Princess Health and Changes coming for Nutrition Facts labels on food products: emphasis on calories, added sugar and serving size. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Changes coming for Nutrition Facts labels on food products: emphasis on calories, added sugar and serving size. Princessiccia

calories childhood obesity diet federal regulation food food and drug administration food industry food marketing nutrition obesity

Gusty 14:14 Add Comment

Associated Press

By Danielle Ray
Kentucky Health News

Nutrition labels on food products will undergo a facelift over the next two years.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration finalized plans Friday to change labeling to emphasize calorie count and added sugars in an effort to simply nutrition labels and clarify serving sizes.

First lady Michelle Obama, a longtime crusader against childhood obesity, said parents will benefit from the upcoming changes.

"You will no longer need a microscope, a calculator, or a degree in nutrition to figure out whether the food you're buying is actually good for our kids," she told The Associated Press.

The overhaul puts less emphasis on fats and more on caloric value and added sugars. Calories on upcoming labels will be listed in larger font than other nutrient facts. Added sugar will get its own line, separate from naturally occurring sugar.  Currently, both added and naturally occurring sugars were lumped under one category, "Sugars."

New labels will also include a new "percent daily value" for added sugar, which will tell consumers how much of their recommended daily intake they will get from a given item. The FDA recommends consuming less than 10 percent of total daily calories (200 calories in a typical diet) from added sugar.

"The new labels should also spur food manufacturers to add less sugar to their products," Michael Jacobson, president of the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest, told AP. He said that under current labeling, it's nearly impossible for consumers to know how much sugar fits into a reasonable diet.

The footnote will better explain what "percent daily value" means. It will read: �The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.�

Serving sizes will also be clearer. The biggest difference will be that serving sizes will be based on what consumers typically eat instead of what they should eat. About one-fifth of foods will undergo revised calculations. For example, a serving size of ice cream will be 2/3 of a cup; previously it was a 1/2 cup.

If you've ever been duped into consuming more calories than you intended, or tried to calculate exactly what fraction of a slice of pizza constitutes a serving size, you're in luck. Package size affects what people eat, the FDA noted. So, products that were previously between one and two servings, such as a 20-ounce soda, will be labeled as a single serving, since consumers generally eat or drink the entire contents in one sitting.

Larger containers, like pints of ice cream, will have dual column labels: one column with information for a single serving and the other with information for the entire container.

Labels will also include two additional nutrients: potassium and Vitamin D.

Industry reaction was predictable. A representative for the Sugar Association told AP that emphasis on added sugar could confuse consumers, but other industry leaders welcomed the changes.

"This update is timely as diets, eating patterns and consumer preferences have changed dramatically since the Nutrition Facts panel was first introduced," Leon Bruner, of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, told AP.

Most food manufacturers have until July 2018 to comply. Smaller manufacturers will have an additional year.

The FDA proposed the changes two years ago. They are the first major update to nutrition labels since labeling was introduced in 1994. So far, more than 800,000 foods have nutrition labels.

For more information on the changes, click here.

Princess Health and Slicing your way to an apple a day: Americans' apple consumption is on the rise because we're eating them in small pieces. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Slicing your way to an apple a day: Americans' apple consumption is on the rise because we're eating them in small pieces. Princessiccia

children's health diet health nutrition school health school lunch

Gusty 13:13 Add Comment

Photo from livestrong.com

By Danielle Ray
Kentucky Health News

Presentation is everything. Apple consumption is on the rise, and researchers at Cornell University think pre-sliced apples are the cause.

The 2013 Cornell study explored why so many whole apples served in school lunches ended up uneaten in the trash. Researchers found that eating whole apples can be difficult for young children with small mouths and for kids with missing teeth or braces. The study also noted that older girls find whole fruits messy and unattractive to eat.

The study found that consumption jumped by more than 60 percent when apples were served sliced. These findings back up U.S. Department of Agriculture statistical data about overall apple consumption. Data show that Americans ate more than 510 million pre-sliced apples in 2014, up from fewer than 150 a decade before.

Likewise, overall apple consumption has grown by 13 percent percent since 2010, according to USDA data. Americans ate about 17.5 pounds per capita in 2013, the most in nearly a decade.

Why does simply slicing an apple matter? The difference between a whole apple and apple slices may seem silly or superficial, especially to an adult, but the inconvenience is a barrier nonetheless, David Just, a professor of behavioral economics at Cornell and one of the researchers behind the study, told Roberto Ferdman of The Washington Post.

"It sounds simplistic, but even the simplest forms of inconvenience affect consumption," Just said. "Sliced apples just make a lot more sense for kids."

The rise of mass-produced pre-sliced apples probably has a lot to do with the fast food industry. McDonald's added apple slices to its menu in 2004 in an effort to give parents healthier options. The company began automatically serving apple slices with Happy Meals in 2012, causing apple sales to skyrocket.

