Generally, which is healthier for kids, a packed lunch or a school lunch?
Obviously, this could go either way, depending on the content of the actual meal. But according to at least one study, school meals might have a significant edge.
The research, published in 2014 in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, compared 1,314 lunches of preschool and kindergarten students in three schools in Virginia. About 43 percent of the lunches were packed lunches, and 57 percent were school lunches. Like most schools, the schools in this study participated in the National School Lunch Program, and the research was conducted after that program upgraded its nutrition standards in 2012-13.
The researchers found that packed lunches had more vitamin C and iron and less sodium than the school...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio 4-H is bringing agricultural science to two urban elementary schools in inner city neighborhoods. The idea is to increase students’ awareness that food and agriculture are viable career options, even in neighborhoods with little green space and limited local employment opportunities.
And students are responding.
Now entering its second full academic year, the 4-H Agri-science in the City program in Cleveland and Cincinnati is supported through special legislative funding to reach kindergarten through sixth-grade students.
Ohio 4-H is the youth development program of Ohio State University Extension, which is part of The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
During the school year, Ohio 4-H program managers...
My grocery bill seems to be getting more and more expensive. I noticed it especially when we stocked up the weekend before school started. What are some ways we can cut expenses but still have enough to eat?
The cost of food does inch up over time, but not as much as you might think. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s official figures, average costs for food for a family of four in June 2010 ranged from $134.50 to $265.90 a week, depending on whether you were being “thrifty” or “liberal” in your spending, compared with $149.50 to $296.80 in June 2015. Note that these estimates count food costs only, not cleaning products or other items that you probably also pick up at the grocery store. They also assume that you’re buying foods for a...
LONDON, Ohio -- The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences will host a media availability Aug. 26 at 1 p.m. on the grounds of its Farm Science Review to discuss the use of drones in agriculture.
Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, will be demonstrated, weather permitting.
Agricultural engineers will also be available to discuss the 50-acre “Block O” demonstration cornfield on the FSR grounds and their research in how the new technology permitting the planting of dual hybrids in the same field could help farmers maximize yields. See more about this project at go.osu.edu/blockOcorn.
All members of the media are welcome to attend.
For additional information, contact Andrew Klopfenstein, 614-292-3924 or klopfenstein.34@osu.edu...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — It was a church potluck like any other. But within days, botulism killed one Fairfield County woman and hospitalized 24 others. It was from potato salad, made with improperly home-canned potatoes.
Foodborne botulism is rare, but the April 2015 incident was a somber reminder of the importance of strictly following home food preservation guidelines, said Shannon Carter, family and consumer sciences educator in Fairfield County for Ohio State University Extension. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of The Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
Last year, Carter offered two home-food preservation classes to county residents. This year, she offered 10. And those were just a few of the classes offered by OSU Extension...
I often hear that the elderly are more at risk from foodborne illness. Is that true, and if so, why?
It is true that older adults are at more risk for serious complications from foodborne illness.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people 65 years or older experience just 13 percent of all foodborne illness infections but account for 24 percent of hospitalizations and 57 percent of deaths.
What makes older people more susceptible to these complications? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration offers an explanation in its Food Safety for Older Adults guide:
As we get older, our liver and kidneys may not rid the body of toxins as readily.
The stomach and intestinal tract may hold onto foods for longer periods, offering foodborne pathogens more opportunity to...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Would you spend $10 a week on local foods?
Ohio State University Extension is encouraging Ohioans to pledge to do just that Aug. 9-15 during the first-ever statewide Ohio Local Foods Week.
Before the week even started, nearly 100 people had already made the pledge online at localfoods.osu.edu, but organizers are hoping for many more.
“There are a lot of different ways ‘local foods’ can be defined,” said Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Extension educator who helped organize the week. “It could be a certain geographic area, a radius of a certain number of miles or even a supply chain in which consumers buy directly from producers.
“There’s no one single definition of ‘local foods,’ but we encourage consumers to...
I started keeping a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter to encourage my family to eat more produce. It works. What are some other ideas to help us eat more healthfully?
Putting healthful food within arm’s reach is a tried-and-true technique for helping make good food choices. There’s plenty of research to back that up — and it works both ways.
A recent study at The Ohio State University found that compared with normal-weight people, obese people tended to keep more food visible not only in the kitchen, but throughout the house. They also generally ate more sweets and other less healthful foods than their counterparts. It’s as if that old (not funny) joke were true: “I’m on the ‘see food’ diet. If I see food, I eat it.” Clearly...
We’re planning to go to the state fair. I haven’t gone in a long time and I keep thinking about all of the horribly unhealthy foods that I know I’m going to want to eat that day. I want to enjoy myself, but I’m afraid I’m going to gain back the 12 pounds I’ve lost this year all in one day. Any guidance?
