May 19, 2009 by admin.

A huge study was done at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to determine whether multi-vitamins are worth the price.  Visit for details.  http://tiny.cc/0QXP1

I always knew when I’ve been taking a multi-vitamin that I was doing it as “insurance” for those days when my intake wasn’t optimal.  But it seems that taking multi-vitamins doesn’t give you a health advantage so you can avoid any type of cancer, heart disease, or any risk of dying.   The only risk, it seems, with taking multi-vitamins is making the supplement industry rich and our wallets lighter.

The conclusion from this study was that the best way to get your nutrients is through what you eat.  So go for whole foods, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, low-fat choices of dishes.  Enjoy the bounty that nature has to offer and you’ll be the healthier for it.

 With that said, there may be specific nutrients you should supplement because it is somewhat challenging to get enough in the diet.  Vitamin D, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acid are the three that come to mind.  It’s especially hard for people in northern latitudes to make enough vitamin D through sun exposure since there just isn’t that much sun shining in the winter up north.  I know that’s true living in the Northwest.  This was an especially cold and gray winter. 

Calcium in the amounts science is suggesting we need is also not that easy to get just through food even though dairy isn’t the only source of calcium.  And to kill two birds with one stone, eat canned salmon with bones and you get omega-3 fatty acids and calcium.

If the average American was graded on his or her nutrient intake per day or even per week, I fear he or she might be sent to study hall to help raise his or her grades.  Come on, America, do your part to make us a healthier nation!

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April 14, 2009 by admin.

Did you read the latest Costco Connection where they highlighted albacore tuna?  While Costco has a very good price on albacore tuna, I just want to share some healthful tips related to albacore tuna before you buy too much of it.  I’m just sorry they weren’t up front with the health information regarding albacore.

Albacore tuna, also known as “white tuna” has higher levels of mercury than “light tuna” which comes from the yellowfin tuna.  This can be of great concern to women who are pregnant, might become pregnant, who are breastfeeing, and also for young children.  Visit http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/oehas/fish/ for more information.

With tuna being a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, don’t eliminate tuna from your diet.  “Light tuna”, while having a slightly stronger flavor than albacore, works just as well in any tuna fish recipe calling for canned tuna.  Occasionally think about having canned salmon instead.

 From a government site:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued advice to pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children regarding methylmercury in fish and shellfish. FDA and EPA want to emphasize the benefits of eating fish as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Fish and shellfish are good sources of protein, omega 3 fatty acids and other important nutrients. A diet that includes a variety of fish and shellfish can contribute to heart health and proper growth and development in children. However, pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children are advised to modify the amount and type of fish they consume to reduce exposure to high levels of mercury.

Answer: Pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children should not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.

Answer: Pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children may eat up to 12 ounces per week, per person, or approximately 2 average meals per week, of a variety of fish. Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury include:

REMEMBER: Fish is an important part of a healthy diet. It is important for pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children to continue to eat fish. Simply avoid those fish that are higher in mercury. For additional information, visit these websites: www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01038.html  

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February 3, 2009 by admin.

Have you ever heard of the term “nutrigenomics”? It’s the science that studies the effect of what you eat on how your genes get expressed. If you visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrigenomics, you’ll see a brief discussion about it. Also visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_expression for a brief discussion of gene expression.

First you need to understand that all the proteins in your body, such as enzymes, hormones, cell walls and immune factors, are made based on your DNA. Your DNA, which contains your genes, serves as the blueprint to make these proteins. So much of how our body functions is based on gene expression. For example, when you eat carbohydrates, your pancreas produces insulin to help those carbohydrates (which are now broken down into glucose) enter your liver and other cells in your body. The presence of the glucose in the bloodstream turns a sensor on in the pancreas that says make insulin.

Your pancreas contains DNA. That DNA is the blueprint or instruction guide on how to assemble proteins in a particular order to make the insulin. So every time you eat carbs, whether they be simple (e.g., sugar) or complex carbs (whole grains), the pancreas is signaled to start the DNA factory production of insulin.

