Big Food and Soda Versus Public Health: Industry Litigation Against Local Government Regulations to Promote Healthy Diets

Diets high in fats, sugars, and sodium are contributing to alarming levels of obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers throughout the United States. Sugary drinks, which include beverages that contain added caloric sweeteners such as flavored milks, fruit drinks, sports drinks, and sodas, are the largest source of added sugar in the American diet and an important causative factor for obesity and other diet-related diseases. City and county governments have emerged as key innovators to promote healthier diets, adopting menu labeling laws to facilitate informed choices and soda taxes, warnings labels, and a soda portion cap to discourage consumption. These measures raise tension between the public health promotion and the food and beverage industry’s interests in maximizing profits. This article analyzes the food and beverage industry’s efforts to undermine local government nutrition promotion measures, including lobbying, funding scientific research, public messaging, and litigation. It examines four case studies (New York City’s soda portion cap, San Francisco’s soda warnings ordinance, and soda taxes in Philadelphia and Cook County), and distills steps that local governments can take to address industry opposition and help ensure the legal viability and political sustainability of key public health interventions

Association between Types of Soda Consumption and Overall Diet Quality: Evidence from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)

Background and Purpose: Daily soda consumption may lead to high energy intake and poor diet quality. Although diet sodas contain no calories, they lack healthful nutrients. The study examined different types of soda consumption [regular (sugar-sweetened) sodas, diet sodas, and non-sodas] associated with overall diet quality. Methods: Cross sectional, 24-hour dietary recall data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005-2012 were utilized for the study. Majority of the participants (n = 4,427) were female (57%), adults aged 19-55 years (51%), and non-Hispanic whites (67%). Nutritional Quality Index (NQI) was calculated as an indicator of diet quality. Multiple linear regression models were used to estimate the significant association between types of soda consumption and NQI stratified by body mass index. Results: Regular soda drinkers had lower NQI than diet soda drinkers, but only for overweight

Digestibility Coefficients of Cattle Hoof Meal Diet by African Catfish Clarias gariepinus Juvenile

Digestibility trial of Cattle hoof waste subjected to five processing methods was conducted on Clarias gariepinus juveniles. A reference diet 70 % and test diet 30 % was formulated with chromic oxide biomarker. Feed and feacal samples collected at 8h interval after feeding were analysed for proximate parameters and digestibility coefficient calculated. There was significant difference (P < 0.05) among treatments crude protein digestibility was highest in Reference diet (88.26 ± 0.04) < soda ash diet (87.49 ± 0.04) < fermented diet (82.15 ± 0.10) < wood ash diet (81.26 ± 0.03) < raw hoof diet (79.57 ± 0.05) and lowest in Autoclaved diet (77.69 ± 0.02). Nutrient digestibility also showed significant difference (P < 0.05) among treatments with highest values for soda ash diets parameters and least protein nutrient in autoclaved diet (58.99±0.08 ); fat, dry matter and energy nutrient in raw hoof diet (56.41 ± 3.49; 23.39 ± 0.16; 25.71 ± 0.75). This study concludes that Clarias gariepinus juveniles can be fed soda ash treated cattle hoof waste

Growth performance of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) juvenile fed cattle hoof meal reference and test diets

Cattle hoof meal was processed by autoclaving, fermentation, wood ash fermentation, soda ash treatment and rawunprocessed hoof. This was studied on Clarias gariepinus juveniles 14.22±0.23g stocked at 15 fish per tank in replicate. Treated samples were used in compounding six isonitrogenous diets of a reference diet 70%: test diet 30% and fed at 3% body weight. Significant difference (P<0.05) was observed among dietary treatments. Weight gain, specific growth rate feed conversion ratio percentage weight gain in soda ash diet was enhanced followed by raw hoof diet while wood ash treated diet showed the least response on fish growth. Fish carcass quality was enhanced with raw hoof treated diets over other diets. Utilization of soda ash treated hoof meal can be used in enhancing growth of C. gariepinus.Keywords: Cattle-hoof-meal; Fishmeal; haematology; keratin

