Welcome To The Start of Your Nutritional Journey!
WHAT’S YOUR MOTIVATION?
- Your relationship with food needs help. You want to eat a more whole food, plant-based food diet, without becoming vegetarian and need help with meal planning.
- You want to improve athletic performance: energy needs, timing of nutrients.
- Your physician stated you have insulin resistance/pre-diabetes, or you may have trouble managing your weight and need assistance before you are diagnosed with a chronic disease.
MONTHLY TIPS: YOUR CALL-TO-ACTION
EAT FOODS THAT CAN HELP LOWER YOUR CHOLESTEROL
(foods that contain soluble fiber)
AMOUNT OF SOLUBLE FIBER RECOMMENDED: 5 TO 10 GRAMS PER DAY
OATMEAL – BEST
- Oat-Based Cereal: Cheerios (1-2 grams of soluble fiber). Add a banana or berries to increase fiber content.
BEANS
- Excellent source of soluble fiber: 1 cup contains 4.8 grams of soluble fiber
- Choose whatever beans you like: black-eyed peas, garbanzo beans (chick peas) kidney beans and others
EGGPLANT AND OKRA (not fried)
NUTS
- Almonds, peanuts, walnuts (if no allergies) can help lower LDL cholesterol
FRUIT
- Apples, figs, grapes, pears, strawberries, citrus can help lower LDL cholesterol
SOY
- Tofu and soy milk if consume about 25 grams of soy per day; help lower LDL cholesterol
FATTY FISH
- Eat 2 to 3 times per week
- Salmon, Tuna, Trout, provide Omega 3 fatty acids that help reduce triglycerides in the blood; help protect your heart
PSYLLIUM
- Add 2 teaspoons per day to get about 4 grams of soluble fiber; especially if not eating enough fruit/veggies
HEALTHY RECIPES CORNER – THE NUTRITION SOURCE
NUTRITION SOUND BITES
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. All of us either know someone close to us who may have had breast cancer or maybe some of you have gone through it yourself. I wish I could tell you there was a diet to prevent breast cancer, but there isn’t. But I will tell you that if you are diagnosed with breast cancer that it is important to eat the most nutrient dense foods to help provide your body with the vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates, lean protein and healthy fats to help you get through the treatment.
Nutrient Density of a food is defined as “the ratio of beneficial ingredients to the food energy content for the amount that is consumed.” In other words, it is food that is high in nutrients but relatively low in calories. The opposite would be foods with empty calories: foods that provide a lot of calories without a lot of nutritional value. To explain nutrient density, we will look at a baked potato vs potato chips.
So if you compare a baked potato, which is a whole food containing approximately 160 calories for a medium sized potato (without the butter and sour cream). Baked potatoes are full of choline, an essential nutrient that most of us are lacking. Choline can help reduce inflammation. Potatoes are high fiber with about 4 grams per medium potato, which helps keep you full longer. A potato has more potassium than a banana, contains magnesium, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, calcium and iron. The potato is low in fat, 0.2 grams and has only 13 mg of sodium. Although it is in the vegetable family, it is actually a tuber and is a starch; similar to eating whole wheat pasta or brown rice.
Now you take the same potato and turn it into potato chips. “A typical 1.5 ounce bag of potato chips will have 223 calories, 14 grams of fat and 221 mg of sodium”. The more you eat, the more you want and that will lead to weight gain.
My point here is that you can probably consume a whole bag of potato chips in a sitting, but how many baked potatoes could you eat?
The most nutrient dense foods are fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, seafood, lean meats, eggs, peas, beans and nuts.
Schedule your yearly mammogram, it could save your live.
Stay Hydrated
- 60 to 70% of the human body is water
- Water regulates our internal body temperature by sweating and respiration
- We lose about a cup of water per day through exhaling
- Water lubricates your joint and cushions your organs
- Water helps flush wastes from the body via urination
HOW MUCH WATER DO YOU NEED PER DAY?
- Experts suggest drinking your body weight divided by 2 in ounces:
If you weigh 150 pounds then you would drink 75 ounces which is equivalent to 9 glasses per day - A way to tell if you are adequately hydrated: check your output (i.e. the color of your urine)
- If your urine color output is dark, then drink more water
- The color of your urine should be a pale yellow color
CAN YOU DRINK TOO MUCH WATER?
