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16 April 2020 - European Scientist - Covid 19 and the elephant in the room

Obesity and chronic metabolic disease is killing COVID-19 patients: now is the time to eat real food, protect the NHS and save lives.


How does sugar drive consumption? Scientists discover gut-brain sugar sensor in mice

The discovery of a specialized gut-brain circuit offers new insight into the way the brain and body evolved to seek out sugar. By laying the foundation for new ways to modify this circuit, this research offers promising new paths to reducing sugar over-consumption.


Diet may help preserve cognitive function

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet - high in vegetables, whole grains, fish, and olive oil - correlates with higher cognitive function. Dietary factors also seem to play a role in slowing cognitive decline.


The science of how diet can change the way sugar tastes

The food animals eat can change how they perceive future food. Researchers have discovered the basic science of how sweet taste perception is fine-tuned in response to different diets. This response uses the same machinery that the brain uses to learn.


Maternal obesity may be related to risk for ADHD in children

Mothers with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 kg/m² and greater are more likely to see behavioral problems and psychiatric symptoms in their children, according to a study recently published in The Journal of Pediatrics.


6 April 2020 - MedicalXpress - Compound in fruit peels halts damage and spurs neuronal repair in multiple sclerosis

Research suggests that a compound found in the peels of fruits such as apples and prunes, and some herbs, can reduce further damage to neurons, and also help rebuild the protective sheaths covering neurons, reversing the damage in multiple sclerosis.


Vitamin D could help fight off COVID-19

A crucial report finds that Vitamin D plays a critical role in preventing respiratory infections, reducing antibiotic use, and boosting the immune system response to infections.


6 April 2020 - MedicalXpress - Follow your gut: Newly identified digestive-brain axis controls food choice

A study reveals a novel learning process—orchestrated between the digestive system and the brain—that compels animals to seek out food that they never actually tasted. This testifies to the potency of the subconscious processes that control behaviour.


Gut communicates with the entire brain through cross-talking neurons

A new study shows how information in the small intestine, about nutrients or anything else, can get up to the brain and affect cognitive-emotional processes, and then how those processes can come back down and affect the gut. We may finally begin to understand how hunger makes us 'hangry,' or how a stressful day becomes an irritable bowel.


Alcohol consumption by fathers before conception could negatively impact child development (and choline supplementation in pregnancy reduces similar brain damage from maternal alcohol consumption)

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have explored the relationship between parental alcohol consumption—before conception in the case of fathers and during pregnancy in the case of mothers—and offspring development.


"Not all plant-based patterns of eating are healthy,” warns CVD study author

Plant-based diets have been widely promoted for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk reduction, but not all kinds of plant-based diets are healthy, according to a Greece-based study


5 ways nutrition could help your immune system fight off the coronavirus

The coronavirus presents many uncertainties, and none of us can completely eliminate our risk of getting COVID-19. But one thing we can do is eat as healthily as possible.


10 March 2020 - MedicalXpress - Junk food orders up trouble for young brains

Adolescents' brains are more sensitive to the rewarding properties of junk foods; but they lack the control mechanisms to prevent themselves from eating them.


10 March 2020 - The Conversation - Science continues to suggest a link between autism and the gut. Here’s why that’s important.

Children with autism were four times more likely to report gastrointestinal symptoms than children without a diagnosis - research review


4 March 2020 - Finding Genius Podcast - Researching the Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Physical and Mental Health

A podcast interview with Dr. Alex Richardson of Food and Behaviour (FAB) Research


Study shows low carb diet may prevent, reverse age-related effects within the brain

Study finds neurobiological changes associated with aging can be seen at a much younger age than would be expected, in the late 40s. However, this process may be prevented or reversed based on dietary changes that involve minimizing the consumption of simple carbohydrates.


5 March 2020 - Medscape - Passive Smoking Tied to Adolescent Depression Symptoms

Regular exposure to secondhand smoke is more common among nonsmoking teens with depression symptoms, according to a survey across 22 low- and middle-income countries.


Visceral fat delivers signal to the brain that hurts cognition

Excessive weight around our middle gives our brain's resident immune cells heavy exposure to a signal that turns them against us, setting in motion a crescendo of inflammation that damages cognition, scientists say.


3 March 2020 - MedicalXpress - Dietary compounds found to influence gut metabolites, buffering stress

Prebiotics can improve sleep and boost stress resilience by influencing gut bacteria and the metabolites they produce - study.


3 March 2020 - Science Daily - The origin of satiety: Brain cells that change shape after a meal

Researchers reveal the mechanisms in our brains that lead to feelings of satiation after eating. They involve a series of reactions triggered by a rise in blood glucose levels.