Pistachio Phenols 90% Bioavailable. Phe, Leu, Glu & Trp - Four Satiating Aminos. Artificial Sweeteners Act as Anti- Convulsants. Dendrobium for Glucose, Lipids & Kidneys

Since I am a little pressed in time, I won't beat around the bush, but rather get to the meat of the matter of this Nutrition Quickie, right away... well, actually today's nutrition quickie has no item on meats, but is has one Dendrobium, which is actually rather a supplement - be that as it may, here you go:

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  Since you (hopefully ;-) haven't swallowed a bomb colorimeter, it's actually no wonder that your body can only access 75% and 95% of the energy this little oven can squeeze out of almonds and pistachios. If you went with the Atwood factor (which says fat = 9kcal/g) and simply added fats, proteins and carbs the discrepancy for almonds would even increase to ~35% (Nowotny. 2012)

  Almonds deliver 25% less calories that the nutritional label will tell you (Gebauer. 2012) -- At the FASEB meeting in April 2012, already, scientists from nowhere else than the mighty USDA, respectively the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center of the USDA presented the results of a human study that clearly shows that our tummies cannot squeeze out more than 75% of the nutrients a bomb calorimeter does. Nutrition Quickie: 25% Less Kcal in Almonds Than Label Says.
  
  The caloric value on both food labels and respective nutrient tables is thus off 25% too high. And the corrected energy content per 100g of almonds is 456kcal/100g not 575kcal/100g (nutritiondata.com), or even higher values you will find when you google  "almonds kcal" - I am curious if at least the nutrition labes will ever be updated.
  
  A similar but less pronounced mismatch has been found for pistachios by the same researchers earlier this year, already. According to a paper published in the January edition of the British Journal of Nutrition (Bear. 2012), the actual energy content of these heart healthy nuts 565kcal/100g, which is ~5% less than the currently established value. 

• Bioavailability of pistachio polyphenols, xanthophylls, and tocopherols is very high - until you put them into a muffin (Mandalari. 2013) -- Bioavailability, i.e. the ratio of the total amount of a certain molecule that's in the food we eat in intact or at least active form in our bloodstream, can be a real issue for many of the good things the spectral analyzer of brainy scientists detects in our foodstuff.
  
  

  

  Table 1: Phenol, lutein and tocopherol content of the raw, roasted and salted pistacchios and regular and pistaccio (17g/100g) muffins (Madalari. 2012)

  In the upcoming January issue of Nutrition a group of researchers from the UK and Italy report the results of an investigation into the bioavailability of polyphenols, xanthophylls (lutein), and tocopherols (among them the rare gamma-variety) from raw pistachios, roasted salted pistachios, and muffins made with raw pistachios. You can see the original polyphenol, xanthophyll and tocopherol (mind the 90% gamma-tocopherol content, which has better chemoprotective effects than alpha-tocopherol; see "Vitamin(S!) E" post from 2011) content in table 1.
  
  Interestingly enough the availability of the tocopherols was almost identical for all three tested forms (raw, roasted, in muffins) and even the muffin reduced only the bioaccessability of protocatechuic acid (78%) and luteolin (36%), the rest of the phenols achieved the same ~90% Madalari et al. observed for the raw and roasted + salted pistachios in their million dollar model of the human digestive tract (click here for an article about this "artificial gut")

• When the gut "tastes" phenylalanine (PHE), leucine (LEU), glutamate (GLUT) and tryptophane (TRP), satiety ensues (Daly. 2012) -- In their most recent paper Christin Daly et al. report on the cholecystokinin (CCK) release in the gut. According to the scientists from the University of Liverpool (UK) and the Kyushu University (Japan), the effect is mediated by interactions with the gastrointestinal bitter taste receptors. Since CCK inhibits food intake and reduces appetite, this provides another mechanistic explanation for the satiety promoting effects of high protein intakes. The effects was observed only for the L- and not the D-amino acids.
  
  Interestingly, the beneficial effects of  PHE, LEU and GLUT on CCK (but not the TRP-stimulated CCK secretion) were blunted in the presence of gurmarin. "Gurmarin?" Yeah, that's the rodent specific  sweet taste inhibitor in Gymnema sylvestre (note gurmarin does not work in humans; cf. Sigoillot. 2012), which is sold as an anti-diabetes supplement. Inosine, on the other hand increased the CCK release n response to all of the amino acids.
  
