I know that losing weight and feeling better about our bodies is always a constant thought. I have heard over the past few years numerous issues about not losing weight fast enough or not fitting into your clothes. Getting on the work-out wagon is only half of the battle when it comes to complete fitness. Nutrition is just as important. I know most of you keep a food log, but how honest are you with yourself when you write down what you are eating? I am not pointing my finger at anyone, but I just want to make people aware of the hidden calories in certain foods we eat every day. Many of the foods I’m going to list are in small amounts, if those all add up, it can prevent you from reaching your goals.
1. Butter on your toast- 40 calories
2. Ketchup- 15 calories (let’s be honest…we all use way more than one tablespoon too) This could be more like 90 calories
3. Half and half- 30 calories
4. Sugar in your coffee- 10 calories
5. Mayonnaise (even just a smidge)- 100 calories. Just stay away from this stuff!!!!!
6. Oil and vinegar on your sandwich- 50 calories
7. Feta cheese on a salad- 50 calories
8. Tablespoon of grated Parmesan on a sandwich or salad- 25 calories
9. Sour cream- 30 calories
10. That handful of m&m’s in the candy jar- 75 calories
I know you might think that some are very low in calories, but remember that most don’t adhere to serving size. Usually it is much more than the standard serving. If one of those things are a staple in your diet I would suggest cutting it out or really making sure you are just having the correct serving size.
I challenge all of you to actually measure EVERYTHING you eat for a few days. I know it might take 5 more minutes out of your day, but I also know that those 5 minutes are worth it if you lose an extra 5 pounds.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Be A Deli Detective: What's In Your Dinner Tonight
Tamara Brown, MPH, RD, LD
As the air gets crisp and the nights get long, what better way to stay warm than a steamy bowl of satisfying soup? For those busy days when you don’t have time to create your own pot of soup, many local grocery stores have already done the work for you and sell ready-made soups. Often these can be found warm at the soup bar, nicely labeled, but frequently lacking an ingredient list. Have you ever wondered what is in the pre-made soup you love the most? The deli detective is back on the scene, examining some quick and easy, “grab and go” soups from five local grocery stores so that you know exactly what’s in your food tonight. The chart below highlights some of the ingredients in each store’s product.
Click here to read on
Tamara Brown, MPH, RD, LD
As the air gets crisp and the nights get long, what better way to stay warm than a steamy bowl of satisfying soup? For those busy days when you don’t have time to create your own pot of soup, many local grocery stores have already done the work for you and sell ready-made soups. Often these can be found warm at the soup bar, nicely labeled, but frequently lacking an ingredient list. Have you ever wondered what is in the pre-made soup you love the most? The deli detective is back on the scene, examining some quick and easy, “grab and go” soups from five local grocery stores so that you know exactly what’s in your food tonight. The chart below highlights some of the ingredients in each store’s product.
Click here to read on
Monday, August 30, 2010
Healthy Food Swaps
The snacks we choose can make a big difference to maintain a healthy weight. By substituting a few healthier choices you can snack guilt-free!
Salsa is a great way to satisfy one of your daily vegetable requirements while adding flavor to cottage cheese as a replacement for higher calorie fruits and as a swap for sour cream on a quesadilla. A half cup of salsa is only 21 calories, which is a great way to eliminate 200 calories if using higher calorie garnishes and fruits.
Turnips, parsnips, and rutabagas are a tasty and healthy alternative for potatoes. Clean, cube and add spices like rosemary, garlic, and sage, and bake for a tasty side dish at your next meal.
Celery and carrots are a good snack but did you know that a cup of sliced bell peppers has only 20 calories and at the same time supplies 120 percent of your daily vitamin C requirement. They are also full of antioxidants – so crunch away.
Salsa is a great way to satisfy one of your daily vegetable requirements while adding flavor to cottage cheese as a replacement for higher calorie fruits and as a swap for sour cream on a quesadilla. A half cup of salsa is only 21 calories, which is a great way to eliminate 200 calories if using higher calorie garnishes and fruits.
Turnips, parsnips, and rutabagas are a tasty and healthy alternative for potatoes. Clean, cube and add spices like rosemary, garlic, and sage, and bake for a tasty side dish at your next meal.
