Food NewsDid you know that oregano and thyme have health enhancing thymol? Read now!

RecipesWe took a burger meal and snuck in lots of veggies then showed how many calories, fat and so-dium you save while getting to eat a lot more!

Client HandoutsWin with fruits and veggies and learn to make great oven fries now.

Presentation IdeasTeach SMART, respond to latest study that shows sodium doesn’t cause heart disease, sing about fruits and veggies.

ResearchJames J. Kenney, PhD, RD, LD, FACN reports that low Vitamin D causes yet another health ill: vi-sion loss!

New library with all content at communicatingfoodforhealth.com

800-462-2352 - call for tour or help finding handouts, articles and presentation ideas.

There have been grow-ing concerns, particularly among American oncolo-

gists treating breast cancer, that isoflavones found in soy foods may increase the risk of cancer recurrence among breast can-cer patients. It is known these patients benefit from lower functional levels of estrogen and estrogen blocking drugs like tamoxifen have clearly led to reduced breast cancer recur-rence and increased survival in women after surgical removal of the breast cancer - particularly

if it was an estrogen sensitve primary tumor. Many physi-cians have grown particularly concerned that soy isoflavones may compromise the effect of tamoxifen and other hormone blocking drugs because both tamoxifen and isoflavones bind to the same estrogen recep-tors and studies in rodents have suggested in high doses soy isoflavones such as genenstein can interfere with drug bind-ing that may reduce its effects. Others note that soy isoflavones can mimic some of the effects

Soy Foods Do Not Promote Breast Cancer

May

(continued on next page)

Burger Meal Sneaks In The VeggiesOven Fries Get Spicy

2 © communicatingfoodforhealth.com

Women who consume more soy foods and other legumes rich in iso-flavones are less likely to die from breast cancer.

of estrogen itself and so they fear it might even promote breast cancer cell growth even in women not being treated for breast cancer. To access these growing concern about soy products possibly promot-ing breast cancer recurrence or growth in women diagnosed with breast cancer two recent studies looked at the associa-tion between soy food intake and breast cancer outcomes among breast cancer survi-vors. One study published online October 18,2010 in the Canadian Medical Journal fol-lowed 524 women 29 to 72y who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 who were receiving tamoxifen and other drugs to control estrogen levels after surgery to remove the primary cancer lesion. Results showed the women who con-sumed the most soy foods had 12.9% fewer cases of breast cancer recurring than in those that consumed the least. The impact was greatest in women taking anastrosole where recur-rence was 20% greater in those consuming the least compared to the most soy foods.

The second study used data from a collaborative study, the After Breast Cancer Pooling Project. This research looked at outcome data in the USA and China which included 18,312 women between the ages of 20 and 83 years who had invasive primary breast cancer. Soy iso-flavones intake was assessed

for 16,048 of these women on average of 13 months after breast cancer diagnosis using food frequency questionnaires for a group of soy isoflavones in three cohorts and on tofu and soy milk consumption in one cohort. Breast cancer outcomes were assessed, on average, nine years after cancer diagnosis. Among the survivors who consumed the most soy isoflavones (> 23 mg/day) were compared with the outcomes of those whose intake was lowest (<0.48 mg/ day). The average daily soy isoflavone intake among U.S. women was only 3.2 mg; however, in the Shanghai group the amount was significantly higher at 45.9 mg. The results showed the women with the highest intake of soy isoflavones had a 9% reduced risk of mortality and a 15% reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence, compared to those consumed the least soy. These results did not quite reach statistical significance but certainly were consistent with a protective effect and did not support the growing belief that women diagnosed with breast cancer need reduce their intake of soy foods, especially if their cancer is hormone sensitive. “Our results indicate it may be beneficial for women to include soy food as part of a healthy diet, even if they have had breast cancer,” said Shu. “This can’t be directly generalized to soy supplements, however, as supplements may differ from soy foods in both the type and

amount of isoflavones.” Further analysis of the data from this study, elucidating the interac-tion of soy isoflavones and tamoxifen, will be presented at the AACR Annual Meeting.

The results of these two stud-ies are consistent with large amounts of earlier data which has shown that women who consume more soy foods and other legumes rich in isofla-vones are significantly less likely to develop breast cancer and are less likely to die from breast cancer. Asian countries where breast cancer rates are far lower than in the USA and most other countries consume on average a lot more soy foods, but such epidemiologi-cal data is only suggestive of a benefit.

Bottom Line: Two recent stud-ies of women who survived breast cancer both found con-suming more soy food appears if anything to decrease the risk of breast cancer recurrence or death among survivors of breast cancer taking estrogen blocking drugs. Physicians who tell women to avoid soy foods because they fear they may stimulate recurrence and/or promote the growth of breast cancer are likely doing more harm than good.

