Artificial sweeteners have been controversial for almost as long as theyve been around. As early as 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt was compelled to defend the worlds first no-calorie sweetener. Anybody who says saccharin is injurious to health, he said, "is an idiot!

The debate rages on today. Some dietitians and nutritional scientists go to bat for artificial sweeteners like sucralose and stevia as a safe way to enjoy sweet drinks and foods while avoiding the calories. Other scientists believe they play a role in the obesity and metabolic disease epidemics because they confuse the brain and the body about the caloric value of sweet foods. A lot of consumers especially those trying to lose weight end up confused.

Enter Dana Small, a neuroscientist at Yale University, whose research, published Thursday in Current Biology, promises to change not only our understanding of sweeteners, but of sweetness itself.

Small did not set out to test the healthfulness of artificial sweeteners. Rather, she was exploring a more fundamental question: Is the rewarding character of sweet foods due to the calories those foods contain?

To test her hypothesis, Small created five beverages. All were sweetened using the identical amount of sucralose, an artificial sweetener, so that they tasted about as sweet as a drink containing about 75 calories of sugar. But then Small varied the calories using a tasteless carbohydrate called maltodextrin. The small army of beverages she produced each with its own distinctive color and flavor were all equally sweet, but contained the following calories: zero, 37.5, 75, 112.5, 150.

After subjects had consumed each drink six times over a period of weeks twice in the lab and four times at home Small used fMRI brain scanning to see how each drink affected brain reward circuits. Her prediction: The more calories, the greater the reward.

The results were nothing like she envisioned. The most reinforcing drink was the 75-calorie one. It generated a stronger brain response than the 0-calorie drink, but it also generated a stronger brain response than the 150-calorie drink.

This made no sense. If calories were what made sweet foods appealing, why would a 75-calorie drink be more rewarding than a 150-calorie drink? But if calories had nothing to do with it, what made the 75-calorie drink more desirable than the zero-calorie drink?

It took Small two years to unravel these baffling results with more experiments and analysis. In one experiment, she measured the bodys metabolic response, which is the energy the body expends to process calories. Once again, the results repeated themselves. The metabolic response to the high-calorie drink was lower than it was for the medium-calorie drink, a result that made Small think, Holy cow, whats going on?

Eventually, she pieced it all together. Sweetness, she realized, plays a role in how the body responds to food. It regulates the metabolic signal, Small says.

When sweetness and calories were matched, it all ran as expected: the 75-calorie drink produced not only the largest metabolic response but also the largest brain response because the calories matched the taste.

But when there was a mismatch between sweetness and calories, the response was strangely muted. Its like the system threw up its hands and didnt know what to do, Small explains.

The findings present certain troubling questions. For example, what happens to all those mismatched calories that dont get metabolized? We know its not being used as a fuel Small says. Whats happening to it?

Those extra calories, she says, are probably being stored, either in muscle, in the liver, or in fat, none of which is desirable. If sweeteners are disrupting how carbohydrates are being metabolized, then this could be an important mechanism behind the metabolic dysfunction we see in diets high in processed foods.

The findings also suggest that whatever benefit or harm there may be to artificial sweeteners is context dependent. A diet drink consumed by itself and on an empty stomach may be far less harmful than one consumed with carbohydrates with a sandwich, say, or a bag of chips.

But whats troubling is that in an effort to reduce added sugars, food companies are now designing all sorts of products that contain blends of sweeteners and carbohydrates that could be disrupting the bodys metabolic response. The sports drink Powerade, Small notes in her paper, contains the sugars glucose and fructose alongside the artificial sweeteners sucralose and Acesulfame K. A yogurt product made by Chobani called Simply 100 similarly contains 14 grams of carbohydrate (six of which are from sugars) as well as stevia leaf extract.

This may also explain why the existing body of research on artificial sweeteners is so mixed. For example, a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2012 found that Dutch children who consumed a single artificially sweetened beverage each day for 18 months gained less weight and less fat than children who drank a single sugar-sweetened beverage each day.