- Yes, you can. Drinking excessive amounts of water can overwhelm your kidneys ability to excrete it. This can lower the sodium level in your blood and cause it to be diluted. It is a condition called hyponatremia. It is very dangerous and requires an emergency intervention.
- What is considered an excessive amount of water? Usually about 2 quarts (8 cups) or 1.9 liters or more in an hour or less.
Plant-Based Primer/Go Flexitarian
- Plant-Based eating is not a Vegan/Vegetarian diet
- Focuses mainly on eating whole foods from plants: fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds & whole grains
- Does not necessarily eliminate animal products
- Includes plant-based proteins: lentils, beans, quinoa
- You can still have lean meat, poultry or seafood occasionally
- You can get enough protein from plant-based foods.
Reasons to Try A Plant-based Diet
- Plant-based eating has shown benefits of lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and body weight
- Eating a plant-based diet can help manage type 2 diabetes
- You don’t have to give up meat; just eat less of it
- Tend to be lower in saturated fat, higher in fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals
- The higher fiber diet provides nourishment for your gut microbiome
- When you have greater microbial diversity, you have a healthier gut.
- When your gut is healthy, your whole body benefits
- Only 1 in 10 American adults get enough fruits & vegetables in their daily diet
- On average, American adults only consume 10-15 grams of fiber per day.
- Recommended daily amount of fiber for adults is 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men per day
Reasons Why More People Don’t Eat a Plant-Based Diet
- It sounds difficult- I don’t know what foods to eat
- I will miss eating meat at meals
- My family will not like/try it
- I’m afraid I won’t get enough protein in my diet
If you are interested in learning more about Flexitarian/Plant-Based Eating make an appointment with our dietitian who is a Flexitarian.
Make Your Child’s Packed Lunch More Nutrient Dense
- Choose a BPA free and leak proof box for your child’s lunch
- Easy snacks to pack: Sliced apples with dipping nut butter; dates stuffed with nut butter or cheese, string cheese and grapes halved
- Easy to eat veggies to pack: avocado bites, carrot sticks, cucumber slices, bell pepper strips, grape tomatoes, zucchini ribbons
- Choose a healthy protein: hummus, hard-boiled egg, string cheese, nut butter, beans, edamame, almonds or walnuts
- Easy to eat foods like Pinwheel sandwiches or turkey and cheese roll-ups, consider leaving the bread out
- Pack a refillable water bottle. To get your child to drink more water, let them choose the fruit to flavor it (pineapple, oranges, strawberries)
- Avoid packing sugary drinks like soft drinks, juices or milk with added sugar in the lunch
- Children should consume no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugars/day equivalent to 25 grams of sugar
IMPORTANT: Due to food allergies, please check your child’s school policy if nut butters are allowed in kids lunches.
Foods With Soluble Fiber Can Help Lower Your Cholesterol Level
- Aim for 25 -35 grams of fiber per day with 5 -10 grams from soluble fiber
- Foods with soluble fiber: oatmeal or an oat-based cereal like Cheerios. Choose one with low sugar
- Beans are soluble fiber superstars: black, navy, dark red kidney and garbanzo beans contain 4 -5 grams soluble fiber per cup
- Eat Your Veggies: Brussel Sprouts, sweet potatoes, asparagus and sun chokes have 1.7 – 2 grams of soluble fiber per ½ cup
- Add fruit as a snack: apples, apricots, oranges and pears
- One tablespoon of ground flaxseed added to your cereal or smoothie provides 1.1 grams soluble fiber
- Psyllium: Add 2 teaspoons per day for 4 grams of soluble fiber; especially if you do not get enough fruits and veggies
- Take psyllium with a full glass of water and drink water throughout the day
- Take psyllium either 1 hour before your medications or 2 to 4 hours after taking medications
- Add in fiber gradually to avoid gastrointestinal side effects: bloating, gas, cramps or diarrhea
- Be sure to drink plenty of fluids (water) to help with the digestion process
IMPORTANT: Due to food allergies, please check your child’s school policy if nut butters are allowed in kids lunches.
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