Health Tips - Nutrition

Best Thirst Quencher - At this time of year (summer), thirst is one of the most common feelings we will experience. Increased thirst on hot days may be as a result of two mechanisms: (a) Us losing water through our pores as a result of sweating. As a result there is increased concentration of salt in our blood. Our brain detects high salt concentrations in the blood and sends the signals, which stimulates drinking. (b) When dehydrated our salivary glands produce less saliva and our dry mouth instinctively craves fluids.

It is not uncommon that, carbonated drinks, energy drinks, coffee, tea and even unsweetened fruit juices are often used to quench our thirst. Unfortunately none of these choices are ideal for alleviating our thirst. It is irrefutable that there is no faster and better thirst quencher on hot days than a glass (or two) of cold water.

Experts suggest that if cold water fails to quench your thirst, add a teaspoon of fresh lemon/ lime. This is an excellent source of citric acid, which stimulates salivation. As a result our mouth will no longer be dry and our craving for fluids will go away.

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Christmas Health Tips - Reduce stress In these tough economic times determine what you can and cannot afford. Let your family know that you are cutting back. They will understand.

Get some exercise In December, mornings start late and nights start early. This should not be used as an excuse to avoid exercise. Exercise can boost your energy and reduce your stress.

Control Your Calorie Intake At Christmas we must control the instinct to “stuff” our self. We should not use the “excuse” of Christmas to throw caution to the wind. Minimise the intake of foods/drinks high in calories – e.g. alcohol, sweet drinks, juices, cakes, pastries, bread, fried/ fatty foods, sugar, deserts, etc.

Stop that hangover prevent a hangover by keeping the number of units of alcohol consumed in any one sitting to a minimum.

Get enough sleep We should all try to get 6 to 8 hours of sleep every 24 hours. This is to “recharge” our batteries. Research has shown that too little sleep can seriously tax our immune system.

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Food Handling Tips - Listed below are steps to help prevent foodborne illness by safely handling food in the work-place:

• Always wash hands with warm, soapy water
  • before handling food;
  • after handling food;
  • after using the bathroom; after blowing nose, coughing, or sneezing
• Keep nails short and clean
• Cover hands with skin abrasion or cuts with clean disposable gloves.
• Thoroughly wash with hot, soapy water all surfaces that come in contact with raw meat, poultry, fish, and eggs before moving on to the next step in food preparation.
• Cutting boards should be kept clean by washing them in hot, soapy water after each use; then rinse and air or pat dry with clean paper towels.
• Don't use the same platter and utensils that held the raw product to serve the cooked product.
• When using a food thermometer, it is important to wash the probe after each use with hot, soapy water before reinserting it into a food.
• Keep cleaning solutions, and other chemicals away from food and surfaces used for food. Food that is mishandled often leads to “food poisoning”!

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Fruit Juice Reviewed - The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement about Fruit Juice, for the full report visit aap.org. Below we summarized the findings and recommendations.

• Juice should never be given infants who are under 6 months of age.
• Do not give juice to infants in bottles or easily transportable covered cups that allow them to consume juice throughout day.
• Infants should never be given juice at bedtime.
• Daily intake of fruit juice should be limited to 4 to 6 oz/d for children 1 to 6 years old and 8 to 12 oz/d for children 7 to 18 years old
• Consumption of whole fruits is preferable to drinking of fruit juice.
• In evaluating obese children one should determine quantity of juice consumed.
• In evaluating children with chronic diarrhea, excessive flatulence, abdominal pain, and bloating, one should determine quantity of juice consumed.
• In the evaluation of dental caries, the amount and means of juice consumption should be determined.
• Primary Care MDs should discuss the consumption of fruit juice and fruit drinks and should educate parents about differences between the two.

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Healthy Tips When Eating Out - General: Avoid breaded appetizers; Avoid anything fried – e.g. crispy/ fried chicken/ fried fish (Go grilled or roasted); Avoid fatty ribs and BBQ sauce; Eat oatmeal (Whole grain oats provide fibre without fat/ salt); Choose low fat appetizer (Salad or vegetable dish); Skip onion soup; Do not add salt; Remember anything with flour is fattening; Beware of crème brulee; Avoid creams.

Seafood: No fried flying fish/ shrimp/oysters/crab cakes; Go shrimp cocktail/ raw shrimp; Minimize mercury (Fish with high mercury levels swordfish, shark, and king mackerel); Avoid clam chowder; Avoid tartar; Have lobster without butter; Order blackened fish (Avoid battered/ fried alternative); Consider Cioppino

Steak: Go filet mignon and top sirloin (leanest cuts). Avoid bearnaise and creamy sauces; Avoid prime sirloin, rib-eye and porterhouse.

