Eating For Health

Every five years the federal government updates its recommendations on eating right for anyone over the age of 2. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee issues a report based on the latest scientific research. It took the federal government more than seven months to issue the 2010 Dietary Guidelines which actually came out this year, 2011. These guidelines are issued jointly by USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services. Ironically, the head of USDA, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has admitted that prior to heading USDA; he had never read the guidelines. Now not only has he read them, he is taking them to hear and applying them to his own diet. What is in these new guidelines? Foods we should eat less of and foods we need to eat more of. Maintain calorie balance over time to achieve and sustain a healthy weight. Many Americans need to reduce calorie intake and increase physical activity in order to maintain a healthy weight. Control total calorie intake to manage bo

A relative wrote to us indicating as they are getting older, it is harder to keep the weight off. He thus started to track his calories every day using an online calorie counter. The next day I was listening to a podcast and the announcer said he had lost 40 pounds by just tracking his calories and the amount of exercise he did each day with an iTunes App called, "Lose It." So I downloaded the "Lose It" App and have it on my IPod touch. For about a week now I have been entering my foods for each meal and also the exercise I have done. It is really easy to use. You can search new foods to enter or it keeps track of the foods you often eat so they are stored and easy to reenter each day such as a glass of orange juice for breakfast. It tells you the number of calories you should eat each day and a recommended amount to eat to lose weight say a pound a week. Each day you have a Daily Calorie Budget and once you enter the food you eat, it keeps track of how many calor

The theme for this month is, Eat Right With Color.   The American Dietetic Association is sponsoring National Nutrition Month and promoting more color in one’s diet by eating more: fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and dairy in their diets every day.  This blog is following the recommendations of National Nutrition Month by promoting eating five fruits and vegetables a day and adding more whole grains to your diet.  For more information on National Nutrition Month, including recipes and more information on eating healthy go to the American Dietetic website at:  http://www.eatright.org/nnm/

     The February issue of the Tufts Health and Nutrition Letter had a front page story on whole grains and belly fat.  They noted that replacing white bread with whole wheat bread and whole grains for refined grains like using brown rice instead of white rice may help you fight your belly fat.  Researchers have looked at the diets of 2,834 men and women participating in the well-known Framingham Heart Study.  They found that those who ate 3 or more servings of whole grains a day and who limited their intake of refined grains to less than 1 serving a day had 10% less belly fat or adipose tissue.  However, those who ate three servings of whole grains, but also ate four or more servings of refined grains, had less of an effect on their belly fat.  Thus, it is not only important to include whole grains in one’s diet, it is important to replace your refined grains with whole grains. 

An easy way to get in a serving of whole grains every day is to eat a breakfast cereal that is all or mostly whole grain.   But with the myriad of breakfast cereals on the market, where does one start?   First off, the first ingredient must be WHOLE GRAIN .    Only then is it a whole grain cereal or at least a mostly whole grain cereal.   Then look for the amount of sugar added and the amount of fiber per serving.   Ø   You want cereals that are less than 5 grams of sugar. Ø   Finally, look for the amount of fiber in the cereal.     Choose the   cereal with at least 3 grams of fiber per serving. Whole Grain Cereals: ·          Oatmeal:   Old fashioned oat meal seems devoid of nutrients if one just goes by the food label but it is rich in vitamins and minerals because none have been taken out in processing.    ·          General Mills cereals – to make it even easier to choose a whole grain cereal, choose General Mills cereals as every cereal is whole grain.   Yes, some are high