💊Diet is more effective than drugs for IBS

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common diagnosis that causes abdominal pain and discomfort in various combinations and with varying severity.

Treatment varies from generic dietary changes to low FODMAP diets to use of medications.

400 individuals were allocated a random treatment for 4 weeks.

All groups reported significantly better quality of life, but those on a low FODMAPs diet had 76% reduced symptoms.

This was still true after returning on a normal diet, well 6 months after the trial.

🥊 Punchline

A low FODMAP diet is very effective at in the treatment of IBS, but it may be hard to follow. Other treatments exist, although less effective.

👨 How a dad’s diet influence children health

A father's diet may shape the anxiety of his sons and the metabolic health of his daughters before they are even conceived.

A study in mice confirmed this:

Males on low protein and high carbohydrate diets were more likely to have male offspring with higher levels of anxiety. Low protein diet also meant eating more food overall.

Male on high fat diets were more likely to have daughters with higher levels of body fat and markers of metabolic disease.

Both the amount of calories and quality of the males' diets influenced the health of their offspring.

🥊 Punchline

The type of diet before conception can have a significant influence on the health of our children. This and more research to come could ultimately shape dietary guidelines for fathers-to-be.

🔄 Researchers have found brown fat's 'off-switch'

Brown fat is a type of fat that helps turn calories into heat. 

That’s how newborns stay warm. But adults maintain some brown fat throughout life.

Researchers are interested in this type of fat as a way to lose weight by burning more energy at rest.

They have found a protein that is responsible for ‘turning off’ brown fat. 

With brown fat allowed to work, genetically modified mice fed a high fat diet gained less fat and had more muscle than normal mice. 

For humans, exposure to very cold weathers is a way to activate brown fats, but it’s not sustainable.

Researchers are now busy to translate this research into what could work for humans.

🥊 Punchline

This is an exciting new discovery that could lead to promising therapies for safely activating brown fat and help tackle obesity rated health problems.