Islamabad-According to new research daily soluble corn fibre supplementation significantly helps build and retain calcium in bone for women in their teens and postmenopause.

Weaver and colleagues found that after prebiotic fibre passes through the gut for the microbes in the lower gut to digest, the SCF is broken down into short-chain fatty acids, which assist in the maintenance bone health.

Soluble corn fibre (SCF) is a non-digestible carbohydrate used in foods and beverages such as cereals, baked goods, candy, dairy products, frozen foods, carbonated beverages, and flavoured water.

SCF helps create packaged food products that have lower sugar contents, while providing a valuable source of dietary fibre.

Evidence suggests that SCF has many of the same health benefits associated with intact dietary fibre found in grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruit. SCF may improve intestinal regularity and has prebiotic properties. Moreover, SCF supports healthy blood glucose control and supports bone health by increasing calcium absorption.

“Most studies looking at benefits from soluble corn fibre are trying to solve digestion problems, and we are the first to determine that this relationship of feeding certain kind of fibre can alter the gut microbiome in ways that can enhance health,” Weaver said. “We found this prebiotic can help healthy people use minerals better to support bone health.”

Few people meet the daily recommended intake of 1,200 milligrams of calcium for healthy bone mass.  Weaver says that while SCF can help people better utilize calcium for bone health, this finding does not mean the recommendation to drink milk and follow a well-balanced diet should be ignored. SCF can, however, help individuals that are not consuming the whole recommended amount of dairy.

Connie Weaver said that “Calcium alone suppresses bone loss, but it doesn’t enhance bone formation. These fibres enhance bone formation, so they are doing something more than enhancing calcium absorption.”

Milk prevents children from

cancer: Research

Children who drink milk are 40 percent less likely to suffer bowel cancer as adults, according to new research.

The key to its anti-cancer ¬effects lies in daily consumption over long periods. Researchers are calling for it to be used as an effective way of reducing disease rates.

Associate Professor Brian Cox, who led the research said: “Our ¬results suggest daily consumption of milk in childhood may ¬reduce bowel ¬cancer incidence, possibly by the action of ¬calcium.”

Experts believe calcium helps kill off cancer cells and accumulating a supply in the system can help to ward off the disease.

The team discovered pupils were 40 per cent less likely to suffer a tumour later in life if they had milk every day for six years or more.

Scientists found that half a pint of milk a day had a powerful protective effect against the cancer. Dr Judith Bryans, director of the Dairy Council, said: “School milk is hugely important ¬because it ensures children have an ¬adequate supply of nutrients. One glass of milk has the same amount of calcium as a ¬kilogram of spinach.”

However, a spokeswoman for Cancer Research UK said: “The best ways to reduce bowel ¬cancer risk are to keep a healthy weight, drink less alcohol and be physically active.”

Tomatoes can help in weight loss: Study

According to recent research, If you really want to stay slim and smart then start consuming more and more tomatoes as they not only make you fit but also control your hunger pangs. A recent study conducted in by the researchers in Britain has revealed that people who eat tomatoes feel less hungry and this is how it helps in controlling weight.

The research also concluded that in addition to having a great impact on diet, tomatoes are really effective in restraining different kinds of cancer like skin, lung, liver and even breast cancer. So if you plan to reduce weight, you can definitely add juicy tomatoes in your daily diet.