Homeopathy ineffective. No substance to that substance

A study released today by the Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council found homeopathic medicine to be about as effective for treating health conditions as sugar pills. 

Homeopathy, according to the National Institute of Health is "is an alternative medical system that was developed in Germany more than 200 years ago." It relies on the theory that " 'like cures like'—the notion that a disease can be cured by a substance that produces similar symptoms in healthy people; and 'law of minimum dose'—the notion that the lower the dose of the medication, the greater its effectiveness." 

176 controlled studies were analyzed and, according to the researchers, found that the homeopathic substances were so diluted that no molecules of the original substance remain thus rendering the treatment entirely ineffective. 

Studies that have demonstrated homeopathy's effectiveness were "poorly designed" and excluded form the meta- analysis.

Yikes! Too bad since Americans pay $170 million annually for these medicines and another $2.9 billion for visits to homeopathic practitioners. 

What is your opinion of homeopathy? Have you used it with success in the past? Do you agree or disagree with the researcher's findings?

For the article from Al Jazeera documenting the findings, click here.

The Power of the Fork

I am presenting to the Utah State Cancer Support Group tomorrow night. Come on out and have a listen, or check your iPhone for Instagram updates while I speak. I'm used to it.

Click here for more info.

            

December 3rd at 6:30 PM

                   Sorenson Unity Center

                  1383 South 900 West, SLC

Anjee Barber, MS, RD, CD

Clinical Dietitian at Huntsman Cancer Hospital

“Take Charge:  The Power of the Fork”

Let’s get ready for the holidays and New Year’s resolutions with information about the best healthy diet.  She will inform and motivate.  Questions are strongly encouraged.

       As usual, the presentation will be for about an hour; the second hour will deal with any issues raised by us.

ALSO:  We will have a lot of Christmas/holiday prizes for those who attend.  Let’s make this a party.

The Prostate Cancer Support Group is sponsored by the Utah Urologic Society and is a member of US TOO.  Refreshments provided by Abbie.  Meetings are at the Sorenson Unity Center on the first Wednesday of each month (except holidays) at 6:30 PM.

Call John Merryweather (801-278-0234) or David Dodd  (801-560-2542) about  meeting information or mailing list.

Park in the lot on the south side of the building; come in the southwest door.  If the lot is full, park on 13^th South to the north of the building or across 13^th S. in the Head Start lot.  DO NOT PARK ON 9^th West.

The gut-brain connections in Autism

Well look how timely this article on the gut-brain connection and autism is! Right after a post about yogurt.

This article is an absolute must read....

Eating your bacteria

I LOVE this article from Supermarket Savvy regarding yogurt and cultures contained in various forms of yogurt and supplements.

It's critical that the cultures in yogurt or a supplement are live for them to do the good stuff: aiding with constipation, diarrhea, bloating and gas. Organic yogurts tend to be preferable because processing can lead to the death of many microorganisms.

Diarrhea and constipation can be particular issues for people undergoing chemotherapy because of the damage it can do to the gut. Additionally, many patients undergoing cancer treatment may receive some forms of antibiotics because of infections that can arise from complications of treatment. Lastly, radiation induced enteritis can cause serious GI issues.

A good source of probiotics can help replenish some of the beneficial bacteria lost during treatment. And as this article and many others have point out: supplements typically don't have as many of the live cultures they say they do (I've read anywhere from 1-10% of the live cultures the label claims).

So grab yourself a container of Greek yogurt and dose up on some good bacteria!

Nausea and vomiting and frankincense. Oh my.

Chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is probably one of the most textbooks side effects of going through cancer treatment.  While there are a number of anti-emetic meds to help with these side effects (Zofran, Ativan, Compazine, etc.,) sometimes a good old-fashioned home remedy can be helpful.

I have begun recommending ginger chews and ginger beer to patients who struggle with CINV. The research is varied on its effectiveness but this study found ginger to be more favorable than a placebo when it came to controlling these symptoms in breast cancer patients. A couple other studies have also found ginger to be helpful in retro viral therapy , however, a recent review article does confirm the need for more research regarding the role of ginger as an anti-emetic.


