Nutrition.gov News Feeds

Health Highlights: Feb. 9, 2010

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:00 GMT

New Guidelines Coming on Use of Newborn Blood Samples Poor-Quality Malaria Pills Worry Experts FDA Wants Realistic Serving Sizes on Food Packaging

Your Food Environment Atlas

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:00 GMT

Food environment factorssuch as store/restaurant proximity, food prices, food and nutrition assistance programs, and community characteristicsinteract to influence food choices and diet quality. The Food Environment Atlas assembles statistics on food environment indicators to stimulate research on the determinants of food choices and diet quality and provides a spatial overview of a communitys ability to access healthy food and its success in doing so. The Atlas currently includes 90 indicators of the food environment in three broad categoriesfood choices, health and well-being, and community characteristics.

Not worse is not better

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:01 GMT

If there is good news in this, it’s that the tidal wave of obesity is not sweeping up a larger proportion of Americans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the big numbers of too-big people seem to have stabilized. But stability does not mean healthy. Even though the widening trend toward obesity has halted, the CDC survey data for 2007-2008 say about one-third of Americans are obese.

Food Safety Tips for Healthy Holidays

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:39 GMT

FDA gives consumers practical food safety tips to help prevent foodborne illness

Barley Protein Concentrate Could Replace Fishmeal in Aquaculture Feeds

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:12 GMT

Read the magazine story to find out more.

ARS fish physiologist Rick Barrows and Montana Microbial Products have developed a barley protein concentrate that could replace fishmeal to make a less expensive feed for trout and other commercially produced fish.

Barley Protein Concentrate Could Replace Fishmeal in Aquaculture Feeds

By Sharon Durham
February 5, 2010

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and Montana Microbial Products (MMP) of Butte, Mont., have developed a barley protein concentrate that could be fed to trout and other commercially produced fish.

Physiologist Rick Barrows at the ARS Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research Unit in Aberdeen, Idaho, teamed with MMP to apply for a patent on a new enzymatic method that concentrates barley protein and produces raw material for another valuable commodity—ethanol. This process provides a high-protein ingredient that may replace other, more expensive protein sources like fishmeal and soy protein concentrate in commercial fish feed.

Currently there is no commercial production of barley protein concentrate, but MMP is producing small quantities for fish-feeding studies with trout, salmon and other species. MMP projects that the concentrate will sell for $700 to $1,200 per ton. Since fishmeal costs about $1,200 per ton, the projected costs of barley protein concentrate compare favorably.

Feeding trials conducted by the Aberdeen researchers and MMP show that barley protein concentrate successfully replaced both fishmeal and soy protein concentrates in fish feed, meeting the fishes’ protein requirements. Barrows and other researchers in the ARS unit also are examining the genetics of barley to modify the grain for improved protein yield and nutritional composition.

According to Barrows, feed is part of a complex interplay of genetics, nutrition and economics in fish production. Barley protein concentrate could completely replace fishmeal in fish feed if other essential nutrients are provided as supplements.

Using barley protein instead of fishmeal in commercial fish feed could help reduce the demand for millions of tons of fish taken from the ocean each year to produce fishmeal.

Read more about this research in the February 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This research supports the USDA priorities of promoting international food security and developing new sources of bioenergy.

ARS Scientists Turn to a Wild Oat to Combat Crown Rust

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:08 GMT

Read the magazine story to find out more.

ARS plant pathologist Martin Carson is using genes from a wild oat, considered by some to be a noxious weed, to help combat crown rust, the most damaging fungal disease of oats worldwide. ARS photo.

ARS Scientists Turn to a Wild Oat to Combat Crown Rust

By Dennis O'Brien
February 4, 2010

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are tapping into the DNA of a wild oat, considered by some to be a noxious weed, to see if it can help combat crown rust, the most damaging fungal disease of oats worldwide.

