Kids who cook hungrier for healthy food choices

Getting kids to pass up junk food in favour of healthier fruits and veggies has led to many a mealtime meltdown for parents everywhere. Now, researchers from the University of Alberta offer a simple solution: give them an apron.

A provincewide survey of Grade 5 students in Alberta suggests the best way to get your child to eat healthier foods—and actually enjoy them—is to have them help with meal preparation.

“Kids who like fruits and vegetables more tend to eat them more frequently and have better diets,” said lead author Yen Li Chu, a post-doctoral fellow in the School of Public Health. “These data show that encouraging kids to get involved in meal preparation could be an effective health promotion strategy for schools and parents.”

Published last month by Public Health Nutrition in an early online release, the study involved a survey of students in 151 schools across Alberta to learn about kids’ experiences with cooking and food choices.

Nearly one-third of children reported helping with meal prep at least once a day; another one-third said they helped one to three times a week. A quarter of children helped once a month, and 12.4 per cent avoided the kitchen completely.

In general, children preferred fruits to veggies, but children who helped with cooking showed a greater preference for both. Vegetable preference was also 10 per cent higher among children who helped cook.

The data also showed that kids who did meal prep and cooking were more confident about the importance of making healthier food choices.

Paul Veugelers, co-author and Canada Research Chair in Population Health at the U of A, said getting children to eat healthier food promotes bone and muscle development, learning and self-esteem.

“Good food is important for us. It keeps weight gain away—and more important than that, it keeps chronic disease away,” Veugelers said. “The overarching objective of our work is to lower the burden of chronic disease in our society. A healthy diet is right at the top.”

Chu said the results underscore the value of getting kids interested in mealtime activities in the home, but added there could be room for schools to get involved, too.

“You can go into schools and have cooking classes and cooking clubs to help them boost their fruit and vegetable intake and make healthier choices,” she said.

Though this survey dealt with Grade 5 students, the lessons are equally applicable to older youth, including post-secondary students, added Veugelers.

“For many of them, it may be the first time they leave home, the first time in their lives they’re responsible for their own diets,” he said. “There are lessons here for them too, to form groups and take turns cooking, and pay attention to good meal preparation.”

This work was part of the Real Kids Alberta evaluation funded by Alberta Health. Real Kids Alberta is a collaborative initiative between the School of Public Health and Alberta Health to provide directions to improve eating habits and activity levels in Albertachildren and youth

When Dieting, Not All Calories Are Created Equal

A low-glycemic-index diet is better than a low-fat or Atkins diet in terms of improving metabolism and reducing the risk of various chronic diseases

By Christopher Wanjek and LiveScience Bad Science Columnist  | Wednesday, June 27, 2012

A calorie is a calorie, goes the popular mantra. But now doctors and dieticians might have to eat those words.

Researchers have found that not all calories are created equal and that the types of calories you eat, particularly after losing weight, can have a profound effect on how efficiently your body burns calories and keeps off unwanted pounds.

The ideal diet that promotes a fast metabolism — that is, your body's ability to quickly burn off calories — as well as promotes long-term health in terms of disease-free organs appears to be (surprise!) fresh vegetables and whole grains or any foods that reduce the surge of blood sugar after a meal.

These foods are said to have a low glycemic index and are generally foods that are not processed. The Mediterranean diet is one example.

The study, led by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital, is detailed in the June 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Blame it on evolution

Anyone who has struggled to lose weight knows that the harder part is keeping off that weight. One of the reasons is that, after weight loss, the rate at which people burn calories decreases, reflecting a slower metabolism.

Blame it on evolution: Your body doesn't want to lose weight, so it becomes efficient at doing more with fewer calories when faced withtimes of famine, which in these modern times is called a diet. As a result, some dieters find themselves packing on pounds even while on a calorie-restricted diet because their metabolism has become slower.

Cara Ebbeling of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children's Hospital, first author on the study, and her colleagues have found that what you eat can significantly affect your metabolism rate. A diet full of processed foods and simple carbohydrates, which have a high glycemic index, eventually will lead to a slower metabolism. [7 Diet Tricks That Really Work]

This index, a scale from 0 to 100, is a measure of how quickly a carbohydrate is digested and released into the bloodstream as glucose. So, 200 calories of corn flakes (93 on the glycemic index), or a diet filled with such processed foods, can continuously spike the blood with glucose and trigger a cascade of events that ultimately lead to more weight gain compared to 200 calories of hummus (6 on the glycemic index).

