Environmental Nutrition

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

Subscribers Only

Research Roundup

Subscribers Only People who drink the most coffee are much less likely to die sooner—from any cause—than those who drink the least. That’s what American and Spanish researchers found after analyzing the diets of nearly 128,000 men and women for 18 to 24 years. "Most" in the study was four or more cups a day; "least" was less than one cup a month. Less heart disease accounted for most of the difference. The connection was strong even after taking into account body size, smoking, diet, existing diseases and caffeine intake. The researchers conclude that drinking a lot of coffee isn’t likely to make you die sooner than expected and it might even be protective.

Garlic’s Allure: This Bulb’s For You...Benefits Too

Subscribers Only For the past 5,000 years, garlic has been used to ward off vampires and cure all manner of physical ailments. Its culinary role, so important today, was once reserved for slaves, soldiers and laborers, as garlic was thought to boost strength and vigor. In World War I, before the introduction of antibiotics, garlic was used as an antiseptic to clean wounds and repel bacteria. The Facts. Garlic’s botanical name (Allium sativum) comes from Celtic for "hot" or "burning" and Latin for "cultivated." Though dubbed "the stinking rose," garlic actually is a member of the lily family, cousin to onions, leeks, chives and shallots.

Too Little or Too Much Iron Poses Serious Health Consequences

Subscribers Only Both, just to confuse you more. The truth is, it can be either, depending on your situation and age. Here’s the deal:Iron is an essential mineral throughout life, as a carrier of oxygen in blood and as an integral part of proteins and enzymes involved in metabolism. A deficiency of iron limits oxygen delivery to cells, resulting in symptoms that range from fatigue to impaired immunity. Iron-deficiency anemia is more typically a problem for children and premenopausal women. For men and postmenopausal women, a greater risk is from too much iron.

Healthy Gums May Mean a Healthy Heart: What You Need to Know

Subscribers Only Periodontal disease causes inflammation in your gums, and experts now believe the more inflammation in your body, the greater your risk for clogged arteries, which can lead to heart attack or stroke. For some people with existing heart conditions like damaged heart valves, dentists used to prescribe antibiotics to prevent bacteria in the mouth from getting into the bloodstream during invasive dental procedures, such as tooth extractions and intensive gum cleaning. The worry was that it could cause a fairly rare infection of the lining of the heart called infective endocarditis. But the evidence now suggests otherwise.

Beefless Burgers Deliver on Nutrition, Taste, Going Green

Subscribers Only You may not be a vegan, and you may never have worn Birkenstocks or lived in Haight-Ashbury, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t looking for vegetarian-like ways to reduce the amount of bad fats you’re eating. Animal-based foods—full-fat dairy products and marbelized meats—are the main sources of saturated fat in American diets. An easy step for cutting back on these high-fat offenders? Going meatless with your burgers. Unlike a steak, best enjoyed simply prepared, once you pile on a burger’s fixin’s (lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard) you’ll barely miss the meat. Really.

Americans Living Longer, But Healthful Habits Are Still Important

Subscribers Only The recent deaths of NBC’s Tim Russert from heart disease and former White House spokesperson Tony Snow from colon cancer, both only in their 50s, seem to fly in the face of recently released statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which reveal that Americans are living longer than ever. Our average life expectancy has now reached an all-time high of 78.1 years. The CDC statistics also highlight the fact that death rates from several diseases—including, ironically, heart disease and cancer, as well as stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure—have experienced respectable drops.

Rx: Weight Gain?

Subscribers Only It’s not uncommon. You start taking a new medication and suddenly you notice you’ve gained weight. You suspect a connection. And you may be right. Several classes of medications are known to trigger weight gain.They include drugs for high blood pressure (e.g., Minipress, Cardura, Hytrin), diabetes (e.g., Avandia, Diabinese, Orinase) and heart conditions (e.g., Inderal, Lopressor, Toprol, Tenormin). Some of the worst offenders are corticosteroids, such as prednisone, antipsychotics (e.g., Haldol, Risperdal, Zyprexa) and anticonvulsants (e.g., Depakote, Tegretol, Neurontin).

3 Top Breakthroughs That Can Benefit You Now

Subscribers Only It’s tough to keep track of nutrition news and even tougher to sift through it and decide what really matters. Now, the American Society for Nutrition, an organization of nutrition research scientists and clinicians, has cited some top nutrition breakthroughs that affect the health of older people or have the potential to improve future health.

Whole Grains 101: Serve Up a Variety of Healthful Grains

Subscribers Only The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that we "make half of our grains whole" and replace refined-grain foods like white bread, rice and rolls with whole-grain options. That’s because research shows they are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber and anti-oxidants to help protect us from the likes of heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Vitamins Aid Memory in Type 2 Diabetes

Subscribers Only Taking high doses of vitamins C and E may help prevent the memory impairment that occurs when older people with diabetes eat high-fat meals. Canadian researchers studied 16 men and women with type 2 diabetes, assigning them to one of three meals on three separate occasions: a high-fat meal, the same high-fat meal with vitamins C (1,000 milligrams) and E (800 International Units) or water alone. After the meals, they took a series of neuropsychological tests to measure their recall abilities.

Tips For Replacing Plastics When You Shop, Cook And Store Your Food

Subscribers Only It’s hard to imagine a world without plastics, which explains why it’s so hard to avoid them, especially in the kitchen, where Americans buy, store, prepare, cook, wrap and serve food with this seemingly indispensable man-made substance. But now, some scientists think food and certain plastics shouldn’t cross paths, because dangerous chemicals may leach from plastics into the food we eat. Although plastics have never been proven harmful to humans (perhaps only because no clinical studies have been conducted to date), research on animals in addition to environmental observations of sea life and wildlife suggest otherwise. Some experts say ingesting even small amounts of plastics over the long term could lead to increased rates of cancer, neurological and metabolic disorders, reproductive problems and a host of other ailments. Here, EN gives you a rundown on what you should know about plastics, because what you don’t know just might hurt you.

Food Safety In The Produce Aisle: What You Can Do To Protect Yourself

Subscribers Only If you’ve been following the summer-long headlines about fresh produce and Salmonella contamination (see sidebar, page 4), you know that foodborne illness is serious business—for consumers, retailers and growers alike. While you may think burgers, chicken or eggs when you hear of an outbreak, fresh produce is an increasingly common source of foodborne illness. This past summer’s Salmonella outbreak, which first pointed to tomatoes, came on the heels of an outbreak in 2006 traced to E. coli in spinach. Both demonstrate the vulnerability of fresh produce to contamination, and are clear examples of how our increasing reliance on national distribution of foods means outbreaks are likely to affect people in many states. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for working with industry to keep the nation’s food supply safe. But it’s impossible to eliminate all problems. You, the consumer, play a key part in the food safety chain by doing everything possible to maintain the safety of food you prepare at home.