The Dairy Blog

Nurture Milk by Mayfield

Rob Mayfield — Wed, 02 May 2007 14:02:00 -0400

Early in my career I was privileged to represent Mayfield Dairy Farms at meetings of the American Cultured Dairy Products Institute. These meetings were held bi-annually, usually with a plant tour of some new dairy plant. The purpose of ACDPI was to improve the quality, consistency and flavor of cultured products (mainly cottage cheese, buttermilk and sour cream) nationwide. ACDPI sponsored product judging, and I took great pride knowing Mayfield products were some of the best in the nation.

It was at an ACDPI meeting that I first became aware of the potential for cultured products to improve one’s health. ACDPI meetings attracted leaders in the dairy industry, their suppliers and also university professors who taught dairy science. There was considerable consensus that cultured products enhanced good health, and that research into the matter was needed. As an industry, we did not want to make health claims we could not back up with research.

By the late 1970’s, yogurt manufacturers joined ACDPI. We knew yogurt was a very healthy dairy product; however, for most Americans, it was too sour unless sweetened with sugar. Also, about this time a supplier of cultures introduced a clever idea, which was to add the probiotic culture Lactobacillus Acidolphilus to milk after pasteurization – viola! Hence, Sweet Acidolphilus milk was born! Kroger sold Sweet Acidolphilus in Knoxville. When my young children had colic, I would drive to Knoxville to purchase Sweet Acidolphilus so we could add it to their formula. It always worked.

In 1987, Mayfield became the first dairy in the United States to offer Nu-Trish a/B_®, which was 1% lowfat milk with both Acidolphilus and Bifidum cultures. This product, with the two probiotic cultures, was considered a great improvement over Sweet Acidolphilus. We knew then that the cultures aided digestion, and we suspected better overall health. We were years ahead of our time, as research now proves the benefits to one’s immune system. Today, Mayfield is changing the name of Nu-Trish to NURTURE MILK. We will have two products (1% and 2%), and we have boosted the amount of the cultures. In one product most of us consume every day, we will get the nutrition of milk with the immune system enhancement of probiotic cultures. For years, Nu-Trish has been the milk we drink at my house, and now you can be sure Nurture will be our milk from now on. The web site is up so check it out (http://www.nurturemilk.com/).

I am convinced both children and adults who drink Nurture milk will be healthier.

The Most Important Product in my Career

Scottie Mayfield — Tue, 01 May 2007 11:36:00 -0400

My blogs never need a title but, in this case, I think it makes some sense to have one. We are announcing the introduction of Nurture 1% lowfat milk and Nurture 2% reduced fat milk. I want to give you some background (more than you may want) and explain why this is actually a re-launch and why. To do that, I need to begin with some history and then come to the present time.

In the early 1980’s we had a product called Sweet Acidophilus. It was a lowfat product that had a bad name and was not successful. The lack of success was partially because we(Mayfield) did not try hard enough to make it a success. Then in 1987, we had the opportunity to introduce Nu-Trish^® a/B (a product that not only contained Lactobacillus Acidophilus but also Bifidobacterium organism).

Two significant things: First, the milk just tasted like milk. Second, these “cultures” had a reputation for helping the digestive tract digest foods better. This reputation came from years of use in Europe. Since the product was so helpful with digestion, it was logical that it would provide better nutrition because foods eaten would be digested better and more vitamins and nutrients would be absorbed.

We introduced the product by taking one of the scientists from Chr. Hansen Laboratories, who developed the specific cultures we used, onto noontime TV shows. In the next few weeks, we received calls and letters from consumers about how this product had changed their lives. In every case, they had a digestive problem or condition and they gave credit to Nu-Trish^® a/B for the positive changes they had experienced.

Time went along. Most of us that were involved in this introduction started drinking Nu-Trish^® a/B at home. My family has consumed it since 1987. When I see some whole milk in the refrigerator, I know my wife has a special recipe that calls for whole milk. In 1991, we entered Atlanta with milk and we stopped advertising NuTrish^® a/B to focus on explaining the Aro-Vac and why our milk tastes dairy fresh all year regardless of what the cows eat. We also spent time explaining that the yellow jug blocked out light and preserved the fresh dairy taste.

