Recipes and Reform

Boy, do I have a treat for you all today! Go to Gina's WW Recipes for some WONDERFUL and EASY recipes to try! My patient load is light today and I was able to spend some time perusing her blog this morning, saving TONS of recipes I'd like to try! If you enter your email address into her FeedBurner, you'll never miss a great recipe delivered right to your inbox!

Today for lunch I ordered take-out from Chili's Guiltless Grill (our microwave at work is still on the fritz)...the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich to be exact. It was really good! I was feeling great about my "Guiltless Grill" selection until I learned of the sodium...over 2,300 milligrams! Ahhh! At least the sandwich was only 386 calories, 7 grams of fat, and contained 9 grams of fiber??? :-/ Disappointing, Chili's! Very disappointing! I've also been reading Gina's blog, which has probably made me hypersensitive about sodium levels...which is a good thing!!!!!

Today for a snack I tried the Kay's Naturals Honey Almond Protein Cereal (gluten-free). I love the crunch of a cereal, but would be interested to see if the crunch held when served with milk (I ate the cereal plain). Most gluten-free products are "airy" in taste, weight, and texture...and the Kay's Naturals products are no exception. Though I should mention, I am a fan of the "light-weight" nature of gluten-free products...less bloat, I feel. The Honey Almond Protein Cereal is lightly sweetened, nothing over-powering which I prefer. Again, the portion size is excellent and one serving contains 100 calories, 3 grams of fiber, and 9 grams of protein! Nice work, Kay's Naturals...I am LOVING your products! Thank you!!

And in the news...a feather in the caps of those like myself in prevention...

A new poll for American's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows the majority of Americans consider disease prevention the MOST important element of health care reform.

The US Department of Health and Human Services aimed to reduce obesity rates to 15% in every state before 2010 (baaahahaha!). However, the trend is showing movement in the opposite direction -- obesity rates continuing to rise. As of 1991, no US state had an obesity rate over 20%. Today, only Colorado has an obesity rate under 20%.

In playing devil's advocate I have to propose...DO we (as a nation) want to change, or are we just sick and tired of our ill-fate if trends continue? 

If you had to take a side in this debate, what do you feel is consensus for the nation as a whole: 

a) improve health through prevention (nutrition, exercise, and preventative health care)

--OR--

b) continue Western medicine of treating the disease and not the problem

Diabetes, Cheerios, and Late Night Eating...

...you betcha, it's a smorgasbord today!

First up: a break-down of diabetes prevalence across the United States. Sorry the below map doesn't enlarge any bigger, but you can go here to see the enlarged version. Of course I found this interesting as I work with a largely diabetic population.

Among those 30 and older in the US, 13.7% of men and 11.9% of women have diabetes. A third of this estimated number are going undiagnosed. Colorado, Minnesota, and Vermont have the lowest rates of diabetes while the southeastern states have the highest rates -- Mississippi having the highest rates of all. Lead author and epidemiology research fellow, Goodarz Danaei at Harvard stated, "The Southern States have a very dangerous aggregation of risk factors for heard disease: obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes [1]."

With more than 70,000 diabetes-related deaths each year, diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death [1]. You can clearly see that Oklahoma and Texas have much work to be done in diabetes prevention, especially among the men, compared to neighboring Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and New Mexico.

In other news, a federal court panel has ruled that five pending lawsuits against General Mills for claims touting the cholesterol-lowering benefit of Cheerios will be consolidated into one multi-district case. The FDA administered a warning to General Mills regarding their claims of Cheerios "lowering your cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks" and "clinically proven to lower cholesterol." A specific rate of risk reduction is not allowed, according to the FDA. Plantiffs states that General Mills made false claims which led them to eat the cereal as a way to lower cholesterol [2].

The FDA stated in May that eating Cheerios was "not generally recognized as safe and effective for use in preventing or treating hypercholesterolemia or coronary heart disease [2]. Shame, shame, Cheerios and General Mills!

