Tag Archives: center for science in the public interest

March 30, 2016 · 12:12 am

Soda Sales Continue Nearly Twenty-Year Freefall

Per Capita Consumption Drops More Than 26% From 1998 Peak

Regular readers know that I feel strongly about the dangers of soda, both diet and sugared. You can check out my Page: What’s Wrong with Soft Drinks? to learn more about it.

I was pleased to read the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) report that sales are declining.

Americans, eager to reduce their risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and tooth decay are continuing to cut down on their consumption of full-calorie soda, according to new data released by the trade publication Beverage Digest. Based on those data, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest says that Americans are drinking more than one-fourth less soda than in 1998, when consumption peaked. In fact, Americans are now back to drinking about as much as they did in 1985. CSPI is urging health officials at the local, state, and federal levels of government to enact policies to drive down soda consumption even further, perhaps to levels observed in the 1960s, when soda was an occasional treat served in reasonable portions.

“Drinking nine or 10 teaspoons of sugar makes no sense, and most Americans have wised up to what’s really in a single soda,” said CSPI president Michael F. Jacobson. “The soda industry, which for years has lectured the public about energy balance and moderation, has been marketing excessive consumption, both in terms of frequency and volume. A comprehensive government strategy to drive down consumption further could be a boon to Americans’ health and lower the healthcare costs paid by taxpayers.”

Lawmakers in California are proposing a two-cent-per-ounce health impact fee on sugar-sweetened beverages in that state. In Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney (D) is proposing a three-cent-per-ounce excise tax on sugary drinks to help raise $400 million over five years for universal Pre-K, parks, and other programs. In Congress, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has offered legislation that would institute a tax of one-cent per teaspoon of caloric sweetener. CSPI has estimated that a federal excise tax could raise $10 billion a year for prevention programs.

I don’t share the CSPI’s notion of getting the government more involved in affecting what private citizens eat and drink through raising taxes or any other way. This is still a free country. Let’s keep it that way. It seems like we are off to a good start judging from the fall off in sales in the past 20 years.

Tony

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Filed under diet soda, soda, soft drinks, sugary soda

February 26, 2015 · 11:31 am

Athletes and Film Stars to Push Veggies

Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton and Jessica Alba, among others, have signed on to help promote fruit and vegetable consumption in a new program.

The push is being called FNV – which stands for Fruits and Vegetables.

The campaign will start on social media like Twitter where short videos will be posted. The first will be posted online today.

Jessica Alba star of one of my favorite shows, Dark Angel, is on the FNV team.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) loves it. “What a breath of fresh air to see entertainers and athletes getting behind this innovative campaign to promote fruit and vegetable consumption. It would be nice to see more celebrities following the example of Jessica Alba, Colin Kaepernick, and Stephen Curry and the others involved with this project. For too long, entertainers and athletes have used their clout to promote soda and other junk foods, so perhaps the FNV campaign heralds a new trend.

“For this campaign to succeed, it will need a huge and sustained investment behind it, which I hope the industry provides. Ideally government agencies would invest in similar media campaigns aimed at reducing junk food consumption and promoting healthy diets,” according to a statement by CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson.

I would just like to add my own two cents here that I love this accentuating the positive as opposed to governments and municipalities coming in and banning junk foods. It pays to think positive.
Tony

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Filed under Center for Science in the Public Interest, FNV

Tagged as center for science in the public interest, Colin Kaepernick, CSPI, Eat your veggies program, Jessica Alba

January 28, 2015 · 2:33 pm

6 Fun Super Bowl Snack Suggestions from CSPI

“This Sunday, Americans should be more concerned with over-inflated bellies, not under-inflated footballs,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson.

As far as food consumption goes, Super Bowl Sunday is second only to Thanksgiving for the amount of food eaten, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

WASHINGTON–There’s no rule that your Super Bowl party has to feature boring sporting-event staples like chicken wings, pizza, chips, and soda. With that in mind, the food detectives at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, publisher of Nutrition Action Healthletter, are recommending delicious recipes and packaged foods for Super Bowl entertaining that offer a break from the same old high calorie, salty, fatty, sugary, and over-processed party fare.

“This Sunday, Americans should be more concerned with over-inflated bellies, not under-inflated footballs,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “Consider making at least half of the food you serve on the healthier side of the spectrum, including generous amounts of fresh vegetables or fruit. Not all of your guests will want to eat like a linebacker, anyway.”

