This discovery adds to what we already know about predictors for childhood obesity, such as birth weight, mother's obesity, bottle-feeding (and in particular, letting children take bottles to bed). For more information on childhood obesity and how to prevent it, download our "Healthy Kids" brochure. Meanwhile, let the fathers in your life know how much you appreciate their healthful influence by teaching them in turn which foods can protect them against prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and a variety of other ailments.

According to Lightsey, author of Muscle, Speed and Lies: What the Sports Supplement Industry Does Not Want Athletes or Consumers to Know, "The potential risks of isolating nutrients in pill form are still unfolding...for example, taking alpha tocopherol in pill form can displace other forms from the vitamin E group that are available in food or that are stored in your body. Vitamin C in pill form may displace other antioxidants in the skin." 

"An easy way to illustrate the comparison between a multivitamin supplement and the nutrients available in fruit and vegetables would be to compare a teaspoonful of rice to a cupful. One may contain 20-25 separate nutrients whereas the food itself contains thousands," says Lightsey. "It is fraudulent for the supplement industry to propose to the consumer that they actually have a complete vitamin-mineral pill of any kind, because they do not know all the nutrients that we have to have and how they work synergistically with each other."

The good news is that it's easier than you think to get the nutrients you need from food. Download our "What You Need to Eat Every Day and Why," brochure (also available in Spanish) for a handy guide to the top sources of many essential vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.

Researchers chose a particular omega-3 fatty acid in fish (docosahexanoic acid or DHA) in order to further investigate the previous observation that mice raised on a diet high in saturated fat gained less weight when supplemented with fish oil. They found that DHA intervened in fat formation by either stunting or killing off cells that would have otherwise matured into adipocytes.

While more research is needed to confirm the anti-obesity potential of omega-3, smart dieters should favor fish. In addition to having half the calories and a fraction of the saturated fat of red meat, fish helps you feel full longer, and thus reduces overall caloric intake. Fish highest in omega-3 fatty acids include salmon, black cod, swordfish and flounder. If you're worried about mercury levels and other contaminants, check out our "Fish Stories" to separate fish facts from marine myths.

Bonus: Omega-3 isn't the only healthful nutrient that may help fight fat. Japanese researchers found that phytochemicals found in berries, blood oranges and red grapes may enhance fat-burning and curb cravings. Add red bell peppers, kiwis, pineapple and broccoli to your weight-loss arsenal. Why? They're all loaded with vitamin C, which helped accelerate fat oxidation in one Arizona State University study. 

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently announced these results after analyzing data for nearly 300,000 men, and found that in addition to regular multivitamin intake, the prostate cancer risk was highest among men who took other supplements, including selenium, beta-carotene and zinc. These disturbing results confirm earlier NCI research, which found that men who took more than 100 mg of zinc daily had double the risk of advanced prostate cancer.

Fortunately, deriving prostate-protective nutrients from whole foods is safe, easy and delicious. Our newly added ninth Superfood category -- Superfoods for your Prostate -- provides scientific backing for the benefits of tomatoes, guava, pink/red grapefruit, watermelon, red bell peppers, onions/garlic and pomegranate. Beyond these specific foods, men should generally aim to increase their vegetable intake, given the recently published study that found an 18% lower risk of prostate cancer among those who ate the most vegetables.

Regardless of your gender or family cancer risk, you ought to think twice before spending your money on multivitamins. A state-of-the-science panel from the NIH recently concluded that there was insufficient evidence on the benefits and safety of multivitamins to recommend their regular consumption. Some supplements, beta-carotene for example, pose a particular threat to certain populations such as smokers and ex-smokers (and, according to the NCI study, men with family risk of prostate cancer). Similarly, the American Heart Association urges people to forgo antioxidant supplements in favor of fruit and vegetables in order to minimize cardiovascular disease risk.

Why should isolated nutrients behave so differently -- and indeed, possibly perniciously -- in pill versus whole-food form? Check out this issue's featured Dole TV video interview with David Lightsey of the National Council Against Health Fraud for the current thinking on how supplements can interfere with absorption of nutrients from food.