And yet, in much of the observational research in which scientists look at large populations people who consume artificially sweetened drinks, especially those who consume them a lot, appear to be at an alarmingly high risk for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Defenders of artificial sweeteners attribute this to reverse causation. Obese people, they point out, are already at a higher risk for obesity and metabolic disease. And since obese people are likely to turn to artificial sweeteners to lose weight, these studies just make it appear as though the artificial sweeteners are putting them at higher risk. (These studies, in other words, can make correlations look like causes.) Critics of artificial sweeteners counter that they still look bad even when you adjust for BMI, and that rats fed artificial sweeteners have been found to gain more weight than rats who are not.

In the Dutch study, when the children consumed their beverages at school, it was during morning break. The paper does not indicate whether or not food was consumed alongside them, and if so what kind of food.

Smalls research suggests this could be an important variable. Similarly, habitual users who drink, say, three or more artificially sweetened beverages a day may be more likely to consume them in combinations with food that are problematic.

Ultimately, Smalls research attests to how difficult it is to disentangle taste and deliciousness from nutrition and metabolism. Behind the universal love of sweet foods lies a nest of complex body-brain systems that are partly driven by metabolism, but also regulate it.

Taste, Small says, can change the metabolic fate of calories.

In other words, the dream of foods that taste great but have none of the calories may be just a dream.

Mark Schatzker is the author of The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor. He last wrote for Vox about tomato flavor.

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Study: diet soda can really mess with your metabolism - Vox

Thursday August 10 2017

Love it or hate it, there's no proof Marmite prevents miscarriage

"Like it or loathe it, but Marmite could help prevent millions of miscarriages and birth defects around the world," is the overly optimistic headline in The Daily Telegraph.

The news is based on research into just four families who have children with birth defects, with three of the families also having had miscarriages.

Researchers sequenced the families' DNA, and found all the children had similar mutations that prevent the synthesis and circulation of an enzyme called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in the body.

NAD is used by the body for cell signalling. Vitamin B3, also known as niacin, is thought to stimulate the production of NAD.

Mice bred to have the same mutations, and who also had miscarriages or offspring with defects, were given vitamin B3 supplements. All went on tohave healthy babies.

In theory, vitamin B3 supplements might be effective for women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant and are deficient in B3.

But the researchers didn't look at this they only looked at rare genetic mutations in four children and replicated them in mice. Pregnancy outcomes in women weren't studied.

It's certainly too soon to start recommending that all pregnant women start taking vitamin B3 supplements in the same way they're advised to take vitamin D.

If you're worried about vitamin B3, one way of safely upping your intake is by eating things like Marmite (or Vegemite), chicken and green peas.

Unfortunately, there arelots ofreasons why miscarriages and birth defects occur, many of which are currently unavoidable.

The study was carried out by researchers from a range of medical and academic institutions across Australia, including the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney, Macquarie University, the University of Adelaide, and theUniversity of Queensland School of Medicine.

The research was funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council, the Australian National Heart Foundation, the New South Wales Government Office for Health and Medical Research, a Queensland Premier's Fellowship, the Kirby Foundation, the Chain Reaction Challenge Foundation, and the Key Foundation.

The study was published in thepeer-reviewed The New England Journal of Medicine.

The UK media were arguably guilty of taking the study's press release at face value, and we suspect some journalists didn't actually read the study itself.

The much quoted statement from the lead author "This has the potential to significantly reduce the number of miscarriages and birth defects around the world, and I do not use those words lightly" is currently not supported by the evidence.

This research doesn't necessarily translate into reducing miscarriages in women. Miscarriages and birth defects happen for a range of reasons, not just because of one rare genetic mutation that reduces vitamin B3.

This two-stage laboratory study first involved genetic sequencing in familieswho hadchildren born with multiple birth defects thatdeveloped when the child was growing inside the womb.

Researchers then looked at similar disease-causing mutations in mice and the effect that increasing vitamin B3 in the diet had on preventing malformations in the growing foetus.

This type of research is interesting as it combines observations and genetic sequencing on humans with laboratory research in mice manipulated to have similar genetic mutations.

Increases in vitamin B3 would still need to be tested in humans with these particular genetic mutations to make sure this isn't just effective in mice.

Researchers took four families that each had a child with multiple birth defects and carried out genetic sequencing.

This technique is used to analyse the individual bases (nucleotides) of a person's DNA. It can help spot when a particular gene is altered (mutated) or missing altogether.

