Thursday, April 29, 2021

April 30, Mr. Potato Head Celebrates his Birthday
with an Important Health Message


Potato Head is a beloved American toy. He has gone through many changes, but over the last few years, he has become involved in physical fitness and healthy eating. In this birthday video, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head discuss cutting back on salt, butter, and sour cream and increasing their physical activity.

Mr. Potato Head Celebrates his Birthday
with an Important Health Message



History
Mr. Potato Head was invented by George Lerner in 1949 and first manufactured and distributed by Hasbro in 1952. Mr. Potato Head made his debut on April 30, 1952, as the first toy advertised directly to children on television. Before this, all toy advertising was directed to parents. This commercial revolutionized marketing. Over one million kits were sold in the first year.

In 1952, the original Mr. Potato Head kit provided separate plastic parts to be stuck into a real potato or other vegetables. By 1964, due to government regulations, Hasbro was forced to include a plastic potato "body" in its kits. This change was due to choking hazards and sharp pieces.
          Special Appearances
                 and Awards

1987. Mr. Potato Head gives up his pipe to Surgeon General C. Everett Koop in Washington, D.C. and became the "Spokesspud" for the American Cancer Society's annual "Great American Smokeout" campaign. 

May 1, 1992. Mr. Potato Head turns 40 years old and receives the President's Council for Physical Fitness award at the third annual Great American Workout.

1995. Mr. Potato Head made his Hollywood debut with a leading role in the Disney/Pixar movie, Toy Story.

1996. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head joined the League of Women Voters and their "Get out the Vote" campaign.

1997 Mr. Potato Head became the "spokesspud" for Burger King’s new French fries campaign.


1999. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head starred in Toy Story 2.


March 24, 2000. Mr. Potato Head is inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame.


February 12, 2002. Mr. Potato Head rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.


2002. On his 50th birthday, Mr. Potato Head is awarded his own official AARP card.


2002. The Rhode Island Legislature gave the approval to feature Mr. Potato Head on a state auto license plate in order to raise money for charity.


2005. Mr. Potato Head became the national “spokesspud” for the United States Potato Board.


2010. Mr. Potato Head appeared in Toy Story 3.


2011 Hasbro unveils a new, noticeably thinner Mr. Potato Head at the 2011 International Toy Fair convention in New York City.

Vintage Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head Commercial
 

Toy Story 2 Bloopers with
Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head



Resources.
Hasbro, Inc. is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of toys, games and other family entertainment. Hasbro is the manufacturer of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. Hasbro has a long tradition of supporting children worldwide through a variety of philanthropic programs.  Their mission is to assist children in triumphing over their life obstacles and to bring the joy of play into their lives.  Visit Hasbro Community Relations to learn about the many programs Hasbro supports.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Food History: April 15, 1955, McDonald's corporation
opens first franchised restaurant
by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois


McDonald’s Meal Builder allows you to create your own meal combinations. As you build your meal, you see the nutritional breakdown. An educated consumer has the ability to make wise food choices.
  
Ray Kroc Documentary McDonald's History

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

National Pecan Day - Food Styling: Butternut Squash with Pecans

April is National Pecan Month
Pecans are a good source of fiber and protein. They  
are sodium-free and cholesterol-free.
A healthy snack, but watch the portion size.








Butternut Squash with Pecans


Thursday, April 8, 2021

National Public Health Week



About National Public Health Week (NPHW) 

The first full week of April was declared National Public Health Week in 1995. The goal is to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving our nation.
  

The American Public Health Association (APHA) serves as the organizer of NPHW and develops a national campaign to educate the public, policymakers, and practitioners about issues related to each year's theme. APHA creates new NPHW materials each year that can be used during and after NPHW to raise awareness about public health and prevention.






Wednesday, March 31, 2021

April News, Events and Resources
in Nutrition, Food, and Health
for Journalists, Writers,
Educators and Bloggers


Current News, Resources and Events in Nutrition, Food, Health, Environment, Safety, and Disability Rights. Encourages awareness and inspires ideas for Journalists, Educators, Consumers and Health Professionals.




April Highlights


National Autism Awareness Month
April 2nd World Autism Day

Keep America Beautiful (3/1 - 5/31)

Global Child Nutrition Month

National Volunteer Month


Alcohol Awareness Month
Cancer Control Month
Child Abuse Prevention Month
Defeat Diabetes Month

Stress Awareness Month
IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) Awareness Month
National Donate Life Month
National Parkinson's Awareness Month 
World Habitat Awareness Month
Fresh Florida Tomatoes Month
National Garden Month
National Pecan Month
National Soft Pretzel Month
Soyfoods Month 

National Youth Sports Safety Month

Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month 
Jazz Appreciation Month
April 22 Earth Day
 

National Nutrition Month 2021: Personalize Your Plate

National Nutrition Month® is celebrated each year during March with the focus on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. 

The theme for National Nutrition Month® 2021 is Personalize Your Plate. The theme is designed to show no one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition and health. We are all unique with different bodies, goals, backgrounds, and tastes.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics looks forward to celebrating National Nutrition Month® with you! 




Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day is also celebrated during National Nutrition Month®, on the second Wednesday in March. This occasion increases awareness of registered dietitian nutritionists as the indispensable providers of food and nutrition services while recognizing both RDNs and nutrition and dietetic technicians, registered for their commitment to helping people enjoy healthy lives.







Tuesday, March 30, 2021

National Nutrition Month - Enhance Flavors with Spices and Herbs



Instead of salt, use spices, herbs, lemon juice, and/or vinegar to enhance the taste of your food. The health benefits are life-long.


Wikipedia has provided an extensive list of culinary herbs and spices. The list does not contain salt (which is a mineral) or plants used primarily as herbal teas or medicinal herbs. Explore the different flavors and cultures.

National Nutrition Month and Beyond



National Nutrition Month®  is a nutrition education and information campaign created annually in March by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. In addition, National Nutrition Month® promotes the Academy and its members to the public and the media as a valuable and credible source of timely, scientifically-based food and nutrition information.

National Nutrition Month® Campaign

During National Nutrition Month® and Beyond, help the Academy achieve its vision of a world where all people thrive through the transformative power of food and nutrition.


Key Messages:
1.      Include a variety of healthful foods from all of the food groups on a regular basis.
2.      Consider the foods you have on hand before buying more at the store.
3.      Buy only the amount that can be eaten or frozen within a few days and plan ways
    to use leftovers later in the week.
4.      Be mindful of portion sizes. Eat and drink the amount that’s right for you, as
    MyPlate encourages us to do.
5.      Continue to use good food safety practices.
6.      Find activities that you enjoy and be physically active most days of the week.
7.      Realize the benefits of healthy eating by consulting with a registered dietitian
    nutritionist. RDNs can provide sound, easy-to-follow personalized nutrition advice
    to meet your lifestyle, preferences and health-related needs.


Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day. The goal is to increase awareness of the registered dietitian nutritionists as the indispensable providers of food and nutrition services and recognizes RDNs for their commitment to helping people enjoy healthy lives.



Be sure to visit the Academy's National Nutrition Month® website during the upcoming months for new and updated resources to help make National Nutrition Month® celebration an infinite success!

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Academy is committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education, and advocacy. Visit the Academy at www.eatright.org.
Reference
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, National Nutrition Month®

National Triglycerides Day

Triglycerides
Triglycerides are a type of fat. They are the most common type of fat in your body. They come from foods, especially butter, oils, and other fats you eat. Triglycerides also come from extra calories. Your body changes these extra calories into triglycerides and stores them in fat cells. When your body needs energy, it releases the triglycerides. Your VLDL cholesterol particles carry the triglycerides to your tissues.
Having a high level of triglycerides can raise your risk of heart diseases, such as coronary artery disease.

What causes high triglycerides?

Factors that can raise your triglyceride level include
  • Regularly eating more calories than you burn off, especially if you eat a lot of sugar
  • Being overweight or having obesity
  • Cigarette smoking
  • Excessive alcohol use
  • Certain medicines
  • Some genetic disorders
  • Thyroid diseases
  • Poorly controlled type 2 diabetes
  • Liver or kidney diseases

How Triglycerides is Diagnosed



What are the treatments for high triglycerides?
You may be able to lower your triglyceride levels with lifestyle changes:
  • Controlling your weight
  • Regular physical activity
  • Not smoking
  • Limiting sugar and refined foods
  • Limiting alcohol
  • Switching from saturated fats to healthier fats

Some people will also need to take cholesterol medicines to lower their triglycerides.
Resources.
2. What Are High Blood Cholesterol and Triglycerides? American Heart Association

3. Triglycerides, MedlinePlus



Monday, March 29, 2021

Make Half your Plate Fruits and Vegetable


Keep your healthy eating simple by filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables at mealtime. Eat fruits and vegetables when you want to have a snack. The more colorful you make your plate, the more likely you are to get the vitamins, minerals, and fiber your body needs to be healthy.

Remember that all forms count: fresh, frozen, canned, dried, or 100% juice. The next time you go shopping, choose veggies that may be new to you (try sweet potatoes, beets, or collard greens) and fruits too (try papaya, cantaloupe, or kiwi) to make your plate even more fun and exciting!

It’s easy to add fruits and vegetables to the meals that you’re already making:


  1. Breakfast is the perfect time for fruit. Try topping your cereal or oatmeal with bananas or peaches. Add blueberries to your pancakes. Or add fruit to your fat-free or low-fat yogurt. Blend frozen fruit, 100% juice, and/or yogurt to make a healthy smoothie.
  2. Lunchtime is a great time for a colorful salad. Add a variety of veggies, like corn, carrots, and spinach. A salad makes a healthy lunch if you don’t use too much dressing. Add a tangerine, banana, or grapes to your bagged lunch.
  3. At dinner, try meat dishes that include fruits and veggies, like a chicken with apricots or kebobs with peppers and pineapple. Or make a meal featuring vegetables, such as veggie pizza or vegetarian chili with lots of vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables make great snacks and desserts:
  1. For a handy snack, keep cut-up fruits and vegetables like carrots, peppers, and cucumber or orange slices in the refrigerator.
  2. Dried fruits are tasty and easy to carry.
  3. Keep a bowl of fruit in the refrigerator or on a table or countertop. Your family can grab and go!
  4. An apple is a perfect quick snack—and there are more than 7,500 varieties of apples to try!
  5. Fruit smoothies, fruit salad, and frozen 100% juice bars are better for you than high-fat, sugary desserts.




