Archive for category: Kid’s Health

Harvard’s Healthy Eating Plate vs. USDA’s MyPlate

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A few years after the USDA created the new MyPlate, Harvard nutrition experts decided to set up their own Healthy Eating Plate. The changes were made to address the deficiencies in the USDA’s MyPlate, most likely caused by intensive food industry lobbying. The central message of the Healthy Eating Plate is to focus on diet quality vs. broad guidelines like the MyPlate.

For example:

  • The different types of carbohydrates in your diet are more important than a number of carbohydrates. Sources of carbs like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans are healthier than others.
  • Harvard’s plate advises people to avoid all sugary beverages which is one of the leading causes of lifestyle diseases like diabetes.
  • The Healthy Eating Plate promotes healthy oils and does not place a limit of calories from fat. Harvard is promoting the consumption of healthy fats which goes against the low-fat message advocated by the USDA for decades.

 

Inspired by hsph.harvard.edu

Eat 10 Portions Of Fruits And Veggies To Protect Your Health

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If you consume a lot of fruits and vegetables every day, then you are on the right track. Researchers from the Imperial College of London conducted a meta-analysis on 95 studies on the benefits of fruit and vegetable intake. Proponents of the study found that consumption of at least five portions of fruits and vegetables daily can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and cancer.

The greatest benefit of eating vegetables can be obtained by eating at least 800 grams a day that is equivalent to 10 portions of fruits and vegetables combined. The research was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. And the researchers have estimated that around 7.8 million of premature deaths recorded all over the world could have been potentially reduced if people ate more fruits and vegetables every day.

The Research

Part of the research also noted which types of produce can provide the best protection against different kinds of diseases. According to Dr. Dagfinn Aune, lead author of the study, the researchers wanted to quantify the amount of vegetables and fruits needed to reduce the risk of being sick. The study found that intake of more fruits and vegetables is associated with 33% reduction of stroke, 24% reduction of heart diseases, 28% reduction of cardiovascular diseases, and 13% reduction of cancer. The study also compared those who ate more vegetables to those who don’t.

Currently, the guideline in the UK is to eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, only one in three adults can ever meet this target. This study aims to encourage people to increase their consumption.

portions of fruits and veggies at grocery

How Many Portions Should You Eat?

So how much is enough? One portion of fruits and vegetables is equivalent to 80 grams of produce.  But how do you know if you are eating one portion? In a practical sense, 80 grams of produce is equal to either of the following: a small banana, pear, apple, or orange. It can also be equivalent to three heaping tablespoons of peas, spinach, cauliflower or broccoli.

What is interesting about the research was that the proponents also examined which fruits and vegetables can reduce specific types of diseases. For instance, produce like pears, apples, salad greens, chicory, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbages can mitigate the risk of early death while leafy green vegetables, carrots, and yellow vegetables can reduce the risk of developing cancer. While eating these certain fruits and vegetables look very promising in improving longevity, additional research should be conducted.

The Mechanism To Good Health

But why is eating fruits and vegetables very beneficial to the body? Dr. Aune noted that fresh fruit and vegetables have a complex network of nutrients like antioxidants and vitamins necessary for fighting against DNA damage and improving physiological functions. For instance, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cabbages contain glucosinolates that prevent cancer. On the other hand, fruits and vegetables can also improve the quality of the gut bacteria thereby improving your health.

There are so many reasons why you need to eat fruits and vegetables and having good health is a great way to encourage you to eat more.

Inspired by www.thegrocer.co.uk

6 Nutrition Mistakes Even Healthy People Make

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Our bodies benefit from eating healthy food. That’s why making the right food choices is crucial for the overall function of the body. But did you know that many people are not aware that they are eating the wrong kinds of foods to stay healthy? Even healthy people make nutrition mistakes. So if you are trying to be healthy by eating healthy, then below are six common nutrition mistakes even healthy people make.

Mistake #1: Using Whole Flaxseed

Flaxseed is an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acid, fiber, and antioxidants. Most healthy people consume whole flaxseed instead of ground ones. This is a nutrition mistake because whole flaxseed cannot be adequately digested by the stomach so consuming it means that you are missing out on the incredible benefits found inside the seed. So instead of eating whole flaxseed, use ground up flax flours.

