Beers rich in hops and barley malts linked to better bone health

A new study suggests that beers containing plenty of hops or pale barley malts could promote better bone health thanks to their dietary silicon content.

Previous studies have established that beer is an important source of bioavailable silicon but little research has been done to find out which beers to contain the most silicon.

Bone health

Researchers from the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California sought to plug this scientific gap because dietary silicon appears to support bone development and fight off osteoporosis – a common disease that increases the risk of fractures.

The Californian researchers said beer contains silicon in the soluble form of orthosilicic acid (OSA), which yields 50 per cent bioavailability, making it a major contributor to silicon intake in the Western diet.

But which beers contain the most dietary silicon? Writing in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, the scientists examined a wide range of beer styles to answer this question.

Hops and malt

Beers full of hops were found to be particularly good sources of silicon. Some were found to contain as much as four times more silicon than is found in malt.

But malt may be ultimately more important overall because hops are used in much smaller quantities than grain in the brewing process.

Looking more closely at malt, the researchers said barley is a better source than wheat. As for the malting process itself, pale colored barley malts were found to contain higher levels of silicon than darker varieties because they face less heat stress.

But generally, the malt process did not cause any major changes in silicon content of barley as most of the silicon in barley is in the husk, which is not affected greatly during malting.

So making an overall comment on the best silicon option, lead author Charles Bamforth said: “Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon.”

Bamforth and his colleagues also tested 100 commercial beers for silicon content and categorized the data according to beer style and source. The average silicon content of the beers sampled was 6.4 to 56.5 mg/L.

Sweet-toothed children 'may have depression'

While most children like sweets, those with an extra-sweet tooth may be depressed or at higher risk of future alcohol problems, researchers say.

The US team report in the journal Addiction that certain children are especially drawn to very sweet tastes.

These were children who had a close relative with an alcohol problem or who themselves had symptoms of depression.

But it is unclear if the preference for the very sweet is down to genuine chemical differences or upbringing.

The researchers say sweet taste and alcohol trigger many of the same reward circuits in the brain.

Lead author Julie Mennella said: "We know that sweet taste is rewarding to all kids and makes them feel good.

"In addition, certain groups of children may be especially attracted to the intense sweetness due to their underlying biology."

Experts say alcoholics tend to have a sweet tooth.

But the link is less clear in children. Other US researchers have shown that a preference for the sweetest drinks was found in the ones undergoing growth spurts.

In the latest study, the scientists at the Monell Chemical Senses Center asked 300 children aged five to 12, of whom half had a family member with alcohol dependency, to taste five sweet water drinks containing different amounts of sugar.

The children were asked to say which tasted the best and were also asked questions to check for depressive symptoms.

A quarter had symptoms that the researchers believed suggested they might be depressed.

Sweet tooth

Liking for intense sweetness was greatest in the 37 children who had both a family history of alcoholism and reported depressive symptoms.
These children preferred the drink containing the most sugar - 24% sucrose, which is equivalent to about 14 teaspoons of sugar in a cup of water and more than twice the level of sweetness in a typical cola.

This was a third more intense than the sweetness level preferred by the other children.

The researchers then decided to test whether the children's taste difference had any impact on their reaction to pain or discomfort - past studies have suggested sweets may help act as analgesics as well as mood lifters.

They found non-depressed children were able to tolerate keeping their hands in very cold water for longer if they had a sugar hit.

However, the extra sugar did nothing to the depressed children's pain threshold.

Cardiff University's Professor Tim Jacob, an expert in smell and taste, said the findings were interesting, but that it was hard to make firm conclusions or generalisations from one study alone.

He said the findings could be down to brain chemistry, but might also be explained by behaviour and upbringing.

"While it is true that sweet things activate reward circuits in the brain, the problem is that sweets and sugar are addictive, because the activation of these reward circuits causes opioid release, and with time more is needed to achieve the same effect.

"But the taste difference may be explained by differences like parental control over sweet consumption."

Baked Rhubarb Could Help Fight Cancer

ScienceDaily (Feb. 12, 2010) — Eating rhubarb baked in a crumble is not only tasty it may also be the best way to take advantage of its health benefits, and could lead to the development of new cancer treatments.

