HALF A TABLESPOON OF OLIVE OIL DAILY CUTS DEMENTIA RATES

A study has linked 7 gm of olive oil a day to a huge reduction in dementia-related death, highlighting its benefit to not only heart health, but also brain health. Researchers from Harvard University found that people who consumed just over half a tablespoon daily have a 28 per cent lower risk of dementia-related death than those who never or rarely consumed it.

The study found that some antioxidant compounds in olive oil can cross the blood-brain barrier, potentially having a direct effect on the brain. The study examined the self-reported results of 60,000 women and 32,000 men from 1990 to 2018. From 1990, participants of a decades-old health survey run by nurses measured their dietary intake every four years.

Olive oil has been extracted and used in many cultures, with the earliest known oils being created about 4000 BC. Extra virgin is generally considered the most healthy type of olive oil, above both refined or virgin. Its anti-inflammatory properties come from a high amount of antioxidants, and olive oils also contain healthy fats that help the heart.

Source: The  New Daily

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JUST HOW BENEFICIAL IS APPLE CIDER VINEGAR?

Apple cider vinegar is a natural product made of fermented apple juice that has gone sour. The best stuff is cloudy and has sediment, known as the “mother”, where the good bacteria lives. Without the mother, there’s unlikely to be much benefit to taking apple cider vinegar.

Vinegar has a long history as a surface decontaminant. So in salad dressings, as well as adding flavour, it may kill micro-organisms on raw vegetables. That decontaminant quality could also help in the human gut. Our stomachs produce acid, which acts as a natural barrier to infection. Research suggests that apple cider vinegar delays stomach emptying. Thus, increased time in contact with stomach acid might account for the claimed protective effect against enteric infections.

There are plenty of anecdotal claims that apple cider vinegar can aid weight loss, supported by limited evidence from several small studies. A randomized controlled trial published in early 2024 showed significant reductions in weight and waist size of 120 overweight and obese young people. There were also reductions in serum triglycerides – blood fats that can raise the risk of heart disease if levels are too high – and cholesterol over the three-month follow-up period.

Another systematic review from 2021 – looking at dietary supplementation with acetic acid from all vinegar types – found evidence of significant reductions in fasting blood glucose particularly in individuals with type 2 diabetes. The study also showed benefits in reducing serum triglycerides and cholesterol.

Apple cider vinegar is thought to cause weight loss through its effect on the delay of gastric emptying. This increases a sense of fullness and reduces appetite. Reduced calorific intake will lead to weight loss. 

Blood glucose levels are controlled by insulin. In type 2 diabetes there is a reduction in sensitivity to insulin which in turn leads to a reduced uptake of glucose by cells. There is some evidence that apple cider vinegar – and other sources of acetic acid – improves insulin sensitivity. 

Raised blood lipids are a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction and stroke. But there is no scientific evidence that vinegar consumption of any kind reduces cardiovascular morbidity. 

Finally, one of the more outrageous claims of benefits of daily apple cider vinegar consumption is that it may prevent or treat cancer. A frequently quoted case-control study from China found that an increased consumption of vinegar was associated with a reduced incidence of oesophageal cancer. Mind you, the same study found that eating beans and vegetables was also found to be protective.

Source: The Conversation 

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CLIMATE CHANGE IS CAUSING HAVOC TO THE WORLD’S FRUIT CROPS

Fruit trees have a complex relationship with the climate. In winter, trees need a period of cold weather (known as chill accumulation) to exit their dormant winter state and resume growth. This is followed by a period of warm weather (known as heat accumulation) which is necessary to produce blossoms in spring.

The amount of cold and warm weather required varies depending on the fruit and variety, but failure to fulfil either can damage fruit yield and quality. Currently, higher average temperatures and greater swings in temperature across both seasons have caused chaos for fruit trees, with increasingly frequent and severe heatwaves and cold snaps disrupting the once stable cycle of seasons.

Despite warming winters, many fruit trees are still comfortably meeting their requirement for chill accumulation in temperate realms like Europe and North America. But the same trees are fulfilling their heat accumulation requirement earlier because of warmer springs. As a result, apples, pears, cherries, plums and apricots are all flowering earlier – by as much as a fortnight in some cases.

