International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand on Meal Frequency

Position Statement: Admittedly, research to date examining the physiological effects of meal frequency in humans is somewhat limited. More specifically, data that has specifically examined the impact of meal frequency on body composition, training adaptations, and performance in physically active individuals and athletes is scant. Until more research is available in the physically active and athletic populations, definitive conclusions cannot be made. However, within the confines of the current scientific literature, we assert that:

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Anticaking Agents (Free-Flow Agents)

Anticaking agents, sometimes called free-flow agents, are substances added to finely powdered or crystallized food products to prevent them from caking or lumping. These are used in baking powder, salt, confectioner's sugar, chocoalte, milk, cream, and coffee powders, to name but a few. Examples are silicon dioxide, calcium silicate, sodium aluminosilicate, and dicalcium phosphate. Other natural examples include talc and potato starch.

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Sugar Glossary: A Quick Reference to Simple Sugars

The following is a simple guide to the many different kinds of simple sugars found in prepared and processed foods. All of these sugars contain about the same carbohydrates and deliver the same amount of calories, and so are essentially equivalent, to white table sugar. To begin, the basic monosaccharides and dissaccharides important in nutrition are briefly discussed.

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What are the Major Elements and Molecules in the Human Body?

At present, there are about 100 elements known. The human body uses around 27 of these. The most abundant is oxygen, which makes up approximately 63% of the body's mass. Carbon comprises 18%, hydrogen 9%, and nitrogen 3%. These four are the key elements in body's most important molecules: water, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids.

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Food Label Zealots, Chemicals, Supplements, and Natural Food: Want Some Chlorophyll?

As a continuance of my assault on the misleading ideas about "natural" food, this is yet another follow-up to a series of blog posts where I discuss chemicals in foods and the concept of natural. In the last one I talked about the difference between chemicals as nutrients and chemicals as pharmacologic agents. I explained that some chemicals in food do have a physiological affect beyond their basic biological functions. Others, such as compounds in herbals used for medicinal purposes simply have no function as a "nutrient." All of these, though, have one thing in common and that is summed up by saying that "The poison OR the remedy is in the DOSE." This is important in helping us recognize the difference between nutrition information and alternative medicine information.

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Prescription Drugs Can Lead to Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies

The use of prescription drugs is often overlooked as a major factor that contributes to nutritional deficiencies. Typically, the focus is placed on diet and perhaps some lifestyle issues, but many are unaware that the medications they use are possibly creating additional health problems that may not become apparent for a long time. Drug-induced nutrient depletion is a health threat that is not acknowledged by the majority of health care practitioners and it's not because of a lack of information about the subject, because many studies have been published that document the drug-induced depletion of nutrients.

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Misconceptions About Food Nutrients, Toxic Plant Compounds, and Nutrition Information Versus Alternative Medicine

In my post Homeopathy Is Not a Drug and Other Babbles I had quite a rant, albeit a very informative one, about some idiotic things a NaturalHealth.com article said about homeopathy and about homeopathy quackery in general. If you read that you will be more in flow with what is to follow. Cuz I'm not done!

Much of that post concerned chemicals. The food faddist or the homeopathic zealot, when he hears the word chemical, cries "POISON!" Yet, chemicals are what our food is made of and the term toxic chemical, taken by itself is meaningless.

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The Difference Between Sea Salt and Ordinary Table Salt: Is Sea Salt Really Healthier?

Sea salt is often touted as a more healthful alternative to ordinary table salt. Many food products are now proclaiming the use of sea salt on their labels and health food stores have long promoted it's healthful benefits. Although some of today's food advertising concerning sea salt is in regards to it's giving a better flavor to the food products there is no doubt an additional incentive to take advantage of the public's perception of sea salt as more nutritious and health giving.

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Vitamin A and Beta Carotene: What, How, When, Why to Supplement

By Ken Adams, M.D. and Scott E. Conard, M.D.

