What is protein? What are protein food sources? What is the recommended protein amount? In the IFIC Protein Toolkit, you’ll find insights, continuing education, resources and more to support your protein exploration and communication.
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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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Cultivating Diets That Are Both Healthy and Environmentally Sustainable Download the full report. As found in IFIC’s 2019 Food and Health Survey, environmental sustainability has become increasingly associated with the foods that we eat as well as our food purchases. Yet sustainability can mean different things to different people. According to the Journal of Environmental Sustainability, environmental sustainability is the “condition of balance, resilience and interconnectedness that allows human society to satisfy its needs while neither exceeding the capacity of its supporting ecosystems to continue to regenerate the services necessary to meet those needs nor by our actions diminishing biological diversity.” Basically, this definition refers to the condition of reducing damage to our environment (through the renewable depletion of resources) so that future generations can also meet their own needs. A healthy and complete diet involves eating essential nutrients needed for physiological functions, which includes dietary proteins. Proteins can be consumed in various ways and are essential in our diets for maintaining muscle strength, bone health, and blood sugar control in addition to supporting the body’s immune defenses and promoting quicker healing. However, in the pursuit of both a healthful and environmentally sustainable diet, how to best access these essential proteins has come under question. Where are our purchasing decisions headed as we look to fulfill a complete, healthful, and sustainable diet? What does this mean for our plant-based and animal-based protein intake? Let’s further explore findings from the Survey of Consumers’ Attitudes and Perceptions of Environmentally Sustainable and Healthy Diets to shed some light on where protein choices may be headed and what consumers perceive as constituting a well-rounded and environmentally sustainable diet. Trouble defining “environmentally sustainable” The Survey of Consumers’ Attitudes and Perceptions of Environmentally Sustainable and Healthy Diets found that 40 percent of consumers were unsure if […]
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Download the full report. Consumer Survey: A Second Look at COVID-19’s Impact on Food Purchasing, Eating Behaviors and Perceptions of Food Safety In the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic has been entrenched in our daily lives for over two months. In the midst of its impact on the health of many and the lives of everyone, the way we’re thinking and acting around food and food safety continues to evolve. We conducted our first consumer research on COVID-19’s effects on shopping for food, eating habits and perspectives on food safety in early April. This most recent survey, fielded May 7th to May 12th, serves as a follow-up to this initial research. It tracks several questions asked previously in April and asks new ones to help us better capture the full scale of the pandemic’s effects on how we think and feel about food in these ever-changing times. Here are some key takeaways: Since April, there has been a consistent downturn in following risk-reducing practices related to COVID-19 and grocery shopping. Just 52% of survey takers report washing their hands after going to the grocery store, down from 63% in April. This change is emblematic of the declines seen in many other safety practices, including going to the store less (46% versus 51% in April), minimizing touching surfaces while at the grocery store (39% versus 50% in April) and using wipes and hand sanitizer (38% versus 47% in April). Consistent with last month’s survey, those in the youngest age bracket (less than 45 years of age) are less apt to follow many risk-reducing precautions compared with people older than 65. One exception to the downturn is an uptick in the percentage of people who say that they’re ordering at least some of their groceries online (24% versus 16% in April). Wearing protective equipment, […]
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Download the full report. Highlights Over the past few years, it might seem like we’ve come a long way in our perceptions of dietary fat. Avocadoes, omega-3-rich fish and nuts and seeds are welcomed parts of a balanced diet, and fad diets like keto and Paleo that focus on higher fat intakes continue to be popular in certain health circles. But have people really cast aside the deeply ingrained fear of fat that dominated the nutrition conversation years ago? To answer this question, we set out to learn more about purchasing and eating behaviors, as well as health perceptions of dietary fats and oils, by surveying 1,000 American adults. Here are some key takeaways: Over one in three seek out “low fat” or “reduced fat” foods or beverages, while only one in ten seek out full–fat products. When survey takers were asked if they seek out products with different labels related to their fat content, 36% said they seek out low–fat products and 35% reported looking for reduced–fat foods and beverages. In contrast, just 11% said they seek out full–fat products and 29% said they don’t seek out foods and beverages with descriptions of their fat content. People under 45 were more likely to seek out “full fat” products, while those ages 45–64 were less likely to do so. People above age 65 and college-educated people were more likely to seek out products labeled as “low in saturated fat.” Consumers are split on whether they would choose a higher–fat version of a product over a lower-fat version. When given a scenario in which there were two products that differed only in their fat content—one that was higher in total fat and one that was lower in total fat—36% said they would consider choosing the higher-fat product, while 38% said they […]
