In The News, More Updates on Cranberries and Health, and Added Sugar Info

Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season!! Just wanted pass along some great updates on current issues and conversations impacting cranberries and health sent to me by the Cranberry Institute, enjoy! 

The Complexities of Added Sugar

As you know, beginning on July 26, 2018, the Nutrition Facts Panel will require a specific call out for "added sugars." With the announcement of the new label, experts encourage consumers to consider all of the information on a food label when making diet choices. In addition, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasize that nutrient dense foods that have added sugar to make them more palatable, such as cranberries, fit in a healthy diet. 

To better understand added sugars, the  Cranberry Institute is excited to share new resources for health experts and consumers.

·         How to Talk to Consumers About Added Sugars

The result of an expert dietetic panel hosted by Today's Dietitianand the Cranberry Institute, the "How to Talk to Consumers About Added Sugars" statement was developed by dietitians, for dietitians, offering guidance for RDs counseling and speaking to media about added sugar.

·         Added Sugars...with Added Benefits Handout

Help consumers understand the importance of looking at the complete nutritional value of a product by demonstrating that many foods with added sugars also offer important added benefits. 

·         The Added Sugars Fact Sheet

The International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation's new fact sheet, "Making Sense of Sugars; The Role of Sugars and Added Sugars in Food," sheds light on the limitations of focusing on "added sugar" and provides recommendations on choosing the right foods based on the new Nutrition Facts Panel.

Cranberries and UTIs

In addition, as you may have seen, the Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a study and editorial piece regarding the efficacy of cranberry products in urinary tract health. Despite the methodological limitations, the study and editorial received widespread national media coverage discounting decades of peer-reviewed, promising cranberry research.

·         The Cranberry Institute’s Response to JAMA Cranberry and UTI Research

The Cranberry Institute maintains its confidence in the decades of scientific studies from independent research demonstrating that regular consumption of cranberry products helps promote a healthy urinary tract; especially in individuals suffering from recurrent UTIs.
The investigation, "Effect of Cranberry Capsules on Bacteriuria Plus Pyuria Among Older Women in Nursing Homes," cannot make a conclusion about the efficacy of cranberries in the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) as they treated individuals that did NOT suffer from UTIs (only five of 185 participants had a history of UTIs). In addition, as an endpoint measure, asymptomatic bacteriuria and pyuria is unfortunately common in this population and treatment is not recommended by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.  The study was also confounded because uncontaminated, reliable urine samples in this population is a globally recognized challenge especially given that 78% of the subjects had dementia, 68% had urinary incontinence and 44% had bowel incontinence.
Identifying alternative remedies to help control worldwide antibiotic resistance from overuse remains a shared goal of the medical community, and the Cranberry Institute strongly supports staying the course. 
To read our full statement addressing this research, please clickhere.

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Recipe ReDux Post # 53 Cheerio Treats

The December Recipe ReDux challenge centers around bidding a fond farewell to 2016.  We were encouraged to pick a page in a cookbook that was any combo of the digits 2016 and put our own healthy spin on it. I grabbed a gluten-free cookbook I was recently given titled “Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking” by Kelly Bronski and Peter Bronski and flipped to page 216, which had a recipe for rice cereal treats. It seemed lie a perfect recipe for this time of year, when treats and desserts are high in demand.  The recipe was a pretty classic combo of rice cereal, marshmallows and butter.  I happened to have a box of Cheerios in my pantry so I decided to use those in place of the rice cereal, and try a combo of peanut butter and honey for the base instead of marshmallows. They were so delicious and had a great texture. Substituting PB for marshmallows creates a surprisingly tasty treat and makes them all natural with less sugar and a bit more protein too! Plus they are SUPER easy to make which is a big plus during this busy holiday season.  I hope you will give them a try and check out all the other awesome recipes from the amazing Recipe ReDux group!! Click HERE to check out the recipes from the group.

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter (or any other nut butter)

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2.5 cups cheerios

pinch of salt (optional)

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine the peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract and mix well.  Stir in the cheerios and continue to mix until well incorporated. . Press mixture into an 8 by 8 inch pan. (Lining the pan with a large rectangular piece of parchment paper, placing the mixture on one side and then folding the paper over to press down works nicely since the dough is so sticky.)   Refrigerate for at least one hour until very firm and then cut into 16 squares.   Store in the fridge in an airtight container

Makes 16 squares, 16 servings

Serving size: 1 square Calories 140 Protein 4 g Carb 16 g Fiber 1 g Sugars 10 g Fat 7 g Saturated fat 1.5 g Sodium  88 mg

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Favorite Holiday Treats From 2016

Wow, it's been almost a month since my last post- the holidays are in full swing and things have been SO busy!  I promise there will be lots of fun (and yummy) things to come in the New Year...but for now, here are a few of my favorite holiday friendly recipes from 2016.....

Sweet  Treats:

Date Cream Cheese Walnut Bites

Double Chocolate Macaroons

Autumn Harvest Popcorn Bars

Apple Pie Parfaits

Savory Bites:

Chili Lime Shrimp

Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

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