You see, the "serving size" often printed on nutrition labels refers to the FDA's recommended amount of a particular food you would normally eat in one sitting. For example, one serving size of bananas is, you guessed it, one banana. While the "serving size" may vary depending on the food in question," a "serving" of fruit or vegetables is typically a half cup, and refers to your recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables. To return to our example, since a large banana may contain a full cup (i.e., two half cups) of fruit, then one "serving size" (one banana) provides not one but nearly two "servings" of fruit and vegetables.

The same half-cup "serving" measurement holds true for vegetables. Thus, if you sit down to eat a "serving size" of broccoli (a cup and a half), you'll have consumed three of your daily recommended "servings" of fruit and vegetables. Same thing with fruit juice -- you need only a half cup to count toward your daily servings, which means you'll get nearly four servings in a 15.2 fl. oz. bottle of DOLE 100% juice.   

In an effort to cut through the confusion over counting servings, the Produce for Better Health Foundation launched their "More Matters" campaign. Given the fact that 60% of Americans fail to get the previously recommended 5–A-Day, let alone the current recommendation of 9-13 daily servings of fruit and vegetables, we hope that emphasizing the overriding importance of simply increasing produce consumption will, ahem, bear fruit in terms of health benefits.

According to Dr. Brown, the research on noni health benefits is about "as solid as soft, fermented noni fruit. That's not to say there is no research, or that lack of research means there is nothing there...What it does show is that there appears to be substance(s) in fermented noni fruit juice that might have bioactivity against cancer.  Compared to the scientific support of certain other fruits and vegetables having anti-cancer effects, however, there's not as much information for noni."

DNI: First of all, what is noni? Where does it come from?

AB: Noni is an evergreen tree, originally believed to have originated in Southeast Asia.  Now about 80 species of this tree grow in tropical coastal regions and can grow up to 1,800 feet. The fruit looks like a green "grenade" that ripens into a soft, yellow, translucent texture. After it ferments for several weeks, its juice is claimed by nonscientific sources to be good for a wide variety of health problems that are too numerous to list.

DNI: What is noni's history? How did it come to capture the public's attention? In other words, what's the backstory behind the noni buzz?

AB: Pacific Islanders have been consuming noni for 1,500 years in Hawaii and longer in other Pacific Basin islands and adjoining countries. Much of that history is lost in oral traditions, so what we know is from a European perspective after Captain Cook and others sailed into the region. At that time, explorers noticed people in Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti and other regions consuming and/or using the fruit for medicinal purposes. However, the plant's leaves and unripe fruit were primarily used for external injuries such as mouth sores, toothache, gingivitis, and abscesses. Traditional Hawaiian healers did not appear to use noni internally. In Hawaii, Chinese immigrants may have introduced the current method of harvesting the juice from fermenting fruit.

It was not until Dr. Ralph M. Heinicke appeared that noni became more known to people west of the Pacific Basin. He was a biochemist studying pineapples for Dole Pineapple Company, when he heard about local noni fruit stories. He then wrote a 1985 paper in a garden bulletin that was not a scientific paper, but rather based on his theories on its possible benefits. Dr. Heinicke wrote a 2001 book entitled The Xeronine System. A New Biological System (Heinicke, 2001), and obtained several patents on xeronine, which he said was the active substance in noni, but he never provided a chemical structure. A food scientist read Dr. Heinicke's article, traveled to Tahiti to find a source of noni fruit juice, came back to the United States, and started marketing a noni juice product that was not pure noni juice through a network marketing level system that made millions.

DNI: What are the main claims that are circulated with regard to Noni's purported health benefits?

AB: The unsubstantiated health claims promoted by Dr. Heinicke for noni in his garden bulletin article included "arthritis, atherosclerosis, blood vessel problems, drug addiction, gastric ulcers, high blood pressure, injuries, menstrual cramps, mental depression, poor digestion, relief of pain, senility, sprains, and many others."   Many more unsubstantiated claims have been added to this list that you will notice does not include "cancer," which is one of the current popular claims.

DNI: How solid is the scientific evidence for such claims?

AB: As solid as soft, fermented noni fruit. That's not to say there is no research, or that lack of research means there is nothing there. I researched the scientific literature on Medline (www.pubmed.gov; inception to April, 2007) to find out how many noni studies had been reported and found four articles on hypertension, two on tuberculosis, six on inflammation, one on auditory improvement, four on diabetes and/or wound healing, one on AIDS, and 14 on cancer.  In summarizing the results relating noni juice to cancer, not enough studies exist to make conclusions.