Mistake #2: Drinking “Healthy” Smoothies

Drinking smoothies are healthy for the body, but many health buffs believe that it is a low-calorie drink. What they don’t know is that smoothies are calorie bombs especially if you use superfood ingredients that are dense in calories. To decrease calories in your smoothies, use more vegetables than fruits or serve smaller portions.

Mistake #3: Taking Supplements With Coffee

Caffeine from coffee reduces the ability of the body to absorb essential vitamins and minerals like iron, vitamin B, D, and A. But coffee is not the only drink that you need to wary of as tea and cola also contain caffeine. You need to take in your supplements an hour before you drink your morning coffee.

Mistake #4: Using Canned Beans all the Time

While canned beans are readily available, they contain a lot of sodium. In fact, canned beans contain two-thirds of the sodium that is needed daily by the body. So when you are out shopping for beans, look for cans that are labeled low-sodium and no-salt-added. You also need to rinse your beans to remove 40% of the sodium.

Mistake #5: Cutting out on Fruit to Cut Back on Sugar

Fruits are sweet, but they are not the primary source of sugar. In a standard American diet, sweetened beverages are the largest source of sugar. In fact, you can benefit from eating more fruits as they contain not only vitamins and minerals but also the fiber that can help cleanse your colon. So if you have to cut back on sugar, make sure that you look at your current diet and see the hidden source of added sugars that you are consuming.

Mistake #6: Believing That Low-Fat and Sugar-Free Labels are Good

Many people believe that foods with labels “low-fat” and “sugar-free” are good for the body. What they do not know is that they contain more preservatives and other refined ingredients to make them low-fat or sugar-free.  Instead, eat foods that are close to their natural state as possible.

Inspired by www.washingtonpost.com

National Nutrition Month 2017 Infographic

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In honor of National Nutrition Month, we wanted to share an infographic with you about nutrition guidance for healthy children. The infographic was created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Enjoy!

National Nutrition Month Nutrition for Healthy Children Kids

Boost Your Mental Health With Fruits And Vegetables

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According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), mental illness remains a significant public health disease, such that 25% of American adults suffer from it. What makes mental illness the serious problem is that it is also associated with other diseases like diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases.

The extent of mental illness in the country is very alarming. With the advancements in medical science, you would think that mental illnesses would have decreased with the many interventions available for patients. But, no. The number of patients suffering from mental illnesses is still increasing.

Diet for Better Mental Health

Conventional treatments for mental illnesses include medications, psychotherapy, and group therapy. While these are compelling enough, most experts believe that aside from these conventional treatments, diet can play a crucial role in treating mental disorders.

Eating healthy foods does not only prevent metabolic disorders like diabetes and obesity, but it can also bring benefits for mental health. A research study conducted by the Department of Psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand noted that increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables can improve the psychological health of individuals within two weeks.

Lead researcher of the study, Dr. Tamlin Conner, noted that young adults who were given more fruits and vegetables to consume for 14 days experienced a boost in their vitality and motivation. The study involved 171 students between 18 and 25 years old. The subjects were divided into three groups wherein one continued their normal eating pattern while the other group was given additional servings of fruits and vegetables. The last group received vouchers and were reminded through text messages to eat more fruits and vegetables.

The participants were also asked to undergo psychological assessments to assess their vitality, mood, and symptoms of mental illness. Participants who belong to the second group–those who consume more fruits and vegetables–experienced more improvements in their mental well-being. The effects were seen after just two weeks of consuming vegetables and fruits.

Types of Foods For Good Mental Health

Researchers noted that consuming at least three servings of fruits and vegetables daily can be beneficial to your mental health. But what happens to the body if you consume more fruits and vegetables? When you eat the right kinds of food, your body produces more serotonin, which is a hormone that regulates mood, sleep, and appetite. Serotonin is made in the digestive system thus feeding the good bacteria in your gut can help increase the serotonin.

People who eat foods with prebiotics (good bacteria) like leafy green vegetables can contribute to reducing levels of anxiety and improve the mental outlook. Aside from fruits and vegetables, it is also crucial for people to avoid certain types of foods such as white sugar, processed food, and refined ingredients. Vegetables and fruits are good, but you can increase your mental health if you also eat unadulterated and fermented foods.

