Researching Good Foods
Leaner Ham, Green Beans, Cherries and Chocolate
Here we are in January, so quick, let’s have a show of hands: How many of you have signed up in the past week or so for a membership at the local gym, hoping to “atone” for dietary discretions during the holidays?
I have to confess that Santa (or somebody) brought me an extra pound or two. So we’ll all just take a vow to get back on the treadmill or the stationary bike... and go ahead and toss out those candy canes we’ve hidden in the breadbox.
But while you’re “sweating to the oldies,” or whatever form of torture you choose for yourself, maybe I — and the Agricultural Research Service — can make you feel a tiny bit better about your recent overindulgences.
Was the ham your downfall? (Mine, too.)
Maybe it will help you to know that the scientists at ARS have been
working on ways to make ham much leaner in the future (there’s no sense
dwelling on past sins).
Meat packers know that consumers want leaner meat, but it’s a real trick finding technology to efficiently reveal how much lean meat or fat is in a commercial cut. However, the ARS scientists know how to do that with technology called dual x-ray absorptiometry, or DXA.
DXA uses x-rays of differing energy levels to scan for soft tissue of differing densities. The ARS scientists have shown that in lab tests, DXA images quickly and accurately show the composition of pork carcasses, and the process is totally non-invasive.
The DXA instruments used by the ARS scientists scanned carcass cross-sections at a speed of 7.68 centimeters per second, compared with the processing chain speed of 16.6 centimeters per second. Using DXA would allow packers to know just what they’re paying for — and give us leaner hams!
Ah, the green-bean-and-French-onion casserole: Those green beans are definitely good for you.
Did you know that green beans can be a terrific source of calcium? When most people think of calcium, they think first of milk. But green beans rate highly, too, although not all green beans are created equal. Here’s an odd discovery by ARS scientists: The difference in calcium levels in green beans can depend on how much water flows through the plants!
That’s because water dilutes calcium moving through a bean plant, reducing the amount of calcium that reaches the pods. Tiny pores called stomates open and close to control the speed at which water enters and leaves a plant — a process called transpiration.
The ARS scientists found that overall calcium content in a green bean called Hystyle was about twice that of Labrador green beans, thanks to transpiration differences. But even if you can’t get Hystyle, you still can eat your green beans with confidence, knowing you’re adding to your
calcium intake.
Cherry pie? This one might take a little rationalization, but there’s no doubt that the cherries are good for you! ARS scientists have shown that sweet cherries may help fight the inflammation of arthritis, heart disease and cancer.
In tests, 18 healthy men and women aged 45 to 61 ate about 45 fresh sweet cherries throughout the day for 28 consecutive days. The results: Blood samples indicated that levels of three tell- tale indicators of inflammation had dropped by 18 to 25 percent at the end of the cherry feasts. (We’ll just ignore that dollop of French vanilla ice cream on top of the pie.)
About those leftover chocolates: Go ahead and treat yourself to one (or two) a day, because chocolate can be really good for you. That’s because chocolate and cocoa powder are derived from beans that contain hefty quantities of natural antioxidants called flavonoids.
But, we have to add, some chocolates are more ‘healthful’ than others. Tests by ARS researchers have shown that the higher the levels of cocoa solids, the greater the benefits. In those tests, milk chocolates were at the lower end of the “good for you” scale, while darker chocolates came out
on top.
Hopefully this will all help you feel a little better about the food festival; see, you didn’t so much harm after all, did you? Now, everybody — to the treadmills!
"Everybody's
Science" is written by Sandy Miller Hays, Director of Information for
the Agricultural Research Service, the chief scientific research agency
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hays is a native of Fort Smith,
Ark. From the late 1970s until early 1988, Hays was a reporter, editor
and columnist at the Arkansas Democrat (now the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette),
a Little Rock-based daily newspaper. She joined the ARS Information
Staff in 1988, and became Director of Information in April 1998.
