Protein from nuts and seeds linked with a healthy heart
New York, April 4: while red meat-rich in protein-is linked with increased risk of heart disease, protein from nuts and seeds could be beneficial for the human heart, suggests a study consisting of more than 80,000 participants.
The study, appearing in the International Journal of Epidemiology, found that people who consumed large amounts of meat protein experienced a 60 per cent increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD), while people who consumed large amounts of protein from nuts and seeds experienced a 40-per cent reduction in CVD.
"While dietary fats are part of the story in affecting risk of cardiovascular disease, proteins may also have important and largely overlooked independent effects on risk," said Gary Fraser, from Loma Linda University in California. He also added that nutritionists have traditionally termed “Bad fats” in meats and “Helpful fats” in nuts as casual agents. As a result of being high in unsaturated fat, nuts and seeds are traditionally included in the "good fat" category. However, it is also possible that "good protein" that also adds to their positive health impact.
"This new evidence suggests that the full picture probably also involves the biological effects of proteins in these foods," he said.
For the study, the team compared animal proteins versus plant proteins in 81,337 men and women.
Associations between the "meat" and "nuts and seeds" protein factors and cardiovascular outcomes were strong and could not be ascribed to other associated nutrients considered to be important for cardiovascular health.
Healthy diets can be advocated based on protein sources, preferring low contributions of protein from meat and higher intakes of plant protein from nuts and seeds, the study noted.
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Dhyan Chand lifetime award to be replaced by Arjuna lifetime
New Delhi, Oct 24: The sports ministry on Thursday announced the discontinuation of the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement from this year onwards and the introduction of the Arjuna Award Lifetime in its place in a bid to "rationalise" the various sporting honours of the country.
Instituted in 2002, the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award, named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, is given to individuals in disciplines that are part of the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, among others.
In 2023, the award was given to former shuttler Manjusha Kanwar, ex-hockey exponent Vineet Kumar and kabaddi player Kavitha Selvaraj.
"The various schemes for sports awards have been rationalised wherein Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced in place of Dhyan Chand Award. To recognise the efforts of coaches at grassroots/development level, they are now eligible for the Dronacharya Award," said a ministry statement.
"The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced and will be given for life time contribution to sports development.
"Further, to recognize the Khelo India scheme, the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy will be given to the University for Overall Top Performance in Khelo India University Games," it added.
The last date for applying for the national sports awards for 2024 is November 14.
