The Healthy Blogger

Choosing the right food

I was placed on hold talking to customer service and instead of just playing music, there were infomercial ads.  This particular one focused on eating healthy.  I was not able to hear all of it, but a couple of the advice given were sensible and reiterated some things I said previously.

If you’re concerned about your weight and would like to lose some, or if you just want to maintain a healthy diet, it can be very difficult to follow through when you’re dining out.   And, let’s face it, most of us get tired of eating the same things day in and day out, or struggling to come up with a good meal to fix every night.  So, occasionally, we do need to dine out.  But, there are ways to keep to your resolutions. 

The first suggestion is to order a soup like minestrone as a starter.  As I’ve mentioned before, eating a hearty soup does fill you up and the effect lasts longer than eating dry food and washing it down with water.  In effect, having this soup first prevents you from eating more in your main course.

The other suggestion is a little more interesting.  It involves eating seafood.  Of course, we know that fatty fish contains the good fat, omega-3, which is heart healthy.  But, according to this ad, omega-3 also boosts hormones in your brain to help with depression.  I’m not sure of the science behind this, but I guess it would be healthier than the typical comfort food.  So, if you’re feeling down, grab some mackerel sushi.

Tricks to curb your appetite

Obesity is such a BIG problem these days – no pun intended – that you hear about different tricks to curb your appetite and to lose weight.  Many are considered old wives’ tales, but if it is not dangerous, there’s nothing to lose.

For example, many of us were probably admonished by our parents for gulping down food too quickly.  I know parents are concerned about kids choking and all, but there may be more to it than just that.  It can be painful to swallow big bites of food without chewing properly.  But the chewing process is important for other reasons.  As you chew, your mouth releases many digestive enzymes.  These enzymes work to break down the food, but they also help to keep your teeth and gums clean.  When the food enters your stomach, there is less work for it to do.  Not only that, the stomach releases its own hormones to stimulate the brain and tell it that the body is hungry.  While you are chewing, these hormones are gradually suppressed so that your brain senses it is no longer hungry.  It means you eat less.  Unless you are one of those who likes to gorge even after your stomach is bulgingly full.  (I’ll admit I can be like that with some foods.)

Scientists are continually searching for the hunger triggers to try to find ways to combat the ever-growing problem of obesity.  They have now found another interesting trick to curb your appetite.  It appears that blending your food into a thick soup serves to keep your stomach satisfied longer, thereby, decreasing the chances that you will reach for those calorie-laden snacks to keep you going until dinner time.  In their research, they found that those who ate a solid meal, washing it down with water, remained satisfied for a shorter period than their counterparts who had the same meal (combined with the water) pureed into a soup.  The idea behind it is that the thick soup takes longer to be digested in the stomach, so it remains longer.  Water does not take any time to be digested, so it goes through the digestive tract quickly, while the solid food remains in the stomach.  However, if the water is combined into the soup, it remains in the stomach.

Sounds very interesting because it goes back to the previous tenet that chewing your food longer can help curb your appetite.  It may sound counter-intuitive since the soup and the well-chewed food would appear to take less time to be digested; therefore, you would get hungry quicker.  According to the research, the soup takes up more volume than the meal, once the water was washed away.  As for our old wives’ tale, it is a matter of timing.  It takes time for the stomach to send signals to the brain, telling it is satiated.  When you gulp your food, you do not allow your stomach time to do this.  Whereas, if you chew carefully and take your time, your stomach is able to send a signal to your brain in time. 

The stretching of the stomach also plays a role in obesity.  Those who eat a lot (such as those who inhale their food) stretch out their stomachs, such that it requires the same amount or more for the stomach to recognise that it is full.  This is the basis behind the stomach stapling surgery.  It intends to curb your appetite by making your stomach smaller.  For those who want to do it naturally, you simply cut back a little at a time until your stomach shrinks.  This is not the same as anorexics who abruptly cut back on their food intake.  That can be dangerous.  Weight loss of any kind should be done with the supervision of a doctor, as changes in your body may be detrimental to your health.

Further negative effects of consuming soft drinks

I remember even as a child, the discussion of how bad Coke was for your teeth.  It was not just Coke, but all sugary soft drinks.  But it was the experiment with the nail in the Coke which highlighted the effect of “pop” or “fizzy drinks”, as my older daughter likes to call them, on teeth enamel.  I still recall my reaction at the time.  I found it very interesting that they still do similar experiments in school, as both my daughters performed this experiment this year, using water, milk, and pop.  I hope they learned something from it, even if my younger daughter still likes an occasional soda, and both still like sweet drinks.  Fortunately, it’s usually iced tea or orange juice.