By James J. Kenney, PhD, RD, FACN.

© communicatingfoodforhealth.com 3

What is generally true for oregano and thyme also holds for many other spices. This includes ginger, which contains several compounds that are strong antioxidants; turmeric, in which curcumin provides anti-inflammatory properties; and the capsaicin from chili oil, which has been incorporated in several commercial prod-ucts for its anti-itch and pain-relieving properties. Although she doesn’t know it, people like my mother-in-law have played a part in the development of modern medications. Many of the drugs that fill our medicine chests have their roots in folk remedies. The ancient Greeks, for example, used a tea made from the bark of the willow bark for pain relief and fever. Today that same remedy is still in use, but we call it aspirin. But I have no plans to tell my mother-in-law about this.

Dale E. Vitale, Ph. D,Chemistry-Physics Dept.Kean University

ReferencesJournal of Food Engineering Volume 98, Issue 2, May 2010, Pages 240-247.Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis Volume 29, Issue 4, 20 July 2002, Pages 691-700.Thymol, WikipediaJames A. Duke, CRC hand-book of medicinal spices, CRC Press.

Using thyme:

Thyme is usually used with poultry. A favorite use is roasted chicken or turkey. But it is also delicious with meat, stew, roast-ed potatoes or grilled veggies. Dried thyme retains its flavor very well, more so than most dried herbs. It is often used in poultry seasoning.

Using oregano:

Oregano is another herb that retains its flavor very well when dried. It is the primary flavor in Italian dishes and Italian season-ings and it is also used in many Mexican dishes. It is wonderful sprinkled in pasta, salads, gua-camole, soups, grilled dishes, chili and beans.

Food News You Can Use

Are There Drugs in Your Spice Rack?

As a trained chemist with re-search interests in the medicinal effects of food, I must admit that my mother-in-law’s frequent allusions to the folk-remedies of her Sicilian heritage sometimes tweak my professional ego. After listening to one of her particular-ly annoying (to me) dissertations on the magical properties of thyme and oregano, I decided to do a little research to show her what real science had to say on the matter. To my chagrin, I not only found that there are some important medical/health ben-efits to several of the substances in these herbs, but some of the components are also the active ingredients in commercial rem-edies!

ThymolFor example, the essential oils of both thyme and oregano contain appreciable concentrations of thymol, a compound with a litany of health effects. Among these is the ability of the compound to increase the susceptibility of some strains of antibiotic-resis-tant bacteria (e.g.Salmonella) to

drugs like penicillin, tetracycline, and erythromycin. In addition, there is some evidence that thymol inhibits the development of birth defects during pregnan-cy and can limit the growth of certain cancer types. It is also an effective antiseptic; so much so that it is one of the active ingre-dients that gives Listerine © its abilities to reduce dental plaque and fight gingivitis. Thymol may also be useful as an antifungal agent, particularly because the standard treatments (e.g. flu-conazole) are highly toxic when taken internally.

CarvacrolIn addition to thymol, oregano contains higher amounts of another substance known as carvacrol. Structurally related to thymol, this “phenol” also shows antiseptic properties and can improve the effectiveness of antibiotics. However, what might be more interesting to us baby-boomers is that carvacrol has been used in cosmetics and at least one study has shown that this natural product stimulates the production of collagen, the protein that maintains the integ-rity of our skin.

Other spices

Burger Quick MealLowfat Turkey Burger

1 pound extra lean ground turkey breast

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp thyme

Black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon no-salt ketchup

Mix all ingredients together and form four thin burgers. Place the burgers in a glass baking pan with a sprinkle of water.

Bake the burgers at 375 for 10 minutes or until firm in the center and no longer pink (about 170F internal temperature).

Serve the burgers on whole grain toast with onion, lettuce and sliced ripe tomatoes.

We also serve them with oven

fries and slaw. (The recipe for oven fries is given on the next page.)

Look at the savings per meal:

Calories Fat Sodium Weight

Turkey burger, oven fries, slaw:

488 2.5g 489 mg 17 oz

Fast Food burger and fries:

790 38g 1000 mg 10 oz

You can see that with our din-ner you get to eat almost a cup MORE food and you are eating 300 fewer calories, 35 fewer grams of fat and over 500 fewer mg of sodium. Impressive! We wanted to show that a ham-burger meal at home can use a lot of veggies and save a lot of calories!

4 © communicatingfoodforhealth.com

Slaw is a delicious way to enjoy cabbage and carrots all at the same time.

For the whole meal: 488 calories, 2.5 g fat, 0 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 42 mg cholesterol, 489 mg so-dium, 81 g carbohydrate, 11 g fiber, 32 g protein.

