Dietetic Dish

Okay. So this is the first Dietetic Dish post of 2014 because so far this semester has been just a lot of group projects and papers that make me want to rip my hair out.

But for one of my classes we are reading about Nutrition Policy Updates. Here’s the spill:

1. Trying to blame your obesity on something? Genes, lack of self-control, or not enough nutrition education? Think again. This post tells it to you straight. Did you know that 44% of male doctors are overweight and 55% of nurses are overweight or obese? COME ON, PEOPLE. Set an example.

2. The Hunger-Free Kids Act requires that school lunches provide adequate fruit and vegetable servings, right? Well the kids aren’t too happy about that. 70% of the produce gets through away by students.

3. Using “red light green light” food systems (red = unhealthy foods; green = healthy foods) in a workplace cafeteria led to higher sales of healthy items and these choices continued, even after two years. Green means go. Go eat your broccoli.

4. The obesity rate is leveling off for the first time in decades but the percent of extremely obese adults has increased to 6.3%. This means that while normal weights aren’t increasing to obesity levels, the obese are becoming more obese.

5. Sixteen of the top food and beverage companies sold 6.4 TRILLION fewer calories in the US in 2012 than in 2007. Good work, team. That averages to 78 calories per American per day. Totally helping us out for swimsuit season.

Conclusion? Eat your vegetables, eat ‘green light’ foods, and get a spiralizer because those things are seriously cool.

Dietetic Dish

These bad boys are just getting later and later. Sorry about that.

I also learned essentially nothing this week except that I may or may not be trying to find another job, red wine doesn’t make me sleepy when I sip it very slowly over hours and hours, and the Dollar Tree has the BEST wrapping paper.

Other than that, I did write a probiotic paper. 7 pages of straight up probiotic goodness. Wanna learn about that?

1. Probiotics keep children (and probably adults!) healthier with fewer illnesses and fewer days of needed medicine.

2. Probiotics help fight the symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative cholitis.

3. Probiotics have essentially no adverse effects unless the consumer is an infant or immunocompromised, in which cause the bacteria in the probiotic capsule could result in infection.

4. The mechanism behind probiotics is that they enhance the natural barrier function in the gastrointestinal tract (shields your tummy), as well as prevent pathogens from entering into your gut.

5. Probiotics reduce some symptoms associated with antibiotic treatments. Be sure to take both to keep your “good” bacteria alive while the “bad” bacteria dies with the antibiotic!

There ya have it, folks. I went and bought a probiotic supplement today. I used to take one and haven’t been by Whole Foods in a while to restock but am excited to say that I took one today! 2x a day, everyday! You will be amazed at the reduced illness and potential stomach problems associated with some foods.

Dietetic Dish

Yay for Fridays! This week has been CRAZY and the next one will only be crazier, but smart and educated people go through life more easily, right? RIGHT?!

With that hope, we are going to learn.

1. This isn’t dietetic related, but we did talk about it in class and it’s legit. And it’s a link. So you probably won’t click on it, but you should. It’s about doing squats to get free subway passes. I mean, that’s pretty legit.

2. Okay, back to dietetic things. Did you know squash is a fruit? Yes. It is. So…. I’m pretty sure that blows my mind. I mean, the battle on tomatoes has been going on long enough, but now we have squash on the fence between fruits and vegetables, too!?

3. You know that whole craze about B vitamins and how it provides you with SO MUCH ENERGY? Okay. I am here to clear that up for you. You’re welcome. Basically, the B vitamins (B6, B12, etc.) are “coenzymes” for processes and reactions in the body that provide energy. So the vitamins are not the energy providers, just the energy helpers. Does that make sense?

4. There is an average 120% increase in body fat in females during adolescence. Aren’t we all glad we are past THAT stage in our lives? [And if you’re not, I promise it gets better. Just wait until you get to the days of lipstick. That’s where I am and I’m loving it.]

5. Muscular strength peaks around 25-30 years of age. So.. since I’m 22, I am past adolescence but before my muscle mass declines? I think that calls for a celebration.

Well, there you have it. Did you learn something? You can eat your fruits and vegetables all at once, if you move to Moscow you can ride the subway for free, and don’t take energy shots because they really don’t do a whole lot except steal your money.

Dietetic Dish

Let’s celebrate Friday (and the upcoming weekend since it’s essentially Saturday since I’ll be sleeping in a hot minute) with some knowledge.

1. Steel cut oats contain the same amount of nutrients as old-fashioned oatmeal. As in, it’s just a different cut, not a super “lose 10lb in 2 days” food.

2. Wild rice is not actually a rice but a grass seed.

3. Asian rice noodles are gluten free! So all you gluten-intolerant people and those inflicted with Celiac’s, you are free to nom on some Asian food!

4. Buckwheat is not a wheat but a fruit of a plant in the rhubarb family!

5. Arborio rice, the rice to make risotto, is sticky because it has a high starch content.

Lesson learned? Don’t pay more for steel cut oats. Old-fashioned oats cook way faster and are just, if not more, delicious. Rice noodles are an awesome gluten-free product (so is buckwheat!) and keep that arborio rice sticky by adding some delicious liquids, like wine. Duh.

Dietetic Dish

Whoops. It’s Saturday and I’m just doing this. Let’s just say this week was a leeeeetle crazy with two tests, several assignments due, and the whole Halloween madness.

Anyway. Back to nutrition.

1. Vegetables, due to their high fiber, can actually reduce the absorption of some minerals, including iron, copper, and zinc. Meat-eater: 1. Vegetarians: 0. Fail.

2. Fudge is 85% sugar while brittle and hard candies are 100% sugar… Does that make fudge healthy??

3. Copper deficiencies can lead to bone and collagen loss, decreased growth, and reduced white blood cell count.

4. Dark chocolate contains no milk solids, milk chocolate contains milk solids and sugar, and white chocolate contains no cocoa, only cocoa butter, milk, and sugar.

5. There have been several studies suggesting that chromium supplementation can improve lipid profiles by decreasing LDL and increasing HDL levels.

Oh, and here’s a picture of my precious cat. Not nutrition related at all, but totally worth it. He likes shoes, if you can’t tell.