Archive For The “Health” Category
by Hass Avocado Board
MISSION VIEJO, California – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed new guidance for the use of the nutrient content claim “healthy” on food labeling, and fresh avocados meet the criteria. Long touted for the range of health and wellness benefits associated with them, avocados can finally bear the claim that sums it all up: avocados are healthy.
While 90% of consumers report that they purchase avocados based on the nutritional benefits they provide, 21% still say that the fat content in avocados is a barrier to purchase, despite the fact that the latest science demonstrates that the type of fat, rather than the total amount, is more important to good health.
The term “healthy” on food labels is regulated by the FDA and reserved for foods low in fat among other restrictions. The past definition, which was established more than 20 years ago, focused on total fat content per serving. The new proposed guidance from FDA gives consideration to the breakdown between good (unsaturated) and bad (saturated) fats in light of new evidence and dietary recommendations in the recently published 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Avocados contain 8 g of fat per 50 g serving, over 75% of which are naturally good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats). Avocados comply with the new FDA guidance because they have a fat profile of predominantly naturally good monounsaturated fats.
“With the pervasiveness of many chronic diseases in the US population, consumers are thinking about the ways to make healthy food choices for themselves and their families” said Emiliano Escobedo, Executive Director of the Hass Avocado Board (HAB). “We applaud the FDA for its efforts in updating the guidance on what makes a food healthy, and recognizing that good fats play an important role in healthy diets.”
For industry, this means fresh avocados can start to use the term “healthy” in marketing and communications as well as packaging and point-of-sale materials. HAB is updating its messages and materials to include the claim.
Avocados are a healthy fruit that provide a good source of fiber and folate per 50 g serving (one-third of a medium avocado), and nearly 20 vitamins, minerals and beneficial plant compounds that can enhance the nutrient quality of the diet. A healthy fruit, avocados are virtually the only fruit that contain monounsaturated fat, and they are sodium, cholesterol and trans-fat free. To learn more about the naturally good fats in avocados, the latest avocado nutrition research and fresh avocado recipes, visit LoveOneToday.com/goodfats.
Patients with kidney disease eating three to four more servings of fruits and vegetables every day could lower their blood pressure and nearly cut medication costs by 50 percent, new research suggests.
The findings stem from the multi-year tracking of a small group of patients, in which standard medical treatment was compared with the simple nutritional intervention. The goal: to see which approach did a better job at driving down both blood pressure and drug expenses.
The result on both fronts showed a clear win for healthy food.
Dr. Nimrit Goraya, author of the study, described the links seen between increased fruit and vegetable intake, kidney disease control and lower medication expenses as “huge.” And “the impact was visible from the very first year. This study has been done over five years, but every year since the therapy with fruits and vegetables began, we were able to lower medications,” she noted.
The program director for nephrology with Baylor Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, TX and her colleagues recently presented their findings at an American Heart Association meeting on blood pressure, in Orlando, FL
The heart association points out high blood pressure is the second leading cause of kidney failure. The kidneys and the circulatory system depend on each other for good health.
In all, 108 kidney disease patients were enlisted in the study, all of whom were taking similar doses of blood pressure drugs. Patients were divided into three groups. One group was treated with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), the standard treatment designed to neutralize the lingering acid that kidney patients typically struggle to excrete. Failure to excrete can lead to abnormally high acid levels, a condition known as “metabolic acidosis.”
A second group was not prescribed sodium bicarbonate, but instead was provided three to four servings of fruits and vegetables a day. These patients were not instructed to alter their usual diet beyond consuming their new fruit and vegetable allotment.
A third group was not treated in any way.
The result: After five years, systolic blood pressure (the top number in a reading) was pegged at 125 mm Hg among the fruit and vegetable group, compared with 135 mm Hg and 134 mm Hg, respectively, among the medication and no treatment groups.
What’s more, those in the food group were taking considerably lower doses of daily blood pressure medication than those in the other groups, the study authors said.
This translated into a near halving of the food group’s total expenditure on such drugs, down to roughly $80,000 over five years compared with an average total of more than $153,000 among each of the other two groups.
Purple potato varieties have recently been developed by researchers at Colorado State University, which can satisfy nutritional needs and could potentially act as a preventive measure to several diseases. So is it a superfood?
