The FDA Begins Process of Defining “Natural” Label

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How do you define “natural”?

That’s what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked the public to answer. Over 7,600 people commented to let the government organization know just how they felt about the controversial food label. The commenting period closed May 10, and now the FDA will be sorting through these comments for the next several months to try and reach an actual definition.

RELATED: A Natural Label Means Next to Nothing. Here’s Why.

Currently, the FDA has no real definition (or requirements for labeling) a product as natural. In recent years, some consumers have filed lawsuits against companies using this loophole to label highly-processed foods as “all natural.” Each time a judge in these cases requests for the FDA to define the label, they choose to decline and instead point to an informal advisory that is over two decades old (and not legally enforceable) that defines natural as “nothing artificial or synthetic.”

Consumer Reports found that two-thirds of shoppers thought that the natural food label means more than it really does and almost half incorrectly thought that any claims of “natural” had to be independently verified. This leaves room open for companies to abuse the label and for consumers to be buying products that they believe are healthy based on questionable marketing.

Now that the public had their own soap boxes to stand on and tell the FDA their minds, we sorted through some of the comments to see what the general consensus on “natural” was. The most common recurring theme was that foods labeled natural should not contain GMOs, have unnatural additives (preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, etc.), or be grown with intense pesticides. There were also many commenters who would prefer that the word “natural” be banned from food labels due to its current corrupt state.

RELATED: A “Natural” Label on Food Means Next to Nothing. Here’s Why.

Here are just a few of the comments sent in to the FDA:

• “‘Natural’ means nothing added and not tampered with. No additives such as dyes, preservatives, artificial thickeners, chemically processed oils, hydrogenated oils, artificial sugars, chemically altered sugars, sulfites, food enhancers, soy, GMO’s, chemical fertilizers, petrochemicals, insecticides, herbicides, and all the other chemically manufactured substances our food is poisoned with.” –Marie Field-Carpenter

• “I think the label ‘natural’ should not be used in labeling food products because it is hard to regulate the definition since everything essentially comes from earth and can be considered ‘natural.’ This term has been abused by advertisers, is misleading, and the FDA should put an end to

• “When the word ‘natural’ comes up people don’t think about dyes, additives, GMO, and trans fats. People think of food caused by nature, not humankind creation. Food manufacturers using the word ‘natural’ are deceiving and misleading their customers. This behavior is unacceptable and everybody should deserve to have information of the food they’re consuming.” –Anonymous

• “The way that food is marketed has grand effects on people’s eating patterns and therefore their health. To define natural with ingredients that contribute to massive diet-related illness across the US is irresponsible.” –Haley Baron

• “The FDA should define the term ‘natural’ so that food companies can stop hiding their products behind it.” –Hillary McMullin

This article originally appeared on CookingLight.com.

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GMO Crops Don’t Harm Human Health, Report Says

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Genetically engineered crops pose no additional risks to humans and the environment when compared to conventional crops, according to a new report.

The research, published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, is the result of a sweeping review of nearly 900 publications on the effects of genetically modified crops on human health and the environment. Genetic engineering has helped agricultural producers in the U.S., including small farmers thrive, according to the report.

But genetic modification is not all good news, the report suggests.Widespread use of genetically modified crops, which are often engineered to resist the effects of pesticides, has contributed to concerning levels of pesticide resistance in weeds and insects. Pests improve in their ability to resist pesticides every time the chemicals are sprayed, creating a vicious cycle of increased spraying and more resistance.

RELATED: Activists Are Restricting a Major Pesticide By Forcing Users to Actually Follow the Label

“There have been claims that [genetically engineered] crops have had adverse effects on human health,” the report says. “Sweeping statements about crops are problematic because issues related to them are multidimensional.”

Researchers behind the report called for a process that evaluates potential health and environmental concerns about new type of crops regardless of whether they are genetically engineered.

The report comes as public health and environmental advocates continue to push for mandatory labeling of genetically modified food. The results of the National Academy report suggest that such measures may not be necessary. Report committee member Michael Rodemeyer said at a press conference that without evidence of health effects from GMO crops, the Food and Drug Administration does not even have the authority to mandate such labels.

