Nourishing News

Reading Food Labels - Trans Fats

While some trans fatty acids (trans fats) occur naturally, most trans fats are the result of hydrogena­tion, a process that occurs during the production of commercial foods. 

Once upon a time, only true diet detectives knew whether a particular food contained trans fat, a phantom fat added to thousands of foods that has the most damaging effects on the heart and blood vessels. They were the people who knew that the code phrases "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" and "vegetable shortening" meant that trans fat lurked in the food.

 

As of January 1, 2006, trans fat must be listed on food labels along with other bad fats (saturated fats) and good ones (unsaturated fats).

The addition is a victory for Harvard School of Public Health researchers who helped sound the alarm about trans fat in the early 1990s and who advocated that it be explicitly listed on food labels. After much equivocation by the FDA and intense lobbying against adding trans fat to food labels by parts of the food industry, the FDA finally approved the addition.

This small, one-line change is sparking a major makeover of the American food supply. The FDA once estimated that approximately 95% of prepared cookies, 100% of crackers, and 80% of frozen breakfast products contained trans fat. Now that trans fat must be listed on food labels, some companies are scrambling to remove them from their products. Many others have already succeeded in going trans fat free. The shift follows the growing realization that trans fats are even worse for the heart and blood vessels than saturated fats.

Why is This Important to You?

Trans fats are a type of mostly man-made fat that the food industry loves, but our hearts and blood vessels don't. In the late 19th century, chemists discovered that they could turn liquid vegetable oil into a solid or semi-solid by adding hydrogen atoms to the fat backbone. They did this by bubbling hydrogen gas through vegetable oil in the presence of a nickel catalyst. This was far more than a chemical curiosity. Partially hydrogenated oils don't spoil as easily as nonhydrogenated fats. They can also withstand repeated heating without breaking down.

These characteristics were attractive to food makers. Over time, partially hydrogenated oils became a mainstay in margarines, commercially baked goods, and snack foods. When saturated fat was fingered as a contributor to high cholesterol, companies such as McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts switched from beef tallow to partially hydrogenated vegetable oil for frying French fries and donuts.

Today we know that eating trans fats increases levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, "bad" cholesterol), especially the small, dense LDL particles that are most damaging to arteries. LDL particles travel in the blood to specific sites where they attach with a type of lock and key mechanism, where they then unload their contents. Trans fats reduce LDL particle size, thereby reducing the particles surface area resulting in the loss of the receptor “key.” The particle can no longer attach to the specific sites and with nowhere to unload their contents they build up in our arteries.

It lowers levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles, which scour blood vessels for bad cholesterol and truck it to the liver for disposal. It increases the tendency of blood platelets to clump and form potentially artery-blocking clots. It also fires inflammation, an over-activity of the immune system that has been implicated in heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic conditions.

Now that the once-ubiquitous but invisible trans fats are listed in bold print on food labels, it's easier to spot them in packaged foods.

**Keep in mind, though, that according to the FDA, a product claiming to have zero trans fat can actually contain up to a half gram. (Canada set a different standard of zero as under 0.2 grams.) Some companies reduce the serving size on the ingredient label so they can claim that their product is “Trans Fat Free.” So you may still want to scan the ingredient list for "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil", "vegetable shortening" or “hydrogenated”’ and look for an alternative product without those words, especially if it's something you eat regularly. If you eat 2-3 servings you could be consuming up to 1.5 grams of trans fat, even though the label says “zero trans fat.”

It's harder to avoid trans fat in restaurants, since they are not required to provide nutrition information about the food they serve. One strategy is to avoid deep-fried foods, since many restaurants continue to use partially hydrogenated oils in their fryers. You may be able to help change this behavior by asking your server, the chef, or manager if the establishment uses trans-free oils.

Ounce for ounce, trans fats are far worse than saturated fats when it comes to heart disease. The Nurses' Health Study found that replacing only 30 calories (7 grams) of carbohydrates every day with 30 calories (4 grams) of trans fats nearly doubled the risk for heart disease. Saturated fats increased risk as well, but not nearly as much.

 

Action Plan

1.       Look through your refrigerator and pantry at home. Scan the labels for the word ‘hydrogenated’ or “vegetable shortening.”

2.       Make a list of these foods. When you grocery shop, be sure to find replacements for these foods that do not contain these words.

3.       Stay vigilant.  Continue to read labels, choosing foods that do not have the words ‘hydrogenated’ on the label.

4.       Know where to shop. Trader Joes, PCC Markets and Whole Foods all have standards set for the foods that they stock. Trans fats are all but absent from these foods, making it easier to find both name and store brand foods to meet your needs.

 

If you find that most of the foods in your house contain these ingredients, don’t despair. If you can afford to, you can donate these foods to a food bank, take your list to the grocery store and replace them all at once. If not, simply start to replace them as you shop over the next few months.

Danskin Triathlon - Food is Fuel - Training Diet

Participating in a Danskin Triathlon is an experience like you have never imagined. Thousands of women coming together to warm heartedly compete and cheer each other on.  For registered participants, training plans are offered on the site.  But how should you eat? Food is fuel and training for the Danskin Triathlon with the proper diet, eating the right food at the right times, will help you train and cross that finish line with a smile on your face.  

Two things are of the utmost importance as you approach your event day. The first is that you have eaten enough carbohydrates ("carb loading") to make it through the race. The second is that you have trained for at least two months with the sponsored beverage at the race. For example, if the race is sponsored by Gatorade and you have trained with a different sports drink or water, you may get a stomach ache by introducing a new beverage on event day. Check with Danskin to see who the sponsor is. You can decide from there if you will stock your changing stations with water or partake in the drink stations along the course.

Now let’s talk about your triathlon training diet and why it is important to fuel up with the right kind of food at the right time of day.

