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Scientists have discovered a sixth basic taste that the human tongue can detect – fat.For generations, scientists thought the human tongue could detect only four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salt and bitter.

Then a fifth was discovered, “umami” or savoury. Now, researchers have identified a previously-unrecognised “sixth taste” – fat.

A team in the United States has located a chemical receptor in the taste buds on the tongue that recognises fat molecules, and found that its sensitivity varies between individuals.

The finding may help to explain why some people consume more fatty foods, as they are less aware of the taste as they eat.

The researchers hope their discovery can be exploited to combat obesity by increasing people’s sensitivity to fat in their food.

Apart from the basic tastes, other aspects of food flavour actually come from the smell and are detected in the nose.

The research team, from the school of medicine at Washington University, St Louis, showed that people with more of a receptor called CD36 were better at detecting the presence of fat in food.

They found that variations in a gene that produces CD36 makes people more or less sensitive to the presence of fat.

“The ultimate goal is to understand how our perception of fat in food might influence what foods we eat and the qualities of fat that we consume,” said Professor Nada Abumrad, who led the research.

“We’ve found one potential reason for individual variability in how people sense fat. What we will need to determine in the future is whether our ability to detect fat in foods influences our fat intake, which clearly would have an impact on obesity.”

The study, which is published in the Journal of Lipid Research, found that those with half as much CD36 were eight times less sensitive to the presence of fat.

Up to 20 per cent of people are believed to have a variant of the CD36 gene that is associated with producing lower levels of the receptor, which could mean they are less sensitive to the presence of fat in food. This may make them more prone to obesity.

From:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/Scientists-find-fat-is-the-sixth-human-taste

A diet rich in vitamins and fish may protect the brain from Alzheimers and ageing while junk food has the opposite effect new research suggests.Elderly people with high blood levels of vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids had less brain shrinkage and better mental performance, a Neurology study found.

Trans fats found in fast foods were linked to lower scores in tests and more shrinkage typical of Alzheimer’s. They are common in processed foods, including cakes, biscuits and fried foods.

The best current advice is to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, not smoke, take regular exercise and keep blood pressure and cholesterol in check, said Alzheimer’s Research UK.

The research looked at nutrients in blood, rather than relying on questionnaires to assess a person’s diet.  US experts analysed blood samples from 104 healthy people with an average age of 87 who had few known risk factors for Alzheimer’s.

They found those who had more vitamin B, C, D and E in their blood performed better in tests of memory and thinking skills. People with high levels of omega 3 fatty acids – found mainly in fish – also had high scores. The poorest scores were found in people who had more trans fats in their blood.

The researchers, from Oregon Health and Science University, Portland; Portland VA Medical Center; and Oregon State University, Corvallis, then carried out brain scans on 42 of the participants.

They found individuals with high levels of vitamins and omega 3 in their blood were more likely to have a large brain volume; while those with high levels of trans fat had a smaller total brain volume.

Study author Gene Bowman of Oregon Health and Science University said: “These results need to be confirmed, but obviously it is very exciting to think that people could potentially stop their brains from shrinking and keep them sharp by adjusting their diet.”

Co-author Maret Traber of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University said: “The vitamins and nutrients you get from eating a wide range of fruits, vegetables and fish can be measured in blood biomarkers.

Commenting on the study, Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:  “One strength of this research is that it looked at nutrients in people’s blood, rather than relying on answers to a questionnaire.”

“It’s important to note that this study looked at a small group of people with few risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, and did not investigate whether they went on to develop Alzheimer’s at a later stage.”

“There is a clear need for conclusive evidence about the effect of diet on our risk of Alzheimer’s, which can only come from large-scale, long-term studies.”

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16344228

Sugar is as damaging and addictive as alcohol or tobacco and should be regulated claim US health experts.According to a University of California team, new policies such as taxes are needed to control soaring consumption of sugar and sweeteners.

Prof Robert Lustig argues in the journal Nature for major shifts in public policy.

Several countries are imposing taxes on unhealthy food; Denmark and Hungary have a tax on saturated fat, while France has approved a tax on soft drinks.

