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Tag: eating tips
Cooking With These Foods Can Help Battle Predisposition For Obesity

Cooking With These Foods Can Help Battle Predisposition For Obesity

By Alison Bowen, Chicago Tribune (TNS)

Incorporating more foods into your diet to avoid gaining weight — it sounds too good to be true.

But one doctor says that a few foods can slow your risk of obesity.

Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, author of The Gene Therapy Plan: Taking Control of your Genetic Destiny with Diet and Lifestyle, which focuses on reversing gene damage to maximize longevity, talked to us about foods to take out or bring in.

Research shows, Gaynor said, that multiple genes affect someone’s chance of becoming overweight.

“What we used to think is that if you had a gene or genes, for instance, a lot of people in your family were overweight, you would just assume you would be overweight at some point in your life as well,” he said.

But, he said, “Genes are largely dynamic, and you can change the expression of genes.”

For example, you can eat foods that are protective against things that your genes might predispose you to, like cancer or obesity.

Genes affect the formation of new fat cells — people form new fat cells at different rates.

But even if you can’t change your genes, you can change what’s happening in your body, said Gaynor, who is also founder of Gaynor Integrative Oncology in New York City.

And knowing whether you’re predisposed to genes that, for example, cause obesity, can help you know how to counteract that.

If you’re more predisposed to obesity, Gaynor said, you can home in on the hormones that influence weight.

According to Gaynor, three major hormones affect what the scale says: insulin, which helps the body process sugar; and leptin and glucagon-like peptide-1 (or GLP-1), which make you feel full.

Everyone has those three hormones, but sometimes inflammation blocks them.

“The major causes of inflammation are too much white sugar and white flour and heat-damaged vegetable oils found in fast food and processed food,” he said.

So in addition to the oft-prescribed fish, for example, consider cooking with other anti-inflammatory foods, such as rosemary, extra-virgin olive oil, artichokes, garlic, turmeric and cinnamon.

“It’s good to have cinnamon at the end of every meal, even if you’re having cinnamon tea, or you could have desserts with cinnamon instead of white sugar,” he said.

(c)2015 Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: Steven Jackson

Healthy Eating, Even When You’re In A Hurry

Healthy Eating, Even When You’re In A Hurry

From Mayo Clinic News Network, (TNS)

Most Americans have experienced the rush of daily living with demands from work, school or family obligations. Eating healthy can sometimes take a backseat to more pressing matters.

“Although it may seem nearly impossible to make healthy choices when you’re so busy,” says Grace Fjeldberg, Mayo Clinic Health System registered dietitian and nutritionist, “there are tips and tricks that will make mealtime easier and save you time in the long run. It all starts in the pantry.”

To save yourself time, always have the essentials stocked in your pantry and refrigerator to decrease “emergency” grocery store trips. Always keep fruits and veggies available in any form, such as fresh, frozen, canned, dried or juiced. When the fresh food is gone, canned or frozen options can help fill the gaps. Also, canned and frozen options are sometimes more convenient as they are already washed and cut. Think convenience _ in some instances you may want to consider purchasing pre-cut fresh veggies or fruit to save time.

Fjeldberg recommends having these foods available in the house for healthy meals or snacks:

  • Whole grains: rice blends, pastas, tortillas, breakfast cereals, crackers, English muffins or mini bagels, and breads/wraps.
  • Proteins: low-fat refried beans or other canned beans, water-packed tuna, lean pork, pre-cut lean beef, tofu, fish and poultry. Even consider pre-cooked meats and low-sodium, low-fat lunch meats.
  • Dairy: Low-fat yogurts and cottage cheese (these often come in single-serve portions, which make it easy to grab-‘n-go), low-fat string cheese, pre-shredded cheese, and fat-free or 1 percent milk.
  • Other foods: Single-serve popcorn bags, whole-grain pretzels, hummus, single-serve peanut butter or low-fat dressing packets, single-serve dried fruit or nut packets and whole-grain granola bars. Also, keep pasta or pizza sauces in the pantry to add to your favorite whole-grain wrap or English muffin for a quick pizza.

Preparation tips and planning:

So, you have all this wonderful wholesome food in your house, but now what do you do with it? The first step in saving time is prepping some of your grocery store goodies, Fjeldberg says. Once you get unpacked from your shopping trip, wash and prep fresh fruits or veggies you’ve purchased. By doing all of this chopping at one time, you’ll save time later in the week and do fewer dishes.

While washing and prepping fruits and veggies, heat up the stove to boil some of those whole grains you packed away in the pantry. Many whole grains take at least 30-60 minutes to cook. By cooking grains in advance, you can reheat them later in the week or add them to a cold salad. You can also pre-cook many meats to reheat later in the week.