Researchers have found that baking British garden rhubarb for 20 minutes dramatically increases its levels of anti-cancerous chemicals. The findings from academics at Sheffield Hallam University, together with the Scottish Crop Research Institute, were published in the journal Food Chemistry.

These chemicals, called polyphenols, have been shown to selectively kill or prevent the growth of cancer cells, and could be used to develop new, less toxic, treatments for the disease, even in cases where cancers have proven resistant to other treatments.

Academics are now hoping to use the results to study the effect of rhubarb's polyphenols on leukaemia. They aim to discover the best combination of polyphenols and chemotherapy agents to kill leukaemia cells, even those previously resistant to treatment.

It is the first time the benefits of British garden rhubarb, specifically a variety grown in South Yorkshire, have been studied. Previous research has focussed on Oriental medicinal rhubarb, which has been recognised for its health benefits and used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

Dr Nikki Jordan-Mahy, from Sheffield Hallam University's Biomedical Research Centre, said: "Our research has shown that British rhubarb is a potential source of pharmacological agents that may be used to develop new anti-cancerous drugs."

"Current treatments are not effective in all cancers and resistance is a common problem. Cancer affects one in three individuals in the UK so it's very important to discover novel, less toxic, treatments, which can overcome resistance."


Researchers have found that baking British garden rhubarb for 20 minutes dramatically increases its levels of anti-cancerous chemicals. The findings from academics at Sheffield Hallam University, together with the Scottish Crop Research Institute, were published in the journal Food Chemistry.

These chemicals, called polyphenols, have been shown to selectively kill or prevent the growth of cancer cells, and could be used to develop new, less toxic, treatments for the disease, even in cases where cancers have proven resistant to other treatments.

Academics are now hoping to use the results to study the effect of rhubarb's polyphenols on leukaemia. They aim to discover the best combination of polyphenols and chemotherapy agents to kill leukaemia cells, even those previously resistant to treatment.

It is the first time the benefits of British garden rhubarb, specifically a variety grown in South Yorkshire, have been studied. Previous research has focussed on Oriental medicinal rhubarb, which has been recognised for its health benefits and used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

Dr Nikki Jordan-Mahy, from Sheffield Hallam University's Biomedical Research Centre, said: "Our research has shown that British rhubarb is a potential source of pharmacological agents that may be used to develop new anti-cancerous drugs."

"Current treatments are not effective in all cancers and resistance is a common problem. Cancer affects one in three individuals in the UK so it's very important to discover novel, less toxic, treatments, which can overcome resistance."

Diabetes Drug Ups Risk for Bone Fractures in Older Women, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily (Feb. 14, 2010) — A Henry Ford Hospital study finds women with type 2 diabetes who take a commonly prescribed class of medications to treat insulin resistance may be at a higher risk for developing bone fractures.

After taking a thiazolidinedione (TZD) for one year, women are 50 percent more likely to have a bone fracture than patients not taking TZDs, according to study results. And those at the greatest risk for fractures from TZD use are women older than 65.

"Older women are already at a higher risk of osteoporosis and osteoporosis-related fractures, which might explain why they appeared to be the most affected by TZDs," says study senior author L. Keoki Williams, M.D., MPH, Center for Health Services Research and Department of Internal Medicine at Henry Ford Hospital.

The study -- one of the largest groups to examine the longitudinal relationship between TZD use and fractures -- appears in this month's issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

TZDs such as pioglitazone and rosiglitazone help keep blood glucose levels on target by decreasing insulin resistance and making body tissues more sensitive to insulin's effects. TZDs also cut down on the amount of glucose made by the liver in patients with type 2 diabetes.

But in recent years, TZDs have been linked to bone loss and increasing fracture risk. Complicating matters, type 2 diabetes and insulin use are also associated with an increased risk for fractures.

To determine the relationship between TZD use and fracture risk in patients with type 2 diabetes, Dr. Williams and his colleagues conducted a retrospective study from Jan. 2, 2000 to May 31, 2007 of 19,070 Henry Ford patients. Among the study group, 9,620 were women and 9,450 were men.

During the study period, 4,511 patients had at least one prescription fill for a TZD. The researchers used electronically maintained medical claims data to identify non-traumatic bone fractures. The increased risk in women appeared after approximately one year of TZD use.

