Real Men Die of Heart Disease

by: Jill Richardson

Fri May 29, 2009 at 17:45:09 PM PDT

Beware of 'Eating Right' Brand and/or Lowfat/Nonfat

by: Curtis Abbey

Tue May 12, 2009 at 17:23:23 PM PDT

The Secret Truth Behind Heart Disease and Diet

by: Jill Richardson

Sat May 09, 2009 at 06:00:00 AM PDT

I knew almost immediately that I had to read her book. I **thought** I knew a lot about nutrition and food. I thought yeah, yeah, blah blah, Omega-3s are good. I know enough. But that's like wearing a pair of glasses with the wrong prescription and thinking that your blurry view of the world is crystal clear.

This diary will summarize the info in the book, explain why our current "knowledge" about nutrition is flawed, and then explain how government policies encourage unhealthy diets (beyond the detail you and I already knew) and what should be done to fix it.  

NYT Tells It As It Is About Red Meat

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Apr 30, 2009 at 18:30:20 PM PDT

Talk about cutting straight to the point! That is from the New York Times article "Personal Health: Paying a Price for Loving Red Meat." It focuses on a topic I've written about before, a recent study that found increased risk of mortality from daily beef and pork consumption. So what's the health advice the NYT dishes out?

To prevent premature deaths related to red and processed meats, Dr. Popkin suggested in an interview that people should eat a hamburger only once or twice a week instead of every day, a small steak once a week instead of every other day, and a hot dog every month and a half instead of once a week.

I think this really misses the point because there's no mention of HOW we produce our red meat, or any other kind of meat. I don't think it's accurate to paint all red meat with one broad brush. There's factory farmed red meat (and chicken and fish) and then there's pasture raised meat and wild fish. The nutritional profile of the meat differs based on what the animal ate and how it was raised. And I think it's very telling that everyone touts fish as the healthy option, and fish are the last meat left in our diets that we catch from the wild and allow to eat the diets they evolved to eat. Furthermore, I'd be interested in more information on differences in nutrition between wild and farmed fish.

Last, if we know we are producing a product that kills us, maybe its time the government got involved to get us off our corn, oil, and factory farmed meat addictions? I'm not saying the government should dictate our diets, but its naive to think that the government isn't largely behind our current food system that promotes cheap, bad-for-you meat, and that means it requires government intervention to move us away from cheap, bad-for-you meat too. Perhaps its time to write another LTE (letter to the editor) to the NYT.

Hat tip to Asimbagirl for sending me this story.

Soft drink makers pit public health advocates against "moderation moms" and "hard-working families"

by: desmoinesdem

Mon Apr 13, 2009 at 23:30:35 PM PDT

Iowa native Susan Neely will lead the opposition to policies aimed at getting Americans to drink less pop, soda or sugary juice and sports drinks. In the Sunday Des Moines Register, Philip Brasher profiled Neely, who has been president and chief executive of the American Beverage Association since 2005. I recommend reading his whole article, but I will comment on a few key points after the jump.

Restaurants Telling Their Dirty Little Secrets

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Apr 06, 2009 at 17:24:45 PM PDT

Breadsticks: 150 cal apiece
Minestrone: 100 cal per serving
Garden-Fresh Salad: 350 cal with dressing

OK, so I wasn't doing so bad. But check THIS out:

Caesar Salad without croutons: 800 calories
Spinach & Artichoke dip: 660 calories
Smoked Mozzarella Fonduta: 940 calories
Calamari: 890 calories

SEVEN of the pasta dishes top 1000 calories, like the fettucine alfredo (1220 calories with 75g of fat). The healthiest pasta is the Linguine alla Marinara with only 430 calories (but molto sodium). It's amazing, but you could order a 3 course meal and have your dessert be the lowest in calories of your 3 courses.

No wonder restaurants are willing to put calorie information just about anywhere except on the menu!!!

Food News: Vegan Pet Food? Smoke Shop Food Stamp Fraud?

by: Curtis Abbey

Sat Mar 28, 2009 at 03:59:25 AM PDT

Vegan pet food -- and the decision to force one's pet to go vegan -- is suddenly very buzzy. ABC News reports that it's a bit easier for a dog to go vegetarian than it is for a cat, and one person they interviewed said she suspects that "vegan" cats are supplementing their diets by hunting.

What would a vegan do in a situation where their vegan cat was caught with a mouse, or a fly, or whatever it is kitty attempts to dine on? Would you scold it? Or attempt to stop him/her from the action?

Warning this is a long blog!

Jumping With Jill The Rockstar Nutritionist

by: Curtis Abbey

Thu Mar 26, 2009 at 12:45:04 PM PDT

This Jump With Jill video shows how well Jill works with kids, as well as how informative her program is.  

My case against Hanna Rosin's case against breastfeeding

by: desmoinesdem

Tue Mar 24, 2009 at 13:10:23 PM PDT

Hanna Rosin makes "The Case Against Breastfeeding" in the April issue of the Atlantic Monthly. The provocative title is misleading, because as Rosin explained in an interview on NBC's Today show on March 16, she isn't against breastfeeding. In fact, she kind of likes breastfeeding. Her problem is with the people who promote breastfeeding. Here's the lead-in to her piece:

In certain overachieving circles, breast-feeding is no longer a choice-it's a no-exceptions requirement, the ultimate badge of responsible parenting. Yet the actual health benefits of breast-feeding are surprisingly thin, far thinner than most popular literature indicates. Is breast-feeding right for every family? Or is it this generation's vacuum cleaner-an instrument of misery that mostly just keeps women down?

