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Like eating Carrot? Get serving size guidelines, negative effects, and more

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Like eating Carrot? Get serving size guidelines, negative effects, and more

Carrot image

Carrot image© Provided by Getty Images

Perspective from Felicitas Bouche Ocampo

Possible Side Effects

  • Carrot is usually safe to eat, but when consumed in large amounts it can lead to some side effect such as the change of the natural color of your skin, which can become slightly yellow or orange.
Quantity Recommendation
  • The daily intake recommended for fresh vegetable such as carrot is five servings. A serving of carrots is approximately half cup of the vegetable. It can be eaten every day and it is healthy when eaten raw, cooked or baked. Carrots are an excellent snack choice. 
  • An excessive amount of Carrot may provoke yellowish and/or orange skin coloration due to pigmentation caused by high amounts of beta-carotene contained in this vegetable, which may generate vitamin A accumulation and this may result in toxicity.

Quantity Recommendation

  • Carrot can be included as part of daily vegetable intake of a balanced diet as part of salads, stews, snacks and more. An average healthy individual may eat 5 portions of vegetables plus fruits a day, in order to obtain multiple benefits from different kind of fruits and vegetables. For example, 1 medium Carrot a day, combined with other type of fruits and vegetables could be a standard recommendation. Anyway this may vary according to personal nutritional needs and should be consulted with a health practitioner for specific indications. 
Reference: Story by Leticia Soares, Postgraduate Degree

Alzheimer's breakthrough as blood test could reveal dementia decade before symptoms strike

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Alzheimer's breakthrough as blood test could reveal dementia decade before symptoms strike

Time is of the essence when it comes to dementia diagnosis. Picking up the condition early opens the door to future care and treatment. With this in mind, researchers continue to investigate how to identify the brain condition as soon as possible. A new study adds to these efforts by finding a protein that could alert of Alzheimer's disease as early as 10 years before first symptoms appear.

While symptom onset is usually the first warning sign of Alzheimer's disease, a blood test could pick up the condition earlier.

In fact, looking at your blood could reveal Alzheimer's disease a decade before symptoms strike, according to scientists.

Researchers from Karolinska Institute, Sweden, identified a protein - glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) - as a possible blood-marker for the very early stages of the mind-robbing disease.

This means Alzheimer's disease could be detected in a quick blood test one day.

Alzheimer's breakthrough: Blood test could detect dementia decade before symptoms.

Alzheimer's breakthrough: Blood test could detect dementia decade before symptoms.© GETTY

This dementia type actually begins decades before symptoms, such as memory loss, appear.

It's no secret that early diagnosis boosts the chance of slowing the disease with drugs.

The discovery of GFAP as a potential blood-marker could now allow scientists to prompt an early immune response.

Currently, Alzheimer's disease causes 60 to 70 percent of all dementia cases, according to the Swedish Brain Foundation.

The brain starts to change 20 to 25 years before patients start to notice memory loss and other cognitive symptoms.

Proteins beta-amyloid and tau begin to accumulate abnormally, causing the nerves in the brain to degenerate.

Patients then begin to lose cognitive functions such as memory and speech, as more brain neurons get damaged.

The study's first author, Charlotte Johansson, said: "Our results suggest that GFAP, a presumed biomarker for activated immune cells in the brain, reflects changes in the brain due to Alzheimer's disease that occur before the accumulation of tau protein and measurable neuronal damage.

This means Alzheimer's disease could be detected in a quick blood test one day.

This means Alzheimer's disease could be detected in a quick blood test one day.© GETTY

"In the future it could be used as a non-invasive biomarker for the early activation of immune cells such as astrocytes in the central nervous system, which can be valuable to the development of new drugs and to the diagnostics of cognitive diseases."

The research team searched for biomarkers in the blood of patients with a rare and inherited form of Alzheimer's, where those who have a parent with the disease have a 50 percent chance of developing it.

They analysed 164 blood plasma samples from 33 mutation carriers, and 42 relatives without the inherited chance of getting Alzheimer's taken between 1994 and 2018.

The findings revealed distinct changes of several blood protein concentrations in the mutation carriers. 

