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Economical Healthy Diets (2012): Including Lean Animal Protein Costs More Than Using Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Abstract
Healthy diets are perceived to be expensive due to vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat animal protein. The cost for a 7-day meal plan for an economical version of MyPlate (MP) and a plant-based olive oil (PBOO) were calculated. Servings of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains were determined. MP cost 38.75. Lean animal protein contributed 746.46 more per year while providing fewer servings of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
... Hospitals must balance the logistical and economic constraints associated with feeding large numbers of people every day by respecting conventional supply chain norms of efficiency, standardization, and affordability while ensuring environmental stewardship and social equity. 22 While plant-based food options may be perceived as more expensive, studies have shown that a meal plan focused on simple shelf-stable, plant-based options with olive oil can be significantly less expensive than a meal plan focusing on MyPlate guidelines that include lean animal protein, dairy, and canola oil, 23 with a vegetarian diet potentially resulting in approximately $580 per year in savings. 23,24 Importantly, one hospital system found that the cost of vegetarian meals was roughly half that of meat-based meals. ...
... 22 While plant-based food options may be perceived as more expensive, studies have shown that a meal plan focused on simple shelf-stable, plant-based options with olive oil can be significantly less expensive than a meal plan focusing on MyPlate guidelines that include lean animal protein, dairy, and canola oil, 23 with a vegetarian diet potentially resulting in approximately $580 per year in savings. 23,24 Importantly, one hospital system found that the cost of vegetarian meals was roughly half that of meat-based meals. 25 Paying attention to proper nutrition more generally is fiscally responsible. ...
This commentary on a case suggests why health care organizations have responsibilities to serve food to their patients, guests, and employees that is ethically, nutritionally, culturally, and religiously appropriate. This article also investigates how inclusive, equitable, sustainable food services are key dimensions of health care organizations' civic and stewardship responsibilities to individuals and communities.
... While this critique is most certainly worthy of consideration, many of those trying vegan or vegetarian diets in developed countries may be surprised to find that many staples are in fact less costly than an omnivorous die-and, in many cases, more accessible than a meat-centered lifestyle. A 2015 Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition study found that a plant-based diet which uses olive oil as its source of fat (as opposed to animal protein) and otherwise uses federal MyPlate nutritional guidelines would save the average consumer on a 2000-calorie diet nearly $750 per year (Flynn & Schiff, 2015). Further, the meat-free diet provided more nutritional value for its users through its higher levels of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables (Flynn & Schiff, 2015). ...
... A 2015 Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition study found that a plant-based diet which uses olive oil as its source of fat (as opposed to animal protein) and otherwise uses federal MyPlate nutritional guidelines would save the average consumer on a 2000-calorie diet nearly $750 per year (Flynn & Schiff, 2015). Further, the meat-free diet provided more nutritional value for its users through its higher levels of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables (Flynn & Schiff, 2015). In a similar vein, a study by UK-based Thinkmoney found that UK consumers could save around £600 per year on a meatless diet (Larbi, 2019). ...
This dialogue piece provides scholars of the rhetoric of health and medicine with a close examination of vegan and vegetarian diets/lifestyles through the perspective of several scholars, activists, and/or medical practitioners. Through these conversations, the authors illuminate many key areas of interest and future examination related to vegan and vegetarian diets through the lens of several subtopics including health impact, ethics, cultural influence on diet, gender, medical advice, emerging “meat” technologies, and societal rhetoric about vegans and vegetarians.The dialogue participants provide a discussion on how vegetarian diets—and vegan diets in particular—can progress individual and public human health, liberate non-human animals, improve the environment, and provide a vehicle in which several important social justice movements (for both humans and animals) can take root, all the while recognizing the many reasons reasons people might choose a vegetarian or vegan diet.
... Simply put, diet and physical (in)activity have a huge potential to harm or heal. Cost-effective and low-risk interventions such as vegetarian diets (Albert Schweitzer Stiftung, 2014;Carlson and Frazão, 2014;Flynn and Schiff, 2012) permanently linked to regular PA, sports and exercise, offer a wide range of positive effects on human health. Together, this would be an easily implementable intervention and self-intended involvement in everyday life, and would keep an individual independent of commercial suppliers. ...
... From the perspective of an exploding number of NCDs, as they are becoming increasingly involved in helping patients adopt a healthier lifestyle, physicians are looking for cost-effective interventions that are easy to implement on a daily basis, in order to improve health outcomes. Compared to conventional treatment methods (e.g., drug therapies, bypass surgery and stents) the benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets, to help control or even lower the health related cost of the current food system, demonstrate cost-effective interventions on a low-cost basis (Albert Schweitzer Stiftung, 2014; Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics et al., 2016;Carlson and Frazão, 2014;Esselstyn Jr., 2001;Flynn and Schiff, 2012;Tuso et al., 2015). ...
Technology-supported food development is an important aspect of modern societies. At the same time, there is a strong trend towards natural and whole plant-food diets as practicable tools to be implemented in everyday life. In ancient times, gladiators and prominent philosophers already knew that plant-based diets (vegetarian, vegan) lead to peak performance. This chapter presents data on a highly underestimated body of evidence-based scientific information, still mostly neglected by nutrition science, and provides a more basic but dual approach to food bio-engineering and human development. This comprehensive overview of vegetarian and vegan diets ranges from the myths about meat and early studies into the effect of vegetarian diets on sports, through the flood of studies published on the health-threatening effects of foods from animal sources, to current studies showing the benefits of of predominantly plant-based diets on human health and sports performance, but without claim of completeness.
What does this chapter add?
This chapter reminds of the fact that vegan diets not only supply all nutrients in adequate amounts (except for vitamin B12), but has enabled recreational as well as professional athletes to achieve top performances in their chosen disciplines.
How might this impact daily dietary practice?
The knowledge about the benefits of a vegan diet on mental and physical performance can motivate conventional consumers to change to some kind of vegetarian diet, which would be beneficial, in addition to health, also to the environment, the climate and animal welfare.
... The research into the costs of healthy diets shows that fruits, whole grains, vegetables, and lean meat increase the cost of diets (Monsivais and Drewnowski, 2007;Flynn and Schiff, 2015). Market basket studies show that the food environment can have a considerable impact on the healthier dietary choices of low-income consumers. ...
... Market basket samples do not also adjust for behavioral factors, which, given the fact that food choices are a function of consumer preferences, the food environment, and nutrition literacy, should be relevant for vegan and vegetarian diets (Jetter and Cassady, 2006). However, Flynn and Schiff (2015) investigated the cost of a seven-day meal plan for an economic meat-based diet and a plant-based alternative (each giving 2000 calories). Servings of fruits, whole grains, and vegetables were determined. ...
The move to an environmental-friendly lifestyle is modifying the food manufacturing and its respective supply chain, since the agriculture of crops and livestock to the marketing of new products such as the plant-based meat. From this context, for a diet-behavioral change, one can replace meat (like fish, chicken, pork, goat, cattle) by a vegan diet in its variants of pure vegan or the more popular ovo-lacto-vegan diet. Considering the food industry impacts by this moving, we research a vegan burger recipe optimization that meets meat quality nutrition in order to determine the different raw materials from the harvest and upstream chains to be adopted as recipes of transforming vegetables into vegan burgers for the market consumption. The vegan burger to be considered is made of a blend of beans for proteins, leaves (for vitamins and fiber) and other types of vegetables as roots (carrots, beets, etc.) for carbohydrates, where we aim to maintain the protein, lipids, carbohydrates, fiber, etc., contents to match a beef patty nutrition, at a comparable cost and with a desired and similar taste. In the vegan burger recipe optimization problem, a nonlinear programming (NLP) solution determines the amounts of each vegetable inside the main groups to match the ingredient contents found in a beef patty. A linear (LP) approximation using factors for qualities is also calculated to be compared to the NLP approach, where cuts of linear amounts of qualities replace by the NLP formulas. A comparison between both LP and NLP vegan burger recipe approaches are considered for their applicability in the optimization of the processing plants when integrated to a complete supply chain of harvesting farms, burger producers and centers of distribution and commercialization. A broad discussion on the impacts of veganism by replacing meat with vegetables in the daily diet is given.
