Diet and Nutrition

While you’re in the store doing your grocery shopping, you go down the aisle and notice the words refined, enriched, and whole-grain written on grain products. These words describe the milling and making process of grain products and each term has different nutrition implications.

Let’s break it down.

Grains have three different key parts:

• Bran- outer protective coating, which is rich in fiber and nutrients
• Germ- seed that grows into a wheat plant, so it’s especially rich in vitamins and minerals to support new life
• Endosperm- contains starch and proteins

Quick definitions:

• Refined- foods lose many nutrients during processing
• Enriched- products have had some nutrients added back
• Whole grain- products that are rich in fiber and all nutrients found in the original grain

What makes whole-grain products so nutritious is that they contain much of the bran, germ, and the endosperm.  The difference between white and wheat flour is significant – white bread is wheat bread stripped of all its naturally occurring nutrients.  Whole grains haven’t had the bran and germ removed by milling, making them better sources of fiber.  Whereas refined grains (white rice or flour) contain only the endosperm because they are stripped of the bran and germ.  These items are then enriched by adding vitamins and minerals back after the milling process, but they still don’t have the nutritional value or the fiber that whole grains contain.

It is recommended that at least ½ of the grain products you eat be whole-grain (common range is 3-5 servings).  When purchasing these items, the word whole-grain needs to be listed first or second on the ingredients list.  On the ingredient list, if whole-wheat flour is followed by enriched flour, niacin, and iron then it’s not the healthiest choice.  This is confusing because it is whole wheat, but it is not whole-grain – it came from the wheat plant and it’s all wheat, but not all grain.

*Meaning, whole-wheat options are a good choice, especially over white/enriched grains, but whole-grain products are the best and healthiest option.

What counts as a serving?

• a half cup of cooked brown rice, whole-grain pasta, or other cooked whole-grains
• a cup of 100% whole-grain cold cereal
• a slice of 100% whole-grain bread
• a product containing at least 16 grams of whole-grain ingredients

Along with fruits and vegetables, whole-grain products provide disease-fighting fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals as well as B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, and iron.  Whole-grains have been proven to reduce the risks of obesity, diabetes, cancer, stroke, and heart disease.  Also, fiber is great with weight loss and maintenance because a high-fiber diet tends to make a meal more filling so you stay full for a longer amount of time; therefore you eat less and take in fewer calories.

Recent approval by the government (FDA) will allow food producers/processors to use radiation for the first time to kill bacteria in spinach and iceberg lettuce.  The radiation process will zap the lettuce to kill off E. coli, salmonella, and other harmful germs to help decrease or eliminate the likelihood of ingesting potentially, life-threatening contaminated food.

Meats, particularly ground beef, have been treated with radiation for years, but food companies and consumers are somewhat weary of how this will affect the quality of the lettuce.  Some feel the texture will be limp and not as crisp, while others think it could zap out its beneficial nutrients.  The government stays firm and believes the quality of the lettuce will not be compromised and all the vitamins and minerals will stay intact.  The FDA’s decision statement agreed stating that “irradiation will not have an adverse effect” on the nutritional makeup of lettuce.

Some consumers are skeptical about using radiation to control outbreaks and feel that something should be done locally, at the farming level, rather than at the processing step.  Some people feel as though there should be tighter regulations for the farmers to follow in order to eliminate contamination issues, stating that “irradiation is not a remedy for unsatisfactory production practices.”  Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, expressed that there isn’t much concern about the safety of irradiated foods,” but feels as though “there are simpler steps that can be taken.”  Another specialist was quoted saying “irradiation is a costly end-of-the-line technology, which should be accompanied by safer produce handling measures at the farm level.”

You be the judge, how do you feel about this?

Benjamin Delahaye is a writer who has documented his thirty day trial journey of weight loss using the Paul McKenna method. He writes about his daily trials and triumphs on becoming healthier from the inside out.

Dieting and I go way back. I was a child of two overweight parents who have constantly been posting lists of meal plans on the fridge, buying scales to measure their food intake, and weighing themselves every morning. I also remember standing on the school doctor’s scale and hearing my friends laugh out loud at my “figures”. So when I heard Paul McKenna say that with his method, you don’t control your quantities, the type of food you eat and you don’t weigh yourself more than twice a month, I was intrigued… I decided to try the method for 30 days and blog about the experience.

