Tag: food

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Why consider organic? (environmental)

 

This is second in a series of posts on why you might want to consider organic foods the next time you are at the grocer or choosing between a conventional or organic food.

Two environmental reasons are actually stated within the USDA requirements for receiving the certified organic label:  Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.
Based on this, consider the following:

  1. The methods used integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster recycling of resource, promote ecological balance and conserve biodiversity.  These are methods that work, and are in harmony with the recent push toward sustainable agriculture.
  2. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.
    None of these is great for the environment – and they’re not good for you either.   According to a recent article in the Huffington Post: “… 41% of conventional systems’ petroleum goes to nitrogen-based fertilizers, which cannot be used on organic farms. This means that organic agriculture uses 45% less unsustainable energy than conventional agriculture. For similar reasons, organic farms produce 40% less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional farms.”
  3. A third reason is that even the  “game changers” such as the combination of glyphosate (the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup) and crops genetically modified to withstand glyphosate are losing their effectiveness  – resulting in greater costs, more chemical usage, and methods that are increasing soil erosion.  As one farmer stated in a recent article in USA Today, “I used so many chemicals last year, it made me silly,” McKee said. “We’re going backwards 15 years.”

Next up on this series –what about $$ – how to find organic at reasonable prices.

The goal of mrhlth.com is to help you do this:  to provide a place where you can discover changes that you can integrate into your life to take small steps toward a healthier lifestyle.

Questions about anything in this post?   Leave me a comment and let me know – I’d love to hear from you.

 

 

 

 

 

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Why organic?

 

Why consider organic?

This is one in a series of posts on why you might want to consider organic foods the next time you are at the grocer or choosing between a conventional or organic food to consume.

Many people consider organic foods to be a “scam” – a more expensive version of the same food.

These posts concerning organic foods are intended to help bring a little insight regarding organic foods; what’s the difference, why consider, is it worth a cost difference, what does it matter, etc.

What is organic?
While the term “organic” is not defined by law or regulations FDA enforces, however – the USDA does have a certification and seal that is intended to assure consumers that the organic foods they purchase are produced, processed, and certified to be consistent with national organic standards.

According to the USDA: Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.

There is a difference in how the product is raised, produced, and made ready for you to eat.
You are what you eat, and the same goes for the things you eat – they all become a part of you.

Next up on this series – why should you be concerned about organic vs. conventional.

The goal of mrhlth.com is to help you do this:  to provide a place where you can discover changes that you can integrate into your life to take small steps toward a healthier lifestyle.

Questions about anything in this post?   Leave me a comment and let me know – I’d love to hear from you.

 

 

 

 

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What about whole grain?

 

Whole grain, Whole wheat, something else?

Yes – to all the above!

Look for whole grain
– whole grain is good – it contains the added nutrients found in the part that is stripped off to make processed or “white” flour.  Whole grains are contrasted with refined grains.  The refining process removes many nutrients, including fiber.  If it’s called enriched grains or flour, that means that some of the nutrients lost during processing are added back in.

Whole wheat?
-Whole wheat is good – even better if it’s organic.   You have to read labels and look for whole wheat to be listed as the first ingredient.   If it’s listed further down the ingredient list, it may be included, but not as one of the primary ingredients.

Read labels
-Watch out for terms like made with or includes or stoneground or multigrain or variations on those.  Just because those are included, does not mean that the whole grain is used – it can be stoneground or include multiple grains, but still not use the whole grain.  You have to read the labels to know for sure – the key phrase to look for is made with 100% whole grain.

Made with Natural Ingredients
The only thing this means is that it includes some natural ingredients – it may also contain a lot of other things you don’t want to consume – you have to read the labels!  According to the FDA website – the FDA has not developed a definition for use of the term natural or its derivatives.

Which whole grains?
Some of my favorites include amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgur, millet, quinoa, rice, rye, oats (including rolled oats), sorghum, teff, triticale, wheat, and wild rice.  I prefer these to be organic, but for reasons we’ll cover in another post.

