Reading List: Top 5 Overrated Food Trends, McDonald's Food Safety & A Dating Site Scandal
In this week’s nutrition news: New health goals for Americans, McDonald’s excellent food-safety standards and how small changes can keep diabetes at bay.
I’m not a big fan of Mickey D's, but according to this USA Today article, McDonald’s has top-of-the-line food safety practices (even I was impressed!). At the plant, a 32-person cleaning crew works from 2 to 6 a.m. Hamburger meat is kept cold in special bins the size of hot tubs, and trucks delivering the food are sealed shut with a steel bolt -- only the purchaser can unlock them with a bolt cutter (or the meat gets sent back). School lunch programs, please, take notes!
A large national study set out to examine ways to help prevent and delay onset of diabetes. The study divided its 3,000-plus volunteers into three groups: one group received medication, the second received motivational nutrition counseling and the third got a “fake” pill. Of the three groups, those who had the nutrition counseling and were highly motivated did twice as well as those who just took their medication. As it turns out, it took only a few small changes in exercise and eating habits to help control blood sugar more effectively.