America's Food Evolution; The Past 40 Years

Back in January the Washington Post published a photo article all about the History of the food pyramid. If only nutrition was still as simple as it was back then! I mean, I do love that our latest pyramid allows us to figure out our own personal recommendations, but for some individuals I think it causes more stress than it's worth, and it takes a "simple" concept and makes it somewhat confusing and overwhelming. Anyway, I digress, speaking of changes that have occurred in the last half century, The Center For Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) published an article about some of the other food changes that have occurred since 1971, which was the "birth year" of CSPI. Here are some that I thought were worth sharing;



1) Microwaves: Back in 1971, less than 1/100th of American households have a microwave. Today, only 5 out of every 100 families do not own a microwave....and we are certainly not one of those families! I won't lie, I could never live without our microwave. It's perfect for reheating food and of course making two of my favorite staples; oatmeal and egg whites.



2) Eating Out Became In: Back in the early 1970s American families spent 1/3rd of their food money on meals eaten outside of the home, but today they spend half of their food money on food eaten out (and this does not include already prepared frozen dinners!).

Source: iStockPhoto

3) Dietary Supplements Became Popular: In 1995, for some very strange reason, Congress passed one of the most ridiculous laws, which gave companies the ability to make non- evidence-based claims about a variety of nutrients, herbs, botanicals, hormones, and other chemicals, and then to sell them without any proof of safety or effectiveness. Perhaps this made sense back then (although I really can't imagine how this would have ever made sense) but today supplements are a $25 billion per year industry, and of course recalls are a daily occurrence. Buyer beware!

Source: iStockPhoto

4) Supermarkets Became SUPERmarkets: Did you know that in 1971 the typical supermarket carried just under 8,000 items?? (Source: CSPI) Can you guess how many items were in a typical supermarket in 2009? More than 48,000! And of course supermarkets also now have banks, pharmacies, and full service restaurants. Some people love them, others hate them, obviously I'm a fan!



5) We're Eating More Calories: According to CSPI, in 1970 there were 1,675 pounds of food available for every person in the US. In 2003 that number was up to 1950 (an extra 500 calories per day). Needless to say, we are overweight, and our weight isn't decreasing.



6) Nutrition Labels "Rescued" Us: In 1971 there were no food labels. In 1993 there was a food label on all packaged foods. I wish I could say this was a great move by our government, and it positively affected our food choices, but instead I believe the current labels (which sadly haven't even changed since 1993) are so confusing that many people ignore them.

Source: iStockPhoto

7) Organic Foods Became Popular: In 1971 I don't think we even had to worry much about pesticides and herbicides in our food, mainly because we didn't eat as many processed foods....right? We had more gardens and ate more fresh foods. Today, with so many people not trusting the foods that are sold everywhere, organic foods are a $25 billion per year industry. Does this mean organic foods are more "Safe"? Not necessarily, but it makes many people feel better anyway.



8) Imported Foods Soared: Back in 1970 the most common type of imported food were foods such as olive oil and Spanish olives. According to CSPI the average American eats about 260 pounds of imported foods each year. Imported foods are imbedded on shelves throughout every store.



9) Food Advertising Became More Popular Than Eat-Healthy Messages: McDonald's, Coco-Cola and so many other major food and drink companies are now spending billions and billions more dollars on advertising campaigns, compared to 1971. I was startled to read that for every dollar spent on ads urging us to eat at least five fruits and veggies a day, the food and beverage industries spend $1000 enticing us to buy more unhealthy products (Source: CSPI).



10) No More Trans Fats! In the 70s we believed it was best to switch to margarine, which unlike butter has less saturated fat and is cholesterol free. In the 90s we discovered that trans fat, which was created when the oils were partially hydrogenated to make margarine, was wreaking havoc on our cholesterol levels! Thankfully, according to CSPI, about 2/3rds of the trans fat in America's diets have been eliminated.


QUESTION: Can you think of any other major changes in our food system or our eating habits since the 70s?

The Best Quinoa Salad Ever

I recently tasted one of the most amazing salads, EVER. It was created by our neighbor, Katie, and when I asked her for the recipe she basically just gave me the list of ingredients and told me she just adds everything together, without measuring. Well, as strange at that sounds, it works! This is a "must-try".

