Nutrition information is abundant but often confusing. Food, Facts and Fads helps you to separate the sense from the nonsense
Have you gained a few pounds during the COVID-19 pandemic? You are not alone, according to a recent study. Idle tiime + more snacks + less exercise + mindless eating + anxiety + depression can equal weight gain. Now is a good time to review how many more calories we eat now than we did decades ago. The excess does not take much to add up to an extra pound or two.
Intermittent fasting simply means that you don’t eat for a period of time each day or week. Some popular approaches include:
Alternate-day fasting. Eat a normal diet one day and either completely fast or have one small meal (less than 500 calories) the next day.
5:2 fasting: Eat a normal diet five days a week and fast two days a week.
Daily time-restricted fasting. Eat normally but only within an eight-hour window each day. For example, skip breakfast but eat lunch around noon and dinner by 8 p.m.
Some research suggests that intermittent fasting may be more beneficial than other diets for reducing inflammation itself, and improving conditions associated with inflammation such as Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. Studies with a number of animal species have reported that fasting (or calorie restriction) leads to a longer and healthier lives.
There is a lot of confusing advice about whether intermittent fasting is a healthy eating pattern. The following article presents a common sense approach.
One thing is becoming certain. We eat too much and finding safe and healthy ways to combat this trend would seem practical in our society with its concomitant problem of the obesity/diabesity epidemics.
What the Heck is the Microbiome?
Much attention has been spent lately describing the health contributions of the microbiome defined as “non-human cells that outnumber human cells and consists of our microbe residents in the human gut, skin, eyes and nasal passages.” These bacterial cells collectively can weigh as much as six pounds.
Another term for the microbiome is the microbiota. The composition of the microbiota plays an important role during pregnancy and in early life and may affect our metabolic and immune functions later in life. The gut microbiota helps our digestive system efficiency, improves nutrient availability and absorption, and limits the presence of pathogens through competition for nutrients and space.
From the moment of birth, the newborn is exposed to microorganisms obtained from the birth canal of the mother or by exposure to the mother’s skin during a C-section delivery. This colonization is influenced by many factors such as genetics, breast-feeding or formula feeding and weaning to solid food as well as the presence of antibiotic therapy. It is thought that by 2 years of age, the young infant will have established its own stable microbiota. Recently stress and the mother’s diet during late pregnancy may play a role in this initial colonization of the young child.
From studies, it was shown that differences in the gut microbiome during the first year of life may later lead to the onset of obesity. In one study, the numbers of Bifidobacterium species (considered beneficial) were higher and the numbers of Staphylococcus aureus (potentially pathogenic) were lower in children who maintained a normal weight than in children who became overweight at 4 years of age suggesting this pattern may be protective against obesity. In other studies, it was observed that there is a link between the composition of the microbiome during pregnancy and body weight. More specifically, the presence of Staphylococcus and E. coli numbers were higher in women with excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Fecal transplant of an obese microbiome to germ-free mice resulted in a greater increase in total body fat than did colonization with a “lean microbiome” suggesting that the change in the intestinal microbiome environment can promote obesity and other metabolic diseases later in life.
How can we control the content of the microbiome? Guess what – eating more fruits and vegetables have a prebiotic effect on the microbiome. Prebiotics are nondigestible carbohydrates that reach the colon intact and are known to help the growth and activity of healthy (friendly) bacteria in the gut like Bifidobacterium species.
Increase your intake of unpasteurized fermented foods like fermented dairy products such as yogurt or kefir that contain probiotics. Probiotics are defined as live microbes that offer a health benefit to humans. Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus species are the most common bacteria groups used.
Probiotics are found in foods such as yogurt, while prebiotics are found in whole grains, bananas, onions, garlic, honey and artichoke. In addition, probiotics and prebiotics are added to some foods and available as dietary supplements. So simply, the prebiotic foods help feed the probiotics.
Use more herbs such as garlic and leeks which contain the prebiotic inulin. Inulin is a fermentable carbohydrate that is found in some fiber or protein bars. Inulin can cause digestive trouble or aggravate irritable bowel syndrome for some people as there is a threshold of tolerance for their intake. Look on ingredient labels for inulin or chickory root extract.
The study of the microbiome continues to fascinate scientists and its presence may be more involved in our health than previously thought. But the research is still in its infancy and caution should be stressed so that people do not rush to buy probiotics or attempt self-treatment. The transplants are experimental and should only be performed by professionals. A limited number of studies have shown it to be an effective treatment for patients suffering from Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). CDI is a serious and difficult to treat infection causing inflammation of the lining of the abdomen; it is mostly found in hospitalized elderly patients after excessive use of antibiotics but can affect an estimated 3% of healthy people.
First, a little background. Tea is currently the most consumed beverage in the world besides water. Americans consume an average of 153 cups a year. Most Americans drink black tea while green tea is becoming more popular as claims are made about its health benefits. more than likely from phytochemicals called polyphenols, specifically catechins and flavonoids. Phytochemicals are substances that have been proposed to have health benefits over and above what the vitamins or minerals provide. Phyto is the Greek word for plants. Phytochemicals often have strange names (hard to pronounce, so bear with me.)
The active phytochemical in teas is called epigallocatechin -3 galate (EGCG) found in green tea. Green tea is produced from the withered leaves and buds of Cameillia sinensis by heating or steaming before drying.
Bottled tea is not equivalent to brewed tea in terms of polyphenol content. While all teas (not herbal) contain between 100-300 mg of flavonoids per serving, bottled teas (16 oz.) contain fewer than one cup of brewed tea.
CANCER
From anecdotal evidence, epidemiological and experimental models, tea is thought to have cancer preventive effects. A prospective study of a group of Japanese people younger than 79 years old after a 13-year follow-up indicated a delay of cancer onset and cancer-related death, as well as all-cause mortality with an increased consumption of green tea. Another cohort of 8,552 general residents of Japan presented evidence for preventive effects of drinking green tea on both cancer and heart disease. In one animal study, researchers showed that green tea as a main beverage in the diet of mice could suppress colon cancer. Another study suggested a reduction of chronic inflammation by green tea which may be associated with cancer and heart disease.
There are few human studies on green tea. Generally cancer risk is reduced more in those people who consume green tea than black tea since the polyphenols in black tea are not absorbed as well. Studies show that the amount of tea consumed effects cancer prevention effects – i.e. the range has been from two to three cups of green tea per day to 10 cups per day.
HEART DISEASE
Black and green tea consumption and the risk of coronary artery disease: a meta-analysisZe-Mu Wang, Bo Zhou, Yong-Sheng Wang, Qing-Yue Gong, Qi-Ming Wang, Jian-Jun Yan, Wei Gao, and Lian-Sheng WangConclusions: Our data do not support a protective role of black tea against CAD. The limited data available on green tea support a tentative association of green tea consumption with a reduced risk of CAD. However, additional studies are needed to make a convincing case for this association.
It appears from a meta-analysis (see abstract above through the link provided) of studies on black and green tea that there was no association with black tea and coronary artery disease; however, green tea did show a tentative association. There are few studies on green tea; more are needed.
However, another meta-analysis reported that either green or black tea (3 or more cups) reduced ischemic stroke risk by 21%. (Stroke, 2009; 40:1786-1792.)
WEIGHT LOSS
Green tea extracts are often found in the weight loss sections of health food stores and supermarkets. I could only find one or two studies on humans from reputable journals. Most of the studies were animal studies. The studies are inconclusive and inconsistent. Don’t believe the hype that green tea will burn fat.
What is the Bottom Line?
If you’re looking for dramatic health benefits from tea – the evidence is not yet there. As with most nutrition studies, there are mixed results. The problem may be that tea consumption is variable as far as amounts of cups consumed. Some bottled teas have added sugar; some people add sugar to brewed tea; some add milk. Most epidemiological studies are based on recall or observation, which is always a problem in these types of studies. One drawback of overconsumption is that the polyphenols in tea interfere with nonheme iron absorption that can lead to anemia.
Tea has been around for the last 2,000 years and is the beverage of choice of many Asian countries. There is no reason to not enjoy it. If you have not tried green tea, do so. It may take a while to get used to it; however, it may be the best bet for health. Everyone can benefit from any tea. It has the potential to offer powerful antioxidant protection, reduce blood sugar, is anti-inflammatory, and lowers cholesterol. For a common little beverage that costs next to nothing – that’s a pretty powerful resume.
Fad diets have in the distant past have embraced some of the most bizarre activitir with most built on gimmicks. Included in an entertaining book titled Calories & Corsets, our ancestors relied on recommendations that included “suspending themselves in weighing chairs or lukewarm baths, drinking vinegar and eating carbolic soup in the hopes of shedding unwanted pounds.”
A rice diet was designed in the 1940s to lower blood pressure; now it has resurfaced as a Weight Loss Diet. The first phase consists of eating only rice and fruit until you can’t stand them any longer. Another novelty diet is the egg diet, on which you eat all the eggs you want. On the Beverly Hills diet, you eat mostly fruit.
The most bizarre of the novelty diets proposes that food gets stuck in your body. A common supposition from the 1800’s is that food gets stuck in the intestine, putrefies, and creates toxins, which invade the blood and cause disease. This leads to the headlines proclaiming the latest detox formula of strange concoctions of foods that if consumed promise to “cleanse” the blood. This is utter nonsense.
How to recognize a fad diet.
FAD DIET TIMELINE
Slimming down through the ages through fad diets has been around for centuries from President Taft to Victoria Beckham. Here’s a look at some of the most famous and infamous moments in diet fad history.
1820 Lord Byron brings people the once popular vinegar and water diet which entails drinking water mixed with apple cider vinegar.
1903 President William Howard Taft pledges to slim down after getting allegedly getting stuck in the White House bathtub.
1925 Lucky Strike cigarette brand launches the “reach for a Lucky” instead of a sweet” campaign capitalizing on its nicotine content.
1930s The Grapefruit Diet also known as the Hollywood diet is born. The popular plan calls for eating grapefruit with every meal. Grapefruit is claimed to have fat burning capabilities.
1950s the Cabbage Soup Diet promises you can lose 10 to 15 pounds a week by eating a limited diet including cabbage soup every day.
Mid-1950 Urban legend has it that opera singer Maria Callas dropped 65 pounds on the Tapeworm Diet by swallowing a the tapeworm parasite in a pill.
1963 Weight Watchers is founded by Jean Nidetch “a self-described overweight housewife obsessed with cookies.”
1969 Jazzercise founded by professional dancer Judi Sheppard Missett, is a combination of aerobics exercise and dance.
1970 Sleeping Beauty Diet which involves drug sedation is rumored to have been tried by Elvis Presley.
1975 A Florida doctor. creates the Cookie Diet, a plan where you eat cookies made with a blend of amino acids Hollywood eats it up.
1977 A Slim Fast shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch, then a sensible dinner becomes a diet staple.
1978 Dr. Herman Tarnower, a cardiologist publishes the Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet. Two years later he is shot by his girlfriend, a headmistress of a girl’s school, Jean Harris. (not related to a diet).
1979 Dexatrim, a pill containing phenylpropanolamine (PPA), appears on drugstore shelves. It’s formula changes after PPA is linked to an increased risk of stroke in 2000.
1980s A popular appetite suppressant candy called Ayds is taken off the market after the AIDS crisis hits.
1982 The aerobics craze sweeps into high gear when Jane Fonda launches her first exercise video work- out starring herself. Her catchphrase “no pain no gain.”
1985 Harvey and Marilyn Diamond publish Fit for Life, which prohibits complex carbs and proteins from being eaten during the same meal.
1987 in her memoir/self-help book Elizabeth Takes Off, actress Elizabeth Taylor advises dieters to eat veggies and dip each day at 3 PM.
1988 Wearing a pair of size 10 Calvin Klein jeans, Oprah walks onto the stage pulling a wagon full of fat to represent the 67 pounds she lost on a liquid diet.
1991 Americans are still obsessed with low fat food like McDonald’s Mclean Deluxe burger. The recipe called for seaweed extract called carrageenan. Beef made up only 90 percent of the patty, and water and carrageenan made up the remaining 10 percent. Despite the addition of “natural” beef flavor additives, the result was a dry failure of a burger that was later called “the McFlopper”. Johnnie Carson made many jokes about it.