Not necessarily fat vs. carb

Specifically, Ebbeling's group studied three dietary paradigms: an Atkins' low-carb diet (60 percent of calories from fat, 10 percent from carbs); a mixed diet with foods generally low on the glycemic index (40 percent of calories from fat, 40 percent from carbs); and a low-fat diet with a mix of carbohydrates generally high on the glycemic index (20 percent of calories from fat, 60 percent from carbs).

Patients, who had recently lost weight, were placed on each of these diets for four weeks. They lived in the care of the researchers, who controlled meals and measured various aspects of their metabolism and blood profiles.

In terms of metabolism, the Atkins-like diet was the winner, said the study's senior author, David Ludwig, director of the obesity center. While on the low-carb diet, patients burned 300 more calories each day during normal activities compared to the time spent on the low-fat diet. Three hundred calories is about the amount of energy burned in an hour of moderate exercise, which the low-carb dieters are getting for free, Ludwig said.

But there was a catch. Blood samples taken while participants were on the low-carb diet revealed spikes in cholesterol and other measures of heart disease, stroke and even diabetes risk. [7 Foods Your Heart Will Hate]

The low-glycemic-index diet offered the best in terms of modest improvement in metabolism and reducing the risk of various chronic diseases, Ludwig told LiveScience. The low-fat diet — what's recommended by the U.S. government and the American Heart Association — performed the worse, Ludwig added, because it decreased the metabolism rate and raised the risk for diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Processed vs. non-processed

At first glance, this study might appear to rule out a so-called "low-fat" diet. Not so, says Dean Ornish, founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, Calif., and of the low-fat diet that bears his name.

"The choice is not between a diet that is low in fat yet high in sugar versus one that is low in sugar but high in fat, or an in-between diet," Ornish told LiveScience. "An optimal diet is predominantly whole foods that are low in fat and low in sugar and [low in] other high-glycemic-index foods," a diet he has long advocated.

Ludwig agreed that a low-fat diet could work provided that the carbohydrate component of the diet is low on the glycemic index. But this is complicated in an American diet, he said, because even whole grains, when heavily processed, can spike the blood sugar. Soft, whole wheat bread can have an identical glycemic index profile as white bread.

"We believe that low-glycemic-index diets are easier to stick to on a day-to-day basis, compared to low-carb and low-fat diets, which many people find limiting," said Ebbeling. "Unlike low-fat and very-low-carbohydrate diets, a low-glycemic-index diet doesn't eliminate entire classes of food, likely making it easier to follow and more sustainable."

"The focus on fat reduction is a waste of energy," added Ludwig. "Low-carb has downsides, too."

Abdominal fat and back pain- what to do

Obesity is a leading cause of nagging back pain. Reducing your weight by only 10% can make a big difference in less back pain. Extra abdominal fat and weight on the pelvis pulls the body forward and puts strain on your lower back muscles. Although obesity may not be the cause of the pain, it takes the pain to a whole new level. It throws off your posture, makes it difficult to properly align your body for a good sleep; it requires your back muscles to pick up the slack and learn to handle how you carry and shift your weight.

Here are some simple things you can do to reduce back pain that is aggravated by obesity.

• Actively work on losing weight. Aim for a 10% weight loss to start, then reevaluate.
• Stretch your back daily. You don't have to be a Yoga master to perform light stretching moves to ease the tension from your back.
• Use proper posture, holding your shoulders back and your back straight.
• Strengthen your back muscles and abs. Add resistance training to your weekly workout routine. The stronger abs and back you have, the better time you have coping with the pain caused by obesity.
• Be consistent with daily exericse. Losing even a little bit of weight can take some of the pressure off of your lower back.
• Commit to eating healthier and creating a lifestyle to support your new healthier habits

How Can I Control Visceral Fat?

·         There are four keys: exercise, diet, sleep, and stress management.

·         Exercise: Forget spot-reducing. There aren't any moves that specifically target visceral fat. As you lose weight, you lose all types of fat.

·         But vigorous aerobic exercise has been shown to trim subcutaneous and visceral fat, even fat stores in the liver linked to fatty liver disease. It's also proven to slow the build-up of visceral fat over the years.

·         In a Duke University study, 30 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, done four times per week, reduced subcutaneous and visceral abdominal fat. Resistance training alone reduced only subcutaneous fat.

·         Cris Slentz, PhD, who worked on that study, defines “vigorous” as jogging for physically fit people and walking briskly at an incline for obese people who may risk injury by jogging. Workouts of the same intensity on stationary bikes and elliptical or rowing machines are also effective, Slentz says.     

·         On the flip side, studies show that inactivity leads to greater gathering of visceral fat over time. A lifestyle that includes moderate activity – raising your heart rate for 30 minutes at least three times per week – significantly slows visceral fat gains.

