Nutrition Tips

Issue 27
Fluids
During any season of the year, it is important to try to drink enough water to keep our bodies hydrated, however, warm weather makes it crucial. The average person loses about ten cups of water throughout the day from normal bodily functions. Unlike other nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, your body does not store extra fluids for the possibility of becoming dehydrated. To replace these precious stores, drink eight to twelve cups of fluids each day. Do try to avoid drinks with caffeine, however, as caffeine depletes our bodies of fluid rather than replacing it.

Issue 28
Produce
Whether fresh, frozen or canned, we can't go wrong with fruits and vegetables. Often the thought of some limp vegetable with your dinner or a piece of fruit for dessert is not very appealing or desirable. If this is the case with you, you can make produce an integral part of a recipe. Following are some suggestions:

• Toss fruit into a lettuce salad. Dried cranberries, mandarin orange slices or chunks of fresh pear or avocado are good choices.
• Puree canned fruits such as apricots, and use as a sauce over low to non-fat ice cream.
• Puree fresh or frozen fruit such as mango or raspberries into pudding or yogurt - preferably non-or low-fat varieties.
• Disguise vegetables by pureeing or grating them first. Add these to soups, sauces or casseroles.
• You can sneak pureed cauliflower into mashed potatoes or finely chopped spinach into pesto sauce.
• For very intense flavor, roast vegetables such as asparagus, peppers or portobello mushrooms on the grill or in the oven.
• Oven roasting root vegetables such as sweet potatoes will intensify flavors.

Issue 29
Avoid Food-borne Illness

• Keep cold foods cold and hot food hot. Not complying with this simple rule is the leading cause of all food-borne illnesses. Cold food should be kept at 40-degrees or cooler. All perishable foods should be chilled until serving time. Hot foods should be kept at 140-degrees. Pack an instant-read thermometer for outdoor eating and/or picnics to monitor food temperatures.
• Pack one cooler for frequently used foods and drinks and another for perishable foods like meats. The constant opening of a cooler prevents foods from staying chilled.
  
• Always double-wrap raw poultry, fish or meats to make sure juices do not leak and contaminate other foods. If you have to travel a distance with your food, freeze these items and place them in a cooler, frozen. This will slow the thaw considerably.
• Marinate meats safely and cook meat, fish and poultry thoroughly. Always thaw and marinate meats, poultry and seafood in the refrigerator, not at room temperature. Dry rubs for meat, fish or poultry are preferable to wet marinades to minimize chance of contamination. Do not partially cook food to finish grilling later. Bacteria grow faster in partially cooked foods.
• Bacteria grow rapidly at warm temperatures so toss any leftover perishables such as potato salad and lunch meat. Do not try to serve them a second time.

Issue 30
Whole Grains
Switching to whole grains is one of the easiest of the more healthy ways to help you make nutritious changes in your diet. Most grain based foods, like breads, cereals, muffins, crackers, bagels and tortillas are available in whole grain varieties. You can determine if the product is whole grain by looking to see if the word "whole" or "whole grain" appears before the grain name in the list of ingredients. Replace white rice with brown rice and regular pasta with a whole-wheat variety. If you are hesitant to make these changes, start out with a mixture and gradually phase out the white rice or regular pasta to help yourself become accustomed to the changes. You can also give other whole grain products a try. Barley, whole-wheat couscous, quinoa or Bulgur (cracked wheat) all are excellent choices. Another way to incorporate whole grain and is barely discernible is in baking. When flour is called for, replace half of the amount with whole-wheat flour.

Issue 31 and 32
Food Guide Pyramid
The Food Guide Pyramid is something many are confused about. To help clarify things a little, here are some basics. The food guide pyramid outlines five food groups and the number of servings recommended daily for each group. Women should eat from the lower end of the suggested number of servings, while men should eat from the higher end. The recommendations include:

• Six to eleven servings from the bread group
• Three to five from the vegetable group
• Two to four servings of fruit
• Two to three servings from the milk group
• Two to three servings from the meat group.

Now, how do you know what a serving size is? Here are some basic guidelines. These are direct from the National Institute of Health and are each considered one serving of fruits and/or vegetables:

• 1/2 cup raw non-leafy or cooked vegetables
• 1 cup raw leafy vegetables (such as lettuce)
• 1/2 cup berries, grapes or cut-up fruit
• 1 medium-size piece of fruit
• 3/4 cup of 100 juice
• 1/4 cup dried fruit

Issue 33
Nutrition Facts About Pasta
Pasta receives a lot of negative hype because many people believe that it drastically increases blood sugar levels and causes major weight gain. However, pasta is a nutritious food that can be part of any healthy eating plan.
Two ounces of dry pasta, or about one and one-half cup of cooked pasta, has the following nutritional benefits:

• Only 211 calories
• Seven grams of protein
• Less than one gram of fat
• Two grams of fiber
• Zero cholesterol
• Forty-two grams of carbohydrates

Don't let the carbohydrates scare you. Pasta is high in complex carbohydrates, which take longer to digest and which leave you feeling full for a longer period of time. It also provides you with energy for several hours.

