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In the News:

Preschoolers get their own food pyramid
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has introduced MyPyramid for Preschoolers, a food pyramid that can help parents of young children, particularly picky eaters. "It's loaded with great ideas and suggestions for families so they can help their kids eat a more varied and nutritious diet," an official said. Yahoo!/HealthDay News (12/13)

Alcohol offers benefits, risks to elderly
Moderate alcoholic consumption can benefit healthy older individuals, but there's no "blanket statement," says one registered dietitian. Studies show that an alcoholic drink with meals can improve appetite and the intake of calories and nutrients needed by many elderly, he said. The New York Times (free registration)

Heart Rhythm Risk Seen in Women's Alcohol Drinking
Two Drinks Daily May Hurt Women's Hearts, Researchers Say
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/HeartDiseaseNews/wireStory?id=6377674
Source: Journal of the American Medical Association
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/300/21/2489

Does Calcium Lessen the Symptoms of PMS?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122937831273108391.html

Fruits, veggies slash breast cancer risk: U.S. study
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081215/hl_nm/us_cancer_breast_diet
Source: Journal of Clinical Oncology
http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/abstract/JCO.2008.16.1067v1

Natural-Born Healers? The Top 10 Natural Products
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ColdandFluNews/story?id=6467771&page=1
Source: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
http://nccam.nih.gov/news/camstats.htm

Low-carb diets can affect dieters' cognition skills

Public release date: 11-Dec-2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/tu-ldc121108.php

Tufts study compared women's cognition on low-carb and reduced-calorie diets

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- A new study from the psychology department at Tufts University shows that when dieters eliminate carbohydrates from their meals, they performed more poorly on memory-based tasks than when they reduce calories, but maintain carbohydrates. When carbohydrates were reintroduced, cognition skills returned to normal.

"This study demonstrates that the food you eat can have an immediate impact on cognitive behavior," explains Holly A. Taylor, professor of psychology at Tufts and corresponding author of the study. "The popular low-carb, no-carb diets have the strongest potential for negative impact on thinking and cognition."

Taylor collaborated with Professor Robin Kanarek, former undergraduate Kara Watts and research associate Kristen D'Anci. The study, "Low-carbohydrate weight-loss diets. Effects on cognition and mood,"
appears in the February 2009 edition of the journal "Appetite."

While the brain uses glucose as its primary fuel, it has no way of storing it. Rather, the body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, which is carried to the brain through the blood stream and used immediately by nerve cells for energy. Reduced carbohydrate intake should thus reduce the brain's source of energy. Therefore, researchers hypothesized that diets low in carbohydrates would affect cognitive skills.

Study participants included 19 women ages 22 to 55 who were allowed to select the diet plan they preferred -- either a low-carbohydrate diet or a low-calorie, macronutrient balanced diet recommended by the American Dietetic Association. Nine women chose a low-carbohydrate diet and 10 selected the low-calorie diet.

"Although the study had a modest sample size, the results showed a clear difference in cognitive performance as a function of diet," says Taylor.

The 19 dieters completed five testing sessions that assessed cognitive skills, including attention, long-term and short-term memory, and visual attention, and spatial memory. The first session was held before participants began their diets, the next two sessions occurred during the first week of the diet, which corresponded to the week when low-carb dieters eliminated carbohydrates. The final two sessions occurred in week two and week three of the diets, after carbohydrates had been reintroduced for those on the low-carb diet.

"The data suggest that after a week of severe carbohydrate restriction, memory performance, particularly on difficult tasks, is impaired,"
Taylor explains.

Low-carb dieters showed a gradual decrease on the memory-related tasks compared with the low-calorie dieters. Reaction time for those on the low-carb diet was slower and their visuospatial memory was not as good as those on the low-calorie diet. However, low-carb dieters actually responded better than low-calorie dieters during the attention vigilance task. Researchers note that past studies have shown that diets high in protein or fat can improve a person's attention in the short-term, which is consistent with the results in this study.

Participants were also asked about their hunger levels and mood during each session. The hunger-rating did not vary between participants on a low-carb diet and those on a low-calorie diet. The only mood difference between dieters was confusion, which was higher for low-calorie dieters during the middle of the study.

"Although this study only tracked dieting participants for three weeks, the data suggest that diets can affect more than just weight," says Taylor. "The brain needs glucose for energy and diets low in carbohydrates can be detrimental to learning, memory and thinking."
--
Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD
"Ask the Parkinson Dietitian"  http://www.parkinson.org/ "Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease"
"Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy"
http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/

2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provides science-based guidance to help Americans aged 6 and older improve their health through appropriate physical activity. Developed with health professionals and policymakers in mind, the Guidelines can help you

• Learn about the health benefits of physical activity
• Understand how to do physical activity in a manner that meets the Guidelines
• Understand how to reduce the risks of activity-related injury
• Assist others in participating regularly in physical activity

http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/guidelines/default.aspx

Gout

FROM ADA NUTRITION CARE MANUAL - OVERVIEW:
 
Inflammatory gout is among the oldest known kinds of arthritis, and its link with diet is legendary.  Since ancient times, gout has been associated with overindulgence and gluttony. It was originally considered to be a disease of the affluent and called the "disease of kings and the king of diseases" and the "rich man's disease" due to its association with rich foods and alcohol that were largely unavailable to the poor working classes (Kersley, 1971, Johnson, 2004).

Gout occurs predominantly in men, and approximately 3.4 million men in the United States are affected.  Gout typically occurs in middle-age with a peak incidence in the fifth decade.  However, recent reports suggest that gout is being seen earlier, between the third and fifth decades rather than between the fourth and sixth, as documented in earlier studies.  Gout tends to be rare in women until menopause and usually does not commonly occur until after the age of 60 (Pascual, 2004; Lawrence, 1998; Rosenthal, 1998), but due toincreased longevity and frequent use of thiazide diuretics (a risk factor for gout), its prevalence among elderly women in Western countries has also risen (Terkeltaub, 2001).

Gluten Free Easy

A resource for gluten free products and recipes. 
www.glutenfreeeasy.com/ezine/winter08.html

Women Infant and Children (WIC)

This website is a great general reference for families:  http://www.nal.usda.gov/wicworks/Sharing_Center/gallery/wic_fam4.htm#fa15

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