Feature Articles: Food, Fitness and Eating Well
MU Extension answers call for nutrition help with toll-free number
Eileen Yager, Communications Officer, University of Missouri Extension Cooperative Media Group
Consumers are bombarded with results from new studies,
advertisements for products to improve their health and
ever-changing recommendations about what to eat and what to
avoid.
The almost daily—and sometimes contradictory—barrage of information can leave even the most well-informed individuals wondering how to maintain and improve their health, said Jessica Kovarik, a registered dietician with University of Missouri Extension.
Kovarik answers questions for people who call MU Extension’s
Show Me Nutrition Line, which is available from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number is
1-888-515-0016.
“Nutrition professionals can sift through that information
and help consumers figure out what health and nutrition
really means for them,” Kovarik said. “It’s important to
help people understand what a single study means and doesn’t
mean.”
Kovarik said she looks at study details, such as the number
of participants and who conducted the research, then
compares the authors’ recommendations to those of other
studies.
When she can, Kovarik mails additional information or refers
callers to regional faculty for follow-up information.
Though the phone line has only been operational for a few
weeks, Kovarik has already handled some of those perplexing
questions. When she researched a question on cooking
jalapeņo and serrano peppers, which have been linked to
recent salmonella outbreaks, she discovered that two federal
agencies offered conflicting advice.
Kovarik found that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
said to avoid eating both cooked and uncooked peppers, while
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said
cooked peppers were safe to eat. However, there were no
recommendations on the cooking time or temperature needed to
kill the pathogen.
Ultimately, Kovarik advised the caller that without time and
temperature recommendations there was no way to assure the
safety of eating cooked jalapeņo and serrano peppers.
Funding for the Show Me Nutrition Line comes from MU
Extension’s Family Nutrition Education Programs, which focus
on encouraging low-income audiences to adopt healthy
lifestyle behaviors.
Though low-income families are the primary audience, any
Missouri resident can get information through the Show Me
Nutrition Line.
For more information contact:
Jessica Kovarik, 573-884-0809
Last update: Tuesday, May 05, 2009
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