... Vegetarianism first appeared during this time. The sanctity of cows and the Hindu belief in nonviolence were also connected to this tradition in India, another important vegetarian hotspot [1,2]. When Darwin's theory of evolution challenged the Church belief that animals had no souls and that their only purpose on Earth was to serve humans, vegetarianism started to gain support again in the late 18 th and early 19 th centuries [3,4]. ...
Vegetarian and vegan diets are becoming increasingly popular as people become more aware of the benefits they offer to human health and the environment. Even though vegetarian diets have been associated with a decreased risk of death and chronic illnesses, followers of these diets might not acquire adequate nutrients, which could limit the benefits to their health. The main nutrients to be concerned about are iron, calcium, vitamin B12, vitamin D, iodine, and selenium. Anyone following a vegetarian or vegan diet needs to take vitamin B12 supplements. To avoid vitamin B12 deficiency, adults should take 50 μg-100 μg of cyanocobalamin orally once a day or twice a week at 2000 μg. Iodine supplements are recommended for pregnant and lactating women, as well as vegetarians and vegans who are unable to consume sea vegetables or iodine-fortified foods. Adults should take 150 μg of iodine supplements every day. Understanding the entire spectrum of effects of a vegetarian diet-not just the nutritional ones-is essential. In addition to providing more reliable data, studies in this area may assist in eliminating all factors that could deter people from adopting a vegetarian diet or negatively impact the quality of life of those who already do so.
... A review conducted by Sterling and Bowen also found that plant-based diets adherence among African Americans reduced risk factors associated with heart disease [30]. Plant-based diets were also found to be more cost-effective compared to other diets (e.g., standard, Mediterranean) [36,37]. In a study conducted by Kahleova et al., adopting a vegan diet (e.g., fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes) compared to a Mediterranean diet resulted in a 19% reduction in food costs [38]. ...
African American women living in public housing carry a heavy burden of cardiovascular disease. Eating a heart-healthy diet is crucial to achieving optimal heart health, yet this health disparity population encounters major barriers to healthy eating. This study explored their perceptions of healthy eating and cardiovascular disease. Participants were recruited from public housing in a mid-sized city. Six 2-h focus groups with 32 women were conducted. Focus groups were analyzed using deductive coding. The major focus group findings focused on a limited access to affordable healthy foods. Participants also discussed the use of cost control measures to maximize household food budgets to access healthy foods and the ability to eat healthily. Our findings indicate that food insecurity persists for the populations most at-risk for cardiovascular disease. Plant-based diets may offer a culturally sensitive, innovative, and sustainable approach to reducing heart health risks, alleviating food insecurity, and promoting optimal health outcomes.
... At the center, cheaper cuts of meat are provided daily, despite animal-based proteins being more expensive than nonanimal protein sources. A reduction in animal protein in some/or all of the meals has the potential to reduce this proportion further (Flynn & Schiff, 2015). Other studies suggest that improvements in dietary quality are possible within a constrained budget, by substituting refined grains with whole grains and low saturated/ trans fat substitutes (Koh et al., 2016). ...
Individuals experiencing socio‐economic disadvantage face higher rates of food insecurity and health disparities. This study explored the perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge of individuals providing nutrition services, and users of these services, to identify nutrition needs and inform potential strategies for addressing diet‐related health inequities. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted utilizing a phenomenological approach to explore lived experiences, beliefs, and perceptions influencing nutrition‐related health. Key themes were derived by consensus among researchers using inductive thematic analysis. Twenty‐two interviews were completed, which identified five themes. “Budgetary Constraints” was found to have a pervasive impact on all nutrition‐related services. Secondly, diverse “Individual Clientele” was found to influence three overlapping themes pertaining to opportunities and limitations for “Knowledge and Skills,” “Services, Resources and Staff,” and the “Systems and Food Environment.” Budgets directly impact the availability of services, resources, food provision, sustainability, and educational opportunities for staff, volunteers and service users. A live‐in environment offers a platform to implement and evaluate targeted interventions to inform and enhance nutrition‐related support services. Future interventions should address individual and systemic influences, prioritizing client‐informed, cost‐effective, sustainable capacity building for clients and staff. Recommendations for systemic and environmental influences include formalized staff training, peer‐mentoring systems, and increasing client autonomy. This has the potential to improve food security for residents following their transition into independent living. Charitable system limitations underscore the need for broader systemic change, informed policymaking, and government intervention to effectively address the root causes of food insecurity and diet‐related health inequities.
... From an economic and social perspective, this approach is also considered a highly effective tool for reducing the monetary burden at both individual and public health levels [129][130][131]. Compared with the conventional treatment methods (e.g., medication and surgeries), adhering to a healthy diet (particularly whole food plantbased) combined with regular PA, sports & exercise (especially at a moderate intensity) not only provides a wide variety of direct and indirect health benefits, but also represents a low-cost and low-risk lifestyle intervention to manage a large number of diseases [32,34,[132][133][134][135]. ...
Healthy lifestyle is the major indicator of individual and public health especially in target populations (e.g., during emerging adulthood). Evidence indicates that unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are strongly associated with the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases. The dual approach of sustainable health (i.e., physical exercise tied to a healthy diet) is an effective lifestyle strategy to control and manage health-related disorders, including overweight/obesity. Based on the evidence on plant-based diets regarding health and considering the growing prevalence of vegans and vegetarians worldwide, limited data exist on the health-related behaviors of those who follow plant-based vs. mixed diets in young adulthood. This multidisciplinary study is the first to examine the association between diet type (mixed, vegetarian, and vegan diets) and various health-related behaviors (primarily physical activity, sport, & exercise) among college/university students and lecturers/academic staff in Austria nationwide. Following a cross-sectional study design and using online questionnaires, 4510 tertiary students and 1043 lecturers/academic staff provided data on sociodemographic characteristics, dietary patterns, physical exercise habits, and other lifestyle behaviors (sleep, alcohol intake, smoking, etc.) along with information on health status and quality of life. While the data will be analyzed based on differentiated sociodemographic and health-related categories, the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle behaviors will also be evaluated. As a study protocol, this article represents comprehensive details of the design, purposes, and associated analytical measures of the present study within the tertiary educational context.
... Health-conscious consumers of plant-based foods might also benefit from messaging about global warming, but because they are primarily motivated by health, communicators might want to target substitution of red meat (e.g., beef) with leaner meats (e.g., chicken), which comes with health benefits (Lucas & Horton, 2019), and are less carbon-intensive (e.g., substitution-focused approach; de Boer & Aiking, 2019; Lacroix & Gifford, 2020). The small group of Uninterested consumers are less willing to change their diet, but they might benefit from interventions highlighting the health and financial benefits of plant-rich diets (Flynn & Schiff, 2015;Willett et al., 2019). Overall, consumers would likely benefit from interventions that increase capability (e.g., recipes tailored to taste preferences and time constraints), opportunity (e.g., plant-based menu defaults or offering more plant-based options; Campbell-Arvai et al., 2014;Hansen et al., 2021;Mertens et al., 2022;Parkin & Attwood, 2022), and motivation (e.g., use of appetizing language, social norm; The Behavioural Insights Team, 2020) to eat plantbased foods (i.e., the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation model of Behavior; Michie et al., 2011). ...
