Hydration: It’s a Fluid Situation

This is the second installment of a new video series in partnership with Osmosis, a group that focuses on health science education, highlighting the basics of several nutrition topics. Click here to watch the first video in the series, “Fundamentals of Fats”. Water is essential for human life. It makes up more than 50 percent of a person’s body weight, and it’s directly involved in every biochemical reaction in our body. Staying hydrated is important because water does so many important things in the body. It’s critical for digestion: The water in saliva moistens food when we chew and it serves as a fluid environment in which digestive enzymes break down our meals. Water forms the bulk of blood, which allows oxygen and glucose to move around the body, and it plays a role in eliminating toxins through urination. Water can also help with weight loss and maintaining a healthy body weight — replacing sweetened drinks with water reduces calorie intake and drinking water before and during a meal can increase our sense of fullness and prevent overeating. Ultimately, maintaining the right balance of water in our body is what keeps us alive. Total body water can be subdivided into two major compartments: the fluid inside our cells, known as intracellular fluid, and fluid outside our cells, called extracellular fluid. Extracellular fluid is made up of blood, and the fluid found between cells in the interstitial tissue. Both inside and outside the cells, water acts as a solvent to dissolve electrolytes like sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, bicarbonate, phosphate and sulfate, which are kept at very specific concentrations. About 80 percent of our water intake comes from drinking fluids. The recommended daily fluid intake for women is around 11 glasses of water, or 2.2 liters, and for men it’s about […]

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What to Know About Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label

In 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized its update of the iconic Nutrition Facts label, which made news headlines across America. However, these types of major policy changes take time to be fully implemented. While the majority of food and beverage manufacturers were required to use the new label by January 1, 2021, the FDA set a separate deadline of July 1, 2021, for makers of pure honey, pure maple syrup and other pure sugars and syrups, as well as dried cranberry and cranberry beverage products. Many people may now be familiar with the updated look and information on the new Nutrition Fact label, but some of the information can be difficult to understand at first glance. Below are tips that can help to correctly interpret food label information about sugar. Improving Total Comprehension of Added Sugars The new FDA Nutrition Facts label presents information about sugars in two ways that are different from the original label. First, the amount of sugar found in one serving of a product is now displayed as “Total Sugars.” This information was previously displayed on the original label as “Sugars.” Second, there is a new line on the label for added sugars information; this is the first new line to appear on the Nutrition Facts label since trans fat labeling became mandatory in 2006. This new line represents the amount of sugar that has been added to a food or beverage during manufacturing. The decision to include added sugars information on the new label was based in part, on the conclusions of the 2015—2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) in a continued effort to help Americans eat more healthfully. The line for added sugars appears indented, directly below “Total Sugars.” Changing label terms from “Sugars” to “Total Sugars” may not seem […]

insights

Bread Science and Black History: The Innovations of Joseph Lee

Bread is the proverbial stuff of life—a staple food in many households throughout ancient and modern history. Today, we encounter bread when we make a sandwich, eat a salad with croutons, or enjoy it as an accent on a delicious charcuterie board (we love a good baguette!). With the variety of breads that are now widely available in supermarkets, farmers’ markets, and bakeries, we can enjoy a plethora of tastes and textures to suit our day-to-day preferences. But if you’ve ever considered the bread-baking techniques that yield your desired loaf, you likely haven’t connected them with Black history. Let’s shed some light on a segment of rich history of Black food production innovators in the U.S.—in particular, the story of Joseph Lee, a bread-production pioneer and recently inducted member into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. It all started with a recipe—and kneading There are hundreds of different types of bread today, but most recipes have evolved to require four basic ingredients: flour (of which there are many different types), water, yeast, and salt. Joseph Lee, born in 1849 in Charleston, South Carolina, knew these ingredients well due to the many years he spent cooking and baking in restaurants and the hospitality industry in the late 1800s—which culminated in the opening of his own catering company and restaurant (a major feat for the son of former slaves). Over his many years of bread-baking, Lee observed the importance of kneading the dough to deliver consistent loaves at a large scale. Today’s researchers have observed that kneading dough promotes the “homogeneous mixing of all the ingredients, the hydration of the flour constituents, the phase transitions that involve proteins and amorphous starch, the development of the gluten network, and the inclusion of air bubbles, giving a viscoelastic dough as a result.” That may […]

