Greetings! Hope you all are having a great week so far. We are getting ready for Thanksgiving, which happens to be my favorite Holiday. I am looking forward to it next week. What are your plans?

Here are 5 nutrition related articles that caught my eye this week. Enjoy and drop me a comment to share your thoughts.

Vitamin D deficiency linked to heart disease

Vitamin D deficiency is in the news again! The American Heart Association had its annual conference in Orlando this week where a study presented a link between low levels of vitamin D and increased risk of heart disease and stroke. This study looked at tens of thousands of adults 50 years or older, a majority of whom had lower than healthy levels of vitamin D. Within 2 years, those who had extremely low levels of vitamin D were twice as likely to die or suffer a stroke compared to those who had normal levels. They were also more likely to develop coronary artery disease and heart failure.

The unanswered question is whether a lack of vitamin D increases the risk of heart disease, or it just happens to be a condition of people with such diseases. If it is not a cause, then the risk of such diseases cannot be lowered simply by increasing the vitamin D levels from sun exposure, diet or supplements. Most of these studies have an underlying implication that current recommendations for daily intake of vitamin D be increased to improve public health. I still remain unconvinced that a sweeping policy change is necessary at the moment.

I do agree that it is important to maintain healthy vitamin D levels especially in growing children. The focus should be on balanced nutrition from a variety of food sources, plenty of physical activity – out in the sun if possible, and reduction of sugar, salt and fat (saturated and trans).

Interesting food trends to watch in 2010

Yet another great article from Registered Dietitian Janet Helm on her Nutrition Unplugged blog this week highlights several predictions for food products in 2010. Based on a report from Mintel, the prediction is that next year’s food products will focus on health, wellness, convenience, sustainability and affordability. Sodium reduction, simple ingredient list, locally sourced, eco-friendly, multipurpose, private label, functional packaging, simplified labeling are likely to be the features that will dominate the store shelves next year.

I think that no one should underestimate the Marketing skills of the major food companies. They clearly know how to play the game and they keep a sharp eye on consumer trends. I fully expect them to bundle their products to not only capitalize on these trends, but also make sure they continue to up-sell across various consumer groups. Private labels will grow for sure, but I don’t think they will overwhelm the giants anytime soon.

I think there is a place for packaged foods in lives of busy parents. Just don’t fall for the fluff, read the labels and mix these products with fresh foods, especially fruits and vegetables. As a consumer, you have enormous power because the food companies are quite good at listening to you.

Low sodium sea salt promises the gift of health and flavor

Using a mixture of salts from the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, Nutrasalt is a new product which claims to contain 66% less sodium than common table salt while providing a healthy balance of sodium and potassium. The target, of course, is the food industry desperate to claim a lower sodium content in their products without giving up on taste. Claims of heart health, natural, perfect balance of sodium and potassium should be very appealing to the food industry.

The nutritional facts label for Nutrasalt shows that it contains sodium chloride, potassium chloride and natural flavors. It is one of the simplest tricks to lower sodium by replacing it with potassium chloride. I reviewed the latest in salt reduction technologies in Can Salt be Any Saltier? article recently. The problem with potassium chloride is that it gives a bitter after-taste, which needs to masked by flavors or bitterness blockers. I do not know what kind of “natural flavors” this salt contains to maintain the natural salty taste. But I do think that their high volume natural claim is not that credible.

Also, this salt is not iodized. Bottom line – reduce your intake of table salt and processed foods even if they claim to be made from this so called healthy salt.

A new survey of Americans shows strong support for investment in prevention related programs and strategies as part of the new Health Care reform. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Trust for America’s Health sponsored this survey which polled about 1000 registered voters about their opinions on various priorities. 71% favor more funding for prevention programs while only 23% do not support any more extra funding.

Although it sounds good, I don’t think there is enough awareness and support for nutrition and physical activity, especially in schools. Out of all the prevention proposals, it ranked third by a large margin compared to the top 2. There is more emphasis on public health workers and their resources when it comes to prevention.

Also, only $34 billion out of the total of about $900 billion are allocated for prevention programs. That is not even 5% of the total! I do not believe that prevention is top of mind among our lawmakers. Public support will need to be much stronger and much broader than this survey data. I think we have a long way to go before we truly embrace the notion that prevention is better than cure!

Food allergy among US children rising

A recent paper in the journal Pediatrics reports that nearly 4 in 100 children under 18 years old reported some kind of food allergy in 2007. This was an increase of 18% over the 10 year period between 1997 – 2007. The researchers, however, are not sure if this increase is real from a clinical point of view or simply a result of better tracking and awareness among parents and healthcare providers.

Although troubling, I am not surprised by the recent results. In my article Good Nutrition is Key to Managing Food Allergy, I presented similar statistics. Some experts believe that poor quality of early childhood nutrition is to blame. Also, it is easy to confuse food intolerance with food allergy and most parents may not know the difference. Good nutrition builds a strong immune system, although it probably cannot help if there is a genetic reason for food allergy.