·         “Rake leaves, walk, garden, go to Zumba, play soccer with your kids. It doesn’t have to be in the gym,” Hairston says. If you are not active now, check with your doctor or other health care provider before starting a new fitness program.

·         Diet: There is no diet that targets visceral fat alone. But when you lose weight, belly fat usually goes first.

·         A fiber-rich diet may also help. Hairston’s research shows that people who eat 10 grams of soluble fiber per day, without any other diet changes, build up less visceral fat over time than others. That’s two small apples, a cup of green peas, and a half-cup of pinto beans, for example.

·         “Even if you kept everything else the same but switched to a higher-fiber bread, you might be able to better maintain your weight over time,” Hairston says.

·         Sleep: Too much or too little sleep also plays a role in the build-up of visceral fat. A study published in Sleep tracked adults' visceral fat over five years. People who slept five hours or less, or eight or more hours, per night gained more visceral fat than those who slept between six and seven hours per night. The study doesn't prove that sleep was the only difference, but it may have contributed to the visceral fat build-up.

·         Stress: Managing your stress matters. That includes chronic stress you face in your personal life, and societal stresses, such as discrimination. A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that African-American and white women who reported significant experiences of discrimination had more visceral fat than women who hadn’t had such experiences.

·         The stress of discrimination doesn't necessarily cause weight gain. But Shively, whose research focuses on social stress and visceral fat, tells WebMD that the body can respond to all types of social stress by storing fat viscerally.

·         “You can’t control society, but you can modify your response to it,” she says. Shively recommends getting social support, meditating, and exercising as ways to handle stress.

·         Keeping up with your friends may also help. A study published in Biological Psychiatry showed that men and women who got support from a best friend before a stress test made less cortisol, a stress hormone. And another study, published in the International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, showed that women who pray or meditate have healthier levels of cortisol than those who don't meditate.

·         But you only have so much time, right? “If you could only afford the time to do one of these things, exercise probably has the most immediate benefits, because it hits both obesity and stress response,” Shively says.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/540061-how-to-lose-belly-fat-with-exercise-without-hurting-my-injured-back/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/98771-exercises-lose-belly-fat-hurting/

http://www.spine-health.com/wellness/exercise/exercise-sciatica-a-herniated-disc

Abdominal fat and what to do about it

(This article was first printed in the December 2006 issue of the Harvard Women’s Health Watch. For more information or to order, please go to http://www.health.harvard.edu/womens.)

Though the term might sound dated, “middle-age spread” is a greater concern than ever. As women go through their middle years, their proportion of fat to body weight tends to increase — more than it does in men. Especially at menopause, extra pounds tend to park themselves around the midsection, as the ratio of fat to lean tissue shifts and fat storage begins favoring the upper body over the hips and thighs. Even women who don’t actually gain weight may still gain inches at the waist.

At one time, women might have accepted these changes as an inevitable fact of postmenopausal life. But we’ve now been put on notice that as our waistlines grow, so do our health risks. Abdominal, or visceral, fat is of particular concern because it’s a key player in a variety of health problems — much more so than subcutaneous fat, the kind you can grasp with your hand. Visceral fat, on the other hand, lies out of reach, deep within the abdominal cavity, where it pads the spaces between our abdominal organs.

Visceral fat has been linked to metabolic disturbances and increased risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In women, it is also associated with breast cancer and the need for gallbladder surgery.

Abdominal fat locations Generally speaking, abdominal fat is either visceral (surrounding the abdominal organs) or subcutaneous (lying between the skin and the abdominal wall). Fat located behind the abdominal cavity, called retroperitoneal fat, is generally counted as visceral fat. Several studies indicate that visceral fat is most strongly correlated with risk factors such as insulin resistance, which sets the stage for type 2 diabetes. Some research suggests that the deeper layers of subcutaneous fat may also be involved in insulin resistance (in men but not in women).

Where’s the fat?

Fat accumulated in the lower body (the pear shape) is subcutaneous, while fat in the abdominal area (the apple shape) is largely visceral. Where a woman’s fat ends up is influenced by several factors. Heredity is one: Scientists have identified a number of genes that help determine how many fat cells an individual develops and where these cells are stored (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, April 25, 2006). Hormones are also involved. At menopause, estrogen production decreases and the ratio of androgen (male hormones present in small amounts in women) to estrogen increases — a shift that’s been linked in some studies to increased abdominal fat after menopause. Some researchers suspect that the drop in estrogen levels at menopause is also linked to increased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that promotes the accumulation of abdominal fat.

