ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs Issued

How to prepare garlic—without stripping it of its heart-healthy thiosulfinates—is among the nutrition and health findings noted in the newest issue of the Agricultural Research Service's Food and Nutrition Research Briefs and its Spanish-language edition (Informe de investigaciones de alimentos y nutrición).

The popular online newsletter reports discoveries from researchers at ARS laboratories nationwide.

Among other findings, the current issue reports that:

• Osteoarthritis of the hands and knees might be forestalled by the vitamin K found in foods such as collard greens, kale and spinach.
   
• Blueberry extracts may help fight inflammation of immune system cells in the brain, if results from lab cultures of animal cells hold true for humans.
   
• Three new types of seeded, red-fleshed watermelon from ARS scientists in Oklahoma are lower in sugar, yet still provide lycopene, a powerful antioxidant associated with a lower incidence of some cancers.
   
• Makers of pleasingly sour foods such as some candies, salad dressings, pickles, breads and beverages may soon have more control over exactly how sour their products are, thanks to new, chemistry-based investigations from ARS.
   
• Processors of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products can now visit a new Web portal to learn more about reducing the risk of foodborne pathogens in their products.

The ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs is offered with color photos and illustrations on the Web. And by clicking the "subscribe" link on the newsletter's home page, readers can sign up for two e-mail options: They can receive the full text of the newsletter by e-mail, or simply an advisory that a new issue has been posted to the Web.

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.