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Whole foods provide more
than dietary supplements

[FEB. 15, 2003]  URBANA -- Although it may seem easier, quicker and less fattening to pop a few dietary supplements every morning rather than eating a plate of real food, you may be missing out on more than you think. "Dietary supplements represent just one component from a food," said Elizabeth Jeffery, nutritional scientist at the University of Illinois. "But there may be hidden benefits gained from the way multiple components in a single food work together."

Jeffery explained that vegetables and fruits contain natural metabolites that appear to prevent a number of chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease and cancer. "Scientists are trying to find ways to create healthful dietary supplements that contain these bioactive components," she said, "but we haven't identified all the healthful components yet and can't afford to ignore the whole food."

Jeffery used vitamin C as an example, citing the old story about British sailors being given a ration of limes in order to avoid getting scurvy while on board ships for long periods of time.

"Notice that in our thinking we went right from the whole food -- the lime -- to an isolated compound -- vitamin C," said Jeffery. "In thinking that limes were solely a source of vitamin C, we overlook the existence of other bioactive compounds not yet identified."  For example, today we know that limes and other citrus fruits contain a number of additional antioxidants. Taking a vitamin C supplement is certainly good for your health but will not provide some of these other factors present in limes -- and may risk overuse.

"Nutritional scientists carefully isolated vitamin C and worked out how much is needed on a daily basis to maximize the benefit of C on white blood cells' ability to fight disease while minimizing the loss of C in urine," said Jeffery. Most Americans eat a diet that contains enough C to avoid getting scurvy, but it's not so easy to see if the white cells are working well, so people take supplements to be on the safe side.

 

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Jeffery cautioned that taking too much C can cause diarrhea and "over a prolonged period, people sometimes experience more dangerous side effects such as kidney stone formation and excess iron absorption."

When choosing to take a supplement, it's important to keep in perspective what it claims to do. In the United States, proof of efficacy of dietary supplements is not required, since the products are not legally sold with the intended use of treating a disease. Legally one can describe a dietary supplement as supporting normal physiological function (calcium builds strong bones) but not as treating a disease (calcium rebuilds bone in post-menopausal women with osteoporosis).

Jeffery said that no single food contains all of the necessary fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals that we need to maintain a healthy body. So, until true food concentrates are developed, dietary supplements cannot replace the need to eat a balanced diet made up of whole foods.

[University of Illinois press release]


New cookbook features soy

[FEB. 1, 2003]  URBANA -- A new cookbook presents the many ways textured soy protein can be used as a healthy and delicious ingredient in the average American kitchen. The illustrated, full-color publication from the Illinois Center for Soy Foods at the University of Illinois is entitled "Textured Vegetable Protein in the American Kitchen." It is the second in an ongoing series of soy foods cookbooks.

"Textured soy protein can best be looked at as a typically American soy food," said Barbara Klein, editor of the book and co-director of the soy foods center. "It is a quick-cooking food with the texture and nutritional value of meat. It can serve as a valuable addition to the kitchens of people who are looking for a quick and inexpensive source of protein and a way to cut back on fat in their diets."

Textured soy protein is generally made from whole or defatted soybeans that have been texturized and then ground into granules or chunks of varying sizes. Consumers can buy this product under a variety of names -- textured soy protein, textured vegetable protein, textured soy flour, TSP (a registered trademark of PMS Foods LP), and TVP (a registered trademark of Archer Daniels Midland Company). For simplicity, the term "TVP" was used in the cookbook.

"TVP provides a complete protein that includes all the essential amino acids," Klein said. "It is virtually fat-free and has no cholesterol. It is also very low in sodium and high in dietary fiber. TVP also retains soy's isoflavones, which are special components in soy that contribute to its ability to prevent disease."

 

Klein notes that this new book fits well with the goal of the center, which is to encourage consumers in the U.S. to eat more healthy products made from soy.

"With this book, we hope to inspire a broad range of people to use and enjoy this American soy food," Klein said. "We show step-by-step how average consumers can cook with TSP and still enjoy the same tastes and textures that they have grown up with."

The book contains a wide range of tasty recipes ranging from appetizers to desserts, as well as many appealing entrees. All the recipes were developed by Cheryl Sullivan, M.A., R.D., and extensively tested by the staff at the center.

 

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"With this new cookbook, we can show everyone just how easily this healthy ingredient can be added to the kinds of foods that all of us are used to eating," Klein said. "TSP is especially adaptable for use in many of our favorite comfort foods, such as chili, meatloaf and calzones. We also have recipes for everything from carrot bread to cookies. And, most importantly, it all tastes good."