Four families two from Lebanon, one from Iraq and one from the US who had babies born with multiple birth defects took part in the research. The families from Lebanon and Iraq were related by blood.

The children had various different defects, some of which included short stature and heart, limb, kidney and ear-related deformities. Three of the mothers had also had one or more miscarriages.

Researchers found certain genetic mutations that affect the production of a molecule called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD).

This is produced naturally in the body, but can also be supplemented by increasing the amount of vitamin B3 in your diet, as it's also found in vitamin B3.

The researchers replicated the families' genetic mutations in mice, which were then given supplements of vitamin B3 to see if this affected their future offspring.

The four families' genetic mutations caused problems encoding two proteins called 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid 3,4-dioxygenase (HAAO) and kynureninase (KYNU).

These are both involved in a pathway that produces NAD. The children with birth defects therefore had reduced levels of circulating NAD in their bodies.

Mice bred to have mutations that reduced the production of HAAO and KYNU, and therefore reduced levels of circulating NAD, also had miscarriages or offspring born with defects.

After the mice were given more vitamin B3 as part of their diet, thereby increasing levels of circulating NAD, all subsequent offspring were born healthy.

The researchers concluded: "Disruption of NAD synthesis caused a deficiency of NAD and congenital malformations in humans and mice. Niacin (B3) supplementation during gestation prevented the malformations in mice."

This early-stage laboratory research has pinpointed two potential genes that might be responsible for some miscarriages and birth defects.

As well as identifying a problem, the researchers also managed to find a solution: the effect of these genes can be combatted by increasing vitamin B3 intake.

But treating a very specific and uncommon cause of birth defects in mice is certainly not a sure-fire solution to "significantly reduce the number of miscarriages and birth defects around the world".

We need future research to see if the same effect would happen in humans.

Also, three of the four children included in the study were the offspring of parents who were related by blood. This might mean that the type of genetic mutations studied in this research are more specific to the children of parents who are related.

A vitamin B3 supplement might have less of an effect on other types of mutations, but we can't say at this stage.

Overall, it seems like upping vitamin B3 intake in mothers who are deficient might have the potential to help prevent miscarriage and congenital malformations.

Testing vitamin B3 levels in pregnant women or women trying to get pregnant to see if they're deficient would identify those who might benefit the most.

And eating more foods like Marmite, meats like turkey and chicken, and vegetables like mushroomsand green peas could be one way to get more vitamin B3. Long-term high-dose vitamin B3 supplements should be avoided as this can lead to liver damage.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) currently recommends pregnant women take folic acid (400mcg per day) and vitamin D (10mcg per day) supplements. Multivitamin supplements aren't recommended as these often contain vitamin A, which can cause birth defects.

You can alsoreduce your risk of having a miscarriageby avoiding smoking and drinking alcohol, eating a healthy diet, and being a healthy weight.

Continued here:
Vitamin B3 found in Marmite not proven to prevent miscarriage - NHS Choices

Will Hehemann|School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Science

While eating fruits and vegetables is an important part of maintaining a healthy and balanced diet, it is also important to know how to safely handle and prepare your produce, says Rachel Luckett, Extension specialist-nutrition for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Taking the correct steps to handle fruits and vegetables is essential in maximizing their nutritional benefits and preventing foodborne illness.

According to the current dietary guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Americans should make half of their dinner plate fruits and vegetables, she said. Plant foods are a great source of energy, nutrients, vitamins and dietary fiber, and their consumption can help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity.

While it is important to include store or market-bought produce as part of a balanced diet, care should be taken in its handling and sanitation before consumption. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, harmful bacteria that may be in the soil or water where produce grows can come in contact with fruits and vegetables and contaminate them. Fresh produce may become contaminated after it is harvested, during storage or handling.

Luckett said eating contaminated food sometimes leads to foodborne illness, which is often referred to as food poisoning. To avoid the risk of contracting an illness, as well as enjoy the greatest health benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables, Arkansans can follow a few simple steps before serving fruits and vegetables with dinner.

Whether you shop at a grocery store or farmers market, its always important to wash raw fruits and vegetables under cool, running water, Luckett said. This removes any soil, sand or pesticide residues that may be present. A vegetable brush can help remove any stubborn dirt from crevices.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture does not recommend the use of soap, detergent or commercial produce washes.

Even if you do not plan to eat the skin, you should still wash produce first so bacteria are not transferred during peeling or cutting, Luckett said. After the produce is washed, dry it with a cloth or paper towel to minimize any bacteria that may still be present on the surface.

Fruits and vegetables should not be soaked in water. Soaking can cause important, water-soluble nutrients to be leached out of the produce and might even dilute its flavor.

Arkansans should serve raw or cooked vegetables as soon as possible to ensure the best flavor, appearance and nutritional value, Luckett said. Raw vegetables taste best and are most nutritious when served cold.

Luckett said most vegetables can be kept fresh in a refrigerator either in the crisper or in plastic bags for at least a few days. Sweet corn in husks and tomatoes should be kept uncovered.

Potatoes, hard-rind squash, eggplant and sweet potatoes should be kept at room temperature in a location that is cool, dark and dry. Potatoes stored at room temperature should be used within a week, as they will start to sprout and shrivel. If potatoes that have been exposed to light start to turn green and develop a bitter flavor, simply cut away the green portions before cooking them.

By following a few simple steps when handling, preparing and storing produce, Arkansans can get the most value out of their fruits and vegetables with no health risks, Luckett said.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff offers all of its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

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Handle produce correctly to prevent foodborne illness, maximize nutritional value - UAPB News

After several recent bear conflicts in Colorado, including close encounters, home invasions and an attack on a sleeping camper in Boulder County July 9, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is stressing education as one of the most effective ways to prevent wildlife conflicts.

CPW officials say although many bear conflicts may seem unprovoked or random, a typical precursor in most incidents is a general lack of knowledge about wildlife, or a willful disregard for a few basic rules.

Bears are just doing what comes naturally to them, said Area Wildlife Manager Perry Will of Glenwood Springs. They are driven by hunger and instinct, and when their natural food sources become scarce like weve seen with the recent dry spell in some areas, they look for other sources. That brings them into communities where they easily find all kinds of things to eat. Humans on the other hand have a choice in how they behave. In my opinion, there are too many people who should be making better decisions when it comes to wildlife, beginning with getting educated about preventing conflicts then taking action.

With the current bear population in the state conservatively estimated between 17,000 to 20,000 and the human population at about 5.5 million, wildlife officials say human/bear conflicts remain a primary concern. Despite years of information and education outreach, trash storage ordinances in communities with significant bear activity and efforts to reduce bear populations in high conflict areas, interactions continue to occur and make headlines.

In addition to the high-profile incident in Boulder County, a recent viral video featured a bear wandering inside a Colorado Springs home for five hours, casually opening the refrigerator and pantry while the homeowner slept inside, unaware of the bears presence. A week earlier, a woman shot video of the same bear through her car window after the bear entered the shocked womans garage and pressed its nose up to the vehicles glass. Wildlife managers believe the bear had learned the sound of a garage door opening was a cue to dart inside.

Due to concerns for human safety, wildlife officials killed the 375-pound bear several days later after discovering it sitting on the deck of a nearby home.

Another video widely disseminated recently showed a bear seemingly playing the piano after it entered a Vail condominium through an open window while the occupant was away. The video may have elicited chuckles but wildlife officers did not see the humor in the situation, considering the dangers posed by a bear with a habit of breaking into homes.

So what can you do to prevent a dangerous bear conflict? There are a multitude of tips and suggestions for homeowners and outdoor enthusiast available from many sources, but the primary message wildlife managers offer to the publicits all about food.

Its actually fairly simplekeep your food away from bears, said Will. We cant stress it enoughnever, ever feed a bear, whether by leaving your trash out, your lunch in your car, your birdfeeders up or giving it a handout - its all the same. Bears are smart and have great memories. If the bear gets into your trash, your car or crawls through a window you left open and finds a meal, you just put your entire neighborhood in danger; if youre on a hike and give a bear a handout to get a closer look, you just put all hikers in the area at risk; if you keep a dirty campsite or leave food in your tent or otherwise accessible and you attract a bear, you just jeopardized the safety of all nearby campers.

Will says in addition to fines for violating city ordinances where they exist, feeding a bear is illegal in Colorado and can result in a citation from CPW officers.

Another important tip wildlife officers offer is never let a bear feel comfortable around people.

If a bear comes into your yard and you sit on the porch and watch if for an hour, the bear has now learned it is safe to be around people, said Will. Then it becomes a problem for other residents, and for wildlife managers.

If you see a bear in an area where it is not supposed to be, or it appears comfortable with your presence, wildlife officers recommend immediately making it feel unwelcome. Raise your voice and talk to it firmly, bang pots and pans or throw rocks or sticks toward it and try to drive it away. It may seem cruel but conditioning them to avoid people is the most humane thing the public can do for a bear.

However, if a bear does not respond to hazing or it continues to approach, the first thing to remember is never turn and run. Stand your ground, prepare to take stronger measures and defend yourself with everything you have. That can include using bear spray, punching and kicking the bear as aggressively as possible, hitting it with a sturdy hiking stick, branches, rocks or other makeshift weapons.

In the Boulder County incident, the teen fought the bear by aiming blows at its eyes.

He did exactly the right thing, something he learned from his grandfather, said Northeast Region Public Information Officer Jennifer Churchill. He was prepared and knew how to handle an attack. The knowledge probably saved his life.

Acting Northwest Regional Manager Dean Riggs says some in the public may consider using firearms to protect themselves in case of a dangerous wildlife encounter; however, CPW recommends bear spray as an effective alternative to a gun as the first means of defense.

We understand people have the right to legally carry and use a firearm to defend themselves from a bear attack, but its not as effective as people think, and if you shoot your gun in a residential area or a crowded campsite you could accidently kill someone, said Riggs. Bear spray is actually a much more effective deterrent, proven in several field studies. Its a good idea to have bear spray at home if you live in bear country, or bring it along if you recreate in an area with bear activity.

CPW officials say black bears in Colorado do not often attack people, but they are capable of mauling and killing humans as seen in recent incidents in Alaska, including a woman with Colorado ties killed by a black bear last month.

A black bears natural diet in Colorado typically consists of acorns and berries, and they will make a meal of carrion or newborn fawns and elk calves. Generally, they dont hunt humans but it does not mean it couldnt happen and you need to be prepared, said Riggs. The major concern is when a person surprises a bear, or if a person makes a bear feel threatened or cornered, it will likely respond forcefully. Their strength, powerful jaws and sharp claws make them a significant threat.

Because of that threat, Riggs says when it comes to choosing between human health and safety and a dangerous wild animal, there are few options for wildlife officers.

To protect people, wildlife officers will kill any bear showing aggression toward humans, he said. When people feed bears, they essentially sentence them to death but its our officers who have to carry out the execution. Its by far the worst part of the job.

CPW says the public can safely watch bears from a distance, with binoculars, a scope or a camera with a telephoto lens. At no time should people approach a bear to get a closer look, or offer it food to get a better picture.

For more information about living with bears and avoiding conflicts, visit the Bear Aware page on the agencys website: cpw.state.co.us.

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CPW reminds public: Education is key to help prevent dangerous bear encounters - High Plains Journal

Hover over blue text to hear audio clips from the interview

By SARA ARTHURSSTAFF WRITER

Go online even briefly and you may come across the claims: "This superfood will cure all diseases!" "Eat THIS and lose 10 pounds overnight!" And so on.

Dietitians have heard it all. And they'd like to politely encourage you to seek out truth rather than myth.

"There's a lot of misinformation out there," said Martha Gonzalez, clinical nutrition manager at Blanchard Valley Health System.

How often do people misunderstand the facts about nutrition?

"It's all the time," she said.

Gonzalez said people now pick up information from Facebook and elsewhere on the internet.

She pointed out anyone can claim to be a "nutritionist." A dietitian, by contrast, is licensed by the state after going through specific training.

And the years in school studying nutrition include "a lot of science classes," said Rachel Snyder, a registered dietitian at the health system.

There's no "bad food" or "good food," Gonzalez said. Instead, both she and Snyder stressed the importance of variety.

Snyder has noticed that people believe "this new hot trend" or fad diet will solve everything.

Someone reads about a "superfood" -- say, kale, or apple cider vinegar -- and becomes convinced it will solve all their dietary problems.

She said a "superfood" is characterized as one that is very healthy and high in antioxidants, which protect against free radicals that can damage cells, causing disease. But Snyder said this is often reported as a cure-all: "Let's put kale in every single thing."

Not that Snyder is not a fan of kale. "Kale is great," she said. Just be sure to incorporate it into your diet with a lot of other foods, too.

Good nutrition involves looking at your diet as a whole: "One food does not cure all," Snyder said.

What you eat does, of course, make a huge difference in your health.

When dealing with a health issue, one of the first approaches should be changes to your diet, such as eating more fruits and vegetables if you have Type 2 diabetes, Gonzalez said. Some people with diabetes can discontinue medications after changing their diet, she said.

It starts with more fruit and vegetable consumption, Gonzalez said. Eat fresh vegetables, and cook or grill them yourself, rather than eating TV dinners. And be sure to watch fat and processed food, she said.

Plenty of nutritional subjects elicit strong opinions, but one of the biggest is carbs. They're bad, right? Everyone knows that.

It's not that simple, Snyder said. Carbs are actually the main source of energy for your body.

Dessert is full of carbs. But you also find them in fruits and vegetables, grain products like pasta and bread, and dairy -- all of which are part of a balanced diet, Snyder said.

So, when people say they are "cutting out all carbs," she asks what they mean -- are they just cutting out dessert, or are they also cutting out fruits, vegetables and whole grains?

Snyder said it would be valuable to make at least half of your grain consumption whole grains.

You could use whole-grain spaghetti instead of white flour, but you do not need to cut all pasta out of your diet, she said.

Gonzalez said protein is usually associated with meats including fish and poultry. But you can also get protein from beans, lentils and nuts, and these nonanimal sources of protein can help those who want to watch their cholesterol, she said. Eggs and milk are also good sources of protein.

So, yes, vegetarian and vegan diets can include plenty of protein.

One source of vegetarian protein is soy. Snyder works with cancer patients, and said those with breast cancer worry that soy may be dangerous to their health. However, research has indicated that soy is actually protective, she said. But she said tofu and soy milk are preferable to soy that has been very heavily processed.

Soy is high in a chemical called "phytoestrogen," and that name scares people because they worry too much estrogen can cause health problems. In fact, this is a different type of chemical than human estrogen hormones, Snyder said.

And, she said, there are "so many positive benefits" to soy.

Another thing "everyone knows" is that raw vegetables are superior to cooked, as cooking removes all the vitamins.

But once again, it's not so simple. It depends on what you're cooking and how you're cooking it. If you boil green beans, the nutrients will indeed leach into the water, leaving fewer nutrients in the cooked beans. But you actually get more lycopene out of cooked and canned tomatoes than raw ones.

Snyder said eating cooked green beans or raw tomatoes one day is fine. Again, you're striving for variety. The biggest thing is to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet, whether raw or cooked.

What about coffee? Is it OK?

"Well, I drink coffee," Snyder said. Gonzalez does, too.

The women agreed that it depends. If you consume lots and lots of caffeinated beverages, "we may get irritable," Snyder said.

She said research has shown that coffee is protective against Alzheimer's disease. Pay attention to how much you consume, though, and how late in the day.

Snyder noted that with a beverage like diet soda, the more you drink it, the less water you're drinking. The same is true of coffee.

With beverages, in general, pay attention to excess sugar. Snyder said excessive sugar can lead to weight gain and a variety of chronic diseases.

And there's no scientific evidence that "detox" diets work, Gonzalez said.

"Our body detoxifies naturally," with the liver, kidneys and lymphatic system excreting toxins.

Snyder said if you fuel your body with the right types of foods it will help the organs detoxify -- you don't need to do a detox cleanse. Again, eat fruits and vegetables instead.

A weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds in a week is considered safe, Snyder said. If you're scrolling Facebook and you see a post that says you can lose 20 pounds in a week, consider it a "red flag."

"Just don't even click on it," Snyder said.

Gonzalez said diet and exercise need to go together.

"You can't do one without the other," she said.

Strive for exercise that raises your heart rate, such as a brisk walk. And eat fruits and vegetables, lean meat and other sources of protein.

But you can have treats, as long as they're in moderation. After all, we live very, very close to Dietsch's. Just don't eat it every single day.

"There's some calcium in ice cream," Gonzalez said. "There's vitamin D."