The name was later changed to NuTrish 1% lowfat, which is our current product.

About a year and a half ago, I was talking to some consumers and asked why they are willing to pay more for Mayfield milk. I had three in the group tell me that since they had learned about NuTrish that was all their family drank and they felt it had made a very positive difference in the health of their family.

It just so happened that when we contacted Chr. Hansen Labs. about NuTrish, they started telling us about great research that had been done in the last few years. The research involved solving various situations - like when someone has to take antibiotics. Drinking NuTrish helps replenish the good flora in the intestines. The research that really “blew our minds” allowed us to make a claim that makes this product very significant.

We can and are going to state that this product will boost your immune system. With this news, we felt that we should re-name and re-launch this product. The new name is “Nurture.” We think this is great because we are going beyond nutrition with this product. We are boosting immune systems. The re-launch will begin with advertising on April 30 and the product should be in the stores shortly thereafter.

We have a web site where you can dig into some of the research. It is http://www.nurturemilk.com/.

Everyone reacts differently. I would like to ask two favors. For those of you who already drink NuTrish, I would love to hear about any stories where you feel it has made a significant difference in your health. Second, now that NuTrish is changing to Nurture and we are going to tell more people about it, I would love to hear stories from anyone who feels it has made a difference in their health.

My understanding is that you need to average at least two 8-ounce glasses a day. By the way, this is a very similar product to the new Activia by Dannon. If you cannot drink Nurture by Mayfield, I suggest you try Activia by Dannon. It will take a week or two to establish a good flora in your intestines.

I love milk and drink two or three glasses every day. If I drink milk but also BOOST MY IMMUNE SYSTEM by drinking Nurture milk, I feel that I am being extra good to my body.

We will change our present 1% NuTrish to 1% Nurture and we will add 2% Nurture. We are adding 2% Nurture because 2% is our best selling milk. By providing the 2% taste profile and the benefits of the Nurture culture, we think we are providing consumers a fabulous product.

We hope you will give this product a try. It may cost more than what you are buying today, but I think you will find it is well worth the difference. Let me know what you think.

Congratulations to Marietta Middle School

Scottie Mayfield — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 09:29:00 -0500

On March 1^st, I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon for the folks who prepare food for the students who attend Marietta City schools. Actually, Mayfield Dairy Farms hosted the affair as a "reward and thank you" to these people who provide nutritious meals for students. Under the direction of Sandy Laffan, Nutrition Director, they entered a national contest.

The contest was sponsored by Dairy Field Magazine and the dairy farmers who fund the American Dairy Council. Since milk is such an important part of the nutritious meals prepared and served to the students, the contest was centered around increasing participation in the meal program.

Marietta City schools, particularly Marietta Middle School, did so well they were one of the national winners of the contest. They created some great signage which featured the change from the traditional paper package to our new plastic half-pint school package. Their milk consumption changes were incredible, with 43,840 additional units of milk being served to a student body of 1,091, and that was only in the first three months of school.

They were able to accomplish this by promoting their food service opportunities, especially breakfast. I think breakfast experienced the biggest increase. Their participation in lunch was up 6%. That is really great considering their participation in lunch was already good.

There is more information on the school web site – www.marietta-city.k12.ga.us and the person who helped to create their signage has a web site – cath@brazealconsulting.net. Her signage is great.

We wanted to have a luncheon for the folks who prepare all the food for our children because we know the pride they take in providing nutritious meals for “their” students. This is true at Marietta City and every other school system I have ever visited. My hat is off to the folks at Marietta City and to all the folks in every school food service system. Thanks to them for doing a great job feeding our youth!

From Left: Ruth Gordon; Georgia Department of Education School Nutrition Director, Sandy Laffan; Marietta City School Nutrition Director, Susan Cheshire; Executive Director; Georgia School Nutrition Association, Paula Daniels, Marietta Middle School Manager and me.