Whatever the reason, living with food allergy is challenging. I cannot claim to have first hand experience of that. But ify you do, I would love to hear from you.

Enjoy and do let me know what you think. I would love to have you share your best tips in comments below.

Photo source – Paul Davidson on Flickr  everystockphoto
©2009 Littlestomaks.com

Greetings! It’s Friday again, so here are 5 interesting nutrition stories of the week that caught my eye. Enjoy and drop a comment to let me know what’s on your mind.

Great ideas for nutritious snack combinations for kids

Check out these cool practical tips for snack combinations your kids are sure to enjoy! They are all very healthy and nutritious options, and best of all, you are likely to find most of the ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry already. Registered Dietitian Maryann Jacobsen, a guest writer on this blog, offers these ideas based on her knowledge of nutrition and real-life experience as a Mom. I am sure cookies and milk will be a hit with my son as well as whole wheat cracker with peanut butter or cheese! He also loves to snack on strawberries which are a great source of vitamin C. His twin sister on the other hand favors cheerios with milk and honey. Go for snacks that offer a combination of carbs, proteins and fat without too much sugar or salt. There is, after all,  a smart way to let your kids enjoy snacks!

The real cost of our addiction to cheap junk food

It is no secret anymore that we are a country of BIG people! What may surprise you, or even give you little shock, is new data from the CDC that the cost of treating obesity-related diseases soared to $147 billion in 2008. That’s about a 100% increase over the last 10 years! Obese people spent nearly $1500 more than what people of normal weight did on medical costs in 2006. Even though it probably does not include those without health insurance, the message should be clear to everybody. The Dollar Value Meal may not put a dent in your wallet, but the extra calories with each meal will continue to add on and hit you later in life! Of course, some will argue that it has nothing to do with junk food but the fact that people just don’t exercise anymore. Whatever! There is a lot of talk about fixing the Healthcare system so it becomes affordable for everyone. I am sure that bringing technology to the doctor’s office and going paperless for medical records will help. But maybe we should also tackle the hidden (and rapidly rising) cost of obesity head-on. Else, the whole thing might come crashing down under its enormous weight!

Fat tax will reduce obesity say “experts”

A new report from the Urban Institute says that a 10 percent tax on fattening food would reduce consumption while raising more than $500 billion over 10 years. The idea is that if you tax these foods, their price will go up and people will eat less of them so they will not get obese. Just the way we have reduced smoking by taxing, warning labels and education, we can reduce obesity by following a similar policy. I think there are two problem with this logic. Although the link between cheap, junk food and obesity is clear (see above), that is not the only factor. Obesity is a multi-dimensional problem and I don’t think we can solve it simply by taxing fatty foods. And I don’t really buy the tobacco example – even with heavy taxation, legislation and restricted advertising over many years, people are still smoking! Second, the final price of these foods that a consumer pays may not go up by that much. This is because an easy way of dealing with the extra cost of taxation is to reduce the cost of operation (fire people, improve efficiency etc.) and decrease the product quantity. How far should we go in raising taxes before a real effect in prices is seen at the store?

We need to address the fundamental reasons why people prefer these foods. They are cheap, convenient, readily available and taste good. Why can’t we do all that for nutritious foods? Simply by lowering the supply chain costs of fruits and vegetables, we can bring their prices down and improve their availability. That is just one idea.

I think the approach should rather be to create conditions that lower the price of healthy options. Taxing fatty foods, or sugary beverages, I think is a very short-sighted approach which lacks creativity.

CDC offers interesting ideas for tackling obesity

When it comes to tackling obesity, the CDC suggests that we think global but act local. A new report entitled Recommended Community Strategies to Measure and Prevent Obesity in the United States offers simple ideas at the community level. Offer incentives for food retailers to locate in under-served areas, give out coupons to buy fruits and veggies, encourage people to buy “local” are some of the good ideas in this report. They came up with 24 strategies which can be organized in 6 categories -

1. promote availability of healthy foods and beverages
2. support healthy foods and beverages choice
3. encourage breastfeeding
4. encourage physical activities and limit sedentary activities among children and youth
5. create safe communities that promote physical activity
6. encourage communities to organize for change

I think these are smart ideas. Certainly, it will not happen overnight and will take resources and effort from everybody, but it reflects the right mindset on this problem. What do you think?

Hungry Monkey is now on my reading list

I love the title of this book! Ask any parent of a toddler and you will hear their struggles with a picky eater. This book is written by a “food-loving” father who wanted to find new recipes and new ways of cooking that could satisfy his own taste buds and still be acceptable to his 5 year old daughter. I came across a review of Hungry Monkey in the New Your Times which also offers a few selected recipes – they look very good. It is also a part parenting memoir, so I am sure there are some real-life examples and lessons learned. I definitely want to check it out, and when I do, I will write my review here.

Enjoy your weekend! And let me know what you think.

Photo source -Thiru Murugan on Flickr
©2009 Littlestomaks.com