01.01.70

BRADENTON, Fla. (January 16, 2012) – Following a whirlwind summer of training many of the NFL’s locked-out players, including standout rookie QB Cam Newton, as well as playing host to the NFLPA’s Rookie Symposium, IMG kicked off its 12th season of training college football athletes for the greatest test of their lives – the NFL Combine.

                This season thirty players descended on IMG’s campus to immerse themselves in one of the world’s most advanced and comprehensive training programs for today’s pro player. Players eat, sleep and train on the 400-acre campus, with 24/7 access to medical staff and physical therapists. In addition to the daily position-specific on-field training led by Heisman-winning QB and Director of the IMG Madden Football Academy, Chris Weinke, and his team of IMG Madden coaches, players receive education and training in areas like sports nutrition and hydration, physical conditioning, speed and movement, vision training, mental conditioning and communication.

Source: CisionWire (press release)

by Academic

Wade Yang, an assistant professor in UF’s food science and human nutrition department, used pulsed ultraviolet light, or PUV, to reduce the allergenic potential of peanuts by up to 90 percent. The study was published this week by the journal Food and Bioprocess Technology.

By releasing pulsed, or concentrated, bursts of light containing multiple wavelengths, PUV changes peanut allergens so that human antibodies can’t recognize them and cause the release of histamines, which are responsible for allergy symptoms such as itching, rashes and wheezing.

“We believe the allergen can be controlled at the processing stage, before the product even goes to the shelf,” Yang said.

More than 3 million Americans are allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, and reactions can range from skin rashes to death. Peanuts have been found to cause the majority of deaths in the U.S. from anaphylaxis, or severe allergic reaction. Allergic reactions can occur from eating peanuts or from even the slightest exposure in some individuals. Currently, the best way for those with the allergy to be safe is to completely avoid peanuts....

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by rhwells

“The method could be used in developing countries, and here in the U.S., to re-examine populations for adequate zinc status,” said Bob Cousins, an eminent scholar in nutritional biochemistry with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Cousins and a team of researchers made the discovery, and their research was published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Zinc deficiency is a worldwide problem, especially in developing countries where many have limited access to good sources of zinc, such as red meat, Cousins said. Signs of zinc deficiency are often skin rashes and infections.

“When children are supplemented with zinc, their quality of life dramatically increases,” he said. “Their stature increases, their ability to learn increases and they can better fight off infections that lead to things like diarrhea.”

Roger Sunde, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a longtime researcher of biomarkers for selenium, another important element for human health. He called the new study “exciting” and “cutting edge.”

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