McDonald's has served more than 2 billion packages since first offering apple slices as a side, a representative for the company told the Post. In 2015 alone, the company served nearly 250 million packages of sliced apples, which amounts to more than 60 million apples, or about 10 percent of all fresh sliced apples sold in the United States, the Post noted.

The USDA, which oversees school lunch programs, can't be sure of how many schools offer pre-sliced apples versus whole apples, as local school districts make that decision. However, the agency does make recommendations and encourages schools make fruit appealing in presentation.

The problem with the pre-sliced apple trend? It may lessen food waste, but it increases plastic waste, which puts a strain on the environment. McDonald's apple slices, for example, are served in plastic wrappers. These wrappers are recyclable, yes, but two important differentials exist. First, "recyclable" does not mean it was made of recycled materials, only that it has the potential to be recycled. Second, just because consumers can recycle the wrappers does not mean they will.

Princess Health and McDonald's stops sending to schools man who says he lost much weight eating only at McDonald's, including Big Macs and fries. Princessiccia

Princess Health and McDonald's stops sending to schools man who says he lost much weight eating only at McDonald's, including Big Macs and fries. Princessiccia

child obesity children children's health diet education fast food nutrition restaurants schools youth

Gusty 18:49 Add Comment

Photo via flickriver.com

McDonald�s has stopped "giving nutrition advice to students in schools, pulling back on a program that critics said was a subtle form of fast-food marketing that could imperil kids� health and understanding of nutrition," Roberto Ferdman reports for The Washington Post.

The company had been sending to schools "a middle-aged teacher from Iowa who came to fame after claiming to have lost almost 60 pounds eating only McDonald�s," including Big Macs and french fries, Ferdman writes.

"McDonald�s said in a statement this week that Cisna stopped those visits last fall, after a Washington Post article highlighted how McDonald�s used its relationship with local schools and teachers� associations to get its message in front of students. . . . McDonald�s had long defended the practice, saying that Cisna�s presentation was about choice, not about eating McDonald�s. But critics argued it amounted to little more than a veiled attempt to woo customers at a young and impressionable age."

Princess Health and Health care professionals strongly endorse new federal dietary guidelines, which say to eat less red and processed meat .Princessiccia

Princess Health and Health care professionals strongly endorse new federal dietary guidelines, which say to eat less red and processed meat .Princessiccia

diet food nutrition

Gusty 08:47 Add Comment

A group of 700 physicians and other health care professionals sent a letter of strong endorsement to the secretaries of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services praising the recommended federal dietary guidelines that emphasize eating less red and processed meat, Whitney Forman-Cook reports for Agri-Pulse, a Washington newsletter.

The letter said the �shift toward a more plant-based diet� in the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee's recommendations is a potentially �powerful tool for health promotion� that would help reduce healthcare costs, Forman-Cook writes.

�Three of the four leading causes of preventable death, heart disease, cancer, and stroke -- are diet-related,� the letter reads. �Heavy meat consumption, especially red and processed meat, is associated with increased risks of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers, while plant-based diets are associated with decreased risks of all three.�

They also noted that 75 percent of U.S. health-care costs and diminished labor supply and worker productivity is caused by chronic and preventable diseases, costing the country "$1 trillion in lost economic output and billions more in rising healthcare cost," Forman-Cook writes.

For the first time, the guidelines include environmental standards and sustainability language. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack "has not said he is opposed to including sustainability concerns in the final guidelines," Forman-Cook writes. He told her that "he would be personally involved" in writing the new guidelines, keeping them "narrowly focused on nutrition."

U.S. meat producers and many farm organizations have pushed back against the recommendations and the sustainability language.

The health-care professionals also endorsed the DGAC's recommendations on sustainability and calls for the DGAC to "explicitly" list the "common names" of foods in the guidelines and identify appropriate "non-animal protein sources" to help consumers modify their eating habits.

The guidelines, which are revised every five years to reflect advancements in scientific knowledge, are used to guide federal nutrition programs, including school meal standards, and to inform consumers. They are expected to be published later this year.

Princess Health and How do diet and exercise influence risk of diabetes? Diet seems more important.Princessiccia

Princess Health and How do diet and exercise influence risk of diabetes? Diet seems more important.Princessiccia

diabetes diet exercise food research

Gusty 14:08 Add Comment

Many people think exercising and eating properly are interchangeable, but a paper by Edwards Weiss, associate professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University, asserts that exercising and restricting diet results in specific and cumulative benefits in reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes. According to the 2013 Kentucky Diabetes Report, 6.9 percent of Kentucky adults have diabetes.

Participants in the study were sedentary, overweight middle-aged men and women who reduced their weight 6 to 8 percent through calorie restriction, exercise or both. Researchers measured their insulin sensitivity levels, which determines risk of diabetes. "Your blood sugar may be perfectly normal, but if your insulin sensitivity is low, you are on the way to blood sugar issues and, potentially, Type 2 diabetes," Weiss said.

