Many people could benefit from getting more plant- and animal-based sources in their meals
When it comes to healthy eating, it’s not always clear what should be on your plate – and in what amounts. What is clear, according to Carla Prado, is that most people can benefit from more protein in their diet. Our bodies need protein to maintain muscle mass and support biological functions such as healing…
Researchers serve up recipes based on evidence that high protein diets maintain muscle during treatment
A new cookbook to boost protein for patients with cancer – and everyone else – is being served up by University of Alberta nutrition experts. The High Protein Cookbook for Muscle Health During Cancer Treatment, designed to help people with the disease get enough of the essential nutrient to maintain healthy muscle mass, is stuffed…
If you’ve changed your grocery habits since March 2020, you’re not alone
The food industry is gathering at trade shows and events for the first time in more than two years. That means they can finally try to figure out what consumers are thinking, believing, hoping and – most importantly – fearing. Trends, flavours and tastes have changed since March 2020. But after more than two years…
New American Cancer Society guide for survivors highlights exercise, nutrition as key long-term factors
Engaging in regular physical activity and following a healthy diet could help cancer survivors increase their likelihood of long-term survival and reduce the odds of their cancer coming back, according to the American Cancer Society’s newly released guidelines for cancer survivors. “From a cancer patient perspective, these are the things you can do for yourself, to help…
Researchers urge use of taxation, education and subsidies to encourage better eating habits
Imagine if the real cost to society of the food you buy at the grocery store was built right into each product’s price. Everything with added sugar would cost a whole lot more, according to University of Alberta researchers in a new study in The Canadian Journal of Public Health. They peg the economic burden of excessive…
Fish, meat, dairy help people maintain muscle and tolerate treatments: experts
If you’re being treated for cancer, don’t leave meat, fish and dairy off your plate, University of Alberta experts advise. Though avoiding animal-based proteins like red meat may seem healthier, relying on plant-based protein alone isn’t a good plan while fighting cancer, said Carla Prado, a nutrition expert in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and…
The real threat to cow-based products might be an appetite for choice in a highly regulated market
With the explosion of plant-based milk alternatives flooding the market, can cow milk co-exist? Canada’s dairy industry will struggle to survive the competition unless it reconnects with its consumers. Until now, milk wars have been international. Canada’s dairy market is highly regulated through its contentious supply management system. Quotas and high tariffs are used to…
If Newfoundland and Labrador pursues a sugar tax, it’s certainly not to get its people to lead healthier lives. It’s about paying bills
In its recent budget, the Newfoundland and Labrador government announced it will introduce a tax of 20 cents per litre on sugary drinks, starting on April 1, 2022. This a first in Canada. So far we know very little about how the tax would work, which products would be affected and how revenues from the…
Diet has the largest impact on chronic disease, including cancers
Recent research led by Katerina Maximova, an adjunct professor in the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health and member of the Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta, shows that low consumption of fruits and vegetables combined with a higher intake of processed meats is associated with greater incidence of cancer for Albertans. “It is generally accepted that…
The continued popularity of meat-fee diets may point to the damaging legacy of COVID-19 for some sectors
Before COVID-19, the craze for vegetable proteins was palpable. All we heard about were sustainability, animal welfare and Beyond Meat. The health of the planet and well-being of animals became increasingly important factors to a growing number of Canadians, and it showed in the numbers. A few months after the great confinement started, some new…