Leaner Ham, Green Beans, Cherries and Chocolate
Here we are in January, so quick, let’s have a show of hands: How many of you have signed up in the past week or so for a membership at the local gym, hoping to “atone” for dietary discretions during the holidays?
I have to confess that Santa (or somebody) brought me an extra pound or two. So we’ll all just take a vow to get back on the treadmill or the stationary bike... and go ahead and toss out those candy canes we’ve hidden in the breadbox.
But while you’re “sweating to the oldies,” or whatever form of torture you choose for yourself, maybe I — and the Agricultural Research Service — can make you feel a tiny bit better about your recent overindulgences.
In
addition to a healthy diet, early establishment of habits like exercise
can reduce risk of chronic diseases. Here, a high-school student jumps
rope to keep in shape. (Photo by Stephen Ausmus)
Meat packers know that consumers want leaner meat, but it’s a real trick finding technology to efficiently reveal how much lean meat or fat is in a commercial cut. However, the ARS scientists know how to do that with technology called dual x-ray absorptiometry, or DXA.
DXA uses x-rays of differing energy levels to scan for soft tissue of differing densities. The ARS scientists have shown that in lab tests, DXA images quickly and accurately show the composition of pork carcasses, and the process is totally non-invasive.
The DXA instruments used by the ARS scientists scanned carcass cross-sections at a speed of 7.68 centimeters per second, compared with the processing chain speed of 16.6 centimeters per second. Using DXA would allow packers to know just what they’re paying for — and give us leaner hams!
Ah, the green-bean-and-French-onion casserole: Those green beans are definitely good for you.
Did you know that green beans can be a terrific source of calcium? When most people think of calcium, they think first of milk. But green beans rate highly, too, although not all green beans are created equal. Here’s an odd discovery by ARS scientists: The difference in calcium levels in green beans can depend on how much water flows through the plants!
That’s because water dilutes calcium moving through a bean plant, reducing the amount of calcium that reaches the pods. Tiny pores called stomates open and close to control the speed at which water enters and leaves a plant — a process called transpiration.
The ARS scientists found that overall calcium content in a green bean called Hystyle was about twice that of Labrador green beans, thanks to transpiration differences. But even if you can’t get Hystyle, you still can eat your green beans with confidence, knowing you’re adding to your
calcium intake.
Cherry pie? This one might take a little rationalization, but there’s no doubt that the cherries are good for you! ARS scientists have shown that sweet cherries may help fight the inflammation of arthritis, heart disease and cancer.
In tests, 18 healthy men and women aged 45 to 61 ate about 45 fresh sweet cherries throughout the day for 28 consecutive days. The results: Blood samples indicated that levels of three tell- tale indicators of inflammation had dropped by 18 to 25 percent at the end of the cherry feasts. (We’ll just ignore that dollop of French vanilla ice cream on top of the pie.)
About those leftover chocolates: Go ahead and treat yourself to one (or two) a day, because chocolate can be really good for you. That’s because chocolate and cocoa powder are derived from beans that contain hefty quantities of natural antioxidants called flavonoids.
But, we have to add, some chocolates are more ‘healthful’ than others. Tests by ARS researchers have shown that the higher the levels of cocoa solids, the greater the benefits. In those tests, milk chocolates were at the lower end of the “good for you” scale, while darker chocolates came out
on top.
Hopefully this will all help you feel a little better about the food festival; see, you didn’t so much harm after all, did you? Now, everybody — to the treadmills!
The Agricultural Research Service is the chief in-house scientific
research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. You can read
more about ARS discoveries at http://www.ars.usda.gov/news/.
About the author
"Everybody's
Science" is written by Sandy Miller Hays, Director of Information for
the Agricultural Research Service, the chief scientific research agency
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hays is a native of Fort Smith,
Ark. From the late 1970s until early 1988, Hays was a reporter, editor
and columnist at the Arkansas Democrat (now the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette),
a Little Rock-based daily newspaper. She joined the ARS Information
Staff in 1988, and became Director of Information in April 1998.