YET ANOTHER MIRACLE FOOD

Yet another “miracle” food in the news; this time, mangosteen juice.  Never heard of it? Me neither, and I have no idea where I can pick my own mangosteen berries. The mangosteen actually comes from Southeast Asia and has been allowed to enter the US now that the fruit is irradiated or fumigated before transport.  Puerto Rico is also a growing region.  This set aside, a new study reveals that obese adults that drink 1/2 liter  a day of mangosteen juice had a decrease in their CRP level.  C-reactive Protein is a marker of inflammation, used as a predictor for heart disease, but also a marker of any inflammation.  So, reducing CRP is a healthy thing.

But does this mean that you should rush to the store, buy your $40 liter of mangosteen juice and down half of it for breakfast?  Not so fast!   Before you go empty your bank account at the health food store, consider this:

- Calories: read the food label and see how many calories in a cup of juice.  Make that fit into your total nutrition plan. Half a liter equals 2 cups or 16 oz.

- Contents: many of the mangosteen juices are blends, mixed with other red berries.  Read the label and beware of what you buy.

Is Mangosteen a MIRACLE food?  There is no such thing as miracle food.  Previous cure-alls were blueberries, noni juice, acai berry, acerola cherry, almonds, walnuts… take a look: all fresh plants, not processed beyond the juice form.

Once more, I’ll make the case for a plant-based diet, as close to the ground as possible.  Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, are good for you, in a variety of colors and textures… forget the packaging, buy the fresh or frozen berries, and juice your own 1/2 cup dose.  Your health food store is your grocery’s fresh aisle and frozen fruit locker.  Mix it up, it’s a healthy thing.

-

Jay K Udani, Betsy B Singh, Marilyn L Barrett and Vijay J Singh. Evaluation of Mangosteen juice blend on biomarkers of inflammation in obese subjects: a pilot, dose finding study. Nutrition Journal, 2009

Filed under: Lifestyle, diet , healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, obesity, Marie Dufour RD, Mediterranean Diet, heart health, miracle food, mangosteen, anti inflammatory, CRP reduction

A BAKER, A DREAMER

My sister in law always wanted to have her own bakery.  But what could a mother of four little kids do?  Between carpools, PTA meetings, swimming lessons and girl scout cookie sales, there was no time.  So, she contented herself with baking pastries and breads at home and for her friends.

Oh, she had motivation.  My brother was one of those charismatic French chefs, and whoever had dined at the Brasserie in Fort Meyers on a Saturday night knows about the Cabaret nights, when all the servers, cooks, ex-Club Med Jean-Claude and Chef Gerard would take the stage and make the audience roar with skits and songs.  And my sister in law watched, and kept cooking her pastries, slipping away to take a chocolate confection class or two… and still dream of her own bakery.

When her kids grew up and became more independent, she went to work as a pastry chef at a Florida resort, baked cakes for the clients, learned the trade, still dreaming of her own bakery.

But suddenly she was a widow, when my brother died of cancer at the age of 56.

Some dreams were gone forever.  The man that had cooked for her for so many years, who had made her laugh and had taught her the secrets of French cuisine and baking, that man was no longer at her side.  But her dream, her little dream of a little French bakery did not extinguish.  It grew and grew until it became a reality.

Today, three years after our beloved chef Gerard passed to the other side, there is a new organic bakery in Fort Meyers: The French Bread Oven.  In the tradition of French Bakers, plump breads and little pastries line the counters and vitrines.

It is our dreams that make us forge ahead in any of life’s downturn; dreams, friends, family, and the memory of those who brought us there.  Visit the French Oven Bakery in Fort Meyers, and have a chat with ROCIO, the little baker that could… http://frenchbreadoven.org/

Filed under: Lifestyle , epicerie fine, FOrt Meyers bakery, French bakery, French Bread Oven, French pastry, marie dufour, organic bread, Rocio Pinault

GREEN EGGS AND TUNA

By Marie Dufour, RD – At first, I thought it was a take on Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham.  Then, I realized that I had read it wrong. The headline was GREENS, EGGS, and TUNA… Among the Riskiest Foods in America.

