New statistics released this week by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reveals global food prices reached record highs in February and may continue to skyrocket due to political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, which is causing oil prices to spike.
The UN’s Food Price Index, which measures monthly price changes in a basket of foods including cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, averaged 236 points in February—a 2.2% increase and the eighth consecutive rise since. February’s price index was the highest record in real and nominal terms since the agency started monitoring prices in 1990. Prices of all commodity groups monitored rose again, except for sugar.
"Unexpected oil price spikes could further exacerbate an already precarious situation in food markets," said David Hallam, director of FAO’s Trade and Market Division. "This adds even more uncertainty concerning the price outlook just as plantings for crops in some of the major growing regions are about to start."
FAO predicts a tightening of the global cereal supply and demand balance in 2010/11. In the face of a growing demand and a decline in world cereal production in 2010, global cereal stocks this year are expected to fall sharply because of a decline in inventories of wheat and coarse grains. International cereal prices have increased sharply with export prices of major grains up at least 70 percent from February last year.
Sources:
* Food and Agriculture Organization: Tight cereal markets as food prices increase again
Friday, March 04, 2011
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Potassium-rich diet tied to lower stroke risk
People who get plenty of potassium-rich foods in their diet may be less likely to suffer a stroke, a new research review finds.
The review, of 11 studies following more than 247,000 adults, found that as potassium intake went up, participants' risk of suffering a stroke went down.
That does not prove that potassium, itself, deserves the credit. But the foods highest in the mineral -- including many fruits and vegetables -- are considered generally healthy choices.
So the findings support experts' advice that people eat more fruits and vegetables to help cut their risk of cardiovascular disease and other ills, the researchers report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Potassium is an important mineral that helps regulate the heartbeat, conduct nerve impulses and contract muscles. Most adults need about 4,700 milligrams of potassium per day.
Potassium is found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, with potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, plums and raisins among the richest sources. Other sources include beans, dairy, nuts and molasses.
In theory, a diet with enough potassium could trim a person's risk of heart disease and stroke because the mineral helps lower blood pressure. But studies so far have come to mixed conclusions as to whether people who get plenty of potassium really do have fewer strokes and heart problems.
For the new study, researchers led by Dr. Lanfranco D'Elia, of the University of Naples Medical School in Italy, combined the results of 11 international studies that followed 247,510 adults for up to 19 years.
In most of the studies, participants filled out diet questionnaires at the outset, and researchers kept track of who developed heart disease or suffered a stroke over the ensuing years. In a few studies, the researchers measured participants' potassium levels from urine samples.
Individually, the studies came to conflicting results. But with the results combined, D'Elia's team found that for every 1,640-milligram increase in people's daily potassium intake, the odds of suffering a stroke declined by 21 percent.
There was no strong link overall between potassium intake and heart disease risk, though a few individual studies did find that people with higher intakes had a lower risk.
The 21-percent reduction in stroke risk would translate into as many as 1.15 million fewer stroke deaths worldwide each year, D'Elia's team estimates.
But whether potassium is actually the reason for the lower stroke risk is not clear.
In most of the studies, researchers tried to account for other factors in stroke and heart disease risk -- like overall health, weight, exercise habits and dietary fat intake. But people who get a lot of potassium could still have lifestyle habits or other characteristics -- like more education or higher incomes -- that might explain the lower stroke risk.
Still, D'Elia and his colleagues write, boosting potassium intake -- especially by eating more fruits and vegetables -- is in line with existing recommendations for preventing or managing heart disease and stroke.
There are some people, however, who may need to be careful about potassium intake and should ask their doctors before consuming more of the mineral. They include people with kidney disease, which can reduce the body's ability to clear potassium, and those on certain blood pressure drugs.
Too much potassium in the blood can lead to a condition called hyperkalemia, which can cause dangerous heart-rhythm disturbances.
SOURCE: bit.ly/g7C9SZ Journal of the American College of Cardiology, March 8, 2011.
The review, of 11 studies following more than 247,000 adults, found that as potassium intake went up, participants' risk of suffering a stroke went down.
That does not prove that potassium, itself, deserves the credit. But the foods highest in the mineral -- including many fruits and vegetables -- are considered generally healthy choices.