Celery and carrots are a good snack but did you know that a cup of sliced bell peppers has only 20 calories and at the same time supplies 120 percent of your daily vitamin C requirement. They are also full of antioxidants – so crunch away.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Build and Repair Muscle with Protien
Most nutritionists will recommend three eight ounce (approximately one cup) portions of protein foods every day.
Meats are a prime source of protein and the ones to eat are those that are 95 percent lean. Some choices are white chicken or turkey breasts, egg whites, fish and shell fish.
If you prefer a vegetarian choice for your proteins choose beans and legumes like lentils, lima, pinto and edamame. Soy (in food form) is another great source of protein such as tempeh and tofu which can be found in several healthy choices like veggie burgers.
Dairy foods in reduced fat forms like skim milk, yogurt and cottage cheese help you to maintain the minimum daily requirements for protein for every meal. This is required to balance out your carb intake. If you eat carbs alone your blood sugar will skyrocket and then plummet. Combining proteins and carbs will eliminate these dangerous blood sugar fluctuations.
Meats are a prime source of protein and the ones to eat are those that are 95 percent lean. Some choices are white chicken or turkey breasts, egg whites, fish and shell fish.
If you prefer a vegetarian choice for your proteins choose beans and legumes like lentils, lima, pinto and edamame. Soy (in food form) is another great source of protein such as tempeh and tofu which can be found in several healthy choices like veggie burgers.
Dairy foods in reduced fat forms like skim milk, yogurt and cottage cheese help you to maintain the minimum daily requirements for protein for every meal. This is required to balance out your carb intake. If you eat carbs alone your blood sugar will skyrocket and then plummet. Combining proteins and carbs will eliminate these dangerous blood sugar fluctuations.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Cancer cells slurp up fructose, U.S. study finds
Pancreatic tumor cells use fructose to divide and proliferate, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study that challenges the common wisdom that all sugars are the same.
Tumor cells fed both glucose and fructose used the two sugars in two different ways, the team at the University of California Los Angeles found.
They said their finding, published in the journal Cancer Research, may help explain other studies that have linked fructose intake with pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancer types.
"These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation," Dr. Anthony Heaney of UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and colleagues wrote.
"They have major significance for cancer patients given dietary refined fructose consumption, and indicate that efforts to reduce refined fructose intake or inhibit fructose-mediated actions may disrupt cancer growth."
Americans take in large amounts of fructose, mainly in high fructose corn syrup, a mix of fructose and glucose that is used in soft drinks, bread and a range of other foods.
Politicians, regulators, health experts and the industry have debated whether high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients have been helping make Americans fatter and less healthy.
Too much sugar of any kind not only adds pounds, but is also a key culprit in diabetes, heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association.
Several states, including New York and California, have weighed a tax on sweetened soft drinks to defray the cost of treating obesity-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
The American Beverage Association, whose members include Coca-Cola and Kraft Foods have strongly, and successfully, opposed efforts to tax soda. [ID:nN12233126]
The industry has also argued that sugar is sugar.
Heaney said his team found otherwise. They grew pancreatic cancer cells in lab dishes and fed them both glucose and fructose.
Tumor cells thrive on sugar but they used the fructose to proliferate. "Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different," Heaney's team wrote.
"I think this paper has a lot of public health implications. Hopefully, at the federal level there will be some effort to step back on the amount of high fructose corn syrup in our diets," Heaney said in a statement.
Now the team hopes to develop a drug that might stop tumor cells from making use of fructose.
U.S. consumption of high fructose corn syrup went up 1,000 percent between 1970 and 1990, researchers reported in 2004 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Tumor cells fed both glucose and fructose used the two sugars in two different ways, the team at the University of California Los Angeles found.
They said their finding, published in the journal Cancer Research, may help explain other studies that have linked fructose intake with pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancer types.
"These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation," Dr. Anthony Heaney of UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and colleagues wrote.
"They have major significance for cancer patients given dietary refined fructose consumption, and indicate that efforts to reduce refined fructose intake or inhibit fructose-mediated actions may disrupt cancer growth."
Americans take in large amounts of fructose, mainly in high fructose corn syrup, a mix of fructose and glucose that is used in soft drinks, bread and a range of other foods.
Politicians, regulators, health experts and the industry have debated whether high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients have been helping make Americans fatter and less healthy.
Too much sugar of any kind not only adds pounds, but is also a key culprit in diabetes, heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association.
