Food Processing Quiz

Introduction

• This is an introduction to food information, week 1.
• Opinions should be formed with facts.
• Facts lead to informed opinions and decisions.

Where to get food information from?

• Online articles
• Online conversations and posts
• Advertisements and shows
• Conversations in person
• Research papers
• Newspapers / books
• Site of purchase (e.g. supermarket)
• Overall display
• Product information

Information about food

• Confirmation bias affects online sources.
• The effect of sugar on behavior or cognition in children has been studied.

What do you pay attention to on a food package?

• Nutrition information
• Ingredients
• Preparation instructions
• Manufacturing and distribution details
• "Best before" dates

Main types of misinformation about food?

• Questions of health, safety, taste, cost & convenience, and sustainability of foods can be misrepresented.

Knowing about food

• Understanding the reasons and methods behind misinformation about food.
• Evaluate nutrition and health data systematically and critically.
• Assess reliability of a food source
• Study experimental techniques in nutritional research
• Rely on existing scientific knowledge

Motivation for food misinformation

• Profit: Products sold by lobbyists or internet traffic

  • Advertisements imply dietary tips from people in the medical field to sell their products

• Personal beliefs: Health gurus or medical professionals

  • Promoting health supplements with no financial gain
  • Belief in unproven theories and ideas

• Lack of understanding: News reporters

  • Lack of understanding about the subject may lead to incorrect interpretations/reportings of research findings.

How? Methods misinforming on food

• Endorsing from 'medical experts', celebrities and sports stars
• Using misconceptions on reliable sources of the information
• Misconceptions are exploited by those who want to sell products.
• Claiming vitamins, minerals, and herbs are harmless.

Common types of research papers

• Case report or case series: Detailed report on symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of a patient.
• Opinion: An individual viewpoint on an event/work.
• Original Research Articles: Studies conducted in-vitro, with cell lines or animal / human trials.
• Review: Summary of published scientific studies on a topic.
• Systematic review: Summarizing the evidence about a particular question.
• Meta-analysis: Analyze and combine the results of multiple scientific studies

Vitamin D & Inflammation

• Vitamin D's effect on inflammation during stimulation by bacteria or viruses.

COVID-19 and IL-6

• Vitamin D's possible role in relation to COVID-19 and IL-6 (inflammation).

How to use a research paper to inform yourself about food and health?

• Title: Concise summary of the paper.
• Abstract: Summary of the entire research including key findings.
• Introduction: Background information to understand the objectives.
• Methods: Experimental design and procedures.
• Results: Summary of the collected findings.
• Discussion or Conclusion: Summary of results in the context of other studies and further work suggestions.
• Declaration of conflict of interest (COI): Discloses the potential conflicts of interest related to the paper.

Deconstructing Food (Methods of Science)

• Using methods of science is important to understand the effect of foods or nutrients on humans
• Importance of scientific methods in examining effects of foods/nutrients on humans
• Formulation of hypothesis, cell line studies, and animal trials are all key steps
• Human studies are necessary, with a focus on design

Deconstructing Food (Epidemiological Studies); Types of Epidemiological Studies

• Observational studies
• Subjects under free living conditions with no alterations
• Reveals correlation
• Cross-sectional: A snapshot of the population at a particular time.
• Case-control: The history of the disease and non-diseased subjects is compared.
• Cohort: Follow a group of individuals over time and look at how factors are correlated to the disease.
• Intervention: Involves external intervention, comparing an experimental and control group.

Experimental Study Design

• Randomization: Participants are grouped randomly.
• Single-Blinded Placebo Control: Participants are unaware of whether they receive a treatment or placebo.
• Double-Blinded Placebo Control: Neither the participants nor the researchers are aware of which group is receiving the treatment or placebo during data collection.

Placebo Effect

• Change in health, due to the expectations associated with a treatment
• Good placebos are identical to actual treatment.

Placebos in Nutrition Research

• Whole food interventions lack ideal placebos to be used in experimental studies.

Pyramid of Scientific Evidence of Human Studies

• Meta-analysis or systematic review
• Intervention studies
• Cohort studies
• Case control studies
• Cross-sectional studies
• Animal trials
• Case reports or opinion papers & letters

Food Components (Macronutrients)

• Learning Objectives: Describe the general nutritive compositions of foods; relate the nutritive composition of foods to effects on health.
• Macronutrients are essential for energy and body functions.
• Micronutrients are essential in smaller quantities.

Nutrients

• Macronutrients: Carbohydrates, proteins, fats. Required in large quantities.
• Micronutrients: Vitamins, minerals. Required in small quantities, no calories provided.

Carbohydrates

• Major energy source
  • Simple sugars (mono- and di-saccharides) : 4 calories per gram
  • Complex carbohydrates (digestible): 4 calories per gram
  • Complex carbohydrates (non-digestible): 0-2 calories per gram
• Important source of energy for humans.

Simple Sugars

• Glucose, Fructose, Galactose
• Di-saccharides: Sucrose, Lactose, Maltose
• High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
  • Mixture of 55% fructose and 45% glucose.