The location of the fractures in this group also was unique. Typically, osteoporosis-related fractures involve the vertebra and hip. This study, however, found TZD use in women to be associated with fractures of the upper extremity and distal lower extremity. Similar findings were observed in treated women older than 65, who were shown to have a 70 percent increased risk for developing fractures. Men, regardless of age, were not at an increased risk for fractures.

"Although two recent studies suggest that men may also be at increased risk for fractures after TZD exposure, we did not observe this association for men, despite having nearly equal numbers of men and women in our study," says study co-author Zeina A. Habib, M.D.

African-American race-ethnicity was protective for fractures when compared with other race-ethnic groups, which were predominately Caucasian.

"Fractures are just one of a growing number of problems associated with these medications. Henry Ford and other researchers have previously found that this class of medications also can increase risk of congestive heart failure hospitalization," says Dr. Williams.

Dr. Williams notes that there are other medication options available to treat insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes.

"TZDs may put some patients at increased risk for other health issues, and I encourage patients to talk with their physician about other suitable options," says Dr. Williams. "If the physician feels the patient should be placed on a TZD, routine screening for bone loss and prophylactic therapy to prevent bone loss and fractures may also be needed."

Henry Ford Hospital, and grants from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health.

Blueberries Counteract Intestinal Diseases

ScienceDaily (Feb. 9, 2010) — It is already known that blueberries are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. New research from the Lund University Faculty of Engineering in Sweden shows that blueberry fibre are important and can alleviate and protect against intestinal inflammations, such as ulcerative colitis. The protective effect is even better if the blueberries are eaten together with probiotics.

The project originated as an attempt to see whether various types of dietary fibre and health-promoting bacteria, so-called probiotic bacteria such as lactobacillus and bifidobacteria, can help alleviate and prevent the risk of ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer.

"But new knowledge of this field is also of interest to those who don't believe they run the risk of developing any intestinal diseases. In recent years the research world has been realizing that our health is governed to a great extent by what happens in our large intestine," explain Camilla Bränning, a PhD in Applied Nutrition and Åsa Håkansson, a doctoral candidate in Food Hygiene at the Division of Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry.

The researchers tested various types of diets of blueberry husks, rye bran and oat bran with or without a mixture of probiotic bacteria. The results showed that the protective effect of blueberries was reinforced if they were eaten together with probiotics.

"The probiotics proved to have a protective effect on the liver, an organ that is often negatively impacted by intestinal inflammations," explains Åsa Håkansson.

Blueberries are rich in polyphenols, which have an antimicrobial and antioxidative effect. The combination of blueberries and probiotics reduced inflammation-inducing bacteria in the intestine at the same time as the number of health-promoting lactobacilla increased.

Åsa Håkansson and Camilla Bränning also noted that if blueberries are eaten together with probiotics, the content of butyric acid and propionic acid increased in the blood, two substances that are formed when fibre are broken down and that have previously been known to be important energy sources for intestinal cells. In recent years they have also been shown to favourably impact the immune defence. It seems as if the absorption of these components is facilitated by the presence of probiotics.

"What surprised us was that such a large share of the butyric acid not only was taken up by the intestinal cells but was also transported onward to the blood. Previously it was thought that the intestinal cells used all of the butyric acid, but this is not at all the case," says Camilla Bränning, who recently defended her dissertation on the subject.

"A further explanation for the extremely positive effect of blueberries may be that the blueberry fibre are not degraded to such a high degree in the large intestine. This means that inflammation-inducing substances do not come into contact with the mucous lining of the intestine but are embedded in the fibre instead. Then these substances are transported out of body together with the faeces," explains Camilla Bränning.

The researchers also found that rye bran was broken down in the large intestine, in the same place that ulcerative colitis and large-intestine cancer often occur, and that the rye bran provided a rich supply of butyric acid and propionic acid. On the other hand, the fibre in oat bran were degraded earlier in the large intestine. The most striking result, however, was that blueberries themselves had such a favourable effect compared with both rye bran and oat bran.

Some 15-20 percent of all Swedes suffer from stomach pains, diarrhoea, or constipation, complaints resulting from intestinal disorders and more undefined intestinal problems. The disease ulcerative colitis is one of the inflammatory intestinal diseases included under the general name IBD, inflammatory bowel diseases. It can lead to colorectal cancer and afflicts about 1,000 Swedes per year.