What A Pediatrician Would Tell You About Arsenic, Rice, and Food Safety: Q&A with Dr. Claire Chehrazi

This week, FDA released their risk assessment on arsenic levels in rice products. Their main conclusion? “Consumers can certainly eat rice as part of a well-balanced diet.” They also share that based on their scientific assessment, they think it would be prudent for parents and caregivers to feed their infants a variety of fortified infant cereals and for pregnant women to vary their grains. We talked to Dr. Claire Chehrazi, pediatrician, to find out more about what this means for our food: FoodInsight: What is arsenic, and why would it be in food? Dr. Claire Chehrazi: Arsenic is a metal found in soil and water, both naturally and due to man-made sources. It’s found in small amounts in many plant-based foods because, during growth, plants naturally absorb trace amounts of arsenic from the soil and water. You may hear of two types of arsenic: inorganic and organic (unrelated to organic farming). Inorganic arsenic is the type of arsenic that, in large quantities, can cause adverse health problems. FI: Which foods contain arsenic? CC: All plant-based foods contain trace amounts of arsenic, including grains, such as rice, corn, and wheat, fruits and vegetables, as well as wine, and some juices. Rice has been shown to absorb more arsenic than other grains because it’s grown with large amounts of water.   FI: What are ‘trace levels?’ How much arsenic is in rice? CC: The term “trace levels” is used to indicate that very, very small amounts may be present when using highly sensitive detection methods. As an example, we measure arsenic in food in parts per billion.  The amount of arsenic in rice and rice products varies based on where the rice was grown, seasonal growing conditions, soil conditions and weather patterns, whether it is brown or white, and what kind of rice product it is. Generally, one serving […]

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Is Label Literacy a Key to Healthier Food Choices?

FOR RELEASE: 10 a.m. EST, January 24, 2018 Download the Survey (PDF) (Washington, D.C.) —Health-related factors have a significant impact on the foods people buy. With the seemingly overwhelming number of products on shelves, a new survey offers insights into which information on food labels is most influential — and on how additional information might lead to healthier dietary choices. According to the survey, conducted by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation and the American Heart Association, almost all Americans (95 percent) report that they always or sometimes look for healthy options when food shopping. Consumers say they are more likely to consult food labels for healthfulness when buying a product for the first time. However, there is a gap between consumers’ desire to find information about healthy foods and their ability to do so. Only a little more than one-quarter (28 percent) say it’s easy to find healthy foods, while 11 percent say it’s difficult, and the remainder report it is only moderately easy. “We know consumers are making efforts to eat healthier,” said Joseph Clayton, CEO of the IFIC Foundation. “But our research indicates that their ability to locate the information they find most helpful can be a barrier to making healthier choices. Even subtle changes to food labels could have a positive impact on public health.” When it comes to the wide array of sources where consumers get information about the healthfulness of foods—whether in-store, online or in other marketing statements—the Nutrition Facts panel was the top source (69 percent), followed by the ingredients list (67 percent), according to the survey. More consumers primarily consulted labels for ingredients they were seeking (45 percent) than for ingredients they were avoiding (31 percent). Consumers indicate they pay a lot of attention to health-related iconography currently on food labels, […]

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What You Need to Know About Farmers Markets and Food Safety

Summer time calls for barbecue, time at the pool and beach vacations. For any of these occasions, you may want to enjoy a nice slice of watermelon, a big bowl of strawberries, or a tall glass of lemonade. Where can you get the foods you need to have these summer delicacies? Why your local farmers market, of course! Farmers markets are quite popular across America with more than 8,500 farmers markets listed in USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory. While local supermarkets and shopping centers offer a wide variety of fruits and vegetables (fresh, canned and frozen), in the summer, many folks like to visit a neighborhood farmers market to support local farmers and shop for seasonal goodies. If food safety concerns are keeping you from enjoying the bounty of a farmers market, look no further. We’ve got the answers to some questions you may have about shopping at a farmers market.   Do I need to take the same, less, or more precaution when buying produce from a farmers market versus a supermarket? The same precautions should be taken when buying produce from a farmers market as when you make similar purchases at the supermarket. Whether a farmers bounty is sold at the grocery store or the supermarket, farmers must follow United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safety regulations to grow and harvest crops. Safe food handling is an important practice for consumers no matter where they buy their fruits and veggies. Dr. Judy Harrison, professor at the University of Georgia, states,  “It is important to remember that whether food is grown in your own back yard or whether it is grown thousands of miles away, it must be handled in a way that keeps it safe all the […]

