Breaking Research For 9-26-2000

One-third of the average American's diet is made up of "junk" foods, according to a recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000;72:929-936).

Data from the well-known third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), which examined eating patterns of over fifteen thousand American adults. The investigator analyzed consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods, which were defined as foods that do not belong in any of the 5 major food groups: dairy, fruit, grains, meat and beans, and vegetables. Foods such as visible fats (butter, margarine, oils, dressings, gravies),sweeteners (sugar, syrup, candy, sweetened beverages), desserts (cookies, cakes, pastries, ice cream, pudding), salty snacks (potato, corn, or tortilla chips)and other miscellaneous foods(coffee, tea, etc.).

Results show that the average American gets 27 percent of their total daily energy from junk foods and an additional 4 percent from alcoholic beverages. And about one-third of Americans consume an average of 45 percent of energy from these foods!

This high junk food consumption is not only making the population fatter but it's increasing the rapid decline in health by depriving people of essential vitamins and minerals contained in the less eaten, high nutritious foods.

This new study underscores the importance of increasing your awareness of which foods are nutritious and which ones are not. A major reason for the vast consumption of "junk" food is convenience. Junk food is packaged and/or sold in a very easy to consume medium. It's apparent that convenience outweighs health considerations when American's appetites are aroused.

A strategy to combat this is the development of calorie-compact, nutrient dense and convenient supplemental nutrition. Ny-Tro PRO-40 packs more essential nutrition in one packet than the average American consumes in an entire day. And it does this in 1/10th the calories.

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