Cherries support muscle recovery

The latest in a long line of reports on fruits and vegetables and their nutrition profiles from Healthline is a report on cherries. This article, “7 Impressive Health Benefits of Cherries” suggests there is a whole wealth of health benefits to consuming cherries regularly, including the support of muscle recovery.

As well as being a good source of fibre, vitamin C and potassium, the article also highlights the fruit’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that people find can help their muscles recover quicker following exercise.

As the fruit is so easy to add to your diet, the vitamin and mineral content alone of the fruit is enough of reason to start eating more of them.

Twin study influences view on personalised nutrition advice

Research from a study as reported in the article “Nutrition: Even identical twins respond differently to food” suggests that at least part of the reason for increasing obesity rates is a lack of tailored and personalised nutrition advice. In studying sets of identical and non-identical twins, researchers found that the twins responded differently to foods, including different reactions in spikes of blood sugar and insulin levels, which are implicated in weight gain and diabetes.

The study suggests that biological responses to food are influenced by numerous factors including metabolism, gut microbiome, schedules, meal timings and physical activity in addition to the nutritional content of the food in question. Therefore, by monitoring peoples’ responses to food, a better assessment can be made in offering nutrition advice to help them maintain a healthy weight.

vitamin d for over 50s

More than a quarter of over 50s are vitamin D deficient

A recent study has found that as many as a quarter of people in the UK aged 50 and over are vitamin D deficient. The study found that participants based in the south of England were less likely to be deficient than participants in the north where, despite the short ranging latitude, each 1° northerly increase was associated with an 11% increase in risk of being vitamin D deficient.

The study was reported on in this article from NutraIngredients and puts forward the idea of fortifying food with vitamin D as, currently, the UK does not have such a policy. The commentary comes after last week’s Nutrition News, which reported on the public consultation being held over fortifying flour with folic acid in the UK.

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Alison Astill-Smith author Alison is Director and Founder of Metabolics who writes about Metabolics updates, events and natural healthcare. Her experience and passion for natural supplements and healthcare comes from her years of experience as a practising osteopath, having founded Metabolics in her search for high quality, natural products in her own work. Alison has been a qualified and practising Osteopath since 1981 and regularly gives seminars on a range of healthcare subjects to the wider practitioner community helping share her knowledge and experience.