The Complexity of Food and Nutrition Flashcards
What healthy effects does oatmeal have in nutrition?
It lowers blood cholesterol
How does oatmeal decrease blood cholesterol?
Beta-glucan is a soluble fiber that dissolves to create a viscous gel in the gut that binds bile acids and cholesterol, promoting their excretion in feces. The liver has to make more bile acid using blood Cholesterol, lowering blood cholesterol.
What is the most significant effect of drinking oat “milk” rather than cow milk?
It is better for the environment
Is lowering blood cholesterol a good reason to switch from cow milk to oat milk? Why?
No, you need 3 grams of beta-glucan to see real effects but a glass of oat milk only contains 1 gram t.
Why is raw milk dangerous? What was our solution to be able to drink milk?
Because raw milk contains many bacteria, pasteurization is the way to get rid of these while keeping all the nutritional benefits of milk.
Why are people using oat milk instead of cow milk? (4)
No lactose
Vegetarian product
Concerns about the treatment of cows
Concerns about the effect of milk on health
Can milk be dangerous?
It is only a real problem for people who are lactose intolerant and who are allergic to lactose. Raw milk can cause some issues.
True or false.
Any nutrient can become dangerous
True, if used in the wrong quantity or in wrong way, anything can be proved as dangerous for our health
T or F
A good way to determine if something is healthy is by following this rule: If you can’t pronounce it you should not be eating it!
False, that should never be the reason to not do something (even if unhealthy, the reason/ explanation should not be the statement in the question)
T or F
Companies pray on the nativity of clients to sell them things they don’t truly need.
True. ex: Aerobic oxygen… not much more is needed to be said here
Is a “Beyond meat” (vegetarian) burger or a meat burger healthier?
The vegetarian burger has a lot more sodium in it as it is processed food so can be considered more unhealthy than the meat burger
T or F
The food industry and all guidelines are specific and don’t contradict themselves.
False. nutritional articles often contradict themselves as anything can be pushed to the extreme to say it is bad.
What is the only food that has studies showing it can only increase the risk of cancer and no studies showing is can decrease cancer risks?
Bacon
What is the scientific conclusion that can be made about the health benefits of eating pomegranate?
It is a natural aromatase inhibitor, meaning that in the lab, breast cancer cells where seen to multiply slower when bathed in pomegranate juice.
How is the scientific claim about pomegranate twisted into an advertisement for a healthy miracle?
Pomegranate juice can help you cheat death
Is taking vitamin A supplements necessary for good health? what gives that impression?
No, it is not.
People who claim to have lived for a long time (120 yrs old) eat apricots which are rich in beta-carotene (Vit A).
Vit A supplements can be advertised as making you live longer.
Explain this: Only the dose makes the poison
Any food can be decomposed to see things that can be seen as toxic (e.g. acetone in them), and so it would be possible to claim that those foods are dangerous. However, the amounts are very small so not toxic in those foods
Why are companies encouraged to make exaggerated claims about their products?
Because people want to be told what to eat (easier) and they want miracles to eat away sickness.
Explain how there was an overreaction to the benefits of beta-glucan in oat bran. (cheerios)
Companies started making claims of having oat bran to show that their product is healthy. Cheerios made these claims. However, you would need 5 servings of the cereal to get the minimal effects (no one eats that much Cheerios, no one can get real effects from oat bran in Cheerios)
T or F
People are scared of words they don’t know in the ingredients listing
True, people believe preservatives are unhealthy even if they prevent food from going bad and making you sick.
Even if the food is unhealthy, the preservatives should not be the reason not to eat them.
The teacher talked about how the French eat plenty of fatty foods (bread, butter, cheese) but still have lower rates of CHD. He then said the French also watch a lot more of Jerry Lewis and that could be the cause of lower CHD rates (it’s not). What did he want to show with this?
Not everything is a cause-and-effect relation. So if someone is healthy even if they watch TV, it’s not necessarily because of the TV. Some other effects need to be observed.
What was the goal of this lecture?
Show that we don’t always understand why we eat what we eat.
There was another example of extreme advertising of supplements from wine tested on rats
see slide 205
What do we need to conclude the benefits of something?
Evidence
Why are food frequency questionnaires not efficient (3)
- People don’t remember what they ate
- People don’t know how much they ate
- People write what they should have eaten instead of what they ate
According to the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is the average American person eating healthy?
No, scores are between 48-62 depending on age.
How did the doctrine of signatures explain how people viewed food (1st century AD)
nature gives clues on what to eat and what not to eat.
The walnut looks like a brain so should be good for the brain
Can we say that the walnut has positive effects on our brain activity? why?
Yes, EVIDENCE has shown that eating walnuts can have health benefits compared to not eating any. NOT because they look like the brain
Similar research from pomegranate on grapes (anti ageing) –> only seen in mice, the chemical cleared out old cells, reduced the size of tumours (along chemo), etc
slide 265
