Environmental Nutrition

View or print a copy of the entire July issue of Environmental Nutrition

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Research Roundup

Subscribers Only Getting more protein than recommended promotes healthy bones. That’s the conclusion of a recent review on how important dietary protein is to bone health. Protein has been both vilified and glorified with respect to its effect on bones, depending on the amount eaten, the source, calcium intake and the acid-base balance in the body. The researchers concluded that when all these factors are considered, the optimal intake for bone health is likely higher than the current recommendation of 0.36 grams of protein daily per pound of body weight (about 45 to 65 grams a day for people of average weight).

Cantaloupe: Enjoy Succulence With Tad of Caution

Subscribers Only The melon that Americans call cantaloupe is actually a muskmelon or "netted" melon, not a "true" cantaloupe, which is grown only in Europe. Both true cantaloupe and muskmelon are part of the Cucumis melo family, along with casaba, Crenshaw and honeydew melons, but not watermelon, which is in a different genus entirely. All are part of a larger family with cucumber, squash and pumpkin.

Looking at Diet’s Many Possible Effects on Parkinson’s Disease

Subscribers Only Several aspects of diet and Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been studied; almost none have been proved and many have come to confusing conclusions. PD occurs when certain nerve cells in the brain die. These cells normally produce a chemical messenger called dopamine, which allows coordinated muscle functioning. By the time symptoms appear, about 80% of dopamine-producing cells are damaged. Symptoms include uncontrollable shaking, slowness, lack of balance, cramped handwriting, muffled speech and a stiff facial expression.

Brown Rice Cake Bonus

Subscribers Only A package of rice cakes that lists simply "whole-grain brown rice and salt" as ingredients is indeed a whole-grain food. Quaker Foods brown rice cakes, for example, provide nine grams of whole grains each, enough to qualify for a whole-grains stamp from the Whole Grains Council. However, brown rice is lower in fiber than many other whole grains, and a puffed rice cake doesn’t contain enough fiber to list it on the label. But that doesn’t lessen its whole-grain benefits.

South Beach Super Charged Comes Unplugged

Subscribers Only The new diet is basically the same as the original South Beach Diet, so yes, it’s healthy and safe, and it should work. The main difference with The South Beach Diet Super Charged (Rodale, 2008) is an added exercise regimen that promises to speed up your metabolism to provide even more health benefits. New Promises. This new book by cardiologist Arthur Agatston, M.D., author of the original South Beach Diet, is just the latest in his wildly successful series of diet books and cookbooks and it’s already making bestseller lists.

Iced Tea and Chai: Plenty to Choose From, Little to Like

Subscribers Only A scorching heat wave during the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair led a tea plantation owner, who had been offering free hot tea, to add ice cubes to his samples. "Iced tea" became an instant crowd pleaser. These days, ready-to-drink iced tea accounts for about 80% of tea sales in the U.S.

New Study Finds Six Eggs a Week Okay…Except If You Have Diabetes

Subscribers Only As a major source of dietary cholesterol, eggs have been at the epicenter of heart health concerns for decades. Yet expert opinion in recent years has focused on saturated and trans fats. Still, the American Heart Association continues to recommend that healthy people limit dietary cholesterol to 300 milligrams a day, 200 if you have heart disease. A large egg has 213 milligrams of cholesterol, which automatically restricts egg intake if you follow AHA’s advice. However, there is little concrete evidence to suggest that eggs increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Dishing Up Low-Carbon

Subscribers Only The latest environmental catch phrase is "low carbon," as in a low-carbon economy, which strives to cut back on fossil fuels to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Take the concept to your plate and you have a low-carbon diet, which maximizes foods that require less energy to grow, produce or transport. How do you know if you’re eating the low-carbon way? A new website allows you to rate your plate, carbon-style, and even suggests how to lower the carbon footprint of your diet. You can drag-and-drop "foods" onto an imaginary skillet and the site estimates the CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents) emissions of your meal. CO2e is an international measure of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane.

SlimShots Aims to Control Your Appetite

Subscribers Only The product, nothing more than oat oil and palm oil—albeit specially formulated—plus vanilla flavor and the sweetener aspartame, comes in 20-calorie "mini-shots" the size of an individual coffee creamer. For "optimal effectiveness," you take two shots a day the first week. After that, one a day, alone or added to coffee, yogurt, cereal or smoothies. It doesn’t need refrigeration. It’s available at Walgreen’s, CVS, Wal-Mart, Rite-Aid, GNC and online at www.slimshots.com.

Milking It: Decoding Dairy to Decide What to Use When

Subscribers Only Dairy decisions are more complicated now that options have multiplied. New issues to consider include whether cows are treated with hormones, whether milk is organic, and even real dairy versus soy.

Vitamin D May Portend Depression As You Age

Subscribers Only Low blood levels of vitamin D are strongly associated with depression among older people. That’s what Dutch researchers found when they examined the blood of 1,282 men and women aged 65 to 95, who were participating in the long-term Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. The connection was strong even after taking age, gender, BMI, smoking, health, physical activity and geographic location into account.

Sugar—Can’t Live With It Or Without It...But Here’s How You Can Try

Subscribers Only Like it or not, we are a nation with a collective sweet tooth. Sweeteners—natural or artificial—saturate our food supply, appearing in everything from beverages, cereals and yogurts to processed meats, condiments and even spice blends. Now, the growing epidemic of obesity is shining a spotlight on sugar as a possible contributor to America’s weight problem. But a love of sweets doesn’t mean sugary foods have to dominate your diet. Here, EN offers advice on how to manage a sweet tooth without giving up what you love.

Sodium Showdown: Lowering Elevated Blood Pressure Isn’t All About Salt

Subscribers Only If you’re one of the 65 million Americans with high blood pressure (hypertension), you’re no doubt familiar with the advice to cut back on salt (40% of which is sodium). But, as you may know, that’s no easy task, especially if the goal is to limit your daily sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams—the recommendation for people with high blood pressure. But what you may not know is that research shows other changes also benefit blood pressure. So which matters more in the treatment of hypertension—limiting sodium or incorporating other diet and lifestyle changes? EN investigates.