about a third of the goal – according to a calculation based on overall weight loss. “It’s very difficult to reduce your calories enough to really sustain a lot of weight loss,” Loria says.

One failure of most diet plans is that people get hungry and quit, says Sacks, who acknowledges that the sudden reduction of 750 calories in his study was perhaps too steep. “I think what that teaches us is that maybe it’s better to make a more gradual change in intake,” says Sacks. “That’s what I recommend to my patients, let’s try to pick a gradual or realistic reduction in calories that’s not going to make you really hungry a lot and that you can sustain day after day.”
But eating less, however simple it sounds, is hardly a one-man job. Some nutrition experts argue that the balance of responsibility needs to fall more heavily on society at large. Martjin Katan, a professor of nutrition and health at Amsterdam’s VU University, wrote an accompanying editorial that analyzed the merits of the diet study. He suggests that focusing on individual diet plans of any kind may be misguided, and that only community-wide change will truly be able to stem the tide of obesity. He points to a small town in France that tapped all of its residents to solve the problem – building more outdoor sports facilities and creating walking routes, hosting cooking classes and even intervening with at-risk families. After five years, obesity among children was down to 8.8%, less than half the rate of neighboring towns. That success, he writes, “suggests that we may need a new approach to preventing and to treating obesity and that it must be a total-environment approach.”
It’s a useful lesson for American adults, two-thirds of whom are overweight or obese. Long-term weight loss has proved frustratingly elusive for many obese individuals, but study after study has shown the benefit of community and peer support for helping people take off weight – and keep it off. In this study, the participants who took advantage of group and individual counseling offered as part of the diets had far greater success than those who chose to go it alone. Over the course of two years, participants who went to at least two-thirds of the counseling sessions dropped about 22 lbs., 13 lbs. over the average of the entire study population. “Losing weight and sustaining it for two years is difficult,” Sacks says. “To help people do that, they need some level of support to keep their motivation and focus.”
But the bottom line, according to most obesity experts, is to set realistic goals. Expect what is achievable: a 250-lb. person isn’t likely to slim down to supermodel proportions in her lifetime, but she may be able to lose 10 or 20 lbs. A moderate 5% or 10% reduction in body weight can significantly improve health, by lowering cholesterol and the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. For many doctors who work with obese patients, the goal is not thinness, but well-being – and, ultimately for the patient, self-acceptance.
As for the secret to losing weight? There is none. “It’s basic physiology,” Loria says. “Eat fewer calories than you expend.”

When mixing your foods can be dangerous

For people whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs, a big meal with lots of different tastes usually satisfies. But some foods do not go with others. When the mix is wrong, people will not be able to assimilate the nutrients in the food. Sometimes there are risks of more serious side effects.
Crabs and persimmons are a well-known example. When the two are eaten together, they cause diarrhea.
Li Hongyan, a senior nutritionist from Shanghai Tongmai Food Co Ltd, suggests that when mixing different foods, people have to look out for those that might result in bad reactions.
She offers some tips for Shanghai Daily readers.
Category 1: Soybean and milk products
Bean curd and spinach
When bean curd and spinach are eaten at the same time, they affect absorption of calcium and may lead to blockages in the abdomen. Spinach contains oxalic acid, which can react with the calcium in bean curd in the intestines and form insoluble precipitates of calcium oxalate. The foods taken together affect the absorption of calcium.
Bean curd and green onion
The combination of bean curd and green onions may affect the absorption of calcium. Bean curd contains plenty of nutrition like protein and calcium. But green onions contain a great deal of oxalic acid. When calcium meets oxalic acid, the calcium oxalate they form destroys calcium. If one eats bean curd mixed with green onions over a long time, it can lead to a lack of calcium causing spasms, osteomalacia and fractures.
Milk and chocolate
Believe it or not, milk and chocolate do not match. While milk is rich in protein and calcium, chocolate contains oxalic acid. Eaten together, the calcium from milk and the oxalic acid of chocolate can combine and form insoluble calcium oxalate, which is not only indigestible but also can cause diarrhea.
Milk and pomelo
The protein in milk can react with the fruit acids in pomelos and make one’s stomach feel bloated. The acid can also over-stimulate the stomach and cause diarrhea.
Lactic acid drink and ham
Many people like having a sandwich with yogurt. However, ham and bacon in sandwiches, when taken with yogurt, could cause cancer. To extend the preservation of meat products, producers add nitrate to prevent decay and botulinus. But when nitrate meets organic acid, it can turn into nitrosamine, a carcinogen.
Soy milk and egg
Soy milk contains nutrition including vegetable proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. If drunk by itself, it is very nourishing. However, if taken together with eggs, it can reduce the activity of protease, which helps the body assimilate protein. Eggs are, of course, very rich in protein.
Category 2: Meat
Mutton and vinegar
Mutton is a “hot” food, while vinegar is “warm” and like alcohol. When the two are cooked together, they can over-activate yang energy and the circulation. According to Compendium of Materia Medica, a book on Chinese herbal medicine, eating mutton and vinegar at the same time harms the heart.
Mutton and watermelon
Watermelon is a “cold” food. When taken together with mutton, the “heat,” the nourishing effect of the mutton will be dramatically decreased. For those who suffer from asthenia of the spleen, it can harm their energy and upset the spleen and stomach.
Beef and chestnut
Beef and chestnuts are good for the stomach. However, chestnuts contains vitamin C, which can react with microelements in the beef and lessen the chestnuts’ nutrition. The combination is not good for digestion and can cause dyspepsia.
Category 3: Seafood
Crab and tea
Some people might get used to drinking tea after eating crabs, thinking that it is good for the digestion. On the contrary it can cause indigestion. Gastric juices are diluted after drinking tea while eating crabs, and this not only disturbs assimilation but also reduces the ability of the gastric juices to sterilize. On the other hand, tea has as much tannic acid as persimmons.
Shrimp and vitamin C
If someone eats shrimps and also takes a lot of vitamin C on the same day, he or she is taking a serious risk. Shrimps contain a compound which reacts with vitamin C becoming the poison arsenic.
Catergory 4: Vegetable
White radish and carrot
The ferment in carrot can destroy the vitamin C in the white radish. To get the best nutrition, it is better to eat them separately.
Persimmon and sweet potato
Having persimmon and sweet potato at the same time can cause blockages in the stomach. The sugar in the sweet potato gets fermented in stomach, which increases stomach acid. Together they could even cause a gastric hemorrhage or gastric ulcers.

