"nutritional value" news and stories

Bioavailability is a term that describes how much of a nutrient within a food can be absorbed by the body and while the specific amounts will vary from person to person, applying some of the concepts of bioavailability to daily diets can help us get the most out of the foods we eat. For example, the vitamin C in orange juice can dramatically increase the amount of iron that can be absorbed by the body from spinach. And, as we have noted before, some of the nutrients in raw vegetables are more easily absorbed with fats.

Does this mean that every time we eat a spinach salad it must be washed down with a glass of orange juice, or doused with a fatty dressing? No, but it does mean that making a few simple changes in diet can help us to make up for any nutritional deficiencies that we may have. A balanced diet doesn't have to be one that is totally functional in every respect (after all, a piece of pie and a scoop of ice cream serves little purpose other than making you feel good), but knowing how to keep your body functioning is never a bad thing.

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Researchers at UC-Davis have found that cut fruit left in the refrigerator doesn't lose nearly as much of its nutritional value as they thought, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Over a nine-day period, six different types of cut, refrigerated fruit were compared to uncut, refrigerated samples and tested for amounts of vitamin C, carotenoids and phenolics. Sliced watermelon only lost 5 percent less C than whole watermelon and it retained the same amount of lycopene, the CS-T reported. One conclusion reached was that visual appeal and taste fade well before nutritional value does.

McDonald's recently updated the nutrition facts for its french fries, adjusting the levels of trans fats in a large serving from six grams up to eight. The change came when the fast food giant reassessed the nutritional values of its foods in December with a more accurate testing process, according to a recent AP article. The total fat in a large order of fries is now 30 grams, not 25, as was previously thought.

I don't know that that knowledge alone will really be the last straw that turns people away from some McD's fries, but it's interesting, nonetheless. Many have urged McDonald's to fry with healthier oils such as canola, but consistency issues and fears over altering one of their signature products have made such changes slow to occur.

Also, here's a recent piece about the recent "re-imaging" of many McDonald's locations.