So, we have known that pop, when consumed in excessive amounts, is bad for your teeth and bones.  We also know that those with caffeine can cause problems with migraines and palpitations (rapid heart rate).  Now, we find out that drinking too much of these soft drinks can lead to muscle weakness, fatigue, and even paralysis.  These effects are due to the loss of potassium from the glucose, fructose and caffeine.  Even without caffeine, the body can lose potassium through diarrhea from the high levels of fructose.  Several people have come to medical attention after suffering serious adverse events due to excessive consumption of pop.

What is excessive consumption?  Well, for those who ended up in the hospital, it ranged from 2-3 L/day up to 4-10 L/day.  Of course, I cannot imagine drinking even that amount of water, so it’s hard for me to imagine drinking that amount of pop.  Anyhow, scientists do not have a recommendation on the amount that is acceptable, but it would be safe to say that any amount may have small effects on levels of potassium.  Needless to say, the sugars found in pop would very likely exacerbate diabetes and obesity, two big health problems today.  If anything, it would probably be best to limit oneself to only one can of pop a day.

Can calorie count combat obesity?

Many food outlets have agreed to display calorie counters on their menus. This is in response to the public asking for more information about what they are eating. I like the idea, though I wonder how much good it will actually do.

A recent survey of the British public found that about two-thirds of the people are not changing their diets despite all the information about cancer associated with unhealthy eating. Now, I doubt that all of these people already eat healthily, therefore, they need not worry about changing their diets. A good proportion of those interviewed would rather stick their heads in the sands and ignore the warnings about cancer, and another good proportion claim they are not very informed about health risks. I find it hard to believe that they would not have some idea that unhealthy eating can lead to cancer. Everyday, there seems to be yet another new article related to food and cancer. In fact, it appears that the public is inundated with these scare articles. I think more people would like to pretend they don’t know, perhaps out of fear.

Knowing this, I wonder if it will really deter people from choosing a menu item that is loaded with calories. Having that information is very useful; but will the public make use of it in order to make better decisions regarding their diet? At least obese people can no longer use the excuse that they must have a medical problem because they only eat healthy foods. An honest diet diary can reveal how many calories they are actually ingesting in a day. It will make them sit up and take stock when they add up all those cheeseburgers and pizzas.

Beware the grapefruit diet

I was surprised to learn that there are people still doing the grapefruit diet. It’s not that it’s not a good diet; in fact, there is some indication that it might help people lose weight. What I am surprised about is that they are not aware that grapefruit interferes with many medications.

In the 1990s, there was a fad for the grapefruit diet. It was supposed to be good for the heart – you eat one half of a grapefruit before every meal. Though the mechanism of weight loss was never fully explained, there is a theory that it prevents fats from being absorbed. Whether or not this theory is correct, we do know that grapefruit prevents many medications from being absorbed, most of them being heart medications. Pharmacists will usually put a label on the bottle saying to avoid grapefruit. At least, avoid taking it with grapefruit juice. It is unclear whether or not grapefruit can be ingested at any time while on medication. Because it blocks the absorption of medications, those medications will be ineffective.

But grapefruit also has other effects on the body’s metabolism, which may affect the way medications are processed. Some of these effects may not become known until someone has a complication, unfortunately. Therefore, it is always best to consult your doctor before undertaking the grapefruit diet, or any other diet for that matter. It can be difficult to know what you can and cannot eat when taking medications, but your doctor should be able to give you a general overview of what to avoid.

The influence of ads on alcohol consumption

A study showed that people drank more when exposed to movies and ads containing alcohol. It does seem like a very novel theory. The same arguments were used against cigarettes and cigarette ads were pulled from TV. Similarly, many shows started to cut down on use of smoking, except to portray negative images.

The research, led by a team from Netherlands, placed young people in groups and showed them two different movies, with varying references to alcohol, and ads, some with alcohol, some without. They also placed a refrigerator in the room, filled with soft drinks, beer, and wine. They did not state what the results were for all groups, but they did report that those watching the movie with excessive alcohol references and alcoholic ads drank nearly 3 bottles of alcohol as compared to 1.5 bottles for the group who watched the movie with less reference to alcohol and no alcohol ads.

But several questions pop up. First, what was the behaviour of the groups in the middle? Did they control for alcoholic consumption patterns before the test? How would they account for the behaviour of one group, if that group had been placed in a different one? For example, what would have happened had the group that watched the movie with less reference to alcohol and no alcohol ads been put in the group that watched the movie with excessive alcohol references and alcoholic ads? Would they have increased their consumption? Obviously, they would have to run the study over a period of time to account for all variables. But did they?

Though I believe people can be influenced by what they see, they may also be influenced by their peer group. Therefore, if they are in a group that is likely to drink alcohol, they will more likely participate. I am not discounting this study, but there are some unanswered questions and it would not be fair to completely ban alcohol from movies and ads based on just this one.