Look for whole grain versions of  your favorite grain based foods (bread, pasta, tortillas, etc.)  you get more nutrition, a lower glycemic load and glycemic index which could affect risk for diabetes and obesity, and the risk of colon and breast cancer.

Questions, comments, or your own observations?

I look forward to hearing from you – leave a comment below.

 

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“What type of crust for pizza would you use” ?

Today’s post answers this question which was submitted last week.

 

“What type of bread and crust for pizza if making our own would you use at your house?   Whole grain, Whole wheat, something else??”

Great question – I think your pizza dough should be just like the bread you eat – simple and nutritious.  Pizza dough, just like bread, should only contain a few ingredients

Whole grain

By all means whole grain – complex carbs are the way to go, and I wouldn’t change that with pizza dough.  You can experiment with a combination of bread flour and whole wheat flour – or go all whole wheat.   You can also try spelt flour – it has a taste like wheat, but some consider it a healthier alternative.

 

Olive oil

Olive oil is one of the healthy oils – use this for both good tasting and nutritious crust

 

Sea salt

Incorporate sea salt into your diet and cooking.  Sea salt brings some additional minerals.  Also – go just a little lighter on the salt; most people take in more than enough salt.  Look for ways do decrease your salt intake.

 

Check the recipe page for our favorite pizza dough recipe.

 

 

 

Questions or comments about this post?   Leave a comment – I’d love to hear from you.

 

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Healthy alternatives for food you should avoid part 2

You can make changes to your diet – one step at a time- and still enjoy a delicious variety of nutritious foods.  This post will help suggest options to help make some of those changes.

Once again, start with your food diary (having logged everything you consumed for a week), and then review what you’ve eaten and target things you should avoid.   Reference the list of items to avoid here – there are so many delicious and healthy options – you won’t go hungry!

Packaged/processed foods

  1. -Fresh healthy options are always your best bet; here are a few examples:
    -Baked, grilled, broiled or roasted chicken or fish
    -Grilled or seared lean meats (grass-fed beef, bison, chicken)
    -Steamed, grilled or roasted veggies
    -Salad mix with or without pieces of grilled or pan-seared chicken or fish
    -Fresh made pizza (want the recipe?)
    -Turkey or low-fat ham and cheese sandwiches (want the recipe for healthy homemade bread?)
    -There are many sites dedicated to healthy meal options – use this list as a springboard for thinking about healthy options in the style of a traditional meal (meat, veggie, bread, salad).  There are more options than steak and potatoes or burgers and fries.
    -None of the options above take much time to prepare (except for pizza) and many of the ingredients can be pre-staged to accommodate a quick meal and a busy lifestyle
  2. Alcoholic beverages
    -Be very careful with these, the calories add up so fast, and there are many detrimental effects of alcohol abuse.  Some studies indicate that moderate consumption may have some beneficial effects; do the research, but don’t start drinking to try to improve your health!
    -Fruit juices, seltzer water mixes, the rare sugar sweetened soda, sparkling fruit juices
    see the options previously listed for soda
  3. Bacon, sausage, cured meats
    -These are not good for your health, try to avoid these altogether.
    There are no good healthy meat based substitutes for these, but here are some recommendation is you feel you must consume this type of meat product.
    -Look for organically raised uncured bacon or organically raised uncured turkey bacon
    -Look for uncured sausage made with organically raised meats
    -Avoid these or keep them to a minimum to avoid excessive fat consumption and the detrimental effects of fried foods
  4. Sauces, dressings, and toppings
    -Look for lighter dressings and sauces made with healthy oils, and vinaigrettes
    -Watch for low-fat sauces, but beware of added sweeteners or chemical thickeners
  5. Candy
    -Fresh fruit
    -Try a small amount of dark chocolate, you get an antioxidant boost as a bonus
    -Dried fruit (a small amount – ounce for ounce more calories than fresh fruit)
    -Candy should be avoided because of the high sugar content which quickly raises blood sugar levels, potentially damaging to tissues and results in the unused sugar being stored as fat
    -Save sweets for a rare treat or special occasions (and even then – only having a small piece) you will save yourself loads of calories and protect yourself from blood sugar/insulin spikes and peaks

These suggestions are a starting point to get you thinking about the many healthy and delicious foods that can be a part of your diet, and to help you replace some of the things you need to avoid.  There are many web resources available for healthy quick recipes.

