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OBJECTIVE: Several provincial and federal bills have recommended various forms of menu labelling that would require information beyond just calories; however, the additional benefit of including sodium information is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine whether sodium information on menus helps consumers make lower-sodium choices and to understand what other factors influence the effect of menu labelling on consumers' meal choices. METHODS: A total of 3,080 Canadian consumers completed an online survey that included a repeated measures experiment in which consumers were asked to select what they would typically order from four mock-restaurant menus. Subsequently, consumers were randomly allocated to see one of three menu-labelling treatments (calories; calories and sodium; or calories, sodium and serving size) and were given the option to change their order. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the proportion of consumers who changed their order, varying from 17% to 30%, depending on the restaurant type. After participants had seen menu labelling, sodium levels decreased in all treatments (p CONCLUSION: Including sodium information alongside calorie information may result in a larger decrease in the amount of sodium ordered by restaurant-goers. KEY WORDS: Restaurants; fast foods; food labelling; sodium OBJECTIF: Plusieurs projets de loi provinciaux et federaux recommandent diverses formes d'etiquetage nutritionnel des menus exigeant davantage d'information que la simple teneur en calories; on ignore cependant quel serait l'avantage supplementaire d'inclure la teneur en sodium. Notre etude visait a determiner si l'ajout de la teneur en sodium sur les menus aiderait les consommateurs a choisir des mets plus faibles en sodium; elle visait aussi a comprendre les autres facteurs qui modifient l'effet de l'etiquetage nutritionnel des menus sur les mets choisis par les consommateurs. METHODE: En tout, 3 080 consommateurs canadiens ont repondu a un sondage en ligne incluant une experience a mesures repetees au cours de laquelle on leur a demande de choisir ce qu'ils commanderaient d'habitude aux menus de quatre faux restaurants. Ensuite, les consommateurs ont ete repartis de facon aleatoire en trois groupes, et on leur a presente l'un de trois modes d'etiquetage nutritionnel des menus (calories; calories et sodium; ou calories, sodium et portion), et on leur a donne la possibilite de modifier leur commande. RESULTATS: Il y avait un ecart significatif dans la proportion de consommateurs ayant change leur commande, soit de 17% a 30% selon le type de restaurant. Apres que les participants ont vu l'etiquetage nutritionnel des menus, les niveaux de sodium ont diminue pour les trois modes d'etiquetage (p CONCLUSION: Inclure la teneur en sodium en plus de la teneur en calories pourrait entrainer une plus forte reduction de la quantite de sodium commandee par la clientele des restaurants. MOTS CLES: restaurant; aliments de restauration rapide; etiquetage aliments; sodium, In response to the growing obesity epidemic (1) and the prevalence of eating outside the home, (2) restaurant menu labelling is a policy being explored as a means to enable [...]

OBJECTIVES: Despite mandatory fortification of milk and margarine, most Canadians have inadequate vitamin D intake and consequently poor vitamin D status, especially in the winter. Increasing vitamin D fortification is one possible strategy to address this inadequacy. The purpose of our study was to examine the modelled effect of increased vitamin D fortification on the prevalence of inadequacy and the percentage of intakes greater than the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) using different fortification scenarios. METHODS: Dietary intakes (24-h recall) from the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey 2.2 (n=34,381) were used to model increased vitamin D levels in milk and the addition of vitamin D to cheese and yogurt at various levels to meet label claims of an 'excellent source' based on the recommended dietary intakes. The Software for Intake Distribution Evaluation was used to estimate the prevalence of inadequacy and intakes >UL. RESULTS: Fortification of milk, yogurt and cheese at 6.75 µg (270 IU)/serving led to more than doubling of vitamin D intakes across all sex/age groups and a drop in the prevalence of dietary inadequacy from >80% to CONCLUSION: There is a pressing need to improve vitamin D status among Canadians. Increasing vitamin D fortification of dairy products, consistent with their positioning in Canada's Food Guide, can lead to increased intake without a risk of excess. This is a population-wide public health strategy that should be given consideration in Canada. KEY WORDS: Vitamin D; fortification; dietary inadequacy; Tolerable Upper Intake Level; dairy products La traduction du resume se trouve a la fin de l'article. OBJECTIFS : Malgre l'enrichissement obligatoire du lait et de la margarine, la plupart des Canadiens ont un apport insuffisant en vitamine D - et donc un statut mediocre en vitamine D, surtout l'hiver. Accroitre l'enrichissement en vitamine D est une strategie possible pour combler cette carence. Nous avons cherche a examiner l'effet modelise d'un accroissement de l'enrichissement en vitamine D sur la prevalence des carences et sur le pourcentage d'apports superieurs a l'apport maximal tolerable (AM) selon divers scenarios d'enrichissement. METHODE : Les apports alimentaires (rappel 24 heures) tires de l'Enquete sur la sante dans les collectivites canadiennes 2.2 de 2004 (n=34 381) ont servi a modeliser des niveaux accrus de vitamine D dans le lait et l'ajout de divers niveaux de vitamine D au fromage et au yogourt pour respecter les allegations d' ' excellente source de vitamine D ' sur les etiquettes en fonction des apports alimentaires recommandes. L'outil Software for Intake Distribution Estimation a servi a estimer la prevalence des carences et les apports >AM. RESULTATS : L'enrichissement du lait, du yogourt et du fromage a 6,75 µg (270 UI)/portion ferait plus que doubler les apports en vitamine D chez les deux sexes et dans tous les groupes d'age et abaisserait la prevalence des carences nutritionnelles de >80 % a CONCLUSION : Il existe un besoin pressant d'ameliorer le statut en vitamine D de la population canadienne. Accroitre l'enrichissement en vitamine D des produits laitiers, en respectant les niveaux recommandes dans le Guide alimentaire canadien, peut mener a des apports accrus sans risque d'exces. C'est une strategie de sante publique a l'echelle de la population qui devrait etre envisagee au Canada. MOTS CLES : vitamine D; enrichissement; carences nutritionnelles; apport maximal tolerable; produits laitiers, Food fortification has played an important role for decades in ensuring that Canadians' nutrient requirements are met, and perhaps the most successful food fortification campaign was the addition of vitamin [...]