Vitamin A and the pre-vitamin, beta carotene are closely related supplements. There are definite benefits to the nutritional supplementation of both Vitamin A and beta carotene but there are also dangers to their supplementation. Many people do not realize that beta carotene is converted within our bodies to Vitamin A but supplementation of one in lieu of the other is not equivalent to the supplementation of both. There are also other members of the antioxidant carotene family include cryptoxanthine, alpha-carotene, zeaxanthin, lutein, and lycopene, most of which do not convert into significant amounts of vitamin A. These will be discussed also in this article.

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Aging and Longevity: Why Knowing the Difference Is Important to Nutrition Research

Life expectancies after the age of 70 and the number of individuals living with age-related chronic conditions that affect daily activities continue to increase. Age-specific nutritional recommendations may help to decrease the incidence or severity of age-related debilitating chronic disorders. However, research in this area has seen limited success in identifying nutrition-related mechanisms that underlie the functional loss and chronic conditions that occur as a function of time. We believe that the limited success in establishing age-specific nutrition recommendations for the older population reflects, at least in part, research designs that fail to consider the evolutionary and biological bases of aging and longevity. Longevity has evolved as a by-product of genes selected for their contribution in helping the organism survive to the age of reproduction. As such, the principle of genetic determinism provides an appropriate underlying theory for research designs evaluating nutritional factors involved with life span. Aging is not a product of evolution and reflects stochastic and/or random events that most likely begin during the early, reproductively-active years. The genetic determinism model by which young (normal, control) are compared to old (abnormal, experimental) groups will not be effective in identifying underlying mechanisms and nutritional factors that impact aging. The purpose of this commentary is to briefly discuss the difference between aging and longevity and why knowing the difference is important to nutrition research and to establishing the most precise nutritional recommendations possible for the older population.

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Folic Acid Fortification: History, Effect, Concerns, and Future Directions

Periconceptional intake of folic acid is known to reduce a woman’s risk of having an infant affected by a neural tube birth defect (NTD). National programs to mandate fortification of food with folic acid have reduced the prevalence of NTDs worldwide. Uncertainty surrounding possible unintended consequences has led to concerns about higher folic acid intake and food fortification programs. This uncertainty emphasizes the need to continually monitor fortification programs for accurate measures of their effect and the ability to address concerns as they arise. This review highlights the history, effect, concerns, and future directions of folic acid food fortification programs.

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Natural and Processed Food, Nutritionism and Pollanisms

There has been a lot of support for Michal Pollan's books for the last few years (he was on Colbert ) and his books "In Defense of Food" as well as his earlier book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" are both very popular. I even saw Mike Boyle singing the praises of Pollan while imagining he knew more about nutrition than "nutritionists" by virtue of having read Pollan's books. Even though, strictly speaking, Pollan is not a nutritionist but a journalist. But hey, I've also seen Mike Boyle and others sing the praises of Mercola, so go figure. I would hesitate to get my nutrition information from a strength coach or a journalist. That is not to say that I would not take their advice, but only that I would hesitate to consider that advice as seriously as I would consider the advice of someone who is a nutrition specialist.

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Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamine) - When, How, and Why to Supplement

By Ken Adams, M.D. and Scott E. Conard, M.D.

Sources and Physiologic Functions

Sources

Liver, kidney, muscle meats, eggs, cheese, milk, and fish are excellent sources of vitamin B12. It is not found in plant foods or in yeast. Fermented foods such as soy sauce, tempeh, and miso, and fortified foods such as soymilk are also good sources of this vitamin.

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Thiamine (Vitamin B1) How, Why and When to Supplement

By Ken Adams, M.D.

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) Sources and Physiologic Functions

Sources

Pork, whole grains, and legumes are the richest sources of thiamine. Outer layers of seeds are particularly rich in this vitamin.

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Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) When, How, and Why to Supplement

By Ken Adams, M.D.

Pyridoxine (B6) Sources and Physiologic Functions Sources

Poultry, fish, liver, and eggs are good sources of this vitamin; meat and milk contain lesser amounts. Pyridoxine in animal sources is 96% bioavailable. Vitamin B6 can be made by intestinal bacteria in healthy persons. Plant foods such as legumes, peanuts, potatoes, yeast, bananas, corn, cabbage, yams, prunes, watermelon, and avocados also contain this vitamin.

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