Last up: light night eating produces weight gain. I found WebMD's take on evening eating and weight gain, which was in consensus with a post I made back in September. Similarly, recent research performed at Northwestern University found that eating at night led to twice as much weight gain, even when total calorie consumption was the same among mice. The science, however, is still unknown [3]s.

Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, and director of nutrition for WebMD recommends consuming regular meals, as well as consuming 90% of your daily caloric needs before 8 pm. Eating every three to four hours helps regular blood sugar and control hunger and cravings [3]. I concur, for what it's worth. :O ) 

And yesterday's diabetic diet...

Breakfast:

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (2 carbs)

1 cup skim milk (1 carb)

1 tsp turbinado (1/2 carb)

1 tsp Splenda brown sugar (1/2 carb)

1/2 ounce pecans, chopped (0 carbs)

cappuccino with 2 Tbsp sugar-free International Delight

     Total: 4 carbs

1 cup whole wheat pasta (3 carbs)

4 ounce chicken breast (0 carbs)

3/4 cup marinara (1 carb)

1 ounce Parmesean cheese (0 carbs)

     Total: 4 carbs

Snack:

12 baby carrots (0 carbs)

small apple (1 carb)

     Total: 1 carb

Dinner:

1 cup mashed potatoes (2 carbs)

3 fingerlings of Biggest Loser "Fried Chicken" (2 carbs)

     Total: 4 carbs

Snack:

3 graham crackers (1 carb)

1 1/2 Tbsp peanut butter (0 carbs)

     Total: 1 carb

[1]. Bakalar, Nicholas. Diabetes: A State-by-States Breakdown. The New York Times. October 13, 2009.

[2]. Scott-Thomas, Caroline. Lawsuits Against Cheerios Cholesterol Claims Combined. Food Navigator. October 13, 2009.

[3]. Zelman, Kathleen M.  Is Late Night Eating More Likely to Pack on the Pounds? WebMD.

20 years of nutrition headliners

Well, I would first like to announce my initiation into the Foodie Blog Roll - yay! I hope to draw in more randos to my blog and continue the flow of comments, feedback, opposition, and support of my thoughts, ideas, and interests. And for all you lurkers, help me out and click "follow blog" up there at the top. I need to appear more popular in the cyber world!! Half kidding...but really, I've received many emails and comments from people I'm not sure I know IRL (in real life) and/or know that they follow my blog. Anyways..

Found an interesting article highlighting nutrition headliners making their way in nutrition over the past 20 years. I found them really interesting, so maybe you will (:cough:should:cough:), too! A lot really has changed about what we know and what we've adopted into our diets. Here's a snapshot [1].

New pyramid. We've changed the way we measure portions and we've added exercise. Also, the "use in moderation" section is done-zo. There's also a customizable "My Pyramid" available online. When you plug in your sex, age, height, and weight...the details of a suggested diet are laid before you. For free. Ahhh technology!

Food labels. The CNN article states, "In 1994 when the Food and Drug Administration required products to carry nutrition facts labels that listed the amount of calories, calories from fat, total and saturated fat, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar, cholesterol, sodium, vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron per serving." Today, 50% of adults peek at those labels. Continue doing your part, America! The information is accurate in invaluable in your weight management and health endeavors.

Fish and omega-3's. Need I say more? Eat'em love'em...and quite possibly...supplement'em.

"Fat is not a four letter word". AMEN! I think this is my favorite one! Fat is essential in the diet. Labels are including information on saturated, trans, mono- and polyunsaturated fat. Embrace the new information and use it to your benefit. Anybody have any any guacamole...? It's true, even the Sonic will serve a whole wheat bun if you ask. Up the complex carbohydrates! The Whole Grains Council and their stamp has assisted consumers in choosing healthier grain options. Ever see a red heart on your whole grain bread? It's not for decoration, I assure you.

