Scurvy is an ancient disease that used to prevent long distance sea travel. People need to eat food containing vitamin C to prevent scurvy, so it's rarely seen today because most people have a vitamin rich diet. But recently, cases of scurvy have appeared in some populations. Low-income males and people with mental health issues are especially at risk. Scurvy is easy to treat, and eating more vitamin C is enough to reverse its effects. However, doctors often don’t think to look for scurvy, thinking it’s a disease from the Ancient Egyptians, not today. Listen to hear how doctors are helping their patients deal with the reappearance of this old illness.
Story Length: 5:46
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January 13, 2016
2:50
Americans throw away about a third of the food they buy, on average. Food ends up in landfills and creates methane, which contributes to climate change. A new national goal has been set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce food waste by 50 percent by the year 2030. There are many reasons people throw away food. Listen to hear about some solutions to this issue.
Read MoreJanuary 2, 2015
3:37
What you eat doesn’t just impact you; it impacts the environment. This is the argument that some nutritionists are presenting to U.S. Congressional Dietary Guideline Advisory Committee. They suggest Congress should consider the agricultural practices and the environmental impact of some foods when issuing nutrition guidelines. But that suggestion has not been well received by Congress. Listen to learn more about this effort to marry nutrition and environmentalism and the congressional backlash it has provoked.
Read MoreNovember 14, 2014
4:38
Every day across the country, school cafeterias try to balance serving food that students want to eat and food that is healthy for students to eat. When federal nutrition standards increased the amount of fruits and vegetables students must have on their plate each day, schools and school districts adopted creative approaches to make sure that these fruits and vegetables didn’t go directly in the trash. This public radio story takes us to one of these innovative lunch rooms in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Read MoreMarch 3, 2014
4:36
The traditional nutritional label that lives on the backs of food packages are often dense and overloaded with information. The new label focuses on components that matter: calories, serving size, and sugar.
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