Crown rust reduces oat yields up to 40 percent and shows a remarkable ability to adapt to varieties bred to genetically resist it. ARS researchers and colleagues have inserted individual resistance genes into oat varieties that produce proteins believed to recognize strains of crown rust and trigger a defense response against them. “Multiline” cultivars with several resistance genes also have been developed.

Crown rust is caused by Puccinia coronata, a fungus that reproduces both sexually and asexually and has enough genetic flexibility to overcome resistance genes, usually in about five years, according to Martin L. Carson, research leader at the ARS Cereal Disease Laboratory in St. Paul, Minn. His analysis also shows crown rust is increasing in virulence throughout North America.

Carson has turned to a wild variety, Avena barbata, for new genes with effective resistance. The slender oat, listed as a noxious weed in Missouri and classified as moderately invasive in California, grows wild in South Asia, much of Europe and around the Mediterranean region.

Carson inoculated A. barbata seedlings with crown rust. After several crosses, he found seedlings highly resistant to a variety of crown rust strains. In ongoing studies, he is crossing them with the domestic oat, A. sativa, to try to develop the right blend of resistance and desirable traits, such as high yield and drought tolerance. The goal is new plant lines that will effectively fight off crown rust for many years.

The research, which supports the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) priority of promoting international food security, was published in the journal Plant Disease.

Read more about this research in the February 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

ARS is USDA’s principal intramural scientific research agency.

Yoga versus stress

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:01 GMT

Yoga and other kinds of meditative physical activity may do some measurable good against stress. Researcher Janice Kiecolt-Glaser of Ohio State University found signs of this when she compared 50 women – experts and beginners in yoga. Kiecolt-Glaser was looking at blood chemicals such as interleukin-6 that are associated with stress – and with risks of conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

Nutrition_gov: One week from today: The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Webinar... Written comments due tomorrow http://bit.ly/auUwWr

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:50 GMT

Nutrition_gov: One week from today: The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Webinar... Written comments due tomorrow http://bit.ly/auUwWr

ARS Researchers Develop Method to Speed Up Breeding of Scab-Resistant Barley Cultivars

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:41 GMT

Read the magazine story to find out more.

ARS scientists have developed an efficient, cost-effective way to speed up the breeding of barley that is resistant to scab, one of the most devastating wheat and barley diseases worldwide. Click the image for more information about it.

ARS Researchers Develop Method to Speed Up Breeding of Scab-Resistant Barley Cultivars

By Alfredo Flores
February 2, 2010

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have developed an efficient and cost-effective method to speed up the breeding of scab-resistant barley cultivars, thus improving crop quality for small-grain breeders in the Northern Plains.

Shiaoman Chao, a molecular geneticist at the ARS Cereal Crops Research Unit in Fargo, N.D., collaborated with scientists from North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota in the study.

Chao used genomics information provided by the breeders to develop DNA markers tagged to important agronomic traits. Once appropriate markers were identified that tagged the useful genes, the markers were used in breeding populations to increase the efficiency of selection. The Fargo lab also developed procedures to speed up marker-assisted breeding.

Marker-assisted breeding is the process used to select plants carrying a trait of interest, such as resistance to scab (Fusarium head blight), which has cost U.S. farmers more than $3 billion since 1990.

This work would not be possible without the cooperation of the breeders, who collected barley samples for the Fargo lab to analyze.

Read more about this and other ARS barley and oats research in the February 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This research is part of the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative and supports the USDA priority of promoting international food security.

Which kid gets diabetes

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:01 GMT

A tidal wave of diabetes is building as kids gain too much weight. At the Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati, Charles Glueck has been looking at ways to predict which kids will develop diabetes. He says a child's blood pressure, degree of overweight, blood sugar levels and other easy tests in a doctor’s office can predict risk nine and 26 years later. Glueck says insulin levels are a key predictor.

Nutrition_gov: Are you planning to splurge on SuperBowl Sunday? Enjoy, but also plan to bookend the day with great nutrition and some exercise.

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:29 GMT

Nutrition_gov: Are you planning to splurge on SuperBowl Sunday? Enjoy, but also plan to bookend the day with great nutrition and some exercise.