Another remedy I have received recent information on is frankincense oil.  I know, three wise men, blah, blah. However, I have it on good authority that taking a whiff of the sidekick to myrrh right when you feel the nausea coming on ameliorates the effects quite well. I should mention here my "good authority"  is an uncle of mine going through cancer treatment who is very anti "all these hippie therapies", so I feel if he is willing to endorse it, it may actually be worth looking into. Anyway, you can find the oil for a very reasonable price online.

You can try these remedies as ways to help control your symptoms a bit better if you are struggling with CINV, and feel free to share any of your own ideas; I'd love to hear what works for you.

Beet this.

There are lots and lots of ergogenic aids out there which tout the ability to help enhance your athletic performance. Anjee what is an ergogenic aid?! you ask. It's basically anything that has the ability to increase your capacity for physical performance. This can be caffeine or steroids.

An article in the Summer edition of Food and Nutrition magazine had an interesting blurb about beetroot juice and its benefits for middle distance and endurance athletes.

Seems there is some research out there that indicated beetroot juice may delay time to exhaustion. Yep. Looks like our beety friends are rich in nitrate which has two effects on the body during exercise:

1. It reduces VO2max which is means it reduces the demand for oxygen during exercise. Obviously the lower the demand for O2 the more efficiently (and longer) you are able to place demands on the body before exhaustion. 
2. Increases muscle efficiency. Muscles are able to utilize O2 more efficiently thus delaying the time to fatigue. 

The acceptable daily intake of nitrate is 3.65 mg/kg/d and the amounts used in the studies are usually about twice this amount so it remains to be seen how safe it is to supplement with beetroot juice but interesting stuff nonetheless. 

Would you drink beet juice to increase your performance? I may have to try it on my next long run......

Remember me?

Hello there.

You may or may not have noticed I've been out for a bit. Well, I'm back.

Let's see. Let me just sum up the last few months here. I finished my thesis, defended my thesis much to the chagrin of my PI, faculty, staff and students of SDSU. FINALLY took surfing lessons much to the chagrin of all involved. I am no longer terrified of the ocean. That's a lie. Celebrated my 34th birthday. Oscar and I broke up. I moved out. Was placed in a dietetic internship which I start in July. I have joined a climbing group. I only go because we go out for beers at Smallbar after every Wednesday. I deleted my face book (no I didn't defriend you I just am over FB right now). And I think that about does it. Oh and I graduated last Friday.

So now that we have that out of the way, let's get updated on the nutrition world, because really, isn't that the more exciting thing here?

The American Dietetic Association is now the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. I am not sure why although I assume it's because they feel it sounds fancy to call themselves the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. I'm not sure they thought this one through however because the acronym is going to be AND. Doesn't sound fancy when you see it like that does it? Anyway, that is the new institution and that is how they will be addressed. I have been paying extra special attention to AND lately and it's position on the new health care laws; it has been very interesting watching how this whole health care reform business plays out in regards to nutrition professionals. Many of the billing codes are going to be changed to limit certain nutrition related therapies or remove them all together. Obviously this is a concern moving forward and has a lot of us wondering what exactly our careers will look like in the future. Time will tell I suppose.

But onto a little blurb from my Food and Nutrition magazine. This month had an article on juicing and I thought I'd pay it a little mind since everyone from my new roommates to my brother are juicing these days and it's something I get asked about quite a bit.

Juicing is the process of using a juicer to separate fruits and vegetables from their peels, pulp,fibrous materials, etc., into a purely liquid form. It's different than blending since the juicing process actually removes the other components of fruits and vegetable whereas blending them uses the entire fruit and/or vegetable. 

Juicing has also been getting a ton of attention lately. Many hail it THE a way to lose weight and others insist it is the best way to consume fruits and vegetables. Movies, movie stars and fitness advocates alike seem to be hopping on the latest industry trend. 

In an attempt to figure out what the fuss was about, I made a few juices of my own. Tasty, diarrhea looking things from kale, ginger, lemon, parsley and carrots. I juiced a whole bag of oranges one time and got two whole glasses of juice out of it. After a particularly rigorous week of post break up drinking I juiced for what was supposed to be ten days but was chiseled down to six after I just about got fired from my job for being so darned cranky from being so darned hungry. Don't get me wrong, my juices were tasty!! Seriously they were so good. And I actually felt pretty good too after drinking them. I didn't get the fit of hypoglycemia I assumed would follow a strict juicing diet. My main concern wasn't what was in the juice, but what wasn't in it.

