Serving vegetables first: A strategy to increase vegetable consumption in elementary school cafeterias.

Vegetable consumption in the United States is low despite the wealth of evidence that vegetables play an important role in reducing risk of various chronic diseases. Because eating patterns developed in childhood continue through adulthood, we need to form healthy eating habits in children. The objective of this study was to determine if offering vegetables before other meal components would increase the overall consumption of vegetables at school lunch. We served kindergarten through fifth-grade students a small portion (26-33 g) of a raw vegetable (red and yellow bell peppers) while they waited in line to receive the rest of their lunch meal. They then had the options to take more of the bell peppers, a different vegetable, or no vegetable from the lunch line. We measured the amount of each vegetable consumed by each child. Serving vegetables first greatly increased the number of students eating vegetables. On intervention days most of the vegetables consumed came from the vegetables-first portions. Total vegetable intake per student eating lunch was low because most students chose to not eat vegetables, but the intervention significantly increased this value. Serving vegetables first is a viable strategy to increase vegetable consumption in elementary schools. Long-term implementation of this strategy may have an important impact on healthy eating habits, vegetable consumption, and the health consequences of vegetable intake.

Simulated microgravity [bed rest] has little influence on taste, odor or trigeminal sensitivity.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that astronauts' perceptions of foods in space flight may differ from their perceptions of the same foods on Earth. Fluid shifts toward the head experienced in space may alter the astronauts' sensitivity to odors and tastes, producing altered perceptions. Our objective was to determine whether head-down bed rest, which produces similar fluid shifts, would produce changes in sensitivity to taste, odor or trigeminal sensations. Six subjects were rested three times prior to bed rest, three times during bed rest and two times after bed rest to determine their threshold sensitivity to the odors isoamylbutyrate and menthone, the tastants sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid, quinine and monosodium glutamate, and to capsaicin. Thresholds were measured using a modified staircase procedure. Self-reported congestion was also recorded at each test time. Thresholds for monosodium glutamate where slightly higher during bed rest. None of the other thresholds were altered by bed rest.

Flavor enhancement of reduced fat cheddar cheese using an integrated culturing system.

Mild cheese flavor in reduced fat Cheddar cheese was enhanced by using an integrated starter culture system. Three cultures, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris SK11, L. lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis JVI, and Lactobacillus casei 7A, were carefully selected to obtain a nonbitter, mildly acid, buttery flavored cheese. Cheeses were produced from all possible combinations of these cultures with the constraint that L. lactis subsp. cremoris SK11 was used as the primary acid-producing culture. Cheeses made with SK11 were compared to cheeses produced using an L. lactis subsp. cremoris commercial starter culture. Cheeses were ripened for 150 days and periodically sampled for chemical, microbiological, and sensory analysis. Cheeses produced with L. lactis subsp. cremorisSK11 had substantially lower bitterness intensity than the cheeses produced with commercial starter culture. L. lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis JVI significantly increased diacetylacetoin and acetate concentrations. Sensory results indicate that these cheeses had increased buttery (diacetyl) flavor.

Food preferences of patients with cancer.

Cancer patients who experience food aversions generally rated foods less pleasant than healthy controls or cancer patients with no food aversions. Most high protein foods, cereal products, and sweet foods were generally less palatable to patients with food aversions. Most fruits, vegetables, and cultured dairy products were equally palatable to all three subject groups. Although the cause of these food aversions is not understood, they do not appear to be a generalized response to all foods.

Influence of food odors on food aversions and preferences in patients with cancer.

One hundred thirty-three patients with cancer and 50 healthy controls judged the pleasantness of 10 common food odors and completed questionnaires on food likes or dislikes, recent smell or taste changes, development of food aversions, weight loss, decreased appetite, and early satiety. Chocolate, pork, roast beef, and chicken odors were significantly less pleasant for patients with food aversions (PA) than for controls. Ham, pork, and roast beef odors were significantly less pleasant for PA than for patients without food aversions (PNA). More PA than controls or PNA reported recent smell and taste changes for most of the 10 foods in the sample set. Roast beef was the only food on the questionnaire rated significantly less pleasant by PA than controls or PNA. There were no significant correlations between the odor hedonic scores and the questionnaire's hedonic scores for any of the 10 foods. More PA than PNA had weight loss, decreased appetite, and early satiety. Patients on chemotherapy did not have a significantly greater incidence of aversions, weight loss, decreased appetite, or early satiety than patients not receiving chemotherapy. The type of cancer appeared to have no relation to the development of food aversions.