 

 

Want to know more about anything mentioned in this post?  Let me know – leave a comment.

 

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Healthy alternatives for food you should avoid part 1

Healthier choices don’t mean a tasteless diet!

If you’ve already created a food diary (logging everything you eat and drink for a week), then it’s easy to review the items you’ve consumed and watch out for things you should avoid.   You can reference the list of items to avoid here –  don’t lose heart, there are healthy alternatives for everything!

The following are some suggestions for the first five foods on your “stop or limit” list

  1.  Sodas – both diet and sugary
    -Consider the following options instead:  coffee, tea (black, green, white, herbal), seltzer water,
    or perhaps the best option – just plain water
    -Many people can wean themselves off soda by watering it down or adding seltzer water and eventually switching to plain seltzer water if they still want the fizz (or seltzer water with just a splash of fruit juice)
    -If you have to have a soda – make sure it’s sweetened with sugar – not high fructose corn syrup – and only have one occasionally as a rare treat
    -Diet sodas have their own issues – it’s best to avoid them.
  2. Juice Drinks
    -Look for 100% juices or make your own at home with a juicer, blender or Vitamix
    -Look for unsweetened, unfiltered juices
    -Be careful of apple juice – can be high in sugar  (about the same as Pepsi or 7up), but usually with no fiber
    -Be careful of fruit juice that is largely flavored apple juice with added flavorings
    -Add some water or seltzer or sparkling water to your juice drink if you simply must have it
  3. White bread, white rice, white rice, white potatoes
    -Look for whole grain alternatives to the bread products.  Fewer calories, more fiber, more nutrients
    -Look for wild, brown, or black rice as an alternative to white rice.   More nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants, less fat, fewer calories
    -Whole grain pasta – more fiber, more nutrients
    -Sweet potatoes instead of white (just don’t load them up with butter and brown sugar) – they have a natural sweetness.  You can even make your own broiled sweet potato “fries”
    -With all the above you won’t get the same blood sugar/insulin spikes and peaks as with the “white foods” and they will “stick with you” longer than the white alternative
  4. Fried foods
    -Look for grilled, baked, broiled or roasted alternatives.
    -By limiting fried foods to every once in a while and eliminating them as a mainstay of your diet you will save loads of calories and fat
  5. Cakes, cookies, pies, etc.
    -Look for fresh light alternatives like fresh fruit, yogurt
    -Try frozen fruit like frozen berries or grapes
    -Have a small amount of dark chocolate, you get an antioxidant boost and less fat than milk chocolate
    -By saving these sweets for a rare treat or special occasions (and even then – only having a small piece) you will save yourself loads of calories and protect yourself from blood sugar/insulin spikes and peaks

 

These are just a few of the possibilities – get creative and make it a game to find healthy substitutes!
Remember to watch your portion sizes on anything you eat – start by cutting everything in half.
Also remember to take the time to thoroughly chew each bite.  This allows you to savor the flavors and textures, helps with the digestion process by grinding up the food thoroughly and giving the enzymes in your saliva a better chance to do their job, and slows you down so that you won’t keep eating past the point of being satisfied.

Next post – Substituting food you should avoid with healthier choices  part 2

 

Want to know more about anything mentioned in this post?  Let me know – leave a comment.

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Stop eating these now

A recent blog post here highlighted the importance of creating a food diary.

The best place to start with a review of your diet is with a food diary; simply record everything you eat and drink for a week.  If you’ve already done this – good!  If not, start your food diary today and I will show you how to do a simple review of the things you consume in order to identify things to skip or minimize, and reinforce some the good things in your diet.