The researchers measured twice the improvement of insulin sensitivity in the group of participants who both exercised and restricted their diets than in the other two groups. Weiss notes that exercise helps regulate glucose, even if a person isn't losing weight as a result. The researchers also found that exercised-induced weight loss didn't regulate glucoregulation more effectively than calorie restriction. "What we found is that calorie restriction, like exercise, may be providing benefits beyond those associated with weight loss alone," Weiss said.

Weiss said that though it might seem obvious that a combination of diet and exercise would engender the best results, "there are a lot of people who believe that if they maintain a healthy weight, it doesn't matter what they eat. And others have an appropriate food intake but don't exercise."

Princess Health andTwo weeks of high-fiber, low-fat diet brings changes that protect against colon cancer; high-fat diet brings changes with more risk.Princessiccia

Princess Health andTwo weeks of high-fiber, low-fat diet brings changes that protect against colon cancer; high-fat diet brings changes with more risk.Princessiccia

colorectal cancer diet nutrition research

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Two weeks is all it took for a change in diet to increase production of a substance in the gut that may reduce the risk of colon cancer, according to a recent study, published in Nature Communications.

The study asked 20 African Americans in Pittsburgh and 20 rural South Africans to switch diets for two weeks. The Americans were fed a high-fiber, low-fat diet, with plenty of fruits, vegetables, beans, cornmeal and very little meat, while the Africans were given a diet high in fat with lots of meat and cheese, Sindya N. Bhanoo reports for The New York Times.

�We made them fried chicken, burgers and fries,� Stephen J. D. O�Keefe, a gastroenterologist at the University of Pittsburgh and one of the study�s authors, told Bhanoo. �They loved it.�

After two weeks, colonoscopies on the volunteers found that the African Americans who ate the traditional African diet had "reduced inflammation in the colon and increased production of butyrate, a fatty acid that may protect against colon cancer," Bhanoo writes. Africans who ate the Western diet had changes in their gut bacteria "consistent with an increased cancer risk."

African Americans are disproportionately affected by colon cancer, while the disease affects few people in rural Africa, Bhanno notes.

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women in the U.S. and is expected to cause about 49,700 deaths during 2015, according to the American Cancer Society. Kentucky leads the nation in both incidences and deaths from colorectal cancer, with 51.4 cases per 100,000 people and 18.7 deaths per 100,000, according to the Kentucky Cancer Registry.

Princess Health andResearchers discuss physical activity as a way of maintaining or improving health; daily walking is still the best exercise .Princessiccia

Princess Health andResearchers discuss physical activity as a way of maintaining or improving health; daily walking is still the best exercise .Princessiccia

child obesity childhood obesity children's health diet exercise nutrition physical activity physical inactivity research schools

Gusty 17:31 Add Comment

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Obesity worsens the damage that arthritis does to joints, but simply telling patients to go home and diet and exercise is not working, and health care providers must proactively monitor their patients and help them find affordable solutions to succeed. And daily walking is still the best exercise.

Those were examples of research findings discussed at the 10th annual Center for Clinical and Translational Science conference sponsored by the University of Kentucky on March 25. More than 700 researchers, students, policymakers and guests discussed research with a focus on physical activity across the lifespan.

Stephen Messier, professor and director of a biomechanics laboratory at Wake Forest University, said obesity has a significant effect on joint health, particularly osteoarthritis, which he said is quite painful. He called for closer attention to obese patients with arthritis.

He said a study found that a combination of diet and exercise over an extended period of time offers the best results for less pain and less disability. He said that a separate study found those who lost 10 percent of their body weight had the most "significant outcomes" related to function, which included walking speed.

The conference featured 31 oral presentations and 270 poster presentations, addressing a vast array of topics including physical inactivity in children, physical inactivity in chronic disease and biomedical informatics.

"The conference was designed to raise awareness of the science behind the benefits of exercise and the dangers of physical inactivity," Charlotte Petterson, professor and associate dean of research in the College of Health Sciences, who chaired this year's conference, said in a UK press release.

The keynote speaker, Duke University medicine professor William E. Kraus, encouraged walking as a proven and simple activity that can improve health and actually extend life. "Fitness always trumps fatness," he said, noting that a "culture of convenience" and conditions of built environments, such as absence of sidewalks, deter people from physical activity.

Research on fourth and fifth graders in two Clay County schools, while in the early stages of analysis, found that obesity and inactivity begins early.

Karyn Esser, professor of physiology at the UK College of Medicine, said her research was examining the circadian rhythms and physical activities of students because changes in natural circadian rhythms "can create pre-cursors to disease" in just seven days, even in healthy young people. She said her study is intended to help schools improve students' health by adjusting meal times and offering physical activities to best coincide with circadian rhythms.