Chinese: Avoid "crispy" fat; Lo Mein = high fat; Order steamed; Choose soup (e.g. Won ton and hot and sour); Avoid sweet and sour; Forget fried rice.

Indian: Go for Dal and vegetarian; Pass on Pakora; Chose soup; Skip Samosas; Try Chicken Tikka; Avoid Tikka Masala; Try Tandoori.

Italian: Add a salad; Ask for low fat; Avoid anything "parmesan."; Go for the garlic; Stick to red sauces.

Sushi: Try edamame, yakitori.

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Going Nuts at Christmas - Nuts help keep your weight and cholesterol down, cancer at bay, and your heart healthy. However, nuts pack 160 to 200 calories per ounce! Hence, don’t over do.

• Almonds help with stress. 24 almonds provides 35% of your daily value of vitamin E, which is quickly depleted when you're under pressure.
• Macadamia nuts lower bad LDL cholesterol. One ounce (10 to 12) helps keep your heart, muscles, nerves, and gastro-intestinal system healthy.
• Just one Brazil nut per day meets your body's need for the antioxidant selenium. They also provide complete protein and zinc. Walnuts are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. You can meet your daily needs in about 14 halves (1 ounce).
• Walnuts are also have disease-fighting antioxidants.
• Hazelnuts are renowned for its high concentration of the mood-stabilizing tryptophan; 20% of the RDA is in every ounce (about 20 hazelnuts).
• Peanuts (these aren't really nuts; they’re legumes bio-cousins to peas, lentils, and beans). They're rich in three B vitamins -- folate, niacin, and riboflavin. And ounce for ounce, they pack the same protein power as beef (7 grams), minus the saturated fat.

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Holiday Season – Weight Check It is not uncommon for an adult to gain anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds between Christmas day and New Years day. On the other hand it often takes on average over 90 days to loose this weight – if you are lucky. You may limit your intake of food by following these suggestions:

• Have a healthy snack before you go to a function;
• Don’t starve yourself on the day of your function;
• At the function limit yourself to one or two small treats so you don't feel deprived, but don't go back for third and fourth servings;
• Don’t overfill your plate;
• Position yourself far away from the food so you are less likely to pick.

In order to limit your intake of alcohol (which is laden with calories) you are encouraged to:

• Sip water along with alcoholic drinks;
• Try low-calorie mixers such as water, soda or mineral water;
• Be aware that tonic water is high in calories; Ask for half-nips of spirits;
• Replace alcoholic drinks with tomato juice or a Claytons and Soda;

Always remember to exercise.

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Overweight – Restrict Your Calories

• Add more raw vegetables to your diet. This cuts down on your calorie count, while getting energy, protein, vitamins and minerals necessary for healthy body.
• Avoid snacking in between meals.
• When you buy dairy products, choose the low fat ones.
• Body calories can be considerably reduced by taking regular walks, skipping and jogging. These are inexpensive ways to keep trim and fit.
• Don’t eat out too often. Foods from fast-food restaurants are loaded with calories. When you cook at home, you can see the amount of cooking oil you use and you can use it sparingly, yet make tasty food.
• When you take in food, eat food in the right proportions. If you eat more food that you body burns out you tend to put on fat (i.e. stored calories) to your body.
• Read the labels on the products you want to purchase. This will give you an idea of how much fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals is in the food. Choose foods that are low in calories while having the right nutritional value.

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Salt should only be restricted in hypertensives: WRONG!  For years there has been a fierce debate as to whether or not salt contributes to high blood pressure (hypertension). It has always been assumed that the effects of salt on the cardiovascular system are as a result of hypertension. In that it was believed that if salt did not cause hypertension it wasn’t a problem. Recent studies strongly suggest that salt may cause cardiovascular disease even in the absence of hypertension. This new data invites doctors to take a fresh look at dietary salt. Based on current studies it may be well worth your while to reduce your salt intake (even in those without hypertension) by:

• Getting rid of your salt shaker – never add salt at the table
• Check labels – avoid foods containing “salt”/ “sodium”
• Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables – the potassium contained in these foods counters the effects of sodium
• Avoid foods rich in salt including – cheese, butter, margarine, tomato ketchup, ham, salami, bacon, pepperoni, sausages, luncheon meat, corned beef, salt meat, pig tail, salt fish, salt fish cakes, salted chips, salted nuts, bottled seasonings containing salt, etc.

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Spinach - is it good for you?  - As a kid, your mom told you “eating spinach will make you strong”. When your blood pressure became elevated later on in life you were told “don’t eat spinach because it builds blood”. Fact: spinach is good for everyone and even persons with high blood pressure are encouraged to eat spinach and LOTS OF IT.