1/4 head cabbage, shredded1 carrot, grated1 tablespoon mayonnaise1 tablespoon sugar1 tablespoon vinegarsprinkle mustard seedssprinkle black sesame seeds

Mix the mayonnaise with the sugar and vinegar. Add the seeds.Mix the cabbage and carrots with the mayonnaise mixture. Chill until ready to serve. The seeds are optional and add a lot of flavor - find them in the spice section. You can also use poppy seeds or omit them.

Carrot Slaw

© communicatingfoodforhealth.com 5

Be A Winner With Fruits & Veggies

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans explain three important ways that fruits and veggies are good for you. We like to put them in the WIN category:

Weight: The more fruits and veggies that you eat, the easier it is to manage your weight. Usually you hear moderation, portion control and count-ing calories. But the simple thing about fruits and veggies is that they are low in calories and calorie density and high in fiber. So when you are eating more of them you tend to displace higher calorie foods. A study published in the 2007 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol 85, No. 6, 1465-1477, June 2007) found reducing dietary energy density, particularly by combining increased fruit and vegetable intakes with decreased fat intake, is an effective strategy for managing body weight while controlling hunger.

I am healthier - people who consumer greater amounts of fruits and veggies tend to lower their risk and have less incidence of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.

Nutrients - Fruits and veggies contain most of the nutrients that most people are lacking. Vitamins, minerals and fiber are presented in a colorful pack-age that is proven for health, inexpensive, good for you and void of added fat, sugar and sodium. Many, like apples and bananas can be ready on the go faster than fast food. AND they are great for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. What more could you ask for!

Be A WINNER!

FMI about the Dietary Guidelines, see http://dietaryguidelines.gov

The next time you shop, start in the produce sec-tion and become inspired with more salad and more fruit. Those are 2 easy ways to add more fruits and veggies to your meals without a lot of planning or cooking.

Here are four more ways to jumpStart your WIN:

• Start - run out the door with fruits for breakfast and skip the bakery stand or fast food place.

• Smooth - use fruit smoothies instead of ice cream; they are a delicious fruity treat.

• Snack - choose fruits and veggies instead of high-cal packaged snacks.

• Steam - steam fresh veggies for dinner.

• Stack - stack fruits and veggies in your lunch so you save calories and money each day.

6 © communicatingfoodforhealth.com

Oven Fries

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized baking potatoes

Chili powder

Italian seasoning

Garlic powder

Parmesan cheese

Cooking oil spray

No-salt-added ketchup

Directions:

1. Rinse the potatoes under cold running water to remove any dirt. Preheat oven to 450F.

2. Lightly spray a baking pan with cooking oil spray.

3. Cut the potatoes in half and then cut each half into 6 or 8 thin wedges.

4. Arrange in a single layer on bak-ing pan. Lightly spray the top of the potatoes.

5. Make three flavors: 1) Chili, 2) Italian, 3) Garlic and Parmesan

6. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden like the ones in the picture. Serve with no-salt-added ketchup.

Large fries: 500 calories, 25 g fat

Oven fries: 128 calories, 0 g fat

(both are for a 5 ounce serving)

Delicious Oven Fries

Here are the raw potatoes with 3 different seasonings (left to right: chili, Italian and garlic/Parmesan)

The finished potatoes become golden brown and crispy on the outside and they are tender on the inside.

© communicatingfoodforhealth.com 7

Salad presentations are ready now to wow your clients and service staff on serving great looking salads. Visit our new bookstore:

More recipes and handouts from our 2 new books are located at the new website, http://foodandhealthbooks.com

Presentation Ideas

Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., uses the SMART ap-proach: Jill told a story about a patient who really suffered from the diet mentality and one other who embraced moderation. She showed everyone a 5 pound block of fat and said it can come off in 5 weeks or a year or some other amount of time. One fun mindful eating exercise was to eat a chocolate drop quickly and one slowly. Then she showed a bunch of ways to make simples changes in diet - nothing super strict. She also talked about SMART goal setting.

Specific

Measurable

Action

Realistic

Timely

See more about Jill at allthatsnutrition.com

The study published May 4, 2011 in JAMA that showed that salt does not affect heart dis-ease has a response from Dr. Jay: “If we know that increased salt raises blood pressure (BP) (something this study also found) and that increased BP raises the risk of dying from CVD how could this study possibly mean

what its lead “researcher (and MD)” says it means? This makes as much sense as studies show-ing being overweight in older Americans reduces the risk of dying or that diets high in satu-rated fat don’t promote heart disease.” Find a paper with over 200 references at foodandhealth.com, click on CPE at the top then scroll down to Salt Toxicity.

