Thoughts about food, nutrition, and healthy living in the Central Sierra.
- Author: Katie (Cathryn) R Johnson
Published on: August 25, 2020
Visit these links for a round-up of recent health and nutrition news, information, and events. For general healthy eating information based on an expert analysis of nutrition research, visit ChooseMyPlate.gov. For individual questions, consult a registered dietitian or medical provider.
Should the Dietary Guidelines Help Fight Systemic Racism? This article presents the case that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans needs to address racism directly in order to reduce health and nutrition disparities.
New study from Nutrition Policy Institute affiliated researchers shows sugar-sweetened beverage taxes have minimal or no impact on retailers, contrary to beverage industry claims. A summary of recent research on the impacts of sugar sweetened beverage taxes.
Just What the Doctor Ordered: Produce Prescriptions are More Important—and Popular—Than Ever. A look at innovative programs that recognize the direct benefits of fresh produce on health.
Public Value:
UCANR: Promoting healthy people and communities
- Author: Katie (Cathryn) R Johnson
Published on: August 24, 2020
There are many reasons to avoid food waste, from wanting to save money to concern for our environment. On average, 40% of food in the U.S. is wasted somewhere along the way between production and our plates. If you're interested in hearing about strategies to prevent food waste in your kitchen, and learning some great recipes, tips, and creative food ideas, a series of virtual classes is now available online from the people behind EatFresh.org.
Visit their YouTube playlist to watch all of the recorded lessons here:
To read more about the issue of food waste and what to do about it, you can also visit SavetheFood.org.
Public Value:
UCANR: Promoting healthy people and communities
- Author: Katie (Cathryn) R Johnson
Published on: August 1, 2020
August brings many types of ripening produce to the Central Sierra, but some of the most striking summer colors and flavors come from peppers. Peppers come in sweet varieties, which include but aren't limited to bell peppers, and spicy varieties, which are also known as chiles. Few foods offer as much variety in color, shape, and flavor as peppers do, so look out for less common types in local markets or when choosing plants for your garden. All peppers start out green, and will ultimately become sweeter and change color as they ripen. Green bell peppers or green chiles are less sweet because they are less ripe; red, orange, or yellow colors indicate that a pepper has ripened and will be sweeter. Chiles become spicier as they ripen, although spice level also varies widely between chile varieties, growing conditions, and even from plant to plant in the same garden. Any type of pepper should be firm and glossy when fresh, although many chiles are also preserved and sold dried. Peppers contain fiber and Vitamin A, and are excellent sources of Vitamin C. A single serving of peppers usually provides all the Vitamin C recommended for an entire day. See below for pepper recipe ideas to try this August, or learn more about peppers and view their nutrition facts at the USDA's Seasonal Produce Guide.
Recipe Ideas:
Public Value:
UCANR: Promoting healthy people and communities
- Author: Katie (Cathryn) R Johnson
Published on: July 23, 2020
We've probably all heard about the latest nutrition study. The one that says a certain kind of food may cause cancer. But what about the study from last month finding the same food may prevent hypertension? How about all of the different studies that find eating a certain way may help us lose weight? It can be hard to wade through the huge amount of information about diet and nutrition, even for nutrition professionals. The truth is that the study of diet and health, also known as nutritional epidemiology, is a highly complex field with huge barriers to conducting effective research. Emerging studies that provide new information can change what we think we know over time.
Given this complexity, wouldn't it be wonderful if there were a group of experts who regularly looked at all the research, then made recommendations on what generally makes the most sense for us to eat and drink? Trained nutrition researchers who filtered through each of the relevant topics and studies, weighed their evidence together as a whole, and advised us on how to balance the many competing concerns?
The good news for anyone trying to figure out how to eat healthfully is that this system already exists. Every five years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), convenes a panel of some of the top nutrition researchers from around the country. These academic experts are tasked with reviewing the relevant studies and making recommendations to the USDA and HHS on what a healthy American diet should be. Their most recent report, the Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, was recently released. The USDA and HHS will now take the information in the Scientific Report and use it to inform the official Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which are updated every five years. These guidelines affect nutrition standards and determine which foods are provided in federal national programs, from what school-children eat through the National School Lunch Program to what families with young children shop for through the Women, Infants and Children Program, and many other programs. The guidelines are also used by nutritionists and educators throughout the country to help increase people's knowledge of how to eat healthfully, including nutrition education taught to children and adults through the CalFresh Healthy Living, UC program and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.
It should be noted that the Scientific Report and the Dietary Guidelines themselves are designed to advise our entire population on how best to eat. The idea is that if everyone followed these recommendations, then we would see lower rates of diet-related chronic diseases overall in America, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancers, and other diseases that develop over time. However, there are always going to be special considerations that some people need to make when choosing their food, related to health conditions, individual differences, or guidance from their medical providers. Even so, the expert recommendations are a good starting point to consider modifying in discussion with a registered dietitian or medical provider.
So, what does the 2020 Scientific Report have to say? The full report is now publicly available to read online, and some of the highlights include:
- Evidence suggests that limiting added sugars to 6% of our daily calories, rather than 10% as is currently recommended, may be warranted.
- While this advisory committee was tasked with developing guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women for the first time, it found limited research on which to make specific recommendations. For pregnant women, the committee found, "Evidence suggests that consuming foods within healthy dietary patterns before and/or during pregnancy may modestly reduce the risk of gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and preterm birth." More research in the area of diet and lactation/breastfeeding is needed.
- This advisory committee was also tasked with developing recommendations for infants and young children ages 0 to 24 months, and found some evidence that children who had ever been breastfed had lower rates of type 1 diabetes and asthma. The report highlighted the importance of feeding young children nutrient-dense foods in addition to breastmilk or infant formula, and also advises that children younger than 2 years old should not be given any sugar-sweetened beverages to drink.
- The committee found the longstanding advice that healthy diets "include higher intake of vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, low- or nonfat dairy, lean meat and poultry, seafood, nuts, and unsaturated vegetable oils" is still supported by the evidence.
- The committee found the advice to replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats (but not necessarily with carbohydrates) is still supported by the evidence.
Read the full Scientific Report, learn more about the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, or offer your own public comment on the process online at DietaryGuidelines.gov.
Public Value:
UCANR: Promoting healthy people and communities
- Author: Katie (Cathryn) R Johnson
Published on: July 23, 2020
To create a healthy community, the places where people shop and what's available in those stores is important. New information from the Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community survey is available to help communities in California identify whether people are able to buy healthy products when they shop in local stores or whether people, especially children, are being encouraged to buy unhealthy products. Read more about your county's latest information and find ways to get involved at https://healthystoreshealthycommunity.com/.
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