Getting enough vitamin D, from the foods you eat and from sunlight,
could help your oral health, new findings suggest. A study funded in part by
the Agricultural Research Service and reported in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition (2004, vol. 80, pp. 108-113) showed that participants
who had higher levels of an indicator of vitamin D in their blood serum had
better periodontal health than those participants with lower levels of the
biomarker, known as 25-hydroxy vitamin D3.
The study, conducted by researchers at the
ARS Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts
University, and their colleagues, encompassed data from 11,202 men and women
aged 20 and up who participated in the third National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey. Eighty percent of the participants had lower-than-desired
vitamin D levels.
The scientists suspect that vitamin D, in
ways not yet determined, cuts down on the inflammatory response that could
otherwise lead to periodontal disease. A chronic inflammatory condition,
periodontal disease is marked by loss of attachment of the thin ligaments that
connect teeth with their surrounding bone sockets
Egg yolks, liver and fatty fish such as
salmon are naturally rich in vitamin D. Milk and some breakfast cereals are
fortified with this essential nutrient; sunlight stimulates our skin to make
it.
For more information, contact
Bess Dawson-Hughes, (617)
556-3064; ARS
Jean
Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University,
Boston, MA.
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The most authoritative source of information
about what Americans eat is now available on the World Wide Web. What We Eat In
America, NHANES 2001-2002 is posted at
www.barc.usda.gov/bhnrc/foodsurvey/wweia.html
This comprehensive resource integrates
federal nationwide food consumption data from the Agricultural Research
Service's food consumption survey, known as What We Eat in America, with data
from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or NHANES, conducted
by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
ARS scientists at the Beltsville (Md.) Human
Nutrition Research Center worked with their NHANES counterparts to integrate
the surveys. Previously, both federal surveys were conducted periodically. The
integrated survey will be conducted every year.
Researchers analyze the data to spot and
report key eating patterns that could impact our health. Policymakers also rely
on the data as a resource when they are developing food assistance and
nutrition education programs.
For more information, contact
Alanna J. Moshfegh, (301)
504-0170; USDA-ARS
Beltsville
Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, MD.
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Our bodies are better able to absorb eye-healthy
lutein from eggs than from other food source of this carotenoid. That's
according to a study funded by ARS and the Egg Nutrition Center in Washington,
D.C. (August 2004, Journal of Nutrition, vol. 134, pp.
1887-1893).
Scientists working at Tufts University,
Boston, Mass., conducted the research. They suspect that egg-yolk compounds
such as lecithin enhance lutein's bioavailability.
Low lutein intake is a risk factor in
age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss among older
Americans. Lutein and a related carotenoid, zeaxanthin, can accumulate within
the macula--part of the retina--and imparts a yellow pigment that helps protect
the eye.
During four separate test phases, volunteers
consumed sources of lutein that provided 6 milligrams a day of the carotenoid.
By the end of the study, all volunteers had consumed cooked spinach, two
different types of lutein supplements, and specially enriched eggs that
provided five times more lutein than that found in conventional eggs.
When volunteers ate eggs as the source of
lutein, their lutein blood serum levels--tested before and after the meal--were
about three times greater than after consuming the same lutein dose from the
other sources.
The new findings suggest eggs can be an
important source of highly bioavailable lutein. However, the researchers
caution that eating more than one egg a day could provide
higher-than-recommended amounts of cholesterol.
For more information, contact
Elizabeth J. Johnson, (617)
556-3204; ARS
Jean
Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University,
Boston, MA.
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Pterostilbene (pronounced
TAIR-oh-STILL-bean), a natural compound in grapes that has already been shown
to fight cancer, may also lower lipids. Lipid-lowering compounds can help fight
heart disease and alleviate some of the health problems associated with
obesity.
In a study using rat liver cells, ARS and
university scientists compared the lipid-lowering effects of pterostilbene to
that of ciprofibrate, a drug used for controlling lipids, and resveratrol, a
grape compound with a chemical structure similar to that of pterostilbene.