It’s certainly not likely you’ll gain 12 pounds in a day of overindulgence, but that doesn’t mean it’s a great idea to have an elephant ear for breakfast, stromboli for lunch, bacon-on-a-stick for dinner and deep-fried ice cream for dessert. Your gastrointestinal system would probably have a hard time forgiving you for that, especially if you’ve been eating healthfully for months and your system isn’t used to such...
My son is starting college this year. I want to sit him down to help him learn how to set a budget, but he is resisting. How much should I press him?
No matter what your son is majoring in or how much he ends up earning during his career, learning how to set and live on a budget is one of those critical life lessons that will impact him for years — really, decades — to come. If he doesn’t learn how to manage his money now, he very well may regret it later when he has to deal with the consequences. If you’re going to insist on anything, insist he at least sit down with you to talk about it.
It’s not unusual for a young person to stonewall when a parent wants to offer guidance. He is probably feeling like he is on the brink of independence and doesn’t...
LONDON, Ohio -- A cornfield west of Columbus is showing some Buckeye pride with an unmistakable Block O pattern when viewed from above.
The demonstration plot’s design, depicting the symbol of The Ohio State University, isn’t a crop circle or a corn maze. It was established thanks to new dual-hybrid planting technology that Ohio State researchers are putting under the microscope.
“In general, farmers have always managed their acreage on a per-field basis, depending on their soil characteristics and other production factors,” said John Fulton, precision agriculture specialist for Ohio State University Extension. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
“Now, 2015 is the first year technology is...
Do we really need to drink more water when the weather is hot?
If you’re outdoors when it’s hot and sticky, and you become hot and sticky yourself, then, yes, that’s a good signal that you should drink more water.
You might not think much about it, but water is the most abundant substance in your body. Each and every organ in your body needs water to do its job. Water serves as a medium where chemical reactions take place — and the body is a veritable 24-hours-a-day laboratory bustling with such reactions. Water also helps control body heat through perspiration and helps lubricate your knees, elbows and other joints. And it does other jobs, as well — too many to list here.
As your body uses all that water, and loses it from perspiration, urination and...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the appetite for local foods continues to grow, Ohio State University Extension is celebrating the movement Aug. 9-15 with the first-ever Ohio Local Foods Week.
The week’s organizers are encouraging participation among organizations small and large that provide local foods, including growers, farmers markets, community markets, farm stands, u-pick operations, community-supported agriculture groups, grocery stores and restaurants. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
“Think about it as a way to share your local foods story with customers,” said Heather Neikirk, OSU Extension educator who co-leads Extension’s Local Foods Signature Program with...
I was hoping I would begin to eat more fruits and vegetables during the summer, but I have to admit I haven’t gotten into the habit yet. Any ideas to help get me started?
It’s easy to get into a rut when it comes to what we eat day in and day out. If you’re not accustomed to snacking on fruits and vegetables and including them in meals, you might feel — just as with any new habit — a bit stymied on how to start.
That could be why a new study found that only about 1 in 10 Americans eats enough produce. That’s right — not only are you not alone in your produce-deficit diet, you’re in the vast majority.
According to the study, conducted by researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 13 percent of Americans consumed...
Last weekend at a cookout, I ate a raw hot dog. Someone there told me I should never eat raw hot dogs because of the risk of foodborne illness. But I always thought hot dogs are already cooked, and you really only need to heat them up if you want them hot. Who is right?
Hot dogs, or rather frankfurters or wieners, are cooked (sometimes smoked) sausages. Although most people can eat them “raw” without a problem, a foodborne illness outbreak in 1998 associated with unheated hot dogs and deli meats caused 108 illnesses, four miscarriages and 14 fatalities. The culprit was Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause the illness listeriosis, especially in pregnant women and other high-risk populations.
Those populations include people who are taking immunity-suppressing drugs, those...
I want to rev up the healthfulness of our Fourth of July cookout. I always make a veggie platter or fruit salad, but they get bypassed for burgers, hot dogs, potato salad and chips. What can I do to draw more attention to healthier fare?
Why not take your cue from Old Glory and focus on red, white and blue fruits and vegetables this weekend?
Too often, people at parties and holiday gatherings treat fruits and vegetables as the Debbie Downer of dining. But with a little thought and effort, you can make produce the star of the show:
Put strawberries, sliced bananas and dark grapes (not quite blue, but close) on skewers.
On a rectangular platter, arrange raspberries and cut apples in red and white stripes, and put a bowl of blueberries in the corner.
Layer red, white and blue...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Sometimes a glass of warm milk just doesn’t do the trick.
That’s one reason why a team of food science and technology students from The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences developed a honey-vanilla flavored milk beverage, “TranquiliBee,” for the National Dairy Council’s 2015 New Product Competition. The team is one of three finalists in the contest and will find out if it wins — and snags an $8,000 first prize — at the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting in Chicago, July 11-14.