  How significant that is specifically for those who have a problem keeping their ravenous appetite in check is however questionable. After all the satiety response to CCK has been shown to be disturbed (at least in rodents; cf. Balaskó. 2012)

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  Table 2: Number of mice protected by the administered drug in the MES test (Talevi. 2012)

  Acesulfame potassium, cyclamate and saccharin are potential anti-convulsants (Talevi. 2012) -- It may sound counter-intuitive in view of all the bad stuff you have probably heard about artificial sweeteners, but it is their particular molecular structure and similarities between the T1R3 sweet taste receptor they are supposed to bind to ant several metabotropic glutamate receptors from different species that is probably behind the anticonvulsant effects a group of researchers from the Department of Biological Sciences at the Faculty of Exact Sciences of the National University of La Plata (UNLP) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  
  The overall effect size the scientists observed in their rodent model (see table 2) is yet far from earth shattering and generally more pronounced if the sweeteners had been ingested 4h instead of just 20 min before a Maximal Electroshock Seizure (MES) test. Whether this makes them worth "supplementing" is however more than questionable.
  
  Suggested additional reads:
• Stevia - More Than Super Sweet: More Scientific Evidence, More Potential Implications for Weight Loss & -Maintenance, Anti-Diabetic & -Autoimmune and Even Pro-Anabolic Effects
• Fructose Epimer D-Psicose First Sweetener to Actively Promote Weight Loss? Reduced Weight Gain and Direct Inhibitory Effect on Adipocyte Maturation in Rodent + Reduced Postprandial Glucose & Insulin in Human Trial
• The Unsatiating Truth About Aspartame, Acesulfam K, Sucralose & Co: They Don't Induce Glucose or Insulin Spikes, But Do They Make You Hungry?
• other posts with the tag "artificial sweetener"

• Putting things into perspective: While the DPPH radical scavenging activity is not a really good measure of the in-vivo anti-oxidant potency of a given molecule it may yet still be worth mentioning that the one of Dendrobium (IC₅₀ = 29.6 μg/mL) is more than 80% lower than that Areca catechuvar. Cinnamon cassia, Paeonia suffruticosa and Alpinia officinarum extracts which share IC₅₀ values <6µg/mL (Lee. 2003). In other words, you need 80% more Dendrobium than cinnamon, for example, to neutralize the same amount H2O2 radicals.
  Dendrobium extract ameliorates renal fat accumulation, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in rodents on "high fat" diet (Lee. 20012) -- While I cannot say if this is the same Dendrobium extract that's used in a pre-workout supplement that's "all the craze", these days, I can tell you that a group of researchers just published a paper on the renoprotective, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of an extract from Dendrobium moniliforme (a cursory search revealed that even within this genus of orchids there are at least 90 sub-types ranging from Aochidori to Yuten).
  
  Lee et al. administered the methanolic extract at dosages of 200mg/kg (HED ~16mg/kg) for nine weeks and reduced the elevated serum glucose, total cholesterol concentration and renal lipid accumulation in the HFD-fed mice. It also ameliorated renal dysfunction biomarkers including serum creatinine and renal collagen IV deposition. So that the scientists conclude that methanolic extracts from Dendrobium moniliforme exhibit pleiotropic effects on obesity induced parameters and exert renoprotective effect in HFD-fed mice.

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That's it for today, unless you are are interested in one of the following facebook news:

• Crape ginger (Costus speciosus Koen) has significant anti-arthritic properties - at least in a rodent model (read more)
• Ayurvedic polyherbal Unani formulation shows promising results in Acne vulgaris patients - 45 days, 45 subjects, significant improvements on Cook's acne scale (read more)
• Endocannabinoids increase, leptin decreases a "sweet tooth" - And you can take this almost literally, since they do actually modulate sweet taste receptor sensitivity (read more)

There are actually a couple more and they will "proliferate" *rofl* even before the next official SuppVersity  post will be published. Reason enough to check by from time to time, or simply "like" the SuppVersity on Facebook in order to keep up with the news.


References:

• Baer DJ, Gebauer SK, Novotny JA. Measured energy value of pistachios in the human diet. Br J Nutr. 2012 Jan;107(1):120-5.
• Balaskó M, Soós S, Párniczky A, Koncsecskó-Gáspár M, Székely M, Pétervári E. Anorexic effect of peripheral cholecystokinin (CCK) varies with age and body composition (short communication). Acta Physiol Hung. 2012 Jun;99(2):166-72.
• Gebauer SK, Novotny JA, Baer DJ. Macronutrient absorption from almonds: the measured energy value of almonds in the human diet. FASEB Journal. 2012;26:820.25.
• Lee SE, Hwang HJ, Ha JS, Jeong HS, Kim JH. Screening of medicinal plant extracts for antioxidant activity. Life Sci. 2003 May 30;73(2):167-79.
• Lee W, Eom DW, Jung Y, Yamabe N, Lee S, Jeon Y, Hwang YR, Lee JH, Kim YK, Kang KS, Kim SN. Dendrobium moniliforme Attenuates High-Fat Diet-Induced Renal Damage in Mice through the Regulation of Lipid-Induced Oxidative Stress. Am J Chin Med. 2012;40(6):1217-28.
• Mandalari G, Bisignano C, Filocamo A, Chessa S, Sarò M, Torre G, Faulks RM, Dugo P. Bioaccessibility of pistachio polyphenols, xanthophylls, and tocopherols during simulated human digestion. Nutrition. 2013 Jan;29(1):338-44.
• Novotny JA, Gebauer SK, Baer DJ. Discrepancy between the Atwater factor predicted and empirically measured energy values of almonds in human diets. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Aug;96(2):296-301. 
• Sigoillot M, Brockhoff A, Meyerhof W, Briand L. Sweet-taste-suppressing compounds: current knowledge and perspectives of application. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2012 Nov;96(3):619-30.
• Talevi A, Enrique AV, Bruno-Blanch LE. Anticonvulsant activity of artificial sweeteners: a structural link between sweet-taste receptor T1R3 and brain glutamate receptors. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2012 Jun 15;22(12):4072-4.

