Gut Check: Prebiotics and the Microbiome

We might like to think of our gut microbiome as an immobile, somewhat mysterious presence in our gastrointestinal tract. But in reality, these organisms are active, living things—and all living things need food to function. We’ve talked about the beneficial gut bacteria we call probiotics in another Gut Check article, and now it’s time to focus on a very important question: What feeds these organisms? The answer is prebiotics. What Makes Something Prebiotic? If this is your first time hearing extensively about prebiotics, you’re not alone. Our 2018 Food & Health Survey indicates that many people are unfamiliar with the health benefits of these compounds: Only 36 percent of people said they were healthy compared to 62 percent who said the same for probiotics. A whopping 35 percent were unaware of their effect on health. It’s easy to confuse probiotics and prebiotics or assume that they’re the same thing—after all, they differ by only one letter. But if you have one takeaway from this article, make sure it’s that probiotics are the bacteria that are beneficial for our health, and prebiotics are what feed probiotics. The technical definition of prebiotics is “a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit.” In simpler terms, we can think of them as carbohydrates that cannot be degraded by human digestive enzymes. Instead, prebiotics travel to our lower gastrointestinal tract where they’re fermented by probiotic bacteria. This results in the production of short-chain fatty acids, which are thought to have a number of beneficial health effects, including reducing risk for certain types of cancer, enhancing calcium absorption, improving bowel function and providing fuel for the cells that line our lower gastrointestinal tract, which maintains a healthy gut barrier against harmful bacteria and other substances that may cause illness. Are prebiotics […]

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Top 5 Takeaways On Dairy Purchase Drivers, Health Impacts & Demographic Considerations

Dairy foods and beverages are recommended as part of a healthy dietary pattern given their well-established benefits according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Still, while Americans acknowledge that dairy foods and beverages are affordable, accessible, and an essential part of a healthy diet, nearly 90% of Americans do not consume the recommended three servings per day.  The International Food Information Council (IFIC) wanted to investigate potential dairy consumption barriers, including those that may be uniquely attributable to race, ethnicity, and/or income level—a query worth exploring as public health and food system stakeholders seek to enhance diet quality and nutrition equity for all Americans.   Data from the IFIC Research: Understanding Fluid Milk & Dairy Food Consumption Patterns to Enhance Diet Quality & Nutrition Equity, which was presented at the IFIC Expert Webinar, Dairy Decisions: Purchase Drivers, Health Impacts & Demographic Considerations, delves deeply into dairy consumption trends and examines the perceptions, motivators, and barriers that may keep consumers from fully experiencing dairy’s benefits, including those that may be uniquely attributable to race, ethnicity, and/or income level.  Here are the top five takeaways from this research:   1. Most people believe dairy is a dietary essential and contains many nutrients they are actively aiming to incorporate.   According to this IFIC research, many consumers believe that dairy is an essential part of a healthy and balanced diet. Consumers are also aware of the nutrients uniquely available in dairy foods and beverages, such as vitamin D, calcium, and protein, many of which they are actively aiming to incorporate into their diets.  Specifically, significantly more Black people are actively trying to incorporate both vitamin D (66%) and calcium (57%) in their diets compared to Non-Hispanic White people (59% and 49%, respectively). The active incorporation of this vitamin in Black populations is interesting as research […]

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Supporters

At IFIC, collaboration is central to our mission to communicate science-based information on food safety, nutrition and health. Our supporters include food and beverage companies, commodity boards, academic institutions, government agencies, professional societies, and nonprofits. Their support – from funding our mission to research partnerships to serving on our assembly – helps us produce consumer insights, develop expert education and address misinformation with evidence-based communication. Looking for more? Want to collaborate? If your organization shares our passion for science communication, we’d love to work with you.

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Food and Inflammation Series: Is Sugar Inflammatory?

What we eat has long been known to impact our health, and a wealth of research suggests that our eating patterns impact our risk for diet-related chronic diseases. More recently, the conversation surrounding how some dietary choices may lead to the development of chronic inflammation in the body has become a hot area in preventative nutrition. In our Food and Inflammation series, we take a closer look at how different dietary factors are related to inflammation. Our first article focused on gluten. In this next article, let’s look at the connection between sugars and inflammation. What Is Inflammation? Inflammation is a natural process in the body that refers to the immune system’s response to an irritant. In fact, inflammation is how the body protects and heals itself. If you’ve ever had a paper cut or burned your tongue while drinking a hot cup of coffee, your body’s process of healing that wound was the inflammatory response in action. Cuts and burns cause acute inflammation, which is a relatively short-lived physiological healing response. Acute inflammation may also be brought on by infectious factors like bacteria and viruses, non-infectious factors like injuries and chemicals, and psychological factors like stress and excitement. In contrast, chronic inflammation is a long-term physiological response that can last anywhere from weeks to years. Unlike acute inflammation, chronic inflammation is not always visible to the naked eye. It can be brought on by a number of factors, including autoimmune conditions, chronic stress, long-term exposure to pollutants, physical inactivity, and the foods and beverages we regularly eat and drink. A state of constant inflammatory response can create chains of destructive bodily reactions that damage cells and are linked to increased risk for adverse health conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression, and certain cancers. The Connection Between Food and […]

