Thursday, October 28, 2010

Widdle Your Waistline and Improve Your Health: the Flexitarian Diet


Last Saturday I had the most delicious grilled artichoke at Taste of Atlanta, an outdoor festival celebrating a variety of different foods, cooks and restaurants. It was simple to make yet something I haven't done at home in a while (click here for a good recipe). So, this delightful, simple dish, bursting with flavor, reminded me about the many ways we can enjoy seasonal produce. And, if you aren't sold yet, by the wonderful magic of mixing together a variety of tastes and eye appealing colors, consider the benefits of a plant-based diet which are nothing short of amazing. More produce means you'll likely cut your risk of cancer, heart disease, age-related macular degeneration and various other diseases while maintaining a healthy weight, beautiful skin and a longer lifespan.

You can get all these benefits and more without giving up meat, poultry, turkey and game by becoming a part-time vegetarian (also called Flexitarian). Now, this may seem daunting to you at first but, by being a Flexitarian, you get the best of both worlds - you can still eat your favorite meat or poultry while gaining all the health benefits found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

How do you start? Plan ahead by looking up recipes and trying something new. For great veggie recipes, check out the www.foodnetwork.com. Look for soups, stews, ways to saute vegetables and more. I love this one from Giada De Laurentiis: Grilled Veggies.
In addition, you can read all about becoming a Flexitarian including suggested ways to incorporate more produce in your life, by reading this book: The Flexitarian Diet by Dawn Jackson Blatner.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Vegan – a Path to Better Health?

Every vegetarian and vegan I know strongly defends their choice to abstain from eating meat and meat byproducts. And, with good reason, they obviously chose this lifestyle because they believe doing so will improve their health. Here’s the rundown on the pluses and minuses of becoming a vegan:

Benefits:
Higher intake of fiber, folic acid, vitamins C & E, potassium, magnesium and many phytochemicals (plant based healthy compounds).
Less saturated fat and cholesterol (beneficial? For some, possibly)
Vegans tend to be thinner, have lower total cholesterol and lower blood pressure reducing their risk of heart disease.
In general, vegetarians typically have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer.

Drawbacks:
Vegan diets increase the risk of some nutrient deficiencies including vitamins B-12 and D, calcium, omega 3 fatty acids.
Iron and zinc status may be compromised because of the limited bioavailability of these minerals in a vegan diet (compounds in grains, seeds and legumes as well as some other foods and beverages interfere with the absorption of iron and zinc).

Recommendations
Consume B-12 fortified foods such as rice and soy milk and breakfast cereals (check out the Nutrition Facts panel).

Consume calcium-fortified plant foods such as breakfast cereals, fortified beverages, in addition to natural sources such as green leafy vegetables, tofu and tahini.

Consume vitamin D fortified foods.

Eat omega 3 rich vegetarian foods (which contain the omega 3 fat ALA) including flaxseeds, walnuts, canola oil, soy products, hemp seed beverages. Also, consider taking EPA and DHA supplements or eating foods and consuming beverages fortified with these two omega 3 fatty acids.

Click here for references.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Does Salt Cause High Blood Pressure?

According to the CDC, one in three Americans has high blood pressure. And, though we’ve pushed the “watch your salt intake” message to death (yes, even I recommend this for the masses, with a caveat or two though) it’s time to take a closer look at what really causes high blood pressure and also take the anti-salt mantra with well, a grain of salt.

First, let’s take a look at what causes high blood pressure. Blood pressure is a measure of the force of blood pushing against artery walls. And systolic (the higher number) is the pressure when your heart beats and pumps out blood to the body while diastolic is the pressure in your arteries at rest. Over time high blood pressure damages artery walls leaving behind areas that plaque can stick to very well. Plus, high blood pressure makes your heart work harder.

Those at greater risk for high blood pressure are:
- men over 45 and women over 55 (your artery walls are not as elastic when you age )
- family history
- lifestyle habits including:
- inactivity
- being overweight or obese
- smoking
- drinking too much alcohol
- excessive sodium consumption
- too little dietary potassium

And 90% of the people I’ve seen with high blood pressure are overweight and inactive. Amazingly enough when they drop some lbs and start exercising, their blood pressure often normalizes.

Now back to salt. While I think people should be mindful of their sodium intake, I think they need to spend more time focused on losing weight, getting active and quitting smoking. Secondly, people’s response to sodium varies tremendously. And lastly, it isn’t a good idea to cut out all salt from your diet because we need the iodine in iodized salt for proper thyroid functioning and according to some of the foremost nutrition scientist in the world, the recommendation to consume less than 2,760 mg sodium per day (CDC recommends 1,500 mg) is wrought with many assumptions including: "1) that the basic biology of the organism should be ignored; 2) that intakes below this threshold are not potentially harmful; 3) that the food industry can produce foods of such reduced sodium content and its attendant changes in texture, taste, and stability that people will change their eating habits; and 4) that people will desire to make these changes rather than see them as unwarranted constraints on a fundamental element of human behavior, ie, choosing the foods they eat."

For the most accurate blood pressure reading, follow these guidelines from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

Sure, you can cut the sodium down from 4,000 mg a day but, don't go too low.....

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Don't Let Your Weekends or Road Trips Derail Your Diet

Traveling and weekends are the top two roadblocks to weight loss. Diet record after diet record, I see people who “diet” during the week cutting their calories and sweating it out at the gym yet they just aren’t losing weight. They blame genetics, their thyroid, a slow metabolism or age but the reality often lies in what they don’t realize they are eating. Once they start tracking what they eat (in an app, spiral bound notebook, sparkpeople, etools or other) the lightbulb comes on. Ah, it’s all the alcohol, restaurant food and munchies that are consumed on the weekend and can totally outweigh all the weekday calorie counting. But, a person has to live a little….

