Something to be Thankful For: An Abundance of Good Food

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.....

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.