No. 266 March 2005
RAW FRUITS, VEGETABLES, FISH: MOST FREQUENTLY EATEN Although most frequently eaten, these fruits, vegetables, and fish may not be among Americans’ favorites if a poll were taken. Research is needed into the background of the August 16, 1996 regulations as to how this list of “most frequently eaten” into the Code of Federal Regulations. On March 20, 2002, the FDA issued a proposed rule to amend and update its 1966 “voluntary nutrition labeling regulations by updating the names and nutrition labeling values from the 20 most frequently consumed raw fruits, vegetables, and fish in the United States.” The 1996 lists of raw fruits, vegetables, and fish to be updated are found as “Appendix C to Part 101 –Nutrition Facts for Raw Fruits and Vegetables” and “Appendix D to Part 101 – Nutrition facts for Cooked Fish. There are some noteworthy facts about these lists, other than the obvious very detailed nutrition information. First this is a list of the 20 fruits and 20 vegetables we should be consuming raw if possible and where can you get better nutritive information. The second list which shows the nutritive value of fish says the fish are cooked, which means Americans do not consume raw fish. Also, a fish (name) count shows that there are 22 listings, not 20. Salmon has two extra entries showing three species of salmon for the finicky salmon fish lover. At present, the latest FDA announcement is that the public has until June 2, 2005 to submit comments about the content of their latest proposed regulation. “Food and Drug Administration, 21 CFR Part 101, Food Labeling; Guidelines for Voluntary Nutrition Labeling of Raw Fruits, Vegetables, and Fish; Identification of the 20 Most Frequently Consumed Raw Fruits, Vegetables, and Fish; Reopening of the Comment Period,” Federal Register v. 70, no. 63, April 4, 2005, pages 16995-17007 (AE 2.106:70/63)
ARM WRESTLING AGAINST ARTIFICIAL MUSCLES It was on March 7, 2005 that the Electroactive Polymer and Devices Conference in San Diego sponsored the ultimate arm wrestling competition. Miss Panna Felsen, a senior at La Cost Canyon High School in San Diego will arm wrestle newly created robotic arms and determine whether man or machine has the strongest arm. There were three different artificial arms made of plastics and polymers. The electroactive polymers, also known as artificial muscles are simple, lightweight strips of highly flexible plastic that bend or stretch when put into contact with chemicals or electricity. They can imitate human muscle movements and would allow robotic rovers to walk and climb instead of just roll on wheels on Mars or the surface of other planets. Rovers with artificial muscles would enable rovers to grab and lift loads during space exploration. Within the NASA News Release 2005-035 Artificial Muscles get a Grip on Human Hand http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2005-035 are the details about the competition and Miss Felsen’s victory http://ndeaa.jpl.nasa.gov/nasa-nde/lommas/eap/EAP-armwrestling.htm . More information about NASA’s Electroactive Polymers EAP (artificial muscles), pictures, and research activities http://eap.jpl.nasa.gov/ and the EAP Conference are also available.
NEWBORN SCREENING PROGRAMS: NEW PROGRAMS, STANDARDS, POLICIES Considering all the new developments, research, and advances in genetics research information, the American Academy of Pediatrics Newborn Screening Task Force thought it was time to assess the state of the art of newborn screening. In 1999, the Task Force commissioned the American College of Medical Genetics (AMCG) to analyze the scientific literature about the effectiveness of newborn screening, what conditions to be screened, policies, procedures, and standards. The AMCG has now completed its assessment of the current “state of the art” and to provide recommendations on five specific issues. The Task Force intends to use the AMCG report to develop and implement nationally recognized newborn screening system standards and policies. America’s newborn screening system is to be revised, expanded, updated, and improved. As part of this updating, the Health Resources and Services Administration is seeking public comments on the report and its recommendations. The American public has sixty days, as of March 8, 2005 to submit comments on the content of this report. “Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA); Request for Public Comment on a HRSA Commissioned Report: Newborn Screening: Toward a Uniform Screening Panel and System, Notices” Federal Register, V. 70, No. 44, March 8, 2005, page 11247. Newborn Screening: Toward a Uniform Screening Panel and System a 329 page report is found at http://mchb.hrsa.gov/screening/ . This webpage will provide a good introduction and background information.
FOOD PORTION SIZES Anyone who plans meals, or those of you who like to read food labels, often pick up a can or frozen package of fruits, vegetables, or a prepared meal, and the label tells how many ounces and how many servings are in what you are buying. Will the one can of beans which is labeled “four servings” feed your family of four. How did someone determine that there 3.5 servings in the 15 ounce can of beans, but only 1 serving in the 10 ounce package of frozen food just purchased? To encourage overweight Americans to eat less, the Food and Drug Administration wants to modify its food labeling regulations relate to food portion sizes and servings. There are three food portion sizes established based on age. There is a FDA definition of “serving” or “serving size” for the persons 4 years of age and older. There is another serving for formulated or processed foods for infants up to 12 months of age, and a third serving size definition for children 1 through 3 years of age. “Food Labeling: Serving Sizes of Products That Can Be Reasonably Consumed At One Eating Occasion; Updating the Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed; Approaches for Recommending Smaller Portion Sizes, Advance notice of proposed rulemaking,” Federal Register, V. 70, No. 63, April 4, 2005, pages 10710-10714 proposes to reduce the amount of the serving size found on the food labels. The food portion and serving size information will take the mystery out of food labeling questions, but many people neither read nor follow the label’s recommendations. This Federal Register article will provide some answers and links to the other sources of information about America’s eating habits.