After I reduced a weeks worth of produce to a glass of liquid, all the fibrous material (the stuff that contains almost ALL the fiber) was still in my juicer. One time I tried adding it back into the juice but to be honest it was pretty gross, but I digress.

I think this article from Food and Nutrition Magazine gives great tips on how to be a smart juicer and hopefully get the most benefits from juicing. A few main points:

1) There is no advantage to consuming juice over whole fruits and veggies

2) Juice-only diets which severely restrict calories may result in short term weight loss (and later to weight gain) but the lack of protein won't sustain muscle mass

3) Other deficiencies like fiber, fat soluble vitamins D and E, essential fatty acids and B vitamins may result

4) Always thoroughly wash fruits and veggies and consume juice immediately

5) Aim for a 3-to-1 vegetable to fruit ratio

And it's important to remember juicing really shouldn't be replacing meals and its hold no benefit over consuming fruits and vegetables in their raw, whole form but can be a great way to incorporate fruits and vegetables into your diet if you have a hard time doing so. 


Do you juice? If so what's your favorite recipe?

Pizza is a vegetable. Great call Congress.

I have not blogged in a very, very long time; and I know for the 4 of you who look at this blog it must have been a heartbreaking few months. This article on how corrupt and stupid our governing agencies are when it comes to food brought me out of my thesis writing stupor long enough to put up this snazzy post. Just another fine example of the almighty dollar coming before the general good of the people. I'll be back soon with more rantings and ravings, just you wait.

Beets and leeks and radishes oh my!

So another couple, Oscar and I decided to join a CSA about a month or so ago. We joined the Be Wise Organic Farm in San Diego to commit to buying local. I am somewhat ambivalent about the organic part, but I do believe in eating food locally and Be Wise has a great reputation.

Anyway, every Tuesday we meet up and divide our box between the two couples (we are signed up for weekly deliveries). The box is fruits, vegetables and herbs and boy oh boy is it a ton!

Produce from the box, I actually left out quite a bit. Note the beets, laughing at me.....

The fun thing about CSAs is that, to quote Forrest, you never really know what you're going to get. For the past few weeks I have been trying to get creative with beets, fennel. leeks and radishes. Thank God for Allrecipes.com, and an understanding boyfriend. I mean truthfully, there is only so much you can do with beets. I have made salads, I have made soups I have made salads and soups and dyed our kitchen sink purple every week for the past month and a half and every week, more beets!  Beets are extra good for you but I am running out of ideas....Any suggestions?

Some of  my CSA creations include: carrots and fennel (not good), carrot and celery soup (delish!), cream of broccoli soup (with healthy modifications, delish!), LOTS of salads and fruits and seasoning with lots of dill, parsley and marjoram (I think it's marjoram). Aside from the random vegetable issue, I really love having our produce coming locally. I know everything is in season, and luckily living in Southern California, we have an awesome year round growing season so we always have a great selection and it also forces me to find new ways to cook!

Post-partying points

I realize this post may come a little late as most of those nursing a hangover are well into the "thank God that's over with" phase, but I came across a few tips I thought I'd share for future recovery.

Graduate school has turned me into many things, and a cynic is one of them. I tend to feel as though most people are lying to me, and the ones that aren't lying probably don't know what they're talking about. Imagine my surprise when I found a few nutrition fact based items on the Today Show to help get you over your New Year's Day lack of will power from the night before.

1) Eat before you go out. Even though some places and parties will have some food and what not, you will more than likely be munching on this stuff as you are drinking. Eat a high fat meal before (high fat meals tend to get absorbed more slowly and will therefore delay the absorption of alcohol) you do any drinking.

2) Drink water. Alternating a glass of water in between drinks keeps you hydrated and drinking at a slower pace.

3) Beer before liquor doesn't make you sicker...total myth. It's just that once you are drinking, you will usually let down your inhibitions and may drink hard alcohol or shots, which you normally would not.  The total amount of alcohol is the real factor.

