Dairy Foods

A report from the American Academy of Pediatrics says that even children who can't easily digest lactose should have dairy foods to make sure they get enough calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients for growth. "A lot of people say they are lactose-intolerant, so they can't have any dairy products," said Dr. Melvin Heyman, chief of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at University of California, San Francisco Children's Hospital. "But now we know there is a problem with that down the road: osteoporosis," said Heyman, lead author of the report published in the September issue of Pediatrics.

A report from the American Academy of Pediatrics says that even children who can't easily digest lactose should have dairy foods to make sure they get enough calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients for growth. "A lot of people say they are lactose-intolerant, so they can't have any dairy products," said Dr. Melvin Heyman, chief of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at University of California, San Francisco Children's Hospital. "But now we know there is a problem with that down the road: osteoporosis," said Heyman, lead author of the report published in the September issue of Pediatrics.

* "Dairy Foods and Fitness," a new brochure from the National Dairy Board, includes recipes and nutrition information. For a copy, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope to: National Dairy Board, Lewis and Neale, Box IFMC, 928 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10010.* "A Chocolate A Day..." is a brochure from the Chocolate Manufacturers Association of the U.S.A. with recipes and nutrition information. For a copy, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope to: The Chocolate Manufacturers Association of the U.S.A.

Commissioners OK ethics code change The Carroll County commissioners unanimously approved an ethics code change last week that will prevent county employees from accepting free tickets to athletic, charitable, cultural or political events. Elected officials, such as the county commissioners, may still frequent such events when accompanied by the tickets' donor. Based on recommendations from the State Ethics Commission in February, County Attorney Kimberly A. Millender proposed the amendments to ensure the county policy mirrored the state's.

A recent news report of an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association noted that people with high-normal blood pressure can achieve significant reductions in blood pressure by losing a little bit of weight (about 8 1/2 pounds), and decreasing sodium intake (from 9 1/2 to 7 grams daily).This is really exciting news, because these changes would require very small sacrifices to gain impressive health benefits.The sodium changes are particularly interesting.(Before we go on, there are 1,000 milligrams in a gram.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine recently proposed a new "four food groups," consisting entirely of grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit. The committee's recommendations for normal healthy eating eliminated meat, poultry, fish and dairy foods.I thought about this for a while, and realized that the idea may have some merit, although it has drawbacks as well.The committee's main point is that meats and dairy foods contribute excessive saturated fat and cholesterol to the diet, and thus are the culprits in raising blood cholesterol and increasing the rate of heart disease.

When was your last dental checkup?Although most people don't give it much thought, having a healthy mouth and sturdy teeth or well-fitting dentures is critical to good nutrition. Obviously, if your mouth is uncomfortable, there's a good chance you'll skip hard-to-chew foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat and chicken. That increases the likelihood you'll choose cookies and ice cream instead.You could do that once in while and get away with it. But a steady diet of soft, sugary foods will only make matters worse.

If you're thinking about living longer and healthier, you might draw some lessons in longevity from the Chinese.Have a look at the "Traditional Healthy Asian Diet Pyramid" developed by Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, a nonprofit food-issues educational organization in Cambridge, Mass.Heavy on rice and grain products, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and beans, the Asian pyramid is a visual interpretation of the major dietary discoveries of the Cornell University-China-Oxford Project on Nutrition, Health and Environment based at Cornell.

For good health and longevity, eat what your ancestors ate. That's the lesson of the "Hawaiian Paradox." Though the general population in Hawaii lives longer than in any other state, native Hawaiians have the nation's highest rate of death from chronic diseases.What's to blame? You guessed it -- our old scapegoat, the "typical American diet." For when native Hawaiians ate the traditional island diet as part of an experiment at the University of Hawaii School of Medicine, they not only felt better, they were better.

It's an idea whose time has come: calcium-enriched milk.Introduced only a few months ago, Skim Delux is one of an army of new calcium-fortified foods designed to help fight the battle against brittle bones, high blood pressure, heart disease and perhaps certain kinds of cancer.Manufacturers have started fortifying foods like cereal and breakfast bars and Uncle Ben's Rice to make sure Americans are consuming their calcium in as convenient a form as possible. One of the most popular of the fortified foods, calcium-enriched orange juice, furnishes 300 milligrams per 8-ounce serving -- as much as a glass of milk -- and provides ample amounts of vitamin C as well.

WASHINGTON -- With the stakes in the billions of dollars, the process of deciding what the nation should eat -- always political -- is turning even more contentious. A respected committee of doctors and nutrition experts is preparing to submit next month its five-year review of the federal government's dietary guidelines. Industry advocates are burying the panel under reams of statistics and studies that hail the benefits of eating red meat, consuming dairy products and drinking moderate amounts of alcohol.