A healthy diet can go a long way as it does not only help the body heal physically, but it also helps improve your mental health.

Inspired by food.ndtv.com

Vegetables Can Improve The Nutrition Content Of Kid’s Juices

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Fruit juices are perceived as healthy beverages, but the media has reported that many smoothies and kid’s juices contain higher amounts of sugar than carbonated drinks like soda. Sugar is now well researched as the culprit to different metabolic disorders like obesity and diabetes. The fruit juice market has been hit hard by the negative aspects of sugar with a decline in sales over the past few years.  Juice producers have a new opportunity to bring back the healthy image that they present to their customers by adding more vegetables to their juices in turn lowering the sugar and calorie content.

The Trend Of Juicing Vegetables

In recent years, many consumers have developed an interest for vegetable juices for health reasons. With public campaigns encouraging people to consume more vegetables daily and more celebrity chefs preparing vegetable recipes, consumption of vegetables have been glamorized.

The vegetable trend has led to the rise of different diet movements like flexitarians (semi-vegetarians), vegetarians, and vegans. It has also opened many opportunities for restaurants and the food industry to provide products that meet these new needs of consumers. We are starting to see products like vegetable spiralizers, cold-pressed juicers, and ready-made vegetable juices on market shelves.

Brands Have Joined In The Vegetable Bandwagon

Multiple brands have acceded to the bandwagon of incorporating vegetables into their fruit juices. One such company is a Japanese corporation, Kagome. The Japanese consumer demands healthy options and new flavors in their fruit juices and what better way to provide it to the customers than putting vegetables into their fruit juices.

Another company that has incorporated vegetables in its juice products is Coldpress Ltd. The fruit juices are not heat-pasteurized to retain the taste and nutrients of the finished product. Sugar is no longer added to their juices as they rely on the natural sweetness of the fruits for the sugar content.

Newer Trends In Fruit Juices

Aside from fruit juices, some trends are being adopted by beverage brands. As vegetables have been incorporated to add more health value to fruit juices, other trends have also sprung to improve the nutritional profile of fruit juices. Below are the new trends that have taken the fruit juice industry by storm.

  • More Superfoods in Juices: The fruit juice industry predicts that there will be a rise in super-fruit juices into 2020. For example, some companies have already added superfood chia seeds to their fruit juice products since 2015. Other superfoods that have been incorporated in fruit juices include Aloe Vera, coconut water, and maple water.
  • Fresher Fruit Juices: While bottled fruit juices have already been sterilized to increase their shelf-life, more fruit juice producers are developing more refreshing fruit juices to provide more nutritional value to their customers. Using cold-pressed juicing is a method that allows juice companies to create fresher and more nutritious juices. Moreover, juice bars have also become popular to provide juices from kitchen to mouth
  • Natural Vitamins in Juices: Companies like NutriFusion are helping beverage and drink brands add real vitamins from whole fruits and vegetables to their products. Since most juices are going through pasteurization, their nutrients are lost in the process. NutriFusion products are stable in heat and allow juice companies to quickly add back plant-based nutrition that is typically lost in processing.

Inspired by blog.euromonitor.com

Consumers Prefer Nutrients From Food Rather Than Pills

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Vitamins and minerals are critical to cell function in our bodies. The body’s ability to efficiently absorb nutrients is the reason why we are now living longer than our ancestors. There are multiple ways to get essential minerals and elements into our body, and while the most traditional method is by eating food, many people prefer to take dietary supplements.

The Rise Of Dietary Supplements

Dietary supplements are pills or powders not approved by the FDA that contain nutrients that people adopt to increase the sufficient quantities of vitamins and minerals that they need. Supplements include not only vitamins and minerals but also amino acids, fiber, protein, and fatty acids.

To date, there are more than 50,000 dietary supplements available in the United States. In fact, 55% of the adult population take one or more nutritional supplements per day; with the majority consuming the popular multivitamins.

The dietary supplement industry is a multibillion-dollar industry, and many people are caught in the hype of taking supplements for health reasons. However, the problem is that people take in supplements with the assumption that they can prevent or treat diseases. Most people forget to eat a healthy and balanced diet because they rely so much on supplements.

