What Is Gluten?

Is gluten bad for You?

Eating gluten, the naturally occurring proteins in wheat, barley and rye can be

life-threatening to people with celiac disease.

Credit: Viktorfischer | Dreamstime

Gluten refers to the proteins found in wheat endosperm (a type of tissue produced in seeds that's ground to make flour). Gluten both nourishes plant embryos during germination and later affects the elasticity of dough, which in turn affects the chewiness of baked wheat products.

 

Gluten is actually composed of two different proteins: gliadin (a prolamin protein) and glutenin (a glutelin protein).

 

Though "true gluten" is sometimes defined as being specific to wheat, gluten is often said to be part of other cereal grains — including rye, barley and various crossbreeds — because these grains also contain protein composites made from prolamins and glutelins.

 

Why is gluten bad?

 

Gluten isn't necessarily bad, but some people are gluten-intolerant, meaning their bodies produce an abnormal immune response when it breaks down gluten from wheat and related grains during digestion.

 

The most well-known form of gluten intolerance is celiac disease, which affects one in every 141 people in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health. When someone with celiac disease consumes gluten, it triggers an immune response that damages their intestines, preventing them from absorbing vital nutrients. 

 

Wheat allergy is a rare type of gluten intolerance — it's a classic food allergy marked by skin, respiratory or gastrointestinal reactions to wheat allergens.

 

Recently, scientists have become aware of another potential form of intolerance called nonceliac gluten sensitivity. After consuming gluten, patients with gluten sensitivity may experience many celiac disease symptoms, such as diarrhea, fatigue and joint pain, but don't appear to have damaged intestines.

 

In cases of gluten intolerance, doctors typically recommend a gluten-free diet. Patients must avoid eating any foods and ingredients that contains gluten, including bread, beer, french fries, pasta, salad dressing, soy sauce and even some soups (unless otherwise marked as "gluten-free").

 

In recent years, many people without gluten intolerance have taken up gluten-free diets. Experts worry, however, that going on these diets without explicitly needing to could be detrimental to a person's health, as gluten-free foods are often nutrient-deficient.

 

By Joseph Castro, LiveScience Contributor   |   September 17, 2013 05:27pm ET

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Genetics Explains Why You Drink So Much Coffee

Genes & Health

For those of you attempting to kickstart your Monday: Researchers identified eight gene variants that could explain why some people drink coffee heavily, while others abstain from the drink.

If your favorite order at Starbucks is the “red-eye,” you can thank genetics for your ability to slog down all that caffeine without the shakes.

 

In a new study, scientists identified eight genetic variants that could partly explain why some people drink coffee by the pot, while others avoid the stimulating beverage altogether. By outlining the genetic foundation for coffee consumption, scientists believe they can find firmer evidence to support the positive — and negative — health effects of the popular beverage.

Java Genes

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital investigated the genomes of 120,000 European and African American coffee drinkers along with data on how many cups a day they consumed, using findings from dozens of previous studies. Their statistical analysis revealed six new gene variants that governed coffee consumption, and reaffirmed the presence of two others previously discovered by the same group of researchers.

 

The team identified variants in or near genes that play roles in learning, caffeine metabolism, blood pressure regulation and addiction. Two newly discovered variants, near the genes BDNF and SLC6A4, reinforce the positive effects of coffee’s molecular properties. For example, BDNF is involved in the release of pleasure-inducing neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine.

Researchers published their findings Tuesday in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Heavy Drinkers

Participants in the study that inherited five or six of the gene variations were more likely to be heavy coffee drinkers — four or more cups a day — than those who inherited just one or two, the Boston Globe reports. People with more coffee gene variants may drink more because they metabolize it quickly; thus, they enjoy coffee’s stimulating effects for a shorter period of time.

