Nutrition Therapy

Your Cholesterol-Friendly Guide to Holiday Foods

Date: December 9, 2011

Author: admin

Categories: Lifestyle Therapy, Nutrition Therapy

Sugary sweets, fatty appetizers, creamy eggnog. From office parties to family feasts, temptation is everywhere during the holiday season. It can be tough to stick with a cholesterol-friendly diet that’s low in saturated fat, trans fat, dietary cholesterol, and calories. But it’s not impossible. With a little planning, you can celebrate the season without selling out on cholesterol control.

One thing that sets apart this time of year is the emotional pull of food memories. Maybe you feel as if the holidays just aren’t right without the annual Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, Christmas cookies, or Hanukkah latkes. No problem. Rather than give up your favorite holiday food, find a way to make it lighter. These heart-healthy twists on holiday classics are a good place to start.

For the big meal:

Turkey. Instead of basting with pan drippings, use wine or apple juice. When it’s time to carve the bird, choose white meat, and remove the skin before eating.
Stuffing. Pump up the fiber content by using whole wheat bread cubes or brown rice. Toss in some dried cranberries, dried apricots, and raisins for good measure.
Mashed potatoes. In place of cream and butter, use fat-free evaporated milk for a creamy texture. Add a little low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth for extra flavor.
Gravy. Make it with low-sodium gravy mix and water. Or make it from scratch, letting the pan drippings cool so that you can skim off the hardened fat first.
Latkes. These potato pancakes are a Hanukkah tradition. Replace whole eggs in the recipe with egg whites or cholesterol-free egg substitute. Serve with a dollop of fat-free sour cream or unsweetened applesauce.

For dessert:

Pumpkin pie. Skip store-bought pies; the crusts are usually loaded with saturated fat and trans fat. Instead, bake a crustless pie, similar to custard. If you start with a fresh pumpkin, save and toast the seeds. They contain the type of unsaturated fat that helps lower cholesterol.
Baked goodies. Substitute applesauce or mashed banana for some of the oil in a cookie, cake, or brownie recipe. Replace one whole egg with two egg whites.

At the party:

Snacking nuts. For a festive appetizer, make spiced nuts. Choose a recipe that’s heavy on spice, light on sodium and sugar. Research has shown that eating certain nuts can help reduce cholesterol.
Party platters. Skip the fat-laden meat and cheese platter. Instead, choose whole grain crackers or raw veggies, and serve with low-fat dip or hummus.
Eggnog. If you simply can’t imagine the holidays without eggnog, buy a fat-free or low-fat brand. And watch out for the spiked kind. Even in party season, the recommended maximum is one alcoholic drink per day for women, and two for men.

Plan Ahead for Heart-Healthy Fare

Have a plan in mind before you hit the party buffet or sit down to Thanksgiving dinner. If you’re not the host, volunteer to bring a dish, and make it heart healthy. Eat a small meal earlier in the day so you’re not as susceptible to temptation.

Start with a zero-calorie, nonalcoholic beverage so you don’t drink your whole alcohol allowance in the first 15 minutes. Before you begin filling your plate, scan the spread. Decide in advance which foods to choose and which to skip. Remember: You don’t have to sample everything, and seconds aren’t actually required.

Once you’ve eaten, step away from the food. You’ll be less prone to mindless munching if you socialize out of arm’s reach from the appetizer platter.

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

Date: March 11, 2011

Author: admin

Categories: Lifestyle Therapy, Nutrition Therapy

Researchers found diet was associated with improved blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) — The Mediterranean diet, long known to be heart-healthy, also reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that boost the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, according to a new review.

Researchers from Greece and Italy reviewed the results of 50 published studies with a total of more than 500,000 participants as part of a meta-analysis — a statistical analysis of the findings of similar studies — on the Mediterranean diet.

Among their findings: the natural foods-based diet is associated with a lower risk of hikes in blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides, as well as a reduced risk of a drop in good cholesterol — all of which are risk factors in metabolic syndrome.

“It is one of the first times in the literature, maybe the first, that someone looks through a meta-analysis at the cardiovascular disease risk factors and not only the hard outcome” of heart disease and other conditions, said Dr. Demosthenes Panagiotakos, an associate professor at Harokopio University of Athens in Greece.

The study is published in the March 15 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The Mediterranean diet is a pattern marked by daily consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grain cereals, and low-fat dairy products; weekly consumption of fish, poultry, tree nuts, and legumes; high consumption of monounsaturated fatty acids, primarily from olives and olive oils; and a moderate daily consumption of wine or other alcoholic beverages, normally with meals. Red meat intake and processed foods are kept to a minimum.