The data for Esser's study was gathered through electronic devices that the 136 students wore for seven days to measure activity, heart rate and skin temperature. The students also kept a daily journal to record their activities. So far, Esser said, the data show 33 percent of the students are considered obese, their initial blood pressure measurements are on the high end of normal, and the students are less active on weekends and nights than during the school week.

Another UK study found that students who are more active during the school day do better in mathematics.

Alicia Fedewa and Heather Erwin of the College of Education said they found that increased physical activity levels "significantly improved" math scores and slightly improved reading scores of the students who got an extra 20 minutes of movement on each school day. They recommended two short 15-minute recesses per day, rather than one long one. They also said that classroom "energizers" and stability balls also help students with these behaviors.

The researchers said many studies show that students who participate in recess and physical education during the school day are more focused and less fidgety, show less listlessness, and have better overall classroom behavior. They said more controlled studies need to be conducted, but said most studies to date have found that fit kids have less anxiety and better overall well-being. Also, a regimen of consistent physical activity is best for kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Princess Health and Metabolic Effects of a Traditional Asian High-carbohydrate Diet. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Metabolic Effects of a Traditional Asian High-carbohydrate Diet. Princessiccia

celiac diabetes diet native diet

Gusty 15:49 Add Comment

A recent study supports the notion that an 'ancestral diet' focused around high-starch agricultural foods can cultivate leanness and metabolic health.

John McDougall gave Christopher Gardner a hard time at the McDougall Advanced Study Weekend. Dr. Gardner conducts high-profile randomized controlled trials (RCTs) at Stanford to compare the effectiveness of a variety of diets for weight loss, cardiovascular and metabolic health. The "A to Z Study", in which Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN diets were pitted against one another for one year, is one of his best-known trials (1).

Dr. McDougall asked a simple question: why haven't these trials evaluated the diet that has sustained the large majority of the world's population for the last several thousand years? This is an agriculturalist or horticulturalist diet based around starchy foods such as grains, tubers, legumes, and plantains, and containing little fat or animal foods. Researchers have studied a number of cultures eating this way, and have usually found them to be lean, with good cardiovascular and metabolic health. Why not devote resources to studying this time-tested ancestral diet? I think it's a fair question.

Read more �

Princess Health and Thoughts on the McDougall Advanced Study Weekend. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Thoughts on the McDougall Advanced Study Weekend. Princessiccia

diet low-carb native diet paleolithic diet presentations

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For those of you who aren't familiar with him, Dr. John McDougall is a doctor and diet/health advocate who recommends a very low fat, high starch, whole food vegan diet to control weight and avoid chronic disease. He's been at it for a long time, and he's a major figure in the "plant-based diet" community (i.e., a diet including little or no animal foods).

Dr. McDougall invited me to participate in his 3-day Advanced Study Weekend retreat in Santa Rosa, CA. My job was to give my talk on insulin and obesity, and participate in a panel discussion/debate with Dr. McDougall in which we sorted through issues related to low-carb, Paleo, and the health implications of eating animal foods. I was glad to receive the invitation, because I don't see myself as a diet partisan, and I believe that my evidence-based information is applicable to a variety of diet styles. I saw the Weekend as an opportunity to extend my thoughts to a new community, challenge myself, and maybe even learn a thing or two. It was particularly interesting to compare and contrast the Advanced Study Weekend with the Ancestral Health Symposium, which is more Paleo- and low-carb-friendly.

General Observations

The attendees were a lot older than AHS attendees. I estimate that most of them were in their 60s, although there were some young people in attendance.

I don't place too much emphasis on peoples' personal appearance at conferences like this. You don't know what a person's background, genetics, or personal struggles may be, you don't know how closely they adhere to the program, and you don't know to what degree a group of people might be self-selected for particular traits*. But I will note that Dr. McDougall, his family, and many of the other starch-based/plant-based diet advocates tended to be extremely lean with low fat and muscle mass. They also tended to have a healthy and energetic appearance and demeanor. As I would expect, decades of exceptionally high starch intake hasn't made them obese or obviously ill.

Read more �

Princess Health and Princess Health andParents can help teens make healthy food choices this summer by strategically stocking the pantry.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andParents can help teens make healthy food choices this summer by strategically stocking the pantry.Princessiccia

diet nutrition teenagers

Gusty 12:33 Add Comment

A steady diet of junk food can be especially harmful to teens, who tend to experience a growth spurt during these years, and these poor nutritional choices as teens can affect their health in years to come, reports Newswise, a research-reporting service.