To eat or not to eat before an early morning workout is a question that is bounced around by many people across America. Some people just don't have time to eat in reasonable proximity to their workout, but others deliberately go without food. One client told me she believed she'd burn more fat by exercising on an empty stomach. Her reasoning was that if no food was available for fuel, her body would tap into its fat reserves. As it turns out, if your goal is to maximize your workout and get (or maintain) a lean body, eating, not starving, is your best strategy.

How Food Fuels You.  Although your body burns some stored fat when you exercise, its main fuel is carbohydrate that's been stored in the muscles and liver in the form of glycogen. When your glycogen stores are depleted, your body will indeed tap more of its fat reserves, just as my client anticipated, but at what price? Without readily available fuel, you're not likely to feel too energetic. When you eat before exercise, whether it's a large meal several hours in advance or a small snack only minutes ahead of time, you'll have the extra energy you need for an effective workout.

Here's the reason: Before carbohydrate is stored away in your muscles and liver as glycogen, it enters your bloodstream in the form of glucose (also called blood sugar), a readily available source of energy that helps perk you up when you're feeling hungry and fatigued. If the glycogen stored in your muscles and liver is low, your body can rely on glucose for fuel; if you already have a fair amount of stored glycogen, your body will use the glucose as a secondary source of energy and spare the glycogen.  This means that you have two sources of fuel as opposed to one, so you’ll have more endurance.

Something else you should consider is that the muscles and liver can only store so much glycogen. It's important to "top off" your reserves fairly often, even if you haven't been doing much. During a long night's sleep, the body depletes as much as 80 percent of the glycogen stored in the liver. This is why eating a little something before you exercise in the morning can really help.  Moreover, it doesn't take long to deplete stored glycogen during exercise; this process will speed up when it is warm outside.

  

Here are Some Guidelines that will Help you Fuel Up Around Your Triathlon Training 

2-3 Hours Before Event or Training

Food:  Pre-Training Meal

Liquid: 2-3 Cups

1-2 Hours Before Event or Training

Food: Pre-Training Small Meal “if needed”

Liquid: ½ -1 Cup

1-0   Hours Before Event or Training

Food: Pre-Training Small Meal “if needed”

Liquid: ½ -1 Cup

 

Event

Food: Easily Digestible Food Only: Shot blocks, orange wedges, Raw Organic or Lara Bar, Juice/ water combination

Liquid: as needed…sip slowly during event

0-30 Minutes After Event or Training

Food: Post work-out  Snack

Liquid: 2-3 cups

Pre-Training Snack:

Very light fare, only “if needed,” like fresh fruit, whole wheat crackers or whole wheat bread. To tell whether you might need a pre-workout snack or not, ask these questions:

Do I frequently run out of energy during training?

Do I have a quick metabolism…do I feel the need to eat small amounts of food often?

Do I often not eat enough food for my pre-training meal? For example, a bowl of cold cereal with milk at 10:00 won’t give you enough calories to sustain energy through your 1:00PM event.

 

Triathlon Diet - Easy to Digest Suggestions : 100% fruit juice, whole wheat bagel, bread or crackers, dried fruit, energy bar (Luna or Lara), fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, rice cakes, raisin bread, small smoothie or yogurt. Here is a snack list to help you pull together a healthy well balanced snack 75% carbohydrate: 25% protein (choose one from each column…the serving sizes listed are general guidelines and will change based on your individual caloric needs). Choose one food from each column below to create a healthy and tasty snack.

 

Carbohydrate List                        1 piece fruit                         5-6 whole wheat crackers                             1 whole wheat piece of bread/ toast ½ whole wheat pita        ¼ C Go Lean Cereal                         ¼ C high fiber cereal      4-5 pcs dried fruit                             1 cup raw vegetables

Protein List: 1 svg nuts: 9 almonds, 7 pecans, 3 walnuts, 1 macadamia Yogurt (Cascade fresh nonfat w/ fruit) 2 T hummus 2 Tsp nut butter 8 oz milk or soy milk, nonfat or light 2-3 oz meat or tuna 1 oz cheese 1 egg (hardboiled)

 Pre-Training or Event Meal Plate:

45% grains, breads, pasta, potatoes

5% nuts, cheese, butter, olive oil

35% vegetables and fruits

15% beans, fish, chicken, meat, eggs

 

What if I train first thing in the morning?

If you train first thing in the morning, then have your pre-exercise meal the night before, have a healthy snack before you go to bed and then a snack in the morning. The morning snack is essential here…eat as early as possible, without interfering with your sleep schedule. At least 30 minutes before you train, preferably.

 

Post-Training Snack:

By eating here, muscle glycogen is synthesized three times faster than if a snack is not eaten here. This happens for two reasons. The first is that increased blood flow to the muscle cells brings more nutrients to make glycogen and the second is that muscle cells are more sensitive to the substances that transform nutrients into glycogen immediately after training.

To eat the proper triathlon training diet snack, aim for a ratio of 75% complex carbohydrates: 25% lean protein. Suggestions: ½ turkey, chicken or tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread or fruit, cheese and whole wheat crackers. Pita and hummus, gram crackers and peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat, rice cakes with spread, yogurt and fruit.

 

Hydration:

Are sports drinks necessary? No. You will get more nutrients by drinking water and eating an apple. Hydration is incredibly important…the focus should be on water. Hydration is not about being thirsty as much as it is about your body’s need to regulate its temperature, hydrate muscle cells and remove waste. Carry at least 1 liter of water to each practice or event and make it a habit of drinking consistently throughout the event. This will ensure you are well hydrated, ready to perform and ready to recover. Suggestions: diluted juice (8 oz of water to 2 oz juice), seltzer or 100 percent juice (sparingly).

