Food News Today Transcripts for the week of May 28th, 2012

>Diabetes and pre-diabetes have skyrocketed among US youth, jumping from 9 percent of the adolescent population in 2000 to 23 percent in 2008. To add to that, the CDC estimates that a staggering 79 million Americans over the age of 20 have pre-diabetes. 

Pre-diabetes is when blood glucose (sugar) levels are consistently higher than what is considered normal, but not elevated enough to qualify as type 2 diabetes. Pre-diabetes can double the risk for cardiovascular disease. A combination of excess body fat, a sedentary lifestyle, and family history all factor into pre-diabetes.

The findings regarding adolescents, were reported in the journal Pediatrics, by lead author Ashleigh May, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  She and her team examined health data from the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on approximately 3,400 adolescents ages 12 to 19 from 1999 through 2008.

The report also found that overall, fifty percent of overweight teens and almost two-thirds of obese adolescents have one or more risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, high blood pressure or high levels of bad cholesterol. By comparison, about one-third of normal-weight adolescents have at least one risk factor. Get your A1C tested, which looks at the average blood sugar over three months. You should also have your  Fasting blood glucose checked.  Normal is below 100 milligrams per deciliter after an overnight fast and before eating. Pre-diabetic is100 to 125 milligrams per deciliter.

>Now on to something with a little more flavor.  Earlier this week I had the pleasure of interviewing Pamela Marcus, the Market & Consumer Insights Lead from FONA International – world renowned flavor company that creates and manufactures flavors for many of the largest food, beverage, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical companies in the world.  She heads presentation development, category reports and market research, tracking trends and flavors and much more. 

Thanks Pamela… 

>How would you like to have a healthy, radiant complexion? Well, you can by loading up on whole fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and even proteins, you can.  To improve the color of your complexion reach for carotenoid rich fruits and veggies like mangoes, papaya, apricots and carrots. Research says cooked tomatoes are best at delivering lycopene - which protects the skin against sun damage - and just a half-cup of cooked tomatoes contains 16 milligrams of lycopene. Vitamin C rich foods do wonders for the skin – think kiwis, sweet potatoes, lettuce, oranges, strawberries, all which helps stimulate the production of collagen – which can smooth the appearance of wrinkles. Flaxseeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which quell inflammation thus reducing redness, and irritation as well as improving cell membranes. Omega-3s are also found in chia seeds, sardines, salmon, mackerel, purslane and more.  So this summer instead of just relaxing in the sun (with lots of sun screen mind you), eat the right foods and watch as your complexion becomes a thing of beauty.