scholarly journals A Sustainable Wholesome Foodstuff; Health Effects and Potential Dietotherapy Applications of Yacon

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2632
Author(s):  
Mary R. Yan ◽  
Robert Welch ◽  
Elaine C. Rush ◽  
Xuesong Xiang ◽  
Xin Wang
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Food Culture ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Smallanthus Sonchifolius ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Physiological And Biochemical

A sustainable food supply is an ever-growing public and planetary health concern influenced by food culture, food practices, and dietary patterns. Globally, the consumption of plant foods that offer physiological and biochemical benefits is increasing. In recent years, products made from yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) tubers and leaves, e.g., in the form of syrup, powder, and herbal tea, have steadily emerged with scientific evidence to validate their possible health claims. Yacon was introduced to New Zealand in 1966, and its products can now be produced on a commercial scale. This paper reviews literature published mainly in the last 10 years concerning the health-related properties of yacon as a wholesome foodstuff and its bioactive components, e.g., fructooligosaccharides. Literature was sourced from Web of Science, PubMed, EBSCO Health, and Google Scholar up to June 2019. The potential markets for yacon in the field of food technology and new dietotherapy applications are discussed. Furthermore, the unique features of New Zealand-produced yacon syrup are introduced as a case study. The paper explores the scientific foundation in response to the growing public interest in why and how to use yacon.

scholarly journals Branding, Ingredients and Nutrition Information: Consumer Liking of a Healthier Snack

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary R. Yan ◽  
Dave Brown ◽  
Andrew Parsons ◽  
Gillian A. Whalley ◽  
Naziham Hamid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Nutrition Information ◽  
Purchase Intent ◽  
Commercial Products ◽  
Visual Analogue Scales ◽  
Nutrient Profiling ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Brand Perception ◽  
Analogue Scales

Taste appeal, sustainable ingredients and valid health claims are challenges for successful marketing of healthier food products. This study was designed to compare the effects of branding, ingredients and nutrition information on consumer liking towards a prototype of the Nothing Else healthier snack bar with the top three brands of New Zealand snack bars, and another product with a good nutrient profiling score. Sixty-four consumers were recruited to evaluate the five snack bars. Participants initially blind-rated on visual analogue scales their liking scores in relation to colour, taste, flavour, texture and overall liking. Packaging for the products was then presented alongside each of the five products and participants rated their liking scores for a second time. Participants also ranked the five products from 1 to 5 for healthiness, taste, naturalness, and purchase intent if prices were the same. In both blind and informed tests, the Nothing Else bar was the least liked snack bar among all the tested samples. However, after the packaging for the products was presented, overall liking of the Nothing Else bar increased by 14% (<em>p </em>= 0.023), while overall liking for the four commercial products were unchanged. While the most popular commercial bar was ranked the highest for taste and purchase intent, the Nothing Else bar was ranked the highest for the healthiness and naturalness. Our findings confirmed that the branding and health related nutrition information could improve consumer liking and brand perception particularly if backed by marketing.

scholarly journals Food for Life: evaluation of the impact of the Hospital Food Programme in England using a case study approach

JRSM Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 205427041771270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selena Gray ◽  
Judy Orme ◽  
Hannah Pitt ◽  
Matthew Jones
Keyword(s):  
Food Culture ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Quality Of Food ◽  
The Impact

Objectives To evaluate the impact and challenges of implementing a Food for Life approach within three pilot NHS sites in 2014/2015 in England. Food for Life is an initiative led by the Soil Association, a non-governmental organisation in the UK that aims to encourage a healthy, sustainable food culture across communities. Design A case-study approach was undertaken using semi-structured interviews with staff and key stakeholders together with analysis of relevant documents such as meeting minutes, strategic plans and reports. Setting Three NHS Trusts in England. Participants Staff and key stakeholders. Main outcome measures Synthesis of key findings from semi-structured interviews and analysis of relevant documents. Results Key themes included the potential to influence contracting processes; measuring quality; food for staff and visitors; the role of food in hospitals, and longer term sustainability and impact. Participants reported that adopting the Food for Life approach had provided enormous scope to improve the quality of food in hospital settings and had provided levers and external benchmarks for use in contracting to help drive up standards of the food provided by external contractors for patients and staff. This was demonstrated by the achievement of an FFLCM for staff and visitor catering in all three organisations. Conclusions Participants all felt that the importance of food in hospitals is not always recognised. Engagement with Food for Life can produce a significant change in the focus on food within hospitals, and help to improve the quality of food and mealtime experience for staff, visitors and patients.

scholarly journals Impact of Weight Reduction Measures on Obesity Reduction - The Case of Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-52
Author(s):  
Stavroula Malla ◽  
Solomon Akowuah ◽  
K. K. Klein
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Calorie Intake ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Regulatory Policies ◽  
Health Related

Obesity, and its related comorbidities, has become a pressing global health concern. This study follows an integrated approach of evaluating the health-related cost savings associated with the reduction of obesity incidence in Canada. A combination of meta-analysis and simulation using measured nationwide Body Mass Index data revealed that a reduction in calorie intake could lead to a 5% to 10% weight loss, which could result in a nontrivial health-related average savings of CAD$ 1.93 billion. This can be potentially achieved through the implementation and promotion of health-claims on low-calorie diets. Stronger economic policies such as the introduction of subsidies on healthy foods and taxes on high calorie diets could potentially lead to socially optimal calorie consumption. A combination of initiatives and regulatory policy options are also discussed, which could stimulate prosperity by reducing the obesity epidemic. Keywords: obesity, prevalence, meta-analysis, cost of illness approach, health-claims, regulatory policies

scholarly journals A Graded Approach for Evaluating Health Claims about Plant-Based Food Supplements: Application of a Case Study Methodology

