Resolutions

The New Year is upon us, which means time to make your resolutions! I personally am not big on making "resolutions" because it usually means empty promises I make to myself that end up making me feel guilty for not fulfilling. That being said, I do spend some time every year thinking about the past year and I also make plans for the upcoming year. I simply don't call them resolutions, but believe me, I make some plans.

What are your resolutions (or plans) for 2008? How are you going to make your life healthier or happier?

Here are my plans:

1. I will do some enjoyable movement every day. I am a marathon runner who is on sabbatical. As many of you know, I had a baby 6 months ago. I exercised throughout the entire pregnancy and was on the treadmill 2 weeks after having him. But then 3 months after that I got injured and have "an inflamed pubic bone." That was back in mid-September and I am still not able to run. I was doing too much too quickly. My fitness resolution is to not overdo exercise and just enjoy moving my body with overall health and fitness in mind.
2. I will cook more often and teach Basil (my son) to enjoy all foods. I cook, but often it is just throwing something together at the last minute. I want to go through cookbooks and make interesting dishes. As Basil starts to eat more foods, I want to introduce all foods and tastes to him. I want to have a child that eats more than just mac and cheese and chicken nuggets, so this is a very important resolution to me. I need to concentrate on cooking a healthy variety of foods, which of course will benefit the whole family!
3. I will be grateful every day. My husband got me a "Gratitude Journal" for Christmas (upon my request). I will spend a few minutes every day pondering what that day made me happy and write it in my Gratitude Journal. Being grateful is what life is all about. I want to keep track and be mindful of what makes me happy and list the many blessings I have in my life.

So there is my list of "resolutions" for the coming year. What are your plans for 2008?

Picture of me and Basil at Christmas.

Labels: goals, resolutions, Tara Gidus

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Salty Snacks

What do you think is the largest source of sodium in the American diet? Chips and other salty snacks? You may be surprised.....

It is actually bread and cheese. Yeast breads account for over 10% of the sodium in our diets, followed by cheese, pork products, salad dressing and mayo, cakes/cookies/donuts, beef, milk, cold cuts, cereal, and condiments.

The average American eats 4,600 mg of sodium daily, nearly double to recommended maximum sodium intake of 2,300 mg. If you are interested in learning more about sodium recommendations and who really needs to watch their sodium, check out my previous post on sodium sensitivity.

I was surprised to find out that salty snacks actually do not have as much sodium in them as many other commonly eaten foods.
For example:

• Lay's "lightly salted" potato chips only have 90 mg/oz and a glass of milk has 100 mg/cup
• Tostitos tortilla chips have 120 mg/oz and a fruited yogurt has 140 mg/cup
• SunChips original flavor have 120 mg/oz and a piece of bread has 130 mg/slice
• Fritos corn chips have 160 mg/oz and corn flake cereal has 265 mg/cup
• Doritos tortilla chips have 180 mg/oz and many wheat crackers have 225/oz
• Cheetos have 290 mg/oz and a plain bagel has 380 mg/3 oz bagel
• And the kicker.....cottage cheese has 460 mg/4 oz serving!

This is not to say go out and eat lots of chips, but just don't point the finger too quickly. Read labels of some of the commonly eaten foods in your diet and see how much sodium you are getting from them.

Here is another interesting tidbit of info:
One 10 oz bag of Tostitos Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips contains:

• 6.5 ears of corn
• 4.5 T. of corn oil
• 0.5 t. of salt

Thanks for Frito Lay for providing some of these numbers.

Photo courtesy of jslander

Labels: salt, salty snacks, sodium, Tara Gidus

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Perfect Eater

I love salt, fat, and sugar. There...I said it! I know...I am a dietitian and everyone assumes that I eat perfectly all the time and my favorite food is broccoli. Well, if you have been reading my blog for any length of time you know that my vices are chocolate, sweets, and more chocolate. Oh, and cheese curds from Wisconsin. And saganaki, flaming Greek cheese. All of my friends know that I get the corner piece of birthday cake and I often get boxes of chocolate as gifts (and this Christmas was no exception!). In fact, my dad gave me a mug that says, "I want chocolate and I want it NOW!" Of course, it was filled with my favorite mint meltaways. My in-laws sent me a box of See's truffles. Yummy.

I asked my husband the other day if he thinks I am a fraud because everyone knows what a sweet eater I am. I wonder if they wonder what kind of dietitian I am because they see me eating dessert whenever they see me.

His response was wonderful. He said, "You practice what you preach. You don't need to eat perfectly all of the time. 80% of the time you eat really healthy (mostly at home) and 20% of the time you have treats like your chocolate. I think it is good for people to see you eating sweets and dessert because they can see how thin you are and still are able to eat those things."