So the findings support experts' advice that people eat more fruits and vegetables to help cut their risk of cardiovascular disease and other ills, the researchers report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Potassium is an important mineral that helps regulate the heartbeat, conduct nerve impulses and contract muscles. Most adults need about 4,700 milligrams of potassium per day.
Potassium is found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, with potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, plums and raisins among the richest sources. Other sources include beans, dairy, nuts and molasses.
In theory, a diet with enough potassium could trim a person's risk of heart disease and stroke because the mineral helps lower blood pressure. But studies so far have come to mixed conclusions as to whether people who get plenty of potassium really do have fewer strokes and heart problems.
For the new study, researchers led by Dr. Lanfranco D'Elia, of the University of Naples Medical School in Italy, combined the results of 11 international studies that followed 247,510 adults for up to 19 years.
In most of the studies, participants filled out diet questionnaires at the outset, and researchers kept track of who developed heart disease or suffered a stroke over the ensuing years. In a few studies, the researchers measured participants' potassium levels from urine samples.
Individually, the studies came to conflicting results. But with the results combined, D'Elia's team found that for every 1,640-milligram increase in people's daily potassium intake, the odds of suffering a stroke declined by 21 percent.
There was no strong link overall between potassium intake and heart disease risk, though a few individual studies did find that people with higher intakes had a lower risk.
The 21-percent reduction in stroke risk would translate into as many as 1.15 million fewer stroke deaths worldwide each year, D'Elia's team estimates.
But whether potassium is actually the reason for the lower stroke risk is not clear.
In most of the studies, researchers tried to account for other factors in stroke and heart disease risk -- like overall health, weight, exercise habits and dietary fat intake. But people who get a lot of potassium could still have lifestyle habits or other characteristics -- like more education or higher incomes -- that might explain the lower stroke risk.
Still, D'Elia and his colleagues write, boosting potassium intake -- especially by eating more fruits and vegetables -- is in line with existing recommendations for preventing or managing heart disease and stroke.
There are some people, however, who may need to be careful about potassium intake and should ask their doctors before consuming more of the mineral. They include people with kidney disease, which can reduce the body's ability to clear potassium, and those on certain blood pressure drugs.
Too much potassium in the blood can lead to a condition called hyperkalemia, which can cause dangerous heart-rhythm disturbances.
SOURCE: bit.ly/g7C9SZ Journal of the American College of Cardiology, March 8, 2011.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Daily Soft Drink Consumption Linked to High Blood Pressure
Adults who drink more than one soft drink or other sugary beverages such as fruit drinks may have an increased risk of high blood pressure, according to a new study published in the journal Hypertension. The findings suggest blood pressure goes up incrementally for every extra can of sugary drink consumed daily.
Researchers analyzed consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks, sugars and diet beverages in 2,696 participants, 40- to 59-years-old, in eight areas of the United States and two areas of the United Kingdom who participated in the International Study of Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure (INTERMAP) study. Participants reported what they ate and drank for four days via in depth interviews administered by trained observers, underwent two 24-hour urine collections, eight blood pressure readings and responded a detailed questionnaire on lifestyle, medical and social factors.
They found sugar intake in the form of glucose, fructose and sucrose was highest in those consuming more than one sugar-sweetened beverage daily. Individuals consuming more than one serving per day of sugar-sweetened beverages consumed more calories than those who didn't, with average energy intake of more than 397 calories per day. Those who did not consume sugar-sweetened beverages had lower average body mass index (BMI) than those who consumed more than one of these drinks daily.
Researchers found higher blood pressure levels in individuals who consumed more glucose and fructose. Higher blood pressure was more pronounced in people who consumed high levels of both sugar and sodium. They found no consistent association between diet soda intake and blood pressure levels. Those who drank diet soda had higher mean BMI than those who did not and lower levels of physical activity.
"People who drink a lot of sugar-sweetened beverages appear to have less healthy diets," said Ian Brown, Ph.D., research associate at Imperial College London. "They are consuming empty calories without the nutritional benefits of real food. They consume less potassium, magnesium and calcium. One possible mechanism for sugar-sweetened beverages and fructose increasing blood pressure levels is a resultant increase in the level of uric acid in the blood that may in turn lower the nitric oxide required to keep the blood vessels dilated. Sugar consumption also has been linked to enhanced sympathetic nervous system activity and sodium retention."
