Introducing the new all electric
Sweet Bites Newsletter
Issue 57 | September 2020
In This Issue
FEATURE: Culinary nutrition
NEWS: Effect of food taxes and subsidies on population health
NEWS: Five-year review of the Health Star Rating system
Welcome
Welcome to issue 57 of Sweet Bites. In this issue our feature article is about culinary nutrition: what it is, and how it might help improve our health and wellbeing.
Our news items are on research modelling the effect of food taxes and subsidies on population health in New Zealand, and the decisions by the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation on enhancements to the Health Star Rating system.
From the journals we’ve gathered four papers on sugars, carbohydrates and health including an investigation of carbohydrate quality and cardiometabolic risk, a systematic review and meta-analysis examining the brain areas involved in sweet taste perception, and two Australasian papers on dental health: the factors associated with early childhood dental caries in New Zealand, and the outcomes of a co-designed oral health promotion program for children in a NSW rural Aboriginal community.
We hope you enjoy this issue and invite you to be in touch if you have any feedback or suggestions for future topics.
Monthly Feature
Culinary Nutrition
What can the art of cooking bring to our health and wellbeing?
News
Effect of food taxes and subsidies on population health
How might taxes and subsidies improve public health in New Zealand?
Five-year review of the Health Star Rating
Decisions have been made on several outstanding recommendations to enhance the Health Star Rating (HSR) system
Research Updates
We have four papers to share on sugars, carbohydrates and health:
Carbohydrate quality, glycemic index, glycemic load and cardiometabolic risks in the US, Europe and Asia: A dose-response meta-analysis.
US and Asian but not European studies showed increased risks for higher GI and GL and diabetes. GI/GL in overweight/obese females had the strongest magnitude of risks in US and Asian studies. Total fibre and cereal fibre decreased diabetes risk. Read more here.
A systematic review and activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of fMRI studies on sweet taste in humans.
Confirms the brains primary taste areas (insula, opercular cortex, postcentral gyrus) for gustatory processing of sucrose, and sucrose and glucose. While the reward value of sugary foods is often cited as an important influence on eating behaviour, this study found only tentative support for the reward-related activity of the sweet taste of caloric sugars in neuroimaging studies. Read more here.
What factors are associated with early childhood dental caries? A longitudinal study of the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort.
Caries incidence was higher in children of Pacific, Asian and Māori backgrounds. A diet high in sugar or refined starch was strongly linked to caries. Read more here.
Outcomes of a co-designed, community-led oral health promotion program for Aboriginal children in rural and remote communities in New South Wales, Australia.
Significant reduction in tooth decay, plaque scores and gingivitis in Aboriginal children aged 5-12 years was achieved by engaging local Aboriginal communities to co-design and deliver effective oral health promotion. Read more here.
About Us
The Sugar Nutrition Resource Centre (SNRC) is committed to providing health care professionals with evidence-based information on sugar and nutrition.
Our work continues to be guided by scientific experts from Australia and New Zealand.
As always, we would love to hear any feedback from you.
About the Editor
NICOLE SENIOR
Nutritionist, Sydney
Nicole is an experienced Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist, author, speaker, blogger, cook and food enthusiast with an interest in turning evidence based nutrition guidelines into sensible, achievable and enjoyable everyday eating advice and supporting other food and health professionals to do the same.