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Vitamin D and Calcium: A Winning Combo

You have probably heard that calcium plays a key role in keeping your bones strong. But did you know that in order to maximize your calcium absorption and function you also need vitamin D? Yup, it’s true! Most of the calcium you eat in food is in its inactive form and needs to be converted to an active form for calcium to actually do its “thang.” That’s where vitamin D comes in. Vitamin D helps convert calcium into its active form. While vitamin D is the most common name of this particular vitamin, it can also be listed as calcifediol, cholecalciferol, ergocalciferol, vitamin D2, and vitamin D3. Regardless if it’s ergocalciferol or calcifediol, it’s still vitamin D. Do these micronutrients have any other health benefits? In addition to playing key roles in bone health, vitamin D has been shown to support a healthy digestive system, as well as to promote basic metabolic functions in the body. Calcium also has other health benefits beyond supporting bone health. An important mineral for oral health, calcium promotes tooth and gum health. Additionally, calcium is key for proper nerve signaling and muscle function. How much calcium should I aim for, and what foods should I focus on? Foods rich in calcium can be found in vegetables such as broccoli and kale; fortified foods such as breakfast cereals, juices, and soy foods; and dairy foods such as cheese, milk, and yogurt. To help you better understand how much calcium you should be getting and how much of it is in certain foods, see the tables below. Calcium recommendations (based on age and/or lifestyle) mg/day Source: Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, 2010. Infants 0 to 6 months 200 Infants 6 to 12 months 260 1 to 3 years old 700 4 to 8 […]

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Enjoy a Variety of Food? Thank a Pollinator.

Imagine a beautiful, orange Monarch butterfly flying around your garden. Do you know why it’s there? Do you know what would happen if it wasn’t there? Probably not. But, this beautiful butterfly can pollinate all of the flowers in your garden and make it possible for more flowers to grow! Pollination is how we get seeds. Seeds give us many of the flowers, fruits, vegetables and plants we love. The pollination process involves pollen from one type of flower (specifically from the flower’s anther, or male part) being transferred to another flower (specifically to the female stigma). The result is flowers producing seeds! How do pollinators pollinate? More than 20,000 wild bee species and countless species of butterflies, flies, wasps, moths, beetles, birds, bats, and many other animals are pollinators who help support the foundation of our food supply. When a pollinator such as the Monarch butterfly needs a meal, it flies over to the nearest flower to obtain nectar or protein-packed pollen that provides the butterfly with energy. Food (nectar and pollen) is the clear driver for a butterfly to visit a garden or field of flowers. However, many flowers may also use specific scents, colors, and petal shapes to attract pollinators. While the butterfly is eating, pollen grains can attach to the outside of the butterfly and stick to its body. When the butterfly flies away from the flower, it carries this pollen on itself and when it lands on another flower (of the same species) it is able to fertilize it via a pollen transfer. This type of pollination is called cross-pollination. So, fundamentally, when a pollinator takes pollen from the male anther of a flower to another flower, there is a chance that this pollen will fall off into the new flower’s stigma, which may result in […]

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Nutrition 101 Video Series: The Lowdown on Low-Calorie Sweeteners

