4,000 calories, hundreds of grams of fat and a food hangover. I’ve heard a lot the past few weeks about how much people eat on Thanksgiving, how they’ll stay on their diet and how much exercise it takes to burn off the calories they consume. And, I get it, people are worried and feel like their confessions to a dietitian will ease their anxiety and keep them on track.
But, for all of those dieting and freaking out this time of year, I ask that you turn that attitude around to a little gratitude. Approach the Thanksgiving spread before you thankful that you have food on the table and delicious, nutritious choices to fuel your body and mind. Get rid of the food fear mentality and look at the plate before you a bit differently. Sure, be aware of what you are consuming – but do so in a “am I still hungry or did I eat enough and I can save this until tomorrow” type of way.
While I don’t advocate gorging on food, ever, a few extra calories won’t put a dent in your weight loss efforts if you are tuned into your hunger and satiety cues. Our bodies typically compensate if you listen hard enough. Eat too much one day and you probably won’t be so hungry the next day. Under eat and you’ll be hungrier the next day. You just need to listen closely.
Thanksgiving food should be enjoyed and shared with family and friends. After all, hunger is still a problem across this country and abroad. And food banks are in desperate need to make up their shortages. If you have food on your table, be thankful! And if it tastes great, be extra thankful!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Gluten – the New Trans Fat?
Looking to lose weight? Improve digestive health? Feel better? Then you better get gluten out of your diet, according to popular fad diets and the media buzz surrounding this protein. Those in search of one single ingredient or food to shake their finger at have found gluten willingly sitting in time-out for the past few years. But, is gluten really that bad? Or simply misunderstood?
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. It provides elasticity to dough giving bread its characteristic spongy texture. You’ll notice that gluten free products often taste different, due to the different grains used to create them and the altered texture of the final product. Though gluten has a very beneficial role in the development of food products, it can wreck havoc for consumers with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
If you do not have celiac or gluten sensitivity, there is no research-based reason for you to remove gluten from your diet. Will doing so help you lose weight – possibly. But, that isn’t because of the gluten but instead due to the fact that you’ve removed a ton of foods (and therefore calories) from your diet! Will you be less bloated without gluten? If you cut carbohydrates (gluten is found primarily in carbohydrate-rich foods), you may notice that you are carrying less water since carbohydrates store 3-4 times their weight in water. Will you miraculously feel better? Doubtful. Unless you have celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, a wheat allergy or you are experiencing a placebo effect.
The signs and symptoms of celiac disease vary tremendously among individuals both in severity and types of symptoms they experience which include: diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, irritability, depression, anemia, stomach upset, joint pain, itchy skin rashes (dermatitis herpetiformis), weight loss, mouth sores and neuropathy. But, this disease isn’t so straightforward since many people go undiagnosed for years! If you think you have celiac disease, first, you must keep eating foods that contain gluten (so that the disease can be detected). Initially, your physician will probably order a blood test (TTG or EMA). If this test is positive, then you should ask for bioposies of the duodenal bulb. IF the intitial test is negative but your symptoms are consistent with celiac, push for the biopsy! Or, you could do genetic testing for DQ2 and DQ8 at www.myceliacid.com.
Now, what about gluten sensitivity? “The only way to "determine" whether you are gluten sensitive/intolerant is to compare how you feel when eating gluten with how you feel after being on a gluten-free diet. The time it takes to start feeling better after being on a gluten-free diet varies. However, symptoms should gradually subside after 3-4 weeks on a strictly gluten-free diet, although it could take longer. Right now, there is no reliable blood test to determine gluten sensitivity,” says Rachel Begun, MS, RD. For more information on gluten sensitivity, see Rachel’s blog.:
For great podcasts about gluten, click here.
And, for a fantastic overview of gluten in foods, click here.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. It provides elasticity to dough giving bread its characteristic spongy texture. You’ll notice that gluten free products often taste different, due to the different grains used to create them and the altered texture of the final product. Though gluten has a very beneficial role in the development of food products, it can wreck havoc for consumers with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
If you do not have celiac or gluten sensitivity, there is no research-based reason for you to remove gluten from your diet. Will doing so help you lose weight – possibly. But, that isn’t because of the gluten but instead due to the fact that you’ve removed a ton of foods (and therefore calories) from your diet! Will you be less bloated without gluten? If you cut carbohydrates (gluten is found primarily in carbohydrate-rich foods), you may notice that you are carrying less water since carbohydrates store 3-4 times their weight in water. Will you miraculously feel better? Doubtful. Unless you have celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, a wheat allergy or you are experiencing a placebo effect.