The research team works with the CSU Potato Program and is composed of David G. Holm, a professor and potato breeder; Sastry S. Jayanty, a post-harvest physiologist; and Diganta Kalita, a postdoctoral researcher at CSU’s San Luis Valley Research Center. According to the research team, “There are different colored potatoes such as red, purple, yellow and white with distinctive skin and flesh color. Among them, purple and red potatoes are high in antioxidants.”
Additionally, these colorful potatoes could be a good source of nutrition such as vitamin C, resistant starch, folic acid, minerals, potassium, iron, zinc and phenolic compounds.
Antioxidants found in the newly developed potatoes play a critical role in the prevention of several pathological conditions, including cancer, heart disease and atherosclerosis. At a microscopic level, the antioxidants scavenge the action of some free radicals that cause damage to biological molecules, such as proteins and DNA. Jayanty and Kalita describe the newly developed potatoes as comparable to superfoods like blueberries and pomegranates.
Healthy replacement
Even purple and red French fries could be a healthy replacement to the traditional French fries from white and yellow potatoes. Some of the newly developed potatoes have lower levels of acrylamide, a chemical formed during the frying or baking of potato tubers. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, acrylamide is a probable carcinogen.
Collaborative work with Jonathan M. Petrash, a professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus, further reveals that phytochemicals present in purple and red potatoes have significant properties to reduce cataract formation in diabetic patients.
Findings from the research team could greatly benefit the potato industry, which has suffered a decline in consumer demand due to health concerns.
by Biing-Hwan Lin and Rosanna Mentzer Morrison
Despite Federal nutrition guidance, food industry promotional campaigns, and encouragement from parents to “Eat your vegetables,” Americans’ consumption of fruits and, especially, vegetables has declined.
Over the last decade, loss-adjusted supplies of total fruits and vegetables available to consume in the United States have fallen from 299 pounds per person in 2003 to 272 pounds per person in 2013. Not the direction that nutritionists and others interested in the public’s health had hoped for.
However, a deeper look into the overall numbers reveals that three fruits and vegetables—orange juice, potatoes, and head lettuce—account for 22 pounds of this 27-pound decline. And, despite the decline in consumption of some fruits and vegetables, Americans are consuming more of other types of these nutrient-packed foods.
The loss-adjusted food availability data serve as a proxy for consumption by the nation as a whole but do not reveal who eats what foods and how much is eaten by particular demographic groups. A more nuanced analysis of consumption trends—by product and by demographic groups—would identify shortfalls for particular groups and help in targeting nutrition outreach efforts.
In a recent report, Economic Research Service (USDA) researchers linked ERS’s food availability data and food intake survey data, using a USDA database that translates foods into their commodity components. This linkage enabled them to break down ERS’s national consumption estimates by household and personal characteristics, helping to answer the questions: How widespread is the decline in fruit and vegetable consumption? And, is it steeper for some groups than others?
Potatoes Driving Declining Vegetable Consumption
National food intake surveys provide demographic breakdowns of who is eating what foods and how much. However, survey respondents report foods as eaten—such as a slice of apple pie, a cup of applesauce, or a glass of apple juice. A database providing the amount of apple in each food is needed to derive the total amount of apples, or other food commodities, consumed by an individual.
ERS researchers used FICRCDs to disaggregate the thousands of mixed foods recorded in the intake surveys—from apple pie to zucchini lasagna—into 63 foods and beverages, including 11 fruits or fruit groups and 15 vegetables or vegetable groups. Per capita measures of foods and beverages eaten by people in different demographic groups were estimated by taking average consumption patterns from the surveys for different subgroups of the U.S. population and applying these patterns to the loss-adjusted food availability data for the corresponding year.
Consumption of total vegetables fell across the four age and gender groups between 1994-98 and 2007-08. Much of this decline was driven by reduced consumption of potatoes, which includes baked, mashed, french fries, chips, and other forms expressed in fresh-weight equivalents. Boys (age 2 to 19) had the largest drop; their potato consumption fell from 63.7 pounds per person per year in 1994-98 to 45.2 pounds in 2007-08. Potato consumption by non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics, and other races fell over the period from 63.8 to 55.4, from 52.4 to 38.2, and from 50.5 to 37.1 pounds per person per year, respectively. Throughout the period, non-Hispanic Blacks consumed about 58.1 pounds of potatoes per person per year.