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2684
Author(s):  
Hélène Chevallier ◽  
Florent Herpin ◽  
Hélène Kergosien ◽  
Gabrielle Ventura ◽  
François-André Allaert
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Blood Lipid ◽  
Food Supplements ◽  
Health Claims ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Study Methodology ◽  
History Of Use

The implementation of REGULATION (EC) No 1924/2006 has led to the formation of a list of health claims that can be used in food supplements (EU 432/2012). However, such supplements are often composed of plant preparations with claims omitted from this list. The peculiarity of plants is related to their long history of use, that could allow claims based on traditionally recognized health effects. In addition, the scientific literature has been enriched over the years through clinical studies that have assessed the bioavailability and efficacy of bioactive components, and investigated their mechanisms of action. Based on existing recognized models which aim to classify research according to the level of scientific evidence, Synadiet developed a three-grade model (A, B or C) for assessing plants health claims. In this paper, the applicability of the model is illustrated through an example for which a Grade B health claim attesting the possible contribution of red clover isoflavones to the improvement of blood lipid levels in postmenopausal women has been attributed. The model appears able to be easily extrapolated to claims pertaining to other plants. If adopted by consensus at European level, this model could initiate the implementation of a positive list of health claims on plant preparations.

William Smyth (1838–1913), a commercial taxidermist of Dunedin, New Zealand

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosi Crane ◽  
B. J. GILL
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Museum Collections ◽  
Professional Interaction ◽  
New Zealand Birds ◽  
Public Museum

William Smyth, unable to get work in a New Zealand museum, ran a commercial taxidermy business at Caversham, Dunedin, from about 1873 to 1911 or 1912. His two decades of correspondence with Thomas Frederic Cheeseman at the Auckland Museum provide a case study of Smyth's professional interaction with one of New Zealand's main museums. We have used this and other sources to paint a picture of Smyth's activities and achievements during a time when there was great interest in New Zealand birds but few local taxidermists to preserve their bodies. Besides the Auckland Museum, Smyth supplied specimens to various people with museum connections, including Georg Thilenius (Germany) and Walter Lawry Buller (New Zealand). Smyth was probably self-taught, and his standards of preparation and labelling were variable, but he left a legacy for the historical documentation of New Zealand ornithology by the large number of his bird specimens that now reside in public museum collections in New Zealand and elsewhere.

Disruptive innovation and operationalization in local and sustainable food systems: Examining the University of Toronto-Local Food Plus partnership

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-139
Author(s):  
Lori Stahlbrand
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Food System ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
The University

This paper traces the partnership between the University of Toronto and the non-profit Local Food Plus (LFP) to bring local sustainable food to its St. George campus. At its launch, the partnership represented the largest purchase of local sustainable food at a Canadian university, as well as LFP’s first foray into supporting institutional procurement of local sustainable food. LFP was founded in 2005 with a vision to foster sustainable local food economies. To this end, LFP developed a certification system and a marketing program that matched certified farmers and processors to buyers. LFP emphasized large-scale purchases by public institutions. Using information from in-depth semi-structured key informant interviews, this paper argues that the LFP project was a disruptive innovation that posed a challenge to many dimensions of the established food system. The LFP case study reveals structural obstacles to operationalizing a local and sustainable food system. These include a lack of mid-sized infrastructure serving local farmers, the domination of a rebate system of purchasing controlled by an oligopolistic foodservice sector, and embedded government support of export agriculture. This case study is an example of praxis, as the author was the founder of LFP, as well as an academic researcher and analyst.

Conflicting Health-Related Scientific Evidence in News Reports: Effects of Hedging and Presentation Format on Perceived Issue Uncertainty and Scientists’ and Journalists’ Credibility

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Health Communication ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Presentation Format ◽  
News Article ◽  
Online Experiment ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Conflicting Evidence ◽  
Health Related

Introduction: This study examined effects of two journalistic practices in reporting conflicting scientific evidence, hedging and presentation format, on scientists’ and journalists’ credibility and issue uncertainty. Methods: An online experiment was conducted using students from a western U.S. university. Hedging was manipulated as reporting methodological limitations versus not reporting the limitations in news articles covering the conflict. Presentation format was manipulated as using a single news article to report both sides of the conflict versus using double articles with one side of the conflict in one article and the other side in the other article. Results: The study found that perceived issue uncertainty was higher in hedged news articles than that in non-hedged articles; presentation format did not affect people’s perceived issue uncertainty. For scientists’ credibility (both competence and trustworthiness), this study found that it was lower in the single-article format than that in the double-article format; for journalists’ credibility, this study found that journalists’ trustworthiness in the two formats did not vary, but their competence was lower in the double-article format than that in the single-article format. Conclusion: This study contributes to the field of science and health communication by examining effects of presentation format used in communicating conflicting health-related scientific evidence and by examining effects of communicating scientific limitations in a context where conflicting evidence exists. Keywords: conflicting scientific evidence, hedging, presentation format, scientists’ credibility, journalists’ credibility

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