Balance Your Health

Fiber Is Very Good for Your Health

Eating foods with fiber is healthy for us. We know that because our doctors and health writers have been telling us that for the last 25 years. Just about everyone knows fiber for its ability to prevent and relieve constipation. Some of us even have a vague notion that fiber may help prevent other diseases but those facts are fuzzy. We just take it for granted that fiber is good. I'm here to tell you that it is really good for you.

Dietary fiber, the kind you eat, is vital to your overall heath. Your fiber intake from foods such as nuts, fruits and vegetables and whole grain flour helps control your cholesterol and it lowers your body's need for insulin. Consuming fiber also helps you control your weight, even lose weight, and has been shown to lower the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and some cancers. Research also shows that it lowers the risk of cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis, diverticulitis and hemorrhoids.

The term fiber itself refers to carbohydrates that cannot be digested. It is something that is present in all plants that are eaten for food, including fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes.

However, not all fiber is the same. One way of categorizing fiber is by how easily it dissolves in water. Soluble fiber partially dissolves in water. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water. Soluble fiber forms a gel when mixed with liquid and makes it loner for food to pass through your stomach so that sugar is released and absorbed more slowly. Oat and oat bran, dried beans and peas, nuts, barley, apples, carrots are foods that contain soluble fiber. Fruits and vegetables also slow down gastric emptying and help you control your weight which helps prevent type 2 diabetes.

Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, passes through the intestine almost whole and helps prevent constipation. Dark leafy green vegetables, fruit and root vegetable skins, whole wheat and corn bran products are sources of insoluble fiber which helps protect against colon cancer.

These differences are important when you examine fiber's effect on your risk of developing certain diseases. For example, insoluble fiber is better for preventing diverticulitis, an inflammation of the intestine. Soluble fiber or cereal fiber from grains is better for preventing heart disease. Both are great for controlling weight.

The next time you go to the market, select those foods which give you a major dose of healthy fiber.

To your success at balancing your health.

Ruthan Brodsky

http://www.secretstohealthandaging.com

Slow Food and Mindful Eating Are a State of Mind

Slow Food advocates believe that food was meant to enjoy and to taste. Those who manage weight loss programs also boost the notion of slow eating as an approach to satisfying the need to feel full and have that full feeling stay with you over a longer period of time.

Slow Food is not a new concept. It started in the 1980's and has become an international development with several organization most of which also promote local foods, focus on organic farming, saving varieties of fruits and vegetables that are in danger of going extinct and healthy eating styles.

Here are 6 guidelines from the Slow Food movement that will help you stay healthy and increase the probability of you losing weight.

Whole Grains - Your Hearty Option for a Health Diet

In my last post I explained that every food producer has jumped on the whole grain food wagon and advertised the ingredients of their packaged food as whole grain. Sometimes it is not quite as it seems. For instance, "made with whole grain" may describe a food product with only a tiny bit of whole grain in the box. Other labels such as wheat, or multi grain or stone ground all sound very healthy but none of them guarantee whole grain content.

In early civilizations everyone ate whole wheat. Today, refined wheat is considered a sign of the advancement of our civilization and whole wheat is considered crude or primitive. Some brands are made of white, bleached wheat with molasses and other browning agents added. In other words, it is important to read labels to find out if the flour used in these products is processed or not. No matter what is added, processed wheat and vitamins or processed wheat and minerals, does not equal the nutritional values found in the germ and bran of wheat. It is an excellent source of vitamin b and for dietary fiber. While products like pasta and rice mixes have added whole grain products, it is important to keep an eye on sodium and fat levels.

Many other grains are used for bread and pasta but wheat is popular because it contains glutens which cause bread to rise. Some people have Celiac disease and are allergic to glutens. Quinoa and Amaranth are two grains that were part of ancient civilizations and have been given a rebirth in our grocery stores. Quinoa is among the healthiest of the whole grains but you can also try others including amaranth, barley, buckwheat, millet, oats, brown rise and even corn.

Just make sure that you and your family avoid the junk foods that are labeled because a cookie made with whole wheat still has too much fat and sugar. The whole wheat does not make them any healthier.

