The oldest running monthly magazine in the US and one of the staples of popular science highlighted the declining nutritional value of American produce in a 2011 blog post called “Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?” Here at Hygeia we are a part of this discussion, having recently created a new Nutrient […]
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A wide body of research, involving work with dozens of organisms spread all over the tree of life, has shown that restricting caloric intake tends to promote longevity. But it can also reduce energy levels and impair reproductive performance. Scientists have shown that the plant secondary metabolite and antioxidant resveratrol mimics the impacts of caloric […]
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Anthocyanins are naturally occurring polyphenols that cause the red to blue colors in fruit and vegetables. They are found in grape skins and red wines and have recently been shown to have potential antioxidant and other health benefits. Some studies have shown a difference in polyphenol concentrations of crops grown using organic or conventional practices; […]
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One of the challenges facing wine growers is that grapes have high polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity. This natural enzyme contributes to the rate of browning in the fruit after it is picked. Browning causes a change in color and flavor of the juice, and diminishes the quality of the final product. Thus, scientists have worked […]
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Recent evidence has suggested that moderate consumption of red wine results in a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. This is attributed to the antioxidant effect of the polyphenolic compounds in red wines. The major antioxidant in red wines – resveratrol – is a stilbene shown to have anticancer effects. However, wines have also been shown […]
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A team of U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists stationed at the Western Regional Research Center in Albany, California studied the lycopene content of 13 commercially available brands of catsup – six major national brands, three organic brands, two store brands, and two brands sold in fast food restaurants and/or vending machines (Ishida and Chapman, 2004). […]
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Oxidative damage to human brain cells is an inevitable part of getting older. This is because the body’s natural antioxidant defense mechanisms become steadily less efficient as we age. For this reason, the consumption of foods high in antioxidant content is increasingly important among the elderly, see Antioxidants for more information. Scientists at Cornell University […]
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A recent study compared crops of highbush blueberries grown on five organic and five conventional farms in New Jersey (Wang et al., 2008). The farms shared comparable soils and weather conditions, and the berries were harvested in precisely the same way. The researchers measured nutritional quality characteristics including fruit sensory quality, total antioxidant activity, and […]
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EMBARGOED UNTIL: 00:01Hrs Tuesday 15th July 2014 – set by the academic journal British Journal of Nutrition Source Information: “Higher antioxidant concentrations and less cadmium and pesticide residues in organically-grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses.” Baranski, M. et al. British Journal of Nutrition, July 15th 2015. New study finds significant differences between organic […]
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