Metabolic syndrome — increasingly common in the United States — occurs if someone has three or more of the following five conditions: blood pressure equal to or higher than 130/85, fasting blood glucose equal to or higher than 100 mg/dL, a waist measuring 35 inches or more in women and 40 inches or more in men, a HDL (“good”) cholesterol under 40 in men and under 50 in women, triglycerides equal to or higher than 150 mg/dL.

In the review, Panagiotakos and his team found the Mediterranean diet “is strongly associated with decreased metabolic syndrome risk,” declining to pinpoint an exact percentage because the data would not fully support it.

The research team also noted that further study was needed, as a few of the studies reviewed also included interventions such as physical activity and smoking cessation.

The findings come as no surprise, said Dr. Ronald Goldberg, professor of medicine at the Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, who reviewed the findings. Since many studies have confirmed the role of the Mediterranean diet on reducing heart disease, he noted, it makes sense that the diet would also reduce the risks that lead up to heart disease.

But since Americans are fond of processed and fast foods, how willing would they be to adopt the diet? “Not particularly,” Goldberg acknowledged. But, he added, nutrition experts, recognizing that reluctance, have recently begun efforts to adapt the diet to different cultures — for example, including many traditional Hispanic foods into a Mediterranean diet adapted for those of Hispanic descent.

By doing so, the diet not only provides the same nutrients as the Mediterranean diet, but the familiar food of one’s ethnicity, Goldberg said.

Panagiotakos says even U.S. fast-food-lovers can eat more like Mediterranean’s. “Even in fast-food, we can introduce healthy eating, like salads, fruits and vegetables, cereals and legumes, and use good sources of fat. We can replace burgers with all these products — it is a matter of nutrition education.”

More information

To learn more about metabolic syndrome visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

SOURCES: Ronald B. Goldberg, M.D., professor, medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Demosthenes Panagiotakos, M.D., associate professor, biostatistics-epidemiology of nutrition, Harokopio University of Athens, Greece; March 15, 2011, Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Elders Not Getting Their Full 5

Date: August 12, 2010

Author: admin

Categories: Nutrition Therapy, Seniors

Comments: Leave a reply

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 01 May 2009 – 1:00 PDT

Research from the Changing Ageing Partnership (CAP) reveals that older people are not eating enough fruit and vegetables.

Dr Katherine Appleton from the School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast conducted the research on behalf of CAP. Dr Appleton said: “Fruit and vegetables are vital for psychological as well as physical health. We found that fruit and vegetable consumption became lower with increasing age and that intake was particularly low in males and people living in more deprived areas.

“Older people in Northern Ireland are eating on average four portions of fruit and vegetables per day. This is higher than levels in the rest of the UK, but remains below current government recommendations.

“A huge 22 per cent of respondents were not aware of the current government guidelines on eating five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. In fact, some respondents who were eating only two portions per day thought they were eating enough.

“Older people should eat more fruit and vegetables. They are more likely to do this if they are aware of the five-a-day recommendations and associated health benefits. We recommend that more should be done to raise older people’s awareness of these issues and increase their exposure to products and dishes that contain fruit and vegetables.

“We plan to build on this research by developing and testing approaches to increase older people’s knowledge of and liking for fruit and vegetables.”

To aid greater consumption of fruit and vegetables, the research recommends improving awareness of the health benefits, and increasing awareness of adequate levels of consumption and the range of products or dishes. The research also recommends that specific strategies may be used to improve older people’s motivation and willingness to change eating behaviours.

Dr Katherine Appleton and her co-researcher Dr Jayne Woodside, will present their findings and recommendations of the research at a research launch at the Institute of Governance, Queen’s University on Wednesday 29 April at 1pm.

Source: Queen’s University, Belfast

Curry and Dementia

Date: August 12, 2010

Author: admin

Categories: Nutrition Therapy

Comments: 1 Reply

Main Category: Alzheimer’s / Dementia
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 05 Jun 2009 – 6:00 PDT

Eating a curry once or twice a week could help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The magic ingredient in curry is curcumin, a component of the spice, turmeric.

Professor Murali Doraiswamy, director of the Mental Fitness Laboratory at the Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Carolina, told delegates at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Annual Meeting in Liverpool that curcumin prevented the spread of amyloid plaques, found outside brain cells.

These plaques, along with neurofibrillary tangles, are thought to contribute to the degradation of the wiring in brain cells and lead to the subsequent symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Professor Doraiswamy said: “There is very solid evidence that curcumin binds to plaques, and basic research on animals engineered to produce human amyloid plaques has shown benefits. Turmeric has been studied not just in Alzheimer’s research but for a variety of conditions, such as cancer and arthritis. Turmeric is often referred to as the spice of life in ancient Indian medical lore.”

A clinical trial is now underway at the University of California, Los Angeles, to test curcumin’s effects in human Alzheimer’s patients and specifically on their amyloid plaque proteins. A small pilot trail was completed to determine the right dose and researchers have now embarked on a larger study.