Studies Provide Insight into Key Oat Chemical

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:34 GMT

Read the magazine story to find out more.

ARS chemist Mitchell Wise is studying environmental factors that influence how oats produce avenanthramide, a potent antioxidant that is part of what gives oats a reputation for health benefits. Click the image for more information about it.

Studies Provide Insight into Key Oat Chemical

By Stephanie Yao
February 1, 2010

Studies conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are helping to increase understanding about the environmental factors that regulate avenanthramide (Avn) production in oat grain.

Avns, metabolites with potent antioxidant properties, are one reason oats have been widely touted for their many health benefits. The specific purpose of Avns inside the oat plant is still largely unknown, but previous studies have found an increased production of Avns in oat leaves when the plant is attacked by a fungus. This finding leads researchers to believe that Avns help oat plants fight off these fungi.

Chemist Mitchell Wise with the ARS Cereal Crops Research Unit in Madison, Wis., teamed up with fellow chemist Doug Doehlert with the ARS Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, N.D., to examine the correlation between disease pressure and Avn concentration in the oat grain.

The scientists tested 16 oat cultivars and two breeding lines at three locations in North Dakota over a two- year period. They found that oat plants with the strongest crown rust resistance typically had the highest Avn concentrations in environments where crown rust occurred. They also found that Avn production is likely influenced by additional environmental factors, because not all cultivars with strong crown rust resistance produced high Avn concentrations. Details of this study can be found in the scientific journal Cereal Chemistry.

Still, according to Wise, the results suggest that oat breeders—taking into account crown rust pressure during growth—can select certain cultivars for enhanced production of Avns.

Wise is also further researching the biosynthesis of Avns in the laboratory. He developed a suspension culture system from oat shoot tissue in which Avns are produced in response to a chemical that mimics fungal infection. This useful tool can be used for more detailed investigation into how certain Avns are produced.

Read more about this research in the February 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This research supports the USDA priorities of improving nutrition and health and promoting international food security.

Nutrition_gov: RT @nprpolitics: Michelle Obama Launches Personal Campaign Against Childhood Obesity http://su.pr/2pal8Q

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 06:40 GMT

Nutrition_gov: RT @nprpolitics: Michelle Obama Launches Personal Campaign Against Childhood Obesity http://su.pr/2pal8Q

ERS Awards Grants to Establish RIDGE Centers for Food and Nutrition Assistance Research

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:00 GMT

The Economic Research Service (ERS) has awarded grants to establish two research centers in the Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Program. The new centers are the RIDGE Center for National Food and Nutrition Assistance Research at the Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the RIDGE Center for Targeted Food and Nutrition Assistance Research at the Southern Rural Development Center, Mississippi State University. The centers partner with ERS to encourage new and innovative research on food assistance and nutrition issues and to broaden the participation of social science scholars in this research area. The national center will focus on food and nutrition issues that affect the Nation as a whole, while research at the targeted center will be directed at specific populations such as residents of rural areas, Native Americans, and immigrants. The RIDGE Centers oversee the application, peer review, sub-award, performance, and knowledge dissemination processes of the research projects. See the RIDGE Briefing Room for more information.

Nutrition_gov: @abbyladybug: There isn't 1 recommended ratio of macronutrients for weight loss. Find your way through the diets maze: http://bit.ly/ceZvL1

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:21 GMT

Nutrition_gov: @abbyladybug: There isn't 1 recommended ratio of macronutrients for weight loss. Find your way through the diets maze: http://bit.ly/ceZvL1

ARS Genetic Analysis Helps Spot Sugarcane Rusts

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:22 GMT

Micrograph of orange rust pushing out of a sugarcane leaf. Photo courtesy of Linley Dixon and David Farr, ARS.

ARS scientists have analyzed rust fungi from more than 160 sugarcane samples from 25 countries to help breeders and pathologists looking for genetic resistance to rusts, especially the deadly newcomer orange rust. Click the image for more information about it.

