Search results: a life in food

Twitter still has its uses.  It’s how I found out about about Chile’s new dietary guidelines.

Even without speaking Spanish, you can see what they do that the US Dietary Guidelines do not.  They emphasize:

• Sustainability (the forbidden word in the 2020-2025 US Guideines)
• Fresh, minimally processed foods–“Avoid products ultra-processed and labeled as “high in” (“ultra-processed is not mentioned in the US Guidelines)
• Home cooking
• Respect for traditional cultural values
• Farmers’ markets
• Recycling

One odd message: “Consume làcteos en todas las etapas de la vida,” which I translate as “Consume dairy foods through all stages of life.”

I’m wondering how that got in there and guessing that Chile must have a powerful dairy industry.

But I hope the new, soon to be appointed, I’m told, 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee will pay attention to Chile’s version.  It has much to teach us.

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UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, during the seventeenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has incribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity—ta da!—baguette bread.

The traditional production process entails weighing and mixing the ingredients, kneading, fermentation, dividing, relaxing, manually shaping, second fermentation, marking the dough with shallow cuts (the baker’s signature) and baking. Unlike other loaves, the baguette is made with only four ingredients (flour, water, salt and leaven and/or yeast) from which each baker obtains a unique product. Baguettes require specific knowledge and techniques…They also generate modes of consumption and social practices that differentiate them from other types of bread…Their crisp crust and chewy texture result in a specific sensory experience.

The New York Times account points out that this designation comes in the midst of “economic upheavals that include rising prices and the widespread closing of the country’s rural bakeries.”

The decision captured more than the craft knowledge of making bread — it also honored a way of life that the thin crusty loaf has long symbolized and that recent economic upheavals have put under threat. UNESCO’s choice came as boulangeries in rural areas are vanishing, hammered by economic forces like the slow hollowing out of France’s villages, and as the economic crisis gripping Europe has pushed the baguette’s price higher than ever.

* The photo is of Salvador Dali’s Bust of a Woman at MOMA.

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As regular readers know, I subscribe to the weekly newsletter, Obesity and Energetics Offerings, and particularly enjoy its section on Headline vs Study.

Here’s a particularly amusing example, which right away triggers my question: Who paid for this?

Headline vs Study

• Headline: Snacking on Almonds Can Help People Reduce Calorie Intake: Study.  
• Press Release: Believe It or ‘Nut’, Almonds Can Help You Cut Calories, Study Finds.  
• Study: “There was no significant difference in total energy intake ([…] p = 0.286) or energy from core ([…] p = 0.860) or discretionary foods ([…] p = 0.158) between [almonds and an isocaloric carbohydrate-rich snack bar].”

Let’s take a look.

Headline: Snacking on Almonds Can Help People Reduce Calorie Intake: Study.

A handful of almonds may be the latest weight loss hack, new research suggests.

A new study from the University of South Australia found that eating 30 to 50 grams of almonds could regulate appetite, leading to less calories consumed each day.

The research, which examined both the hormones that regulate appetite and how almonds could aid in controlling hunger, discovered that the consumption of the nut ultimately led to about 300 fewer calories [sic*]consumed at the following meal.

Press Release: Believe It or ‘Nut’, Almonds Can Help You Cut Calories, Study Finds.

Examining how almonds can affect appetite, researchers found that a snack of 30-50 grams of almonds could help people cut back on the number of kilojoules they consume each day.

Published in the European Journal of Nutrition, the study found that people who consumed almonds — as opposed to an energy-equivalent carbohydrate snack — lowered their energy intake by 300 kilojoules (most of which came from junk food) at the subsequent meal.

Study:  Acute feeding with almonds compared to a carbohydrate-based snack improves appetite-regulating hormones with no effect on self-reported appetite sensations: a randomised controlled trial. Carter, S., Hill, A.M., Buckley, J.D. et al.Eur J Nutr (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-022-03027-2

Results: “…Cholecystokinin, ghrelin, glucagon-like peptide-1, leptin and polypeptide YY AUCs were not different between groups. Self-reported appetite ratings and energy intake following the buffet did not differ between groups.”