Conjugated Linoleic Acids: What's the Difference Between cis-9,11 and trans-10,12 CLA and Should We Label Them as "Transfats"? Plus: What Makes CLA Potentially Harmful?

If Hayden Panettiere drinks it dairy can't be bad - despite (or because?) CLA, right? Well, what if I told you that Mrs. Panettiere was advertising milk in the "Got Milk" campaign despite being lactose intolerant?

As a SuppVersity veteran you will be familiar with the idea that trans-10, trans-12 conjugated linoleic acid is the "fat burning" CLA isomer, while 9 cis,11 trans linoleic acid appears to blunt some of the pro-inflammatory actions of its cousin and has been shown to have specific physiological effects on it's own (e.g. increased bone health, cf. Platt. 2009; anti-cancer, cf. Corl. 2003).

As I already mentioned, this is probably nothing new for you, if you make sure to get your daily dose of SuppVersity wisdom everyday. What you may however not be aware of is the fact that researchers like Ye Wang and Spencer D. Proctor are - despite the never-ending hoopla around potential weight loss effects of CLA - still contemplating, whether CLA could not pose a major health threat to all or at least certain subgroups of the population and whether this should or shouldn't be reason enough to change the current food labeling practices.

Do we have to label CLA as "transfat"?

From a technical perspective the above question is obsolete. CLAs are transfats and would thus (technically, again) have to be labeled as such on the product label. From a health perspective, however, things do in fact look different. Due to the fact that the aforementioned ruminant (=naturally produced in the stomach(s) of ruminents) trans-fats have been associated with health benefits (Gebauer. 2011), we could effectively risk to scare consumers away from healthy foods if they were listed as part of the "transfat" category on the product labels.

What's actually the reason that one the same CLA isomer that will have you lose body fat will also "inflame" you? Due to the fact that most of the research on "fat loss supplements" is conducted in sick, obese individuals, people tend to get the false impression that "fat burners" were anti-inflammatory and that anti-inflammatory agents would burn fat.

Effects of 10-trans,12 CLA on fatty acids & glucose metabolism and IL-6 gene expression in isolated fat cells in the petri dish (Hartwig. 2013)

Now, while it is correct that soothing inflammation will help the future Mr. Average Joe, who is going to be an obese (pre-)diabetic, lose weight, this has little to do with any active contribution to the oxidation of body fat. 10-trans,12 CLA, on the other hand, has been shown to block lipid storage, increase mitochondrial uncoupling (UCP-2), lower PPAR-alpha and ramp up the oxidation and release of fatty acids from the fat stores (Hartig. 2013). Unfortunately it will also block the uptake of glucose and increase the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 in fat cells. So, if you took 10-trans,12 CLA at very high doses it will probably in fact keep you lean.

If you cannot handle the sudden increase in free fatty acids, pack the glucose into your liver and muscle glycogen stores and deal with the exuberant amount of inflammatory cytokines, however, it will only make you sick.

Currently, the trans-fat content on many food labels (and in legislative documents) does not include ruminant CLA isomers and Wang and Procter acknowledge that:

"As highlighted in a recent quantitative review of prospective cohort studies by Bendsen et al. dietary consumption of ruminanttrans-fat may be protective against total as well as fatal CHD events." (Wang. 2013)

The researchers do however point out that concerns about potential adverse effect on atherogenic cholesterol profiles from supplemental CLA are not unwarranted - at least if they are used by a group of persons - abdominally obese and/or insulin resistant men, for example (Riserus. 2002 a,b).

Australia and New Zealand suggest a re-evaluation

Accordingly, Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) proposed to re-evaluate their perception regarding the exclusion of CLA from the TFA definition on nutrition labels.

If you re-evaluate something, you do not necessarily have to change them and if you go through the concise summary of results Wang and Procter present in their paper (see table 1 for an overview of the currently published meta-analyses, it does not appear necessary to question the current practice to label only industrually produced trans fats.