Biospherics Inc. said yesterday that it could be getting closer to finally making money from production of a sugar substitute it developed a decade ago.The Beltsville company sold licensing rights to the substitute, called D-tagatose, three years ago to MD Foods Ingredients, a Danish dairy producer. MD Foods will produce tagatose, sell it to food manufacturers and pay royalties on the sales to Biospherics.In what Biospherics executives hope is a sign that MD Foods is getting ready to go into high gear on production of tagatose, the Danish company said it is planning to merge with the Swedish dairy-and-food products company Arla.

A coalition of doctors concerned about racial bias is mounting an attack on a national dietary institution: the food pyramid, which calls for a balanced diet of dairy and meat, vegetables and breads.The Washington-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) argues that because most members of minority groups can't easily digest milk, the continued inclusion of dairy products as a dietary staple is wrongheaded. They will recommend that the guidelines list dairy as an option and suggest calcium-rich alternatives to milk and cheese.

AKRON, Ohio -- We don't care about the federal government's new weight guidelines.We don't care about our cholesterol levels.We want taste.But are we willing to pay for it? Not just in pounds, but in cash?The price of butterfat, the part of milk that puts the taste in dairy products, will reach an all-time high this summer, experts predict. That will drive up the price of cheese, chocolate and ice cream.Economists predict that higher butterfat prices will drive the cost of a pound of butter up to $3 at the grocery store by late summer; it has been about $2 for most of the year.

It's an idea whose time has come: calcium-enriched milk.Introduced only a few months ago, Skim Delux is one of an army of new calcium-fortified foods designed to help fight the battle against brittle bones, high blood pressure, heart disease and perhaps certain kinds of cancer.Manufacturers have started fortifying foods like cereal and breakfast bars and Uncle Ben's Rice to make sure Americans are consuming their calcium in as convenient a form as possible. One of the most popular of the fortified foods, calcium-enriched orange juice, furnishes 300 milligrams per 8-ounce serving -- as much as a glass of milk -- and provides ample amounts of vitamin C as well.

When was your last dental checkup?Although most people don't give it much thought, having a healthy mouth and sturdy teeth or well-fitting dentures is critical to good nutrition. Obviously, if your mouth is uncomfortable, there's a good chance you'll skip hard-to-chew foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat and chicken. That increases the likelihood you'll choose cookies and ice cream instead.You could do that once in while and get away with it. But a steady diet of soft, sugary foods will only make matters worse.

Biospherics Inc. said yesterday that it could be getting closer to finally making money from production of a sugar substitute it developed a decade ago.The Beltsville company sold licensing rights to the substitute, called D-tagatose, three years ago to MD Foods Ingredients, a Danish dairy producer. MD Foods will produce tagatose, sell it to food manufacturers and pay royalties on the sales to Biospherics.In what Biospherics executives hope is a sign that MD Foods is getting ready to go into high gear on production of tagatose, the Danish company said it is planning to merge with the Swedish dairy-and-food products company Arla.

The ground rules for eating a healthful vegetarian diet just became easier to understand.The American Dietetic Association has produced a 100-page mini-book, "Being Vegetarian," as part of its Nutrition Now series, published by Chronimed. Anyone interested in the basics of vegetarian nutrition can get an information-dense short course that's a quick and easy read.Often, the parents of teen-agers turning vegetarian have valid concerns about how their kids' food choices will affect their growth, health, sports performance and, later, ability to have children of their own. Likewise, pregnant women and mothers of young kids worry about meeting growth and development needs.

The ground rules for eating a healthful vegetarian diet just became easier to understand.The American Dietetic Association has produced a 100-page mini-book, "Being Vegetarian," as part of its Nutrition Now series, published by Chronimed. Anyone interested in the basics of vegetarian nutrition can get an information-dense short course that's a quick and easy read.Often, the parents of teen-agers turning vegetarian have valid concerns about how their kids' food choices will affect their growth, health, sports performance and, later, ability to have children of their own. Likewise, pregnant women and mothers of young kids worry about meeting growth and development needs.

If you're thinking about living longer and healthier, you might draw some lessons in longevity from the Chinese.Have a look at the "Traditional Healthy Asian Diet Pyramid" developed by Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, a nonprofit food-issues educational organization in Cambridge, Mass.Heavy on rice and grain products, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and beans, the Asian pyramid is a visual interpretation of the major dietary discoveries of the Cornell University-China-Oxford Project on Nutrition, Health and Environment based at Cornell.