As the evidence against abdominal fat mounts, researchers and clinicians are trying to measure it, correlate it with health risks, and monitor changes that occur with age and overall weight gain or loss. The most accurate measurement techniques, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography, are expensive and not available for routine use. However, research using these imaging methods has shown that waist circumference reflects abdominal fat. It has largely superseded waist-to-hip ratio (waist size divided by hip size) as an indicator of fat distribution, because it is easier to measure and about as accurate. There’s also evidence that waist circumference is a better predictor of health problems than body mass index (BMI), which indicates only total body fat (see “Measuring up”).

Measuring up Researchers have tried several ways of measuring the links between health risks and body weight or fat distribution: Body mass index (BMI). A ratio of weight in kilograms to the square of height in meters, BMI helps identify people whose weight increases their risk for several conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. People with BMIs of 25–29.9 are considered overweight, and those with BMIs of 30 or over, obese. However, some researchers think BMI isn’t always a valid indication of obesity, because it gives misleading results in people who are very muscular or very tall. To calculate your BMI, go towww.nhlbisupport.com/bmi or use this formula: Weight in pounds × 703 ÷ (height in inches)2. Waist-to-hip ratio. To find your waist-to-hip ratio, divide your waist measurement at its narrowest point by your hip measurement at its widest point. As a marker of a person’s abdominal fat, this measure outperforms BMI. For women, the risk for heart disease and stroke begins to rise at a ratio of about 0.8. Waist circumference. The simplest way to check for abdominal fat is to measure your waist. Run a tape measure around your torso at about the level of your navel. (Official guidelines determine the level at which waist circumference is measured by locating a bony landmark: the top of the right hipbone, or right iliac crest, where it intersects a line dropped vertically from the middle of the right armpit.) Breathe minimally, and make sure not to pull the tape measure so tight that it depresses the skin. In women with a BMI of 25–34.9, a waist circumference greater than 35 inches is considered high risk, although research suggests there is some extra health risk at any size greater than 33 inches. A study in the September 2006 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that in women, a large waist was correlated with diabetes risk — even when BMI was in the normal range (18.5–24.9). Since abdominal fat can be a problem despite a normal BMI, health assessments should include both BMI and waist circumference. The relationship between waist circumference and health risk varies by ethnic group. For example, in Asian women, a waist circumference above 31.5 inches is considered a health risk.

The good news is that visceral fat yields fairly easily to exercise and diet, with benefits ranging from lower blood pressure to more favorable cholesterol levels. Subcutaneous fat located at the waist — the pinchable stuff — can be frustratingly difficult to budge, but in normal-weight people, it’s generally not considered as much of a health threat as visceral fat is. In fact, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2004 found that liposuction removal of subcutaneous fat (up to 23 pounds of it) in 15 obese women had no effect after three months on their measures of blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, or response to insulin. Weight loss through diet and exercise, on the other hand, triggers many changes that have positive health effects.

What’s wrong with abdominal fat?

Body fat, or adipose tissue, was once regarded as little more than a storage depot for fat blobs waiting passively to be used for energy. But research suggests that fat cells — particularly abdominal fat cells — are biologically active. It’s more accurate to think of fat as an endocrine organ or gland, producing hormones and other substances that can profoundly affect our health. One such hormone is leptin, which is normally released after a meal and dampens appetite. Fat cells also produce the hormone adiponectin, which is thought to influence the response of cells to insulin. Although scientists are still deciphering the roles of individual hormones, it’s becoming clear that excess body fat, especially abdominal fat, disrupts the normal balance and functioning of these hormones.

Scientists are also learning that visceral fat pumps out immune system chemicals called cytokines — for example, tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6 — that can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by promoting insulin resistance and low-level chronic inflammation. These and other biochemicals, some not yet identified, are thought to have deleterious effects on cells’ sensitivity to insulin, blood pressure, and blood clotting.

One reason excess visceral fat is so harmful could be its location near the portal vein, which carries blood from the intestinal area to the liver. Substances released by visceral fat, including free fatty acids, enter the portal vein and travel to the liver, where they can influence the production of blood lipids. Visceral fat is directly linked with higher total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol, lower HDL (good) cholesterol, and insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance means that your body’s muscle and liver cells don’t respond adequately to normal levels of insulin, the pancreatic hormone that carries glucose into the body’s cells. Glucose levels in the blood rise, heightening the risk for diabetes. Together, insulin resistance, high blood glucose, excess abdominal fat, unfavorable cholesterol levels (including high triglycerides), and high blood pressure constitute the metabolic syndrome, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

Excess fat at the waist has been linked to several other disorders as well. A European study of nearly 500,000 women and men found that, for women, a waist-to-hip ratio above 0.85 was associated with a 52% increase in colorectal cancer risk. A long-running community study on atherosclerosis conducted by researchers at Wake Forest University found that even among normal-weight people, those with higher waist-to-hip ratios had just as much difficulty as those with higher BMIs in carrying out various activities of daily living, such as getting in and out of bed and performing household chores.

