Now resveratrol bites the dust

More evidence that anti-oxidants are a BAD thing.  A simpleton's theory runs up against the facts

Health supplements containing the ‘miracle ingredient’ from red wine could undo the positive effects of exercise, experts have warned.

A daily dose of the antioxidant resveratrol cancelled out many of the benefits of a two-month-long exercise programme, a study found.

With exercise alone, blood pressure and levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol and other harmful blood fats were lowered.
Undoing all that hard work... A daily dose of the antioxidant resveratrol cancelled out many of the benefits of a two-month-long exercise programme, a study found

Undoing all that hard work... A daily dose of the antioxidant resveratrol cancelled out many of the benefits of a two-month-long exercise programme, a study found

But if combined with a course of supplements, most of the positive effects vanished, research published in the Journal of Physiology reports.

Resveratrol has become increasingly popular as study after study has credited the compound with health-boosting properties, from extending life and battling obesity to warding off heart disease and obesity.

However, most research is carried out on mice or rats, rather than in the human body.

Resveratrol, which is found in the grape skins that give red wine its colour, is supposed to boost health by mopping up dangerous oxygen molecules known as free radicals that attack cells and tissues and are blamed for health problems from ageing to cancer.

The Danish scientists behind the latest study say these free radicals may be needed for the body to recover after exercise.   Without them, many of the benefits of exercise, such as lowering blood pressure and increasing oxygen uptake, may disappear.

In the study, 27 men in their mid-sixties were asked to perform eight weeks of high-intensity exercise training – with half the group given 250mg of resveratrol a day and the other group receiving a placebo.

Scientists expect to get the same result from women and younger men.

Despite the findings, wine lovers need not worry about the effect of the odd glass of red on their exercise routine.

The amount of resveratrol in the supplements studied was far higher than can be obtained from drinking wine alone.

However, it could easily be obtained from supplements.

SOURCE






When fruit and vegetables are BAD for you: Getting your five-a-day is responsible for HALF of all food poisoning cases

Fruit and vegetables are responsible for 46 per cent of food poisoning cases, recent research shows.  The study by the U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that leafy vegetables, namely lettuce and spinach, are the worst offenders.

It also showed that meat and poultry are responsible for 22 per cent of food poisoning cases.

The study found that every year one in six people in the U.S. fall ill with food poisoning – about nine million people.  The majority of cases of foodborne illness caused by leafy vegetables are caused by pre-cut greens which are bought in plastic bags.

The reason for this is that these products tend to be eaten raw. In contrast, the bugs in meat and poultry that many people would expect to be the cause of most cases of food poisoning, are usually killed during cooking.

Dr Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Centre for Food Safety explained to Modern Farmer that lettuce is particularly dangerous as harmful bacteria can form within the plant tissue.  This means that when the lettuce is washed, the bacteria will not be washed away.

He added that leafy greens can cause E.Coli, salmonella, and listeria.  These bugs tend to come from animals which carry them in their intestines.  If the animals’ manure gets into soil or water, it can contaminate vegetables.

Salmonella is especially likely to be transmitted in this way as manure can be blown around by the wind when it dries out, and salmonella is known to be tolerant to drying.

In extreme cases, contaminated bagged salad can cause fatal kidney failure, according to Dr Doyle.

Dr Doyle says that the only way to prevent lettuce-related food poisoning is to ensure that farmers are doing something to kill bacteria in the field, as soon as the leaves are picked.

He believes that farmers should be using disinfectants to achieve this – he says that currently they typically use chlorine but that this is not very effective at killing bacteria.

However, Dr Doyle accepts that the odds are in the consumers favour as millions of bags of salad are sold every year and the number of food poisoning cases is small.

This data is supported by a recent study from the Food Standards Agency which showed that there are 120,000 extra cases of food-related illness during a British summer.

Dr Lisa Ackerley, a microbiologist, believes this is not due to undercooked meat so much as poor hand, surface, and utensil hygiene when people are cooking outside.

SOURCE