Nutrition & Health News, week of May 11th

I had to neglect the blog for a bit to make it through finals – sorry, folks! I’m back with the news:

• A group of physicians has started a petition that calls on President Obama to stop eating junk food on the campaign trail. Obama frequently visits local eateries on his travels, and has been shown eating everything from chili dogs to pie in photo-ops. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine believes that in order to reduce obesity and support FLOTUS’s efforts, he should set a better example for Americans by eating healthier on the road. Too far? [The Atlantic]
• Legislation recently passed in the House cuts $35.8B from nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps), Meals on Wheels, and funding for Public Health and Prevention grants. These programs, especially SNAP, are vital to the well-being of many lower income Americans. It is believed that the bill will not pass in the Senate. [Obama Foodorama]
• A study of the impact of California’s bans on the sale of junk food in schools demonstrates that students have cut down on calories, added sugar, and fat since the policies were implemented. High school students in California consumed an average of 158 calories less than their counterparts in other states. Importantly, this does not mean the students had stopped eating junk food in favor of healthier foods, just that they were eating less of it. [New York Times]

The Best of “Best Of 2011″ Posts

Because you can’t possibly read them all, I’ve rounded up the “best of” lists that are worth reading (or at least skimming).

In food policy:

• Good Food News of 2011 [Grist]
• Bad Food News of 2011 [Grist]
• Top 10 Farm and Food Stories of 2011 [Civil Eats]
• Top 6 Food Politics Lessons Learned in 2011 [Huffington Post]

In health:

• Most Popular Health Topics of 2011 [New York Times]
• The Year in Fitness [New York Times]

In cooking & eating:

• Best of 2011 – Kitchen Tools We Love [Apartment Therapy]
• 15 Recipes to Lighten Things Up in the Kitchen [Apartment Therapy]
• Sam Sifton’s Top 10 Restaurants of 2011 [New York Times] (or as Kim Severson said, the Top 10 Restaurants You Will Now Not Be Able to Get Into)
• 11 Food and Drink Trends of 2011 [Serious Eats]
• Best of FOOD52 in 2011 [FOOD52]

In books:

• 10 Favorite Cookbooks in 2011 [Serious Eats]
• Favorite Non-Cookbook Food Books in 2011 [Serious Eats]
• Best Food Books of 2011 [The Atlantic]

Here’s to 2012!

Happy Thanksgiving!

ha!

A handy guide to Thanksgiving

 

Thanksgiving is a few days away and you still don’t know what to bring to dinner? Use this handy chart to figure it out.

image via Chow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tufts’ MyPlate for Older Adults

Last week, Tufts University scientists working out of the Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) released a version of MyPlate modified for older adults, who have significantly different and unique dietary needs compared to younger people.

This version of MyPlate, much like the version developed by Harvard, is more illustrative than the color-blocked image provided by the USDA. Like the original version, half of the plate is composed of fruits and vegetables, with smaller portions of protein and grains, as well as beverages. However, there are a few distinct changes that take into account the specific nutrients that older adults should be consuming:

• Dietary fiber – seen in the fortified cereal, oats, dried fruits, and whole fruits and vegetables
• Beverages – the original MyPlate only shows dairy as a beverage, but this image includes 3 cups of water, tea, coffee, OJ, and brothy soups. Adequate fluid intake to prevent dehydration is especially important for older adults because thirst declines with age, which is why there are 3 cups of water instead of just one.
• Flavor-enhancers – Oil, spreads, and spices are included in the middle to emphasize healthy fats (unsaturated fats, or those not from animal sources) and alternatives to salt that can enhance the flavor of foods. Because blood pressure naturally increases with age, it is recommended than older adults limit their sodium intake to minimize their risk of hypertension.
• Physical activity and meal preparation – the images in the top left emphasize the importance of maintaining physical activity as one ages, as well as the importance of taking time to prepare and eat meals. The fork and knife also point to spending more time focusing on meals and “serve as reminders to put down remote controls and smart phones and occupy both hands with eating utensils.”

One of the important aspects of this image is that foods are represented in various forms – fruits and vegetables, for example, are pictured as whole, dried, and canned (although canned vegetables should be limited due to their high sodium content). Although fresh produce is ideal, canned and dried versions “are easier to prepare, are more affordable and have a longer shelf life.”

Obesity among older adults is becoming more common, but as many older adults may not consume adequate amounts of important micro- and macronutrients. This version of MyPlate encourages older adults to meet their caloric needs with specific nutrient-dense foods, while also maintaining an active lifestyle.

Read more about it on TuftsNow.