Conclusion: “More favourable appetite-regulating hormone responses to AL did not translate into better self-reported appetite or reduced short-term energy consumption. Future studies should investigate implications for longer term appetite regulation.”

Funding: “This work was funded by the Almond Board of California. This funding source had no role in the design of this study or the analysis and interpretation of the data.”

Conflict of interest: “AMC has consulted for Nuts for Life (an initiative of the Australian Tree Nut Industry). S-YT has previously been involved in studies funded by the Californian Walnut Commission. AMC, JDB and S-YT have previously been involved in studies funded by International Nut and Dried Fruit Council.”

*Comment: How could the headline get it so wrong?  The authors write: “Although not significant, the AL group consumed 300 kJ less energy in the meal challenge than the SB group, 270 kJ of which came from discretionary foods, which may be a clinically important benefit in weight management.”  The sic partly explains the problem.  The 300 refers to kilojoules (kj), not calories.  300 kj = 72 calories, not 300.  No wonder the result wasn’t statistically significant.

But the press release and resulting headline explain why the nut industry funds studies like this.  Even when the result shows no difference, the PR people can spin the data to produce the expected favorable result.

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The meat industry is hard at work these days to overcome concerns about the effect of high-meat diets on health and the climate.  Here are two recent examples.

I.  Early Life Beef Consumption Patterns Are Related to Cognitive Outcomes at 1-5 Years of Age: An Exploratory Study.  Victoria C Wilk, Michelle K McGuire, Annie J Roe.  Nutrients.  2022 Oct 26;14(21):4497.   doi: 10.3390/nu14214497.

II. Approximately Half of Total Protein Intake by Adults Must be Animal-Based to Meet Nonprotein, Nutrient-Based Recommendations, With Variations Due to Age and Sex.  Florent Vieux, Didier Rémond, Jean-Louis Peyraud, Nicole Darmon.  The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 152, Issue 11, November 2022, Pages 2514–2525, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxac150

• Background: Shifting towards a more plant-based diet, as promoted in Western countries, will reduce the animal protein contribution to total proteins. Such a reduction may not only impair protein adequacy, but also the adequacy in other nutrients.
• Conclusions: “this study showed that for this French adult population, the lowest animal protein contributions to total proteins that are compatible with nutritional adequacy, affordability, and eating habits vary from 45% to 60%, depending on age and sex, with the highest contributions needed for older populations and young women.”
• Funding: “MS-Nutrition and MoISA received financial support from the French National Interprofessional Association of Livestock and Meat (Interbev)…Interbev had no role in the design, implementation, analysis, or interpretation of the data.”
• Author disclosures: “The authors report no conflicts of interest.”

Comment: These are classic examples of article titles that make me immediately ask: Who paid for this?   Bingo!   They are also classic examples of studies with conclusions that can easily be predicted if you know who funded them.  The authors may believe that they have no conflicts of interest but it sure looks like they do.

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My theme for this week is meat, poultry, and their alternatives, starting today with this:

The study: Unprocessed red meat in the dietary treatment of obesity: a randomized controlled trial of beef supplementation during weight maintenance after successful weight loss.  Faidon Magkos, Sidse I Rasmussen, Mads F Hjorth, Sarah Asping, Maria I Rosenkrans, Anders M Sjödin, Arne V Astrup, Nina R W Geiker.  The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, nqac152, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqac152.  

Objectives: “We sought to investigate the effects of healthy diets that include small or large amounts of red meat on the maintenance of lost weight after successful weight loss….”

I always appreciate the Headline vs. Study sections of the Obesity and Energetics newsletter that arrives in my email once a week.

This one concerns coffee.  It amuses me that researchers are always trying to prove either that coffee is a superfood or that it is poison.

It’s neither, but never mind.  The research is fun to track.

Headline: Coffee Lowers Risk of Heart Problems and Early Death, Study Says, Especially Ground and Caffeinated.

Researchers found “significant reductions” in the risk for coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure and stroke for all three types of coffee. However, only ground and instant coffee with caffeine reduced the risk for an irregular heartbeat called arrhythmia. Decaffeinated coffee did not lower that risk, according to the study published Wednesday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Press-Release: Coffee Drinking Is Associated with Increased Longevity.

