RE: NDPMA Student Q

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From: Olson, Beth <olsonbe@anr.msu.edu> To: Melissa Weimer <mrsweimer@aol.com> Subject: RE: NDPMA Student Q Date: Wed, Mar 21, 2012 3:51 pm

I answered what I could below; I'm hoping you might have contacted others that would be better on other of the questions. Best wishes, Beth
Beth H. Olson, Ph.D. Associate Professor & Nutrition Specialist Department Associate Chair Director of Graduate Programs Food Science and Human Nutrition Michigan State University Anthony Hall, Room 2112 474 S. Shaw Lane East Lansing, Michigan 48824 (p) 517-355-8474 x113 (f) 517-353-6343 olsonbe@msu.edu Be sincere; be brief; be seated.
-Franklin D. Roosevelt

From: Melissa Weimer [mrsweimer@aol.com] Sent: Monday, March 19, 2012 9:41 PM To: Olson, Beth Subject: Re: NDPMA Student Q

Hi Dr. Olson, Thank you for letting me send you these questions for you to answer. We should be able to use this in our project. It would be good if you could answer them this week since our presentation is on the 30th. The questions are below. Thank you for answering these questions. Nolan Weimer NDPMA, 5th grade

1. What is your definition of healthy and unhealthy foods? I don't usually call foods healthy or unhealthy. Instead, I look at foods as ones which
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RE: NDPMA Student Q

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you may eat more often, and ones you might eat less often. I also look at foods as ones that might be more suited to meals, and ones that might be better as a snack you have now and then. Others might find it simpler to call those foods you should eat more often "healthy". These are foods that have lots of nutrients compared to the calories in the food-such as fruits and vegetables. If you look at "MyPlate" which was developed by the government, the five good groups listed are those you'd like to eat from more often and in meals-perhaps also in snacks. Foods in those groups that have more things we don't want to get too much of-such as salt or fat, might be better for a snack now and then. An example in one of these groups is "Grains". Brown rice has lots of nutrients and not a lot of calories, so you might eat that more often. Crackers in that group might have more fat and salt and less of other nutrients (vitamins and minerals, fiber) and so would be better for a snack now and then. 2. Where would you recommend people to eat or get food? I think people find it easiest to get much of their foods at the grocery store, but some people can go to get fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets, or some people grow some of their own food. Some people cannot easily get to a grocery store and may be foods at convenience stores where it can be very hard to get the variety of foods that they need. There are times when people are traveling, or in a great hurry, or celebrating a special event and they might eat at places like restaurants. It can also be hard to find the variety of foods one needs at a restaurant, and sometimes the restaurant foods come in large portions or with added fat. It you only eat at a restaurant once in a while, this might not be a problem. If you eat there often, you should try to make the best choices you can for an overall healthy meal. It is also very nice if people can eat at a kitchen or dining room table, perhaps with other family members. They can turn of the TV and cell phones, and spend time together sharing about their day. 3. How would you rate fast food on a scale of 1 to 10? I think fast foods in restaurants range from healthy to less healthy (from above, ranges from those with more nutrients and less calories/fat/salt), but there tends to be more that have lots of calories compared to nutrients. Many of the foods come in very large portions that most people do not need (e.g. extra large fries, triple burgers). As people have asked, many
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restaurants have added items to their menus to help people pick things that make a healthier meal-like whole grain breads, leaner meats, smaller portions, yogurts, fruits and vegetables, lower fat milks, etc. 4. How can you tell if foods have chemicals in them? You probably need to look up the word chemicals and decide how you want to use it. Foods that have vitamins added use ones that have been man-made, so might be considered chemicals. Your body sees those the same way as natural vitamins, generally, so they might be helpful to you. To see what is in foods, you can read the package label. Companies list all the things in their foods. If you don't know what something is, you can look it up. Restaurants often provide a list of ingredients in their foods; sometimes you can get at the restaurant if you ask, or you can get it from their website. 5. Do you know why companies put chemicals in their food? There are many reasons for ingredients. Many foods have preservatives; these keep the food from getting moldy or stale. Some have ingredients that make the food have a certain flavor people like, or make the food a color people like or expect, or give the food some characteristic people like-e.g. make is smoother. Some foods would break down into their parts (like italian dressing separates into the oil and the water parts) and so companies add ingredients that keep the product all mixed up as one. 6. What is your definition of organic? I don't have a definition; there are programs, including one from USDA, that make a definition of organic that applies to foods that are sold. One place to look for this is the National Organic Program at USDA. It discusses this both briefly/generally,and more specifically. 7. Do you support organic foods? If people can afford organic foods, I think it is nice for them to buy them. For people without much money, I don't think the value to health of organic foods is enough for these people to struggle to buy them. Many people do not eat enough, sometimes any, fruits and vegetables, or dairy products, or whole grains. It would be more important for them to work on being able to do
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RE: NDPMA Student Q

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that, and not worry about whether the foods are organic. 8. How are non-organic foods grown? The definitions you look up would help you with this. Again, USDA describes it briefly which is probably enough for you; how exactly growers achieve organic is a bit more complicated. 9. What would you do to preserve your food if you were the company? It would depend on the company and food; whether I needed to make a lot of the food, ship it far and store it-or if I was making something to sell the next day. If I needed to preserve the food for a while I would look for the most natural preservative I could find, and look for the safest preservative I could find. I'd also have to look at the cost of the preservative and how well it worked. If the preservative cost too much for me to sell my food, that wouldn't be helpful. If it didn't work well, it wouldn't be helpful either. 10. How do you keep safe from chemicals in food? Companies have to show that ingredients in their food is safe; the food we buy and eat is safe overall. Sometimes food is not handled well and becomes contaminated with germs or bacteria; we need to wash certain foods and handle and cook and store them properly so those germs don't spread through all our foods and grow and make us sick. This is more concerning for me that the ingredients in the food. Also-people sometimes worry about chemicals but are eating foods high in fat or sodium, and eating way too much food-and not eating a wide variety of foods. If people eat a large variety of many types of foods, lots of colors of foods, and eat them in smaller amounts, and be active-they'll help themselves be healthy.
Melissa Weimer mrsweimer@aol.com

-----Original Message----From: Olson, Beth <olsonbe@anr.msu.edu> To: Melissa Weimer <mrsweimer@aol.com>

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Sent: Tue, Mar 13, 2012 4:24 pm Subject: RE: NDPMA Student Q

Hi Nolan-I was out of town last week, so hope this reply is not too late. Id be happy to answer some questions by email. Beth Beth H. Olson, Ph.D. Associate Professor & Extension Specialist Associate Department Chair Director of Graduate Studies Food Science & Human Nutrition Michigan State University 2112 S. Anthony Hall 474 S. Shaw East Lansing, MI 48824-1224 (p) 517-355-8474 x113 (f) 517-353-6343 olsonbe@msu.edu
Be sincere; be brief; be seated." --Franklin D. Roosevelt From: Melissa Weimer [mailto:mrsweimer@aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2012 12:26 PM To: Olson, Beth Subject: NDPMA Student Q

Hi Dr. Olson, I am Nolan Weimer and I am in 5th grade, 12 years old and go to Notre Dame Prep Marist Academy in Waterford. I am doing a group project on "What's in Our Food." My part is healthy choices in food and I am working on it with a partner. We are wondering if we could e-mail you some questions to get some information about healthy food choices. Thank you for your time, Nolan Weimer

Sent via his mother's e-mail. Thanks! Melissa Weimer mrsweimer@aol.com

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