Supplements Are Not Magic

It’s crucial to realize that dietary supplements can never take the place of having a well-balanced diet.  As mentioned earlier, popping pills cannot make up for your bad eating habits. Supplements are not magic pills, and you might still not be getting the nutrients you need if you don’t focus your attention on eating real foods.

Supplements are not regulated. Anyone can buy as many supplements as they want to take. Unfortunately, intake of dietary supplements without your doctor’s signal can also cause more harm than good. For instance, researchers from the Iowa Women’s Health Study noted that women aged 55 years old and above have not gained significant benefits in taking calcium supplements. On the other hand, excessive intake of Vitamin E–a well-known antioxidant–can cause a higher risk of heart failure as well as premature death.

Eat Your Nutrients Instead

Because people are becoming aware that taking in supplements have more disadvantages than advantages, many have shifted to eating their nutrients instead. Nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains contain micronutrients that are necessary for the cells to function properly. Moreover, these plant-based foods also contain dietary fiber that has many benefits like improving heart health, maintaining stable blood pressure and blood sugar. Lastly, these foods also contain phytochemicals that are compounds that help protect the body against certain diseases.

If you are looking for a way to still add food based vitamins to your diet because you still see deficiencies, you should try NutriFusion’s whole fruit and vegetable based vitamin blends. With one teaspoon, you will be able to add 50% daily value of 12 different plant-based vitamins including Vitamin A, C, D, E, K, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, and B9.

While this new trend of eating your nutrients to stay healthy is becoming popular, some nutritionists believe that consumers should not only rely on food as their source of minerals; like the body does not quickly absorb some minerals. In fact, scientists are working to create ways for the body to quickly absorb vitamins and minerals as well as make sure that that the minerals have a longer shelf life.

Inspired by www.fooddive.com

Imposing Soda Tax: A Solution for The Ballooning Diabetes and Heart Disease Problems

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Global diabetes and heart disease rates have ballooned over the last 25 years. Among the countries that have the highest rate of diabetes and heart diseases, Mexico tops the list according to Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo. She is a UCSF professor medicine and director of UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations. Another problem in the country is obesity. With the global obesity rate growing at 11% and 15%, respectively, for both men and women, Mexico harbors a lot of obese individuals in the world. It is strikingly alarming to take note that around 75% of adults in Mexico are obese.

To solve the problem, the Mexican government proposed a solution to address this chronic health issue by imposing a 10% excise tax on sugary drinks in 2014. This tax rate is designed to curb the consumption of sugary beverages. Thus, decreasing the number of people who have diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, this strategy allows the government to save about $1 billion in direct health care cost due to these conditions.

Is the Sugary Drink Tax Effective?

In a study published in PLOS Medicine, simulation models of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes in Mexico was done. The simulation model was developed on the well-established model used in the United States in 1980.

Researchers from the Instituto Nacional Salud de Publica (INSP) in Cuernavaca in Mexico and from the UC San Francisco estimated that the sugary drink tax in the country will likely prevent 20,000 cases of heart attack, 190,000 cases of diabetes, and 19,000 deaths among adults from the age of 35 to 90 within the next ten years.

The sugary drink tax is not the only tool to turn around this health epidemic in Mexico, but it will also mean a lot of savings for the people and the government according to senior researcher, Simon Barquera. For instance, it will reduce healthcare spending such as clinic visits and hospitalization by as much as $983 billion. The health benefits will strongly be felt among young adults who are avid consumers of sugary drinks.

Backed by The World Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report that indicated that imposing sugary drinks could decrease Type 2 diabetes, tooth decay, and obesity. Increasing the retail price to 20% can trigger a reduction in consumption because people will have second thoughts about buying expensive drinks.

Obesity is a rising problem in many rich and developing countries. The problem started more than a decade ago, and it has affected mostly people from the middle-income and lower-income bracket.

The sugary drink tax imposed in Mexico in 2014, according to WHO spokesman Paul Garwood, was favorable wherein the agency observed a substantial drop in the consumption of not only sugar but also caffeine.

Inspired by www.ucsf.edu/