Peanut Brittle and Much, Much More

Why Are So Many Kids Allergic to Peanuts? Ask the experts at Popular Science

admin — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:26:28 +0000

Researchers Put a Microscope on Food Allergies

peanut — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:28:06 +0000

My mother was wearing lipstick, and when she kissed Sean’s cheek, it broke out in hives,” said his mother, Jennifer Batson.

At his first birthday party, Sean had a severe allergic reaction — hives, swollen eyes, vomiting and wheezing — to his first nibble of cake. And when a toddler with an ice cream cone touched Sean’s arm with sticky hands during a play date, the arm erupted in hives.

The daily struggle of living with Sean’s allergies to nearly unavoidable foods and food products — soy, eggs and milk, traces of which can turn up even in nonfoods like lipstick — prompted Mrs. Batson and her husband, Tim, to participate in a project that scientists are calling the most comprehensive food allergy study to date.

The international study, led by Dr. Xiaobin Wang and Dr. Jacqueline A. Pongracic of Children’s Memorial Hospital here, is searching for causes of food allergy by looking at hundreds of families in Boston, Chicago and Anhui Province in China.

Using questionnaires and interviews, the investigators are gathering data on a broad range of environmental, genetic and health factors, among them diet, hygiene, number of pets and the children’s prenatal and postnatal medical histories.

Dr. Wang says the study’s multicenter design allows researchers to look at startling variations in the prevalence and types of food allergies across diverse populations and regions.

In China, for example, skin-prick testing found that large percentages of one rural population were sensitive to shellfish (16.7 percent) and peanuts (12.3 percent). Yet actual food allergies in that population, as diagnosed by physicians, were all but unheard of: less than 1 percent.

In the United States, by contrast, 12 million people (4 percent of the population) suffer from food allergies, according to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, a nonprofit information and advocacy group.

“We found something unexpected,” said Dr. Wang, director of the Smith Child Health Research Program at Children’s Memorial. “The apparent dissociation between high allergic sensitization and low allergic disease in this Chinese population is not seen in our two U.S. study populations.

“What can explain the U.S. and China difference?” she asked. “Is it urban versus rural exposure? Diet and lifestyle? Or genetic susceptibility? These are all questions we are trying to find some clear answers for.”

For Sean Batson and his family, a recent clinical evaluation at the hospital included a skin-prick test to establish baseline data for Sean’s sister, Audrey, 1, who does not seem to have food allergies. (Neither do their parents, Tim Batson, 38, a computer programmer, and Jennifer Batson, 36, a copy editor.)

Sean was given a fresh skin-prick test, too. The mild discomfort was tempered by an episode of “SpongeBob SquarePants” playing on a minimonitor affixed to a cushy reclining chair.

Dr. Wang said her own awareness of food allergies was heightened after her twin sons started kindergarten in Boston and began bringing home an abundance of notes warning of severe food allergies among their classmates.

“Going back 10 to 15 years ago, during my pediatric residency training, there was very little education about food allergies,” said Dr. Wang, one of 12 principal investigators who were recently awarded grants by the National Institutes of Health to conduct innovative research on food allergies.

Indeed, with recent data showing a marked increase in the number of food allergies, which cannot be explained by a lack of detection in years past, the institutes have begun an initiative to address food allergies as an emerging health challenge.

Although it is possible to be allergic to any food, eight foods account for 90 percent of all reactions — milk, eggs, peanuts, fish, shellfish, soy, wheat, and tree nuts like cashews and almonds.

Up to 200 deaths each year are attributed to the most severe reaction, food-induced anaphylaxis, which also results in 30,000 trips to the emergency room. Some experts suggest that children in a culture smitten with antibacterial detergents and hand sanitizers are exposed to fewer germs, depriving the immune system of its germ-fighting job and leading it to misidentify certain foods as foreign.

But that is still just a hypothesis, and many researchers say the causes of food allergies are highly complex, and the “hygiene hypothesis” cannot be the sole explanation.

Dr. Pongracic, who has been treating children with food allergies for 17 years, says even trace amounts of allergens can cause life-threatening reactions.

“Ultimately, we hope that our research will lead to the discovery of ways to predict which child is likely to outgrow food allergy,” she wrote in an e-mail message, adding that doctors hoped to develop therapies “that can lessen the severity of an allergic reaction, and even protect against the reaction in the first place.”

Frustration over the lack of financing for food allergy research led one Chicago-area couple, David and Denise Bunning, to donate $3 million to the study at Children’s Memorial. As the parents of two sons with life-threatening food allergies, they say they hope to convince lawmakers that food allergies deserve as much public attention as other chronic childhood diseases like asthma and Type 1 diabetes.

“At first I thought, ‘O.K., you have this one-in-a-million kid with severe food allergies, and you just have to cope,’ ” said Mr. Bunning, a financial trader. “But when we learned that both Bryan and Daniel had severe food allergies, there was a lot of disbelief. It felt like we were hiding from a phantom.”

Mrs. Bunning, a former teacher, added: “Now, we’re pretty excited about the future findings of the allergy study. We need to start looking at food allergies not as something you pick and choose as a parent, but as a childhood disease with potentially life-threatening reactions, even death.”

(New York Times, December 8, 2008) Read the article here

Strategies for Avoiding Nut Allergies in Schools May Be Overblown

peanut — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:26:28 +0000

The threat of nut allergies has led some schools to put precautions into place that approach the level of hysteria, a researcher here said. Citing the evacuation and cleaning of a bus full of 10-year-olds because of a single peanut on the floor, Nicholas Christakis, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., of Harvard, said that measures such as these amount to mass psychogenic illness — also known as “epidemic hysteria.” Some schools have not only banned nuts and nut products, but also homemade baked goods and foods without detailed lists of ingredients, he wrote in a commentary published online in BMJ.

Not only is there no evidence that drastic measures like removing nuts from schools are effective or worth the cost, according to Dr. Christakis, exaggerated responses may actually worsen the problem by increasing sensitization to the allergens.

According to Dr. Christakis, the extreme reactions to nut allergies in schools have similarities to mass psychogenic illness, which is characterized by a “cascade of anxiety” in otherwise healthy people prompted by fears of contamination. He suggested, instead, “using a calm and authoritative approach.”

The drastic action of banishing nuts and nut products from school grounds can contribute to the problem in two ways — by increasing sensitivity to nuts and by fueling anxiety among parents, he said.

Anxious parents have their children tested, and when minor nut allergies are detected, more avoidance is encouraged, he said.

He said such responses are excessive considering the minimal risk associated with food allergies. Among the 3.3 million Americans who are allergic to nuts, each year 2,000 children and adults are hospitalized for it and 150 die from all food allergies combined.

By comparison, he noted that each year 45,000 people die in car accidents, 2,000 children drown, and 1,300 children are killed in accidental shootings.

“The cycle of increasing anxiety, draconian measures, and an increasing prevalence of nut allergies must be broken,” Dr. Christakis said.

Calman Prussin, M.D., head of the Adverse Reactions to Vaccines and Biologics Unit of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md., agreed with Dr. Christakis’ point that the way schools deal with risks is not always rational.

“We don’t tend to make our risk assessments in a very sensible way, whether it’s as individuals or as a society,” he told MedPage Today.

There is some evidence to support the contention that strict avoidance can worsen events. A study published in the November issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that earlier and more frequent consumption of peanuts or peanut butter may reduce the risk of peanut allergy, contrary to conventional thinking. (See: Early and Frequent Peanut Consumption Linked to Lower Goober Sensitivity)

However, according to Dr. Prussin, the question about whether avoidance or exposure to peanuts increases risk of developing a peanut allergy remains unanswered. “The bottom line is we don’t have enough information,” he said.

He did not make any specific recommendations, but guidelines issued by the National School Boards Association, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Association of School Nurses, and the National Association of Elementary School Principals outline steps that parents and schools can take to reduce the risk of serious allergic reactions to foods.

