Category: Lifelong Learning

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ATTENTION PARENTS – Yes You Can!

Remember my post Tik Tok is bad for your health? Or Latest Tik Tok Trend – Eat Dirt? How about The Dark Side of TikTok – Toddler Milks? Don’t remember, eh? Well, here’s a post you won’t forget.

According to this article there are videos that have millions of views with comments “full of girls cheering each other on, romanticizing risky behavior and literally encouraging one another to ignore every red flag.

Encouraging others to engage in dangerous behavior against their own gut instincts is not OK, and the fact that the videos are drawing supportive and positive comments from other teen and tween girls proves how much the trend is resonating with these girls. Why the ‘Yes You Can’ TikTok Trend Has Parents of Tween & Teen Girls Sounding the Alarm — https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/1234887372/yes-you-can-trend/

You’re welcome.

PS – almost forgot this is a food blog, so here you go.

“Crunchy Teen” is a trend where teens publicly reject norms around food and nutrition in favor of some more controversial stances not verified by data or experts.Parents should know that many “crunchy teen” influencers repeat a lot of misinformation that can lead to harmful health suggestions. Why the ‘Crunchy Teen’ Trend Definitely Needs Some Parental Intervention — https://www.parents.com/what-is-crunchy-teen-11734514

You’re welcome, again.

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Fake Nutrition Experts on Social Media!

Super-spreaders build trust by connecting with audiences emotionally, rather than by overwhelming them with data. They position themselves as relatable truth-tellers who challenge corrupt institutions and offer simple, “empowering” solutions. Through personal anecdotes and motivational, accessible language, they create an “us vs. them” narrative in which misinformation becomes a form of liberation. Many frame their dietary advice as part of a broader movement, towards healing, strength, clarity, masculinity/femininity or even revolution. “Natural” or “traditional” diets (e.g. those relying heavily on animal-based foods or that exclude modern-day “processed” foods) are frequently presented as easy solutions to complex health problems. This combination of emotional resonance and charismatic storytelling helps explain why such misinformation is so persuasive.

Of the 53 super-spreaders analyzed, 96% (51 accounts) had a clear financial incentive directly tied to the misinformation they promoted, with many capitalizing on multiple revenue streams.

Nutrition Misinformation in the Digital Age

Shocking!

Download the full report here: https://rootedresearch.co/publications/nutrition-misinformation-digital-age/

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Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Cooking #10

I’ve always preferred baking sweet potatoes over boiling and mashing sweet potatoes because my boiled version always turned out watery.

I just learned you have to boil the peeled sweet potatoes whole. After about 45-50 minutes check to see if the potatoes are cooked through. Then drain and return to the cooking pot. Turn the heat on to low and start smashing, and mashing while constantly stirring to avoid burning (I use a wooden spoon). After about five minutes a good amount of moisture will have evaporated from the potatoes. This is why sweet potatoes made this way aren’t too loose and watery. Add a splash of milk or half and half, a bunch of butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Memo to Self – buy more sweet potatoes, eat more sweet potatoes.

Photo by wr heustis on Pexels.com
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Why more protein matters for older adults

Current recommendations for protein intake are the same for all adults, regardless of age: 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body mass daily (g/kg/d). But estimates suggest that up to 30-76 per cent of older adults aren’t consuming enough protein.

Because older people’s muscles can’t use dietary protein as effectively as younger people to maintain muscle, experts suggest that older adults looking to keep their muscles should consume approximately 50 per cent more protein (1.2 g/kg/d).

Nutrition and healthy aging: The role of protein quality in combating muscle loss – https://theconversation.com/nutrition-and-healthy-aging-the-role-of-protein-quality-in-combatting-muscle-loss

I’ve always felt guilty about the times I didn’t feel like cooking, went to the store to buy a frozen pizza, then proceeded to eat the entire pie. I no longer feel the guilt. I ate 48 grams of protein! I’m combating sarcopenia. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23167-sarcopenia

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Lessons Learned From a Lifetime of Cooking #9

Celery leaves. I always tossed them out until The Boss informed me she doesn’t like big chunks of celery in dishes I make that use celery for an ingredient. I recently discovered you can use celery leaves like a fresh herb, finely chopped and added to your creation in lieu of big chunks of celery. So far I haven’t gotten any complaints about the tiny green stuff floating in the soup.

10 Ways To Use Celery Leaves In The Kitchen.

Read More: https://www.tastingtable.com/1572645/uses-celery-leaves/

Memo to Self – instead of buying celery with less leaves buy celery with more leaves, especially bunches with dark green leaves which have a more intense flavor than the stalks.

