Diet and Nutrition

Reading a food label can be a hard and overwhelming challenge. Nutrition labels are so important because they provide you with a detailed look of what is inside the food you are consuming. Don’t worry because you can easily learn important things to look at when reading a label to food you are about to buy or eat.

Listed below is a very basic breakdown of things you need to be aware of when reading a food label:

• Serving Size– provides you with a quantity telling you how much of this food is equal to one serving (for example 1/2 one cup = one serving). The serving size influences the number of calories and nutrients you are taking in with each serving you consume. By taking note of the serving size you can compare that to how much you actually ate in order to know exactly how much you are consuming.
• Calories– provide a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of a particular food. The key is to find nutrient dense foods. Meaning, eating a food that is packed with nutrients without being too high in calories. This also means that you want to try to limit the amount of “empty calories” you take in. Empty calories are ones that do not provide you with any or a very small amount of nutrients and are high in calories. By having an understanding of the serving size and calorie section of the label can help you manage your weight.
• Nutrients-this can be best broken down into two groups:

1. Nutrients to limit (such as total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and sodium) By limiting the foods you eat that are high fat, cholesterol, and sodium you are really helping your body reduce it’s risk of disease and helping promote weight loss or weight maintenance.
2. Nutrients you want to make sure you consume enough of (like dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron all in which are common nutrients most Americans do not consume enough of). Simply put, these nutrients provide great benefits for your body and are required in order for your body to function properly.

• Ingredients-gives you a running list of which items went into making the food you are about to eat. Ingredients are listed in order according to how much of the ingredient the food contains. An important thing to remember is, if you can not pronounce an ingredient listed, then you should probably avoid it!

If you look at a food label you might say there is more information on it that wasn’t explained here. If your food does not have a label (like fresh produce), use a free resource like CalorieKing.com or use a food scale. The point is to start small, begin at the basics and once you understand this you can build on our knowledge. I want you to not feel overwhelmed and realize you can read and understand the food you are about to eat.

There’s been a lot of talk this week about the recent recommendations for children regarding cholesterol in the journalPediatrics by the American Academy of Pediatrics. They are now calling for any child aged 2-10 to be tested if they show any of the risk factors for heart disease. The new recommendations also state that these children should be placed on cholesterol lowering medication, or statins, should their cholesterol levels come back too high (above 160).

Children who present these risk factors are those who are considered overweight or obese, are diabetic, have high blood pressure, or unfortunately, are smoking. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that by preventing and treating damaging changes to these children’s arteries now can mean a healthier life for years to come.

It’s no secret that we’re in the midst of a childhood obesity crisis here in the U.S. As the overweight adult population continues to rise, our children are following right behind, as is their health. A poor diet made of junk food snacks, soda and fast food coupled with a lack of physical activity are responsible for a rise in LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol). About 30 percent of the children in America have high chlolesterol. This can have lifelong affects on health.

These experts say the combination of medication, altering the child’s diet and the inclusion of daily exercise could help these children stop the medicine quickly and change their overall health for the better.

The argument now- should these children be placed on these medications? Research does exist that shows the use of statins in children aged 8-18 has no adverse side effects. The largest concern is that adults who’ve been taking these medications for years can sometimes develop liver problems. These reports indicate that 4 of the 706 children in the study developed minor liver problems that were alleviated by stopping the medication.

Should medication be the first line of defense for these kids? What about changing their diet, ensuring they get plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins? How about exercise- encouraging our kids to put down the video games and instead pick up a soccer ball, jump rope or bicycle?

Considering a study presented earlier this year, in which popular cholesterol drugs like Vytorin and Zetia were found to have little or no effect on  improving heart health, is this possibly a big PR move on the part of the pharmaceutical companies to create a fresh audience for its products? Is the American Association of Pediatrics taking a lackadaisical
approach to fighting the obesity problem with this country’s children?

We want to hear your thoughts about this hot topic, and what this could mean for the health care of our children.

That is what researchers are saying. A just-released study from St. Louis University adds to the growing body of studies that shows by restricting your calories starting from age 25, the more years you can add to your life.

Cutting back from your typical 2,000-calorie day to just about 1,500 can be tough and not that fun. But you will be amazed at how much of the good stuff you can pack in a 1,500 calorie-day or less. And small changes go a long way: Swap your french fries for a few pretzels or your full-fat ice cream cone for a small dish of sorbet.

To get a sample of what you might be noshing on as you skim down your daily calorie allotment, the Pritikin diet is one example.

