'diet' posts

Although most Americans celebrated the day of Mexican pride and heritage yesterday, there is no reason to stop the party. To spice up your diet, incorporating the regional dishes of Mexico can offer a range of health benefits and variety to your everyday routine. It is possible to enjoy the fresh Mexican flavors without wrecking your waistline!

Mexican cuisine is much more than the high fat, high calorie gigantic platters of food often served in American style restaurants. The land and seas of Mexico provide a plethora of fruits, vegetables, and heart healthy fishes that are important for good nutritional health.

 

The recommended daily intake of dietary fiber is 25-35 grams per day. Despite this, the average American consumes about 15 grams of fiber per day. You may have heard fiber is important, but read on to learn more about why it matters in your diet.

What is fiber?

Fiber is the portion of plants that is not digested in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, it stays in the intestine, aiding in digestion and contributing to stool consistency. Dietary fiber is categorized into soluble fiber and insoluble fiber.

• Sources of soluble fiber: fruits, legumes, oats, and barley
• Sources of insoluble fiber: wheat, rye, grains, and many vegetables

What are the health effects of fiber?

• Decreased risk of coronary artery disease and stroke. This is the leading cause of death in the United States and a diet high in soluble fiber decreases this risk by 40-50%.
• Decreased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and improved glucose control in people with diabetes on a diet high in soluble fiber.
• Insoluble fiber is beneficial for many digestive diseases including hemorrhoids, diarrhea, constipation, and diverticular disease.

Is there a downside to a high-fiber diet?

Today is Earth Day, the day to recognize and support environmental protection around the world. You can show your love for our Earth (and your health) by increasing your consumption of fruits and vegetables.

To eat organic or not to eat organic?

One of the most common questions I’m asked is about organic produce. My first response is always that eating any fruit or vegetable is better than eating NO fruits or vegetables. The health benefits of consuming produce far outweigh the potential side effects of exposure to pesticide contamination.

However, there are recommendations of certain fruits and vegetables to purchase organic.
This list of fruits and vegetables (known as “The Dirty Dozen”) are considered to contain the highest levels of containments and pesticides. Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now been controlling the use of toxic pesticides, some foods still test positive for high levels of harmful toxins.
Today, the Environment Working Group (EWG) has released their updated guide for shoppers for 2013.

Consider purchasing organic versions of these foods whenever possible:

You are in charge of your health.

From scheduling your yearly doctor visit to carving out time in your day for 30 to 60 minutes of exercise, you have the power to keep your body and mind in top form. The key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to turn this “scheduling” into an enjoyable routine. One of the best ways to do this is to start with the routine that none of us could live without: eating. Here are a few tips to make healthy eating a fun habit:

1. Add color! Colorful fruits and veggies are full of nutrients. Think of meals as art projects and play with color!

2. Mix and match. Choosemyplate.gov shows you how to divide up your plate between fruits, vegetables, protein, grains and dairy. Using that framework, mix and match foods and find the combinations that make your palate sing. Mix it up and make mealtime fun.

3. Get creative with herbs and spices. Herbs and spices are a great way to add depth of flavor to food while limiting salt. Experiment with different flavors!
4. Involve your family and friends. Healthy cooking can be fun and entertaining. Give yourself a reason to look forward to making this a routine!

Healthy habits take time to build so give yourself time to explore and get comfortable with cooking your way to health.

This is especially the case for ...

March is the month to celebrate healthy eating habits and Registered Dietitians everywhere making an impact on our nation’s nutritional health. Each year the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics promotes National Nutrition Month by selecting a theme to support Americans in making informed and sound decisions with their dietary intake. In 2013 the theme is Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day.

What does that this mean?

We are each unique individuals with different ethnicities, cultural practices and traditions, food preferences, and health concerns. These factors guide and influence our food choices on a daily basis. There is a common misconception that “eating healthy” means cutting out certain foods or feeling deprived. RD’s recognize that all foods can be healthfully incorporated into a well balanced, daily eating plan within a person’s energy needs.

National Nutrition Month at Swedish

In honor of National Nutrition Month, the Nutrition Services department at First Hill, Cherry Hill, Ballard, and Issaquah has been featuring a nutrition booth in the cafeteria celebrating the health benefits of different country’s cultural cuisines. Swedish Registered Dietitians and Diet Technicians have been present each Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., providing healthful eating tips, handouts, and food samples from the featured country of the week!

The first week of National Nutrition Month highlighted foods from the Philippines. The native dishes displayed were Pompano and pinakbet:

Increased dietary salt was reported to increase the immune attack on myelin in three studies this week. All three were published in the journal Nature.

1. A study by Kleinewietfeld, et al, looked at TH17 cells, which is a type of lymphocyte that is highly inflammatory and that causes substantial tissue damage. These cells were grown in cultures in the lab. Some had normal and others high salt levels in their cultures. Those grown in a high salt environment had increased markers for inflammation. This seemed to be due to activation of one particular set of chemical signals in the cell, called the p38/MAPK pathway. They also looked at mice with an MS-like disease called experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). Mice fed a high salt diet had worse EAE than those fed a normal diet.
2. A study by Wu, et al, also looked at TH17 cells. An analysis was done on genes associated with activation of TH17 cells, and SGK1 was identified as an important protein in this process. The SGK1 pathway was found to be more active if cells were cultured in a high salt environment. This was then studied in mice with EAE. Mice fed a high salt diet had more severe EAE. Blocking the SGK1 pathway seemed to reverse the effect of the high salt diet on the EAE.
3. A study by Yosef, et al, also looked a the genes associated with activation of TH17 cells. They identified 22 sets of related genes that increased TH17 cell activity and 5 that decreased activity.

TH17 cells are highly inflammatory and likely contribute to the severe damage done to tissues in a number of diseases. Their precise role in MS is not fully understood, but it is believed that ...

Your brain is your body’s control center and keeping it healthy helps keep your whole body healthy. Often times, however, our physical ailments take center stage. But did you know that mental health and physical health are connected? This is why it is important for us—from birth to old age—to keep our brains happy and healthy. Whether we do this by working on our daily crossword or carving out time each day to focus on activities that keep us positive, activities that improve brain health improve our overall health, too.

When it comes to maintaining brain health, there are four specific areas on which to focus: