Five For Fridays – March 27, 2009

Aloha! Hope you are having a great week so far. Here are 5 interesting nutrition related stories of this week.

This small town wants to be a big loser

I heard this very fascinating story on NPR about Fossil, Oregon where 80 people have signed up to compete in a 12-week weight loss program. Now, before you brush it off as small potatoes, consider this – this number amounts to about 20% of the whole population and together they have already lost a total of 600 pounds. They are focusing on eating healthy, working out and sharing a sense of togetherness and community. Losing weight is one goal, but the big picture is about improving their general health. You may find it surprising that the problem of obesity, heart disease, cholesterol and diabetes is worse in small rural towns compared to large cities. This small town is way ahead of the curve in reversing this trend.

I wonder what would happen if we started keeping track of total weekly weight loss at the city level. Anyone wants to venture a guess about how many pounds your city lost last week?!

A survey of 3600 moms shows shifting food priorities

Ten years ago, the priorities were convenience and fun when it came to food choices for their kids. Now according to this new study, moms want healthy and enjoyable food and are looking to make kids appreciate eating. 86% of moms rank “healthy and nutritious” as the most important characteristics of an ideal food, while 82% say “establishes good eating habits” and 80% say “fills the child up.” A surprising finding was that moms were not that interested in “fancy” ingredients such as omega-3, choline, calcium and protein etc. and preferred “simpler” benefits such as fresh and balanced nutrition.

I think these are very interesting observations. Convenience probably is expected, and so are essential nutrients. It is just that moms want a simple, easy to understand message that can help them select the right food. The risk is that even not-so-healthy foods can be marketed under a “healthy” slogan. It is up to the well-informed to keep an eye on such sneaky practices and share this information in an objective way. What is your opinion? And what are your preferences about your food choices?

Which vitamin is better – tablet or liquid?

There is an interesting debate going on in one of the LinkedIn groups on Nutrition. Does a tablet form of vitamin work better inside the body or the liquid form? Absorption of vitamins and minerals from a multivitamin supplement is not very well understood. In the absence of scientific data, all kinds of claims are made about liquid vitamins that they are better and they are absorbed quickly. In response to these claims, those who believe in tablets and capsules tend to make their own counter claims. It is all very confusing to everybody.

In response to my poll on multivitamins, most of those who used these supplements for their toddlers preferred the gummies or tablet variety. Very few favored the liquid form. Could be that liquid form of vitamins is not very common and tends to be more expensive.

I have been thinking about this topic lately and I intend to do some research before writing a post. In the meantime, feel free to share your opinion.

Database for dietary supplements under development

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working with the NIH, USDA and CDC to develop a database which will have more accurate information about the ingredients of different dietary supplements currently on the market. New analytical test methods and standards are also under development for testing these products. This is very good news – quite often, there is no guarantee that the information on the nutritional panel of many of these commercial products is accurate and reliable. This database will be very useful in comparing different products.

Childhood soy diet lowers breast cancer risk

A new study attempts to study the effect of diet and breast cancer risk among women of Asian origin. Historically, breast cancer rates have been higher in the US compared to Asia. But when Asian women migrate to the US, their breast cancer risk increases over several generations. In this population based study, the researchers concluded that soy intake was related to lower cancer risk. The maximum effect was seen if a soy-rich diet was given in early childhood.

Now, this may be just coincidence and limited to a small population. It does not mean that you should switch to a soy-based diet all of a sudden. However, this is consistent with what I have read about the link between a meatless, mostly vegetarian diet, during early childhood and cancer risk later during adulthood. Dr Fuhrman provides supporting data in his book Disease-Proof Your Child. Dr. Spock also recommends a vegetarian diet for fewer health problems, food safety and lower cancer risk. In our household, we have dramatically reduced red meat and we mostly eat chicken and fish. The decision to go completely vegetarian is a serious one, which you should discuss with your doctor first before making big changes in your own and your child’s diet.

Enjoy your weekend!

Image source: MariahGale on Flickr
©2009 Littlestomaks.com

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Tagged as: Breast Cancer, Five For Fridays, Liquid vitamin, Losing weight, Mom Study, Soy, Toddler Multivitamins