Nutrition Corner
Ice-cold watermelon is less nutritious
That ice-cold watermelon may be refreshing, but it can be less nutritious than watermelon served at room temperature, US Department of Agriculture scientists reported.Watermelons stored at room temperature deliver more nutrients than refrigerated or freshly picked melons. Penelope Perkins-Veazie and Julie Collins of the USDA's South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Lane, Oklahoma looked specifically at carotenoids -- antioxidants that can counter the damage caused by sun, chemicals and day-to-day living. Watermelon is rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that makes watermelons and tomatoes red and may help prevent heart disease and some cancers. Perkins-Veazie and Collins tested several popular varieties of watermelon stored for 14 days at 70 F (21 C), 55 F (13 C) and 41 F (5 C). Whole watermelons stored at 70 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about room temperature in air-conditioned buildings, had substantially more nutrients, they reported. Compared to freshly picked fruit, watermelon stored at 70 F gained up to 40 percent more lycopene and 50 percent to 139 percent extra beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. They described their findings showed watermelons continue to produce these nutrients after they are picked and that chilling slows this process. "The usual shelf life for watermelons is 14 to 21 days at 13 degrees Celsius (55 F) after harvest," the researchers noted. At refrigerated temperatures, like 41 F (5 C), watermelon starts to decay and develop lesions after a week, they noted. Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food ChemistryFish in diet may help maintain heart rhythm
Eating broiled or baked fish appears to have a beneficial effect on the electrical system of the heart, which may help prevent life-threatening heart rhythm disorders, according to a new report.Dr Dariush Mozaffarian, of Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues analysed data from 5096 adults enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health Study to investigate the link between dietary intake of fish n-3 fatty acid and features seen on electrocardiograms. The population-based study, which focused on cardiovascular disease risk factors, ran from 1989 to 1990 and involved subjects who were at least 65 years of age. Intake of tuna or other broiled or baked fish at least once a week was associated with a slower heart rate than was eating these fish less than once a month. Moreover, fish intake at least five times per week was associated with an even healthier heart rhythm. Consumption of marine n-3 fatty acids appeared to have similar effects. Source: Journal of the American College of Cardiology
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