Hello, dear readers, and welcome to the monthly letters column. We hope everyone is recovering from the lost hour in the daylight-saving annual time shift. Speaking of which, we have had several letters asking about any physical drawbacks to permanent Daylight Saving Time, an idea that has been floated but not enacted into law. There is interesting research on the topic that we will explore in an upcoming column. And now, onward to your letters.
- We recently wrote about plant-based compounds known as polyphenols. These are important nutrients with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This prompted a question from a reader in Bonn, Germany. “Does the maturity of the fruit or vegetable influence the quantity of polyphenols?” she asked. “I’m asking because northern Europe gets a lot of imported produce that is harvested when it is still immature.” Research shows that the amount of polyphenols does vary depending on a fruit or vegetable’s maturity. Interestingly, concentrations can actually be higher in the unripe versions of some fruits and vegetables. This includes pumpkins, grapes and many stone fruits, including peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots. The important thing is to include a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet, which provides your body with a broad spectrum of nutrients.
- Following a column that debunked a viral anti-oatmeal social media post, we have been hearing from readers who are longtime oatmeal lovers. “Thank you for coming to the defense of eating oatmeal,” a reader from Washington wrote. And from a reader in New Jersey, “So glad we don’t have to give up our morning oats!” Oatmeal offers many nutritional benefits, including a unique and important fiber known as inulin. It not only aids in satiety and feeds the gut microbiome, but research shows it can play a beneficial role in blood sugar control.
- A column about newer research that links coffee drinking to beneficial effects on the gut microbiome prompted a question from a decaf drinker. “Do these same benefits also apply to decaf?” he asked. The good news is that, yes, studies suggest that decaf has similar beneficial effects on the microbial populations as caffeinated coffee does.
- We often write about the health benefits of sleep. A recent column on the topic prompted a reader from Eureka, California, to share a technique that helps her on sleepless nights. “Whenever I have trouble going to sleep, or when I wake up in the middle of the night stewing about something, I sit up in bed and meditate,” she wrote. “I wake up just as refreshed as if I have had the standard eight hours of sleep.” Thank you for sharing a technique that we suspect may be helpful to other readers.
As always, we are grateful to everyone who took the time to write. Some recent letters have been very kind, which means a lot to us. If it occurs to you, please let us know where you are writing from. It’s always interesting to know where our readers are.
(Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla.edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10960 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1955, Los Angeles, CA, 90024. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.)