Adoption of plant-based diets is one of the most impactful ways individuals can reduce carbon emissions, helping to mitigate climate change. People attach different degrees of importance to the attributes of their food, such as taste, environmental impact, and health considerations. Identifying key motivators and barriers to adopting plant-based diets, and how these differ among different groups, can inform campaigns to increase plant-based diets. Here, we identify three consumer groups using a nationally representative survey in the United States: Motivated, Health-conscious, and Uninterested. The groups significantly differ in their willingness to incorporate plant-based foods in their diet. Members of the Motivated group are strongly motivated by health, environmental, and ethical considerations, members of the Health-conscious are primarily motivated by health, and members of the Uninterested are not motivated to eat plant-based foods. We provide a four-question survey that can be used to identify these groups and empirically evaluate communication campaigns.
... There is also a common misconception that plant-based diets are more costly than animal-based ones, so proper education will be needed. A study published in the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition showed that a vegetarian diet could result in approximately $750 per year in savings [168], and a 2018 findings from the European Association for the Study of Obesity similarly found that vegetarian diets were significantly cheaper than both Mediterranean and standard US diets [169]. Therefore, education will be needed that addresses budget concerns in a way that adequately meets nutrition requirements. ...
Plant-based diets are associated with reduced risks of various chronic diseases in the general population. However, it is unclear how these benefits translate to Blacks living in the United States, who are disproportionately burdened with heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and chronic kidney disease. The objectives of this study were to: (1) review the general evidence of plant-based diets and health outcomes; (2) discuss how this evidence translates to Blacks following a plant-based diet; and (3) provide recommendations and considerations for future studies in this area. Interestingly, although the evidence supporting plant-based diets in the general population is robust, little research has been done on Blacks specifically. However, the available data suggests that following a plant-based diet may reduce the risk of heart disease and possibly cancer in this population. More research is needed on cardiovascular disease risk factors, cancer subtypes, and other chronic diseases. Further, attention must be given to the unique individual, familial, communal, and environmental needs that Blacks who follow plant-based diets may have. Interventions must be culturally appropriate in order to achieve long-term success, and providing low-cost, flavorful, and nutritious options will be important.
... Despite the fact prior research has demonstrated that the cost of a 7-day, plant-based olive oil diet was cheaper than an economical version of the MyPlate diet ($38.75 versus $53.11 respectively) (Flynn & Schiff, 2015), income differences would impact how easy or difficult it would be for individuals to afford healthier foods. For example, one report indicated that lower income families would have to devote about 43-70% of their food budget to fruits and vegetables (Cassady, Jetter, & Culp, 2007). ...
Plant-based diets are associated with numerous health benefits, but there has been limited work that focuses on diverse populations. The purpose of this study was to determine if encouraging a sample of African American adults, located in the Southern United States, to dine out at local vegan soul food restaurants helped to decrease perceived barriers and increase perceived benefits and dietary acceptability of a plant-based diet more so than being asked to prepare all meals at home. Thirty African American participants (mean age = 42.8 ± 12.2 years and mean BMI = 36.9 ± 9.0 kg/m2) were asked to adhere to a vegan diet for 3 weeks and were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions: (1) a Standard group that was asked to prepare all meals at home, or (2) a Restaurant group that was asked to eat out a few times a week at local vegan soul food restaurants in addition to preparing meals at home. The results indicated that in just 3 weeks there were significant reductions in several perceived barriers and increases in some perceived benefits and aspects of dietary acceptability in both groups. Additionally, weight loss within each group was significant (Standard group: −1.6 [−4.4 to −0.9] kg, P < 0.001; Restaurant group: −1.9 [−3.1 to −0.1] kg, P < 0.01), but there were no significant between-group differences (P = 0.72). Future work should continue to focus on providing culturally-relevant vegan restaurant options, identify easy ways to shop for and prepare plant-based diets during an intervention, and examine potential health benefits that may result from eating more plant-based foods.
... The growth in interest in plant-based meals is also supported by research that shows that eating a plant-based diet can be friendly for the wallet, too. A study comparing a government-recommended meal plan containing meat with comparable plant-based meal plans found that the plant-based diets saved an average of $14.36 per week, amounting to roughly $750 less spent on food annually (Flynn and Schiff, 2012). The plant-based diets saw lower costs, even when consumers splurged on "luxury" goods, such as olive oil rather than canola oil, and contained significantly more servings of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. ...
... The program showed that for food pantry clients, a 6-week version of the program improved food security and increased vegetables and fruits consumed for clients; in addition, it lowered overall food costs and body weight [2]. A comparison of a 7-day meal plan of the diet to the most economical meal plan of the USDA (2012) showed the olive oil diet costs $14.36 less per week or $746.46 less per year per individual [3]. As the recipes are easy, healthful, and economical, it was thought that a cooking program for medical students might provide practical nutrition information and may improve their eating behavior. ...
Diet can be used to treat chronic diseases, yet nutrition education is not sufficiently included in most medical school curriculum. Providing practical nutrition information that could lead to improvements in clinical measures could improve patient outcomes and physician clinical skills; it might also improve the diet and eating behavior of the medical student. This study used a 4-week cooking program of plant-based recipes that included extra virgin olive oil to provide medical students with practical cooking skills and nutrition education. The results indicate that the program can improve both the diet and eating behavior of the student and their nutrition knowledge.
Background
Although national food guides are designed, ostensibly, to translate scientific evidence with respect to food, dietary patterns, and health, their development has increasingly become a corporate/political process as well as scientific one; often with corporate/political influences overriding science. Our aim was to construct an unbiased, sustainable, evidence-informed Universal Food Guide to serve as a template for countries to develop their unique guides, thereby, provide a valid resource for health professionals, health authorities, and the public.
Methods
To address our aim, we conducted an integrative review of multiple evidence-informed sources (e.g., established databases, evidence syntheses, scholarly treatises, and policy documents) related to four areas: 1. Food guides’ utility and conflicts of interest; 2. The evidence-based healthiest diet; 3. Constituents of the Universal Food Guide template; and 4. Implications for population health; regulation/governance; environment/climate/planetary health; and ethics.
Results
The eating pattern that is healthiest for humans (i.e., most natural, and associated with maximal health across the life cycle; reduced non-communicable disease (NCD) risk; and minimal end-of-life illness) is whole food, low fat, plant-based, especially vegan, with the absence of ultra-processed food. Disparities in national food guide recommendations can be explained by factors other than science, specifically, corporate/political interests reflected in heavily government-subsidized, animal-sourced products; and trends toward dominance of daily consumption of processed/ultra-processed foods. Both trends have well-documented adverse consequences, i.e., NCDs and endangered environmental/planetary health. Commitment to an evidence-informed plant-based eating pattern, particularly vegan, will reduce risks/manifestations of NCDs; inform healthy food and nutrition policy regulation/governance; support sustainable environment/climate and planetary health; and is ethical with respect to ‘best’ evidence-based practice, and human and animal welfare.
Conclusion
The Universal Food Guide that serves as a template for national food guides is both urgent and timely given the well-documented health-harming influences that corporate stakeholders/politicians and advisory committees with conflicts of interest, exert on national food guides. Such influence contributes to the largely-preventable NCDs and environmental issues. Policy makers, health professionals, and the public need unbiased, scientific evidence as informed by the Universal Food Guide, to inform their recommendations and choices.
Modern food systems, but especially animal farming, are found to be the leading driver of global climate change, accounting for 30% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Simultaneously, diets high in animal proteins cause serious health issues worldwide, including premature death, and will force health insurance companies to face significantly increasing costs. Therefore, an urgent transformation towards sustainable dietary choices is required by increasing plant-based diets while decreasing animal proteins. This will create environmental, social, and economic value. By applying value orientation and nudging theory, this research proposes (1) a positive impact of social norms on sustainable behaviour, (2) which is increased by self-transcendence values. These hypotheses were analysed using ordered logit models based on survey data obtained from users of a recipe website. Findings suggest that although a self-transcendence value orientation enhances sustainable dietary choices, social norm nudges are ineffective.