A larger waist measurement also predicts the development of high blood pressure, regardless of total body fat, according to a 10-year study of Chinese adults published in the August 2006 American Journal of Hypertension. Finally, a study presented at the 2005 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience found that older people with bigger bellies had worse memory and less verbal fluency, even after taking diabetes into account.

Now for the good news

So what can we do about tubby tummies? A lot, it turns out. The starting point for bringing weight under control, in general, and combating abdominal fat, in particular, is regular moderate-intensity physical activity — at least 30 minutes per day (and perhaps up to 60 minutes per day) to control weight. In a study comparing sedentary adults with those exercising at different intensities, researchers at Duke University Medical Center found that the non-exercisers experienced a nearly 9% gain in visceral fat after six months. Subjects who exercised the equivalent of walking or jogging 12 miles per week put on no visceral fat, and those who exercised the equivalent of jogging 20 miles per week lost both visceral and subcutaneous fat.

Strength training (exercising with weights) may also help fight abdominal fat. A University of Pennsylvania study followed overweight or obese women, ages 24–44, for two years. Compared to participants who received only advice about exercise, those given an hour of weight training twice a week reduced their proportion of body fat by nearly 4% — and were more successful in keeping off visceral fat.

Spot exercising, such as doing sit-ups, can tighten abdominal muscles, but it won’t get at visceral fat.

Diet is also important. Pay attention to portion size, and emphasize complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) and lean protein over simple carbohydrates such as white bread, refined-grain pasta, and sugary drinks. Replacing saturated fats and trans fats with polyunsaturated fats can also help. But drastically cutting calories is not a good diet strategy, because it can force the body into starvation mode, slowing metabolism and paradoxically causing it to store fat more efficiently later on.

Scientists hope to develop drug treatments that target abdominal fat. For example, studies of the weight-loss medication sibutramine (Meridia), which was approved in 1997, have shown that the drug’s greatest effects are on visceral fat. Rimonabant (Acomplia) — not yet FDA-approved — is the first of a new class of drugs that block a receptor in the brain that increases appetite. Acomplia has been shown to modestly reduce the accumulation of fat at the waist.

Because levels of the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone, better known as DHEA, decline with age, many people believe that DHEA supplementation can reverse age-related changes, including increased abdominal fat. DHEA is converted in the body to testosterone and estrogen and regulates various functions. Some studies have linked DHEA to longevity in animals and people, and others have linked it to modest health benefits. But the results of a two-year randomized trial published in the Oct. 19, 2006, New England Journal of Medicineshowed that DHEA had no effect on aging markers, including body-composition measurements, in women and men ages 60 and over.

For now, experts stress that lifestyle, especially exercise, is the very best way to fight visceral fat.

9 health habits that are a waste of time

See Your Dentist Twice A Year This advice originally came from an old toothpaste ad. There was no science behind it, and there still isn't. A 2003 review looked at 29 studies and found no conclusive evidence supporting a need to go every 6 months. If your choppers (and gums!) are healthy, once a year is enough to catch any developing problems, says James Bader, D.D.S., M.P.H., a research professor at the University of North Carolina school of dentistry.

Just don't wait longer than that: A study presented at the American Heart Association meeting last year found that having your teeth cleaned by a professional once a year lowers your risk of heart attack by 24 percent and stroke by 13 percent.


Don't Eat After 8 P.M. 

Calories can't tell time. There's no difference between the 6:30 a.m. and 8:20 p.m. kinds, says Susan Bowerman, M.S., R.D., assistant director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. Plus, hitting the sack hungry can disrupt sleep patterns. In fact, new research suggests you should eat right before bed if you exercise at night, or if you're over 60. A protein-packed meal -- or even a whey protein shake -- provides more fuel for your body to synthesize muscle. It also helps combat the effects of age-related muscle loss.

How much protein? A recent study in the American Journal of Physiology found that elderly men who ate 35 grams of whey protein experienced more muscle growth than those who ate 10 or 20 grams.

