Cats and Dietary Medium-Chain Triglycerides

Trevizan L, de Mello Kessler A, Bigley KE et al: Effects of dietary medium-chain triglycerides on plasma lipids and lipoprotein distribution and food aversion in cats, Am J Vet Res 71:435, 2010.

The objective of this study was to determine if there was a possible diet aversion and lipid and lipoprotein alterations in cats fed diets containing medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). A group of 19 clinically normal adult female cats were divided randomly into 2 groups and fed a diet of low MCT or high MCT according to metabolic body weight for 9 weeks. Blood samples were taken after fasting on days 0, 14, 28, and 56 for measurement of plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol concentrations and lipoprotein-cholesterol distributions. MCTs are commonly found in products such as coconut oil and milk by-products. MCTs are more easily digested and absorbed, which results in a more rapid transport to the liver via the portal circulation. Because of the unique metabolism of MCT, dietary MCT supplementation may be beneficial in a number of ways. MCTs may be used in cases that have malabsorptive and maldigestion disorders. Other disorders that might benefit from their use are exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, lymphangiectasia, and chylothorax. Diets containing MCTs might help during weight reduction and for health maintenance after weight loss. In this study, safflower oil was replaced with coconut oil. The results showed no diet differences were found for food consumption, body weight, body condition score, and metabolizable energy factors. There was a significant increase in plasma triglyceride concentration detected with the high MCT diet, though the values were within the reference ranges. The authors concluded that inclusion of MCT in diets of cats did not result in feed refusal and had minimal effects on lipid metabolism. Diets such as described may be useful for both clinically normal cats and cats with metabolic disorders. [VT]

Related articles:
Wanten G, Naber A: Cellular and physiological effects of medium-chain triglycerides, Mini Rev Med Chem 4:847, 2004.

More on cat health: Winn Feline Foundation Library
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Trevizan L, de Mello Kessler A, Bigley KE et al: Effects of dietary medium-chain triglycerides on plasma lipids and lipoprotein distribution and food aversion in cats, Am J Vet Res 71:435, 2010.

The objective of this study was to determine if there was a possible diet aversion and lipid and lipoprotein alterations in cats fed diets containing medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). A group of 19 clinically normal adult female cats were divided randomly into 2 groups and fed a diet of low MCT or high MCT according to metabolic body weight for 9 weeks. Blood samples were taken after fasting on days 0, 14, 28, and 56 for measurement of plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol concentrations and lipoprotein-cholesterol distributions. MCTs are commonly found in products such as coconut oil and milk by-products. MCTs are more easily digested and absorbed, which results in a more rapid transport to the liver via the portal circulation. Because of the unique metabolism of MCT, dietary MCT supplementation may be beneficial in a number of ways. MCTs may be used in cases that have malabsorptive and maldigestion disorders. Other disorders that might benefit from their use are exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, lymphangiectasia, and chylothorax. Diets containing MCTs might help during weight reduction and for health maintenance after weight loss. In this study, safflower oil was replaced with coconut oil. The results showed no diet differences were found for food consumption, body weight, body condition score, and metabolizable energy factors. There was a significant increase in plasma triglyceride concentration detected with the high MCT diet, though the values were within the reference ranges. The authors concluded that inclusion of MCT in diets of cats did not result in feed refusal and had minimal effects on lipid metabolism. Diets such as described may be useful for both clinically normal cats and cats with metabolic disorders. [VT]

Related articles:
Wanten G, Naber A: Cellular and physiological effects of medium-chain triglycerides, Mini Rev Med Chem 4:847, 2004.

More on cat health: Winn Feline Foundation Library
Join us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter

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B-vitamins may lead to happier seniors: Study

Increased intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 may reduce the risk of seniors developing depressive symptoms, says a new study with 3,500 Chicagoans.