Aside from food, I wonder what supplement-makers and a host of other professionals in the anti-aging industry think about this evidence that suggests eating less will make you live longer? There are so many products on the market now that claim to be the real Fountain of Youth, and we are digging deep into our pockets to taste from this well of potential youth-saving techniques. Who would have thought that instead of spending money to live longer that science is telling us you can actually save money by cutting back on your food bill?

Do you feel overwhelmed when you think about going to the grocery store? All the sales, the buy-one get-one free items seem so appealing, but are you buying the healthiest items?

The best advice to give about doing your grocery shopping is to shop the perimeter. Focus on the outside area of the store… that’s where the healthiest, most nutritious choices are. I’ll use Publix’s layout as my example, actually I’m a huge fan of Publix supermarkets. Depending on the side you enter, first items to come across are the nutritional supplements, i.e. protein/energy bars. These items are fine depending on what you are trying to accomplish nutritionally, but ultimately are ways to spend money fast… they’re so expensive!

Heading straight and rounding the corner, you come across the dairy selection. Ideal choices here are low-fat or fat-free options. If you keep walking, you approach the eggs and pre-sliced deli meats. If you enjoy eggs I say get them, but I suggest using caution with the pre-sliced meats. Those meats are full of nitrate preservatives that are not that great for your body.

Continue walking the perimeter and you approach the meat area. Select items you enjoy cooking, but I recommend limiting the amount of red meat you consume and try to eat more lean sources, such as chicken, turkey, and fish. For heart benefits, it is recommended eating a “fatty fish” two times per week (examples include: mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon).

The next items are the powerhouse, most nutritious items… fresh fruits and vegetables. These items are amazing and packed with wonderful nutrients that work wonders in your body. Buy a variety of fruits and vegetables in order to receive the vast array of natural vitamins and minerals, especially this time of year because these items are a lot cheaper then in the winter.

If you notice I haven’t talked about the items, what seems like endless aisles, in the middle of the store. That’s because this is where all of the processed, preservative-filled foods hang out. I recommend that you avoid even going down these aisles, which will help reduce temptations to eat these foods. If you don’t buy them, you won’t consume them. Buying canned items are OK, however, be aware that most are sodium-filled, which once again is not the best for your body and health. If you purchase frozen items, the best are the fruits and vegetables, but try to avoid the ones in sauces (sauces add extra fat and calories).

You should enjoy grocery shopping and not dread it. Make a list, stick to it, and remember to shop the perimeter!

Meet our new Dietitian, Kinsey Lowrey. 

You say or hear the word diet and automatically a few words come to mind: restricting and limiting you and the foods you can eat, rigid meal plan, overwhelming, time consuming. Often you feel anxious because you, like many other dieters, have fallen victim to losing weight, then unfortunately gaining the amount you lost and possibly more back. Think about it, if all these diets were as great as they claim to be or provide all this weight loss as they promise they can there would not be many diets, nor would there be the tons of diet, “how-to”, weight loss books that overflow the shelves in bookstores across the nation. If these diets were as easy to follow as they claim to be, people would not encounter this “yo-yo” dieting and weight loss/weight gain phenomenon that too many dieters have experienced.

If you feel lost and are not 100% confident where you should begin and you find a diet to help jump-start your weight loss that’s fine, but realize it’s unrealistic to think you can follow this diet for the rest of your life. At some point, you will run out of meal plans to follow, you will get tired of eating a certain food at the same time everyday, you will be exhausted with the concept of limiting your food selection, and you will be fed-up at completely cutting out one or more food groups.

In order to truly guarantee success, we need to shift our thinking from “I’m on the such-n-such diet” to “I’m working on a healthier lifestyle”. That’s exactly what it is, it’s a lifestyle. You need to be educated on healthier food choices, knowing the right foods to eat on a regular basis, as well as the kinds of food to limit or avoid. By restructuring your thinking to viewing this as a lifestyle you will empower yourself with knowledge and confidence to eat in any situation, be able to eat a meal out, etc. Nutritionally, by adapting to a healthy lifestyle you will greatly increase your chances of losing weight and keeping it off, and not to mention to numerous health benefits and reducing your health risk(s) and diseases.

A healthy lifestyle also includes proper amount of sleep, exercise, stress management, identifying and practicing one’s spirituality or religion, smoking cessation, and limiting your alcohol consumption.

Kinsey Lowrey is the new dietitian at DietsInReview.com. Read her introduction to learn more about her and her contribution to the site.