Associates in Nutrition & Sports Specialty

It is common to hear advertisements about products containing high fructose corn syrup instead of regular white sugar. So what is the difference, and which is a better nutritional choice?

Let’s begin by defining high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is a highly processed sweetener. It is extracted from corn and highly processed to increase its fructose content and make it sweeter.

Because it is sweeter and less expensive than regular sugar, it is found more often than sugar in cereals, soda and even energy bars. It is very hard to avoid consuming it because it is put in so much food.

While high fructose corn syrup is a processed sweetener, pure white sugar is a natural substance that has not been processed or chemically derived.

Sugar and high fructose corn syrup can be damaging to our bodies. Excessive use over time can lead to obesity, liver damage and even heart disease. Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are often linked to stomach, colon and breast cancer studies. Both are found to raise insulin levels and decrease growth hormone.

In addition, research shows that a diet high in sugar can lead to weight gain and an increased risk of diseases and premature death.

The differences between table sugar and high fructose corn syrup are minimal. Neither sugar nor high fructose corn syrup offer any nutritional value. Instead, you are gaining empty calories while increasing your risk for obesity and related disease. To that end, sugar should be limited to approximately 40 grams of sugar a day, which is the equivalent of approximately three and a half tablespoons.

For those looking for a sweet alternative, new natural, organic sugar substitutes are gaining popularity. Early studies are proving Stevia and Xylitol as safe and beneficial options.

Stevia is a very sweet herb from South America that is available in powder and liquid form at health food stores. The main benefit is that it is calorie-free, which means it has no effect on our bodies’ production of insulin. The only complaint is that it may be a little bitter-tasting for some people.

The other natural alternative is called Xylitol. Xylitol is a natural substance found in fibrous vegetables and fruits. Xylitol looks, feels and tastes like sugar but instead of being harmful, it is shown to increase the activity of white blood cells involved in fighting infection, thus helping to build immunity. In its crystalline form, it can replace sugar in cooking, baking, and as a sweetener for beverages.

Unlike many artificial sweeteners, it leaves no unpleasant aftertaste. Used in combination with Stevia, it makes for an ideal sugar replacement.

Sugar and high fructose corn syrup can be harmful when used excessively. By reading food labels and restricting intake of sweeteners, we can limit our risk of obesity and related health conditions while improving our overall diet and well-being.

- Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition Therapy in Fort Myers. Contact her at AssociatesinNutrition.com or Elaine@eatrightRD.com.

Consumers looking for a quick fix for losing weight are often tempted by fad diets including pills and supplements. While these may seem appealing, there are no shortcuts to weight loss. With diet pills and supplements available by prescription and over-the-counter, consumers should understand the products and potential side effects and weigh the advantages against the possible dangers.

Diet pills and supplements are designed to suppress the appetite so you will consume fewer calories. However, as you reduce your caloric intake, your metabolism also slows down. As your metabolism slows, the amount of weight you lose also slows down.

This is why it is common for people to lose only a certain amount of weight while taking diet pills alone. It is not a long-term solution, and the side effects can be serious.

Headaches, nausea and insomnia are some of the more common side effects of diet pills and supplements. Through the Food and Drug Administration, consumers have reported elevated blood pressure due to the over-consumption of diet pills.

In some serious cases, diet pills cause heart attacks and can be responsible for heart failure.

When considering diet pills or supplements, consumers should check the label for approval of the FDA. Diet pills can be habit-forming and abuse of these drugs may lead to dependence.

Before taking any prescription or non-prescription diet pill, you should find out if they are habit-forming and what signs you should look out for to alert you to this problem.

Discuss your weight loss strategy with your physician or a registered dietitian, who can help you set goals and create a long-term weight loss plan that is safe and effective. By making lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, nutrition changes and regular health checkups, you can greatly increase your weight loss success.

- Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition Therapy in Fort Myers. Contact her at AssociatesinNutrition.com or Elaine@eatrightRD.com.

While dining out and dieting may seem like a contradiction in terms, both can be accomplished with some planning and willpower. By focusing more on the company you are with and less on the food, you can create a more enjoyable experience.

The best way to dine out without ruining your diet is to plan ahead and become familiar with the menu. Once you have an idea of what you might order, you can better plan your daily calorie count to accommodate your choices. Most restaurants today provide menus and calorie information on their Web sites.

A few examples are:

Applebees: applebees.com
Bob Evans: bobevans.com
Chili’s: chilis.com
Olive Garden: olivegarden.com
Outback Steakhouse: outback.com
Perkins: perkinsrestaurant.com
Red Lobster: redlobster.com

In order to make the best decisions while dining out, please refer to the following as some helpful comparisons that allow you to choose delicious foods without adding extra calories and fat.