Food for what ails you. Food works for you in preventing chronic disease and assisting in weight management. Food can help lower your cholesterol, keep your bowels regular, and regulate your blood sugars to an extent...just to name a few perks. What we eat predicts our level of satiety and satisfaction, and cooking and meal time provides enjoyable times and memories for all. Food is power, truly...and food + knowledge is invincible.

Cheers! Drinking to good health is recommended! Maybe this is my favorite headline.,.I'm not sure. Probably...as I blog enjoying a glass of wine from a local winery! But not just wine -- water and milk and others. And consumers are becoming aware of the calories they consume in liquid form. Many consumers are now opting for water or other low-calorie and calorie-free options like Crystal Light.

Variety. Not only is NO food a forbidden food, but we're expanding our palates. More Americans are familiar with and consume ethnic foods and a larger variety of foods than in decades past. We've all heard "eat your colors" or "eat the colors of a rainbow daily" -- this is emphasizing variety. And now too we see that consuming our nutrients through the diet versus a supplements is more strongly encouraged. It's amazing how quickly headliners go to rule of thumb, isn't it?

Go fresh. Farmers markets and the availability of fresh (organic) produce, meats, and other foods are gaining speed in the world. Stores such as Trader Joe's (which isn't in Oklahoma...leave me to pout), leave consumers with a cost-effective, fun means of freshening up, and lightening up their diet. Or should I say "bulking up" since all that produce is packed with fiber!!? Anyways, freshness is taking on a huge role in consumer choices as of recently.

Awesome article! Thank you, CNN!

I'll leave you with a few pictures of our Lily. She's nearly 20 weeks old and is just a doll. She got a new, big girl bed this week. Can you tell we are proud, proud parents!?

[1]. Squires, Sally. The 10 Most Important Nutrition Stories of the Last Two Decades. CNN Health. September 8, 2009.

Moon Grub

This is more for fun than anything...plus it's probably Trivial Pursuit-worthy.

Flying to the moon requires more compact, efficient, high-tech nutrition than that required on flights to say…Mercury (duh, right?). Designed using “scientific nutrition”, astronauts are certainly not bragging about “pills and paste”, the space-ready food served on their menus in the past. Such products were designed to provide calories, vitamins, and minerals... however, astronauts won’t eat the stuff. The “pills and paste” are packaged in squeeze tubes or as bite-size cubes coated in gelatin to keep crumbs from escaping. Warren Belasco, author of “Meals to Come: A History of the Future of Food” describes the food as “edible biomass, food for function, not for the soul [1].” No kiddin’.

Astronauts were losing a lot of weight not only in part to the extremely unappetizing food, but also in part due to their increased energy needs. While “floating” sounds easy enough, a lot of energy is expended in space as opposed to gravity-ridden Earth. The calcium needs of the astronauts are also increased as bones regenerate more slowly in space.

However, Apollo astronauts were the first to have hot water aboard their space craft which allowed for dehydrated foods which were packaged like the military’s meals ready to eat (MRE’s) [1]. Unfortunately, the foods were typically consumed out of a pouch, allowing them to eat with a spoon versus the retired “pills and paste” alternatives in the past [2].

Flying in space causes a shift in body fluid to the head causing a decreased sense of smell. Because 85-90% of what we taste is what we smell, astronauts commonly use hot sauces, soy sauce, and other bold flavors to season their food and increase the flavor. Overall, the advances in selection and quality for our space crews have drastically improved. Those working for NASA have 180 varieties of freeze-dried foods from which to choose. They can even opt to include some of their favorite foods in the form of freeze-dried. A menu cycle is typically 7-days and many shuttle crews allow on foods representing their country to share with other astronauts. Carbonated products such as colas, however, are avoided as they cause “dry burps” when mixed with gravity.

Moral of the story: foodies probably wouldn’t be too thrilled about the cuisine in space. I’ll stick to my day job, that’s for sure.

[1]. LaRue Huget, Jennifer. Houston, We Have a Menu. The Washington Post. July 21, 2009.

[2]. Suddath, Claire. What Do Astronauts Eat in Space? Time. July 20, 2009.