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MSG: A Brief History

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer that gives foods a specific savory taste that is also known as “umami.” Although MSG is found naturally in some foods, such as tomatoes and certain cheeses, it wasn’t until the early 20th that MSG was discovered by Kikunae Ikeda, a chemistry professor at the Imperial University of Tokyo. The legend goes that Professor Ikeda was eating soup when he noticed that the broth tasted better than usual. Upon inspection, he realized the enhanced taste was due to the addition of kelp, and he was inspired to begin studying its chemical structure. By 1908, Professor Ikeda had determined that the savory taste was due to L-glutamic acid (glutamate), a nonessential amino acid. When glutamate was combined with sodium, the substance became known as MSG. In 1909, Professor Ikeda filed a patent to produce MSG commercially. MSG was subsequently developed as a product that entered the food supply as a seasoning. Today, MSG is a popular food additive and is produced from fermenting starch, sugar beets, sugar cane, or molasses. Although MSG is odorless and tasteless by itself, when it’s added to foods it brings out those special brothy or meaty umami tastes. The flavor has been deemed so enjoyable that “umami” was named after “umai,” the Japanese word for “delicious.” The enjoyment can be broken down chemically: When MSG is eaten, the sodium and glutamate break apart in the saliva, and the free glutamate activates a person’s umami taste receptors, creating that especially satisfying and savory flavor. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permits the use of MSG in the food supply under Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) criteria. To be considered GRAS, substantial research and expert review needs to show that a food additive is safe for consumption under its intended […]

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Hazard Versus Risk in Perceptions of Food Safety: The Case of Titanium Dioxide

This study was conducted to explore the contrast between hazard-based and risk-based assessments of food safety through a case study of the food ingredient titanium dioxide. Based on a hazard-based assessment, titanium dioxide has been banned by the European Food Safety Authority. In contrast, the ingredient is allowed within the limits set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We addressed the following question: How do American consumers describe their perception of threat, or lack thereof, posed by titanium dioxide when informed or reminded that the color additive is common in the United States but banned in the European Union? Focus group participants shared their reactions to a brief video reviewing the titanium dioxide issue. These consumers were comfortable with a risk-based assessment, acknowledging that the potential for harm is low. Participants also identified a paradoxical situation in which they were overwhelmed or desensitized by the wealth of information about the many potential hazards they face yet were disappointed by the lack of actionable information available. Based on these findings, practitioners of risk communication in the food industry would likely benefit from transparency by agencies regarding the distinction between hazard and risk when communicating about food safety policies. Dialogue among agencies such as the European Food Safety Authority and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could help fill the information gap perceived by the study participants. Sellnow T, Flood A, Hoffman J, Freihaut R, Demarco I, Salazar S, Sheng X. Hazard versus risk in perceptions of food safety: The case of titanium dioxide. Food Prot Trends. 2024. doi:10.4315/fpt-23-008.

research

Understanding, Evaluating, and Communicating Nutrition, Part III: Research Funding

(Third in a series of three articles. Parts one and two were published in the September 2015 and October 2015 editions of the Food Insight Newsletter.) The relationship between nutrition and health is fully entrenched in the mainstream media, and everyone from career scientists to our next-door neighbor seems to be an expert on the topic. Becoming skilled in research evaluation, being aware of media perspectives, and understanding different forms of bias are extremely important in this rapidly evolving field. We recently interviewed Dr. Andrew Brown of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Office of Energetics and Nutrition Obesity Research Center, whose voice has risen to the foreground in discussing research evaluation and scientific integrity. In the last of our three-part series, Dr. Brown discusses research funding and bias. FOOD INSIGHT: Let’s talk about another hot topic in your field: the funding of research. You have received funding from a variety of sources to conduct research. Can you describe how, if at all, working with different funders impacts your work? DR. ANDREW BROWN: I think it is first important to clarify that none of the research funding comes directly to me. Funding goes to the university, which has a number of checks and balances to assure ethical research conduct and disclosure of potential financial conflicts of interest. With the exception of a current NIH grant, none of the funding that I have worked with was granted or gifted to the university under my name. These details are very important to help separate various interests from the science—regardless of whether those interests arise from industries, foundations, or government—and from personal interests, political viewpoints, or financial gain. We always clarify and specify conditions for collaborations, gifts, or grants. For instance, unrestricted gifts are just that: There is no explicit restriction on what the university can do with the […]