The dairy council designed this year’s contest, “Dairy Beverage Reinvented: Reinventing Milk to Increase Its Relevance to Millennial Consumers” to spur development of...
We seem to be eating out more and more. Instead of just ordering for them, I want to teach my children (ages 9 and 11) how to make healthier choices, whether we’re at a sit-down restaurant or going through a drive-thru. Any tips?
You’re right to be concerned. A few years ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a study, “How Food Away from Home Affects Children’s Diet Quality.” It found that for children ages 6-18, each meal eaten out contributed an extra 65 calories and lowered diet quality by 4 percent, as measured by an index based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, compared with meals prepared at home. About a third of the higher number calories were due to soft drinks and other sweetened beverages. For older children, the number of extra...
My 12-year-old daughter is using our family’s mobile device quite a bit this summer, primarily playing games, watching videos and chatting with friends. My wife and I agree that she’s getting too much screen time, but we disagree on setting limits. Do you have any recommendations?
You are not alone. A point of contention in many families these days is limiting children’s time in front of screens — whether they’re televisions, computers, tablets, games or smartphones. In late 2013, the American Academy of Pediatrics set some guidelines based on research saying that the average 8- to 10-year-old spends nearly 8 hours and teens spend more than 11 hours a day in front of a screen. In addition, the academy reported that about 75 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds own...
When we visit my in-laws during the summer, they always make homemade ice cream for the kids. When I object to the raw eggs they use in their recipe, they say they’ve never become sick so it’s not an issue. Is it safe to use raw eggs in homemade ice cream?
Food safety experts agree: Raw eggs that haven’t been pasteurized or otherwise treated to kill bacteria should never be considered safe to consume.
It’s true that chances are small that the eggs your in-laws use will cause a problem: It’s estimated that only about 1 in 20,000 eggs are contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis, the type of Salmonella that’s associated with eggs. Still, with the tens of billions of eggs produced in the U.S. that aren’t pasteurized, that leaves about 2.2 million...
I don’t want to gain weight when I’m on vacation this summer, but for me that’s easier said than done. How can I keep my focus on a healthy diet during my trip and still have a good time?
Attitude is key. You really can have a good time on vacation and still make smart food choices. But it’s a lot more difficult if you think eating healthfully is all about self-sacrifice.
You’re not alone: There’s a very good reason for the term “comfort foods.” It’s not unusual for people to equate indulging in certain foods with fun, relaxation and good times, and those foods aren’t necessarily, say, carrots. So when you’re on vacation and focusing on pampering yourself, it’s easy to throw caution to the wind when it comes to food...
Does any canned soup contain just a small amount of sodium? Even the types marked as “healthy” seem to have quite a bit. Do I have to resort to making homemade soup?
You’re right — soups, like many other processed foods — can contain a frightful amount of sodium.
How much is too much? The recommendation is to limit sodium to less than 2,300 milligrams a day, or to just 1,500 milligrams if you’re 51 years or older, African-American, or if you have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Americans in those categories account for about half of the U.S. population.
Unfortunately, the average sodium intake for Americans is more than 3,400 milligrams a day. Too much sodium contributes to high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke....
Editor: A PDF of the journal article is available from Robert Scharff for informational purposes only. The Journal of Food Protection holds the copyright to the article and forbids posting the article online for 12 months, and then only with permission from the International Association of Food Protection. However, Scharff’s state-by-state online appendix to the journal article is completely open to all.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Foodborne illness costs some states more than $350 per resident every year, according to a new study in the Journal of Food Protection.
The Ohio State University study also provides an updated estimate of the total national cost of foodborne illness, up to $93.2 billion a year, an increase from $77.7 billion in 2012.
The economic analysis is the first peer-...
I recently moved to a rural area, and it takes about 25 minutes to drive to the nearest grocery store. A friend suggested we keep a cooler in the trunk to put perishables in as we leave the store. That seems like overkill. Is it necessary?
It’s not a bad idea, especially during hot weather. Although the normal guideline for perishable foods is to make sure they remain in the “danger zone” of 40 to 140 degrees F for no longer than two hours, that time frame shortens to just one hour when it’s 90 degrees or hotter. So, when it’s hot outside, it’s important to do what you can to keep food as cool as possible.
It’s important to note that the time limit for the danger zone is cumulative: That is, if food remains in the zone for 45 minutes between the...
I’ve started to plan meals for a week at a time to help streamline my grocery shopping. Since I’m trying to drop a few pounds, I’d like to do some quick legwork to compare calories in some foods I eat regularly. If I wait to look at Nutrition Facts labels while shopping, I feel like I’m in the store forever. Any ideas that could help?
There is plenty of information online that could help you track down the calories and nutrients in foods, but one that might be particularly easy to use — and is free — is Food-A-Pedia, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s SuperTracker website.
With SuperTracker, you can plug in information to get a personalized nutrition and physical activity plan. To get a personalized plan, you need to sign up...
