ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs Issued

By Kim Kaplan
July 10, 2015

Research showing that those who eat a particular diet have reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration is among the new nutrition and health findings noted in the most recent issue of the Agricultural Research Service's Food and Nutrition Research Briefs.

It can be found at /is/np/fnrb/fnrb0715.htm

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

Among other findings, the current issue reports:

• Lysozyme, a naturally occurring antimicrobial enzyme used in food and beverage applications, may also prove useful as an antibiotic alternative for improved feed efficiency and growth in pigs.
• A cost-effective diagnostic tool for identifying various strains of Salmonella has been developed by an ARS scientist. The tool is helping improve poultry production and human health internationally.
• Adding positive reinforcement can help change the cycle of craving unhealthy foods by retraining the brain to stop activating its reward centers on exposure to a steady stream of high-calorie foods and visual triggers.

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 either of 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.