Rosin packs a lot into the article, but I would summarize her main points as:

1. American women face intense social pressure to breastfeed exclusively.

2. Advocates exaggerate the benefits of breastfeeding, which the scientific research does not support.

3. Advocates downplay the negatives about breastfeeding and fail to acknowledge that formula-feeding can be the right choice for some mothers. On a related note, Rosin depicts breastfeeding as extremely inconvenient for mothers who work outside the home.

4. Advocates have medicalized the conversation about breastfeeding, and American women are wrongly led to believe they are harming their babies if they give formula instead.

I address those points and more after the jump. Rosin's conflicted feelings about breastfeeding are valid, but unfortunately, she draws too many broad conclusions based on her personal experiences.

For those who don't care to read the rest of this post, be assured that as a feminist and pro-choice woman, I respect the right of women to decide what and how to feed their own babies. I am also aware that some women are unable to breastfeed for physical or medical reasons, and many more women are unable to breastfeed because they lacked the information and support they needed in the critical early weeks.

My intention is not to judge any mother for her choices or add to the pain of any mother who did not have the breastfeeding experience she sought.

My Garden, A Picture Diary with Food News

by: Curtis Abbey

Tue Mar 24, 2009 at 11:08:26 AM PDT

fullsize
This is my newest addition, it's an avocado tree. I brought a Mexicola variety down from Chico about five years ago. But the gophers ate the roots. This is a typical Haas avocado tree.
Follow me below the fold, and I'll show you how my garden has been doing.

Mrs. Michelle Obama, First Lady and Locavore

by: Curtis Abbey

Wed Mar 11, 2009 at 13:21:26 PM PDT

Michelle Obama's Agenda Includes Healthful Eating

THE television cameras were rolling, the journalists were scribbling and the first lady, Michelle Obama, was standing in a soup kitchen rhapsodizing about steamed broccoli. And homemade mushroom risotto. And freshly baked apple-carrot muffins.

Mrs. Obama was praising the menu last week at Miriam's Kitchen, a nonprofit drop-in center serving this city's homeless. And she seized the moment to urge Americans to provide fresh, unprocessed and locally grown foods to their families and to the neediest in their communities.

"You know, we want to make sure our guests here and across the nation are eating nutritious items," said Mrs. Obama, who served lunch to several homeless men and women and delivered eight cases of fresh fruit to the soup kitchen, all donated by White House employees.

The Government and Pinocchio

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Feb 25, 2009 at 14:00:00 PM PST

The first thing I did when I saw the news was ask Michele Simon for her opinion. She's the author of Appetite for Profit and as an expert in Big Food's slimy ways of marketing junk to kids, I knew she'd feel strongly about this one. And I was right! She said:

This is a sad sign that change has apparently NOT come to all of Washington. Teaming up with corporate sponsors whose sole goal is hook kids under the guise of "nutrition education" was a hallmark of the Bush Administration.

In this time of fiscal "responsibility" we should not be wasting more tax dollars on useless and ineffective advertising campaigns. If the new administration is serious about address childhood obesity, it should put its new FTC chairman to work on getting the junk food industry to stop targeting our kids with unhealthy messages. As for the USDA, its time would be better spent getting Big Agriculture out of the way of real reform of our broken food system.

OK, even if some of us think that Pinocchio might be an appropriate spokesperson for officials in our government, I'm with Michele on this one. I don't doubt they mean well BUT this is the wrong way to go about accomplishing their goals. Marion Nestle opened our eyes in her book Food Politics by exposing the politicization of the food pyramid - a USDA effort that still fails to tell anyone to "eat less." Rather, it encourages "balance" and tells us to "Eat Right. Be Active."

Now, "Be Active" is great advice, and it's advice that the American people should follow. But it's NOT dietary advice. It's the same advice given to Americans by the food industry via its mouthpiece, the Center for Consumer Freedom (funded by Coca-Cola and other junk food companies). Please, USDA, keep combating obesity in your list of priorities, but don't take the advice of the Center for Consumer Freedom to do it.

Hunger News & Legislation Update

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Feb 17, 2009 at 13:47:30 PM PST

First up - A bipartisan group of 40 Senators led by Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Dick Lugar (R-IN) sent a letter to Obama about child nutrition (the full text is at the link). They asked for:

• "Efforts to increase participation by needy children in child nutrition programs." In other words, make sure the programs we already have reach ALL the hungry kids who need them.
• Make sure we get food to kids in all settings where they need it - vacations from school, preschools, after school, etc.
• Combatting childhood obesity. Extra funding targeted to healthier diets for kids.
• Modernization and overall increased efficiency of federal programs. That means allowing people to apply for things online (not just on paper), and "cross program certification" (i.e. if you qualify for one program, you are automatically qualified for other programs - that way you don't need to apply individually for each).

More below, about the Senators' letter and upcoming legislation:

Helping the Hungry with the Stimulus Package

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Jan 22, 2009 at 16:59:05 PM PST

Fortunately, I am not the only one who wants to see food in the stimulus package. The Foodlinks newsletter's most recent edition featured an article called Support Growing for Nutrition Provisions in Stimulus Package, excerpted below. Food banks can't handle the level of food insecurity Americans face these days, so it's common sense to make sure that any bill we pass includes more than just roads, schools, and bridges - the American people need to eat!

Iowa Considers Junk Food Ban in Schools

by: JayinPhiladelphia

Thu Jan 01, 2009 at 14:57:13 PM PST

DES MOINES, Iowa - State education officials want to ban junk food from the state's schools, and give students a nudge when it comes to nutrition.

The Iowa Board of Education is considering new rules that target the vending machine and snack bars that have become popular options to traditional school lunches. They also have become money makers, accounting for about half of food sales in schools.

Unfortunately, from there that article goes on to largely focus on costs to the school system and just barely skims over the health issues.  Nor does it mention the fact that schools should be places where children are sent to learn and prepare for life, not a place for PepsiCo or Kraft Foods to instill 'brand loyalty' in our children...