�While it�s important to eat healthy at every age and stage, the growth and physical maturation occurring during adolescence makes good nutrition all the more critical,� Kristen Kizer, a clinical dietician with Houston Methodist Wellness Services, said in the release. �Teens are growing, meaning that their cells are diving rapidly. This means increased calorie and protein needs, as well as increased need for vitamins and minerals like calcium, vitamin D, iron, and folate.�

So, as parents stock their refrigerators and pantries for the summer, it is important for you to remember to include healthy foods that are quick, easy and tasty to teens, while paying special attention to providing foods high in calcium and vitamin D.

Calcium and vitamin D intake should be of particular importance for teens because about half of peak bone mass occurs during the teen years, Kizer explains in the release. If teens don't get adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D, they can become adults with poor bone density, setting themselves up for osteoporosis and bone fractures in later years.

The National Institute of Health says teenagers need 1,300 milligrams of calcium each day. Kidshealth.org offers a list of foods that are high in calcium that includes dairy products, veggies including broccoli and dark green, leafy vegetables, soy products, calcium-fortified foods, beans and canned fish.

Parents and teens should also remember that good eating habits and a healthy weight are important to establish during the teen years because approximately 90 percent of overweight and obese teens will remain overweight or obese as adults, Newswise reports.

�Most teens aren't thinking about chronic disease 30 years down the road, reminding them that the foods they choose now have an impact on their appearance, athletic performance, or academics can help them make healthier choices,� Kizer says in the release. �Girls especially may be struggling with body image issues, so helping them select foods that will make them physically feel well can also improve their mood and emotional health.�

Kizer's suggestions for healthy food choices:

• Guacamole, made from a jar of salsa and avocados, and baby carrots. The vitamin C in the salsa will keep the guacamole from turning brown and the healthy monounsaturated fat from the avocado will keep your hungry teens satisfied.
• Whole wheat rotini and veggies and pasta sauce, all mixed together and ready to heat. This meal provides fiber, magnesium, manganese and selenium.
• Greek yogurt with fruit. The added protein from the Greek yogurt will keep your hungry teen full and he or she will also be getting fiber from the fruit, as well as vitamin C, potassium, folic acid, and calcium.
• Cereal. Look for cereals that include no more than 6 grams of sugar.
• Baked chips instead of full-fat chips.
• Low-fat ice-cream sandwiches or 100 percent frozen fruit bars.
• Whole-wheat thin crust pizza that features veggies rather than high-fat meat like sausage and pepperoni.

Princess Health and Princess Health andPeople with a genetic risk of obesity should avoid saturated fat, national study of 2,800 people suggests.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andPeople with a genetic risk of obesity should avoid saturated fat, national study of 2,800 people suggests.Princessiccia

diet genetics nutrition obesity research

Gusty 21:20 Add Comment

A new study shows that avoiding saturated fat may be advantageous for those whose genetic makeup predisposes them to obesity. Researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University used 63 gene variants associated with obesity to determine a genetic risk score for obesity for more than 2,800 white, American adults participating in two studies about heart disease prevention.

"People with a higher genetic risk score, who also consumed more of their calories as saturated fat, were more likely to have a higher body mass index, the ratio of body weight to height," Newswise reports.

"We already know there are certain genes that interact with dietary fat and affect BMI," said senior author Jose M. Ordovas, Ph.D., director of the Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory at the USDA center and a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts. We "saw that while total fat intake was related to higher BMI, people who were genetically predisposed to obesity and ate the most saturated fat had the highest BMIs."

The study is published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The findings also take into consideration factors like age, sex and physical activity levels. Ordovas and the other researchers believe that those who have genetic makeups predisposing them to obesity might be more easily affected by saturated fat, which is often found in fatty cuts of meats, butter, cheese and other high-fat dairy products.

Ordovas said that although they cannot yet explain with confidence the "role of saturated fat intake in obesity . . . Some clinical models suggest that saturated fat might interfere with activity in the part of the brain that lets us know we're full, in addition to a few studies in people that suggest a diet high in saturated fat interferes with satiety." Ordovas also said that if additional research could explain the connection between obesity-related genes and saturated fat, people would have even more convincing reasons to eat less saturated fat. (Read more)

Princess Health and Princess Health andWhat you eat, such as refined and easily digestible carbohydrates, may be more important that how much you eat.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andWhat you eat, such as refined and easily digestible carbohydrates, may be more important that how much you eat.Princessiccia

diet nutrition obesity research

Gusty 12:14 Add Comment

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Our weight is determined by the number of calories we take in compared to the number of calories we expend. So, if you over-eat and don't exercise, all those extra calories will be stored as fat, and the solution to losing the fat is to eat less and exercise more, right? What if this isn't true?

For most people, over the long term, eating less doesn't work, nutritionists David S. Ludwig and Mark I. Friedman write in an opinion piece for The New York Times. They suggest it is time to look at another idea, one that says overeating is not causing us to get fat, but that the process of getting fat is causing us to overeat.