How to pick a wine for a dinner party

 
With so many choices out there in Beijing, sometimes it’s hard to choose a wine to drink or bring to a dinner party based on just a price. Probably at one time or another we have all gone by the Beijing rule, if it’s under 100 yuan it probably won’t taste as good as something over 100 yuan. That is only partially true.
 
We invited both Gabriel Suk and Dorian Tang to gives us some tips and value vintages that will not only taste good, but are easy on the wallet too. Suk is author of the Wine Guide 2008. Tang has over 13 years of experience in the wine industry and is also a wine educator at wine distributor ASC.
 
Suk said the key to successfully serving wine at a holiday dinner party is to focus on “providing the right quantity, quality and consistency of options.”
 
He suggests to start off by planning for about three fourths of a bottle per person for a sit down dinner.
 
Since people will be bringing varying levels of wine knowledge and appreciation to the table, he does not suggest going all out to pour the best wines from your collection or just picking out something a sales person said.
 
Instead, he said, “focus on a good bottle of wine or two that you have tried recently and enjoyed. Pick one white and one red (and a sparkling/Champagne to start off with if you feel like classing it up a bit).
 
“The best values are going to come from the New World. Try a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or Australian Riesling for your white and a California Pinot Noir or Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon for red.”
 
While Suk suggested that we try a few wines to make sure we like them before serving them to our guests at dinner, what can we bring if we are invited as guests, especially to those informal BYOB (bring your own bottle) gatherings?
 
Tang, wine educator at ASC, suggests several bottles, most of which are around 100 yuan.
 
For a good gift at a great price, Tang notes the themed holiday bottle Fortant for 70-80 yuan.
 
Fortant is produced by the Skalli family. Starting in the 1980’s, Robert Skalli began introducing “new world” varieties to the southern vineyards of France and the wines produced by his family have now a steady reputation that has reached to over 70 countries in around the world.
 
Made with 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, Tang describes the wine as having “full body and concentrated in flavor,” and suggests pairing it with “roast turkey and beef”.
 
“You can even pair it with hot pot (non-spicy),” she said.
 
All the wines she mentioned can be bought at Carrefour, SOGO and Kempinski supermarket.
 
She recommended Freixenet, a sparkling wine from Spain, that runs for about 120 yuan. Hailing from the world’s number one sparkling wine producer, it is made in Spain using the traditional method of secondary fermentation inside the bottle.
 
As Tang explained, the Freixenet gets its smaller and more consistent bubbles from its fermentation method. She said that sparkling wines made by this traditional method will probably taste better than the sparkling wines that get injected with CO2 that have bigger and thus harsh tasting bubbles.
 
Since Freixenet is semi-dry, Tang suggested pairing it with spicy dishes.
 
Founded by Wolf Blass in Australia in 1961, the Wolf Blass family has been rewarded with more than 3,000 trophies and diplomas for their consistent investments in vineyards across South East Australia. Wolf Blass wines can be easily recognized by their different colored labels.
 
Made out of 70 percent Shiraz and 30 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, the Wolf Blass red label can be paired with red meat and even some seafood. Tang’s favorite pairing with this wine is the Douchi Baoyu, or Abalone with salty black bean sauce.
 
A wine that the ladies might enjoy is the Beringer White Zinfendel for 115 yuan.
 
Produced by Beringer Vineyards in California’s famous Napa Valley region, it is now in its third century of crafting classic wines. It is the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley and was named Winery of the Year in 2001 by both Wine Enthusiast Magazine and Wine & Spirits Magazine.
 
Made from the red grape, Tang loves its “beautiful blushed rose color”.
 