ARS Genetic Analysis Helps Spot Sugarcane Rusts

By Alfredo Flores
January 29, 2010

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have analyzed rust fungi from more than 160 sugarcane samples from 25 countries to provide a valuable resource for plant breeders and pathologists who are searching for genetic resistance to the deadly orange and brown rusts.

These diseases are a major concern for the sugarcane industry, so correctly diagnosing which rust is present is key, according to Lisa Castlebury, a mycologist at the ARS Systematic Mycology and Microbiology Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. Accurately distinguishing rust isolates by appearance alone is difficult, since their form and structure are very similar.

The rust known as “orange rust,” different from the standard “brown rust” that is common in U.S. sugarcane production, was found in Florida in 2007. With orange rust, a minimum of three fungicide applications are needed to still achieve acceptable yields, and those applications cost growers an estimated $40 million annually in Florida, the only U.S. cane-producing state that has this rust so far.

The study started as a simple request to Castlebury from ARS research plant pathologist Jack Comstock in Canal Point, Fla. Castlebury led a scientific team to genetically analyze and compare DNA sequences from sugarcane rust fungi. In the study, now in its third year, samples have been also been analyzed with light microscopy to spot the subtle differences between the two rusts. Postdoctoral research associate Linley Dixon at the Beltsville lab also participated in the study.

Castlebury and APHIS mycologist John McKemy identified the new orange rust found in a sugarcane-growing area in Florida, the first find in the Western Hemisphere. Now the study has turned into a global analysis of rust fungi affecting sugarcane cultivars, in collaboration with Comstock and ARS research molecular biologist Neil Glynn in Canal Point. The majority of the sugarcane samples Castlebury receives come from the Americas, Asia, Australia, and, to a lesser extent, Africa.

The results of the scientific team’s genetic sequences have been added to GenBank, the National Institutes of Health’s genetic sequence database, for use by plant pathologists and plant breeders.

ARS is the chief intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This research supports the USDA priority of promoting international food security.

Nutrition_gov: First lady announces a major initiative on childhood obesity to be launched in the next few weeks http://bit.ly/9WnixK.

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:35 GMT

Nutrition_gov: First lady announces a major initiative on childhood obesity to be launched in the next few weeks http://bit.ly/9WnixK.

[EVENTS] American Dietetic Association Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo, November 6-9, 2010

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:34 GMT

American Dietetic Association Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo, November 6-9, 2010

[EVENTS] Society for Nutrition Education Annual Conference, July 24-27, 2010

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:34 GMT

Society for Nutrition Education Annual Conference, July 24-27, 2010

[EVENTS] Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo, July 17-20, 2010

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:34 GMT

Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo, July 17-20, 2010

[EVENTS] International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, June 9-12, 2010

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:33 GMT

International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, June 9-12, 2010

[EVENTS] Experimental Biology Annual Meeting (includes American Society for Nutrition), April 24-28, 2010

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:22 GMT

Experimental Biology Annual Meeting (includes American Society for Nutrition), April 24-28, 2010

Nutrition_gov: @abbyladybug: The best way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories and be active. Eat a variety of foods from each of the basic food groups

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:42 GMT

Nutrition_gov: @abbyladybug: The best way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories and be active. Eat a variety of foods from each of the basic food groups

Nutrition_gov: Do you have a Nutrition Question? Tweet your Frequently Asked Nutrition Question with this hashtag #FANQ - Answers to follow

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:12 GMT

Nutrition_gov: Do you have a Nutrition Question? Tweet your Frequently Asked Nutrition Question with this hashtag #FANQ - Answers to follow

Nutrition_gov: Planning a health fair? Need nutrition handouts? We’ve done the homework for you (but you have to do the asking). http://bit.ly/5MF5hY #FANQ

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:52 GMT

Nutrition_gov: Planning a health fair? Need nutrition handouts? We’ve done the homework for you (but you have to do the asking). http://bit.ly/5MF5hY #FANQ