food

Switching some of the world's red meat consumption to forage fish - such as sardines, herring or anchovies - would reduce the number of deaths by between 500,000 and 750,000 by 2050, according to a study published in BMJ Global Health. The authors used data projections for that year for both red meat consumption and forage fish catches in 137 countries, substituting one for the other without exceeding the supply limit for the latter. The research estimates that sardines, herring and anchovies could replace 8% of the world's red meat, which would also serve to reduce the prevalence of diet-related diseases.

Eating more ultra-processed foods is linked to a higher risk of health problems, according to an umbrella review of 45 previous meta-analyses, involving almost 10 million people in total. The research, published in The BMJ, finds direct associations between exposure to ultra-processed foods and 32 health parameters. The strongest evidence links this exposure to cardiometabolic health problems, mental disorders and overall mortality.

Mercury concentrations in tuna have remained stable between 1971 and 2022, even though emissions of this metal from human activities have decreased over the same period, a study says. 'Aggressive' emission reduction targets are needed to achieve measurable declines in concentrations of this pollutant, which is toxic for human health, the authors write in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The Minimata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty that entered into force in 2017, bans new mercury mines and includes provision to reduce mercury use, but mercury has already accumulated in the ocean 'for centuries', the article says.

Women who follow vegan diets during pregnancy may have an increased risk of developing preeclampsia and giving birth to underweight newborns, suggests an observational study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. In the investigation, more than 65,000 women identified themselves as omnivores, more than 800 as vegetarians -in some of their different modalities- and 18 as vegans.

People who do not have coeliac disease or wheat allergy sometimes reduce their gluten intake because they believe it is the cause of their gastrointestinal symptoms. A study has found that there may be a nocebo effect - negative anticipation of a substance or treatment, the opposite of the placebo effect - on gluten sensitivity in these people, so that the mere thought of ingesting gluten causes more symptoms in those who believe they are sensitive to it. The results are published in the journal The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

A fatty acid present in the meat and dairy products of grazing animals, such as cows and sheep – trans-vaccenic acid (TVA) – enhances the ability of CD8+ T cells to infiltrate tumors and eliminate cancer cells, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Chicago (USA), published today in the journal Nature.

A dietary shift from animal-based foods, such as red or processed meat and eggs, to plant-based foods, such as nuts, pulses and whole grains, is associated with a reduced risk of death and diabetes or cardiovascular disease. For example, replacing 50 grams of processed meat per day with 28-50 grams of nuts is associated with a 27% decrease in cardiovascular risk. These are the conclusions of a systematic review of 37 studies published in the journal BMC Medicine.

A study in mice found "mild metabolic and neuropsychological malprogramming" in the offspring of females who, during gestation and lactation, had ingested emulsifiers, substances used to improve the texture of ultra-processed foods. The article, led by a team from IDIBAPS in Barcelona and published in PLoS Biology, states that the consumption during these periods of carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate 80 - two common emulsifiers - diluted in water was associated with metabolic and cognitive deficits in the mouse offspring.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) have published a health impact assessment of the sweetener aspartame. Citing "limited evidence" of carcinogenicity in humans, IARC has classified aspartame as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). For its part, JECFA has not changed the acceptable daily intake of this sweetener, which is set at 40 mg/kg body weight. According to these bodies, with one can of diet soft drink containing 200-300 mg aspartame, a 70 kg adult would need to consume more than 9-14 cans per day to exceed the acceptable daily intake - assuming no other intake from other dietary sources.

Reuters has reported that aspartame, one of the most common artificial sweeteners, will be listed as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the World Health Organisation, in July.