The evidence is ample: Whole grains are important because the quality of the carbohydrates you eat is as important as the quantity. Besides, eating shoe instead of refined grains tends to substantially lower total cholesterol. What is also good news is that those who averaged 2 to 3 servings of whole grains a day were 30 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who rarely ate whole grains.

I'd love to hear about your ideas for including whole grains in your nutrition. Type your ideas in the comment section and submit. I'll share them with the other readers.

To your success at balancing your health.

Ruthan Brodsky

Whole Grains Require the Whole Truth

Walk down the grocery aisle that displays cookies or crackers and every package makes some claim that their product contains whole grains. Whole grains contain lots of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants providing us with benefits for our heart health to reducing our risk of diabetes. The problem is that some of these products, even with the label, are junk foods in disguise.

The American Heart Association goes further and recommends unrefined whole grain foods as a strategy to help lower your total cholesterol. Other groups recommend whole grains because they make you feel full which means you won't eat as much and you could lose weight. The American Institute of Cancer Research recommends choosing whole grains to fight cancer. And The American Diabetes Association recommends whole grains over processed grains a method to prevent diabetes.

The answer to how much whole grain you should be consuming on a daily basis varies depending upon the person doing the talking. A good rule of thumb, however, is 3 grams of fiber per serving of bread and 5 grams for hot cereal. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that you, and in fact people of all ages, consume 6 servings of grains daily and at least half of them as whole grains. The problem is the average person in the US only gets one serving per day and consumes more refined grain products such as white bread.

If you knew that with 3 servings of whole grains per day you would be reducing your risk of heart disease by at least 25 percent would you begin searching and purchasing more products with fiber? Write your thoughts in the comment box and I will share them with our readers.

To your success at a well balanced life.

Ruthan Brodsky

Vegetarian Meals Require Planning

My very late dinner last night consisted of fruits and vegetables. It was close to 9:30 P.M., I hadn't eaten, I wasn't very hungry and I was getting tired. I had a small dish of cooked vegetables and some fresh pineapple. When I finished I asked myself how healthy could this meal be? Absolutely no protein, no dairy, not much calcium or vitamins B-12 or D. My response, my rationale – to myself – it wasn't unhealthy.

Which lead me to thinking about the planning that vegetarians must do to get all the required nutrients. If you Google the word vegetarian you will find one-third of the topics deal with recipes. No wonder! To be a vegetarian and live a healthy life requires not only thinking ahead together but also at least a touch of creativeness.

Then I learned that there is more than one kind of vegetarian. Lacto-ovovegetarians do not eat meat, poultry, and fish. They may eat eggs and dairy products.

Then there are the Lactovegetarians who do not eat meat, poultry, fish and eggs. They may eat dairy products.

Finally are the Vegans, who do not eat any animal products or foods with ingredients from animal products. Many vegans won't eat honey.

A well planned vegetarian diet is low in fat and high in fiber and it meets the daily needs for vitamins and minerals. The good news is you can adopt a vegetarian eating style by:

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Cutting back on the meat you eat at meals and eating more vegetables, fruits and grains.

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Eat more often the meatless dishes you now enjoy.

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Look for recipes or meal ideas that are vegetarian.

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Order a vegetarian meal at a restaurant.

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Try an ethnic restaurant that offers meatless meals.

Let us know how this works for you.

To your success at a balancing your life.

Ruthan Brodsky

Artificial Sweeteners and Weight Control

Part of the nutritional theory about artificial sweeteners is that they were carbohydrate free and had no effect on how your body handles glucose or sugar. Now that theory is being tested. As reported in the December 2009 issue of Diabetes Care, published by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, researchers are studying the effects of artificial sweeteners on glucose, insulin, and glucagon-like peptide-1, GL-1, which is a hormone released from your digestive tract that signals a sense of fullness to the brain and helps to control blood sugar.

Although there is some evidence that artificial sweeteners my make you feel more full or fuller sooner but they warn not to start drinking or eating foods with artifical sweetener because even by itself it can cause some insulin release.