 From a healthy diet to exercise, there are many ways to cut dementia risk.
From a healthy diet to exercise, there are many ways to cut dementia risk.© Express.co.uk

Study author, Caroline Graff, said: "The first change we observed was an increase in GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein) approximately ten years before the first disease symptoms.

"This was followed by increased concentrations of P-tau181 and, later, NfL (neurofilament light protein), which we already know is directly associated with the extent of neuronal damage in the Alzheimer brain.

"This finding about GFAP improves the chances of early diagnosis." 

Reference: Daily Express: Story by Diana Buntajova •

Is it good to drink lemon water? Find out what the experts say

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Is it good to drink lemon water? Find out what the experts say

Lemon image

Lemon image© Provided by Getty Images

Expert opinion from Deeksha Tiwari

M.Sc in Nutrition and PG Diploma in Nutrition & Spcl Dietitian · 1 years of experience · India

Yes, but the lemon contain citric acid which damages the tooth enamel. Lemon are good source of vitamin c. They are several benefits of drinking lemon water it helps in giving immune system a boost, it is excellent source of potassium, aids in digestion, it helps in losing weight and helps in reducing inflammation.

Expert opinion from Aparna Nemalikanti

M.Sc. Clinical Nutrition & Dietetics · 10 years of experience · India

Lemon water is a refreshing drink especially in hot summers. It is rich in vitamin C a potential antioxidant. Early morning lemon water with honey and cinnamon will boost your metabolism. Lemon is a natural cleanser. People who suffer from acidity should avoid eating fresh lemons.

Expert opinion from Lavanya L{youtube}

MSC Food & Nutrition, Dietitian Bsc, Applied Nutrition & Public Health · 5 years of experience · India

Lemon is rich source of Vitamin-C. It contains anti-oxidants will helps to de-toxify the body. It helps to remove the free radicals from the blood stream. Warm water with addition of lemon will help you to loose weight. Lemon water is helpful to maintain the cholesterol levels. 

Reference: Story by Deeksha Tiwari, Aparna Nemalikanti,

Drug-resistant ‘super fungus’ found in US state for the first time

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Drug-resistant ‘super fungus’ found in US state for the first time

drug-resistant “super” fungus has been discovered in the US state of Mississippi for the first time, health officials have said.

 Computer illustration of the unicellular fungus Candida auris - KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRA
Computer illustration of the unicellular fungus Candida auris - KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRA© KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRA

Seven patients were being treated for Candida auris (C. auris) as of Monday, according to officials from the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC).

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warns that C. auris is “an emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat”.

The infection, which is highly contagious and resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, can cause severe illness in people already being treated for multiple serious or chronic health conditions.

“This is the first time we’ve had a locally acquired case in Mississippi,” said Dr Bhagyashri Navalkele, an associate professor in the UMMC Division of Infectious Diseases. “The public needs to be aware that we are seeing this fungus.”

In the US, most cases of C. auris result from local spread within and among healthcare facilities in the same city or state.

The fungus in Mississippi is reported to have been acquired at a long-term, acute care facility. 

Silent carriers

When classifying cases, health officials have to distinguish between infections and “colonisations,” which refers to the presence of microorganisms that have not yet caused infection.

“Colonisation means you could be a silent carrier of the fungus, and it can be an active infection later on,” Dr Navalkele said. 

“If you are identified as colonised, you need to make sure that your health care team knows about this so that they can immediately start isolation precautions and initiate appropriate treatment when infection is suspected.”

Out of Mississippi's seven patients, two had been confirmed as infected, two were colonised, and three had been exposed to C. auris.

C. auris is often multidrug-resistant, meaning that it is resistant to numerous antifungal drugs commonly used to treat Candida infections. Some strains are resistant to all three available classes of antifungals.

The fungus is difficult to identify with standard laboratory methods, and it can be misidentified in labs without specific technology.

Across the US, cases of C. auris appear to have risen over the past decade. Between 2013 and 2016, just 63 cases were reported in four states, according to data from the CDC. In 2022, 1,440 cases had been identified in 22 states by September 30, the figures showed. 

Reference: Story by Samuel Lovett •

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