4 Steps to Help Kids Make
Healthier Fast Food Choices
Written by Beth Sumrell Ehrensberger, MPH, RD of HealthCastle.com
Published in March 2010
Kids Fast Foods (HealthCastle.com) March is National Nutrition Month – and what better way is there to improve the status of the nation's nutrition than by helping our kids make healthier food choices? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Even worse, the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008.
There are many reasons experts believe that obesity in kids is on the rise but, obviously, food choice is a major part of the concern. These days, most of us are living in fast-forward. And, unfortunately, fast food is waiting on almost every corner to fuel up our fast-moving lives. For kids, especially, a trip to a fast food restaurant can also be a big treat that is sure to bring a smile.
High Calories in Kids' Meals
Those colorful, cute bags and boxes complete with a toy inside can pack serious calories. The bad news is, in some places, just one meal can pack almost 1,000 calories – nearly the amount recommended for some elementary-aged kids to eat in a whole day. Take, for example, the popular McDonald's cheeseburger happy meal. If you choose an order of small fries as the side and a carton of 1% chocolate milk as the drink, the meal weighs in at 700 calories (and 9 grams of saturated fat!). There's nothing kiddie about that! Sonic's grilled cheese, orange slush, and tots meal from the kids' menu has nearly 800 calories – and significantly more if you load the tots up with the options of chili or cheese.
4 Steps to Help Kids Make Healthier Fast Food Choices
* Skip the kids' meals.
Don't feel compelled always to order the foods from the kids' menu. In fact, expanding the options beyond those made especially for kids can help broaden your kid's tastes while leading them to a wider range of better choices. Though the portion sizes are larger, you can choose a healthier meal and split it between kids or share with your child. Make it a goal to start early if you can, introducing your child to the tastes of healthy foods on the regular menu, so later the draw of the kids' menu isn't so strong.
* Set an example.
You can't order a double burger value meal with fries and then select grilled chicken and carrot sticks for your kids and expect them to be happy about it. Kids learn the most by example, so be prepared to make healthy choices yourself. Your payoff is that you rehab your own diet, and teach your kids something valuable in the process.
* Exercise options.
Fries are part of childhood, and certainly part of the fast food experience. Help your child understand that many of the choices on the fast food menu are to be eaten only occasionally. Also, to prime them for a lifetime of making moderate choices, and since many fast food kids' menus now allow you to build your meal, help them learn the concept of creating a healthy meal around a splurge. For example, if your child chooses a burger, the trade off is skipping the fries and ordering the apple slices or a banana instead.
* Choose a chain with an emphasis on health.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest published a report in August 2008 showing that many of the restaurants they examined had kids' meals that exceeded 430 calories per meal. Of those restaurants, Subway was the chain with the lowest percentage of their meals exceeding that number. The Fresh Fit for Kids menu is a great way to eat fast food and keep it healthy. Kids can choose among three options of small subs, a side of apples, and either a 1% milk or juice box to wash it all down.
The Bottom Line
Fast food menus for kids have made improvements, but they're still not perfect. Helping your kids understand how to make better choices on a fast food menu as well as teaching them that sometimes it's just better to eat at home are healthy habits that can set up a lifetime of good nutrition.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Best Morning Juices
The Best Morning Juice Choices to
Start Your Day Off Right
Written by Gloria Tsang, RD of HealthCastle.com and Christina Newberry
Published in June 2008
best morning fruit juice(HealthCastle.com) It's probably already a part of your morning routine – you reach into the fridge and pour yourself a nice, refreshing glass of juice. If you're like most people, the juice in your fridge is OJ. But did you know that there are lots of other juice choices that could be pouring many more nutritional benefits into your glass?
Top 5 Morning Juice Choices
* Concord Grape Juice: You've heard about the French Paradox and the health benefits red wine offers. Red wine might not be the ideal way to start off your morning, but you can get the same benefits by drinking a glass of concord grape juice. Concord grape juice ranks the highest in antioxidant activity among 13 juices tested, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in March 2007.