This hypothesis suggests that when fat cells take in too many calories, those calories increase the amount of fat tissue instead of providing the energy our bodies need to function. When this happens our bodies still think we need food, so they continue to tell us we are hungry. Thus, we eat more and subsequently gain weight, Ludwig and Friedman write in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Studies have shown our bodies have a "set point" for weight largely determined by our genes, Ludwig and Friedman note. If this is true, they then pose the question: Why has obesity almost tripled since 1960, and what can we do about it?

Ludwig and Friedman write that among the many biological factors that affect the storage of calories in fat cells, one has an indisputably dominant role: the hormone insulin. We know that excess insulin causes weight gain, and insulin deficiency causes weight loss. We also know that highly refined and rapidly digestible carbohydrates, like sugar or potatoes, produce the most insulin.

The authors suggest that the increasing amount of refined carbohydrates in Americans' diets has "increased insulin levels, put fat cells into storage overdrive and elicited obesity-promoting biological responses in a large number of people."

The authors suggest that one reason we consume so many refined carbohydrates is because they have been added to processed foods in place of fats, especially since low-fat diets are the most recommended diet. However, several studies cited in the article show that low-fat diets are the least effective way to lose weight.

The authors recognize that existing research cannot provide a definitive test of their hypothesis and the existing trials have exhibited major limitations, but it is time to "invest much more in this research." The cost savings for treating diabetes alone�predicted to approach half a trillion dollars by 2020�would make it a good investment.

If this hypothesis turns out to be correct, the authors say obesity treatment would more appropriately focus on diet quality rather than calorie quantity.

"With reduced consumption of refined grains, concentrated sugar and potato products and a few other sensible lifestyle choices, our internal body weight control system should be able to do the rest," they write. "Eventually, we could bring the body weight set point back to pre-epidemic levels. Addressing the underlying biological drive to overeat may make for a far more practical and effective solution to obesity than counting calories."

David S. Ludwig directs the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children�s Hospital and is a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Mark I. Friedman is vice president of research at the Nutrition Science Initiative. (Read more)

Princess Health and Princess Health andHealth foundation chief objects to bill that would allow school districts to get waivers from recent nutrition standards.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andHealth foundation chief objects to bill that would allow school districts to get waivers from recent nutrition standards.Princessiccia

children's health Congress diet fruit obesity school lunch schools vegetables

Gusty 17:15 Add Comment

The president of Kentucky's public-interest health foundation is objecting to legislation recently approved by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee to allow waivers from the school nutrition enacted by the Department of Agriculture in 2010.

Susan G. Zepeda, Ph.D.

Susan G. Zepeda of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky says in a statement sent to Kentucky news media that the foundation's polls show that Kentuckians "want healthier foods in the schools," but fewer than one in four Kentucky adults "described the meals at their children's school or daycare as 'very nutritious'."

Zepeda notes that the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health showed that 35.7 percent of Kentucky children were either overweight or obese in 2011-12, that children living in poverty are more likely to be obese, and that polls show Kentucky adults think childhood obesity is a serious issue, and 78 percent of them approved of the new USDA meal standards, Zepeda notes.

The legislation would allow school districts that have lost money on meals for six months to ask for a waiver from the standards. Zepeda said "the major voice" for the bill was the School Nutrition Association, "a trade group of school food officials backed by such food companies as Coca-Cola, Domino�s Pizza and PepsiCo," but "19 of the association�s former presidents have called on Congress to reject the waiver. We add our voice to this call."

Princess Health and Princess Health andPoll gauges Kentuckians' consumption, sources and opinions of drinking water; E. Ky. likes bottled water more than other areas.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andPoll gauges Kentuckians' consumption, sources and opinions of drinking water; E. Ky. likes bottled water more than other areas.Princessiccia

diet food water

Gusty 14:34 Add Comment

Drinking water is necessary for the human body to work properly. Because one can consume water through drinking other beverages or eating foods like lettuce, tomatoes, oranges and melons, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend drinking a particular number of cups per day. However, it does recommend drinking water instead of other high-calorie beverages, especially if a person is trying to remain at a healthy weight, according to the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky's latest release of information from its 2013 Kentucky Health Issues Poll.

The poll, in October and November, gauged Kentuckians' consumption, sources and opinions of their drinking water. While 24 percent reported drinking eight or more cups of water each day, 8 percent said they don't drink water daily. Thirty-two percent said they drink one to three cups per day, and the remaining 35 percent say they drink between four and seven cups.

About half of those surveyed (52 percent) reported drinking tap water most often, and 39 percent said they drink mostly bottled water. Only 4 percent said they primarily drink well water, showing how extensive water lines have become in rural areas. Louisville-area citizens are more inclined (61 percent) to report drinking tap water than people from other areas, and Eastern Kentucky residents were most likely to report drinking bottled water (50 percent) or well water (10 percent).

