June 2013 Summary

Among healthy premenopausal women, this study found that meeting the 5 A Day For Better Health Program recommendations were associated with lower levels of lipid peroxidation, lower concentration of erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes, and higher concentration of most plasma/serum antioxidant vitamins. 

Q1- Often when a nutrient is credited for decreasing risk of chronic diseases, consumers turn to supplements.  However purified antioxidant supplements were in some cases associated with increased risk of chronic disease.  How could you explain this to a client?  What strategies would you use to encourage them to consume antioxidants through food sources?

Lynetta shared that she would educate her client that most people are able to meet their nutritional needs through diet without the use of supplementation.  She said she would also explain the research behind antioxidant supplement and diets high in fruits and vegeatables.  She also brought up a good point about cost.  Supplement are quite expensive and eating a diet high in fruit and vegetables wouldn’t be as costly.

Beth and Carly agreed that it would be beneficial to explain the importance of eating whole fruits and vegetables rather than supplementing.  Carly and Sarah made a good point about absorption.  Carly said she would educate her client on the potential waste of using a supplement of antioxidants. 

Beth also said that supplying the client with a list of fruits and vegetables that are in season would be a good way to help them increase their intake.

Sarah also said that she would encourage her client not only to eat fruits and vegetables over supplements but she would also push them to try new foods to expand their horizons.  She thought this would help keep the client from getting bored with the diet.  Sarah also had a great idea to supply the client with recipes to help them incorporate new foods.

Emily said that she would explain the role of antioxidants in the body.  She agreed with Lynetta that explaining the research would also be beneficial.

Courtney, Alyssa, and Erin felt that it would be most effective to be blunt with the client and tell them that it is always better to get vitamins, minerals, etc from natural food sources. 

Aria made a great comment about praising the client for being concerned about their health in the first place. 

Many agreed that supplying the client with recipes would be helpful to arm them with a plan to incorporate more fruits and vegetables to their diet.  Many also thought it was important to point out the cost of choosing supplements over whole foods.

Q2-The National Cancer Institute’s "5 A Day For Better Health" campaign recommends 2.5 C. of any combination of F/V per day for the typical American.  The study states that American meet 59% and 42% of the goal for vegetables and fruits, respectively.  Does it surprise you that more Americans are meeting the recommendations for vegetables than fruits?  Consider that the 5 A Day campaign does not exclude starchy vegetables such as potatoes.  How might this affect those statistics?

In general, some were not surprised that the statistics showed that American’s eat more vegetables than fruit and some were surprised. 

Lynetta made a good point that it depends on what is considered a fruit/vegetable.  For example, if only 100% fruit juice is included that could reduce the amount of fruit servings from juice people think they are getting. 

Sarah was not surprised with the results considering potatoes were included as a vegetable serving.  Many agreed with that statement.  She stated that most Americans can easily consume starchy vegetables but have amore difficult time with the cruciferous vegetables, leaf green, beans, etc. 

Courtney made a good point that there seems to be a better selection of canned vegetables at the grocery store than fruit, which may be reflected in the statistics.  Erin agreed. 

Aria brought up a good question, asking if tomato sauce and ketchup were included in the vegetable category.  Alyssa stated that she has heard of people counting ketchup as a vegetable serving. 

Q3-

Lynetta started that the exlusion critera allowed for great internal validity in this study.  She did not think that the exclusion criteria should be changed. 

Carly suggested that in order to increase generalization of the study it might be beneficial to not exclude all medical conditions. 

Beth thought that making the exclusion criteria less strict would make a better representation of all women. 

Sarah and Emily thought that the criteria was necessary to research the desired outcome.  She suggested doing another study with as many restrictions and comparing the results. Lynetta agreed.

Courtney suggested that a future study could include women who use oral contraceptives or differing BMI’s to show how different factors affect the influence of antioxidants on the body.

Aria suggested including another group in the study to increase the ability to generalize to the population of women.