rsday, November 2,2000
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Page 5 A
THE BATTALION
enter focuses on healthy eating
n Arjunan
e Battalion
Scientists at Texas A&M's Veg-
ble and Fruit Improvement Center
FIC) present their research on nu-
ion to many professional critics
bin the industry. However, their
St impressionable audience is prob-
y elementary school students.
Scientists from various depart-
nts at A&M and support staff in the
; IC developed the VICKids Pro-
im in 1998 to teach children in
idergarten through high school
)ut research in food crop develop-
nt; nd nutrition.
IHe program uses a series of inter-
ive presentations, demonstrations,
and lab tours.
Jim a Jordan, one of the undergrad
es staffers in the program and a ju-
irlgricultural development major,
d the main focus is to get students
^Merstand how to live a healthy
5St\ le.
"Wh'c start out with a general dis-
ssion on the importance of eating
illiy and then we get the kids active
show them why they need fruits and
getubles to function,” she said.
Billowing the introduction, the stu-
ntt participate in games that show
mi the nutritional differences be
tween snack foods, such as candy and
chips, and fruits and vegetables.
Older children are treated to a tour
of VFIC’s labs, where they can see
some of the latest innovations in plant
biotechnology.
Melissa Reeves, marketing coordi
nator for the VFIC, said the lab tour
also provides a forum for understand
ing how science works in fruits and
vegetables.
Fats, Oils, and Sweets
“Kids can see the beneficial effects
of plant chemicals such as lycopene in
tomatoes and carrots as they learn
about the science of fruit and vegeta
bles,” Reeves said.
Lycopene helps strengthen colla
gen proteins in the body. Collagen
proteins are made of inelastic fibers
and are the main constituent of
bones, tendons, cartilage, connective
tissue, and the skin. Lycopene is also
Meat, Poultry, Fish,
Dry beans, and Nuts
Bread, Cereal, Rice,
and Pasta Group
The Food Guide Pyramid
COURTESY OF FOOD, NUTRITION, AND DIET THERAPY TEXTBOOK
known to help prevent lung and
prostate cancer.
Reeves said the outreach program
has a lasting influence on the way the
students view nutrition, and ultimate
ly, on agricultural economics.
“The children take home an impor
tant lesson about eating nutritiously,
and they help influence their families
eating habits, which increases con
sumer activity with fruits and vegeta
bles,” Reeves said.
The VFIC plans to expand this pro
gram across Texas with video-tele
conferencing equipment.
Any site on the Trans Texas Video
Network (TTVN) can access the
broadcast from College Station.
Leonard Pike, professor of horti
culture, said the staff at VFIC feels that
this expansion will increase awareness
of vegetable and fruit nutrition among
children throughout the state.
■ “Typically, kids do not eat a lot of
fruits and vegetables,” Pike said. “We
have found that telling them about nu
trition in a fun, interactive program
gets thpm excited about eating more
fruits and vegetables.”
Reeves said the program has wit
nessed tremendous growth since it be
gan by educating more than 800 chil
dren about the importance of fruits and
vegetables.
Disease-causing parasite affecting immigrants
3gy punchli
with fun if
nats. All tli
ips, and it v
has some u
illege stude
in in such a
l style and
s that symii
from thee
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shed witho
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ting to isn't
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ade; D) 1
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HOUSTON (AP) — Up to half of Hispanic
(migrants who are admitted to Houston hospi-
slfor seizures have a brain-burrowing parasite
at is passed on by people infected with pork
peworms, a tropical researcher said.
•he parasite, which is difficult to treaf and po-
ntially fatal, is diagnosed in 20 to 30 immigrants
oni Mexico and Central America each year at
en Taub General Hospital, officials told the
ouston Chronicle in Wednesday’s editions.
Dr Clinton White, a Baylor College of Medi-
ne infectious disease professor, said 20 to 30
iore cases appear each year at other Houston-
'ea hospitals. Nationally, 1,000 to 2,000 new cas-
> of the condition, called neurocysticercosis, are
reported annually.
“This is not an uncommon disease,” said
White, who addressed the American Society of
Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meet
ing this week.
The condition appears to be caused by a combination
of eating undercooked pork and poor hygiene.
It occurs after a person ingests water or food,
contaminated by human feces, that contain tape
worm eggs. The feces acquire the tapeworm
when a person eats undercooked .pork and be
comes host to a pork tapeworm, which sheds
eggs in the intestine.
Inadequate hand washing can spread the eggs
to food or water, which can infect another person,
doctors said. The ingested eggs pass through the
blood and form a cyst, most often in the brain.
Symptoms of infection include seizures, vom
iting, dizziness, psychosis, stroke and blurred vi
sion.
Treatment can involve anti-seizure medica
tion, parasite-killing drugs and steroids to sup
press brain swelling or surgery.
Nearly all cases in Houston have been in His
panic immigrants, or in U.S.-born individuals who
spend large amounts of time in Mexico or Central
America, White said. But he cites one document
ed case of neurocysticercosis in U.S.-born people
who have never eaten pork or gone to Latin-America.
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ROUND UP
2 day TX Music Festival
featuring 8 BANDS!!!
FRIDAY. November 3rd
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SLY LETTER
M I L H O U S E
SATURDAY. November 4th
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OWEN TEMPLE
DUB MILLER
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