Ingredients

Quinoa

Olive Oil

Carrot

Cherry tomato (halved)

Feta cheese

Cucumber

Dill

Nutritional Highlights

- Contains whole grains (quinoa is a whole grain, and it's gluten free)

- Good source of protein (from the feta cheese and quinoa, both of which are complete proteins)

- The olive oil contains monounsaturated fats, which may help reduce inflammation and increase good cholesterol

- Contains lycopene (from the tomatoes), which promotes skin, heart and prostate health

- Contains beta carotene (from the carrots), which promotes skin and heart health, and may play a role in cancer prevention

- Contains healthy fats, which help you absorb both the lycopene and beta carotene. Do you ever eat tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. by themselves? You should always include a bit of healthy fats to help promote the bioavailability (absorption) of their disease-fighting nutrients! Another way to promote bioavailability is to cook these foods.


And did I mention this salad tastes AMAZING???


QUESTION: What's your favorite grain? Have you ever tried quinoa?

So Many Changes, In Just One Year!

When Nick and I first moved into our house, one year ago in April, the walls were mostly white and the decorations were ugly and boring. One of the first things we did was try to spruce up our bedroom by buying some new bedroom furniture...


and a comforter to add some color.


Then we painted all rooms and did a few other things to the bedroom (bought new curtains, bought a lamp, bought some pictures of Italy and had them framed, bought a circular mirror, and added some colorful flowers).




When we first moved in our living room was painted some weird shade of green.



Then we painted it yellow.


Then we added a splash of color on the back wall, plus some fun colorful pictures.



Next we are planning on buying a larger television to mount above the fireplace. The picture that is there currently will move to the right, and the television that is there currently will move to our gym (you will see the gym soon, it's a work-in-progress!).



We recently painted our old, beat up table, which as you can see in the picture above once had a hideous green table cloth on top to cover it up. Now it's a dark espresso color.


This spring and summer we will finish our workout room (can't wait to show you!) get a "new" refrigerator from my parents (we're taking their old one, which is still in very good shape), buy some shag rugs for our bedroom and the living room, and then work on making our yard beautiful and bountiful.

QUESTION: Are you a fan of decorating? I'm definitely becoming a bigger fan everyday. Although I couldn't have done this all without Joyce, our decorator, I feel so much more confident in my own decorating abilities than ever before!

Let The Gardening Begin!

On the first day of Spring Nick and I took the first step in preparing our garden for the year. Last year the right side of our garden didn't grow (picture below). We think it was because that side receives less sun than the left side (we're so smart!).

Because of this we planted the right side crops early this year, indoors (kale, spinach, cantaloupe).




The rest of the seeds will be planted outside later in the Spring.





I hear conflicting information from gardening gurus all the time (for example, some say plant spinach in cold weather, others say don't...it's confusing). I decided to order a gardening magazine this year just so we have some reliable information, rather than using word-of-mouth and the internet all the time. Hopefully we receive the first edition soon!





We're hoping our garden will be more successful this year, since we are starting earlier. Last year we didn't even move into our house until May, so our garden didn't get planted until late May, early June...too late! Considering what the garden looked like when we moved in (picture below) I think it was pretty impressive that we were even able to grow anything.




This year Nick is even researching how to grow blueberries. I think that's going to be more work than he can imagine...




This year we're also writing everything we do in our "gardening journal". This way we know when things were planted, we know when they should start to grow, and we can go back to read our notes next year in case we need to make changes or do something the exact same way.



QUESTION: Are you planting a garden this year? What will you grow? If no garden, what's your favorite produce to buy at the summer farmer's markets??

I'm most excited about the tomatoes we are growing this year. Last year we didn't grow tomatoes (what were we thinking?!) so I'm looking forward to some tomato and mozzarella dishes this summer!

Wild-Caught vs. Farm-Raised Salmon

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I worked (as usual) and am off today. Guess what I'm doing??!! Getting my hair highlighted! Can you believe I've never colored my hair, not even highlights? My hair is just so naturally dry that I've always been scared to get it colored, but I was recently talked into it but a stylist. She was a great saleswomen.