4) If you do get a hangover....eat something with potassium-a banana, eggs for example and drink a sports drink. When you are hungover you are mostly dehydrated and a sports drink may help replace lost electrolytes.

5)Hair of the dog and coffee actually make your hangover last longer since they are both diuretics and will continue the dehydration (and drunken) process. Stick to water, sports drinks or juice, which has fructose and may help you burn off old alcohol more quickly.


6) Men have a higher amount of alcohol dehydrogenase (the enzyme responsible for breaking down alcohol) in their bodies and more water in their bodies than women-regardless of weight, so quit trying to drink your dude under the table ladies, you'll lose every time!!

Happy New Year!

2011, year of the babes

What in the hell happened to 2010??!! I know it's cliche, but I truly have no idea what happened to this year. Oh wait, maybe it was happening whilst I was busy jamming my head full of knowledge while trying to hold down two jobs. Unforntunaltey, when you try to do too many things, you end up doing all of them half-assed. Which was my case this semester. Oh well. You live and learn and then overeat and over imbibe during the holidays and hope you don't get fired and hope you do pass your classes.


So now it's 2011. I'm officially declaring 2011 the year of the baby. Almost everyone I know is getting pregnant or has just had a baby. I mean EVERYONE. It's a little strange to be the only one of your friends who will never be pregnant. Oscar and I decided long ago we are far too selfish and irresponsible (read self-absorbed and stupid) to have kids.Thus far it hasn't really been an issue but suddenly, everyone around us is el preg and we can't even decide what kind of dog to get.It's slightly disconcerting when you realize everyone around you is taking giant leaps into adulthood while you are still mucking around in late adolescence. Don't get me wrong, I'm really very excited for my friends to start having kids. I used to refer to kids as sticky, whiny balls of neediness, but I'm beginning to realize it's all in the parenting.

I've really warmed up to kids quite a  bit. The last few years, especially this year, has forced me to come to terms with the fact that some children can be all right, particularly if they have the right parents. Fortunately I generally tend to surround myself with awesome people, therefore I also tend to be surrounded with awesome kids, even if they do invade my every sense of self.  For example, I adore Oscar's niece and nephew whom I believe have seen me naked over the holidays  more times than I care to count due to the fact they have no sense of privacy. They walked right into the bedroom every time I was changing and just waltzed on into the bathroom not once, not twice, but three times in the same day. I even love them even though his nephew climbed into bed with us every night and snored directly into MY FACE. I also love, love my niece who is the picture of adorable. However I still struggle.  I don't really know how to talk to kids. I tend to treat them like adults. I also tend to forget they don't understand sarcasm. This Christmas, Oscar's niece Kayla came into our room and asked me "Do you like Nino Oscar"? I dead panned replied "No." Kayla:"What? Why don't you like my Nino? I love my Nino?" She was on the verge of tears. Me: "I'm kidding!! I love your Nino! He is so great!" Kayla was  unconvinced and I noticed her eying me suspicously between bouts of Hello Kitty coloring sessions the rest of the night. Do you see what I mean? Sometimes I feel like I am going to break children, or lose them. They are so damned interested in everything! Also, since displays of emotion in general freak me out, I am instantly terrified when kids start to cry. I usually start laughing out of sheer nervousness, which honestly has a pretty good turnaround rate.

Anyway, I'm definitely excited for all my friends who are expecting kids. As if in a mockery to me, NPR aired a great show today on the importance of folic acid for expectant moms. According to the Institute of Medicine, certain requirements for women will increase during pregnancy due to the synthesis of the new fetal tissue as well as maternal tissue. Amongst these increased requirements are kcalories (+10 during the 1st trimester, +340 during the second and +452 during the third), protein & vitamin C but the one that receives the most attention is folic acid. Folic acid needs rise during pregnancy in response to mom's making extra red blood cells as well as the prevention of neural tube defects (NTD). Folic acid is traditionally found in things like spinach, broccoli and lentils but in the 1990s grains began to be enriched with folic acid to thwart the rise of NTD. The RDA for folic acid is 600 micrograms (mcg) for pregnant women. The Institute of Medicine recommends that 400 mcg of the 600 should come from  folate fortified foods or supplements as it is better absorbed, the remaining 200 mcg should come from food and drink. The tolerable upper intake level (UL) is 800-1000 mcg a day. I really liked this table which shows the RDA's as well as foods which contain them.

