Tag Archives: nutrition

Recent Study Finds Kids Are Eating Too Much Sugar

In June of 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study with chilling results regarding children’s nutrition & sugar consumption. The study, presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting during Nutrition 2018 in Boston, assessed sugar consumption among children less than 2 years old: the first time that a study had analyzed “added sugar” consumption among children in such a young cohort.

While the American Heart Association already recommends that very young children, under the age of 2, always avoid food with added sugars—including baked goods, candy, sugary drinks, etc.—researchers at the CDC have found that many parents do not follow these guidelines.

Lead study author Kirsten Herrick, a nutritional epidemiologist from the CDC, and her team found that the amount of added sugar increased along with a child’s age: for the children between 6 and 11 months, 61 percent of the sugar in their diet was added sugar; yet by the time children reached between 1 and 2 years old, that amount was even higher. Almost 99 percent of the sugar consumed by those children was added: i.e., not naturally occurring in the food items, and equaled an approximate average of 5.5 teaspoons each day.

The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for America do not include recommendations regarding “added sugar” for any children under 2 years of age; for children between 2 and 19, the recommendation is a daily limit of 6 teaspoons. Nevertheless, a CDC report confirms that on average, adult Americans consume 19.5 teaspoons of sugar each day—far exceeding the recommended limits.

Excessive sugar consumption is unhealthy for many reasons; while many problems can manifest during childhood, including obesity, cavities asthma, other major health issues such as cardiovascular disease and cancer can occur later in life. Moreover, statistics demonstrate that added sugar is particularly damaging for children, as it sets diet preferences that can ultimately lead them to make poor nutritional choices later in life. And until recently, young children and teens were not diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, yet given the large percentage of American youth that are overweight, children as young as 10 years old are now developing diabetes.

SOURCES
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/toddlers-consuming-added-sugar-study-finds/story?id=55719076
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2018/06/11/toddlers-you-are-eating-too-much-added-sugar-study-suggests/#46c8b82f9508
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db122.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/features/prevent-diabetes-kids/index.html

L-Nutra’s ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet

While Anti-Aging Medicine touts diet as a cornerstone of health and longevity, the latest clinical research suggests that results are not solely dependent on what one is eating—but also when. As a proliferation of scientific information has emerged regarding the benefits of intermittent fasting, A4M/MMI is proud to announce a milestone in public health with one of its sponsor partners: L-Nutra, developer of nutri-technologies including the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet®

Last week, L-Nutra received a fully issued patent focused on enhancing longevity and health span. Originally conceived by biochemist Valter Longo, PhD—Director of the Longevity Institute of the University of Southern California and a keynote presenter at the upcoming 26th Annual World Congress in Las Vegas—the concept of Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) is considered a nutritional breakthrough: designed to provide the body with natural, nourishing ingredients, while not activating any of the pro-aging processes. While FMD has rapidly gained traction and recognition across the globe, and represents the forefront of modern medicine, ProLon is now the very first product in the history of medicine to be developed, tested, sold, positioned, and patented for reversal of aging.

The clinically proven research and science behind the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet, coupled with NIH sponsorship and the continuous trial results in top medical journals, make ProLon the only product in Integrative Medicine that has achieved the same level of credibility as top products in biotechnology. As quoted in the patent’s official publication, “Fasting Mimicking Diet without malnutrition is effective in protecting the brain against aging and oxidative stress.” The publication further reinforces FMD’s ability to demonstrate neuroprotective properties against neurodegenerative diseases including stroke, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s—and that reducing food intake can diminish cognitive dysfunction. Most importantly, the patent confirms that while conventional therapies are limited in their ability to provide a coordinated regenerative process similar to the developmental process that leads to tissue generation in the embryo, FMD’s formulations and methods can overcome these limitations—and induce the beneficial cellular effects. Learn more about the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet here.

As Fasting Mimicking Diet continues to sweep the nation, Dr. Longo will deliver a lecture at December’s World Congress focused on the applications of intermittent fasting to metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cancer, autoimmunity, peptide therapy, weight management, and cellular rejuvenation programs. Due to the exploding popularity and recognition of FMD, Dr. Longo’s far-reaching potential represents a significant transition surrounding the ways in which clinicians advise patients regarding weight management, wellness, and longevity. Marking an exciting and unique opportunity to be at the forefront of the healthcare industry, delegates will learn firsthand about one of the newest and most effective ways to enhance your practice and patient outcomes.

Link Between Ultra-Processed Foods & Cancer

While ultra-processed foods are not known for their health qualities, new research published Wednesday in the BMJ further confirms the health risks involved in processed products.

Researchers discovered that people who consume more ultra-processed foods–including those with unrecognizable and unpronounceable words on the list of ingredients–demonstrate a higher risk of cancer. While most food is processed to some degree, ultra-processed foods are typically packed with higher calories, increased amounts of sodium, and an abundance of sugar.

Data and findings have long indicated that people who live on ultra-processed food tend to be more obese and overweight, with more cardiovascular problems and difficulties concerning diabetes. Studies have also found a correlation between consumption of processed meat and colorectal cancer.

Researchers located this new cancer link through an analysis of 24-hour dietary records of nearly 105,000 adults in the NutriNet-Sante cohort, a general population group in France. The individuals recorded what they ate from a list of 3,300 food items, which were then categorized by how processed they were–using a system called NOVA.

The scientists found that a 10% increase in the proportion of ultra-processed foods in the diet was associated with a significant increase of greater than 10% in terms of risks for overall cancer and breast cancer. The published study states: “Ultra-processed fats and sauces, sugary products and drinks were associated with an increased risk of overall cancer. Ultra-processed sugary products were associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.”

People who consumed more ultra-processed food also tended to smoke more and exercise less than the others, yet the study’s authors controlled these factors and still found the elevated cancer risk. “It was quite surprising, the strength of the results. They were really strongly associated, and we did many sensitive analysis and adjusted the findings for many co-factors, and still, the results here were quite concerning,” study co-author Mathilde Touvier said.

Unfortunately, ultra-processed occupy a growing part of the globe’s diet. A 2016 study found that 60% of the calories in an average American’s diet come from these types of foods, while a 2017 study confirmed that they make up 50% of the Canadian and U.K. diets. While more of the developing world is starting to eat this way, the authors advise a balanced and diversified diet as one of the most critically important public health priorities.

A balanced and diversified diet should be considered one of the most important public health priorities, the authors advise, by eating real, whole foods and trying to limit ultra-processed items.