The family’s responsibility includes:

Notifying the school about the child’s allergies

Developing a plan to accommodate the child’s needs, including a food allergy action plan Providing written medical documentation of the allergy

Providing medications and replenishing them as necessary Educating the child about recognizing safe and unsafe foods, ways to minimize exposure, and symptoms of allergic reactions

Reviewing procedures with the school staff, the child’s physician, and the child after a reaction occurs The school staff should: Be aware of and follow applicable laws addressing food allergy Review health records of allergic students

Include affected children in all school activities Create a team to work with the child and family in establishing a prevention plan

Ensure that all medications are stored properly Practice the food allergy action plan before a reaction

Educate all individuals who will come into contact with the child about food allergies Enforce a “no eating” policy on school buses

In addition, the child should not trade food with others or eat anything with unknown ingredients, should be proactive in managing the allergy, and should notify an adult if anything with unknown ingredients is eaten.

Absent from the guidelines and the practice parameters on managing food allergy from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology is a recommendation to completely avoid eating nuts.

Despite such a clear plan, however, a study presented at the 2008 AAAAI meeting in Seattle suggested that food allergy action plans may be lacking in many schools.

In a survey of elementary and middle school nurses in the Greenville, S.C., area, 40% said they didn’t have food allergy action plans for at least half of their allergic students (See: ACAAI: Schools Earn Poor Grade on Food Allergy Action Plans)

(MedPageToday, December 10, 2009)

Read the article herev

Pregnant mothers now allowed to eat peanuts

peanut — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:23:09 +0000

Pregnant mothers can eat peanuts, the FSA has advised. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) last night recommended that the Government drop its long-standing warning to mothers to avoid the nuts.

A review by the Committee on Toxicity (COT) found no evidence that children whose mothers ate peanuts during or in the years immediately after pregnancy were at greater risk of nut allergies.

The FSA’s new guidelines, which will be submitted to the Department of Health, reject existing advice that parents with a family history of food allergies, eczema, hay fever or asthma should not eat the nuts, or give them to their young children.

“For high-risk groups there is no need for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding or who have children aged under three to change their diets,” the FSA said.

“Where there is a family history of allergy, parents might want to discuss their individual case with their GP or health professional if they are concerned.”

The statement added: “The new review considered by the COT does not suggest that this current advice is harmful. However, the FSA Board has agreed that the balance of evidence now available does not support continuing to follow this current advice.”

The revised advice following warnings this week that fears over nut allergies are creating mass “hysteria” and causing schools to overreact to the dangers. Prof Nicholas Christakis of the Harvard Medical School said that draconian measure imposed to prevent children coming into contact with nuts were out of all proportion to the risks. “The issue is not whether nut allergies exist or whether they can occasionally be serious… The issue is what accounts for the extreme responses to nut allergies and what to do about the responses and the allergies themselves,” he said.

Last year the House of Lords science and technology committee recommended that the official advice be changed, after research from the University of Portsmouth showed that many first-time mothers were needlessly avoiding peanuts even when there was no family history of allergies.

Around one in 200 of the population suffers from peanut allergy, according to the British Nutrition Foundation. The most common symptoms are facial tingling and swelling, nausea and tightness of the throat, although it can be fatal in a minority of extreme cases. The latest figures show 79 people died from allergic reactions in 2004, but data is not held in Britain on how many people died specifically from nut allergies.

A Department of Health spokesman said: “We are awaiting the FSA Board’s formal advice before making a decision about revising the current policy.”

This is the second time this year that official advice on what women can eat and drink during pregnancy has been rewritten. In April mothers-to-be were told they should not drink any alcohol at all, reversing previous advice that one-and-a-half units a day was safe.

(Telegraph.co.uk, December 10, 2008)

Read the article here

Scientists find nutty risk reducer: Eat more nuts

peanut — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:20:00 +0000

Here’s a health tip in a nutshell: Eating a handful of nuts a day for a year — along with a Mediterranean diet rich in fruit, vegetables and fish — may help undo a collection of risk factors for heart disease.

Spanish researchers found that adding nuts worked better than boosting the olive oil in a typical Mediterranean diet. Both regimens cut the heart risks known as metabolic syndrome in more people than a low-fat diet did.

“What’s most surprising is they found substantial metabolic benefits in the absence of calorie reduction or weight loss,” said Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

In the study, appearing Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the people who improved most were told to eat about three whole walnuts, seven or eight whole hazelnuts and seven or eight whole almonds. They didn’t lose weight, on average, but more of them succeeded in reducing belly fat and improving their cholesterol and blood pressure.

Manson, who wasn’t involved in the study, cautioned that adding nuts to a Western diet — one packed with too many calories and junk food — could lead to weight gain and more health risks. “But using nuts to replace a snack of chips or crackers is a very favorable change to make in your diet,” Manson said.

The American Heart Association says 50 million Americans have metabolic syndrome, a combination of health risks, such as high blood pressure and abdominal obesity. Finding a way to reverse it with a diet people find easy and satisfying would mean huge health improvements for many Americans, Manson said.

Nuts help people feel full while also increasing the body’s ability to burn fat, said lead author Dr. Jordi Salas-Salvado of the University of Rovira i Virgili in Reus, Spain.

“Nuts could have an effect on metabolic syndrome by multiple mechanisms,” Salas-Salvado said in an e-mail. Nuts are rich in anti-inflammatory substances, such as fiber, and antioxidants, such as vitamin E. They are high in unsaturated fat, a healthier fat known to lower blood triglycerides and increase good cholesterol.

More than 1,200 Spaniards, ranging in age from 55 to 80, were randomly assigned to follow one of three diets. They were followed for a year. The participants had no prior history of heart disease, but some had risk factors including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and abdominal obesity.

At the start, 751 people had metabolic syndrome, about 61 percent, distributed evenly among the three groups.

Metabolic syndrome was defined as having three or more of the following conditions: abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low levels of good cholesterol (HDL), high blood sugar and high blood pressure.

The low-fat group was given basic advice about reducing all fat in their diets. Another group ate a Mediterranean diet with extra nuts. The third group ate a Mediterranean diet and was told to make sure they ate more than four tablespoons of olive oil a day.

Dietitians advised the two groups on the Mediterranean diet to use olive oil for cooking; increase fruit, vegetable and fish consumption; eat white meat instead of beef or processed meat; and prepare homemade tomato sauce with garlic, onions and herbs. Drinkers were told to stick with red wine.

After one year, all three groups had fewer people with metabolic syndrome, but the group eating nuts led the improvement, now with 52 percent having those heart risk factors. In the olive oil group, 57 percent had the syndrome. In the low-fat group, there was very little difference after a year in the percentage of people with the syndrome.

The nut-rich diet didn’t do much to improve high blood sugar, but the large number of people with Type 2 diabetes — about 46 percent of participants — could be the reason, Salas-Salvado said. It’s difficult to get diabetics’ blood sugar down with lifestyle changes alone, he said.

To verify that study volunteers ate their nuts, researchers gave some of them a blood test for alpha-linolenic acid found in walnuts.

The study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Health and the government of Valencia, Spain.

Salas-Salvado and another co-author disclosed in the publication that they are unpaid advisers to nut industry groups. Salas-Salvado said all of their research “has been conducted under standard ethical and scientific rules” and that peer-review journal editors determined the study results were not influenced by food industry ties.

(Associated Press, December 10, 2008)
Read the article here

See also:
(USA Today, December 8, 2008)
Read the article here

How to Make Christmas Ornaments for the Birds

peanut — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:04:33 +0000

Include the wild creatures that inhabit your garden in your holiday celebrations with these tasty treats. They’ll add a festive touch to the trees and shrubs around your home.