RELATED: The GMO Controversy Misses the Point

But the report is unlikely to stop calls for labeling that have already succeeded in some states, such as Vermont, and led some food manufacturers like Whole Foods to promise to curtail their use of genetically modified ingredients. Report authors acknowledged that their report would not—and should not—settle the debate over GMOs.

“We’re hoping that our report is not this big tome but something that starts a conversation,” North Carolina State University professor Fred Gould, who chaired the committee behind the report. He also hoped the findings would help fuel an evidence-based discussion rather than a heated back and forth between. “It would nice not to have a debate, but maybe an eight-hour discussion,” Gould added.

This article originally appeared on Time.com.

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Experts Rank America’s ‘Fittest Cities’ — Is Yours One of Them?

WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Washington, D.C., is the fittest city in the United States for the third straight year, a new report shows.

Minneapolis-St. Paul came in second and Denver moved up from sixth last year to third this year, the report said.

The top three cities for 2016 showed increases in walking by residents using public transit, more parkland for physical activity, and lower rates of diabetes and heart problems. The lower smoking rate in the nation’s capital gave it the edge over the second- and third-place cities, the researchers said.

The cities with the lowest rankings were Indianapolis, Oklahoma City and Louisville, according to the ninth annual American Fitness Index (AFI). The report was developed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Anthem Foundation. The report includes the surrounding metro areas when assessing cities.

Between 2015 and 2016, total fitness scores rose for 30 cities, but fell for 19, according to the report. Those with the largest drops included Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Sacramento and San Diego.

From last year to this year, there was a nearly 12 percent increase in the number of city dwellers who said they exercised in the last 30 days. There was a 5 percent decline in people who smoked, and a 7 percent fall in diabetes-related deaths. There was also a 5 percent increase in total park expenditure per resident.

In 2016, twice as many states had policies requiring physical education to be taught at elementary, middle or high schools, the report noted.

However, there was a 7 percent increase in the number of city residents diagnosed with diabetes. There was also an almost 8 percent increase in the number diagnosed with angina.

“Our overarching goal is to offer communities and residents resources that can help them assess, plan and implement measures for a quality, healthier life,” AFI advisory board chair Walter Thompson said in an ACSM news release.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers a guide to physical activity.

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Giving Certain Foods Early May Cut Allergy Risk

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Doctors have long warned parents to delay introducing certain foods to babies to decrease the risk of a potential allergic reaction, but a new study suggests that strategy probably doesn’t help.

The study of about 1,400 children found that when babies were given peanuts, eggs or cow’s milk during their first year, they were less likely to become “sensitized” to those common allergy-causing foods.

Being sensitized to a food means a child tests positive on a skin test. “That doesn’t necessarily mean a food allergy as such, but it indicates the child is on that pathway,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Malcolm Sears.

The goal is to reduce the risk of sensitization, which also reduces the risk of allergy, said Sears, a professor in the division of respirology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

The study’s lead author, Maxwell Tran, said this study, along with other research, “supports the paradigm shift that parents should not hesitate to introduce allergenic foods, especially cow’s milk, peanuts and eggs. This will reduce the likelihood of sensitization.” Tran is a health sciences student at McMaster.

Sears reiterated: “Earlier is better. Don’t be afraid to introduce these foods.” But he added that even early introduction of a food doesn’t guarantee a child won’t eventually develop a food allergy.

Tran is scheduled to present the study’s findings Wednesday at the American Thoracic Society meeting in San Francisco. Findings presented at meetings are generally viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

According to Tran, previous guidelines recommended waiting a year before introducing cow’s milk and cow’s milk products, such as cheese, yogurt or ice cream. Doctors recommended delaying eggs until age 2 years, and peanut-containing products until age 3.

Since other studies have hinted that earlier introduction of these foods might be beneficial instead of harmful, the researchers behind the new study looked at a sample of children already involved in a large Canadian child development trial. Sears noted that this was not a group of children that would be considered at high risk for allergies.

Just over 1,400 youngsters from that study had their skin tested for allergen sensitization at 1 year. Nutrition questionnaires were completed by parents when the kids were 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months old, the researchers said.

The researchers found that almost half the babies had consumed cow’s milk by 6 months, and the other half had milk by 12 months. Just 4 percent didn’t have milk until they were 1 year old, the study revealed.