Why don't some Kentuckians drink tap water? More than four in ten (43 percent) cite the taste of the water as an explanation. Some also say it seems unsafe (13 percent), that they have access to bottled water (13 percent) or that they believe chemicals are in the water (11 percent).

The poll, co-sponsored by Interact for Health of Cincinnati, has an error margin of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

Princess Health and Book Review: Your Personal Paleo Code. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Book Review: Your Personal Paleo Code. Princessiccia

book review diet

Gusty 05:00 Add Comment

Chris Kresser has been a major figure in the ancestral health community for some time now. It's funny to recall that I was actually one of his first readers, back in the early days of his blog when it was called The Healthy Skeptic and the audience was small. Chris's readership rapidly eclipsed mine, and now he's in high demand for his ability to convey ideas clearly and offer practical solutions to important health concerns.

He recently published a book titled Your Personal Paleo Code, which also happens to be a New York Times bestseller. The primary goal of the book is to help you develop a diet and lifestyle that support health and well-being by starting from a generally healthy template and personalizing it to your needs. Let's have a look.

Introduction

Kresser opens with the poignant story of his own health problems, which began with an infectious illness in Indonesia and several courses of antibiotic therapy. After years of struggling with the resulting symptoms, trying a variety of diets, and finally accepting his condition, he was unexpectedly able to recover his health by adopting a personalized Paleo-like diet that included bone broth and fermented foods.

Why Paleo?

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Princess Health and New Review Paper on Dietary Fat and Heart Disease Risk. Princessiccia

Princess Health and New Review Paper on Dietary Fat and Heart Disease Risk. Princessiccia

cardiovascular disease diet

Gusty 15:16 Add Comment

A new review paper on dietary fatty acids and heart disease risk was just published by Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury and colleagues in the Annals of Internal Medicine-- one of the top medical journals (1). The goal of the paper is to comprehensively review the studies evaluating the effect of dietary fatty acids on heart (coronary) disease. The review covers observational and intervention studies pertaining to saturated, monounsaturated, trans, omega-6 polyunsaturated, and omega-3 polyunsaturated fats. The paper is notable for its comprehensiveness (inclusion criteria were very lax).

Here is a summary of the results:

• In observational studies that measured diet, only trans fat was related to cardiovascular risk. Saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats were unrelated to risk.
• In observational studies that measured circulating concentrations of fatty acids, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (DHA, DPA, EPA, AA) were associated with lower risk. The dairy-fat-derived margaric acid (17:0) was also associated with lower risk. No other fatty acids were related to risk, including trans fatty acids.
• In controlled trials, supplementation with omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids did not alter risk.

The authors conclude:

In conclusion, the pattern of findings from this analysis did not yield clearly supportive evidence for current cardiovascular guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of saturated fats. Nutritional guidelines on fatty acids and cardiovascular guidelines may require reappraisal to reflect the current evidence.

My view

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Princess Health and Free e-Book and Ideal Weight Program 2.0 Announcement. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Free e-Book and Ideal Weight Program 2.0 Announcement. Princessiccia

diet overweight real food

Gusty 06:00 Add Comment

I'm happy to announce that we're releasing a free e-book titled Why do We Gain Fat, and How do We Lose it? An Introduction to the Science of Body Fat, by Dan Pardi and myself. This is a slimmed-down version of the longer, fully referenced e-book we offer as part of the Ideal Weight Program. In it, we provide a succinct overview of the science of body fat gain and loss, and the evidence base for our program.  It also contains a schematic that ties together the various concepts in visual form. You can download it from the Dan�s Plan site by following this link to our program overview page.

Ideal Weight Program 2.0 Upgrades

Over the last year, Dan and I have been working hard to improve the Ideal Weight Program, both in response to user feedback and our own ideas for development.  Here are some of the new features we offer in 2014:

1. Four-week meal plans and shopping lists for the FLASH diet and the Simple Food Diet, as requested by Ideal Weight Program users.  This is in addition to the recipes and cooking guides we already provide.  
2. The Protein Unit system.  Research suggests there's an optimal amount of protein for appetite control and fat loss, depending on your height, weight, gender, and physical activity level.  Our fat loss diets are high in protein, but how do you know you're getting the right amount?  We've created a calculator that does it for you automatically, and explains how to apply your personalized Protein Unit value easily and intuitively using real food. 
3. Diet plates.  These are visual guides to following our diets, based loosely on the intuitive USDA MyPlate design.  
4. Cheat sheets.  Put these on your fridge to remind yourself of your diet and lifestyle guidelines, and daily protein unit goal.
5. Updated guidance.  We've refined a few things in the diet guidance documents. 

At a time of year when many people want to shed excess holiday pounds and start down a leaner, healthier path, we offer the Ideal Weight Program 2.0.  The program comes with a 30-day no-questions-asked refund policy so you can try it without risk.  We think you'll love this program, but if it doesn't work for you, we're happy to refund your purchase price. 

