Bon Appétit! Some Really Good Food News!

What could be better than eating something scrumptious – and finding out it's good for you too!

Well, nothing could be better…which is why I'm excited to report on some of the hottest, newest, ground breaking research, all of it linking good food to great health!

Here's what's causing the buzz right now!

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  GREEN TEA – AND ANTIBIOTIC - The next time your doctor prescribes an antibiotic you might want to wash it down with some green tea. The reason: New research presented this past weekend at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland showed how green tea can dramatically boost the effectiveness of many antibiotics. In fact, in certain cases it may even help some drugs combat strains of bacteria that are normally resistant to treatment. The study, conducted by a group of Egyptian doctors is particularly exciting because it may mean that green tea can reduce the amount of antibiotic needed to be effective against various organisms. Fewer drugs mean lower costs and less antibiotic resistance! The 12-month study is expected to be published in an upcoming edition of the European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
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  VITAMIN A & TYPE 1 DIABETES- Do you have a family history of diabetes – or are other health problems increasing your risk? If so you might want to start chowing down on peaches, cantaloupe, spinach and other foods rich in vitamin A. A new study just published in the Journal of Nutrition found high intakes of Vitamin A appears to stymie the onset of type 1 diabetes by helping to keep the body from attacking its own insulin producing beta cells. The study, conducted on mice that were treated to foster the development of diabetes, revealed that just 25% of the rodents fed high levels of vitamin A developed diabetes, compared to 71% who didn't get the vitamin. The researchers believe that dietary intervention may help control or even prevent type 1 diabetes from developing in some people.
• APPLES MAY PREVENT COLON CANCER! – An exciting new study just published in the journal Nutrition has found that the pectin or "rind" of apples, as well as natural chemicals found in apple juice have an anti-carcinogenic effect on the colon. The link is an increase in the production of a natural chemical known as butyrate, a type of fatty acid that has been linked to good colon health. In another recent study a group of California researchers found that low doses of freeze-dried grape powder could also inhibit the development of colon cancer. The link here, a powerful polyphenol known as resveratrol.