Sunday, November 6, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
A Diet-Ranking Resource
This is fantastic! This should help you sort through all the fad-diet trends to see which are actually healthful!
http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-healthy-eating-diets
http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/best-healthy-eating-diets
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Can ice water help you lose weight?
This is very interesting!!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203687504577004131120505396.html
This is a study where they had children drink 2 glasses of ice water. One hour later, they checked their body's metabolism... or how many calories the children's bodies were burning every minute. They checked it continuously, and 25 minutes later they discovered the amount of calories burned (while doing nothing) went up a "significant amount"... and their metabolisms continued to rise all the way up to an hour! In fact, they burned 25% more calories/minute at that hour mark than they did before drinking the water!
Of course studies always need to be repeated to make sure there wasn't some other factor that influenced the study, but ice water is something that can't hurt you... so I say drink up!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203687504577004131120505396.html
This is a study where they had children drink 2 glasses of ice water. One hour later, they checked their body's metabolism... or how many calories the children's bodies were burning every minute. They checked it continuously, and 25 minutes later they discovered the amount of calories burned (while doing nothing) went up a "significant amount"... and their metabolisms continued to rise all the way up to an hour! In fact, they burned 25% more calories/minute at that hour mark than they did before drinking the water!
Of course studies always need to be repeated to make sure there wasn't some other factor that influenced the study, but ice water is something that can't hurt you... so I say drink up!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
What's for supper tonight
The soup was delicious! Unlike pumpkin soup, I did not have to sweeten it at all.. possibly from the sweetness of the apples. I also used fat-free half and half which will also save calories. Charlie NEEDS meat for supper, so I make these turkey meat balls quite often and make a double-batch and freeze half to be cooked later on a night like tonight when we're too busy to cook a full meal!
This is also a well balanced meal with fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy, and grains (bread crumbs... it's a stretch) all in one, easy meal!
Curried Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
8 servings
Ingredients
- 2 butternut squash
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (or oil)
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 2 apples, cored, and cut into 1 inch dice
- 1/2 cup fat free half and half
Directions
- Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. (For a less messy cleanup)
- Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membrane. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a drizzle of oil. Place squash halves, cut sides down, on the prepared baking sheet. Roast in preheated oven until very soft, about 45 minutes. Scoop the pulp from the peel, and reserve.
- Melt butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, and salt. Cook and stir until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Pour the chicken broth into the pot, and bring to a boil. Stir in the apples and the reserved squash, and simmer until the apples are very soft, about 30 minutes.
- Pour the soup into a blender/food processor, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender. Puree in batches until smooth. This is a frustrating step, but it makes a HUGE difference in the texture of your soup. Return the soup to the pot, stir in the half and half, and reheat.
Nutritional InformationAmount Per Serving
Calories: 160
- Total Fat: 6.4g
- Cholesterol: 17mg
- Sodium: 306mg
- Total Carbs: 27g
- Dietary Fiber: 6.6g
- Protein: 2.5g
And Meatball Nirvana
4 servingsIngredients- 1 pound extra lean ground turkey
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 small onion, diced (and sauteed)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup skim milk
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Directions
- Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Place the turkey into a mixing bowl, and season with salt, onion, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes, and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add the milk, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center at 160 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes.
Nutritional InformationAmount Per ServingCalories: 343- Total Fat: 16.8g
- Cholesterol: 95mg
- Sodium: 940mg
- Total Carbs: 15.3g
- Dietary Fiber: 1.5g
- Protein: 31g
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Raw milk: what to think?
So, seeing as I am on a campaign against raw milk (and after being questioned by my dear Melissa about it...) I thought it might be time for me to do a little research. Nothing came up in terms of a "raw milk" search through research articles on my school's library site, so I had to settle for an online search. Which is a scary thing. There's a lot of stuff out there... most of it unfounded on research and full of politics and opinions.
Like this:
He makes some CRAZY claims on what raw milk can do for you and fails to mention ANY health risk you take in doing so... which IS scientific and is DOCUMENTED by the Centers for Disease Control.
Would you eat raw chicken? Maybe you do, I don't know. But you probably don't because you know it's unsafe... and while you MAY not get sick... there's the risk for it because it's raw and filled with all sorts of microorganisms. Would you ever feed that to a child? Or an elderly person? Or pregnant woman? Probably not. No one questions whether or not raw meat can cause illness.
I view raw milk in a similar way. Milk began to undergo the Pasteurization process over 100 years ago. That simply means that it is heated to a temperature that can kill germs and then sustained there... and then cooled to a temperature that milk should be stored at. Milk from the store is also homogenized to make it creamier... this just means they sift it through teeny-tiny holes to smoosh the fat, protein, and sugars together. This makes it creamier and the "fat-globules" smaller to keep the milk from separating.