She points out that adding TSP to the diet also represents an easy way to gain the many health benefits from soy protein. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently approved a health claim for soy foods that acknowledged the connection between consuming soy and decreasing the chance of developing cardiovascular disease.

"Extensive research has confirmed that eating 25 grams of soy protein per day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease," Klein said. "This fact provides another example of how using TSP and other soy foods can add affordable, flavorful and healthful components to the diet."

The cookbook was designed in an easy-to-use format, with a spiral binding that allows it to lie flat for efficient use in the kitchen. Nutritional information, including calorie, fat, carbohydrate and protein counts, is provided for each recipe. It also contains helpful general information on buying, storing and efficiently using TSP.

The book can be ordered at a price of $15 per copy by calling toll-free (800)345-6087. Additional information, sample recipes and an online order form for the cookbook and the other title in the series, "Tofu in the American Kitchen," are also available on the Web at www.soyfoodsillinois.uiuc.edu.

[University of Illinois news release]


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CICBC blood drives monthly at paramedics' building

Schedule for 2003 announced

Blood supplies across the nation are critical. In some areas, there is less than a one-day supply. Fortunately, thanks to the dedicated donors in central Illinois, these tremendous shortages have not yet touched our hospitals. However, the blood supply is a resource that must be renewed. Every three seconds someone needs a blood transfusion of some kind. To accommodate this constant usage, community members must continually help replenish the supply. Since a donor can donate whole blood only every eight weeks, Central Illinois Community Blood Center needs community members to come forward and help with this lifesaving effort.

Central Illinois Community Blood Center provides all of the blood and blood products for 12 area hospitals, including those in Lincoln, Hopedale and Springfield. No other organization provides blood in these hospitals. CICBC is a community-based blood center whose mission is to provide a safe and adequate blood supply for patients in local hospitals in a cost-effective manner.

When you donate blood through CICBC, you help to keep a safe and adequate blood supply for your community. You also help keep local medical costs under control. Regularly scheduled blood drives are on the first Monday of each month (except Labor Day) at the Logan County Paramedics Association building, 1300 N. Postville Road. (See 2003 schedule below.) Please help by donating blood.

 

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CICBC will also bring its automated double red cell machine, and if donors are interested in platelet apheresis, information will be available. If there is enough interest, CICBC will bring apheresis machines to Lincoln.

CICBC also provides other services for the communities served, such as therapeutic phlebotomy at no charge for patients with hereditary hemochromatosis.

For more information, call Terry Bell at 753-1530.

[CICBC press release]


CICBC blood drive schedule
  • March 3, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedics Association building

  • March 12, hours and location to be announced

  • April 7, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedics Association building

  • April 11, at Lincoln Community High School

  • May 5, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedics Association building

  • May 14, hours and location to be announced

  • June 2, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedics Association building

  • July 7, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedics Association building

  • July 15, hours and location to be announced

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  • Aug. 4, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedics Association building

  • Sept. 8, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedics Association building

  • Sept. 24, hours and location to be announced

  • Oct. 6, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedics Association building

  • Nov. 3, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedics Association building

  • Nov. 12, hours and location to be announced

  • Dec. 1, noon-6 p.m., at Logan County Paramedics Association building


Mobile health unit schedule

The Rural Health Partnership has announced the schedule for its mobile health unit for 2002.

 

Morning: 9-11 a.m.

 

 

Afternoon: 1-3:30 p.m.

Monday

1st and 3rd

Hartsburg

1st and 3rd

Emden

 

2nd and 4th

San Jose

2nd and 4th

Greenview

Tuesday

Weekly

Chestnut

Weekly

Mount Pulaski

Wednesday

Weekly

New Holland

Weekly

Middletown

Thursday

1st and 3rd

Elkhart

Weekly

Atlanta

2nd and 4th

Friendship Manor-Lincoln

Friday

1st, 2nd, 4th

Village Hall-Latham

1st

Beason

     

2nd and 4th

Broadwell

 

3rd

Maintenance/ special events

3rd

Maintenance/
special events

The mobile health unit does not operate on the following dates for holidays during 2002:  Jan. 21 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), Feb. 18 (Presidents' Day), March 29 (Good Friday), May 27 (Memorial Day), July 4 (Independence Day), Sept. 2 (Labor Day), Oct. 14 (Columbus Day), Nov. 11 (Veterans Day), Nov. 28-29 (Thanksgiving break) and Dec. 24-25 (Christmas break).