I won't pretend to understand the ins and outs of a pregnancy, but a little awareness and good nutritional habits will benefit both mother and baby.

Plate size

The average plate size in 1950? 9 inches. Today-12 , and in some cases, even 14 inches. Knowing that we will usually eat more if more is present, and realizing if a plate is 25-35% bigger we will more than likely put more food on it-well you can see where I'm going with this. Portion control is a major issue when it comes to weight control.

Studies have shown that we humans will eat more if we are served food in larger plates and bowls. There was this really cool study that looked at how much soup a person would eat if the experimenters used a bowl which was continually being filled via a tube undetectable to the eater (while they were eating) versus someone who just had soup served in a single portion. The answer was ten times more!! Just goes to show if it's there, we'll usually eat it, unless you are one of those people with self control, and what fun is that??

There are all kinds of diets out there that proclaim the value of eating until you are full by recommending a number of chews per bite, thinking about your fullness level, I think one person had something where he recommends tapping these certain places on your body that cause some sort of cognitive recall. Of course I don't believe in diets, but I have to say there is some merit there. If instead of eating until "our plate is clear" or until we absolutely can't move, how about if we stop to think about that next bite. Do I really need it or am I eating it because it is there? I know I usually answer the latter, because I am a glutton, but if I asked myself if I really wanted more when I am already full, the answer would be no.

I'm not suggesting weight loss is as easy as eating on smaller flat ware but I also believe portions are out of control in this country and if we ate to our stomachs and not to our eyes, I believe at least a part of the battle would be easier.

Activia

One of the things that really irritates me about the food industry (or any industry for that matter) is their constant, blatant attempts to manipulate consumers. Activia has officially made my list of eye rollers starting in one of my food science classes last semester when we discussed how silly this stuff was.

We actually use Activia quite a bit in our hospital. Many physicians recommend it to our patients with digestive health issues. The idea behind Acitiva is that is contains Bifidus Regularis® (Bifidobacterium lactis DN 173 010), apparently Activia's very own probiotic bacteria. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that live in our large intestine (LI) that are associated with gut health. PRE-biotics are basically food for probiotics and are things like fiber and are different than probiotics. Dannon (the makers of Activia) have also claimed on their website that "Activia is shown in several clinical studies to help with slow intestinal transit when eaten every day for two weeks as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle." Anyhoo, the makers of Activia were obviously very convincing in their discovery/engineering of this amazing bifidus regularis (seriously on the name???) since even Jamie Lee freakin' Curits eats this stuff! And she's famous! So this stuff must be great! Jamie Lee Curtis loves it so much she accosts people in public parks demanding they try it for the commericals. 

And now....the truth. 

Any yogurt is going to contain  probiotics but Activia yogurt charges on average 30% more for their yogurt than their competitors. Interstinlgy, in 2008 Acitiva made Dannon a boatload of cash because of it's health claims-$100 million dollars to be exact. A quick comparison of one of my Brown Cow yogurts from my fridge and Activia turns up similar sugar, calories and fat  (gram per gram the differences were pretty much a wash  as Brown Cow's serving size is 170 grams and Acitiva was 113 grams). Also, Brown Cow yogurt contains 4 probiotic bacteria: S. thermophilus, L. Bulgaricus, L. Acidphilus and Bifidus. Activia yogurt contains L. Bulgaricus, S. thermophilus and their Bifidobacterium lactis DN 173 010. One ingredient noticeabley absent from Brown cow yogurt is gelatin. Even kosher geltain (which is made from fish as opposed to cow bones) is not vegetarian and is in Yoplait and Dannon products and poses a problem for us vegetarians. All in all, nutritionally, the yogurts are almost identicall and both contain lots of probiotic bacteria, Brown Cow actually having more. The trick is Dannon gave their own engineered bacteria it's own special name, making it seem like it's somehow different or better. And those clinical studies? I couldn't find them. Also, in order to be valid, clinical studies really need to follow some basic parameters, which-as I mentioned-I couldn't find the studies so I have no way of knowing how valid they were. Lastly, the claims made by Dannon are that people felt better after eating Acitiva who were also following a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. So, um, chances are the balanced diet and healthy lifestyle part could also be responsible for the overall better feeling of the participants but again, I have no way of knowing how they tested any of this.

