Sunday, October 29, 2017

Common Nutrition Myths- Part 2


So many nutrition myths.  Amazing how people can be so concerned about their health and nutrition and then get fooled by some nutrition myth.  In my last blog we looked at nutrition myths about eggs and gluten free diets.  This week let’s look at myths about snacking and the idea that all calories are equal.  As noted last week, Snapchat posted some nutrition myths from the article on Self, 15 So-Called “Healthy” Eating Habits That Are Anything But.

1.        Nutrition Myth:  Snacking
How many times have you heard, “snacking is bad for you”, “don’t snack between meals”.   Why?  Because some people think snacking is bad for your health.  In fact, snacking can not only be a good, healthy idea for all of us but snacking is especially important for kids who need snacks between meals.  Snacks can be a healthy addition to your day.  Just choose snacks from the food groups.  As Julia Axelbaum, R.D. tells Self, “when you go too long between meals without eating,” it can be difficult to not overindulge when you do eat.  What to snack on?  Aim for 2 food groups in your snack.  Snacks for kids should include at least 2 food groups.  Kids should be served milk at meals but snacks are a good time to serve real, 100% juice or water.  Snacks can add nutrition to your day.  And for picky eaters, snacks can add nutrition that growing bodies need.  Mayo Clinic recommends snacks be about 100-300 calories depending on your daily calorie needs.
  • Yogurt + fresh or frozen fruit
  • Whole grain crackers and cheese
  • Fruit, veggie and cheese kebabs – cherry tomatoes with feta cheese, strawberries+ grapes + cheese, melon chunks. 
Tangerine Pumpkins
 Mayo Clinic has a list of healthy snack ideas:
  •  Fresh or dried fruit
  • Nuts or nut butters (check ingredients and avoid nut butters containing palm oil)
  • Whole-grain crackers or cerea
  • Vegetable sticks with some Ranch dressing 
  •  Hummus or cheese
  • Yogurt 
Nut Butters
Bring some healthy snacks with you to work or to the after-school game.  Have some cut up veggies, a handful of nuts in a baggie, some fresh fruit, some dried fruit. 

2.       Nutrition Myth:  All Calories are Created Equal
Always amazing how so many people will cut the carbs but not the fat in their diet.  The National Health Goals focus on cutting 2 types of calories – reducing our calories from saturated fats and from added sugars.  Fats have more calories than carbs as fats have 9 calories a gram and carbs have four calories per gram.  The first thing a person who wants to lose weight should do is cut out some of the fat in their diet, especially saturated fat which is linked to heart disease.  And cutting out the added sugar is also healthy as Americans have way too much added sugar in their diet.  Just cutting back on carbs is not a good idea.  Carbs are a major source of energy for our bodies.  We want healthy carbs in our diet such as fruit, vegetables and whole grains.  We also want protein in our diet for building muscle, tissue, repair, for healthy immune systems.  We need some fat in our diets as fat helps protect the organs in our body and helps us the vitamins, A, D, E and K.  Choose fat from plant oils like olive oil, safflower oil, sunflower or corn oil. 
When choosing “calories” choose calories that will add nutrients to your day.  As the dietitian, Lauren Blake, points out eating a banana adds only 100 calories but is also packed with many vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.  So much healthier than 100 calories from a candy bar which has a lot of added sugar. 
Looking for something to quench that thirst?  Water is always a good choice.  Or some 100% real juice.  But stay away from the juice drinks and the soft drinks which are loaded with added sugar.  The next time you go to buy some “juice”, look at the ingredients.  If you see added sugar, lots of food coloring, and only a small amount of juice, put it back on the shelf as it is not real juice. 
Many more nutrition myths are outlined in the Self article.  Don’t be fooled by nutrition myths. 
Recommendations:
1.        Enjoy some healthy snacks by focusing on:
a.       Fresh fruit
b.       100% Juice
c.       Fresh Vegetables
d.       Low-fat dairy
e.       Whole grains
2.       Focus on Healthy Calories – yes, cut the carbs but focus on cutting added sugars and keep the fruit, veggies and whole grains in your diet.  Cut the saturated fat but keep the plant oils like olive oil, safflower oil in your diet.  
Healthy Sea Turtle Snacks for Kids