Now, researchers in the US are proposing similar policies for added sugar and sweeteners, amid concern about the amount of sugar in the diet.

The consumption of sugar has tripled worldwide over the past 50 years, with links to obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes.

In a comment in the journal Nature, Prof Lustig, a leading child obesity expert, says governments need to consider major shifts in policy, such as taxes, limiting sales of sweet food and drinks during school hours, or even stopping children from buying them below a certain age.

The researchers acknowledge that they face “an uphill political battle against a powerful sugar lobby”.

But they write in Nature, that “with enough clamour for change, tectonic shifts in policy become possible”.

“Take, for instance bans on smoking in public places and the use of designated drivers, not to mention airbags in cars and condom dispensers in public bathrooms.

“These simple measures – which have all been on the battleground of American politics – are now taken for granted as essential tools for our public health and well-being. It’s time to turn our attention to sugar.”

Two senior paediatric pathologists say they have discovered vitamin D deficiency in a significant number of children who have died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome- cot deaths.The two doctors, Dr Irene Scheimberg and Dr Marta Cohen, say that vitamin D deficiency and associated diseases such as the bone disease rickets could also explain deaths that are often thought to be suspicious.

Both doctors believe their findings merit further investigation and research.

The findings in children from London and Yorkshire followed the discovery by Dr Scheimberg in 2009 of congenital rickets in a four-month-old baby whose parents had been accused of shaking him to death.

Chana Al-Alas,19, and Rohan Wray, 22, were acquitted of murdering their son Jayden after the jury learned that his fractures, supposedly tell tale signs of abuse, could have been caused by his severe rickets. Dr Scheimberg also discovered rickets in Jayden’s mother.

Michael Turner QC, who defended Miss Al-Alas, told the BBC that he was shocked by the lack of knowledge about vitamin D deficiency of some of the expert witnesses at the trial, held at the Old Bailey.

In London, Dr Scheimberg discovered vitamin D deficiency in a further 30 cases. Vitamin D deficiency was found to be a cause of death in three cases. Cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle, was discovered in two small babies. A third died of hypocalcemic fits, a condition of low serum calcium levels in the blood caused by vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D deficiency was a co-existing finding in the sudden and unexpected deaths of eight children, so-called Sudden Infant Death or Sids; in five children with bronchial asthma and another five with combined bacteria-polyviral or polyviral infections. Two of the babies, including baby Jayden, also had rib fractures.

In Yorkshire, Dr Cohen found moderate to severe levels of vitamin D deficiency in 45 children, mostly infants aged less than 12 months, who died of natural causes. Of the 24 sudden infant deaths Dr Cohen investigated from this group, 18 – or 75% – were deficient in vitamin D.

Dr Scheimberg said severe vitamin D deficiency could make the bones of small babies very brittle and capable of fracture with little or no real force.

Dame Sally Davies Chief Medical Officer was quoted as “We need to investigate the vitamin D levels of these children carefully and the circumstances in which the bones fracture,” she explained.

“Obviously if you have bones that fracture easily then they will fracture easily they will fracture with any normal movement like trying to put a baby grow on a baby you will twist their arm. In a normal child you won’t produce anything. But in a child whose bones are weakened and [who have] an abnormal cartilage growth area, then it’s easier for them to get these very tiny fractures or even big fractures.”

Vitamin D is actually a hormone, and endocrinologists are experts in how the body is regulated by the hormone excreting glands – or endocrine organs.

Stephen Nussey is professor of endocrinology at St George’s Hospital at Tooting in south London. He believes that, despite repeated government recommendations on vitamin D supplementation, vitamin D deficiency is still not being taken sufficiently seriously by the authorities.

“Lizards are quite like humans in their vitamin D. Their dietary intake is pretty low and they need to have sun exposure and you need to have a light in the enclosure in which you keep your lizard of the right wavelength.

“If you don’t have one of those lights your reptile will get osteomalacia [adult rickets] very similar to humans. I guess the RSPCA would quite rightly prosecute you if you didn’t give your reptile vitamin D.

“But there’s no action taken against you if you don’t give it to your daughter. So that rather illustrates the importance placed on vitamin D for your reptile rather than giving it to your daughter.”