Go For An Annual Full-Body Scan They're pretty useless, particularly for the abdomen and pelvis, says Jonathan Goldin, M.D., a radiologist at UCLA. Often, scans miss lesions, giving a false sense of security--or they "find" something that's not there, leading to unnecessary anxiety and more tests. Scans can help detect lung cancer and coronary-artery calcium, but these tests are recommended only for people over 45 who have risk factors like smoking, moderately high blood pressure, or moderately high cholesterol. If that isn't you, you don't need a scan.

Throw Away Milk When It Reaches The Expiration Date The date on the carton is just the date after which it can't be sold. The milk probably has another week of freshness, says Bowerman. Give it a sniff and proceed. And if you drink sour milk, there'll be a flavor problem -- oh, yes indeed -- but you don't need to have your stomach pumped. There's another word for curdled milk: cheese.

Feed A Cold There's no science behind this old adage, says Jack M. Gwaltney Jr., M.D., head of the division of epidemiology and virology at the University of Virginia. "In the short term, what you eat doesn't matter at all," he says. "Drink lots of fluids, but eat whatever you feel like." That said, the cysteine in chicken soup has been proven to relieve mucus buildup and sore throat.

Starve A Fever Wrong again. A high temperature boosts your metabolism, causing you to burn calories. If you're weakened, the illness will hang around longer. So try to replace calories any way you can, says Ben Ansell, M.D., director of the Comprehensive Health Program at UCLA. "It's even more important to maintain regular fluid intake, as your body's demands may be at least twice what they are in other circumstances." Your fever could be caused by any number of ailments, so monitor it and see a doctor if it gets to 105 degrees or lasts for several days.

Use A Hard Toothbrush To Clean Your Teeth Better A soft one cleans just as well and causes less damage to teeth and gums, says Philip Mendelovitz, D.D.S., an associate professor of dentistry at the UCLA school of medicine.

Brush And Floss Twice A Day In terms of dental health, once a day is fine. "Plaque takes 24 hours to harden," Dr. Mendelovitz says. "One really good brushing every 24 hours is better than two half-baked attempts." But commit to the job--spend at least 2 minutes. And do it before bed. Saliva combats plaque, and its production decreases when you sleep, Dr. Bader says. But remember: This is just about plaque. Your breath is still going to reek in the morning, so be a good coworker/friend/close talker and either brush or use mouthwash when you wake up.

Another reason to floss every day: New York University researchers found that people who floss infrequently are three times more likely to develop stomach cancer. Jot down a plan of when, where, and how you'll floss each day and you'll be more likely to actually do it, a German study found.

What is Food ?

To (loosely) paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, your right to harm yourself stops when I have to pay for it. And just as we all pay for the ravages of smoking, we all pay for the harmful effects of Coke, Snapple and Gatorade.

Let’s be clear: Sugar-sweetened beverages are nothing more than sugar delivery systems, and sugar is probably the most dangerous part of our current diet. People will argue forever about whether sugar-sweetened beverages lead directly to obesity, but Bloomberg’s ban should be framed first and foremost as an effort to reduce sugar consumption. Good.


What, exactly, is food? My dictionary calls it “any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth.” That doesn’t help so much unless you define nutritious. Nutritious food, it says here, “provides those substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition.”


Sugar-sweetened beverages don’t meet this description any more than do beer and tobacco and, for that matter, heroin, and they have more in common with these things than they do with carrots. They promote growth all right — in precisely the wrong way — and they do the opposite of promoting health and good condition. They are not food.

We should be encouraging people to eat real food and discouraging the consumption of non-food. Pretending there’s no difference is siding with the merchants of death who would have us eat junk at the expense of food and spend half our lives earning enough money to deal with the health consequences.

Right now a tall 5-year-old with a dollar can approach a machine and buy a fizzy beverage equivalent to a cup of coffee with nine teaspoons of sugar in it. And that’s a mere 12 ounces. Holding the line at that seems to make some sense. Unless you somehow define harmful, non-food substances as something other than “bad.”

List of glycemic index and glycemic load for common foods

Glycemic index and glycemic load offer information about how foods affect blood sugar and insulin. The lower a food’s glycemic index or glycemic load, the less it affects blood sugar and insulin levels. Here you’ll find a list of the glycemic index and glycemic load for more than 100 common foods.

