News by Subject Medicine & Health

Cold brew may be the hottest trend in coffee-making, but not much is known about how this process alters the chemical characteristics of the beverage. Now, scientists report that the content of potentially health-promoting antioxidants in coffee brewed without heat can differ significantly from a cup of joe prepared the traditional way, particularly for dark roasts.

University of Massachusetts Amherst food scientists produced a lower-salt processed turkey that consumers in a blind sensory test preferred to a full-salt version, according to a study published in the international journal LWT-Food Science and Technology.

For connoisseurs of wines and spirits, part of the enjoyment is noting the various flavors and scents that are revealed with each sip. Aging transforms alcohol's aroma further, especially in cognac, a type of twice-distilled fortified wine. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have identified a few compounds not previously known to contribute to an aged cognac's complex aroma.

A new Yale study showed that people who periodically drank beverages with the low-calorie sweetener sucralose, which is found in low-cal soft drinks, candy, breakfast bars, and other products, did experience problematic metabolic and neural responses -- but only when a carbohydrate in the form of a tasteless sugar was added to the drink. In contrast, people drinking beverages with low-calorie sweeteners alone, or beverages with real sugar, showed no changes in brain or metabolic response to sugars.

The influence of artificial sweeteners on the brain and ultimately metabolism has been hotly debated in recent years. Some studies have found adverse effects on blood sugar and insulin levels, while others have not. In a study publishing March 3 in the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers say the discrepancies in these studies may be due to how the sweeteners are consumed -- or, more specifically, what they are consumed with.

New research from the University of East Anglia (UK) reveals the impact of smell loss. As many as one in 20 people live without smell. But until now there has been little research into the range of emotional and practical impacts it causes. The new study finds that almost every aspect of life is disrupted - from everyday concerns about personal hygiene to a loss of sexual intimacy and the break-down of personal relationships.