That is just one example of how what we eat dictates what genes need to be expressed. Here’s another one which is really not healthy for you. When you’re overweight, your fat cells get bigger and bigger (you also make more fat cells). There comes a point where the fat cell gets so big that it bursts. Now you’ve got broken cell walls and loose fatty acids floating around, which are irritating to the body and cause inflammation. Your body knows to clean up the mess. So now the genes for “clean-up” are activated, making macrophages to act like Pac-Man and gobble up the mess. So all of the excess calories you’ve been eating that have been turned to fat and stored as fat, are now causing your genes to have to make macrophages, exacerbating the inflammation. What you don’t want going on in your body is inflammation.

Just losing some weight will decrease your odds that your fat cells will burst. Eating less refined carbs (most anything that is white - white flour, white sugar, white bread) will keep your pancreas from having to work so hard and so fast.

I’ll talk more about nutrigenomics in upcoming blogs because it is so important to know about. For now, try to eat your carbs in the form of vegetables, fruits, and whole grain foods. Limit your fat intake and when you do eat fat, focus on eating unsaturated fats, such as olive oil and canola oil that should replace such oils as corn oil and safflower oil (found widely in margarines).

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January 21, 2008 by admin.

2008 stands to be an exciting year for new food trends.  I believe that people are going to begin to appreciate that what they eat can be very much related to how healthy and well they feel.  In the past we were told what we were having to give up for the food to be considered healthy.  For example, what does a label with the words, “low fat”, mean to you?  Many view it as telling them eating fat is a no-no, that it’s bad for you.  Yet, not all fats are created equal.  The monounsaturated fat that you find in olive oil, for example, is a very healthy fat and good for you. 

The problem with foods that tout what they’re missing is it sets up a “deprivation mentality”.  Compare that to foods that tell you how good they are for you.  Food manufacturers are beginning to realize that we don’t want to sacrifice to be healthy.  So, in 2008 watch for more products that tell you why they are good for you.  Foods will be marketed in regards to their “functional” properties.  Take for example Activia Yogurt.  It states on the label that it “Helps naturally regulate your digestive system.”  Then there is Cheerios telling us we can lower our cholesterol by eating the cereal.

People are more apt to gravitate towards foods that have a positive implication for eating them rather than being told what they’ll be missing if they eat them.  Unfortunately, with that thinking, food manufacturers are probably going to add nutrients to foods just so they can tout them as beneficial for one reason or another.  Yet, if there is enough of an added ingredient to provide some decent level of beneficial results, especially with an ingredient that people often don’t get enough of, then maybe there is a place for those foods.  Take Total cereal, for example.  General Mills fortifies the cereal with a day’s allowance for many vitamins and minerals.  My suggestion to you is to be sure that the food being “enriched” is a healthy food to begin with.  Taking candy and adding vitamins to it is not the same as taking a high-fiber cereal, which starts out as a healthy option, and adding vitamins and minerals to be sure you’re getting your day’s allowance for these nutrients.

“Organic” and “locally grown” foods are going to occupy much more shelf-space than before.  As we become a more conscious nation of the effect we have on the world around us, we’ll appreciate that eating locally grown foods saves on gasoline to transport it, along with the emissions put out by transporting foods long distances.  We’ll become a society of “localvores.” “Organically grown” foods will become more attractive as fear grips our nation regarding the safety of the food we eat.  A couple of more mad-cow outbreaks or avian bird flu and people will only trust the food they grow themselves or locally grown where they may even know the growers.

I believe people are going to gravitate more to cooking their own meals so they know better what they’re eating.  With that thought in mind, we’ll probably see more foods cut up and ready for us to assemble.  We already have quite a plethora of cut up vegetables and fruits, along with cooked chicken  and meat strips.  The average person will no longer see him- or herself as a cook but an assembler.  No matter what you call yourself, cooking will save you money and make you feel more confidant in the foods you choose to eat.  Food manufacturers will help out by providing more ready-to-cook foods to make you feel you had a hand in the making of dinner.  It reminds me of the Betty Crocker story where the company decided that they’d put all the necessary ingredients in their cake mix, only requiring the cook to add water.  It wasn’t well received because women believed that it wasn’t “homemade” without their adding the eggs and oil.  So take heed, foods manufacturers, leave a little something for the cook to add so some pride can be taken with the cooking process.

