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Showing posts from December, 2013

Family, costs and fruit and vegetable consumption

I came across this article while I was looking for information for other things. I thought it was important because it talks about how family interactions as well as cost influence individuals eating habits. Family and peer group food practices have a strong influence on an individual’s food preferences later in life. http://www.todaysdietitian.com/news/112713_news.shtm l   JY 12/4/13

SNAP Funding

The funding for supplemental nutrition programs like SNAP and WIC have been in the news quite a bit recently and the value of these programs is being debated. The link I’ve attached below is to a recently released report by the Office of the President about the value of the SNAP program. -   http://www.whitehouse.gov/ sites/default/files/docs/snap_ report_-_final.pdf   JY 12/3/13

6 Ways to End Family Fights Over Dinner

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  6 Ways to End Family Fights Over Dinner The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics posted tips on ways to ended family feuds during dinner.   Emphasized in this post is that calm, positive meal times keeps a healthy feeding relationship with families. Especially when roles of responsibilities are differentiated between the adults and children. So it is important to keep in mind:   "Adults are responsible for the foods and beverages that are served, as well as where the meal is served and making meal times pleasant"   "Children are responsible for deciding whether to eat and how much to eat. As they get older, they can learn age-appropriate table manners and meal time behaviors"   The post goes on giving six tips to have pleasant family meals and avoid fights with children. This is a great resource to just even have as a handout for families. This could help reduce stress on the families.   http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=67
Is there a relationship between having breakfast and obesity and chronic diseases? One of the first recommendation RDs give is to start your day with a good nutritious breakfast the kick-in your metabolism. This article suggest that there is a positive relationship between having breakfast in the morning and blood sugar control and reduced obesity risk up to 45 % “Regular consumption of breakfast, and especially whole-foods, fiber-rich breakfasts, may be protective against obesity and chronic diseases.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3001239/
Fad diets: K-E Diet/ tube feeding: http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=6442471460 I heard about this diet before as a new trend between brides to be to lose weight however I never really knew exactly what the steps to be on this diet are. The steps should be done by a doctor who place the tube feeding and provide the formula (800 kcal), the cost is about $1500. The person who follow this diet should stay on it for 10 days, and only allowed to disconnect the tube feeding for 10 minutes daily for showering. Recently I heard that this diet is popular again so I started researching more about it. There are very few scientific resources and plenty of websites and news channels links about it and also about other fad diets. I recommend watching abc report on the diet at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mxJu1RJuFs One of the websites I found is called “FAD DIET” http://www.faddiet.com . This website list many different diets that have no scientific bases to it. Their

Which vegetables provide the most nutrients for the least cost?

We've all heard the excuse that eating healthy is too expensive, so I found this article interesting.  Researchers have developed the Affordable Nutrition Index (ANI), a measure of nutrients per unit cost, to identify those foods that provide the most nutritional value for the least money.  First, the the overall nutritional quality of different vegetables was assessed using the Nutrient Rich Foods (NRI) index based on the nutrients to encourage- protein, fiber, vitamins A,C, & E, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium, and the 3 nutrients to limit- saturated fat, added sugar, and sodium.  Second, the most recent USDA national food prices database was used to determine the nutrient value of different vegetables in relation to their cost.  Results showed that tomato juices and tomato soups, dark green leafy and non-leafy vegetables, deep yellow vegetables had the highest NRF scores overall.  Highest NRF scores per dollar were sweet potatoes, white potatoes, tomato juices and to

Implementing Improvements in the School Breakfast Program

After presenting my presentation on the School Breakfast Program, I have started to notice more and more about the different school districts that have tried to increase the amount of participation in their School Breakfast Program. I thought it was interesting when I read about the school district in Dallas that has created a program that allows children to eat while in the classroom. They have noticed changes within the attitude and behavior of children since they are now given the opportunity to eat in the classroom. There are three ways that breakfast is given to the children. Breakfast can be delivered to the classroom in insulated bags, children can get breakfast from a hallway kiosk or a combination of the two. Although this is a great thing to see for me and you, it was interesting the comments that was posted underneath the article. People talked about how the school breakfast was not important or they had a very in depth conversation about government spending. If you want t

Dietetics Trends as Reflected in Various Primary Research Projects

Here is a research article  discussing trends in the dietetic fields based on research projects over the past nearly two decades.  Here is the abstract if you do not have time to read the whole article. At the behest of the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) Workforce Demand Task Force, a retrospective examination and reanalysis of   12   primary research projects (sponsored by CDR and/or the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics between 1995 and   2011 ) was undertaken to identify trends in supply of and demand for registered dietitians (RDs) and dietetic technicians, registered (DTRs). The analysis suggests that supply of RDs (and possibly DTRs) lags slightly behind demand—although, in the case of DTRs, that does not necessarily imply that demand is growing (supply was shrinking throughout most of the study period). The population of both groups is aging, and the number of RDs and DTRs reporting expected retirement in the near future is sure to affect supply/demand relationsh

Dining and Food Trends 2014

The Sterling Rice Group has come out with the "Cutting Edge Dining Trends for 2014."  Included in this  link are those top trends and an RD's perspective as well.  What do you think about these trends? Brian W.

Foods for Breast Cancer Survivors

We had speaker, Beth Roth, visit us from the Gathering Place this semester.   I had to pleasure of interning with her earlier in the year.   We talked with her clients a lot about foods that fight cancer.   Here is an article that breaks down some foods—ones that Beth commonly discusses (i.e., plant strong with fish oils), and other’s that are a bit controversial (i.e., soy),  http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/18/health/food-breast-cancer-survivors/index.html?hpt=he_c2 Take a look, if you ever need some information on cancer and nutrition, contact Beth Roth! -RR