Step 1 - Roll pinecones in peanut butter, then in birdseed. Wrap some paddle wire around the base of the cone and attach the treat to trees and shrubs within view of your home.
Step 2 - String clusters of whole, raw, unsalted peanuts that are still in the shell onto strings of raffia. (Yes, peanuts can be strung just like popcorn or cranberries.) A large sail maker’s needle works well to pierce the tough shell. Pierce two or three peanuts and tie the raffia loosely to branches and twigs.
Step 3 - String grapes and tie them into bundles using the same method.
Step 4 - String a few kernels of popcorn on raffia, then roll in peanut butter and birdseed. This is a favorite treat of blue jays.
Step 5 - Slice apples, pears and oranges and hang with wire ornament hangers.
Step 6 - Tie millet sprays to twigs and branches with raffia bows.
Step 7 - Cut net onion bags into small squares and fill with sunflower seeds. Tie the bundles of seeds with raffia. Hang with wire ornament hangers or more raffia. The bright colors will look divine and the birds will enjoy the offering.

By Karen Bridgers

Nut allergy fears becoming hysterical: BMJ

peanut — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:21:38 +0000

Fears over the dangers of peanut allergy, a potentially deadly allergy for certain people, are becoming sensationalist and hysterical, according to a Harvard professor. A level-headed approach is needed before the situation spirals out of control, wrote Professor Nicolas Christakis from Harvard Medical School in the British Medical Journal.

The food industry is already bound by certain regulations, depending on the country, to highlight possible allergens in a food product, such as the EU’s Labelling Directive 2000/13/EC. But Prof Christakis said that such an approach, however well intentioned, may actually “fan the flames, since they signal to parents that nuts are a clear and present danger.

“This encourages more parents to worry, which fuels the epidemic. It also encourages more parents to have their children tested, thus detecting mild and meaningless ‘allergies’ to nuts. And this encourages still more avoidance of nuts, leading to still more sensitisation. “The cycle of increasing anxiety, draconian measures, and an increasing prevalence of nut allergies must be broken,” he said.

Peanut allergies are rising in humans, with an estimated 2.5 million people in Europe and the US now vulnerable to the food allergy. There is no current cure for food allergy and vigilance by an allergic individual is the only way to prevent a reaction but a peanut allergy can be so severe that only very tiny amounts can be enough to trigger a response.

Current recommendations in many countries, such as the UK and the US, for would-be mothers are to avoid peanuts during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and infancy. However, a recent study comparing incidence of peanut allergy in Jewish children in the UK and Israel (where no such recommendations exist) showed that children in the UK were 10 times more likely to suffer from peanut allergy than their Israeli counterparts.

Findings in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology showed that 69 per cent of Israeli children were consuming peanut, while only ten per cent of the children in the UK were eating peanuts. Mass hysteria?

“Measures to control nuts are instead making things worse in a cycle of over-reaction and increasing sensitisation,” said Prof Christakis. One example cited in the BMJ article involved the evacuation and decontamination pf a school bus in the US following discovery of one peanut on the floor. The school bus was full of ten year olds, who could arguably have been told simply to not eat food off the floor.

The “gross over-reaction to the magnitude of the threat” is very similar to mass psychogenic illness (MPI), said Prof Christakis, previously known as epidemic hysteria. Outbreaks of MPI involve healthy people in a flow of anxiety, most often triggered by a fear of contamination, he said. Being around individuals who are anxious heightens others’ anxiety.

Lightning bolts are equally as dangerous In attempt to add perspective, the Harvard professor notes that 150 people die each year from food allergies in the US. On the other hand, 100 people die from lightening strikes, 45,000 die in automobile accidents, and 10,000 are hospitalised for traumatic brain injury from playing sport.

“We do not see calls to end athletics,” he said. “There are no doubt thousands of parents who rid their cupboards of peanut butter but not of guns,” he added. “And more children assuredly die walking or being driven to school each year than die from nut allergies.”

Source: British Medical Journal (FoodNavigator-USA.com, December 10, 2008) Read the article here

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

sam — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 01:14:23 +0000

American Heart Association expands national fats awareness campaign with ‘Better Fats Sisters’

Fewer than half of Americans know that

the “better” fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) can help reduce

their risk of heart disease, according to a recent survey(1) by the

American Heart Association.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:

http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/aha/33320/

“Heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of Americans. Consumers have

heard a lot about the ‘bad’ fats lately and what not to eat. That’s why

it’s important for people to know the ‘better’ fats and foods where they’re

found so they can lower their risk for heart disease,” said Robert H.

Eckel, M.D., past president of the American Heart Association, chair of its

trans fat task force and professor of medicine at the Anschutz Medical

Campus of the University of Colorado Denver.

Facing the Fats with the Better Fats Sisters: Your Heart Helpers

The American Heart Association is introducing two new characters, the

Better Fats Sisters — Mon and Poly — to help consumers learn more about

the benefits of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and the foods

where they are found. The Web site

(http://www.AmericanHeart.org/FaceTheFats) features the Better Fats Sisters

alongside their Bad Fats Brothers, Sat and Trans. The Sisters help

consumers find comprehensive information about fats so that they can eat

healthier in restaurants and use the better fats when preparing meals at

home.

The Better Fats Sisters remind everyone that all fats have the same

number of calories: 9 per gram, compared to the 4 calories per gram found

in proteins and carbohydrates. That means that even the “better fats” are

good only in moderation.

Types of Fat and Heart Disease: Many Consumers Know the Bad, Fewer Know

the Better

The survey shows that:

* Only 41 percent of Americans know that consuming monounsaturated fats

decreases the risk of heart disease

* Only 44 percent of Americans know that consuming polyunsaturated fats

decreases the risk of heart disease

In comparison:

* 72 percent of Americans understand that consuming saturated fats

increases the risk of heart disease

* 68 percent of Americans understand that consuming trans fats increases

the risk of heart disease

Heart-Healthy Benefits of Better Fats

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can lower your LDL — or “bad”

– cholesterol levels in your blood and lower your risk of heart disease.

Monounsaturated fats can be found in vegetable oils like olive and

canola oils; and many nuts and seeds like almonds, peanuts and sesame

seeds. Peanut butter and avocados are also good sources of monounsaturated

fats.

Polyunsaturated fats can be found in oils like soybean and corn oils

and in many nuts and seeds such as walnuts and sunflower seeds. Fatty fish

like salmon and trout are also good sources of polyunsaturated fats.

Polyunsaturated fats include omega-3 and omega-6, essential fats that your

body needs but can’t produce.

http://www.AmericanHeart.org/FaceTheFats

The American Heart Association’s Face the Fats Web site helps consumers

make heart-healthy choices, including:

* Test Your Fats IQ — An interactive quiz that tests consumers’

knowledge of dietary fats and helps them learn more about fats on the

spot.

* My Fats Translator — An easy-to-use calculator that gives individuals

their personalized daily calorie and fat consumption results. Its food

scenarios give ideas for smarter ways to prepare summer favorites, each

with three examples of “bad,” “better” and “best” selections.

* Better Fats Recipes — New heart-healthy recipes that make use of the

better fats.

The American Heart Association’s trans fat education campaign is funded

by a class action lawsuit settlement against McDonald’s. The American Heart

Association has the sole judgment as to the most effective use of the

funds. For more information on the campaign, call the American Heart

Association at 1-800-AHA-USA1.

Founded in 1924, the American Heart Association today is the nation’s

oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to building

healthier lives, free of heart disease and stroke. These diseases,

America’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers, and all other cardiovascular diseases

claim nearly 870,000 lives a year. In fiscal year 2006-07, the association

invested more than $554 million in research, professional and public

education, advocacy and community service programs to help all Americans

live longer, healthier lives. To learn more, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit

Americanheart.org.

(PR Newswire,American Heart Association, May 22, 2008)

Read the article here

The nutritious advantage of nuts

Nuts are high in calories and fat, but those calories are loaded with nutrition. “Nuts in moderate amounts daily can make a huge difference in your health,” said a University of Missouri Extension nutrition and health specialist.

Studies have consistently linked nuts to a significantly reduced risk of heart disease, mostly because they lower total cholesterol and LDL (”bad” cholesterol), said Susan Mills-Gray. Some research has even shown that nuts may increase HDL (”good” cholesterol).