Now, you’d tell me wild mushrooms or puffer fish, my ears would perk up and I’d put down my fork.  I’d certainly expect to inspect oysters and clams for norovirus and I’d make sure not to eat shellfish between the months of May and September. I might question my sushi server on the freshness of  tuna, afraid of scrombotoxin contamination.  But the news of potatoes and berries being dangerous to my health had me a bit puzzled.  What was that FDA report about?

On the heels of the Food Safety Enhancement Act passed last July, the Centers for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) just released a food safety report.  How common is food-borne illness? One in 3,000 to 4,000 meals, with the most common pathogens being Norovirus, E.coli, Salmonella and scrombotoxin.   The ten top foods that made the naughty list are: leafy greens, eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes, cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts, and berries, accounting for nearly 40% of all outbreaks among FDA-regulated foods.

BUT, what is not on the list is what the FDA does not regulate: Meat products.  While the media scare the public away from healthy foods by labeling them “RISKY,” they blissfully ignore the multiple recalls of beef and meat products, contaminated by the deadly E-coli.O157:H7.

The risks for food contamination are well known to food producers, processors, restaurateurs and other foodservice professionals.  HACCP protocols have long been in place to regulate provisioning, storing, cooking, and serving foods.  Standards have been developed and are followed in order to avoid time-temperature abuses.  This new FDA rule focuses on high-volume food processors (i.e. lettuce farms) to design and implement food safety plans.  It’s a good thing for the consumer.   You may feel that you’re doing your body a favor by purchasing the expensive bag of “organic greens,” but are just as much at risk for E. coli, and Salmonella as if you purchased a regular lettuce (and even more at risk as if you grew that lettuce yourself, I might add.)

How do we keep our foods safe in the home?  FIGHT BAC! Store food at the right temperature, cook it thoroughly, and, for crying out lout, don’t let that chicken thaw on the countertop!  See more tips at Fight Bac!

Defensive cooking, it’s a Healthy Thing!

Filed under: Lifestyle, community nutrition, prevention , e.coli, food contamination, food safety, healthy eating, Marie Dufour RD, norivirus, nutrition, Organic, public health, raw food diet, salmonella, scrombotoxin, tuna contamination, women's Health

LIVER DISEASE IN TEENS

 By Marie Dufour, RD - Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to a disease with various stages, from fatty liver (steatosis), to non alcoholic steatohepatitis (inflamed and scarred liver), to irreversible cirrhosis and final liver failure.

This kind of fatty liver disease is different from the alcoholic liver disease and is caused mainly by obesity. In fact, all of the stages correlate to insulin resistance and obesity. The greater the BMI, the greater the liver damage. Almost 30 million Americans have non alcoholic fatty liver disease. While this used to be a disease found typically in adults, the rise in childhood overweight is now making NAFLD an alarming pediatric problem, especially among overweight adolescent boys.

In a data analysis of adolescents and teenagers, the risk for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was not only associated with obesity, but also was 16 times greater in subjects with the metabolic syndrome. However, researchers found that the metabolic syndrome affected boys more than girls, increasing boys’ risk 20-fold while girls had about a threefold increased risk. They also found a wide difference in risk according to ethnicity: Hispanics showed a five-fold increased risk, while non-Hispanics showed a 34-fold increased risk. This implies that, in addition to obesity and metabolic syndrome, NAFLD is affected by environmental, biological, or genetic factors.

Why does it matter? NAFLD, if not stopped early, will progress into nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), causing further irreversible liver scarring, up to irreversible cirrhosis. While it was conceivable for an adult to develop NAFLD in mid-life and slowly develop into cirrhosis in late years, say 70 to 80 years old, it is a shock to have teenagers develop the disease. What is the life expectancy of children so affected? What quality of life will they have? What will be the cost to their families and to society?

Fortunately, they are ways to ENTIRELY PREVENT the disease and its progression. For teenagers, it is more than ever crucial to:

1 – lose excess weight

2 – be physically active

3 – control high blood pressure

4 – maintain a healthy weight

5 – follow a plant-based diet with lean animal protein (egg whites, skim milk, fish & poultry), avoid saturated fats, and limit sweet drinks and refined sugars.

Ref: Graham RC, et al “Ethnic and sex differences in the association between metabolic syndrome and suspected nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents” J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2009.