Think About Your Drink

Scottie Mayfield — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 09:34:00 -0500

Holy Cow! I just did a blog last Friday and something newsworthy is happening today. I usually post one blog a month, but this is sort of special. There is a study being released today about eating trends. It made sense to write something about it since it mentions milk.

To prepare myself to write about this, I went to the website. It covers consumption trends and the fact that 22% of the calories we consume are liquid. It goes into great detail and has some very interesting information. My conclusion is that those who are interested would be better served if they went direct to the website instead of me trying to repeat what is there. The website is www.thinkaboutyourdrink.com.

When I'm not home

Executive Team — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 15:35:00 -0500

While traveling in Europe, (actually Ireland) I noticed how much advertising was devoted to probiotic products. It was on television, billboards and buses across the entire country. Although we may be a little behind in the U.S., I was proud of the fact that Mayfield had been one of the first to take advantage of probiotics in milk through NuTrish Milk. I have been drinking this "value-added" product for years and can tell a difference in my body when I am out of town and don't have access to it. And, even though it is a lowfat 1% product, my kids even love it.

Mary Williams

School Milk

Scottie Mayfield — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 12:33:00 -0500

I had a great visit with Cheryl Hayn last week. She is the Chief Executive Officer of SUDIA (Southeast United Dairy Industry Association). SUDIA is an organization that is funded by dairy farmers in the Southeastern United States. They are affiliated with the American Dairy Association and the National Dairy Council. Their strategic purpose is to drive increased sales of and demand for U. S. dairy products and ingredients. They have been very helpful in doing research that gives us (Mayfield) information on products and packages that can help us provide products that consumers want.

            One area they have been very helpful in is school milk. Due to some research they have done and some research the Milk Mustache folks (MilkPEP) have done, we introduced a small plastic bottle for schools last year. And, this year we changed the graphics on our paper milk carton to a camouflage pattern that the kids think is “cool.” SUDIA was responsible for the research on plastic packaging. The result has been great. It is just like when we introduced the Chug_® back in 1995. Back then our pint sales soared. Similar results are taking place in schools.

            Once schools systems put plastic half pints in their cafeteria plan, we typically see increased consumption. It is interesting because the first increase in consumption is noticed by the cafeteria staff when they take out the trash. They can tell that the milk containers are empty whereas before it appeared that students were not consuming the milk that was automatically placed on their tray as a part of the lunch program. The next change that is noticed is a slight increase in extra milks purchased. Lastly, the cafeteria experiences an increase in total participation.

            Increased participation by our children in school food programs is very important. It is important because the meals are very nutritious. The school cafeterias do an excellent job of providing balanced, tasty and nutritious meals. There is strong research supporting the positive impact breakfast and lunch have on the education of our children. We need to tip our hats to the folks who feed our children in our school systems. If you want a great meal, go visit your child at lunch.

            Cheryl explained that SUDIA was continuing to do research to help the dairy industry find more ways to make milk a part of more meals for children and adults alike. They will be developing partnerships with companies like ours to seek ways to utilize the findings of this research. They will be giving us more tools to convince people than “milk does a body good.” And, it does!

Mothers as role models

Mayfield Moms — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 15:07:00 -0400

Recently MilkPep hosted a conference in New York City to explore a mother’s impact as a healthy behavior role model to their daughters. After reading about this article, it sparked questions within our company to ask….do our kids really pay attention to what we do. I would say “yes” they do! I think they pay more attention to what “we do” than what we “say”!!!