Michael Pollan on Colbert Report, discussing Food Rules

Last night, Michael Pollan appeared on the Colbert Report for the third time. At his last visit, Colbert, great host that he is,  provided him with a bottle of Sierra Mist upon arrival. This time, Pollan thought ahead and brought a bottle of homebrew for Colbert to try…which Colbert promptly threw a Bugle chip in. Pollan discusses his forthcoming book (which is available in my Amazon store), Food Rules, which tells Americans “what to put in their mouths.” He has already published one version of Food Rules, but the new version is illustrated, with beautiful pictures by Maira Kaulman. Pollan also advocates in favor of taxing soda, which I’ll be posting about next week!

Watch the video here.

Childhood Obesity by the Numbers

Nothing like some statistics to start off your Wednesday morning!

via Fed Up With Lunch

Times Magazine Food & Drink Issue

If you haven’t checked out this weekend’s New York Times Magazine’s Food & Drink Issue, I highly suggest you do so (if you have a subscription, that is). Mark Bittman, Michael Pollan, Sam Sifton, and others answer reader questions about health, policy,  restaurants, culture, etc. The image above answers (with USDA data) the question, “how far do food stamps go in feeding a family of four?”

Read it here.

Nutrition & Health News, week of Sept. 9th

Oops, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted. I started back to school last week, in a new program – I’m now doing an M.S. in Food Policy and Applied Nutrition, in addition to my MPH. So, if my posts are sparser this fall, it’s because I’m back to being busy but studying the things I love.

• President Obama declared September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month in a press release last week. He called out the first lady’s Let’s Move! campaign as well as other important initiatives that have been instrumental in working towards curbing childhood obesity. [Obama Foodorama]
  
• Boston is launching a series of public service announcements bashing soda-drinking, in conjunction with Mayor Menino’s ban on the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages in state buildings. The commercials give the message, “don’t get smacked by fat,” and are aimed at parents and teenagers, particularly in low-income and minority communities around the city. [Boston Globe]
• Growth in farmers’ markets might not be a good thing after all – more than 1,000 new markets have cropped up over the past year (according to the USDA), but farmers are seeing less customers and are forced to be more competitive. [NYT]
• The USDA nixed New York City’s proposal to ban the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages with SNAP (food stamp) benefits, saying it would be too complicated to administer. NYC had also intended to measure the decrease in obesity rates from this initiative over a 2-year pilot phase, but the USDA concluded that measuring the direct relation between reduced soda consumption and obesity would be too difficult. The USDA also believed that the program “would ‘perpetuate the myth’ that food stamp users made poor shopping decisions.” Mayor Bloomberg is pissed. [NYT]
• Based on the hilarious SNL skit, Ben & Jerry’s is releasing a Schweddy Balls flavor ice cream – vanilla ice cream, a touch of rum, with fudge-covered rum balls and malted milk balls. The flavor had been a rumor back in June, but you can expect it to hit stores soon. If you’re not familiar with the skit, I suggest you go watch it. [AOL]

Nutrition & Health News, week of August 4th

• An outbreak of multi-drug resistant salmonella has sickened 77 people across 26 states, and killed one person. The outbreak has been linked to ground turkey, prompting one of the largest food recalls in history by Cargill. The contaminated meat was dated anywhere from February to August – check your freezers! [Obama Foodorama]
• More people than ever are using food stamps through enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The USDA reported that 45,753,078 Americans use the program – or, roughly 1 in 7 people. [Obama Foodorama]
• A recently released paper in Health Affairs reported that insurance coverage for Hispanics in Massachusetts has improved since health reform in 2009, but that disparities still exist. The study conducted by JSI found that Spanish-speaking Hispanics were far less likely than English-speaking Hispanics to have obtained coverage or to have a usual source of care, indicating a need for health reforms to establish programs to aid this population in obtaining coverage. [Boston Globe]*
• A rule change affecting some breweries in Massachusetts will now require them to grow at least half of the hops and grains they use, or get them from a domestic source.  For small breweries, this rule change could hurt their business and could prevent them from serving beer on the premises of breweries – that means no tastings – sad. [Boston Globe]
• The FDA is finally trying to define “gluten-free” by creating standards and clarifying how gluten-free foods can be labeled  by food manufacturers and restaurants. A gluten-free label was first proposed in 2007, but nothing has happened yet. Creating a standard is essential so that people with celiac disease, who are unable to digest gluten, are not misled by food labels. [ABC News]

TGIF, people. Enjoy your weekend!

*shameless plug – I helped work on this paper!