Diet and recession 2

OK.  So, how can you survive this recession without becoming a bloated fattened pig?  If healthy foods cost so much, how can we overcome the cost and eat right?

Well, you really don’t have to sacrifice health.  Although fast food restaurants are making good profits due to their cheap menu options and fast service, we need to slow down and think about what we are doing.  Maybe you’d rather pay $1 for that burger than $5 for the salad.  It only stands to reason that if you are short on cash, that is the best option.  However, don’t put yourself in that situation.

Rather than grabbing a quick bite to eat when you are on the run, consider packing yourself a nutritious lunch.  Buying a loaf of bread, some deli meat, cheese and whatever toppings you like, to provide lunch-time sandwiches for at least an entire week will work out to be cheaper than always running to the local McDonald’s.  And it won’t clog your arteries.  Side dishes such as fruits and vegetables, yoghurts, etc., will help to fill you up, as a substitute for those greasy fries.

When shopping, you can always find cheap alternatives in the generic brands.  If fresh fruits and vegetables are too high-priced, used the frozen or tinned ones for now.  They keep longer as well.  Just be careful of the salt and fat content in some tinned foods, especially pre-made meals in cans. 

Some good foods to eat: cucumbers, eggs, skim milk, tuna, nuts.  Snacking on cucumbers is a good way to lose weight as they contain practically no calories and you burn more when you eat them.  Having a salad, with greens and cucumber and a low-fat dressing will fill you up and prevent you from eating too large a portion of other foods.  You can turn the salad into a meal by adding some boiled or grilled chicken, or tuna, or eggs.  Milk is nutritious; however, it can be high in fat.  So the recommendation is to use skim milk.  Fish is always a good alternative to high-fat meats, as it contains some beneficial oils/fats.  Tuna is high in protein, has essential oils, relatively cheap when tinned, and is tasty.  Nuts are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein.  Though people are turned off by their high fat content, the fats in most nuts (with the exception of palm nuts and coconuts) are unsaturated, which makes them healthy.

During times of stress, many people turn to food as “comfort”.  This becomes an extremely bad habit with dire consequences.  Finding other outlets for the stress, such as exercise, relaxation techniques, etc., will keep your thoughts away from food.

So, there are ways to combat recession and obesity at the same time.  We just need to be smarter in the way we approach food and meals.

Diet and recession

It does not take an expert to see that as the recession worsens, people will be inclined to spend less on their shopping. This decrease in spending is most profound in their food selection. Unfortunately, when they opt for less expensive food items, they are also more likely to be choosing more unhealthy foods.

Traditionally, healthy foods, especially organic foods, are much higher priced. Despite all the teachings on nutritious eating, it is practically impossible for the common person to make the move to healthy foods when they are prohibitively expensive. This is most especially true for the lower class and the elderly, whose income is not supplemented by governmental support.

Poor eating habits in these people lead to malnutrition. They may become obese from eating extremely fatty foods and have high blood pressure due to high sodium intake, but their nutritional profile will show that they have deficiencies. It is hard to correct for this without causing other problems. But one of the biggest obstacles is the cost of the healthier foods.

If food manufacturers could make the healthy alternatives much cheaper, people could eat better, preserving their health during hard economic times. Not only that, these people would be spending their money in the right direction, which could help the manufacturer out. In turn, the economy could improve.

It is hard to convince people that during this financially difficult time, they should stop eating at fast food restaurants and buy healthy foods for home consumption and packed lunches when fast food prices are so cheap. The recession may make people spend less, but they do not eat less.

Dig in to those healthy eggs

I’m glad to hear that doctors have now decided eggs are not that dangerous to your health. In fact, they are recommending it as part of a healthy, balanced diet. What a relief!

I love eggs but have always been scared of the high cholesterol content. We used to buy the healthy alternatives, like the low-cholesterol eggs, or even eggbeaters, containing only egg whites. When I was a kid, I wouldn’t have minded just eating the whites. I hated the yolk. But as I got older, I acquired a taste for the yolk as well, and I hated waste. So, I felt guilty either way. For a while, we did not even eat much eggs. Now, I can relax.

Scientists now say that cutting down on eggs does not significantly reduce your blood cholesterol level, as that is mostly determined by your own body’s production of cholesterol. I have always known your body makes cholesterol, because it is a necessary component in the body’s daily functioning. It is the oil that keeps the body’s machinery going. But scientists also warn that the high saturated fat content of foods, like fatty meats and those delicious pastries and sweets, are still dangerous. That’s because the body uses the fat to produce cholesterol. Eggs have relatively small amounts of cholesterol compared to these foods. Eggs also have many other nutrients, which are important for the body. Therefore, the benefits of eggs outweigh the risks.

The emphasis, these days, is on reducing the intake of saturated fats. Cutting down on those sweets is going to be even tougher than cutting out the eggs.