Financial disclosure: I receive a portion of the revenue from the sale of the Ideal Weight Program.  I do not receive revenue from the sale of other products associated with Dan's Plan or the Ideal Weight Program (such as the Fitbit, cooking tools, and other programs).

Princess Health and Does the Vitamin and Mineral Content of Food Influence Our Food Intake and Body Fatness?. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Does the Vitamin and Mineral Content of Food Influence Our Food Intake and Body Fatness?. Princessiccia

diet overweight

Gusty 03:00 Add Comment

The Claim: We Overeat Because Our Diet is Low in Vitamins and Minerals

We know that animals, including humans, seek certain properties of food. Humans are naturally attracted to food that's high in fat, sugar, starch, and protein, and tend to be less enthusiastic about low-calorie foods that don't have these properties, like vegetables (1). Think cookies vs. plain carrots.

In certain cases, the human body is able to detect a nutritional need and take steps to correct it. For example, people who are placed on a calorie-restricted diet become hungry and are motivated to make up for the calorie shortfall (2, 3). People who are placed on a low-protein diet crave protein and eat more of it after the restriction is lifted (4). Humans and many other animals also crave and seek salt, which supplies the essential minerals sodium and chlorine, although today most of us eat much more of it than we need to. At certain times, we may crave something sweet or acidic, and pregnant women are well known to have specific food cravings and aversions, although explanations for this remain speculative. Research suggests that certain animals have the ability to correct mineral deficiencies by selecting foods rich in the missing mineral (5).

These observations have led to a long-standing idea that the human body is able to detect vitamin and mineral (micronutrient) status and take steps to correct a deficit. This has led to the secondary idea that nutrient-poor food leads to overeating, as the body attempts to make up for low nutrient density by eating more food. In other words, we overeat because our food doesn't supply the micronutrients our bodies need, and eating a micronutrient-rich diet corrects this and allows us to eat less and lose body fat. These ideas are very intuitive, but intuition doesn't always get you very far in biology. Let's see how they hold up to scrutiny.

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Princess Health and To keep kids from getting fat, use smaller plates and portions, limit TV viewing and make sure they get 10 hours of sleep a night.Princessiccia

Princess Health and To keep kids from getting fat, use smaller plates and portions, limit TV viewing and make sure they get 10 hours of sleep a night.Princessiccia

body mass index child obesity childhood obesity children children's health diet nutrition

Gusty 05:16 Add Comment

Kentucky ranks high in child obesity. Parents can make sure their children maintain a healthy weight with three simple suggestions highlighted in recent studies: Serve them meals on smaller, child-size plates, pay attention to what they watch on TV, and make sure they get enough sleep.

In Kentucky, almost 18 percent of middle-school-age children and 16 percent of elementary-age kids are obese, and every third child born who was in the U.S. in 2000 will develop Type 2 diabetes if current trends continue, says a recent report from the University of Kentucky's College of Public Health.

The three suggestions are based on three new studies in the April issue of Pediatrics.

One study found first-graders served themselves larger food portions and consumed almost 50 percent of the extra calories they put on their plates when using adult-sized dinner plates instead of child-sized salad plates, reports Michelle Healy of USA Today.
A second study examined the relationship between heavy use of media  and increased body mass index,  a measure based on height and weight that can classify someone as being overweight or obese. It found that TV usage is the most problematic and leads to higher BMI scores, reports Healy. One reason for this may be that TV advertising includes commercials for unhealthy snack foods. Or, perhaps kids are missing out on exercise because they watch so much TV. 

A new sleep study adds to research saying that insufficient sleep may contribute to the rise in adolescent obesity because it changes hormone levels that could lead to overeating and weight gain, reports Healy.

These findings support existing recommendations to help children attain and keep a healthy weight according the UK report. Portion sizes should be a third of adult portions for younger children and two-thirds of adult portions for older children; children's TV screen time should be limited to two hours per day; and children should get 10 hours of sleep each night.

Princess Health and Glucagon, Dietary Protein, and Low-Carbohydrate Diets. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Glucagon, Dietary Protein, and Low-Carbohydrate Diets. Princessiccia

diet liver low-carb overweight

Gusty 19:00 Add Comment

Glucagon is a hormone that plays an important role in blood glucose control. Like insulin, it's secreted by the pancreas, though it's secreted by a different cell population than insulin (alpha vs. beta cells). In some ways, glucagon opposes insulin. However, the role of glucagon in metabolism is frequently misunderstood in diet-health circles.

The liver normally stores glucose in the form of glycogen and releases it into the bloodstream as needed. It can also manufacture glucose from glycerol, lactate, and certain amino acids. Glucagon's main job is to keep blood glucose from dipping too low by making sure the liver releases enough glucose. There are a few situations where this is particularly important:

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