For every 10 milligram increase in the intake of vitamin B6 and for every 10 microgram increase in vitamin B12 the risk of developing symptoms of depression were decreased by 2 per cent per year, according to findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study adds to previous reports linking B vitamin intakes and a lower risk of depression. The World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts that within 20 years more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem; it ranks depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, with around 120 million people affected.



Despite earlier reports on the potential anti-depressive benefits of the B vitamins, researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Illinois report that “very little prospective evidence from population-based studies of older adults”.

Study details

Led by Kimberly Skarupski, the researchers obtained data from 3,500 over 65 year-olds in Chicago. The volunteers were living in a normal community and were bi-racial with 59 per cent being African American. Dietary intakes were quantified using food frequency questionnaires and depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale.

Over an average of 7.2 years of follow-up, the researchers noted that increased intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 were associated with a “decreased likelihood of incident depression”. The intakes of the vitamins came from both food and supplements, said the researchers.

Increased intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 may reduce the risk of seniors developing depressive symptoms, says a new study with 3,500 Chicagoans.

For every 10 milligram increase in the intake of vitamin B6 and for every 10 microgram increase in vitamin B12 the risk of developing symptoms of depression were decreased by 2 per cent per year, according to findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study adds to previous reports linking B vitamin intakes and a lower risk of depression. The World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts that within 20 years more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem; it ranks depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, with around 120 million people affected.



Despite earlier reports on the potential anti-depressive benefits of the B vitamins, researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Illinois report that “very little prospective evidence from population-based studies of older adults”.

Study details

Led by Kimberly Skarupski, the researchers obtained data from 3,500 over 65 year-olds in Chicago. The volunteers were living in a normal community and were bi-racial with 59 per cent being African American. Dietary intakes were quantified using food frequency questionnaires and depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale.

Over an average of 7.2 years of follow-up, the researchers noted that increased intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 were associated with a “decreased likelihood of incident depression”. The intakes of the vitamins came from both food and supplements, said the researchers.

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Tea 'healthier' drink than water

Drinking three or more cups of tea a day is as good for you as drinking plenty of water and may even have extra health benefits, say researchers.
The work in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition dispels the common belief that tea dehydrates.

Tea not only rehydrates as well as water does, but it can also protect against heart disease and some cancers, UK nutritionists found.

Experts believe flavonoids are the key ingredient in tea that promote health.



Healthy cuppa

These polyphenol antioxidants are found in many foods and plants, including tea leaves, and have been shown to help prevent cell damage.

Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so its got two things going for it

Lead author Dr Ruxton

Public health nutritionist Dr Carrie Ruxton, and colleagues at Kings College London, looked at published studies on the health effects of tea consumption.

They found clear evidence that drinking three to four cups of tea a day can cut the chances of having a heart attack.

Some studies suggested tea consumption protected against cancer, although this effect was less clear-cut.

Other health benefits seen included protection against tooth plaque and potentially tooth decay, plus bone strengthening.

Dr Ruxton said: "Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water. Water is essentially replacing fluid. Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so it's got two things going for it."

Rehydrating

She said it was an urban myth that tea is dehydrating.

"Studies on caffeine have found very high doses dehydrate and everyone assumes that caffeine-containing beverages dehydrate. But even if you had a really, really strong cup of tea or coffee, which is quite hard to make, you would still have a net gain of fluid.

"Also, a cup of tea contains fluoride, which is good for the teeth," she added.

There was no evidence that tea consumption was harmful to health. However, research suggests that tea can impair the body's ability to absorb iron from food, meaning people at risk of anaemia should avoid drinking tea around mealtimes.

Tea is not dehydrating. It is a healthy drink

Claire Williamson of the British Nutrition Foundation

Dr Ruxton's team found average tea consumption was just under three cups per day.

She said the increasing popularity of soft drinks meant many people were not drinking as much tea as before.

"Tea drinking is most common in older people, the 40 plus age range. In older people, tea sometimes made up about 70% of fluid intake so it is a really important contributor," she said.

