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December 2003
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Blood Cholesterol High? Check Your Bone Density
Postmenopausal women with elevated blood levels of “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol may want to watch out for thinning bones. According to research from the University of Milan, these women may be at increased risk for osteopenia, reduced bone density that precedes osteoporosis.
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EN’s Annual A-to-Z Guide: Toxins, Disease-Fighters, Diets, Food News
By Susan Male Smith, M.A., R.D., Editor
It’s been yet another year of nutrition developments, advances, surprises and recommendations. Over the course of a year, EN manages to touch on a wide variety of topics about nutrition and the environment to keep our readers informed. At year’s end, we present you with this A-to-Z guide, nutrition news in a nutshell from the past year or so.
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Nutrients, Remedies Rev Up Immune Defenses To Fend Off Colds, Flu And More
By Catherine Golub, M.S., R.D.
As another season of colds and flu gets underway, many of us are looking for ways to bolster our immune systems.
A healthy immune system produces fighter cells, killer cells and scavenger cells that search and destroy foreign invaders—microorganisms. But this highly complex defense arsenal depends on an adequate and steady supply of nutrients. EN reports the latest research.
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EN Weighs In on South Beach Diet: Better Than Atkins
By Andrea Klausner, M.S., R.D.
Can the wildly popular The South Beach Diet (Rodale, 2003) be the answer to your weight-loss struggles?
It’s doubtful any diet plan, even a 30-week bestseller, can be a quick fix for what’s often a lifetime struggle with weight. But as trendy diets go, this one is more laudable—and less dubious—than some others (dare we say Atkins?).
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Popular Diets Face Off
Finally! A head-to-head match. Boston researchers recently evaluated four popular weight-loss diets—Atkins, Dean Ornish, Weight Watchers and The Zone—by how effectively they aided weight loss and cut heart disease risk.
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Onions: Phytonutrient-Packed Tearjerkers
By Anastasia Schepers, M.S., R.D.
The Folklore: According to an old English rhyme, the thickness of an onion skin can predict the severity of winter—thin skins mean a mild winter; thick skins—watch out!
The Facts: Onions (Allium cepa) are loaded with phytonutrients, including quercetin, a potent antioxidant thought to protect against heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.
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Iron Overload Common, But Diet Not a Key Treatment, Insist Experts
Q. I have been diagnosed with hemochromatosis. Should I be following a special diet?
A. That’s not necessary, nor is it an effective way to treat the disease, experts now say. Hemochromatosis, also called iron overload disease, triggers excessive absorption of iron from both foods and supplements. Though little known or addressed, hemochromatosis is the most common inherited disorder in the U.S.
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How to Determine What’s Safe to Eat After a Power Outage
Q. How can you tell if refrigerated and frozen food is safe to eat after you lose electricity?
A. That depends on how long you’ve been without power. We all hate to throw out food, but worse is eating food deemed iffy because it wasn’t kept cold enough. Foodborne illness can have serious, even long-lasting consequences, particularly for those who are older or have compromised immune systems.
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CLA: Promising, But Far From Proved
The Buzz: Tonalin CLA helps you “get smaller in all the right places. . . without the dreaded yo-yo effect,” claims the product’s website. The site also highlights CLA’s potential ability to protect against cancer, heart disease, diabetes and impaired immunity. Can CLA really be such a superhero?
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From Researchers’ Mouths to EN’s Ears
At the annual Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo, held in San Antonio, October 27-30,2003, EN editors heard researchers present results from the latest studies. Here is just a sampling of what’s new:
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The Dark Side of Cotton: Pesticide-Laden Cottonseed in Your Food?
Cottonseed oil—extracted from the same cotton plant grown for the fiber used in clothes—is prevalent in fried and processed foods.
What's the problem? Worldwide, cotton is one of the crops most intensively sprayed with pesticide. And the chemicals used are among the most toxic, with many classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as “possible,” “likely,” “probable” or “known” human carcinogens.
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