Christmas Fare: A Brief History The human race has always celebrated great events with very special dinners and traditional menus. This short article traces some of the food history of Christmas celebrated by Christians. The editor tells me that this journal welcomes similar short articles on food traditions of other religious groups and their special dinners.

Dietary Sodium: Let's Focus on What We Know and How to Move Forward No abstract available

Moving the Needle on Hypertension: What Knowledge Is Needed? This review highlights the gaps in knowledge and methodological challenges discussed during the Experimental Biology 2019 expert panel session titled “Moving the Needle on Hypertension: What Knowledge Is Needed?” Hypertension is a critical public health burden. Despite a demonstrated benefit of blood pressure reduction on measures of hypertension-related morbidity and mortality, rates for successful blood pressure control remain low. Dietary sodium reduction has been shown to reduce both systolic blood pressure by approximately 3.2 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 2.3 mm Hg, depending on baseline blood pressure and degree of sodium reduction. The updated Dietary Reference Intakes for adults released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine include a Chronic Disease Risk Reduction sodium intake level of 2300 mg/d, highlighting the importance of dietary sodium intake in reducing elevated blood pressure and indicating that reducing intakes to this level is expected to reduce blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease. The average US daily sodium intake of 3400 mg/d is well above the Chronic Disease Risk Reduction of 2300 mg/d, suggesting that dietary sodium reduction has the potential to significantly improve public health. Although the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report presents intake recommendations based on a systematic, comprehensive, and thorough evaluation of the evidence, several challenges to moving the needle on hypertension remain. Success will require a more advanced understanding of sodium and potassium physiology, as well as development of the tools needed to effectively address existing research gaps and reduce barriers to sodium intake reduction.

What Does the World Say About Science and Health: Communicating Global Perspectives In recent years, much has been written about the evolution of public trust in science and the scientists who immerse themselves, especially in health and nutrition research. Many of the articles in the literature have speculated on the reasons for an apparent decline in public trust or acceptance of science and have explored in some depth the challenges around promoting and retaining public trust. However, the associations between public trust and other factors have been largely speculative. Now, a first of its kind comprehensive survey of more than 140 000 people in more than 140 countries sheds new light on those associations. In the present article, the authors explore various findings from that survey, the Wellcome Global Monitor 2019-Wellcome Trust, completed in partnership with Gallup. They offer some analysis of the survey findings of varying levels of public trust in science around the world. It is worth noting that the survey results, although not specific to food, nutrition, and health, are extremely relevant to the communication of those issues.

Predatory Publishers and Conference Organizers: Just Say No! The rise of disreputable and dishonest journal publishers and conferences organizers—known as “predatory” journals and conferences—has made deciding where to publish articles and attend conferences a surprisingly difficult task. Whereas some journals and conferences can easily be dismissed as untrustworthy, others require further investigation and evaluation. Awareness of the publishing practices and selection criteria used by a journal can help you avoid being drawn in by publishers whose review practices fail to exclude works of low value and by conference organizers whose lack of selectivity may result in a poor-quality conference experience for attendees. Neither for-profit nor open-access status necessarily tells you if a publisher or conference organizer is unworthy of your attention. This article outlines criteria you can use to determine if journals or conferences should be considered worthy of publishing your manuscripts or hosting your presentations. Your time and work are limited and valuable. Where you choose to showcase them is important to both you and to other professionals in your field.

Effects of High-Protein and High-Carbohydrate Diets on Body Weight Were Similar in Healthy Young Vietnamese Women With Normal Body Weight Recently, attention has been paid to the effects of certain nutrients on body weight. High-protein (HP) diets are recommended, and high-carbohydrate (HC) diets are discouraged. However, HP is costly, and recently, some adverse effects of prolonged HP diets have been reported, involving risk factors for coronary artery, kidney, bone, and liver disease and other effects. Given this background, the question arises whether an HP diet is appropriate for healthy young people with normal body mass indices, and so we compared it with an HC diet in such individuals. We recruited 20 healthy women subjects with normal body weight and formed 10 pairs matched by energy intake, physical activity, height, weight, living conditions, and other factors. One member of each pair was then randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups—HP (approximately 30% energy from protein, 40% from carbohydrate, and 30% from fat) or HC (approximately 55% energy from carbohydrate, 15% from protein, and 30% from fat)—for 4 weeks. They were provided all food and drinks in 3-day cycle menus for 28 days. Diets provided basal and ad libitum components. Physical activity level was monitored everyday by a pedometer. The pedometers were worn everyday aside from sleeping and bathing. Body weight was measured before and after the intervention. During the 4-week intervention period, the HP group's protein intake was significantly higher at 30.1% energy than that of the HC group at 15.1% energy (P < .001). The HP group's carbohydrate intake was 41.1% energy, and that of the HC group was 56.3% energy; they were significantly different (P < .001). Daily energy, lipid, and fiber intakes were similar among the 2 groups (1558 and 1551 kcal, 49.4 and 49.5 g, and 8.9 and 8.9 g, respectively). Changes in body weight during the intervention period were similar in the HP and HC groups, being 0.00 ± 3.43 and 0.04 ± 0.65 kg, respectively (P > .05). In healthy young Vietnamese women with a normal body mass index, those who consumed the HP and HC diets were similar in their energy intakes and changes in body weight, indicating that neither an HP nor an HC diet had any advantage or disadvantage in weight control in healthy young nondieting women.

An Innovative Dietary Supplement Scorecard for Assessing Risk Individuals often use dietary supplements (DSs) to enhance performance without knowing the potential dangers. Therefore, Operation Supplement Safety developed a safety rating scorecard to help individuals independently assess DS, by using 7 simple criteria. Dietary supplements that met at least 4 of the 7 criteria were classified as “less risky” compared with those scoring less than 4. We assessed the accuracy and reliability of a DS safety rating scorecard, when coupled with a DS educational session. Adults with a mean age of 46 years attended two sessions. Session I included a general overview of DS, education on DS safety, and instructions on how to use the DS scorecard. Participants then independently scored 12 DSs. During session II, participants rescored the same 12 DSs and participated in a focus group. Completed DS scorecards were analyzed for accuracy and reliability both between participants and across sessions. More than 86% of participants correctly classified the DSs using the scorecard. When provided a brief session on DS education, participants could reliably use the scorecard to correctly classify DSs as “risky” or “less risky.” Education is key for assisting individuals to make more informed decisions about DSs.