Earlier this week, the chief medical officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, wrote to doctors, nurses and other health professionals advising them to consider vitamin D supplementation for certain at risk groups, including pregnant mothers.

“We know a significant proportion of people in the UK probably have inadequate levels of vitamin D in their blood. People at risk of vitamin D deficiency, including pregnant women and children under five, are already advised to take daily supplements. Our experts are clear – low levels of vitamin D can increase the risk of poor bone health, including rickets in young children,” she explained.If you have questions about Vitamin D, or you want to buy some great value Vitamin D supplements, please click here now

The chief medical officer for England, Dame Sally Davies, is to contact medical staff about concerns young children and some adults are not getting enough vitamin D.Government guidelines recommend some groups, including the under-fives, should take a daily supplement.

However, recent research found that many parents and health professionals were unaware of the advice.

There has been an increase in childhood rickets over the past 15 years.

According to Dr Benjamin Jacobs, from the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, links to heart disease and some cancers are also being investigated.

The Feeding for Life Foundation report, published in October last year, suggested one in four toddlers in the UK is vitamin D deficient.

However, this may be an underestimate as only vitamin D from food was included, and not any vitamin D obtained through sun exposure.

Vitamin D supplements are recommended for all people at risk of a deficiency, including all pregnant and breastfeeding women, children under five years old, people aged over 65, and people at risk of not getting enough exposure to sunlight.

Vitamin D is mainly obtained from sunlight. However, too much sun exposure increases the risk of skin cancer.

According to one recent study, nearly three-quarters of parents and more than half of health professionals are unaware of the recommendations.

The Department of Health has asked the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition to review the issue of current dietary recommendations on vitamin D.

Dame Sally Davies: “We know a significant proportion of people in the UK probably have inadequate levels of vitamin D in their blood. People at risk of vitamin D deficiency, including pregnant women and children under five, are already advised to take daily supplements. Free supplements

“Our experts are clear – low levels of vitamin D can increase the risk of poor bone health, including rickets in young children.

“Many health professionals such as midwives, GPs and nurses give advice on supplements, and it is crucial they continue to offer this advice as part of routine consultations and ensure disadvantaged families have access to free vitamin supplements through our Healthy Start scheme.

“It is important to raise awareness of this issue, and I will be contacting health professionals on the need to prescribe and recommend vitamin D supplements to at-risk groups.”

It has long been known that vitamin D prevents rickets and children were once given food supplements like cod liver oil.

However, this practice was stopped in the 1950s because it was thought unnecessary.

In the last 10 years, doctors have been seeing more cases of vitamin D deficiency, leading to a debate over the use of food supplements and concern that many medical staff are unaware of the problem. If you have questions about Vitamin D, or you want to buy some great value Vitamin D supplements, please click here now

A coroner has written to the Health Secretary calling for all pregnant women and those who breastfeed to take vitamin D.North London coroner Andrew Walker said action should be taken to reduce the risk to others after he held an inquest last week into the death of a three month old boy.

In his letter to Andrew Lansley, Mr Walker said Milind Agarwal was taken to the doctor in July with symptoms of a probable viral infection.

He was sent home with saline nasal drops. A later telephone consultation with another doctor led to his parents being advised to give him paracetamol.

But his mother and father still had concerns and called an ambulance. Their son was taken to Northwick Park Hospital in north London ”where it was recognised he was seriously unwell”.

The baby died from septic inflammation of the heart against a background of an abnormal aortic heart valve.

A consultant paediatric pathologist told the coroner’s court that vitamin D deficiency played a role in progression of the infection and suggested all pregnant and breastfeeding women be prescribed vitamin D daily.

In his letter, Mr Walker told Mr Lansley that consideration should be given ”to increasing public awareness of vitamin D deficiency”, in particular that all pregnant and breastfeeding mothers should receive 10mcg of Vitamin D every day.

Research has previously found that pregnant women and those trying to conceive are lacking vitamin D.

In 2009, experts warned that a lack of vitamin D in pregnancy can lead to a youngster suffering rickets and longer-term problems such as schizophrenia and Type 1 diabetes.

While many people can get vitamin D from sunshine, those living in cooler countries may not be getting enough.

