The Society for Nutrition Education has been hosting an annual conference for over 40 years. The theme of the conference this year is Child Nutrition: Action Today for a Healthy Tomorrow. This is a great opportunity for California nutrition educators since the conference this year is right in our backyard at the beautiful Reno-Tahoe area Peppermill Resort. This conference for nutrition program planners and evaluators, teachers, dietitians and dietetic technicians, researchers, county extension agents, policy makers, chefs, scientists, and more, offers access to the latest developments in food, nutrition, and education. Participants will come away with new research, creative ideas, and practical techniques applicable in many settings. Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the SNE annual conference while earning continuing education credits, networking, and advancing your knowledge and skills.

This year, our own Trina Robertson, M.S. R.D. will be presenting at the conference. Her topic is "Activity & Eating”: An Interactive Adult Nutrition Education Program. She will present findings about our adult nutrition program, Activity & Eating. The evaluation results with adults in two unique populations will be highlighted- school employees participating in a worksite wellness initiative and adults learning English as a second language in a community college. In addition to identifying how the program improves adult nutrition and physical activity behaviors, the results of the project assisted in developing priorities on how the Activity & Eating booklet could be improved. Attendees will be the first to see the revised program and how it includes behavior change theories and health literacy concepts. This is a great example of how evaluation can direct program improvement. If you plan on attending, we invite you to come to Trina's session on Tuesday, July 27 from 12:30 - 1:30 pm in the Tuscan 11-12 at the Peppermill Resort. If you hadn't planned on attending, we strongly encourage you to register! Held July 24 - 27, 2010 in Reno/Tahoe, SNE's Conference is the only event geared specifically towards nutrition educators.

Maureen Bligh, M.A.. R.D.

Project Manager

What does it mean to live a healthy life? It seems few have found the right balance between healthy and guilt-free living. There are things you can control that really do affect the quality and length of life (don't smoke and wear a seatbelt). And there are things that are completely out of our control (age, gender and family history). Then there is a large volume of space between these two extremes with many, many lifestyle choices that cause the health-conscious among us a great deal of angst.

There is a myth that perfect health can be achieved if you follow all of the "health rules". Unfortunately, the number of health rules seems to be increasing exponentially; eat locally grown foods, compost, avoid foods with more than 4 ingredients on the food label, exercise 60 minutes per day but be sure to include stretching and strengthening to your routine. Avoid sodium. Drink a glass of wine daily to avoid heart disease and avoid the temptation to drink two glasses to avoid breast cancer. Be watchful of food packaging since it may be leaching harmful chemicals into your food and your house may be toxic as well. Get out in the sun to get some vitamin D, but slather with sun screen after 15 minutes to avoid skin cancer. Navigating all of these choices can either make us compulsive and neurotic or throw our hands up into the air and ignore all health advice completely.

The reality is we don't have total control over our health. A book published last year by two doctors from Tufts University provides some sound advice regarding this topic. Live a Little, by Dr. Susan M. Love, M.D. and Alice D. Domar, Ph.D. provides some guidance to women for living a healthy enough life to be pretty healthy. Their research found that healthy habits tend to form a U-shaped curve, with serious neglect on one end of the curve and obsession on the other. The book describes the range of activities that fall into the "pretty healthy" zone between the extremes for sleep, stress, health screenings, exercise, nutrition and healthy relationships. Within the pretty healthy zone there are a wide variety of health behaviors. This book provides helpful guidelines on where to draw the line to achieve pretty healthy habits in these six areas.

So the trick is to realize that no one has total control over their health; then to exercise, eat wisely and manage stress anyway. The nutrition chapter in the book is titled, Eating Well: Beyond Blueberries, which attempts to strike a balance between health and food enjoyment. As a registered dietitian, I have always believed in a similar philosophy that balances health and quality of life. Dairy Council of California programs are also designed to consider all the factors that drive food choices; taste, convenience, health, culture, etc. The challenge is to eat wisely most of the time, while including some indulgent choices some of the time. And when you eat an indulgent food, enjoy it, since food is truly one of life's best pleasures. A healthy life can and should be simple and enjoyable. This book is a recommended resource for consumers to help them achieve this goal and for health professionals to become better health coaches for their clients.

