View the new issue of the Food and Nutrition Research Briefs.

New Issue of ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs

By Kim Kaplan
December 31, 2007

Evidence that so-called "fast carbs"—those that cause rapid spikes and plunges in blood sugar levels—could be a risk factor for age-related vision loss is among the recent nutrition and health findings noted in the newest issue of the Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) Food and Nutrition Research Briefs and its Spanish-language version, Informe de investigaciones de alimentos y nutrición.

View the English version at:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/fnrb/fnrb0108.htm

The Spanish version is at:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/espanol/np/fnrb/fnrb0108.es.htm

The popular online newsletter reports discoveries from researchers at ARS laboratories nationwide. Among other findings, the current issue reports that:

• An association has been found, in seniors aged 60 and older, between low vitamin B12 blood levels and diminishing mental agility.
   
• A new medium developed by ARS that provides a quicker, simpler way to distinguish between Campylobacter species has been licensed for manufacture by two U.S. companies.
   
• ARS's database of foods rich in antioxidants has been expanded by more than 100 entries.
   
• Adequate amounts of dietary copper have been shown to have major importance in neonatal brain function development.

The ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs is offered with color photos and illustrations on the Web. By clicking the "subscribe" link on the newsletter's home page, readers can sign up for two e-mail options: the full text of the newsletter by e-mail, or simply an advisory that a new issue has been posted to the Web.

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