Happy Registered Dietitian Day to all my fellow dietitians!
I work with a wonderful group of registered dietitians (RDs) and dietetic technicians (DTRs)! And I'm so excited for my friends who are currently in the internship to become RDs!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Love your Heart!
For the first installment of National Nutrition Month's "Eat Right with Color" we're going to look at RED!
Luckily, at my job, we're going to do a National Nutrition Month day and I'm part of the Red Team. Our Red Team is covering "Heart Healthy"! I'm sure most of you were aware that February was the month of love and Valentine's Day. Red hearts decorated buildings, stores, desks, and TV ads. But, how many of you knew February was also National Heart Month?
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. with about one American dying from a heart-related event every minute. So what are some changes we can make to be Heart Healthy?
There are many things to ensure we love our heart the way we should. Make regular visits with a doctor and do not smoke, or quit if you already do. Now this is a nutrition blog and nutrition plays an important role in a healthy heart, and bad foods play just as an important role in an unhealthy heart.
For decades now, our diet has manifested into a very un-Heart Healthy diet and we've shocked our taste buds into thinking this is how "regular" food should taste like. Currently, the hospital where I work at is applying the USDA's 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to our menu, including reducing sodium intake and fat content of foods, especially saturated fat, and increasing daily fiber intake. But do you know how many times I've heard "Why can't I get REAL food?" Of course, when I ask what they believe "REAL food" is, I get fast food restaurants, buffets, burger joints, and porterhouse steaks (Man! Do they love their porterhouse steaks!)
What I want to ask all of you is, when did nutrition that fuels our body at its greatest capacity stop being "REAL food"? When did we so happily accept foods that damage us from the inside out as "REAL food"? And honestly, when we put love and care into preparing nutritious foods, it tastes SO much better than that fast food joint that throws a frozen patty in a deep fryer.
But that's where we as Americans find ourselves. We want things quick and want them fast! As a result, we lose quality and trick our taste buds into thinking highly salted, fatty foods are the best of the best. What many of us don't see is that we're actually limiting ourselves to experience all the different flavors by relying solely on salt and fat!
So, one of the first things you can do to Love you Heart is limit your salt. "But it's so bland!" I rarely add salt to my foods, so when something is highly salted, I don't like it. I'm sure many of you have heard that you can train your taste buds to not be so addicted to highly-salted foods. This is true. However, you can also use this to try different spices and seasoning. My spice rack is full and I feel like a witch at her cauldron trying to combine different flavors. Check out The Epicentre's Encyclopedia of Spices. There are over 350 spices in the world, so grab yourself $10 and buy a few spices at your local grocery store or go to the Green market and get fresh spices. Just make sure your seasoning does not have sodium or salt in it (choose garlic powder instead of garlic salt).
Fat is an essential part of our diet. However, we've become heavily reliant on saturated, and even worse, trans fats. Trans fats you want to try and avoid. Saturated fats, you want to try and limit to less than 10% of your calories. Why? These fats are known to raise your bad cholesterol (LDLs) and lower your good cholesterol (HDLs), which is associated with heart disease. Get most of your fats from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. You can find your good fats in fish, nuts, seeds, and vegetable, canola, and olive oil. Oh! And avocados (mmmm... Guacamole!). Meet the Fats at the American Heart Association!
Increase your fiber intake, as this helps reduce cholesterol in your blood. Choose whole grains instead of refined grains. Fiber can also be found in legumes like beans, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds.
Just like salt, limit your intake of added sugars and simple sugars, as high sugar levels is associated with increased heart risks.
Maintain a healthy weight. Try to get as close to a normal body mass index (BMI) as possible through healthy food choices and exercise. Check your BMI using the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's BMI calculator.
Finally, let your heart prove to you what it's made of, and take it for some exercise!
The American Heart Association has been an incredible resource for information on living a Heart Healthy lifestyle. I really love their Life's Simple 7 plan, so check it out!
That little organ that we've come to associate with love and joyfulness is not getting the love it needs. It works so hard to provide the oxygen the billions of processes in our body needs to live. So show you heart you care and Love you Heart!
Luckily, at my job, we're going to do a National Nutrition Month day and I'm part of the Red Team. Our Red Team is covering "Heart Healthy"! I'm sure most of you were aware that February was the month of love and Valentine's Day. Red hearts decorated buildings, stores, desks, and TV ads. But, how many of you knew February was also National Heart Month?
 |
| Love your heart |
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. with about one American dying from a heart-related event every minute. So what are some changes we can make to be Heart Healthy?
