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Consumers are leading busy lives and are inundated with information and choice. Although taste remains a primary consumer driver in food choice, nutrition and health are also very important considerations. This is reflective of the evolving holistic conversation of health and well-being, as “nutrition” conversations no longer simply involve nutrients. This is not surprising, as the population is now multiple generations removed from farms, so it makes sense that there are more, broader questions from people about how and what food gets on their plates. So let’s talk a bit about the pork story.
Although diet can be a factor in many chronic health conditions, surprisingly, U.S.-trained doctors receive little or no formal training in nutrition. (Estimates are that, on average, students in medical schools spend less than 1% of lecture time learning about diet.) Staff and students at the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic would like to see that knowledge gap rectified.
Poor sleep has been linked to unhealthy eating habits and weight gain. Now a team of American researchers believes it knows why people may gravitate toward calorie-dense junk food when sleep deprived: Blame it on the nose.
Active-duty males involved in the U.S. Army Special Forces Assessment and Selection course who had higher Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores—used to assess compliance with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans—performed better on the demanding Army Physical Fitness Test and were up to 75% more likely to be selected for the elite unit than those with the lowest diet-quality scores, according to a study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
In an analysis of 19 previous investigations involving millions of people, researchers at the University of Minnesota and Oxford University examined the human-health and environmental impacts of 15 different food groups, including legumes, nuts, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, red meat, dairy, eggs, fish and sugar-sweetened beverages. The foods were compared with one another based on how they influence the risk of disease and the toll they take on the planet in terms of water and land use, water and soil pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Here’s another good reason to embrace the trend of eating more plants: A cohort study in Nature Communications involving 56,048 adults in Denmark found that people who over a 23-year period habitually consumed moderate to high amounts of foods rich in flavonoids—naturally occurring chemical compounds found predominantly in plant-based foods—were less likely to die from cancer or heart disease.
In a nation where food seems abundant, some may be surprised to hear that about 11% of all U.S. households suffer from food insecurity, defined as a lack of access to enough food for all household members to have healthy lives.
A 2019 study published in Diabetes Care found that increasing total consumption of sugary beverages, which included 100% fruit juice, by more than 0.5 servings/day (about 4 ounces) over 4 years was linked to a 16% higher risk for type 2 diabetes, compared with maintaining steady intake. This was after adjusting for variables such as body mass index, other dietary changes and lifestyle habits.
For years, nutrition and health experts have been telling us to cut back on our intake of red meat. Now, a controversial new analysis says this advice was largely unwarranted.
Amazon-owned Whole Foods has made some predictions on which foods and products will be trending in 2020. Based on input from dozens of in-the-know store employees, here’s what the company sees in the modern shopping cart.
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IDEA Fitness Journal
Current Issue:
December 2019
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