By planning ahead, reviewing your menu choices and staying within your allotted calorie intake, you can make good choices and stay within your diet.

- Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition Therapy in Fort Myers. Contact her at http://www.associatesinnutrition.com/ or Elaine@eatrightRD.com.

Whether you are pregnant, preparing for pregnancy or you know someone who is, good nutrition is vital to a healthy pregnancy. By following simple guidelines of good nutrition, a pregnant mother can help ensure the health and proper development of her baby.

The old saying about eating for two during pregnancy doesn’t mean you need to eat double the calories. In fact, you need only 300 extra calories per day in the second and third trimesters to support proper growth and development of your baby.

By monitoring your caloric intake and eating a prenatal diet rich in nutrient-dense foods, you can prevent unnecessary weight gain that may lead to health complications later on.

While pregnancy doesn’t mean giving up foods you enjoy, you should avoid empty calories and limit fats and sugar. Give in to a pregnancy craving now and then, but in moderation. Limit sweets to one small portion a day so you won’t feel deprived or tempted to overeat.
Some examples of nutrient-dense foods that you should incorporate into your pregnancy diet include yogurt, peanut butter, chicken, eggs and dairy products that are higher in protein, calcium and iron. Lean pork and lean beef also contain protein, vitamin B, iron and zinc, which are essential to a healthy pregnancy. Orange juice offers folate, a B vitamin that helps prevent neural tube defects, and vitamin C, which helps you absorb iron from foods such as fiber-rich black beans and spinach.

In addition, a healthy pregnancy diet should include whole grains, a great source of fiber, B vitamins, magnesium and zinc. Calcium is especially important to a pregnant women’s diet. Mothers-to-be need approximately 1,500 mg of calcium daily to support the baby’s bone growth and to prevent the mother from losing her bone density. It is important to remember that most women do not get enough calcium even when they are not pregnant. Therefore, extra effort has to be made to get the right amounts of calcium throughout pregnancy. Calcium-rich foods include tofu, salmon, green leafy vegetables and dairy products.

In addition to getting enough calcium, folic acid is important to proper fetal growth. Natural foods such as dark green vegetables, oranges, grains, beans, lean meat and liver are rich in folic acid.

Eating four small meals and making healthy snack choices can help you control hunger during pregnancy. The best way to make sure that you’ll get all the proper nutrients is to eat the following recommended servings daily:
- Six to 11 servings of whole grains such as bread, cereal, rice and pasta
- Two to three servings of protein-rich foods including meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts;
- Four or more servings of vegetables;
- Three to four servings of fruit; and
- Three to four servings of dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese.

In addition to eating the right foods, you should drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated. Drink at least eight to 10 glasses of water daily to help prevent dehydration. You should avoid alcohol and caffeine during pregnancy.

Be sure to take a daily prenatal vitamin that contains 100 percent to 200 percent of the recommended dietary intakes for vitamins and minerals. Always discuss vitamin and supplement choices with your health care provider or registered dietitian before you start taking them.

Developing healthy eating habits during pregnancy can help ensure the proper growth and development of your baby, not to mention the health benefits for mom too. Eating well during pregnancy and continuing those habits after your baby arrives will set the stage for your child to have healthy eating habits too and potentially reduce his or her risk for certain illnesses.

Give your baby the best start at life by eating smart and living well.

Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition Therapy in Fort Myers. Contact her at AssociatesinNutrition.com or Elaine@eatrightRD.com. Visit her blog for the latest information on nutrition and great tips for staying healthy: www.AssociatesinNutrition.com/wordpress.

In today’s News-Press, you’ll find my column titled: Nutrition notes: Eating the right foods will help lower cholesterol.  Check it out for great information on lowering your cholesterol in honor of September: National Cholesterol Awareness Month: http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009909290311

Sodium you take in depends on choices you make

How can you add flavor without adding sodium?

The American Heart Association has issued dietary guidelines in efforts to warn of the dangers of high salt consumption. The AHA says that consuming less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of salt per day can lower blood pressure, prevent hypertension, help control hypertension, and prevent cardiovascular disease.

For people suffering from heart failure, eating too much sodium causes extra fluid to build up in your body. The increased fluid may cause swelling, shortness of breath or weight gain. Excessive salt intake has also been linked to stomach cancer.