If you put anything before your guests to mindlessly nibble on while watching the game, vegetables should be the default option, says CSPI. Fresh veggies contribute to lower rates of heart attack and stroke, especially if they’re replacing higher-calorie salty snacks like pretzels or potato chips. CSPI’s recommendations for Sunday include:

• Veggies Hummus. Make your own hummus. Or buy a packaged brand like Sabra, Tribe, or Athenos. Serve with platters of baby carrots, red pepper slices, cherry tomatoes, or snow peas. A typical hummus has about 50 to 70 calories per two-tablespoon serving.

• Roasted Chickpeas. Chickpeas aren’t just for making hummus. Roasted, they make for a snack that’s high in fiber and a good source of protein. The Good Bean Roasted Chickpea Snacks come in seven flavors, including Cracked Pepper, Thai Coconut, and Smoky Chili & Lime. Saffron RoadCrunchy Chickpeas is another good option, which offers Korean BBQ, Falafel, Wasabi, and other flavors. A quarter cup serving has around 120 calories

• Chipotle Chicken Lettuce Wraps. Need a substantial finger-food? The recipe, developed by Nutrition Action culinary director Kate Sherwood, is a great alternative to wings. Flavored with garlic, chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, and orange juice, these lettuce wraps are garnished with scallions and slivered tortilla chips. 400 calories per serving.

• Cannellini Beans & Chorizo. Instead of a big vat of chili con carne, consider Sherwood’s 5-ingredient, 20-minute recipe for white beans and chicken or turkey sausage. This dish keeps sodium under control (370 mg) and packs 6 grams of fiber for just 300 calories.

• Clementines. Put out a big bowl full of sweet, easy-to-peel, and kid-friendly clementines (or other variety of mandarin orange). Halos and Cuties are two brand-name varieties of these little seedless, citrus gems, typically sold in bags or small wooden crates. Each has around just 40 calories and a gram or two of fiber.

• Flavored waters. Instead of soda, consider seltzer water spiked with fruit juice, or if you’re more ambitious, pitchers of spa water flavored with slices of citrus fruits, cucumbers, herbs such as basil or mint, and berries.

Snacking aside, CSPI also criticized the National Food League for letting PepsiCo sponsor the halftime show, and celebrities like Katy Perry, Kid President, and Danica Patrick for promoting sugary drinks, which cause diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other serious health problems.

“Soda companies such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo claim not to market to children, but kid-friendly celebrities like Katy Perry and Kid President have great appeal to tweens and younger children,” Jacobson said. “Years from now, these celebrities will likely look back with regret that they promoted a product that causes so much preventable disease and misery.”

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Filed under Center for Science in the Public InterestCenter for Science in the Public Interest, Super Bowl Snacks

Tagged as center for science in the public interest, hummus, Michael F. Jacobson, Nutrition Action Healthletter, Super Bowl, Super Bowl snacks

May 1, 2014 · 4:02 pm

Tips on Controlling Calories When Dining out on Italian Food – CSPI

I’m sure it is no surprise that a blogger named Tony is of Italian descent. I grew up eating and loving Italian food. There wasn’t the level of affluence in those days as there is now, so we didn’t eat out a lot, but pizza was one of the dinners of choice when we did. Often going out for pizza was a reward for good grades or to celebrate a birthday. So, besides tasting delicious, pizza packed an emotional bang, too. I am a senior citizen now and have buried both my parents, but I still feel a residual thrill when I bite into a juicy slice of pizza. Of course, pasta was a close second in our culinary hierarchy.

Pizza and Pasta

So, I was interested in the latest release on dining out on Italian food put out by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

“Few of us would sit down to a meal of three Big Macs. Most of us would assume we’d be better off with a dinner of sautéed shrimp with vegetables and pasta. Yet the Shrimp Scampi at Maggiano’s Little Italy has about as many calories (1,680) and about as much saturated fat (28 grams) as those big burgers. That’s just one of the surprises revealed in Nutrition Action Healthletter’s latest look at what’s cooking in Italian chains like Olive Garden, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, and Maggiano’s.

Some of the appetizers, meals, and desserts highlighted in the May issue of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest’s flagship publication include: Continue reading →

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Filed under Center for Science in the Public Interest, Italian restaurant food

Tagged as calorie counting, Carrabba, center for science in the public interest, CSPI, healthy eating, Italian food, Italian restaurant food, Macaroni Grill, Maggiano's, Olive Garden, portion size, weight

April 14, 2014 · 6:49 pm

U.K. Salt Reduction Drives Down Stroke and Heart Disease Deaths

The British government has successfully educated individuals about reducing their sodium consumption and has aggressively encouraged companies to market less-salty foods, the Center for Science in the Public Interest reported.