  

Angela Pifer is a Certified Nutritionist, with a masters in nutrition from Bastyr University, in private practice, specializing in food sensitivities, emotional eating, digestive conditions, sports nutrition & weight loss. She founded Nutrition Northwest Co in 2005; the premier provider of sound nutrition and wellness advice in the Northwest with offices in Seattle and Kirkland. Angela has a unique approach to helping her patients create new healthier habits: offering customized nutrition programs that inspire & educate along with a high degree of support & accountability to help them become fit & fabulous from the inside out. www.NutritionNorthwest.com  Angela Pifer, CN 425-747-5282

"I work long distance!"

Sip this energy

"Nutrition Expert Contribution to an article posted on www.SheKnows.com"

 

Relying on extra-large coffees to make it through your day? Despite the instant energy boost, consuming copious amounts of caffeine can ultimately sap you to exhaustion. Perhaps a better approach to soaring through the afternoon is to nourish yourself with a healthy, refreshing, energy-boosting smoothie. Before you reach for that next double shot espresso, consider one of these flavorful sips.

Smoothies provide an instant lift that lasts

In the article Caffeine-free tips to boost your energy, certified nutritionist Angela Pifer, Nutrition Northwest Co, extols the virtues of smart snacking and recommends smoothies as a healthy alternative to coffee.

She suggests smoothies made with rice, almond, cashew, soy or regular dairy milk, with the addition of another protein to ensure your smoothies satisfy your hunger and keep you full. Drinking a smoothie instead of coffee will raise your blood sugar levels and keep them on an even keel. You won’t have the instant surge of energy and eventual crash that often comes with caffeine.

Healthy smoothie recipes

Here are smoothie recipes, courtesy of Angela Pifer, nutritionist with Nutrition Northwest Co. and guest contributor to Caffeine-free tips to boost your energy.

For the following smoothie recipes, place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth or your desired consistency.

Pumpkin-Banana Smoothie

1 serving vanilla flavored rice protein
1 cup vanilla soy milk, light
1/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 medium banana
Dash of pumpkin pie spice
4 ice cubes

Chocolate Raspberry Shake

1 serving chocolate flavored soy protein
1 cup vanilla soy milk, light
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/8 teaspoon orange extract
4 ice cubes

Very Berry Shake

1 serving vanilla flavored soy protein
1 cup vanilla soy milk, light
1 cup frozen mixed berries
A few drops pure vanilla extract
4 ice cubes

Orange Julius Shake

1 serving vanilla flavored soy protein
1 cup vanilla soy milk, light
3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ice cubes

Apple Pie Shake

1 serving vanilla flavored soy protein
1 cup vanilla soy milk, light
1 cup frozen apple slices
A few dashes each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 ice cubes

 ABOUT ANGELA PIFER, CERTIFIED NUTRITIONIST

Angela Pifer is a Certified Nutritionist, with a MS in nutrition from Bastyr University, in private practice, specializing in food sensitivities, emotional eating, digestive conditions & weight loss. She founded Nutrition Northwest Co in 2005; the premier provider of sound nutrition and wellness advice in the Northwest with offices in Seattle and Kirkland. Angela has a unique approach to helping her patients create new healthier habits: offering customized nutrition programs that inspire & educate along with a high degree of support & accountability to help them become fit & fabulous from the inside out.

Feeling Pumped: Without Caffeine

"Nutrition Expert Contribution to an article posted on www. SheKnows.com"

 

 

By the time 3 PM rolls around, do you find yourself craving a midday refill for your extra-large coffee mug? Before you drink another cup, stop and think about what your body is actually telling you. While one or two cups of coffee are a temporary and harmless morning pick-me-up, you shouldn’t need to rely on caffeine to get through the day. Here are some caffeine-free tips to boost your energy.

Caffeine-free tip #1: Check your food intake

“A 3 PM slump is not innate to us,” says Angela Pifer, MSN, certified nutritionist, founder of Nutrition Northwest Co. and in-house nutritionist for the International Ballet Theatre. “Since food gives us energy, it’s more of a problem with our blood sugar dropping.”

Pifer asks her patients to close their eyes and picture their food intake throughout the day. The line-up may include a small breakfast with coffee, a light lunch, maybe a snack, and dinner, but what Pifer finds is that most people consume the majority of their calories after 1 PM, when they should be consuming an equal amount of calories before and after 1 PM.

Caffeine-free tip #2: Eat more in the morning

By suppressing hunger and pushing it later in the day, you are fighting the natural drive to eat earlier and you set yourself up to take in more calories – perhaps too many – later on. According to Pifer, you need to even out your calories throughout the day to stop cravings and keep you moving and energized.

To stay alert throughout the day, she suggests eating small meals consistently throughout the day to prevent peaks and valleys with your blood sugar levels.

Caffeine-free tip #3: Snack smart

According in Pifer, a healthy snack contains 75 percent complex carbohydrate to 25 percent lean protein. This ratio will boost your energy and keep it up. Following are some smart snack suggestions.

Complex carbohydrates include:

• 1 piece of fruit
• 5 to 6 whole wheat crackers
• one-half a whole wheat pita
• 1 whole wheat piece of bread or toast
• one-fourth cup Go Lean Cereal
• one-fourth cup high fiber cereal
• 4 to 5 pieces of dried fruit
• 1 cup raw vegetables

Match any one of those carbs with one protein, like the following:

• 1 serving of nuts (9 almonds, 7 pecans, 3 walnuts, 1 macadamia
• 6 ounces of yogurt
• 2 teaspoons nut butter
• 2 tablespoons hummus
• 8 ounces milk or soy milk, nonfat or light
• 2 to 3 ounces meat or tuna
• 1 ounce cheese (harder cheese has less fat than soft)
• 1 egg (hardboiled or otherwise)

Caffeine-free tip #4: Sip a smoothie

Another great snack or light meal are healthy smoothies. Pifer suggests smoothies made with rice, almond, cashew, soy or regular dairy milk. To keep you satisfied and your blood sugar level on an even keel, add an additional protein source. For sustenance, add organic protein powder in the form of rice protein or you can omit the protein powder and use 1 tablespoon of flax meal or nut butter.