They based their comparison on each
compound's ability to activate PPARa, short for peroxisome
proliferator-activated receptor alpha. Activation leads to lowering of lipids
in the blood.
Pterostilbene outperformed resveratrol and
was as effective as ciprofibrate in activating PPARa.
The ARS scientists and other colleagues had,
in earlier work, detected pterostilbene for the first time in berries of some
Vaccinium species, including cranberries and blueberries.
For more information, contact
Agnes M. Rimando, (662)
915-1037; USDA-ARS
Natural Products Utilization Research Unit, Oxford, MS.
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Freshly-squeezed orange juice owes its delightful
taste and aroma to more than 40 natural compounds. ARS investigations of these
compounds are determining the level, or threshold, at which we can smell or
taste them in the juice. That information, in turn, can be used to create
better "flavor packs" for reconstituted juice, giving the product
more of that delicious, fresh-squeezed taste.
Flavor packs contain the aroma compounds that
are stripped off when freshly squeezed juice is evaporated to make a condensed
juice that's easier and cheaper to transport or to store as frozen concentrate.
Juice-processing companies buy flavor packs, adding their contents to frozen,
concentrated juice--along with water--before marketing their reconstituted
product. Now, ARS studies with volunteer "taste-testers" should
improve the quality of those packs.
Florida growers annually harvest an average
of more than 200 million 90-pound boxes of oranges. About 80 percent of the
oranges are processed, mostly into juice.
For more information, contact
Elizabeth A. Baldwin, (863)
293-4133; USDA-ARS
Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory, Winter Haven, FL.
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ARS' new proanthocyanidin
database provides a convenient listing of the levels of these healthful,
natural antioxidants present in some 206 selected foods and beverages,
including fruits, nuts, and even chocolate.
Proanthocyanidins are of ongoing interest to
nutrition and health researchers because of their potential health benefits.
For instance, proanthocyanidins may be associated with reduced risk of
cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other illnesses.
Scientists with ARS' Beltsville Human
Nutrition Research Center collaborated with scientists at the Arkansas
Children's Nutrition Center, Little Rock, Ark.; Mars, Inc., of Hackettstown,
N.J.; and Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., of Lakeville, Mass., to prepare the
new database available. It's available on the World Wide Web at:
www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/PA/PA.html
The compilation is based on data from
existing scientific literature as well as newer data from food-sample analyses
conducted by the Arkansas researchers.
For more information, contact
Joanne M. Holden, (301) 504-0630;
USDA-ARS
Beltsville
Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, MD.
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Salmonella levels in free-range chickens may
not be significantly different from those of conventionally-produced birds,
according to an Agricultural Research Service study. That means you need to use
the same care in handling either kind of poultry at home, making sure the meat
is thoroughly cooked.
A foodborne pathogen, Salmonella can
cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. It's commonly transmitted in
undercooked or uncooked poultry or other foods.
Food safety scientists at ARS' Richard B.
Russell Research Center, Athens, Ga., examined 110 processed, free-range
chickens from three organic producers and found that about 25 percent of the
chickens tested positive for Salmonella. Conventionally-raised chickens
had somewhat higher levels of the microbe than the free-range birds.
For more information, contact
J. Stan Bailey, (706) 546-3356;
USDA-ARS
Richard
B. Russell Research Center, Athens, GA.
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Two splendid new peaches and a luscious new
plum have been developed by plant breeders at the ARS Southeastern Fruit and
Tree Nut Research Laboratory in Byron, Ga., for planting in commercial orchards
and backyards of the southeastern United States. Initial supplies of budwood
have been made available to researchers, breeders and commercial
nurseries.
Scarletprince and Julyprince peaches are round and
large--almost 3 inches in diameter. The fruit of both varieties, especially
that of Julyprince, softens slowly while on the tree, meaning it can be picked
over a longer period than comparable varieties. That allows needed flexibility
and helps ensure a more even supply of freshly harvested fruit for shoppers.
