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August 2002
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Most Feared Cancers: For Women, Its Breast Cancer. Can Diet Help?
By Kerry Neville, M.S., R.D.
Breast cancer. It’s a big concern of most women. Though age, family history and race are confirmed risk factors, the reality is that eight of every 10 women who develop the disease have neither of these. With that in mind, choices you can control become even more important.
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Antibiotic Use In Animals Leaves People Vulnerable To "Superbugs"
By Densie Webb, Ph.D., R.D
Earlier this year, Perdue, Tyson and Foster Farms, three major poultry producers, revealed that they had begun to greatly reduce the use of antibiotics in their chickens. The revelations made front page headlines in The New York Times. Why so newsworthy? Because of the emerging health crisis caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Overuse of antibiotics has resulted in so-called superbugs, strains of microbes that have developed immunity to the antibiotics in our pharmaceutical arsenal. As a result, if you become sick
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Flaxseed Comes of Age: Good Nutrition in a Small Package
By Amy Aubertin, M.S., R.D.
The blue-flowered flax plant (Linum usitatissimum), cultivated since ancient times, has been used for linen cloth, in paints (as linseed oil) and yes, as food. In fact, flax is becoming the oat bran of this decade—trendy, but worthy of the acclaim, because flaxseed boasts benefits incredibly numerous for such small seeds. They are chock full of health-promoting omega-3 fatty acids, phytoestrogens, fiber and protein.
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Low-Fat Foods Find Little Favor Among Weight-Loss Experts
Consumer demand remains high for reduced-fat and low-fat foods; a national survey conducted for the Calorie Control Council, a trade group for makers of sugar and fat substitutes, reveals that 87% of those surveyed eat or drink "lighter" versions of their favorite foods regularly. Many of these products are made with fat substitutes, ingredients that mimic fat’s taste, texture or mouthfeel. But, say experts, fat replacements are not the panacea waist-watchers might think they are. "It’s a common assumption that
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Continued Concern Over Cooked Carbs
An international panel of experts met in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 27 to evaluate recent findings on acrylamide. That’s the carcinogenic and nerve-damaging compound that Swedish scientists found in high-carbohydrate foods that are cooked at high temperature, such as potato chips, French fries, crackers, even cereal (see EN, June 2002). Acrylamide a "Major Concern." The panel, hosted jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) made no call for changes in diet or manufacturing
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Research Roundup
F Vitamin C helps keep lungs healthy over time, according to a nine-year study of 1,346 adults in the United Kingdom. Researchers collected information on participants’ diets and respiratory symptoms and tested a measure of lung function 10 years apart. While vitamin C and magnesium were both associated with better scores at each testing, vitamin C alone was protective over time. By slowing the loss of lung function, vitamin C-rich foods may reduce the
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Can a Supplement Spare You "Senior Moments"?
The Buzz: "You don’t have to be a senior to need Senior Moment," declares an ad for this new "advanced memory-enhancing dietary supplement" from Nutramax. Though targeted to "adults of all ages," the supplement promises to help you "overcome mild memory loss" associated with aging, stress and poor diet. Could a remedy be this simple?
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Salads: Going Beyond the Green to Boost Nutrition
By Andrea Platzman, M.S., R.,D.
Everyone thinks salads are healthful, but some are more so than others—a lot more. And—dare we say it?—not all salads are even healthful. Certainly not if they’re swimming in fat-laden mayo or drowning in dressing. But almost all greens can make a healthful salad; the darker the green, the more nutritious it is. And here’s a shocker—even choosing pale but satisfyingly crunchy Iceberg, an American favorite, is okay, if you mix in other more nutritious greens or add healthful toppings (see
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Fruits and Veggies Protect Your Heart
Chalk up more evidence for fruits and vegetables. Eating them decreases the risk of stroke and death from heart disease, according to data from nearly 10,000 adults enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Even after taking risk factors into account, participants who ate three or more fruits and vegetables a day had 27% fewer stokes over 19 years compared to those who ate less than one a day. They were also 42% less likely
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A-Maizing Corn: Fairly Bursting With Fiber, Folate
The Folklore: Native Americans believed corn to be the source and sustainer of all life. And rightly so; without corn, early American settlers might not have survived their first winter in New England. The Indians taught them to grow this unfamiliar vegetable by planting seeds with fish (for fertilizer). The Facts: Botanically known as Zea Mays L., corn descends from a wild grass called teosinte, which originated in Mexico. Today’s corn plants are taller than early maize. The kernel consists of
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Meatless Quorn Comes to America Amid Considerable Controversy
Q. I’ve heard controversy about a new food called Quorn. What is it? A. Quorn (pronounced "kworn") is the brand name of a line of products containing mycoprotein, a high-protein food in the fungi family, which includes mushrooms, morels and truffles. It’s been available in Europe for nearly two decades as a popular meat substitute.
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Hot Beverages, Spices, Alcohol Can Trigger Rosacea Blush
Q. I have rosacea. Is there a special diet that can prevent my facial flushing from worsening? A. There’s no diet, per se, but there are certain foods you might want to avoid, because they can sometimes trigger flushing. Suspect foods vary from one rosacea sufferer to the next, so you’ll need to pay attention to which foods are a problem for you. Rosacea (pronounced ro-ZAY-shuh) is a progressive acne-like skin disorder that affects about one in 20 Americans, typically between the ages
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