Intake of tomatoes—the second most consumed vegetable—held fairly steady between 1994-98 and 2007-08 for all age groups. When consumption of potatoes and tomatoes is subtracted from the mix, consumption of other vegetables by girls, boys, and men fell, too, but not as sharply as that of potatoes. For women, annual consumption of nonpotato and nontomato vegetables increased slightly (2.2 pounds per person). Some vegetables posting gains in consumption over this period in all age groups include peppers, leafy greens, and broccoli and cauliflower.
Total vegetable consumption declined between 1994 and 2008 across four race/ethnic background groups—non-Hispanic Whites, Non-Hispanic Blacks, Hispanics, and others. The decline was smallest among non-Hispanic Whites (5.5 pounds per person per year), followed by non-Hispanic Blacks (11.9 pounds), Hispanics, (23.0 pounds), and others (27.2 pounds).
By The Northwest Pear Bureau
PORTLAND, Ore. — An abstract of an ongoing study, “Fresh pear (Pyrus communis) consumption may improve blood pressure in middle-aged men and women with metabolic syndrome,” presented at Experimental Biology in San Diego recently indicates regular fresh pear consumption may improve blood pressure and vascular function in middle-aged men and women with metabolic syndrome (MetS.)1 MetS, a cluster of major cardiovascular risk factors highly associated with the development of chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes, affects more than one in three U.S. adults. 2
The randomized, placebo-controlled crossover clinical trial evaluated the antihypertensive effects of fresh pear consumption in middle-aged men and women with MetS. Fifty men and women aged 45 to 65 years with three of the five features of MetS were randomly assigned to receive either 2 medium-sized fresh pears (~178 g) or 50 g pear-flavored drink mix (placebo) per day for 12 weeks. Preliminary analyses of 36 participants show that after 12 weeks of fresh pear consumption, systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure were significantly lower than baseline levels, whereas there were no changes in the control group. Further research is needed to confirm the antihypertensive effects of fresh pears as well as to assess their impact on vascular function.
“These initial results are very promising,” said Dr. Sarah A. Johnson, PhD, RDN, lead author and now Assistant Professor and Director of the Functional Foods & Human Health Laboratory in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Colorado State University. “With metabolic syndrome being of such high prevalence in the U.S., we feel it is important to explore the potential for functional foods such as pears to improve cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure in affected middle-aged adults. Elevated systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure, which is the difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure, are strong predictors of cardiovascular disease. Age-related vascular dysfunction has been shown to be accelerated in individuals with metabolic syndrome and contributes to these increases in blood pressure.”
The study is from the Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences and the Center for Advancing Exercise and Nutrition Research on Aging (CAENRA) at Florida State University by Dr. Bahram H. Arjmandi, Professor and Director of CAENRA and Dr. Sarah A. Johnson, previous Assistant Director of CAENRA.
Among the most popular fruits in the world, Pears are an excellent source of fiber and a good source of vitamin C, for only 100 calories per serving. One medium pear provides 24 percent of daily fiber needs. Plus they are sodium-free, cholesterol-free, fat-free, and contain 190 mg of potassium. A balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, including pears, provides beneficial micronutrients, vitamins, dietary fiber, potassium, phytochemicals, and more.
Pear Bureau Northwest continues to collaborate with researchers to support additional studies highlighting the relationship between pears and positive health outcomes. Visit www.usapears.org for additional pear research, nutrition resources and recipes.
About Pear Bureau Northwest Pear Bureau Northwest was established in 1931 as a nonprofit marketing organization to promote the fresh pears grown in Oregon and Washington. Today, the United States is the third largest pear-producing country in the world, and Oregon and Washington comprise the nation’s largest pear growing region with 1,600 growers producing 84% of all fresh pears grown in the United States. Pears grown in these two Pacific Northwest states are distributed under the “USA Pears” brand. Pears are an excellent source of fiber (24% DV) and a good source of vitamin C (10% DV) for only 100 calories per medium sized pear. Sweet and juicy with no fat, no sodium, and no cholesterol, pears are a perfect choice for a snack as well as for any course of any meal of the day. For more information, visit www.usapears.org, www.facebook.com/USApears, and follow @USApears on Twitter.