1994 The guide to nutrition labeling and education act requires food companies to include nutritional info on nearly all packing packaging.
1995 The Zone Diet called for a specific ratio of carbs, fat and protein in each meal and begins to attract celeb fans.
1996 Could your blood type determine how much weight you could lose? That’s the idea behind the Blood Type Diet, created by naturopath Peter J. D’Adamo. He claims that the foods you eat react chemically with your blood type. If you follow a properly designed diet for your type, your body will digest food more efficiently and you will lose weight and be healthier.
1997 Robert C. Atkins, MD publishes Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, A high protein low carb plan. A previous book was published as Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution in 1972. It took the diet world by storm, since its primary goal was to eat fat, not avoid it. Fat-starved people loved it.
2000 Gwyneth Paltrow lends her support for the macrobiotic diet, a very restrictive Japanese plan based on whole grains and veggies.
2001 Renee Zellweger packs on nearly 30 pounds to play Bridget Jones.
2003 Miami Dr. Arthur Agatston adds fuel to the low carb craze by publishing the South Beach diet, seen as a more moderate version of Atkins.
Early 2000 The FDA bans the sale of diet drugs containing ephedrine after it’s linked to heart attacks.
Late 2000 The Biggest Loser makes its debut on TV, turning weight loss into a reality show. All but one contestant regained all their weight loss back after the show ended.
2006 Beyoncé admits to using the Master Cleanse, a concoction of hot water lemon juice maple syrup and Cayenne pepper to shed 20 pounds for “Dream Girls.”
2007 Alli hits the market. The non-prescription drug is taken with meals to keep your body from absorbing some of the fat a you eat. The drug was not popular due to unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects.
2010 Jennifer Hudson loses a jaw-dropping 80 pounds on Weight Watchers.
2011 The hCG diet combines a fertility drug with a strict 500 to 800 calorie a day regimen that invites interest and criticism. The FDA has called this diet dangerous, illegal and fraudulent.
2012 Jessica Simpson loses 60 pounds of baby weight on Weight Watchers.
NOTE: In our current virus centered world, hope these fad diets bring a few smiles to your face.
Here are some facts about vitamin D. It is important to remember that just one study is only an observation but can be used to form a hypothesis for further research. Actually vitamin D is now thought of as a hormone that is involved with helping to build strong bones. Also as a hormone, it plays key roles in combating chronic inflammation. It does this by entering cells and turning genes that produce Inflammatory substances “off” and those that produce substances that reduce inflammation “on.” In our days of living with the pandemic, we need to pay attention to the dietary factors that may help curtail the effects of the coronovirus or COVID-19.
Inadequate vitamin D status is common.
How to Improve your vitamin D status:
Nutrition Timeline:
Obviously, a lot has happened in nutrition since the first Thanksgiving in America. Many scientific discoveries have given us a better idea how foods can contribute to health and disease. At first, little was known about nutrition science and there is still a lot to know. Knowing our progression helps us to know how we got from there to here. The bottom Line: After all the science, we often still ponder on “what’s for dinner?”and “how do we lose weight”?
Note: Those events in Bold type tell the story of how our current food patterns evolved and have affected our present health status.
1621 First Thanksgiving Feast at Plymouth Colony
1702 First coffeehouse in America opens in Philadelphia
1734 Scurvy recognized
1744 First record of ice cream in America
Lind publishes “Treatise on Scurvy”and citrus is identified as cure.
Sandwich invented by the Earl of Sandwich
Potato heralded as famine food
Americans drink more coffee in protest over Britain’s tea tax
1775 Lavoisier (“the father of nutrition science) discovers the energy property of food (calories)
1816 Protein and amino acids identified followed by carbohydrates and fats
1833 Beaumont’s experiment on a wounded man’s stomach greatly expand knowledge about digestion
1862 U.S. Department of Agriculture founded by authorization of President Lincoln
1871 Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats determined to be insufficient alone to support life, there are other “essential” compounds in foods
First milk station providing children with un-contaminated milk opens in New York City
Pure Food and Drug Act passed by President Theodore Roosevelt to protect consumers against contaminated foods
Pasteurized milk introduced
Funk suggests scurvy, beriberi, and pellagra caused by deficiency of “vitamines” in the diet
1913 First vitamin discovered (vitamin A)
1914 Goldberger identifies the cause of pellagra (niacin deficiency) in poor children to be a missing component of the diet rather than a germ as others believed
1916 First dietary guidance material produced for the public released: Title is Food for Young Children
1917 First food groups published for the Five Food Groups: Milk and Meat, Vegetables and Fruits, Cereals, Fats and Fat Foods, Sugars and Sugary Foods. (Imagine: Sugar is a food group).
