Fat in food vs Fat on your body

<span style="font-size: large;">    I was frustrated by the research study on M&Ms. I was frustrated because it is 2013 and I thought we had learned that low fat is not the answer to our collective weight problem.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">   Studies that continue to focus on promoting low fat choices add to the confusion.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">As someone who has expertise in public health nutrition, health education and health promotion, I must try to clear this up. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">   Fat in food does not equal fat on your body.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">   Too many calories from any source does. When a person regularly consumes more calories than their body needs, the extra is stored as body fat.  (Note: Over indulging every weekend is regularly consuming too much.)  There are ways to increase your intake to build lean body mass but that is not the focus here.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">YES it is true that there are more calories in a gram of fat than there are in a gram of carbohydrate, protein or alcohol.   (9,4,4,7)  </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">YES it is true that some foods are more nutritious than other foods.  It is recommended that we fill our plates with nutrient dense, not energy dense, foods </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">    Foods that are especially important are complex carbohydrates (vegetables and many fruits), whole grains and so called 'healthy' oils or fats (like those in olive oils and salmon).</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Complex carbohydrates contain phytochemicals, flavinoids, and antioxidants.  These substances have been associated with reduced risk of many chronic diseases.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">And YES it is true that refined or simple carbs, like sugar, white flour (rice, pasta, bread) baked goods, sugary or starchy fruits with little fiber, and <u>all sugar sweetened beverages</u> have more calories than they do nutrients.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">AND Yes, it is true that <i>some</i> sources of fat just like some sources of carbs are believed to be harmful. </span><span style="font-size: large;">(e.g., red and processed meats are associated with colon cancer).</span><br />   <span style="font-size: large;">The reason some foods are calorically (energy) dense is because they are full of sugar or fried in grease.  </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">   Too many calories from either  = fat storage. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">********************</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">    And because its politically palatable to promote, physical activity as a solution to the country's obesity 'problem,'  I have to address that too.  Initiatives to build more parks and alert people to "take the stairs" are only going to work (for weight control) if two things happen.  TWO things.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">1) people actually start using the stairs and parks, and</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">2) they stop eating too much</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">It does not matter how many stairs a person climbs (Mayor Bloomberg), if he or she eats more calories than needed - weight loss will not occur if 'we' keep eating too much.</span><br /><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">There are people (fewer than the drug/genetic companies would have us think) who fall outside these generalities.  In other words, some people do not gain weight no matter how much they eat and others do not lose weight not matter how much they restrict.  These are very unusual people and I suspect you are not one of them. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist or a dietitian who can give individual diet advice.   I share information based on research and public health recommendations.</span><br /><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>

Fat in food vs Fat on your body

    I was frustrated by the research study on M&Ms. I was frustrated because it is 2013 and I thought we had learned that low fat is not...