To conduct their work, Human-Animal Studies scholars, practitioners, and activists need to understand how different nations treat animals. Although extant cross-national measures of the treatment of animals are helpful, they are quantitatively unsophisticated, narrow in focus, and nontransparent. This paper offers a sounder methodology for measuring how nations treat animals. Using polychoric factor analysis of nine indicators that capture the treatment of animals in 154 nations, this study creates three new Treatment-of-Animals measures: Political-Commitment, Animal-Use, and a Composite-Score (the average between the previous two measures). A construct validity test demonstrates that all three measures are valid. The study then reports how different nations and regions fare on each measure and discusses important trends that these outcomes reveal. The paper concludes by explaining how scholars, practitioners, and activists will benefit from these new Treatment-of-Animals variables, and it confronts some limitations with these measures.
Why should we refrain from doing things that, taken collectively, are environmentally destructive, if our individual acts seem almost certain to make no difference? According to the expected consequences approach, we should refrain from doing these things because our individual acts have small risks of causing great harm, which outweigh the expected benefits of performing them. Several authors have argued convincingly that this provides a plausible account of our moral reasons to do things like vote for policies that will reduce our countries’ greenhouse gas emissions, adopt plant-based diets, and otherwise reduce our individual emissions. But this approach has recently been challenged by authors like Bernward Gesang and Julia Nefsky. Gesang contends that it may be genuinely impossible for our individual emissions to make a morally relevant difference. Nefsky argues more generally that the expected consequences approach cannot adequately explain our reasons not to do things if there is no precise fact of the matter about whether their outcomes are harmful.
In the following chapter, author Howard Nye defends the expected consequences approach against these objections. Nye contends that Gesang has shown at most that our emissions could have metaphysically indeterministic effects that lack precise objective chances. He argues, moreover, that the expected consequences approach can draw upon existing extensions to cases of indeterminism and imprecise probabilities to deliver the result that we have the same moral reasons to reduce our emissions in Gesang’s scenario as in deterministic scenarios. Nye also shows how the expected consequences approach can draw upon these extensions to handle Nefsky’s concern about the absence of precise facts concerning whether the outcomes of certain acts are harmful. The author concludes that the expected consequences approach provides a fully adequate account of our moral reasons to take both political and personal action to reduce our ecological footprints.
Educational institutions play an instrumental role in social and political change, and are responsible for the environmental and social ethics of their institutional practices. The essays in this volume critically examine scholarly research practices in the age of the Anthropocene, and ask what accountability educators and researchers have in ‘righting’ their relationship to the environment. The volume further calls attention to the geographical, financial, legal and political barriers that might limit scholarly dialogue by excluding researchers from participating in traditional modes of scholarly conversation.
As such, Right Research is a bold invitation to the academic community to rigorous self-reflection on what their research looks like, how it is conducted, and how it might be developed so as to increase accessibility and sustainability, and decrease carbon footprint. The volume follows a three-part structure that bridges conceptual and practical concerns: the first section challenges our assumptions about how sustainability is defined, measured and practiced; the second section showcases artist-researchers whose work engages with the impact of humans on our environment; while the third section investigates how academic spaces can model eco-conscious behaviour.
This timely volume responds to an increased demand for environmentally sustainable research, and is outstanding not only in its interdisciplinarity, but its embrace of non-traditional formats, spanning academic articles, creative acts, personal reflections and dialogues. Right Research will be a valuable resource for educators and researchers interested in developing and hybridizing their scholarly communication formats in the face of the current climate crisis.
Food insecurity has not been assessed in medical students. This pilot study assessed food insecurity in medical students and used a cooking program of plant-based recipes that included olive oil to see if food security could be improved by program participation. Fifty-four students completed the 16 week program. At baseline, 37% reported food insecurity (mean score 2.6 ± 1.6), with an improvement at the two month follow-up (mean score 1.7 ± 1.9; p = .02). Identifying medical students who are food insecure early in medical school and providing programs to decrease food insecurity may help to improve the overall well-being of medical students.
Diet-related diseases are the primary contributor to morbidity and mortality. The risk for these diseases can be reduced with a whole-food plant-based (WFPB) diet, but most people are never counseled on this dietary pattern. An experiential education program was designed and conducted in which sample of 30 nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and physicians learned about and followed a WFPB diet for 3 weeks. The objective was for the health care providers to increase their knowledge and acceptance of WFPB diets and increase their likelihood of counseling patients on this dietary pattern. Participants completed preintervention and postintervention questionnaires assessing dietary intake, knowledge, weight, mood, energy, benefits, barriers, self-efficacy, and likelihood of continuing to follow, or counsel patients about a WFPB diet. Participants decreased intake of animal-derived foods, increased intake of WFPB foods, had improvements in mood and energy, and lost weight. Perceived barriers to following and counseling about a WFPB diet declined and self-efficacy improved. Participants were likely to continue a WFPB diet and discuss the diet with their patients. The three-week intervention changed providers' knowledge, skills, and attitudes about WFPB diets. If nurse practitioners and other providers accept WFPB diets, more patients may be educated on this dietary pattern, helping to reduce the burden of diet-related chronic diseases.
Technology-supported food development is an important aspect of modern societies. At the same time, there is a strong trend towards natural and whole plant-food diets as practicable tools to be implemented in everyday life. In ancient times, gladiators and prominent philosophers already knew that plant-based diets (vegetarian, vegan) lead to peak performance. This chapter presents data on a highly underestimated body of evidence-based scientific information, still mostly neglected by nutrition science, and provides a more basic but dual approach to food bio-engineering and human development. This comprehensive overview of vegetarian and vegan diets ranges from the myths about meat and early studies into the effect of vegetarian diets on sports, through the flood of studies published on the health-threatening effects of foods from animal sources, to current studies showing the benefits of of predominantly plant-based diets on human health and sports performance, but without claim of completeness.
What does this chapter add?
This chapter reminds of the fact that vegan diets not only supply all nutrients in adequate amounts (except for vitamin B12), but has enabled recreational as well as professional athletes to achieve top performances in their chosen disciplines.
How might this impact daily dietary practice?
The knowledge about the benefits of a vegan diet on mental and physical performance can motivate conventional consumers to change to some kind of vegetarian diet, which would be beneficial, in addition to health, also to the environment, the climate and animal welfare.
To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of prices of healthier versus less healthy foods/diet patterns while accounting for key sources of heterogeneity.
MEDLINE (2000-2011), supplemented with expert consultations and hand reviews of reference lists and related citations.
Studies reviewed independently and in duplicate were included if reporting mean retail price of foods or diet patterns stratified by healthfulness. We extracted, in duplicate, mean prices and their uncertainties of healthier and less healthy foods/diet patterns and rated the intensity of health differences for each comparison (range 1-10). Prices were adjusted for inflation and the World Bank purchasing power parity, and standardised to the international dollar (defined as US0.29/serving (95% CI 0.40) and 0.42 to 0.03), dairy (-0.12) and fats/oils (0.11, p=0.64). Comparing extremes (top vs bottom quantile) of food-based diet patterns, healthier diets cost 1.01 to 1.54/2000 kcal (1.94) more. Comparing nutrient-based patterns, price per day was not significantly different (top vs bottom quantile: 1.56 (2.51) more. Adjustment for intensity of differences in healthfulness yielded similar results.
This meta-analysis provides the best evidence until today of price differences of healthier vs less healthy foods/diet patterns, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for reducing financial barriers to healthy eating.
Red meat consumption has been associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases. However, its relationship with mortality remains uncertain.
We prospectively observed 37 698 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2008) and 83 644 women from the Nurses' Health Study (1980-2008) who were free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer at baseline. Diet was assessed by validated food frequency questionnaires and updated every 4 years.
