Posts Tagged “diet”
Do you want to live another decade? A new study shows a plant-rich diet can add 10 years to your life.
The study, published in PLOS Medicine, examined a diet which was heavy on fruits, vegetables, beans and grains. According to the models, a 20-year-old who went all-in on the plant-based diet could add 10 years to their life. Even just making a partial change could add six years of life expectancy. And, an 80-year-old who started a plant-based diet could add three years to their life.
The study was conducted by scientists at the University of Bergen, Norway, and titled “Estimating Impact of Food Choices on Life Expectancy: A Modeling Study.
“A sustained dietary change may give substantial health gains for people of all ages both for optimized and feasible changes. Gains are predicted to be larger the earlier the dietary changes are initiated in life,” according to the study authors.
Like the Alliance for Food and Farming’s popular residue calculator, which clearly and visually shows consumers how safe their favorite fruits and vegetables are, the study authors created their own calculator, Food4HealthyLife, where users can calculate how dietary changes can impact their life expectancy.
This new study complements decades of research that verifies consumption of fruits and vegetables prevents diseases, boosts immune function, promotes better health, improves cognition and increases lifespan. It is worth noting that most of these positive health studies were conducted using conventionally grown produce.
The overwhelming nutritional benefits of a produce-rich diet and the equally impressive science showing the safety of all fruits and vegetables is why consumers should ignore efforts by certain groups who attempt to discourage consumption of popular produce items by using inaccurate and inflammatory safety claims.
With only one in 10 of Americans eating enough each day, according to a new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control, consumers should be urged to eat whatever produce they enjoy and is accessible and affordable for them. Organic and conventionally grown – both are safe and can be eaten with confidence.
Let science be your guide and don’t let anyone or any group discourage you from eating the fruits and vegetables you prefer.
Adolescence is a critical period for the evolution of cardiometabolic risk factors that are largely influenced by diet and lifestyle. Understanding these risk factors is essential to developing effective dietary guidance for disease prevention targeting this critical age period. Recently published research in the British Journal of Nutrition found that 9-17 year-old girls who consumed up to one cup of potatoes daily had no increased risk of becoming overweight or developing high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, or impaired fasting glucose by the end of the study in late adolescence.
According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, girls aged 9 – 18 are encouraged to consume 1½ to 3-cup equivalents per day of vegetables, depending on their calorie needs, but most fail to meet these guidelines. In this study, the highest levels of potato consumption ranged from 1/5 to 1 cup per day and at that level, no adverse effects were observed.
“Our results show that nutrient-rich potatoes can be part of a healthy diet in young girls during this important period of growth and development,” says Lynn L. Moore, DSc, MPH, Boston University, the study’s senior author. “There is growing evidence that overall diet quality is what really matters in the preservation of heart health. Potatoes are an affordable food, with a number of valuable nutrients, and our research suggests that moderate intakes of potatoes, along with many other types of vegetables, can be a regular part of a healthy diet pattern.”
Higher intakes of all forms of potatoes (including fried) during the ‘tween’ years of nine to 11 were associated with higher intakes of potassium and dietary fiber, two nutrients of public health concern, [i] as well as vitamin C, vitamin B6 and magnesium. Black girls in this study with the highest intakes of potatoes also consumed more fruit and non-starchy vegetables and had higher diet-quality scores.
Study Design, Strengths and Limitations
The researchers analyzed data from nearly 2,000 subjects (approximately 50% Black, 50% White) from the National Growth and Health Study, a longitudinal study of the development of obesity and other cardiovascular-related outcomes in adolescent girls.
- For girls at 9-11 years of age, researchers analyzed data on total potato intake (white and sweet) as well as separate intakes of fried and non-fried potatoes.
- For girls at 9-17 years of age, researchers analyzed data for total potato intake (white and sweet).