(Click for super smoothie recipes to boost your energy.)

Follow these caffeine-free tips and you’ll have energy all day long and won’t need to be tethered to the coffee bar counter.

ABOUT ANGELA PIFER, CERTIFIED NUTRITIONIST

Angela Pifer is a Certified Nutritionist, with a MS in nutrition from Bastyr University, in private practice, specializing in food sensitivities, emotional eating, digestive conditions & weight loss. She founded Nutrition Northwest Co in 2005; the premier provider of sound nutrition and wellness advice in the Northwest with offices in Seattle and Kirkland. Angela has a unique approach to helping her patients create new healthier habits: offering customized nutrition programs that inspire & educate along with a high degree of support & accountability to help them become fit & fabulous from the inside out.

 

 

 

Portion Sizes vs. Serving Sizes: Confused? Read on...

It’s a fact: most people tend to underestimate the amount of food they eat and tend to overestimate the recommended serving sizes for many foods. In a land of super-sized meals it is easy to understand why.

 

Most consumers believe that a serving size is 1.5 to 2 times larger than it actually is. How do you test this? First, guess how much pasta you usually eat. Then serve your plate as usual and then measure it! Compare it to the label serving size. How close was your calculation? Chances are, you're eating two, three, four or more times the amount on the label.

Portion and serving sizes may sound like the same thing but, for many Americans, they are actually very different.

 

A "serving" size is a unit of measure based on nutrition needs. A "portion" can be thought of as the amount of a specific food a person eats for meals, snacks or other eating occasions.

The serving size listed on a label is not meant to provide advice on how much of certain foods to eat in order to achieve a healthful diet. Serving sizes are not set in stone….the typical American eater is not going to be satisfied with a steak the size of a deck of cards and ½ cup of rice. I mean, come on, how many of us eat just two cookies?

 

A serving size is simply a unit of measure; such as cups, ounces or pieces to make the food label serving sizes consumer friendly. Knowing what  constitutes a serving size versus a portion size, being cognizant of what a serving size looks like and determining how many servings are right for you is all very important in achieving both a healthful and satisfying diet. Seems like too much to bite off? Read on for more insight and strategies.

 

The government uses the image of a food pyramid to describe the amount of serving sizes the 'average' consumer should consume for a healthy diet and lifestyle; remember that these are based on serving sizes. This is where it gets hairy: these are not always the same quantities as the   serving sizes listed on the food labels. For instance, both resources list ½ cup as the recommended serving for canned fruits and vegetables.

 

However, for some foods, the serving sizes differ because these two tools have different purposes. The government describes serving units for primarily "simple" food items, such as 1 cup raw leafy greens; ½ cup cooked dry beans; 1 cup of milk or yogurt; or 2 tablespoons    peanut butter. This method is used so consumers can easily remember what counts as a serving for major food groups and to help them build a healthful diet.

 

On the other hand, then Nutrition Facts panel serving unit is specific for each product category. The intent is to help consumers compare nutrient information between a number of choices of products that fall in the same food group. The food label servings can also apply both to dishes combining several food groups (such as frozen lasagna) and to "simple" foods like canned vegetables.

 

Some consumers perceive the bread, cereal, rice and pasta group in the Pyramid as a real challenge. Many consumers believe the suggested 6-11 servings of grains are too much for them to eat on a daily basis. At the crux of this quandary may be that consumers are not familiar with what constitutes a   serving size for grains. For instance, a consumer may have noted that 2 slices of bread or 1 cup of cooked pasta equaled a serving, when in fact the Pyramid indicates 1 slice of bread or ½ cup of cooked pasta is a serving. According to USDA food consumption surveys, individuals' typical portion sizes for grain products equaled 1-1/2 to 2 food guide serving units.

The reality is that most of us will not have a Nutrition Facts panel at our fingertips at each eating occasion, particularly if we are eating at a restaurant or consuming foods that were not prepared by us.

 

Yet, there are many tips to keep in mind to be sensible about portion sizes and diet. Two of the more important factors to keep in mind are that a healthful eating plan can and should include all the foods you like and it should include a variety of different foods.

 

Here are some sensible tips for not "overdoing it:"

 

1. Order once, enjoy twice. Eat half your steak at the restaurant. Take the rest home to savor tomorrow is a steak salad with juicy-ripe tomatoes or a beef and broccoli stir-fry. At a restaurant, two diners could split the steak entrée and each order a salad or vegetable side dishes.

 

2. Snack from a plate, not from the bag, to stay aware of how much you are eating.

 

3. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the signal that your stomach's had enough. Savor foods slowly-you'll enjoy it more, eat less and avoid feeling stuffed.

 

Best yet learn to recognize what a serving size looks like on a plate, in your hand and in a bowl. To help visualize a tablespoon or other common portion sizes, measure it out and compare its size to a common item like a quarter or deck of playing cards. Soon it will become second nature.

 

 

 

Irritable Bowel Sydrome

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder of the large intestine with no evidence of accompanying infection or structural defect. Though the causes for IBS are not completely clear, physiological, psychological and dietary factors have all been linked to this condition, including excessive numbers of bacteria in the intestines.