Nutrients and substances in nuts that have heart-protective benefits include B vitamins, vitamin E, potassium, copper, magnesium, selenium, soluble fiber, arginine (an amino acid that promotes blood vessel relaxation) and sterols (which help lower cholesterol).

In 2003, the FDA approved heart-health claims for the product labels of seven kinds of nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, some pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts.

Nuts are one of the best plant sources of protein. Nut butters (almond, cashew and peanut) are a healthier sandwich filling than full-fat cheese and most deli meats.

New research indicates that eating nuts daily may serve as an effective tool in weight loss and weight management. “The fiber and protein in nuts helps make you feel fuller longer, so you are less hungry, and that means you may eat less,” Mills-Gray said.

Interestingly, some research has found that not all the fat in whole nuts is absorbed - from 4 percent to 17 percent passes out of the body undigested.

“While all this is great news, keep in mind that nuts are loaded with calories,” she said. “Even though the fat is healthy, going overboard could lead to excess calorie intake. Limit yourself to a small handful daily, and instead of simply adding nuts to your diet, eat them in replacement of saturated-fat foods.”

Consumers should also watch out for the sodium in packaged nuts. Unsalted varieties are widely available.

Mills-Gray offered a quick assessment of the nutritional strength of popular nuts:

Almonds are rich in vitamin E and calcium.

Brazil nuts are the best dietary source of selenium; eating three a day provides 200 mcg, an amount found to lower the risk of prostate cancer.

Cashews are rich in copper and zinc.

Chestnuts are lowest in calories and contain extremely small amounts of fat.

Peanuts contain resveratrol, an antioxidant also found in grapes and red wine. They are rich in arginine and contain the most protein.

Walnuts are rich in alpha-linolenic acid, a heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid.

(University of Missouri Extension, May 30, 2008)

Read the article here

sam — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 01:08:28 +0000

High antioxidant: the future of peanuts?

sam — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:15:52 +0000

Peanuts are in the news again as being healthy - despite their high-fat levels - as researchers suggest that they may be as rich in antioxidants as many fruits.

Scientists from the University of Florida have found that peanuts often rival fruits in their levels of antioxidant.
“When it comes to antioxidant content, peanuts are right up there with strawberries,” said Steve Talcott, an assistant professor of food science and human nutrition at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “We expected a fairly high antioxidant content in peanuts, but we were a bit shocked to find that they’re as rich in antioxidants as many kinds of fruit.”

Antioxidants are chemicals that block the aging effects of free radicals - unstable molecules naturally occurring in the human body that damage living cells. The damage caused by free radicals has been linked to heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and macular degeneration of the eye.

The Florida researchers found that peanuts contain high concentrations of polyphenols - particularly p-coumaric acid - and that roasting can increase the level of the compund, boosting overall antioxidant content by as much as 22 percent.

“If you compare peanuts to other foods people think of as rich in antioxidants - mostly fruits and berries - peanuts come out somewhere in the middle,” said Talcott. “They’re no match for the foods at the top of the scale, such as pomegranate, but they do rival other foods.”

He said roasted peanuts are about as rich in antioxidants as blackberries or strawberries, and richer in the chemicals than fruits such as apples, carrots or beets.

The researchers’ findings were part of a broader study designed to measure the nutritional differences between traditional peanut breeds and the growing number of high oleic (”good” fat) peanuts now available to peanut growers. However, the tests showed no significant differences in antioxidant content between high-oleic and traditional peanuts.

Agronomy professor Dan Gorbet, heads of the University of Florida’s peanut-breeding program, said it should be possible to breed the nuts with the purpose of creating high antioxidant levels.

“The big question is not whether it can be done - the question is whether the demand is there. So far, people haven’t been seeking out peanuts for their antioxidant content, but maybe in the future they will be,” said Gorbet.

Last month, a study from Pennsylvania State University suggested that one serving of peanuts or peanut butter a day could help children and adults meet requirements for nutrients often lacking in American diets.

Kristen Ciuba, a spokesperson for the The Peanut Institute that part funded the research, told FoodNavigatorUSA.com that although past studies had shown that peanuts are high in nutrients, this was the first time, to their knowledge, a study had shown that just one portion a day could provide enough nutrients.

Moroever, peanut butter and peanut eaters had increased levels of vitamin A, vitamin E, folate, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron and dietary fiber in their diets.

The researchers also concluded that their study “helps to dispel the myth that higher-fat foods automatically lead to weight gain”, noting that the peanut eaters had leaner bodies compared to the non-peanut eaters, as measured by body mass index (BMI), an indicator of body fatness. Peanut eaters also had lower intakes of “bad” saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher intakes of “good” monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat.

“Peanuts are higher in fats than other foods, but most of these fats are unsaturated,” said Ciuba

National Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day is March 1st

peanut — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:00:12 +0000

Today is a sticky day. National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day salutes America’s favorite sandwich spread.

Peanut Butter is not limited to a sandwich. It’s popular on crackers, celery. It is also used in recipes for cookies and snacks.

Did you Know? Peanut Butter is 90% or more peanuts. While it has no artificial preservatives, an opened jar is stored on a shelf at room temperature.

Celebrate today with a little (or a lot) of Peanut Butter.

Peanut Brittle Recipe

peanut — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:26:40 +0000

There are a lot of recipes for peanut brittle out there but this is the easiest one that I have tried. This recipe is very light and airy. When you add the baking soda after you take it off of the heat then it doesn’t make it sticky like in other recipes.

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
raw peanuts (however many you like)
1 heaping teaspoon baking soda

Put all the ingredients, except the peanuts and soda, in a deep sauce pan. Put on medium heat. stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Add the peanuts. Stirring at all times, take mixture to 290 on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in one heaping teaspoon baking soda (make sure baking soda is fresh). Now pour out on a greased cookie sheet. do not tip cookie sheet to thin, peanut brittle is best when thick which makes it more airy.

Rebel Nutrition: Benefiting from Peanut Butter - Looking at the advantages of a well-known snack

sam — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:07:16 +0000

Peanut butter is a highly enjoyed food that offers nutritional value.

Due to its high protein profile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture places it in the meat category of the food pyramid. Since the nuts are high in “good” fats, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated, the nut butter can actually lower bad LDL cholesterol.

With all the varieties out there, does it really make a difference if one opts for a natural brand opposed to a commercial one?

There are two things one should consider when purchasing this heart healthy food: ingredients and production climate.

Natural brands of peanut butter contain only peanuts and may have sugar, salt or natural oils added to enhance taste and texture.

Commercial brands contain a small amount, usually two percent or less, of partially and fully hydrogenated oils. They also contain emulsifiers such as monoglycerides and diglycerides to improve consistency and shelf-life.

Hydrogenation is a process that adds hydrogen atoms to unsaturated fatty acids. The addition converts liquid fats (oils) into a more solid form.

This conversion often creates trans-fatty acids. Although most commercial brands list zero grams of trans-fat in the nutritional information box, a very small amount can be present.

If a product contains traces of trans fat per serving, the manufacturer is not required to list it. Some companies make mention of this by stating, “contains trivial amounts of trans fat.”

The trivial amount of trans fat can add up if one is eating more than one serving at a time. Consuming trans fat increases levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, which contributes to fatty acid build up in arteries.

According to WebMD.com, this extra coating in arteries is an indicator of heart disease and will increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The manufacturing process of peanut butter is important because it may facilitate the growth of a cancer-causing carcinogen.

According to Dr. Andrew Weil, the father of integrative medicine, the natural toxin aflatoxin is produced by specific strains of mold. It thrives on peanuts stored in warm and humid conditions. Aflatoxin is known to cause cancer in laboratory animals.

Storing natural peanut butters and nuts properly will greatly reduce their risk of growing the mold and prolong their shelf-life. After opening, natural peanut butter should be refrigerated.