Issue 34
How Calories in Beverages Sneak Up on Us
Beverages don't tend to fill us up so we often tend to discount them as added calories in our daily diets. However, those calories do add up and 3,500 calories equal a pound of fat no matter where they come from. The other problem is that many beverages are super-sized. Instead of the once normal eight-ounce serving, we get four times that much. These large sizes are a monetary value, but not a bargain to our health. What can you do? Here are a few things you can try:

• Drink more non-caloric beverages like water or tea. Coffee and diet colas are virtually calorie-free, but it is a good idea not to go overboard on them.
• Order the small sized beverage when you buy fast food drinks.
• Ask for extra ice and get fewer calories. Chew on the ice, too! Water is the best beverage.
• Get an empty cup and split your drink with someone.
• Don't drink a calorie-containing beverage to try to stave off hunger.
• Snack on baby carrots or a piece of fruit instead, or chew some sugar free gum.

Issue 35 and 36
It's easy to be fooled by beverages.
Following are some common beverages and their caloric amounts:

• Coffee with creamer - 8 ounces - 30 calories
• McDonald's small Sprite - 16 ounces - 150 calories
• Starbucks Venti Cappuccino - 20 ounces - 200 calories
• Burger King large Coke - 32 ounces - 310 calories
• 7-Eleven Double Gulp Coke - 64 ounces - 600 calories

See also: Can Diet Soda Cause Weight Gain?

Issue 37
Calculating Fat Content per Serving
Isn't it sometimes tricky to calculate exactly how much fat per serving you're eating when all you know, based on the food label, is that eight percent of the standard 2,000-calorie allotment is fat? How does this translate when you just want to eat one serving of that tasty lasagna?
Once you know the formula, its pretty simple. Here's what you do:

• Multiply 2,000 calories by eight percent (2,000 x .08 = 160). In other words, of those 2,000 calories, 160 come from fat.
• Translating this into grams of fat is also relatively easy. Because we know that one gram of fat provides nine calories, divide 160 by nine (160 / 9 = 17.78). Therefore, one serving of that lasagna measures out to 17.78 grams of fat.

Issue 38
Apples
Apples are an excellent source of vitamins and fiber. Many peel an apple, but if you do not mind eating the skin, it is a good idea to do so. The skin has a lot of nutrients in it. Just be sure to rinse the apple thoroughly! In addition, apples are great in baking! Incorporate them into muffins, cakes, quick breads - just about anything. Certain apples will taste different depending on the time of year purchased. If you are buying large quantities, it would be best to purchase a few and taste them. They should be firm, have no holes, no bruises, and have a good even color. If the apple is not ripe, leave at room temperature for a day or two. Apples are capable of lasting three to five weeks in the refrigerator, and still retain vitamin C content. Most apples are tart flavored. The best and sweetest eating apples are the Red and Golden Delicious varieties. There are many varieties of apples which make them available year round.

Issue 39
"Guesstimate" Your Caloric Needs
A quick and simple way to determine calories for weight loss is to guess your body's needs - and educated guess, that is. Just to stay alive, you require about ten calories per pound of body weight per day. Therefore, an inactive 200-pound man requires a minimum of 2,000 calories a day. Some athletes burn so many calories that they need to take in 20 calories per pound. For most people who are active at work and home, the ideal daily intake for weight maintenance is 12 to 15 calories per pound.

Issue 40
Snacking - go for it with these healthy choices!

• Tortilla chips - baked, not fried, and salsa
• Low fat microwave popcorn (94-percent fat-free; avoid "lite" varieties)
• Fresh fruits and vegetables with low fat dips
• Canned fruits with natural sugars only
• Small containers of flavored applesauce
• Canned tuna - water packed preferably
• Yogurt
• Rice and pop corn cakes
• Multigrain crackers such as Ry Krisp
• Dry, whole grain cereal such as Cheerios
• Graham crackers
• "Healthy choice" brand snack foods
• Berries - choose your favorite! With a dollop of fat free cool whip or frozen yogurt.

See also: Belly Bytes for more good-for-you ideas!