What is interesting, however, is that the use of artificial sweeteners has increased together with the higher rate of obesity in the U.S. The problem is that food sweetened with artifical sweeteners may still have calories in them such as diet cookies which contains fat among other ingredients. Thinking there is no sugar, people simply eat too many cookies and the calories increase. Also, you don't experience quite the same feeling of satiety as you do with a food that contains sugar which means you are likely to eat more.

If you are diabetic you may use artificial sweeteners because they make food taste sweet without raising blood sugar levels. But keep in mind some foods containing artificial sweeteners, such as sugar free yogurt, can still affect your blood sugar level due to other carbohydrates or proteins in the food. Some foods labeled sugar free may contain sweeteners such as sorbitol or mannitol which do contain calories and can affect your blood sugar level.

One disclaimer: although artificial sweeteners on the market are considered safe by the Food and Drug Administration, not everyone one believes there is enough evidence to make that statement. My advice is use the artificial sweeteners in moderation. If you drink diet soda you may want to put sugar in your coffee or tea.

Since there are no good rules, anyone have suggestions about what is a moderate use of artificial sweeteners?

To your well balanced health.

Ruthan Brodsky

Art Artificial Alternatives a Safe Alternative to Sugar?

Too much sugar will make you fat but too much artificial sweetener can kill you? Help you lose weight? Have no effect on you what so ever?

I had no idea that the first artificial sweetener was discovered in 1897 by a Johns Hopkins University scientist working on coal-tar derivatives but it makes for good trivia. It wasn't used much because it left a better taste but when cyclamate came on the market in 1951 it was touted as the answer to better teeth and weight loss because it could replace sugar.

In the late 1960s, studies were made linking cyclamate to cancer on chicken embryos being injected and rats getting malignant tumors. There's a law that says the FDA has to ban any food additive shown to cause cancer in humans or animals so cyclamate was removed from all food products. Saccharin was required to carry a warning label. In 2000 saccharin was removed from the list of suspected carcinogens.

More history. Back in 1981 the synthetic compound aspartame was approved for use and it became the leading additive in diet colas. Then in 1995 there was misinformation that linked aspartame to everything from multiple sclerosis to polio and it was plastered over the Internet. It is true that some people can't handle aspartame because they can't metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine; more than 200 tests showed at the time that Diet Coke was safe to drink. Nor have any health risks been detected for sucralose, a chemically altered sugar molecule found in food, drinks, chewing gum and Splenda.

It is amazing about all the misinformation that have targeted these artificial sweeteners. Another one is that they cause obesity. Not so. People believe they are not consuming as much sugar in food with artificial sweeteners so they consume more of that food and put on weight. Eating more puts on weight.

The general consensus is that saccharin, aspartame and sucralose are not harmful when consumed in moderation. Cyclamate is still banned in the U.S. although it is available in other countries. And low calorie additives won't make you thinner or curb your appetite but they do make unsweetened food taste better and they won't hurt you. Large amounts of sugar put on weight so do refer to sugar substitutes as a way to enjoy your food.

To your well balanced health.

Ruthan Brodsky

Baked Cereal Bars - the good and the not so good

In my previous post I wrote about too much added sugar in our diets causing problems. When I read the ingredients of the cereal bar I had recently purchased I realized I had become a victim of too much added sugar.

Baked cereal bars are usually filled with fruits and grains and are consumed as breakfast on the run or as a tide me over until dinner. If you're like me, you see the word cereal and you think it must be healthy. Whoops!

Some cereal bars contains as much fat and as many calories as a frost Pop-Tart which is about 200 calories. The bars may have the nutritional value of two oatmeal cookies but they usually contain a lot more sugar. Let's face it, cereal bars are healthy if they contain healthy ingredients but when the list contains high fructose corn syrup, refined flour, colors, and other artificial ingredients you know you are in trouble. The list is a string of processed ingredients including partially hydrogenated soybean oil.

I've always believed that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. No matter your age, studies have shown that consuming a healthy breakfast will enhance your performance, your thinking, and your mood. In fact, a good breakfast should include a serving from each of the major food groups such as dairy, protein, fruits (vegetables) and grains. Breakfast is the ideal time to take in some of the whole grains and fiber that give us many benefits. If you think about it, a breakfast bowl of whole grain cereal with fruit, a handful of nuts and low-fat milk for a quick breakfast may be one of the best things we can do for ourselves to start our day.

