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

I recently had the privilege of being a moderator of a session at the California Dietetic Association Annual meeting titled, Unintended Consequences of Simple Dietary Advice: Optimizing Health & Minimizing Harm. The speakers were Dr. Doris Derelian, professor of Food Science and Nutrition at California Polytechnic State University, in San Luis Obispo and Dr. Gail Frank, professor of Nutrition and Director of the Dietetic Internship at California State University Long Beach.

These speakers described a phenomenon they have noticed over the past few years -- nutrition advice is often condensed into very simple messages for the sake of consumer education and the intent to change consumer behavior. Although these messages may be useful to some, they are not intended to provide complete dietary advice and at times may cause more harm than good.

What are Unintended Consequences? Any intervention in a complex system that may or may not have the intended result, but will inevitably create unanticipated and often undesired outcomes. There are three types:

• a positive unexpected benefit, usually referred to as serendipity or windfall
• a negative unexpected drawback, occurring in addition to the desired effect of the policy
• a perverse effect, that may be contrary to what was originally intended; when a potential solution to a problem only makes the situation worse

An example, during the 1980s the popular nutrition message was to "Eat Low Fat". The intent of this message was to lose weight and reduce the risk of heart disease. As a result, calories from fat were reduced; however, calories from carbohydrates increased. The net result was significant population-wide weight gain. Health professionals need to be skilled at sharing the perspective of the total diet and equip clients to evaluate their overall nutritional needs before adopting isolated dietary changes.

The speakers had these take away messages:

• Use a food guide system (like MyPyramid) as a basis for forming a sustainable, healthy eating plan. It is flexible enough to accommodate a wide range of goals and health concerns, yet ensures adequate intake of individual nutrients.
• Choose nutrient-dense foods from all of the food groups to optimize nutrient intake while keeping calories in check.
• Before recommending a dietary change, consider the overall impact it may have particularly on long-term health and wellness.

To read more about this topic, read this paper, Unintended Consequences of Simplistic Dietary Recommendations, Good Advice Gone Awry? Considering the impact of a dietary recommendation on the total diet is an interesting twist in dietary counseling and public education. Are we up for the challenge?

Maureen Bligh, MA, RD

Project Manager

The Dairy Council of California has a Nutrition Trends Task Force which includes ten staff members, eight of whom are registered dietitians. The Task Force meets three times per year to review the trends in nutrition research, policy and communications. Staff is responsible for tracking over 40 publications that report on nutrition issues. This summary is the result of the meeting conducted in February 2010, to review the issues and determine the top nutrition trends.

1. Obesity prevention continues to be a top priority in political, social and public-health circles

2. Public-health efforts target sodium reduction to improve health

3. Dietary fat may not be the demon once believed

4. Vitamin D’s status as superstar nutrient growing

5. Dietary Guidelines due out in late 2010

6. Sustainability a growing factor in food choices

7. Public policy makers attempt to help control overweight through legislation and regulation

8. Choosing nutrient-rich foods offers assurance of dietary adequacy

9. Satiety as a new tool to address weight management

10. Corporate wellness programs, in-store clinics and social media provide new opportunities for nutrition and

health professionals

The full report is now available on our website. 

Maureen Bligh, MA, RD

Project Manager

Lactose intolerance is a real and important clinical syndrome, but its true prevalence is not known, according to a report released in February by the NIH Consensus Development Conference: Lactose Intolerance and Health. Not enough data is available to estimate the prevalence of true lactose intolerance in the United States, the report stated, but it's likely the numbers are lower than those often reported.

Many individuals with real or perceived lactose intolerance avoid dairy and ingest inadequate amounts of calcium, potassium and vitamin D, which may predispose them to decreased bone accrual, osteoporosis, and other adverse health outcomes.  In data presented by Dr. Connie Weaver from Purdue University, among teenagers that exclude dairy from the diet, 100% lacked key nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, phosphorous and potassium. Although theoretically adequate nutrients can be consumed from non-dairy sources, teenagers in our culture do not eat enough of the foods needed to get adequate amounts of these nutrients if they do not include dairy. This is especially important because peak bone mass is attained during the teenage years and if this window of opportunity is missed, bone is compromised for the remainder of life. 

In most cases, individuals experiencing lactose intolerance symptoms do not need to eliminate dairy completely. Research is clear that many people with lactose malabsorption or intolerance can, in fact, tolerate significant amounts of dairy food. There is evidence that increasing consumption of dairy foods gradually over time can improve the body’s tolerance of lactose. The following simple, evidence-based dietary strategies are a healthy approach to coping with lactose intolerance:

• Drink small amounts of milk with meals.  Consuming milk with other foods or a meal can make it easier to digest. By introducing small amounts of milk at meals, over time tolerance improves for most individuals.
• Eat yogurt. Yogurts that contain live and active cultures can make it easier for the body to digest lactose.
• Eat aged cheeses. Aged cheeses like Swiss, Parmesan, Gouda, Colby, Provolone, Cheddar, Edam, Fontina, Gruyere, Muenster and Monterey Jack have very little lactose.
• Drink lactose-free milk. Lactose-free milk is available in most local supermarkets in the dairy aisle. However, this option is more expensive and research shows in many cases is not necessary. 

I asked a colleague who has lactose intolerance if these techniques really work and she said absolutely. Her primary suggestion was to keep experimenting to find the milk and dairy foods—and the amounts—that work for you. The gradual introduction of dairy foods into the diet on a regular basis can improve the body’s ability to digest lactose. The body will slowly build up the enzyme it needs to digest the lactose.