This is the fourth installment of our video series in partnership with Osmosis, a group that focuses on health science education, highlighting the basics of several nutrition topics. The Nutrition 101 series also includes videos on dietary fats, carbohydrates, sugars and hydration. Most people love sweet foods. Originally, sweetness was nature’s way of identifying energy-dense foods that were safe to eat. This was particularly important throughout the long history of our species when food was scarce. But times have changed and nowadays, sweetness is mostly associated with the sugars added to foods and drinks. Unfortunately, many people consume too many calories from these sorts of added sugars. Over time, consuming more calories than the body needs can contribute to the onset of chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or cardiovascular disease. Low-calorie sweeteners can satisfy our taste buds while reducing the calories we eat from sugar. The good news is that randomized controlled trials have shown that replacing full-calorie foods and beverages with low-calorie sweetened versions can lead to modest weight loss, as long as the individual doesn’t overindulge on additional calories from other sources say, by ordering dessert because they had a diet soda with dinner. Low-calorie sweeteners don’t raise blood glucose or insulin levels, so they can help people with diabetes control their blood sugar and reduce the amount of total sugars they consume each day. Some low- and no-calorie sweeteners, like stevia and monk fruit extracts, come from plants. Others, like aspartame, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium are man-made. It’s important to note that all of them are sweeter than sugar, which means that only tiny amounts are needed to equal the sweetness of sugar. As a result, low-calorie sweeteners are often blended with carbohydrates like dextrose and maltodextrin or the sugar alcohol erythritol when […]

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Contributions of Processed Foods to Dietary Intake in the US from 2003-2008: A report of the Food and Nutrition Science Solutions Joint Task Force of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Society for Nutrition, Institute of Food Technologists, and International Food Information Council

Processed foods are an integral part of American diets, but a comparison of the nutrient contribution of foods by level of processing with the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans regarding nutrients to encourage or to reduce has not been documented. The mean reported daily dietary intakes of these nutrients and other components were examined among 25,351 participants ≥2 y of age in the 2003-2008 NHANES to determine the contribution of processed food to total intakes. Also examined was the percent contribution of each nutrient to the total reported daily nutrient intake for each of the 5 categories of food that were defined by the level of processing. All processing levels contributed to nutrient intakes, and none of the levels contributed solely to nutrients to be encouraged or solely to food components to be reduced. The processing level was a minor determinant of individual foods’ nutrient contribution to the diet and, therefore, should not be a primary factor when selecting a balanced diet. Eicher-Miller HA, Fulgoni VL 3rd, Keast DR. Contributions of processed foods to dietary intake in the US from 2003–2008: A report of the Food and Nutrition Science Solutions Joint Task Force of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Society for Nutrition, Institute of Food Technologists, and International Food Information Council. J Nutr. 2012;142(11):2065S-2072S. doi:10.3945/jn.112.164442.

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Soy Series, Part One: The Basics of Whole Soybean Foods

If our 2019 Food and Health Survey and perhaps many conversations you’ve had yourself about food this year are any indication, plant-based protein is big and its presence in our dietary lexicon is on the rise. Soy foods have been a key player in this arena for decades, and they’re seeing even more attention as part of a new wave of plant-centric products. Since soy is so versatile, we’re launching a four-part series on the basics of soy foods. The first article in this series focuses on whole soybean food products, the second article discusses soy-derived ingredients used in many familiar foods, and the third homes in on soybean oil. We wrap things up with our fourth article, which looks at how soy foods impact our health. What is soy? Soy is technically classified as a legume, a group of plants whose seeds grow in enclosed pods, like peas and peanuts. But soy’s nutritional content sets it apart from most others in the legume family: Soybeans are much higher in protein and fat and lower in carbohydrates than other legumes. In addition, unlike other plant protein sources, soy is considered a complete protein since it contains each of the essential amino acids our body needs for cell metabolism, building and repairing tissues, and providing energy. In addition to its high protein content, soy is a source of fiber, polyunsaturated fats, vitamins and minerals. It’s also a plant source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are known for their cardioprotective effects. Compared with other legumes, soybeans contain more calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium, all of which have been identified as under-consumed nutrients in the American diet. Lastly, soy provides a high concentration of isoflavones, which are plant-derived compounds that can behave like a weaker form of human estrogen and exert positive effects on our health. Examples […]

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