Tag Archives: nutrition

How will you celebrate Food Day this year?

Posted on October 23, 2013 | Leave a comment

I wrote about Food Day in my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week.

Food Day is an annual event that aims to raise awareness about the food we eat and the impact it has on our health, environment and quality of life. You can learn more about how you can celebrate Food Day on October 24 this year. Then, keep celebrating everyday.

If you aren’t sure where to start, here are some suggestions:

1. Think about what you eat and the impact it has on your health, the environment, and the wellbeing of others. Start by taking this quiz: Food Day | 14 Questions

2. Shop at a farmer’s market to get the freshest, locally grown food. As a bonus you will benefit the local community by supporting local farmers while reducing potential environmental harm from long distance food transportation. You can find a farmer’s market in you area here: Local Harvest | Farmers Markets

I am fortunate because I live near the Aiken County Farmer’s Market, which is an excellent source of local vegetables, fruit, nuts, meat, beans, dairy, honey, flowers, and much more.

3. Watch a movie! While there are many films that are relevant to Food Day, you can’t do much better than Food, Inc.

4. Read a book! Again, lots of good choices. Two of my favorites are In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan and What to Eat by Marion Nestle.

5. Keep up with the latest news and information about food, nutrition, health, and the environment by following some real experts including Marion Nestle, Michael Pollan, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and, of course, the people behind Food Day. If you want to learn more about responsible farming,  Polyface Farms is a great example.

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How to prevent the flu: Go for a walk, then take a nap.

Posted on October 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

Cold and flu season is approaching. If you haven’t gotten a flu shot yet, now is the time. And of course you know about washing your hands frequently and steering clear of people who are sick. But did you know that regular exercise, good nutrition, reducing stress, even getting enough sleep can help you prevent getting sick? It’s true, as I explain in my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week.

You can learn more about seasonal flu  and the flu vaccine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Handwashing is among the most important things you can do to stop the spread of the flu and other viruses. You have probably been doing it wrong, so you may want to learn this song. Perfect timing, since today is Global Handwashing Day. You could probably learn a thing or two about drying your hands, too.

Getting enough sleep is a good idea. In fact, lack of sleep can have a detrimental effect on your immune system, increasing the chance you will get sick. Another study showed that sleep following a vaccination enhanced the effectiveness of that vaccine.

Adequate nutrition is important for a healthy immune system. That said, there is no evidence that supplementing any particular nutrient will be beneficial unless, of course, there is a clear deficiency. In fact, one supplement company paid $23 million to settle a class action lawsuit regarding false claims that it prevented colds.

And that brings us to exercise. Regular moderate exercise enhances  immune system function by stimulating immune cells but prolonged vigorous exercise can impair the immune system and increase the risk of infections, especially upper respiratory tract infections. Research also shows that exercise prior to a flu shot improves the immune response to the immunization.

If you remember nothing else from this article, go for a walk before your flu shot,  then take a nap!

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On the topic of food additives: Why there is seaweed in your ice cream.

Posted on September 19, 2013 | Leave a comment

Since I have been writing about food additives this week, this article caught my attention when I saw it.

Why Seaweed is Sometimes Used in the Making of Ice Cream.

I am continually impressed by what I can learn through randomly clinking links on the web. I could probably spend and entire day just doing that. [Leading to a feeling of panic upon realizing that is it already almost 11:30 am!]

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Are food additives safe? The answer is…no one really knows!

Posted on September 16, 2013 | 1 comment

My Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week is about the safety of food additives. It was inspired by a recent article and editorial in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Neltner TG, Alger HM, O’Reilly JT, Krimsky S, Bero LA, Maffini MV. Conflicts of Interest in Approvals of Additives to Food Determined to Be Generally Recognized as Safe: Out of Balance. JAMA Intern Med. 2013;():-. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.10559.
Nestle M. Conflicts of Interest in the Regulation of Food Safety: A Threat to Scientific Integrity. JAMA Intern Med. 2013;():-. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.9158. http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1725122

Basically, many commonly used food additives have not undergone adequate testing for safety and approval by the FDA, mostly because everyone (literally, everyone) who serves on the panels that approve these additives as GRAS (generally recognized as safe) is either directly or indirectly paid by the additive manufacturers. And that just ain’t right!

If you are interested in food additives and other aspects of food safety, nutrition, and health, here are two excellent resources:

The Center for Science in the Public Interest report on food additive safety : http://www.cspinet.com/reports/chemcuisine.htm

Marion Nestle, the author of the editorial mentioned above, has an excellent blog about all aspects of nutrition, including food additives and safety:  http://www.foodpolitics.com/

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Just in time for Childhood Obesity Awareness Month: The completely unauthorized and ill-advised childhood obesity experiment

Posted on September 9, 2013 | 1 comment

September is Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, which is the topic of my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard today.

Although the causes involve a complex interaction of genetic, biological, behavioral, and environmental factors (as this article explains), most cases likely involve too little activity and too much energy intake, particularly added sugars. It is important to note that both diet and activity play a role, and both a targets for prevention and treatment. The same is true for adults, too.

