http://www.bu.edu/professorvoices/

Contact Jacobs at 617-353-7516; kjacobs@bu.edu; Twitter: KarenJacobsOT

According to Salge Blake:

“Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment as well as from contamination by humans. Inorganic arsenic is the harmful kind, so just like with cholesterol, getting a measurement of total arsenic doesn’t say very much.

“The FDA has been tracking the potential contamination in apples and other juices for years and concludes that there is no evidence of any public health risk from drinking apple juice.

“However, on another note, children ages 2 to 18 years consume more than half of their fruit intake as juice. Unfortunately, 100% juice lacks the fiber in whole fruits and when consumed in excess, can displace other healthy beverages, such as fat-free and low fat milk. While 100% fruit juice can be part of a well-balanced healthy diet, the majority of American’s daily fruit intake, young and old, should be from whole fruit.”

Contact Salge Blake at 617-353-7470; salge@bu.edu.

Contact Barlow at 617-353-9610; dhbarlow@bu.edu.

The series concludes tomorrow with Andrew Bacevich who will discuss where the nation is in the War on Terror.

Earlier posts in the series:

Andrew Bacevich: Are we safer?

Robert Hefner: Islam Today

David Barlow: How are we coping?

Contact Barlow at 617-353-9610; dhbarlow@bu.edu.

The series picks up next Tuesday with Barlow again who will discuss the impact on children who have grown up in a post-9/11 world and how parents and caregivers can help.

Earlier posts in the series:

Andrew Bacevich: Are we safer?

Robert Hefner: Islam Today

Andrew Bacevich, professor of international relations and history, and a retired Army colonel, can offer comment on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the state of American power post-9/11.  He is the author of Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanet War (2010).  He can be reached at 617-358-0194; bacevich@bu.edu. 

Stephen Prothero, professor of religion, can discuss the role religion has played in the 10 years since 9/11, including the state of Islam in the U.S. today.  He can be reached at 617-353-4426; prothero@bu.edu; Twitter: @sprothero. 

Kecia Ali, assistant professor of religion, can discuss the evolving state of Muslim/non-Muslim relations.  Contact Ali at 617-353-4465; ka@bu.edu.

Robert Zelnick, professor of journalism and former ABC News correspondent, can discuss media coverage of the attacks and the subsequent War on Terror.  He can be reached at 617-353-5007; bzelnick@bu.edu.

Nick Mills, associate professor of journalism and author of Karzai: The Failing American Intervention and Struggle for Afghanistan, can offer analysis on how U.S./Afghan relations have evolved since 9/11.  Contact Mills at 617-353-3492; nmills@bu.edu.

Christopher Daly, associate professor of journalism and author of Covering America, can discuss media coverage of 9/11 and the wars it spawned.  He can be reached at 617-353-4295; cdaly@bu.edu; blog: Journalismprofessor.com.

Neta Crawford, professor of political science, can discuss the “Costs of War” study which she co-directed.  Contact Crawford at 617-353-4040 or crawfor@bu.edu. 

Thomas Whalen, associate professor of social science and an expert on American politics and the American presidency, can offer comment on post-9/11 U.S. politics.  He is a regular contributor to PoliticoArena. He can be reached at 978-888-3131; tjw64@comcast.net.

Tracey Maclin, professor of law and an expert on Constitutional law, can discuss post-9/11 legal battles over rendition, wiretapping and torture.  He can be reached at 617-353-4688; tmaclin@bu.edu.

David Barlow, professor of psychology and psychiatry and founder of the BU Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, can discuss post-9/11 terrorism-triggered anxiety and panic attacks.  He can be reached at 617-353-9610; dhbarlow@bu.edu.

Thomas Cottle, professor of education and a sociologist and licensed clinical psychologist, can discuss child and adolescent psychology and the effects of growing up in a post-9/11 world.  Contact Cottle at 617-353-6294; tcottle@bu.edu.

“With an alarming percentage of the state’s youth either obese or at risk of becoming obese, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has proposed nutrition standards for competitive foods and beverages, which are all food and/or beverages sold or provided in public schools, other than those that are provided as part of federal nutrition programs. These foods include those sold not only in the school cafeteria but also in school stores, vending machines, fund-raising activities, and even school-sponsored events.

“The proposed regulations set limits for the amount of many nutrients, such as fat, saturated fat, sugars, and sodium, that these competitive foods and beverages can contain per serving. The final regulations will be released on Wednesday, July 13th and are expected to go into effect on August 1st.”

Contact Joan at 617-353-7470, salge@bu.edu, Twitter: @joansalgeblake

In the videos below, Boston University Clinical Associate Professor of Nutrition Joan Salge Blake offers simple food-handling tips to help reduce the risk of foodborne illness at that next big holiday cook out.