K.D. Alexander, an herbalist for more than 20 years, only eats natural, raw nut butters. “Refrigerating nut butters is a good practice,” Alexander said. “The oil in nuts and nut butters can become rancid quickly, especially in Las Vegas.”

Processed peanut butters have a lower risk of developing the mold because they contain chemical preservatives.

It is easy to store and safely indulge in this savory spread.

Write expiration dates three or four months from the opening date on top of the jar. The perfect place for storing nuts is the freezer. Because it is cool, the low humidity environment will inhibit spoilage from oils.

For easier spreading, place nut butter jars upside down in the fridge so the oil doesn’t sit at the top.

Since nuts are produced once a year during the late summer and fall months, now is the best time to buy.

There is a multitude of peanut and nut butters most people are unaware of. If one is looking to try something new, all nuts have a nut butter counterpart.

Almonds are high in vitamin E and calcium. Cashews have high amounts of monosaturated fat and are good sources of copper and magnesium. Macadamia nuts are high in protein and fiber and using this butter will make phenomenal chocolate chip cookies.

Creative peanut butters from The Peanut Butter and Co. will satisfy any sweet tooth. White Chocolate Wonderful, Dark Chocolate Dreams and Cinnamon Raisin Swirl are some of the company’s most popular flavors. These gluten-free vegan peanut butters are all-natural and contain no hydrogenated oils or refined sugar.

If one is allergic to nuts, sunflower seed and pumpkin seed butter are safe and tasty alternatives. Sunflower seed butter is packed with vitamin E and fiber. Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids make pumpkin seed butter a nutritious and delicious choice.

Peanut butter is a healthy source of protein and aids in lowering bad cholesterol.

When indulging in this naturally divine food, be sure storage does not make it have the opposite effect.

Source: The Rebel Yell, Las Vegas, September 13, 2007 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

Peanut butter, the new weapon to fight world hunger?

sam — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:58:06 +0000

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are lauding fortified peanut butter as a potential savior for the world’s malnourished children.

The research team has spent several years researching the use of the enriched peanut-butter mixture, called Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), with small groups of malnourished young children in Malawi. Their findings, published in July’s Maternal and Child Nutrition, showed an 89 percent recovery rate in severely malnourished children given RUTF at home.

Providing easily accessible aids to curbing severe malnutrition could not only save millions of lives every year but also overcome an initial hurdle in many children’s lives that has a far-reaching socio-economic impact.

“Mothers in Malawi know that malnutrition is the single biggest threat to their children’s existence,” said Dr. Mark Manary, co-author in the study as well as professor of pediatrics and an emergency pediatrician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

In developing countries, one in four children - approximately 146 million - are underweight, according to UNICEF figures. Every year, 10.9 million children under the age of five die in the same countries and malnutrition and hunger-related diseases cause 60 percent of these deaths.

The RUTF mixture contains peanuts, powdered milk, oil, sugar, and added vitamins and minerals. For the project, the food was produced in a Malawian factory and donated to the project through funding from UNICEF and the World Food Programme.

As part of the three-year project, village health aides identified severely and moderately malnourished children based on World Health Organization guidelines and then gave the peanut butter to the mothers of those children to give to them at home.

The village aides followed up with the participants every other week for up to eight weeks. Of the 2,131 severely malnourished children treated with the mixture, 89 percent recovered, and of the 806 moderately malnourished children, 85 percent recovered.

“The peanut-butter feeding has been a quantum leap in feeding malnourished children in Africa,” said Manary. “The recovery rates are a remarkable improvement from standard therapy.”

While the researchers had previously seen positive resulting using the peanut butter for malnutrition, it did not have the opportunity to use it on a large-scale feeding program until recently.

“What’s really exciting to me is that we’ve demonstrated that we can put this research into practice on a large scale, it can benefit tens of thousands of kids, and there are not going to be operational barriers in some very remote settings like sub-Saharan Africa,” said Manary.

In 2001, he founded a non-profit organization, the Peanut Butter Project, which produces approximately 300 tons of the RUTF in Malawi each year.

Combating malnutrition through a non-medical method can be important given the lack of on-site medical personnel in many areas. The research team found that the peanut butter feeding program and the involvement of village aides accomplished the task.

The recovery rate for children given standard therapy is less than 50 percent, they said.

The results of the project point to the potential for dietary supplement and functional food companies to get involved in development projects.

NutraCea is one such company that has been leading the way in trying to bring its stabilized rice bran ingredient to such products and projects in developing countries. The manufacturer developed a rice bran technology that provides a rich source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

The company has been promoting the ingredient as a means of eradicating malnutrition around the world, through the use of what is generally discarded as a waste product.

Source: NutraIngredients/Europe.com, September 13, 2007 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

U.S. consumers are now looking for the country label

sam — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:53:57 +0000

After contending with tainted toothpaste, suspect seafood, and poisoned pet food traced to China, many U.S. consumers are now looking for labels that indicate a product’s country of origin.

Some foods - like shrimp and other types of seafood - already must be labeled with a country name, thanks to legislation the U.S. Congress passed in 2002.

Other suppliers added labels voluntarily long before a series of recalls made consumers skittish about Chinese products.

After years of delays, labels for a wider variety of foods - including beef, lamb, pork, perishable agricultural products, and peanuts - are on course to become mandatory by September of next year.

A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives this month is expected to be taken up by the Senate and signed by President George W. Bush with few revisions. But despite the long-awaited regulations, plenty of food still will not carry country labels.

Consider poultry. Because opponents of the legislation were so strongly against requiring country labels and so little imported poultry is sold in the United States, legislators exempted it to avoid jeopardizing the bill, said a staffer at the U.S. House Agriculture Committee.

Then there are the labeling law’s quirks. For example, jalapeño peppers sold fresh will have to be labeled. But if they are sold frozen as “poppers” - wrapped in a jacket of breading with cream-cheese filling - they will be exempt.

And a laundry list of countries are likely to grace various hamburger labels, owing to the multitude of countries that send beef here for processing. But if that same beef is used as an ingredient in a frozen dinner, for instance, the dinner’s maker will not be required to note the country of origin.

Opponents have seized upon what they call the arbitrary nature of the legislation. Why pigs and not poultry? Why green peanuts but not peanut butter? The answers lie in politics, and the definition of processing.

Processed foods do not have to carry country labels. For peanuts, that exempts nuts that are pulverized and sold as peanut butter, roasted nuts coated in chocolate, and peanuts roasted in their shells.

“We’ve made our case to USDA and Capitol Hill that snack nuts go through a roasting process,” said Jim McCarthy, president of the Snack Food Association, referring to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Congress.

Bob Sutter, chief executive of the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association, suspects that snack makers want to purchase ingredients from all over the world, “without having to say they came from Argentina or Mexico or Honduras.”

When it comes to gourmet peanuts, however, Sutter hears from buyers seeking as much information as possible. Callers say, “We want to tell our customers where these peanuts came from. Not just North Carolina. We want to tell them they came from a farm in Northampton, N.C.,” he said.

Those against the labeling law also say it provides few benefits for consumers but plenty of additional costs for suppliers and retailers.

The three-year-old practice of adding “U.S.” labels to seafood did not boost sales, according to the Food Marketing Institute, which represents food retailers and wholesalers with annual sales volume of $340 billion. First-year costs for adding the labels soared up to $16,000 per store, 10 times what the Department of Agriculture estimated.

And the new labeling will be complicated. For instance, new meat labels will mark beef, lamb, and pork born, raised, and slaughtered domestically as well as meat that came from animals raised in other countries before being sold here. Mixed labels will highlight animals born and raised in one place, but slaughtered elsewhere.

Scraps from hundreds of carcasses can wind up in massive hamburger grinders, meaning a hamburger package could potentially list scores of countries.

A long list will inform consumers that a tub of hamburger may contain animals from a range of countries whose meat is processed by U.S. slaughterhouses. The largest exporters of fresh and frozen beef to the United States last year were Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Uruguay, and Mexico, according to the Department of Agriculture.

In the dozen or so years it has taken for country-of-origin labels to move from concept to congressional action, consumers have come to see them as shorthand for which food is safer.