That's not to say that there are some cereal bars that are healthy. You can find them but you need to be diligent and read the labels. Look for bars that list natural and whole ingredients with few additives and refined ingredients.

My dilemma now is what to do with these cereal bars. I hate to throw away food. Any suggestions?

To your success at balancing your health.

Ruthan Brodsky

Less Sugar Equals Better Health

The average American consumes over 22 teaspoons of added sugar each day according to the American Heart Association (AHA). That equals about 355 more calories each day and has been linked with all sorts of negative health conditions including metabolic abnormalities and not eating enough of the right nutrients.

 

Not surprisingly, the AHA recommends that we cut back on the amount of added sugar in our diets. The reasoning is that if we concentrate on healthy foods there won't be enough room for added sugar and all the problems that go with it. Added sugars, which are primarily found in processed and packaged foods, take up too much space in a well-balanced diet.

 

The AHA says we should add no more than 100 calories per day of added sugar for American women and 150 calories for men.  Since each teaspoon of sugar is 16 calories that equals about 6 to 9 teaspoons of added sugar per day. This amount is determined after you meet your basic daily requirements of nutrients.

 

For instance, a 50 year old woman needs about 1,800 calories to maintain her current weight and probably has only a few hundred discretionary calories per day. The experts tell us that the majority of our calories should come from fruits and vegetables and lean proteins and low-fat dairy foods. However, alcohol, fats and added sugars account for most of the discretionary calories and those numbers indicate that we are going way beyond the number of discretionary calories recommended.

 

I suppose that is why so many of us are always dieting. High amounts of added sugar in our diet can lead t many problems including obesity. Let's face it most sugary foods are high in calories so that even if you are consuming a lot of sugary beverages you probably will eat more solid food since liquid calories don't satisfy you as much as calories from solid foods.

 

Sugar comes in many forms. Here are some to look for on ingredient lists.  I know you'll be surprised when you count the numbers.

• Sucrose
• Fructose
• Dextrose
• Lactose
• Maltose
• Maltodextrin
• Corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup
• Carob syrup

 

Many products will list the ingredients but they don't tell you how many calories. If the food product tastes sweet chances are the added sugar is a significant portion of the total caloric value of the product.

 

I don't know about you but I have been so busy paying attention to the fats in a product that I haven't paid much attention to the sugar content. It looks like I am just going to give myself more time when I go grocery shopping and do more reading.

 

To your success at balancing your health.

 

Ruthan Brodsky

Omega-3: Where Do You Find Sources?

Omega-3 fatty acids have been on the top 10 trend list in good nutrition for at least 2 years. If the research continues to report positive findings as they are now doing, expect omega-3 to be on the best selling list for some time.

Recent research shows Omega-3 has significant benefits for heart disease patients in preventing further heart attacks. There is also evidence that omega-3s may be helpful for people at risk of heart disease.

The question for many is whether omega-3 from fish or vegetable sources is better particularly when it comes to taking a supplement.

Keep in mind that omega-3s are not manufactured by the body and must be consumed in food or in a supplement form. Its primary source is fatty fish including salmon, halibut, herring and sardines. Its highest concentrations in plant foods are from flaxseeds, walnuts, soybeans and their oils including olive and canola oils.

The best advice given is to included both animal and plant sources of omega-3s. Fish oil supplements can provide omega-3s but keep in mind that not all supplements are created equal. Look at the amount of EPA and DHA that the product contains. Also see what other ingredients are in the supplement and whether it is purified to avoid contaminants such as mercury.

Although supplements aren't standardized most contain 180 mg of EPA and 120 mg of DHA for a total of 300 mg. Also check the serving size at the top of the Supplement Facts Label. You may need to take 2 or more capsules to get the amounts listed. A fishy aftertaste, often reported with fish oil supplements, can be reduced or eliminated by keeping supplements in the freezer.

It would be interesting to find out how much omega-3 our readers are getting. Scroll down to "Comments" and let us know if you take a supplement, eat lots of nuts, cook with olive oil, or dine on salmon. I am betting that a few of you do it all!

To your success at balancing your life.

Ruthan Brodsky