For more information on the mobile health unit schedule and services, contact Dayle Eldredge at (217) 732-2161, Ext. 409.


Community resource list

This family resource list to save and use is provided by the Healthy Communities Partnership and the Healthy Families Task Force, 732-2161, Ext. 409.         

Agency

Phone number

Address

Lincoln agencies

911

911 (emergency)
732-3911 (office -- non-emergency)

911 Pekin St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital

732-2161

315 Eighth St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

American Red Cross
www.il-redcross.org  

732-2134 or 
1 (800) 412-0100

125 S. Kickapoo
Lincoln, IL 62656

Catholic Social Services
www.cdop.org 

732-3771

310 S. Logan
Lincoln, IL 62656

Lincoln/Logan County Chamber
of Commerce
www.lincolnillinois.com 

735-2385

303 S. Kickapoo St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Community Action (CIEDC)

732-2159

1800 Fifth St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Crisis Pregnancy Center/
Living Alternatives

735-4838

408 A Pulaski St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

DCFS (Department of Children
& Family Services)

735-4402 or 
1 (800) 252-2873
(crisis hotline)

1120 Keokuk St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Heartland Community College
- GED program

735-1731

620 Broadway St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Housing Authority

732-7776

1028 N. College St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Illinois Breast & Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP)
www.logancountyhealth.org 

735-2317 or 
1 (800) 269-4019

109 Third St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Illinois Employment and Training Center (replaces JTPA office)

735-5441

120 S. McLean St., Suite B
Farm Bureau Building
Lincoln, IL 62656

Lincoln Area YMCA

735-3915

319 W. Kickapoo St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Lincoln/Logan Food Pantry

732-2204

P.O. Box 773
Lincoln, IL 62656

Lincoln Parents' Center

735-4192

100 S. Maple
Lincoln, IL 62656

Lincoln Park District

732-8770

1400 Primm Rd.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Logan County Department of Human Services (Public Aid)
www.state.il.us/agency/dhs 

735-2306

1500 Fourth St.
P.O. Box 310
Lincoln, IL 62656

Logan County Health Department
www.logancountyhealth.org 

735-2317

109 Third St.
P.O. Box 508
Lincoln, IL 62656

Logan-Mason Mental Health

735-2272 or
732-3600 (crisis line)

304 Eighth St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Logan-Mason Rehabilitation Center

735-1413

760 S. Postville Drive
Lincoln, IL 62656

The Oasis
(Senior Citizens of Logan County)

732-6132

501 Pulaski St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Project READ

735-1731

620 Broadway St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Salvation Army

732-7890

1501 N. Kickapoo
Lincoln, IL 62656

Senior Services of Central Illinois

732-6213 or 
1 (800) 252-8966
(crisis line)

109 Third St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

U. of I. Extension Service
www.ag.uiuc.edu 

732-8289

980 N. Postville Drive
Lincoln, IL 62656

Springfield agencies

Department of Aging
www.state.il.us/aging

785-3356

421 E. Capitol, #100
Springfield, IL 62701-1789

American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org 

546-7586
(24 hour)

1305 Wabash, Suite J
Springfield, IL 62704

Community Child Care Connection
www.childcaresolutions.org 

(217) 525-2805 or
1 (800) 676-2805

1004 N. Milton Ave.
Springfield, IL 62702-4430

Hospice Care of Illinois

1 (800) 342-4862
(24 hour) or
732-2161, Ext. 444

720 N. Bond
Springfield, IL 62702

Illinois Department of Public Health
www.idph.state.il.us 

(217) 782-4977

535 W. Jefferson
Springfield, IL 62761

Legal Assistance Foundation

(217) 753-3300 or
1 (800) 252-8629

730 E. Vine St., Suite 214
Springfield, IL 62703

Sojourn Shelter & Services Inc.
http://www.sojournshelter.org/

732-8988 or
1 (866) HELP4DV
(24-hour hotline)

1800 Westchester Blvd.
Springfield, IL 62704

U. of I. Division of Specialized Care for Children
www.uic.edu 

524-2000 or 
1 (800) 946-8468

421 South Grand Ave. West
Second Floor
Springfield, IL 62704

Logan County libraries

Atlanta Library 

(217) 648-2112

100 Race St.
Atlanta, IL 61723

Elkhart Library

(217) 947-2313

121 E. Bohan
Elkhart, IL 62634

Lincoln Public Library
www.lincolnpubliclibrary.org 

732-8878

725 Pekin St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

Mount Pulaski Library

792-5919

320 N. Washington
Mount Pulaski, IL 62548

(updated 2-15-02)

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