 

Some of the same gene variations seen in heavy coffee drinkers are risk factors for smoking initiation and obesity. Both obesity and smoking may be fueled by addiction, which could explain why some people can’t stop at just one cup. Researchers plan to dig deeper into the genetics of coffee drinking to see how variants may be positively and negatively affecting coffee fanatics’ health.

 

In the debate about whether coffee is good or bad for your health, genetics could cut through the noise and someday offer more definitive answers.

 

By Carl Engelking | October 7, 2014 1:19 pm

Photo credit: RobinE/Shutterstock

CATEGORIZED UNDER: Living World, top posts

 

Sealed With a Kiss

A single intimate smooch can transfer upwards of 80 million bacteria.


WIKIMEDIA, ROBERT & MIHAELA VICOL

Locking lips spreads more than just love. A healthy dose of microbes are also swapped between kissing couples, according to a study published today (November 17) in Microbe. Researchers in Amsterdam swabbed the mouths and collected saliva from 21 couples visiting a zoo in the city both before and after they shared 10-second kiss. They found that the couples tended to have similar microbes inhabiting their mouths, likely because they share kisses, food, and space on a regular basis. “Apparently, being with somebody for an extended amount of time and having a relationship leads to a similar collection of bacteria on the tongue,” Remco Kort, lead author and biologist at the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, told Time.

 

But when the researchers had one partner sip a probiotic yogurt drink, which contains bacteria not normally present in the mouth, prior to kissing their mate again, they found that an average of 80 million bacteria were swapped between kissers. “French kissing is a great example of exposure to a gigantic number of bacteria in a short time,” Kort told BBC News. “But only some bacteria transferred from a kiss seemed to take hold on the tongue. Further research should look at the properties of the bacteria and the tongue that contribute to this sticking power.”

Tags

probiotic, mouth microbiome, microbiome, microbiology and kissing

The Scientist » The Nutshell

By Bob Grant | November 17, 2014

 

 

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/41450/title/Sealed-With-a-Kiss/

The science behind total recall: New player in brain function and memory

Artist's abstraction (stock illustration).

Credit: © agsandrew / Fotolia

Is it possible to change the amount of information the brain can store? Maybe, according to a new international study led by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC). Their research has identified a molecule that puts a brake on brain processing and when removed, brain function and memory recall is improved. Published in the latest issue of Cell Reports, the study has implications for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, such as autism spectral disorders and Alzheimer's disease.

 

"Previous research has shown that production of new molecules is necessary for storing memories in the brain; if you block the production of these molecules, new memory formation does not take place," says RI-MUHC neuroscientist, Dr. Keith Murai, the study's senior author and Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University. "Our findings show that the brain has a key protein that limits the production of molecules necessary for memory formation. When this brake-protein is suppressed, the brain is able to store more information."

 

FXR1P: a controller of certain forms of memory

 

Dr. Murai and his colleagues used a mouse model to study how changes in brain cell connections produce new memories. They demonstrated that a protein, FXR1P (Fragile X Related Protein 1), was responsible for suppressing the production of molecules required for building new memories. When FXR1P was selectively removed from certain parts of the brain, these new molecules were produced that strengthened connections between brain cells and this correlated with improved memory and recall in the mice.

 

Disease link

 

"The role of FXR1P was a surprising result," says Dr. Murai. "Previous to our work, no-one had identified a role for this regulator in the brain. Our findings have provided fundamental knowledge about how the brain processes information. We've identified a new pathway that directly regulates how information is handled and this could have relevance for understanding and treating brain diseases."

 

"Future research in this area could be very interesting," he adds. "If we can identify compounds that control the braking potential of FXR1P, we may be able to alter the amount of brain activity or plasticity. For example, in autism, one may want to decrease certain brain activity and in Alzheimer's disease, we may want to enhance the activity. By manipulating FXR1P, we may eventually be able to adjust memory formation and retrieval, thus improving the quality of life of people suffering from brain diseases."

 

Date:November 13, 2014

Source:McGill University Health Centre