Sugar Consumption - Food and Health Communications

Christine Palumbo, MBA, RD, is going to give a presentation to dentists regarding sugar consumption and she requested this chart on sugar consumption trends (this data is from the USDA and is on availability per capita). We found it for her and created a screen shot - there are many more from http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FoodConsumption/

Interesting notes about this chart:

slightly decreased sugar (pink line)
but increased corn sweeteners (blue line)

USDA data states the influx of moms to the work force has changed consumption patterns and women are doing a lot less cooking and baking and a lot more purchasing of products that are already finished. It seems that one type of sugar went down a little and one went up a lot which effectively means that sugar consumption has increased by roughly 50% (from about 100 pounds to about 150 pounds per person which is about 6 ounces per day).

There has been some research that the corn sweeteners in beverages do not provide the satiety as real foods with fiber.

Here is Christine's presentation outline:

Christine M. Palumbo, MBA, RD “The Office: Nutrition Trends Impacting Your Practice”

Christine M. Palumbo, MBA, RD, nutrition communications consultant and Chicago Parent columnist will identify the food and nutrition trends impacting your patients and their families. How are today’s parents feeding their children? What’s with the rise in foods with added fiber, probiotics, Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants? Hear the latest thoughts on anti-inflammatory eating. Identify tips for incorporating all these trends into your dental practice during this dynamic presentation, including:

Health issues you’re seeing and their relationship to nutrition: Obesity, allergies, autism, ADHD
The gluten-free bandwagon
Sources of sugar – Foods and beverages parents may not be aware of
Trends in dining out

Judy Doherty

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland where she focused on pastry arts and baking. But after learning that the quality of a croissant directly varies with how much butter it has, Judy sought to challenge herself by coming up with recipes that were as healthy as they were tasty.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest in nutritional science to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.