Dietary Treatment Considerations

The goals of a therapeutic diet for IBS include:

1. Increasing dietary fiber (includes adequate water and exercise)

2. Identifying and eliminating foods that cause the symptoms (food allergies/intolerances)

3. Support the integrity and function of the intestinal mucosa to optimize digestion and absorption

Several studies indicate that as many as two-thirds of people with IBS will improve or even become symptom-free if they identify (via an elimination diet) and avoid the foods to which they are intolerant. The foods that most commonly cause symptoms seem to be dairy products, onions, wheat, chocolate, coffee, eggs, nuts, citrus, tea, rye, potatoes, barley, oats and corn.

Identifying and Eliminating Foods That Cause the Symptoms

Food allergies and intolerances

have often been linked to the symptoms experienced by patients with IBS. Roughly two thirds of patients have some type of food intolerance or allergy. Therefore, it is imperative that patients address these causes and eliminate the offending agents. Talk to your nutritionist about identifying potential food allergens through a process known as "the elimination diet."

This involves the use of a 3-week elimination diet (sometimes longer), during which time a hypoallergenic diet is followed. After 3 weeks of avoiding the potentially "offending foods", foods are individually reintroduced every 3 days. This food reintroduction process is called "rechallenge". If symptoms worsen or return when a food is "rechallenged", that food should not be eaten.

It is important to note that it is possible, during the food rechallenge phase, to experience a strong/sharp increase in allergy/intolerance/sensitivity symptoms, as compared to the degree of those symptoms prior to the elimination diet. In rare cases of severe food allergy, the individual could potentially (during the food rechallenge trial) have an anaphylactic reaction that is life threatening. Therefore, an elimination diet and rechallenge should be done under the care of a health care practitioner.

Dietary Fiber

The dietary fiber found in complex carbohydrates (foods found in their whole form that have not been refined) is useful in normalizing bowel function. It consists of both water-soluble and insoluble fiber types. Patients with diarrhea as part of their IBS symptom-picture should focus on soluble fiber foods (which form a viscous gel and slow transport through the intestine and ease contractions or cramps). Soluble fibers are water-soluble fiber types (found in vegetables, fruits, oat bran, guar and legumes (beans and peas)) and psyllium seed powder. Examples of high-fiber fruits are apples, bananas, mangoes and papayas and avocadoes. High-fiber vegetables include sweet potatoes, carrots, squash and pumpkins, beets, beans, and legumes. High-Fiber grains: quinoa and quinoa pasta, rice and rice pasta, flour tortillas and rice cereals. Wheat and other grains are also excellent sources of fiber, however, their protein components are often implicated as the cause of various malabsorption and allergic conditions (gluten/gliadin intolerance or celiac’s disease, etc.)

Nutrition Guidelines

1.

Eat at regular times. Try not to skip meals or go long periods of time without food. The emptier your stomach, the more sensitive it may be.

2. Try to limit "stand-up, eat-on-the-run" type meals.

3. Chew thoroughly and eat at a leisurely pace – if you must eat in a hurry, only eat a small amount at a time.

4. Eat a balanced and varied diet.

5. Gradually increase your intake of fiber.

6. When your stomach is empty, eat soluble fiber foods first. Make soluble fiber foods a large component of every meal (see fiber sources above).

7. Drink plenty of fluids, especially water (at least 6 - 8 glasses a day).

8. Eliminate all red meat, dairy, fried foods, egg yolks, coffee, soda, and alcohol from the diet. These are the most common triggers of IBS.

9. Limit foods that you are sensitive to or do not tolerate well. Possibilities include dairy products, chocolate, eggs, and wheat products.

10. Limit foods high in fat. If you know you will be having high-fat foods, eat a source of soluble fiber first – never eat high fat foods on an empty stomach.

11. Eat green salads at the end of the meal (small portions with non-fat dressing).

Bitter foods

can improve the whole upper digestive system’s function and enhance the absorption of nutrients. Try adding some bitters to meals, which include chicory, endive, radicchio, and dandelion greens.

Herbal and Nutritional Supplements

have been shown in research studies to be helpful in the treatment of IBS.

1. Enteric coated peppermint oil capsules are used to inhibit intestinal contractions and relieve abdominal pain and gas.

2. Chamomile and valerian aid in decreasing gas.

3. Slippery elm soothes the intestinal lining and decreases inflammation.

4. Lemon balm decreases intestinal cramping and spasms.

5. Nutritional supplements such as glutamine, beta-carotene, and zinc aid in the healing of the intestinal lining.

Lifestyle Guidelines

1. Exercise regularly – 30 to 60 minutes of moderate exercise every day.

2. Daily practice of yoga, Tai Chi, or meditation can significantly reduce stress-related symptoms.

3. Pay attention to your body’s signals. When you feel the urge to move your bowels, take the time to do so.

4. Make sleep a priority – inadequate sleep reduces the body’s ability to manage stress effectively.

Emotional Components

such as depression, insomnia, fatigue, and anxiety are often associated with IBS sufferers. Increased contractions of the colon have been shown to occur in patients with IBS in response to stressful situations, which can lead to uncomforatble symptoms. Various methods of treatment that may be helpful to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and fatigue include biofeedback, individual counseling, guided imagery, and physical activity. If necessary, seek the help of a professional to manage stress or other emotional factors.

ABOUT ANGELA PIFER, CERTIFIED NUTRITIONIST

Angela Pifer is a Certified Nutritionist, with a MS in nutrition from Bastyr University, in private practice, specializing in food sensitivities, emotional eating, digestive conditions & weight loss. She founded Nutrition Northwest Co in 2005; the premier provider of sound nutrition and wellness advice in the Northwest with offices in Seattle and Kirkland. Angela has a unique approach to helping her patients create new healthier habits: offering customized nutrition programs that inspire & educate along with a high degree of support & accountability to help them become fit & fabulous from the inside out.

Living Well: Beauty drinks? You're better off eating and sleeping well

Seattle PI article that ran today!