Filed under: Lifestyle, diet, prevention , childhood obesity, community nutrition, diet, fatty liver disease, Health Nutrition Blog, healthy lifestyle, kids' health, Liver disease diet, Marie Dufour RD, NAFLD, non alcoholic liver disease, nutrition, obesity, teenage liver disease, weight control, women's Health

I Fought a Heavyweight

By Marie Dufour, RD – It’s true!  I’m not the arguing-fighting type, but when it comes to fighting obesity I say my piece, as I do almost everyday in this blog and on The Daily Crunch. 

My posts remain generally ignored, until the other day when I wrote that obesity was 100% preventable.  A reader responded that obesity was 77% inheritable and “why-would-we-starve-ourselves-to-death-cuz-big-is-beautiful?”  To this followed posts that supported the myth of family-doomed obesity with “my-grand-ma-and-her-grand-ma-were-always-fat, especially after having children,” and arguments such as “if grandma had not been so-oh-my-god-FAT, she would not have lasted so long through her cancer: her fat stores made her live longer.”  It all ended with a “So-marie-bug-off-our-Fat’Is’Beautiful-blog” and a “Go-crack-your-whip-elsewhere.”  

 But I’m back in the ring and why do I insist?  Because if grandma had not been so “Oh-My-God-FAT,” she might never had developed intestinal cancer.  Obesity is responsible for 8% of all cancers (WHO data.)

 Why do I insist?  Because, as part of a support and motivation network, I know that for every one vocal “Let Me Be Fat” shout, there are hundreds of “Help Me Be Healthy” cries… especially among middle-aged women.

 Why, again, do I insist?  Because being overweight at age 50 predicts overall health at age 70 (1). Based on analysis of data from the Nurses Health Study, women with a BMI of 30 at age 50 or more have only about a 20% chance of being healthy and disease-free at age 70.  And it’s not just weight; it’s also central adiposity: a woman’s waist circumference of 35 inches or more is a predictor of chronic disease in later years.

 What struck me in the report is that of the 17,000 participants, only 10% lived disease-free at age 70.  TEN PERCENT only were free of nine chronic diseases or conditions — cancer, diabetes, congestive heart failure, COPD, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.   In addition, they had no evidence of cognitive impairment or limitations on physical function. Wouldn’t you want to be one of them?  I do!

 Unfortunately for some of us, it’s harder than for others because –as my Big Ladies pointed out– obesity is inheritable.  The FTO gene has been identified as the “fat mass and obesity gene.”  But this does not mean that we are doomed to being obese because our mamas were.  We know things now that they didn’t know then and –I repeat– obesity is ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE.

Exercise is the key. It takes some extra effort, but exercise can trump obesity for those whose weight problem is genetic (2).  In studies of adults AS WELL as children, only individuals who had sedentary lifestyles were suffering from obesity.  For those who exercised an extra 900 calories per day, the FTO gene had NO EFFECT.  ZERO.   

How do we spend 900 calories more per day?  We move.  We turn the TV off, the computer off, and we move.  We walk to the store or to work, join a gym, clean house, do laundry, take the stairs, bike, swim, dance, jump, pick any sport, whatever it takes to keep that FTO gene from rearing its ugly head.  (For more info on calories expanded, see the Activity calorie counter).

Now, turn this computer off and …. MOVE!

 

References:

1 – Sun Q, et al “Adiposity and weight change in mid-life in relation to healthy survival after age 70 in women; prospective cohort study” BMJ 2009; 339: b3796.

2 – Rampersaud E, et al “Physical Activity and the Association of Common FTO Gene Variants With Body Mass Index and Obesity” Arch Intern Med 2008; 168(16): 1791-1797.

Filed under: Lifestyle, diet , cancer prevention, childhood obesity, diet, FTO gene, healthy lifestyle, Marie Dufour RD, weight control, women's Health

DOMINO’s PANTRY: THE NO-GO’s

As I’m getting ready to launch our working platform, the DOMINO Catamaran, I’m seriously re-examining the concept of pantry and coming up with lists of TEN things that will or will not make it on board. On a boat, there are many limitations: space, packaging, shelf life, ease of use, and waste. In addition, provisioning is uncertain: we never know what kind of food we’ll find where.   How do we decide?

