Better nutrition by the numbers

Part 2 of 2No doubt our Athenian ancestor of 1000 B.C. was eating an even stricter version of today’s highly recommended Mediterranean diet; fresh fish, lean meats raised on forage, wild and cultivated greens, nuts and berries, and of course wine and water. Water: We can’t live without it, but researchers from Harvard have found “that a substance rampant in the nation’s water supply, fluoride, is lowering IQ and dumbing down the population.” Their results, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, a federal government medical journal stemming from the U.S National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, “support the possibility of adverse effects of fluoride exposures on children’s neurodevelopment.” Even more amazing, the article stated, “This is the 24th study that has found this association.”Researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA confirmed that eating a diet high in fructose (sugar) over the long term “alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information.” According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American annually consumes roughly 47 pounds of cane sugar and 35 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup. The researchers were not concerned about sugar found in fruits that are high in antioxidants, but cane sugar (sucrose) and high-fructose corn syrup, an inexpensive liquid sweetener and preservative loaded into all sorts of processed foods and beverages. UCLA’s Brain Research Institute and Brain Injury Research Center is concerned about the effects of high-fructose corn syrup on the brain. The good news is omega-3 fatty acids and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) found in fish, nuts and seeds protect against fructose’s harmful damage to the brain’s synapses — the chemical connections between brain cells that enable memory and learning.British researchers following 14,000 children found that children that consumed a diet of processed food at age 3 suffered an IQ decline by age 8. This compared to children who ate a nutrient-rich diet, which included fruit and vegetables and were found to increase their IQ. Fresh fruits and vegetables are unadulterated nutrient-rich foods.Perhaps our Athenian of 1000 B.C. had a much easier time deciding what to eat simply because there weren’t a whole lot of choices compared to what today’s supermarket offers. The Athenian’s nutrient rich diet was thus likely less by choice and more by default to what was available. So how can you make a better decision to identify the healthier food choices, and in the process use simple math to educate your kids to eating better? Take them to the supermarket and start showing them numbers on various food products; it’s called the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System.The NuVal Nutritional Scoring System ranks foods on a scale of 1 to 100; the higher the NuVal Score, the more nutritious the food. It’s that simple. When comparing product A to product B, the one with the higher NuVal number is the one to choose for better nutrition. The system is endorsed by the American College of Preventive Medicine and a recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health has concluded that people who eat food with more favorable NuVal Scores have a lower risk of chronic disease and have a better chance of living a longer, healthier life. Look for the NuVal score system in more than 1,600 supermarkets across the U.S. in 31 states. In our area, look for the NuVal score numbers at Big Y and Price Chopper supermarkets. Or look for a supermarket near you at this web link: www.nuval.com/location. Chris Janelli lives in Salisbury and is the co-founder of Bio Wellness Inc.