We documented 23 926 deaths (including 5910 CVD and 9464 cancer deaths) during 2.96 million person-years of follow-up. After multivariate adjustment for major lifestyle and dietary risk factors, the pooled hazard ratio (HR) (95% CI) of total mortality for a 1-serving-per-day increase was 1.13 (1.07-1.20) for unprocessed red meat and 1.20 (1.15-1.24) for processed red meat. The corresponding HRs (95% CIs) were 1.18 (1.13-1.23) and 1.21 (1.13-1.31) for CVD mortality and 1.10 (1.06-1.14) and 1.16 (1.09-1.23) for cancer mortality. We estimated that substitutions of 1 serving per day of other foods (including fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy, and whole grains) for 1 serving per day of red meat were associated with a 7% to 19% lower mortality risk. We also estimated that 9.3% of deaths in men and 7.6% in women in these cohorts could be prevented at the end of follow-up if all the individuals consumed fewer than 0.5 servings per day (approximately 42 g/d) of red meat.
Red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of total, CVD, and cancer mortality. Substitution of other healthy protein sources for red meat is associated with a lower mortality risk.
The first of a two-part review of the recent and classical literature reveals that loss of nutrients in fresh products during storage and cooking may be more substantial than commonly perceived. Depending on the commodity, freezing and canning processes may preserve nutrient value. The initial thermal treatment of processed products can cause loss of water-soluble and oxygen-labile nutrients such as vitamin C and the B vitamins. However, these nutrients are relatively stable during subsequent canned storage owing to the lack of oxygen. Frozen products lose fewer nutrients initially because of the short heating time in blanching, but they lose more nutrients during storage owing to oxidation. Phenolic compounds are also water-soluble and oxygen-labile, but changes during processing, storage and cooking appear to be highly variable by commodity. Further studies would facilitate the understanding of the changes in these phytochemicals. Changes in moisture content during storage, cooking and processing can misrepresent changes in nutrient content. These findings indicate that exclusive recommendations of fresh produce ignore the nutrient benefits of canned and frozen products. Nutritional comparison would be facilitated if future research would express nutrient data on a dry weight basis to account for changes in moisture. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry
To investigate whether intake of different types of meat is associated with circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) and risk of type 2 diabetes in a prospective cohort study.
Our analysis included 4,366 Dutch participants who did not have diabetes at baseline. During a median follow-up period of 12.4 years, 456 diabetes cases were confirmed. Intake of red meat, processed meat, and poultry was derived from a food frequency questionnaire, and their association with serum high-sensitivity CRP was examined cross-sectionally using linear regression models. Their association with risk of type 2 diabetes was examined using multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, including age, sex, family history of diabetes, and lifestyle and dietary factors.
An increment of 50 g of processed meat was associated with increased CRP concentration (β(processed meat) = 0.12; P = 0.01), whereas intake of red meat and poultry was not. When comparing the highest to the lowest category of meat intake with respect to diabetes incidence, the adjusted relative risks were as follows: for red meat (1.42 [95% CI 1.06-1.91]), for processed meat (1.87 [1.26-2.78]), and for poultry (0.95 [0.74-1.22]). Additional analysis showed that the associations were not affected appreciably after inclusion of CRP into the model. After adjustment for BMI, however, the association for red meat attenuated to 1.18 (0.88-1.59).
Intake of processed meat is associated with higher risk of type 2 diabetes. It appears unlikely that CRP mediates this association.
Data on associations between dietary intake of macronutrients and body composition in the general population are sparse. This population-based, cross-sectional study of 4478 middle-aged (47-49 y) and elderly (71-74 y) men and women from the Hordaland Health Study in western Norway was conducted using a validated FFQ and measurements by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The relation between macronutrient intake [percentage of total energy intake (E%)] and percent body fat was investigated in the total population and in a subgroup with intermediate BMI and stable weight (BMI within the 25th-75th percentile and weight change <5% during the last 6 y; n = 975). In the total population, protein intake (E%) was associated with higher percent body fat (partial r = 0.11; P < 0.001) in multivariate linear regression analysis. In the subgroup with intermediate BMI and stable weight, there was no association between protein intake (E%) and percent body fat. Fat intake (E%) was positively associated (partial r = 0.07) whereas carbohydrate intake (E%) was inversely associated (partial r = -0.07) with percent body fat (P = 0.042 for both) in the subgroup with intermediate BMI and stable weight. Both in the total population and in the stable weight group, physical activity was inversely related to adiposity (partial r = -0.15 and -0.12, respectively; P < 0.001). Our results may explain some of the conflicting data on the effects of macronutrients in different populations and suggest the potential importance of protein intake as a factor in obesity.
Traditional diets that include moderate to high intakes of extra virgin olive oil have been related to a decrease in breast cancer risk. We hypothesized that an olive oil-enriched diet would lead to greater weight loss and acceptance, compared with a standard diet, in women previously diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.
Participants consumed a National Cancer Institute (NCI) diet (total fat > 15% and < 30%) and a plant-based olive oil diet (PBOO; > or = 3 tablespoons of olive oil/day) for 8 weeks, each with random assignment to the order. We established a weight loss goal of at least 5% of baseline weight. After completion of the two diet trials, each participant self-selected one of the diets for an additional 6 months of follow-up for weight management. Body measures were done before and after each diet and after follow-up; fasting blood samples were collected after each diet and after follow-up.
Forty-four overweight women started and 28 completed the 44-week protocol. Twelve (80%) of the 15 women who started with the PBOO diet achieved a weight loss of > or = 5% compared to 4 (31%) of the 13 who started with the NCI diet (p < 0.01). Nineteen of the 22 women eligible for follow-up chose the PBOO diet, and all completed the study. Of the 3 women who chose the NCI diet for follow-up, 1 completed the study. The PBOO diet resulted in lower triglycerides (NCI 105 +/- 46 mg/dL, PBOO 96 +/- 37 mg/dL, p = 0.06) and higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (NCI 64 +/- 13 mg/dL, PBOO 68 +/- 12 mg/dL, p = 0.001).
An olive oil-enriched diet brought about greater weight loss than a lower-fat diet in an 8-week comparison. Moreover, these women chose, overwhelmingly, the olive oil-enriched diet for 6 months of follow-up. An olive oil-enriched diet may be more efficacious for weight loss in breast cancer survivors than a standard lower-fat diet.
Many Americans do not consume the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. Almost half of Americans think eating more fruits and vegetables would make their diets healthier, so why don't they? One argument is that fruits and vegetables are expensive, especially when purchased fresh. According to an ERS study, a consumer can meet the recommendation of three servings of fruits and four servings of vegetables daily for 64 cents.
Dietary protein increases urinary calcium losses and has been associated with higher rates of hip fracture in cross-cultural studies. However, the relation between protein and risk of osteoporotic bone fractures among individuals has not been examined in detail. In this prospective study, usual dietary intake was measured in 1980 in a cohort of 85,900 women, aged 35-59 years, who were participants in the Nurses' Health Study. A mailed food frequency questionnaire was used and incident hip (n = 234) and distal forearm (n = 1,628) fractures were identified by self-report during the following 12 years. Information on other factors related to osteoporosis, including obesity, use of postmenopausal estrogen, smoking, and physical activity, was collected on biennial questionnaires. Dietary measures were updated in 1984 and 1986. Protein was associated with an increased risk of forearm fracture (relative risk (RR) = 1.22, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 1.04-1.43, p for trend = 0.01) for women who consumed more than 95 g per day compared with those who consumed less than 68 g per day. A similar increase in risk was observed for animal protein, but no association was found for consumption of vegetable protein. Women who consumed five or more servings of red meat per week also had a significantly increased risk of forearm fracture (RR = 1.23, 95% Cl 1.01-1.50) compared with women who ate red meat less than once per week. Recall of teenage diet did not reveal any increased risk of forearm fracture for women with higher consumption of animal protein or red meat during this earlier period of life. No association was observed between adult protein intake and the incidence of hip fractures, though power to assess this association was low.