Primarily, we want to stick to our healthy diets, which prompted us to try to define our foodstyle: French-mediterranean DASH with an international twist. But most of all, low-fat, low-sugar, nutrient-dense, calorie-aware (balanced). Before deciding what would make it into our pantry, we decided what would NOT make it and why.

When you replenish your pantry, take a look at your cooking style and eating goals, make a shopping list, and shop accordingly. NO emotionally buying!!!

THE 10 THINGS THAT WON’T MAKE IT TO DOMINO’s PANTRY

1- Regular soda & fruit juice –  Although I might enjoy  an occasional soda or juice as a special treat or quick sugar burst after heavy exercising,  I prefer saving the space for more nutritionally-dense  whole foods.

2 – Cookies – Fat and sugar pellets and pucks don’t belong in a healthy pantry… ever!

3 – Sugary cereal – High in refined sugar, poor in fiber, and packaging waste of space and resources.

4 – Coconut oil: saturated fat, highly inflammatory (don’t believe the “miracle Food” claims out-there)

5 – Prepackaged meals: i.e. Mac’n cheese, Chili’n Beans, Ravioli in sauce, food bars. Excessive packaging, high in fat and salt, filled with preservatives and colorants: citric acid & heartburn, no-no!

6 – White bread & pastry mix: refined flour and sugar, preservatives, not the best for blood sugar control.

7 – Cream soups: fat, salt, preservatives again: heartburn again!

8 – Caramel popcorn & other sweets: space-hogs for no-value nutrition.

9 – Alcohol: alcohol and safe boating don’t mix.

10 – Trigger foods: Dulce de Leche or condensed milk (my trigger foods) and chocolate-covered almonds (JP’s trigger food).  We’d make them disappear in no time.

In addition, these 10 items (except for the bread) are expensive compared to their alternatives… But that’s the next blog issue… Until then, shop your list: it’s a healthy thing.

Filed under: Lifestyle, diet , DASH diet, diet, DOMINO Catamaran, DOMINO diet, grocery shopping, Health Nutrition Blog, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, healthy pantry, heart health, Marie Dufour RD, shopping list, weight control, women's Health

THE OBESITY-CANCER LINK

By Marie Dufour, RD – It’s not news that obesity increases the risk for breast cancer in women. I was teaching that to women groups more than 25 years ago. The estrogen-producing property of stored fat raises the estrogen level and puts women at risk for estrogen-positive breast cancer.

Over the last 20 years, study after study have demonstrated that obesity is also damaging to the intestinal track and correlates to colon, kidney, and pancreas cancer as well as adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and endometrium. Just 2 years ago, Dr. Walter Willett presented his research in Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective and predicted that within 10 years obesity would become the leading risk factor for cancer. And we are getting closer to Dr. Willett’s prediction every day, as heralded by the latest European cancer research report.  Obesity accounts for 8% of all cancers, and rising.

The recipe for health is so simple: eat well, be active, stay as lean as possible. Why is it so hard to achieve? Confusing, conflicting, and overwhelming information make our heads spin. We hate to be fat and hate to hate ourselves… and feel trapped. We reach for diet pills and miracle cures, when the guidelines are simples. Perhaps taking just one at a time will help.

- Be physically active;

- Keep red meat to less than 18oz per week;

- Eat mostly foods from vegetable origin;

- Avoid sodas, juice and sports drinks if you’re not a hard-core athlete;

- Meet your nutritional needs through diet, avoid supplements;

- If you take fish oils supplement, respect the limit and check for purity of the product;

- If you drink, do so in moderation;

and – of course, don’t smoke.

More than ever, watch what you eat. Join support groups, be informed about healthy nutrition, and pass it on… It’s a Healthy Thing…

Filed under: Lifestyle, community nutrition , cancer prevention, diet, Health Nutrition Blog, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, Marie Dufour RD, men's health, nutrition, obesity, Obesity-cancer link, weight control, weight loss, women's Health

BAN TANNING SALONS

A survey of tanning salons revealed that 90% of the owners allowed teenage girls to tan more often than the three or fewer recommended sessions.  Instead, 71% of the facilities said they would allow the teens to tan seven days a week.  

