General Nutrition

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.

Most Americans support new rules requiring calorie counts on chain-restaurant menus and prepared foods in supermarkets, according to an Associated Press-Gfk poll. The long-awaited rules announced by the US Food and Drug Administration have generated opposition from some in the food industry. (See NewsBites, February.) But 56% in the poll supported calorie counts on fast-food menus, 54% at sit-down restaurants, and 52% on prepared grocery foods. Women and college-educated people were more likely to support the rules.

Trends to watch in nutrition-driven consumer choices this year will include growing popularity for seeds and nuts, green tea and ancient grains such as amaranth, quinoa, spelt and freekah, according to a survey of 500 registered dietitians. The survey, conducted for the journal Todays Dietitian, predicted that consumers will eat less red meat and continue to turn away from low-fat diets. Kale and coconut will remain popular based on their perceived health benefits (accurate for kale, less so for coconut), as will healthy choices like Greek yogurt and avocado. The dietitians also predicted consumers will keep trying gluten-free and wheat-free diets to lose weight (rather than out of genuine need, as in celiac-disease patients), despite a lack of evidence supporting such regimens for weight loss, while the so-called Paleo diet will gain in popularity. Also on the rise: misinformation about nutrition, fueled in part by the Internet.