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Common Nutrition Myths

So much misinformation is out there about nutrition.  At a recent book signing, I was in line to get some of the delicious treats that were being served.  The lady in front of me told her friend that she was trying to lose weight.  “I am cutting out the carbs, but you can’t cut out all your carbs,” she stated as she looked at all the table laden with delicious cookies and cakes.  Cutting back on carbs to lose weight is a common nutrition myth.  Yes, cut back on those added sugars and refined carbs like white bread, but keep the whole grains, fruits, and vegetables in your day.  My daughter shared with me some common nutrition myths that were posted on Snapchat.  Let’s look at 2 of those nutrition myths this week and more next week.  

1.   Nutrition Myth:  Ordering only egg-white omelets
In a nutrition course I teach, a mother indicated she served her children only egg whites and never the egg yolk.  When I asked why?  She said the egg yolk is bad for you.  Egg yolks are actually loaded with nutrition.  The entire egg has only 70 calories and provides a high-quality protein that actually helps stabilize your blood sugar levels.  According to Harvard, “an egg a day does not increase your risk of a heart attack…”  Researchers have found saturated fat is more linked to heart disease risk than dietary cholesterol.  The yellow color of eggs yolks is due to the carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin which are good for eye health by lowering the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.  Yolks contain choline for our brains and heart health. Egg yolks provide a good amount of vitamin A (270 IU) and vitamin D (41 IU).  Egg yolks are one of the few foods that provide vitamin D in our diets.  Yolks provide the mineral selenium that helps our immune function and iron for our red blood cells.  Yes, the yolk also has the cholesterol but the American Heart Association indicates we can now eat eggs once again.  


2.   Nutrition Myth:  Gluten Free and Cutting the Carbs

Cutting carbs to lose weight is a long-standing nutrition myth.  Never have I heard an overweight person say, “I want to lose a few pounds so I am cutting back on fat in my diet.”  Or, “I want to lose a few pounds so I am cutting back on the added sugars in my diet.”  If you want to “cut the carbs” cut the unhealthy carbs, the added sugar carbs in soda, in the fruit drinks like Sunny D, in cereals like Froot Loops that has sugar as the first ingredient.  But don’t cut the whole grain cereals, the whole grain bread, the baked sweet potato.  Carbs are the major energy source for our bodies.  Cut your carbs and you could end up feeling tired.  Fuel up with carbs, but healthy carbs.  By choosing the fruits, vegetables, whole grains you add many nutrients, folate, many B vitamins (needed for energy production) and much needed fiber to your day.
Going Gluten Free – one can hardly pick up a food package in the grocery store without reading “gluten-free”.  Another food craze not based on nutrition.  Yes, there are people who have to adhere to a gluten-free diet, those with celiac disease or Crohn’s.  But as the November 2017 issue of Consumer Reports states, “A gluten-free diet isn’t necessarily a healthy diet.”  They also warn, “For most people, eating less gluten may be risky.”  Gluten is found in the grains, wheat, barley, and rye.  According to Consumer Reports, about a third of us are buying gluten-free products.  Most do so thinking “gluten-free” means healthier.  But if you don’t have a medical condition like celiac disease, there is no reason to be “gluten-free”.  A British study found that those who avoided gluten in their diet, also had less whole grains and less of the many nutrients and fiber whole grains provide. A surprising finding is those who go “gluten-free” may be adding more arsenic or mercury to their day.  Consumer Reports notes, “A recent study published in the journal Epidemiology showed that people who were on gluten-free diet had up to twice the amount of arsenic and 70 percent more mercury in their systems than people who were not.”   Alarming that people trying to eat healthier by going “gluten-free” could be eating to the detriment of their overall health.  Why more arsenic and mercury if you go gluten-free? Because many of those gluten-free crackers, cereals, pastas are made with rice flour and rice can have “worrying amounts of arsenic”.  The Chief Medical Advisor at Consumer Reports sums it up by saying, “The bottom line is that by eliminating gluten from your diet unnecessarily, you are missing out on some important aspects of nutrition.” 

