Category Archives: NUTRITION

REPORTS: TUFTS HEALTH & NUTRITION – APRIL 2023

Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter (April 2023):

  • The Truth about “Brain-Boosting” Supplements
  • News Bites
  • Personalized Nutrition
  • Special Report: Cooking with Kids
  • Eight Cups of Water a Day?
  • Featured Recipe: April Fools’ Day Tofu Scramble
  • Ask Tufts Experts: Cardiovascular Disease; Melatonin

Reviews: Poor Nutrition Is #1 Cause Of Early Death

According to Stephen Kopecky, MD, a preventive cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic, “nutrition is now the number one cause of early death and early disease in our country and the world.” Moreover, he says that while having genes for disease will increase your risk by 30% to 40%, having a bad lifestyle for disease will increase your risk by 300% to 400%.

WebMD (March 7, 2023) – About 20 years ago, Kopecky says, the cause of death worldwide changed from infection to non-infection (like non-communicable diseases). “In those last 20 years, that’s grown in terms of what kills us and what gets us sick,” he says. “The three big non-communicable diseases are heart disease, cancer, and rapidly rising is Alzheimer’s. But there’s also diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure — all those things are also related to diet.”

Forty-eight-year-old James, of Fredericksburg, VA, knows this all too well. James asked that his last name not be printed, to protect his privacy. For the last 30 years, he’s been managing type 1 diabetes and complications of insulin resistance, along with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, and low testosterone. As a former Division 1 college athlete, James exercised regularly and ate what he believed to be a responsible diet.

REPORTS: TUFTS HEALTH & NUTRITION – MARCH 2023

Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter (March 2023):

  • Obesity is a Disease: Why, and Why It Matters
  • News Bites
  • The Health Benefits of Strength Training
  • Special Report: Optimizing Sleep
  • Tummy Trouble: When to Seek Help
  • Featured Recipe: Cabbage Roll Casserole
  • Ask Tufts Experts: Vitamin C supplements; Processed Meats

Microbiome: Physiology Of The Gut (Cambridge)

Cambridge University Press (February 15, 2023):

“The gut is a masterpiece of biological complexity.”

In a new paper published in Gut Microbiome, an Open Access journal from Cambridge University Press and The Nutrition Society, Professor Hannelore Daniel discusses how the physiology of the gut is a missing link in efforts to connect the gut microbiome to human health.

“Gut physiology meets microbiome science” Gut Microbiome, Cambridge University Press, Volume 4 , 2023 , e1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/gmb.2022.10

Access the paper here: http://bit.ly/3I4BAAA

Reports: Tufts Health & Nutrition – January 2023

Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter – January 2023:

Ask Tufts Experts: January 2023

Elimination diets … Fish oil and heart arrythmia

Q: What is an elimination diet? Can it be used for weight loss? 

A: Alicia Romano, MS, RD, CSNC, a registered dietitian/nutritionist with the Frances Stern Nutrition Center who specializes in gastrointestinal diseases and food allergies, answers: “I’m glad you asked this question! Elimination diets are sometimes used as diagnostic or treatment tools. They are not for weight loss.

Portion Tips and Tricks

Using common items makes it easy to know how much food you’re really eating.

Nutrition: The Benefits Of Vitamin B9 & Folic Acid

Vitamin B9 is one of eight B (B-complex) vitamins that help your body change food (carbohydrates) into fuel (glucose) to produce energy. You need B9 for the health of your liver, skin, hair and eyes, and to keep your nervous system working properly.

Cleveland Clinic – Vitamin B9 helps your body make healthy new cells, supporting many of its functions, and may help prevent health issues from developing. It’s proven critical for reproductive health, too.

“It’s essential for people who are pregnant to take folic acid supplements to support healthy fetal growth and development,” notes Zumpano. “When you’re trying to conceive or are pregnant, it’s extremely difficult to get the amount of vitamin B9 needed.”

Studies show that people who take folic acid supplements before conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy may reduce their risk of having children with neural tube defects (birth defects of the brain and spine such as spina bifida) by 40% to 80%. Early evidence suggests folic acid may also be associated with a lower risk of autism, severe language delays and emotional issues.

Read more

Reports: Tufts Health & Nutrition – December 2022

December 2022 Issue:

Beware of “Health-Washing”

Front-of-package health claims can be helpful—but they can also be misleading. Learn how to tell the difference.

Habitual Coffee Consumption Associated with Health Benefits

A study that followed nearly 400,000 middle-aged individuals in the U.K. for a median of over 10 years found that, compared to individuals who reported drinking less than one cup of coffee a day, drinking four or more eight-ounce cups a day was associated with lower risk of 30 medical conditions.

FDA Proposes New Definition of “Healthy” on Food Packages

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently proposed new draft guidelines for food manufacturers who want to label their products as “healthy.” This term was last defined in the 1990s. According to the FDA, “our current definition permits manufacturers to use the claim ‘healthy’ on some foods that, based on the most up-to-date nutrition.

Reports: Tufts Health & Nutrition, November 2022

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Inside the Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter – November 2022:

  • Give Thanks for Good Health
  • Newsbites: Vitamin D; red meat and CVD risk; psyllium and constipation
  • Grain Products: Don’t be Fooled by Healthy-Sounding Labels!
  • Special Report: Top 3 Reasons to Avoid “Top Foods” Lists
  • Diet and Hemorrhoids
  • Featured Recipe: Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish
  • Ask Tufts Experts: Processed foods; calcium intake