Latest news with #Queen'sUniversityBelfast
Irish Independent
38 minutes ago
- Health
- Irish Independent
Your ‘five-a-day' can now include chocolate and red wine, study finds
A new five-a-day diet including tea, apples, oranges and berries − all foods rich in chemicals called flavonoids – will help people to live longer, a study has found. Flavonoids have a range of benefits, including lowering high blood pressure. Scientists have long known them to be good for health, but the new study is the first to investigate the benefits of a diversity of different flavonoids, not just the quantity. There are five main groups of flavonoids covering dozens of unique chemicals, but one main tranche is anthocyanins, found in abundance in grapes and red wine. Tea is rich in flavan-3-ols, another flavonoid, while orange juice is full of flavonones, and kale has high levels of flavones. Some foods, such as apples and tea, contain several flavonoids of different categories. Scientists looked at the benefits of a diversity of these chemicals in a person's diet by assessing almost 125,000 Britons enrolled in the UK Biobank. Specific food and drink intake was compared to health outcomes over a decade of follow-up by scientists at Queen's University Belfast. Participants who consumed at least 1,000 milligrams of flavonoids a day were a fifth less likely to die during the study period, data showed, confirming that flavonoid quantity was linked to better health. Further analysis on the impact of flavonoid diversity found people in the lowest 20pc of the study consumed on average just one food product which was rich in flavonoids a day. Those in the top 20pc who ate five portions of flavonoid-rich foods a day were found to have a 16pc lower risk of death during the study period.
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Tea and dark chocolate could help you live longer, Queens study shows
Tea, berries and dark chocolate could lead to a longer life span, new research has indicated. The study found those who consume a diverse range of foods rich in flavonoids, such as tea, berries, dark chocolate, and apples, could lower their risk of developing serious health conditions and have the potential to live longer. The study was led by a team of researchers from Queen's University Belfast, Edith Cowan University Perth, and the Medical University of Vienna and Universitat Wien. The findings reveal increasing the diversity of flavonoids within your diet could help prevent the development of health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurological disease. Flavonoids are found in plant foods like tea, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, apples, grapes, and even red wine and dark chocolate. Published on Tuesday in Nature Food, the research tracked more than 120,000 participants aged from 40 to 70 years old for over a decade. It is the first study of its kind to suggest there is a benefit to consuming a wide range of flavonoids beyond that of simply consuming a high quantity. Study co-lead, Professor Aedín Cassidy from the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems and Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's said: 'We have known for some time that higher intakes of dietary flavonoids, powerful bioactives naturally present in many foods and drinks, can reduce the risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and neurological conditions like Parkinson's. 'We also know from lab data and clinical studies that different flavonoids work in different ways, some improve blood pressure, others help with cholesterol levels and decrease inflammation. This study is significant as the results indicate that consuming a higher quantity and wider diversity has the potential to lead to a greater reduction in ill health than just a single source.' Edith Cowan University research fellow, first author and co-lead of the study, Dr Benjamin Parmenter, made the initial discovery that a flavonoid-diverse diet is good for health. He explained: 'Flavonoid intakes of around 500mg a day was associated with a 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality, as well as a 10% lower risk of CVD [cardiovascular disease], type 2 diabetes, and respiratory disease. That's roughly the amount of flavonoids that you would consume in two cups of tea. 'However, those who consumed the widest diversity of flavonoids, had an even lower risk of these diseases, even when consuming the same total amount.' Read More Families criticise delays to inquiry into epilepsy drug valproate
Newsweek
18 hours ago
- Health
- Newsweek
Foods That May Lower Risk of Early Death Revealed
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Adding more berries, apples or cups of tea to your daily routine could be the key to living healthier—and for longer. That is the message from a new study published in Nature Food, which shows that the quantity and variety of flavonoids in our diets could be independently linked to a lower risk of chronic diseases and early death. Researchers—drawn from Queen's University Belfast, Edith Cowan University in Perth, the Medical University of Vienna, and Universität Wien—tracked 124,805 adults between 40 and 70 for over a decade using data from the U.K. Biobank. Their findings suggest that people who consumed the highest quantity and diversity of flavonoid-rich foods had a 6–20 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, respiratory illness and neurodegenerative diseases—and a lower risk of dying from any cause. "Flavonoid intakes of around 500 milligrams a day was associated with a 16 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality, as well as a ~10 percent lower risk of CVD, type 2 diabetes, and respiratory disease," Benjamin Parmenter, research fellow at Edith Cowan University and co-lead author of the study, said in a statement. "That's roughly the amount of flavonoids that you would consume in two cups of tea." The researchers focused not only