American shoppers are reassured by food imported from such countries as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, said Christine Burhn, director of the Center for Consumer Research at the University of California at Davis. They are wary of imports from lesser-developed countries, including China, India, and Mexico.

Source: International Herald Tribune, August 24, 2007 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

JOHANNS NAMES APPOINTEES TO NATIONAL PEANUT BOARD

sam — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 19:54:11 +0000

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today reappointed one member and appointed one member and two alternates to serve on the National Peanut Board.

John Clay of Carnegie, Okla., was reappointed to serve a three-year term of office. M. Gayle Walker, member, Portales, N.M., and alternates Gayle White, Frederick Okla. and Richard Robbins, Portales, also will serve three-year terms. The terms for all of the appointees will run from Jan. 1, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2010.

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service provides oversight and monitors the operations of the National Peanut Board in accordance with the Commodity Promotion Research and Information Act of 1996 and the Peanut Promotion, Research and Information Order. The board is authorized to collect assessments from domestic producers - who pay the rate of 1 percent of the total value of all farmers’ stock peanuts sold. These assessments allow the board to conduct generic promotion and research for consumer and producer information, as well as maintain, develop and expand markets for peanuts.

Source: USDA News Release, September 7, 2007 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

Schools Prepare To Be Peanut-Free

sam — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:51:17 +0000

Schools across Rhode Island must abide by a new law this coming school year to protect children with peanut allergies.

The law requires schools to post signs noting that if some students have a peanut or tree nut allergy, the schools must prohibit the sale of any food with nuts.

NBC 10’s Kelley McGee said the law also requires one classroom per grade and one table in the cafeteria to be peanut- and tree nut-free.

“This particular allergy is life-threatening,” said Rep. Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, D-Woonsocket. “You’re not telling these folks that they can not eat peanut butter. You’re just simply asking them to not eat peanut butter or peanut products in the presence of a child who has a peanut or nut allergy.”

The law was passed over the summer by the General Assembly.

“There are many students who have dairy allergies and we certainly would not want to go to the next step and eliminate milk from the lunch program,” said Rep. Joe Amaral, R-Tiverton/Portsmouth.

Amaral believes the law goes too far and that there are better ways to protect kids that don’t draw attention to their condition.

“I believe that there are HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws that are being violated by segregating kids because they have peanut allergies,” he said.

The state Department of Education is assisting schools with implementing the law.

“They need to know if they have a child in their school that has a peanut allergy,” said school health specialist Jackie Ascrizzi. “And most schools do know that because the school nurses review the records before school starts.”

McGee said both proponents and opponents of the law agree that the success of the initiative relies on the diligence of students and parents who have to make sure peanut products don’t show up where they are not supposed to be.

Source: TurnToTen.com, Providence, August 22, 2007 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

Med diet found to have further Alzheimer’s benefits

sam — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 20:06:01 +0000

Adhering to a Mediterranean diet could allow sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease to live longer than patients who eat a more traditional Western diet, according to new research published today.

The findings are the latest in a string of health benefits linked to the eating plan of the people of southern Europe, which has in the past also been associated with the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.

Published in today’s issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, the new findings were based on researchers’ observations of 192 Alzheimer sufferers for four and a half years.

During that time, 85 of the people died. Researchers found that those patients who most closely followed a Mediterranean diet were 76 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who followed the diet the least.

“The more closely people followed the Mediterranean diet, the more they reduced their mortality,” said study author Nikos Scarmeas of Columbia University Medical Center in New York, and member of the American Academy of Neurology.

“For example, Alzheimer’s patients who adhered to the diet to a moderate degree lived an average 1.3 years longer than those people who least adhered to the diet. And those Alzheimer’s patients who followed the diet very religiously lived an average four years longer.”

Previous research by Scarmeas published last year found that greater adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet could cut the risk of healthy people developing Alzheimer’s disease by 68 percent.

The Med diet is rich in cereals, wine, fruits, nuts, legumes and whole grains, fish and olive oil. Its main nutritional components include beta-carotene, vitamin C, tocopherols, polyphenols, and essential minerals. It is these antioxidants and polyphenols that appear to offer protection, suggested the researchers.

Another study by the same researchers, published earlier last year in the Annals of Neurology (Vol. 59, pp. 912 - 921), reported that elderly individuals whose diet closely resembled the Med diet had a 40 per cent lower risk of Alzheimer’s than those who adhered the least to the diet.

“New benefits of this diet keep coming out,” wrote Scarmeas today.

“We need to do more research to determine whether eating a Mediterranean diet also helps Alzheimer’s patients have slower rates of cognitive decline, maintain their daily living skills, and have a better quality of life.”

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and currently affects over 13 million people worldwide. The direct and indirect cost of Alzheimer care is over $100 bn (€ 81 bn) in the US alone. The direct cost of Alzheimer care in the UK was estimated at £15 bn (€ 22 bn, $30bn).

The Mediterranean diet has also been linked to longer life, less heart disease, and protection against some cancers - and the flow of scientific back-up for its healthfulness has started to trickle into consumer consciousness, with more and more people seeking out products that meet the diet’s criteria.

Common foods of the eating plan include bread, pasta, rice, couscous and potatoes; olives, avocados and grapes; eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, nuts and beans; and cheese and yogurt. Moderate consumption of fish and poultry is also encouraged, whereas consumption of red meat is advised only a few times a month.

In the US, a nutrition group recently launched a Med Mark symbol to allow manufacturers to flag up Mediterranean diet foods. Introduced three months ago by Oldways, the packaging symbol already appears on 50 products.

Source: FoodNavigator.com, September 11, 2007 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

Nuts for Nuts

sam — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 19:40:55 +0000

In terms of protein, total fat, and calories, 1 oz of nuts is roughly equivalent to 2 oz of lean meat plus 2 tsp of vegetable oil. Nonetheless, the health benefits of nuts are considerable, as Johns Hopkins nutritionist Lora Brown Wilder explains.

Ask any nutritionist today about nuts, and he or she will tell you they are good for you — in moderation, of course. That’s a whole new way of thinking about nuts, which for years were perceived as “bad” foods because of their high fat and calorie content. But a slew of recent studies have brought a better understanding of nuts’ health benefits. The turnaround has been so dramatic that packages of some nuts have labels approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration touting the possible heart benefits of nuts, and the most recent dietary guidelines mention nuts as good sources of protein and mono- and polyunsaturated fats.

Why Nuts Are Good for You

Nuts pack a powerful nutritional punch. Nuts contain monounsaturated fats, which help lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol and may raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or “good”) cholesterol when substituted for saturated fats in the diet. So it’s not surprising that several major studies have found that eating nuts significantly reduces the risk of coronary heart disease — by 25–50% in both men and women. One of these studies, the Nurses’ Health Study, also found that regularly eating nuts and peanut butter reduces the chance of developing type 2 diabetes by 21–27%.

Besides monounsaturated fats, nuts are rich in vitamins, minerals, and other substances that are beneficial to your health. For example, walnuts contain a type of omega-3 fat similar to fish oil, and almonds contain calcium and vitamin E. Nuts are also good sources of protein and fiber.

Nuts and Weight Control

It sounds paradoxical, because they’re calorie dense (160–200 calories per oz), but research shows that people who eat nuts tend to weigh less than those who don’t eat nuts. Possible explanations: Nut eaters may follow a healthier diet (lower in calories and saturated fat) than people who abstain from nuts, and those who are overweight may shun nuts because of their high-calorie content.

But other factors also may come into play. Nuts are quite filling because of their high protein and fiber content. In one study, subjects who snacked on nuts and peanut butter weren’t hungry for 2.5 hours afterward and, interestingly, spontaneously adjusted their calorie intake for the rest of the day so they didn’t consume extra calories.

Protein also requires more energy to digest than fats or carbohydrates, so you use up more calories in the process. Also, because people tend not to chew nuts fully before swallowing them, they aren’t well digested and some of the calories they contain may be lost in the stool.