And according to the findings published in BMJ Open, those efforts are likely partly responsible for plummeting rates of heart attack and stroke deaths in the United Kingdom.

It’s a shame that while the British government has actively prompted progress on the part of industry and consumers, our Food and Drug Administration dithers, waiting in vain for more than 40 years for companies to voluntarily cut salt. It’s a strategy that has plainly failed, as Americans are still getting more than twice as much sodium as they should, mostly from processed and restaurant foods.

Almost four years ago the Institute of Medicine called on the FDA to set mandatory limits on the levels of sodium allowed in various categories of food. Doing that would have been the single most effective (and inexpensive) thing the FDA could have done to save hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of health care dollars. Halving Americans’ sodium intake could save 100,000 lives annually. Because the Obama Administration hasn’t done anything, America is unnecessarily digging about 100,000 early graves every year, each to be filled with a heart attack or stroke victim.

I want to clarify that I am against government telling us we can’t have diet sodas over 16 ounces like in New York, but it seems the government can make some rules on healthy amounts of certain ingredients like salt and sugar which have proven harmful to us humans. As the CSPI release said, we are digging 100,000 early graves a year. Talk about Nero fiddling while Rome burns. We have the FDA fiddling while citizens who don’t pay attention to their health are dying at a terrible rate.

Salt consumption has been a subject of numerous posts in this blog. Here are a few:

How Much is Too Much Salt?

Some Sneaky Salt Statistics

Why is Walmart Cutting Sugar, Fat and Salt in its Foods?

Where Does All the Salt in our Diets Come From?

Tony

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Filed under aging, Center for Science in the Public Interest, heart, heart disease, heart problems, salt, sodium, stroke, Weight, weight control, weight loss

Tagged as BMJ Open, center for science in the public interest, CSPI, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, heart attack, heart disease, salt consumption, salt sodium, sodium intake, stroke, The British government

March 14, 2014 · 3:43 am

What about Coca-Cola’s Anti-Obesity Ad?

Having written some strong words of warning on sugary soft drinks as well as chemical-laden diet soft drinks, not to mention the scourge of obesity, what to make of Coca-Cola’s Anti-Obesity ads?

Some facts first, 60 percent of us are overweight and 30 percent of us are outright obese. We have teenagers coming down with adult onset diabetes. We are the first generation of people starving ourselves to death in obese bodies.

We gain weight when we take in more calories than we burn off. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says that soda contributes six percent of the total calories in our diets. That is more than anything we eat or drink.

So soda is a major player in the obesity crisis.

I was not able to get a copy of the Coke ad to run with this post, but I did find this “Honest” version which carries the original video but has a fresh new voiceover. The source is listed as John Pemberton which by no small coincidence happens to be the name of the pharmacist who invented Coca-Cola.

Back to the headline. What about Coke having an anti-obesity ad?

Why not? Anything that raises people’s awareness of the problem seems to be a step in the right direction. I don’t think the coke ad will encourage people to drink more of it. I certainly hope not.

Here is a nice CNN discussion on it.

To read more on the nature of empty calories and junk food check out my posts A Love Letter to Hostess Ho Ho’s and Twinkies – NOT also What are The Dangers of a Big Waistline?

Tony

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Filed under Center for Science in the Public Interest, Coca-Cola, fat, fat kids, healthy living, junk food, obesity, Weight, weight control, weight loss

Tagged as calorie counting, center for science in the public interest, Coca-Cola, Exercise, healthy-living, junk food, weight

April 29, 2013 · 6:49 pm

Wrigley Launches Caffeine Gum

I guess this would have to be filed in the Something We Need Like Another Hole in the Head Department. Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars, Inc., has launched a chewing gum with 40 milligrams of caffeine per piece and 8 pieces per box. The average cup of coffee has 100 mg, so just one of these amounts to 40 percent of a cup of coffee.

As you can see from the ad, the product is being advertised for free at 7-Eleven with the purchase of a Skinny Salted Caramel Mocha or other large hot — and presumably caffeinated— beverage! I was not able to nutritional info on this drink, nor the amount of caffeine.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) pointed out that The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages the consumption of caffeine and other stimulant substances in the diets of children and adolescents. Too much caffeine can cause anxiety, restlessness, irritability, and insomnia in just about anyone, according to CSPI.