Apparently I'm not the only one noticing the massive, unfounded claims made by Activia. In 2008, the same year Activia raked in $100 million dollars off the health claims made by their product, a lawsuit was filed against Dannon by the LA Federal Court. They claimed Dannon's claims about their yogurt were in fact NOT founded in sound research, The same research I couldn't find.

Bottom line: yogurts in general contain probiotics NOT just Activia yogurt. If you are vegetarian or have any concerns about hormone treated cows supplying the milk for yogurt, I wouldn't recommend Acitiva. Try a more economic choice for the exact same health benefits.

Coconut water

I love this stuff. We have a farmer's market on campus every Thursday and I always trot myself over to the Peace Pies booth to grab some. It's so refreshing and delicious. I needed the facts.

Coconut water is different that coconut milk. Water can only be found in the young, baby coconuts and is the liquid in the center. Coconut milk is the liquid which comes from an adult coconut's flesh. According to the ADA , one cup of coconut milk has 46 calories, less than .5 grams of fat, is a good source of fiber , magnesium, potassium and vitamin C. One cup also has 252 mg of sodium and 9 grams of carbohydrate.

The content of the electrolytes in coconut water is more than likely the reason it is marketed as a sports drink but with the frequency with which you can find it now, it looks like people are warming up to coconut water for all kinds of reasons.

Don't worry, you don't need to find yourself a baby coconut, drill and hole in the top and stick a straw in there to enjoy coconut water. It's fun, but it does look a little strange to be cruising around with a coconut in your hand. Coconut water is sold in cans, cartons and probably other clever packaging I'm not aware off. Since it's pasteurized, there is no need to worry about food borne illness, but it will go bad after a day or two in the fridge.

Anyone else noticing this stuff popping up more frequently in their neighborhood?

The debate continues....

Amongst my many dorky addictions is talk radio. While I'll admit to having more than a few pop songs on my i-pod for workout music (and I admit I heart Lady Gaga), I hardly find most of the drivel produced by the latest and greatest seventeen year old worth my time. I ask you, what does a kid who hasn't even graduated high school yet really know about unrequited love?

I mostly listen to sports and talk radio and National Public Radio is my favorite source for all things news. I really enjoyed their recent airing of a piece on organic farming which I found very interesting. I didn't have time to listen to the whole thing so I found it online and uploaded it to my i-pod.

Have a listen to the debate on organic food put on by Intelligence Squared. They put on many debates on a myriad of topics and I really like listening to the issues they cover. I find this debate well reasoned and think both sides make good, objective arguments and to my knowledge the information presented seemed to be factual. Did your opinions change after listening?

Ocean Beach Farmer's Market

If you have a farmer's market, I hope it is as awesome as the OB Farmer's Market. Last night I bought our whole dinner there:

freshly caught salmon
a bag of organic mixed greens including kale and Swiss chard
a box of strawberries
pumpkin seeds
lemons
hass avocados
tomatoes

I LOVE fresh tomatoes (I am attempting to grow some as we speak) and fresh produce in general and I love even more contributing to my local economy and farmers-these guys need us people! Food should always be bought and sold this way, in my opinion. Food should be local and fresh-not necessarily organic but hey if that's what you like, go for it. Food travels less distance (making it more nutritious) and is grown (or caught in my salmon's case) locally, making you a super amazing locavore by shopping at a farmer's market.

Check out your local chamber of commerce web page for a list of markets in your area.

Oh and a delish tip, I roasted the pumpkin seeds with olive oil and sea salt for a tasty and healthier alternative to croutons for our salads.

Tasty goodies:




Yummy salads:

20 worst drinks in America

I like the idea behind the book "Eat this, not that!" by David Zinczenko. Apparently Oprah endorses it too, and anyone who makes a doctor out of someone who is not actually a doctor certainly knows what they are talking about! Oprah's totally unmedically based opinion aside, however, I must say I like this guy's approach and there is also a handy-dandy eat this not that I-phone app as well for anyone more tech savvy than me,which is pretty much everyone.