Maureen Bligh, MA, RD

Project Manager

Do you or your clients have a concern about the environment as it relates to the food supply? Or have you been thinking about this issue but have yet to learn much about it? Dairy Council of California has developed a new resource for health professionals that takes an in-depth look at this issue. The course is unique since it not only educates the participant on the many issues impacting a sustainable food supply, it also offers specific suggestions for how to address this issue with clients. This 4-credit hour online course titled Sustainability, Nutrition and Health is now available online. The course has two components: a 30-minute audio PowerPoint and a PDF handout containing background articles that are intended to broaden and augment the PowerPoint. The course is authored by Marianne Smith Edge, MS, RD, LD, a former president of the American Dietetic Association and a nationally recognized expert in this area. Access to the course is free. If you would like to take the posttest for CEU credits, this test is available at a very reasonable price from Nutrition Dimension.

 Sustainability is an emerging concept and is a process that encompasses social, ecological and economic dimensions. The course focuses on consumers making decisions that are good for the family, good for the environment and good for individual health. The course talks about the meaning of organic food within the sustainability umbrella as well as the issue of feeding our ever-growing population.

The course is unique as it offers the practicing health professional concrete suggestions to use with clients. Health professionals can discuss with clients their choices regarding: 

• The choice of food purchased
• Food packaging
• Home food preparation and storage
• Serving size and waste

Ultimately how to overlay sustainability with the other food and nutrition priorities of individuals and families is a personal choice. It is important, however, to remind clients to consider their health and personal preferences when making these decisions and to include foods from all of the food groups, since each food group provides essential nutrients.

Maureen Bligh, MA, RD

Project Manager

The nutrition advice to "avoid processed foods" is commonly being tossed out by well-meaning individuals. This advice leads one to ponder two questions, "What is a processed food?" and, "What does it mean to my health if I avoid them?" Whole wheat bread, string cheese and frozen broccoli are all processed foods. Should these be avoided? Is it possible to have unintended health consequences by avoiding all foods that have been processed by the food industry?

Processed foods are defined as 'value-added products- raw commodities transformed through the use of materials, labor and technology.’ If a product requires any degree of processing, it is considered a processed food, whether it is something minor like freezing vegetables or more complex, such as producing snack foods. Many processed foods serve important functions for health, such as fortification of a food to enhance its nutritional profile or pasteurization to make a product safe from potentially harmful microorganisms. In fact, processing foods has eradicated certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies and also led to preventing very serious food borne illnesses. On the other hand, there are also processed foods that have low nutritional value due to processing. As a result, it is essential to teach consumers how to navigate through the continuum of processed foods and select more choices that are nutrient dense and fewer that are low in nutrients and high in fat, sugar and salt. Nutrition professionals are uniquely able to help consumers make food choices to meet their health goals and align with their personal values. And of course consumers won't eat anything that does not meet their criteria for acceptable taste.

To learn about more suggestions for educating clients about processed foods, please view our recent Health Connections Newsletter titled, "Processed Food": A Continuum of Choices. You can also subscribe to receive this quarterly newsletter for free!

Ashley Rosales, R.D.

Project Manager

Last month, Oakland Raiders running back, Darren McFadden, joined the students at Grant Elementary for lunch to help celebrate the West Contra Costa Unified School District’s seventeenth annual Nutrition, Health and Fitness Festival.

Darren McFadden supports Fuel Up to Play 60, a national initiative encouraging kids to get involved in promoting healthy eating and physical activity in their schools.

I was honored to interview Darren in front of a crowd of excited students and staff. Darren spoke about the importance of “fueling up” with critical nutrient-rich foods and “playing for 60 minutes” every day. Students were thrilled to have the opportunity to ask their own questions to the Raiders star. The big surprise came when Darren began throwing a few passes to one of the students. Students cheered loudly with every pass. Darren ended his presentation by having the students join him in doing a few stretching exercises.

