Grape juice: The new red wine?

The Next Idea, Consultants to the Food and restaurant industry reports that concord grape juice stimulates an arterial relaxation effect similar to that credited to red wine, laboratory research has found. The results were presented at the WineHealth 2007 conference in Bordeaux, France. In fact, the grape juice produced a prolonged relaxation effect that red wine has not been cited as stimulating. Researchers say the grape juice causes a vasorelaxation effect by stimulating the production of nitric oxide, which is known to be important in maintaining healthy, flexible blood vessels and helps support healthy blood pressures. The effect of the grape juice lasted for up to six hours, significantly longer than effects noted from red wine. The research seems to point to the benefit coming from the grapes themselves, rather than the alcohol. Concord grape juice is believed to have a blood-pressure-lowering effect, so if you’re looking for an alternative to the red-wine fix, this may be the answer.

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Eat your apples and onions

Robert Ancill, CEO of Innovations Food Consultancy, The Next Idea, reports, Apples and onions topped the list of a cancer preven­tion study. Here’s why: Apples and onions are sources for quercetin, one of the most beneficial of flavenols, and could play a role in preventing and reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer, a study has found. All partici­pants in the study experienced reduced risk, however, smokers who consumed foods rich in flavenols experi­enced a significantly greater reduction.

Researchers tracked the food intake and health outcomes for 183,518 participants in the Multiethnic Cohort Study for eight years. The study evaluated the food consumption of participants and calculated the flavenol intake (for quercetin, kaempferol and myrice­tin). The study determined that flavenol intake does have an impact on the risk for developing pancreatic cancer. Smokers with the lowest intake of flavenols presented with the most pancreatic cancer, researchers say. It was also determined that women in the study had the highest flavenol intake (when compared with men), and 70 percent of the intake came from quercetin, which is linked to apple and onion consumption.

Flavenols are found in many plants and found in high concentrations in apples, onions, tea, berries, kale and broccoli. Quercetin is most plentiful in apples and onions.

The research was originally published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

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2008 Health From The Next Idea

More veggies, less alcohol

A new report by the World Cancer Research Fund (www.wcrf.org) has found that dietary changes are essential to reduce the risk of cancer. Here are the recommendations based on the Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective (2007) report.

1 Be as lean as possible without becoming underweight

2 Be physically active for at least 30 minutes every day.

3 Limit consumption of energy dense food (foods high in fats and/or added sugars and/or low in fiber) and avoid sugary drinks.

4 Eat more of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and pulses (the edible seeds of legumes—peas, beans and lentils).

5 Limit consumption of red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) and avoid processed meats.

6 If consumed at all, limit alcoholic drinks to two for men and one for women per day.

7 Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with salt (sodium).

8 Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer.

9 It is best for mothers to breastfeed exclusively for up to six months and then add other liquids and foods.

10 After treatment, cancer survivors should follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.

11 Do not smoke or chew tobacco.

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