Only 14 studies exist on the subject and most (9) were "in-the-test-tube" studies. These studies suggested that it was the "concentrated component" in noni juice (and not pure noni juice) that "may" or "may not" help the body to fight the cancer from within.  About 6 of the 14 studies were "animal studies" suggesting, again, that a concentrated component in noni juice (not pure noni juice) slightly boosts the animal's immune systems. Only one NIH human clinical study exists to date. They used freeze-dried noni (not noni juice) and showed reduced pain perception, but it did not reverse cancer in patients with advanced cancer. However, very few conventional treatments can reverse advanced cancer, so the real question is whether or not noni juice, or its concentrated component, can influence cancer in its early stages when the immune system might have its greatest influence.

More studies are necessary to determine the potential, if any, of the specific bioactives in fermented, non-pasteurized noni juice to affect early stage cancer in humans.  Regarding noni juice consumption, it is paramount to remain under the medical care of a physician, to inform health practitioners of any herbal and/or dietary supplement consumption, and that complementary medicine is "complementary." Patients who need to watch their potassium intake (kidney, liver, or heart problems) should avoid noni juice because it is high in potassium (77 mg for each ounce or 616 mg for each cup or 56.3 mEq/L) which is similar to levels found in orange juice or tomato juice.

DNI: To the layman, the number of studies you cite above may seem impressive.  Help us put this into perspective by comparing the science backing noni benefits to, say, the research behind the anti-cancer effects of other fruits and vegetables.

AB: The above number of studies (and/or abstracts in some cases) are too few to make any solid, scientific conclusion or even strong suggestion. In addition, some of these studies were conducted by corporations with a commercial interest. An important question to ask is what part of the plant are they using – fruit, unfermented fruit juice, fermented fruit juice, leaf, root, concentrated substance from any of these forms, etc.? The second question to ask is what part are they selling and at what concentration? In many cases, a concentrated substance from the noni juice (often fresh or fermented was never mentioned) and that's not what they sell. However, what it does show is that there appears to be substance(s) in fermented noni fruit juice that might have bioactivity against cancer. It shows promise, but that's all.  

Compared to the scientific support of certain other fruits and vegetables having anti-cancer effects, there's not as much information for noni. However, that's only because this is a tropical fruit that is not commonly consumed in the United States, so it did not receive a lot of scientific interest with regard to cancer until 1999 when a University of Hawaii graduate student studied it for her research topic.

DNI: Why are noni products (e.g., juice, pills etc.) used instead of the fruit itself?

AB: Noni fruit or its pure juice does not taste or smell very good. One of the reasons to add other juices is to cover up the unpalatable flavor and decrease the production cost. Other forms of noni are also easier to package and market.

DNI: Noni juice is expensive, isn't it?  What would you recommend to a consumer who wants to make dietary choices to help reduce their cancer risk?  Should they shell out for noni?  What other kinds of fruits and vegetables are better researched (and less pricey)?

AB: Noni juice is very expensive and costs about $25 for a 32-ounce bottle and that is sometimes for products that only contain 10 percent noni juice. That's $1.28 an ounce. If you live in a tropical region where noni grows, the cheapest way is to make it yourself. The best anti-cancer approach in my opinion is a nutritionally-balanced vegetarian diet with weekly allowances for fish to maintain intake of both complete protein and omega-3 fatty acids that are so important for so many conditions. I would make sure to consume at least two servings of fruit daily along with three servings of vegetables. Especially high vitamin A, C, and E fruits and vegetables.  Be sure to get sufficient B1 and calcium from foods.

Research suggests that cancer-fighting foods include tomatoes, onions, garlic, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, shiitake mushroom, miso soup, those containing ellagic acid (strawberries, raspberries, and cranberries), and green tea. I would keep my potassium levels high by eating lots of fruits and vegetables high in potassium (greens, especially spinach). I would also maintain a high-fiber intake of 20-35 grams a day (both soluble and insoluble) and that's difficult to do unless you have a cereal with at least 3+ grams of fiber a serving. An estimated 30% of all kinds of cancer are related to dietary choices, so it's important to lower red meat intake, increase omega-3 fatty acids while decreasing omega-6 (keep total fat below 30%), and get foods containing selenium, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin D, chlorophyll and antioxidants such as carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, and cryptoxanthin).