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We often hear about the importance of making healthy food choices, but how do Americans define a “healthy food”? And how much of an influence does healthfulness have when we decide what foods to buy and eat? IFIC’s 17th annual 2022 Food and Health Survey explored Americans’ perspectives and behaviors surrounding the term “healthy”—read on for the ways this concept impacts our food choices. The Influence of “Healthfulness” Over the past decade, the idea of “healthfulness” has consistently ranked as the third most influential purchase driver for foods and beverages, and this year was no exception. Sixty percent of survey respondents said that healthfulness had “somewhat” of or “a great” impact on their decision to buy foods and beverages, falling behind taste (80%) and price (68%). Subgroups that were more likely to say that healthfulness was impactful included Millennials (at 65%, versus 53% of Gen Zers and 56% of Boomers); those with an annual income of $75,000 or more (73%, versus 50% of those who earn less than $35,000 a year and 56% of those who earn between $35,000 and $74,000 a year); parents of children under 18 (71%, versus 54% of those who do not have children under 18); and those who buy groceries online more than once a month (67%, versus 51% of those who never buy online groceries). Definitions of Healthy Food Despite Americans’ consistent emphasis on healthfulness in their food choices, this year’s survey also makes clear that there is a great deal of variation in consumer definitions and perceptions of “healthy.” When survey respondents were asked to select up to five different attributes that define a healthy food, the most popular responses were “fresh” (with 37% selecting this), “low in sugar” (32%), and “good source of protein” (29%). These top choices were followed by “contains […]
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Sixteen years ago, I curled up on the couch with my father and grandfather. We cheered and cheered as Julie Foudy captained the US women’s team to the championship. Now, she’s championing smart nutrition! Her latest interview highlighted the importance of carbs, electrolytes, and sugar for intensity and endurance in sports. Here are a few of our faves: 1. Carbs are needed for endurance. Soccer is a 90-minute marathon … Foudy says that carbohydrates are essential. And she’s right! Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, CSSD, LDN, is a sports dietitian for professional teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates; the Washington Nationals; and the Toronto Blue Jays. She highlights the carbohydrates and protein combination as ‘fuel.’ Does that mean you need to carbo-load before this kind of endurance? If you eat a diet that is at least 50% carbs at each meal, you really won’t need to carbo-load. But you may want to “top off” glycogen stores by eating or drinking a few extra carbohydrates at each meal/snack in the days leading up to events. Remember, it’s carbo-load, not carbo-OVERLOAD. 2. Our concept of sugar is too narrow. According to Foudy, “the misconception is that sugar is bad. We’re here to reassure parents and athletes and that with the appropriate amount in moderation and with activity, actually you need sugar and it can help improve performance.” The role of sugar and carbohydrates is important to think about in your recovery from training. The ultimate goal of recovery nutrition is to help your muscles fully repair and get prepared for the next workout or competition. A recovery plan should include fluids, carbohydrate, and protein. Many athletes use a recovery beverage that includes all three, such as chocolate milk, protein shakes, or smoothies made with milk or soy milk, juice, and fruit. Drinking or eating at least 50 […]
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Did you know that each of our guts has a unique living community containing billions of bacteria? It’s called the microbiome, and on this edition of DataDish: Your Trusted Serving of Science, we’re taking a journey to the center of the gut, led by Megan Meyer, PhD. Megan is Director of Science Communications at the International Food Information Council Foundation. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Loyola University Maryland, as well as a PhD in microbiology and immunology, focused on nutritional immunology, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In this episode, Megan addresses the following topics: Enjoy the podcast! We hope you’re looking forward to learning more about the microbiome as future studies emerge.
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