The National Academy of Sciences recommends that Americans consume a minimum of 500 milligrams per day of sodium to maintain good health. Individual needs may vary depending upon genetics and lifestyle. Most Americans have no trouble reaching their minimum requirements. In fact, most Americans consume above the recommended amount required for proper bodily function.

If you have high blood pressure and heart failure, you should limit and monitor your daily sodium intake. People with other health conditions such as diabetes or heart disease may also need to make other diet changes as recommended by a physician.

It is also wise to limit sodium if you have liver problems or kidney disease. While the kidneys may efficiently process excess sodium in healthy people, those with kidney problems often have problems processing sodium, which can result in additional health implications.

Sodium is found in salt and a number of other foods and food products. Seasoning foods without salt during cooking and while eating can help decrease the amount of sodium in your diet.

Some high sodium seasonings and condiments to limit or avoid:
- Alfredo sauce, soup and other packaged sauce mixes.
- Barbecue, taco and steak sauce.
- Dry salad dressing mixes.
- Garlic, onion and celery salt.
- Imitation bacon bits.
- Meat tenderizers and sauces.
- Items with monosodium glutamate. MSG may be found in Chinese food, soy sauce and oyster sauce.
- Mustard, prepared horseradish sauce and ketchup.
- Pickle relish.
- Salt, seasoned salt, kosher salt, and sea salt.
- Soy, Worcestershire and teriyaki sauces. Limit low-sodium varieties because they still contain high amounts of sodium.
- Tartar, fish and cocktail sauce.
Some low-sodium herbs that can be used
- Basil, bay leaf, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, dill weed, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, savory and tarragon.

Some low-sodium herb blends that can be used:
- Chili blend: mix black pepper, chili powder, cilantro, cumin, dry mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and paprika.
- Cole slaw blend: mix celery seed, dill weed, dried onion, sugar and tarragon.
- Italian food blend: mix basil, black pepper, garlic powder, ground red pepper, marjoram, oregano, savory and thyme.
- Onion herb blend: mix basil, black pepper, cumin, dill weed, dried onion flakes and garlic powder.

Some low-sodium spices that can be used:
- Cinnamon, cloves, curry powder, ginger, mace and nutmeg.

Some low-sodium seasonings that can be used:
- Chives, garlic (minced, powdered, or freshly chopped), lemon, onion (dried, powdered, or freshly chopped) and vinegar (such as balsamic, cider, flavored, red wine, or white).

How can I use food labels to choose seasonings that are low in sodium?
Reading food labels is a good way to learn how much sodium they contain. The ingredient list on the food label will tell you if the seasoning or food contains sodium. The food contains sodium if an ingredient has Na (the symbol for sodium), salt, soda or sodium.
Food labels list the amount of sodium in the food in milligrams.

What are some other ways to decrease sodium in my diet?
Fast food and packaged foods are often high in sodium. Buy low-salt or low-sodium foods when possible. Eat homemade or fresh foods and meals to avoid getting too much sodium.
Buy fresh vegetables, frozen vegetables or low-sodium or no salt added canned vegetables. Avoid canned, smoked, or processed poultry, fish, or meats. Limit cured meats, such as ham.

Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition Therapy in Fort Myers. Contact her at www.AssociatesinNutrition.com or Elaine@eatrightRD.com.

You can improve performance by delaying dehydration

Hydration is often left out of nutrition, but it shouldn’t be. Staying hydrated is important not only to improving performance in sports and other activities, but it plays a vital role in helping maintain a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

Necessary to the healthy function of all internal organs, water must be consumed to replace the amount lost each day during basic activities. Water is also proven to aid in weight loss. It helps you feel full so you eat less, quenches thirst without adding calories and allows your body to function at its top capability.

Keeping hydrated helps muscles look more toned, a look that many people desire. Being hydrated also helps your skin look and stay healthy.

Water regulates the body’s temperature, cushions and protects vital organs, and aids the digestive system.

In 2004, the Food and Nutrition Board released new dietary reference intakes for water. It is recommended that women consume 2.7 liters daily and men consume 3.7 liters through various beverages, 80 percent, or in food, 20 percent.

Active individuals need even more, particularly if they’re exercising in hot weather. This is especially important during the 24 hours prior to vigorous exercise. During exercise, our body produces more heat, causing sweat to cool us down. When we sweat out our water supply, we must consume more water to keep our core temperature down.

In one hour of exercise, the body can lose more than a quart of water, depending on exercise intensity and air temperature. If there is not enough water for the body to cool itself through perspiration, the body enters a state of dehydration.

For people who regularly exercise, maintaining a constant supply of water in the body is essential to performance.
Dehydration leads to muscle fatigue and loss of coordination. Even small amounts of water loss may hinder athletic performance.