But UV exposure from tanning beds has been linked to melanoma and squamous cell skin carcinoma, which prompted the International Agency for Research on Cancer to list sun beds and ultraviolet rays in the same high-risk group for causing cancer as plutonium and radium.

Researchers estimate that  UV ray exposure before age 35 may increase a person’s risk of developing melanoma by as much as 75 percent. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 68,720 people will develop melanoma this year and 8,650 will die from the disease.

We don’t need one more artificial cause of cancer: dealing with natural sunlight is problematic enough.  Neither do we need to expose our young, most vulnerable, to a contamination that will potentially take their lives.  Melanoma is not the most common cancer, agreed; but it is one of the most lethal.

What to do about it?

- Contact your lawmakers to support a ban on tanning beds;

- Support  melanoma survivor Jeremy Burfoot in his Ultimate Ride worldwide campaign to raise skin cancer awareness and prevention. 

Ban tanning beds: i’ts a healthy thing.

 

 

SOurce: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=aHCjq9f9JVS0

Filed under: Lifestyle, public health , ban tanning beds, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, heart health, Jeremy Burfoot, London-Sydney by PWC, Marie Dufour RD, men's health, prevent melanoma, skin cancer prevention, The Ultimate Ride, women's Health

PREGNANT BUT NOT FAT

By Marie Dufour, RD – Yet another study to demonstrate that having children puts women at risk for metabolic syndrome, and for women with history of gestational diabetes to develop Type 2 diabetes.

I’d like to believe it: having had 5 children myself, I’d like to take multiple pregnancies as an excuse for the inches around my waist that prohibit wearing tight belts.  However, I’m going to argue against the results of this study. 

I’ll argue that it’s not pregnancy itself that makes us permanently fat around the waist; it’s the lack of proper education and care women get during and after pregnancy.

Historically, women used to bear many more children than they now do.  Multiple pregnancies were common, but obesity was not.  Clearly, food was not as easily accessible, women breastfed their children, and they continued to do manual chores and move their bodies.  But it’s no longer the case, and between food oversupply and lack of physical demand, the fat cells around the waist have a nice growing time.  And, with the central obesity come insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure and associated risk for Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

How do we, from a public health standpoint, prevent the “pot belly” and the risk of metabolic syndrome among pregnant women?

1.    Institute FREE prenatal care for ALL women;

2.    Include nutrition education to the prenatal visits at 3 months, 6 months, 8 months, 9 months and post-natal visits at 1 month and 3 months; (WIC is doing some of this… ALL women need this service)

3.    Encourage women to breastfeed (faster weight loss) and promote pro-breastfeeding policies in the workplace;

4.    Encourage city-sponsored fitness programs for pregnant women and “mommy & me” programs for mew mothers;

5.    TV and radio public address & messages to promote healthy pregnancies.

 I don’t see women stopping having children anytime soon.  But childbearing needs not be an excuse for post-partum obesity, metabolic syndrome, nor diabetes.  If you’re pregnant, eat right but not for two, exercise normally unless your doctor tells you not to, and plan on breastfeeding.  Your waist and your heart will thank you; your child will thank you.

Filed under: Lifestyle, community nutrition, diet, public health , community nutrition, diet, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, healthy pregnancy, heart health, Marie Dufour RD, metabolic syndrome, metabolic syndrome prevention, obesity, pregnancy, weight control, women's Health

ICE CREAM CONE DAY

By Marie Dufour, RD – Isn’t ironic that the son of the founder of the Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream empire, John Robbins, should be a vegetarian and should advocate low-carbon footprint lifestyles?  John could have made billions of dollars following in his father’s footsteps.  Instead, he had the courage to take a planet-saving tack.  You can visit his website, The Food Revolution

 Vegetarian or not, we can all contribute to a greener planet in addition to our better health.  So, in the wake of yesterday’s article The Fat Trap I’d encourage all to celebrate National Ice Cream Cone Day by boycotting ice cream altogether.  Your body will thank you, your heart and your brain will thank you, your kids will thank you, the earth will thank you.

 No Ice Cream Cone Today… it’s a healthy thing.

Filed under: Lifestyle, diet , Baskin-Robbins, boycott ice cream, diet, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, Ice Cream Cone day, John Robbins, low-fat diet, Marie Dufour RD, nutrition, weight control, weight loss, women's Health