By BOB CONDOR SPECIAL TO THE P-I, CONTRIBUTING NUTRITIONIST ANGELA PIFER

Let's put this product idea squarely in the you-decide category: This fall, Nestle U.S.A. debuted its first "nutricosmetics" beauty drink, Glowelle. It is sold at Bergdorf Goodman and 45 Neiman Marcus stores.

"We're Nestle but we're also a startup beauty company," said Kimberly Cooper, who supervised the launch of Glowelle after pitching it two years ago to her bosses. "So our goal is to build credibility."

In a December interview with Fast Company magazine Cooper added that market researchers projected the "beauty drinks" category to become a $1.3 billion industry by 2012 and that projections for the product category were less than $1 million in 2006.

"We have to educate consumers about what this category is and make them much more open to the idea that what you consume does affect how you look and feel," she said.

Sound like 21st-century marketing? Sound like an adage? Sound like both? You are what you eat or drink, or something like that.

For her part, local nutritionist Angela Pifer said, "It's not you are what you eat, it's you are what you absorb." She explained that a healthy digestive system can go a long way toward healthy skin and youthful glow.

"Everyone thinks beauty is skin deep," said Pifer, whose Nutrition Northwest practice (nutritionnorthwest.com) has offices in Seattle and Kirkland. "But beauty starts with your nutritional status, whether you are getting the nutrients you need and absorbing (them), whether you are getting good sleep, whether you are active and whether you are drinking enough water and fluids."

In fact, Pifer said enough sleep (apparently called "beauty sleep" for a reason) and -- surprise! -- regular physical activity lead the list of what's needed for healthier skin and a more youthful appearance.

"Activity helps you to sweat out toxins from the body," she said. "A lot of us might wake up in the morning with eyes that are puffy. It's amazing the difference you can make in your appearance with a half-hour workout in the morning. Your eyes will be less puffy and your skin will have much more of a glow. You get the circulation moving."

The sleep connection to healthy skin and physical beauty has long been proposed as a necessity. What's intriguing about newer sleep research is that a good night's rest appears to promote brain cell repair and growth, resulting in improved memory and even heightened creativity. It's not much of a leap to assume that if brain cells are restored, there can be a similar positive effect on skin cells.

Digestive health is another significant contributor to beautiful skin and appearance. Pifer explained that many of her clients "feel gassy" and think it's normal, rather than the body's adverse reaction to foods. "Eighty percent of the immune cells in the body surround the intestine," she said. "That's the body's first line of defense and also where inflammation can occur. Inflammation blocks your absorption of nutrients."

While it might seem difficult to determine if and how well your body absorbs nutrients, Pifer suggested it is easy enough to get a feel for nutritional absorption provided you don't become squeamish about what solids you eliminate from the body.

To wit: You can gauge your own digestive health through some simple observations about the waste you eliminate. Determine frequency of your bowel movements, she advised. Figure out if there are bigger pieces of food moving through your system, which indicates you are not chewing your food adequately. An effective strategy (guess Mom was right) is to slow down when you eat.

Pifer said adverse food reaction and its subsequent inflammatory response can lead people to suffer deep fatigue and face skin breakouts that, again, clients consider normal or "part of life" rather than a condition that can be adjusted.

As a first step, Pifer will advise clients to eliminate wheat and dairy from their diets to allow the body time to heal and subdue inflammation. She urges clients to eat more fruits, vegetables and other plant foods such as beans and nuts. Pifer is not inclined to recommend supplements for skin care or overall beauty and most decidedly won't be tapping into the beauty drink category.

"There is no magic bottle or pill," she said. "I frame it this way for clients: If you were holding an orange in your hand, I could offer you a pill that has an equivalent amount of ascorbic acid or vitamin C. What would you be missing? Well, hundreds of bioactive compounds that also are in that piece of fruit (many of which will boost skin health and appearance)."

Pifer said anyone interested in buying beauty drinks would be better served investing in "an organic produce delivery service for the full health and beauty benefits."

bobcondor@aol.com; blog posts at alternativehealthjournal.com

 

Healing Eczema

Clickeats.com is a locally owned website offering a quick and convenient way to search for local cuisine and view the restaurant’s menus, all in one easy location. The advanced search option allows people with food sensitivities to narrow their search results to restaurants who offer sensitivity specific cuisine. The owner, Julia May, contacted me to write a series of articles, focusing on conditions affected by food sensitivities. You can visit the Clickeats.com blog by following this link.  The first article is on Eczema.

Eczema is an inflammatory disease of the skin characterized by redness, itching and small blisters that may weep and crust. Reducing inflammation is the primary goal to healing eczema. About 70% of your immune system surrounds your digestive track. Healing the digestive system should be the first level of treatment for eczema.

To heal the digestive system:

1. Identify Food Sensitivities: Work with a nutritionist to determine which foods you are sensitive to and need to remove from your diet and more importantly, which foods you can eat and still maintain and improve your nutritional status.

2. Wheat and Dairy: Remove or greatly reduce wheat and dairy (even if not found to be sensitive, wheat and dairy are known inflammatory foods). Remove other foods that cause inflammation, such as: meat, hot sauces, spicy, fried, fatty or salty foods, alcohol, coffee, and teas or colas that contain caffeine.

3. A vegan based diet is ideal. You will not have to do this for the rest of your life. This protocol is used to heal the digestive tract and to reduce or remove eczema symptoms. Then you can slowly begin to incorporate a variety of foods into your diet, which may be loosely based on a rotation diet. It is important to do this slowly and to keep a food diary. Record any symptoms that may pop up. Then you can easily identify the culprit and remove it from your diet. Each person will be different. Some may be able to incorporate wheat and dairy again, and some may only be able to bring back dairy, sometimes.