Article by: Keri Glassman, MS – RD – CDN,
Our (Andy Boy) Nutrition Expert, Keri Glassman, is one of America’s foremost registered dietitians. She brings with her a wealth of nutritional knowledge, as well as an appreciation for foods that people love.
If you’re one of the 70% of Americans who fail to meet the minimum U.S. Dietary Guidelines for daily vegetable intake…You. Are. Missing. Out. Yup, you really need to get them in Stat.
My go-to fave is broccoli rabe. It’s loaded with vitamins A, C, and K, and also packs in minerals like calcium, folate, and iron, just to name a few.
Another bonus? Broccoli rabe is filled with water and fiber, which aid in digestion and can also keep you feeling fuller for longer, supporting healthy weight loss.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “broccoli rabe really rocks”, then yes, you are 100% correct.
Here is a cheat sheet on why and how broccoli rabe should play a starring role in your diet:
- Reduce your disease risk. Broccoli rabe offers a powerful dose of fiber, vitamins and minerals including antioxidants and phytochemicals which have been shown to lower cholesterol, prevent heart disease and may help reduce the risk of cancer. Experts believe that the carotenoids in broccoli rabe act as antioxidants, slowing the damage that free radicals cause our bodies, before they can do harm.
- Pump up the vitamin volume! 1 cup of broccoli rabe has more than 112% of your daily recommendation of vitamin K (strong bones!) and about 20% your recommendation of vitamin A (20/20 vision anyone?).
- Fill up til you’re full. Broccoli rabe has a high water volume, which helps you stay hydrated. One study showed subjects’ metabolic rate increased 30 percent within 10 minutes after drinking 17 ounces of water. Broccoli rabe also have a high fiber content, which not only leaves you feeling satisfied and full for longer, but also helps keep things moving in the GI tract.
- Amp your weight loss. All veggies offer multiple nutrients for very few calories, aiding in weight loss efforts. When it comes to broccoli rabe, the more the merrier!
- Boost your brain. One study found that women who ate the most leafy greens, like broccoli rabe, and cruciferous vegetables had brains that were 1 to 2 years “younger” in performance than those who ate fewer. Bringin’ back the youth!
- Promote skin health. The phytochemicals and antioxidants found in green veggies like broccoli rabe can help protect your skin against UV damage by countering free radicals in your body to lessen the deterioration of skin’s vital components like collagen and elastin. Say hello to greens and say hello to gorgeous skin!
- Calcium without the dairy. Calcium is an absolutely vital nutrient for keeping your bones healthy and strong. Whether dairy isn’t an option for you, or if you’re just looking for some variety, broccoli rabe will give you a tasty calcium boost that you need.
- Protect your eye health. Carrots tend to get most of the credit when talking about eye health, but broccoli rabe and other leafy greens contain lutein, which help block certain light rays from damaging your eyes.
- Work in some protein! Now, it’s no surprise that leafy greens aren’t as protein-rich as meat, tofu, or other meat substitutes, but with more than 1 gram per cup of broccoli rabe, you can give yourself a little protein boost from an unexpected source.
- Branch out! Greens go way beyond spinach and kale. Why? Well, aside from the taste (holy yum!), broccoli rabe fights cancer (over 50% of your daily vitamins A & C in just 3.5 oz.), combats heart disease (it contains strong anti-inflammatory nutrients that may reduce the risk of heart disease) and helps you to detox (contains sulfur which helps detoxify the liver).
A few Do’s and Don’ts to take your green eats to the next level:
- DO shoot to eat 1 serving of leafy greens (e.g. 1 cup broccoli rabe) at every meal.
- DO choose nutrient dense dark, leafy greens such as broccoli rabe over less nutritious options
- DON’T drench or fry your greens in dressings or oils. What a shame it would be to lose all of the natural nutritional power, right?
- DON’T worry about consuming too many greens. More is better, as long as you’re controlling the added fat, such as olive oil. Which, by the way, is delicious with a bunch of broccoli rabe and a few red pepper flakes.
Check out Keri’s recipe for Broccoli Rabe Chips.