Issue 41
Do you feel tired all the time?
Do you need a candy bar each afternoon to help you make it through the rest of the day? Is your cholesterol too high? Do you cringe when you look at yourself in the mirror? If you truly desire to look and feel more healthy and crave the energy to live a more fully engaged day-to-day life, the best place to start is with what you're eating. Eating a balanced diet is critical to living a healthy lifestyle. But within the framework of a sound diet, there are some foods that are better than others. In many of us, the mere mention of such foods as oatmeal, broccoli or soy, gives us a "turn off" response. Today, however, many of these wholesome, healthy foods are being marketed in forms that taste great and are easy to prepare.

Issue 42
Nutritional Top Ten
Within the past couple years, most Americans have learned that incorporating oats into one's diet can significantly reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugars. The Nutritional Top Ten, in order, includes:

• oats
• soybeans
• tomatoes
• coldwater seafood, such as salmon or cod
• flaxseed
• garlic
• hot peppers
• sweet potatoes
• grapes
• cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.

Some foods are loaded with nutritional components and can be medicine, assisting your body with its natural healing process, enhancing your moods and boosting energy levels. For example, tomatoes, are an excellent source of lycopene. A powerful antioxidant, lycopene is a carotenoid that fights the uncontrolled growth of cells into tumors. It fights cancer of the colon, bladder, pancreas and prostate. See: BellyBytes.com: Beneficial Bytes
Another important, easy-to-access food is hot peppers, which are often used in Mexican, Tex-Mex, Thai, Indian and Chinese cooking. Hot peppers contain capsaicin, a vital immune-booster that's important in cutting the risk of stomach cancer.

Issue 43
Stop Snacking after 7 PM
A recent study of overweight people found that more than half ate 70 percent of their daily calories after 7 PM - mostly as health-busting foods high in fat, sugar and calories. Follow these tips if you find yourself in this group:

• Store food out of sight. Clear supper leftovers, empty candy dishes and remove snacks except fruit from countertops.
• Defeat craving with an egg timer. Wait five to ten minutes to see if your snack attack simply passes. Work up to 15 to 20 minutes.
• Go to bed. If all else fails, an early bedtime takes you out of temptation's way and rewards you with extra sleeping time.

Issue 44
On Overload?
Ever feel you are on overload from trying to eat right? There is so much information, and so many chemicals, nutrients, food guides etc., etc., that this issue can be overwhelming. Recently, something called the "Rainbow Plan" has been introduced in attempts to help people sift through all the confusion. This guide is called the "Rainbow Plan" because many components that appear to fight disease in your body, are also pigments that give color to fruits and vegetables. By choosing one food every day from various colors, you wil be much more likely to take advantage of all the new discoveries without keeping a list of chemicals in your head. Following are the colors and what disease-fighting nutrients they contain.

• RED: Tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, guava.
  Nutrients: Lycopene. Benefits: Prostate cancer fighters
• RED/PURPLE: Grapes, grape juice, prunes, apples, cranberries, blackberries, strawberries.
  Nutrients: Flavonoids Benefits: Clot busters; may prevent heart disease
• ORANGE: Sweet potatoes, mangoes, carrots, apricots, cantaloupe, pumpkin.
  Nutrients: Cryptoxanthin Benefits: Cancer fighters
• YELLOW/GREEN: Spinach, yellow corn, green peas, avocado, honeydew, melon
  Nutrients: Lutein and zeaxanthin Benefits: Protect retinas from macular degeneration and cataracts
• GREEN: Brussels sprouts, broccoli
  Nutrients: Sulforaphane Benefits: Cancer fighters
• WHITE/GREEN: Garlic, onions, endive, chives
  Nutrients: Organosulfides, flavonoids Benefits: Cancer fighters; clot busters
• BLUE/PURPLE: Blueberries
  Nutrients: Anthocyanins, antioxidants Benefits: Cancer fighters, possible brain boosters

Quick Helping Hint: Double up on carrots, yams, etc. You absorb only half of the betacarotene once thought, experts now say.

Issue 45
Ten Things to do Instead of Overeating

1. Call your best friend
2. Go for a brisk walk
3. Write a letter to an old friend
4. Give yourself a pedicure
5. Read a book to a child
6. Rekindle an old friendship
7. Take a few minutes to breathe slowly and deeply
8. Close your eyes; picture yourself at your weight goal
9. Write in your journal or start one!
10. Call a friend and pace around while you talk - exercise while enjoying a good old-fashioned chat session!!

Issue 46
Holiday Berries High in Antioxidants
Cranberries are a tasty and festive part of the holiday season and pack health benefits, too! The little red berry is full of antioxidants that reduce the risk of conditions such as cancer, stroke, and heart disease. The content of phenols in cranberries are a type of antioxidant. Phenols are found in 19 common fruits with cranberries coming out on top of the list. What's more, they have five times the amount of phenols found in broccoli. However, broccoli does have other benefits that make it a worthwhile addition to your diet. So at your next holiday meal, pile on the cranberry sauce and feel virtuous!

