February 1, 2011, by Liesbeth Smit
The new USDA American Dietary Guidelines are released. While the general public and scientists were anxiously waiting which major topics would be addressed, it turns out we should all eat much less sodium and added sugar. This would mean we are not supposed to eat most breakfast cereals, and ban sugary drinks (and juices) and canned soups. They even point out that we should eat REAL FOODS, that means foods that are not procesessed, packaged and to which other nutrients are added.

One thing that is …

January 18, 2011, Stephan van Duin, New Science Journalism

We all enjoy our cocktails as a guilty pleasure, but it now seems to be actually healthy to drink a Bloody Mary from time to time.
This Friday night-friendly discovery was made by Italian researcher Lorenzo Nissen of the University of Bologna, when he investigated one of the components of Tabasco, a key ingredient of the Bloody Mary cocktail. The Tabasco component, capsaicin, is observed to have antimicrobial activity against some of our major food pathogens: the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni and Escherichia …

The Boston Globe, Kay Lazar, November 30, 2010
A long-awaited report from a panel of independent scientists recommends tripling the amount of vitamin D most Americans should take and small increases in calcium levels for children to build and maintain strong bones, but some specialists warned that the recommendations were flawed.
The Institute of Medicine panel’s findings, being released today, carry considerable weight — government agencies rely on the recommendations to set food policy, everything from product labeling to requirements for school lunch programs. And a raft of health-related organizations, such as …

USNews, Hanna Dubansky, November 24, 2010
The thrust and details of the 2010 guidelines won’t be known until they are released, a change from before, when the government simply adopted the recommendations of an advisory panel. This time DOA and HHS are hammering out the final version behind the curtains, with a 13-member advisory panel providing input rather than dictating the content. But the report and recommendations released by the panel in June are bound to carry heavy weight. If the panel’s input foreshadows the shape and scope of the guidelines …

Fooducate, November 18, 2010
Yesterday we participated in a conference call hosted by Produce for Better Health Foundation, discussing how America has progressed in produce consumption over the past decade. A distinguished panel presented quite a grim picture:

America’s  fruit and vegetable consumption remains far below recommended levels
Only 8% of us reach our fruit goals.
Only 6% reach the veggie goals.
While we eat a third of our food away from home, those meals account for only 11% of fruit & veggie consumption.
Eight of the states with the lowest fruit and vegetable consumption are …

The Huffington Post, November 18, 2010
Research is medicine’s field of dreams from which we harvest new findings about the causes, treatment and prevention of disease. During the 20th century, the triumph of public health and medical interventions as a result of investments in research significantly improved the health and well being of people living in our country. In 1900, the average life expectancy for Americans was just 48 years and the major causes of death then were infectious diseases and, for women, also complications of childbirth. Since then, food …

The Atlantic, By Kelly Brownell, Professor of Public Health at Yale University, November , 2010
Food companies have been in a headlong rush to prevent government from enacting policies that would affect sales of items such as sugar-sweetened beverages and fast food. One of their tactics is for the companies to issue pledges to protect children, saying in so many words, “You can trust us to police ourselves so government can back down.”
The marketing of junk food has been the focus of many such pledges. In the U.S., the pledges are …

The New York Times, Michael Moss, November 6, 2010
Domino’s Pizza was hurting early last year. Domestic sales had fallen, and a survey of big pizza chain customers left the company tied for the worst tasting pies.
Consumers devoured the cheesier pizza, and sales soared by double digits. “This partnership is clearly working,” Brandon Solano, the Domino’s vice president for brand innovation, said in a statement to The New York Times.
But as healthy as this pizza has been for Domino’s, one slice contains as much as two-thirds of a day’s maximum recommended …

Food and Health News, November 6, 2010
Every person emits the equivalent of approximately two tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from the time food is produced to when the human body excretes it, representing more than 20% of total yearly emissions. That is what a study by the Universidad de Almería says, confirming for the first time that human excrements contribute to water pollution, primarily with nitrogen and phosphorus.
A team of researchers from the Universidad de Almería (UAL) has estimated the environmental impact of the Spanish diet and role that …

The EFSA, European Food Safety Authority published an official statement to reject the request for health claims for conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a natural trans fatty acid that raises cholesterol. Below their decision:
Summary
Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies was asked to provide a scientific opinion on a list of health claims pursuant to Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. This opinion addresses the scientific substantiation of health claims in relation to conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers and contribution to …