Healthy snacking

When traveling by car or train, pack healthy snacks for you and your family. Good choices include:

• fresh fruit (apples, pears, bananas, and grapes/berries are good choices because you are left with little waste and little mess)
• high fiber/whole wheat crackers
• sandwiches (think peanut butter and jelly or low fat deli meat or tofurkey on whole grain bread)
• fresh vegetables (carrots, celery sticks, pepper or cucumber slices to name a few)
• high fiber/whole grain granola bars or cereals
• water, low calorie beverages (flavored water, Crystal Light (R), diet soda/pop, etc).

Forgo the chips, candy, and regular soda at the gas station stops, and you will save money, calories and potentially time!

When traveling by plane

• If traveling within the country, pack less-perishable fruit (apples, oranges, grapes, etc) in your carry-on luggage. If traveling outside of the country, buy fresh fruit once you get through security.
• Buy a deli sandwich on whole grain bread and hold the mayo/dressings.
• Buy a field greens salad and ask for dressing on the side (or hold the dressing).
• Ask for water, unsweetened tea, or diet soda on the plane.

Exercise

When traveling by car, take advantage of rest stops for more than just a trip to the restroom. Get out, stretch your legs, do some stretches or even take the family for a short walk around the rest stop. The fresh air, exercise, and time away from the monotony of driving will do all of you good!

When traveling by train or plane, walk the terminal prior to your flight or trip. I like to get to the terminal early and do laps around the terminal. If you train ride or flight is long, walk the length of the train car/plane as able to get some exercise.

Although most of us are more lax with healthy eating and exercise during the holidays, it can still be a time to fuel your body properly! Happy travels!

The video below (click through if you don’t see it) shows what happens when you literally turn the stairs into a toy by installing piano keys with working notes. They found people chose the stairs 66% more of the time. Check it out!

What will be illegal with the new federal tobacco law:

• selling candy-flavored and fruit-flavored cigarettes
• putting tobacco company logos on sporting, athletic or entertainment events or on clothing and other promotional items
• placing outdoor tobacco ads within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds
• using terms such as “low tar,” “light” or “mild” – so-called light cigarettes make no difference to a smoker’s health

In addition:

• cigarette packages will carry larger warning labels, up to 50% of the surface of one side
• tobacco companies may be required to reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes

Lawmakers have been trying to pass this legislation for over a decade. 70% of the House voted in favor, as well as 79% of the Senate.

And according to CNN:

Despite a significant decrease in the percentage of Americans who smoke in recent decades, more than 400,000 Americans still die from tobacco-related illnesses every year, the president noted. Tobacco-related health care costs exceed $100 billion annually.

Obama signs bill putting tobacco products under FDA oversight, CNN, June 22, 2009

By Mike

I always think of myself as a pessimist. However, I often find myself telling my friends or coworkers the brighter side of the situation. For example, at work, my coworkers complain about our boss’ management style (as do I sometimes). But then I counter with some positive ways of looking at the situation. While our boss likes to take all the fun and exciting work for herself, it frees up our time to work on new initiatives on our contract.

While I was in one of my pessimistic moods recently, I realized something that questions why our world was set up the way it is. Before I begin, though, please be sure to read through the entire piece as you’ll miss my point if you only read the next section…

The World is Out to Get You!

If you step back and look at the big picture around you, you’ll begin to realize that there doesn’t seem to be anything you can do right. To clarify, it seems that regardless of what you do to live a long, healthy life, there’s a downside to your action that could actually harm you. Take the following examples:

• Eating eggs is good because of the protein they provide. But eating eggs is bad because of the cholesterol.
• Running is an excellent, low cost method of weight loss and fitness. But running deteriorates your joints and could compress your spine from so much pounding.
• Drinking milk provides essential calcium and other nutrients to help our bodies grow healthy and strong. But many claim that drinking milk from cows isn’t natural (well, it isn’t I guess) and the hormones are wreaking havoc with our bodies.
• Relaxing by watching TV or reading a book is great for refreshing your mind and body. But too much relaxing leads to muscle atrophy and bed sores (ok, that was a stretch).
• Taking vitamins is essential to replace the nutrients you aren’t getting in your regular diet. But taking the wrong vitamins could lead to a toxic reaction (e.g. too much iron).
• Basically when you try to avoid one thing, you find out the alternative is just as bad for you, or worse.

