ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs Issued

Blood plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad" cholesterol) is lowered most when plant sterols are consumed in smaller amounts more often throughout the day, rather than in one large amount each day.

That's among the new nutrition and health findings noted in the newest issue of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Food and Nutrition Research Briefs (FNRB) and its Spanish-language edition.

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

Among other findings, the current issue reports that:

• Exposing sliced carrots to ultraviolet light can boost their antioxidant levels.
• A new mathematical model can help food processors and others select the optimal combination of temperature and concentrations of salt and smoke compounds to reduce or eliminate microbial contamination of smoked salmon.
• ARS researchers have found a way to produce high quality, gluten-free bread dough that's more similar to wheat dough.

FNRB 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 principal intramural scientific research agency.