Only 6 percent of the babies had eggs by 6 months, while 76 percent had them before 12 months. And about 19 percent first had eggs after their first birthday, the study showed.

Parents were much more likely to delay peanuts. Only 1 percent of the children had peanuts by 6 months, and 41 percent had peanuts introduced in their diet between 7 and 12 months. Fifty-eight percent of the children were over 1 year of age when they first had peanuts, the study found.

The researchers found that early introduction of any of the allergic foods was linked to a lower risk of sensitization for that food. Giving a child egg before age 1 also reduced the odds of sensitization to any of the three tested foods, the study found.

Dr. Jennifer Appleyard is chief of allergy and immunology at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit. She said, “The old train of thought was that the immune system is in flux for the first three years of life, and if exposed during that vulnerable period, food allergies might develop. But some of the old thoughts on how allergies develop and how best to treat them are changing.”

She said that parents who followed that advice and waited to give their child these foods didn’t cause any allergies. “So many different things influence allergies… Things we do may affect a health outcome in some way, but it doesn’t completely control how allergies develop,” she said.

There’s still a lot of research looking into the development of allergies, Appleyard noted, adding for now, early introduction of foods seems okay.

If you come from an allergic family, particularly one with food allergies, Appleyard said it’s best to talk with your doctor about the introduction of common allergy-causing foods.

More information

Learn more about food allergy from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

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Many Smokers Have COPD Symptoms, Without Diagnosis

WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Many smokers have symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) even before they’ve been diagnosed with the lung condition, according to a new study.

Symptoms of COPD include shortness of breath, coughing, difficulty exercising and history of asthma. COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States, researchers said. Smoking is a major cause of the disease.

“We found that a significant number of current and former smokers who don’t meet the typical criteria for COPD [based on a breathing test] otherwise look and behave like patients who do carry a diagnosis of COPD,” said study co-lead author Dr. Meilan Han, medical director of the University of Michigan Women’s Respiratory Health Program.

The study included more than 2,700 people. It included current or former smokers and people who never smoked.

“We found significant respiratory symptoms in half of the current or former smokers with technically ‘normal’ breathing tests. We also found that these individuals needed to seek medical attention for breathing flare-ups with similar frequency as some patients who actually meet criteria for a diagnosis of COPD,” Han said in a university news release.

But Han noted that it isn’t clear if all of these people will eventually be diagnosed with COPD. More study is needed, she said.

“Given how common smoking is, everyone likely knows someone who suffers the condition we describe here. As these patients may require medical treatment and in some cases even hospitalization, the impact of this condition is very real. This study is just the first step in trying to better identify these patients so we can develop targeted treatments,” Han said.

The study was published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about COPD.

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High HIV Rates for Gay Men in Some Southern Cities

WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Rates of HIV infection among gay and bisexual men are approaching 30 percent to 40 percent in some southern U.S. cities, a new report finds.

According to the study, about 39.5 percent of gay and bisexual men in Jackson, Miss., are now HIV-positive, as are about 29 percent of gay/bisexual men living in El Paso, Texas, or Columbia, S.C.

Other southern cities — Augusta, Ga., Baton Rouge, La., Little Rock, Ark. — also have rates of HIV infection for gay and bisexual men around 25 percent, the report found.

Of the 25 U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest rates, 21 were in southern states, the researchers said. Their analysis of 2012 data identified six states where more than 15 percent of gay/bisexual men had HIV, and all of those states were in the South.

Overall, about 15 percent of gay/bisexual men in the United States have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, said a team led by Eli Rosenberg, assistant professor of epidemiology at Emory University in Atlanta.

Gay and bisexual men account for about two-thirds of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States each year, but the new report shows that infection rates vary widely depending on the state or city.

“Our analyses are the first to present HIV rates among [gay/bisexual men] broken down by states, counties, and metropolitan statistical areas,” Rosenberg said in an Emory news release.

Dr. Jonathan Mermin is director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. “By pinpointing where HIV strikes the hardest, we have a key piece of the puzzle highlighting the largest disparities within states and the South,” Mermin said.

“We hope these data empower local public health officials, community-based organizations and everyone fighting HIV to bring resources to the gay and bisexual men who need them the most,” he added.

