- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
When food calorie content was posted on menu boards at Kaiser Hospital cafeterias, a significant number of patrons altered their food choices, according to a pilot menu labeling study conducted by UC Berkeley researchers.
The results are compelling because the California menu labeling bill (SB 1420), which requires chain restaurants to put calorie counts on menu boards, goes into full effect next year.
In the Kaiser pilot study, more than 500 patrons completed cafeteria exit surveys. Nearly a third of respondents who noticed the calorie information said they changed their food choices as a result. Nearly all of them agreed that calorie information should be available and 80 percent said they felt Kaiser was helping them...
- Author: Colin Bishop
Workers sort tomatoes at Russell Ranch
Part of our mission at the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis is to ensure access to healthy food. So we’ve focused much of our work on the intersection between agriculture and human nutrition.
An interesting new field of study in this area looks at flavonoids, which are compounds in fruits and vegetables thought to have beneficial antioxidant effects and other medicinal value – they may even help reduce cancer risk.
Measuring the amount of flavonoids is one way we can figure out just how...
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Catechins are phytochemical compounds found in plant-based foods and beverages. Consumption of catechins has been associated with a variety of beneficial effects including: ability of plasma to scavenge free radicals, blood vessel expansion, fat oxidation and more.
High concentrations of these helpful compounds can be found in many foods and beverages including: red wine, broad beans, black grapes, apricots, strawberries, apples, cherries, pears, raspberries, chocolate and both black and green tea.
To learn more about the benefits and research related to catechin rich foods, please see UC ANR’s free publication, Nutrition and Health Info Sheet...
- Author: Ann Senuta
I’m lucky enough to live about a mile from a small, family-run strawberry patch in Yolo County. From some time in April until October, the Laotian family members pick berries in the mornings and sell them from their small wooden stand until they run out of fruit for the day.
Flats of 4 or 6 baskets are the most economical to buy. I carefully place the flat on the floor of the passenger seat; by the time I have walked around to the driver’s seat, the fragrance of the fresh berries has filled the car with instant summer.
Once home, I don’t wash the berries unless I plan to eat them right away. Instead I keep the berries in their baskets and cardboard flat and just...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Africa Nutributter studies found that children preferred a sweet paste, but the scientists believe regional flavors may make the supplement more appealing. For Guatemala, they plan a cinnamon-flavored Nutributter; for Bangledesh, the paste will be flavored with cumin and cardamom.
UC Davis nutrition professor