1921 First fortified food produced: iodized salt needed to prevent widespread iodine deficiency goiter in many parts of the U.S.
1929 Essential fatty acids identified
1930’s Vitamin C identified in 1932, followed by pantothenic acid and riboflavin in 1933 and vitamin K in 1934
1937 Pellagra found to be due to the deficiency of niacin.
1938 Health Canada issues nutrient intake standards
1941 First refined grain enrichment standards developed (Niacin, riboflavin, and iron added)
First Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) announced by President Franklin Roosevelt on the radio
1946 National School Lunch Act passed
1947 Vitamin B12 identified
1953 Double helix structure of DNA discovered
1956 Basic Four Food Groups released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
1958 The Seven Countries Study was conceived by Ancel Keys, a Minnesota physiologist, who brought together researchers from all over the world. It became a collective effort to study questions about heart and vascular diseases among countries having varied traditional eating patterns and lifestyles. This alone changed the U.S. food supply dramatically to emphasize low fat diets high carbohydrate foods that continued to dominate until around 1983.
1965 Food Stamp Act passed. Food Stamp program established
1966 Child Nutrition Act adds school breakfast to the National School Lunch Program
1968 First National nutrition survey in U.S. launched. (The Ten State Nutrition Survey)
1970 First Canadian national nutrition survey launched (Nutrition Canada National Survey)
1972 The “Atkins Diet” by Dr. Robert Atkins started as a fad, but quickly became a counter-conventional movement that reset people’s thinking of nutrition and weight loss, and its link to health. It promoted a low carbohydrate, high fat diet to replace and challenge the current conventional thinking that a low fat, high carbohydrate diet promoted by Keys was heart healthy.
1977 Dietary Goals for the U.S. issued
1978 First Health Objectives for the Nation released
1989 First national scientific consensus report on diet and chronic disease published
1992 The Food Guide Pyramid is released by the USDA that contained a food group recommending 6-11 servings a day from the Bread, Cereal, Rice, Pasta Group (High carbohydrate foods).
1994 The nutritional food label was put into effect by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act.
1997 RDAs expanded to Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI’s)
1998 Folic acid fortification of refined grain products begins
2003 Sequencing of DNA in the human genome completed; marks beginning of new era of research in nutrient-gene interactions
2015 – 2020 The current U.S.Dietary Guidelines include the following:
2020 Obesity and diabetes have become global epidemics/pandemics with the highest rates in the U.S. The custom is for them to be revised every five years. The latest U.S. Dietary Guidelines are due to be published sometime in 2020 or early 2021.
There is so much misinformation that surrounds food, diets, and nutrition that has lasted for decades. Here are five myths you may want to be aware of that rise up again in our current environment of the coronavirus pandemic.
Haven’t we all heard of the days of the “snake oil salesmen?” Those days are not gone – they just take on new disguises.
We are bombarded with health claims and nutrition information – some of what we hear is accurate and based on science and some of it is incorrect or exaggerated to sell products or make news headlines more enticing.
As Timothy Caulfield, author of the following article puts it:
“Cow urine, bleach and cocaine have all been recommended as COVID-19 cures — all guff. The pandemic has been cast as a leaked bioweapon, a byproduct of 5G wireless technology and a political hoax — all poppycock. And countless wellness gurus and alternative-medicine practitioners have pushed unproven potions, pills and practices as ways to ‘boost’ the immune system.”
Haven’t we had enough conflicting information about the coronovirus pandemic – so why do some so-called “experts” add to the misinformation? The following article from Timothy Caulfield titled “Pseudoscience and COVID-19 – we’ve had enough already” explores this issue.
Sorting out Health Information
FOOD, FACTS and FADS 