For instance, my daughter (Aisha) and I have been working out together! She is 14; soon to be 15 in 20 days (as she reminds me daily). She plays on the junior varsity basketball team at her high school; therefore she is very active and health/weight conscious. In this instance, I think she encourages me more than I encourage her! But.....because she is interested in being and staying healthy.........I take a GREAT interest in that.........so I walk with her and work out with her! She has even posted a "Steps to a healthier you" Food Pyramid on our refrigerator so that my husband & I are reminded of it daily! When I was Aisha's age I played basketball and stayed active in school activities as well; therefore it warms my heart to see her following in her Mama's footsteps! So I am determined to do all that I can do to keep her active while she is interested. So whenever I say something about needing to work out or watching what I eat or drink; she is very aware of how I respond to what I “say” I am going to do. Therefore, it is my goal to not only teach her how to be healthy, but allow her to see my personal efforts to “practice what I preach”!

Working in the milk business is another incentive to make sure my kids drink plenty of milk. My son (age 18) loves milk and drinks it on a regular basis; however, my daughter is not a milk lover but will drink chocolate milk! One advantage to her drinking Mayfield chocolate milk is that it has the same vitamins and nutrients as our white milk so either way, they are both getting the vitamins they need.

So after reviewing MilkPep’s article and thinking about my family; I would like to encourage other mothers out there in the blogging world to remember…”your kid’s are watching you!” ………do the right thing!

Visit the site at www.2424milk.com

Until next time,

Lisa

SMALL CHANGES...BIG RESULTS

Dr. Zemel — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 11:47:00 -0400

First, let me apologize for the long gap between posts. I got into a battle with the web posting system, and I lost! After a number of attempts to take care of it myself (I should be able to do this, shouldn’t I????!!) I swallowed my pride and asked for help. So….here is the column I promised a few weeks ago.

Last time, I discussed the pitfalls of setting unrealistic weight loss goals versus the virtues of small changes. After all, the grand gestures and promises that we make (you know the ones…”I’m going to quit eating fast food”; “I’m going to cut all of the [fill in the blank] from my diet”; “I’m going to the gym for at least an hour every day”; “I’m going to wake up 30 minutes early to make sure I can exercise”, etc) aren’t nearly as valuable as the small changes that you really can sustain to improve your health and lifestyle permanently.

So, how does this small change approach work? To be successful, we need to acknowledge our current lifestyles and not make unrealistic promises to ourselves. For example, if you get lunch at a fast-food drive-through every day, it’s probably not realistic to try to quit eating fast food. The good news is, it’s not even necessary! My recommendations are to take three simple steps to a healthier weight:

MOVE MORE: This isn’t a push to get you to sign up for a health club or buy the latest collection of home video workouts. If these are already part of your routine, that’s great. But if they’re not, don’t worry about it! Instead, try to slightly change your routine to add more steps to your day. When you go grocery shopping or to the mall, consider the best parking space the one that is furthest away rather than the once that is closest! Consider taking the stairs instead of the elevator; when you do this, remember that it’s not all or nothing. For example, if you have to go from the 1^st floor to the 9^th floor of a building, perhaps walking all the way up is just too much…that’s OK! Consider walking up one or two flights before taking the elevator, and perhaps you could take three or four flights on the way down. Consider getting up from your desk to talk to your colleagues at work rather than always sending e-mails. Go for a walk or play catch with your kids instead of watching TV after dinner. Walk your dog instead of letting your dog in the back yard while you sit inside (of course your neighbors will appreciate it if you clean up after your dog!). You get the idea…look for opportunities to be active instead of passive as part of your normal daily routine. It’ll become second nature and you won’t even notice the extra effort.

EAT SMART: OK. This is where he’s going to get me. The food cops are going to make me starting cooking all of my meals (and putting strange sounding things in them!) and bar the entrance to my favorite fast-food drive-through, right? NOPE! Not at all. Healthy weight management is all about balancing what we do (Move More) with what we eat (Eat Smart). Our weight problems didn’t emerge from massive episodes of “pigging out”, and won’t be solved (for most of us) with massive dietary changes that are difficult to sustain. Our weight problems are the result of a chronic, but very small, imbalance between what we do and what we eat. To correct the problem, in addition to moving a bit more, we need only modestly adjust our diets. This doesn’t mean going on a diet. Instead, it means finding ways to “trim the edges” of our diets by eating just a little smarter. From a practical perspective, this means finding ways to cut just 100 calories from your daily diet. You can do this without actually dieting. Examples? If you routinely eat fast food, we don’t suggest that you quit, or even that you reduce the frequency of drive-through visits. Instead, perhaps you could substitute a medium order of fries for a large one…that would save 100 calories. Or perhaps you might order a single instead of a double cheeseburger…that would save even more! If you drink a lot of soda, you probably already realize that is a major source of hidden calories. But you don’t have to quit drinking soda. Perhaps you could substitute a diet soda for one of your regular sodas. Doesn’t work for you? Maybe you could drink just one less regular soda each day. That’s all it takes.