* Wild Blueberry Juice: Wild blueberry juice also packs a serious antioxidant punch. The USDA's database of antioxidant values for various foods places blueberry juice at the top of the list among more than a dozen juices tested, and wild blueberries have been shown to have even more antioxidant capacity than cultivated blueberries. Blueberries also have anti-inflammatory properties.
* Cranberry Juice: A new study from Tufts University and Boston University suggests that two servings of light cranberry juice cocktail can increase artery dilation and blood flow immediately after consumption because of the natural flavonoids cranberry juice contains. The study also suggests that cranberries may have beneficial effects on cholesterol, blood pressure, and the prevention of blood clots, all risk factors for heart disease. Since cranberries are naturally tart, most cranberry juice products are indeed "juice cocktail" with added sugar. Choose "non added sugar" juice if possible.
* Cloudy Apple Juice: "Cloudy" apple juice is a form of this popular morning juice that contains more apple solids that the usual clear kind. The extra apple solids mean that cloudy juice has up to four times more polyphenols, a group of antioxidant plant compounds, than clear juice. And in a study reported in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in January 2007, cloudy juice was shown to be a more effective "scavenger" of harmful free radicals.
* Fortified Orange Juice: If you prefer to stick with the old stand-by - OJ - look for a kind that'd fortified with calcium, or plant sterols, which help lower cholesterol. There are many different options available, so shop around until you find an orange juice that packs maximum nutritional punch while getting your morning off to a sunny start.
Start Your Day Off Right
Written by Gloria Tsang, RD of HealthCastle.com and Christina Newberry
Published in June 2008
best morning fruit juice(HealthCastle.com) It's probably already a part of your morning routine – you reach into the fridge and pour yourself a nice, refreshing glass of juice. If you're like most people, the juice in your fridge is OJ. But did you know that there are lots of other juice choices that could be pouring many more nutritional benefits into your glass?
Top 5 Morning Juice Choices
* Concord Grape Juice: You've heard about the French Paradox and the health benefits red wine offers. Red wine might not be the ideal way to start off your morning, but you can get the same benefits by drinking a glass of concord grape juice. Concord grape juice ranks the highest in antioxidant activity among 13 juices tested, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in March 2007.
* Wild Blueberry Juice: Wild blueberry juice also packs a serious antioxidant punch. The USDA's database of antioxidant values for various foods places blueberry juice at the top of the list among more than a dozen juices tested, and wild blueberries have been shown to have even more antioxidant capacity than cultivated blueberries. Blueberries also have anti-inflammatory properties.
* Cranberry Juice: A new study from Tufts University and Boston University suggests that two servings of light cranberry juice cocktail can increase artery dilation and blood flow immediately after consumption because of the natural flavonoids cranberry juice contains. The study also suggests that cranberries may have beneficial effects on cholesterol, blood pressure, and the prevention of blood clots, all risk factors for heart disease. Since cranberries are naturally tart, most cranberry juice products are indeed "juice cocktail" with added sugar. Choose "non added sugar" juice if possible.
* Cloudy Apple Juice: "Cloudy" apple juice is a form of this popular morning juice that contains more apple solids that the usual clear kind. The extra apple solids mean that cloudy juice has up to four times more polyphenols, a group of antioxidant plant compounds, than clear juice. And in a study reported in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in January 2007, cloudy juice was shown to be a more effective "scavenger" of harmful free radicals.
* Fortified Orange Juice: If you prefer to stick with the old stand-by - OJ - look for a kind that'd fortified with calcium, or plant sterols, which help lower cholesterol. There are many different options available, so shop around until you find an orange juice that packs maximum nutritional punch while getting your morning off to a sunny start.
CHINESE SALAD DRESSING
Chinese Salad Dressing
This makes a lot of dressing so you can cut it in half. Also feel free to adjust the seasoning to your taste.
¾ cup rice vinegar
1/3-cup soy sauce
1/3-cup sugar –I use less sugar
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds
2 tsp cilantro
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
2/3-cup vegetable oil
3 tbsp sesame oil
3 tsp of peanut butter
Mix well. Pour over your favorite medley of salad fixings. I love this dressing over a Chinese chicken salad with cooked Top Ramen noodles.
