Silk Coating Can Keep Fruit Fresh Without Refrigeration

Your favourite strawberries and bananas can stay fresh for more than a week without refrigeration if they are coated in a thin, odourless, biocompatible silk solution, says a study.Silk's unique crystalline structure makes it one of nature's toughest materials. Fibroin, an insoluble protein found in silk, has a remarkable ability to stabilise and protect other materials while being fully biocompatible and biodegradable.For the study, the researchers dipped freshly picked strawberries in a solution of one percent silk fibroin protein.

The coating process was repeated up to four times.The silk fibroin-coated fruits were then treated for varying amounts of time with water vapour under vacuum (water annealed) to create varying percentages of crystalline beta-sheets in the coating.The strawberries were then stored at room temperature. Uncoated berries were compared over time with berries dipped in varying numbers of coats of silk that had been annealed for different periods of time.At seven days, the berries coated with the higher beta-sheet silk were still juicy and firm while the uncoated berries were dehydrated and discoloured. Tests showed that the silk coating prolonged the freshness of the fruits by slowing fruit respiration, extending fruit firmness and preventing decay."The beta-sheet content of the edible silk fibroin coatings made the strawberries less permeable to carbon dioxide and oxygen. We saw a statistically significant delay in the decay of the fruit," said senior study author Fiorenzo Omenetto, professor at Tufts University in Massachusetts, US.Similar experiments were performed on bananas, which, unlike strawberries, are able to ripen after they are harvested.The silk coating decreased the bananas' ripening rate compared with uncoated controls and added firmness to the fruit by preventing softening of the peel.The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.Half of the world's fruit and vegetable crops are lost during the food supply chain, due mostly to premature deterioration of these perishable foods, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

Stop Eating Red Meat Daily to Add Years to Your Life

Beware! Gorging on red meat such as bacon, sausage, unsalted beef or pork on a daily basis can decrease your life, new research warns. The findings showed the steepest rise in mortality rate at the smallest increase in intake of meat, particularly red or processed meat.A decreased risk of 25 percent to nearly 50 percent of all-cause mortality for very low meat intake compared with higher meat intake was found. In addition, the researchers also found a 3.6-year increase in life expectancy for those on a vegetarian diet for more than 17 years, compared to short-term vegetarians.

"This clinical-based evidence can assist physicians in counselling patients about the important role diet plays, leading to improved preventive care, a key consideration in the osteopathic philosophy of medicine," said Brookshield Laurent, assistant professor at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine in the US."This data reinforces what we have known for so long -- your diet has great potential to harm or heal," Laurent added.For the study, published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, the researchers conducted a review of six large-scale studies involving more than 1.5 million with a goal of giving primary care physicians evidence-based guidance about whether they should discourage patients from eating meat.They followed people over 5.5 to 28 years and considered the association of processed meat (such as bacon, sausage, salami, hot dogs and ham) and unprocessed red meat (including uncured, unsalted beef, pork, lamb or game).Physicians should advise patients to limit animal products when possible and consume more plants than meat, they suggested.

Drinking Cherry Juice May Help Reduce High Blood Pressure

Drinking cherry juice can significantly reduce high blood pressure, particularly in males with early hypertension, to a level comparable to that achieved by medication, new research has found. High blood pressure if left untreated, increases risk of heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease, stroke or dementia.

The findings showed that men who drank tart Montmorency cherry juice -- a variety of sour cherry -- saw a peak reduction in their blood pressure of seven millimetre of mercury (mmHg) in the three hours after consuming the drink.This reduction is comparable to the level achieved by anti-hypertensive drugs, the researchers said.When phenolic acids, protocatechuic and vanillic -- compounds present within the cherry concentrate -- reached their peak levels in the plasma, systolic blood pressure showed greatest improvement."The magnitude of the blood pressure lowering effects we observed was comparable to those achieved by a single anti-hypertensive drug and highlights the potential importance that Montmorency cherries could have in the effective management of high blood pressure," said lead author Karen Keane, lecturer at Northumbria University in Britain.Raised blood pressure is the leading cause of deaths from heart diseases, yet relatively small reductions in blood pressure can have a large impact on mortality rates, Keane added in the paper published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.The team worked with fifteen participants who were displaying early hypertension with blood pressure readings of at least 130/90 mmHg, meaning they were at higher risk of experiencing heart related problems.They were given either 60ml of a Montmorency cherry concentrate or the same amount of a commercially available fruit-flavoured cordial.Blood pressure and blood samples were taken before the cherry concentrate was consumed and blood pressure was measured on an hourly basis thereafter.