THE DAILY CRUNCH – EAT VOLUMES TO LOSE

By Marie Dufour, RD – For those who want to lose weight or even maintain their weight, adopting the concept of “volumetrics” is a good idea. Filling up on calorie-poor (but nutrient-rich) foods such as fruits, non-starchy vegetables, low-fat dairy, and broths allows us to eat less of the calorie-dense foods such as fat, chips, cookies, or crackers.

The key to long-term weight loss is satisfaction. More than satiety (feeling full), satisfaction relates to the entire nutritional experience: variety of choices, colors, textures, tastes and… prices.  Here are a few ideas to help tip the balance in favor of satisfaction.

1 – Fresh fruits with long shelf life: apples, bananas, pears, grapes, plums;

2 – Versatile veggies: onions, tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots;

3 – Frozen: green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mixed;

      Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, melon, peaches, mixed;

4 – Canned (low sodium): tomatoes, sauerkraut, pears, peaches.

Last tip – Buy fruits and veggies that are in season. Avoid imported produce: this will not only help you keep the cost down, it will also keep the world’s carbon footprint in check.

Filed under: Lifestyle, diet , childhood obesity, daily crunch, diet, healthy eating, Marie Dufour RD, nutrition, volumetrics, weight control, weight loss

DASH INTO HEALTH

By Marie Dufour, RD – The word “DIET,” somehow, is understood as restrictive, rigid, and is usually associated with the concept of weight loss.  Perhaps the little kid in us still needs this narrow guidance or perhaps, feeling guilty about our weight gain, we look for punishment (or redemption) in the constraint of “WEIGHT LOSS DIETS.”  With blinders on, we concentrate on a single aspect of the allowed food chart (“no this, no that”), and we obsess about one single outcome: weight loss.  The associated consequences hardly matter to us; we just want the pounds to disappear.  So we reach for the most publicized miracle DIET, at the risk of damaging our overall health.  We are one complex psychological stew.

 The original Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) studies, published in 2000, determined that eating high amounts of fruits and vegetables, grains, low-fat dairy products, lean meats, nuts, legumes and limiting processed foods and salt played a significant role in lowering high blood pressure.

 Over the years, studies following the DASH report have confirmed and expanded the health benefits of the DASH plans.  Not only do they lower blood pressure, but also decrease insulin resistance, help lower cholesterol levels, and contribute to weight loss.  The latest study also associates the DASH diet to better cognitive function of older adults (slow-down of Alzheimer’s onset).

 The DASH eating plans are modular, according to an individual’s caloric needs.  They recommend 6-12 servings of grains; 4-6 of fruit; 4-6 of vegetables, 2-4 of low fat dairy, 2 or fewer of lean meat a day, and 3-6 of nuts and legumes a week.  The less salt, the better improvement of hypertension.

While we are looking for the magic pill (that super-omega-3, the ultimate anti-oxidant) to keep us in optimal general health, researchers have observed the combined effect of the DASH plan, “greater than the sum of its parts.”

 When barely one quarter of Americans eat four to five servings of fruits and vegetables a day (combined) and consume an ever greater amount of processed foods (therefore, sodium), the DASH plan is one more tool in the consumer’s bag of tricks to make healthful eating decisions.

 For more info on the DASH plans, visit dashdiet.org

 reference:  Wengreen H, et al “DASH diet adherence scores and cognitive decline and dementia among aging men and women: Cache County study of Memory Health and Aging” ICAD 2009; p. 24.

Filed under: community nutrition, diet , childhood obesity, community nutrition, dairy products, DASH diet, diet, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, heart health, High blood pressure, hypertension, low-salt diet, Marie Dufour RD, nutrition, obesity, public health, weight control, weight loss

NO to LEGAL MARIJUANA

By Marie Dufour, RD, FACMPE - In may states (and countries, for that matter) there is a push to legalize MJ, tax it, and use the tax profits to fill the deficit. BAD IDEA. Marijuana is a major cancer risk, particularly lung cancer (1 joint = 20 cigarettes). Smoking it doubles the risk of testicular cancer in young male.  Over the last 30 years, countless studies worldwide have associated smoking cannabis with many cancers: breast, stomach, kidney… WHY? Because, as recent studies show, THC alters our DNA.
If you think that there will be enough tax money in MJ sales to pay for the health consequences of the legalization, you’re out of your economic gourd!

Filed under: Lifestyle, public health , cancer, community health, Marie Dufour RD, marijuana legalization, public health, THC

IN THE KITCHEN, YES

By Marie Dufour, RD – Mirror image: girls with clinically obese mothers are more likely to struggle with weight problems in childhood, and a similar relationship exists between obese fathers and their sons. This may be a matter of acceptance, more than a matter of influence. A “You’re OK, I’m OK” type of thing. But this is no OK. Messaging to our kids that obesity is not a healthy condition takes effort from either or both parents.

When it comes to exerting change with regards to food choices, the family’s FOOD PROVIDER is the one to influence the enire family’s food habits. The success of this role does not depend gender. Although the food provider role has traditionally been filled by women, an increasing number of men are shopping the supermarket aisles and getting behind the stove.

And that’s the idea… shopping AND cooking, with the rest of the family, including the kids, is one of the most effective ways to prevent or reduce obesity.

It is reassuring to be reminded that whether male of female, a parent develops a child’s TASTE, forms its EATING HABITS, and influences its FOOD CHOICES for life. Had we forgotten? Were we expecting TV commercials for chips and cookies to fill that role? Or the school cafeteria’s matron serving grease-laden burgers to teach about variety? Parents have the responsibility to rear a healthy and educated child — and that includes nutritional health and knowledge.

We spend years and little fortunes in sending our kids to school for an intellectual education; we send them to little league and AYSO to play sports, in hope of the big scholarship; we send them to piano and dance, brownies and boy scouts, church and temple, in the hope of rounding their education. But what do we do for their NUTRITION education? Here are a few tips.

1 – Take 30 minutes on the weekend, as a family, to plan the week’s meals;

2 – Make a shopping list together;

3 – Go together to the grocery store and shop the periphery of the store (not the aisles… more on that later);

4 – Let the kits unpack and store the food;

5 – Once a week, let’s say on Sunday night, prepare a HUGE pot of something healthy (soup, stew…) that can be frozen or stored in smaller batches;

6 – Every evening, turn the TV and computer off, silence the cell phones, and cook. Then, enjoy a nice family meal.

Whether a family of 10 or a family of 2, parents are still models of behavior, and kids are still watching and learning from them.

Filed under: Lifestyle, community nutrition, diet , child rearing, childhood obesity, community nutrition, Cooking, diet, family health, grocery shopping, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, healthy living, Marie Dufour RD, nutrition, obesity, public health, weight control, weight loss