Therefore, I came up with my Top 5 Tips for Tackling the Weekends and Traveling:

Top 5 Tips for Tackling the Weekends and Traveling
1) Don’t skip meals. Just because you are out running errands or shuttling kids between events and birthday parties, it is imperative that you don’t go hours without eating. Bring a mini-meal with you or even a snack. Skipping meals is one surefire tactic to make you want to eat everything in site later.

2) Search first. Those who have cracked the weight loss code plan ahead and decide where they are going to eat and what they will get on the menu. With the internet, google and websites devoted to calorie information, it’s relatively easy.

3) Eat before you go out. I know, I know, this isn’t new and in fact, you’ve probably heard it a million times. However, many people still don’t do it. Instead, they wait until they are famished, and dive into the chips/bread or appetizers on the table and then a full meal.

4) Eat in order. Strategically eating your vegetables first and then your protein and then your carbohydrate will fill you up so you aren’t downing the entire plate of fries in a minute flat. Produce fills us up with volume and protein satiates our appetite.


5) Watch your alcohol consumption. Aside from the notorious beer gut, alcohol drops our inhibitions to resist plates of food laid out before us.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Do Supplements Work?

Friday night, while looking at the Dali exhibit in the High Museum, my friend’s cousin asked me “do multivitamins work?” Startled I responded, “wow that’s one loaded question. Work for what? What result are you looking for?”

Neither supplements or the entire broad topic of nutrition for that matter, are cut and dry like an algebra problem. For x + y = z in your body, you must take the right form of the supplement, take it at the right time (with or without food; noting attention to specific types of foods that may help or hinder your supplement’s absorption) and look at how much you are taking at a time. In addition, to notice a benefit, many supplements need to be taken for a period of time, not just a one stop, pop it and bam! you feel amazingly better. Because of all of these factors, part of the responsibility of taking supplements falls on you, the consumer. But, here’s a quick cheat sheet for some common nutrition supplements.

In addition, I encourage people to follow this train of thought when considering a dietary supplement:

Thursday, October 14, 2010

McDonald’s Happy Meals, Buy One Now, Eat it 6 Months Later

In a horrific display of food preservation, Sally Davies, a photographer and vegetarian, posted her McDonald’s science experiment on Facebook. She took a Happy Meal home six months ago and took pictures of it over time to see if it molded or changed the way we expect food to go rotten. Click here to see pictures.



First off, I have a difficult time believing this story since I’ve seen the changes in a McDonald’s hamburger bun after my 6 year old niece, Sticky Fingers (because she sneaks her fingers in icing when I’m decorating cakes), left part of her unfinished meal on the table for hours. It didn’t mold but it did start to get hard like fresh bread will if left out. Secondly, I’m wondering why the McDonald’s hatred? I don’t work for McDonald’s, I can’t recall the last time I ate there but, I can tell you their McCafĂ© drinks are darn good, their portion sizes for anything not supersized haven’t morphed into linebacker-sized meals and there’s no study to date showing a direct correlation between fast food and the obesity epidemic.

Now I know what you are thinking, what is a dietitian doing defending McDonald’s? Here’s my take on nutrition: I take people where they are and help them make positive changes based on their lifestyle and goals. If I get a client who eats fast food daily because they work, have kids and are going to school and don’t have time to cook, we’ll look at the options available and explore better fast food choices. Though it sounds good on paper, it is completely unrealistic to think that everyone has the time, motivation or desire to buy all organic, local produce and grass-fed beef and make fresh meals every single day. And asking someone to do something they won’t do just sets them up for failure and frustration. Instead, I can direct them to better choices at home, in the grocery store and even at fast food chains (gasp!). Most fast food places have salads, Chick-Fil-A has delicious wraps loaded with vegetables, Wendy’s has the new “Pick 2”.



The choice is yours. You can get a McDonald’s hamburger for cheap, on the fly and just 250 calories while getting some protein and meeting 10% of your calcium needs and 15% of your iron needs. Or, you can go to a “fine” restaurant and blow a good part of your daily calorie budget on a thick, juicy burger and sides. Fast food isn’t making anyone fat but their choices at fast food restaurants, choices in the grocery store and lack of activity are likely to blame.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Beat Breast Cancer



This month is the 25th anniversary of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and though this is the 2nd leading cause of cancer in women, there are several things you can do to help decrease your risk:

1) Eat a diet loaded with colorful fruits and vegetables. According to the National Cancer Institute, fruits and vegetables are our best dietary bet for reducing our risk of this disease. Produce is loaded with antioxidants that may help us decrease the risk of some types of cancer. Aim for ½ - 2/3 of your plate from plant based foods.

2) Bone up on calcium and vitamin D. Some studies show that those with a higher intake of calcium and vitamin D from their diet, have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer.

3) Drink tea. Black, white, green and oolong tea are loaded with antioxidant polyphenols that may decrease our risk of some types of cancer. Add a slice of lemon, lime or an orange to further enhance your absorption of these disease fighting compounds.

4) Maintain a healthy weight and exercise. Overweight and obesity increases one’s risk of breast cancer, breast cancer recurrence and a poorer prognosis.

5) Aim for omega 3s. Omega 3s from fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, halibut, sardines, anchovies and lake trout decrease inflammation and keep our cell membranes fluid in structure (this is important so insulin can bind to it’s receptor site on cell membranes and because rigid membranes hold estrogen in the receptor for a longer period of time).

6) Support the Susan G Komen foundation by buying products with the pink ribbon on them or running the Race for the Cure.