So it seems that we have to be super-cautious about working out, eating, and just keeping/getting healthy or else risk harming our bodies more than we’re helping. Why is life so difficult?!?

Should we all just give up?

Ok, so that’s a pretty depressing statement, but many people that try to get healthy end up thinking the same thing. They give up trying. But even as a self-proclaimed pessimist, I won’t accept the excuse that the world is out to get us and nothing we can do will improve our lives.

Having a wife who is a registered dietitian doesn’t mean that I have some special insight into how to be healthy. I’m still an overweight, out-of-shape husband who eats buffets and Ramen noodles and watches TV instead of going to the gym. That’s because:

• every person’s body is different, thus are the types of food that work best for it (or against it). Just being close to a dietitian or personal trainer doesn’t automatically suck the fat away (believe me, I’ve wished for it).
• it’s up to the individual to have the motivation to work out, eat better or eat appropriate portions. No one can force me to change; I have to do it myself.

If I don’t get up off my butt and exercise, and eat the right mix of foods (and right amounts) for my body, then I probably have a very slim chance at staying, much less getting, healthy. And how do I find out what and how much I should be eating? By seeing a registered dietition! How do I get into better physical shape? By going to the gym, walking, running, climbing stairs, etc.!

But we still can’t escape the problem that whatever we do has both positive and negative results. However, I can still try. I’ll avoid fad diets and “miracle cures”, knowing that nothing will be a fast-fix to my health problems. I’ll be careful not to over-exert myself when working out, and minimize the impact on my joints. That means using the elliptical trainer and walking until I lose enough weight where running is less detrimental than it is beneficial. It means eating proper portions (aka “portion control”) and not overindulging at buffets or over-snacking.

Not all is lost, even if you are a pessimist. At the beginning of this article I said there always seems to be a negative to the positive. Well, conversely there’s a positive to every negative. Yes, eggs might raise your cholesterol, but you can just eat egg whites. Yes, exercising can deteriorate our bones, but you can do low-impact workouts. There’s always a good with any bad.

So stop moping around, feeling sorry for yourself that you’ll never get healthy. And stop fussing over all the new diet fads or health alerts. Otherwise, you’ll get overwhelmed and just give up. Take it one step at a time. Introduce exercise into your daily regimen. Then cut down on the amount of food you eat (assuming you overeat) or see a registered dietitian to create a nutrition plan that works for you.

Take enough small steps and you’ll be surprised at how far you’ve gone!

_{Photo by Abdullah AL-Naser}

I didn’t know who Langston was before this video (courtesy of ESPN), but I really like his down-to-earth personality. He illustrates that the giants of the gridiron have a lot of insecurities about their size.

Oh, and watch him squeeze into a MINI Cooper. We have a friend who is 6’5″ and pushing 300lbs fit into our MINI once, but it was a very tight fit.

Note: If you’re reading through email or RSS, you may need to click through to watch.

After googling “Barbara Nash” (the nutritionist in the story below), I came across her website. Turns out she is a DNN/Nutrition Therapist. After doing some research on the UK’s standards of nutritionists and dietitians, it seems similar to the US standards for dietitians versus nutritionists (almost anyone can call themselves a “nutritionist”, but only those with a degree in dietetics and nutrition are registered dietitians; see this site for more details in the UK). So, before you take any nutrition advice, remember to ask for credentials!!!!

“Mother awarded £800,000 after ’6 pints of water a day detox diet’ left her brain damaged:

A dieter suffered permanent brain damage after being advised to drink 6 pints of water/day & cut salt intake to lose weight. Dawn Page, 52, has been awarded £810,000 in damages from her nutritionist, although the practitioner denies fault.