As a result, the body often relies on its own stores of vitamin D in the winter months. Otherwise, dietary intake or multivitamins are needed.

Vitamin D is found in small quantities in a few foods such as oily fish, eggs and liver, and in fortified foods such as margarine, breakfast cereals and powdered milk.

But pregnant women are advised to avoid liver and liver products, raw or under-cooked eggs and to limit their intake of certain fish such as tuna.If you have questions about Vitamin D, or you want to buy some great value Vitamin D supplements, please click here now.

A survey has found that four in 10 obese people think they are actually healthy.As a consequence Britons must be given better education about weight problems, experts have urged.

More than a quarter of people in Britain are clinically obese yet only one in seven admit it, it is claimed.

Four in 10 people who were actually obese thought they were a ‘healthy’ weight, according to the Bupa Health Pulse poll, suggesting Britons are “blissfully unaware” of the dangers of eating too much and not taking enough exercise.

Britain’s obesity epidemic is reaching crisis point as the NHS struggles to cope with increasing numbers of patients with conditions caused by their weight.

Research studies have shown that people fail to recognise obesity in their own family members, especially when they live in areas where being overweight is common.

The findings come after NHS data revealed that one in three children leave primary school either overweight or obese, despite most starting school at a healthy weight.

The Bupa survey, which questioned 2,000 people in Britain and 1,000 from in other countries, also disclosed that British people are among the most overweight in the world.

Almost six in ten people in Britain had a body mass index of 25 or more, meaning they were overweight.

Of the 12 countries surveyed only three had more overweight people, America with 64 per cent measured as overweight, Saudi Arabia with 64 per cent and Australia with 60 per cent.

The survey found that 85 per cent of people with a BMI of 30 or more admitted they would like to lose weight and well over half, or 64 10 cent would like to exercise more.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos MORI and involved questioning 13,373 people in total in 12 countries earlier this year. These were: Australia, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand, UK and USA.

Junk food manufacturers have been accused of “shamelessly exploiting” gaps in regulation by targeting children online, with games endorsing their products.Health campaigners say companies that produce foods which cannot be advertised on children’s television, because of high levels of salt, fat and sugar are using manipulative tactics to lure young customers to their wares.

A report from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) criticises companies for producing free gifts, such as apps, downloads, ringtones and games to appeal to the children’s market, and developing brand characters and cartoons to win early brand loyalty.

Examples cited in the report include a website for cereal Sugar Puffs, which says it is “packed with honey goodness” despite containing more sugar than a ring doughnut.

The website invites children to find the Honey Monster, and encourages them to play games and enter competitions. Users are asked for parental permission, but the site can be accessed by anyone ticking the box.

Children who visit the website for Cheestrings, a processed cheese product, are personally addressed by “Mr Strings” and offered games and videos, without any age checks.

Nesquik’s site for their chocolate drink offers an animated bunny characters, and quizzes, with links to a Facebook page, while Cadbury’s Buttons offers puzzles and activities and children’s bespoke books – despite asking users to state that they are over the age of 18.

All four products cannot be advertised during children’s television, because of restrictions on foods high in fat, salt or sugar.

In failing to protect children from online junk food marketing, the Government was demonstrating complacency, when action was needed to help reverse unacceptable levels of obesity in the UK.

New figures published recently showed one in three children is obese or overweight by the time they leave primary school.

Omega fish oil supplements- the basics:

• Provides advanced and guaranteed levels of EPA and DHA, two long-chain omega-3 fatty acids important for memory and learning*
• Supports sound cardiovascular, immune, health and joint health*
• Critical for promoting healthy pregnancies and healthy babies*
• Plays a role in many important cellular processes critical to the body’s survival*
• Supports healthy inflammatory response*

BiOmega Difference

• Each capsule delivers 100 IU of vitamin D
• Formulated with lemon oil to eliminate the fishy aftertaste associated with most fish oil supplements

USANA Difference

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You know that fish oil is really good for you because it contains important omega-3 fatty acids, which contribute to brain development , cellular function, and immune, joint, and cardiovascular health.

They also support healthy inflammatory response. But storing fish and cooking it properly is a hassle.

