Health and Nutrition Information: Quality Resources

Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Dietitians and consumers alike are constantly frustrated by the amount of information in the mainstream media and even the medical community about nutrition that is not evidence-based. Because Registered Dietitians are trained in providing evidence-based information backed by peer-reviewed research, it’s frustrating to see people seeking good information about health instead finding nutrition information that is at best untrue and at worst, harmful to their health.

Fad diets are often promoted by celebrities, fitness experts, and even doctors, many of whom do not have specialized knowledge in the science of nutrition. These diets often come with elegantly written “science” backing them, that sadly is not based in evidence and ignores many of the dangers to the approach, the limited long-term effectiveness, and/or the limited duration of time most people are able to sustain the diet.

In days past, dietitians gained the reputation of “food police,” only telling you what NOT to eat. In fact, a colleague of mine recently mentioned when people see her eating at a party they’re surprised and look at her like “you’re EATING?” Most of us now consider ourselves advocates for food and make sure to provide plenty of information on what TO eat for optimal health, not just what to avoid. By the same token, I think for this topic it’s important that I not just bash fad diets, but that I provide you with good resources to find sound, evidenced based nutrition information.

The following are some of my favorite nutrition resources. These are places to go to search for good information on whatever topic you’re looking for. Go straight to these sites for quality info rather than doing your standard Google search and subjecting yourself to whichever diet sites win the race of internet marketing and end up on your first search page:

Evidence-based nutrition information

http://www.webmd.com/
This is a leading source for trustworthy and timely health and medical news and information. Features a symptom checker, drugs and medications A-Z, health topics A-Z, and a doctor directory.

http://www.medicinenet.com/
This is run by WebMD and brings even more great information on different medical conditions, nutrition information, and medication. Features a medical term dictionary and even info on pet health!

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/MY00431
Information on healthy diets, healthy cooking, menus, and grocery shopping. It even has expert answers on a variety of different nutrition topics and questions, and includes an expert nutrition blog.

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
This site includes a BMI calculator and information on achieving a healthy weight. Includes a menu planner, recipes, shopping tips, a food/activity diary, and more.

http://www.eatright.org/
This is the website for the largest organization of dietitians and nutrition professionals. It has plenty of trustworthy, science-based information for the public as well. Click on the “public” tab for information on healthy weight loss, disease prevention, and many other nutrition topics.

http://www.consumerlab.com/
Provides independent test results, reviews, ratings and comparisons of vitamins, supplements, and herb and nutrition products. The place to go for trustworthy information on supplements.

http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2010.asp
Here is the link to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which were most recently updated on 2010. These guidelines are published every 5 years since 1980 by the Department for Health and Human Services (HHS), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

http://www.cdc.gov/
This is the Center for Disease Control website. You can easily search topics on health and nutrition and find outstanding information and research.

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
This easy to use and interactive site helps you build your own meal plan, track your foods, and provides useful tools to helping you achieve a healthy weight with a balanced diet. The Food-A-Pedia feature allows you to input foods and get nutrition information on what you’ve eaten, and the food and physical activity trackers also help you keep track of your energy balance.

Popular nutrition tools

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
Free online calorie counter and diet plan. You can track your caloric intake quickly and easily for healthy weight loss. Includes mobile apps and nutrition facts for over 1000000 foods.

http://www.mealstolive.com/
Healthy and delicious frozen meals created for people who want and need to eat healthfully. Includes meals for people with diabetes and other diet-specific ailments like gluten free and low sodium. Order online or find physical stores.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/
The largest online diet and healthy living community. Provides information and tools on nutrition, recipes, and more.

http://www.groceryiq.com/
Helps you create and organize your grocery lists easily. With a mobile app that includes a database of millions of items, and includes barcode scanning, integrated coupons, product details, and sorting by isle.

Online fitness classes

I am a hug proponent of fitness videos. If you can’t get to the gym, can’t afford exercise equipment, or have physical limitations that prevent you from doing certain activities, there’s still a fitness video for you. It couldn’t be cheaper or more convenient. That combined with my love of the convenience of online shopping, it’s easy to see why I love the following sites for providing fitness videos online:

http://www.flirtygirlfitnesslive.com/
http://connectonlinefitness.com/
http://www.emglivefitness.com/
http://dailyburn.com/

Check out one or more of these sites or services and share your experience in the comments section below. To get blog posts as I post them via email, sign up below:

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Herb N’ Garlic Brown Rice Pizza Dough Recipe

Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This recipe is so very delicious. I never used to think a dough that didn’t contain gluten could taste so good, and be crunchy and chewy in all the right areas. This recipe, being gluten free, is great for someone with celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity. (Please note the adaptations in italics below for LEAP clients.) However, this recipe is a healthy option for ANYONE, to add some variety to your diet and provide an alternative to the standard “whole wheat” pizza crust. Brown rice is also a whole grain, so this recipe is not only delicious but nutritionally superior to white pizza crust.