Study: Self-Reported Coffee Consumption in the UK Biobank… Again. Causation Not Established.

Drinking two to three cups of coffee a day is linked with a longer lifespan and lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with avoiding coffee, according to research published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the ESC.¹ The findings applied to ground, instant and decaffeinated varieties.

Headline vs Study Déjà Vu: For More Coffee in the UK Biobank Headlines, See Headline vs Study from July 30, 2021.

• Headline: A Daily Dose of Coffee May Protect You from COVID-19.
• Study: Self-Reported Dietary Behaviors and Incident COVID-19 in the UK Biobank.
• Headline: Too Much Coffee Can Cause Your Brain to Shrink, Raise Risk of Dementia by 53 Percent, Study Finds.
• Study: Associations Among High Coffee Consumption, Brain Volume and Risk of Dementia and Stroke in UK Biobank.
• Headline: Your Morning Cup of Coffee May Lower Your Risk of Liver Disease.
• Study: All Coffee Types are Associated with Lower Risk of Adverse Clinical Outcomes in Chronic Liver Disease: A UK Biobank Study.
• Headline: Coffee Drinking Won’t Harm Your Health, New Study Reveals Caffeine Lowers Arrhythmia Risk.
• Study: Coffee Consumption and Incident Tachyarrhythmias with Mendelian Randomization for Caffeine Metabolism in the UK Biobank.

And just for fun, here’s the Washington Post’s adorable interactive comparison of the relative benefits of coffee vs. tea.

My view?  Drink whichever you like, don’t worry, be happy, enjoy!

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TODAY: San Francisco, Omnivore Books on Food, 3885 Cesar Chavez at Church.  Information is here.

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I was happy to see this press release from the USDA: Biden-Harris Administration Invests $80 Million to Improve Nutrition in School.

School districts can use the funds to purchase upgraded equipment that will support:

• Serving healthier meals, including those sourced from local foods;
• Implementing scratch cooking;
• Establishing or expanding school breakfast;
• Storing fresh food;
• Improving food safety.

This adds to what this administration is already doing for school meals.  It’s an impressive list.

What’s next?  Universal school meals, please.

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TODAY: KPFA book talk in Berkeley.  The Back Room, 1984 Bonita Avenue, 7:00 pm.  Ticketing info is here.

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Jim Krieger, who I will see in Seattle on Saturday, sent this one.

The study: Protocol for a multicentre, parallel, randomised, controlled trial on the effect of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers on health, obesity and safety in overweight adults and children: the SWEET project.  Louise Kjølbæk ¹, Yannis Manios ^2 3, Ellen E Blaak ⁴, J Alfredo Martínez ^5 6, Edith J M Feskens ⁷, Graham Finlayson ⁸, Sabina S H Andersen ⁹, Kyriakos Reppas ², Santiago Navas-Carretero ^5 10, Tanja C Adam ¹¹, Charo E Hodgkins ¹², Marta Del Álamo ¹³, Tony Lam ¹⁴, Hariklia Moshoyiannis ¹⁵, Jason C G Halford ^8 16, Joanne A Harrold ¹⁶, Anne Raben ^9 17  BMJ Open.  2022 Oct 12;12(10):e061075.   doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061075.

Purpose: “The aim of this randomised controlled trial (RCT) is to investigate whether prolonged consumption of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers (S&SEs) within a healthy diet will improve weight loss maintenance and obesity-related risk factors and affect safety markers compared with sugar.”

Competing interests: “AR has received honoraria from Unilever and the International Sweeteners Association. CEH’s research centre provides consultancy to, and has received travel funds to present research results from organisations supported by food and drink companies. JCGH and JH have received project funds from the American Beverage Association. TL works for a company, NetUnion sarl, which has no conflict of interest in the study outcome.”

Comment: This is the official announcement of the research and analysis methods for a new clinical trial.  Once the study gets going, it will take a year to get the results.  It looks like the trial will be comparing the effects of artificial sweeteners and sugar on body weight and other markers.  It is sponsored by a company that makes artificial sweeteners and a trade association for the makers and users of artificial sweeteners.  Want to take bets on what the results will look like?

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