Category Archives: Nutrition

Red Meat and Heart Disease: Is Saturated Fat Really to Blame?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 715,000 people in the U.S. suffer from a heart attack each year. High blood sugar, smoking and high blood pressure are all known to contribute to the possibility of heart disease and heart attacks. Eating large quantities of red meat also increases your risk of heart disease because it contains high levels of cholesterol and saturated fat – right? While that may be at least partially true, researchers from Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic say that their new study may have identified the truer culprit. According to their study, the primary component in red meat that influences heart disease risk may be l-carnitine, a nutrient also readily available in dietary supplements. What is l-carnitine, and why are people taking it in supplement form if it increases the risk of developing heart disease.

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Study: Only 3% of Kids’ Meals at Restaurants are “Healthy”

About 97% of kids’ meals sold at restaurants around the country fail to meet the health and nutrition standards defined by the CSPI, or Center for Science in the Public Interest, according to a study by this same organization. The group analyzed almost 3,500 meals from more than 40 chain restaurants around the country, many of which have recently attempted to amp up the nutritional value of their kids’ meals, in coming to their conclusions. Just as a few examples, the CSPI found that 73% of the meals came with french fries, 78% came with a sugar-sweetened beverage, and over 50% were in excess of 600 calories.

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Are You Giving Your Baby Solid Food Too Soon?

Different mothers have different opinions regarding breastfeeding versus formula, and the time at which parents introduce solid food seems to vary as well. In fact, over 40% of moms are giving babies solid food earlier than is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Specifically, this was true of 53% of moms who fed their babies formula, and 24% of moms who breastfed their babies. The AAP recommends that mothers wait until their infants are 6 months old before starting them on solid food. The AAP previously recommended that moms wait until their children reach 4 months of age, but that recommendation has now changed. Breast milk, formula and vitamin supplements are the only foods an infant should consume before reaching 6 months of age.

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CDC: Meals for Toddlers are Too Salty

A new study conducted by the CDC, or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, finds that the majority of packaged meals designed for toddlers exceed the recommended toddler salt intake. Over 1,100 meals were examined in the study. Of these, almost 75% had excessive levels of salt. At worst, the meals had up to 630 mg of sodium. The American Heart Association recommends that children receive no more than 1,500 mg of sodium over the course of an entire day. Excessive sodium intake in children can lead to high blood pressure, just as it does in adults. If a child is already overweight, the risk for developing hypertension will skyrocket with the over-consumption of salt. Limiting the number of processed and packaged foods given to toddlers might be the first step towards preventing high blood pressure in young children.

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High-Fat Dairy Boosts Death Risk in Breast Cancer Patients

Women with breast cancer can increase their chances of survival by avoiding high-fat dairy foods, according to a recent breast cancer dairy study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, California. About 12% of the women with breast cancer in the study who consumed at least one daily serving of high-fat dairy died over the course of the 12-year study. In comparison, less than 1% of the women who only consumed under half a serving of high-fat dairy daily died from their cancer. The researchers believe that this is due to the high levels of estrogen found in high-fat dairy products. Avoiding dairy might be a worthwhile strategy, as the American Cancer Society predicts that 40,000 women will die because of their breast cancer in 2014. Over 200,000 women will receive a breast cancer diagnosis next years as well.

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