A research project on comparative international studies of osteoporosis using isotope techniques was organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with the participation of 12 countries (Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Hungary, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, and the United Kingdom). Participating centers in 11 countries (all but the UK) made measurements and collected data on men and women aged 15 to 49 years. In addition to studies of bone mineral density (BMD) at the femoral neck and lumbar spine using DEXA, anthropometric, lifestyle, and nutritional data were also collected. The results of the nutritional studies are reviewed in this paper. Overall, about 8% of the observed variability in spine BMD could be attributed to nutritional factors in men and women; in men, no such relationship could be determined. No single nutritional component (not even calcium) stood out as being of particular importance across all participating centers.
Many people, especially low-income consumers, do not successfully follow dietary recommendations to eat more whole grains and less fat and added sugar. The food environment may have a significant impact on the choice by low-income consumers to eat healthier foods, as both the availability and price of healthier food items may limit their ability to eat a healthier diet. We investigated the cost and availability of a standard market basket of foods, and a healthier basket that included low-fat meat and dairy and whole grain products.
Market-basket surveys were conducted in 25 stores in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Stores were selected from neighborhoods that were varied by income and surveyed three times from September 2003 to June 2004. The average cost of a standard market basket (based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Thrifty Food Plan [TFP]) and a healthier market basket was calculated from these prices and compared using a standard t-test to determine if they were significantly different from each other. The analysis was conducted in 2005.
In neighborhoods served by smaller grocery stores, access to whole-grain products, low-fat cheeses, and ground meat with <10% fat is limited. Among all items that were unavailable, 64% were in small grocery stores. For the 2-week shopping list, the average TFP market-basket cost was 230. The average cost of the healthier market basket was more expensive by 2410 a year.
The lack of availability in small grocery stores located in low-income neighborhoods, and the higher cost of the healthier market basket may be a deterrent to eating healthier among very low-income consumers. Public policies should take the food environment into account in order to develop successful strategies to encourage the consumption of healthier foods.
Meats cooked at high temperatures, such as pan-frying or grilling, are a source of carcinogenic heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We prospectively examined the association between meat types, meat cooking methods, meat doneness, and meat mutagens and the risk for prostate cancer in the Agricultural Health Study. We estimated relative risks and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for prostate cancer using Cox proportional hazards regression using age as the underlying time metric and adjusting for state of residence, race, smoking status, and family history of prostate cancer. During 197,017 person-years of follow-up, we observed 668 incident prostate cancer cases (613 of these were diagnosed after the first year of follow-up and 140 were advanced cases) among 23,080 men with complete dietary data. We found no association between meat type or specific cooking method and prostate cancer risk. However, intake of well or very well done total meat was associated with a 1.26-fold increased risk of incident prostate cancer (95% CI, 1.02-1.54) and a 1.97-fold increased risk of advanced disease (95% CI, 1.26-3.08) when the highest tertile was compared with the lowest. Risks for the two heterocyclic amines 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethylimidazo-[4,5-f]quinoxaline and 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo-[4,5-b]quinoxaline were of borderline significance for incident disease [1.24 (95% CI, 0.96-1.59) and 1.20 (95% CI, 0.93-1.55), respectively] when the highest quintile was compared with the lowest. In conclusion, well and very well done meat was associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer in this cohort. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(1):80–7)
To examine the relation between meat intake and diabetes occurrence in adults.
In a prospective cohort study we examined the relation between diet and incident diabetes recorded among 8,401 cohort members (ages 45-88 years) of the Adventist Mortality Study and Adventist Health Study (California, USA) who were non-diabetic at baseline. During the 17-year follow-up, we identified 543 incident diabetes cases.
(1) Subjects who were weekly consumers of all meats were 29% (OR = 1.29; 95% CI 1.08, 1.55) more likely (relative to zero meat intake) to develop diabetes. (2) Subjects who consumed any processed meats (salted fish and frankfurters) were 38% (OR = 1.38; 95% CI 1.05-1.82) more likely to develop diabetes. (3) Long-term adherence (over a 17-year interval) to a diet that included at least weekly meat intake was associated with a 74% increase (OR = 1.74; 95% CI 1.36-2.22) in odds of diabetes relative to long-term adherence to a vegetarian diet (zero meat intake). Further analyses indicated that some of this risk may be attributable to obesity and/or weight gain--both of which were strong risk factors in this cohort. It is noteworthy that even after control for weight and weight change, weekly meat intake remained an important risk factor (OR = 1.38; 95% CI 1.06-1.68) for diabetes [corrected].
Our findings raise the possibility that meat intake, particularly processed meats, is a dietary risk factor for diabetes.
Background: Different sources of dietary protein may have different effects on bone metabolism. Animal foods provide predominantly acid precursors, whereas protein in vegetable foods is accompanied by base precursors not found in animal foods. Imbalance between dietary acid and base precursors leads to a chronic net dietary acid load that may have adverse consequences on bone.
Objective: We wanted to test the hypothesis that a high dietary ratio of animal to vegetable foods, quantified by protein content, increases bone loss and the risk of fracture.
Design: This was a prospective cohort study with a mean (±SD) of 7.0 ± 1.5 y of follow-up of 1035 community-dwelling white women aged >65 y. Protein intake was measured by using a food-frequency questionnaire and bone mineral density was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Results: Bone mineral density was not significantly associated with the ratio of animal to vegetable protein intake. Women with a high ratio had a higher rate of bone loss at the femoral neck than did those with a low ratio (P = 0.02) and a greater risk of hip fracture (relative risk = 3.7, P = 0.04). These associations were unaffected by adjustment for age, weight, estrogen use, tobacco use, exercise, total calcium intake, and total protein intake.
Conclusions: Elderly women with a high dietary ratio of animal to vegetable protein intake have more rapid femoral neck bone loss and a greater risk of hip fracture than do those with a low ratio. This suggests that an increase in vegetable protein intake and a decrease in animal protein intake may decrease bone loss and the risk of hip fracture. This possibility should be confirmed in other prospective studies and tested in a randomized trial.
Abstract Dietary protein increases urinary calcium losses and has been associated with higher rates of hip fracture in cross-cultural studies. However, the relation between protein and risk of osteoporotic bone fractures among individuals has not been examined in detail ...
Raising the Bar on Nutrition is a six-week cooking program of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank that teaches food pantry clients plant-based recipes that use extra virgin olive oil. Sixty-three subjects completed the program and reported using the study recipes for 2.8 + 1.3 meals per week. Total variety of vegetables and fruit intake increased (p Keywords: food pantry clients; food security; hunger–obesity paradox; plant-based diets Document Type: Research Article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2012.758066 Affiliations: 1: The Miriam Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA 2: Lifespan Information Services, Providence, Rhode Island, USA 3: Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Providence, Rhode Island, USA Publication date: January 1, 2013 (document).ready(function() { var shortdescription = (".originaldescription").text().replace(/\\&/g, '&').replace(/\\, '<').replace(/\\>/g, '>').replace(/\\t/g, ' ').replace(/\\n/g, ''); if (shortdescription.length > 350){ shortdescription = "" + shortdescription.substring(0,250) + "... more"; } (".shortdescription a").click(function() { (".originaldescription").slideDown(); return false; }); }); Related content In this: publication By this: publisher By this author: Flynn, Mary M. ; Reinert, Steven ; Schiff, Andrew R. GA_googleFillSlot("Horizontal_banner_bottom");
Clinical trial data show that reduction in total energy intake enhances weight loss regardless of the macronutrient composition of the diet. Few studies have documented dietary patterns or nutrient intakes that favor leanness [BMI (in kg/m²) ≤25] in free-living populations.
This investigation examined associations of usual energy, food, and nutrient intakes with BMI among US participants of the International Study of Macro-/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure (INTERMAP).
The INTERMAP is an international cross-sectional study of dietary factors and blood pressure in men and women (ages 40-59 y) that includes 8 US population samples. The present study included data from 1794 Americans who were not consuming a special diet and who provided four 24-h dietary recalls and 2 timed 24-h urine collections. Multivariable linear regression with the residual method was used to adjust for energy intake; sex-specific associations were assessed for dietary intakes and urinary excretions with BMI adjusted for potential confounders including physical activity.
