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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)

Adult Diseases Now Striking Children Because Of Poor Diet And Obesity

Adult Diseases Now Striking Children Because Of Poor Diet And Obesity

By Megy Karydes, Chicago Tribune (TNS)

Once seen only among an older population, adult diseases such as fatty liver disease, hypertension and osteoporosis are being diagnosed more and more in children. And you can add to that sleep apnea, Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol levels. The culprits? Unhealthy diets and growing waistlines, experts say.

Recognizing obesity early and appreciating the cardiovascular decline it can pose for young children has become so important that the American Academy of Pediatrics established guidelines and recommendations for pediatricians, typically not accustomed to seeing the resulting cascade of health issues in their patients.

“Several studies have shown that obesity is under recognized by parents as well as by physicians,” said Dr. Seema Kumar, pediatric endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center. “Parents in general tend to think they will outgrow it. … It also depends on the ethnic group they’re coming from. In some cultures, being overweight is actually a sign of prosperity. So they may actually not even consider that as a problem.”

Kumar’s observations ring true with a study by the New York University Langone Medical Center that was published online in April in the journal Childhood Obesity. While rates of childhood obesity have risen over the last several decades, the study showed, a vast majority of parents perceive their kids as “about the right weight.”

Dr. James J. Maciejko, a lipidologist and director of the Adult and Pediatric Lipid Clinics at St. John Hospital in Detroit, is concerned by how few Americans in general understand the grave dangers of overeating. Maciejko sees kids eating 3,000 calories a day and reminds them and their parents that young bodies cannot handle that load. In general, he said, pre-pubescent children should be consuming about 2,000 calories per day; if they are quite active, maybe 200 to 300 calories more. After puberty, most boys should consume about 2,000 calories a day and girls about 1,500 to 1,600 daily.

Why? Here’s the list:

Heart disease: With obesity comes the risk of cardiovascular disease. Developing risk factors in childhood can greatly increase the likelihood of heart disease in adulthood. For that reason, guidelines sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, recommend that all children be screened for high cholesterol at least once at ages 9 to 11 and again at 17 to 21.

These guidelines are meant to help health care practitioners prevent or identify those issues early to minimize more severe health issues later in life.

Diabetes: Overweight children can develop “adult-onset” diabetes, or Type 2, as young as age 8, and the CDC points out that the loss of insulin sensitivity can develop at any age, especially among overweight children.

The complications from diabetes are many: cardiovascular problems, damage to the nerves, kidneys, eyes and feet, and it can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.

Hypertension: “There are enough studies that have shown that … an overweight child is two to three times more likely to have high blood pressure compared to a child that is normal weight,” Kumar said. Hypertension can cause a range of health problems, from the heart to the brain to the kidneys.

Fatty liver: Maciejko said he is noticing more children being diagnosed with hyperlipidemia, or high fat levels in the blood. Part of the reason simply may be that doctors now are testing children for this.

The pediatrics association “now recommends all kids by the age of 9 have a lipid profile,” he noted. As a result, when kids come in for their wellness visit when they’re 9, 10 or 11, the pediatrician orders a cholesterol profile. “And so, because of that, we’re starting to identify cholesterol issues in kids,” he said.

“When a child (or adult) eats excessive amounts of calories (particularly from refined carbohydrates), the blood sugar rises,” he explained. “The liver attempts to reduce the blood-sugar level by taking sugar up from the bloodstream. The liver converts this extra sugar to glycogen and stores it. However, when the storage capacity of the liver is full, the extra sugar the liver takes out of the blood is converted to fatty acid and triglycerides. The fatty acid tends to accumulate in the liver, causing fatty liver disease (also called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH), while the triglycerides are deposited into the blood, raising the blood triglyceride level.”

Fatty liver disease can lead to depleted liver function, and the consequence of high triglycerides is cardiovascular disease, among other things.

Osteoporosis: Just as important as what kids are putting into their bodies is what they’re not. Eating disorders among very young children are contributing to the increase of osteoporosis, according to Dr. Ellen Rome, head of the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Center for Adolescent Medicine and professor of pediatrics at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case.

“So many of the problems we see in adulthood have their roots in childhood,” Rome said. “A classic example is osteoporosis. That’s now seen as a pediatric disease.”

“If a kid from childhood isn’t getting three calcium or dairy servings a day with vitamin D, they can, in their early years, not be putting on the bone they’re supposed to have put on,” Rome said. By not depositing bone during those early years in life, when they’re supposed to be adding 40 to 60 percent of their bone mass, they’re increasing their risk of osteoporosis later in life. “That means that kid is way behind on what they should have been depositing in their “bone bank” by the time they are in their 20s. If they’re five to 10 times lower in their bone density, they’ve doubled or tripled their fracture risks.”

So those health issues all link to the diet problem. What can parents do?

Children’s diets should consist of healthy sources of protein such as low-fat dairy products, lean cuts of meat and eggs; fresh vegetables and fruit; and healthy beverages such as water and skim milk, according to Maciejko. He advises against excess starch such as pasta, potatoes and white bread, favoring whole-grain pasta, rye or whole-grain bread and vegetables as replacements. “Of course, the key to avoiding unhealthy weight gain is moderation in the consumption of food,” he noted, “even the healthiest food.”

Helping children develop healthy eating habits now is the key, the experts say, because the dire consequences are coming fast.

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

Photo: A new study suggests that adult diseases can strike children because of poor diet and obesity. (Photo courtesy Fotolia/TNS)

Is Jimmy John’s Bullying Workers With Non-Compete Agreements?