Recommendations:

1.      Enjoy some eggs in your diet and the whole egg.  If you are worried about cholesterol levels, then limit your egg consumption to one egg a day.  A 2016 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating one egg a day was not associated with an increase in heart risks. That's on top of a 2003 study published in the British Medical Journal, which tracked 115,000 adults for 14 years: researchers found eating one egg daily was not associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. I enjoy 2-3 eggs at a time, scrambled, hard-boiled, but I don’t eat eggs every day.  But when I do eat eggs, I eat the whole egg to get all the nutrients.

2.       Add some whole grains to your day – so important for good health.  At least half the grains you eat each day should be whole grains.  Even those with celiac disease can add whole grains by adding Quinoa, Amaranth and other whole grains to their day. Whole grains are full of vitamins and minerals and have fiber to fill you up.  Fiber helps lower one’s risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and helps with weight loss as it fills you up at meals. 




Sunday, October 8, 2017

Breakfast habits and your waistline

What are the worst breakfast foods and habits for your waistline?  MSN lists 37 of them in their article 37 Worst Breakfast Habits for Your Waistline.  We won’t review all 37 but let’s review some of them and add some other ideas for a healthy breakfast.  In the article they mentioned a book that actually focuses on breakfasts and belly fat, called Zero Belly Breakfasts.  
  
1.   Eat Breakfast – so many people skip breakfast thinking that is a good way to cut calories.  But then by 10 AM they are hitting the snack machines because they are hungry.  So eat breakfast every day.  The National Weight Control Registry  notes that 78% of people who lost weight and kept it off, ate breakfast every day.   

2.   Focus on Protein – To lose weight and keep it off, a lot of research has shown that adding protein to your breakfast can help keep weight off.  Why?  Because protein has “staying power” it stays with you longer so you aren’t so hungry mid-morning.  The National Weight Control Registry found that 80% of people who successfully lost weight and kept it off, ate a high protein breakfast.  Protein also doesn’t spike your blood sugar and helps keep your blood sugar levels stable for up to 3 hours after breakfast.  Eat This, Not That! Has some suggestions for high-protein breakfasts:
a.       Eggs – a great high-quality protein to start your day with.  Make some egg frittata muffins and freeze them to enjoy at breakfast.  My sister makes up a batch of 12 frittatas.  And then saps them in the microwave to have a hot frittata for breakfast.  They are also good to bring to work and put in a microwave to sap a frittata or two hot for lunch. Or, enjoy some scrambled eggs made with milk.

Scrambled eggs made with milk

b.       Low fat Yogurt – also a high-quality protein and a good way to add calcium, vitamin D and probiotics to your day. Greek yogurt has more protein but regular yogurt has more calcium per serving.
Yogurt
 c.       Peanut Butter – put some peanut butter on a whole grain English muffin or whole grain bagel.
d.       Low fat cottage cheese – so many people seem to have forgotten about cottage cheese. Add some frozen or fresh berries, add some cinnamon.  
Cottage Cheese with fresh fruit
e.       Low Fat or Skim Milk – a glass of skim mill has only 90 calories and provides 8 grams of high quality protein.
3.   Black Coffee is good, coffee loaded with creamers and sugar, not so good.  If you want to add something to your coffee, skip the creamers and choose some almond milk, soy milk, or low-fat milk.  My older daughter adds 2% low-fat milk to her morning coffee.  This is one way she adds milk to her day and adds calcium, protein and vitamin D to her day. 

4.    Energy drinks – not the best choice to start your day.  One would think energy drinks would energize you for the day.  But many energy drinks are loaded with sugar.  Drink the coffee, have some hot tea but skip the energy drinks. 

5.   Skip the Fast Food Breakfast or choose some healthier options.  Who doesn’t enjoy an Egg McMuffin for breakfast?  A nice treat but enjoying fast food for breakfast several times a week can add a lot of extra calories.  If you are going out for fast food breakfasts, check out Best & Worst Breakfast Sandwiches.  The Egg McMuffin is a better choice at 300 calories. And it provides a good amount of protein.  Subway offers a good Egg & Cheese sandwich at 360 calories.  Choose the whole grain bread to boost the nutritional value.  Panera offers a Breakfast Power Sandwich on Whole Grain bread.  About 340 calories.  Dunkin Donuts offers something besides the morning donut.  Choose the Ham, Egg, and Cheese on an English Muffin for 280 calories.