Before I leave to get my hair done, I thought I'd post about a topic that is brought up quite often these days. One of the many questions I get, over and over again, is this; "Is wild salmon really that much better for you than farm-raised?"

You be the judge;

The chart above was taken from the World's Healthiest Foods website. It looks at fish, in general, not just salmon, but as you can see farm-raised fish have a lower ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids. What does this mean? Basically the lower the ratio of omega-3, compared to omega-6, the less bioavailable the omega-3. This isn't good! We need those omega-3s to protect our brains, our eyes, our heart, heck...our entire bodies! When a food has more omega-6 the anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3 are masked.

Check out the two salmon fillets below. Which one do you think is the wild and which one is the farm-raised?


If you guessed the one on the right is farm-raised, you are correct. How can you tell? The one on the right has larger streaks of fat. When salmon are enclosed and not able to swim freely, they get fat, hence the larger streaks of fat. One might think this means the farm-raised salmon has more omega-3 fat, but in fact it has more omega-6 fat. You will also notice the difference in color. The one on the right looks like a perfect shade of "salmon"....right?! Almost fake. That's because, it is (see below).

Source: iStockPhoto

The World's Healthiest Foods website has a great article about the benefits of wild-caught fish. Among some of the benefits of wild-caught fish include;

• More bioavailable omega-3

• Less pesticides and antibiotics (especially carcinogenic PCBs)

• No artificial coloring to make the fish more pink

• Better for the environment
  

QUESTION: Do you like salmon? Do you buy farm-raised or wild?

I actually buy both. I know I just posted all about of the benefits of wild-caught fish and the problems with farm-raised, but to be honest I can't afford wild-caught fish/salmon all the time! I eat salmon twice a week, and until I have kids, get pregnant or start making more money I will only buy wild-caught every other time. I do buy my fish from a reputable grocery store/source, not just from anywhere, so that's good enough for me. Plus I take omega-3 in the form of a fish oil supplement to make up for that extra omega-6 in the farm-raised salmon :)

Erin from The Healthy Apron posted about a website called Clean Fish, which promotes the sales of the best in-season, clean and safe fish! Check it out, it's pretty neat.

Options for Healthier Chips

One of my favorite snack foods to discuss with clients are chips! Of course not all chips are healthy, and in fact most of them aren't healthy at all. A couple months ago I found this article on CookingLight.com, which listed the top ten most healthy chips.

Source: iStockPhoto

I don't always agree with these articles, but this one was written by an RD (making it much more credible, in my opinion) and I agreed with each and every one! Here are some of the chips that were listed;

• Popchips; Salt & Pepper

• Terra Chips; Plain Sweet Potato ** I would argue that all Terra Chips are a healthier alternative to regular potato chips. I tell clients about these quite often **

• Food Should Taste Good; Blue Corn Tortilla Chips ** I'm also a fan of their sweet potato flavor, and olive flavor.....YUM! **

• Kettle Brand; Baked Potato Chips with Sea Salt

• Sunchips; Original

• Miguel's Organic Gluten Free Dippers (this was not on the list, I added it!)
  

Many times when I'm trying to explain to people that a certain chip is actually healthier than others, they look at me in disbelief because the fat content is typically still really high. So, what do I consider a "healthier" chip?

• Low sodium (under 140 mg per serving)
• Under 1 gram of saturated fat, and of course ZERO trans fat
• 2 or more grams of fiber
• Good source (10% of DV, or more) of some type of vitamin or mineral; such as vitamin A in the Terra chips

When people tell me they eat pretzels for a "healthy snack" (ahem...DAD!), I try to nicely explain to them that there is zero health benefit from pretzels (and no, I could care less if they are baked and not fried);

Source: SnydersOfHanover.com

What about whole wheat pretzels? Much better, in my opinion, because at least you are getting a good source of natural vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber.

QUESTION: What's your favorite chip? Healthy...or not, I guess I don't care for this question. My favorite chips are Doritos! The chips I eat most often would be Terra sweet potato chips, and also the veggie chips I buy in bulk at the store.

Beer; Could It Be Better For You Than Wine?!