Claire Williamson of the British Nutrition Foundation said: "Studies in the laboratory have shown potential health benefits.

"The evidence in humans is not as strong and more studies need to be done. But there are definite potential health benefits from the polyphenols in terms of reducing the risk of diseases such as heart disease and cancers.

"In terms of fluid intake, we recommend 1.5-2 litres per day and that can include tea. Tea is not dehydrating. It is a healthy drink."

The Tea Council provided funding for the work. Dr Ruxton stressed that the work was independent.

Drinking three or more cups of tea a day is as good for you as drinking plenty of water and may even have extra health benefits, say researchers.
The work in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition dispels the common belief that tea dehydrates.

Tea not only rehydrates as well as water does, but it can also protect against heart disease and some cancers, UK nutritionists found.

Experts believe flavonoids are the key ingredient in tea that promote health.



Healthy cuppa

These polyphenol antioxidants are found in many foods and plants, including tea leaves, and have been shown to help prevent cell damage.

Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so its got two things going for it

Lead author Dr Ruxton

Public health nutritionist Dr Carrie Ruxton, and colleagues at Kings College London, looked at published studies on the health effects of tea consumption.

They found clear evidence that drinking three to four cups of tea a day can cut the chances of having a heart attack.

Some studies suggested tea consumption protected against cancer, although this effect was less clear-cut.

Other health benefits seen included protection against tooth plaque and potentially tooth decay, plus bone strengthening.

Dr Ruxton said: "Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water. Water is essentially replacing fluid. Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so it's got two things going for it."

Rehydrating

She said it was an urban myth that tea is dehydrating.

"Studies on caffeine have found very high doses dehydrate and everyone assumes that caffeine-containing beverages dehydrate. But even if you had a really, really strong cup of tea or coffee, which is quite hard to make, you would still have a net gain of fluid.

"Also, a cup of tea contains fluoride, which is good for the teeth," she added.

There was no evidence that tea consumption was harmful to health. However, research suggests that tea can impair the body's ability to absorb iron from food, meaning people at risk of anaemia should avoid drinking tea around mealtimes.

Tea is not dehydrating. It is a healthy drink

Claire Williamson of the British Nutrition Foundation

Dr Ruxton's team found average tea consumption was just under three cups per day.

She said the increasing popularity of soft drinks meant many people were not drinking as much tea as before.

"Tea drinking is most common in older people, the 40 plus age range. In older people, tea sometimes made up about 70% of fluid intake so it is a really important contributor," she said.

Claire Williamson of the British Nutrition Foundation said: "Studies in the laboratory have shown potential health benefits.

"The evidence in humans is not as strong and more studies need to be done. But there are definite potential health benefits from the polyphenols in terms of reducing the risk of diseases such as heart disease and cancers.

"In terms of fluid intake, we recommend 1.5-2 litres per day and that can include tea. Tea is not dehydrating. It is a healthy drink."

The Tea Council provided funding for the work. Dr Ruxton stressed that the work was independent.

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Vitamin B6 Linked to Lower Lung Cancer Risk

June 15, 2010 -- Having higher blood levels of vitamin B6 and the amino acid methionine both appear to reduce lung cancer risk in smokers and nonsmokers alike, according to a new study.

"We found that vitamin B6 and methionine are strongly associated with reducing lung cancer risk in people who never smoked, those who quit, and current smokers," researcher Paul Brennan, PhD, of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, tells WebMD.

Whether the link is cause and effect, he says, is not known.

In the U.S. alone, more than 219,000 new cases of lung cancer were expected in 2009, according to the American Cancer Society, with about 160,000 deaths.

The study, funded by the World Cancer Research Fund and others, is published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Vitamin B6 and Lung Cancer Risk: Study Details
Brennan and colleagues evaluated levels of B6 and methionine in blood samples from participants in the large European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, which enrolled more than 519,000 participants from 10 European countries between 1992 and 2000.