on the existence of flavonoids in participants' diets but also on the diversity of flavonoid subclasses they consumed. This is because it is already well known that flavonoids offer a variety of health benefits. Foods high in flavonoids include tea, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, apples, grapes and dark chocolate. A bowl of blueberries is laid out on a wooden table. A bowl of blueberries is laid out on a wooden table. Getty Images Parmenter emphasized that the diversity of flavonoids consumed was even more important than the total amount. Those who consumed the widest diversity of flavonoids had an even lower risk of these diseases, even when consuming the same total amount. The study points to it being better to eat a range of flavonoid-rich foods to make up your intake, than just tea, for instance, because different flavonoids come from different foods. The researchers noted that while the benefits of flavonoid intake are becoming clearer, the mechanisms behind why a wider variety offers greater protection are still under investigation. Nevertheless, the data points toward the idea that dietary variety—especially among flavonoid-rich foods—could be a more effective approach to reducing chronic disease risks than focusing on a single 'superfood.' Human performance scientist and longevity expert Mark Kovacs agreed that flavonoids are key to safeguarding one's health. He told Newsweek that berries are among the best foods to add to your diet to minimize chronic illness risk. He explained that blueberries, blackberries and raspberries are all loaded with polyphenols, of which flavonoids are a specific type of. "Berries support brain health, reduce oxidative stress, and may delay biological aging" Kovacs said. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about flavonoids? Let us know via science@ Reference Parmenter, B., Thompson, A. S., Bondonno, N. P., Jennings, A., Murray, K., Perez, Cornago, A., Hodgson, J. M., Tresserra-Rimbau, A., Kuhn, T., Cassidy, A. (2025). High diversity of dietary flavonoid intake is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and major chronic illness. Nature Food.
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Literary experts from around the world to mark 50 years since publication of Seamus Heaney's landmark collection ‘North'
Three-day conference will take place in the Seamus Heaney Centre in Queen's University Belfast from June 5-7 Today at 21:30 The 50th anniversary of the publication of Seamus Heaney's collection North, which saw the poet directly address the Troubles for the first time, is to be marked. A three-day conference at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University Belfast will bring together experts from around the world to discuss the significance of the Nobel laureate poet's landmark work.
Leader Live
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
50th anniversary of Seamus Heaney's landmark collection on Troubles to be marked
A three-day conference at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University Belfast will bring together experts from around the world to discuss the significance of the Nobel laureate poet's landmark work. The event, in partnership with Trinity College Dublin, takes place from June 5-7 and will also mark the first anniversary of the Belfast venue. Heaney, who died in 2013, was one of the world's best known modern poets. Pulitzer prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon and Professor Edna Longley will be among authors, academics and poets discussing the significance of North 50 years on. There will also be a family friendly traditional music session and a screening of the documentary Heaney in Limboland, made for TV in 1970 and featuring Heaney's views on the rapidly deteriorating political situation in Northern Ireland. Upon publication in 1975, the American poet Robert Lowell said North represented 'a new kind of political poetry by the best Irish poet since WB Yeats' and the anthology went on to win awards including the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize and the WH Smith Memorial Prize. Heaney himself admitted the collection took a 'hammering' from other quarters, closer to home, for its representation of violence and gender politics. Many academics consider it to be a key moment in the evolution of Heaney from a significant Irish poet to a poet of international standing, culminating in his winning of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre, Professor Glenn Patterson said: 'Whichever way you come at it, in admiration, in awe or in search of an argument, there is no understanding poetry from these islands in the past half century, without North. 'There are not many books, of any kind, that merit an 'at 50' conference, but North seems only to grow in significance with every year that passes, and with every year that passes to attract new readers, and new critical thinking.' The poet's daughter Catherine Heaney, said: 'We are proud and honoured that the 50th anniversary of North is being marked with this conference, alongside Faber's reissue of the volume in its original jacket. 'The publication was such a seminal moment in my father's life and career and it is testament to its staying power that, five decades on, it continues to resonate with readers and inspire scholarly debate.' Dr Stephen O'Neill from Trinity College Dublin said: 'Written under the strain of what Seamus Heaney called 'a very high pressure', North was a landmark in his writing career. 'It was and is also a landmark in criticism, as a subject for many of the leading critics of Irish literature then and now. 'Organised to coincide with Faber's anniversary republication of the volume, the conference is a chance to reflect upon the impact of Heaney's fourth collection and reassess its reception.' All events will take place at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's. Attendance is free but registration is required.