She added that the ladies will “like the sweet tropical fruit taste such as pear, pineapple, cherry, strawberry.” Because of its sweet taste, Tang suggested pairing it with Asian cuisine such as Thai or Chinese food.
 
For a good dessert wine, try the Inniskillin Ice Wine (900 yuan retail for 375 ml)
 
The Inniskillin winery is located in the Niagara region in Canada. They produced their very first Inniskillin Ice wine in 1984 and are now recognized as the undisputed leader of VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) ice wine.
 
Tang explained that ice wines are usually more expensive than other vintages because they have to keep the fruit well after the usual September to October harvesting months. Handpicked in December and January, they have to wait for the fruit to be at least -8 C.
“Inniskillin goes above the standard and is handpicked at -12 C, before noon even, when the grape is the coldest,” Tang said. “Plus, with global warming, you might not get such cold weather conditions every year, so it’s a gamble.”
 
For some great values on reds, she chose the Wolf Blass red label (105 yuan) or the Penfolds Bin 128 (300 yuan).
 
Penfolds was established in 1844 when Doctor Christopher Rawson Penfold migrated from England to Australia.
 
He obtained vine cuttings from the south of France and planted around a modest stone cottage on the outskirts of Adelaide name “Grange” after his wife Mary’s home in England.
 
The introduction of the Penfolds Grange vintage effectively put Australia on the map as a producer of fine wines.
 
The berries are selected from South Australia and are 100 percent Shiraz. Deep opel in color, it is concentrated in flavor..
 
Tang noted that “there are hints of blueberry, black currant, black chocolate, cider, and sometimes mint depending on the vintage”.
She suggested pairing it with red meat, such as rack of lamb, steak, even Dongporou pork!”

Take it with a pinch of salt

Eating an egg for breakfast in peace is not always easy given the common admonition, “Don’t use so much salt!”
While high consumption of table salt has long been blamed for high blood pressure, some scientists are now not so sure.
Beyond dispute, however, is that the human body’s fluid balance and absorption of nutrients depend on salt, which maintains osmotic pressure in the lining of blood vessels, explains Stephan Bischoff, a professor of nutritional medicine at Hohenheim University in Germany.
Salt thus enables the passage of nutrients into cells – and of waste out of them. It is also important in areas including the transmission of nerve impulses, muscle movement and bone density.
“Salt also causes the body to retain water,” Bischoff says, pointing out that a salt deficiency could lead to dehydration.
An adult requires a daily minimum of 1.4 grams of salt to compensate for the salt lost normally by the body. Sweating or diarrhea can greatly raise the requirement. “Sweat contains between 0.8 and 1.3 grams of table salt per liter,” notes Karl-Ludwig Resch, professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Dresden University.
Generally speaking, a person’s salt intake exceeds the minimum daily requirement many times over.
Salted meat products such as sausage and salami – 100 grams of the latter contain about 3.1 grams of salt – are not the only sources. Among the saltiest foods are some varieties of cheese.
“Processed foods, and particularly canned foods, are also very high in salt,” says Professor Walter Zidek, director of the Nephrology Clinic at Berlin’s Charite University Hospital.
So how much salt is healthy? The question is not easy to answer. The standard given by the Bonn-based German Nutrition Society (DGE) is 6-10 grams daily for adolescents and adults.
“Exceeding this amount could lead, in individual cases, to negative consequences for health,” says DGE spokesperson Antje Gahl.
The guarded phrasing reflects the fact that salt intake is no longer automatically linked to high blood pressure or hypertension.
“There has been no reliable study proving that the average salt intake in the healthy population contributes to high blood pressure,” Resch says. He believes there are many possible causes of high blood pressure and “many ways to lower it, too”, among which reducing the consumption of table salt is one of the least effective.
According to Resch, simply gaining four or five kg affects blood pressure two to three times more than anything achievable by reducing salt intake.
There are no uniform recommendations on how much salt a person should consume. While Zidek says a diet low in salt would do no one any harm, Resch advises against a strict low-salt diet.
“A healthy person with fairly normal blood pressure need not worry about salt consumption,” Resch says.
Nonetheless, nutritionists are agreed on one thing: A diet rich in fresh foods and low in processed ones would seem to be the safest bet.

Eat Yogurt, Avoid Bladder Cancer

If you love yogurt, you’re in luck. You probably already know it’s good for you, but I found a recent Swedish study that gives us more evidence. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm studied the diets of 80,000 patients in a nine-year span and published their findings in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
They concluded that women who consumed two servings of yogurt every day were 45% less likely to develop bladder cancer than those who only eat it occasionally or not at all (36% for men). What¡¯s interesting is that the researchers found no protective benefit in other dairy products. It was only the yogurt or cultured milk products with lactic acid bacteria.
Lead study author Alicja Wolk, Ph.D., says the probiotic called lactobacillus in cultured dairy products could be responsible for providing these protective benefits. (Ref: Women¡¯s Health, March 2009, p. 28)
Of course, it’s safe to say that most people who eat yogurt probably lead healthier lifestyles, but the findings are still significant. Yeah!