Welcome to a new year for Nutrition Update. In 2009, we will offer information in various formats, including scientific updates on key issues, consumer education fact sheets, toolboxes and complimentary continuing professional education modules, to meet your varied needs. We invite you to visit www.kraftnutrition.com often (at least once a month) and check out new content or our archive of past articles (in the Resource Center), which address topics of interest for nutrition and health professionals who counsel individuals about healthful eating.

This month’s Article for Professionals is titled Inflammation: Exploring Links to Risks for Chronic Diseases. It describes the inflammatory process, discusses the potential for use of inflammatory markers in clinical practice and looks at epidemiologic and clinical studies evaluating the role of various foods and food components in reducing inflammation. While there are a number of inflammatory health conditions that nutrition may influence, this article focuses on CVD, which often co-exists with other chronic diseases.

In upcoming months, look for resources on heart healthy eating and promoting healthful eating habits for children and ‘tweens. We hope you will find our new resource-centered focus and timely nutrition updates useful in your practice, as you help your clients and patients develop healthful eating and physical activity strategies that meet their personal health and nutrition goals.

Sincerely,

Sandra J. Morreale, MBA, RD, FADA Editor	Cecelia V. Maher, MS, RD, FADA Contributing Editor

Jacqueline R. Berning, PhD, RD is Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where she teaches nutrition in the Biology Department. Prior to joining the University full time, Dr. Berning was the Nutrition Coordinator for United States Swimming, planning menus, teaching nutrition and developing sports nutrition materials for the National and Olympic teams. Dr. Berning is a nutrition consultant to a number of professional sports teams including the Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Indians and Colorado Rockies.

Elaine B. Feldman, MD is Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Physiology and Endocrinology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. She retired from the Medical College as Chief of the Section of Nutrition in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Feldman has authored approximately 180 scientific articles, book chapters and books and is a Fellow of the American Society of Nutritional Sciences.

John P. Foreyt, PhD is Director of the DeBakey Heart Center's Behavioral Medicine Research Center and Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Dr. Foreyt has served as a member of several task forces and advisory committees, including the National Institutes of Health's National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity, and has published extensively in the areas of diet modification, cardiovascular risk reduction, eating disorders and obesity.

Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD is distinguished Professor of Nutrition in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Kris-Etherton is nationally and internationally recognized for her clinical nutrition research in the area of cardiovascular disease. She has published more than 130 articles in leading scientific journals. Dr. Kris-Etherton was a member of the National Academies Panel that authored the DRI Report on Macronutrients and Energy.

Nancy S. Wellman, PhD, RD, FADA recently retired as Professor of Nutrition and Director of the National Resource Center on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Aging at Florida International University. She is an affiliated faculty at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Dr. Wellman is past president of the American Dietetic Association and chaired the national Nutrition Screening Initiative over its 15-year history. She currently chairs the American Society for Nutrition ad hoc Positions Committee and serves on its Public Information Committee.