By now I think most of you know that I love beer. I'm one of those women who orders beer over wine any day!

Let's take a quick look at some of my experiences with this yeast, hops and barley-filled brew.....


When I went to Colorado to present my research at the ADA Food and Nutrition Expo, I met up with my good friend Sarah, and we did some beer tasting.

They were all delicious, but I tend to favor the wheat-beers (ironic considering I don't eat wheat....). I'm convinced that the fermentation process helps break down some of those sugars that my body malabsorbs.

When I was training for my job (in Pittsburgh) I took one evening to explore this great beer cave. This place had every beer imaginable!



Nick and I always ask for beer at weddings (especially when it's one we can't get in Columbus!)



And we always keep some of our favorites in our fridge at all times....


And when all the girls ordered Bud Light, Miller Light, or mixed drinks at this Bachelorette party, I enjoyed a giant Hefeweizen (Franziskaner is my all time favorite beer!).


And lets not forget Great Lakes Christmas Ale! It comes to stores in Columbus in November, but is sold out by the end of December. Nick and I bought two cases this year, and allowed it to last until Christmas. I'll be honest, we rarely let anyone know we had any when they came over! Muahaha

Not to say there aren't other great Christmas/holiday brews.....


But nothing compares to the Great Lakes Christmas ale, not even our own locally made Winter Warmer.

So why am I so excited about this post?? In January of this year I received my ADA Times magazine (American Dietetic Association) and on the front cover I saw this:

Health Benefits of Beer
(Source: ADA Times)

- Any alcoholic beverage (consumed in moderation) may actually increase good HDL cholesterol, lower bad LDL cholesterol, and reduce the risk of blood clots.

- Beer may help lower the risk of kidney stones. How? It has a high water content and a diuretic effect, both combining to help reduce kidney stone prevalence. The hops in beer may also help reduce the release of calcium from bones, another risk factor for kidney stones.

- The high silicon content of beer is associated with greater bone mineral density.

- Beer contains more fluid than wine (more than 2.5 times as much water) and therefore contributes to your daily fluid needs more so than other alcoholic beverages

- Dark beers can provide up to 1.3 grams of soluble fiber, per 12-ounce drink. Not bad!

- Beer is a plant source of B12, which is important for vegetarians and vegans

- Beer has more calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, B-vitamins and more selenium (per serving) than wine.

- Do you drink wine for its antioxidants? There are very few studies that have observed or tested the bioavailability of antioxidants in wine, or beer for that matter. However, one study did show that ferulic acid (an antixodant in beer) entered the body more efficiently than the ferulic acid from a tomato. Impressive!

- What about the resveratrol in wine? Beer may be lacking this "anti-aging" and "heart-protective" antioxidant, but in reality, the amount of wine you would have to drink in order to get any benefit from resveratrol would be enough to cause serious health problems.


BEER TIPS

- Darker beers have more fiber


- Beers with more hops (such as pale ales) have more phytochemicals (plant nutrients, which many times act as antioxidants)

- The more malt in the brew, the more B-vitamins it will contain (such as B-12, Niacin, folate, riboflavin and thiamin)


Question: Are you a beer lover like me?? What's your favorite beer?

** Warning: If you are not an alcohol consumer you should not start drinking just to get health benefits. You're better off just staying away completely! But now you know that if you do drink (in moderation, 1 drink for women, 2 for men, per day) it can be good for you! **

The Magic Apron

Thank you so much for all of the amazing comments you left on my blog last week. I wrote about two very important issues and they were both well received. I really enjoyed reading, and relating to all of your comments!


Ladies, please tell me I'm not the only one with a significant other who refuses to cook and who will always choose to eat out unless there is a prepared meal placed in front of him. Anyone ? Please ? You'd think by now Nick would have the motivation to prepare healthier meals for himself on nights and mornings when I'm gone....I mean, I leave fruits, veggies, healthy breads, lean proteins, and even brown rice in the fridge for his convenience. But no, he continues to go to Chipotle or Subway each and every night I'm gone. What would happen if I died? I always ask him this. He just gets sad when I say that, boo hoo.