Changes in blossom dates have major consequences when the time comes to harvest. In areas where blossom dates are advancing, experts are warning of an increased risk that delicate blossoms will be exposed to damaging frosts. Even relatively short cold snaps when trees are in blossom can devastate fruit production. A single frosty night in April 2017 caused a 24% drop in the European yield of apples and a 12% drop in pear production.

Many fruit trees are also self-incompatible. This means they need cross pollination from a different variety to set fruit. Much of this pollination is carried out by insects, particularly wild bees. Some species of bee are emerging at the wrong time to pollinate fruit blossoms, partly because bees and blossom respond differently to the climate. Not enough pollinating insects can be costly. Research from the University of Reading highlighted an estimated £5.7 million (US$7.3 million) a year in lost production of Gala apples due to too few insect pollinators. Lack of pollination can slash crop yield, change sugar content and eating quality and increase the chance of fruit developing diseases post-harvest. 

Faced with these problems, favourite varieties of many fruits will increase in price, or simply become unavailable, should climate change continue on its current trajectory.

Source: The Conversation 

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YOUR CUP OF TEA IS UNDER ATTACK

A staggering 50 billion cups of tea are consumed on average in the UK every year.

Most of this tea is made using black tea leaves imported primarily unprocessed from countries in south Asia and east Africa then packaged and blended within the UK for both domestic and export markets. 

The tea supply chain is a complex global network, involving producers, processors, auctions and wholesalers, packers, distributors and retailers and is vulnerable to supply chain upsets.  So, shipping disruption caused by attacks on merchant vessels in the Red Sea, through which an estimated 12% of global trade passes each year, has sparked fears of a national tea shortage.

Two of the UK’s biggest suppliers of tea, Tetley and Yorkshire Tea, have announced that they are monitoring their supply chains closely for any potential shortages. And customers have reported reduced stocks of tea in supermarkets across the UK.

Source: The Conversation

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WHY LITHIUM BATTERIES SOMETIMES CATCH ON FIRE

Lithium is the lightest metal, it has a high specific capacity meaning it can store a huge amount of charge per weight. This is why lithium-ion batteries are useful not just for portable electronics but for powering electric cars.

But lithium-ion batteries have risks that other types don’t. For one, they’re more likely to catch on fire. For example, the number of electric bike battery fires reported in New York City has increased from 30 to nearly 300 in the past five years.

Lots of different issues can cause a battery fire. Poorly manufactured cells could contain defects, such as trace impurities or particles left behind from the manufacturing process, that increase the risk of an internal failure.

Cold weather also affect battery operation. The molecules in fluids move slower at colder temperatures – the same thing happens inside batteries. This slowdown can prevent the lithium ions from being properly stored in the electrodes. Instead, they deposit on the electrode surface and form lithium metal. If too much lithium deposits on the electrode’s surface during charging, it can cause an internal short circuit. This process can start a battery fire.

Source: The Conversation 

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THE RACE TO KEEP OUR COFFEE CUPS FILLED

Worldwide consumption of coffee has doubled since 1990, with no sign of slowing. We currently drink 3 billion cups a day and if trends continue that figure is likely to double by 2050. But climate change is making coffee cultivation increasingly difficult. 

The four most important producers Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia and Indonesia will have to contend with a significant reduction in the areas suitable for productive cultivation in the medium or long term. Meanwhile, Argentina, Uruguay, China and the US are finding they can now grow coffee plants but not quickly enough to make up the shortfalls.

The Arabica plant accounts for 56% of global production. It is mainly grown in South America and provides the highest quality coffee.  Most of the remaining production (43%) is derived from the Robusta plant, which is grown in Asia. It is used to manufacture instant coffee, among other things. 

Rising temperatures, which affect the plants’ growth, will change these figures. Because of climate change, the most suitable cultivation areas will decrease by more than 50% by 2050. Although new growing areas will be theoretically possible, a coffee bush only bears its first fruit three to four years after planting. This makes rapid adaptation to climate change difficult. 