He is right, of course. I know we aren't supposed to worry about what other people think, but sometimes I do feel like people are watching what I eat because of my profession. And it does so happen that I eat less healthy when I am out to eat or at social gatherings.

I guess the moral of the story is: There is no such thing as a "perfect eater." I am certainly not perfect, but the majority of my diet is lean protein, whole grains, fruits, vegetables. Chocolate is a necessity for me. Figure out what your food passion is and eat it in moderation. And don't feel guilty about it! Enjoy!

Picture of chocolates courtesy of Euromagic

Labels: chocolate, Tara Gidus

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Merry Christmas!

Labels: Christmas, holiday, Tara Gidus

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Superfruits

I know you have heard of pomegranate, acai, and goji berries, but have you heard of the newest high antioxidant superfruits?

Cupuacu is a fruit gown in the Amazon rainforest and comes from a tree in the cocoa family. The fruit is brown and fuzzy and the size of a melon. A company in Utah has filed an application under "novel foods legislation" to market the concentrate from this fruit. The pulp is white and creamy and supposedly can be used as a substitute for cocoa in chocolate products.

Lulo is a fruit from South America and is a fruit that looks sort of like a tomato but tastes like a tangy pineapple. Expect to see it as a juice concentrate or puree or added to smoothies, ice cream, or baked goods.

Camu Camu come from the Amazon and are like cherries. It will also like show up in concentrate form, much like the acai and goji juices and concentrates.

What about these concentrates? Can they cure all diseases as they claim?

These fruits are indeed high in antioxidants, but I personally prefer to EAT spinach, broccoli, beans, potatoes, blueberries, whole grains, etc. to get my antioxidants instead of taking a "shot" of one of these juices. To my knowledge we have not yet found a cure for cancer or, for that matter, most diseases. We know that a healthy diet is one important tool for prevention of disease, and a diet rich in antioxidants is vital to good health.

Photo of pomegranate seeds courtesy of Swami Stream

Labels: antioxidants, food trends, Tara Gidus

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Take Out the "Diet"

Have you heard that Kraft's line of South Beach Diet foods are changing their name to South Beach Living?

Is "diet" a bad word? The marketing experts seem to think so. I am sure this name change is going to cost them plenty. Diet may mean weight loss, and the South Beach line can be eaten by lots of people, not just those losing weight.

What about Coca-Cola Co? They developed Coke Zero mainly because men didn't want to drink something labeled "diet." A beer has never made it being labeled "diet" but Michelob Ultra certainly is a popular brand.

What do you think? Do you think if a product is labeled "diet" that it isn't going taste good? Do you assume that something that is "diet" is going to be good for you? Bad for you? Low in calories?

"Life is better on the beach" is the South Beach marketing, and I guess South Beach Living is more about a lifestyle than the word "diet."

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Photo courtesy of didbygraham

Labels: diet, Tara Gidus

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Fertility Diet

You may have seen the cover of Newsweek recently with an article on diet and fertility. While that article fully supported a new book called The Fertility Diet by Harvard Medical School researchers, others are skeptical of the research presented in the book. One interesting recommendation they have is to eat more high fat dairy foods, such as ice cream. I remember reading a study about this, and it happened to be authored by these same Harvard researchers. Diet studies are difficult to do because people eat so many different foods and it is hard to know what they ate that really had an impact on what you are studying. I find it hard to believe that ice cream will increase fertility and low fat dairy foods will decrease fertility. Surely there were other factors that may have had an influence.

We (medical community) do not really know what causes infertility and what can really boost fertility, especially in the diet. Limited research exists on this topic, but I think there are some factors that are pretty well accepted.

1. Smoking decreases fertility in men (decreased sperm count) and women
2. Maintain a healthy weight. Being underweight can be just as detrimental on hormone levels and suppressing ovulation as being overweight.
3. Lose weight if you are overweight. Being overweight can make it much harder for women to get pregnant. Even losing 5-10% of your body weight may help increases your chances of conceiving. You will also have a much healthier pregnancy if you are not overweight or obese.
4. Stress can affect hormones in both men and women, suppressing ovulation or decreasing viable sperm.
5. Pesticides can affect sperm count and quality and may affect a woman's eggs. Choose organic and wash all produce well.
6. Sleep can cause leptin levels to fall which has been linked to infertility in women
7. High mercury levels in the blood from eating too much high mercury fish can cause infertility in men and women
8. A healthy diet is vital. We know that folic acid is necessary for prevention of neural tube defects once you are pregnant, but it may also help increase fertility in men and women.
9. Antioxidants such as Vitamin C, E, and selenium can help fertility in men and women. Eat your fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and whole grains.
10. Other nutrients like iron, zinc, B-6, B-12, and magnesium are also important for conception. Men and women who are trying to get pregnant should take a multivitamin with minerals every day in addition to eating a well-balanced diet including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and dairy.