By Produce for Kids
ORLANDO, Fla. – For the third year, Produce for Kids and produce partners are encouraging families nationwide to kick off the school year right by pledging to eat a healthier lunch, Aug. 8 through Sept. 23, at PowerYourLunchbox.com. The Power Your Lunchbox Pledge® website offers tips and recipes to help families and classrooms eat healthier lunches, after-school snacks and weekday dinners this school year. For every online pledge, lunchbox-friendly companies supporting Power Your Lunchbox Pledge will make a collective $1 donation to Feeding America® programs that support families and children.
Produce for Kids’ 11 produce partners are featured in lunchbox-friendly recipes on PowerYourLunchbox.com, in digital communications to more than 25k subscribers, targeted social media efforts and in digital coupons provided to families taking the pledge.
Produce partners supporting Power Your Lunchbox Pledge 2016 include: Avocados from Mexico – Mexican Hass Avocados, Bee Sweet Citrus, Crispy Fruit Freeze-Dried Fruit Snacks from Crispy Green®, Eat Smart® Fresh Cut Vegetables, Earthbound Farm® Baby Kale, GROW Bananas by Organics Unlimited, Marie’s® Dressings, Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice, NatureFresh™ greenhouse tomatoes, Pero Family Farms® Mini Sweet Peppers and Snipped Green Beans, and Sun World® grapes with additional support provided by Bentology™.
During the campaign, Produce for Kids will be generating a healthy lunch buzz by giving away a Bentology™ bento box each day and hosting a #PowerYourLunchbox Twitter party allowing Twitter users to join in an hour-long conversation about back to school and healthy lunches. Additionally, families will be encouraged to use the #PowerYourLunchbox hashtag on social media throughout the campaign to share ideas with each other.
“Back to school is a great time for families to make a healthy resolution they can carry on through the duration of the school year,” said Trish James, vice president, Produce for Kids. “As a mom of two boys, I understand the challenges parents face when packing a healthy, nutritious lunch for their children and for themselves. The Power Your Lunchbox Pledge was designed to help families tackle this universal challenge.”
Here are a few ways to get involved in the campaign:
- Take the pledge. Pledge to eat healthier this school year at PowerYourLunchbox.com. Companies supporting the program will make a collective $1 donation for every pledge taken to Feeding America programs that support families and children.
- Show off healthy lunchboxes on social media. Produce for Kids’ Instagram and Twitter followers can use the #PowerYourLunchbox hashtag to show off their healthy lunchboxes to have their lunchboxes featured on the Produce for Kids Facebook page. Follow along on the hashtag to see great ideas from fellow parents.
- Party with Produce for Kids on Twitter. Parents looking for even more tips and resources for healthy lunchboxes are invited to join Produce for Kids and partner companies at the #PowerYourLunchbox Twitter party at 9 pm ET on August 17.
This month’s back-to-school themed Produce for Kids “We Heart RDs” kit, sent to retail dietitians, included pledge sheets, “I Pledged” stickers, lunchbox recipes and more. There is a dedicated retail dietitian section on PowerYourLunchbox.com.
“Retail dietitians are in a position where they can support families during the back-to-school timeframe while they are in the store making decisions,” said James. “It made sense to bring the Power Your Lunchbox message to our more than 300 retail dietitians so that they can share healthy back-to-school recipes with shoppers.”
In addition to outreach in the grocery store, classrooms can get involved in the pledge by visiting the PowerYourLunchbox.com teacher resource page that provides teachers in grades K-5 with fun, free nutrition-focused downloadable lesson plans, certificates for their students, take home materials for families, and the ability to take the pledge as a classroom.
Since 2014, the campaign raised more than $15,000 for kid’s health and wellness programs across the country.
For more information visit poweryourlunchbox.com.
# # #
About Produce for Kids®
Produce for Kids® is a philanthropically based organization that brings the produce industry together to educate consumers about healthy eating with fresh produce and raises funds for local children’s non-profit organizations. Since its creation in 2002 by Shuman Produce Inc., Produce for Kids has raised more than $5.7 million to benefit kids. To learn more about Produce for Kids and healthy eating, visit www.produceforkids.com, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram.
