New evidence that green tea may help fight glaucoma and other eye diseases

Green tea contains healthful substances that can penetrate eye tissues, raising the possibility that the tea may protect against glaucoma and other eye diseases.

Scientists have confirmed that the healthful substances found in green tea — renowned for their powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties — do penetrate into tissues of the eye. Their new report, the first documenting how the lens, retina, and other eye tissues absorb these substances, raises the possibility that green tea may protect against glaucoma and other common eye diseases. It appears in ACS’s bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Chi Pui Pang and colleagues point out that so-called green tea “catechins” have been among a number of antioxidants thought capable of protecting the eye. Those include vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Until now, however, nobody knew if the catechins in green tea actually passed from the stomach and gastrointestinal tract into the tissues of the eye.

Pang and his colleagues resolved that uncertainty in experiments with laboratory rats that drank green tea. Analysis of eye tissues showed beyond a doubt that eye structures absorbed significant amounts of individual catechins. The retina, for example, absorbed the highest levels of gallocatechin, while the aqueous humor tended to absorb epigallocatechin. The effects of green tea catechins in reducing harmful oxidative stress in the eye lasted for up to 20 hours. “Our results indicate that green tea consumption could benefit the eye against oxidative stress,” the report concludes.

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Chocolate lovers could be lowering their risk of stroke

If you gave  chocolates to your Valentine on February 14th you may have helped lower their risk of stroke based on a preliminary study from researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital. The study, which is being presented at the American Academy of Neurology in April, also found that eating chocolate may lower the risk of death after suffering a stroke.

“Though more research is needed to determine whether chocolate is the contributing factor to lowering stroke risk, it is rich in anti-oxidants and that may have a protective effect against stroke,” explains Dr. Gustavo Saposnik, a neurologist at St. Michael’s Hospital.

Chocolate is rich in antioxidants called flavonoids which may help lower the risk of strokes.

Authored by Sarah Sahib, the research analyzed three studies involving chocolate consumption and stroke risk. One showed there was no association between flavonoid intake and risk of stroke or death. In contrast, a second study found an association with stroke for chocolate consumption once a week as opposed to none per week. The third study suggested flavonoid intake from eating chocolate weekly lowered death caused by a stroke.

“We are continuing to investigate the correlation between chocolate and the risk of stroke,” says Dr. Saposnik. “The preliminary data is interesting but we need to determine whether consumption truly lowers the risk of a stroke or whether the benefit is biased based on those who are on average healthier than the general population when enrolling in a clinical trial.”

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New Public Service Ads are Part of the First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative to Combat Childhood Obesity

As part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, she has partnered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council today launched a new series of public service advertisements (PSAs) designed to address childhood obesity. The ads feature Warner Bros.’ legendary Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety and Taz, as well as Scholastic Media’s Maya & Miguel, as an extension of HHS’ Childhood Obesity Prevention campaign, which encourages children and families to lead healthy lifestyles.

Earlier today, the First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off the national campaign Let’s Move!, building on effective strategies at all levels and in all sectors, to engage families and communities and mobilize both public and private sector resources to solve the childhood obesity challenge within one generation.

Created pro bono by Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Scholastic Media, the PSAs leverage the fun aspects and family appeal of each partner’s characters to reach children with important messages about being healthy.

One series of ads features the Looney Tunes characters as they are paired up with professional athletes to deliver an active lifestyle message that tells kids you don’t have to be a pro to “Be A Player.” The Looney Tunes’ beloved characters appear alongside New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant. These ads were developed in collaboration with the NFL PLAY 60 and NBA FIT initiatives. In addition, pro skateboarder Tony Hawk and Olympic Gold Medalist Misty May-Treanor are featured in PSAs aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle and increasing physical fitness for kids.

Another series of PSAs guided by the creative expertise of ad agency Casanova Pendrill, features Maya & Miguel (commonly seen on PBS KIDS GO!) and encourages children to the “Take the Maya & Miguel Challenge” as a way to get more physically active and eat healthy. The Maya & Miguel materials produced by Scholastic were created in both English and Spanish to leverage the characters’ strong appeal to all Hispanic families, as well as general audiences.

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First evidence that blueberry juice improves memory in older adults

Scientists are reporting the first evidence from human research that blueberries — one of the richest sources of healthful antioxidants and other so-called phytochemicals — improve memory. They said the study establishes a basis for comprehensive human clinical trials to determine whether blueberries really deserve their growing reputation as a memory enhancer. A report on the study appears in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

Robert Krikorian and colleagues point out that previous studies in laboratory animals suggest that eating blueberries may help boost memory in the aged. Until now, however, there had been little scientific work aimed at testing the effect of blueberry supplementation on memory in people.

In the study, one group of volunteers in their 70s with early memory decline drank the equivalent of 2-2 l/2 cups of a commercially available blueberry juice every day for two months. A control group drank a beverage without blueberry juice. The blueberry juice group showed significant improvement on learning and memory tests, the scientists say. “These preliminary memory findings are encouraging and suggest that consistent supplementation with blueberries may offer an approach to forestall or mitigate neurodegeneration,” said the report. The research involved scientists from the University of Cincinnati, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Canadian department of agriculture.

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