Enjoy breakfast this week.  Whether eating at home or out, add some protein to your breakfast.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Breakfast in a hurry

Breakfast – the most important meal of the day.  But what if you have no time, running late?  Do you need to grab something as you go out the door?  Are there any breakfast bars you should keep stocked in your pantry to “grab and go”?  The October issue of Environmental Nutrition reviewed numerous “Breakfast in a Bar” for nutritional quality.  I take these bars with me for a quick “snack” during the day.  Or when on a trip, if we are going to a late lunch, I snack on one of these bars to get me to lunch time. 
What to look for when choosing a breakfast bar:
  1. Fiber – look for at least 3 grams of fiber.
  2. Protein – look for at least 4 grams of protein.
  3. Sugar – no more than 11 grams of sugar.  Sugar has 4 calories a gram so 11 grams of sugar would be 44 calories.
  4. First ingredient:  look for whole grain (e.g. oatmeal), fruit or nuts as the first ingredient.  If 1st ingredient is sugar, skip it.

Healthy Breakfast bars
  •  Healthy choices for breakfast bars can contribute fruit, whole grains, nuts or seeds to your day.  If these are the first ingredients in the breakfast, you are adding nutrients to your day.
  • Add some protein with the breakfast bar – some yogurt, a glass of milk.  Protein has “staying power” and you won’t be as hungry later in the morning. Or, the article suggests spreading your breakfast bar with some nut butter:  peanut butter, almond butter.
  • Add some 100% juice – not a complete breakfast but a breakfast bar and juice will give you some quick energy and more nutrients than a bar alone.

Some Top Rated Breakfast Bars (adapter from Breakfast in a Bar, for a full list go to this link).
Calories
Total Fat (g)
Protein (g)
Carbs (g)
Sugars (g)
Fiber  (g)
Clif Bar Nut Butter Filled, Organic Banana Choc., PB
230
10
7
27
11
3
Kind Breakfast Bars, Maple Cinnamon (2)
210
9
8
26
10
4
Kind Breakfast Bars, PB (2)
230
11
5
28
8
5
LaraBar Nut&Seed Crunchy Bar, Dark Choc. Almond
200
15
5
13
7
4
LaraBar Nut& Seed Crunchy Bar, Almond Cranberry
190
14
5
14
8
4
LaraBar Nut& Seed Crunchy Bar, Maple Cinnamon
200
16
5
12
6
4
Nature Valley Biscuits, Honey (4)
230
9
4
34
11
4
Nature Valley Biscuits, Lemon Poppy Seed
230
9
4
33
10
4

Not in the mood for a bar?  Quaker has a number of grab and go choices that you can eat for breakfast, as a snack or before you work out for an energy boost.  The first ingredients of the Quaker Breakfast Square, Peanut Butter flavor is whole grain rolled oats, and peanut spread.  There is no high fructose corn syrup and each square provides 23 grams of whole grains per serving.  So, a good way to add some whole grains to your day.   The Baked Apple Cinnamon has a little more sugar and less protein but would contribute whole grains to your day.  So many Americans are lacking whole grains, this would be a way towards the goal of half your grains should be whole grains.  And a good way to add some fiber to your day.
Breakfast “Grab and Go” from Quaker
Calories
Total Fat (g)
Protein (g)
Carbs (g)
Sugars (g)
Fiber  (g)
250
10
6
35
11
6
210
4.5
3
41
13
5

No time for a real breakfast, then stock your pantry with some breakfast bars or breakfast squares.  Want to bring healthier snack to work and avoid the 3 PM vending machine blues?  Bring one of these bars/squares with you.  Need a snack before a game after school?  Buy some 100% juice and eat one of these bars for a healthier snack.    


Sources:  Breakfast in a Bar, Quaker   Image Source:  Clif, Quaker, LaraBar