Several weeks ago, my amazing friend Cathy presented me with a birthday gift. I had Nick model the gift for me. The very moment he put it on a light bulb turned on in his head, and he thought to himself, "I have the power to prepare meals for myself!!!"



I mean, check this thing out. When you pull the bottom half of the apron up it has all of the appropriate measurements and other cooking tips right there for you to see! If you're interested, the apron is from Delight.com.






On Sunday and Saturday mornings Nick buys breakfast about 99% of the time (I work on those mornings so the poor guy doesn't know what to do for breakfast....), but I came home for a short moment yesterday morning and Nick had made this egg sandwich (below). I was speechless! Not only did it look beautiful, but it was actually quite healthy!

100% whole wheat bagel + 2 eggs + almond milk + nitrate-free bacon + reduced fat cheddar cheese

He even had an orange with this!!

QUESTION: Have you ever seen such an awesome kitchen apron before?! Do you have a significant other who may benefit from its amazing powers?!

I'm Skinny. I Can Eat Whatever I Want

**Warning, this post discusses a very sensitive topic. Those who have issues with food or body imagine should not read this post. Please do not read if you are sensitive to such topics. **

Source: iStockPhoto

Raise your hand if someone has ever told you, "You are so lucky. You're so skinny! You could eat anything you want!". Or how about this, "You're so skinny! Go eat a freakin' burger!" My hand is raised, times a thousand. Remember my last post? I talked about the major issue I have with the phrase "going on a diet". Well today I'm going to talk about another issue I have; people assuming things about people based on their size, and people assuming that it's ok to make comments about someone's weight if they are skinny (as if it's any different than commenting on someone being overweight).

Let's say I walk up to an overweight guy and tell him, "DAMN! You're huge! You need to STOP eating! Man, go eat a salad or something!" How would he feel? Probably not so good. So what gives people the right to tell someone who is small, like I am, that they need to "go eat a burger", or that they are "so lucky because you can eat whatever you want and not get fat". Seriously people, it's annoying!

You see this stomach?
That's me. You see those red lines? When I sit I get rolls of fat and they turn into red lines when I stand (from the crease). I'm in no way saying that I think I'm fat (I know I'm not), but instead I'm using the picture above to make a point. I actually tried to get a picture of my cellulite on my legs, which is something that people always tell me "I'll never have to worry about" because they think they know my body well, and they assume that women won't get cellulite if they are skinny, HA!. So...why am I telling you this, and what is my point? I am a healthy weight, and even though you may not know it when you see me in clothes, I do have some fat on my body. I'm part of a family who tends to carry fat in one place, and that's the stomach. When I wear clothes the only thing people can see is my fat-less butt, my skinny legs, my skinny arms, and my long skinny fingers. What is more difficult to see is that I actually carry fat in one of the most dangerous places; above my waist. I am what you may call, "an apple". Women with the apple shape are at greater risk for heart disease, which explains the heart disease that runs in my family.



I'm sick of people assuming that they know everything about me and my eating habits the second they meet me. I speak for all skinny (and larger!) people out there, really, because I know I'm not the only one who feels like they are unfairly judged by the shape of their body. Either people assume I "eat nothing" or they assume I can "eating anything I want" and the bottom line is that I do eat anything I want, but in a healthy and moderate way. I practice what I preach. I worry about my health and I want to feel and look good. Who doesn't? When I say "no" to a dessert, it's not because I think it will "make me fat" it's because I'd prefer to have something else, or maybe I've already had a dessert that day, or maybe I am just not hungry! I do watch my intake of sugars, but not because I don't want to get fat, it's because I know I have to, for the rest of my life, in order to prevent my apple shape from ever getting to a dangerous point (read about waist-to-hip ratios, here). Also, by watching my sugar intake, I am taking care of my heart. I'll never deny myself a dessert that I want, but I've learned to practice good self-control. I care about my life, and my body, and I'm proud of it too, fat rolls and all ;)

There is nothing we can do to prevent the changes that naturally occur to our body as we age. We can, however, learn to love our body, eat intuitively and change our habits as we get older (because we just don't need as many calories as we did when we were young). When I choose to eat a salad at dinner, or pass on a dessert, it's not because I'm "on a diet" it's because I actually love vegetables and other healthy foods, and to me it's not deprivation at all. I treat myself on plenty of occasions, and I always will. I don't have to prove myself to anyone, but now perhaps people will understand that just because someone looks skinny doesn't mean they have perfect health and need not worry about any chronic conditions, and it doesn't mean they can eat anything and everything they want, and it doesn't mean they starve themselves (and the same goes for people who are larger...they aren't all lazy and unhealthy like so many people assume!!!).