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Weekly w/ Video

<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#330000;">The News:<br /><br /><strong>The American Heart Association:</strong> I hope that this volunteer health agency which is comprised of both medical and non medical volunteers is one that you trust. It has been in existence since 1924 and facilitates research into the prevention and treatment of heart disease. Their mission includes reducing deaths from heart attack and stroke by 25%. Research is published in peer reviewed journals and is used to create evidence based guidelines for health care professionals. The AHA recently spoke to Congress and shared concerns that the gains that have been made in reducing the above mentioned deaths will soon be lost due to increasing numbers of heart disease. A major concern is obesity and the Association is urging the government to increase funding for prevention in the schools and community. They are also very clear regarding the consequences of tobacco use and support FDA regulation of tobacco products which would limit if not prohibit some of the marketing and advertising by tobacco companies. The main risk factors for heart disease include: unhealthy weight, poor diet, smoking, and diabetes (type 2). These are modifiable risk factors, in other words, you can control them.<br /><strong>Carcinogens in Products</strong>: I am going to start sounding like a broken record but I cannot help but point out this type of discrepancy when I see it. An American consumer interest group had made claims that some Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo and lotions have two chemicals that are known to cause cancer at some level. They are formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane. I have not researched this myself I only point out that the organization has gotten the attention of the Chinese government where these products are sold. They are also sold here but the FDA is not yet investigating. There is no report of death or illness at this time. This is of note because cigarette smoke contains at least those two chemicals and over 40 more carcinogens. These “cigarettes” are responsible for millions of deaths a year worldwide… so uh, where is the outrage? [post note: this issue has been cleared by China's state food and drug agency]<br /><strong>Pretending to Smoke:</strong> What an odd little “game” the children have created. From A WSJ article I learned that kids can crush up certain candies, sort of inhale the dust and then blow out smoke. They even practice blowing smoke rings. All I am saying, kids really need to get out and play more<br /><strong>PSA Testing:</strong> I recall talking about this test for prostate cancer when my newsletter was first being published. In the early 2000s then, the concern was whether to test and then whether to treat because this cancer, though the second cancer killer for men, was a slow killer and often the men could live the rest of their lives without much decline in quality of life and likely die of something else before the cancer killed them. [probably they will die from heart disease, no?]. The testing or screening can lead to biopsies and treatment that is rife with side effects. The treatment can be debilitating and or embarrassing. Two very large research studies, studies lasting 15 years, do not offer a disposition. Over 240,000 men were studied. The results were a very slight benefit in one study, but with significant side effect costs and the other found no benefit at all. This is exactly the kind of reporting I want to see on medical devices, tests and treatments. Not that they do not work, but whether or not they work and what the risk to benefit is.<br /><strong>Number One Cancer Killer?:</strong> Good question. Though men suffer from prostate cancer and women from breast, the number one killer of both men and women is lung cancer. There may be a higher prevalence of the other cancers, including colorectal, but those with lung cancer generally die from it, while the other cancers have better survival rates.<br /><strong>HDL: The Good Guy</strong>: A reader and friend recently asked me to tell him a way to raise his good cholesterol that he didn’t already know. Certainly he knows what most of you know, you raise it through exercise (though not exponentially) but more often those with high HDL have a gene that promotes it. I did take his challenge however and read what I could about the issue from sources that I consider valid or research based. I.e. you are NOT going to hear me recommend a supplement to increase your HDL. What you will get from me is a practical application of what I have vetted. Here it is then. The mayo clinic among others, notes that oils with mono unsaturated fats, like olive and peanut, enhance the anti-inflammatory properties of the HDL. So though you may not be able to change your number you may be able to increase the impact of that number, in my opinion. I strongly suggest that you follow my example from the cooking demos and do not cook in the oils but add limited amounts to your already cooked veggies or to a salad. A teaspoon for example, or even a tablespoon spread throughout the day. It is also true that HDL works in keeping you healthy by carrying out excess bad cholesterol. It is known that certain fibers can also aid in ridding the body of bad cholesterol so again I recommend something like my cereal bars. Lastly, do not smoke. Smoking lowers HDL. Some research supports that red wine may have an HDL promoting effect but not enough to make a standard recommendation for anyone to add wine if they do not currently drink it.<br /><br />That will bring us to today’s cooking video. The point of these videos is to assist you in eating food, lots of food really, without adding non nutritive and even disease promoting extras.. like saturated FAT and sugar. Today’s show is peanut butter cookies which in fact, are HIGH in fiber… and the peanut butter is a source of monounsaturated fats. These are not your mother’s PB cookies, nor my mom’s which are fantastic.. but this blog is about health not decadence.<br /><br /></span>Ingredients include:<br /><br />Smucker’s All Natural Peanut Butter<br />(do not use jiff, peter pan, etc- for numerous reasons)<br />Splenda or Altern<br />Kellog’s All Bran Original<br />Loose Oat Bran<br />WATER<br />Non fat cook spray (butter)<br />Cookie Sheets<br />Large microwaveable bowl… glass is best<br />Heat oven to 375*<br />I forgot to say this in the video but cook the cookies for 20 minutes and then check them, move pans around, check every five or ten minutes, you will get the idea in time.<br /><br />This is the original recipe from a cook book I made a long time ago, but it is hard to explain what I mean, thus the video!<br /><br />4 Tbls smucker’s all natural peanut butter<br />water<br />2 c All Bran original<br />¼ cup loose oat bran<br />¼ to ½ c loose Splenda<br /><br />In microwave if available, heat the peanut butter with about 1 ½ c or more water for about 2 minutes, then use beaters to mix this until it is peanut butter colored water mixture, also mix in the sweetener. Then add the cereals, set aside until moist. Mix this again adding some water until it is moister than other cookie dough. I use a scoop to make two trays with 20 cookies on each. Bake at 375, twenty or so minutes until done. More water and less cooking makes them seem moister. It is good to experiment until you like them!! Made my way, each has about 20 calories.<br /><br />Serving size: 3 cookies<br />Amount per serving: calories: 60; fiber: 3g; protein: 2g; fat: 2g.<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-5164c163d8448eea-582" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwcRMM-9Dj226RSwpcm4fqynYHZ0UDR3opCkmn_H6LbhuXun7zf721ymhYKfdou5PF_v4tRZ2l5WY0BToV31iUEDV-jz3LQFKWFl6W7oKOg7zCzwbPRJDBQg3B5jVXaDMzS6A&origin=pre-life-crisis.blogspot.com" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe>