Professor Doraiswamy told the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Annual Meeting: “You can modify a mouse so that at about 12 months its brain is riddled with plaques. If you feed this rat a curcumin-rich diet it dissolves these plaques. The same diet prevented younger mice from forming new plaques. The next step is to test curcumin on human amyloid plaque formation using newer brain scans and there are plans for that.”

Studies looking at populations show that people who eat a curry meal two or three times a week seem to have a lower risk for dementia, he told the Annual Meeting. “Those studies seem to show that you need only consume what is part of the normal diet – but the research studies are testing higher doses to see if they can maximise the effect. It would be equivalent of going on a curry spree for a week.”

However, curry may be just one of the ingredients that prevent degeneration of the brain. “If you are eating fatty burgers and smoking then don’t expect an occasional curry to counterbalance a poor lifestyle. However, if you have a good diet and take plenty of exercise, eating curry regularly could help prevent dementia,” he said.

Turmeric is also found in mustard and Professor Doraiswamy predicted a day when – for those unable, or unwilling, to consume curries regularly – the public might be advised to take a ‘curry’ pill every day if the findings are confirmed in human studies.

Professor Doraiswamy and other scientists are testing a brain PET scan which can detect the prevalence of plaques in the living brain. At the moment, a definitive diagnosis can be made only after the patient has died. A second scan also being developed can detect both plaques and tangles – both of which are present in Alzheimer’s.

Many leading drugs being developed are targeting the plaques, said Professor Doraiswamy, and clinicians were prescribing these dugs “blindly” without knowing the plaque load in the brain. He said: “The hope is that with the PET scans you can scan their brains, find out whether their plaque load is high or low, and tailor treatment. If their plaque load is low, then you have to question the diagnosis.”

Some 20-30 per cent of diagnoses were wrong, said Professor Doraiswamy, and the condition could be vascular dementia or any number of other conditions masquerading as Alzheimer’s. “If you gave that person treatment it wouldn’t help – it would be a waste of money and in some cases hurt”.

The professor said it was conceivable in the near future, when preventive therapies were available, that a 50-year-old with a strong history of Alzheimer’s could be screened to determine the levels of plaque in their brains and then initiate anti-plaque therapy.

Professor Doraiswamy, a leading expert on brain health and fitness, grew up in Southern Indian town of Madras famous for its fiery curries. He is currently on a lecture tour promoting his consumer book The Alzheimer’s Action Plan, published in April.

Reference:
Annual Meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, BT Convention Centre, Liverpool, 2 -5 June 2009

Source
Royal College of Psychiatrists

Weight Loss and Vitamin D Levels

Date: August 12, 2010

Author: admin

Categories: Nutrition Therapy

Comments: Leave a reply

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet
Article Date: 13 Jun 2009 – 1:00 PDT

Vitamin D levels in the body at the start of a low-calorie diet predict weight loss success, a new study found. The results, which suggest a possible role for vitamin D in weight loss, were presented at The Endocrine Society’s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

“Vitamin D deficiency is associated with obesity, but it is not clear if inadequate vitamin D causes obesity or the other way around,” said the study’s lead author, Shalamar Sibley, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota.

In this study, the authors attempted to determine whether baseline vitamin D levels before calorie restriction affect subsequent weight loss. They measured circulating blood levels of vitamin D in 38 overweight men and women before and after the subjects followed a diet plan for 11 weeks consisting of 750 calories a day fewer than their estimated total needs. Subjects also had their fat distribution measured with DXA (bone densitometry) scans.

On average, subjects had vitamin D levels that many experts would consider to be in the insufficient range, according to Sibley. However, the authors found that baseline, or pre-diet, vitamin D levels predicted weight loss in a linear relationship. For every increase of 1 ng/mL in level of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol – the precursor form of vitamin D and a commonly used indicator of vitamin D status – subjects ended up losing almost a half pound (0.196 kg) more on their calorie-restricted diet. For each 1-ng/mL increase in the active or “hormonal” form of vitamin D (1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol), subjects lost nearly one-quarter pound (0.107 kg) more.

Additionally, higher baseline vitamin D levels (both the precursor and active forms) predicted greater loss of abdominal fat.

“Our results suggest the possibility that the addition of vitamin D to a reduced-calorie diet will lead to better weight loss,” Sibley said.

She cautioned, however, that more research is needed. “Our findings,” she said, “need to be followed up by the right kind of controlled clinical trial to determine if there is a role for vitamin D supplementation in helping people lose weight when they attempt to cut back on what they eat.”

The National Institutes of Health, the University of Minnesota, and the Pennock Family Endowment at the University of Minnesota funded this study.

Source:
Aaron Lohr
The Endocrine Society