General Nutrition

The US Department of Agriculture has approved two new bioengineered apple varieties that use genes from other fruit trees to resist browning when the apples are cut or bruised and exposed to air. Developed by a Canadian biotech company, the Arctic Granny and Arctic Golden apples will begin to reach stores late next year. Organic growers and critics of genetically modified (GMO) foods had opposed the USDAs action, but the agency ruled that the apples are unlikely to pose a plant risk to agriculture.

Dont believe everything you read about coconut oil, the US Food and Drug Administration cautions. The agency issued a warning letter to Carrington Farms, a maker of coconut products, over claims that coconut oil and its chemical constituents treat diseases. Claims included treating gastroenteritis, ringworm, hemorrhoids, ear aches, joint and muscle inflammation, and heart disease. Such disease claims are limited to pharmaceutical products. Moreover, the FDA noted that coconut oil cannot be touted as low in calories or as healthy because that term can be used only for foods containing less than 15% of calories from fat.

Readers of this newsletter know that drinking fruit juice is no substitute for consuming whole fruits. Processing fruit into juice loses most of the fiber, often adds sugar, and damages some of the nutrients that make fruit such a healthy choice. But people who nonetheless like to start their day with a glass of orange juice can take some encouragement from a new study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. It found that juicing may improve how readily certain nutrients can be absorbed by the body.

Young consumers in Generation Z, under age 20, are making health a priority when making food choices-and are willing to pay more for it. A new Nielsen survey of 30,000 people in 60 countries, the Global Health and Wellness Survey, reports that 41% of younger consumers say they would pay a premium for foods they perceive as healthier. That compares to 32% of Millennials (ages 21 to 34) and about 21% of Baby Boomers (about age 50 to mid-60s). People of all ages say overwhelmingly-80%-they are using food choices to try to prevent obesity and chronic diseases. Marketers seeking to appeal to those concerns need to be careful, however, as 63% of those surveyed globally say they are skeptical of food health claims. Consumers in the US and Europe, where such claims are more tightly regulated, were less likely to express skepticism (56% and 51%, respectively) than those in developing countries

Increasing concerns about the health effects of dietary sugar may be helping to put a lid on global consumption. A new study reports that dietary sugar intake is decreasing or stable among most demographic groups, and increasing only in a few subpopulations. In findings published in Nutrition Research Reviews, researchers compared both absolute sugar intake and consumption as a percentage of calories in the US, 10 European countries, Australia and New Zealand. Just over half of those comparisons showed trends toward decreasing sugar consumption. Male Norwegian adults had the greatest decrease, while New Zealand women increased sugar intake the most. Sugar consumption in the US was down among most groups-including male adolescents, a group frequently cited in concerns about high sugar intake.

Making healthy choices at fast-food restaurants remains a challenge, according to new Tufts research, but-contrary to some perceptions-it has not gotten worse. Levels of dangerous trans fats in fries have actually improved, while portion sizes, calories, sodium and saturated fat changed little between 1996 and 2013.

With the domestic blueberry season about to begin, theres no better time to celebrate the bountiful health benefits of Americans second-favorite berry (after strawberries). New research has linked blueberry consumption to better blood pressure, and Tufts scientists continue to explore how blueberries protect the brain. More than three-dozen current clinical trials are testing blueberries possible benefits for vision, gout protection, arterial function, blood sugar and more.

Whole grains or foods made from them contain the entire grain seed-all the parts in their original proportions, including the naturally occurring nutrients. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, if the grain has been cracked, crushed or flaked, a food must retain the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact grain to be called a whole grain. This means that 100% of the original grain-all of the bran, germ and endosperm-must be present to qualify as a whole grain. Refined grains retain only the endosperm portion of the original seed.

Nutrition is not a science of breakthroughs, explains Tufts professor Jeanne Goldberg, PhD, founder and director of the Friedman Schools Nutrition Communication Program, which trains professionals to explain research findings in ways that the public can understand. Nutrition research often moves the needle only a little bit at a time. Its evolution, not revolution, she says.

When it comes to getting advice from doctors on TV, you might be just as well off consulting the fictional Marcus Welby, MD, or Dr. Kildare rather than the real physicians on popular talk shows. A new study published in the journal BMJ analyzed recommendations from 40 randomly selected episodes of each of the two highest-rated medical programs, The Dr. Oz Show and The Doctors. Overall, barely half the 160 recommendations could be supported by scientific evidence.