Source: Johns Hopkins Health Alert, July 18, 2007 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

Cashews cause stronger reactions than peanuts – study

sam — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 19:28:51 +0000

The allergic reaction to cashew nuts is more severe than peanuts, says a new study that deepens our understanding of food allergies and highlights the need for clear labeling.

“Cashew nuts present a considerable hazard, being hidden in a wide variety of commonly ingested foods, such as Asian meals, sweets, ice cream, cakes, chocolates and they are increasingly used in commercially prepared pesto sauce instead of pine nuts,” wrote lead author Andrew Clark in the journal Allergy.

“Specific information on how to achieve nut avoidance should always be provided,” he added.

An estimated 4 per cent of adults and 8 per cent of children in the 380 million EU population suffer from food allergies, according to the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations.

There is no current cure for a food allergy, and vigilance by an allergic individual is the only way to prevent a reaction.

But a peanut allergy can be so severe that only very tiny amounts can be enough to trigger a response. While cashews are used less extensively as ingredient than peanuts, the new study suggests that the allergic reaction to the former may be more severe than even that of peanuts.

The researchers, from Addenbrookes Hospital (Cambridge University Hospitals) and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kings Lynn, matched children whose worst ever reaction was to cashew nut (cashew group, 47 children) with children whose worst ever reaction was to peanut (peanut group, 94 children). The comparison matched the children according to sex, age of reaction and presentation, amount ingested, and asthma.

“This is the first study to employ case-matching to compare severity of peanut and cashew nut allergy and demonstrates increased severity of reactions to cashew nut,” said Clark.

The researchers note that wheezing and cardiovascular symptoms were reported more often during reactions in the cashew than compared to the peanut group, while those allergic to cashews also received intramuscular adrenaline more frequently.

“A recent study showed that 10/37 (27 per cent) of nut-allergic children were unable to correctly identify the type of nut to which they were allergic,” wrote the researchers.

“Previous studies show cashew nut can cause severe reactions. The nut type which caused the worst reaction to date should be considered when providing emergency medication,” they concluded.

Source: FoodNavigator.com, July 20, 2007 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

One Kid Chef Will Win a $25,000 Scholarship Fund in the Sixth Annual Jif(R) Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest(TM)

sam — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:49:57 +0000

A peanut butter sandwich could help a creative kid chef pay for college. The makers of Jif® peanut butter, the number one choice of choosy moms, announced today a call-for-entries for the Sixth Annual Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest(TM). The grand prize is a $25,000 scholarship fund with each of the four runners-up receiving a $2,500 scholarship fund. Parents can help their kids (ages 6-12) enter this nationwide contest between August 1, 2007 and November 15, 2007.

“We are once again excited to encourage parents to get creative with their children in the kitchen for an opportunity to win a college scholarship fund,” says Maribeth Badertscher, Director, Corporate Communications, The J.M. Smucker Company.

The Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest(TM) is intended to foster creativity and encourage parents and children to spend time together in the kitchen. Over the past five years, thousands of kid chefs from across the country have reinvented the classic peanut butter sandwich. From sushi rolls and lettuce wraps to empanadas and paninis, kids have been inspired from all different culinary styles and cultural backgrounds to create a “sandwich” with their favorite foods.

The winner of last year’s most creative peanut butter sandwich was inspired by a love of sushi. Twelve-year-old Alexandra Yoder of Fort Wayne, Indiana created “Peanut Butter Rolls - Sushi Style,” consisting of Jif Creamy peanut butter, strawberry cream cheese and fruit rolled in a crepe, cut and served “sushi style.” Alexandra added more creativity to her sandwich by finishing off the “sushi” with pretzel rods for chopsticks and chocolate yogurt for soy sauce.

The Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest(TM) is open to children ages 6 to 12, and sandwiches will be judged on the following criteria: creativity, nutritional balance, taste, appearance and ease of preparation. For Official Rules and entry form visit www.jif.com. Entries must be postmarked by November 15, 2007 and received by November 22, 2007: Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest(TM), Cohn & Wolfe, 292 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Ten finalists will be selected by a panel of judges in December and posted on www.jif.com in January as part of a nationwide online vote. Five finalists will ultimately be selected to compete in a live judging event in New York City in March 2008.

For more information about other Jif tips, recipes, contests and promotions log on to www.jif.com. Also on the Web site, families can see never-before-seen footage of the 5th Annual Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest(TM).

About The J.M. Smucker Company

The J. M. Smucker Company is the leading marketer and manufacturer of fruit spreads, peanut butter, shortening and oils, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk and health and natural foods beverages in North America. Its family of brands includes Smucker’s®, Jif®, Crisco®, Pillsbury®, Eagle Brand®, R.W. Knudsen Family®, Hungry Jack®, White Lily® and Martha White® in the United States, along with Robin Hood®, Five Roses® and Bick’s® in Canada. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. Since 1998, the Company has appeared on FORTUNE Magazine’s annual listing of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States, ranking number one in 2004. For more information about the company, visit www.smuckers.com.

Pillsbury is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, used under license.

Source: PR Newswire, August 1, 2007 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

Spread’s the word, peanut butter or not PB&J is the classic, but there are many choices

sam — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:47:20 +0000

The triple-decker marshmallow berry soy sandwich is a variation on the classic peanut butter and jelly. Larry Crowe | Associated PressFor many families, the morning is the ultimate in deadline cooking.

Soon, parents will be getting the children out of bed, into their clothes and onto the school bus. Just figuring out what to stuff into their lunch boxes that won’t get traded or tossed is enough to keep most parents busy.

And perhaps that at least partly explains the persistent popularity of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Which is great, assuming your children don’t attend a school that is peanut-free.

Motivated by food-allergy concerns, many schools now either say no to nuts or have special peanut-free lunch tables.

So what’s a parent to do if junior simply has to dine on PB&J? First, chat with your doctor, then head to a natural-foods store, where there are options aplenty.

Natural-foods stores excel at offering sandwich fixings that are free of peanuts and other possible allergens. Once your doctor has told you which ingredients are safe, assembling kid-pleasing sandwiches is easy.

For example, if your child lives for Fluffernutter sandwiches but can’t eat eggs (Fluff includes egg whites), try Suzanne’s Ricemellow Creme, a gluten-free, vegan marshmallow spread made from brown rice syrup.

And if peanuts are off the table, try a jar of soy nut butter, many brands of which brag of being produced in nut-free factories. Opt for a sweetened variety, which mellows the flavor of the soy nuts.

If some nuts are acceptable but you’re looking for a peanut-free alternative, consider chocolate hazelnut spread. It’s especially delicious with marshmallow spread.

Also, consider thinking beyond nuts and their soy alternatives. Check out pear and apple butters, which are similar to jam and often contain little or no sugar.

Canned sweet potato and pumpkin pie purŽes also make great sandwich spreads. Some varieties are sweetened and spiced, making them an easy way to slip some produce into the sandwich. If you can’t find sweetened varieties, mix in a bit of honey and cinnamon. Refrigerate the leftovers for use in other sandwiches later.

Here are ideas for peanut butter and jelly alternatives that come together in a flash. (see full article for recipes).

Source: Associated Press, Lexington Herald-Leader, 8/5/07 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

Georgia facility linked to tainted peanut butter to re-open

sam — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 17:45:31 +0000

ConAgra Foods Inc. said Monday it plans this month to reopen the South Georgia plant where thousands of jars of peanut butter linked to a national outbreak of salmonella were filled.

The Omaha-based company said it was planning to reopen its Sylvester plant after spending at least $15 million on renovations that include repairing the roof, installing new equipment and creating a design to better separate raw materials and the finished product.

“Right now we’re in the final stages of getting everything ready to produce Peter Pan peanut butter there,” said Stephanie Childs, a company spokeswoman.

The plant was shut down in February after health officials linked the Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter to a salmonella outbreak. More than 600 people in 47 states reported becoming ill, and the company faces lawsuits in several states.