Weight management incorporating portion control, and a low-fat diet coupled with an exercise program, is key. Avoiding alcohol and cigarettes remains important. I also believe attitude can influence cancer, as experiencing a "loss" (spouse, job, etc.) can cause your immune system to be negatively impacted. Lack of psychological resiliency can kill you.

DNI: What nutrition frontiers are you personally pursuing, either in terms of your own research or areas you are following?

AB: I'm really interested in cancer prevention or maintenance of remission. Of course, if people stopped smoking, cancer death rates would drop by one fourth. People don't realize that by the time they catch that spot on their lung, they have a 13% chance of surviving 5 or more years. Since I'm a professor of nutrition, my research focus is on how diet can reduce one's risk for cancer or maximize one's chances for survival if you are one of the 25% of people who experience cancer. I've studied the anti-cancer effect of two foods commonly consumed in Hawaii - poi (from the taro plant) and ginger. I would like to create an anti-cancer diet for people that is accepted by the American Dietetic Association as a standard medical nutrition therapy. It's time to take advantage of what we know about cancer-fighting foods and provide this standard diet for people to implement in their lives whether or not they are at risk for cancer.

DNI: How would you describe your own diet? Have you made any modifications based on recent discoveries?

AB: I'm a vegetarian that likes meat. I try to stick to a vegetarian diet that allows fish as much as possible. I've read too much and seen too much to do otherwise. After age 50, people's lifestyles start to show on their bodies. Something as simple as your eyesight is affected by the amount of lutein in your diet. The risk of skin cancer is also reduced in people consuming lutein. I'm boosting lutein foods and have tomatoes every day whether or not I have a salad.

I buy those big bags of frozen berries and vegetables at the discount warehouse stores. Every day I have berries with a little brown sugar for snacks or desserts. World War II pilots ate blueberries to improve their night vision. There's also some research to show that blueberries might help against glaucoma. I eat primarily vegetables, fruit, starchy foods (sweet potatoes, corn, peas), rice, nuts, and fish. I've added roasted vegetables to my diet and anything curry.

Sufficient fluids are more important than I realized, so I try to drink enough every day, but I want the fluid to carry some nutrient proactive punch. I switched from sodas and non-nutrient drinks to homemade ginger tea (hot or iced), tomato juice, pomegranate juice, cranberry juice, or sport drinks. I'm trying to find a substitute for the sport drinks because of their sugar and artificial color content. I'll just have to create it myself, as I did with my all-natural snack made out of peanuts and fruit.

Amy Christine Brown, PhD, RD, received her doctorate in Human Nutrition and Foods from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Her research interests are in the areas of using diet to reduce cancer risk, Hawaiian medicinal plants, and preventing obesity in children. Her personal interests include painting, piano, photography, being near nature, and seeking to make this world a better place through her "Love Lives" nonprofit corporation, which encourages others to live and leave a legacy of love. Dr. Brown can be contacted at amybrown@hawaii.edu

Researchers from Ohio State and Indiana Universities monitored the BMIs of 5,380 children during kindergarten, first grade, and the summer in-between. The graph below dramatically illustrates how the kids' BMIs shot up when the schools let out. Further sociodemographic analysis revealed that three groups were particularly susceptible to summer weight gain: African-American and Hispanic children, as well as those who were already overweight.

So, what could be behind the boost in summer BMIs? We invite input from readers in this issue's Dole Poll. You'll find clues in past issues of this newsletter, such as our reporting on the Harvard study, which pegged an increase in children's summertime TV viewing with as much as 1,000 extra calories a day. This finding substantiates previous research, which suggested that children who watch more than three hours of television a day are 50% more likely to be obese as adults.

The problem isn't just the bad foods kids are eating -- it's the good foods they're not. Apparently, the more TV kids watch, the less fruit and vegetables they eat, and in turn, the more likely they are to end up obese. In addition to weight management, fruit and vegetables also help children build strong bones, regulate blood pressure, and fight future cancer risk. So, encourage your kids to put down the remote, pick up a banana, power up and head outdoors to play!