Obesity among children, both young kids and teenagers, is associated with serious health, social, and psychological problems. In fact, obese children, especially those who are inactive, tend to develop “adult” diseases including high blood pressure and diabetes.

And while we know that obesity and inactivity in kids is a problem, I don’t think we realize how bad it is now or will be in the future. That’s because no one has any idea what will happen to an obese 12-year old who develops type 2 diabetes. Adults who become diabetic are at higher risk for an early heart attack; does this mean that a 12-year old will be on the fast track  toward a heart attack at age 30?

We don’t know. But I think we are going to find out. Unfortunately, it’s as though we are experimenting with a generation of children to find out.

 

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Good advice for college students. And everyone else.

Posted on August 27, 2013 | Leave a comment

This came to my attention recently. It’s an infographic about how college students can stay active, get fit, and avoid the dreaded “Freshman 15.”

This is good advice for the rest of us, too. Replace dorm room with living room and cafeteria with kitchen and you have a simple and effective way to improve your health.

The Best Regimen for College Fitness

[The Best Regimen for College Fitness via The Best Colleges]

By the way, studies of weight gain during college show that it isn’t really the Freshman 15. Research shows it’s more like the Freshman 4.6. But that doesn’t have the same impact, does it?

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Why your diet may not be working as well as you hoped (and how to fix it).

Posted on August 26, 2013 | Leave a comment

Many people follow a diet to lose weight, treat health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, or to feel “healthier.” Some of these diets are based on research (the DASH diet, Mediterranean diet, etc.) and others are simply trendy at the moment (the Paleo diet).

There is great debate about which diet is the best. Unfortunately, there are no good answers to that question. The good news is that almost all diets are good,  meaning that they are at least partially effective for improving some health measure. People do lose weight following even the most ridiculous diets, right?

It turns out that the diet is only one part of an effective strategy for weight loss or lowering blood pressure, cholesterol, or glucose. The other essential factor is  physical activity!

Regular exercise, or pretty much any activity, is important for several reasons. For a person trying to lose weight, exercise adds to weight loss and helps keep the weight off later. Nutritional interventions for diabetes, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are all more effective with exercise.

The idea that a diet is more effective when combined with exercise is the topic of my Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week.

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In vitro beef and other fake food.

Posted on August 19, 2013 | Leave a comment

My Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week is about the in vitro burger you no doubt heard about in the news. Would you eat meat that was created in a laboratory? Many people would say no, mostly because it seems “unnatural.”

But most of us eat plenty of processed and modified foods every day. Aren’t these foods also unnatural?

You can learn more about the story behind the creation as well as results of the first taste test of the “test tube” burger at the following links:

A good New York Times story about the taste test here.

An article in Scientific American here:

If you are looking for something to listen to while you exercise, try this radio story on Science Friday on NPR.

Another New York Times story about the creation of the burger is here.

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What kids will be missing when they go back to school.

Posted on August 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

My Health & Fitness column in the Aiken Standard this week is about the experience of heading back to school. But it’s really about what most kids won’t experience when they are in school—any meaningful education about nutrition, activity, and health.

To be sure, the time that students spend learning the math and science, reading and writing, and art and music is time well spent. Unfortunately, though, in most schools, this comes at the expense of health education. In fact, opportunities for children to be active in school, either through formal physical education or more informal play and recess, has declined over the years. Good nutrition isn’t likely to get much classroom time at any level and the food served in most school hardly sends a positive message about healthy eating. These are missed opportunities!

This isn’t new, of course. I have written about the both the importance of physical activity for growth and learning for children (and adults, too) and the impact of these missed opportunities before. And I’m certainly not the only one to take notice. Probably the most widely known advocate in this area is Jamie Oliver, and his efforts made nutrition and health in schools topics for discussion among parents, teachers, administrators, and politicians alike.

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The best answer I have seen to questions about dietary supplements

Posted on July 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

I get a lot of questions about nutritional supplements. Should I take (fill in the blank)? Will it help me lose weight? What would I recommend? Most of the time, my answers are disappointing.

Since there is very little research to support big benefits of taking supplements, I tend to respond with something like this: “There is no good reason* why you should take supplements so it probably won’t help much. I  probably won’t hurt you either, so if you have the extra money, go ahead.”

*Unless your physician tells you to. And tell your physician about supplements you do take.

I recently read a much better response. It’s from Marion Nestle, a professor, writer, and all-around expert about all things nutrition. It’s from a Q&A on her blog, Food Politics. You should make it part of your regular reading.

Q: Why are you so hard on nutritional supplements? You must be one of those people who thinks they kill people.

A: Don’t get me wrong. Nutrient supplements are great for people who have nutrient deficiencies. Whether they make people worse is arguable, but study after study shows that nutrient supplements do not make healthy people healthier. If you like to take supplements, I’m guessing you don’t care much about what the science says. Supplements aren’t about evidence-based medicine. They are about deep distrust of modern diets, science and the health care system. If nothing else, supplements are powerful placebos, and I’m not at all convinced they are seriously harmful. My advice: Supplements, like everything else about nutrition, should be taken in moderation.

Good, right? Why didn’t I think of that?

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