About Feeding America
Feeding America is the nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Together, we provide food to more than 46 million people through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs in communities across America. Feeding America also supports programs that improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Four new studies surrounding the effects of mango consumption suggest this superfruit has the potential to help combat adverse effects associated with high fat diets and obesity (animal study), as well as inhibit growth of fat cells (anti-lipogenic properties in an in-vivo study), slow advancement of breast cancer tumors (animal study), and improve regularity and decrease inflammation associated with constipation (human subject study). The research was presented recently at the 2016 Experimental Biology conference in San Diego, CA.“While more research is needed, especially in humans, there is a growing body of studies that suggest mango consumption may contribute to some protective effects in relation to obesity, certain cancers, gut health, and inflammation,” said Leonardo Ortega, Director of Research at the National Mango Board (NMB).
Obesity
- Nutrition science researcher, Babajide Ojo at Oklahoma State University, was selected by the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) as one of five finalists to present his research at the 2016 ASN Young Minority Investigator Oral Competition. Ojo’s study investigated the effects of supplementing mangos (in the form of freeze-dried mango pulp) in mice fed a high fat diet on body composition, glucose homeostasis and gut inflammatory markers: tinyurl.com/zyz6dpc.
- Chuo Fang, PhD, of the department of Nutrition and Food Science at Texas A&M University investigated the potential role of mango and its microbial metabolites in regulating lipid metabolism and adipogenesis via the activation of AMPK in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes: tinyurl.com/zwe78kq.
Breast Cancer
- Researcher Matt Nemec, of the Interdisciplinary Program of Toxicology at Texas A&M University, studied the anti-proliferative activities of pyrogallol, an intestinal microbial metabolite of gallotannin, a mango polyphenol, on mice with ductal carcinoma in situ breast cancer (DCIS): tinyurl.com/ze3y5kx.
Constipation
- Vinicius Paula Venancio, of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at Texas A&M University, studied the consumption of 300 grams of mango compared to an equivalent amount of fiber (1 teaspoon of a fiber supplement) and its effect on abdominal distention and constipation in otherwise healthy human volunteers: tinyurl.com/h6pvwnn.
Grapefruit are not only known for being great for those on diets because of the low-calories, but grapefruit is also a great source of vitamins and nutrients.
Grapefruit is a relative newcomer among citrus fruits that wasn’t discovered until the 18th century in Barbados. Though its origins were a mystery for years, many historians agree that it is a natural hybrid of the sweet orange and pomelo. As for its curious name, a Jamaican farmer named the large orbs “grapefruit” for the way they grow in grape-like clusters on the trees.
As well as being a good source of dietary fiber (8 percent Daily Value) and potassium (5 percent DV), half a medium grapefruit provides 64 percent DV of vitamin C and 28 percent DV of vitamin A; it also contains the health protective plant chemicals naringenin, limonin, lycopene (in pink and red varieties) and beta-carotene.
Long associated with weight loss, grapefruit studies have shown mixed results. A recent review of studies on the effectiveness of grapefruit consumption on overweight and obese individuals showed no significant difference between those eating grapefruit and those who did not. However, the analysis, published in a 2015 issue of Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, showed a significant decrease in blood pressure.
Regular grapefruit juice consumption also benefits arterial stiffness in middle-aged, post-menopausal women (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2015), and adult consumption of grapefruit is associated with improved diet quality, including higher nutrient intakes of vitamin C, magnesium, potassium and dietary fiber (Food and Nutrition Research, 2014).
Grapefruit is available in markets year-round, but its peak season is January through June.
When preschoolers watch videos of other children eating vegetables, they’re more likely to eat vegetables themselves, according to research conducted by Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center.Peer modeling on a digital screen may be an effective tool to encourage vegetable consumption among preschool children, the research shows.
Children between the ages of 3 and 5 were more likely to choose to eat that vegetable when presented with it one week later, after viewing a video of peers consuming a vegetable like bell peppers. Additionally, parents of the children who saw the video of peers eating vegetables were marginally more likely to make that vegetable available in the home soon thereafter, and those children were also more likely to report a higher preference for the vegetable.
“As we work to explore easy-to-use tools to help influence children’s attitudes toward healthy eating and to make it more fun and exciting, this study lays the foundation for interventions that we may be able to translate into home or school settings in the future,” said Amanda Staiano, PhD, lead author on the study and assistant professor of research in Pennington Biomedical’s Pediatric Obesity and Health Behavior Laboratory.
Research published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association shows one-third of preschoolers eat zero servings of fruit and vegetables a day. In contrast, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-20 recommend preschool-aged children eat four to six servings of fruits and vegetables each day.