Effects of Herbal Tea (Non-Camellia sinensis) on Glucose Homeostasis and Serum Lipids in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Context: Hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia increase the risk for diabetes and its complications, atherosclerosis, heart failure, and stroke. Identification of safe and cost-effective means to reduce risk factors is needed. Herbal teas may be a vehicle to deliver antioxidants and polyphenols for prevention of complications.

Assessing Anti-Adipogenic Effects of Mango Leaf Tea and Mangiferin within Cultured Adipocytes.

Obesity is a condition caused by surplus adipose tissue and is a risk factor for several diet-related diseases. Obesity is a global epidemic that has also been challenging to treat effectively. However, one promoted therapy to safely treat obesity is anti-adipogenic therapeutics.

Antidiabetic properties of mango in animal models and humans: A systematic review.

Mango has long been an attractive source of nutrition and pharmacological therapeutics. The mango plant (Mangifera indica L.) contains bioactive compounds that may have antidiabetic properties.

Students choosing fat-free chocolate milk during school lunch consume more calories, total sugar, protein, minerals and vitamins at lunch.

Objective: To examine how milk consumption varies by milk choice and measure the association of milk choice on the nutritional and energetic content of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) lunches.

Design: An observational plate waste study using the Digital Photography of Foods Method.

Setting: Data were collected from two suburban South Carolina schools in one district during February and March 2013.

Selection and consumption of lunches by National School Lunch Program participants.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to offer a variety of healthy food options each day. Using digital photography data collected from two suburban elementary schools in the spring of 2013, we examine NSLP participant's selection and consumption of all five NSLP lunch components ((1) milk, (2) vegetable, (3) fruit, (4) meat/meat alternate (MA), and (5) grain). We use logit regressions to analyze the selection of the various lunch components by race/ethnicity, gender, grade, and household income level.

Damaging effects of a high-fat diet to the brain and cognition: a review of proposed mechanisms.

The prevalence of obesity is growing and now includes at least one-third of the adult population in the United States. As obesity and dementia rates reach epidemic proportions, an even greater interest in the effects of nutrition on the brain have become evident. This review discusses various mechanisms by which a high fat diet and/or obesity can alter the brain and cognition.

Diet-induced effects on neuronal and glial elements in the middle-aged rat hippocampus.

Consumption of a high-fat and/or high-cholesterol diet can have detrimental effects on the brain. In the present study, dietary treatment with saturated fats, trans fats, or cholesterol to middle-aged Fischer 344 rats resulted in alterations to serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels, organ weights, and hippocampal morphology. Previously, we demonstrated that a 10% hydrogenated coconut oil and 2% cholesterol diet resulted in worse performance on the 12-day water radial arm maze, increased cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and decreased dendritic microtubule associated protein 2 (MAP2) staining in the hippocampus.

Antibacterial effects of grape extracts on Helicobacter pylori.

Anti-Helicobacter pylori activities were determined by agar dilution, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and cell proliferation assays following treatment with various grape extracts. Muscadine grape skin possessed the strongest activity, followed by grape synergy (skin and seed) and seed, suggesting that higher phenolic levels do not necessarily determine overall anti-H. pylori efficacy.

Preventing type 2 diabetes after gestational diabetes.

Purpose: The purposes of this article are to examine the epidemiology of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and subsequent type 2 diabetes, identify risk factors for the development of GDM and subsequent type 2 diabetes, discuss protocols for postpartum screening, and recommend evidence-based interventions to delay or prevent type 2 diabetes after GDM.

Methods: A review of the research literature from 1995 to 2005 concerning gestational diabetes was done using MEDLINE, CINAHL, National Institutes of Health, and American Diabetes Association internet resources. The criteria set for selection included the following: the research explored risk factors for and epidemiology of gestational diabetes, the relationship of gestational diabetes and the subsequent development of type 2 diabetes, and/or the prevention of type 2 diabetes after GDM.

Antiproliferative activities of parthenolide and golden feverfew extract against three human cancer cell lines.

The medicinal herb feverfew [Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Schultz-Bip.] has long been used as a folk remedy for the treatment of migraine and arthritis.

Insights from older adults with type 2 diabetes: making dietary and exercise changes.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to identify factors that affect the nutrition and exercise behaviors of persons over the age of 55 with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Focus groups were conducted using a validated focus group interview guide to determine primary health concerns and health behaviors, favored learning modalities, barriers to learning, food preferences, and exercise preferences.

Results: The following major themes and subthemes were identified: some risk factors for diabetes and heart disease seem more salient than others; perceived susceptibility for serious outcomes of diabetes can occur through vicarious learning; willpower, often obtained through a belief in God, is necessary for successful behavior change; effective modification of behavior and building self-efficacy starts with small steps; and intrinsic reinforcement is necessary for behavior change.