food Research;Plant compound found in spices, herbs increases brain connections ♦ New insights into link between taste and behavior ♦ Looking for the best antioxidant fruit?

Looking for the best antioxidant fruit? Search no further than black raspberries The science behind superfood stories: Antioxidant properties of raspberry and blackberry fruits grown in Central Europe.

New insights into link between taste and behavior Evolutionary conserved brainstem circuits are the first relay for gustatory information in the vertebrate brain. While the brainstem circuits act as our life support system and they mediate vital taste related behaviors, the principles of gustatory computations in these circuits are poorly understood. Researchers have studied how the evolutionary conserved brainstem circuits of zebrafish encode gustatory information

Eating disorder prevention program reduces brain reward region response to supermodels At baseline, when young women at risk for eating disorders viewed images of supermodels while undergoing fMRI, a reward valuation region of their brains was activated. After the intervention, this reward valuation was more activated by exposure to images of healthy, normal weight women than by exposure to thin models. Participants in the control condition did not show this change.

Plant compound found in spices, herbs increases brain connections Apigenin, a substance found in parsley, thyme, chamomile and red pepper, improves neuron formation and strengthens the connections between brain cells, new lab research demonstrates

Weight Loss Research: Ease of weight loss influenced by individual biology ♦ Dine with a light eater if you want to eat less ♦ Sexual orientation, linked to eating disorders

Ease of weight loss influenced by individual biology Researchers have found evidence supporting the commonly held belief that people with certain physiologies lose less weight than others when limiting calories. At this time, researchers do not know whether the biological differences are innate or develop over time.

Dine with a light eater if you want to consume less How much food your dining companion eats can have a big influence on how much you consume. This psychological effect, known as social modeling, leads people to eat less than they normally would if alone when their companion consumes a small amount of food.

Sweet fat acceptance? Online fat acceptance and the body beautiful If you are fat are you irresponsibly risking your health? Will you ever be able to look or feel beautiful? New research explores the cultural and political marginalization of fat women and their perceived moral failure to be healthy. It follows the rising tide of the online fat acceptance movement and their strategies for challenging societal conventions of body image and beauty

Sexual orientation, gender identity linked to eating disorders Transgender and non-transgender lesbian, gay and bisexual students are at greater risk for eating disorders. Researchers found that the rates of self-reported eating disorders were highest in transgender people. Heterosexual men had the lowest rates.

Six times more expensive to travel by car than by bicycle It is six times more expensive for society -- and for you individually -- if you travel by car instead of cycling. This has been shown in a study from Copenhagen, a city of cyclists. It is the first time a price has been put on car use as compared to cycling.