If some of these ingredients look unfamiliar to you, that’s because they may be hard to find at your standard grocery store. However, they are available at most health food stores. Bob’s Red Mill is a wonderful company that sells affordable alternative grain products such as the flours listed below. Bob’s Red Mill products are available in health food stores and at http://www.bobsredmill.com/. Whole foods is also another great source: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/shop/. And, you can shop online at both of these links, a convenience I absolutely love!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp active dry yeast
2/3 cup 110 degree F milk (soy, cow, or rice)
2/3 cup brown rice flour or other allowed grain flour
½ cup tapioca flour (may substitute potato starch)
2 tsp xantham gum (may substitute guar gum or pre-gel starch) *
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vinegar
1 tbsp honey (or allowed sweetener), make sure honey is room temp
2 Tbsp olive oil (or any allowed oil)
2 Tbsp additional olive oil for working with dough (or any allowed oil)
½ tsp minced garlic
¼ tsp oregano
¾ tsp dried basil

*xantham gum is what replaces the gluten and gives the dough its shape and structure

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine milk with yeast and honey/sweetener and allow to sit
Blend brown rice flour, tapioca flour, xantham gum, oregano, basil, and salt in a separate bowl.
Add olive oil, vinegar, and garlic to the bubbly liquid mixture. Combine with flour mixture and mix well with your hands
Cover and let dough rest for 30 minutes
Press dough onto greased pizza pan (may use additional olive oil) Bake for 10 minutes. Remove, add toppings, and bake another 10 minutes.

Makes 6 servings

Please comment below on how you like the recipe!

Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

New Years Resolutions: Don’t Do It!

Happy New Year!

At the biggest time of year for people to make dietary resolutions or “nutrition resolutions,” if you will I wanted to emphasize this one heartfelt note of encouragement: don’t do it!

It is the 2nd day of January and many are already realizing they messed up on their diet, weren’t able to do the full hour a day at the gym they had planned, and they might have even already bumped their start date to Jan 9^th (the next Monday, of course).

Although I am in the business of encouraging and assisting people in making lifestyle changes year-round, the New Year’s Resolution is a cousin of the all-or-nothing mentality. This mentality sabotages your efforts as it leads to yo-yo behavior that leaves you eternally flip flopping between dieting and overdoing it in lieu of the life of moderation that will truly bring you what you’re looking for. Moderation that can be practiced during the busy work week, the weekend, vacations, holidays, whenever.

Adopting a healthier lifestyle is serious business. Our lifestyles and the food we eat affect our health more than we may have ever imagined. In medical journal after journal, it seems to always come back to the same thing with regard to reducing chronic disease risk: eat less and better types of fat, consume less salt and more potassium, decrease refined carbohydrates, eat more colorful fruits and vegetables, eat more whole grains, don’t smoke, and on and on and on… Plus, there are many factors affecting our health that we cannot control: environmental pollutants, pollutants in our food (can be controlled to a certain extent with organics), so why not control what we can and add years to our lives as well as making our living years enjoyable and free of illness? (Now, when I mentioned the factors we cannot control, if your mind jumped to “yeah, we’re all going to die of something so what’s the point?” I’ll have you reread the paragraph about the all-or-nothing mindset.)

To avoid this mentality, start implementing your resolutions as soon as you see a need for them. Motivation can be perishable so keep your motivators in mind as you proceed. It’s easy to think “eh, it’s not that important” or “I’ll start later” especially when others around you may not place much importance on health. But there’s a reason you decided to make a change, a reason it’s nagging you. Your intuition is trying to urge you to be a healthier person and have a better life. I have found that if I eat a meal that’s too heavy it affects everything. I’m very careful what I eat during the work week for example, because if I eat the wrong thing, I have trouble concentrating, being efficient, and staying motivated. It reminds me of when my brother once joked “I need to go sit this off” after a big meal…it does often feel like that’s all you can do! Of course, I might not know this if I had never experienced the contrast of eating very well and how much energy, motivation, and inspiration I have access to when I do. How might your eating habits be affecting you in your life?

Personally, I hope you start your nutrition resolutions on the 9^th, 16^th, or 23^rd day of the month on a Tuesday, Friday, or Sunday at 10:15am, 3:08pm, or 8:53pm, any month of the year. Make your resolution SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Don’t just set out to eat better…that’s too ambiguous. Make 1 goal and make it specific: for example, “I will have a green salad with my lunch every day this week starting today.” (noticed I didn’t say tomorrow…tomorrow is tricky in that it doesn’t exist and life is actually made up of many many todays!) Once eating a salad with lunch becomes a habit, continue that habit but add another goal, such as “I will go for a 15 minute walk at 6:30 before work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting today.” Once that habit is established, you can easily add minutes or additional days to your regimen. Changing habits in this manner is the most effective way to change your lifestyle. It takes time, but time will pass anyway, so you can spend your time bouncing around like a yo-yo between following a strict diet and chaos, or you can actually change how you live.

Please take a moment to comment below if you have a SMART goal you plan to make soon…your discussion and ideas help others who are struggling with the same thing you are!

NUTRITION RESOLUTION