So is raw milk dangerous? Here is a graph that depicts the dairy-related disease outbreaks from 1973-2005.
I wish I could give better credit to whomever wrote the wonderful article I found, but they didn't say who wrote it! They simply list over 55 sources used to collect their data on this hot topic. But what we see in this graph is that, although only 1% of the population are raw milk drinkers, they account for almost HALF of all dairy-related disease outbreaks. That is seriously disproportionate.
Raw milk promotors claim these unbelivable benefits, yet look at their summary nutrition:
There is very little difference between each of the categories.
Another concern is that Raw Milk contains probiotics (like yogurt) that are killed during the pasteurization process. I may need to do more research on this topic, but from what I can tell, milk is sterile (that means there is nothing living in milk) when it exits the cow... but BECOMES contaminated by environment:
• Mastitis and shedding of the pathogen directly from the cow’s udder into the milk
• Entry of bacteria into the milk from the cow’s skin, or via manure and dirt in the dairy environment
• Transfer of pathogens by vectors if they come in contact with the raw milk (for example, flies may carry pathogens on their legs and mouthparts)
• Human carriers transferring pathogens from their hands to the milk
This not only means that probiotics would not naturally be present in raw milk, but that they would enter milk in the same way as E. coli or Salmonella. In my opinion, it's not really worth the risk of getting E. coli along with a little healthy bacteria.
There is also some suggestion that grass-fed cows have lower risk for infected milk, but this, too needs more research.
In summary, if you DO decide to drink raw milk, be careful! Know that you ARE taking a health risk with no proven benefits. It is very clear that you are at increased risk of illness if you do so and that pasteurization exists for a reason!
Like this:
He makes some CRAZY claims on what raw milk can do for you and fails to mention ANY health risk you take in doing so... which IS scientific and is DOCUMENTED by the Centers for Disease Control.
Would you eat raw chicken? Maybe you do, I don't know. But you probably don't because you know it's unsafe... and while you MAY not get sick... there's the risk for it because it's raw and filled with all sorts of microorganisms. Would you ever feed that to a child? Or an elderly person? Or pregnant woman? Probably not. No one questions whether or not raw meat can cause illness.
I view raw milk in a similar way. Milk began to undergo the Pasteurization process over 100 years ago. That simply means that it is heated to a temperature that can kill germs and then sustained there... and then cooled to a temperature that milk should be stored at. Milk from the store is also homogenized to make it creamier... this just means they sift it through teeny-tiny holes to smoosh the fat, protein, and sugars together. This makes it creamier and the "fat-globules" smaller to keep the milk from separating.
So is raw milk dangerous? Here is a graph that depicts the dairy-related disease outbreaks from 1973-2005.
Raw milk promotors claim these unbelivable benefits, yet look at their summary nutrition:
Another concern is that Raw Milk contains probiotics (like yogurt) that are killed during the pasteurization process. I may need to do more research on this topic, but from what I can tell, milk is sterile (that means there is nothing living in milk) when it exits the cow... but BECOMES contaminated by environment:
• Mastitis and shedding of the pathogen directly from the cow’s udder into the milk
• Entry of bacteria into the milk from the cow’s skin, or via manure and dirt in the dairy environment
• Transfer of pathogens by vectors if they come in contact with the raw milk (for example, flies may carry pathogens on their legs and mouthparts)
• Human carriers transferring pathogens from their hands to the milk
This not only means that probiotics would not naturally be present in raw milk, but that they would enter milk in the same way as E. coli or Salmonella. In my opinion, it's not really worth the risk of getting E. coli along with a little healthy bacteria.
There is also some suggestion that grass-fed cows have lower risk for infected milk, but this, too needs more research.
In summary, if you DO decide to drink raw milk, be careful! Know that you ARE taking a health risk with no proven benefits. It is very clear that you are at increased risk of illness if you do so and that pasteurization exists for a reason!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Eating Disorders a New Front in Insurance Fight
Anorexia nervosa has the highest death rate of any mental disorder. And insurance companies are refusing to pay for the treatments these people need.
I always thought I hated government and policy... but more and more I am seeing the staunch need for involvement in the political arena. People's mothers, sisters, cousins, and nieces will be denied the medical care they need because insurance companies don't want to pay for it. It's so frustrating! We really need to change the way we do health in America.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/business/ruling-offers-hope-to-eating-disorder-sufferers.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
I always thought I hated government and policy... but more and more I am seeing the staunch need for involvement in the political arena. People's mothers, sisters, cousins, and nieces will be denied the medical care they need because insurance companies don't want to pay for it. It's so frustrating! We really need to change the way we do health in America.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/business/ruling-offers-hope-to-eating-disorder-sufferers.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
iron intake
What do you think of as foods with high iron content?