The book doesn't seem to be a diet book as much as a lifestyle change book, which is the only way to see lasting results if you are trying to lose/maintain your weight. Fad diets are no bueno and often leave people feeling frustrated due to the hard work they put into losing weight and then gaining it back-this will happen 99% of the time with fad diets. I was especially impressed with his 20 worst drinks in America bit where he compares popular coffee, soda and energy drinks to their sugar equivalents in desserts. Check the list out to see if your favorite morning beverage may have you eating the equivalent of 9 apple pies from McDonald's!

Organic-that's Greek to me!

Organic. 100% organic. Made with organic ingredients. Cage free. Hormone free. Happy cows. Thanks for further complicating my life, food industry. Just when I finally got a grip on health care reform and now there is whole new slew of food jargon for me to figure out.

Not to worry. Super Nutrition Student is here to save your confusing grocery trip with a break down on the lingo; but before I do, I would like to point out that there has been NO evidence to support the fact that organic foods are any better for us than the stuff grown the old-fashioned way. And by old-fashioned, I mean using genetically modified seeds to grow crops protected by toxic pesticides picked before maturity, then gassed and transported to the grocery store which is usually thosuands of miles away.

"Organic" does not mean better for you. What it does mean is that the farming practices used are within a certain set of standards outlined by the USDA. Amongst other things, the crops cannot be grown on soil that has been treated with pesticides in the last 3 years, water is recycled, crops are rotated, no conventional fertilizers, pesticides, biotechnology or irradiation is used. As stated by the National Organic Standards Board “Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain, and enhance ecological harmony". Animals raised on an organic farm can have no antibiotic residue either. If the animal gets sick and needs them, they must be treated but then the animal is no longer organic. Sound strict? It is. It's also expensive, which is why we end up paying more for organic food at the consumer level. I'll save my advice on which foods you should actually buy organic for the next post on this subject, but suffice to say it's my opinion you don't need everything organic.

So back to those terms.... Now that we've defined what organic means, let's define how the food industry is using the term to grab our grocery dollars.

Organic fruits and vegetables: Grown without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers or sewage sludge and have not been genetically engineered or irradiated.

Organic beef and chicken: animals were not the offspring of cloned animals. They were fed 100% organic feed, never given growth hormones, antibiotics or other drugs and meat was never irradiated.

Organic milk: for the last 12 months, these animals had 100% organic feed and were not given antibiotics or growth hormones.

Organic eggs: hens had 100% organic feed and never had growth hormones or antibiotics.
.
Organic seafood/fish: Ha! doesn't exist. USDA hasn't defined it.

Cage-free eggs: hens were not confined to cages. Doesn't necessarily mean organic and doesn't necessarily mean they had access to the outdoors.

Free-range/free-roaming poultry: had access to outdoors for but who knows for how long. Free range could mean they went outside for 30 seconds.

Cage free poultry: doesn't mean a thing, most chickens are grown indoors but outside of a cage, at least until they get caged up before their beheading.

No hormones administered: means and animal was raised without hormones- not to be confused with hormone FREE-which is illegal-all animals produce their own hormones!

No antibiotics added:animals were raised without antibiotics.

Natural or all-natural: these should contain no artificial ingredients and are minimally processed. This term is almost impossible to define.

Access to outdoors: organic animals are all supposed to have it but the rules on this are pretty vague and many people charge that big organic operations aren't allowing their animals enough time outside.

100% organic:all ingredients are completely organic (except salt and water, which are exempt)

Organic:95% of ingredients are organic

Made with organic ingredients: at least 70% of ingredients are organic

So there yo have it. Muddy organic waters cleared a bit, I hope.

Drowning...

In a 20 page manuscript due tomorrow, finals and group projects. Stay tuned I've been compiling all sorts of neato stuff! Check back!

Juice Plus Supplements=A whole lotta hype

I really love the supplement industry. I mean think about it, where else can you package a product with no requirements or standards for labeling (other than it adhere to the GRAS-generally recognized as safe-principles outlined by the FDA)and sell it at exorbitant prices with no obligation to your consumer that your product ACTUALLY does what it says it will do? I could package and sell a tub of sugar as an energy supplement and be perfectly within my rights as a supplement seller. And boy oh boy do Americans love their supplements. According to the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences , 6 out of 10 Americans report using supplements in some form. This scientific journal-along with dozens of others-acknowledge the tremendous issues of enforcing nutritional claims and quality control within this industry.