Interest in the health effects of foods by both industry and consumers has put a spotlight on the role of health claims on foods in Canada. The current regulatory framework governing the use of different health claims on foods in Canada is described and compared with international approaches. Similarities were observed in how risk-reduction claims for serious diseases are managed in the United States, European Union and proposed by Food Standards Australia New Zealand, including the need for premarket authorization and the requirement for a high level of certainty based on the totality of evidence in substantiating this type of claim. However, approaches to permitting function claims other than those for the well-established functions of known nutrients are divergent among the jurisdictions compared. Canada also differs from other jurisdictions in not establishing core nutritional criteria for foods carrying disease risk-reduction claims. A brief overview of the status in Canada of a number of disease risk-reduction claims that have been approved in the United States, based on significant scientific agreement under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act or through authoritative statements under the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act, is also provided.

ATPase/ATP synthase plays important roles in the regulation of carbohydrate, protein, and lipid metabolism through modulating energy homeostasis. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of feeding soy proteins and isoflavones (ISF) on the enzymatic activity and protein modification of hepatic mitochondrial ATPase/ATP synthase. In Expt. 1, Sprague-Dawley rats aged 50 d were fed diets containing either 20% casein or 20% alcohol-washed soy protein isolate (SPI) with or without supplemental ISF (770.7 [micro]mol/kg diet) for 70 d. In Expt. 2, weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing 20% casein with or without added ISF (154.1 [micro]mol/kg diet) or 20% SPI for 90 d. Hepatic mitochondrial ATPase activity was significantly higher in the rats fed SPI than in those fed casein. Addition of ISF to SPI eliminated the action of SPI. ATPase/ATP synthase [beta] protein contents in the liver were unchanged; however, its patterns measured by 2-dimensional Western blot were different among dietary groups. The rats fed SPI or SPI plus ISF had 3 more major protein spots with the same molecular weights (80 kDa and 55 kDa) as those presented in the rats fed casein but with different isoelectric points. Pretreatment of hepatic mitochondrial proteins from the rats fed casein with alkaline phosphatase produced the same ATPase/ATP synthase [beta] patterns as observed in the SPI-fed rats and significantly elevated the ATPase activity. These results suggest that consumption of soy proteins increases hepatic ATPase activity, which might be a consequence of increased dephosphorylation or decreased phosphorylation of the mitochondrial ATPase/ATP synthase [beta] protein.

Retinoic acid receptors (RAR) belong to the same nuclear receptor superfamily as thyroid hormone receptors (TR) that were previously shown to be modulated by dietary soy protein isolate (SPI). This study has examined the effect of dietary SPI and isoflavones (ISF) on hepatic RAR gene expression and DNA binding activity. In Expt. 1, Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing 20% casein or 20% alcohol-washed SPI in the absence or presence of increasing amounts of ISF (5-1250 mg/kg diet) for 70, 190, or 310 d. In Expt. 2, weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing 20% casein with or without supplemental ISF (50 mg/kg diet) or increasing amounts of alcohol-washed SPI (5, 10, and 20%) for 90 d. Intake of soy proteins significantly elevated hepatic RAR[beta]2 protein content dose-dependently compared with a casein diet, whereas supplemental ISF had no consistent effect. Neither RAR[beta] protein in the other tissues measured nor the other RAR (RAR[alpha] and RAR[gamma]) in the liver were affected by dietary SPI, indicating a tissue and isoform-specific effect of SPI. RAR[beta]2 mRNA abundances were not different between dietary groups except that its expression was markedly suppressed in male rats fed SPI for 310 d. DNA binding activity of nuclear RAR[beta] was significantly attenuated and the isoelectric points of RAR[beta]2 were shifted by dietary SPI. Overall, these results show for the first time, to our knowledge, that dietary soy proteins affect hepatic RAR[beta]2 protein content and RAR[beta] DNA binding activity, which may contribute to the suppression of retinoid-induced hypertriglyceridemia by SPI as reported.