Dairy Council of California was pleased to participate in this special event recognizing Principal, Dr. Susan Berrington, the teachers , staff and students of Grant Elementary for their support to the West Contra Costa Unified school meals program.

Valerie Fung-A-Ling

Territory Manager

It is undisputed that the biggest public health concern of our time is obesity. We know the devastating financial toll it takes on our healthcare system, the burden it places on our communities and impact it has on an individual’s quality of life. Health professionals, politicians, community leaders, food industry experts, school administrators, corporate managers and parents are just a few of the important stakeholders working together to solve the obesity epidemic. Looking for possible solutions to the obesity crisis was the charge of the “Farm and Food Policy and Obesity Workshop” held at the University of California, Davis on May 21-22, 2010. The renowned speakers included university professors, economists, researchers, dietitians, agricultural and resource experts, USDA representatives and public policy leaders. The proceedings from the conference can be found on UC Davis website. The speakers weighed in with opinions and ideas for solving obesity. One underlying theme became apparent; we have no actual scientific evidence that any specific strategies work. It was also clear that we walk a fine line between the obesity crisis and a hunger epidemic occurring simultaneously in our country.

Strategies are currently underway in some communities to improve health while providing nourishment in an economically feasible way. Farm and food policy holds some promise to accomplishing this goal. Many are already looking at ways to connect people to the food supply, by offering a variety of nutritious foods in school food service operations, increasing the availability of farmer’s markets and/or supporting local farmers to continue to provide their communities with a variety of wholesome, safe and affordable foods. However, it is important to recognize that policies regarding farming and food are just one piece of the puzzle. There is still much to learn about how to get people to prepare and consume healthy food, how to create an environment conducive to health and still allow for personal choice. Food choice decisions are extremely complex and are driven by hunger, cost, taste preferences, emotional issues, cooking skills, time, food access just at name a few. Gail Woodward-Lopez of the UC Berkley Center for Weight and Health discussed this during her presentation titled "Research Informing Policy Change". Her research shows that the policies with the most impact are those that limit consumer sacrifice. For example, restaurants that "optimally default" their offerings to healthier ingredients and acceptable portions were more successful than those that provided menu labels which tend to be confusing to consumers. She concluded that research and evaluation should impact community action and policy change.

When developing solutions to the obesity crisis we all need to look at the big picture and resist placing blame on one piece of the equation. We must broaden our perspective and focus on what really works and more scientific studies are needed to determine what does work. However, I think we can all agree that policies shouldn't drive research, but the research should drive the policies. Farm and Food Policy can potentially help the obesity crisis but this alone will not solve it. A collaborative effort to look at the totality of issues impacting food choices will move us in the right direction toward improving our nation’s health.

Ashley Rosales, R.D.

Project Manager

Roughly 200 New Haven Unified students, parents and staff were out early on the track this past Saturday participating in a fundraiser to benefit all of New Haven’s Co-curricular programs. Dairy Council of California provided a healthy snack for the participants.

I arrived at Cesar Chavez Middle School bright and early to set up my yogurt parfait station for the runners. The sun was out, and festive music was already playing in the background. Participants ranging in age from kindergarten to 70 plus began arriving, sporting track shorts and carrying water bottles.

At 9 am sharp, Union City Mayor Mark Green and NUSD Superintendent Karen McVeigh fired the start gun to begin the 5K & 10K run….walkers were also welcome. By about 9:30, the top place finishers had already crossed the finish line and made their way over to my table to refuel with a health snack of cold yogurt, frozen berries and granola topping. Teens came back multiple times for refills. The weather was hot, so participants appreciated the reward of a cold, nourishing snack following their race.

I stayed until the final event - the relay (my favorite). The winning team – James Logan High School Boys team gobbled up the last of the yogurt parfaits.

Way to go New Haven Booster Association (and founding members: John Shockley, Michael Ritchie, Eileen Riener, Rebecca Venable, Natalie Haney & Rick LaPlante) for organizing a successful and HEALTHY event to “Save Student Activities”. It was a great day!

