Did you Know?

Here are some alarming health statistics in the US you may or may not be aware of:

• Weight is the a biggest health threat in the US, more than smoking, drinking and poverty in the United States

• 70% of people in the US are overweight.  Obesity has increased by at least 60% in the last two decades

• 95% of type 2 or adult onset diabetes is caused by obesity

• 80% of cancers are diet related or caused by obesity

• Fake sweeteners are expanding our waist-lines instead of slimming us down

• The fastest growing groups of adult onset or type 2 diabetes are children and adolescents

• This will be the first generation of children predicted to not outlive their parents due to the high-fat, high-sugar, refined-flour diet and our rather sedentary lifestyle

• The average child gets over 50% of their calories from fat and sugar

• 50% of fatigue and depression are caused by poor diets

• 70% of the population do not receive the minimum daily requirements for key nutrients for health

• The average child sees over 40,000 TV commercials with over 80% of food ads promoting junk foods

How do we respond to this health crisis?  The problem is multi layered but eating responsibly and holding food manufacturers responsible by refusing to buy their over processed food is a loud way to place your vote.  In A Recipe for Life by the Doctor’s Dietitian I give a clear, definitive road map to change the tide on these unfortunate statistics, hoping to lead our population towards health and longevity.

Mindful Eating for Our Kids?

Does texting, emails, faxes and needing information at light speed affect our eating?  Drive-throughs, eating in the car, and 5 minute meals does affect our eating and health, and not in a positive way.

I had dinner with some European friends last week who were amazed at how little time Americans take for eating.  Long lunches and dinners with interesting conversation and enjoyment of food are the theme.  Is mindful eating partially responsible for lower obesity rates in Europe?

Mindful eating can be an unfamiliar concept.  Since many adults do not know how to eat mindfully we are bringing up a generation who are completely unaware of the notion of savoring and enjoying their food.

Indeed, snacks on demand around the clock was a recent article in the NY Times discussing how every sporting and child event is stocked with snacks, many of them processed and refined.  A study in the Journal of Health Affairs examining the eating habits of 31,000 children showed that snacks now account for about 27% of calories consumed by children.

Barry Popkin and Carmen Piernas of the University of North Carolina state:

“Our findings suggest that children ages 2-18 are experiencing increases in snacking behavior that are moving towards higher consumption patterns.  This raises the question of whether the physiological basis for eating is becoming dysregulated, as our children are moving towards constant eating.”

What are some tips for mindful eating for ourselves and our children?

• Chewing and tasting your food to obtain as much flavor in your mouth as possible can actually increase serotonin levels which decreases your desire to continue eating
• Pausing to savor and enjoy each bite can increase satisfaction and fullness
• Taking time to eat at the table, away from distractions such as televisions and computers, and not in the car helps focus on eating from true hunger

Try “the raisin exercise” as I call it in my office.  Take one solitary raisin, smell it, and then put in your mouth.  Chew it for about 30 seconds before swallowing, something not all that easy to do. 

You might be surprised at how much taste one little raisin can have.  The burst of flavor can be quite satisfying.  Applying this exercise to the rest of your food takes work, but the results can surprisingly healthful.

Besides being satisfied with less food, you’ll actually be able to taste and enjoy your food and possibly lose weight and improve your health in the process.  Mindful eating offers a plethora of benefits…and that is information that deserves light speed.

Obesity or Childhood Obesity in America - What is the Cause?

We all want to know- what is the cause of obesity in America?  Many years ago I heard a brilliant researcher Rick Mattes, Ph.D, R.D. speak to this subject.  He asked the audience “Is it fat in our diet, inactivity or something else?”  Since we have always had fat in our diet and people throughout the ages have been inactive it is neither one.  So what did Dr. Mattes think was the culprit?  Beverages.

If you look at the graphs of beverage consumption in America, it closely follows the rise in obesity.  When I was growing up all there was to drink was milk, water and the occasional soda at a party.  Now the industry has exploded with every kind of beverage imaginable and unimaginable.  Vitamin water, recovery drinks, sports drinks, mochas, sweet coffee drinks.  You name it – it exists.  And what do they use to sweeten these drinks to cut the price points – high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup and other cheap forms of sugar.  Are our bodies supposed to compensate for all this extra sugar?

In fat, our bodies were made to handle natural sugars attached to the form they were found in, according to Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California-San Francisco.  A good example is fruit:  a natural form of fructose that has fiber built into it.  Nature made a way to help us handle the sugar in a food.  In fact, sugar cane is one of the most fibrous foods you can find and would be impossible to eat a large quantity of.

Dr. Lustig recommends the only beverages we drink are the ones I did when I was a child:  water and milk.  Drinking sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon, lime or orange can be quite satisfying and feel like a treat after your body gets used to natural sweetness, a process that can take several weeks and well worth the effort.

In an elaborate video of the cause of obesity in America and beverage consumption (and well worth your hour of watching) Dr. Lustig clearly outlines why fat is not the culprit.  He elaborately shows how manufactured fructose (a process that takes genetically modified corn to produce a cheap form of sugar for manufacturers to use in their products) in the diet actually causes obesity, heart disease and other diagnosis’ you would rather avoid in your lifetime.

Since the government subsidizes corn, wheat and other products, these manufactured fake foods and beverages are inexpensive to make and buy.  A family can feed themselves inexpensively on these “foods” versus eating fruits and vegetables which have become more costly.  Then, to treat the symptom of putting these manufactured foods in our body, we are prescribed expensive drugs for diabetes, high cholesterol, gout, and arthritis just to name a few.

Why treat the symptom, not the cause?  Why not STOP eating or drinking anything with these manufactured sugars and instead consume natural sweet foods of fruits, vegetables, and foods you find in the farmer’s market, or on the periphery of the grocery store?  Staying away from processed foods can make a huge impact on your health.  Remember, it’s prevention, not prescription!