14 FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD Flashcards
What is a calorie formally defined as?
The amount of energy required to heat one kilogram of water by one degree centigrade.
What was the official daily caloric intake recommendation for a moderately active man in the United States until 1964?
Thirty-two hundred calories.
What is the current recommended daily caloric intake for a moderately active woman?
Two thousand calories.
By how much have Americans’ caloric intake increased since 1970?
About 25 percent more calories.
Who is considered the father of caloric measurement?
Wilbur Olin Atwater.
What did Wilbur Atwater study at Wesleyan University?
Agricultural chemistry.
What was Atwater’s most celebrated project?
The respiratory calorimeter.
What significant work did Atwater produce in 1896?
The Chemical Composition of American Food Materials.
What erroneous belief did Atwater have regarding fruits and vegetables?
That they provided comparatively little energy and needed to play no part in the average person’s diet.
What unsettling discovery did Atwater make about alcohol?
That it was an especially rich source of calories.
What is one major failing of the calorie as a measure of dietary intake?
It gives no indication of whether a food is actually good for you or not.
What concept was unknown in the early twentieth century regarding calories?
The concept of ‘empty’ calories.
What benefit does cooking provide in relation to food?
It kills toxins, improves taste, makes tough substances chewable, and increases digestibility.
What is the consequence of cooking food on human nutrition?
It vastly boosts the amount of calories humans can derive from what they eat.
Who proposed that mastering hunting and gathering was essential for human evolution?
Daniel Lieberman.
What are the fundamental components of the human diet known as?
Macronutrients.
Who recognized macronutrients nearly two hundred years ago?
William Prout.
What are vitamins and minerals essential for?
To prevent deficiency diseases.
What term did Casimir Funk coin in relation to essential nutrients?
Vitamines.
What was the original name for vitamin K, and what does it relate to?
Vitamin K relates to blood coagulation.
What is a common misconception about vitamins?
That they are all closely related when they actually have little in common.
What is choline, and when was its significance recognized?
A micronutrient vital for neurotransmitters, recognized since 1998.
What is a potential risk associated with vitamins and minerals?
The risk of taking in too much is as great as the risk of getting too little.
What is the upper limit for daily intake of vitamin A?
About three thousand micrograms.
What are the symptoms of iron deficiency and excess?
Both can cause lethargy.
What is the limit for iron intake to avoid health risks?
About three thousand micrograms.
Exceeding this limit regularly can be risky.
What is the consequence of too little iron in the body?
Anemia.
Too much iron can also cause lethargy.
What did Leo Zacharski state about excess iron?
It can accumulate in tissues and cause organs to rust.
It is a stronger risk factor than smoking for various clinical disorders.
What did a 2013 editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine conclude about health supplements?
Nearly everyone in high-income countries is sufficiently nourished not to require them.
The report faced criticism for its methodology.
What percentage of American adults do not get the recommended daily dose of vitamins D and E?
90 percent.
About half do not get sufficient vitamin A, and 97 percent do not get enough potassium.
How many dietary supplements are available for Americans to choose from?
Eighty-seven thousand.
Americans spend $40 billion a year on these supplements.
What did Linus Pauling claim about vitamin C?
That massive doses are effective against colds, flu, and some cancers.
He took up to forty thousand milligrams daily, despite the recommended dose being sixty milligrams.
What are proteins made of?
Chains of amino acids.
About a fifth of our body weight consists of proteins.
What is the relationship between amino acids and proteins?
Proteins are made from twenty amino acids, but no accepted definition specifies how many amino acids constitute a protein.
A small number of amino acids strung together is called a peptide.
What is protein deficiency most likely to affect?
Vegetarians.
Not all plants provide all necessary amino acids.
What are carbohydrates composed of?
Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
They form various sugars, such as glucose and sucrose.
What are the three types of carbohydrates?
- Monosaccharides
- Disaccharides
- Polysaccharides
What happens to carbohydrates when they are digested?
They are converted into sugars.
A serving of white rice has the same effect on blood glucose as nine teaspoons of sugar.
What are fats primarily made of?
Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
They are stored more easily than carbohydrates.
What are the two principal types of lipoproteins?
- High-density lipoproteins (HDL)
- Low-density lipoproteins (LDL)
What is the function of fiber in the diet?
Helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption.
Fiber contains no calories or vitamins.
What is the difference between subcutaneous and visceral fat?
Subcutaneous fat is beneath the skin, while visceral fat is around the belly.
Visceral fat is more harmful to health.
What are trans fats?
An artificial form of fat made from vegetable oils.
They raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol.
What did Fred A. Kummerow report in the 1950s?
A link between high intake of trans fats and clogged coronary arteries.
His findings were initially dismissed.
How much water do we typically consume daily?
About two and a half quarts.
Half of this is usually from food.
What is a common misconception about water intake?
That we should drink eight glasses a day.
This idea originated from a misunderstanding of average consumption.
What can result from drinking too much water?
Hyponatremia.
This condition occurs when sodium levels in the blood are dangerously diluted.
