March Discussion Question 2
Question 2: What is your opinion on keeping fruit juice and french fried potatoes separate from the fruit and vegetable group? Why do you think the intakes of fruit juice and french-fried potatoes were not related to any biomarker for inflammation and oxidative stress?
posted by Julie @ 7:46 AM
24 comments
24 Comments:
I think that it is a good idea to keep the french fries and fruit juice separate from the fruit and vegetable group. These two foods are extremely popular among adolescents. I think that parents often get promote the consumption of fries and juice in place of other fruits and vegetables. French fries are typically fried and juice is commonly not 100% fruit juice. Many parents are not even aware of how unhealthy the french fry and juice can be to their children. Oftentimes other fruits and vegetables are forgotten about and it’s just the “easy way out” to provide these foods to their children having the “it’s better than nothing” attitude. It’s important to focus on a variety of different fruits and vegetables and to remember that fresh or frozen (not fried) are always the best choices. The fruit and vegetable intakes were correlated with markers of inflammation and oxidative stress because they contain flavonoids and antioxidants that are linked to many health benefits. The fries and the juice do not contain the same antioxidants and flavonoids that the natural, unprocessed fruits and vegetables contain, hindering the health benefits of these foods.
I thought it was a really good idea to leave the french fries out of the category. This is a popular food for teenagers, but since its fried its not exactly a "healthy vegetable." The same can be said for fruit juice. Majority of the juices out there are full of sugar and processed, taking away from its nutritional value. Since their nutritional content is hindered from the frying and processing, the fries and juice were unable to show any biomarkers for inflammation and oxidative stress.
Keeping the fruit juice and french-fried potatoes as a separate category was a great idea.
Many fruit juices, especially the ones advertised to children today, are very high in sugar and contain nothing but empty calories. When pertaining to most food products, higher sugar content usually means lower nutrient density. Most adults know that french fries are far from being considered a health food, but do they really know why. Potatoes are not necessarily bad for heart health. They can be an excellent source of potassium and vitamin C and a good source of fiber and iron; however, when potatoes are fried, saturated fat, trans fat and/or cholesterol is added and their caloric content is boosted. Poor intake of fruits and vegetables or high intake of highly processed fruits and vegetables (i.e. fruit juices and french fries) are most likely to blame for flavonoid deficiencies among children.
Keeping the fruit juice and french fries separate from the fruit and vegetable group was essential to the success of this study, I think. Teens are notorious for consuming large quantities of both juice and french fries (and also for considering FFs a legitimate vegetable dish!). I think the only way for the researchers to distinguish what the teens were actually eating from what they reported eating was to establish these separate categories.
The intakes of fruit juice and FFs weren't related to any biomarker for stress and inflammation because juices and FFS are so far from their original form....most of the flavonoid component of a potato or a fruit is in its skin...juices and FFs are so processed that the skins have been almost entirely removed, and therefore most of the benefits of flavonoids as well. If there no flavonoids present then there was no relationship to a biomarker for stress.
I am sure they kept the juice and fries seperate because they have few, if any beneficial properties. The fries are out all together because they are fried. Maybe they are using a healthier oil but bottom line they don't provide enough to benefit. The juice is rarely 100% real juice, so it may count as a serving--but should it really? All the sugar and preservatives decrease its benefits as well. All of these reasons in my opinion would be why they were not related to a biomarker for inflammation and oxidative stress.
Susan
I think that it was a good idea to keep fruit juice and french fries seperate for a couple reasons., First the juice often is not 100% juice and the accuracy of the parents and children knowing the juice/sugar concentration is slim. As far as the french fries go, they are the most commonly fried vegetable. With that said, most of the nutritional components of the potato are lost and I would not at that point consider it a vegetable and more a fat.
I thought it was a good idea to keep the fruit juice and French fried potatoes out of the fruit and vegetable group. The fruit juice does not contain all the same nutrients that the whole fruit does. Therefore, it should not be included. The French fried potatoes defiantly should be left off the list. All the benefits of the potatoes disappeared when it was deep fat fried in the saturated or trans fat oil. Unfortunately fruit juice and French fried potatoes are very well liked by children.
I thought it was great that they kept the french fries and fruit juices in a separate category from the fruits and vegetables. It is rare to find a fruit juice on the market that is 100% juice (at least, rare enough that a consumer who does not pay attention or does not know the difference would probably not pick the 100% juice out of the many other types of juice on the shelf.) The potatoes lose many of the benefits that vegetables provide once it is fried. I think that all the processing and altering of the original whole fruit or vegetable is a big reason why they were not related to any biomarkers.
Anna,
Good observation about the high sugar content in juice and the high fat content in french fries and how that might not have the same effects on inflammation and oxidative stress as other fruits and vegetables. Although, wouldn't you think if they were using 100% juice that the vitamin C might play a role in reducing inflammation and oxidative stress?
I think keeping those two items separate is a good idea. Though it may be okay to get one fruit serving a day from juice, any more than that causes people to lose out on the phytochemicals, fiber, etc. that are gotten by eating whole fruit. And potatoes don't have a ton of vitamins and minerals and any that are in there are most likely lost in the high temps of the frying process.
Susan,
You bring up a good point about many juices drinks not even being 100% fruit juice. Many people don't even check for the percentage of juice and all of the added sugar in juice drinks is just adding calories with no nutritive benefit.