His team zeroed in on 899 lung cancer cases and compared them to a group of 1,770 healthy comparison-group participants, matched to the lung cancer patients by country, sex, date of birth, and when the blood was collected.

They classified the participants into four groups, depending on blood levels of vitamin B6, which helps the body break down protein, maintain red blood cells, and perform other bodily functions, and methionine, which is involved in B vitamin metabolism.

After accounting for smoking, Brennan and colleagues found that the higher the vitamin B6 and methionine, the lower the lung cancer risk.

People in the highest group for vitamin B levels had a 56% reduced lung cancer risk, compared to those in the lowest group. Those with the highest methionine levels had a 48% reduced lung cancer risk, the researchers found.

''That's quite a strong effect," Brennan says, but emphasizes that more study is needed.

Some previous research, he says, looked only at smokers and linked vitamin B6 to a reduced lung cancer risk. His study, by including never smokers and past smokers, expands the information about the link.

Vitamin B6 is found in beans, grains, meat, poultry, fish, and some fruits and vegetables. Methionine is found in animal protein, some nuts, and vegetable seeds.

Vitamin B6, Methionine, and Lung Cancer: Behind the Results
How to explain the link is not known, the researchers say. But deficiencies in vitamin B6, for instance, may raise the risk of DNA damage and gene mutations, fostering cancer development.

Methionine is involved in a complex metabolism process with B vitamins.

June 15, 2010 -- Having higher blood levels of vitamin B6 and the amino acid methionine both appear to reduce lung cancer risk in smokers and nonsmokers alike, according to a new study.

"We found that vitamin B6 and methionine are strongly associated with reducing lung cancer risk in people who never smoked, those who quit, and current smokers," researcher Paul Brennan, PhD, of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, tells WebMD.

Whether the link is cause and effect, he says, is not known.

In the U.S. alone, more than 219,000 new cases of lung cancer were expected in 2009, according to the American Cancer Society, with about 160,000 deaths.

The study, funded by the World Cancer Research Fund and others, is published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Vitamin B6 and Lung Cancer Risk: Study Details
Brennan and colleagues evaluated levels of B6 and methionine in blood samples from participants in the large European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, which enrolled more than 519,000 participants from 10 European countries between 1992 and 2000.



His team zeroed in on 899 lung cancer cases and compared them to a group of 1,770 healthy comparison-group participants, matched to the lung cancer patients by country, sex, date of birth, and when the blood was collected.

They classified the participants into four groups, depending on blood levels of vitamin B6, which helps the body break down protein, maintain red blood cells, and perform other bodily functions, and methionine, which is involved in B vitamin metabolism.

After accounting for smoking, Brennan and colleagues found that the higher the vitamin B6 and methionine, the lower the lung cancer risk.

People in the highest group for vitamin B levels had a 56% reduced lung cancer risk, compared to those in the lowest group. Those with the highest methionine levels had a 48% reduced lung cancer risk, the researchers found.

''That's quite a strong effect," Brennan says, but emphasizes that more study is needed.

Some previous research, he says, looked only at smokers and linked vitamin B6 to a reduced lung cancer risk. His study, by including never smokers and past smokers, expands the information about the link.

Vitamin B6 is found in beans, grains, meat, poultry, fish, and some fruits and vegetables. Methionine is found in animal protein, some nuts, and vegetable seeds.

Vitamin B6, Methionine, and Lung Cancer: Behind the Results
How to explain the link is not known, the researchers say. But deficiencies in vitamin B6, for instance, may raise the risk of DNA damage and gene mutations, fostering cancer development.

Methionine is involved in a complex metabolism process with B vitamins.

Read More

Skip breakfast before exercise to burn more fat, studies say

LONDON — Running on empty may not be such a bad idea after all. Though many athletes eat before training, some scientists say that if you really want to get rid of more fat, you should skip the pre-workout snack.
Several studies suggest exercising while your body is low on food may be a good way to trim excess fat. In a recent paper, European researchers found that cyclists who trained without eating burned significantly more fat than their counterparts who ate.