What percentage of income did the average American spend on food in 1915?
Half of their weekly income.
Who was Ancel Keys?
A nutritionist known for enlightening people about unhealthy eating.
He conducted significant research on diet and health.
What jobs did Keys work at before starting his academic career?
Sailor in the merchant navy and shoveler of bat guano in Arizona
Which universities did Keys acquire degrees from?
University of California at Berkeley and Cambridge University
What was the focus of Keys’ early academic work at Harvard?
High altitude physiology
What significant food pack did Keys develop for paratroopers during WWII?
K rations
What was the main purpose of the Minnesota Starvation Experiment?
To establish how well people could cope with chronic hunger and recover afterward
How much weight did the volunteers lose during the Minnesota Starvation Experiment?
From 152 pounds to 115 pounds
What book did Keys publish based on the Minnesota Starvation Experiment?
The Biology of Human Starvation
What groundbreaking study did Keys conduct that compared dietary habits in seven countries?
The Seven Countries Study
What correlation did Keys find in the Seven Countries Study?
Between levels of dietary fat and heart disease
What popular diet did Keys promote in his book Eat Well and Stay Well?
The Mediterranean diet
What criticism has been leveled against Keys’ research methods?
He focused on countries that supported his thesis and ignored those that did not
What percentage of daily diet do most countries recommend fats should account for?
No more than 30 percent
What is the American Heart Association’s recommendation for saturated fats?
No more than 7 percent
What did two large studies in 2010 conclude about saturated fat?
No clear evidence that avoiding saturated fat reduced the risk of heart disease
What is the current average daily sugar consumption for young American men?
Closer to forty teaspoons
What is the World Health Organization’s recommended maximum daily sugar intake?
Five teaspoons
Which common beverage contains about 50 percent more sugar than the daily recommended maximum?
A standard-sized can of soda pop
What percentage of processed foods contain added sugars?
About 80 percent
What has been found regarding the nutritional value of modern fruits compared to those in 1950?
Substantial drops in iron, calcium, and vitamin A
What paradox exists in the United States regarding nutrition?
Most overfed nation but also one of its most nutritionally deficient
What vegetable accounts for a quarter of the entire vegetable intake in America?
French fry
What is the average daily sodium intake for Americans?
About 3,400 milligrams
What is the World Health Organization’s suggested maximum sodium intake?
No more than 2,000 milligrams
According to the McMaster University study, what is the risk associated with low salt intake?
Increased risk of heart problems
What did Christopher Gardner emphasize as essential in our diet?
Less added sugar, less refined grain, and more vegetables
What did Gardner’s experiment with labeled carrots demonstrate?
Students took more sugary-sounding glazed carrots
What strategy do food manufacturers often use when reducing one harmful ingredient?
Boost the other two harmful ingredients
What is a common reflex observed in children regarding food choices?
Children often choose unhealthy options despite being aware of health issues.
This reflects the difficulty in overcoming subconscious preferences.
How do food manufacturers manipulate perceptions of health in their products?
They often reduce one unhealthy component while increasing others, or highlight a single health benefit on the packaging.
Example: A brownie may be marketed as having omega-3 but is still high in sugar and fat.
What does Gardner suggest for healthier food shopping?
Stick to the outside aisles of supermarkets to avoid processed foods.
The inner aisles typically contain more processed options.
What is the reported increase in risk of colorectal cancer from daily consumption of processed meat?
18 percent increase in risk.
This translates to a 1 percentage point increase in absolute risk, from 5% to 6%.
What is the lifetime risk of colorectal cancer for an average person?
About 5 percent.
Consuming processed meat daily raises this risk to 6 percent over a lifetime.
True or False: Being obese or a smoker guarantees a shorter lifespan.
False.
Many factors contribute to health outcomes, and not all unhealthy individuals die young.
What percentage of people with chronic diseases were fit before getting ill?
Approximately 40 percent.
This highlights the unpredictability of health outcomes.
What is the relationship between exercise, diet, and lifespan?
Exercise and a healthy diet improve chances of a better lifespan, but do not guarantee it.
Many variables affect health and longevity.
What are some factors implicated in heart health?
- Exercise and lifestyle
- Consumption of salt
- Alcohol
- Sugar
- Cholesterol
- Trans fats
- Saturated fats
- Unsaturated fats
It’s a complex interplay rather than a single cause.
What is a prudent dietary approach for heart health?
A balanced and moderate diet.
This is considered the sensible approach to nutrition.
Who are some of the individuals credited with the invention of the calorie concept?
- Nicolas Clément
- Julius von Mayer
- P. A. Favre and J. T. Silbermann
There is no clear consensus on who invented the calorie.
What are the eight essential amino acids?
- Isoleucine
- Leucine
- Lysine
- Methionine
- Phenylalanine
- Tryptophan
- Threonine
- Valine
These amino acids are crucial for human health.
What unique ability does E. coli have among living organisms?
It can utilize a twenty-first amino acid called selenocysteine.
This distinguishes it from other organisms.