FOOD	Glycemic index (glucose = 100)	Serving size (grams)	Glycemic load per serving
BAKERY PRODUCTS AND BREADS
Banana cake, made with sugar	47	60	14
Banana cake, made without sugar	55	60	12
Sponge cake, plain	46	63	17
Vanilla cake made from packet mix with vanilla frosting (Betty Crocker)	42	111	24
Apple, made with sugar	44	60	13
Apple, made without sugar	48	60	9
Waffles, Aunt Jemima (Quaker Oats)	76	35	10
Bagel, white, frozen	72	70	25
Baguette, white, plain	95	30	15
Coarse barley bread, 75-80% kernels, average	34	30	7
Hamburger bun	61	30	9
Kaiser roll	73	30	12
Pumpernickel bread	56	30	7
50% cracked wheat kernel bread	58	30	12
White wheat flour bread	71	30	10
Wonder™ bread, average	73	30	10
Whole wheat bread, average	71	30	9
100% Whole Grain™ bread (Natural Ovens)	51	30	7
Pita bread, white	68	30	10
Corn tortilla	52	50	12
Wheat tortilla	30	50	8
BEVERAGES
Coca Cola®, average	63	250 mL	16
Fanta®, orange soft drink	68	250 mL	23
Lucozade®, original (sparkling glucose drink)	95±10	250 mL	40
Apple juice, unsweetened, average	44	250 mL	30
Cranberry juice cocktail (Ocean Spray®)	68	250 mL	24
Gatorade	78	250 mL	12
Orange juice, unsweetened	50	250 mL	12
Tomato juice, canned	38	250 mL	4
BREAKFAST CEREALS AND RELATED PRODUCTS
All-Bran™, average	55	30	12
Coco Pops™, average	77	30	20
Cornflakes™, average	93	30	23
Cream of Wheat™ (Nabisco)	66	250	17
Cream of Wheat™, Instant (Nabisco)	74	250	22
Grapenuts™, average	75	30	16
Muesli, average	66	30	16
Oatmeal, average	55	250	13
Instant oatmeal, average	83	250	30
Puffed wheat, average	80	30	17
Raisin Bran™ (Kellogg’s)	61	30	12
Special K™ (Kellogg’s)	69	30	14
GRAINS
Pearled barley, average	28	150	12
Sweet corn on the cob, average	60	150	20
Couscous, average	65	150	9
Quinoa	53	150	13
White rice, average	89	150	43
Quick cooking white basmati	67	150	28
Brown rice, average	50	150	16
Converted, white rice (Uncle Ben’s®)	38	150	14
Whole wheat kernels, average	30	50	11
Bulgur, average	48	150	12
COOKIES AND CRACKERS
Graham crackers	74	25	14
Vanilla wafers	77	25	14
Shortbread	64	25	10
Rice cakes, average	82	25	17
Rye crisps, average	64	25	11
Soda crackers	74	25	12
DAIRY PRODUCTS AND ALTERNATIVES
Ice cream, regular	57	50	6
Ice cream, premium	38	50	3
Milk, full fat	41	250mL	5
Milk, skim	32	250 mL	4
Reduced-fat yogurt with fruit, average	33	200	11
FRUITS
Apple, average	39	120	6
Banana, ripe	62	120	16
Dates, dried	42	60	18
Grapefruit	25	120	3
Grapes, average	59	120	11
Orange, average	40	120	4
Peach, average	42	120	5
Peach, canned in light syrup	40	120	5
Pear, average	38	120	4
Pear, canned in pear juice	43	120	5
Prunes, pitted	29	60	10
Raisins	64	60	28
Watermelon	72	120	4
BEANS AND NUTS
Baked beans, average	40	150	6
Blackeye peas, average	33	150	10
Black beans	30	150	7
Chickpeas, average	10	150	3
Chickpeas, canned in brine	38	150	9
Navy beans, average	31	150	9
Kidney beans, average	29	150	7
Lentils, average	29	150	5
Soy beans, average	15	150	1
Cashews, salted	27	50	3
Peanuts, average	7	50	0
PASTA and NOODLES
Fettucini, average	32	180	15
Macaroni, average	47	180	23
Macaroni and Cheese (Kraft)	64	180	32
Spaghetti, white, boiled, average	46	180	22
Spaghetti, white, boiled 20 min, average	58	180	26
Spaghetti, wholemeal, boiled, average	42	180	17
SNACK FOODS
Corn chips, plain, salted, average	42	50	11
Fruit Roll-Ups®	99	30	24
M & M’s®, peanut	33	30	6
Microwave popcorn, plain, average	55	20	6
Potato chips, average	51	50	12
Pretzels, oven-baked	83	30	16
Snickers Bar®	51	60	18
VEGETABLES
Green peas, average	51	80	4
Carrots, average	35	80	2
Parsnips	52	80	4
Baked russet potato, average	111	150	33
Boiled white potato, average	82	150	21
Instant mashed potato, average	87	150	17
Sweet potato, average	70	150	22
Yam, average	54	150	20
MISCELLANEOUS
Hummus (chickpea salad dip)	6	30	0
Chicken nuggets, frozen, reheated in microwave oven 5 min	46	100	7
Pizza, plain baked dough, served with parmesan cheese and tomato sauce	80	100	22
Pizza, Super Supreme (Pizza Hut)	36	100	9
Honey, average	61	25	12

Good for Diabetics - low glycemic index and glycemic load foods?