Mother of two Mrs Page, became ill within days of taking up the Amazing Hydration Diet. She had been told by the nutritionist to drink 4 extra pints of water/day & drastically reduce her salt intake. The first stage of the regime left her suffering from severe vomiting & stomach cramps, but she was told these were just part of the detoxification process.

However, the nutritionist ordered her patient to tack on another 2 pints (total of 6 pints) per day, and even less salt. This resulted in a massive epileptic fit and brain damage, thanks to sodium deficiency. And she’s left with even more physical and mental problems such as memory, concentration, speech and mood swing problems.

Speaking from the family home in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, he said: ‘She was not obese or even mildly obese, but like a lot of women, Dawn liked to look after her weight.

Since the fit, she has had to rely on written notes to remember basic instructions, & finds it hard to recall simple info.

Mr Page, who launched the 6 ½ year legal action, added: ‘It’s important that people understand how dangerous diets like these are, & not to enter into them without knowing all the dangers.’

The salt-rich plasma acts as a protective layer around the brain, but because Mrs Page’s contained such low levels of the mineral, water had entered the brain, causing permanent damage.

As a note, the article also adds more specific information about the dangers of “hydration diets“.

“The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of over 12,000 farms, grocery stores, restaurants and other outlets that offer local, fresh and sustainable food in the United States and Canada. Visitors simply enter a zip or postal code to search for food that is free of antibiotics and added hormones, and produced by healthy and humane methods that include organic, pasture-raised and heritage.”

What you can do:
1. Put in your zip code to discover farmer’s markets, restaurants, and stores in your area that offer local food.
2. If you are going on vacation or travel a lot, put in the zip code or city/state of the place you will be visiting. You can also download a PDF file of this information once you register to their site.

Being in a suburb of a big city, I was surprised to find few restaurants in the area that use local foods. I am not sure if these restaurants have not registered with the site, or if there really are THAT few restaurants in the area! But as word gets out, hopefully more restaurants that do use local and/organic foods will sign up.

_{This was NOT a paid or sponsored post}

Part of being a dietitian, and a dietitian’s husband, is trying new products so that we know what’s available, and palatable, for readers and patients. Well, thanks to French Meadow Bakery for sending us a sampler pack of some of their new products to try out and review here at Building Nutrition.

Who is French Meadow Bakery?

The French Meadow Bakery first opened its doors in 1985, and applies “old world bread-baking techniques, ancient healthy grains and seeds and cutting edge foods research to create baked goods the world loves.” According to their website, they avoid genetically-modified ingredients in their foods and produce foods in a variety of categories (not all foods have all of these characteristics):

• Gluten-free (for those who have celiac disease)
• Casein-free (i.e., milk protein free)
• Fiber rich
• Lactose free
• Low Glycemic
• Omega Rich
• Vegan
• Yeast free

Where do you buy French Meadow Products?

Healthy Hemp™ Bread

So let’s get to the wheat, er meat, of this review: the French Meadow Bakery’s Healthy Hemp™ Bread. First, I’ll let Stacie discuss the nutritional aspects of the product, and then we’ll both record our opinions of the product, but first I want to ease your fears about the “Hemp” part of this bread. No, it’s not going to get you high, nor will it affect any drug tests. Hemp flour is not the same as “weed”.

Nutritional Value of Healthy Hemp™ Bread

Both Hemp Sprouted Bread and most regular wheat bread servings are 2 slices. (How to read a food label)

• Calories: 190, which is slightly more calories than traditional bread, but the added fat and protein account for the increase in calories.
• Sodium: 195 mg, which is less sodium than traditional bread.
• Total fat: 4 grams, which is slightly higher than traditional bread, but it does contain healthy fatty acids (omega-3s), so that is a plus!
• Dietary fiber: 10 grams. Wow! two slices will give you 40% of your daily fiber needs! Make sure that you drink lots of fluids when you eat this bread, or it may cause you to have bloating or gas if you are not used to eating a high fiber diet.
• Protein: 14 grams. This is equal to 2 eggs, 2 cups of milk, or 2 ounces of meat. Great if you don’t eat a lot of protein-rich sources and you need to get protein from other sources.