Contact Joan at salge@bu.edu.

By:  BU’s Joan Salge Blake (@joansalgeblake, salgeblake@comcast.net)

While the Food Pyramid had close to a 20 year run, it’s time has come. As a registered dietitian and nutrition professor, I can honestly say that the Pyramid left me scratching my head as it did little to help the public translate healthy eating onto their plate.

Enter the latest graphic symbol of nutrition advice, MyPlate, released today by the USDA to visually help Americans translate the science-based, 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans into their everyday life.

The new MyPlate is a dinner plate split into multiple sections, each representing not only a different type of food but also the relative proportion that these foods should dominate your diet. At a blink of an eye, you will now see that half of your plate should be devoted to waist- and heart-friendly vegetables and fruit with a smaller portion for whole grains and lean protein foods such as fish, skinless poultry, and lean meats. The circle shape next to the plate is a visual reminder to make sure that non fat and low fat dairy foods such as milk are not forgotten at mealtime.

With over 65 percent of Americans overweight, this visual shift of foods on your plate can make a dramatic effect on your calorie intake. Devoting more than half of the surface of the plate to low calorie vegetables will crowd out higher calorie grains and protein foods, potentially cutting over 100 calories from your dinner.

There at also 7 important nutrition messages that accompany the new MyPlate:

Balancing Calories
● Enjoy your food, but eat less.
● Avoid oversized portions.

Foods to Increase
● Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
● Make at least half your grains whole grains.
● Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.

Foods to Reduce
● Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ― and choose the foods
with lower numbers.
● Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

Goodbye, Food Pyramid. Mangia to the new MyPlate.

For more information, visit: www.choosemyplate.gov

“As Congress and the President debate Medicare’s future, the new prescription drug benefit in Medicare has been getting lots of attention. Known as Part D, the new benefit is different from the rest of Medicare because it allows seniors to choose their own prescription drug insurance plan from private companies in a regulated market.

“Part D has cost less then expected and seems a success story. Advocates of market-based Medicare reforms, such as Representative Paul Ryan, argue that Part D’s success was due to choice and competition. They assume that competition will continue to keep costs down. But the history of Part D should give them pause.

“One company, Humana, took the Part D market by storm. Humana recognized that while seniors would be very price sensitive when they initially picked their plans, they would be less willing to switch plans later on. And so Humana set extremely low prices in 2006, Part D’s first year: about $10 per month on average for the basic product. This was substantially below the market’s average of about $30. This strategy was a big success: Humana acquired a dominant position in the market. It then quickly increased its premiums. By 2010, the average premium for a Humana basic plan was over 200% higher than in 2006.

“The experience of Humana shows that what looks like cost-containment in the Part D market is partially due to insurance companies offering what amounts to introductory, or “teaser,” pricing. Things look good early on, when companies set prices low to attract customers. But these low prices are transitory. Companies will raise prices later, once they’ve acquired a base of customers who won’t switch away. We’ve all seen free trial offers for magazine subscriptions, but we don’t expect them to stay free forever. The pattern in Part D is more subtle, but it is still there. My research shows that while Humana is an extreme case, we see teaser pricing throughout the Part D market. Plans that have been around for five years cost about 10% more than newly introduced plans. (This analysis takes into account regulatory changes to Part D, changes in drug prices, and differences in the characteristics of plans.)

“Why don’t people just switch to cheaper plans when companies raise prices? Even though enrollees are allowed to switch plans each year, they are typically reluctant to do so. Switching is time consuming, and the decision process is grueling. When seniors were picking their initial plans, newspapers were filled with stories of confused seniors wading through their options. Who wants to go through that again? Plus enrollees have more to lose if they switch plans as time goes on – they’re learning more about how their plan works and choosing drugs that are covered by their plan, but not necessarily covered by alternative plans.

“We should expect to see teaser pricing in other markets as well, including the state-based health insurance exchanges planned by the recent federal health reform (PPACA). Though teaser pricing has been criticized as “bait and switch,” it is not the result of a few unscrupulous companies. Nor is it an anomaly of the Medicare Part D market. Companies are responding to the incentives they face. They simply have less to lose in later years if they raise prices, since their customers are less likely to switch. When markets are first set up and many people are making an active choice, we should expect to see lower than average costs. But price increases will soon follow.

“It’s true that Medicare Part D has cost less than predicted. But it’s too early to know whether these low costs are the beneficial result of competition, or a sophisticated marketing strategy in which companies offer seniors low prices now in exchange for high prices in the future. We’ve already seen price increases – in some cases, large ones. Competition and choice have benefits, but need to be judged on their long-term cost, not just today’s good deal.”

Contact Keith M. Marzilli Ericson, kericson@bu.edu