This week, read about food and nutrition tracking, muscle-building supplements and cancer risk, saturated fats, Blue Zones, salt and endurance performance, and more.
Food and Nutrition Tracking
It should be easier to track what you eat. Analyzing dietary intake used to be a tedious task and almost exclusively the domain of nutrition professionals, but advances in technology, and widespread availability and quality of food databases has changed all that. Examples of such programs include sparkpeople or myfitnesspal. Although this is a dramatic improvement, new research identifies several areas that would make these food diaries easier to use and more helpful. (Paper to be presented at ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)
Why would you track what you eat?
Ahhh – the topic of my Master’s thesis! So I could go on for awhile, but here’s the scoop. Tracking what you eat is a proven method of improving your diet – it makes you aware of your habits, can help you eat more mindfully, and tell you how the food you eat translates to calories, fat, carbohydrates, or protein, vitamins, and minerals. Certainly it’s not desirable (or advisable!) to convert all fine dining experiences into numbers, but getting an idea of how your typical diet stacks up can be import
ant for your health, and is especially helpful if you’re considering making some changes. For example, athletes may want to know if they’re consuming enough carbohydrates to fuel and recover from their workouts, or people trying to lose weight would benefit by knowing where their excess calories are coming from.
Here’s a review of some popular diet/nutrition tracking apps.
Other Links of Interest This Week
Study finds troubling link between use of muscle-building supplements and cancer. A new study looked at the relationship between using “muscle-building” supplements and testicular germ cell cancer (the most common form of cancer in young men) in a case-control survey of 900 men. The study didn’t discriminate between various types of supplements, but noted that supplements included 30 different types of powders and pills, and the major ingredients were creatine, protein, and androstenedione. Investigators observed a clear link between using supplements and cancer risk, and associations were stronger among early users, men using more than 2 types of supplements, and longer use of supplements. This case-control study can’t draw conclusions, but these preliminary findings highlight an important area that merits further research. (British Journal of Cancer)
Is All Saturated Fat The Same? A very good article by David Katz on an issue that’s become pretty complicated for many to understand. Here is a highlight from the article:
“Dietary fat was never all good or all bad; carbohydrate was never all good or all bad; and saturated fat is not now all good after having formerly been all bad. It depends on the specifics, which in turn depend on the foods you choose.
Choose wisely — foods close to nature, mostly plants — and you will avoid a host of ills, from the wrong kinds of fat, to excesses of sugar, salt, starch and calories. By choosing wholesome foods, you construct a wholesome diet — with a good chance of adding both years to your life and life to your years. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, walnuts, almonds, lentils, beans, seeds, olives, avocados and fish are all among the foods most decisively recommended for health promotion and all are low in saturated fat. That is by no means their only virtue, but it is among them.”
Student projects get creative to encourage healthy eating. I love the idea of prescriptions for healthy foods! (UC Global Food Initiative)
10 Ways to Spot Health Quackery. A good list! (UC Berkeley Wellness Letter)
Interview with physiologist and beetroot expert Prof Andrew Jones. One great sports physiologist interviews another – and good questions whose answers you won’t find in research publications. (Mysportscience.com)
Blue Zones: What the Longest-Lived People Eat (Hint: It’s Not Steak Dinners). The plant-based nutritional choices of “Blue Zone” inhabitants are just one aspect of their longevity. Other traits include daily physical activity, sense of purpose, low stress, and strong family and community connections. (Scientific American)
A Swim Team for Teens With Autism. Profile and video clip of “Swim Team” a documentary of the Jersey Hammerheads, a swim team for children with autism. (New York Times)
The making of Dr. Oz. How an award-winning doctor turned away from science and embraced fame. Excellent piece on “the most influential health professional in America” (how unfortunate) by Julia Beluz. (Vox.com) Also this week a group of doctors has asked Columbia to reconsider Dr. Oz’s faculty appointment at Columbia University.
The Right Dose of Exercise for a Longer Life. Studies have looked at the right amount of exercise to improve health and longevity. Two new studies shed light on the “ideal dose.” (Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times).
The Health Benefits of Sweet vs. Regular Potatoes. There is a lot of misinformation about potatoes, often related to starches and glycemic index. This article debunks some popular myths, and provides evidence-based advice and eating tips. (John Berardi)
More Salt Doesn’t Mean Better Performance for Endurance Athletes. A new study questions that idea that additional salt (beyond sports drinks) can help performance in endurance athletes. (Journal of Sports Science & Medicine)
5 days of eating fatty foods can alter the way your body’s muscle processes food. Investigators at Virginia Tech found that eating fatty meals for just 5 days can influence how muscles process nutrients (their ability to oxidize glucose is disrupted). The “fatty” diet was 55% fat, and high in saturated fats from foods like cheese and butter. Researchers believe these short-term disruptions could eventually lead to long-term problems such as weight gain, obesity, and other health issues. (Obesity, April 2015 )
9 Ways to Optimize Your Breakfast. Some good tips! (Nutrition Diva Monica Reinagle)
Cycling Canada’s “Hop On” Campaign. A clever video to promote cycling . . . Here’s how they made the video.
New Recipe
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad. This is a terrific salad with vibrant colors and a great combination of flavors. It’s also quite versatile: it’s a great side dish to bring to a pot-luck or BBQ, a nutritious meal you can pack for tasty lunch, and stuff any leftovers into a pita for a nutritious sandwich.
Share This:
