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 NEW!
FRESH CHOICES MAGAZINE
Download Your Free Copy
The premiere issue of the DNI's new Fresh Choices magazine rolled off
the press earlier this year, and while copies have only been available on a
limited basis in regional test markets, you can download your own free copy of
the 2005 winter/spring edition today.
Like the online Dole Nutrition News, Fresh Choices is filled with
"news you can use" on health, diet, recipes and spa secrets -- but with a
gorgeous graphic layout that provides a feast for the eyes as well as food for
thought. Features include:
Color Me Healthy: Learn how color-coding your plate can help ensure you're
covering your nutritional basis.
One Ingredient Three Ways: Spinach shows off its versatile flair as a Creamy
Shrimp & Spinach Stew, Spinach, Sorrel & Orange Pesto and a Springtime
Salad with Strawberries.
Dole Spa: Learn how to trick your own eyes and stomach into being satisfied
with smaller portions and fewer calories.
By the Numbers: Count your way to better health with the top 10 powerhouse
anti-cancer foods.
We also feature foods that can help you beat the flu by boosting your immune
system, 12 reasons to make strength training a part of your exercise routine, a
Q-and-A with a top geneticist on what causes aging (and how to slow the clock)
plus health tips for kids, the health benefits of yoga and how to get in the
"food for love" with heart-healthy cuisine.
So, download your copy today, or e-mail your address to us here and we'll send
you a glossy edition, free of charge.
DO
YOU LOOK HOW YOU SOUND?
Sexy Voices Signal Sexy Shape
Wondering what your next blind date will look like? Try talking to him or her
on the phone -- the better the person sounds, the better your chances the
better he or she will look.
A study published in the September 2004 issue of Evolution and Human Behavior
found that opposite-sex voice attractiveness ratings were positively linked to
physical attractiveness. Researchers at the State University of New York at
Albany surveyed 150 men and women, asking them to rate recorded voices in
attractiveness on a five-point scale. While researchers were unclear about the
specific traits that made a voice appealing, the raters themselves tended to
agree on which voices they liked.
The study found that the most attractive male voices belonged to men with the
broadest shoulder-to-hip ratio, while the most attractive female voices
belonged to women with the smallest waist-to-hip ratio (proportions which in
previous research were visually rated most appealing).
Another study published in the November 2002 issue of the Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology found that subjects listening to male
and female voice samples could estimate the age, height, and weight of speakers
with almost the same degree of accuracy achieved by visually examining the
speakers' photographs.
So, how can you achieve a more alluring voice? These findings suggest your
first step should be to get in shape and -- if necessary -- lose weight to
improve your waist-to-hip (or, for men, waist-to-shoulder) ratio. But as you're
working on the package, there are some other measures you can take to improve
your pitch.
"Your tone communicates desire," observes voice coach Renee Grant-Williams.
"With just a little forethought and simple training, you can turn your voice
into a powerful aphrodisiac." Here are some simple tips to tune your tonsils
for romance:
Cultivate your "bedroom voice" by listening to what you sound like when you
just wake up so that you can bring out those husky undertones during other
times of the day.
Don't smoke! Husky may be sexy, but throat cancer isn't, and coughing up phlegm
always spoils the mood.
DO NOT WHINE. A recent survey by makers of Cepacol sore throat products found
that 86% of adults find whiny voices to be the most irritating.
Breathe from your lower body for a relaxed, controlled warm sound.
Initiate intimacy by speaking slower, more softly and in a slightly lower tone
than normal (but don't whisper, as it can put almost as much pressure on your
vocal chords as yelling).
Clearing your throat may be a way to gain listeners' attention, but save such
oratory heraldics for announcements, as, ahem, it's as annoying as it is
unattractive.
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 FRUIT
FANS, VEGGIE LOVERS & SUPERTASTERS
What Your Food Choices Say About You
What makes one person a fruit lover and another a vegetable lover -- and what
other dietary habits do these preferences predict? Research from the University
of Illinois may shed light on some answers. A survey of 770 respondents
revealed that the breakdown between fruit and veggie partisans to be fairly
even, with 35% preferring fruit and 30% preferring vegetables.
While it's of little surprise that a fruit preference may indicate a sweet
tooth, it could also mean less patience, as fruit consumption requires little
preparation (compared to many vegetables). Men were disproportionately more
likely to be fruit lovers, while the veggie-prone either really enjoyed cooking
or were married to someone who does.
Veggies are typically more bitter than fruit, which may explain why veggie fans
also like the strong, savory tastes of spicy foods and the bitter tannins of
red wine. Veggie lovers are more inclined to prepare and share elaborate meals
than their fruity fares.
Supertasters
Beyond mere preferences to fruit over vegetables, there is a level of
sensitivity to certain savors that may explain why some people are simply
averse to vegetables, particularly when served raw.
It's called "supertasting" -- and while we usually prize super-acute sensory
abilities (hawk-eyed vision, canine hearing, a parfumier's subtle and complex
sense of smell), an overly sensitive palate may be too much of a good thing.
Researchers at Yale University believe that different people inherit different
densities of taste buds on their tongue. Those with the most buds are
supertasters -- giving them what Yale Professor Linda Bartoshuk calls a "neon
taste world," while those with the fewest are non-tasters, whose palates
perceive flavors more like "pastels."
About 25% of the U.S. population are supertasters, 50% are regular tasters, and
25% are nontasters. Different tasting abilities influence food preferences and,
ultimately, can impact health.
On one hand, a supertaste aversion to the slightly bitter compounds found in
such foods as broccoli, grapefruit juice, carrots or green tea can translate
into lower consumption of such phytochemical rich fare -- and thus higher
cancer risks. Supertasters have a higher prevalence of colon cancer than those
with more pedestrian palates. A preliminary study of 250 men by researchers
from the Yale University School of Medicine found that nontasters had fewer
colon polyps, a risk factor for colon cancer, than did medium tasters or
supertasters. Other analyses of female supertasters suggest they may be more
prone to various gynecological cancers.
On the other hand, amplification of sweet and rich flavors could lower
consumption of fatty and sugary foods, thus helping with weight control and
heart health.
What can supertasters do to increase vegetable consumption? Try cooking
vegetables to take the bitter edge off, and experiment with different recipes
to find ones that suit those super-sensitive taste buds. Pregnant women and
mothers of newborns can also help nurture healthier tastes in their children
through their own dietary choices.
Biophysiologist Julie Mennella of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in
Philadelphia found that babies of both pregnant and breast-feeding mothers who
drank carrot juice during a three-week trial had a greater liking for carrots
when it came time for the tots to switch to solid food. Another study of babies
who'd never been fed carrots found that those who'd been exposed to a variety
of other vegetables enjoyed their first taste of carrots more than their
veggie-deprived peers, suggesting that dietary variety predisposes young
children to like vegetables later on.
CABBAGE:
A HEAD ABOVE THE REST
The Many Layers of an Anti-Cancer Superfood
Ancient Roman healers believed they could cure breast cancer by rubbing
poultices made from cabbage on the chest. While this may seem absurd, Jon
Michnovicz, M.D., Ph.D., President of the Foundation for Preventive Oncology in
New York City, says "studies have shown that if you make cabbage into a paste
and rub it on the backs of laboratory animals, you can prevent tumors from
developing."
Don't go slathering yourself with cabbage paste just yet, as similar effects on
human cells have yet to be proven. To profit from cabbage's anti-cancer
prowess, all you need to do is eat it.
A dieter's dream -- a cup of green cabbage contains just 20 calories -- this
cruciferous SuperFood is an excellent source of vitamin K (for blood clotting
and bone health), vitamin C, (with 45% of the Daily Value in just one serving)
and a bushel of antioxidants.
In particular, green cabbage has the highest levels of two anti-cancer
glucosinolates, which are converted upon consumption into a compound that may
inhibit tumor growth. Research from the British Institute for Food Research
(IFR) showed this compound disrupting the cell division of colon cancer cells
in vitro. Unlike some chemotherapeutic drugs that also harm healthy tissue,
this natural compound appears to selectively target tumor cells. Another
cabbage glucosinalte is converted into indole-3-carbinol, which several studies
have shown to lower the risk of developing estrogen-related cancers, such as
breast and ovarian cancer.
Yet a third compound released with cabbage consumption could inhibit the growth
of human prostate cancer cells, according to research from the University of
California at Berkeley. Investigators believe the indirect antioxidant is the
first plant-derived chemical found to act as an anti-androgen (androgens are
male hormones).
Further evidence of cabbage's cancer-fighting capacities is found in a review
of 94 studies evaluating the bio-effects of brassica vegetables, published in
the September 1996 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Researchers found that in 70% of the studies, cabbage consumption was
associated with a lower risk of cancer, especially of the lung, stomach and
colon. Broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts had only 56, 67, and 29%
reductions, respectively.
As you can see, in some ways, cabbage really is a "head" above the rest of the
cruciferous cousins. For a delicious way to prepare this multi-layered leafy,
look to this issue's Superfood Recipe for "Unstuffed Cabbage."
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 THANKS
FOR THE MEMORIES, MOM
How Pregnant Women's Nutrition Affects Adult Children's Brain Power
Most mothers-to-be are aware of the importance of eating plenty of folate-rich
foods (e.g. asparagus, spinach, broccoli) to protect their babies from neural
tube defects. But cutting-edge research at the University of North Carolina
(UNC) is uncovering new links between fetal/newborn nutrient intake and brain
power later in life.
Steven H. Zeisel, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor and Chairman of the Department of
Nutrition in the School of Public Health at UNC, one of the largest and most
prestigious nutrition institutions in the country. He is a pediatrician and his
research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, focuses on learning how
nutrients control cell growth and which new vitamins are essential for optimum
human health.
We caught up with Dr. Zeisel at the Dole Nutrition Institute and asked him to
share some of his latest findings with our readers:
DNI: Dr. Zeisel, tell us, how did you come to focus on these three nutrients --
folate, choline and betaine -- as playing such a central role in brain
development? Did you find a bunch of smart people and then asked about their
moms' diet during pregnancy?
SHZ: Actually, we picked up the trail with the mechanism. We found that the
placenta has been designed to deliver choline to babies in large amounts, and
then we discovered that breast-feeding does the same thing -- drawing choline
out of the mother and delivering it to the baby in high concentrations. That
led us to ask: Why would this happen? Why did evolution develop this mechanism
that delivers a lot of choline to babies? It must be important.
DNI: That's interesting. You actually started by looking at the mother; you
didn't start saying: Oh, aren't these bright little babies -- they have high
choline levels? You said: There's something going on here, and this is one of
the biggest nutrient transfers, and why?
SHZ: Exactly. And so we decided to look at animal tests to see what happens to
the offspring of mothers fed either high-choline or low-choline diets. We found
that there is a critical period of about five days in the 21-day gestation of
the rat when a little extra choline in the diet resulted in a 30% improvement in
memory that lasted for the offspring's entire life.
It turns out that the stem cells, the precursor cells that form the brain, and
specifically the memory side of the brain, are affected by choline and another
nutrient called folic acid, which turns out to be related to choline in
metabolism. Each nutrient is absolutely critical. If it's not there, the cells
don't survive, and they don't form the memory sector.
And so the story we tell is that a mother's diet -- during pregnancy and a
little bit after birth -- appears to be absolutely crucial for stem cells to
take off and form the areas of the brain and other tissues that are critical to
memory. And if the mother doesn't have that nutrient at exactly the right time,
it's lost it for the rest of life. And that is a permanent difference in the
structure of the brain.
DNI: You've told us that the critical time for rat development is a five-day
period toward the end of gestation. What's the equivalent for humans?
SHZ: The equivalent to humans would be 25 weeks into pregnancy -- that's when
the memory center starts developing. And in the human, it continues during the
first year after birth. So there's a longer period, because in a human, it's
not only the placenta that gives choline to the babies, but the mother's breast
milk as well.
DNI: So why is that a critical period?
SHZ: It's a time when we have huge numbers of stem cells that must form and
move into the right place -- becoming the kind of cells they have to become.
Later in life, even when we're in our 80s, we have some stem cells in our brain
still dividing, but it's only a few percent of the number that divide compared
to when we're in utero and very young in life.
The take-home message is that pregnancy is the time when nutrition is
exceedingly important. And the old idea that you can make up for deficiencies
during pregnancy by having better nutrition later in life, well that really
isn't true in this case.
Folic acid, choline and betaine are nutrients that you have to make sure you
get in your diet during pregnancy.
DNI: So, for example, Atkins during pregnancy would not be a good idea?
SHZ: I wouldn't recommend that women during pregnancy diet in any way. I think
they should be eating a well-balanced diet and I would not take out certain
foods artificially, if you can avoid it.
What's interesting is that in experiments in rats, we found that the female rat
normally chooses randomly if you give her a choice between a bowl of
high-choline food or low-choline food. The pregnant rat chooses 2-1 the
high-choline food. So, I wonder whether some of the funny behaviors that we
develop during pregnancy, craving certain foods -- is it really driving us to
look for some of these nutrients that are important to us? So if you're a
pregnant woman and you get a craving for strawberries, you might want to eat
them because it's probably a signal that there's something in them that's good
for you.
DNI: It's also interesting that these benefits show up so strongly later
in life. Are you telling us that in the experiments, an old rat, originally
born to a choline-fed mother, would be smarter or have better memory retention
than a very young rat whose mother had been deprived of choline?
SHZ: Yes. Certainly they would appear to be younger in terms of their memory
than their age would have predicted, because they didn't become senile as they
grew older.
Now, there's another thing that happened when we took choline away -- the
animals had much more trouble doing the complicated maze running. They were OK
on simple stuff, but as soon as you put any complications in, they just fell
apart and had trouble running. So, again, it's hard to say if this translates
to men or women -- but if it did, you might have an explanation for why some
people have memory loss earlier and others later, because their natural
endowment of numbers of cells that form the memory of the brain might be
different based on what their mother ate.
So, I often tell people that when you go home from a trip and wander around the
parking lot looking for where you parked your car, if you can't find your car,
it's your mother's fault.
DNI: It's always mom's fault. No fair!
SHZ: In human beings, right now, we're conducting a study in 200 women -- which
I'm not sure is a big enough group to see the effect -- but we're going to give
extra choline during pregnancy and breast-feeding and see if the babies are
smarter at one year of age.
DNI: Good sources of choline include egg, cauliflower, iceburg lettuce,
peanuts, potato and oranges. What do you say to those who turn to supplements?
SHZ: I wouldn't take choline supplements. There's something called phosphatidyl
choline that people sprinkle on their food. It may be OK, but it breaks down in
your gut into something that smells fishy, and you'll smell fishy after taking
it, so I don't recommend that.
I feel getting choline in foods is always a better approach than taking it as a
supplement -- you not only get the ingredients, you get all the other good
things that come along with the food.
DNI: Thank you!
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Carrot Buttermilk Mask
Courtesy of Janice Cox, author of Natural Beauty for All Seasons
Get as cute as the Easter Bunny with this fragrant, easy-to-make carrot
buttermilk mask.
Carrot juice is an excellent source of beta-carotene, or pro-vitamin A, whose
reputation as the "beauty" vitamin has just been bolstered by new research.
Up until now, most studies have looked at beta-carotene's ability to protect
the skin from the outside by acting as a topical antioxidant barrier. Now new
research suggests that consumption of beta-carotene may also protect the skin
from within.
According to a study published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine, beta-carotene
inhibited collagen breakdown and defended epithelial cells against the kind of
ultraviolet radiation that can lead to wrinkles and age spots. Says study
author Regina Goralczyk, "You could call beta-carotene a very gentle internal
sun protector."
But don't go reaching for the supplement shelf! As covered in previous
newsletters, more and more studies are calling into doubt the efficacy -- and
safety -- of beta-carotene supplements, among others. On the other hand,
natural sources such as pumpkin, butternut squash, cantaloupe, kale -- and of
course carrots -- have benefits that go beyond a glowing complexion.
You may purchase fresh carrot juice or juice your own. Buttermilk is a natural
astringent and cleanser, full of calcium and protein. This is an ideal facial
mask for normal to oily skin types (if you have dry skin, add one teaspoon of
light oil to the mixture).
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons fresh carrot juice
2 tablespoons powdered buttermilk
Mix together the carrot juice and buttermilk into a smooth paste. Spread
mixture over clean skin and leave on for 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse well with
tepid water and pat your skin dry.
Yield: 1 ounce, enough for one facial mask.
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Produce
Rorschach
Last issue we took inspiration from Barbara Walters' famous line of questioning
by asking readers: If you were a fruit or vegetable, which fruit or vegetable
would you be?
This turned out to be our most popular poll ever -- with nearly 400 readers
casting votes. Here are your answers -- and below we compare them to how 400
callers to our help-line answered:
Nearly 40% of you see yourself as strawberries, while the second most popular
fruity identity was pineapple (26%), followed by banana (13%), watermelon
(12%), then apple (10%).
On the vegetable side, many identified with the elegant asparagus (36%),
broccoli came next with 25% of votes, then carrots with 20%, spinach with 12%,
and Brussels sprouts with 7%.
Our phone survey came up with somewhat different rankings. Callers identified
in descending order of preference, with pineapple, strawberry, banana, apple
and watermelon on the fruit side, and broccoli, carrot, asparagus, spinach and
Brussels sprouts on the veggie side.
THIS ISSUE:
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