Weekly w/ Video

The News: The American Heart Association: I hope that this volunteer health agency which is comprised of both medical and non medical volun...

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Wellness Weekly with Video

<div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#996633;">The News:<br /><br /><strong>Outrageous:</strong> These three issues were particularly unnerving to me this week. Two are commercials and the other was a news ad. The first commercial encourages moms to buy their kids a drink in a box called Fruitables. The USDA food guide recommends very little in the way of juice or any drink other than skim milk (recommending instead water and non caloric beverages). The reason juices are not recommended is because they do not contain the natural fiber that fruits and vegetables do. Fiber helps to regulate the sugar in fruit so it is not something that will spike blood sugar and cause an immediate and abrupt insulin response. Children, all of us, need to eat our fruits and vegetables not drink them. The second ad is for a supplement or herbal remedy that is supposed to naturally lower one’s “bad or LDL” cholesterol. That I doubt its effectiveness almost goes without saying, but what peeved me was the statement that it was a natural way of lowering the cholesterol. It is a synthesized processed something in a pill. That is not natural. The natural way to lower ones bad cholesterol is through diet and exercise. Think, walking and eating those cereal bars. The last outrage, or so I thought, was an article regarding tobacco companies’ move to increase the cost of cigarettes before the federal tax increase would force them to. In fact, the maker of Marlboro decided to raise the price 10 cents more than is required. It appears there is no worry that the tobacco user will stop buying the product. Could that be because they know how addicting the product is and have no worry that sales will tank? This is why tobacco taxes reduce NEW use, not current use and why states have NO valid argument for not also raises the taxes… what are they afraid of, that the youth will not start using tobacco and that will be a bad thing? So I was done with the outrage section, but I forgot about last week’s grocery shopping. In the sugar/sweetener isle I saw a bag of Splenda that said “ -- grams of fiber per serving”. WHAT? They added fiber to the sugar. Good grief.. Eat some oatmeal. The only reason they did that, in my opinion, is to compete with Stevia which has naturally occurring fiber. Well, I buy neither so there.<br /><strong>Wynona:</strong> Ah, this should be in the above section to be sure. I cannot believe the younger singing Judd has become a spokesperson for a diet PILL. Worse is that she refers to Alli as safe because it is FDA approved. By doing this commercial and through that statement she implies that the pill is effective and without side effects. I doubt it is effective and know it is not without real risk. Furthermore, the pill box states that the results are related to the amount of exercise one does and the calories they consume. So, why exactly do you need the pill? Oh yes, it helps to keep some bad fat from being absorbed, so much so that the makers advise users to start the product over the weekend or take a few days off of work. Oh yeah, that sounds safe and fun too!<br /><strong>Comparative Effectiveness:</strong> update- This still looks possible while being strongly opposed by drug and medical device makers. The current stimulus package has set aside funding for this research, mentioned in previous news. The Institute of Medicine will be overseeing the studies and I for one look forward to the day that I can decide on a treatment or a medication based on these variables.