This makes a lot of dressing so you can cut it in half. Also feel free to adjust the seasoning to your taste.
¾ cup rice vinegar
1/3-cup soy sauce
1/3-cup sugar –I use less sugar
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds
2 tsp cilantro
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
2/3-cup vegetable oil
3 tbsp sesame oil
3 tsp of peanut butter
Mix well. Pour over your favorite medley of salad fixings. I love this dressing over a Chinese chicken salad with cooked Top Ramen noodles.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Fish To Avoid
From Dr. Weil's newsletter...
I have long recommended fish as part of a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet. Yesterday's Daily Tip covered my first choices for healthy fish - those rich in omega-3 fatty acids. However, not all fish provide the same benefits, and some species should be limited or avoided altogether. I suggest minimizing your consumption of the following:
1. Large predatory fish. Shark, swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel, and white (albacore) tuna may have high levels of mercury. Pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of contaminants, and should avoid these species. (Small-catch tuna is OK, as it has high levels of omega-3s with less risk of contaminants.)
2. Omega-6 rich fish. Farm-raised tilapia is one of the most highly consumed fish in America, yet it has very low levels of beneficial omega-3s and very high levels of potentially detrimental omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory, and inflammation is known to cause damage to blood vessels, the heart, lung and joint tissues, skin, and the digestive tract.
3. Farmed salmon. Avoid farmed salmon (also called Atlantic salmon), which is what you typically find in supermarkets, restaurants and fish markets. While less expensive than wild salmon, farmed salmon has a less favorable ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats and may contain residues of antibiotics and other drugs used to treat diseases in fish farming pens. What's more, levels of PCBs and other contaminants in some farmed salmon have been found to be much higher than those found in wild salmon.
I have long recommended fish as part of a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet. Yesterday's Daily Tip covered my first choices for healthy fish - those rich in omega-3 fatty acids. However, not all fish provide the same benefits, and some species should be limited or avoided altogether. I suggest minimizing your consumption of the following:
1. Large predatory fish. Shark, swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel, and white (albacore) tuna may have high levels of mercury. Pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of contaminants, and should avoid these species. (Small-catch tuna is OK, as it has high levels of omega-3s with less risk of contaminants.)
2. Omega-6 rich fish. Farm-raised tilapia is one of the most highly consumed fish in America, yet it has very low levels of beneficial omega-3s and very high levels of potentially detrimental omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory, and inflammation is known to cause damage to blood vessels, the heart, lung and joint tissues, skin, and the digestive tract.
3. Farmed salmon. Avoid farmed salmon (also called Atlantic salmon), which is what you typically find in supermarkets, restaurants and fish markets. While less expensive than wild salmon, farmed salmon has a less favorable ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats and may contain residues of antibiotics and other drugs used to treat diseases in fish farming pens. What's more, levels of PCBs and other contaminants in some farmed salmon have been found to be much higher than those found in wild salmon.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Controlling Your Appetite
(Berkeley Wellness Alerts)
Great article...
Do You Need an Appetite Adjustment?
If you’re trying to lose weight and calorie counting hasn’t worked, making changes in your environment and behavior may help keep your appetite in check. Here’s a look at what drives overeating and how you can gain control.
• The volume of a meal. We tend to eat about the same amount of food regardless of its calories. Thus, many weight-loss plans stress foods that have a lot of volume relative to their calories (that is, bulky foods with more water and fiber and less fat, such as fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, and cooked whole grains), in place of low-volume, calorie-dense foods (such as cheese and crackers).
• Specific food components. There’s some evidence that, for many people, foods high in protein increase satiety more than high-carb foods. For example, an egg breakfast may keep you full longer than a bagel breakfast.
• Palatability. Most people find foods high in fat and sugar more pleasurable. It’s theorized that sugar and fat activate the brain’s “reward system” and blunt the body’s normal response to satiety signals, thus making it easier to overeat.
• Portion size and visual cues. Many people eat to “clean their plates,” relying on visual cues rather than hunger to tell them when they are done. In a “bottomless bowl” experiment, people who ate from soup bowls that automatically refilled (without them realizing it) consumed 73% more soup.