Sources:
* American Heart Association: Sugar-sweetened Drinks Associated with Higher Blood Pressure
Researchers analyzed consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks, sugars and diet beverages in 2,696 participants, 40- to 59-years-old, in eight areas of the United States and two areas of the United Kingdom who participated in the International Study of Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure (INTERMAP) study. Participants reported what they ate and drank for four days via in depth interviews administered by trained observers, underwent two 24-hour urine collections, eight blood pressure readings and responded a detailed questionnaire on lifestyle, medical and social factors.
They found sugar intake in the form of glucose, fructose and sucrose was highest in those consuming more than one sugar-sweetened beverage daily. Individuals consuming more than one serving per day of sugar-sweetened beverages consumed more calories than those who didn't, with average energy intake of more than 397 calories per day. Those who did not consume sugar-sweetened beverages had lower average body mass index (BMI) than those who consumed more than one of these drinks daily.
Researchers found higher blood pressure levels in individuals who consumed more glucose and fructose. Higher blood pressure was more pronounced in people who consumed high levels of both sugar and sodium. They found no consistent association between diet soda intake and blood pressure levels. Those who drank diet soda had higher mean BMI than those who did not and lower levels of physical activity.
"People who drink a lot of sugar-sweetened beverages appear to have less healthy diets," said Ian Brown, Ph.D., research associate at Imperial College London. "They are consuming empty calories without the nutritional benefits of real food. They consume less potassium, magnesium and calcium. One possible mechanism for sugar-sweetened beverages and fructose increasing blood pressure levels is a resultant increase in the level of uric acid in the blood that may in turn lower the nitric oxide required to keep the blood vessels dilated. Sugar consumption also has been linked to enhanced sympathetic nervous system activity and sodium retention."
Sources:
* American Heart Association: Sugar-sweetened Drinks Associated with Higher Blood Pressure
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
NASFT Panel Names Top 5 Gourmet Food Trends
The Food Channel® announced its "Top 5 Trends" in the gourmet foods category based on observations by a National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) panel during the 36th Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco.
“Breakfast is certainly hot including alternative grains and portability," said Kay Logsdon, editor in chief of The Food Channel “Tea, coffee and hot chocolate are all getting a lot of attention, and the intensity of the spice has certainly been increased in almost everything."
The Top 5 gourmet foods trends for 2011 include:
1. Chocolate for Breakfast—Tea, Belgian waffles, granola and hot chocolate on a stick.
2. Foods for Healing—Ancient healing teas, Blackwater with 77 minerals, aloe and cucumber drinks, plus micro-batches of healthful beverages.
3. New Noodles—Yam, kelp, farro and spelt.
4. Heat with Flavor—Ghost peppers, yuzu-wasabi sauce and piquillo almond glop.
5. Creative Chips—Pinto beans, naan, peas, mung beans, kale and wild rice.
The panel also predicted retro foods, classic cocktails, wine-flavored foods, mini servings and cured meats would be hot trends this year.
Sources:
* Food Channel: Fancy Food Show Panel Picks Top 5 Trends
“Breakfast is certainly hot including alternative grains and portability," said Kay Logsdon, editor in chief of The Food Channel “Tea, coffee and hot chocolate are all getting a lot of attention, and the intensity of the spice has certainly been increased in almost everything."
The Top 5 gourmet foods trends for 2011 include:
1. Chocolate for Breakfast—Tea, Belgian waffles, granola and hot chocolate on a stick.
2. Foods for Healing—Ancient healing teas, Blackwater with 77 minerals, aloe and cucumber drinks, plus micro-batches of healthful beverages.
3. New Noodles—Yam, kelp, farro and spelt.
4. Heat with Flavor—Ghost peppers, yuzu-wasabi sauce and piquillo almond glop.
5. Creative Chips—Pinto beans, naan, peas, mung beans, kale and wild rice.
The panel also predicted retro foods, classic cocktails, wine-flavored foods, mini servings and cured meats would be hot trends this year.
Sources:
* Food Channel: Fancy Food Show Panel Picks Top 5 Trends
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