<br />ByeBye Trans Fats: Another city takes action against these unnecessary fats which increase levels of LDL cholesterol. Boston’s ban includes bakeries and prohibits use of oils, shortening and margarine with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.<br /><strong>Pills are NOT a Panacea:</strong> A report regarding heart patients in several European countries that could be generalized to American heart patients, supplies some disturbing though not surprising news. Persons taking medicines to reduce their blood pressure and lower their LDL levels are NOT changing the parts of their lifestyle that led to these problems in the first place. Well over half of them continued to have problems with these issues and were put on even more meds to treat them. The researchers are concerned that eating, physical activity and smoking factors are not addressed in this group. I have long believed that people in our country get a false sense of security from pills and are also looking for a fix that doesn’t take effort, such as eating well and exercising do. The same study found a higher incidence of obesity and diabetes in an age group comparison to 12 years ago.<br /><br />That will bring us to today’s cooking video. The point of these videos is to assist you in eating food, lots of food really, without adding non nutritive and even disease promoting extras.. like saturated FAT and sugar. Today it is a dinner, next week another baking recipe.<br /><br />The Video Ingredients:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEP6fQIp26o93BMdWtz_yNkSoO7JWaKIcTppHJnZK4CqoTFGNHFFEn_xLiLp3acpHj6S8DTytxD_bNETfJ5_9_Nmcq94MnJ8wTWo0IPmjwS6HAyU2CfKVm7RaXykDXdqpmpGRemnSm8T4D/s1600-h/quorn_logo.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313158757102685282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEP6fQIp26o93BMdWtz_yNkSoO7JWaKIcTppHJnZK4CqoTFGNHFFEn_xLiLp3acpHj6S8DTytxD_bNETfJ5_9_Nmcq94MnJ8wTWo0IPmjwS6HAyU2CfKVm7RaXykDXdqpmpGRemnSm8T4D/s320/quorn_logo.gif" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 144px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 80px" /></a></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;color:#996633;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;color:#996633;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;color:#996633;"></span></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><span style="color:#996633;"></span><a href="http://www.quorn.us/cmpage.aspx?pageid=372"><span style="color:#996633;">http://www.quorn.us/cmpage.aspx?pageid=372</span></a></span></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div><br /><span style="color:#996633;">Quorn is a meat substitute and is found in the freezer section at Lowes Foods, Harris Teeter, Publix and Whole Foods: Not all Quorn products are low calorie or low fat. Choose Quorn naked cutlets or tenders<br /><br />Quorn tenders ½ to 1 cup<br />Salad (nice leaf lettuces)<br />Mushroom, red onion, tomato<br />Mrs. Dash or McCormick spices<br />Cauliflower<br />Spaghetti Squash<br />Parmesan cheese<br />Garlic and Parsley<br />Salad Dressing (I choose Waldon’s Farms or recommend Balsamic Vinegar – not vinegarette)<br />Fruit of choice (but not a high sugar one, like kiwi, banana, pineapple etc)<br /><br />Okay like I said most of my dinners have 200 cals or less and then I have dessert… </span></div><div><span style="color:#996633;"></span> </div><div><span style="color:#996633;"></span></span></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-14385414202c2fe0-1647" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw5DXr8MH74UWyqEB1ialn6CxqGNrshbFk0qp-lh695DewmvTKOID8KZWKehBnmIsIttRuwwxpzIrB4Gd0_m9oGEHtN4IY8LnAYvPThul_5I5cjSJ4O7usOVWsiM16ZmVIORNs&origin=pre-life-crisis.blogspot.com" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe>

Wellness Weekly with Video

The News: Outrageous: These three issues were particularly unnerving to me this week. Two are commercials and the other was a news ad. The ...

Read more »