• Distraction. Eating while watching TV, working, or engaging in other tasks can make you eat more. When distracted, you are more likely to use visual cues rather than hunger/satiety signals to tell you when to stop eating.
• Variety. The greater the variety of foods, the more people tend to eat. Eating the same food dulls the palate, and you become satiated sooner. Introduce a food with different sensory qualities, however, and appetite returns, which may be why there’s often “room for dessert.”
• Emotions and social circumstances. People often eat for reasons other than hunger—when they are stressed, depressed, angry, lonely, even happy and excited. And they often eat because of social pressures, such as at parties, or simply because it is mealtime.
Putting it into practice
Use small plates, bowls, and cups; buy single-serving snacks, or portion out servings in small bowls or plastic bags; avoid all-you-can-eat buffets; and don’t eat in front of the TV or computer, or while reading or driving. Perhaps most important, practice mindful eating. This includes eating slowly, taking pleasure from each bite, and being aware of your surroundings—and eating only when you are hungry.
Great article...
Do You Need an Appetite Adjustment?
If you’re trying to lose weight and calorie counting hasn’t worked, making changes in your environment and behavior may help keep your appetite in check. Here’s a look at what drives overeating and how you can gain control.
• The volume of a meal. We tend to eat about the same amount of food regardless of its calories. Thus, many weight-loss plans stress foods that have a lot of volume relative to their calories (that is, bulky foods with more water and fiber and less fat, such as fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, and cooked whole grains), in place of low-volume, calorie-dense foods (such as cheese and crackers).
• Specific food components. There’s some evidence that, for many people, foods high in protein increase satiety more than high-carb foods. For example, an egg breakfast may keep you full longer than a bagel breakfast.
• Palatability. Most people find foods high in fat and sugar more pleasurable. It’s theorized that sugar and fat activate the brain’s “reward system” and blunt the body’s normal response to satiety signals, thus making it easier to overeat.
• Portion size and visual cues. Many people eat to “clean their plates,” relying on visual cues rather than hunger to tell them when they are done. In a “bottomless bowl” experiment, people who ate from soup bowls that automatically refilled (without them realizing it) consumed 73% more soup.
• Distraction. Eating while watching TV, working, or engaging in other tasks can make you eat more. When distracted, you are more likely to use visual cues rather than hunger/satiety signals to tell you when to stop eating.
• Variety. The greater the variety of foods, the more people tend to eat. Eating the same food dulls the palate, and you become satiated sooner. Introduce a food with different sensory qualities, however, and appetite returns, which may be why there’s often “room for dessert.”
• Emotions and social circumstances. People often eat for reasons other than hunger—when they are stressed, depressed, angry, lonely, even happy and excited. And they often eat because of social pressures, such as at parties, or simply because it is mealtime.
Putting it into practice
Use small plates, bowls, and cups; buy single-serving snacks, or portion out servings in small bowls or plastic bags; avoid all-you-can-eat buffets; and don’t eat in front of the TV or computer, or while reading or driving. Perhaps most important, practice mindful eating. This includes eating slowly, taking pleasure from each bite, and being aware of your surroundings—and eating only when you are hungry.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thoughts
(Terri Trespicio)
Take the guilt out of pleasure. Sometimes the thing you want most is just what you need.
Invest in experiences, not just objects.
Real intimacy is expressed not with more words but with meaningful ones. (or meaningful actions)
To find your strength push past your comfort zone.
Sometimes getting lost is the only way to figure out where you really are.
Take the guilt out of pleasure. Sometimes the thing you want most is just what you need.
Invest in experiences, not just objects.
Real intimacy is expressed not with more words but with meaningful ones. (or meaningful actions)
To find your strength push past your comfort zone.
Sometimes getting lost is the only way to figure out where you really are.
Trusted Web Sites
Recommended sites when looking up medical information...
Medicinenet.com
Mayoclinic.com
Medlineplus.com
Medicinenet.com
Mayoclinic.com
Medlineplus.com
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