Eat Right With Color

This would be a great idea to show people that picking fruits and vegetables is fun.

This article "Eat Right With Color" shows what different color fruits contain certain nutritional values . For example:

Blue/purple

Dark-colored fruits and vegetables are good sources of anthocyanins, the purplish phytonutrient that put blueberries on the map as a superfood. Other blue and purple foods offer similar benefits.

Yellow/orange

You'll find ample amounts of antioxidants, such as vitamin C and beta carotene (vitamin A)fruits and vegetables.

Red

The darker and richer the tones, the more phytonutrients you'll get in return.

Green

Dark, leafy greens such as spinach and kale are richer in nutrients.

These are just a few examples but it makes it easier for parents to learn about healthier choices. Once the parents start the change, it makes it easier to pass on the children, AND to the parents with picky eaters, it would be a different approach on how to make them eat healthier.

Recipe Portion of the Health Guide

Hello. I am in the group that is working on the recipe portion of the Health book and would like to share my ideas with the class. Our groups wants to pick specific ingredients that help fight against cancer and fight breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes that incorporate that particular ingredient. From the comments on the last post, it seemed like adding a small sub-section with recipes for people already diagnosed with cancer was practical. Do you guys have other suggestions that you would like to see us include?

Also, I have recently explored the cookbook section at a Barnes and Noble and I came across a book that I really liked. It is called "The Anti-Cancer Cookbook" by Dr. Julia Greer. I searched online and found the recipes for free on Dr. Oz's website!

Food Safety for People with Cancer

Hello Everyone,

I came across this PDF which I felt would be of interest to the group working on the recipe section of the heatly guide. This mainly pretains to those already diagnosed with cancer and the article addresses the need for patients undergoing chemotherapy to be mindful of what they eat and how they prepare it. Chemotherapy weakens the body's immune system and makes the individual more susceptible to infections especially those brought on by foodborne illness. I'm not sure if you guys are only adding recipes to fight cancer or if you are also including recipes for those diagnosed with cancer, but it would be great if you could incorporate some of the information from this PDF.

Food Ingredients and Colors

Hello,

In this article the FDA answers the question of what are food and color additives which leads to them discussing the main roles they play in our food. They begin the article by stating that the purpose of them writing about these products is that consumers worry about the long & complicated names of food products that are found on food labels. The FDA goes on to say, that even in simple foods, such as strawberry's, there are complicated compounds that give the aforementioned strawberry its color and flavor.

Food additives are any substance that are added to food that may directly or indirectly change the characteristics of food.

Color additives are any dye, pigment or substance that when applied to foods, drugs, or cosmetics add a color to the substance.

Some reasons the FDA give for adding these food and color additives are:

1. To maintain/improve freshness and safety- these additives prevent the food from early spoiling and prevent harmful bacteria/mold from growing on these foods.
2. To improve/maintain nutritional value- they use vitamins and minerals(fiber) to fortify and enhance food products that may have lost their nutritional value during processing. This process has reduce malnutrition in the U.S. and throughout the world.
3. Improve taste, texture and appearance- the taste of foods are enhanced by spices, natural/artificial flavors, and sweeteners. Emulsifiers, stabilizers, and thickeners gives food their texture (pudding is and example).
   

All about Food Labels

Hello,

I found this article which goes into detail about how to properly read a food label. There is even a chart that goes into how to interpret "FDA lingo" such as 'fat-free', 'less fat', 'lean', 'high-fiber' and others.
From my standpoint, I had believed that I understood how food labels were to be read and interpreted and what each item had on my overall health status. I feel that by enabling the Harlem community (both children and adults) we can lower the incidence and prevalence rates of food associated illnesses.

Here are some interesting facts that I learned by reading the article.

1. In 1990 the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act went into effect and required that the common name of the product, net content in terms of weight, measure, or count, ingredients list, and serving size.
2. Ingredients are listed based on their predominance in the foo product.
3. The nutrition facts are based on one serving, so you have to locate on the label how many servings are in that particular product.
4. And here is a conversion: 1 gr. fat = 9 calories
   1 gr. protein = 4 calories
   1 gr. carbohydrate = 4 calories
   1 gr. alcohol = 7 calories

P.S.- It also has a sample label, so it makes it easy to learn how to read a label.

Fruits and Vegetables in the fight against cancer

I was watching FOX 5 News earlier this week and the topic of our course "Food and Cancer" was the highlight. The news reported that Dr. Joel Fuhrman is believed to have found a solution to combat cancer development. I was so excited to hear this on the news because that is what we as class have been focusing on each week. Dr. Joel Fuhrman came up with the acronym "GOMBS" to identify the essential foods that are effective in cancer prevention and overall having a healthy lifestyle.

G- Greens (Cruciferous vegetables, etc.)
O- Onions
M- Mushrooms
B- Berries
S- Seeds

Could his findings be the answer to the health problems in America, and solving the rise of cancer in our community and world? Take a look at the website posted and let me know what you think. He also has a book called "Eat to Live," and a new version of the My Pyramid known as the Nutritarian Pyramid. The base of his pyramid has Veggies being the core ingredients in our diet.

His books have recipes I think may be useful in the projects that we create.

East Harlem Health OUTREACH PARTNERSHIP (EHHOP)

LOCATION

East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP)
The Center for Advanced Medicine
17 East 102nd Street
New York, NY 10029
(Between 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue)

The EHHOP is designed to help adults that live in East Harlem and do not have health insurance. The only set hours on Saturday from 9am-12pm. The doctors are either volunteers or medical interns.

If you click on the title it will tell you their mission and services that they provide for the community members in East Harlem.