In a dehydrated state, the body is unable to cool itself efficiently, leading to heat exhaustion and possibly heat stroke. Without an adequate supply of water, the body lacks energy and muscles may develop cramps. To prevent dehydration, you must drink before, during and after a workout.

During exercise, water is the best fluid replenisher for most individuals, although sports drinks help replace lost electrolytes during high intensity exercise exceeding more than 60 minutes. Keeping hydrated can improve performance by delaying dehydration and maintaining balanced blood-sugar levels during exercise. It also lowers the risk of catching a cold by boosting your immune system.

Drink 17-20 ounces of water two to three hours before the start of exercise. Drink 8 ounces of fluid every 20 to 30 minutes prior to exercise or during warm-up. Drink 7 to 10 ounces of fluid every 10 to 20 minutes during exercise. Drink an additional 8 ounces of fluid within 30 minutes after exercising. Drink 16-24 ounces of fluid for every pound of body weight lost after exercise.

Water is your best option. Tea (non-caffeinated and unsweetened) and 100 percent juice, not cocktail drinks, are good alternatives if you just need something else. Sports drinks are also good for your body during and after exercise.

Coffee and alcohol don’t need to be nixed completely, but should be consumed in very small amounts. Two cups of coffee a day isn’t going to help your body and scientific evidence suggests alcohol consumption can interfere with muscle recovery after exercise and negatively affect a variety of performance variables.

As far as options that you should stay away from, soda is at the top of the list. While drinking one soda probably won’t hurt you, it provides little hydration. In fact, frequent consumption of soda can be more harmful to your body than any of the other drinks listed above, with the exception of alcohol.

In the end, staying hydrated by drinking water throughout the day and especially during exercise is highly recommended to support good nutrition and healthy living.

Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition and Sports Specialty in Florida. Contact her at info@elainehastings.com or visit her at AssociatesinNutrition.com.

Nutrition Notes: Improve snack habits

Elaine Hastings • Special to news-press.com • September 1, 2009

When it comes to nutrition, the school year brings a new set of challenges for teachers, parents and children who are moving at a fast pace. By planning ahead and structuring schedules, you can improve snacking habits.

Snacking doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but you need to know how to make better choices. Eating healthy snacks throughout the day can be beneficial by preventing overeating at mealtime, increasing your energy level throughout the day, keeping you more alert and controlling hunger pangs.

The best way to ensure that you are making healthy snack choices is to plan ahead. This way, when the “snack attack” hits, you won’t reach for those potato chips or cookies.

By selecting healthy snacks, having them readily available when you are hungry, and limiting the quantity of snacks to support a balanced diet, you are better prepared to snack more healthfully.

Remember that while snacking can be healthy, you must remember to watch your total calorie intake per day in order to maintain a healthy weight.

— Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition and Sports Specialty in Florida. Contact her at AssociatesinNutrition.com or Elaine@AssociatesinNutrition.com.

© Copyright 2009 Elaine Hastings, RD. All rights reserved.

We are portion distorted. That is most of us, despite our best intentions, seriously underestimate how much we are eating. In fact, this is one of the biggest roadblocks to weight loss success that I see in the people I counsel as a registered dietitian.

Restaurants and grocery stores have programmed us to have a “more is better” mentality when it comes to food. Fast food restaurants entice us to super-size our meals for just a few additional cents, and sit-down restaurants serve huge plates stacked high with pasta and enough meat for three people.

Package sizes for individual bottles of soda, salty snack foods and frozen meals have slowly grown bigger over the decades.

But because the only way to maintain long-term weight loss is portion control, we need to know what a true portion should look like.

Simply speaking, a portion is a designated amount of food for one person at one seating – or a serving size. The purpose of a serving size is to give people healthy and appropriate nutrition information and guidelines.

Serving sizes also help to standardize what you see on Nutrition Facts labels and allow government agencies, such as the USDA, to recommend amounts of different types of foods for optimal health and weight control.

One way to determine portion size is to weigh all of your food; however, that is impractical for most of us.

I have found in my experience that the next best thing is to use the following visual tips as guidelines:

- 1 cooked pasta serving (1Ú3 to 1Ú2 cup) = the size of a tennis ball sliced in half.
- 1 meat, poultry or fish serving (2 to 3 ounces) = the size of a deck of cards
- 1 milk or yogurt serving = approximately the size of your fist.
- 1 natural cheese serving (11Ú2 ounces) = 4 dice stacked on top of each other or the average thumb
- 1 serving of fruit = a tennis ball sliced in half. (With whole fruit, a serving is a medium-sized apple, banana, orange, or pear – keep in mind most of what we see in grocery stores is portion distortion. We tend to get large to extra-large varieties. If it’s chopped, cooked or canned, the serving size is one-half cup.)
- 1 serving of grains cooked, such as oatmeal = one-half cup an ice cream scoop.
- 1 serving cold cereal = 3Ú4 to 1 teacup or a fist.