Photo of my son, Basil, when he was about 5 minutes old.

Labels: fertility, pregnancy, Tara Gidus

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"Obesogenic" Environment?

"Obesogenic" is not likely a term that you have heard before, but you may be hearing it more in the future. It refers to an environment that promotes gaining weight and one that is not conducive to losing weight. A study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association looked at what kind of environmental factors promote weight gain.

Unfortunately many office environments are "Obesogenic." Is yours?

Do any of these sound familiar?

• You spend most of your day sitting at a desk
• The stairwells at your office are not usable because they are dingy and dirty
• You have Donut Friday every week
• More often than not you have someone's leftover birthday cake lying around
• Vending machines are stocked with sugar and fat-laden foods
• The cafeteria serves nothing but grease, cream, and sugar
• Someone always seems to be bringing in homemade treats all the time
• The candy jar gets replenished when it gets just half empty

Obesity is costing employers over $13 Billion dollars a year. Employees are missing millions of work days due to illness related to obesity. Let's put our money and time into something more productive and healthy!

What can you do?

• Start a walking club at lunchtime
• Ask management to clean the stairwells and put motivational pictures and sayings in the stairwells
• Take the stairs several times per day, even if you just go up and back down a few times to get your heart pumping
• Order pedometers for everyone on your team and have a contest of who can get the most steps each day
• Petition the cafeteria to serve lower calorie options
• Keep healthy foods in your desk drawer for quick snacks
• Encourage your coworkers to leave their baked goods at home
• Get rid of the candy jar!

Photo of candy jar provided by D'Arcy Norman

Labels: obesity, Tara Gidus, weight gain, workplace

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Drinks Increase Waistline

My post yesterday was on holiday beverages and how quickly the calories can add up. I thought I would expand on that information and include information on how beverages at all times of the year can contribute to weight gain.

A study out recently in the journal Obesity Research found that part of the reason we are gaining weight is because we are drinking our calories. The percentage of calories that we get from beverages has almost doubled in the past 37 years, going from 12% of our calories back in the 60's to 21% of our calories today. The average person gets 222 calories from beverages alone.

When you look at the trends, alcohol, fruit juice, and soda all went up in consumption and milk has gone down. I definitely hear that when I am talking with clients. I grew up drinking milk at meals, and now very few people have a glass of milk with dinner. They drink water, soda, or alcohol instead.

The problem with getting our calories from beverages is that they do not fill you up. When researchers study reported hunger and fullness in people, they find that when people drink their calories, they do not report as much fullness as when they eat them. For example, drinking 250 calories from a soft drink will not fill you up as much as eating a 250 calorie sandwich or frozen meal.

I sort of have a rule for beverages. Do not drink anything with calories unless it is milk or 100% fruit juice. Occasional alcohol can fit, but avoid getting calories from sweet drinks. Coffee drinks with pumps of sugary syrup are also contributing a large amount of calories. Use sugar free syrup and nonfat milk and you will have a much lower calorie drink. Even fruit juice I limit to 6 oz per day. You can get 100% of your Vitamin C in that amount. Eat whole, fresh fruit instead of juice and it will keep you satisfied for a longer time.

Drink water as the majority of your beverage intake. If you get tired of plain water, add sugar free flavor packets or use sugar free (diet) soft drinks to get hydration, too.

Photo courtesy of istockphoto

Labels: beverages, Tara Gidus, weight gain

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Holiday Drinks

We are in full swing of holiday cheer now with just under two weeks until Christmas! I have gone to several parties so far and have a few more before we even get to the family gatherings.

I wrote a few posts recently on avoiding the holiday gain and simple strategies to not gain even one pound during the holidays. One important part of our diet that we need to pay special attention to, especially at holiday time, is beverages. Liquid calories add up quickly and they don't really fill you up as much as solid food does.

Check out the calorie count of some common holiday drinks:
8 oz eggnog: 340 calories
8 oz light eggnog: 190 calories
12 oz (tall) Starbucks Gingerbread Latte: 260 calories
5 fl oz white wine: 120 calories
5 fl oz red wine: 120 calories
12 oz (tall) Starbucks Hot Chocolate: 320 calories
8 oz hot cider: 160 calories
8 oz alcoholic punch: 220 calories
12 oz regular beer: 150 calories

Once you add the calories you are getting from your drinks to the calories you are eating, it is no wonder we gain weight over the holidays! I am not going to be a complete scrooge, though!