Beverage Consumption and Hypertension: Findings from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The study sample was comprised of 18,953 subjects aged 18 years and older who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Preference for diet soda over regular soda was higher in females as compared to males and in Caucasians as compared to other races. Mean alcohol consumption was almost three times higher in males than in females. Undiagnosed hypertension was more common in males than in females, in 65-90 than in 50-64 year olds, and in people with less than high school education compared to those with higher education. Diastolic pressure was correlated with the level of consumption of diet soda, coffee, tea, and alcohol. Diet soda and alcohol consumption had a statistically significant positive relationship with hypertension even after adjusting for demographic variables and body mass index. The study provides useful information of the patterns of beverage uses and the prevalence of hypertension in the United States

Traditional Brown Soda Bread: Recipe

The Irish Soda Bread is Ireland\u27s iconic brown bread. The loaf is made with wholemeal flour, buttermilk, salt and baking soda. Brown soda bread is quick and easy to produce; the bread is nutritious and filling and has been the staple diet of the Irish for nearly 200 years

Analysis of stevia extract and compare active functional group with other artificial sweetener; aspartame and sucralose

Sugar is very important for everyday use especially for humans as food and drinks as additives. Among all types of sweeteners; sucrose, aspartame and sucralose are widely used in foods and beverage industries. For instance; gum, yoghurt, diet soda, reduced-fruit juices and more products [1]. There are many artificial sweeteners and natural sweeteners in the market used as a sugar substitute

NutriNews, Volume 17, May 2016

This issue features Japanese Cuisine, Spice it up, and Diet Soda: Friend or Foe

Limiting What We Can Eat: A Bridge Too Far?

Innovative mayors across America are seeking to shape personal decisions about diet and physical activity, taking a page from tobacco control. But attempts to limit personal choices of what to eat have drawn the ire of vocal critics and sometimes the rebuke of judges, with former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s limit on soda portions becoming a key flash point. The public broadly accepts state power to control infectious diseases, but often draws a line at limiting dietary choices. The author wants to dispel some of the well-worn arguments in the obesity wars

Sugary Soda Consumption and Albuminuria: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2004

BACKGROUND: End-stage renal disease rates rose following widespread introduction of high fructose corn syrup in the American diet, supporting speculation that fructose harms the kidney. Sugar-sweetened soda is a primary source of fructose. We therefore hypothesized that sugary soda consumption was associated with albuminuria, a sensitive marker for kidney disease. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Design was a cross-sectional analysis. Data were drawn from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2004. The setting was a representative United States population sample. Participants included adults 20 years and older with no history of diabetes mellitus (n = 12,601); after exclusions for missing outcome and covariate information (n = 3,243), the analysis dataset consisted of 9,358 subjects. Exposure was consumption of two or more sugary soft drinks, based on 24-hour dietary recall. The main outcome measure was Albuminuria, defined by albumin to creatinine ratio cutpoints of >17 mg/g (males) and >25 mg/g (females). Logistic regression adjusted for confounders (diet soda, age, race-ethnicity, gender, poverty). Interactions between age, race-ethnicity, gender, and overweight-obesity were explored. Further analysis adjusted for potential mediators: energy intake, basal metabolic rate, obesity, hypertension, lipids, serum uric acid, smoking, energy expenditure, and glycohemoglobin. Alternative soda intake definitions and cola consumption were employed. RESULTS: Weighted albuminuria prevalence was 11%, and 17% consumed 2+ sugary soft drinks/day. The confounder-adjusted odds ratio for sugary soda was 1.40 (95% confidence interval: 1.13, 1.74). Associations were modified by gender (p = 0.008) and overweight-obesity (p = 0.014). Among women, the OR was 1.86 (95% CI: 1.37, 2.53); the OR among males was not significant. In the group with body mass under 25 kg/m(2), OR = 2.15 (95% confidence interval: 1.42, 3.25). Adjustment for potential mediators and use of alternative definitions of albuminuria and soda consumption did not appreciably change results. Diet sodas were not associated with albuminuria. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that sugary soda consumption may be associated with kidney damage, although moderate consumption of 1 or fewer sodas does not appear to be harmful. Additional studies are needed to assess whether HFCS itself, overall excess intake of sugar, or unmeasured lifestyle and confounding factors are responsible