I have been bombarded with questions about this new study released yesterday about organic food being no healthier than conventionally grown produce. The study is in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Organics have been growing in the marketplace at a very steady rate of about 20% for years. Are they worth the higher price tag?
This particular study was a review of scientific papers published in the past 50 years on nutritional quality of organic foods. They found that there was no statistically significant difference between organic and conventional produced foods in terms of nutritional value.
Many people were disappointed in this news, but remember that they just studied nutritional value. They did not address in this study the difference between pesticide and fertilizer residue, environmental impact, hormone levels, etc. When you make the decision of organic vs. conventional, there are many issues to consider.
If you want help making this decision, check out this link to the 12 “dirtiest” foods that tend to have the most pesticide residue and the 12 “cleanest” foods that have very little. Spend your organic dollars on the dirtiest and save your money on the cleanest.
Dr. Jim Hill is a friend of mine and co-developer of the National Weight Control Registry – the nation’s largest database of individuals who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept off the weight for at least 1 year. Jim has been studying their commonalities – and has determined that there is in fact a recipe for long-term weight loss success. I shared the recipe with ABC news today. My interviewer (Natasha Barrett) was really funny, and had tendencies to blurt questions in the middle of our conversation (such as: “what do you think of granola bars?”)
Orthorexia is a term coined by Dr. Steven Bratman. “Ortho” simply means straight or correct, while “orexia” refers to appetite. Orthorexia nervosa refers to a nervous obsession with eating proper foods. While anorexia nervosa is an obsession with the quantity, orthorexia is an obsession with the quality of the food consumed.
Given how heavy people seem to be getting in our country, focusing on health should not be a bad thing. However, while it is normal for people to change what they eat to improve their health, treat an illness, or lose weight, orthorectics may take the concern too far. While it is normal for people switching diets to be concerned with what types of food they are eating, this concern should quickly decrease, as the diet becomes normal. Orthorexia, in contrast, is when a person is consumed with what types of food they are allowed to eat and feel badly about their selves if they fail to stick with their regimen.
People suffering with this obsession about what they eat may find themselves:
• Spending more than three hours a day thinking about healthy food.
• Planning tomorrow’s menu today.
• Feeling virtuous about what they eat, but not enjoying it much.
• Continually limiting the number of foods they eat.
• Experiencing a reduced quality of life or social isolation (because their diet makes it difficult for them to eat anywhere but at home).
• Feeling critical of others who do not eat as well they do.
• Skipping foods they once enjoyed to eat the “right’ foods.
• Feeling guilt or self-loathing when they stray from their diet.
• Feeling in “total” control when they eat the correct diet.
Often orthorectics will “punish” themselves by doing a penance of some sort, if this “fall from grace” does occur. While orthorexia nervosa isn’t yet a formal medical condition, many professionals do feel that it does explain an important health phenomenon. If you or someone you know suffers from something that sounds or feels like this description of orthorexia nervosa, you should go visit either a nutritionist or doctor.
Have you noticed that many products on grocery shelves are bragging that they do not have high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)? HFCS has been demonized by many people in the public as well as the medical community in recent years. But how much different is it from just plain old sugar? The answer is up for debate, but I will do my best to present the facts.
HFCS has been used for many years, but the use really became much more common in the 1980’s. Food companies use it because it makes a desirable end product and is fairly cheap. HFCS comes from corn and is refined to get the sweet taste into a syrup. But is it worse than sugar?
Many experts believe it is no different than sugar. Both are high in calories and are considered “empty” calories, meaning they don’t have vitamins, minerals, or other healthy nutrients in significant quantities.
The American Medical Association and other scientists have agreed that both sugar and HFCS both contribute to risks of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other illnesses if eaten in large quantities. In other words, there is no proof to date that HFCS is more harmful than sugar.
So why are so many companies eliminating HFCS? It is all consumer perception. Consumers have heard that HFCS bad so companies are spending time and money eliminating it from it’s products? What are they using instead? Sugar.
Is HFCS natural? The Corn Refiners Association says that HFCS is natural. The FDA does not define the term “natural” so we really have no way of seeing whether something is natural on a food label. Food companies can use this word without repercussion from the FDA since they have not defined it.
A meeting this week called Experimental Biology had some really interesting new research presented on eggs. I have written about eggs in the past and tried to clear up some of the confusion around whether they are good or not. Check out my past blog called The Incredible Edible Egg for more background on nutritional plus’s and minus’s on eggs. I also wrote a fun post on eggs which included some food safety tips. I personally love eggs and my favorite way to eat them is a spinach and feta omelet! Mmmmmm……
Here are some of the findings presented at Experimental Biology 2009 this week: Eggs for Breakfast Helps Manage Hunger and Calorie Consumption
A study led by Maria Luz Fernandez, Ph.D., professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Connecticut, investigated the differences in post-meal hunger and daily caloric intake when eating a breakfast of either protein-rich eggs or carbohydrate-rich bagels. Although the two breakfast options contained an identical amount of calories, the researchers found that adult men who consumed eggs for breakfast:
consumed fewer calories following the egg breakfast compared to the bagel breakfast
consumed fewer total calories in the 24-hour period after the egg breakfast compared to the bagel breakfast
reported feeling less hungry and more satisfied three hours after the egg breakfast compared to the bagel breakfast
Protein for Breakfast Helps Teens Control Appetite
Researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center assessed the impact of a protein-rich breakfast on appetite and overall calorie consumption among teens who traditionally skip breakfast. While each test breakfast contained 500 total calories, the researchers examined variables including the protein form (solid food or beverage) and the amount of protein versus carbohydrate in the breakfast.
Teens consumed fewer calories at lunch when they ate a protein-rich breakfast of solid foods compared with a protein-rich beverage breakfast
Post-meal hunger was significantly reduced when the teens ate a protein-rich breakfast of solid foods
Cracking Open Heart Health Myths
Florida State University researchers examined the relationship between cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors such as body mass index, serum lipids and levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (a marker for inflammation), and the degree to which these factors are influenced by dietary intake of fiber, fat and eggs. The study found:
No relationship between egg consumption and serum lipid profiles, especially serum total cholesterol, as well as no relationship between egg consumption and hs-CRP
A positive correlation (meaning the more the higher the risk) between dietary trans-fat intake and CVD risk factors, as well as a negative correlation (meaning lowered risk) between fiber and vitamin C intake and CVD risk factors
These studies support more than 30 years of research showing that healthy adults can consume eggs as part of a healthy diet. Eggs are all-natural and packed with a number of nutrients. One egg has 13 essential vitamins and minerals in varying amounts, high-quality protein and antioxidants, all for 70 calories. Eggs are also an excellent source of choline, an essential nutrient vital for fetal and infant brain development but also good for everyone.
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