October 2005 issue

New Issue of ARS Food & Nutrition Research Briefs Posted

By Marcia Wood
November 8, 2005

Discoveries about whole grains and your heart's health, and about new ways to keep freshly cut, ready-to-eat cantaloupe slices crisp and flavorful, are highlighted in the new issue of the Agricultural Research Service's ARS Food & Nutrition Research Briefs. You can view it on the World Wide Web at:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/fnrb/fnrb1005.htm

The e-newsletter, illustrated with color photography, also reports that:

• Zinc in our bodies might best be measured with a test based on the activity of a gene called ZIP1.

• Oil from orange peels contains compounds that lowered blood levels of the "bad" LDL and VLDL cholesterols in laboratory hamsters.

• Nutrients in caribou, seal, brined salmon, mutton stew and other traditional foods of American Indian and Alaska Native communities will be documented next year in the USDA American Indian and Alaska Native Foods Database, a unique compendium for dietitians, physicians and others.

• Adding a new, ARS-developed product called "Calorie-Trim" to cookies, peanut butter or other foods cuts calories and boosts fiber; and

• Delectable "Kettleman" apricots, new from ARS treefruit breeders in California, will delight apricot aficionados.

Readers can choose to receive the full issue as an e-mail, or to receive an e-mail alerting them that a new issue has been posted to the web. Details on how to subscribe to either free service are at:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/fnrb/subscribe.htm

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.