Pop on the kettle

Sitting down with a good cuppa is an enjoyable part of the daily routine for many of us. And now it even has the weight of science on its side with a new review of existing research showing tea can help prevent a number of diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.

Researchers from Edith Cowan University’s School of Medical and Health Sciences examined more than 100studies from around the world that have looked at tea consumption.

They found that black, white and green tea can reduce the risk factors associated with Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.

The findings could offer some hope to the more than 65 million people expected to be living with Alzheimer’s disease by 2030.

Likewise, some 5.1 million deaths worldwide were attributed to diabetes in 2013, a figure that is growing annually.

Flavonoids key

ECU Centre for Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Care Research Fellow Dr Fernando said the review offered new lines of enquiry for scientists.

“There is strong evidence that tea consumption can lower the levels of beta amyloid b (Aβ) in the brain, the build-up of which can cause Alzheimer’s disease,” she said.

“In particular a number of studies have found that the flavonoid Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is found in tea, can reduce the levels of Aβ in the brain, which could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease,” she said.

Diabetes risk down

The researchers also examined the evidence that tea consumption could be protective against diabetes.

Both population-based studies as well as human clinical trials have shown a link between tea consumption and a reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

One study found that drinking tea could result in a significant reduction in the symptoms of diabetes, including a 15-fold increase in insulin activity. Low insulin activity is a major risk factor for diabetes.

Next steps

“Overall, tea appears to offer a safe and acceptable approach toward lowering the risk factors associated with diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr Fernando.

“What is needed now is more randomised, clinical trials which are placebo controlled using standardised doses to determine exactly the manner, type and amount of tea required to achieve these beneficial results.”

Lifestyle factors

ECU’s Centre for Excellence for Alzheimer’s disease Research and Care has also recently identified depression and trouble sleeping as potential risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.

The Centre is also currently investigating if a combination of the spice circimun and fish oil can potentially delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Around one in 20 children (0-5 years), and one in 50 adults are affected by food allergy

– Food-induced anaphylaxis has doubled in the last 10 years

– Hospital admissions for food-induced anaphylaxis have increased five-fold over the last 20 years

– Fatalities from food-induced anaphylaxis increase by around 10% each year.

In response to an alarming rise in episodes of anaphylaxis, hospital admissions and fatalities due to food allergies in Australia, a groundbreaking online food allergy training and education program for those working within the food services industry has been launched.

The National Allergy Strategy is a partnership between the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) and Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia (A&AA).

“Food allergy remains a growing problem in Australia, with rates on the rise, and episodes of life threatening anaphylaxis increasing,” says Associate Professor Richard Loh, co-chair of the National Allergy Strategy.

“While people with food allergy are usually successful in avoiding their allergens in their own environment, research tells us that most episodes of fatal anaphylaxis occur outside of the home.”

The strategy is targeted at improving limited understanding of how to manage food allergies within the food service industry. The free online training program specifically for people working within the industry aims to increase awareness and help implement manageable safe guards potentially saving lives.

The All about Allergens training program is provides access to training that is fast, simple and free. The program also provides comprehensive need-to-know information relevant to those in the food service industry.

Training modules include information about responding to customers who disclose a food allergy, managing orders for those with food allergy, minimising the risk of cross-contamination, and it also highlights examples of good service for customers with food allergy. The course also educates users on the symptoms of a food allergic reaction, and explains what to do if a customer experiences anaphylaxis (the most severe form of allergic reaction).

First hand awareness

Alex Herbert, a well known Sydney chef and food consultant, has experience on both sides of the table when it comes to allergies to food. Since becoming the mother of a child with a severe egg and peanut allergy, Alex has developed a new found appreciation of the importance of maintaining stringent food handling procedures within a commercial kitchen.

“For people with a severe allergy, it can take only the smallest amount of their allergen to trigger a severe allergic reaction. For example, using tongs to toss an egg based pasta dish and then using the same tongs to handle their egg free meal is enough to send them to hospital,” explains Alex.

Alex understands the importance of how to manage customers’ life threatening allergies with staff training. “This new food allergy training website for food service staff could literally save lives. It’s easy to understand, it only takes about 1-1.5 hours to complete, and – most importantly as an employer – it’s free.”

In an industry where high staff turnover is common, and many workers are employed on a casual basis, providing time-intensive and costly training for all staff is simply not an option. Users receive a certificate upon completion that can then become a part of their portfolio, alongside other certifications such as food handling and hygiene, and Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA).

The strategy also aims to highlight the responsibility of the consumer to declare their food allergy when eating out. To help consumers to understand their role in managing their food allergy and to support them and their carers in managing their food allergy in many different situations, a consumer education website has also been developed

One in five children in regional and remote WA worries about getting enough food to eat.

Edith Cowan University researchers surveyed more than 200 children from around the State to measure their food insecurity, which is defined as reduced or restricted access to sufficient, safe, nutritious and appropriate food.

In the sample group, 21% reported worrying that the food at home would run out before their family got money to buy more.

Almost one in ten reported having to eat less because their family didn’t have enough money to buy food and 14% said their meals only contained cheap low quality food.

Australian first

Lead researcher Dr Stephanie Godrich from ECU’s School of Medical and Health Sciences said the research was the first in Australia to measure food insecurity as reported by children.