The release is perfectly timed to come out right around final exam time for kids everywhere.

Large amounts of caffeine can cause rapid heartbeat and seizures that are severe enough to require emergency care. While the FDA has regulations governing caffeine in cola-type beverages, those regulations did not anticipate the widespread caffeination of the food supply.

As I oppose Red Bull and all those other stimulant drinks, I have to say this gumming up chewing gum idea really takes the cake. The opportunities for getting too much caffeine are rife. If you were to take all eight pieces you would have chewed up 320 mg of caffeine, more than three cups of coffee with caffeine.

These are a dangerous idea for adults and reckless for kids.

Tony

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Filed under Alert Energy Caffeine Gum, caffeine, chewing gum, stimulants

Tagged as Alert Energy Caffeine Gum, caffeine, center for science in the public interest, chewing gum, food, health, medicine, restaurants, stimulants, transportation, Wrigley

April 23, 2013 · 3:19 pm

Chicken, Ground Beef Top List of Riskiest Meats – CSPI

WASHINGTON–Ground beef and chicken are by far the riskiest meat and poultry products in the American food supply and pose the greatest likelihood of hospitalization, according to a new report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Furthermore, according to the nonprofit group’s analysis of more than 33,000 cases of food borne illness connected to products regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, chicken nuggets, ham, and sausage pose the lowest risk of food borne illness.

The report, Risky Meat: A Field Guide to Meat & Poultry Safety, ranks 12 categories of meat and poultry based on outbreak reports and the likelihood of hospitalizations associated with the pathogens most commonly reported in those foods. Ground beef and chicken are not only responsible for the largest numbers of outbreaks and cases of illnesses, but those illnesses tend to be more severe. The deadly bacterium E. coli O157:H7, for instance, was responsible for 100 outbreaks associated with ground beef in the 12-year study period. Because that pathogen is estimated to result in hospitalization in nearly half of those infected, ground beef had the highest severity index of the 12 meat and poultry categories. Ground beef is also connected to illnesses caused by Clostridium perfringens and Salmonella.

“Outbreaks from ground beef and chicken are reported frequently, and all too often cause debilitating illnesses—illnesses that lead to hospitalization,” said CSPI food safety director Caroline Smith DeWaal. “For example, approximately a quarter of those who are sickened by Salmonella will go to the hospital. The hospitalization rate for E. coli infections is nearly 50 percent and for Listeria infections it is more than 90 percent. ”

Hospitalizations caused by Salmonella put chicken in the “highest risk” category alongside ground beef. Clostridium perfringens and Norovirus also cause outbreaks associated with chicken. Campylobacter bacteria are also believed to cause a large number of individual illnesses associated with chicken but rarely cause outbreaks.

“Meat and poultry producers must bear primary responsibility for keeping pathogens out of their products, but when it comes to beef, chicken, and other raw meats, restaurateurs and home cooks must treat them like hazardous materials and take steps to minimize risk,” said CSPI senior food safety attorney Sarah Klein. “Care should be taken to avoid spreading germs from the meat around the kitchen, and meat thermometers should be used to ensure that ground beef, chicken, and other meats are fully cooked.”

Continue reading →

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Filed under Center for Science in the Public Interest, fast food

Tagged as american food supply, campylobacter bacteria, caroline smith dewaal, center for science in the public interest, chicken nuggets, clostridium perfringens, E. coli, food, food borne illnesses, restaurants, salmonella, U.S. food supply

February 2, 2013 · 4:33 am

Anti-Sugary Drinks Video Winners Announced

As regular readers know, I don’t drink sugary or diet soft drinks and consider them some of the most damaging junk foods available.

A Nashville family’s rap video is the winner of a contest aimed aimed at raising awareness of the harmful health effects of overconsumption of sugary drinks. The winning video “Just Pour One Out” features an original rap song from the Sullivan family, inspired by 41-year-old stay-at-home dad Peter Sullivan’s personal struggle with soda consumption.

“I was surprised by how much the process changed my drinking habits,” Sullivan said of making the film.

Announced by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest in October 2012, the Pour One Out video contest invited the public to produce short videos demonstrating the pouring out of sugary drinks in a creative way. Advertising pioneer Alex Bogusky joined CSPI staff in judging contest entries based on creativity, originality, and effectiveness of the health message. CSPI offered a $1,000 prize for the winning film, and $500 and $250 prizes for the second- and third-place films.

The runner up video

Continue reading →