Carbohydrates (“carbs,” for short) are the major component of bread, pasta, cereals, fruit, milk, vegetables and beans. In your stomach and intestine, carbs are chopped up into sugars. Those sugars then are absorbed; they travel from the gut into the blood.

As a result, the carbs you eat — and the KIND of carbs you eat — have a strong impact on blood sugar levels. This is important for anyone with diabetes, or at risk for getting diabetes.

Different carbs impact your blood sugar differently. Carbohydrates are long strings of certain molecules. Think of them like a string of pearls. When they hit the gut, digestive enzymes start to chop them up. It is the one-pearl and two-pearl strings that are the sugars.

Different carbs are digested more or less easily than others. When carbs are easily chopped up into sugars, blood sugar levels rapidly rise to higher levels. When carbs are chopped up slowly, and only with difficulty, blood sugar levels rise slowly to relatively lower levels. This impact is measured in terms of glycemic index and glycemic load.

The glycemic INDEX indicates how easily a particular kind of carbohydrate is chopped up. Carbs that are easily digested and absorbed, and raise blood sugar levels rapidly, have a high glycemic index.

Of course, we don’t eat pure carbs (except for table sugar). We eat foods that contain carbs, and some foods contain more carbs than others. The glycemic LOAD is based on the amount of carbohydrate in the food as well as its glycemic index value. So it gives a more accurate picture of a food’s real-life impact on blood sugar.

For example, the glycemic index of a carrot is 131. In comparison, a serving of mashed potatoes has a glycemic index of only 104. However, a half-cup serving of carrots has only about 4 grams of carbohydrate. The same quantity of mashed potatoes has more than 18 grams of carbohydrate. That’s why the glycemic load for a serving of carrots is 11, while that of a serving of potatoes is 20.

Even though it has not yet been proven by a scientific study, what we know about the human body convinces me that it is prudent to generally eat foods with a low glycemic load. I think there are likely to be health benefits, and there’s surely no harm.

I’ve posted a table that lists the glycemic index and glycemic load of common foods; you can see it here. We also have information about glycemic index and glycemic load in our Special Health Report “Healthy Eating for Type 2 Diabetes.” You can learn more about that here.

In general, to follow a low glycemic diet, choose less-processed whole grains over refined grains; eat a lot of non-starchy vegetables, beans and fruits; and eliminate sugar-sweetened drinks.

Should Doctor's be obligated to talk about nutrition with patients

Scenario: What should a doctor’s role be in promoting healthy eating?

Nutrition is a major factor in an increasingly complex equation that determines overweight and obesity in the United States. Are physicians prepared to help patients improve this aspect of obesity prevention?

Being overweight or obese increases the risk for many chronic health conditions. Even in the absence of excess weight, unhealthy food choices and physical inactivity are associated with major causes of morbidity and mortality, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some types of cancer. The high prevalence of these diseases begs that counseling in nutrition be offered as a part of good medical care. In many cases, such counseling becomes a necessity.

Recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that Medicare will pay for obesity counseling if it is coordinated by a primary care physician. CMS determined that “the evidence is adequate to conclude that intensive behavioral therapyfor obesity, defined as a body mass index 30 kg/m2, is reasonable and necessary for the prevention or early detection of illness or disability and is appropriate for individuals entitled to benefits under Part A or enrolled under Part B and is recommended with a grade of A or B by the [U.S. Preventive Services Task Force].”

More people seek medical care services from a primary care physician than from any other source. Hence, the primary care physician should be the one to initiate discussions about nutrition. Perhaps the best time to do it is when explaining the management of the many chronic conditions that diet can affect, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia and overweight.

Some points that physicians should share with patients:

Being overweight or obese significantly increases health risks, and lasting lifestyle changes are required to protect health. Even small changes, sustained over time, can improve health.

Reducing calorie intake and increasing energy expenditure are essential to losing excess weight or preventing additional weight gain.

A healthy diet can reduce health risks even without weight loss. A healthy diet emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low-fat dairy products; includes fish, poultry, beans, nuts and seeds; and limits saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sodium and sugar-sweetened foods and beverages.