Also, 70% of coffee producers are small farmers who are often already living on the edge of poverty. It will be almost impossible for them to make the necessary investments to adapt, such as planting more resistant varieties or installing an irrigation system. 

In the medium term, the breeding of new, climate-resistant coffee plants could be the main way to counteract a decline in global production. Researchers are pinning their hopes on crossing Arabica and Robusta with other coffee plants. In Africa, experiments are being carried out with the coffee plant Excelsa, which had fallen out of fashion because it produces relatively small coffee beans. It was crossed with Robusta and has recently been cultivated directly again. There are also more than 120 wild coffee varieties that could be used for crossbreeding. World Coffee Research – the nonprofit research organization of the global coffee industry – has called for an additional annual investment of around $450 million in research to ensure a sufficient global supply of coffee in the future.

Source: National Geographic, NZZ.

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INSTANT COFFEE PRICES COULD BE HIGHER IN 2024

Only the cheapest coffee bean variety is used in making instant coffee and those beans are under threat as Brazil’s increasingly dry weather, caused by climate change, damages the crops. Instant Coffee, a staple for a large part of the world could be more expensive in 2024.

Source: Daily Maverick 

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OLIVE OIL PRICES WILL SOAR — HERE’S WHY

For the past decade, the oldest cultivated trees on Earth have been showing their vulnerability with many of the Mediterranean’s olive groves drying up due to increasingly difficult weather conditions such as droughts and severe hailstorms leading to floods. And in 2023, the region – as well as the whole planet – experienced the hottest summer on record.

Italy, Greece and Spain, the largest olive-oil producing nations, have felt the greatest impact. “I never saw in all my life a dryness like this one,” said Rossella Boeri, olive oil producer and fifth-generation owner of Olio Roi in Badalucco, Italy, referring to the drought of this past summer. “Luckily the olive trees are strong, but we are facing a really big lack of production which is reflected in our olive oil prices, which coincidentally has led to a lower consumption and demand for our olive oil.”

In Almeria, Spain, Rafael Alonso Barrau, seventh-generation farmer and owner of Oro Del Desierto confirms the declining numbers. “Last year we had 15% less than average compared to the last 20 years. We might consider this normal as olive trees produce not the same every year with alternate yearly yields the norm, but this year we had less than 45% yield and this matters a lot.”

Despite there being varying reasons for the low numbers, climate change remains the greatest villain causing the crisis, says Barrau. “The concern is that our summers are becoming longer and hotter and we believe this affects the viability of the production.”

According to Mintec, raw material market forecaster and data analysis firm, prices of Spanish olive oil rose by 115% between September 2022 and September 2023.

Source: The Guardian

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CHOCOLATE PRICES COULD SOAR IN 2024

The world’s biggest cocoa producers reported bad harvests this year due to ruinous rains and crop disease, and it’s sending chocolate prices upwards. Ivory Coast and Ghana, which together grow about 60% of the cocoa on Earth, are both expecting their lowest yields in years. With the current harvest failing to meet demand for the third year in a row—and future seasons looking equally grim—the coveted candy ingredient is trading at its steepest price since 1979. A simultaneous sugar shortage is making matters worse.

The rising cost of chocolate is outpacing food inflation and will continue to do so in 2024, according to the US Department of Agriculture. That’s on top of the 20% price hike companies already put on their chocolate goods over the past two years to combat general inflation, per Everstream Analytics.

Chocolate giants Barry Callebaut, Lindt & Sprungli, Hershey, and Mondelēz are all suffering from flat or falling sales as consumers in the US and Europe (even in Switzerland) ignore their sweet tooth to save their wallet.

Source: Morning Brew

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HOW BIG PHARMA DECIDES THE PRICE OF NEW CURES

Some of the cures for complex cancers or for gene therapy are horrendously expensive. Like most observers, I naively thought that the expense stemmed from extensive research or the scarcity of the components that made up the cure.

But I was wrong. Big Pharma has a complex series of questions that attempt to quantify a drug’s value to society: After treatment, how many hospital visits will the patient avoid? How many prescriptions will no longer need filling? How many quality years of life will they gain? Eventually, they land on a outlandish figure that has more hot air than zeroes.

Source: Bloomberg 

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