Fun with Nutrition Buzzwords and Benefits

Food marketers talk about what's good about a food or beverage rather than what's not so good.

Let's take the example of red grapes used in grape juice. Grapes are healthy, right? You may have heard about anthocyamins, a class of flavinoids and resveratrol with resultant antioxidant benefits. And the rationalization continues -  if I replace grapes from the vine with concentrated grape juice, I've used more grapes and that's more antioxidant value per gulp. Richly concentrated pigments in these red pigmented grapes are widely touted to be protective against cancer, aging and neurological diseases, inflammation, diabetes and bacterial infections. At this point, you are feeling pretty good about your choice and your nutrition knowledge.

Now although your choice might have some merits here's where the story changes. To make the juice taste best so people will buy it more, the trouble begins. One teaspoon of sugar weighs about 4 grams and there are 40 grams of sugar in an 8 oz. glass of organic 100% grape juice. That is 10 teaspoons of sugar in the smallest 8 ounce glass of grape juice.  Talk about hidden calories and sugar (natural or not) in what we consider healthy in America. That's more sugar than a candy bar and more than the sugar content of two Twinkies! 

So then you say, well, at least I got the benefits of the anthocyanins, etc. rather than fat and sugar alone. The health benefit of the grape juice counteracts the damage of so much sugar. Now, even if this was true, didn't you chose the grape juice for it's health benefits? At the end of this bad math and rationalization you are at best neutral for your food consumption choice. I've often seen the most educated consumers overwhelmed with the details of what they read and consequently make worse choices than if they just stayed with basic principles and logic.

If you put more than two teaspoons of sugar into your coffee or lemonade wouldn't you start to feel that it wasn't the best idea for your health? There's are very simple "solutions"  to the grape juice dilemna - no pun intented. First, check the label before you purchase the juice. Water down the juice to 16 ounces and drink only 8 ounces, look for unsweetened grape juice and add your own sugar. I could tell you to buy this brand and not that one but formulas change and there is no way around looking at the food label. Just do it.

I know you really started with the best of intentions.

March Mindfulness

Counter the March Madness in your life with a dose of mindfulness. The practice of living consciously in the moment can keep you calm and focused and even help with weight management.. That means when you eat do nothing else. Just eat. When you eat mindfully, you concentrate on and savor every bite you eat, which in turn can keep you from eating more than you need. If you sit and eat it mindfully you  can observe what you are eating, notice if you chew enough, notice all the flavors in a particular food or dish, smell the aromas, notice the textures and how these textures calm or energize you.  Eating is an experience and it should be enjoyed as any activity is. If you enjoy it you will find yourself more concious of what you eat and whether it is satisfying and why.  Families can practice mindful eating simply "by taking a moment of silence before you begin eating so everyone can enjoy their food," she suggests. Discuss between courses. notice how different members eat at different paces notice how your moods impact how you eat. Be served and conscuous about if you are full befoe your ask for more.Eat and then wait 20 minutes to see if you are still hungry.

Tradition: Pickles and Hamburgers

For as long as I can remember, pickles are a must have with a hamburger or deli sandwich. Have you ever thought about the combinations of foods we eat, the timing of eating, the order of eating certain foods and other factors influencing the healthfulness of our eating experience? There are many long standing meal traditions that are rooted in better health. We learn these as a child and may not realize that many eating behaviors came about for optimum health.

What you don't measure, doesn't count especially when eating out

This turns out to be true in terms of the way we behave even though logically we know that it is far from correct.  It turns out that we have a short memory about what we eat in part because we are so unconscious about much of what we eat. While eating we are often multitasking - talking to someone we are eating with, eating while we prepare our food, watching television eating until the show is over rather than until we are full.   We also don't remember because we are subconsciously tuning out what we are eating so that it will be acceptable. The best example of this is what many do when they eat out. When eating out or taking in "take-out", we relinquish responsibility for portion size and many other choices. It comes with the meal; I'm treating myself (although often without any boundaries at all).

Some answers are to have a glass of water first, then a bowl of soup or salad before the meal. If you eat bread first, you will likely consume 100 calories without any spread or dip before you even get started on your meal. Keep in mind how long it takes your brain to register your food consumption which can be from 5 to 20 minutes which is why you should stop eating when you are less than full. If you know you've ordered a  large portion, ask the restaurant to put half in a to go container and not put it on your plate.  If you are still hungry, it's there but you need to take the food out of the sealed take out box.

Vegans need to supplement with Vit B12 Read this

As more and more people are moving towards vegan diets for health, I have heard that many are not aware that vegan diets are typically deficient in Vitamin B12 essential for health. The following post is one of the best I've read addressing this issue.

http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/articles/dilemma.htm

Respecting your food

It's trendy to care about sustainability. Here's the way to do this to your advantage while you save the environment and the food supply.

How much of your food do you waste? Is it in your best interests to always buy fresh foods?

It's great to buy fresh foods if we will be eating them right away. But, consider the amount of food that we throw away when we don't - a waste of living plants that took effort to grow or animals that ended life for your nourishment.

As it turns out, much of what we toss away in the preparation process (stems, skins, etc.) is still full of nutrients. All  fresh vegetables might not be as aesthetic as we'd like for presentation in the fresh form but think about how we can use all of what we purchase with new recipes, Potato skins are a perfect example of how to take advantage of the most nutritious part of a potato.

Take care not to buy fresh foods that will not be used in 2-3 days as not only will they be less asthetic but also will lose the flavor and any nutrient content advantage over frozen or canned in no time at all. Consider buying frozen foods that are used within a month. Canned foods can be the fundamentals in our pantry - canned beans, and canned tomatoes  - all great staples that are high in nutrients without waste. Canned tomatoes have lycopene levels that are higher than in fresh tomatoes. And now, crock pots are now in fashion saving us time and money while providing wonderful meals.  Canned tuna add protein to any dish in minutes. Consider light varieties have less mercury than white or albacore.

Why portion size is key especially when it comes to indulgences

On a typical 2,000-calorie-day diet, experts say no more than 30 percent of calories should come from fat, with only a quarter of that from saturated fat. That's roughly about 15 grams, or about 140 fat calories. Most women typically should intake closer to 1500 calories per day roughly about 12 grams from saturated fat or under 120 calories from fat. It's easy to check the labels of the food you purchase in the grocery store but let me make this easy. Candy bars often have 22 grams of fat and ice cream not far behind - most of which is saturated. Need I say more?