This post focuses on things that you need to stop or limit to an occasional treat (circle these things in your food diary in red).  While this is not a comprehensive list, this list of 10 items is a start – not necessarily the “top ten” or ten worst, but a starting place for your review of the things you consume. This review is not a substitute for an in-depth nutritional analysis, it is intended to help you move toward a healthier diet.

 

Sodas – both diet and sugary. Empty sugar calories at best.
May also contain unhealthy artificial sweeteners.
Juice drinks Most of these are sweetened beverages with some added fruit juices – you have to read the labels!
White stuff: White bread, white rice, white potatoes, white pasta  – these are simple starches/sugar without much fiber – they can lead to blood sugar/insulin spikes and increased body fat
Fried food Too many bad things to list here! Let’s leave it at the high fat content for now (how about grilled instead?)  Fried food will get its own post in the future.
Cakes, cookies, pies, etc. High sugar, often high fat with little or no fiber, and lots of calories.
Packaged/processed foods Read the labels – usually high sodium, low in fiber, added sugar, and lots of things you can’t pronounce that you probably shouldn’t be putting in your body
Alcoholic beverages High in empty calories (almost as much as pure fat)
Can both dehydrate you and displace other nutrients
Effects on heart, liver, brain and other organs
Bacon, sausage, cured meats Recent studies have shown that regular consumption of even a small amount of these results in a measurably increased risk of cancer and other issues
Sauces, dressings, and toppings Often high calorie with lots of added sugar, salt, and fat.   These can make a healthy dish unhealthy, or turn something  already unhealthy into something very bad for you.
Candy Added sugar that nobody needs.
Kudos if you have dark chocolate – just don’t have too much.

Coming next – suggestions on how to move away from these with substitutes and healthier choices.

 

Want to know more about anything mentioned in this post?  Let me know – leave a comment.

 

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five tips to help you make that next trip a healthier one

Over the last week I traveled several hundred miles on the road and thousands of miles in the air on a trip from North America to South America and made a few observations about health traps that you can avoid when traveling with a little forethought.  Here are five tips to help you make that next trip a healthier one – even if it’s just an over-night in another town.

  1. Carry some healthy snacks with you.  This is probably one of the biggest problems for people.  They forget or decide not to carry something with them and end up buying candy or a “snack pack” or just eating cookies or peanuts or pretzels or whatever snack is provided.  A few suggestions:  raw almonds, an apple, dried fruit (a small amount – it’s concentrated), carrots and or celery.   Avoid candy bars, packs of cookies and most packaged trail mix; these are all high in sugar; you can be creative about finding healthy things to bring with you.
  2. Try to eat regularly.  Many people forget to snack on something healthy (see above), and skip meals because of flight schedules, etc.   Plan to grab a small healthy meal or have something healthy to munch on so that you won’t gorge yourself.  Waiting too long between meals also slows down your metabolism, signals your body that you might be starving, and actually causes you to retain and store more body fat.  The compounded effects of waiting too long to eat can include weight (fat) gain, unhealthy swings in insulin levels, and gorging.
  3. Make some deliberate exercise part of your plan.  Throw a pair of running shoes in your bag and spend a few minutes at hitting the treadmill, doing flights of stairs, walking around town or around the hotel.  It’s important that you plan to spend time doing some physical exercise otherwise you will find yourself going to bed at the end of a day that largely consisted of sitting and eating.  Even if you’re waiting in the airport, spend some time walking around before your flight – you’ll have more than enough seat time once you’re on that flight.
  4. Maintain a healthy diet.  Just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean that you should get that rich meal or that large dessert.  One big meal or large dessert does matter.   You wouldn’t want someone to put a spoonful of water or sugar in your car’s gas tank every once in a while and you shouldn’t do the nutritional equivalent of that to your body either.  You’ll feel better when you return home if you maintain a healthy diet and don’t feel like you have to undo or make up for poor dietary choices on your trip.  Remember – it’s more important to develop a healthy lifestyle than to find a “diet” for after your trip.
  5. Drink plenty of water.  Depending upon where you’re traveling, you may want to skip the ice and stick to bottled water, but it’s important to make sure you take in enough fluids when traveling.  Avoid the “free” in-flight soda (and its sugar or high fructose corn syrup) and stick to water or seltzer water.
    Staying properly hydrated can help protect your throat and sinuses on that trip and also help you avoid eating when your body is actually craving water, not food.

