This is from our February 2010 Article
Weight Loss Can Do Your Heart A World of Good!
Submitted by Kathy Wool, RD, LDN
Welcome to February
2010! What a great year to recognize how important our
heart health is and to do everything we can to keep it healthy.
February has been given the honor of being
American Heart Month. Cardiovascular
diseases, including stroke, are our nation's No. 1 killer. To
urge Americans to join the battle against these diseases, since
1963 Congress has required the president to proclaim February
"American Heart Month."
There are so many thing s we can
learn and do to protect our hearts. Doing them all is a great
goal. But let’s concentrate on one aspect. And that is weight
loss. By directing our energy and achieving one step, weight
loss can do your heart a world
of good. Here are a few steps
to take a look at and see if you can change that scale just a
few pounds at a time.
- Set a
timer for 20 minutes and see yourself as a slow eater. Savor
each bite and make it last. Enjoy the flavor sensations and
notice how your portions get smaller and you feel fuller earlier
so you do not overeat.
-
Serve three vegetables with
dinner tonight, instead of just one, and you’ll eat more without
really trying. Eating more fruits and vegetables is a great way
to lose weight. And season with lemon juice and herbs to enjoy
their true flavors without added fats and calories.
-
Whole grains such as brown rice,
barley, oats, buckwheat, and whole wheat also belong in your
weight loss approach. They help fill you up with fewer calories
and may improve your cholesterol level too. Whole grains are now
in many products including waffles, pizza crust, English
muffins, pasta, and soft "white" whole-wheat bread. Read the
food labels to be sure.
- Give up the two strips of bacon at
breakfast or in your sandwich at lunch time. This saves about
100 calories, which can add up to a 10 pound weight loss over a
year. .Maybe you can add tomato slices, banana peppers, roasted
red bell peppers or mustard, to flavor the food without the
extra fat and calories!
- Choose vegetable toppings for
pizza instead of meat and eliminate over 100 calories from your
meal. Other pizza tricks to lower the fat and calories: go light
on the cheese or use reduced-fat cheese and choose a thin,
bread-like crust made with just a touch of olive oil, not those
thick crusts or cheese filled ones.
-
Replace one sugary
drink like regular soda with water or a zero-calorie seltzer and
you'll avoid 10 teaspoons of sugar.
- Eat home-cooked meals
at least five days a week. A Consumer Reports survey found this
was a top habit of "successful losers." Sound intimidating?
Cooking may be easier than you think. Use foods such as
pre-chopped lean beef for fajitas, washed lettuce, pre-cut
veggies, canned beans, cooked chicken strips, or grilled deli
salmon for shortcuts.
- Chew sugarless gum with a strong
flavor if you are tempted to give in to a snack attack. Making
dinner after work, at a party, watching TV, or surfing the
Internet can lead to mindless snacking. Gum with a strong flavor
distracts you from other foods so they don’t taste as good.
-
“Choose a 10" lunch plate instead of a 12" dinner plate to
automatically eat less. Cornell's Brian Wansink, PhD, found in
test after test that people serve more and eat more food with
larger dishes. Shrink your plate or bowl to cut out 100-200
calories a day – and 10-20 pounds in a year. In Wansink’s tests,
no one felt hungry or even noticed when tricks of the eye shaved
200 calories off their daily intake.”
-
Get the portions
right! Stick with modest food portions at every meal, five days
a week or more. After measuring portions a few times, it can
become automatic. Make it easier by keeping serving dishes off
the table at meal time.
- When an occasion includes
alcohol, follow the first drink with a nonalcoholic, low-calorie
beverage like sparkling water instead another cocktail, beer, or
glass of wine. Alcohol has more calories per gram (7) than
carbohydrates (4) or protein (4). It can also lead you to
mindlessly inhale chips, nuts, and other foods you’d normally
limit.
-
Restaurant meals are typically fattening, so
consider these tactics to keep portions under control:
- Split an entrée with a friend.
- Order an appetizer as a meal.
-
Choose the child's plate.
-
Get half the meal in a doggie bag
before it's brought to the table.
- Eating vegetarian meals
more often can become a habit for successful weight loss. Why? Legumes, lentils, bean burgers, and other legume based
foods are high in fiber and can fill you up with far fewer
calories.
- Lose 10 pounds in a year without dieting by
burning an extra 100 calories every day. Try one of these
activities
- Walk 1 mile, about 20 minutes.
-
Pull weeds or
plant flowers for 20 minutes.
- Mow the lawn for 20 minutes.
- Clean
house for 30 minutes.
- Jog for 10 minutes.
So this
February take those first steps to prevent and control factors
that put you at greater risk for heart disease. These include
not only what we eat and how much we weigh but also high
cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, tobacco,
and secondhand smoke - ALL risk factors associated with heart
disease!
A healthy diet and lifestyle are the best tools you
have to fight heart disease. Many people make it harder than it is.
It is important to remember that it is the overall pattern of the
choices you make that counts. So let’s eat better and get more
active this February,
American Heart Month 2010!!
Good Carbs, Bad Carbs: Why
Carbohydrates Matter to You
Submitted By Kathy Wool, RD, LDN
(Portions from WEB MD article by Elaine Magee,
MPH, RD)
One of the constant questions people with diabetes concern
carbohydrate- from the amount to the types to the differences
between the many carb choices we have. This article will help to
address these questions and shed some light on managing your diet
with carbohydrates. One thing to realize is carbohydrates are
important to include in your daily food choices. To achieve your
optimal health and meet your nutritional needs it is recommended to
get 45-65% of your daily calories from carbohydrates especially
those with fiber.