Muscles usually get their energy from carbohydrates, which is why athletes like Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps scarf down enormous amounts of food before a race. But if you haven't eaten before exercising, your body doesn't have many carbohydrates in reserve. That forces it to burn fat instead, scientists say.

"When you exercise (after fasting), your adrenalin is high and your insulin is low," said Peter Hespel, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Leuven in Belgium. "That ratio is favorable for your muscles to oxidize (break down) more fatty acids." Hespel said that people who exercise without having eaten burn more fat than they would if they had grabbed a bite beforehand.

In a study published in April, researchers at the University of Birmingham and elsewhere assigned seven people to cycle three days a week, followed by an intense session an hour later without eating. Another seven people followed the same regime, without the instruction to fast.

Though members of the group that didn't eat performed worse on the intensive training, they burned a higher proportion of fat to carbohydrates than the group that ate. The results were published by Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.

In a 2008 study, Hespel and colleagues tested the effects on men who did endurance training without eating versus those who ate. In the athletes who hadn't eaten, the researchers found a spike in the amount of proteins needed to process fat, meaning their bodies had been primed through fasting to burn more fat.

Hespel recommends people do this kind of training before breakfast, since eating carbohydrates interrupts the process of metabolizing fat for about six hours afterward.

Though he and colleagues have primarily studied the effects of exercising without eating in young, healthy people, he thinks the method could also help people with problems like diabetes. Because exercising without eating produces muscles that are better at absorbing glucose — which is important for preventing diabetes — Hespel theorized the strategy would also help diabetics control their insulin levels.

Other experts said that even though people may burn more fat this way, it is mostly fat within the muscles that will be lost and won't make a big difference to people trying to lose weight.

"When you exercise (without eating), fat is broken down more quickly in the muscle," said Andrew Greenberg, director of the Obesity and Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University. "You may enhance how you burn the fat in the muscles, but it doesn't affect your overall body fat," Greenberg said. He said more intense exercise may prompt the body to burn more fatty acids in other regions of the body, but that a lot of training would be required to see a big difference.

For recreational athletes interested in maximizing their exercise regimen, some experts recommend a regular training session where you deliberately do not eat beforehand.

"Science is finally catching up with what smart runners have always known," said Ron Maughan, a professor of sport, exercise and health sciences at Loughborough University in Britain. "If you have a long, hard run without breakfast once a week, that hard run will train you to burn fat," he said. "And for the rest of the week, have plenty of carbohydrates so you can train hard."

Maughan cautioned against doing too much exercise on an empty stomach. "That might help you get very good at burning fat, but you won't be very good at whatever exercise it is you're doing," he said. "Without enough fuel, you won't get the intensity of training you need to get improvements."

Others were more skeptical and said people shouldn't exercise without having at least a small snack first.

"I think it's actually a pretty bad idea," said Dr. Alexis Chiang Colvin, a sports medicine expert at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York who has worked with professional football and hockey teams.

"If your blood sugar is low, you could wind up getting dizzy and you might not be able to exercise as well as if you were well-nourished," she said. Colvin recommended having something small like a banana before training. She also warned the strategy might make people more prone to injury and that eating was important so the body would have enough nutrients to recover from a bout of exercise.

Hespel acknowledged the method wasn't for everybody and that aside from the pain of struggling through an exercise session while hungry, there are other potential pitfalls.

"When you postpone breakfast to exercise, it is possible you might eat more afterwards," he said. "People exercising (without eating) need to respect all the normal strategies of weight control like not overeating."

Daniel Kobbina, a personal trainer who also runs a martial arts school in London, said the method requires discipline — but it works.

"If you train on an empty stomach, you'll see that six-pack a lot sooner," he said.