Issue 47
Is your job adding to your weight problems?
In the December issue of Fitness magazine, this question is posed and identifies five incriminating factors:

• Mindless nibbling. Treats tempt people to overeat out of boredom or habit
• High-tech living. Technology means you never have to leave your chair
• Shrinking lunch hour. Lunch is a sandwich gobbled in five minutes. Later, you nosh.
• Stress eating. Job stress leads to cravings of high-carb foods such as chocolate and cookies.

Solutions? Monitor every morsel you put into your mouth. Try to incorporate as much movement into your daily routine. You surely know the one - take the stairs! Or the other popular one, park further away from you destination! Every little bit does help. Try to put these things into practice until they become a habit. In addition, try not to work while you eat your lunch. Eat protein and carbs to stave off hunger; keep low-calorie snacks handy. Choose restaurants that serve lighter fare, or try eating an appetizer as your meal.

Issue 48
Roast Chestnuts
Uniquely sweet, five chestnuts contain barely one gram of fat and just 103 calories. They also pack 2.1 grams of fiber and a whopping 18-percent of the Daily Value of vitamin C. Try this: Eat them raw or roast them first. To roast, slice a shallow X in their skin, place them in a single layer in a baking dish, and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until the shells start to split and the nuts smell fragrant. Eat them as-is or chop and add them to vegetables, stuffing's, or cookie batters.
See also: BellyBytes.com: The Nut Case

Issue 49
Save some money on your vitamins with the following suggestions:
Choose brands by reputation, not price. Opt for well-known brands over those made by smaller manufacturers. Large, established companies generally have a greater investment in the quality and safety of their products. Also note, all natural is much better for you, so you should watch for that on your supplements as well.
Look for a USP notation on the label. This small box indicates that the manufacturer has adhered to certain quality, strength and safety standards that have been established by U.S. Pharmacopeia, a national trade group.
Pass up "Chelated" minerals. Chelation (key-LAY-shun) is a chemical process that some manufacturers claim can enhance absorption fo certain minerals (most notably iron), but there is little independent research to back this up.
See also: Supplements: Get What You Pay For

Issue 50
Moderate-fat diet yields weight loss!
New research reports dieters on a moderate-fat diet for 18 months lost weight, while those on a low-fat diet actually gained during the same time period. The diet was based on the Mediterranean diet. Those on the moderate-fat diet lost an average of nine pounds, while those on the low-fat diet gained an average of 6.3 pounds. The Mediterranean Diet features lots of colorful vegetables, fruits and monounsaturated fats like those found in olives.

Issue 51
Alcohol
Alcohol is produced when yeasts process certain sugars; therefore, it is a calorie-dense liquid.
Alcohol contains almost twice as many calories as carbohydrates and proteins, yielding seven calories for every gram consumed. Here are a few facts about alcohol's calorie content:

• One ounce of beer contains 11 to 14 calories
• One ounce of wine contains 17 to 29 calories
• One ounce of 100-proof whiskey contains 83 calories

Unlike protein, fat, and carbohydrates, alcohol is not an essential nutrient. In large doses, alcohol can cause malnutrition by preventing nutrients from being absorbed by the body. Alcohol affects areas of the brain, as well. It numbs the brain's emotion and decision-governing centers first. Muscle control centers are then affected, followed by attacks on the breathing and heartbeat centers. So please, enjoy your holidays, but go easy on the alcohol!

Issue 52
Night Time Eating Syndrome
This is a syndrome currently studied very seriously as a potential cause of obesity. Those afflicted eat nothing, or very little, during the day, then consume at least 40-percent of their daily calories after their last meal, often waking in the night to eat. A professor of psychiatry, Albert Stunkard, M.D., identified night-eating syndrome in 1955. However, it still remains virtually unknown to the public, even though it is fairly widespread. Stunkard estimates as much as 5-percent of American citizens suffer this disorder.
The syndrome tends to be precipitated by stress but is not like other stress-related disorders. In this case, even when the stress diminishes, the syndrome tends to stay and become chronic. In addition to the connection to obesity, the disorder may be related to depression and sleep problems. Late night snacks tend to be high in carbohydrates, which raise the level of the sedative-like brain chemical seratonin, thus helping people get back to sleep. Stunkard believes chronic night-eaters are simply self-medicating, without realizing it. Whether depression or insomnia leads to the eating disorder, or overeating precipitates mood problems and sleeplessness is not clear. These problems are evidently connected, though, and can escalate into a debilitating illness.