Valerie Fung-A-Ling

Territory Manager

The San Diego Chargers and Dairy Council of California teamed up with San Diego Unified School District to promote the Fuel Up to Play 60 program. This program encourages students to fuel up with healthy food and play at least 60 minutes per day. San Diego students, grades k-12, were asked to write an essay on what Fuel up to Play 60 meant to them. Teachers also joined in on the fun by sending in whole classroom entries. This is the eighth annual essay event San Diego has hosted and this year it was sponsored by SeaWorld Adventure Park and the Pear Bureau Northwest.

Entries were judged on correctness and thoroughness of answer, clarity, creativity, spelling, grammar and presentation. Participants in this contest are helping other students by encouraging them to be more active and to eat healthier food. Entries were presented through poems, essays and raps. First, second and third place prizes were awarded to winners in each of four grade categories; K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Prizes included gift cards to Barnes & Noble and SeaWorld prize packages. The list of winners and their winning essays have been announced on the San Diego Unified School District website.

May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month. Osteoporosis is a medical condition where bones become fragile and more likely to break. Here are some startling facts from the National Osteoporosis Foundation: Osteoporosis is a major public health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans, or 55 percent of the people 50 years of age and older.

In 2005, about 293,000 Americans age 45 and over were admitted to hospitals with a fracture of the femoral neck, a common type of hip fracture. Osteoporosis was the underlying cause of most of these injuries. An average of 24 percent of hip fracture patients aged 50 and over die in the year following their fracture.

The best ways to prevent osteoporosis are to eat foods rich in calcium and vitamin D, like milk, cheese and yogurt, and engage in regular weight bearing exercise like walking, jogging or even carrying groceries, all of which build bone strength and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

The following resources are available on our website to help you build stronger bones:

• Calcium Quiz
• MyFitness Planner
• Vitamin D: What You Need to Know about the Sunshine Vitamin

As the month of May wraps up, take some time to learn about ways to prevent osteoporosis.

Dairy Council of California

I recently attended a webinar titled, The Power of Protein in Optimal Health. In a world of health messages focused primarily on the benefits of eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, which are all healthful and often under-consumed carbohydrate sources, it was refreshing to hear a new and rather fresh message … “eat more protein.” I was also pleased to learn that valid scientific studies back up this recommendation. The scientifically valid version of a “higher” protein diet differs from a fad diet because the protein levels still fall within the recommended range of 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fat. In contrast, the induction phase of the Atkins Diet only allows 20 grams of carbohydrate, which is a ketogenic diet. Thirty percent of calories from protein still allows for flexibility in dietary planning and falls within the recommendations of AMDR (Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range), which is 10-35%.

According to the research presented, protein plays a key role in satiety, weight management, chronic disease prevention, preservation of lean body mass and bone health. Dr. Kevin Short, PhD, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center noted that there are many conditions that would benefit from higher protein intake: 

• Aging
• Muscle wasting
• Acute injury or illness
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Osteoporosis
• Exercise training

Several myths about higher protein intakes were “debunked”, the most significant one being protein's effect on bone health. The old theory is that protein weakens bones by increasing calciuria, or calcium excretion in the urine. According to Dr. Stuart Phillips, PhD, Professor, McMaster University, new research shows that calciuria is actually caused by a greater or enhanced uptake of calcium. He pointed out that bone and dietary protein are perfect partners. In fact, higher protein diets are associated with greater bone mass and fewer fractures when calcium intake is adequate. This is just another reason why milk is so good for our bones, as it delivers a package of nutrients that includes both calcium and protein, which you may not find in other calcium fortified beverages or supplements.

As health professionals, we need to acknowledge the benefits that are provided in a healthy diet that contains protein-rich food sources, such as milk and milk products, lean meats, eggs, fish and poultry, as well as plant sources like beans, nuts and seeds. These foods should be encouraged along with the recommendations to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. People will respond to this complete and “diverse” dietary message. In fact, this webinar highlighted market research that shows people believe that protein contributes to healthy living, and that they want to consume more protein! Scientific research indicates that high-quality protein is of significant importance to optimal health, as well as disease prevention and management. For more information on this topic, check out our Spring 2009 Health Connections Newsletter.

Ashley Rosales, R.D.

Project Manager