LONDON — Running on empty may not be such a bad idea after all. Though many athletes eat before training, some scientists say that if you really want to get rid of more fat, you should skip the pre-workout snack.
Several studies suggest exercising while your body is low on food may be a good way to trim excess fat. In a recent paper, European researchers found that cyclists who trained without eating burned significantly more fat than their counterparts who ate.

Muscles usually get their energy from carbohydrates, which is why athletes like Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps scarf down enormous amounts of food before a race. But if you haven't eaten before exercising, your body doesn't have many carbohydrates in reserve. That forces it to burn fat instead, scientists say.

"When you exercise (after fasting), your adrenalin is high and your insulin is low," said Peter Hespel, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Leuven in Belgium. "That ratio is favorable for your muscles to oxidize (break down) more fatty acids." Hespel said that people who exercise without having eaten burn more fat than they would if they had grabbed a bite beforehand.

In a study published in April, researchers at the University of Birmingham and elsewhere assigned seven people to cycle three days a week, followed by an intense session an hour later without eating. Another seven people followed the same regime, without the instruction to fast.

Though members of the group that didn't eat performed worse on the intensive training, they burned a higher proportion of fat to carbohydrates than the group that ate. The results were published by Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.

In a 2008 study, Hespel and colleagues tested the effects on men who did endurance training without eating versus those who ate. In the athletes who hadn't eaten, the researchers found a spike in the amount of proteins needed to process fat, meaning their bodies had been primed through fasting to burn more fat.

Hespel recommends people do this kind of training before breakfast, since eating carbohydrates interrupts the process of metabolizing fat for about six hours afterward.

Though he and colleagues have primarily studied the effects of exercising without eating in young, healthy people, he thinks the method could also help people with problems like diabetes. Because exercising without eating produces muscles that are better at absorbing glucose — which is important for preventing diabetes — Hespel theorized the strategy would also help diabetics control their insulin levels.

Other experts said that even though people may burn more fat this way, it is mostly fat within the muscles that will be lost and won't make a big difference to people trying to lose weight.

"When you exercise (without eating), fat is broken down more quickly in the muscle," said Andrew Greenberg, director of the Obesity and Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University. "You may enhance how you burn the fat in the muscles, but it doesn't affect your overall body fat," Greenberg said. He said more intense exercise may prompt the body to burn more fatty acids in other regions of the body, but that a lot of training would be required to see a big difference.

For recreational athletes interested in maximizing their exercise regimen, some experts recommend a regular training session where you deliberately do not eat beforehand.

"Science is finally catching up with what smart runners have always known," said Ron Maughan, a professor of sport, exercise and health sciences at Loughborough University in Britain. "If you have a long, hard run without breakfast once a week, that hard run will train you to burn fat," he said. "And for the rest of the week, have plenty of carbohydrates so you can train hard."

Maughan cautioned against doing too much exercise on an empty stomach. "That might help you get very good at burning fat, but you won't be very good at whatever exercise it is you're doing," he said. "Without enough fuel, you won't get the intensity of training you need to get improvements."

Others were more skeptical and said people shouldn't exercise without having at least a small snack first.

"I think it's actually a pretty bad idea," said Dr. Alexis Chiang Colvin, a sports medicine expert at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York who has worked with professional football and hockey teams.

"If your blood sugar is low, you could wind up getting dizzy and you might not be able to exercise as well as if you were well-nourished," she said. Colvin recommended having something small like a banana before training. She also warned the strategy might make people more prone to injury and that eating was important so the body would have enough nutrients to recover from a bout of exercise.

Hespel acknowledged the method wasn't for everybody and that aside from the pain of struggling through an exercise session while hungry, there are other potential pitfalls.

"When you postpone breakfast to exercise, it is possible you might eat more afterwards," he said. "People exercising (without eating) need to respect all the normal strategies of weight control like not overeating."

Daniel Kobbina, a personal trainer who also runs a martial arts school in London, said the method requires discipline — but it works.

"If you train on an empty stomach, you'll see that six-pack a lot sooner," he said.

Read More