Carbohydrate News and Research

Latest Carbohydrate News and Research

Genetic defect in protein glycogenin can lead to cardiac arrest

Researchers have discovered a new disorder linked to heart problems that stems from a genetic defect in the protein glycogenin. In a worst case scenario, disruption of this protein's function can lead to cardiac arrest, which is exactly what happened to the young man whose case triggered the investigation at Sahlgrenska University Hospital at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, that led to a brand new diagnosis.

20 Apr 2010

Artificial pancreas system succeeds in maintaining near-normal glucose levels

An artificial pancreas system that closely mimics the body's blood sugar control mechanism was able to maintain near-normal glucose levels without causing hypoglycemia in a small group of patients. The system, combining a blood glucose monitor and insulin pump technology with software that directs administration of insulin and the blood-sugar-raising hormone glucagon, was developed at Boston University.

15 Apr 2010

High glycemic diet in women linked to increased risk of coronary heart disease

Consuming carbohydrates with high glycemic index—an indicator of how quickly a food affects blood glucose levels—appears to be associated with the risk of coronary heart disease in women but not men, according to a report in the April 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

13 Apr 2010

Adherence to type 1 diabetes treatment lags if parents don't monitor

Teenagers and "tweenagers" with type 1 diabetes have more trouble sticking to their treatment plan - thus raising their risk of blindness, kidney failure and heart disease - if their parents become increasingly lax about monitoring the child's treatment, or if the mother-child relationship is poor.

8 Apr 2010

Eating protein-rich eggs for breakfast reduces hunger, decreases calorie consumption throughout the day

A new study demonstrates that eating protein-rich eggs for breakfast reduces hunger and decreases calorie consumption at lunch and throughout the day. The study, published in the February issue of Nutrition Research, found that men who consumed an egg-based breakfast ate significantly fewer calories when offered an unlimited lunch buffet compared to when they ate a carbohydrate-rich bagel breakfast of equal calories.

7 Apr 2010

Findings may help devise new strategies for Cryptococcus infections

Highly dangerous Cryptococcus fungi love sugar and will consume it anywhere because it helps them reproduce. In particular, they thrive on a sugar called inositol which is abundant in the human brain and spinal cord.

6 Apr 2010

Personalized online resource to help Canadians achieve healthy weight loss

A Heart and Stroke Foundation survey of almost 2,000 Canadians found that 62% reported intentionally losing five or more pounds over the past five years but failed to keep the weight off. And 70% of those who were overweight or obese regained all or even more pounds after their weight-loss efforts.

1 Apr 2010

Fat-rich breakfast may help prevent metabolic syndrome, says study

The age-old maxim "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper" may in fact be the best advice to follow to prevent metabolic syndrome, according to a new University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) study.

31 Mar 2010

Drinking orange juice with fast-food meal may help prevent vascular inflammation

Eating foods containing flavonoids -- orange juice, in this case -- along with a high-fat, high-carbohydrate fast-food meal neutralizes the oxidative and inflammatory stress generated by the unhealthy food and helps prevent blood vessel damage, a new study by University at Buffalo endocrinologists shows.

31 Mar 2010

Techulon, UC sign worldwide exclusive license agreements to market Glycofect-Transfection Reagent

Techulon Inc., a life sciences company, has signed worldwide exclusive license agreements with the University of Cincinnati to manufacture and sell novel transfection reagents used for research and therapeutic delivery of nucleic acids.

25 Mar 2010

Findings suggest adipose inflammation is necessary for fat cell turnover

It has been a common opinion that inflammation in adipose tissue may cause insulin resistance, and thereby type 2 diabetes. However, recent research from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, question the theory that inflammation in the body fat is only pernicious.

25 Mar 2010

Researchers investigate link between consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and obesity

A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

23 Mar 2010

Study: Replacing dietary saturated fats with polyunsaturated fatty acids reduces coronary heart disease

A study in this week's PLoS Medicine shows that the replacement of dietary saturated fatty acids with polyunsaturated fatty acids reduces coronary heart disease events, bringing much needed scientific evidence to an issue debated by experts and clinical guidelines.

23 Mar 2010

Labeling calories on menus mandatory – unhealthy eating discouraged further

With the newly passed healthcare bill calorie counts at fast food and chain restaurants become mandatory. More than 200,000 fast food and other chain restaurants will have to include calorie counts on menus, menu boards, buffets, vending machines, alcoholic drink menus and even drive-throughs.

23 Mar 2010

Shastha Foods, South Asian Heart Center form food partnership

Santa Clara-based Shastha Foods and the South Asian Heart Center at El Camino Hospital have announced they have collaborated to create newly formulated versions of the company’s popular fresh, stone ground “dosa” batter using the Center’s nutritional guidelines for healthy heart-savvy ingredients.

22 Mar 2010

Natural fibre in sea kelp may help tackle obesity

Seaweed could hold the key to tackling obesity after it was found it reduces fat uptake by more than 75 per cent, new research has shown.

22 Mar 2010

Academics focus on challenges of improving diets in both developed and developing countries

For the first time in history the number of people worldwide suffering from obesity now exceeds the number suffering from hunger.

18 Mar 2010

FDA approves Medtronic's MiniMed Paradigm integrated diabetes management system

Medtronic, Inc. today announced it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the MiniMed Paradigm® REAL-Time Revel™ System, the next generation of the industry’s only integrated diabetes management system (insulin pump therapy, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and diabetes therapy management software).

17 Mar 2010

Hi-maize whole grain corn flour and Hi-maize resistant starch increase satiety

A University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada) research team, led by G. Harvey Anderson, Ph.D., just published results of a new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showing that the quantity of resistant starch in foods correlates with blood glucose response and reduced food intake after two hours.

16 Mar 2010

Genzyme, Isis Pharmaceuticals: Phase 3 study of mipomersen in hoFH patients meets primary endpoint

Genzyme Corp. and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that data from a phase 3 study of mipomersen in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (hoFH) were published in The Lancet. This study met its primary endpoint, resulting in an average LDL-C reduction of greater than 100 mg/dL in this very high-risk patient population.

16 Mar 2010