Avoid portion distortion
1. When looking at the Nutrition Facts label on a product, get in the habit of glancing at the serving size (this may be futile; sometimes it’s in grams or another unit that’s not user-friendly) and automatically double or triple the calories, carbs and other nutrients you check to see how it all adds up when you eat more than a single serving.
2. At restaurants, send half your plate back to the kitchen to be put in a doggie bag as soon as you can. It is not rude.
3. Take out your measuring cups and train yourself – using water, dry rice or beans, a deck of cards, ice cream scoop, tennis ball, dice and some Play-Doh – to know what recommended portion sizes look like in your everyday bowls.
4. Train yourself to order only small or kid’s sizes when ordering anything at a restaurant, snack bar, etc.
5. Use a smaller plate when eating at home, and away from home, always leave some food on your plate.

- Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian of Associates in Nutrition in Florida and was recently named president of the Southwest Florida Dietetic Association. Contact her at Elaine@AssociatesinNutrition.com or AssociatesinNutrition. com.

Nutrition: Good food can be had at drive-through window of fast-food joint

Are you always on the go? Do you frequent the drive-through, resigned to make unhealthy eating choices?

What if I told you that some simple planning can go a long way in building healthier eating habits into a busy lifestyle? It really doesn’t have to be complicated or require you to spend long hours preparing meals in your kitchen.

When you know that you are going to be in a car most of the day, you can pack some essentials into a cooler ahead of time, avoiding the need for that fast food fix. Select healthy snacks that will give you an energy boost during the day and prevent you from overeating at meals. A few suggestions are frozen grapes, protein bars, hard-boiled eggs, orange slices, walnuts, sunflower seeds or sliced apples.

For an easy lunch, pack one cup of yogurt, 1 to 2 ounces of low-fat string cheese, a small cucumber, one cup of strawberries and about 40 pretzel sticks.

Don’t forget to bring plenty of water. If you drink water throughout the day instead of soda, you will cut out many empty calories.

What if you forgot to pack lunch (or didn’t have time to grocery shop) and fast food is your only option? Luckily, thanks to an increasing demand from health-conscious customers, more restaurants are offering healthier choices. If you are going to a drive-through, always avoid deep-fried foods and high-calorie sauces.

Here are some better choices that will fill you up without packing on the pounds:

McDonald’s – Asian Salad with grilled chicken, Newman’s Own low-fat balsamic vinaigrette, Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait (no granola) 470 calories, 36 grams protein, 52 grams carbs, 15 grams fat and 5 grams fiber.

Wendy’s – Mandarin Chicken Salad, low-fat honey mustard dressing, low-fat strawberry yogurt (no granola) 420 calories, 29 grams protein, 66 grams carbs, 6.5 grams fat and 3 grams fiber.

Arby’s – Chicken Fillet Sandwich (grilled, hold the mayo), fruit cup. 344 calories, 31 grams protein, 45 grams carbs, 5.5 grams fat and 3 grams fiber.

Burger King – BK Veggie Burger (hold the mayo and cheese) and Mott’s strawberry flavored apple sauce. 430 calories, 23 grams protein, 69 grams carbs, 8 grams fat and 7 grams fiber.

Pizza Hut – 2 slices 12″ Fit ‘N Delicious Pizza-diced chicken, red onion and green pepper. 340 calories, 18 grams protein, 46 grams carbs, 10 grams fat and 2 grams fiber.

Subway – Turkey Breast 6-inch Sandwich, Veggie Delite Salad, fat-free dressing. 375 calories, 22 grams protein, 65 grams carbs, 5.5 grams fat and 7 grams fiber.

Chick-fil-A – Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich, large fruit cup – 370 calories, 29 grams protein, 59 grams carbs, 3.5 grams fat and 6 grams fiber.

All of the sandwiches at Chick-fil-A come in below the 500-calorie mark, but the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich is the lowest in calories at 270.

Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian of Associates in Nutrition Therapy in Fort Myers. She has been practicing for 18 years and was recently named president of the Southwest Florida Dietetic Association. Continue to read her series Tuesdays.

Contact her at AssociatesinNutrition .com, elaine@associatesinnutrition.com, or call 275-2132.