Lower energy intake was associated with lower BMI in both sexes. Univariately, higher intakes of fresh fruit, pasta, and rice and lower intakes of meat were associated with lower BMI; these associations were attenuated in multivariable analyses. Lower urinary sodium and intakes of total and animal protein, dietary cholesterol, saturated fats, and heme iron and higher urinary potassium and intakes of carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and magnesium were associated with lower BMI in both sexes.
The consumption of foods higher in nutrient-dense carbohydrate and lower in animal protein and saturated fat is associated with lower total energy intakes, more favorable micronutrient intakes, and lower BMI.
In this second part of our review, we examine the literature for changes in carotenoids, vitamin E, minerals, and fiber due to processing, storage, and cooking of fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables. While inconsistencies in methodology and reporting methods complicate interpretation of the data, the results show that these nutrients are generally similar in comparable fresh and processed products. The higher levels of carotenoids typically found in canned as compared to fresh products may be attributed to either reporting results on a wet rather than dry weight basis, greater extractability, or differences in cultivars. There are relatively few studies on processing, storage, and cooking effects on vitamin E in fruits and vegetables. Further research is needed to understand nutritional changes in those few fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin E, such as tomatoes. Minerals and fiber are generally stable to processing, storage, and cooking, but may be lost in peeling and other removal steps during processing. Mineral uptake (e.g., calcium) or addition (e.g., sodium) during processing can change the natural mineral composition of a product. Sodium concerns in canned food can be addressed by choosing products with no salt added. Since nutrient content varies considerably by commodity, cultivar, and postharvest treatments, inclusion of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in the diet is encouraged. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry
Comparisons of the cost of different foods relative to their energy and nutritive value were conducted in the 1800s by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The objective was to reestablish the relations between food cost, energy, and nutrients by using contemporary nutrient composition and food prices data from the USDA.
The USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies 1.0 (FNDDS 1.0) and the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion food prices database were used for analysis. For 1387 foods, key variables were as follows: energy density (kcal/g), serving size (g), unit price (/serving), and energy cost (/100 g). Comparisons between food groups were tested by using one-factor analyses of variance. Relations between energy density and price within food groups were tested by using Spearman's correlations.
Grains and fats food groups supplied the lowest-cost dietary energy. The energy cost for vegetables was higher than that for any other food group except for fruit. Serving sizes increased with water content and varied inversely with energy density of foods. The highest prices per serving were for meats, poultry, and fish, and the lowest prices per serving were for the fats category. Although carbohydrates, sugar, and fat were associated with lower price per 100 g, protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals were associated with higher price per 100 g, after adjustment for energy.
Grains and sugars food groups were cheaper than vegetables and fruit per calorie and were cheaper than fruit per serving. These price differentials may help to explain why low-cost, energy-dense foods that are nutrient poor are associated with lower education and incomes.
Olive oil (OO) is the most representative food of the traditional Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet). Increasing evidence suggests that monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) as a nutrient, OO as a food, and the MedDiet as a food pattern are associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. A MedDiet rich in OO and OO per se has been shown to improve cardiovascular risk factors, such as lipid profiles, blood pressure, postprandial hyperlipidemia, endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and antithrombotic profiles. Some of these beneficial effects can be attributed to the OO minor components. Therefore, the definition of the MedDiet should include OO. Phenolic compounds in OO have shown antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, prevent lipoperoxidation, induce favorable changes of lipid profile, improve endothelial function, and disclose antithrombotic properties. Observational studies from Mediterranean cohorts have suggested that dietary MUFA may be protective against age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Recent studies consistently support the concept that the OO-rich MedDiet is compatible with healthier aging and increased longevity. In countries where the population adheres to the MedDiet, such as Spain, Greece and Italy, and OO is the principal source of fat, rates of cancer incidence are lower than in northern European countries. Experimental and human cellular studies have provided new evidence on the potential protective effect of OO on cancer. Furthermore, results of case-control and cohort studies suggest that MUFA intake including OO is associated with a reduction in cancer risk (mainly breast, colorectal and prostate cancers).
Results associating diet with chronic disease in a cohort of 34192 California Seventh-day Adventists are summarized. Most Seventh-day Adventists do not smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol, and there is a wide range of dietary exposures within the population. About 50% of those studied ate meat products <1 time/wk or not at all, and vegetarians consumed more tomatoes, legumes, nuts, and fruit, but less coffee, doughnuts, and eggs than did nonvegetarians. Multivariate analyses showed significant associations between beef consumption and fatal ischemic heart disease (IHD) in men [relative risk (RR) = 2.31 for subjects who ate beef > or =3 times/wk compared with vegetarians], significant protective associations between nut consumption and fatal and nonfatal IHD in both sexes (RR approximately 0.5 for subjects who ate nuts > or =5 times/wk compared with those who ate nuts <1 time/wk), and reduced risk of IHD in subjects preferring whole-grain to white bread. The lifetime risk of IHD was reduced by approximately 31% in those who consumed nuts frequently and by 37% in male vegetarians compared with nonvegetarians. Cancers of the colon and prostate were significantly more likely in nonvegetarians (RR of 1.88 and 1.54, respectively), and frequent beef consumers also had higher risk of bladder cancer. Intake of legumes was negatively associated with risk of colon cancer in nonvegetarians and risk of pancreatic cancer. Higher consumption of all fruit or dried fruit was associated with lower risks of lung, prostate, and pancreatic cancers. Cross-sectional data suggest vegetarian Seventh-day Adventists have lower risks of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and arthritis than nonvegetarians. Thus, among Seventh-day Adventists, vegetarians are healthier than nonvegetarians but this cannot be ascribed only to the absence of meat.
Different sources of dietary protein may have different effects on bone metabolism. Animal foods provide predominantly acid precursors, whereas protein in vegetable foods is accompanied by base precursors not found in animal foods. Imbalance between dietary acid and base precursors leads to a chronic net dietary acid load that may have adverse consequences on bone.
We wanted to test the hypothesis that a high dietary ratio of animal to vegetable foods, quantified by protein content, increases bone loss and the risk of fracture.
This was a prospective cohort study with a mean (+/-SD) of 7.0+/-1.5 y of follow-up of 1035 community-dwelling white women aged >65 y. Protein intake was measured by using a food-frequency questionnaire and bone mineral density was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Bone mineral density was not significantly associated with the ratio of animal to vegetable protein intake. Women with a high ratio had a higher rate of bone loss at the femoral neck than did those with a low ratio (P = 0.02) and a greater risk of hip fracture (relative risk = 3.7, P = 0.04). These associations were unaffected by adjustment for age, weight, estrogen use, tobacco use, exercise, total calcium intake, and total protein intake.
Elderly women with a high dietary ratio of animal to vegetable protein intake have more rapid femoral neck bone loss and a greater risk of hip fracture than do those with a low ratio. This suggests that an increase in vegetable protein intake and a decrease in animal protein intake may decrease bone loss and the risk of hip fracture. This possibility should be confirmed in other prospective studies and tested in a randomized trial.
The relation between meat consumption and colorectal cancer risk remains controversial. In this report, we quantitatively reviewed the prospective observational studies that have analyzed the relation between meat consumption and colorectal cancer. We conducted electronic searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CANCERLIT databases through to the end of June 1999 and manual searches of references from retrieved articles. We used both fixed and random-effects meta-analytical techniques to estimate the overall association and to investigate possible sources of heterogeneity among studies. Thirteen studies were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Pooled results indicate that a daily increase of 100 g of all meat or red meat is associated with a significant 12-17% increased risk of colorectal cancer. The marginally significant between-study heterogeneity for all meat and red meat was explained by a number of study-level covariates. A significant 49% increased risk was found for a daily increase of 25 g of processed meat. The individual study estimates for processed meat showed no detectable heterogeneity. On the basis of this quantitative review of prospective studies, the overall association between meat consumption and risk of colorectal cancer appears to be positive, with marginal heterogeneity between studies. The finding for processed meat and data from experimental studies suggests that it may also be an important predictor of colorectal cancer risk. However, because only a few of the studies reviewed here attempted to examine the independent effect of meat intake on colorectal cancer risk, the possibility that the overall association may be confounded or modified by other factors cannot be excluded.