The study was published online May 17 in the journal JMIR Public Health and Surveillance.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about HIV/AIDS.

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Drug Protects Lung Function in Kids With Sickle Cell: Study

By Amy Norton
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Children with sickle cell disease may breathe easier when they’re given hydroxyurea — an effective, but underused, drug for the disease, new research suggests.

In a study of 94 young people with sickle cell, researchers found that hydroxyurea helped slow the decline in lung function that is typical of the disease.

The study appears to be the first to show that hydroxyurea can preserve kids’ lung function, said lead researcher Dr. Anya McLaren, of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

She said the findings should give doctors more reason to prescribe hydroxyurea. The drug, she noted, is already known to prevent severe bouts of pain and serious lung complications in people with sickle cell.

An expert who was not involved with the study agreed.

“This is further confirmation that this medication is beneficial,” said Dr. George Buchanan. He is a pediatric hematologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, in Dallas.

“I think most children with sickle cell anemia should be on hydroxyurea,” said Buchanan, who helped craft the current guidelines on treating the disease.

Those guidelines say doctors should “offer” hydroxyurea treatment to families once a child is at least 9 months old.

Yet studies show that most people with sickle cell — adults and children — aren’t getting the drug.

One reason, Buchanan said, is concern about “theoretical” risks, including a heightened risk of certain cancers, such as leukemia.

But studies have not borne out those worries, both he and McLaren said.

Sickle cell is an inherited disease that mainly affects people of African, South American or Mediterranean descent. In the United States, about one in 365 black children are born with the condition, according to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

The central problem in sickle cell is that the body produces red blood cells that are crescent-shaped, rather than disc-shaped. Those abnormal cells tend to be sticky and can block blood flow — causing symptoms such as chronic pain, fatigue and shortness of breath.

One potentially severe complication is known as acute chest syndrome, where abnormal blood cells “clog up” the lungs. It’s a leading cause of death among people with sickle cell, Buchanan said.

Hydroxyurea reduces the risk of that complication, so it’s “not surprising” that it would also improve kids’ lung function, he said.

Hydroxyurea was originally developed as a cancer drug, but it treats sickle cell by prompting the body to make fetal hemoglobin — an oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. That, in turn, helps keep red blood cells from becoming stiff, sticky and crescent-shaped.

The patients in McLaren’s study ranged in age from 6 to 20. All had their lung function periodically tested before and for four years after starting hydroxyurea.

Overall, the researchers found, the drug slowed down the annual decline the kids had been showing before starting treatment.

McLaren was to report the findings Wednesday at the American Thoracic Society’s annual meeting, in San Francisco. In general, studies presented at meetings are considered preliminary until they are published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Hydroxyurea does have risks. It can lower the number of white blood cells and platelets in the bloodstream, which could leave people at risk of infections or bleeding.

Because of that, patients need periodic blood tests, Buchanan said.

And that is another reason why hydroxyurea is underused. For some families, the monitoring is too much, Buchanan said. For others, he added, just keeping their child on a daily pill proves too difficult.

The type of doctor a child sees can potentially be an issue, too. A general pediatrician or family doctor would have less experience in managing sickle cell, or using hydroxyurea, than a pediatric hematologist would, Buchanan said.

But, he noted, it’s adults who have the tougher time finding a doctor with experience in treating sickle cell.

Buchanan said his advice to parents and to adults with sickle cell is the same: If you’re not using hydroxyurea, ask your doctor whether you should be.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more on sickle cell disease.

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ADHD Can First Appear in Young Adulthood for Some, Study Suggests

WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A new British study suggests that attention-deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may often develop in the young adult years.

Researchers at Kings College London looked at long-term data from 2,200 British twins. They found that close to 70 percent of those diagnosed with ADHD as young adults did not have the disorder when they were children.

People with this “late-onset” ADHD also tended to have high levels of symptoms, impairment and other mental health disorders, according to the study.

A Brazilian study in the same issue of the journal also found that a large percentage of adults with ADHD did not have the condition in childhood, and the British and Brazilian studies support the findings of a prior New Zealand study.

“Our research sheds new light on the development and onset of ADHD, but it also brings up many questions about ADHD that arises after childhood,” study author Louise Arseneault said in a news release from Kings College London.