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The Power of Protein: Dairy

June is National Dairy Month and a great time to celebrate all that dairy has to offer. We recently wrote about dairy production—how foods like milk, yogurt and cheese get from the cow to the carton—and in this article we’ll focus on one of dairy’s important nutritional contributions: protein. What is protein? At its simplest, a protein is a chain of amino acids bound to one another and resembling a string of beads. These strings get twisted and folded into a final protein shape. When we eat protein, it gets broken down into its individual amino acids, which can be reassembled into whatever type of protein our body needs at that time. Why do we need protein? Dietary protein plays a vital role in every cell of our bodies: Proteins provide energy, catalyze metabolic reactions and provide structure to our tissues and organs. It’s an essential nutrient for maintaining muscle strength, bone health and blood sugar control. Protein-rich foods contain many of the vitamins and minerals needed to support body defenses and promote quicker healing. Eating protein-rich foods may also help you meet and maintain your weight goals by satisfying hunger and reducing the urge to snack between meals. The importance of quality nutrition is even greater as our appetite and calorie needs decrease with age; preserving our body’s muscle tissue by maintaining protein intake allows us to stay active. What makes dairy protein distinct? Dairy foods contain two major forms of protein: whey and casein. Eighty percent of milk’s protein content comes from casein and the remaining 20% is whey. Whey is rapidly digested, while casein is digested more slowly, providing a more prolonged entry of amino acids into the bloodstream. When making foods like yogurt or cheese, excess liquid that contains whey protein is strained away, leaving a solid […]

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Top Three Takeaways About Low- and No-Calorie Sweetener Safety

Once upon a time in human evolution, finding sweet-tasting foods was considered critical for survival, as they were thought to signal a safe source of calories. By the early 1900s, people were interested in calorie-free sources of sweetness. American President Teddy Roosevelt famously enjoyed saccharin; the original no-calorie sweetener that was discovered in the 1870s. His use of saccharin sparked public conversations about low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) that continue to this day. One of the most common questions that people have about LNCS such as aspartame, saccharin, stevia, and sucralose is: “Are they safe to consume?” A large body of scientific literature has addressed LNCS safety concerns, yet International Food Information Council (IFIC) consumer research has found that most people do not rely on scientific journals to inform their opinion of LNCS safety, instead preferring to do their own research. Our February 2024 webinar, “Breaking Down the Basics and Biological Fate of Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners,” focused on how our bodies handle LNCS, from consumption to excretion, and everything in between. Here are the top three takeaways. 1. The public has questions about low- and no-calorie sweetener safety. LNCS are some of the most studied ingredients in the history of our food supply. Governments and independent researchers from around the world have investigated LNCS for more than 100 years. Today, LNCS are approved for use around the world. While our scientific understanding of LNCS safety has evolved, many consumers continue to have questions. Part of this curiosity may stem from a lack of awareness about the LNCS approval process. IFIC 2023 consumer research on dietary sweeteners found that 20% of survey takers are unsure about who is responsible for approving the use of LNCS in the U.S. Eight percent believe no authority is responsible, while only 33% believe that […]

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What You Need to Know About Coffee and Your Health

Our favorite morning beverage and afternoon pick-me-up was evaluated for how it impacts the risk of cancer in people. Well, good news! Coffee is no longer deemed as a possible carcinogen and recent research even shows drinking coffee might help prevent cancer.  What is IARC and what do they have to do with coffee? IARC, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, headquartered in Lyon, France, operates as part of the World Health Organization (WHO). Three times a year, IARC forms working groups to evaluate how something (like certain occupational chemicals, foods, or even the sun) impacts the risk of cancer in people. This quarter, they reviewed coffee and released their report on June 15 classifying coffee as ‘Group 3.’ Previously, coffee was classified as ‘Group 2B’ or as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”  What does a ‘Group 3’ classification mean? IARC classifies agents into one of 5 different categories.  The ‘Group 3’ category is used most commonly for agents for which the evidence of carcinogenicity is inadequate in humans and inadequate or limited in experimental animals. James R. Coughlin, Ph.D. CFS, an independent consultant in Food/Nutritional/Chemical Toxicology, Safety & Regulatory Affairs for Coughlin & Associates, said: “While IARC’s Working Group classified coffee as Group 3, not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans, what this really means is that IARC was not able to find even limited evidence of coffee drinking causing human cancer. What I truly believe, based on my 35 years of study on coffee and cancer, is that coffee drinking does not cause human cancer, and in fact, it actually helps to reduce the risk of several forms of human cancer.” What does the research say about coffee and cancer? Recent research related to coffee and cancer is encouraging. A recent meta-analysis of 59 studies suggested that consuming coffee can actually “reduce the […]

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Are Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners Safe?

Low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS) provide sweetness to foods and beverages without the added calories contained in sugar. LNCS have a long history of safe use and are some of the most studied ingredients in the history of our food supply. Yet they are also among the most scrutinized. Debate often ensues about the safety and health implications of consuming LNCS—sometimes because of valid scientific inquiry, but mostly due to incorrect or misleading information. This article addresses and helps clarify some of the conflicting information you may come across online. For more in-depth information about the safety of LNCS and how our bodies process them after consumption, check out our free one-hour webinar. Who approves the use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners in the U.S.? U.S. law requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the use of food additives, including LNCS such as aspartame and sucralose, before they are authorized for use in foods and beverages. For the review of other food ingredients such as stevia and monk fruit sweeteners, the FDA uses its Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) notification program. A GRAS determination does not require pre-market approval by the FDA but does require FDA to scientifically evaluate and publicly respond to submissions made to the agency that supports an ingredient’s safety. Despite our government’s long-standing oversight authority, uncertainty remains among some Americans about how LNCS are regulated in the U.S. In the IFIC 2023 Food & Health Survey, 20% of respondents said they were unsure who was responsible for approving the use of LNCS. There are nine types of LNCS permitted by the FDA for use in foods and beverages: LNCS are also independently evaluated and carefully regulated by international authorities such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on […]

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