We have heme sources (animal) such as red meats, lean meats, seafood (shellfish or sardines) or organ meats.
And then we have non-heme sources such as dark leafy greens (kale! the super-food, broccoli, and collards), legumes, and iron-enriched grain products or yeast-leavened whole wheat breads.
We need approximately 18mg iron/day... so that could be a 2 cup spinach salad with 1/2cup chickpeas, 1 eggs, and 1/2 cup walnuts. Your whole daily value of iron in one meal!
Equally as important as the AMOUNT of iron you consume is the absorption of iron. Here are a few tips:
-Include Vitamin C with all meals. This increases how well iron is absorbed... and it's everywhere! Bell peppers, kale, broccoli, strawberries, oranges, or kiwi, etc. Seriously. It's easy to find Vitamin C-rich foods!
-Try to have a heme-iron source at every meal if your diet permits.
-Avoid coffee and tea with meals. This can affect the absorption.
-Avoid EDTA which is a chemical found in some processed foods. Check your food labels.
-Decrease your milk consumption to 3 cups or less per day.
-And lastly, combine heme sources with non-heme sources to absorb as much as possible!
Also, if taking an iron supplement, try to take it on an empty stomach. This may upset your stomach, so you can divide your dose into 3 doses throughout the day.
Hopefully these tips will keep you aware of iron sources and how to maintain them to keep up your energy and your mood steady!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
another case for exercise...
Just in case you needed one more.
Today in class we learned about something called Metabolic Stress. When your body goes through a severe trauma (such as a major burn, wound, gunshot wound, SURGERY (mom, are you reading?), or any other major injury) your body, in a sense, goes into shock.
Many times this involves one of your primary lines of immune defense (your skin) to be compromised. Your body knows it MUST compensate for this. So what does it do?
It steals from you. Your body steals from itself to make sure it can heal the new priority. And your muscles are the number one place it gets this from. Your body starts to break down your muscles--and on occasion your ORGANS--in order to provide enough protein and Amino Acids to rebuild different proteins to fix the areas that are damaged.
Does this make sense? Your body re-prioritizes. And your muscles are not a priority when you have just had surgery or been in a major car accident.
So what does this mean? If you are lacking in muscle mass, you are going to be that much more affected by trauma. BUT, if you can take care of yourself, and lift weights or participate in weight-bearing exercise, your body will be much more able to compensate for a surgery or trauma you weren't anticipating. It means a much faster recuperation time for you, which is ALWAYS good.
Today in class we learned about something called Metabolic Stress. When your body goes through a severe trauma (such as a major burn, wound, gunshot wound, SURGERY (mom, are you reading?), or any other major injury) your body, in a sense, goes into shock.
Many times this involves one of your primary lines of immune defense (your skin) to be compromised. Your body knows it MUST compensate for this. So what does it do?
It steals from you. Your body steals from itself to make sure it can heal the new priority. And your muscles are the number one place it gets this from. Your body starts to break down your muscles--and on occasion your ORGANS--in order to provide enough protein and Amino Acids to rebuild different proteins to fix the areas that are damaged.
Does this make sense? Your body re-prioritizes. And your muscles are not a priority when you have just had surgery or been in a major car accident.
So what does this mean? If you are lacking in muscle mass, you are going to be that much more affected by trauma. BUT, if you can take care of yourself, and lift weights or participate in weight-bearing exercise, your body will be much more able to compensate for a surgery or trauma you weren't anticipating. It means a much faster recuperation time for you, which is ALWAYS good.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
social-determinants
Sorry for another theoretical post, but I just finished writing a 5-page paper for ethics, and had something on my mind.
Daniels, one of the authors we have read from, submits the idea that health is more determined by social factors than by health care or even access to health care. Life is so multifaceted! Why would our health be any different? Our health is determined by our lifestyles and culture and cultural foods and coping mechanisms and beliefs and the list goes on and on and on.
In this regard, chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes could ACTUALLY be viewed as communicable diseases! While you can't catch them from direct contact, they are actually behaviors that are learned from life. If you spend enough time and enough contact hours around certain environments, you are very likely to "catch" them.
When we view these chronic diseases as communicable, it changes our approach to curing them. Obviously, this starts with a good dose of prevention. Housing situations, work environments, eating habits, shopping and cooking knowledge, drug use, activity level, and education all contribute to the environment that these diseases could be transmitted.