“How similar or different is ‘late-onset’ ADHD compared with ADHD that begins in childhood? How and why does late-onset ADHD arise? What treatments are most effective for late-onset ADHD? These are the questions we should now be seeking to answer,” said Arseneault. She works at the college’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.

One mental health expert said the study might offer important new insights into ADHD.

“In the medical field, adult ADHD is widely considered a continuation of childhood ADHD that persists into adulthood, or a diagnosis that was missed in childhood but picked up in adulthood,” said Dr. Matthew Lorber.

“This study calls both of those assumptions into question,” said Lorber, who directs child and adolescent psychology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

“What is important to consider is that there may be a neurodevelopmental disorder presenting as ADHD in late age that we did not know about,” he said. “More studies need to be done looking into this subset, as well as examining if our traditional ADHD treatments will be effective for this older ADHD-like group.”

However, another expert was more skeptical of the new study results.

“I would be surprised if follow-up studies with more rigorous designs confirm these findings,” said Matthew Rouse, a psychologist at the Child Mind Institute’s ADHD and Behavior Disorders Center, in New York City. “Mental health disorders have a heavy biological influence, so there are few that don’t show up in some way in childhood.”

However, study co-author Jessica Agnew-Blais believes that, in some cases, ADHD may not manifest until adulthood.

“It is crucial that we take a developmental approach to understanding ADHD, and that the absence of a childhood diagnosis should not prevent adults with ADHD from receiving clinical attention,” she said.

The study appears online May 18 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about ADHD.

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Too Few Americans Take Advantage of Local Parks

WEDNESDAY, May 18, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Most neighborhood parks in the United States are geared toward younger people, which limits their use, a new study suggests.

“Relatively modest investments could make parks much more conducive to physical activity for everyone, regardless of age, gender or income level,” said study author Dr. Deborah Cohen, a senior natural scientist at the Rand Corp.

Researchers who analyzed use of more than 170 parks across the country found few activities designed to attract adults and older people. Even girls and young women are less likely than males to play in neighborhood parks, the study authors noted.

“Our nation’s public parks have much unmet potential to be a center of physical activity for adults, older Americans and females,” Cohen said in a news release from the nonprofit research organization.

Walking loops were most effective at getting older people to be physically active. Gyms, fitness zones and exercise areas also helped older people to engage in moderate to vigorous activity, the study showed.

“It’s really sad that so few seniors are using our public parks,” Cohen said. “We need to make changes to attract older people to parks to exercise and stay active, especially with the increasing rates of chronic disease among older people and as our nation’s population grows older.”

For the study, observers were sent into 174 local parks in 25 cities of at least 100,000 people. During the spring and summer of 2014, they analyzed the types of activities offered, who used them and how.

Girls accounted for only 40 percent of children playing in the parks. Among teens, only 35 percent were female, the researchers found. They noted that girls of all ages were less likely to play any organized sports and more likely to be sedentary than boys.

Residents of poor neighborhoods were also less likely to use their local park — even if it was similar to parks in higher-income neighborhoods, the study showed. It’s unclear if this was the result of safety concerns, but the researchers recommended better marketing to boost usage in poorer neighborhoods. Offering more supervised activities could also help, they noted.

The researchers also interviewed the parks’ senior administrators. They found none routinely monitored or tracked usage of their facilities, programs or sports leagues.

“The fire department or the police department can tell you exactly how many people use their services, but parks and recreation departments have not had any metrics to adequately report who is using their facilities,” Cohen said. “The tools we created for this project are now being used by researchers across the United States and could help park managers better understand who is using their facilities.”

Across the United States, there are more than 108,000 public parks and 65,000 indoor facilities that are managed by more than 9,000 park and recreation departments. Local parks range in size from 2 acres to 20 acres, the researchers reported.

The researchers also discovered that investment in city parks was modest, even though they’re recommended for health. The average annual per capita spending for parks in the nation’s 100 largest cities was $73 in 2013, according to the Trust for Public Land. This represents less than 1 percent of all spending on health care for each person that year, according to the report.

The study was published May 18 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health provides more information on the benefits of physical activity.

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VIDEO: Extreme ab workout

 

WH&F Head Trainer Sheena-Lauren shares her exclusive ab workout.

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