Sunday, March 28, 2021

Try Healthy Red and Pink Foods

Red and Pink Foods


Food Sources
Apples, Beets, Cayenne, Cherries, Cranberries, Guava, Kidney Beans, Papaya, Pink Beans, Pink/Red Grapefruit, Pomegranates, Radicchio, Radishes, Raspberries, Red Bell Peppers, Red Cabbages, Red Chili Peppers, Red Corn, Red Currants, Red Grapes, Red Onions, Red Pears, Red Peppers, Red Plums, Red Potatoes, Red Tomatoes, Rhubarb, Strawberries, Watermelons

Do you know other foods that are Red or Pink?


About Red Fruits and Vegetables.

Red fruits and vegetables get their color from natural plant pigments called lycopene or anthocyanins. Both are phytonutrients, which have health-promoting benefits, such as:
·         Reduces the risk of several types of cancer, especially prostate cancer
·         Reduces the risk of heart disease
·         Protects our bodies’ cells from environmental damage (harmful free-radicals)
·         Lowers blood pressure
·         Lowers LDL cholesterol
·         Aids in memory
·         Maintains the health of the urinary tract system

Lycopene is a carotenoid and antioxidant. Examples of food sources include tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, and papaya.  

Anthocyanins, an antioxidant found in cranberries, raspberries, red grapes, strawberries, and other red to purplish fruits and vegetables may help protect cells from damage.

In addition, red fruits and vegetables contain many vitamins and minerals and are rich in fiber. Fiber helps maintain the digestive system.


Kidney Bean, Red Onion and Tomato Salad
New York Times, by Nigella Lawson 



Ways to increase Red Food Intake:
Add strawberries or raspberries to cereal or low-fat yogurt.
Freeze seedless red grapes for a sweet snack.
Add thin slices of red tomatoes or red apples to a sandwich.
Add red kidney beans to soup, salads or rice dishes.
Dice tomatoes and red apples and add to a salad.


Definitions:
Phytonutrients (or phytochemicals) are found in plants. They are part of what gives fruits and vegetables their colors. Phytonutrients help protect plants from diseases found in the environment and protect us in a similar way. Studies have linked an increase of fruit and vegetable intake with lowering the risk of specific cancers and heart disease. The following list describes how phytonutrients may also help protect human health.
1. Act as an antioxidant.
2. Improves immune response.
3. Improves cell-to-cell communication.
4. Destroys cancer cells.
5. Repairs DNA damage caused by toxins in the environment.


Antioxidants. As the body uses oxygen, there are by-products (known as “free radicals”) that can cause damage to cells. Antioxidants can prevent or slow down the damage caused by these free radicals and decrease the risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. Antioxidants may also improve the immune defense and lower the risk of infection. Some examples of antioxidants include vitamin A (beta-carotene), vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, lycopene, and flavonoids.

National Caffeine Awareness Month - Pros and Cons of the Caffeine Craze


So what's the harm, ask caffeine lovers, who point to studies showing the benefits of caffeine, such as boosting memory and improving concentration and perhaps lowering risks of diseases such as Alzheimer's and liver cancer.
But others are alarmed by what they say is an increasingly overcaffeinated nation; they are concerned about studies finding too much caffeine can set you up for high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and decreased bone density -- not to mention jangled nerves.
Caffeine abuse by young people alarms some experts. It was the cause of many calls to an Illinois Poison Center over a three-year tracking period, a team of doctors reported at the American College of Emergency Physicians annual meeting in New Orleans.

FDA investigating caffeine-infused food





Though today we look at the caffeine in Carbonated Beverages, this is also an opportunity to view the caffeine in energy drinks that have been cited as the cause of some deaths and are currently being investigated by the US FDA. Some energy drinks contain 2 to 3 times the amount of caffeine found in soda.

Links between energy drinks and death

Hidden Dangers of Caffeinated Energy Drinks



Caffeine (mg) based on 12-ounces Soda

Caffeine   Soda
  (mg)
 71.2         Jolt       
 69.0         Diet Pepsi Max 
 55.0         Pepsi One
 55.0         Mountain Dew
 55.0         Mountain Dew Code Red
 55.0         Diet Mountain Dew
 46.5         Tab
 45.6         Diet Coke
 44.4         Shasta Diet Cola
 43.0         Diet RC Cola
 43.0         Diet Dr. Pepper
 40.0         Diet Sunkist Orange
 37.5         Pepsi-Cola
 36.0         Diet Pepsi
 34.0         Coca-Cola Classic
 34.0         Diet Cherry Coke
 29.0         AW Creme Soda
 22.0         AW Diet Creme Soda
 0              7-Up
 0              Sprite, regular or diet
 0              AW Root Beer

Resources

1. WebMD: Pros and Cons of the Caffeine Craze





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