Maureen Bligh, MA, RD
Project Manager

Almost 900 middle school teachers, administrators and facilitators attended the California League of Middle Schools annual conference on February 26-28th, 2010 in Sacramento.  The theme this year was, Accelerating Student Achievement in Tough Times. In spite of slightly lower conference attendance compared to last year, a current trend at conferences statewide due to budget cuts, the conference was a resounding success with excellent presentations and networking opportunities.  

Many positive and energetic teachers and administrators visited Dairy Council of California’s exhibit booth. What a pleasure it was to chat with loyal customers and meet principals and teachers, many of whom were eager to learn about our free nutrition education curricula and how it meets California content standards.

A Physical Education teacher from Cupertino Middle School, Judson Sickler, graciously joined me to co-present a nutrition education workshop. After first adapting the Dairy Council of California Exercise Your Options program to work with his sixth grade classes two years ago, Judson has successfully implemented his model of nutrition education in the entire sixth grade. The audience appreciated his practical strategies to engage students in making lifelong healthy choices. Check out his website, Mr Stickler's Physical Education Page. 

Dairy Council of California congratulates teachers like Judson and thousands of others who make nutrition education work in their classrooms. We are proud to provide teachers with free nutrition curricula and to encourage wellness in your schools and homes. Teachers, if you have adapted our programs in a creative way, please let us know. 

For extra support, contact your local territory manager or watch our free professional development training.

Tracy Witmer, R.D.
Territory Manager

There has been a lot of discussion lately about the benefits/drawbacks of serving flavored milk in schools. Many health professionals share the view that the small amount of sugar in chocolate milk is worth the additional nutrients included in the food. It is a little known fact that nine out of ten girls and seven out of ten boys currently do not get adequate calcium in their diet. With life expectancy on the rise in the United States, osteopenia and osteoporosis have become increasing health concerns among the older Americans. And we are seeing consequences of lower bone mineral density early in life as well. Children and adolescents today are more likely to break a bone than their parents were. 
 
Dr. Robert Murray, Director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition, at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio recently wrote a blog post in November 2009 on the National Dairy Council, The Dairy Report blog. In it he said:

"Most nutritionists strongly recommend yogurt as a highly nutritious product for adults, particularly women. But it’s rare for adults to consume unsweetened yogurt, unadulterated by additives or sweeteners. Why is it so different for children? Most children have a taste preference for sweet that exceeds that of adults. Many prefer flavored milk to white milk. When flavored milks are withdrawn in schools, consumption falls, as we should expect. Has the avoidance of 2 teaspoons of sugar been worth the loss of protein, calcium, vitamins D, A and B12, magnesium, potassium, riboflavin and niacin? I don’t believe so. Many of the nutrients available in milk and other dairy products are on the “nutrients of concern” list in the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Why wouldn’t we use flavored milk to help children meet the nutrient recommendations that many fall short on?"

The Dairy Council of California has the following resources to help parents, teachers and school food service personnel sort through the issues regarding flavored milk in children's diets:

• Got Flavored Milk? Clearing Up Common Misconceptions
• Fuel Your Body a flyer to share with parents and coaches
• Milk's Nutrient Contribution to School Lunch
• Parents Can Feel Good About Flavored Milk
• Adding Chocolate to Milk Doesn't Take Away Its Nine Essential Nutrients 

These references provide additional support for defending the role of flavored milk in schools: 

• Fact Sheet: Use Low-fat Milk, Cheese, and Yogurt for Healthier School Meals
• Drinking Flavored or Plain Milk Is Positively Associated with Nutrient Intake and Is Not Associated with Adverse Effects on Weight Status in US Children and Adolescents, J Am Diet Assoc. 2008;108:631-639.
• Clearing Up Confusion on the Role of Dairy in Children's Diets, AAP News, Volume 28, Number 7, June 2007. 

In some corners it is politically popular to bash sugar as the culprit that brought about the obesity crisis. The Journal of the American Dietetic Association article listed above refutes that flavored milk leads to weight gain in children. In reality, the obesity crisis is a very complex issue and will take complex rather than simple solutions to fix. We need to be sure that the solutions created to solve one problem in the end do not cause another. 
 
 
Maureen Bligh, M.A., R.D.
Project Manager
 
 

The beginning of the New Year is a time when your clients may be more focused on making healthy resolutions. Losing weight, healthier eating and increasing physical activity are always popular New Year’s resolutions. Many people believe these goals are best achieved with a "quick fix" or drastic plan or program. However, research supports that long-term weight loss and sustained healthy lifestyle changes occur slowly over time. Taking small steps toward goals will yield the greatest results. With the proper guidance, accurate information, realistic goals and personal commitment your client's resolutions can become a reality.

In order to get off to a good start for the New Year, have your clients sign up today for our free Meals Matter Nutrition and Fitness Challenge. This four-week Challenge, beginning January 12th, is designed by registered dietitians to help reduce holiday weight gain and renew healthy lifestyle routine with expert guidance on nutrition, fitness and meal planning. It can be offered as a tool to complement the information you provide in individual couseling or group settings such as worksite wellness.

The Meals Matter Nutrition and Fitness Challenge will help establish a pattern of healthy food choices each week by providing a range of features to make meal planning easier, such as nutrition articles, access to healthy recipes and a meal planner to help plan meals over time. Over the course of the Challenge, participants will complete our interactive healthy lifestyle tools, which allow for customized nutrition and physical-activity recommendations based on your client's unique needs and preferences.

Although the Challenge begins January 12th, clients can register now and connect with others through social-networking Challenge pages found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. These venues help clients connect with other participants for social support before, during and after the four-week Challenge. In addition, members who complete each aspect of the Challenge by Feb. 19th are eligible for a reward so encourage your clients to join today.

Trina Robertson, MS, RD

Project Manager