Diet was assessed using 3-day diet records at baseline when girls were 9-10 years old, and during the follow-up years 2-5, 7, 8, and 10. The intake of potatoes (both white and sweet potatoes) was extracted from total vegetable servings. Anthropometric measures of body fat and body composition and blood pressure were measured annually. Additionally, fasting triglycerides, other lipids, and glucose were measured in later adolescence (at 18-20 years of age)
Repeated measures of a number of potential confounding variables were examined, including socioeconomic status, body mass index (BMI), changes in height, physical activity, television viewing, intakes of food groups and nutrients, as well as diet quality measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015. The study’s strengths include its prospective design as well as the use of multiple sets of three-day diet records, which is considered the gold standard method for dietary assessment. Researchers also took repeated measures of cardiometabolic risk factors and most potential confounders.
The investigators acknowledge limitations to the study, such as reliance on self-reported dietary intakes from adolescents who may have had difficulty accurately estimating portion sizes and reporting details. However, parents and other caregivers were actively involved in the completion of these diet records, especially during the earlier years of the study. Researchers were unable to assess the effects of very high levels of potato intakes since few girls reported consuming more than one cup equivalent of potatoes per day. They were also unable to analyze any differences between white and sweet potato consumption, given the low intakes of sweet potatoes within the study population. Finally, the researchers were unable to control for baseline values of fasting glucose or triglycerides due to missing or unreliable data at the initial exam.
This study was selected as the Nutrition Society’s Paper of the Month. Every month, the Editors-in-Chief of the Nutrition Society’s journals select one paper as being of particular interest or originality, and/or because it challenges previously conceived notions in nutritional science and public health. The research manuscript, “Potato consumption is not associated with elevated cardiometabolic risk in adolescent girls,” is published in the British Journal of Nutrition (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114521003445). Authors include Ioanna Yiannakou, Mengjie Yuan, R. Taylor Pickering, Martha R. Singer, and Lynn L. Moore, Boston University. In addition to funding from the National Institutes of Health, funding was provided by the Alliance for Potato Research and Education (APRE); APRE had no input on interpretation of the results or manuscript development.
Grower-Shipper Association of Central California
This pandemic is a learning experience for all of us on how to stay healthy and avoid illness.
Making informed decisions around COVID-19 is critically important. Taking the responsible route of practicing good hygiene and limiting social contact are sound practices we all must take seriously.
What will help our body’s vital line of defense to an invading virus? A good diet, with lots of dark green, leafy vegetables and berries. When going to the grocery store or shopping online don’t forget to prioritize healthy foods that maintain a strong immune system and gut health. But don’t just take our word for it. Listen to the advice from the experts, such as Elizabeth Bradley, MD, a clinical nutritionist and the medical director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine, who in a recent article, Facts (and Myths) About Boosting Your Immune System, highlights how diet plays a role in supporting the immune system.
Fresh fruits and veggies are going to support your immune system and gut health through this challenging time. So, for your next delivered grocery store order or on your next trip to your neighborhood market, remember to stock up on fresh produce to keep your immune system strong and healthy.
by Rebecca Riffkin, Gallup
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans are more likely to say they actively try to avoid including soda or pop in their diet than 14 other foods, including sugar and fat. At least six in 10 U.S. adults say they are trying to steer clear of these drinks — regardless of whether they are diet or regular.
Americans are most likely to say they actively try to include fruits and vegetables in their diet. Gallup asked 1,009 Americans about the foods they try to include or avoid in their diet as part of its annual Consumption Habits poll in July. Previous Gallup reports have focused on Americans’ avoidance or inclusion of gluten-free foods and salt or fat.
Americans appear to be aware of the health benefits of fruits and vegetables, with at least nine in 10 saying they actively try to include each in their diet. At least three in four Americans also say they try to include chicken and fish in their diet, meats that nutrition experts often recommend to help with heart health, in lieu of beef and other red meat — which nevertheless, 63% of Americans still actively try to include in their diet.