Now that you have everything prepped, the fun part begins _ planning. Most people view meal planning as labor-intensive and difficult. To avoid getting stressed about having specific meals planned, be creative in what you prepare. Reading recipes and gathering ingredients takes time. For example, if you already have rice and chicken cooked, pull out a frozen vegetable stir fry mix for a quick stir fry. That same chicken you already have cooked from the night before can be mixed with a Greek yogurt dressing and added to a wrap with fresh veggies.

The possibilities and ideas for healthy eating are endless, Fjeldberg says. With a small amount of preparation and planning, you can have a fresh, wholesome meal prepared in less time than it takes to order and wait for food at the local drive-thru.

(c)2015 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: It can be difficult to maintain a healthy diet when you’re always on-the-go. (Photo courtesy Fotolia/TNS)

Is Thin The Only Way To Be Healthy?

Is Thin The Only Way To Be Healthy?

By Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., EatingWell.com

Whether it’s possible to be healthy and heavy has been an ongoing debate among health professionals.

For a while, the research seemed to favor being fat and healthy. Last year, for example, a review study of nearly 100 studies, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at close to 3 million people and found that people who are overweight (defined as a BMI of 25 to 29.9) live longer than normal-weight folks. (Obese people, however, didn’t have a lower risk of premature death.)

But newer research may be turning the tide. A study published in April in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology looked at 14,828 adults with no known heart disease and found those who had a BMI of over 25 had more early plaque buildup in their arteries than normal-weight adults, putting them at risk for heart disease.

Just because you’re thin, though, doesn’t mean you’re healthy. Research shows that being “skinny fat” (i.e., your BMI is in the normal range, but you have high levels of body fat) ups your risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes and shortens your lifespan.

Plus, you don’t want to be too thin: A study published in March said underweight adults have a higher risk of dying sooner than normal-weight people–and an even slightly higher risk than obese people.

Bottom line: Despite the research focus on BMI, look beyond that number. Carrying fat around your midsection is more dangerous than anywhere else on your body. A larger waist (for women: 35 inches, and for men: 40 inches) puts you at a higher risk for health problems–such as heart disease, cancer–and death. So aim to keep your waistline trim. For that, the best “medicine” is eating well and being active.

(EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at www.eatingwell.com.) (c) 2015 EATING WELL, INC. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC

Photo: Jannino via Flickr

Take Supplements Safely

Take Supplements Safely

By McKenzie Hall, R.D., Environmental Nutrition Newsletter

More than half of Americans use dietary supplements, including multivitamins and botanical supplements, in tablet, capsule, liquid, and powder form, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While dietary supplements–products intended to add further nutritional value to the diet–may seem like a “natural” solution to health protection, as well as an insurance policy to guard against nutrient deficiencies, you should make sure you use them safely and appropriately.

Before you decide to take a supplement for health benefits, visit a reputable source of information, such as the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ods.od.nih.gov) or ConsumerLab.com. It’s best to consult your health care provider prior to taking supplements, especially if you’re pregnant, nursing, or have a medical condition, such as diabetes, hypertension, or heart disease.

Certain supplements can interfere with prescribed or over-the-counter drugs. To best ensure that you’re buying supplements that meet safety standards, look for those with a third-party safety verification, such as NSF or U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP,) which certifies the product has voluntarily met standards for identity, potency, and purity.

Most importantly, keep in mind that supplements are intended to do just that—supplement one’s diet, not try to make up for a poor one.

How are they regulated?

Some supplements, such as vitamin C tablets, may seem harmless enough, while others may promote an array of benefits simply too good to be true, from weight loss to hair growth. Unlike prescription medications, which must prove safety and efficacy before they’re distributed, supplements can be marketed without documentation of scientific evidence or FDA approval. Thus, there can be a lack of data supporting the supplement’s use, safety or dosage.

Indeed, quality issues have been noted in the supplement industry. Some supplements don’t even contain the ingredients they claim on the label. A recent investigation requested by the New York Attorney General’s office of herbal supplements sold at major retailers found that only 21 percent of products contained actual material from the plants advertised on the label.

Supplements, such as St. John’s Wort, echinacea and ginseng also were found to be contaminated with other substances not listed, such as wheat, citrus, pine and beans.

Safety measures do exist

The FDA’s Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act requires manufacturers to report adverse events related to their products; and current Good Manufacturing Practices help ensure quality control measures during manufacturing and distribution. The Federal Trade Commission has the authority to ban supplements that market unsubstantiated health claims.

(Reprinted with permission from Environmental Nutrition, a monthly publication of Belvoir Media Group, LLC. 800-829-5384. www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com.) (c) 2015 BELVOIR MEDIA GROUP DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.

Photo: louloulou via Flickr