4. Supplement with omega three. Find a good quality omega 3 (only, no other omegas listed) and take daily with food. This is a fat soluble supplement and will absorb better when taken with food.

5. Whole foods diet: Replace processed foods with whole foods. If you can picture it growing or if your grandmother would recognize it as food, it is most likely a whole food.

6. Correct low stomach acid. Even though only 2% of Americans suffer from producing too much acid in the stomach, prescription acid reducers are a 7 billion dollar market.  Contact your doctor to inquire about a Heidelberg Test, which will tell you whether you produce too much, or more likely, if you produce too little stomach acid. Supplementation to correct this problem is inexpensive. Once corrected your digestive system will properly break down food, which will lessen the impact on your intestines, thereby decreasing inflammation in and around your intestines.

7. Stress management . How we think affects our body and how it processes food. Reducing stress through meditation, walking or yoga/ Pilates will help to reduce inflammation.

8. Improve sleep cycle: Humans need 8-9 hours of restful sleep a night. If you scoff at this, you are probably in denial. Try to slowly increase the amount of time you sleep each night, in increments of thirty minutes. Even if you are only able to increase your sleep time by thirty minutes overall, this will add up over time. Set a gentle alarm to remind yourself to go to bed thirty minutes earlier. Turn off all electronics one-two hours before you go to bed. A hot bath or shower before bed will also help.

These are just a few ways you can reduce inflammation in your life. To alleviate your eczema symptoms, diet is the first place to focus and will have the greatest long term impact on your symptoms.

Angela Pifer is a Certified Nutritionist, with a MS in nutrition from Bastyr University, in private practice, specializing in food sensitivities, emotional eating, digestive conditions, sports nutrition & weight loss. She founded Nutrition Northwest Co in 2005; the premier provider of sound nutrition and wellness advice in the Northwest with offices in Seattle and Kirkland. Angela has a unique approach to helping her patients create new healthier habits: offering customized nutrition programs that inspire & educate along with a high degree of support & accountability to help them become fit & fabulous from the inside out. 

Eating with Purpose

Eating while multitasking seems to have become an American pastime.  A working lunch (eaten at your desk while focusing on work) or watching TV while eating dinner, often leads us to eat more. Adults in the United States devote an average of 1 hour and 12 minutes per day to eating, yet spend between 2½ and 3 hours per day watching television. Our kids are feeling the effects as well. Studies have shown that school lunch periods provide an average of 7 to 11 minutes for students to consume their lunch.

Our fast-paced culture is one where meals have become yet another task we squeeze in during the day. The speed at which we eat isn't the only problem. It is rare that we're simply eating when we're eating. In fact, 66 percent of Americans report regularly eating dinner in front of the television. With obesity at epidemic proportions, it is essential that we take a closer look at not just we eat, but how we eat.

Eating "mindfully," savoring every mouthful, enhances the experience of eating and keeps us aware of how much we take in. Many studies have shown that when people are blindfolded while eating, they consume 30 percent less food and their meal lasts, on average, over 20 percent longer.  Read this last sentence again and Think on this for a moment.

The Effects of Mindful Eating

It may come as a big surprise to learn that "mindless" eating, or eating without awareness, can have negative health consequences. Scientists are beginning to evaluate and better understand the complex role of the mind-body connection in eating behavior. It turns out that when our mind is tuned out during mealtime, the digestive process may be 30 percent to 40 percent less effective. This can contribute to digestive distress, such as gas, bloating and bowel irregularities.

Gas and bloating aside, overeating and obesity are perhaps the most significant health problems caused, at least in part, by mindless eating. The mind-body connection plays a pivotal role in our ability to accurately assess hunger and fullness.

While the precise mechanisms of hunger and fullness are not completely understood, we do know that the brain and central nervous system receive signals from the body when food is desired or needed. These signals can be caused by many triggers, including psychological states such as our mood. Once eating is under way, the brain has a key role to send out a signal when fullness is approaching. If the mind is "multi-tasking" during eating, critical signals that regulate food intake may not be received by the brain. If the brain does not receive certain messages that occur during eating, such as sensation of taste and satisfaction, it may fail to register the event as "eating". This scenario can lead to the brain's continuing to send out additional signals of hunger, increasing the risk of overeating.

How to Practice Eating Mindfully

Eating mindfully means Eating with Awareness. Not awareness of what foods are on your plate, but rather awareness of the experience of eating. Mindful eating is being present, moment by moment, for each sensation that happens during eating, such as chewing, tasting and swallowing. If you've ever practiced mindfulness in any way, (such as meditation, relaxation or breathing exercises) you are familiar with how easily our minds wander. The same happens when we eat. When you begin to practice mindful eating, one important thing to remember is not to judge yourself when you notice your mind drifting off the experience of eating. Instead, just keep returning to the awareness of that taste, chew, bite or swallow. If this concept is new, try the following exercise.

Do this exercise with a friend or while you are listening to the audio stream. You will need one small slice of an apple for each person. One person reads the instructions listed below while the other person completes the exercise.

1.       Take one bite of an apple slice and then close your eyes. Do not begin chewing yet.

2.       Try not to pay attention to the ideas running through your mind, just focus on the apple. Notice anything that comes to mind about taste, texture, temperature and sensation going on in your mouth.

3.       Begin chewing now. Chew slowly, just noticing what it feels like. It's normal that your mind will want to wander off. If you notice you're paying more attention to your thinking than to the chewing, just let go of the thought for the moment and come back to the chewing. Notice each tiny movement of your jaw.

4.       In these moments you may find yourself wanting to swallow the apple. See if you can stay present and notice the subtle transition from chewing to swallowing.

5.       As you prepare to swallow the apple, try to follow it moving toward the back of your tongue and into your throat. Swallow the apple, following it until you can no longer feel any sensation of the food remaining.