I’m looking forward to people being more confident in their food choices.  With food manufacturers touting health benefits (in most cases, health benefits sanctioned by the FDA), consumers should move toward healthier foods naturally rather than viewed in terms of what they’re giving up.  Keep it local and you can feel you have more control over what you eat.

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June 1, 2007 by admin.

If having blueberries, grapes, cocoa and tea helps me improve my memory, count me in. 

Researcher, Henriette van Praag, and her colleagues at the Salk Institute found that these foods contain a compound called epicatechin, a type of flavonol.  Eating a healthy amount of these along with exercise could possibly reduce the effects of such diseaeses as Alzheimer’s or other cognitive disorders related to aging.

Considering that flavonols also improve cardiovascular function and increase blood flow to the brain, it’s a no-brainer to eat them.  With blueberries soon to be available for the summer and grapes already in the markets, have a handful a day.  Make a pot of tea, put it in a thermos so it’s available to you throughout the day.  And treat yourself to an ounce of dark chocolate for dessert at dinner and you may be able to be as sharp in 25 years as you are today.

It wouldn’t hurt to do a crossword puzzle or try sudoku.  Anything that you do that keeps your brain challenged will keep it more youthful.  It’s no different than with exercise.  The old saying that goes, “use it or lose it” is very true here.

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June 1, 2007 by admin.

It seems that a lot of people are confused about fat and I’d like to set the story straight.  Fat has gotten a bad reputation, especially because people assume that when you eat fat, you get fat.  Okay, if you eat a lot of fat you will get fat.  But then you can eat a lot of protein and a lot of carbohydrates and get fat.

We need some fat in our diet, especially since fat contains nutrients our bodies can’t make.  Let’s not get technical about fatty acids and double bonds and all the chemistry involved.  Most people don’t think in terms of the “chemistry” they’re eating.  They just want to know what’s healthy and tastes good.

I’m sure you’ve probably heard of all the names associated with fat.  There’s saturated fat, unsaturated fat, trans fats, polyunsaturated fat, and monounsaturated fat.  There has been a lot of coverage of trans fat in the news so that most people are pretty aware of the fact that it’s not a good fat to eat.  That’s why food manufacturers are now getting the trans fat out of their products. 

Saturated fat has also gotten a lot of press.  Try to stay away from it, as well.  That means avoiding real fatty meats and tropical oils.  Saturated fat is easy to recognize because it’s solid at room temperature.  Now imagine putting some saturated fat down your sink drain.  Too much of it and it’s going to plug up the works.  Same with your body.

It seems that the unsaturated fats are the ones confusing consumers.  Polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat are good fats and not to be eliminated from your daily intake.  So don’t shy away from canola oil, olive oil, corn oil, and safflower oil.  Just don’t guzzle them from the bottle since they are high in calories. 

A food label will tell you a lot about the fat in the food.  Some manufacturers not only include the amount of Saturated and Unsaturated Fats, but they’re also good about telling you about the amounts of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.  Not that the specific grams will make much of a difference to you, but it does help in letting you know what types of fat are in a food.

Most people don’t appreciate the fact that almost all fats contain both saturated and unsaturated fat.  It’s just some, like meat fat, have a high amount of saturated fat, as compared to olive oil, which is high in unsaturated fat.

Keep these letters in mind as you choose your foods:
S - Subtract the Saturated Fat
T - Trounce the Trans fat
P - Push for more Polyunsaturated Fat
M - Maximize the Monounsaturated Fat

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April 16, 2007 by admin.

Of the following foods, which are the ones you eat regularly?

