This'n'That; October 24th[Health;Nutrition;Obesity]

Eight Fixes Nutritionists Want On Food Labels MAKE SERVING SIZES REALISTIC. Most current "serving sizes" do not reflect realistic dining habits. The serving size should reflect what an average individual actually eats; use ounces and cups rather than grams. BETTER EXPLAIN THE PERCENTAGE DAILY VALUE [DV] Clarify whether the recommended percentage for a nutrient is a "ceiling or a floor." As an example: A particular label indicates 30% of the recommended DV of saturated fat. It would be ludicrous to eat more fat than necessary just to reach the 100% level; the thirty percent would be considered a maximum. For vitamins, minerals and fiber, the values should be considered minimums; you'll have to get the remainder from other sources. Most values on the labels are for someone consuming a 2,000 calorie diet. This may be too much for those trying to lose weight or for children's diets. Two columns of values could indicate percentages for another diet, like 1,200 or 1,500 calorie diets. CREATE A MAXIMUM DAILY VALUE FOR SUGAR Currently, there's no ceiling value for sugar consumption. After a maximum is created, it should be further sub-divided into sources of added sugars, i.e., cane juice, high-fructose corn syrup and naturally occurring sugars from whole foods like fruits and milk. REQUIRE A LISTING FOR CAFFEINE CONTENT Caffeine is in many products the consumer might not suspect, like coffee flavored ice cream. During my research, I couldn't find any listing for all [or even most] foods inwhich caffeine has been added. The best I could find is a listing for bottled beverages.... from a high of 1,200 mg in a 12 oz Powershot to a low of 1.2 mg in Canada Dry Diet Cola. The research path is: http://www.erowid.org/splash.php >>>Plant and Drugs >>>>Caffeine HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON WHOLE GRAINS The total amount of whole grains in a product can be difficult to determine. Update container labels to indicate the amount in grams and percentage of the food [or container]. This should apply to fruit products as well. The label should disclose [by percentage of the container] how much is actually fruit. INCLUDE A LISTING OF HEALTHY PAIRINGS WITH THE PRODUCT Using a dry cereal like Wheaties as an example, the label could read... "healthy pairings: skim or 1% milk, fresh berries, fresh bananas, flax seeds [or meal], [etc.]" EXPLAIN FOOD ORIGINS Using cartoon characters/drawings to enhance the text explaining the country of origin of major ingredients, country of production, USA entry point, etc. USE COLOR-CODING AND/OR SYMBOLS PLUS NUMERICAL SCORES TO INDICATE HEALTH VALUES Some larger grocery chains [in the Northeast, Wegman's] are already doing this to some of their products. Establish a color/symbol system that corresponds to a point score indicating the more or lesser health values of like products. Some basics might be fiber content, sugar content, omega-3 and protein content as well as the negative sources like carbohydrates, fat, cholestrol, high sugar levels, etc. With this information readily available, the consumer could compare two cereals, say Wheaties against Cocoa Puffs, to determine which is healthier. CUT CORN CONSUMPTION FOR HEALTH The American food supply is awash in corn. In 2007, U.S. farmers reaped 13 BILLION BUSHELS, the largest corn harvest in American history. Massive federal subsidies to farmers helped keep corn prices-and the resulting food prices-down, but the glut of corn is harming our health. Reducing corn consumption could be a smart health move. That 13 billion bushels has to go somewhere!! Much of the corn is made into high-fructose corn syrup, which is in many processed foods and most consumer beverages. Production of high-fructose corn syrup has increased 4,000 PERCENT since 1973; the average American consumes a whopping 42 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup each year [an extra 75,281 calories-enough to feed the typical American for 37 days!!]. The bulk of these added calories come from soda, energy and juice drinks. Recent studies show that soft drinks have replaced milk as a dietary staple and have become the third most common breakfast food!! "If the average American cut just one soft drink or sugared water drink per day, they would cut their weight 10 pounds per year," says Barry Popkin, agricultural economist and professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina. Chemically, the corn syrup is nearly identical to table sugar and both substances most likely play a part in the nation's obesity problem. The bulk of the nation's crop ends up feeding livestock. Feeder cattle are cleaply fattened on corn before slaughter. Beef from corn fattened cattle tends to have more artery clogging saturated fats than grass-fed beef. Research also suggests that corn-fed beef is lower in the healthful Omega-3 fatty acids. Cattle that are primarily fed corn develop high stomach acidity, which appears to breed E. coli O157:H7, a deadly strain. A new study by Kansas State University found that cattle which are fed distillers grains, a byproduct of ethanol production, have a significantly higher prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in their digestive system. This could have profound implications in food safety. Corn is NOT inherently unhealthy, nor should it be banished from the food system. Corn is an astounding plant capable of producing an astounding amount of food from an astoundly small space. The problem is the scale at which it's produced!!

Til Nex'time...........

About CAFFEINE

Due to my diabetes, I subscribe to NUTRITION ACTION, a health newsletter published by The Center for Science in the Public Interest. In the March, 2008 issue, the lead article is intitled "CAFFEINE The Good, the Bad and the Maybe." Here is an article "Caffeine America" published as a sidebar to the main article: Caffeine America Up until ten years ago. the only foods with added caffeine were soft drinks. And the Food and Drug Administration limited the amount to 48 milligrams per eight ounces. That changed in 1997, when the first popular energy drink-an Austrian import called RED BULL-hit the U.S. Every 8-ounce can of the sweetened fortified water contains 80 mg of caffeine. "For whatever reasons, the FDA decided not to challenge RED BULL," says caffeine expert Roland Griffiths of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. "And that started the aggressive marketing of caffeine-containing food products." RED BULL's success attracted copycats. Drinks like ADRENALINE RUSH, NO FEAR, and ROCKSTAR PUNCHED pushed caffeine levels to 240 mg per 16 oz can. And with the FDA looking the other way, the drive to caffeinate has spilled over to candy bars, hot cereal, chewing gum, chips, jelly beans, mints, beer, and more. GOTTA HAVE IT Caffeine isn't just any food additive. "It's a pharmacological agent, a drug, and it leads to physical dependence in people who use it regularly," says Griffiths. After less than a week of consuming caffeine every day, most people will experience headache, fatigue, decreased alertness, and/or drowsiness if they stop. Caffeine is also different from other food additives because, like nicotine and amphetamines, it functions as a "drug reinforcer," says Griffiths. In other words, people are more likely to choose a food with caffeine over one that's caffeine-free. That hasn't been lost on food and beverage companies, notes Griffiths. "Caffeine increases the probability that the product will be bought and consumed. And it induces dependence and builds customer loyalty. That's probably the reason that 70 percent of soft drinks have added caffeine." PUSHING LABELING In 1997, we petitioned the FDA to require labels of foods with caffeine to list how much is in each serving. This January, the Fed said that the petition "is still active and pending and the Angency has not reached any decision yet." You can help push the federal tortoise along by signing and mailing this coupon. [also published is the coupon referred to:] To: FDA Dockets Management [HFA-305] -Docket No. 97P-0329 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061 Rockville, MD, 20852 From: ______________________ _______________________ _______________________ As a member of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, I urge you to act on the 1997 petition by CSPI and-as recommended by the American Medical Association-require labels of foods that contain significant amounts of caf- feine to disclose how much is in each serving.