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Eat More Beans, Peas and Lentils

The scientific report has some positive recommendations. It recommends that Americans eat more beans, peas, and lentils and eat less red and processed meat. It recommends that Beans, Peas, and Lentils move from a subgroup of the Vegetables Food Group to a subgroup of the Protein Food Group. When listing foods in the Protein Food Group, Beans/Peas/Lentils should be listed first, followed by Nuts/Seeds/Soy products, then Seafood, and lastly Meats/Poultry/Eggs. – 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s Scientific Report Recommends Eating More Beans, Peas, and Lentils and Eating Less Red and Processed Meat – http://www.vrg.org/blog/2025/01/31/2025-dietary-guidelines-advisory-committees-scientific-report-recommends-eating-more-beans-peas-and-lentils-and-eating-less-red-and-processed-meat/

If you want to geek out on the full report here’s the download link – https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/2025-advisory-committee-report

U.S. rates of nutrition-related chronic health conditions are high, and data show significant differences in prevalence across socio-demographic groups. For example, the prevalence of obesity is lower among non-Hispanic Asian children compared to all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined, and the prevalence is lower in non-Hispanic White children compared to non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic and/or Latino children. Obesity is significantly lower among children with higher family income compared to those with lower family income. Among adults, the prevalence of obesity is lower among non-Hispanic Asian adults and higher in non-Hispanic Black adults. Prevalence of hypertension is higher in non-Hispanic Black adults than adults of all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined. Diabetes is lower in non-Hispanic White adults compared to all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined, while gestational diabetes is highest among non-Hispanic Asian adults and lowest among non-Hispanic Black adults. Income data show that among adults, the prevalence of obesity, of hypertension, and of diabetes are higher among families with lower incomes compared to higher incomes.

I’ve not read the entire report but judging from what I’ve read so far it is definitely Geek Paradise.

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Eat Less Processed Red Meat

Yikes

To examine the risk of dementia, researchers included a group of 133,771 people with an average age of 49 who did not have dementia at the start of the study. They were followed up to 43 years. Of this group, 11,173 people developed dementia. Participants completed a food diary every two to four years, listing what they ate and how often. Researchers defined processed red meat as bacon, hot dogs, sausages, salami, bologna and other processed meat products. They defined unprocessed red meat as beef, pork, lamb and hamburger. A serving of red meat is three ounces, about the size of a deck of cards. Researchers calculated how much red meat participants ate on average per day. For processed red meat, they divided participants into three groups. The low group ate an average of fewer than 0.10 servings per day; the medium group ate between 0.10 and 0.24 servings per day; and the high group, 0.25 or more servings per day. After adjusting for factors such as age, sex and other risk factors for cognitive decline, researchers found that participants in the high group had a 13% higher risk of developing dementia compared to those in the low group. Is Eating More Red Meat Bad for Your Brain? – https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/1082

This large study is a collaboration funded by the National Institutes of Health to NYU Langone Health and includes authors from Johns Hopkins University and other U.S. institutions. The new study relies on information gathered from the ongoing Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS), which since 1987 has closely tracked the vascular health and cognitive function of nearly 16,000 participants as they age. ARIC-NCS is also, the researchers say, the longest-followed cohort of African Americans for researching cognition and heart health. Published in the journal Nature Medicine online January 13, the study concludes that from 1987 until 2020, there were 3,252 study participants who were documented as having developed dementia. This translates to an overall lifetime risk for dementia among middle-aged Americans of 42 percent, which is an average of the 35 percent risk in men and the 48 percent risk in women. The excess risk in women was largely due to their lower death rates. United States Dementia Cases Estimated to Double by 2060 – https://nyulangone.org/news/united-states-dementia-cases-estimated-double-2060

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More Cheese Please

Relative risks (RR) for colorectal cancer were calculated for intakes of all 97 dietary factors, with significant associations found for 17 of them. Calcium intake showed the strongest protective effect, with each additional 300 mg per day – equivalent to a large glass of milk – associated with a 17% reduced RR. Six dairy-related factors associated with calcium – dairy milk, yogurt, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium intakes – also demonstrated inverse associations with colorectal cancer risk. Dr Sheena Meredith. Dietary Calcium Cuts Colorectal Cancer Risk by 17% – Medscape – 08 January 2025. https://www.medscape.co.uk/viewarticle/dietary-calcium-cuts-colorectal-cancer-risk-17-2025a10000e0?

Citation and links to the original study – Papier, K., Bradbury, K.E., Balkwill, A. et al. Diet-wide analyses for risk of colorectal cancer: prospective study of 12,251 incident cases among 542,778 women in the UK. Nat Commun 16, 375 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55219-5 – https://rdcu.be/d6G1Q

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