Healthy Snacking

The next time you head to the movie theater, it might be OK to let yourself indulge with a large tub of popcorn—though you should still hold the butter. The American Chemical Society (ACS) recently announced findings that indicate popcorn is chock-full of polyphenols. The antioxidants are known for their presence in fruit, chocolate and tea, but high-fiber snacks such as popcorn and some popular breakfast cereals are now showing high levels of polyphenols as well.

"Early researchers thought that fiber was the active ingredient for the benefits in whole grains—the reason why they may reduce the risk of cancer and coronary heart disease," says Joe Vinson, Ph.D., a chemist at the University of Scranton and head of the study. "We found that, in fact, whole-grain products have comparable antioxidants per gram with fruits and vegetables. Breakfast cereals, pasta, crackers and salty snacks constitute more than 66% of the whole-grain intake in the American diet." Vinson delivered his findings at a meeting of the ACS earlier this year.

Contrary to Popular Belief
While still a threat to public health across the globe, cancer occurrences have actually taken a significant dip over the last 30 years, according to Eric Kort, M.D. This is a contrast to many media reports that usually trumpet rising rates. Kort arrived at his conclusion after re-examining data that typically indicate cancer is far deadlier than it is through certain interpretations—mostly because they place more importance on mortality rates among elderly cancer patients.

In the journal Cancer Research, Kort discussed how he evaluated statistics by removing the bias for age. By doing so, he found that every group of individuals has seen a drop in cancer mortality since 1925, and the biggest decrease occurred among the youngest patients, in which the mortality rate declined by 25.9%. "Our efforts against cancer, including prevention, early detection and better treatment, have resulted in profound gains, but they're often unappreciated by the public due to the way the data are usually reported," Kort says.

Eat Your Allergy Meds
Genetically modified crops have raised a lot of eyebrows over the past decade or so. Japanese researchers have taken them to another level with a new form of rice, according to the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. This type of transgenic grain aims to make food sensitivities obsolete by including elements that will help fight allergies instead.

Between 10% and 20% of the Japanese population suffers from allergies to Japanese cedar pollen, so scientists created this new form of rice to ease their symptoms. So far, there's no data available on other ways it can help humans, but it does not appear to have any adverse effects on test subjects.

Foreign Invader
Kudzu, a climbing vine native to Japan and introduced to the United States in the 1800s, is so pervasive in the Southern region of the U.S. that it's practically part of the landscape. However, there may now be a way to neutralize this plant, which has overgrown nearly 10 million American acres. Scientists have discovered that extract from the root of the kudzu plant may positively affect symptoms of metabolic syndrome, such as obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and the inability to process insulin. The condition affects 50 million people in the United States.

In a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers from Alabama and Iowa reported that laboratory rats given kudzu root extract demonstrated lower levels of metabolic syndrome symptoms than a control group, which shows promising signs for humans. Indeed, many Chinese and Japanese citizens already use kudzu supplements to augment their health.

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