Beans
Berries
Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower)
Dark leafy green vegetables
Flaxseed
Garlic
Grapes and grape juice
Green tea
Soy
Tomatoes
Whole grains

If you said “most of them”, good for you.  But if you said “not often” and that, instead, you look for protection in a bottle of supplements, I’d recommend you rethink that approach and turn to food for your health’s sake.  Even though there are particular phytochemicals (plant chemicals) in each of these foods that research has found to be healthful, having them isolated and put in a bottle may not be the answer.  There is so much chemistry going on in the foods we eat and it’s the interaction of those chemicals that give us the health protection.  Taking just one or two of these chemicals out of foods and putting them in a pill may mean you’re missing out on the best part of the foods they’re found in.

Whenever possible, eat your nutrients rather than popping a pill.  There are some instances, such as fish oil pills, that if you’re not a fish eater, might make sense.  That also goes for calcium.  Not that you couldn’t get, say, 1200 mg of calcium by drinking 3 glasses of milk a day, along with eating dark leafy greens.  Yet, most people don’t.  So, in that case, taking a calcium supplement might make sense.

Remember, we eat not to just fill the belly.  We’re fueling a very sophisticated piece of machinery.

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April 2, 2007 by admin.

If you don’t know about omega-3 fatty acids, you should.  We need them for the health of our hearts.  One of the richest sources of these fatty acids is fish and fish oil supplements, along with flaxseed, canola oil, soy and wheat germ. 

When you start shopping for supplements, you may feel a little overwhelmed.  That’s because there are various fatty acids in supplements you need to be aware of.  In fish and fish oil, you’ll find DHA (docohexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).  These two fatty acids are important for cell membranes and your immune and nervous systems.  Get enough of them and you can lower your risk for heart disease.

Yet, there is another omega-3 fatty acid that hasn’t gotten as much attention.  That’s alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which comes from such plant sources as walnuts, flaxseed, canola oil, soy and wheat germ.  Because our bodies can’t make ALA, you need to get it from your diet or through a supplement, such as flaxseed oil capsules.  Just a little over one tablespoon of canola oil a day would give you an adequate amount of ALA.

There are many fortified foods with these omega-3 acids and expect to see more in the future.  Some eggs are fortified, along with other products such as pasta.  Daily recommendations for EPA and DHA combined range from about 500 to 1,800 mg per day.  For ALA, authorities suggest we aim for 1,300 to 3,000 mgs.  Don’t forget that omega-3 fortified foods contribute to your totals for the day.

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March 23, 2007 by admin.

The makers of Splenda and Equal will be duking it out in court in about a month.  Equal has lost a lot of market share to Splenda.  The makers of Equal believe that Splenda should not be advertising that it “tastes like sugar because it’s made from sugar.”  Because of the way it is made, Splenda is an artificial sweetener.  It may start out as sugar but once the chemists have worked on it, it no longer is sugar.  It is no longer something you find in nature.

It may not only be Splenda’s advertising that has garnered it more of the market share.  It could be that while Equal is 200 times as sweet as table sugar, Splenda is 600 times sweeter than table sugar.  Is this a testament to the American sweet tooth?

I think artificial sweetners have their place in one’s effort to lose weight.  In order to achieve the level of sweetness that Splenda gives to a food, one would have to add many, many calories of sugar.  What bothers me more than Splenda’s advertising tagline are their television commercials.  Not only do we see adults sprinkling Splenda on fruits, drinks and other foods, but they show smiling children enjoying Splenda, as well.  We would be doing more of a service to our children by teaching them from an early age that fruits, even dried fruits, should be enough sweetness to satisfy a “sweet tooth”.  Once we start introducing sugar-laden foods, we’ve started them on a road to needing more and eventually having to resort to artificial sweeteners in order to lose the weight they’ll probably gain.

People who used to eat high-fat diets and eventually scaled-back on their intake of fat, now find that anything with a lot of fat in it isn’t pleasing to the taste.  If we can learn to eat less fat, why not less sugar?  I know that we naturally tend toward sugar; otherwise, we would not have been given taste buds dedicated to recognizing sweet flavors.  But a lot of what we eat is learned.  Cavemen probably loved eating fruits and berries, appreciating their sweet flavor and never asked for something sweeter.  Maybe we need to return back to our roots.

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