Fruit juice and french fries were kept separate from other fruit and vegetable consumption because neither of these food items are whole fruits/vegetables. French fries and fruit juices are both processed products that contain less nutrients and fiber because processing whole foods can be nutritionally compromising. Therefore, since less nutrients are present in these processed foods, less positive health effects were correlated with the consumption of these foods.
Much of the nutrients of foods are removed during processing, therefore fruit juice and french fried potatoes probably had much of their nutritional benefit removed. The added fat from the fries and added sugars from the juice add additional calories and sodium that are not necessary in the diet.
Susan, good point about 100% fruit juice being seldomly consumed. Many people do not understand that juice cocktails are not 100% fruit juice, though juice has less fiber and more calories than fresh fruit.
French fries are not vegetables and fruit juice is not fruit. It's just that simple. There is nothing wrong with a white potato, and in fact, they provide many nutritional benefits like vitamin C, B6 and potassium. However, when you throw them into 500 degree fat, they are going to lose pretty much all of their nutrients, and you really can't classify them as potatoes or a vegetable anymore. I wish people would realize that! Yes, fruit juice might have most of the vitamins and minerals of a piece of fruit, but without fiber and with added sugars, etc. Again, I don't like classifying this as fruit. I think it was definitely a good idea to leave these out of the F & V groups in the study. When there are no more nutrients, AOX, and flavonoids left in these foods, they are not going to provide protection from inflammation and oxidative stress.
I understand why for the integrity of the study fries and jucie were removed. The potato looses all nutrient value when it is fried, normally in an unhealthy oil, and the juice, if not 100%, is just mainly sugar and empty calories. The biomarkers weren't related because of the processing of the juice-antioxidants are lost-and frying-antioxidants are lost. Now I would like to see what if any markers would show up if 100% juice was used.
Kat,
Good point about the added calories, fat, sugar and sodium during processing of fries and juice.
First, French Fries--The Mighty Potato is one of my favorite foods. I will eat it mashed, boiled, twice baked, fried, in soup, in stew, etc. But at the end of the day I count it as a starch and not a vege, for my own personal record keeping. Biologically it is a vegetable. Nutritionally I have always believed it was a grain. So I don't think it belongs in the F/V category. But for the ones out there who don't agree, I think that the manner in which potatoes are fried--peeled and at high heat--should exclude them.
Second, Fruit Juice--Even if every person in this study only chose 100% juice varieties it would still be pasteurized. In this country you may not widely distribute un-pasteurized fruit juice products. This means that they were treated at high heat for a period of time that makes it unlikely that what little flavonoids are left after the skins/peels are removed have survived processing. Since this was a study to mark the effects flavonoids have on inflammation it only makes sense that foods with little surviving flavonoids--like fruit juice--would be excluded.
The researchers made the right choice of excluding these foods.
I think that keeping fruit juice and French fries separate from the fruits and vegetables group is a valid decision. When it comes to the nutrient composition of French fries, the only things that they are high in are fat and starch. Most if not all of the beneficial compounds that were originally in the fresh potato are destroyed from processing and the high temperature of the grease they are fried in. Most fruit juices available to consumers are extremely high in sugar, and do not contain the beneficial components found in fresh fruits. It is because of these factors that the two food items do not provide a positive influence on the biomarkers for oxidative stress and inflammation.
People believe, and commercials/advertisements promote fruit juices as "2 servings of fruit per glass!". This is misleading to the public, especially when most fruit juice is not 100%, is high in sugar, and lacks the fiber and nutrients of whole fruits. Plus, whole fruits have less calories than juice. French fried potatoes are essentially "ruined" vegetables, providing few nutrients and high amounts of fat and sodium. Obviously, the more processed the fruit/vegetable product, the less nutritious, and this includes flavonoids that provide benefits related to inflammation and oxidative stress.
Susan,
I agree that most fruit juices shouldn't be considered a "serving" of fruit. The labeling and advertising that promote juice as a fruit equivalent is misleading to consumers, especially because not all juice is created equal. Parents think of juice as a healthy alternative to soda, but as you and I know from working at WIC, it is often overused and causes dental problems in children, as well as weight gain.
Emily
Emily, you made a very good point about the commercial sector in regards to fruit juice advertisements. When the average individual hears a statement like “2 servings of fruit per glass,” he/she automatically thinks it is a health food and is nutrient dense. I think that it is safe to say that most consumer’s only need to see one small claim such as “contains whole grains” before they purchase it. Often times, these food claims can be misleading. This is why educating the lay public on food labels is extremely important.
It was a great call on the part of the researchers to keep french fried potatoes and fruit juices as separate from the other food groups.
We know that the more a food is processed, the less vitamins, minerals, bioactive substances, etc. that were originally found in the food end up in the final product. They are either added back in through fortification/enhancement, or lost to the manufacturing process. For example, the skins of the potatoes are discarded, as well as the skins of the fruits of the juices. This often means that the valuable flavinoids in the skins of the fruit or vegetable are lost, which may also be why these specific foods were not related to any biomarker for inflammation and oxidative stress.
Anna,
I agree. It is similar to when we talk to patients/clients and emphasize to them the importance of eating fruits and vegetables. Many people are quick to express their love of vegetables to you, but are reluctant to indulge when you ask them how they prepare them; often swimming in butter or cheese, or doused in salt.
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