I was 102 kilos (224 lbs). Initially, the freedom given by the Paul McKenna method had a negative effect, and I actually started putting on weight. Even though I wasn’t supposed to go back on the scale for 2 weeks, I panicked one morning as I had difficulties getting into a pair of jeans. I had put on 3 kilos (3.5 lbs. )… in 10 days!

However, I still decided to carry on with the experiment and follow the cues given by my body. I made a conscious decision to refuse eating as a compensation mechanism (but rather only when I’m hungry), I sunk into a state of despair and even felt that I wasn’t able to cope with the most simple challenges. Suddenly, all of my anxieties did not find the comfort of  being numbed with food and it was scary. I faced adversity and questioned everything: “what is the point of loosing weight? What is the point of being healthy? What is the point of life?”

I began to wonder: do I really need to find answers to these questions? And I thought that I was sure of one thing: I want to be happy, and good health would contribute to my happiness. That was a starting point. I began to build ways to cope with life challenges. For example, when I’m bored, how could I occupy my mind ? I started to read books about chess, and play logical games. When a problem is causing me stress, how can I best solve it? If I’m having a meal with somebody and I’m struggling to communicate, how can I find common interests to converse, rather than hide by eating?

After 30 days, the verdict is that I will continue to not diet and follow the Paul McKenna principles. As far as tangible results are concerned, I weigh 99 kilos (218 lbs.) today, so the “net” result of the experience is that I lost 3 kilos in a month. I’ve seen more rapid ways to loose weight, but to me the real result of this experience is the transformation of the mind. I am progressively adopting the mindset of a healthy person. Coincidentally, I am more and more compelled towards eating more fresh, healthy food – and it happens by choice, not by rule.

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Shelah Davis is a new convert into the vegetarian world, but openly admits to being
deathly afraid of tofu. She loves to share the fun side of her journey into the “Veg” world  on her blog Royally Healthy. She also co-authors at Our Wicked Weighs ,a health blog/support group for all things weight loss and healthy.

You may think that moving toward a vegetarian lifestyle is difficult and often impossible, especially if a nice medium rare steak is a staple in your current diet. As an ex-meat lover, I am here to stand up and tell you that it can be done. Quite often, much easier than you might think.

I decided to cut meat from my diet when I began to learn about the chemicals and hormones that reside in meat even after it is processed. You see, I was on a quest for health because there were various cancers and diseases running rampant through my family tree. I knew that if I didn’t make necessary changes to my life, that I would soon become a statistic as well. A vegetarian lifestyle was the answer, at least for me.

To begin my process, I focused on planning. I decided in which order I would shed the flesh from my diet. First on my agenda was red meat. Then pork. Finally, poultry. Since I am a goal oriented person I felt that I needed the targets listed on my calendar…staring at me like a bulls eye. I decided to tackle giving up one thing per month. I thought that even at my worst, I could handle that goal. A goal that would get me to complete veg status in 3 short months. Who woulda thunk it?

I spent some time looking at all of my favorite dishes trying to find ways to make them without meat. What I quickly realized, was that it wasn’t as difficult of a process as I thought it would be. During the first month, I focused only on the red meat in my diet. I replaced all ground beef with ground veggie protein and tried other “meat” items that I found at my local health food store. I simply rebuilt the recipes that I already loved with foods that were healthy for me. I didn’t “give up” anything.

At first, the process was quite a challenge for me. Quite a bit of trial and error. I knew in the end that it would all be worth it. As I progressed, I began losing weight. A lot of weight. That alone helped in the motivation department in the beginning. It wasn’t long before I began to take note of how great I felt. Then those days of feeling great were enough motivation for me to continue on my journey.

I would be lying to you if I didn’t tell you that I do still crave meat. I find that my mouth still waters when I drive through a neighborhood and smell steaks on the grill. I don’t know if that will ever stop. I do know that no matter how great those steaks smell, they sure don’t make me feel as good as enjoying a grilled portabella burger makes me feel. I love not feeling lethargic after I eat anymore. I love being able to work with a clear head and not fighting off the dreaded cold viruses each time the seasons change.

The entire process of going from a meat loving woman to a vivacious veg gal took me less than 90 days. It wasn’t difficult. It wasn’t a sacrifice. I have enjoyed the process of getting here, almost as much as I enjoy the great way I feel now that I have arrived. Every day is an adventure for me. It is an adventure in great tasting, healthy food.