INCLUDE DAIRY: People often try to cut dairy from their diets when they are trying to lose weight, but our research at the University of Tennessee shows that doing that just makes your weight control efforts harder. As I wrote in an earlier posting, we now know that the calcium and other components of milk work together to make it harder for your body to store fat and easier to burn fat. The result? People who include at least three servings of dairy in their daily diets lose nearly twice as much weight and fat as those who don’t include dairy while cutting calories. However, calories still count! You still have to follow the move more and eat smart messages to make this effective.

We have a program to put all of this together. It’s called AMERICA ON THE MOVE IN TENNESSEE. This is a program that's based in The Nutrition Institute at The University of Tennessee; it’s supported by a great website (www.americaonthemove.org/tn) which will help you track your activity and find lots of ways to cut 100 calories from meals, snacks and beverages. Check it out…go to the site, register (this is a free service to help support healthy weight management) and take the first step towards permanent healthy weight management.

NuTrish

Scottie Mayfield — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:05:00 -0400

Since my entry on August 10, in which I talked about our recent Focus Group’s discussion about Nutrish Milk, we have received a number of comments and questions. I welcome more questions and comments about this product.

As I said before, when we introduced Nutrish in 1989, the big news was that you could enjoy the power of the digestive effects of the cultures, lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium, without any change in the flavor of the milk. Many people sent letters and stated how much it has meant to them. There is no question that drinking Nutrish has had a quick and substantially positive impact on many people. As with many things, Nutrish affects different people in different ways.

The positive comments have come from people with discomfort from digestive problems such as acid reflux and Hiatal Hernia, which I think are similar. We have had a significant number of comments from people with Crohn’s Disease and Colitis. We have not felt that there is enough clinical evidence to support a blanket statement on the use of Mayfield Nutrish to help relieve some of the digestive issues associated with these conditions. Based on the input we have received, I would say it is worth trying. If you are uncomfortable with consuming Nutrish without consulting with your doctor, by all means have a conversation with your doctor.

When we make a concerted effort to inform people about Mayfield Nutrish, we will be focusing on the research that has been done, which indicates an improved immune system because of these beneficial, live cultures. Many people will change to Nutrish even though they are healthy now. They will continue to be healthy and will probably have fewer health problems, but it will be harder for them to express that their lives have changed. The folks with digestive conditions who experience an overnight or quick difference are in a different situation. Even so, I cannot imagine someone who loves to drink milk with their meals, as I do, not switching to Mayfield Nutrish if they are confident that their immune system will work better.

When we begin to inform more people about Mayfield Nutrish, we will provide links so they can read some of the research studies to better understand the power of this product.

Scottie

Focus Group

Scottie Mayfield — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 16:26:00 -0400

Tuesday of this week, we conducted a Focus Group session in Atlanta. They are always very interesting.   All the participants were mothers who drink milk - some were Mayfield consumers and some consumed other brands. The way the Focus Group works is interesting, so I thought I would share this with you. The participants arrived at an office that is designed just for this purpose. There were 8 participants. They went into a room and sat around a conference table. The moderator sat at one end and behind her was a mirror. I was with people from our company and our advertising agency on the other side of the mirror. The participants knew someone was watching and listening and that the session was being recorded, but they didn’t seem to be intimidated by the two-way mirror.

