The new Canada’s Food Guide (CFG) recommends whole grains foods as the primary choice of grain products in the daily diet. This study examined whether higher shares of whole-grain consumption, beyond the recommended levels (i.e., above half) of the daily grain intake, are linked with optimal diet quality and intakes of some key nutrients, for both children and adolescents and adults in Canada. To meet the objective of this study, we used the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)–Nutrition 2015, which is a nationally representative data. We employed the propensity score matching (PSM) method in this study. PSM estimates the exposure effect when a set of individuals are exposed to a specific treatment (food group intake in this study) in a non-experimental setting. The results of our analyses implied that a high consumption of whole grains is associated with a good diet quality. However, after a certain level of whole-grain consumption, no significant differences can be observed in diet quality scores of children and adolescents and adults. Moreover, it was observed that the proportion of obese and overweight individuals was significantly lower among adults that had balanced intakes of whole and non-whole grains. The results of logistic regression analyses also showed the probability of being obese and overweight is significantly lower in the case of adults with balanced intakes of grains. However, no significant differences were observed in the prevalence of obesity and overweight across whole grains consumption patterns for children and adolescents.
Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated disease triggered in genetically susceptible individuals by ingested gluten from wheat, rye, barley, and other closely related cereal grains. Currently, the only therapy able to normalize the clinical and histological manifestation of the disease is a strict and life-long gluten-free (GF) diet. The replacement of gluten presents a significant technological challenge, as it is an essential structure-building protein, which is necessary for formulating high-quality baked goods. The objective of this paper is to review some basics about CD, its current prevalence, and the recent advances in the preparation of high-quality GF breads using GF flours, starches, hydrocolloids, gums, and novel functional ingredients and technologies.
Abstract The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) provide science‐based recommendations for healthy dietary patterns to promote health and reduce risk of chronic diseases. Yet, since their inception in 1980 and updates every 5 years, Americans fall short of meeting dietary recommendations and diet‐related chronic diseases continue to be a public health concern. In May of 2021, the Institute of Food Technologists and the Department of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, convened a diverse group of thought leaders in health, nutrition, and food science to identify opportunities and approaches to improve consumer adoption of the DGA recommendations. The invited leaders collaborated in roundtable discussions to develop recommendations and strategies to promote adoption of the DGA recommendations after hearing sessions on the latest consumer trends, advances in food science and technology, and effective communications approaches. Participants agreed that changes in consumer behaviors and heightened interest in health due to the novel coronavirus pandemic have created an opportune time to engage consumers about healthy eating. Communications must be simple, tailored to the consumer, and delivered by influencer(s)/spokesperson(s) who are credible sources and share personal values. Innovations in food science and technology have enabled improvements in the safety, health, acceptability, affordability, and availability of foods but opportunities to provide more options to enhance consumption of desired food groups, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, remain. Moving Americans toward healthier dietary patterns aligned with DGA recommendations will require collaborations within the food sector and beyond to achieve broad scale amplification and investment.
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