Our previous studies showed that intake of 20% alcohol-washed soy protein isolate (SPI) significantly increased hepatic thyroid hormone receptor (TR) [beta]1 protein content in rats. However, whether SPI influences the binding ability of TR to its target genes is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of increasing amounts of dietary SPI on hepatic TR[beta]1 content and the binding of TR to thyroid hormone response element (I-RE) in rats. Sprague-Dawley rats (28 d old) were fed diets containing casein (20%) with or without isofiavone supplementation (50 mg/kg diet) or alcohol-washed SPI (5, 10, or 20%) for 90 d. The hepatic TR/31 protein content was measured by Western blot, and the binding ability of TR to DNA was examined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Consumption of the 20% SPI diet increased pancreatic relative weight and decreased spleen relative weight. Intake of SPI markedly elevated TR/31 content in both male and female rats compared with a casein-based control diet. The increase in TR[beta]1 in females was much higher than that in males. Interestingly, the binding abilities of TR to DNA were significantly inhibited by increasing amounts of dietary SPI in female rats. In conclusion, this study shows for the first time that dietary SPI increases hepatic TR[beta]1 protein content and inhibits the binding of TR to target genes. Modulation of hepatic TR[beta]1, a key regulator of gene expression involved in lipid metabolism, by SPI may be a novel mechanism by which soy components lower blood lipid level and exert their hypocholesterolemic actions. J. Nutr. 135: 1631-1635, 2005. KEY WORDS: * rat * soy protein * isoflavones * thyroid hormone receptor * binding ability

Thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) are regulators of many genes involved in cholesterol and lipid metabolism. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of soy protein isolate (SPI) and isoflavones on hepatic TRs in rats. In Expt. 1, Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing either casein or alcohol-washed SPI with or without isoflavone supplementation (5-1250 mg/kg diet) for 70, 190, and 310 d. The offspring (F1) were fed the same diets as their parents (F0). In Expt. 2, Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing casein or casein plus isoflavones (50-400 mg/kg diet) for 120 d. The mRNA and protein contents of the hepatic TRs were measured by semiquantitative RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. TR[alpha]1, TR[alpha]2, and TR[beta]2 contents were not affected by SPI. However, the content of the 52-kDa TR[beta]1 protein, the major isoform present in the liver, was markedly increased by dietary SPI in both sexes of F0 and F1 compared with casein. The supplemental isoflavones had no effect on TR[beta]1, whereas the high doses of isoflavones (250 and 1250 mg/kg diet) reduced the hepatic TR[alpha]1 protein content in F1 male rats on d 28. SPI had no effect on total T3 and T4 levels. However, higher dose of supplemental isoflavones markedly increased T4 level in female rats. Overall, this study demonstrates for the first time that SPI upregulates hepatic TR[beta]1 expression, and that isoflavones reduce the hepatic TR[alpha]1 level in young male rats. The SPI-induced TR[beta]1 may play a role in mediating the hypocholesterolemic and lipid-lowering actions of soy protein. KEY WORDS: * rats * soy protein isolate * isoflavones * thyroid hormone receptors

Fortification with calcium to increase dietary intakes of this mineral is currently under evaluation in Canada. To model the potential dietary consequences of food fortification, data from a large national survey of Canadians (n = 1543) were used. Food fortification scenarios were based on reference amounts for labeling requirements. Consumption of milk, cheese and other dairy products was associated with high calcium intakes, and there was a low prevalence of inadequacy in men < 50 y old; however, other age-sex groups had lower intakes. The aim of the fortification modeling was to determine which scenario would most effectively reduce the proportion of the population with low intakes of calcium while minimizing the proportion of individuals who exceeded the tolerable upper intake level (UL). Given the correlation between energy and calcium (r = 0.60, P < 0.01), it appeared that any fortification scenario sufficient to increase the mean intake for women to near the adequate intake led to 6-7% of the men having calcium intakes above the UL. The results suggest that fortification of widely consumed foods is not a realistic way to address the issue of low calcium intakes and illustrate the need for concern about the growing use of fortification practices. KEY WORDS: * calcium * adequate intakes * tolerable upper intake levels * fortification