05.11.12
Led by National Medal of Science winner Bruce N. Ames, Ph.D., scientists at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute’s (CHORI)Nutrition & Metabolism Center, have developed a low-calorie, fruit-based high fiber vitamin and mineral nutrition bar called the “CHORI-bar” that improves biological indicators (increased HDL-c and glutathione, lowered homocysteine) linked to risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, and associated decline in anti-oxidant defenses.
The CHORI-bar is intended to help restore optimal nutritional balance in people eating poor diets, and to help transition them to healthier eating habits. The bar was formulated to be satiating and because it contains approximately 110 calories per bar, it is thought to be helpful in weight reduction programs.
A formal research report on the CHORI-bar will appear in the August 2012 FASEB Journal (the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology), but the creators of the CHORI-bar have made public some of the details involved in the test.
The report in the FASEB Journaldescribed the results of a two-week trial in 25 generally healthy adults led by CHORI-bar team member and pediatric cardiologist Michele Mietus-Snyder, MD. The participants varied in ages and BMI and ate two bars each day for two weeks. Included in the panel of assays at the beginning and end of the trial, in addition to standard measures of lipids, glucose metabolism, and inflammation, was ion mobility used to quantify lipoprotein sub-fractions, and a liquid chromatography linked tandem mass-spectrometry (LD/MS/MS) assay to measure thiol compounds and amino acid metabolites. This expanded panel of assays permitted a more in depth look at biomarkers and at clues to mechanisms underlying effects of the CHORI-bar.Favorable metabolic changes occurred after just two weeks ofbar intake.
Although guidelines as to whether to use the bar as a meal replacement or a supplement, two outcomes from the results of the trial emphasized the fact that, with the right mixture of food components, pharmacological or supraphysiological doses are not needed to positively move metabolism in a healthy direction.
The CHORI-bar is intended to help restore optimal nutritional balance in people eating poor diets, and to help transition them to healthier eating habits. The bar was formulated to be satiating and because it contains approximately 110 calories per bar, it is thought to be helpful in weight reduction programs.
A formal research report on the CHORI-bar will appear in the August 2012 FASEB Journal (the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology), but the creators of the CHORI-bar have made public some of the details involved in the test.
The report in the FASEB Journaldescribed the results of a two-week trial in 25 generally healthy adults led by CHORI-bar team member and pediatric cardiologist Michele Mietus-Snyder, MD. The participants varied in ages and BMI and ate two bars each day for two weeks. Included in the panel of assays at the beginning and end of the trial, in addition to standard measures of lipids, glucose metabolism, and inflammation, was ion mobility used to quantify lipoprotein sub-fractions, and a liquid chromatography linked tandem mass-spectrometry (LD/MS/MS) assay to measure thiol compounds and amino acid metabolites. This expanded panel of assays permitted a more in depth look at biomarkers and at clues to mechanisms underlying effects of the CHORI-bar.Favorable metabolic changes occurred after just two weeks ofbar intake.
Although guidelines as to whether to use the bar as a meal replacement or a supplement, two outcomes from the results of the trial emphasized the fact that, with the right mixture of food components, pharmacological or supraphysiological doses are not needed to positively move metabolism in a healthy direction.