 

Want to know more about anything mentioned in this post?  Let me know – leave a comment.

 

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ONE change in your diet to have the biggest impact on your health

What  ONE change could you make in your diet that would probably Have the biggest impact on your health?

Ready for the bottom line on this one?  Don’t open another can of soda!  Whether you call it pop, soda, or coke – this is THE one item you should eliminate from your diet if you haven’t already done so.  For most people, this is the one dietary change that will yield the biggest and most dramatic results.  For many people this may be the one biggest source of calories; the biggest “food group” that they consume.  Consider that one 20 oz bottle of soda a day adds up to be a total of about 87000 calories over the course of a year –  that’s the rough equivalent of the calories in over 24 lbs of fat.

If you think you’re off the hook because you drink diet soda – think again.  Diet soda has many other different issues, but still falls in the category of “stop now” foods.  Two of the biggest reasons to avoid diet sodas are:

1. Studies have shown a link between consumption of diet sodas and the development of obesity.  Most people are shocked the first time they hear this.  Studies indicate many possible reasons for this, which we’ll explore further in future posts.

2. Studies have also linked consumption of diet sodas with metabolic syndrome and the development of type 2 diabetes.  (Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors that raises your risk for heart disease and other health problems).

Options instead of soda are many, including coffee, tea (black, green, white, herbal), seltzer water, or perhaps the best option – just plain water.

Upcoming posts will include a breakdown of the most commonly used sweeteners – both natural and artificial.  This will include info you may not know (but should), and disinformation about various sweeteners (that needs to be cleared up).

Questions about soda, sweeteners, or any of the above?  Leave me a comment – I’d like to hear from you!

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what are you eating?

What are you eating?

Do you really know what you are eating?   I’m not talking specifically about organic vs. conventional or nutritional analysis – I’m talking about all of the things you regularly consume.

Three of the top question I get from people wanting to “get healthy” are:

–       What should I eat to lose weight?
–       What should I eat to help me get fit?   (i.e. exercise better, gain muscle)
–       What should I eat to lower my cholesterol and/or blood pressure ?
You could also change each of these to read  “What should I stop eating to ….”

For many people the best place to start is finding out exactly where they’re at right now.   Just like when using a map or mapping software to find a route to a destination, you have to figure out where you are right now to know how to get to where you want to be.

Start with a food diary and record everything you eat and drink for a week.
A week is a good amount of time because it will average out some of the day-to-day changes in your diet and will also tend to include that  Friday or Saturday night binge.  Most people will be surprised (and feel a little bad) when they look back on that week and review all of the things they ate that they never even would have remembered had they not been written it down.

Don’t cheat!   Make sure you write everything down.   Do this consistently for one week and maintain your “normal” diet during this time.  This is where I start with people wanting to make changes to their diet.  You might decide as you’re recording it that you don’t want to wait one week to start making positive changes – good!  In some of the next few posts we’ll look at some specific things that you can identify to begin make changes that count, both immediate and long-term.

Don’t wait until tomorrow – go back and start with that first cup of coffee, glass of milk, juice, or for some of you – soda that you started your day with today and fill in everything you’ve had today.   Keep going for a week and be complete.

Coming soon will be some posts on things to look for that are good (in your food log – circle those in green), and things that you should limit (circle those in yellow), and things that you really need to stop or limit to an occasional treat (circle these in red red).   I’ll give you some specific reasons for these so that you can understand why you should make some of these changes, and what those changes can do for you.  These suggestions will highlight just a few of most significant things too look for – I’ll give you tips on how you can find more things to circle, and why.

Have questions about this post, or something else you want to see covered here?  Feel free to leave a comment!