Who should NOT try this bread?

• People who have celiac disease (this product contains wheat gluten)
• People who currently have a flare-up of crohn’s disease/inflammatory bowel disease/ulcerative colitis or anyone who needs to eat a low fiber diet
• People with renal disease or those on a low potassium or protein controlled diet (although this product could fit into their diet plan–speak with your registered dietitian before trying this product.)

Taste Review of Healthy Hemp™ Bread

Stacie’s Review: This bread sounds great on paper! I looked at the bread, at the nutrition profile, and thought, “Great! I can get my fiber, protein, and omega-3′s in one serving!”. I popped it in the toaster, smelled the great aroma (smelled like traditional bread cooking), and once it came out of the toaster, put trans-fat free margarine on it. However, the taste was not what I was expecting. It tasted “sprouty” and “sour”. I am sorry to the company, but I did not like it!

Mike’s Review: Ok, I have mixed feelings on this bread. First, I’m not used to such “organic” breads, so it’s a bit of a jump from my normal wheat or white breads to such a fibrous, dense bread. Like Stacie, I did notice a bitter, almost fishy aftertaste, especially when toasted, but I decided to follow up with French Meadow themselves on this issue. They were very receptive to my opinions and offered suggestions like trying the bread with peanut butter (which I did). The bread was better with PB than without, but it still didn’t mask the somewhat bitter aftertaste.

Overall opinions

Stacie: I am concerned about some of the claims made on their products. For instance, the claim that “yeast free for improved digestibility and good nutrient absorption” makes it sound like yeast itself impairs digestibility and nutrient absorption, which I do not know to be true. (Remember to do your research when you read a claim and see if it’s scientifically sound.) The fact that it contains hemp concerned me at first (everyone I talked with had the same initial reaction to the “hemp”–”will I get high if I try it? Can I eat if if I may need a random drug test at work?”), but after doing some research, hemp flour is not the same as the traditional “hemp”.

However, if you are trying to eat healthfully and want a great bread that will keep you satisfied until your next meal, this bread might be for you. High in fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids, it can be part of a healthy diet, as long as you like the taste.

FLOW Interactive Exercise Program (by E Wave Corporation) may help with that. It’s a program that you install on your computer. Every hour (or two, depending on what you set it to do), a small video will pop up on your screen and take you through a series of exercises for 5 minutes. It will also give you motivational, inspirational, and nutritional messages throughout the day to keep you on track. The CD is relatively inexpensive (<$30), but from the looks of the sample video, you might look quite odd if you share an office with coworkers or if you have a cubicle in the midst of a large room. However, if you have your own office or work out of your home, it might be a great idea to help keep you motivated!

Now, I’m not saying that everyone should get this video: I’m not sure if managers/bosses would be OK with you working out for 5 minutes every hour of the day, every day, every week. But, if you fit the time that you would spend doing these exercises into your “allotted lunch time” or “break time”, then they might not complain.

If anyone has purchased this CD or does purchase it, I would be curious to hear what you think of it!

This was not a paid or sponsored endorsement.

Shape Magazine and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation are hosting “Pilates for Pink“, a day in which women across the country will be doing pilates to raise money for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Mark September 28th on your calendar, and take a Pilates for Pink class at your local gym or yoga studio (find one here).

If you are planning to be in New York City on Sunday, September 28th, 2008, take a Pilates class at Union Square. It sounds like a win-win situation: you get a free pilates mat, a free bag, and a great workout, all for just a $25 donation to the Foundation.

As an FYI, it is estimated that about 126 out of 100,000 women will get breast cancer each year. According to the National Cancer Institute, 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer in their lifetime.

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month will soon be upon us, any step we can take to increase awareness, support, and funding for a cure for breast cancer is a step in the right direction.