The moderator asked questions about milk, such as: What fat level do you buy? Why do you buy milk? We showed some story boards that look like a carton version of a commercial. Our reason for this Focus Group was to understand their thoughts about our Mayfield Nutrish Milk. As we expected, they were not familiar with it. We are planning to promote Nutrish next year. I think it is the best milk product we make. It is 1% milk and it has yogurt cultures in it that aid the digestion of food. It basically keeps the “gut” in great shape. When we introduced this product in 1989, the big news was that you could enjoy the power of the digestive effects of the cultures, lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium, without any change in the flavor of the milk.

Since 1989, over twenty different pieces of research have been completed, independent of our company, which supplies us with the cultures and the process to add them. The result is that drinking at least one glass of Nutrish a day improves the immune system of most people. The reality is that if your gut is very healthy, your entire body will also be healthy. One of the big questions was, “Why is Mayfield Nutrish needed?” In answer, these two cultures should naturally occur in everyone’s gut and they are replenished by raw vegetables that are eaten. Well, we don’t eat as many raw vegetables out of our own gardens anymore, plus the preservatives in meats, chips and other foods make it hard for these cultures to flourish in our “gut.” Also, when we use antibiotics that are taken for some illness, the antibiotics kill the good organisms in our body, along with the bad organisms that are making us sick. My mother had a real serious infection several years ago and had to take antibiotics through a shunt. She drank Nutrish, and never had stomach problems.

It was interesting to hear the interest and comments from the participants. Their input will help us do a better job of presenting this product to the public. I personally think it is the best product we make because it is so good for you. It is all we drink at my house.

We presently have 1% Nutrish Milk but we are also considering a Skim or 2% Nutrish. I welcome comments about this direction.

Thanks,

Scottie

Healthy Weight Loss

Dr. Zemel — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 15:59:00 -0400

Last week I promised a bit more on healthy weight loss. What can I offer that you haven’t already heard? After all, the bookstores are crammed with books that promise fast weight loss, permanent weight loss, a new you, etc. The problem is this: everyone knows that the guaranteed formula for sure-fire weight loss is simple: eat less and exercise more! Not much of a revelation, huh? The problem is that the gap between what we know and what we do is huge. We make resolutions every year to re-build our lifestyles from the ground up, to the gym every day, quit eating junk foods, cut 1,000 calories from out diets, etc. America’s booksellers help us out with New Year-New You promotions every January, and the parking lot of every gym is crowded as new “fitness converts” circle the parking lot looking for the best spot (!). Of course, by the beginning of February, the health club parking lots are empty again, and the New Year-New You weight loss promotions at your local bookstore have been replaced by Valentines Day chocolate-lovers displays!

What happened between January 1 and February 1? Everyday life just got in the way. If we think about it at all, it tends to be with a great deal of guilt….not a helpful a approach. Let’s throw the guilt out the window and start over. Let’s start by building a sustainable plan that we can live with for the rest of our lives, not just till we reach some elusive goal. Let’s acknowledge that it’s hard to introduce fundamental changes in our lifestyle, and instead make small changes in our diet and physical activity patterns that we’re sure can be permanent changes. Finally, let’s set realistic goals. Its fine to want to lose a large amount of weight, but most people set unrealistic goals. Did you know that most of the health benefits of weight loss come with the first several pounds that are lost, and that just a 5-10% weight loss (that’s 7½ to 15 pounds for a 150 pound person) produces huge improvements in your health risk profile? So…let’s readjust our expectations, modify our goals, and not be quite so hard on ourselves.
Next week: how to implement a small changes program

Is milk a functional food???

Dr. Zemel — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 16:35:00 -0400

So……..can milk really be a functional food? Well, I could ramble on and on about the benefits of milk in building and maintaining healthy bones and preventing osteoporosis, but you probably know all about that. In fact, that’s probably why so many people are taking those calcium supplements, or perhaps making sure that their orange juice or breakfast cereal is calcium fortified because….well, it’s all about the calcium, isn’t it? Actually, NO! The calcium is important, of course, but our tendency to treat milk as though its only nutritional significance is as big container of calcium is a huge mistake. There are multiple other components in milk, including novel proteins and unique “bioactive compounds” which contribute to bone health. Adding calcium to orange juice (or to a soy extract, and then calling it soy “milk”) simply can’t duplicate those benefits.