Scarletprince, ripe and ready to pick in late
June through early July, has more bright red on its skin than Julyprince, which
also largely bright red but has more of its attractive, bright-yellow
undercolor showing through. The yellow, freestone flesh of Scarletprince is
sweet and flavorful, with an excellent texture.
Julyprince peach ripens in early to mid-July.
Its great-tasting, freestone flesh is yellow with some red coloring near the
pit.
A high-quality, late-ripening plum, Ruby
Queen did well in orchard tests in central Georgia, New Jersey and New
York--and is recommended for testing in other areas with similar climates. This
juicy plum ripens in mid- to late July at Byron. No other plums suitable for
the Southeast are available to ripen at that time.
Ruby Queen has dark-red to reddish-black
skin, with firm red flesh and outstanding flavor. The fruit is round--about two
inches in diameter--and is high in antioxidants.
For more information, contact
William R. Okie, (478) 956-6405;
USDA-ARS
Southeastern
Tree Nut and Fruit Laboratory, Byron, GA.
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Some compounds promote iron uptake, thus helping our
bodies capture iron from the foods we eat. ARS scientists and their
co-investigators are tracking these compounds. They're doing that with a human
cell culture system that mimics natural digestion, and sophisticated laboratory
techniques for separating compounds into their component fractions.
Meat is already known to have an
iron-promoting factor, for instance, and human milk is thought to have one, as
well. But the biochemical or biochemicals that perform this role in human
breast milk haven't been determined.
To learn more, the scientists compared three
major groups of components in human and cow's milk--casein, fat and
whey.
Their tests indicated that breast-milk whey
apparently enhances iron uptake; fat may hinder it, and casein has no effect.
In contrast, cow's milk whey and fat apparently don't affect iron uptake, but
it's casein seems to act as an iron-uptake inhibitor.
In follow-up studies, the researchers want to
pinpoint the exact components in breast-milk whey that promote iron uptake. The
work may pave the way to improving bioavailability of this essential nutrient
from a wide range of foods.
For more information, contact
Raymond P. Glahn, (607) 255-2452;
USDA-ARS
U.S.
Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research Laboratory, Ithaca, NY.
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Elementary school kids who played
a nutrition-based computer game called "Squire's Quest" begin eating
an extra serving of a fruit, juice or vegetables within 5 weeks, the game's
developers have found. That's impressive, because educational programs can
sometimes take up to two years to achieve a similar goal. And, the game brings
these children a step closer to getting the recommended five servings a day of
fruits and veggies.
In testing the game, scientists based at the
Children's Nutrition Research Center, Houston, Texas, split 1,578
fourth-graders in the Houston Independent School District into a participating
group and a control group, comparing records of what the kids ate during the
four days before and after the start of the 10-session game.
Scientists structured the fantasy game to
award points to the students who prepare a simple, fun, fruit- or veggie-based
recipe at home; eat an additional serving of a fruit, juice or veggie at a meal
or snack; or ask for a favorite fruit, juice or vegetable to be more readily
available at home.
For more information, contact
Thomas Baranowski, (713) 798-6762;
USDA-ARS
Children's
Nutrition Research Center, Houston, TX.
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Diabetics and other people on strict food regimens
might want to weigh packaged foods before eating them, instead of relying on
the weights printed on the label, results of an Agricultural Research Service
experiment suggest.
Scientists measured the actual weight of 99
different single-serving-sized, commercially-packaged foods such as breakfast
cereals and canned fruit. Their intent? To see if they could rely on those
weights in providing precisely-measured meals to volunteers in nutrition
research studies.
Only 37 food items were found to be
statistically accurate. Fifteen items were below weight, making them
potentially out of compliance with federal guidelines; and 47 products
contained more food than advertised.
The September 2004 issue of the Journal of
the American Dietetic Association has details (vol. 104, pp.
1420-1424).
For more information, contact
Joan M. Conway, (301) 504-8977;
USDA-ARS
Beltsville
Human Nutrition Research Center, Beltsville, MD.
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