And when you have a busy lifestyle, eating fish out every night can get pretty pricey, pretty quick.

BiOmega is a fish oil supplement that’s easy to take every day, especially when you don’t feel like you’re getting enough fish in your diet. What makes BiOmega exceptional is that it has all the benefits of fish oil in a convenient gel capsule, and it is essentially free of harmful contaminants like mercury because of its triple distillation process.

It also contains concentrated doses of DHA, a beneficial fat that supports memory and learning, and is greatly recommended for pregnant women. And BiOmega contains an additional dose of vitamin D, a nutrient found deficient in the average diet.

BiOmega is also formulated with lemon oil to kill the fishy aftertaste found in other fish oil supplements. Because of its exclusive advantages, when you buy BiOmega, you know you’re getting quite the catch!

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Vitamin D deficiencies are creating a big increase in the number of children suffering from rickets.Rickets was common in the early 1900s but had almost disappeared from Britain. However, a recent study carried out by Professor Nicholas Clarke, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Southampton General Hospital, found there were 185 cases in 2001 and that figure rose to 479 cases in 2009.

The data was from 42 Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) which responded to the survey, commissioned by Kelloggs.

Professor Clarke said: “I saw an infant a month ago who was referred to me because of delayed walking. The child was 15 months old and could not stand physically.”

He acknowledges the balance parents have to strike, but lifestyle changes concern him greatly.  Rickets causes the bones to soften and legs to bow.

A lack of exposure to sunlight can lead to a vitamin D deficiency, which causes the disease.

It helps control the amount of calcium we absorb and is important for the development of strong bones.  Without it rickets can develop which cause bones to soften and usually legs appear bowed.

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because our skin can produce vitamin D from the sun’s ultra violet light (UVB). It helps control the amount of calcium we absorb therefore and is important for developing and maintaining strong bones.

Why do we need Vitamin D?

A lack of Vitamin D can reduce the body’s ability to absorb calcium, and have a negative impact on bone health.

Health Care Professionals are seeing more cases of children with Rickets in their hospitals due to a lack of Vitamin D. 82% of Paediatric Dietitians say they have seen an increase in Rickets over the last 5 years.*

Rickets is a condition that affects growing bones – so it only occurs in children. It is a softening of the bones that can lead to fractures and deformity.

Why children don’t have enough Vitamin D in the UK?

There is a combination of reasons for children not getting enough Vitamin D – spending more time indoors and not playing outside, and covering up with sunblock means they are not exposed to the sun. Also there are few foods that provide Vitamin D, and children may not be taking supplements when it is recommended – worryingly many children are not getting enough of this important vitamin.

Who is at risk of Vitamin D Deficiency:

Some groups of the population are thought to be at high risk of deficiency. These include:

•     Pregnant or breast feeding women
•     Breast fed infants from 6 months
•     Formula fed infants, if formula fed is less than 500mls a day
•     Children up to 5 years
•     People with dark skin pigmentation
•     The elderly (over 64 years)
•     People who don’t go outside much
•     People who cover skin with clothing for majority of summer months e.g. religious reasons
•     People with poor or restricted diet

    How to get Vitamin D

Spend 15-20 mins outside in sunshine 2-3 times each week without suncream. Encourage children to play outside, take a brisk walk or do some gardening?

Try to eat oily types of fish regularly (at least 1-2/week). This includes salmon, trout, mackerel, herrings or sardines.

Choose a breakfast cereal with added vitamin D (not all cereals are fortified so check the label). Kellogg’s Cornflakes, Kellogg’s Choc N Roll, Special K and Bran Flakes all include Vitamin D. We are adding it to all of our children’s cereals by July 2012.

Ensure that babies and young children have a vitamin D supplement, e.g. Healthy Start vitamin drops from the Healthy Visitor and if you are pregnant speak to your GP about taking vitamin D supplements.

    Should I give my child Vitamin D supplements?

The Department of Health has recommended vitamin D supplements for infants and children up to the ages of 5 years, as well as pregnant and breast feeding mothers.

If you have questions about Vitamin D, or you want to buy some great value Vitamin D supplements, please click here now