The signs and symptoms of celiac disease vary tremendously among individuals both in severity and types of symptoms they experience which include: diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, irritability, depression, anemia, stomach upset, joint pain, itchy skin rashes (dermatitis herpetiformis), weight loss, mouth sores and neuropathy. But, this disease isn’t so straightforward since many people go undiagnosed for years! If you think you have celiac disease, first, you must keep eating foods that contain gluten (so that the disease can be detected). Initially, your physician will probably order a blood test (TTG or EMA). If this test is positive, then you should ask for bioposies of the duodenal bulb. IF the intitial test is negative but your symptoms are consistent with celiac, push for the biopsy! Or, you could do genetic testing for DQ2 and DQ8 at www.myceliacid.com.
Now, what about gluten sensitivity? “The only way to "determine" whether you are gluten sensitive/intolerant is to compare how you feel when eating gluten with how you feel after being on a gluten-free diet. The time it takes to start feeling better after being on a gluten-free diet varies. However, symptoms should gradually subside after 3-4 weeks on a strictly gluten-free diet, although it could take longer. Right now, there is no reliable blood test to determine gluten sensitivity,” says Rachel Begun, MS, RD. For more information on gluten sensitivity, see Rachel’s blog.:
For great podcasts about gluten, click here.
And, for a fantastic overview of gluten in foods, click here.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Eat This, Get More Antioxidants
More and more people are shoveling antioxidants in their body with gusto. Sun damaged skin? Just take antioxidants. Trying to prevent heart disease? Drink some POM Wonderful. Want to lower your risk of cancer? Reach for Juice Plus. Now granted, I'm totally making these up but, I hear statements like this from consumers all the time. And, after all, we are bombarded with the message that “antioxidants are good” and we should search for the best sources of these little compounds that fight free radicals and therefore, may, over time, reduce our risk of some types of diseases and conditions. So, where can we get the most bang for our buck?
Despite ORAC scores and other measures of total antioxidant capacity, there is no one best source of antioxidants. These scores only tell us about the total antioxidants within a particular food but they don’t tell us a darn thing about how well our bodies absorb these antioxidants or use them. In a nutshell: ORAC means nothing, nada, for you as a consumer.
And, while there are certain antioxidants with specific functions in our body, lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health for example, there is a lot we still do not know about antioxidants and how they may work synergistically with other compounds and other antioxidants in fruits and vegetables. Therefore, it’s way to premature to rely on just one source of antioxidants from a pill or bottle. Instead, turn back to what dietitians have been talking about for years – eat a diet loaded with a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables Why look for color – the color often signifies different antioxidants. And finally, consider antioxidant supplements as just that - supplements to make up for your shortfall. But, look to food first. Because I guarantee you'll come up short when you don't consume the recommended 2.5 cups of veggies and 2 cups of fruit daily.
Despite ORAC scores and other measures of total antioxidant capacity, there is no one best source of antioxidants. These scores only tell us about the total antioxidants within a particular food but they don’t tell us a darn thing about how well our bodies absorb these antioxidants or use them. In a nutshell: ORAC means nothing, nada, for you as a consumer.
And, while there are certain antioxidants with specific functions in our body, lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health for example, there is a lot we still do not know about antioxidants and how they may work synergistically with other compounds and other antioxidants in fruits and vegetables. Therefore, it’s way to premature to rely on just one source of antioxidants from a pill or bottle. Instead, turn back to what dietitians have been talking about for years – eat a diet loaded with a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables Why look for color – the color often signifies different antioxidants. And finally, consider antioxidant supplements as just that - supplements to make up for your shortfall. But, look to food first. Because I guarantee you'll come up short when you don't consume the recommended 2.5 cups of veggies and 2 cups of fruit daily.
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