Olive oil, the main fatty component of the Mediterranean diet, is characterized by consisting of monounsaturated fatty acids as well as by its elevated content in antioxidant agents. This oil exhibits numerous biological functions which are beneficial for the state of health. A diet rich in monounsaturated fatty acids provides an adequate fluidity to the biological membranes, diminishing the hazard of lipid peroxidation which affects polyunsaturated fatty acids. Moreover, the antioxidants present in olive oil are able to scavenge free radicals and afford an adequate protection against peroxidation. Regarding the heart, olive oil decreases the plasmatic levels of LDL-cholesterol and increases those of HDL-cholesterol, hence diminishing the risk of suffering from heart complaints. In this context, it has been suggested that increased consumption of monounsaturated fatty acids in place of polyunsaturated fatty acids will render circulating lipoproteins less sensitive to peroxidation and thereby diminish the development of atherosclerosis. Olive oil has also been proven to contribute to a better control of the hypertriglyceridemia accompanying diabetes and may reduce the risk of breast cancer and colorectum. On the other hand, several investigations have suggested that olive oil can be beneficial in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. In this sense, some reports have indicated that olive oil modifies inflammatory cytokines production. As for the digestive system, olive oil enhances gallbladder emptying consequently reducing cholelithiasis risk, decreases the pancreatic exocrine secretion and gastric secretory function in response to food. Finally, it has been demonstrated that a diet rich in olive oil is associated with a high percentage of gastric ulcer healing and affords a higher resistance against non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs-induced gastric ulcerogenesis.
The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) has a unique role in US Nutrition Policy, integrating both dietary guidance and antihunger policies. Not only are food items in the TFP market basket chosen based on the latest dietary recommendations, but the Plan serves as the basis for inflation adjustments to Food Stamp allotments. To be economical, the TFP logically assumes that most dishes are prepared from raw ingredients. This assumption likely contradicts welfare policy, which promotes increased labor force participation of low-income women. This article presents empirical evidence on meal preparation times in US households and compares this evidence to the TFP implicit assumptions about food preparation. The trade-offs between time and money inputs used in the preparation of meals are discussed using the economist's household production approach. Implications of policy contradictions are explored, as well as related needs for research and practice.
Consuming lower-energy-density foods is one recommended strategy for management of body weight. This cross-sectional study used retail food prices to test the hypothesis that low-energy-density foods are not only more costly per kilocalorie, but have increased disproportionately in price as compared to high-energy-density foods.
For a list of 372 foods and beverages belonging to a food frequency questionnaire database, retail prices were obtained from major supermarket chains in the Seattle, WA, metropolitan area in 2004 and 2006. Energy density of all items was calculated and prices were expressed as /1,000 kcal. Foods were stratified by quintiles of energy density and the differences in energy cost and in percent price change were tested using analyses of variance.
High-energy-density foods provided the most dietary energy at least cost. Energy cost of foods in the bottom quintile of energy density, beverages excluded, was 1.76/1,000 kcal for foods in the top quintile. The 2-year price change for the least energy-dense foods was +19.5%, whereas the price change for the most energy-dense foods was -1.8%.
The finding that energy-dense foods are not only the least expensive, but also most resistant to inflation, may help explain why the highest rates of obesity continue to be observed among groups of limited economic means. The sharp price increase for the low-energy-density foods suggests that economic factors may pose a barrier to the adoption of more healthful diets and so limit the impact of dietary guidance.
In this study, we examined the association between meat and fish intake and the risk of various cancers. Mailed questionnaires were completed by 19,732 incident, histologically confirmed cases of cancer of the stomach, colon, rectum, pancreas, lung, breast, ovary, prostate, testis, kidney, bladder, brain, non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), and leukemia and 5,039 population controls between 1994 and 1997 in 8 Canadian provinces. Measurement included information on socioeconomic status, lifestyle habits, and diet. A 69-item food frequency questionnaire provided data on eating habits 2 yr before data collection. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were derived through unconditional logistic regression. Total meat and processed meat were directly related to the risk of stomach, colon, rectum, pancreas, lung, breast (mainly postmenopausal), prostate, testis, kidney, bladder, and leukemia. Red meat was significantly associated with colon, lung (mainly in men), and bladder cancer. No relation was observed for cancer of the ovary, brain, and NHL. No consistent excess risk emerged for fish and poultry, which were inversely related to the risk of a number of cancer sites. These findings add further evidence that meat, specifically red and processed meat, plays an unfavorable role in the risk of several cancers. Fish and poultry appear to be favorable diet indicators.
The distribution of the four macronutrients is associated with energy intake and body fatness according to short-term interventions. The present study involves macronutrient distribution in relation to energy intake and body fatness over a period of 23 years in individuals who have ad libitum access to food. Eight follow-up measurements have been performed in 168 men and 182 women who participate in the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study. From the age of 13 years onwards, dietary intake, physical activity and the thickness of four skinfolds have been assessed. Body fatness was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the age of 36 years. Generalised estimating equation regression analyses showed that energy percentages (En%) from protein and (in men) carbohydrates were inversely related to energy intake, while the En% from fat was positively related with energy intake. The men and women with high body fatness at the age of 36 years had a 1 En% higher protein intake, and the women with high body fatness had a 2 En% lower alcohol intake at the age of 32 and 36 years. The apparent inconsistent relationships between protein and energy intake and protein and body fatness can in women be explained by reverse causation and underreporting, as in women, low energy intake could not be explained by low physical activity. In conclusion, high intake of protein and (in men) carbohydrate, and low intake of fat are inversely related to total energy intake. High body fatness at the age of 36 years is related to a higher protein intake and, in women, to a lower alcohol intake.
Over 70 years ago, potassium was found to have a natriuretic effect and was used in patients with heart failure. However, it took many years for its role in the control of blood pressure to be recognized. Recently, epidemiological and clinical studies in man and experimental studies in animals have shown that increasing potassium intake towers blood pressure and that communities with a high potassium intake tend to have lower population blood pressures. Several studies have shown an interaction between salt intake and potassium intake. However, the recent DASH-Sodium (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) study demonstrates an additive effect of a low salt and high potassium diet on blood pressure. Increasing potassium intake may have other beneficial effects, for example, reducing the risk of stroke and preventing the development of renal disease independent of its effect on blood pressure. A high potassium intake reduces calcium excretion and could play an important role in the management of hypercalciuria and kidney stone formation, as well as bone demineralization. Potassium intake may also play an important role in carbohydrate intolerance. A reduced serum potassium increases the risk of lethal ventricular arrhythmias in those at risk, i.e. patients with ischemic heart disease, heart failure or left ventricular hypertrophy, and increasing potassium intake may prevent this. In this article, we address the evidence for the important role of potassium intake in regulating blood pressure and other beneficial effects of potassium which may be independent of and additional to its effect on blood pressure.
Department of Health and Human Services Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
- U S Department
- U S Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans. 7th ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office; 2010.
Agriculture Research Service and Food Economics Division
- Md Beltsville
Beltsville, MD: Agriculture Research Service and Food Economics Division; 2011.
Retail Food Commodity Intakes: Mean Amounts of Retail Commodities per Individual
Agricultural Research Services. Retail Food Commodity Intakes: Mean Amounts
of Retail Commodities per Individual, 2001-2002. Meat, Poultry, Fish and Eggs.
Beltsville, MD: Agriculture Research Service and Food Economics Division; 2011.