E241: What is the connection between the gut and our brain?

August 13, 2024

We’ve recorded a series of podcasts on the microbiome and its wide ranging impacts. But boy is this a field that moves rapidly. As soon as you think you’ve covered much of the territory, along comes some new and exciting findings, and this is the case today. We’re going to describe research done by our guest, Dr. Ibrahim Javed. He has done innovative work on links between the gut microbiome and the brain, particularly focused on Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Javed is an Enterprise Fellow and National Health and Medicine Research Council Emerging Leadership Fellow in Clinical and Health Sciences at the University of South Australia.

Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Diet & Nutrition | Microbiome |

 

E238: Celebrating the Successes of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation

June 27, 2024

Nonprofit organizations can play a very important role in building healthy communities by providing services that contribute to community stability, social mobility, public policy, and decision-making. Today we’re speaking with Kathy Higgins, CEO of the Alliance for Healthier Generation. The Alliance is a nonprofit organization, a well-known one at that, that promotes healthy environments so that young people can achieve lifelong good health.

Related podcasts: Advocacy & Food | Child Development & Nutrition | Childhood Obesity | COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Food | Diet & Nutrition | Philanthropy & Food Systems | School Meals |

 

E233: Grocery and meal insight from the Baby’s First Years project

March 28, 2024

A growing number of research studies show that the cognitive and brain development of low-income children differs from that of children in higher income families. For any family, that is a concerning statement. Today’s podcast features a project called Baby’s First Years, a multi-year effort to test the connections between poverty reduction and brain development among very young children. Here to talk about what the study has revealed so far is Dr. Lisa Gennetian from Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and Dr. Sarah Halpern-Meekin from the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Diet & Nutrition | Food Insecurity | Social Safety Net & Food |

 

E228: Code for America’s Summer EBT Playbook for State Implementation

February 5, 2024

In 2022, Congress established Summer EBT, the first new permanent federal food assistance program in almost 50 years. The authorization of Summer EBT represents a historic investment in the nutrition and wellbeing of almost 30 million children who will qualify for the program. But states that piloted Summer EBT, or operated Pandemic EBT programs in the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic know that getting these benefits into the hands of families will involve overcoming complex challenges related to data and technology. That’s why Code for America and No Kid Hungry, a campaign of Share Our Strength joined forces to create the Summer EBT Playbook, a comprehensive free resource designed to help state agencies plan for and implement a human-centered Summer EBT program. Today we will talk with Eleanor Davis, director of Government Innovation on the Safety Net team at Code for America. In her role, she helps government agencies adopt best practices for human-centered digital benefit delivery.

Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Food Policy | Social Safety Net & Food |

 

E221: Understanding Poverty, Wellbeing, and Food Security for US Children

November 30, 2023

As the parent of a 12-year-old child, I know that raising a child is one of the most profound and rewarding experiences of a person’s life. It is also shockingly expensive. The high cost of child rearing is particularly difficult for families with limited resources. To help us think through this issue, it is my great pleasure to welcome a colleague here at Duke: Dr. Christina Gibson-Davis, Professor of Public Policy. Christina studies economic inequality, and particularly how it affects families with children.

Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Diet & Nutrition | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | School Meals | Social Safety Net & Food |

 

E220: Largest study to date on Produce Prescription Program health impacts

November 6, 2023

Diet-related disease such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes create a crushing burden on individuals, families, and the healthcare system in the United States. However, Produce Prescription Programs where medical professionals prescribe fruits and vegetables and health insurers pay, promise to improve nutrition and health. Today we will talk with Dr. Kurt Hager from the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and lead author of the largest assessment of Produce Prescription Programs to date.

Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Childhood Obesity | Diet & Nutrition | Food Insecurity | Social Safety Net & Food |

 

E218: SNAP benefits still not enough for many families

October 19, 2023

With record-breaking food prices in 2022, it has become more expensive for families to buy the foods that they need. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, helps families purchase foods but families frequently spend their benefits before the next benefit cycle. USDA modifies SNAP benefits every year as a cost-of-living adjustment. But was the change in fiscal year 2023 enough to keep pace with food price inflation? Today, we talk with Elaine Waxman from the Urban Institute to find out.

Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | Social Safety Net & Food |

 

E217: When babies inherit Mom’s trauma-affected gut microbiome

October 12, 2023

A diversity of bacteria and microorganisms making up the gut microbiome supports both our physical and our mental health. Research has shown that stress and trauma can negatively impact the microbiome. But a recent study took that finding to a new level. This was a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists now see inflammation-related microbiomes in babies born to women who experienced mistreatment or adversity during their own childhood. These microbiomes predispose children to physical and mental health problems. We’ll talk today with the co-author of that paper, Fran Querdasi, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Diet & Nutrition | Food, Psychology & Neuroscience | Microbiome |

 

E215: When Kids Age Out of WIC Support

September 25, 2023

The third largest food assistance program in the United States is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC for short. WIC is designed to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to the age of five who are at risk of inadequate nutrition. WIC provides funds for specific foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to healthcare. However, regardless of school attendance and access to school meals, children age out of the program the month after their fifth birthday. Today, I am talking with the University of Georgia’s Travis Smith, an agricultural economist who, along with his co-author, Pourya Valizedah studied the effects of aging out of WIC on children’s diets.

Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Food Insecurity | Food Policy | School Meals | Social Safety Net & Food |

 

E214: Championing MyPlate – USDA’s Director of Food & Nutrition Service Caree Cotwright

September 13, 2023

Our guest today is Dr. Caree Cotwright, director of Nutrition Security and Health Equity at the Food and Nutrition Service at the US Department of Agriculture. Dr. Cotwright is leading a USDA-wide approach to advancing food and nutrition security in the United States. Part of her responsibility includes the charge from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to make MyPlate a household name. MyPlate is the official visual reminder of the US government to make healthy food choices from each of the five food groups. Now, this turns out to be a tall but important order. About a quarter of US adults have heard of MyPlate, according to a recent survey.

Related podcasts: Child Development & Nutrition | Childhood Obesity | Diet & Nutrition | Food Policy |