But that doesn't stop people from buying them up at crazy high prices. A quick peruse of the GNC website turned up supplements for as much a $100.00!! I think I am in the wrong industry. All this ranting leads me to a particular, and tasty I might add, supplement I came across this weekend. A few of my friends from school and I volunteered for the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure where we came across the "Juice Plus" tent. The very patient (they really handled being quizzed by two Master's of Nutrition students well)and nice ladies were very well informed about their supplements they were selling and were generous enough to even give us a few samples. I have to say they were quite yummy, they tasted like those little gummy fruits snacks and I kept wanting to ask her for more under the pretext of being interested in purchasing some, but I held it together. Instead we began drilling these poor ladies on the effects of Juice Plus and what exactly it is supposed to accomplish.

Juice Plus is a nutritional supplement and it comes in two forms: The option I had sampled was the chewable form and it comes in "fruit" and "vegetable" packs, they recommend you take 4 of each a day. The other option is a capsule form with fruit, veggie and the orchard blend-suggested dosage is 2 of each a day. Juice Plus retails for about $42 dollars a month. To be fair, they do not promote the use of Juice Plus instead of fruits and vegetables, but rather in addition to a healthy diet and exercise.

And guess what? There is just all kinds of scientific evidence to promote the effectiveness of these little gems. Study after double blind study shows that these supplements can prevent disease and boost your immune system. Well where do I sign up??

Not so fast. I began questioning Diane Sears, your local Juice Plus rep, about the product. She informed me the reason Juice Plus was so effective was because "all the water is removed from fruits and vegetables, leaving the antioxidants and fiber and removing the sugar and calories!" I was confused. "Water doesn't contain sugar or calories", I explained to a clearly misinformed Diane. "Yes but they take the sugar and calories out as well though". Oh okay. That makes sense. Especially when I read the ingredients on the label and find dextrose (another word for glucose) and organic cane syrup (also sugar)and only 1 gram of fiber per 4 chews-an apple contains on average 3 grams of fiber. I ask Dian Sears about this. Well the actual aim, I am told, of Juice Plus is to provide a variety of phytochemicals in one serving. I don't think anyone ever told Diane that the effectiveness of antioxidants is not well understood at all. The reason their effectiveness is difficult to duplicate is because they are known to work synergictically, fiber being a huge component part of this effect and as I have mentioned, just about all the fiber has been removed.

Furthermore, the addition of dextrose and can syrup means more sugar than what was actually in the fruit in the first place has been added. An interesting side note here is that fruit sugar is mainly fructose, which is metabolized slower than glucose so has been a preferred form of sugar for diabetics. However, Juice Plus replaces the natural fructose in the fruit with dextrose and a refined cane syrup. Peculiar.

And all that scientific evidence? Well I went through all those studies and while a few were from some pretty good journals, not one study was published by the American Dietetic Association, and all acknowledge the overall benefit from a healthy, balanced diet containing a large variety of fruits, vegetable and whole grains. The studies do show that Juice Plus was effective in improving artery plasticity even after high fat meal but any diet high in fruits and vegetable will do that.

Last comes the cost. At $42 a month for a year, a consumer would spend about $504 dollars a year on these supplements, which don't actually replace anything in your diet, so your not saving that money, this is in addition to your grocery bill. A little more math and I figured out that works out to about $1.40 a day. For that money, you could purchase a half a box of strawberries ($.50)a banana ($.20) and an orange ($.60), eat them all and get at least ten times the benefit of eating those little gummy things or taking a pill you may only absorb half of.

The bottom line

Juice Plus is a multi-level marketing plan designed to make money. I don't doubt the reps have good intentions when they sell their products but don't spend your money on nutritional supplements. It's a complete waste of resources and remember your best bet is ALWAYS to get your nutrients from food first. Supplement only when necessary (pregnancy, menopause, disease states, etc.,). Chances are if you can eat a little gummy chew you are just as capable of buying and eating fruit and vegetables in some form and these purchases are a much smarter and better choice for your money.