The company traced the outbreak to three problems at the plant last August.

The plant’s roof leaked during a rainstorm, and the sprinkler system went off twice because of a faulty sprinkler, which the company said was repaired. The moisture from those three events mixed with dormant salmonella bacteria in the plant that the company said likely came from raw peanuts and peanut dust.

The plant was cleaned thoroughly after the roof leak and sprinkler problem, but the company said the salmonella remained and somehow came in contact with peanut butter before it was packaged.

The outbreak cost ConAgra $66 million before taxes during the fiscal year and hurt peanut butter sales, which still generated about $92 million in 2007 versus $147 million in 2006, according to the company’s latest earnings report.

The Peter Pan brand will be back on store shelves this month, although initially it will be produced at another plant, Childs said.

Another Georgia company, Castleberry’s Foods off Augusta, is involved in a recall of canned goods found to contain botulism.

Source: The Associated Press, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 08/06/07 and the American Peanut Council Newsletter.

New Survey Shows Most Canadians Not Prepared for Potentially Fatal Allergic Reactions

sam — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 22:09:48 +0000

A new national survey shows that the majority of Canadians at risk for a severe, potentially fatal allergic reaction do not carry their life-saving medication with them. Worse yet, most Canadians would not know what to do in the event of someone having a potentially fatal allergic attack, known as anaphylaxis.

The new survey of 1,502 Canadians commissioned by King Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with Anaphylaxis Canada, reveals that only one in five Canadians at risk for an anaphylactic attack remember to carry an epinephrine auto-injector with them at all times. An injection of epinephrine is the definitive treatment for someone experiencing an anaphylactic attack, which can be fatal in minutes if untreated. Additionally, while 97 percent of Canadians are aware that an allergic reaction can kill someone, only 45 percent would know how to treat someone having an allergic reaction by administering a life-saving dose of epinephrine using an emergency auto-injector such as the EpiPen(R) auto-injector (epinephrine injection). “The results of this survey emphasize the need to educate Canadians about. life-threatening allergies and how we can all work together as a community to protect the safety of people who are at risk,” says Laurie Harada, Executive Director, Anaphylaxis Canada. “Since it is often difficult for people to avoid exposure to different allergens, it is important to make sure that an allergic person’s family, friends, and teachers are educated about their allergies. These people should be ready to assist in the event of an emergency.” Approximately 600,000 Canadians (or 1 percent to 2 percent) are estimated to have allergic sensitivities, placing them at risk for anaphylaxis, although some experts believe that this incidence rate could be understated. The most common triggers for anaphylaxis include foods, insect stings, drugs, latex and exercise.

People experiencing anaphylaxis should use an epinephrine auto-injector at the earliest signs of reaction and then call 911 or be taken to an emergency room. According to the study, 35 percent of respondents say they or someone they know has suffered from an anaphylactic reaction. “If untreated, anaphylaxis can be fatal within minutes, therefore it is vital that individuals with severe allergies carry an up-to-date epinephrine auto-injector at all times,” says Dr. Rhoda Kagan, Pediatric Allergist, North York General Hospital. “In a critical situation where someone is experiencing an anaphylactic reaction, simplicity matters and EpiPen auto-injectors are designed for easy self administration. When administered at the first signs of anaphylaxis, EpiPen auto-injectors can provide individuals the time necessary to obtain more definitive emergency treatment.”

Additional survey highlights:

- 75 percent of Canadians think peanuts can cause a more serious
allergic reaction than milk, when in fact they both can cause a
serious reaction.

- 60 percent of Canadians support a peanut ban in schools and child
care centres, but only 27 percent support a peanut ban in all public
places. Peanut allergy is the most common cause of death from food
allergy, in addition to shellfish, fish and tree nuts.

- Half of Canadians think the food industry is doing a good job of
declaring dangerous allergens on package label.

- Half of Canadians agree that child care centres should be held
responsible if they don’t carry an epinephrine auto-injector and a
child on their premises has a severe allergic reaction.

- One in four survey respondents think public places should be held
responsible if they don’t carry EpiPen and someone on their premises
has a severe allergic reaction.

- 7 out of 10 Canadians agree that restaurants and cafeterias should be
required to list all ingredients on their menu products, even if it
costs diners more.

The Leger study was commissioned by King Pharmaceuticals, maker of EpiPen (epinephrine auto-injector), and in collaboration with Anaphylaxis Canada. Data collection for this study was conducted via Leger Marketing OmniCan. Data was collected between May 29 and June 3, 2007. A random household selection was achieved by inviting residents across Canada over 18 years of age to complete the survey. A total of 1,502 interviews were completed. The margin of error for a sample of this size is +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20.

From the American Peanut Council Newsletter

Peanut Allergy

sam — Sat, 05 May 2007 04:38:21 +0000

Early exposure to food allergens may increase tolerance

4/30/2007 - Exposing premature and low birth weight babies to food allergens early in life may boost tolerance later in life, suggests a new study from Canada.

The study, looking at the risk of developing food allergy in premature or low-birth-weight children, found no difference between the normal and premature babies, challenging the hypothesis that immature gastrointestinal tracts may boost food allergy development.

“To the best of our knowledge, this population-based study is the first to examine prematurity or low birth weight and the risk of developing food allergy,” wrote lead author Joel Liem from the University of Manitoba.

“Our data suggest that no association exists between gestational age and birth weight with the development of IgE-mediated food allergies. As a result, the theory that an immature gut mucosa results in increased permeability to large-molecular-weight proteins and predisposes the baby to early sensitization needs to be questioned,” he added.

According to the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations, an estimated four per cent of adults and eight per cent of children in the 380m EU population suffer from food allergies.

As a result, the “free-from” food market has been enjoying sales growth, with of over 300 per cent reported in the UK since 2000, according to market analyst Mintel.

The most common food allergen ingredients and their derivatives are cereals containing gluten, fish, crustaceans, egg, peanut, soybeans, milk and dairy products including lactose, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seed, and sulphites.

Previous studies had indicated that immature gastrointestinal tracts as found in premature babies result in an increased uptake of food antigens, but limited studies have investigated the immunologic response of preterm or low-birth-weight infants to dietary antigens, said the researchers in the current issue of Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

The researchers analysed 13,980 children were born in 1995 and living in the province of Manitoba, and of these, 592 children were found to have food allergy. When the data was analysed with respect to birth weight and maturity, no association with food allergy was observed.

“Prematurity and low birth weight are not associated with a change in risk for development of food allergy in childhood,” said the researchers.

The researchers did find that food allergy was associated with a maternal history of asthma and food allergy, however.

“The theory is that at a young age (ie. less than 3 years), an immature and permeable gastrointestinal tract will result in increased antigen uptake. Thus, highly allergenic foods may be absorbed more easily, increasing the risk for sensitization,” said Liem.

“However, our large, population-based epidemiologic study does not support [this]. A possible mechanism preventing sensitization might be the development of immunologic tolerance to orally ingested allergens in premature infants.

“Such tolerance might result from interaction of high antigen concentration with the immature immune system of the preterm infant,” he said.

“These data prompt us to ask whether it may be possible that introducing highly allergenic proteins (such as peanut) early in life would tolerise (as opposed to sensitise) a child to that particular antigen?” said the researchers.

They called for carefully designed and monitored studies to identify the best approach to the introduction of foods for infants and young children.

An extensive review, published towards the end of 2006 by the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA2LEN) reported that the growing number of people suffering from allergies is due to changes in European diets over the past 30 years.

But by targeting several key areas, particularly how children are fed early in life, including breastfeeding, their early diet and increasing the use of pre- and probiotics could have a direct positive effect on the subsequent development of asthma and allergies.

Source: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

May 2007, Volume 119, Issue 5, Pages 1203-1209

“The risk of developing food allergy in premature or low-birth-weight children”

Authors: J.J. Liem, A.L. Kozyrskyj, S.I. Huq and A.B. Becker

Source: foodnavigator.org