I actually don't know how to solve this. The problem is HUGE and complicated and infused with the complexities and fallen-ness of humanity. But people are worth it. If we can put huge medical efforts into traditional communicable diseases, then maybe we should start working on the more subtle ones person by person. Because people are worth it.
Daniels, one of the authors we have read from, submits the idea that health is more determined by social factors than by health care or even access to health care. Life is so multifaceted! Why would our health be any different? Our health is determined by our lifestyles and culture and cultural foods and coping mechanisms and beliefs and the list goes on and on and on.
In this regard, chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes could ACTUALLY be viewed as communicable diseases! While you can't catch them from direct contact, they are actually behaviors that are learned from life. If you spend enough time and enough contact hours around certain environments, you are very likely to "catch" them.
When we view these chronic diseases as communicable, it changes our approach to curing them. Obviously, this starts with a good dose of prevention. Housing situations, work environments, eating habits, shopping and cooking knowledge, drug use, activity level, and education all contribute to the environment that these diseases could be transmitted.
I actually don't know how to solve this. The problem is HUGE and complicated and infused with the complexities and fallen-ness of humanity. But people are worth it. If we can put huge medical efforts into traditional communicable diseases, then maybe we should start working on the more subtle ones person by person. Because people are worth it.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
the Hamwi equation
So, a big part of nutrition is body weight. How much should I eat to loose or gain weight?
One easy (and VERY generalized) way of determing your ideal weight is to use this simple formula:
for women:
Start with 100 pounds for the first 5 feet in height, then add 5 pounds per inch. (So a woman who is 5'6'' should weigh close to 130 pounds; (100 + (6 x 5)).) OBVIOUSLY this doesn't take into account body composition. Are you very athletic? What is your build? So to account for this, add and subtract 10% to this giving you a range of 117-143. AGAIN! This is NOT exact! A much better measure would be total body fat composition.
for men:
Start with 106 pounds for the first 5 feet, then add 6 pounds per inch. So a man who is 5'11'' should weigh close to 172. The 10% range should be 154.8-189.2.
This is a general tool dietitians use to determine ranges in weight. We'll address what to eat to maintain, gain, or loose weight later on!
One easy (and VERY generalized) way of determing your ideal weight is to use this simple formula:
for women:
Start with 100 pounds for the first 5 feet in height, then add 5 pounds per inch. (So a woman who is 5'6'' should weigh close to 130 pounds; (100 + (6 x 5)).) OBVIOUSLY this doesn't take into account body composition. Are you very athletic? What is your build? So to account for this, add and subtract 10% to this giving you a range of 117-143. AGAIN! This is NOT exact! A much better measure would be total body fat composition.
for men:
Start with 106 pounds for the first 5 feet, then add 6 pounds per inch. So a man who is 5'11'' should weigh close to 172. The 10% range should be 154.8-189.2.
This is a general tool dietitians use to determine ranges in weight. We'll address what to eat to maintain, gain, or loose weight later on!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Teresa of Avila
This morning during my devotion, I read an inspiring excerpt by Teresa of Avila.
She said to imagine you see a man sitting on the ground. He is tied up... hands cuffed behind his back. Unable to get up. He is starving to death, even though he has food just inches from him. He can't get to it no matter how hard he has tried... and by this point, he is too exhausted to try at all.
So she then poses the question: Which is the more compassionate thing to do? To take the food next to him and to feed him? Or to free his hands and feet so he can feed himself?
I know this is an idea that seems very obvious (although she may have been far ahead of her time...) but that is why education is so important. Without the tools to take something into your own hands and struggle with it and deal with it... and ultimately apply it, we are left in the same defenseless situations.
This applies to nutrition! This applies to education! And finances! And relationships! and even spiritual matters.
It was a good reminder to me this morning that gave me focus for the day.
She said to imagine you see a man sitting on the ground. He is tied up... hands cuffed behind his back. Unable to get up. He is starving to death, even though he has food just inches from him. He can't get to it no matter how hard he has tried... and by this point, he is too exhausted to try at all.
So she then poses the question: Which is the more compassionate thing to do? To take the food next to him and to feed him? Or to free his hands and feet so he can feed himself?
I know this is an idea that seems very obvious (although she may have been far ahead of her time...) but that is why education is so important. Without the tools to take something into your own hands and struggle with it and deal with it... and ultimately apply it, we are left in the same defenseless situations.
This applies to nutrition! This applies to education! And finances! And relationships! and even spiritual matters.
It was a good reminder to me this morning that gave me focus for the day.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
to egg? or not to egg?