Simple Sugars and Health

• High sugar intake can have negative effects on health
• Associated with chronic diseases.
• Food with added sugars are energy dense.

Complex Carbohydrates

• Polysaccharides contain multiple units of saccharides
• Carbohydrates are broken down by enzymes into glucose for energy release
• Dietary fiber is not digestible by the body.

Fried Foods or Seafoods?

• High bad cholesterol (LDL)
• Some foods may contribute to high cholesterol levels.

Dietary Fats

• Saturated fatty acids (e.g., animal fats, coconut oil, palm oil)
  • Solid at room temperature.
• Monounsaturated fatty acids (e.g., olive oil, canola oil)
• Polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g., safflower oil, sunflower oil)
• Omega-3 (e.g., flaxseed oil, fish oil)

Triglycerides

• Most common form of fatty acids in foods
• Fatty acids can be saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated
• Digested into fatty acids and glycerol.

Fatty Acids

• Saturated: Hydrogen atoms saturated
  • Solid at room temperature (e.g. animal fats)
• Unsaturated: Not saturated with hydrogen atoms
  • Liquid at room temperature (e.g. plant oils)

Hydrogenation

• Unsaturated fatty acids are prone to oxidation
• Process to increase the saturation of unsaturated fatty acids
• Leads to creation of trans fatty acids.

Dietary Cholesterol

• Type of dietary fat linked to heart health
• Found in animal products and produced by the liver.
• One-third of cholesterol is in animal products, the rest is produced by the liver.

Blood Cholesterol

• Lipoproteins carry cholesterol in the bloodstream
  • Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL) : bad cholesterol
  • High-density Lipoprotein (HDL) : good cholesterol
• Distinct from dietary cholesterol.

High Cholesterol?

• Liver produces LDL
• Lower saturated fat intake leads to lower LDL levels
• No strong correlation between dietary cholesterol and LDL levels

Proteins

• Animal products have complete proteins.
• Plant products have incomplete proteins.
• Contains 4 calories per gram. Not a preferred source of energy, but still required for body functions
• Broken down into amino acids for use. Essential acids and non-essential acids

Proteins and their functions

• Proteins give the body structure and support and are used in variety of body parts
• Amino acids are used to maintain body functions
• Proteins have different roles as the amino acid and lengths vary

Essential & Non-Essential Amino Acid

• Essential: cannot be produced by the body, obtained through diet
  • Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine
• Non-essential: produced by the body
  • Alanine, Arginine, Asparagine, Aspartic acid, Cysteine, Glutamic acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Proline, Serine, Tyrosine

Protein Quality

• Presence of essential amino acids determines the quality
• Animal products have all essential amino acids
• Plant proteins may lack certain essential amino acids
• Combinations of plant proteins can provide all essential amino acids

Complementary Protein Sources

• Consuming a combination of plant proteins can provide all essential amino acids.

Summary: Macronutrients

• Macronutrients in our diet and their roles, and their effect on human health

Food Components (Micronutrients)

• Learning Objectives: Describe micronutrients and their general properties & Discuss the consequences of selected micronutrient and their effects on health.
• Micronutrients are essential for many metabolic processes, but are present in varying amounts in the body.

Vitamins

• Only consist of vitamins A, D, E, K, C, and B complex
• Natural and required by the human body
• Misleading information in some supplements may lead to incorrect understanding about active ingredients.
• Fat-soluble: A, D, E, K, C
  • Water-soluble: Thiamin (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pantothenic, Pyridoxine (B6), Folate, Vitamin C, Biotin, Cyanocobalamin (B12)

Vitamin D

• Synthesized by the body when exposed to UV light
• Too much vitamin D is not generally from the body, but from supplementation
• Vitamin D is required to absorb calcium and phosphorus from our diet.
• Deficiency leads to bone weakening

Vitamin C

• Enhances the body's immunity and connective tissues.
• Deficiency leads to scurvy.
• Supplements may lead to over-consumption, leading to excretion through urine.

Minerals

• Obtained from the diet, but do not provide energy.
  • 15 essential minerals are obtained from diet.
  • Function as co-factors in metabolic processes.

Minerals in the Body

• Different minerals are present in different quantities in the body
• Some minerals are labeled as "major" ("major" minerals are present in large quantities in the body).
• Others are labeled "trace" minerals because they are present in smaller amounts in the body.

What makes food healthy?

• Energy-dense foods are high in calories per weight of food.
• Nutrient-dense foods are high in nutrients relative to calorie content.
• Empty calories have high calories relative to low nutrients.

Applying the concepts

• Evaluation of the healthiness of foods based on calories and nutrient density
• Comparing between two products using a given table of values.

Summary: Micronutrients

• Micronutrients in our diet and their roles, and their effect on human health

Week 3 Summary

• Covers the digestion and absorption of nutrients, the hierarchy of scientific evidence
• Definitions of different food groups.
• Classification of different techniques in food preparation.