Spinach is not only a good source of iron; it is loaded with lots of vitamins and minerals. Like other dark greens, spinach is an excellent source of beta-carotene, a powerful disease-fighting anti-oxidant.

Spinach possesses several important phytochemicals. Spinach also contains lipoic acid, which helps the antioxidants – Vitamins C and E regenerate tissue. Lipoic acid seems to play a role in regulating blood sugar levels.

When you cook spinach, it concentrates nutrients and fiber, a serving of cooked spinach gives you even more bang for your buck than a serving of raw spinach.

Last by no means least; spinach DOES NOT increase your blood pressure. Most studies show that along with your diet, exercise and blood pressure medication it helps to lower high blood pressure.

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Sweet Drinks and Obesity - In Barbados the consumption of sweet drinks has risen over the past 15 to 20 years. Sweet drinks by definition includes Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, 7-Up, Busta, Fanta, Plus, Lucozade, Kool-Aid, all Fruit Juices, sports drinks and many concentrates. In North America there are studies that have linked the consumption of such, in children and adults, to obesity.

As a general rule you should NEVER drink your calories. Fruit juice (even 100 percent juice) and the other drinks mentioned above, contain a lot of calories. They do not fill you up and provide little or no nutritional benefit.

Interesting factoids………….

Drinking just one 12-ounce can/bottle of sweet drink/juice every day for a year is equal to 55,000 calories or 15 pounds a year. Many people think of juice as an essential part of a child’s/adult’s diet. However, juice isn’t as healthy as people think. It’s much healthier to eat the fruit rather than drink the juice.

For the children who are overweight, the basic recommendation is no sweet drinks including juice.

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Top ten vegetables/fruits - You should always aim to eat the most nutritious vegetables and fruit available whenever possible. The beneficial effects are derived from the high concentrations of phytochemicals and antioxidants found in vegetables and fruit.

The evidence shows that phytochemicals found in vegetables and fruits can significantly reduce the risk of cancer, probably due to the polyphenol antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In general antioxidants have been shown to play a major role in reducing the risks of strokes and cardiovascular disease.

When compared to other vegetables broccoli has been shown to hold the top spot as the most nutritious by virtue of the fact that is has the highest concentration of phytochemicals when compared to other vegetables.

The 9 runners-up to broccoli were spinach, yellow onions, red peppers, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, lettuce, celery, and cucumbers. Studies have shown that red peppers actually have the highest levels of antioxidants.

In rating the most nutritious fruit cranberries came in first – with the most phytochemicals and antioxidants – this was followed by apples, red grapes, strawberries, peaches, lemons, pears, bananas, oranges, grapefruit and pineapple

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Vitamin D/Pregnancy - In a recent study it has been revealed that a less than optimal intake of Vitamin D during pregnancy may affect primary tooth calcification, leading to enamel defects, which are a risk factor for early childhood tooth decay.

The University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada study involved more than two hundred pregnant women in their second trimester participated in the study.

The Vitamin D levels were directly related to the milk consumption and prenatal vitamin use. The study reviewed 135 infants aged an average of 16 months and found that 21.6% of them had enamel defects, while 33.6% had early-childhood tooth decay. Mothers of children with enamel defects had lower Vitamin D concentrations during pregnancy than those of children without defects.

This is the first study to show that maternal vitamin D levels may influence primary teeth and the development of early childhood tooth decay.

It must be noted that this is a Canadian study and does not necessarily represent what happens here in Barbados/ Caribbean where our perennial sunshine ensures that our Vitamin D levels are somewhat higher than in the average Canadian.

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Vitamins Don't Seem to Prevent Cancer Recent studies suggest that calcium, folic acid, and vitamins A, B, C, D, and E don't offer the cancer-prevention benefits many once thought they had. Dr. Jennifer Lin noted in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "Simply taking antioxidant supplements is insufficient to prevent cancer development." Jennifer Lin, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School advised that a better options include:

• Salmon. It just may be the most omega-3 rich food in the seafood aisle.
• Bluefin tuna. This fatty fish is packed with omega-3s and low in omega-6. Other choices include: mackerel, herring, and rainbow trout.
• Anchovies and sardines. They are good omega-3 sources. They also tend to be high in sodium.
• Crustaceans. Shrimp, mollusks and crab are also excellent sources that also loaded with omega-6.
• Oils. Canola oil, soybean, corn, and cottonseed oils are excellent sources of omega-3.
• Beans. Kidney, pinto, and mungo beans are recommended.
• Nuts and seeds. Walnuts or flaxseed will up your omega-3 intake.
• Spinach is highly recommended.
• Winter squash. It boosts your omega-3 intake.
• Broccoli and cauliflower. Excellent sources of omega-3s.
• Papaya. Packed with omega-3.

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