Gonzalez hears from people who say if they "just don't eat," they won't gain weight. This is a myth, she said.

We need food for so many things, including energy. Your sleep is affected by your eating and vice versa, so you need to keep eating to have a healthy metabolism, she said.

But, Gonzalez said, it may be more beneficial to eat five to six small meals a day, rather than three large ones. If you eat breakfast and skip lunch, you will be starving by dinner, she said.

The general rule is that women should not eat fewer than 1,200 calories and men should not eat fewer than 1,500. So if you're following a diet that only calls for 800 calories, "maybe rethink things," Snyder advised.

She said calories indicate the amount of energy. Carbohydrates and protein have 4 calories per gram, while fat has 9 calories per gram.

How many calories you need depends on your height and weight. And the more active you are, the more calories you need, Snyder said.

Then there's the "five-second rule," the belief that if you drop food on the floor it's safe to eat if you pick it up within 5 seconds. Not true, Gonzalez said.

If you feel like you're not well informed about nutrition, there are plenty of resources that can help you.

Don't be afraid to reach out for help, Snyder said. You can ask your doctor to make a referral to an outpatient dietitian, who will work with you to establish and work toward goals.

And there are good, reputable sources online. Snyder and Gonzalez recommended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' eatright.org, the USDA's MyPlate and the American Heart Association. Snyder said parents can use MyPlate as a reference to teach their children about nutrition.

Gonzalez said there are also apps like My Fitness Pal, which can be "very handy." They have their limits, but can help you get started, she said.

Gonzalez has been in the field for more than 20 years and said, in that time, the internet has had both positive and negative effects. People are interested in learning and, though there is a lot of misinformation out there, there is good information out there, too.

Arthurs: 419-427-8494Send an E-mail to Sara ArthursTwitter: @swarthurs

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WITH AUDIO: Myth busters: Dietitians set the record straight, from superfoods to the 5-second rule - The Courier

Photo: Peggy Greb, U.S. Department of Agriculture [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.When you think of major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, agriculture might not immediately come to mind. However, food production contributes about a quarter of all emissions, a magnitude comparable with other major sectors like energy production and transportation. Food production is also responsible for about 70% of fresh water use and takes up more than one-third of all potentially cultivatable land.

Thus, changes in diet can potentially have big effects on the environment. But scientists are just beginning to quantify these impacts and identify the dietary changes necessary to achieve them.

I think if we want to reduce our environmental footprint, we definitely need to pay attention to our diets, says Lukasz Aleksandrowicz, a PhD candidate at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Aleksandrowicz and his colleagues systematically reviewed scientific studies measuring the environmental impacts of shifting from a typical Western diet to a variety of proposed sustainable diets. These included vegetarian diets, vegan diets, and Mediterranean diets, as well as more fine-tuned changes, such as replacing beef with chicken or reducing the total number of calories consumed.

The review showed that sustainable diets could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and land use by as much as 70% and reduce water use by 50%. Most of the scenarios achieved smaller environmental footprints by replacing animal-based foods, especially beef, with plant-based foods.

Photo: Jon Sullivan [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.Although consuming less meat had a positive environmental impact in most of the studies reviewed, there may be some trade-offs. For instance, diets that might be favorable in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions might have more detrimental effects on other environmental indicators like water use. Aleksandrowicz says that more research needs to be done to identify the environmental impacts of specific food items.

Another complication is that most of the available studies focus exclusively on Europe and the U.S. The results may not make sense for low-income countries or in populations that rely economically on herding cattle or other livestock.

Aleksandrowicz says that although more work is needed to evaluate the impacts of shifting to sustainable diets, the major action we can take to reduce environmental impacts from agriculture is decreasing our meat consumption.

Its important to put the environmental impacts of agriculture on peoples radar, he says. I hope this kind of research helps people understand that the food choices they make have an impact on the environment, and that they can make more sustainable choices.

Reference:

Aleksandrowicz, L., Green, R., Joy, E. J. M., Smith, P., and Haines, A. (2016). The Impacts of Dietary Change on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Land Use, Water Use, and Health: A Systematic Review. PLOS One 11(11): e0165797. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165797.

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To Decrease Your Environmental Footprint, Eat Less Meat - PLoS Blogs (blog)