Table 1: Meta analysis with beneficial (green), neutral (grey) and potentially negative outcome (red); based on Wang & Proctor (2013)

As the authors point out, the inclusion of CLA in the total amount of transfats on the label would only drive people away from the consumption of whole food products. This is particularly true in view of the fact that the ill-health effects of "trans-fats" are something everyone will have heard about. The fact that these ill health effects are not to be expected from trans fats in dairy and other CLA containing whole foods, on the other hand, is still news to many costumers.

Moreover, how would you, me and everyone else who may well be aware that CLAs are not the bad guys and the "trans-fat" in grass fat butter is not going to hurt us know if the 3g of transfats in another product we buy are actually from the undisclosed amount of butter (and thus CLA) in it? It could likewise be that the producer added a little extra partially hydrogenated vegetable oil to cut the product costs and neither you nor me would know that.

Suggested read: "A Higher Intake of CLA and Vaccenic Acid from Dairy, Beef, Veal and Lamp Could Prevent Subtle Weight Gain" | read more

Only the obese have to be worried: Based on the currently available evidence the healthy and lean person (hopefully you) has absolutely no reason to avoid products with a "high" natural CLA content and thus both the pro- (trans-10,12) and (partly) anti-inflammatory (cis-9,11) form of CLA in them.

For obese and insulin resistant individuals things do however look somewhat different. A 2004 study by Risérus et al., for example, has been able to show that even the allegedly "harmless", 9 cis,11 trans linoleic acid can worsen both lipid peroxidation and insulin resistance in 25 abdominally obese men. (Risérus. 2004).

With 3g/day the dosage that was used in the Risérus study, the amount of CLA was yet much hither than the amount of CLA you can possibly ingest with nourishing foods such as butter, full-fat dairy, grass-fed beef (and beef in general, by the way). Instead of these you are thus better advised to avoid CLA supplements... but don't worry if you take another look at the data in table 1 you will have to concede that they are pretty much useless, anyway.

Reference:

• Corl BA, Barbano DM, Bauman DE, Ip C. cis-9, trans-11 CLA derived endogenously from trans-11 18:1 reduces cancer risk in rats. J Nutr. 2003 Sep;133(9):2893-900.
• Gebauer SK, Chardigny JM, Jakobsen MU, et al. Effects of ruminanttrans fatty acids on cardiovascular disease and cancer: a comprehensive review of epidemiological, clinical, and mechanistic studies.Adv Nutr. 2011; 2, 332 – 354.
• den Hartigh LJ, Han CY, Wang S, Omer M, Chait A. 10E,12Z-conjugated linoleic acid impairs adipocyte triglyceride storage by enhancing fatty acid oxidation, lipolysis, and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species. J Lipid Res. 2013 Nov;54(11):2964-2978. 
• Lenz TL & Hamilton WR. Supplemental products used for weight loss. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2004; 44,  59– 67, quiz 67– 58.
• Onakpoya IJ, Posadzki PP, Watson LK, Davies LA, Ernst E. The efficacy of long-term conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) supplementation on body composition in overweight and obese individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Eur J Nutr. 2012 Mar;51(2):127-34.
• Platt I, El-Sohemy A. Effects of 9cis,11trans and 10trans,12cis CLA on osteoclast formation and activity from human CD14+ monocytes. Lipids Health Dis. 2009 Apr 29;8:15.
• Risérus U, Arner P, Brismar K, Vessby B. Treatment with dietary trans10cis12 conjugated linoleic acid causes isomer-specific insulin resistance in obese men with the metabolic syndrome. Diabetes Care. 2002 Sep;25(9):1516-21.
• Risérus U, Basu S, Jovinge S, Fredrikson GN, Arnlöv J, Vessby B. Supplementation with conjugated linoleic acid causes isomer-dependent oxidative stress and elevated C-reactive protein: a potential link to fatty acid-induced insulin resistance. Circulation. 2002 Oct 8;106(15):1925-9
• Salas-Salvadó J, Márquez-Sandoval F, Bulló M. Conjugated linoleic acid intake in humans: a systematic review focusing on its effect on body composition, glucose, and lipid metabolism. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2006;46(6):479-88. Review.
• Schoeller DA, Watras AC, Whigham LD. A meta-analysis of the effects of conjugated linoleic acid on fat-free mass in humans. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2009 Oct;34(5):975-8.
• Tricon S, Yaqoob P. Conjugated linoleic acid and human health: a critical evaluation of the evidence. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2006 Mar;9(2):105-10. Review.
• Whigham LD, Watras AC, Schoeller DA. Efficacy of conjugated linoleic acid for reducing fat mass: a meta-analysis in humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 May;85(5):1203-11.