Over the past several years the good and bad
carbohydrate debate has intensified. They go from being forbidden to
praise for their role in our healthy pursuit for a better eating
plan. So which is it? The answer lies in choosing those with lots of
fiber to help avoid spikes in blood sugar, to slow down the
absorption of other nutrients at the meal, to help lower
cholesterol, make us feel full so we don’t overeat. With all these
good points how can they be anything but good for you?
The
problem is that the typical American diet is anything but high in
fiber. Think about this: we eat a muffin or bagel made with white
flour in the morning, have our hamburger on a white bun, and then
have white rice with our dinner. The more refined or “whiter” the
grain, the less fiber it has. So how much fiber do we need? Men,
aged 50 or younger need 38 grams; women aged 50 or younger need 25
grams; Over 50 for men is 30 and over 50 for women is 21. That
should help you determine if you get enough fiber. If not, how can
you increase it?
1. Switch to whole grains any time you can-
breads, rice, pasts, cereal, crackers, tortillas, rolls
2. Eat
fruits and vegetables- 5 a day or more gets you off to a great start
3. Add some beans to your diet- kidney, pinto, black, lentils, etc.
So what are the so called bad carbs? Sugars, “added” sugars, refined
“white” grains “There’s no way to sugarcoat the truth: Americans are
eating more sugar than ever before. In fact, the average adult takes
in about 20 teaspoons of added sugar every day, according to the
USDA’s recent nationwide food consumption survey. That’s about 320
calories, which can quickly up to extra pounds. Many adults simply
don’t realize how much added sugar is in their diets.”
What are
these so called added sugars? Basically they are sweeteners added to
our foods during processing or at the table. Usually they are found
in sweet beverages, baked products or even the sugar in a cup of
coffee. They have no nutritional value but do add calories to the
food. The USDA recommends that we get no more than 6% to 10% of our
total calories from added sugar -- that’s about nine teaspoons a day
for most of us.
So how can you keep all this in focus? Use the
Nutrition Label on the packages to track Your carbohydrates, sugars,
and fiber. Here’s what to look for on the Nutrition Facts label.
Total Carbohydrate. For tracking the total amount of carbohydrate in
the food, per serving, look for the line that says “Total
Carbohydrate.” You’ll find that often the grams of “fiber,” grams of
“sugars” and grams of “other carbohydrate” will add up to the grams
of “total carbohydrate” on the label.
Dietary Fiber. The line
that says Dietary Fiber tells you the total amount of fiber in the
food, per serving. Dietary fiber is the amount of carbohydrate that
is indigestible and will likely pass through the intestinal tract
without being absorbed.
Sugars. “Sugars” tell you the total
amount of carbohydrate from sugar in the food, from all sources.
It’s important to learn and know the difference between natural
sugars and added sugars. For example, the average 1% low-fat milk
label will list 15 grams of “sugar” per cup. That sugar actually
comes from the lactose (milk sugars) not from added sweeteners.
Other Carbohydrate. The category "other carbohydrate" represents the
digestible carbohydrate that is not considered a sugar (natural or
otherwise).
So now you know how to decide between those good
and bad carbohydrates. Enjoying more fiber-rich carbs is not too
difficult to do and enjoying a few of those lower fiber choices can
fit as well. Remember: variety, portions, and flavor all make up the
daily food choices we select to manage diabetes, keep us healthy and
enjoy eating!
February is American Heart Month so Eat Healthy
for Life
Yogurt Parfait
1/8 cup fresh fruit (such as berries, sliced peaches, etc.)
1/8 cup low-fat or fat- free yogurt (flavor of your choice)
1/8 cup low-fat granola
• Layer the different
ingredients in a parfait glass and repeat layers.
Yield:
Makes 1 parfait
Nutrition Information: (per (1 parfait)
Calories 160 , Protein 5 grams, Carbohydrate, 32 grams Fat 0
(or 2.5 if low fat), Saturated fat,- 0.4 grams Calories from
Fat: 22 Cholesterol- 3 mg , Fiber,- 2.6 grams Sodium- 80 mg
Calcium- 96 mg.
Orange Chicken with Wilted Spinach Salad Recipe
Ingredients
4 large navel oranges
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
¼
tsp each salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken
breasts, tenderloins removed (about 6 oz each)
1 small red
onion, halved and sliced
1 bag (5 or 6 oz) baby spinach
2
Tbsp sliced almonds, toasted
Preparation
1. Squeeze
juice from 1 orange (you should have 1/2 cup). Whisk orange
juice, 3 Tbsp oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in small
bowl. Place 5 Tbsp juice mixture into a large ziptop bag. Add
chicken, seal bag and marinate at room temperature 15 minutes or
in refrigerator 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, remove peel and
white pith from remaining 3 oranges. Cut into segments; place in
medium bowl.
3. Heat stovetop grill pan over medium
heat. Remove chicken from marinade; discard bag and marinade.
Grill chicken 4 to 5 minutes per side until cooked through;
remove to plate and cover to keep warm.
4. Heat
remaining Tbsp oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
Sauté onion 1 minute, add remaining juice mixture and cook 1
minute more. Remove skillet from heat; add orange segments.
5. Place spinach in large bowl; toss with half the orange
mixture. Evenly divide spinach onto serving plates; place a
chicken breast on top of each. Spoon remaining orange mixture on
top; sprinkle with almonds.
Nutrition Information: (4
servings)
Calories: 404 Total Fat: 13 grams Saturated Fat: 3
grams Calories from Fat: 117 Cholesterol: 70 mg Total
Carbohydrates: 26 grams Fiber: 5 grams
Eating Well & Recipes
For more recipes click below
Eating Well & Recipes
To help find a diabetes educator in your area,
contact 1-800-Teamup4 or the American Association of
Diabetes Educators website which is
www.diabeteseducator.org
.
Am I at Risk?
Take Our On-Line Risk Assessment by
clicking here
|
November 14th
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