The addition of spices and herbs to vegetables in the National School Lunch Program increased vegetable intake at an urban, economically-underserved, and predominantly African-American high school.

Vegetable intake is far below recommendations among African-American adolescents living in economically-underserved urban areas. While the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) helps overcome access barriers, vegetable intake remains challenging and novel interventions are required. A two-year, multi-phase, school-based intervention was conducted at an urban, economically-underserved, and predominantly African-American high school in Baltimore, Maryland to determine whether stakeholder-informed addition of spices and herbs to NSLP vegetables would increase intake.

An Onsite Fitness Facility and Integrative Wellness Program Positively Impacted Health-Related Outcomes Among Teachers and Staff at an Urban Elementary/Middle School.

Background: Given the large number of obesity-focused studies conducted in schools, there is a surprising lack of data regarding teacher workplace health behaviors in the United States.

Objective: To determine the feasibility and effectiveness of an onsite fitness facility with a structured integrative wellness program to improve health-related outcomes among teachers and staff at an urban elementary/middle school.

Methods: A 2-year mixed-methods analysis using Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures and qualitative interviews included 39 teachers and staff employed at an urban elementary/middle school in Baltimore, Maryland.

Polyherbal dietary supplementation for prediabetic adults: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Prediabetes describes a state of hyperglycemia outside of normal limits that does not meet the criteria for diabetes diagnosis, is generally symptomless, and affects an estimated 38% of adults in the United States. Prediabetes typically precedes the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, which accounts for increased morbidity and mortality. Although the use of dietary and herbal supplements is popular worldwide, and a variety of single herbal medicines have been examined for glycemic management, the potential of increasingly common polyherbal formulations to return glycemic parameters to normal ranges among adults with prediabetes remains largely unexplored.

Use of the Cochrane electronic library in complementary and alternative medicine courses in medical schools: is the giant lost in cyberspace?

Courses in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are increasing in medical schools in the United States and, currently, approximately two thirds of U.S. medical schools offer at least one such course.