Digestion and Absorption of Nutrients

• Macronutrients: Carbohydrates, proteins, fats.
• Mouth: Physical crushing, digestion of carbohydrates begins in the mouth
• Stomach: Denaturing of proteins, digestion of carbohydrates, and fat and protein occur in minimal amounts.
• Small intestines have a full digestive process, and most nutrients are absorbed here
• Large intestines have no digestive enzymes, but partly digested carbohydrates may be broken down by intestinal bacteria

Digestion and absorption of micro-nutrients and other components in food

• Micro-nutrients: Vitamins and minerals in our diet. Most are absorbed directly without hydrolysis.
• Examples: Vitamin C, vitamin D
  • Some small molecules (eg. Alcohol) are absorbed directly.

Digestion and absorption

• Describes the processes of digestion and absorption for carbohydrates, proteins, fats, water, and alcohol.
• Digestion occurs in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract, with different enzymes involved.

Putting everything together

• Synthesis information discussed in past weeks.
• Dietary components and methods of food digestion and absorption
• Includes summary of food groups discussed previously in the sessions.

Proteins (large macromolecules)

• Proteins are big molecules with many functions.
• They have different shapes and structures for different functions in the body.
• Changes in pH and temperature impact protein function due to changes in quaternary structure.
• Digesting proteins involves proteases such as pepsin and trypsin in the hydrolysis process.

Should you buy the supplement?

• Assessment of whether to buy a supplement by evaluating the scientific evidence regarding the supplement discussed
• Evaluating the quality and integrity of human studies in relation to the supplement Evaluation of whether the method in question makes sense.

Physics and Chemistry

• Different methods of heating foods
• Key reactions of heat transfer in foods
  • Protein denaturation
  • Maillard reaction

Food Technologies

• Timeline of different food technologies & innovations
• Understanding different heating methods (e.g. conduction, convection, radiation)
• Understanding Maillard reaction: Causes browning, flavor & aroma in foods. Temperature and pH are influential parameters in the reaction.

Sensorial Aspects

• The components in food that can be related to the taste, smell, texture, and other important interactions in the taste receptors.

Catching Fire

• The evolution and history of cooking for transformation of our ancestors, and their ape-human origins

Effects of Food Processing

• Sensory quality
• Microbial quality
• Nutritive value

Is Cooking an Experiment?

• Comparison of a recipe and an experimental protocol. The key ingredients and instructions are the same.

Food Compositions and Cooking

• Food components and cooking temperatures including different times at various temperatures
  • Denaturation & protein, microbial safety, and their relations to cooking temperature

Heat Transfer Methods

• Conduction: Transfer of heat via direct contact
• Convection: Movement of heated material against colder material
• Radiation: Electromagnetic radiation, without physical medium.

Summary of Heat Transfer Methods

• Summarizes the various methods of heat transfer and their applications in cooking.

Key Reactions during Heat Transfer

• Protein denaturation: Protein changes its structural shape due to heat.
• Maillard reaction: Browning caused by the chemical reaction between reducing sugar (carbohydrates) and amino acid (proteins)

Impact of Maillard Reaction

• Impacts of the Maillard reaction on foods and flavors/aromas/nutrients

Impact of Maillard Reaction (Generation of potentially harmful substances)

• Creation of potentially harmful substances such as heterocyclic aromatic compounds and acrylamide
• Negative effects of the Maillard reaction
• Harmful components

Wok Hei

• The various methods of cooking for wok hei and their effects
• How wok hei is created
• The importance of conduction and convection

Food Processing at Home and at Scale

• Types of food processing methods
• Mild heat
  • Blanching
  • Pasteurization
• High heat
  • Sterilization
  • Dehydration
• Reduce temperature
  • Chilling
  • Freezing

Novel Food Processing Methods

• High pressure
• Pulse electric field
• Irradiation

High Pressure Processing (HPP)

• High pressure method used in food processing, which inactivates microbes & enzymes
• The method retains food quality and natural freshness

Pulsed Electric Field (PEF)

• Short pulse electric field, which uses electrodes to inactivate microorganisms.
• Minimal or no detrimental effect on food quality attributes

Irradiation

• Using radiation to destroy microbes in foods.
• Accepted by various countries/WHO

Chemical methods

• Using chemical preservatives (examples: salt, sugar, organic acids)
  • This method helps prevent microbial activity which thereby leads to shelf life extensions

Biological methods - Fermentation

• Using beneficial microbes to improve the quality of food through preservation and transformation.
• Examples: Bread, beer, wine, yogurt, tempeh, soy sauce, kimchi
• Beneficial microorganism will produce acids, alcohols or antimicrobials, thereby preserving the product

Effects of fermentation

• Preserves foods by producing acids, alcohols or antimicrobials
• Sensory changes in texture, taste and aroma, slight changes in color
• Overall improvement in the nutritional value, and digestibility of the food

Food labels

• Identifies components, evaluates simple label claims and explains the requirements for food labels
• Includes information on different types of food labels, including 'Healthier Choice' logo, nutrition claims and nutrition information panels
• Discusses safety concerns, allergens and expiry dates.

Summary

• Summary of the main points and key elements discussed in the food labeling sessions

Credits

• Provides the names of the speakers and who made the visuals and graphics in the session