ARS Food and Nutrition Research Briefs Issued

Study results showing that a woman who's overweight during her pregnancy may influence the likelihood of her child becoming an overweight or obese adult are among the nutrition and health findings noted in the newest issue of the Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) Food and Nutrition Research Briefs (FNRB) and its Spanish-language edition (Informe de investigaciones de alimentos y nutrición).

View the English edition at: /is/np/fnrb/fnrb0710.htm.

The popular online newsletter reports discoveries from researchers at ARS laboratories nationwide.

Among other findings, the current issue reports that:

• A low-calorie diet or a very-low-calorie diet not only leads to weight loss, but also significantly enhances people's immune response.

• The effect of irradiation on concentrations of four vitamins and four carotenoids in two popular baby-leaf spinach cultivars is explored.

• It's possible to dramatically cut the fat and calories in cakes and frosting with Fantesk.

• Incoming raw poultry is the primary source of Listeria monocytogenes contamination in commercial chicken cooking plants.

FNRB is offered with color photos and illustrations on the Web. And by clicking the "subscribe" link on the newsletter's home page, readers can sign up for two e-mail options: They can receive the full text of the newsletter by e-mail, or simply an advisory that a new issue has been posted to the Web.

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's principal intramural scientific research agency.