SEAT BELTS WHO DOES NOT WEAR ONE? I wear a seat belt, do you? I do not fit into the basic profile of characteristics of the “person who seldom or never wears a seatbelt,” do you? Health People 2010 http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS4217 (HE 20.2:P39/3/v.1, 2) issued in 2000 notes the fact that in 1996, only 68 percent of the American public, as a whole, used a seat belt, and by 1998, seat belt use increased to only 69 per cent. During 2002, the Agency for Healthcare and Research did a seat belt usage survey of American drivers ages 16 to 64. This Survey showed that 87.7 percent of the drivers surveyed always or nearly always used seat belts when driving. However, the research also showed seat belt use is more likely if the driver is over 29 years of age, female, from middle/high income families, have private health insurance coverage, have at completed high school, and live in densely populated metropolitan areas. In the “Highlights” is a statistical profile of the typical person who seldom or never uses seat belts. This driver is a young adult driver between 19 and 29, male, who is in poverty or near poverty. He does not have private insurance, is covered by public insurance, has not completed high school, and lives in a nonmetropolitan area. Do you fit into the 21 percent of American drivers who find seat belts inconvenient to “buckle up?” Characteristics of Persons Who Seldom or Never Wear Seat Belts, 2002, by May Chu dated December 2004 is a 6 page report found at (http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/papers/st62/stat62.pdf). This report is about living drivers who seldom or never used seatbelts who may later become part of the fatalities statistics. A future issue of NHTSA Center for Statistics and Analysis’ Traffic Safety Facts and Annual Reports Series (http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/AvailInf.html).
OLDER AMERICANS Who are the older Americans? Anyone older than you is an older American. However, for anyone younger than you, you are an older American. By many standards, those people 65 years old or older qualify as an older Americans. Who are the older Americans? Where are they? What do they look like? How do they live? You can learn all the details about older America’s older Americans without leaving your computer. You can learn with your computer because one of the most comprehensive sources of details and information is online. Older Americans 2004: Key Indicators of Well-Being, issued November 2004, by the Federal Interagency Forum On Aging-Related Statistics is an electronic resource ( http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS58292 of statistical information collected from the eleven agencies participating in the Interagency Forum’s compilation of statistics from Federal Government sponsored surveys related to America’s aged population 65 and over. The data reflects 37 indicators which are grouped into five sections: Population, Economics, Health Status, Health Risks and Behaviors, and Health Care. The content of this 2004 Report includes 9 more indicators than were covered in the 2000 Report including Older Veterans. Older American Veterans are a species more endangered than the American eagle and this 2004 Report is a most valuable source of statistical information. Older Americans 2004
HOMELESS ARE CRIMINALS The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH). The NCH, in existence since 1984, has completed its third nationwide survey of the homeless in about 150 American cities. It has also reviewed the information on Governmental and non-governmental websites. Illegal to be Homeless, The Criminalization of Homelessness in the United States, is a 111 page report issued in November 2004 identifies those surveyed cities in the section “Cities Included in this Report.” The NCH survey includes a list of the 20 Meanest Cities and of the 4 Meanest States. The “Narratives of the Meanest Cities” section of the report shows why each city has been so classified, and “Prohibited Conduct Chart” lists the cities surveyed. The top of the “Prohibited Conduct Chart” has 14 different acts/or actions which can be prohibited by a city ordnance. The left side of the Chart and then denotes which Cities as to their homeless ordnances. Reading the “Narratives of the Meanest Cities” and reviewing the “Prohibited Conduct Chart” will show why the NCH can create a The Meanest Cities page which lists 20 Cities, the 4 Meanest States, and the six Criteria for the Selection of those Meanest Cities. This 2004 report will be found on the NCH Reports and Papers webpage http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/reports.html ). However, if that 2004 report was helpful, then check out the January 2006 report A Dream Denied: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities, A Report by The National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty found at http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/crimreport/index.html
ANTI-JET-LAG DIET HISTORY,
VALUE, ONLINE USE In 1984, the biologists at the Department of Defense’s
Argonne National Laboratory(ANL) in Argonne, Illinois developed the Anti-Jet-Lag
Diet Plan and issued the Diet Plan Information on a 71/2 x 3 inch card which can
be carried in one’s wallet was first issued by the ANL in 1984. In 1990, this
card, the Anti-Jet-Lag Diet was sent to Federal Depository Libraries
under SuDoc E 1.2: J 51. Now, in 2005, there is easy online access to a diet
plan which has been around for over 20 years. “Research shows that travelers
who use the Anti-Jet-Lag Diet are seven times less likely to experience jet lag
when traveling west and 16 times less likely when traveling east.” “The
Anti-Jet-Lag Diet has helped thousand of travelers avoid jet lag over the last
20 years.” Now, there is an updated online version that includes detailed
information about food choices and caffeine use. “For a small fee, travelers
can use the Argonne-developed software to compute an individualized Anti-Jet-Lag
Die tailored to their specific itinerary. There is a May 20, 2005 ANL Press
Release Site Offers Web’s most comprehensive information about Anti-Jet-Lag
Diet
http://www.anl.gov/Media_Center/News/2005/news050520.html which has links
to a related research study about the diets effectiveness and to the NAL
licensed AntiJetLagDiet.com LLC
http://www.antijetlagdiet.com/ website where you can lean the latest or
even get a Diet designed for your next trip.
March 30, 2006
http://www.nku.edu/~yannarella/news0503.htm