I know this is the age-old nutrition question that probably rivals the greater question of "who came first? The chicken or the egg?"
I am honestly not into the "meat" of my classes yet. I've just started Medical Nutrition Therapy, and I know I will learn a TON of applicable things in there. Unfortunately, I haven't picked up too many tips, yet.
However, yesterday as I worked through a lesson for my ethics class on... you guessed it: Ethics in Public Health, something struck me. It's the idea that understanding about nutrition and diet change as the knowledge about nutrition and diet changes. (Obviously there are things driven by money and agenda... but I like to believe that most practitioners honestly want the best health and wellness for their patients.) But as new studies are conducted and analyzed, the guidelines change.
This may seem like a frustrating problem to not ever be sure if you are or aren't supposed to be eating something... but it's a good thing. Ethically, you want to know that you are advised to use the best known practice to date.
So, I guess I can't answer this question for you, yet... (although I am a BIG egg person... in my opinion, a boiled egg is a perfect snack... low in calories... and high in a protein very similar to ours... which means it's absorbed well...) (And I also know that eating cholesterol has (as far as research goes) very little effect on OUR cholesterol levels... saturated fat does.)
But this blog, as the field of nutrition, will be a work in progress. I will work hard to make sure I present what is proven to be most effective.
I am honestly not into the "meat" of my classes yet. I've just started Medical Nutrition Therapy, and I know I will learn a TON of applicable things in there. Unfortunately, I haven't picked up too many tips, yet.
However, yesterday as I worked through a lesson for my ethics class on... you guessed it: Ethics in Public Health, something struck me. It's the idea that understanding about nutrition and diet change as the knowledge about nutrition and diet changes. (Obviously there are things driven by money and agenda... but I like to believe that most practitioners honestly want the best health and wellness for their patients.) But as new studies are conducted and analyzed, the guidelines change.
This may seem like a frustrating problem to not ever be sure if you are or aren't supposed to be eating something... but it's a good thing. Ethically, you want to know that you are advised to use the best known practice to date.
So, I guess I can't answer this question for you, yet... (although I am a BIG egg person... in my opinion, a boiled egg is a perfect snack... low in calories... and high in a protein very similar to ours... which means it's absorbed well...) (And I also know that eating cholesterol has (as far as research goes) very little effect on OUR cholesterol levels... saturated fat does.)
But this blog, as the field of nutrition, will be a work in progress. I will work hard to make sure I present what is proven to be most effective.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
What is the Strangest Food You've Ever Eaten?
This was the introduction question to my Public Health Nutrition Leadership course this past Wednesday. What is your answer? What is the strangest food you've ever eaten?
Our class had a wide range of answers.
Head cheese.
Alligator.
Sea-Cucumber.
Bat.
Wolf.
Sparrow on a Stick.
I threw in that Charlie and I are 99% positive he ate the Queen's Rat (read: Nutria... or a very large Swamp rat if you aren't sure what that is) on our honeymoon in Belize which was disguised on the menu as "pork." (It wasn't pork.)
To end off our introductions our professor introduced the idea that food is incredibly cultural. When she has students in the class from Africa, they often reply "Oatmeal" because it is animal food to them. Why would people eat animal food? Along the same line, I have heard my dad mention that his father would not allow them to eat corn in the house because it was "Pig's food"... and why would civilized people eat pig's food? We wouldn't eat dog food, would we?
I want to start this blog as a way of documenting the important things I learn about nutrition along the way. Fortunately, I believe the program I am in is going to help me view food as both a scientific phenomenon as well as a cultural and social one. I will strive to translate some of the more interesting things I learn into application for you! My dear, healthy, foodie readers!
Our class had a wide range of answers.
Head cheese.
Alligator.
Sea-Cucumber.
Bat.
Wolf.
Sparrow on a Stick.
I threw in that Charlie and I are 99% positive he ate the Queen's Rat (read: Nutria... or a very large Swamp rat if you aren't sure what that is) on our honeymoon in Belize which was disguised on the menu as "pork." (It wasn't pork.)
To end off our introductions our professor introduced the idea that food is incredibly cultural. When she has students in the class from Africa, they often reply "Oatmeal" because it is animal food to them. Why would people eat animal food? Along the same line, I have heard my dad mention that his father would not allow them to eat corn in the house because it was "Pig's food"... and why would civilized people eat pig's food? We wouldn't eat dog food, would we?
I want to start this blog as a way of documenting the important things I learn about nutrition along the way. Fortunately, I believe the program I am in is going to help me view food as both a scientific phenomenon as well as a cultural and social one. I will strive to translate some of the more interesting things I learn into application for you! My dear, healthy, foodie readers!
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