Nutritional News

Nutritional information and health research keeps coming in. And Del Monte's nutritionists are constantly monitoring the results and keeping up on the latest in Nutrition News and information relating to Del Monte's complete line of products for your family.

Here are their summaries of some of the latest research findings.

Easy Being Green

January 7 / Supermarket News — A newly modified MyPyramid for Older Adults promotes canned and frozen fruits and vegetables as convenient sources of fiber for Americans over 70. "These choices are easier to prepare and have a longer shelflife, minimizing waste," said Alice Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. "Such factors are important to consider when arthritis kicks in or dark, cold days mean it is less likely someone will go out to replenish their refrigerator."

Guidance related to the specific forms of food that can best meet older adults' needs are unique to the modified version of MyPyramid for Older Adults. The new pyramid's graphic includes pictures of a jar of peanut butter, canned kidney beans, a tin of tuna fish, mixed dried fruit and frozen berries and broccoli.

Updated by Tufts researchers to correspond with the USDA's MyPyramid, the modified version is intended to be used as a supplement to the MyPyramid computer-based program. Lichtenstein and her colleagues developed the modified print-based version because they were concerned about computer use among older adults. Their efforts were funded by a grant from the USDA and the Ross Initiative on Aging at Tufts. The original Food Guide Pyramid for Older Adults was published by Tufts researchers in 1999.

From the January 7, 2008, Prepared Foods e-Flash

Study Identifies Factors Influencing Food Choice and Solutions for Eating More Healthfully

New research from Rutgers University confirms that America's diet is out of shape. The study, published in Topics in Clinical Nutrition summarized peer-reviewed research from 1994 to 2007 on Americans' dietary intake; food choice motivators; eating times and locations; and food preparation habits.

The purpose of the study, funded by the Canned Food Alliance, was to better understand why Americans eat the way they do and to provide recommendations for how Americans can achieve a healthier diet by identifying the behaviors and motivators that influence Americans' food consumption.

The research showed that people are eating too much salt, sugar and fat, and not enough important nutrients such as fiber, vitamin A and calcium. For example:

• More than 90% of people consume more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium a day - the maximum daily recommended amount.
• Males and females ages 2-19 consume more than three times the daily recommended amount of sugar.
• Fiber is in short supply with Americans meeting on average only 60% of their daily requirement.

Meal habits and inadequate planning may be a factor of poor dietary intake. One-third of Americans decide what to make for dinner at the last minute and make dinner selections because they require little or no planning. Although nutrient-rich, diverse foods are available, consumers are still falling short of dietary recommendations. So as part of the study, a panel of food, culinary and nutrition experts received the research results and developed a list of recommendations for making mealtime decisions. The recommendations include:

• Make eating healthy a priority
• Know the value of a healthy diet
• Engage in mindful eating
• Savor the flavors of food
• Retrain your palate
• Let food do its intended job
• Focus on portion size
• Drop out of the clean plate club
• Make it easy to eat healthfully
• Plan ahead
• Schedule family meals and make them a priority

For more information on this study and a full list of the recommendations, click here to visit the Canned Food Alliance's website.

Who Says Fresh is Always Best?

Did you know that canned fruits and vegetables are as healthy a choice as fresh fruits and vegetables? New research from the University of California at Davis confirmed that canned products often have as much, if not more, nutrition than their fresh counterparts.

Why is this important?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that all Americans eat between 6 and 13 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Powerful nutrients including antioxidant vitamins like Vitamins C and E and beta carotene, fiber and hundreds of plant nutrients such as lycopene, are essential for all Americans to protect against a variety of chronic diseases. The more fruits and vegetables in our daily meals, the lower our risk for developing many chronic diseases.

Most Americans don't have fresh fruits and vegetables growing in their backyards year round, so we rely on fresh produce from the grocery store. But did you ever wonder how long that fresh produce has been sitting on the grocery store shelf, much less how long it took to get to that shelf? What's more, once you get that produce home it sits in your refrigerator for days before you get around to using it.

Over time much of the nutrition that was found in that fresh produce has diminished. Meanwhile, canned fruits and vegetables are packed the same day that they are picked. Although a minimal amount of nutrients are lost during that initial canning process, what's left is solidly preserved until the can is opened—an amount equivalent to the fresh produce you purchase at the store.

And don't forget, the heat processing of canned fruits and vegetables increases the concentration and availability of key nutrients like lycopene and beta carotene—powerful nutrients proven to have countless health-protective properties.

Stock your pantry with a variety of canned fruits and vegetables to increase your meal options and move toward a healthier lifestyle for you and your family!