Did you know that the benefits of milk go beyond bone? In recent years, we have come to understand that low-fat and skim milk are critical in maintaining healthy blood pressure and in reducing the risk of hypertension, heart disease and stroke, diabetes, and even some cancers, although the evidence for cancer prevention isn’t as solid as for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. What’s interesting here is that when we tried to duplicate the protective effects of milk by using calcium supplements, we were much less effective. Although dietary calcium clearly has a role to play in protecting us from these diseases, it only explains about ½ of the protective effects of milk and other dairy products. The rest of the protection is due to the unique “package” of nutrients and bioactive components found in milk.

The same is true for healthy weight management. My research team has shown that people who maintain at least three daily servings of milk (or yogurt or hard cheese) while they are cutting calories can lose nearly twice as much weight and body fat than those who don’t consume dairy. For those who are not cutting calories, maintaining a higher dairy intake helps reduce body fat and increase lean (muscle) mass. We started out believing that most of the effect was due to calcium (that’s what we built our theories around), but it turns out that calcium supplements or calcium-fortified foods are much less effective than milk. So…despite what you may have heard, don’t cut the milk when you are cutting calories; keep the milk in for more effective weight loss.

Next week: More on healthy approaches to successful weight loss.

Functional Foods?

Dr. Zemel — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 12:22:00 -0400

I think we all “get” the importance of nutrition, not just for prevention of the nutrient deficiency diseases of old, but for truly optimizing our health. I just returned from speaking at an obesity conference in Paris that was intended for both the medical/scientific community and the food industry; it’s unusual to bring both groups together, but very important as these groups must be allies in finding workable solutions for this epidemic. On my way out of the conference, I picked up a magazine that featured a myriad of ingredients for the food industry to use in making functional foods.

What’s a functional food???? Don’t all foods have functions???? Well, this somewhat annoying term has been used for the last several years to refer to foods that have components that function to optimize health or combat a specific disease. I’m looking through this magazine now, and there is an amazing array of “functional” ingredients to be added. Here’s just a few: wild green oat extract, grapeseed, bilberry, ribose, soy isoflavones, calcium, acacia, green tea extract, lycopene, plant sterols….that’s just from the first few pages…the list goes on and on! I see two problems here. First, not all of these are supported by high quality data (or, in some cases, any published data!) and there is often no way for a consumer to discern “snake-oil” from legitimate claims. Second, even if we limit our interest to legitimate claims, we are faced with more “functional” ingredients and additives than we can possibly consume. SO….here’s a thought: eat real food! Impressed with the benefits of green tea? Fine, go ahead and drink some…we don’t have to extract its “functionality” and create a supplement or food additive. Think soy is going to help your heart? OK…enjoy some edamame or tofu. You get the picture.

Here’s another thought. Want calcium? You can try and sort through all of the calcium-fortified foods in the grocery store, from breakfast cereal to orange juice, or….try some milk! Milk really is the ultimate (and original) functional food, and its benefits extend far beyond the calcium it contains. We now know that milk not only helps build and maintain healthy skeletons, but can help reduce our risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. More next week on milk as a functional food.

NuTrish

Product Team — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 13:12:00 -0400

If you haven't tried Mayfield's NuTrish 1% Lowfat Milk, you should give it a try. Not only does it taste great, but it's great for you. Mayfield's NuTrish contains two probiotic cultures; Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium. Acidophilus and Bifidum are naturally occurring organisms in the human gastrointestinal tract. Consuming these organisms replenishes the bacterial population which is diminished through aging.

Mayfield's four flavors of Lowfat Frozen Yogurt also contain these same two "good for you" cultures. Just look for the blue rim!