Several states, including New York and California, have weighed a tax on sweetened soft drinks to defray the cost of treating obesity-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
The American Beverage Association, whose members include Coca-Cola and Kraft Foods have strongly, and successfully, opposed efforts to tax soda. [ID:nN12233126]
The industry has also argued that sugar is sugar.
Heaney said his team found otherwise. They grew pancreatic cancer cells in lab dishes and fed them both glucose and fructose.
Tumor cells thrive on sugar but they used the fructose to proliferate. "Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different," Heaney's team wrote.
"I think this paper has a lot of public health implications. Hopefully, at the federal level there will be some effort to step back on the amount of high fructose corn syrup in our diets," Heaney said in a statement.
Now the team hopes to develop a drug that might stop tumor cells from making use of fructose.
U.S. consumption of high fructose corn syrup went up 1,000 percent between 1970 and 1990, researchers reported in 2004 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Mood Lifting Foods
You may think the secret to lifting your moods is to indulge in that ice cream sundae, but as a nutritional consultant, I know the true secret lies in eating mood-enhancing foods. Many foods and nutrients affect our moods, but protein is one of the most important because it boosts our brain chemicals. Let me explain how protein helps create balanced moods.
Protein in chicken, eggs or fish provides the building blocks for making the critical brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine. These brain chemicals help us feel calm, happy or motivated, but they can't be made from an ice cream sundae. Many people believe that antidepressant medications like Prozac or Paxil make brain chemicals, but in fact they don't. We make serotonin and dopamine from salmon, steak and chicken.
If you are experiencing low moods, it's important to eat protein throughout the day to provide the brain with a steady supply of nutrients to make serotonin and dopamine.
Protein in chicken, eggs or fish provides the building blocks for making the critical brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine. These brain chemicals help us feel calm, happy or motivated, but they can't be made from an ice cream sundae. Many people believe that antidepressant medications like Prozac or Paxil make brain chemicals, but in fact they don't. We make serotonin and dopamine from salmon, steak and chicken.
If you are experiencing low moods, it's important to eat protein throughout the day to provide the brain with a steady supply of nutrients to make serotonin and dopamine.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Low B Vitamin Intakes Related to Depression in Older Adults
Low intakes of the B vitamins are thought to contribute to depression in some people, but until now there has been little supporting evidence from population-based studies of older adults.
In a recent study published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers examined whether certain dietary intakes of vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folic acid correlated with symptoms of depression.
The study group consisted of 3,503 adults aged 65 and older who were followed over an average of 7.2 years. Vitamin intakes from diet and supplements were assessed using food frequency questionnaires, and the presence of depression was measured periodically using a standardized version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale.
After ≤12 years of follow-up, higher B vitamin intakes (including supplementation) were associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms. The lowered risk remained after adjusting for age, sex, race, education, income, and anti-depressant medication use. The risk of developing depression symptoms decreased by 2 percent for every 10mg (milligram) increase in daily vitamin B6 intake. The same effect was true for every 10µg (microgram) increase in vitamin B12 intake. Increased intakes of the B vitamins through food intake alone did not significantly reduce depression incidence.
Both vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 are involved in healthy nervous system function, but because older adults often have difficulty absorbing the B12 found naturally in food, fortified foods and a multivitamin may be necessary to reach beneficial levels.
The results of this research indicate that high total intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 may be protective against depressive symptoms in older adults.
In a recent study published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers examined whether certain dietary intakes of vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folic acid correlated with symptoms of depression.
The study group consisted of 3,503 adults aged 65 and older who were followed over an average of 7.2 years. Vitamin intakes from diet and supplements were assessed using food frequency questionnaires, and the presence of depression was measured periodically using a standardized version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale.
After ≤12 years of follow-up, higher B vitamin intakes (including supplementation) were associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms. The lowered risk remained after adjusting for age, sex, race, education, income, and anti-depressant medication use. The risk of developing depression symptoms decreased by 2 percent for every 10mg (milligram) increase in daily vitamin B6 intake. The same effect was true for every 10µg (microgram) increase in vitamin B12 intake. Increased intakes of the B vitamins through food intake alone did not significantly reduce depression incidence.
Both vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 are involved in healthy nervous system function, but because older adults often have difficulty absorbing the B12 found naturally in food, fortified foods and a multivitamin may be necessary to reach beneficial levels.
The results of this research indicate that high total intakes of vitamins B6 and B12 may be protective against depressive symptoms in older adults.
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