Oats benefits go beyond heart health
The phenolic compound avenanthramide (AVE) — found only in oats — may possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-itch and anti-cancer properties. It suggests that oat AVEs may play an important role in protecting the heart. Eating whole grains is associated with a reduced risk of chronic and cardiovascular diseases. “Our studies reveal that the health benefit of eating oats may go beyond fibre,” said Shengmin Sang from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Eleven top scientists from around the globe presented the findings in a session titled ‘Physicochemical Properties and Biological Functionality of Oats’ at the Annual Conference of the American Chemical Society in Dallas.
Water may not help weight loss
There is very little evidence that drinking water promotes weight loss. “It is one of those self-perpetuating myths,” said Beth Kitchin, PhD, and assistant professor of nutrition sciences. “I’m not saying drinking water isn’t good; but only one study showed people who drank more water burned a few extra calories, and it was only a couple of extra calories a day. Yes, people do need to get fluids; but it does not have to be water,” Kitchin said. Caffeinated beverages such as coffee also provide hydration. “When you drink coffee, your body is retaining much of that fluid as the body adapts, resulting in a reduced loss of fluids.” The idea that cold water burns more calories, as the body has to work to raise the temperature, is also a myth, according to Kitchin.
Cancer clues in ancient skeleton
British archaeologists, who discovered the evidence of tumors that had developed and spread throughout the body in a 3,000-year-old skeleton found in a tomb in modern Sudan in 2013, are hopeful that it will offer new clues about cancer. Researchers from Durham University and the British Museum analysed the skeleton using radiography and a scanning electron microscope, which showed clear images of lesions on the bones indicating that the cancer had spread to cause tumors on the collar bones, shoulder blades, upper arms, vertebrae, ribs, pelvis and thigh bones, Fox News reported. Michaela Binder, a Durham PhD student who led the research and excavated said that the analysis has shown that the shape of the small lesions on the bones can only have been caused by a soft tissue cancer, but the exact origin is impossible to determine through the bones alone.