Is Jimmy John’s Bullying Workers With Non-Compete Agreements?

According to legend, it happened because he didn’t want to leave the gaming table. Maybe he was riding a hot streak.

Whatever the reason, he couldn’t be bothered with going to eat, so he told his servants to bring him a piece of meat between two slices of bread instead. Thus was gastronomic history casually made by John Montagu, an 18th-century British statesman and the 4th Earl of Sandwich.

In the centuries since Montagu inadvertently invented it, the sandwich has made many strides. Peanut butter came along in 1890, sliced bread in 1930. Dagwood Bumstead, who first conceived of the sandwich as a high-rise structure, was born that same year.

But Jimmy John’s, a sandwich maker with 2,000 outlets in 43 states and the District of Columbia, has come up with the greatest advance in sandwich tech since Montagu himself. It must have. Why else would it require its frontline workers to sign non-compete agreements as a condition of employment?

That’s the kind of contract typically required of the high-ranking executive whose annual compensation could retire the debt of a developing nation. It’s not something one would expect to be required of a kid working after school or a downsized mother trying to keep the lights on, making and delivering sandwiches for the somewhat more modest wages for which fast-food jobs are famous.

As reported by the Huffington Post, the contract says that for two years after leaving Jimmy John’s, the employee “will not have any direct or indirect interest in or perform services for any business which derives more than 10 percent of its revenue from selling submarine, hero-type, deli-style, pita and/or wrapped or rolled sandwiches” and which is located within three miles of any Jimmy John’s.

On the face of it, it seems the kind of callous, arrogant, mean-spirited corporate mistreatment of low-wage workers that low-wage workers complain about all the time. But we know low-wage workers are not to be trusted, right? If they were trustworthy, wouldn’t they be making more money? That’s just logic. Don’t you watch Fox? Besides, corporations are people, my friend — a great man once said that — and decent people don’t treat other people that way, so what looks like petty bullying of vulnerable workers must actually be an attempt to protect some new sandwich innovation those workers are privy to.

I’m thinking: crumbless bread. Or a new kind of relish that promotes weight loss. Or maybe they’re about to unveil a creative menu where customers are no longer stuck with the same dull options they have at Subway. Maybe chunky penguin salad on rye?

Senator Al Franken (D-MN) is not persuaded by that logic. He’s co-sponsored a bill to end the practice of requiring low-wage workers to sign these agreements. I called his office for comment and received a written statement decrying what Franken called an “unfair practice” which erects “hurdles and barriers” and robs low-wage workers of mobility.

I knew he had to be mistaken, so I contacted Jimmy John’s to hear how this policy is actually needed to protect corporate secrets. A person who declined to be identified by name wrote that the company does not “currently” require its workers to sign non-compete agreements.

Obviously, that was a typo. Obviously, what the person meant is that Jimmy John’s “does not, never has and never would” do such a thing, unless, of course, it was necessary to protect privileged information. Otherwise, it’s just petty tyranny and as we all know, no American corporation would behave like that.

I emailed Jimmy John’s for clarification. I’m still waiting, but I’m sure they’ll get back to me any minute.

Meantime, who’s up for lunch? Dibs on the penguin salad.

—

(Leonard Pitts is a columnist for The Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, FL, 33132. Readers may contact him via email at lpitts@miamiherald.com.)

Photo: Nate Grigg via Flickr

5 Ways To Make Clean Eating Work For You

5 Ways To Make Clean Eating Work For You

It may sound like just another trendy diet plan, but clean eating is drawing attention because it’s a set of simple, gimmick-free, and flexible steps to make your diet better for you… and the planet. It focuses on eating organic and sustainable meat, fish, and produce, as well as drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated. Since clean eating encourages keeping food in as natural a state as possible, recipes are quick and easy to prepare.

Here are five simple ways to help make clean eating an effective, manageable solution for you:

1. Eat five or six meals a day. Typically that breaks down to three full meals and two snacks. Meals include a lean protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as a complex carbohydrate such as pasta or bread. Snacks can be anything from yogurt to a handful of nuts. The idea behind this is that eating small, frequent meals keeps the body energized, and prevents overeating.

2. Choose organic and simple. Foods with a long list of ingredients with names you can’t pronounce, are not considered “clean” and are generally discouraged. Organic products, particularly those grown in a sustainable manner, are preferred. Clean eating also includes choosing water over calorie-rich beverages (think soda or sports drinks). Antioxidant-rich red wines are also prioritized.

3. Know your fats. Healthy fats such as those found in avocados, olive, almond, and palm oils are considered clean and have great flavors for cooking. Even butter, though often reviled by diet plans, has been shown to have significant health properties by recent studies.

4. Learn portion sizes. Eating five to six times a day isn’t supposed to leave you stuffed — so portion sizes are critical. An effective way to measure is the Rule of Thumb Guide. Using your hand as a guide, it is easy to keep track of the food on your plate. Two hands together forming a little bowl equals one cup, a good serving size for cereal, soup, and salads. Halve it for grains, fruits, and legumes. Does it fit in the palm of your hand? That’s about three ounces, which is ideal for cooked meats and canned fish. Lastly, two thumbs equals one tablespoon — perfect for peanut butter, mayonnaise, and salad dressings.

5. Keep it green. Look for products that are sustainably harvested and have a reduced carbon footprint. For more information on environmentally friendly seafood choices, visit www.seachoice.org.

Clean eating is not designed to be a strict diet plan. It’s meant to be a guide to a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle. Even adopting just one of the changes above can make a positive difference in your health, and the environment.

Photo: threelayercake via Flickr