There are many things to ensure we love our heart the way we should. Make regular visits with a doctor and do not smoke, or quit if you already do. Now this is a nutrition blog and nutrition plays an important role in a healthy heart, and bad foods play just as an important role in an unhealthy heart.
For decades now, our diet has manifested into a very un-Heart Healthy diet and we've shocked our taste buds into thinking this is how "regular" food should taste like. Currently, the hospital where I work at is applying the USDA's 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to our menu, including reducing sodium intake and fat content of foods, especially saturated fat, and increasing daily fiber intake. But do you know how many times I've heard "Why can't I get REAL food?" Of course, when I ask what they believe "REAL food" is, I get fast food restaurants, buffets, burger joints, and porterhouse steaks (Man! Do they love their porterhouse steaks!)
What I want to ask all of you is, when did nutrition that fuels our body at its greatest capacity stop being "REAL food"? When did we so happily accept foods that damage us from the inside out as "REAL food"? And honestly, when we put love and care into preparing nutritious foods, it tastes SO much better than that fast food joint that throws a frozen patty in a deep fryer.
But that's where we as Americans find ourselves. We want things quick and want them fast! As a result, we lose quality and trick our taste buds into thinking highly salted, fatty foods are the best of the best. What many of us don't see is that we're actually limiting ourselves to experience all the different flavors by relying solely on salt and fat!
So, one of the first things you can do to Love you Heart is limit your salt. "But it's so bland!" I rarely add salt to my foods, so when something is highly salted, I don't like it. I'm sure many of you have heard that you can train your taste buds to not be so addicted to highly-salted foods. This is true. However, you can also use this to try different spices and seasoning. My spice rack is full and I feel like a witch at her cauldron trying to combine different flavors. Check out The Epicentre's Encyclopedia of Spices. There are over 350 spices in the world, so grab yourself $10 and buy a few spices at your local grocery store or go to the Green market and get fresh spices. Just make sure your seasoning does not have sodium or salt in it (choose garlic powder instead of garlic salt).
 |
| Image taken from Yale Sustainable Food Project |
Fat is an essential part of our diet. However, we've become heavily reliant on saturated, and even worse, trans fats. Trans fats you want to try and avoid. Saturated fats, you want to try and limit to less than 10% of your calories. Why? These fats are known to raise your bad cholesterol (LDLs) and lower your good cholesterol (HDLs), which is associated with heart disease. Get most of your fats from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. You can find your good fats in fish, nuts, seeds, and vegetable, canola, and olive oil. Oh! And avocados (mmmm... Guacamole!). Meet the Fats at the American Heart Association!
Increase your fiber intake, as this helps reduce cholesterol in your blood. Choose whole grains instead of refined grains. Fiber can also be found in legumes like beans, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds.
Just like salt, limit your intake of added sugars and simple sugars, as high sugar levels is associated with increased heart risks.
Maintain a healthy weight. Try to get as close to a normal body mass index (BMI) as possible through healthy food choices and exercise. Check your BMI using the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's BMI calculator.
Finally, let your heart prove to you what it's made of, and take it for some exercise!
The American Heart Association has been an incredible resource for information on living a Heart Healthy lifestyle. I really love their Life's Simple 7 plan, so check it out!
That little organ that we've come to associate with love and joyfulness is not getting the love it needs. It works so hard to provide the oxygen the billions of processes in our body needs to live. So show you heart you care and Love you Heart!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
National Nutrition Month!
Today marks the start of National Nutrition Month!
The theme of this year is "Eat Right with Color". Check out the cute food palette the American Dietetic Association created at the bottom of the blog.
For National Nutrition Month, we're going to use different colors as themes and show how they can relate to nutrition and health.
As homework, try coloring your plate at home! By choosing a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, you're exposing your body to thousands of incredible nutrients and substances that have health-boosting, disease-fighting abilities!
Go ahead and share what new color you tried today in comments!
Visit the American Dietetic Association's website for answers to your nutrition questions and the Tip of the Day!
As homework, try coloring your plate at home! By choosing a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, you're exposing your body to thousands of incredible nutrients and substances that have health-boosting, disease-fighting abilities!
Go ahead and share what new color you tried today in comments!
Visit the American Dietetic Association's website for answers to your nutrition questions and the Tip of the Day!
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