Try this instead for fun drinks without all the calories:

• Make a spritzer with your wine. Add calorie free club soda to the wine and you will cut your calories in half! Use equal parts soda and wine. It works great with white wine!
• Use club soda instead of tonic or Sprite in your punch bowl.
• Make your hot chocolate with packets of sugar free hot chocolate and low fat milk
• Choose a sugar free syrup and low fat milk in your favorite coffee drink
• Make sure you get the light eggnog and limit yourself to 6 oz. It is still very thick and rich and sip it slowly to enjoy every swallow!
• Drink light beer instead of regular
• Choose champagne instead of wine. The calories are less and most people drink smaller glasses and less of it.
  
• Limit yourself to one drink with calories. Drink diet soda or sparkling water the rest of the night.
  

Photo courtesy of paper or plastic?

Labels: beverages, holiday, Tara Gidus, weight gain

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Fast Food on Report Cards?

I saw a story in the Orlando Sentinel yesterday that was quite interesting. Kids in one of the school districts here in Orlando is getting their report card sent home in an envelope advertising fast food. McDonald's is offering a promotion to any student who has all A's and B's, no bad marks in behavior, or no more than two absences with a free Happy Meal. A child qualifies for the promotion by meeting any of the three criteria.

McDonald's does offer many healthy options, and a child can actually get apple slices and milk along with chicken nuggets or a hamburger and have a fairly healthy meal. However, how many children are actually going to choose that meal vs the french fries and soft drink? Not as many as we would like.

School officials in this case said that Pizza Hut was a sponsor for 10 years and just recently McDonald's filled in the spot. Some parents are upset because this promotion and the listing on the report card envelope put the parents into a position of having to deny their children the free meal if they do not normally take their children to fast food.

Some other school districts include coupons for free ice cream or other fast food restaurants in with report cards. The schools view these report card promotions as business partnerships rather than advertising, but many parents are upset that their children are now connecting good grades with free fast food and other high calorie items.

What do you think? Is it acceptable for fast food to be connected with report cards?

Photo of report card envelope courtesy of OrlandoSentinel.com

Labels: overweight. childhood obesity, Tara Gidus

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Low Calorie, High Cost

I was reading a new study out in the December issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association that I found really interesting. The researchers looked food costs and found that lower calorie foods like fruits and vegetables are getting more expensive! As if eating right wasn't hard enough!

General inflation rates for food is about 5%, but the inflation rate for fruits and vegetables has gone up 20% in recent years. Foods that are rich in refined grains, sugar, and fat hardly went up at all in price. Unfortunately this is making it more difficult to follow the advice of health professionals. This kind of news is what is leading Americans to be undernourished from a perspective of nutrients but overfed from calories from sugar and fat. The result is a population suffering from overweight and obesity and not having the energy to get ourselves out of this dilemma!

The obesity epidemic in this country has been happening for many reasons. It always comes down to eating too many calories and not moving enough. But now we have an economic cause that plays into the equation. If someone does not have the financial resources to buy healthy, low calorie foods it is going to be near to impossible to eat right and maintain a healthy weight.

The solution? We need to make farming more economical and support our farmers. Please talk to your congressmen about the Farm Bill!

What do you think? Have you been buying fewer fruits and vegetables because of the cost?

Labels: food costs, fruit, low calorie food, Tara Gidus, vegetables

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You Are What Mom Eats

Since I am still nursing Basil, I read every study on breastfeeding I can find. It is well documented that breastfeeding has benefits of stronger immune systems, reduced risk of obesity, protects against diabetes, gastrointestinal problems, respiratory problems, protects against SIDS, and may even make your child smarter!

And if that is not enough....a new study reports that a mother's likes and dislikes are passed on to her infant during breastfeeding. If there was any incentive to eat your fruits and vegetables, it is while you are nursing! You may just get your child to eat more vegetables later in life, passing on a love for vegetables for generations! Ok, maybe I am taking it a little bit far now, but it is still pretty exciting.

This new study looked at infants who were breastfed and compared them with who formula fed. They found that infants who were fed certain fruits or vegetables accepted them better if their mothers ate those foods while breastfeeding them. What a beautiful system. When a mother eats a food, some of the flavors are transmitted through amniotic fluid and mother's milk. So a baby learns to like foods a mother eats and is more accepting of tastes that are familiar to them.

Vegetables are especially bitter by nature. If a child is exposed to those flavors repeatedly, they will be more likely to accept them when introduced. We have known for a long time that it takes at least 10 times to introduce a new food for it to be accepted by a child. If some of this introduction is done in utero or while nursing, it makes the job of the mother that much easier later on when trying to get her children to accept new foods.

Keep exposing your kids to new foods, whether you are pregnant, lactating, or at the dinner table with your children.

Is this photo of Basil not the cutest? Did I mention that nursing helps your child's intelligence?

Labels: breastfeeding, children, nursing, Tara Gidus

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