6.       Take a deep breath and exhale.

You may find it interesting to talk with your partner about your experience. What did you notice while chewing? Why did you swallow? Was the food no longer tasty? Did it dissolve? Were you bored?

The point of this exercise is not to suggest all your meals be consumed this meticulously as this experiment. Rather, by doing this exercise you may discover some things about your own eating habits. Some people find value in doing a shorter version of this exercise with the first bite of each meal. This helps set an intention of being mindful through the course of your meal. Listed below are a few other suggestions for introducing mindfulness while eating. Try them and see what you discover!

Simple first steps toward introducing mindfulness while eating:

• Eat with chopsticks.
• Eat with your non-dominant hand.
• Chew your food 30 to 50 times per bite.
• Eat without TV, newspaper or computer.
• Eat sitting down.
• Put the proper portions of food on your plate and try to make the meal last at least 20 minutes.

ABOUT ANGELA PIFER, CERTIFIED NUTRITIONIST

Angela Pifer is a Certified Nutritionist, with a MS in nutrition from Bastyr University, in private practice, specializing in detox programs, food sensitivities, emotional eating, digestive conditions & weight loss. She founded Nutrition Northwest Co in 2005; the premier provider of sound nutrition and wellness advice in the Northwest with offices in Seattle and Kirkland. Angela has a unique approach to helping her patients create new healthier habits: offering customized nutrition programs that inspire & educate along with a high degree of support & accountability to help them become fit & fabulous from the inside out.

Supplement Your Health

Supplementing your diet is more important today than ever before. In today’s world, we are faced with foods that contain less nutrients than they did 100 years ago, increased stress and hectic schedules and constant access to convenient ‘non-food’ products. Many people suffer from digestive conditions that interfere with digestion and absorption of nutrients. All of these factors make it more difficult for us to eat, digest and absorb a balanced, healthy diet. In this article we’ll explore how vitamins and minerals are processed in the body, what factors negatively affect their absorption and which sources will best support a healthy body.

Your ability to absorb nutrients from the food you eat and supplements you ingest is affected by age, gut health, medication regimens, levels of stress, bowel health…you get the picture. Many factors affect your ability to digest and absorb.  When you can't completely digest your food or nutritional supplements, your body can't absorb the vitamins they contain. This ability decreases with age, due to reductions in stomach acid (even younger if you are taking acid reducers, either over the counter or prescribed) and reduction in digestive enzyme production. Though whole raw foods come naturally packaged with their own digestive enzymes these are destroyed by cooking.

Stomach acid is responsible for the activation of the specific enzymes needed for digestion as nutrients travels into the small intestine and colon. Low levels of stomach acid may allow undigested nutrients to travel farther along the digestive tract than the optimal distance for efficient absorption. These effects contribute to lowered levels of vitamins B2, B6, and B12, as well as decreased absorption of zinc from vegetables.

If you dislike swallowing pills and find that most multivitamin tablets disagree with you, you are not alone. Many vitamins and minerals have a naturally strong and objectionable taste and cause sour stomach symptoms. One may argue that this is a subjective consideration, but, in my experience, most people ‘fall off’ their supplement regimen due to taste or trouble swallowing these products. No matter how important it is to take multivitamins or how high the quality of the product, it is useless if you don’t take it consistently. Fortunately there are some great alternatives to tablets and capsules.

You can still have your multivitamins and enjoy all the benefits derivable from them in liquid form. Research evidence suggests that only 10-20% of vitamins and minerals in a pill form are absorbed by the body, compared to 98% for liquid vitamins. This is mostly because liquid vitamins bypass the digestive process and are absorbed directly into the blood stream and into the cell. Vitamins in capsule or tablet forms, therefore, have low bioavailability, hence have weaker therapeutic benefits. I do recommend capsules over tablets. But, I highly recommend liquids, overall.

Liquid multivitamins are much easier to swallow for children and seniors. Because these groups of individuals also have immature or attenuated digestive enzymes, it will be even more difficult to digest and assimilate vitamins in capsules or tablet forms because of the additional ingredients used to facilitate the production of these products. For children in particular, liquid vitamins offer an array of flavors that they can choose from.

Let’s take it a step further. One could argue that a good multivitamin is the foundation of health and nutrition. I would argue that we, as a society,  are missing out on more than vitamins and minerals. We are missing out on the phytonutrient and bioactive compounds, derived from plant based foods that were once the basis of our diet. Imagine if you will: if I hold an apple in my hand and extract Vitamin C and then put Vitamin C into pill form. I can take large doses of a Vitamin C pill, but what else am I missing out on? An apple contains over one hundred bioactive and phytonutrient compounds. These components work in a synergistic way in the body: all working together to improve health and help the body to function properly. For these reasons I recommend that my patients take liquid and powder (mix with liquid) nutritional formulations based on fruits and vegetables. These superfoods naturally provide vitamin and mineral content as well as deliver a potent phytonutrient and antioxidant base. I have also found that people are much more receptive to including supplements into their daily regimen, when offered in liquid and powdered form. If I could offer one ‘magic pill’ it would be consistency. In order to derive the best long term benefits to your health, find a greens and antioxidant fruit based drink and make it part of your daily routine.

ABOUT ANGELA PIFER, CERTIFIED NUTRITIONIST

Angela Pifer is a Certified Nutritionist, with a MS in nutrition from Bastyr University, in private practice, specializing in detox programs, food sensitivities, emotional eating, digestive conditions & weight loss. She founded Nutrition Northwest Co in 2005; the premier provider of sound nutrition and wellness advice in the Northwest with offices in Seattle and Kirkland. Angela has a unique approach to helping her patients create new healthier habits: offering customized nutrition programs that inspire & educate along with a high degree of support & accountability to help them become fit & fabulous from the inside out.