Question: Have you ever been in a situation where you felt unfairly judged about your decisions to eat healthier, or live a healthier lifestyle? Have you ever felt judged because of your body type or your size? It's time to VENT!

"I Just Started Dieting"

My next two posts will focus on two issues that have really been bothering me lately. Rather than sitting and steaming over these issues, I've decided to talk (or type...) about these issues and get the opinions of my loyal readers.

In honor of National Registered Dietitian Day I thought I would start with an issue that I know is on the top of many RD's minds, and that has to do with DIETS. How many times have you talked to someone who has told you, "I just started dieting" or "I'm starting a new diet" or "I'm on a diet"?

Merriam-Webster.com defines "Diet" as this:


I'm wondering when that last definition appeared. Ten, twenty, thirty years ago, perhaps? I know the first three definitions have been around for hundreds of years, because let's face it, they are the true definition. Our last thirty years of food obsession and weight obsession helped create that last definition, and that's where my rant begins...

When will people learn that "dieting" doesn't work? What will it take for people to realize that to "go on a diet" is really another way of saying "I'm going to really watch what I eat, try to be healthier, lose weight for a while, then go back to my normal way of eating and hope that the weight never returns".

The use of the phrase, "going on a diet" implies a temporary solution to a problem that took years to develop. Right?


When I talk to people who tell me they are "going on a diet" they are most often miserably dreading the idea of this impending "diet". They have some incredibly detailed plan for losing weight by not eating "xyz" or only eating "xyz" and they know they will dread every minute of it. No one who tells me "they are going on a diet" is ever smiling when they say it. No one ever says, "Hey Gina! Guess what?! I'm going on a diet! Can you believe it?! I'm SO excited!"

But you know what?? They should be excited! Why? Because if they aren't excited then they are doing something wrong, and they will likely fail at their attempt to lose weight. And before I go any further I would like to propose a change to the phrase "going on a diet". I would like to call it "going on a lifelong journey to better health". Yeah, much better (and I'm not taking credit for this phrase, it's been around for years!). "Hey Gina! Guess what?! I'm going on a lifelong journey to better health"! Even just saying that makes me happier than "going on a diet", but anyway, I digress. Back to what I was saying at the beginning. If someone isn't excited about "going on a diet" then clearly they aren't making the right changes. It's when people make drastic and unappealing changes to their diets that the plan ends up failing in the end. If you go into your "journey" with a positive attitude, and plan meals that are tasty and delicious, and allow yourself to ease into the journey, you will succeed!




I propose that we no longer use the word "diet" or the term "going on a diet" and we all change our attitudes and focus more on health, longevity, eating anything and everything in moderation, and feeling great in our bodies, rather than focusing on "dieting" and eating "cardboard", going hungry, being miserable, but hey........ also losing weight!

Who's with me?!?!?!


Enjoy good food. Enjoy feeling great about who you are. Enjoy living life not focusing on "diets" and food. Enjoy the journey of life and enjoy making your life-long journey just a bit more healthy, not just for weight purposes, but for mental and physical health purposes.... for a better quality of life!

By the way, have you noticed more companies are doing "quick weight loss" plans such as the one below?

Ummm, this isn't unique. This is called eating a healthy well-balanced diet! Sorry Yoplait, you didn't come up with anything special and/or different, but I do give you credit for pointing out the obvious....eating healthy and/or losing weight can be easy, and delicious!

I also thought I'd share this great article, which talks about some "diet rules that don't suck". Even though I just preached the fact that I hate the term "going on a diet", I still like this article. Enjoy!

QUESTION: Are you with me? The phrase "going on a diet" signifies something that is temporary, and it's time to get rid of it...permanently!