insights

IFIC Elects New Officers

Download the press release here Purdue’s Bailey, Mondelēz International’s Dyer to Co-Chair   (Washington, D.C.)— The International Food Information Council (IFIC) confirmed new officers on December 2, 2020. IFIC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes science-based information on nutrition, food safety and agriculture. IFIC is led by a public-private Board of Trustees comprised of academic and food industry leaders. The majority of IFIC’s board are independent, academic researchers.  “We look forward to working with Regan Bailey and Russ Dyer, and all of our trustees, to advance IFIC’s evidence-based science communications mission,” said IFIC Chief Executive Officer Joseph Clayton. “Russ, Regan and all of our Trustees understand the important role sound science plays in supporting healthy food decisions.”   Regan Lucas Bailey, Ph.D., R.D., MPH, CPH, Associate Professor, Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University will serve as Co-Chair. The focus of research in the Bailey lab is to improve the methods of measuring nutritional status to optimize health. Dr. Bailey’s work provides landscape analysis of current dietary and biochemical measures of nutrition to inform the research and policy communities.  Russell Dyer, Vice President & Chief of Communications & Government Affairs, Mondelēz International, will serve as Co-Chair. At Mondelēz International, Dyer is responsible for overseeing all external and internal communications as well as government affairs for the company. Prior to joining Mondelēz, he served as Vice President, Head of Corporate Affairs at Kraft Foods Group, where he led the communications function prior to the company’s merger with The H.J. Heinz Company.  Anna Maria Siega-Riz, Ph.D., Dean and Professor, Departments of Nutrition & Biostatistics & Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, will serve as Co-Vice Chair. Dr. Siega-Riz’s research focuses on the first 1,000 days of life by understanding the influence of maternal weight status and dietary patterns/behaviors in the etiology of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Other research interests include examining the determinants and consequences of food insecurity and the implications of food policy on health outcomes.    Don Jones, Vice President, Quality, Simply Good Foods USA, Inc will also serve as Co-Vice Chair. Don has over 30 […]

Media

WHO Chimes in on Meats: What it Means for Your Health

Heard lots of panic about the latest IARC (WHO) announcement on red meat? Here’s the background you need to put that panic in perspective:   Who is WHO’s IARC and what do they have to do with red and processed meat? IARC, the International Agency for Research on Cancer headquartered in Lyon, France, operates as part of the World Health Organization. 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 red and processed meat and released their report on Monday, October 26 classifying red meat as ‘Group 2A’ and processed meat as ‘Group 1’ (more on the classification definitions here).   What does their classification mean? Group 1 is defined as ‘carcinogenic to humans’ and Group 2A is defined as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans.’ IARC specifies that its classifications “do not measure the likelihood that cancer will occur (technically called “risk”) as a result of exposure to the agent.” The classifications also don’t capture consideration of quantity- for example, alcohol and sunlight are both Group 1. It’s well established that overexposure to (or overconsumption of) both sunlight and alcohol comes with major health risks. That doesn’t mean there aren’t benefits to moderate levels of consumption (hello vitamin D and serotonin!) of things like sunlight. It means we all need to be conscious of getting the right amount. The same goes for types of meat in your diet. Dr. Roger Clemens points out the need to put IARC’s ruling in perspective: “These rulings discuss hazard, but they’re reported as risk. For example. sunlight (hazard) is needed for vitamin D synthesis, yet excessive exposure increases one’s risk of skin cancer.  Alcohol is a known liver toxin (hazard), yet when consumed […]

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