Research Briefs Antioxidant Spices Reduce Negative Effects of High-Fat Meals Eating a diet rich in spices, like turmeric and cinnamon, reduces the body’s negative responses to eating high-fat meals, according to researchers. “Normally, when you eat a high-fat meal, you end up with high levels of triglycerides, a type of fat, in your blood,” said Sheila West, associate professor of biobehavioral health. “If this happens too frequently, your risk of heart disease is increased.” The team gave some participants a meal containing rosemary, oregano, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, cloves, garlic powder, and paprika. Other participants received a non-spiced meal. “We found that adding spices to a high-fat meal reduced triglyceride response by about 30 percent, compared to a similar meal with no spices added,” said West. Other HHD researchers on the paper included Ann Skulas-Ray, former graduate student; Penny Kris-Etherton, Distinguished Professor of Nutrition; and Danette Teeter ’11g NUTR, former research assistant.
People Have Powerful Appeal in Photos College students looking at photographs spent more time gazing at the people in the pictures than the surrounding elements, even when those people were quite small or not centrally located, according to researchers. These findings could help the researchers develop better visual-scene displays (VSDs)—computer-generated images that help people with disabilities learn to communicate. According to Krista Wilkinson, professor of communication sciences and disorders, the team recruited college students to observe photographs in which a human figure appeared near one or more items that might be expected to compete for visual attention, such as a Christmas tree or a table loaded with food. They used eye-tracking technology to obtain precise recordings of the participants’ gazes. “Our study suggests that humans may be key elements that capture and maintain visual attention, even in scenes with many other potential competitors,” said Wilkinson. Janice Light, Distinguished Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, also was involved with this research.
Depression May Lead Mothers to Wake Babies Depressed mothers are more likely to needlessly wake up their infants at night than mothers who are not depressed, according to researchers. “We found that mothers with high depressive symptom levels are more likely than mothers with low symptom levels to excessively worry about their infants at night and to seek out their babies at night when the babies did not appear to be in need of parental help,” said Douglas M. Teti, professor of human development and family studies. “This, in turn, was associated with increased night waking in the infants of depressed mothers, compared to the infants of non-depressed mothers.” In contrast, mothers with low levels of worry and depressive symptoms rarely woke their infants out of a sound sleep and hardly went to their infants at night unless the infants were distressed. The team emphasized that if parental depression or worry disrupts both the parents’ and the infant’s sleep, it could have negative consequences for the parentchild relationship over the long term.
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Physical Activity Yields Feelings of Excitement, Enthusiasm People who are more physically active report greater levels of excitement and enthusiasm than people who are less physically active, according to researchers. People also are more likely to report feelings of excitement and enthusiasm on days when they are more physically active than usual. The researchers asked 190 university students to keep daily diaries of their lived experiences, including free-time physical activity and sleep quantity and quality, as well as their mental states, including perceived stress and feeling states. “We found that people who are more physically active have more pleasant-activated feelings than people who are less active, and we also found that people have more pleasant-activated feelings on days when they are more physically active than usual,” said Amanda Hyde ’10g KINES, kinesiology graduate student. “Knowing that moderate and vigorous physical activity generates a pleasant-activated feeling, rather than just a pleasant feeling, might help to explain why physical activity is so much more effective for treating depression rather than anxiety,” added David Conroy, professor of kinesiology.
Preference For Fatty Foods May Have Genetic Roots A preference for fatty foods has a genetic basis, according to researchers who discovered that people with certain forms of the CD36 gene may like high-fat foods more than those who have other forms of this gene. Kathleen Keller, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, and colleagues gave 317 participants Italian salad dressings prepared with varying amounts of canola oil, which is rich in long-chain fatty acids. The participants were then asked to rate their perceptions of the dressings’ oiliness, fat content, and creaminess on a scale anchored on the ends with “extremely low” and “extremely high.” “Fat is universally palatable to humans,” said Keller. “Yet we have demonstrated for the first time that people who have particular forms of the CD36 gene tend to like higher fat foods more and may be at greater risk for obesity compared to those who do not have this form of the gene.” The results help explain why some people struggle when placed on a low-fat diet and may one day assist people in selecting diets that are easier for them to follow. The results also may help food developers create new low-fat foods that taste better.