“Previous Australian studies looking at food insecurity have surveyed parents or caregivers rather than their children,” she said.

“Caregivers have reported feeling ashamed of their inability to feed their family which may have resulted in an underreporting of food insecurity in previous studies.

“By gathering this data directly from children we have been able to create a clearer picture of the problem of food insecurity in regional and remote WA.”

Uneven spread

Dr Godrich said the research revealed an interesting link between food insecurity and economic disadvantage.

“While we may expect the problem to be greatest in the most disadvantaged areas, we actually found that it was children living in areas of medium socioeconomic status (SES) that were more likely to be food insecure,” she said.

“This suggests that some of the families in these medium SES areas may not be eligible for the types of financial assistance or may believe that they do not need it.

“What this tells us is that this is a systemic problem in regional and remote WA and we need government action to address it.”

Lasting solutions

Dr Godrich said action was urgently needed to address the situation because food insecurity during childhood can result in poor health outcomes later in life.

“Ensuring an adequate social safety net is important. Additionally, creating local employment opportunities in regional and remote areas can increase the financial security for families.

She called for new public health plans being developed by local governments across the state to include strategies to improve access to affordable, nutritious food options for all families.

The paper, ‘Prevalence and socio-demographic predictors of food insecurity among regional and remote Western Australian children’ was published today in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

Getting more greens into your diet could cut your risk of heart disease and stroke by as much as 40%, according to new research from Edith Cowan University.

Researchers from ECU’s School of Medical and Health Sciences studied the diets of more than 1000 Western Australian women, focusing on nitrate intake derived from vegetables.

They found that over a 15 year period, those women who had the highest intake of nitrate from vegetables had up to a 4% lower risk of dying from heart disease or stroke.

Getting enough greens

PhD student Lauren Blekkenhorst said the research was built on her previous study that collated data from around the world on the measured nitrate concentration in commonly eaten vegetables.

Nitrate is a compound that is naturally present in the environment and is essential for plant growth.

“We found that leafy green vegetables, such as spinach, lettuce, and kale had the highest amounts of nitrate, followed by radish, beetroot, and celery,” she said.

“People get roughly 80% of their average nitrate intake from vegetables so they are the primary source.”

How much is enough?

Eating about 75g per day (1 serve) of green leafy vegetables would provide enough nitrate to achieve these health benefits, said Ms Blekkenhorst.

“This is about one cup of raw vegetables which shouldn’t be too hard for all of us to eat daily,” she said.

How does it work?

Lead researcher, Dr Catherine Bondonno, said that the bacteria living in our mouths were critical for the cardiovascular health benefits observed.

“The bacteria living on our tongue break down the nitrate that we eat into another compound called nitrite. Nitrite and other breakdown products play a key role in regulating our blood pressure,” she said.

“This is the underlying mechanism that is resulting in the long-term improvements in heart health.”

The study ‘Association of dietary nitrate with atherosclerotic vascular disease mortality: a prospective cohort study of older adult women’ was recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. ‘Association of vegetable nitrate intake with carotid atherosclerosis and ischemic cerebrovascular disease in older women’ was recently published in the journal Stroke.

The issue is becoming more pressing as more than one million Australians already suffer from bone density loss – a number expected to increase as our population ages.Researchers at the university are recruiting 120 post-menopausal women – both lean and overweight – to test how a person’s body composition influences how they process calcium to protect against bone loss and fractures.

“We know how much daily calcium someone needs to consume to help protect against bone fractures later in life. However, it is not known whether the recommended level or type of dietary calcium should be adjusted depending on someone’s body weight or their body composition,” says PhD candidate Deepti Sharma.“People who are obese may have poor quality bones and may need to adjust their calcium intake to account for this.” The trials form the second stage of Sharma’s thesis which also looks at the role of vitamin D in bone health. She has undertaken clinical trials of 111 hospital patients with hip fractures who are undergoing surgery and analysed their bones for structure, gene expression and their biochemical profile.“What we have found is that high levels of vitamin D in the blood are associated with improved bone structure. “We have known for some time that people who have higher vitamin D levels have reduced fractures. Now we are showing that vitamin D is linked with improved activity in the bone and better quality of bone. This is something which we have not previously been able to see using standard bone mineral density tests,” she says.Associate Professor Paul Anderson, says the findings could change clinical practice.“Our findings not only suggest that vitamin D and calcium are essential to prevent fractures but also that both may help improve fracture healing. We now know that even if you are in your eighties, if you have high levels of vitamin D you can improve the quality of your bones.”Published data shows that up to 58% of southern Australian women are vitamin D deficient during winter due to a lack of sun exposure. Even during summer, 42% of women are vitamin D deficient due to lifestyle factors such as avoidance of the sun and the use of sunscreen protection.Prof Anderson says most people need to expose their face and arms to some direct sunlight when the sun is high in the sky so that the body can make vitamin D naturally.“If that can’t be achieved, it may pay to visit your GP to get a blood test. If you are deficient in vitamin D, then taking a supplement is a safe and effective way to restore vitamin D levels.He advised that low intensity, frequent, weight-bearing exercise was also crucial for optimal bone health.