Sing a jingle to excite everyone about fruits and veggies. These are from Anne Goodman, RD, CDN, CDE:

(To the tune of “Everything’s Coming up Roses”)

You’ll be swell, You’ll be great

Heap those veggies up high on your plate

Eat your beans

And leafy greens

Honey

They’ll give you iron & calcium!

You’ll be swell, You’ll be great

Eating well helps determine your fate

All types of beans

Are great proteins

Guess what

They help

to lower cholesterol!

Food/Nutrition Observances (from member library):- Aphasia Awareness Month

- Cancer in the Sun Month

- Candy Month

- Dairy Month

- Fireworks Safety Month

- Fresh Fruit Vegetable Month

- Iced Tea Month

- Light the Night for Sight

- Papaya Month

- Safety Month

- Scleroderma Awareness

- Scoliosis Awareness

- Vision Research

June

June Handouts:• TeaResearchArticles• Farmer'sMarketHandout• FruitVegetableCrossword• VitaminD• 15WaysFruitsandVegetables• TryaNewFruitJuneNewsletters

FruitandVegetablesArticles

JunePresentationIdeas

Inseasonnow:

Fruit:tropicalfruits-mango,avocado,tomatillo,asianpearVegetables:asparagus,peas,mushrooms,celery,onions,artichokes

Communicating Food for Health is published monthly by Food and Health Communications, Inc. © 2011. All rights re-served. P.O. Box 271108, Louisville, CO 80027

Phone: 800-462-2352 Fax: 800-433-7435

communicatingfoodforhealth.com

ISSN 1070-1613

Executive Editor

Judy Doherty, PC II

Contributing Editors

James Kenney, PhD, RD, LD, FACN; Sarah Mohrman, RD, MA; Victoria Shanta Retelny, RD, LD Jan Treftz-Allen, MS; Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS

Editorial Advisory BoardDiana Dyer, MS, RDBarbara Hart, MS, RD, LDNAlice Henneman, MS, RD, LMNTChristine Hoban, MS, RD, CD, CNSDNancy Kennedy, MS, RDJames Kenney, PhD, RD, LD, FACNBarbara Miller, MEd, CHEBeth Payne, MS, RD, LDMargaret Pfeiffer, MS, RD, CDLinda Rankin, PhD, RD, FADABeth Rosen, MS, RD, CDN

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The content of Communicating Food for Health is not intended to provide personal medical advice; this should be obtained from a qualified health professional. Recipes analyzed using Nutritionist Pro.

Low Vitamin D Linked to Vision Loss from AMDDr. Amy Millen at the University of Buffalo reported results from a study, which examined data from 968 postmenopausal women from the Women’s Health Initiative Study under the age of 75 to determine if age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was related to their vitamin D status. The level of 25-OH-D in the serum is considered to be the best biomarker for vitamin D status as it reflects not only dietary intake of vitamin D but also the amount of vitamin D produced in the skin from exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. Given that increased sun light exposure is believed to directly damage the retina and contribute to the development of AMD one might suspect that wom-en with higher levels of 25-OH-D might also have an increased risk of AMD. However, the data showed no significant correlation between reported sun exposure and AMD. Indeed, the researchers found women with the highest levels of

25-OH-D actually had a signifi-cantly reduced risk of developing AMD compared with women with low levels. Given the known harm-ful effects of ultraviolet radiation in promoting AMD this result is a bit perplexing although it is consistent with one earlier study that found AMD was associated with poorer vitamin D status. Dr. Millen’s data did show that increased vitamin D from dietary sources was associ-ated with a reduced risk of devel-oping early AMD.1

AMD afflicts about 8.5 million Americans and is the #1 cause of irreversible vision loss in the United States and other developed countries. AMD shares many of the same risk factors as cardiovascular disease (CVD) including high-fat di-ets, smoking, obesity & type 2 dia-betes, hypertension, high red meat intake, and low intake of fruits and vegetables. In addition, low lev-els of 25-OH-D in the serum have

been repeatedly to an increased risk of CVD. However, the recent panel of experts who set the most recent RDA for vitamin believed the data from these observational studies linking lower vitamin D status to CVD was insufficient and might be due to reverse causation. Healthy active people would have higher 25-OH-D and less CVD but not because of the increased vitamin D but because they spent more time outdoors and had more sunlight exposure. Clearly, this reverse causation hypothesis can-not also explain why higher levels of 25-OH-D appear to reduce the risk of developing AMD as more ultraviolet light exposure increases the risk of AMD.

More Vitamin D Articles Here

By J. Kenney, PhD, RD, FACN

Reference:1. Arch Opthal 2011;129:481-9