Monday, June 12, 2017

Nutrition News Bytes from Around the Web

Research Links for the week:

  • Rethinking nutrition labeling: Food is not just the sum of its nutrients.  Summary:  The nutritional value of a food should be evaluated on the basis of the foodstuff as a whole, and not as an effect of the individual nutrients. This is the conclusion of an international expert panel of epidemiologists, physicians, food and nutrition scientists. Their conclusion reshapes our understanding of the importance of nutrients and their interaction.

  • Vitamin D supplements could improve fertility. Summary: There is new data on the link between vitamin D and male fertility. The new results add to our understanding of the effects of low vitamin D levels on testosterone levels and whether vitamin D supplementation could help improve fertility in both sexes.

  • Fitness trackers accurately measure heart rate but not calories burned, study finds.  Summary:  An evaluation of seven devices in a diverse group of 60 volunteers showed that six of the devices measured heart rate with an error rate of less than 5 percent. The team evaluated the Apple Watch, Basis Peak, Fitbit Surge, Microsoft Band, Mio Alpha 2, PulseOn and the Samsung Gear S2. Some devices were more accurate than others, and factors such as skin color and body mass index affected the measurements.