nutrition

In women, high consumption of sugary drinks is associated with an increased risk of oral cavity cancer, according to a study published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Among research participants who consumed one or more sugary drinks per day, the rate of these cancers was 5 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 2 cases per 100,000 among those who drank less than one per month. The analysis is based on data from more than 162,000 nurses followed for 30 years in the United States. According to the authors, further studies with larger samples, including men, are needed to validate these results.

Aspartame, a common sweetener used in many sugar-free foods and drinks, affects the cardiovascular health of mice and monkeys, a study claims. Consuming aspartame increases the animals' insulin levels and contributes to the development of atherosclerosis, the buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries, according to the research article published in Cell Metabolism.

Inflammation is all the rage. In fact, anti-inflammatory diets that claim to fight it. This is attested to by best-selling books and influencers, ready to give us the latest tips on how to lose weight, or rather, how to reduce inflammation. But what's the truth in all this, and what does inflammation have to do with being overweight? 

Eating five servings of dark chocolate a week is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a long-term US study published today in The BMJ. The research did not find this association with milk chocolate.

Women who drink more than 300 millilitres of milk a day (i.e. more than one and a half glasses) have a higher risk of ischaemic heart disease and acute myocardial infarction than those who drink less than this amount, according to a study based on data from more than 100,000 adults in Sweden. The results show that, from 300 millilitres upwards, the risk is higher the more milk is ingested–but only in women, not men. Drinking fermented milk, such as yoghurt and kefir, has no correlation with these risks, according to the paper published in BMC Medicine.

The restriction of sugar during the first 1,000 days of life, starting from gestation, may protect against diabetes and hypertension in adulthood, according to a study published in Science. The research uses data from sugar rationing implemented in the United Kingdom after World War II. The findings highlight the long-term benefits of reduced sugar intake during early development.

An international team with Spanish participation has developed a database with the metagenome of bacteria, fungi, and yeasts present in more than 2,500 foods, mostly dairy products, followed by beverages and fermented meats. The authors identified more than 10,800 microorganisms, half of which were previously unknown species. The study, published in Cell, shows that food-associated microorganisms are present in 3% of the adult gut microbiome and 56% of that of newborns.

Eating a vegan diet for eight weeks is associated with reductions in biological age estimates based on levels of DNA methylation, a type of chemical modification of DNA that alters the expression of genes, but not the DNA itself. This is the main conclusion of a study published in BMC Medicine in which 21 pairs of twins participated in a clinical trial. Of each pair, one person followed an omnivorous diet and the other a vegan - and lower calorie - diet during that period.

A healthy diet during pregnancy is associated with a lower likelihood of children being diagnosed with autism or communication difficulties, according to a study. The research team did not find a correlation between prenatal diet and repetitive and restricted behaviors (characteristic of these disorders). The analysis is published in JAMA Network Open and gathers data from more than 96,000 mother-child pairs in England and Norway.

People who take multivitamins daily do not have a lower risk of mortality than people who do not use these products, according to a meta-analysis published in JAMA Network Open. The study pooled data from more than 390,000 people, followed for about 20 years in three different cohorts in the United States.