Living Inception: Is Your Wellness Just a Dream?

The latest sci-fi thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio has been loved and lauded over the past few weeks for turning viewers’ minds into balloon animals – dreams, realities, altered states…which way is up in this cerebral action pic for summer? Director Christopher Nolan is known for his mind-bending fun in movies like Memento and The Dark Knight and this time, his Escher-like directorial hand has lead to box office bullion, with multilayered theatrics brought to life by the screen-popping stars of Inception.

While it’s all in good fun, Nolan’s otherwordly world also seems positioned to serve as a teachable moment for many aspects of modern life, where walking the line sometimes means treading a pretty blurry one. For instance, you thought you were living a healthy life. You’ve always felt like you were an active, vigorous individual. It’s been years since you ate an entire Duncan Hines cake as a midnight snack. But what are all those packaged food containers in the recycle bin? What’s this mid-morning energy slump? What’s all this talk from the doctor about HDLs?  Whether you are living in a full-blown dream or just a slight state of denial, maintaining good health can mean constantly re-calibrating what health and wellness really means.

Thanks to Christopher Nolan, we’ve isolated three concepts à la Inception that might serve to help us turn off the madness, tune in to reality, and drop back into health and wellness – in other words, to wake up from the dream and get real.

“Inception”

In the film, “inception” is a twist on the more common “extracting” or stealing ideas from the heads of unsuspecting targets in an effort to extract valuable information. In inception, extraction’s inverse, dreams are used to secretly implant an idea in a target’s mind. “Dream architects” take control and build a “dream landscape” that makes the dreamer take actions consistent with their dreams in their real life.

The scenario may be all too familiar when it comes to our health and wellness. It’s almost as if our minds have been infiltrated to think that fat, sugar, and salt is good (it certainly tastes good). That’s the architects at work, creating ideal taste combinations that make us desire more of these foods, scientifically created to provide our mouths and brains with a peak experience. Shaking off the idea that these tastes are not “real” – that is, that they are actually food evils created in a lab that allow us to lose our taste for good, whole, healthy foods – can be difficult. When we’re caught in the dream and exposed to these foods on menus, at fast food restaurants, on TV, at school lunches or vending machines and in supermarket shelves, well, we start to think of it as just the way life is.

But keep in mind that those entities responsible for placing these ideas in our heads are no different then those that Robert Fischer is subject to. Their agendas have nothing to do with our personal health and wellness. It might be time to reset our idea of reality.

“Hostile Dreams”

In Inception, we learn that the human projections in a person’s dream act more or less like white blood cells. If the dreamer becomes aware that a foreign entity has entered the subconscious, then the projections will become increasingly hostile.

So is it with health. Letting nutrition go by the wayside in favor of embracing false ideas planted by agents of sugar, fat and salt, and foods that fill us in the moment but are empty of nutritional content, can have dire effects in the long term. Poor nutrition can increase the risk of developing serious diseases later on in life. A poor diet increases risk of conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity. It also increases the chances of getting cancer and other diseases of aging.

Wonder why these health issues are affecting more Americans than ever, and obesity is considered an epidemic? It’s almost as if we are all living in a shared lucid dream, surrounded by the effects of poor health and unable to see through its dire consequences because they are everywhere. It’s similar to the classic fish tale: An older fish swims by two younger fish, and asks, “How’s the water, boys?” After a while, one of the young fish asks the other, “What the heck is water?” As the famed writer pointed out “This is water.”

Our water is the poor nutritional options that surround us and the waning health it perpetrates. Our seemingly benign but unhealthy choices will grow hostile over time. But realizing that lifestyle modifications and a nutritional diet can greatly lower risks of developing diseases and lead to a longer life is the beginning of waking up from this unhealthy dream.

The “Individualized Object”

Inception begins when Dominic Cobb is found washed up on a beach carrying a spinning top. The top is his individualized object—the personal totem that tells him if he is in a dream state or in reality. If the spinning top slows, it means it’s subject to the laws of gravity and therefore exists in the real world. If it spins and spins, we’re in a dream.

What’s your teetotum? What tells you whether you are in a wellness reality or in an unhealthy fugue state?  Maybe it’s an uncomfortable feeling associated with tightening clothes. Maybe it’s a logy feeling after a meal. Maybe your sleep is disrupted. They are your personal teetotums, telling you your nutrition has gotten off track. Give your top a spin, and see if it’s subject to the laws of overeating, lack of exercise and poor nutritional choices, or if it’s consistent with the healthy life you want to be living.

Waking Up from the Wellness Dream

It’s OK to experience the occasional limbo. Catching yourself between worlds is part of understanding where you really should be in your ongoing health and wellness routine. Just be careful – if you think you might be trapped between what you want from healthy living and what you’ve been convinced you want, just don’t build a life around it. You’ll waste a lot more than two hours, and before you know it, well…fade to black.

It’s Salad Week, and Lettuce is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

National Salad Week may not seem like your standard Hallmark holiday, but when you consider that April 16th is National Eggs Benedict Day, and on August 8th we celebrate Sneak Some Zucchini on Your Neighbor’s Porch Night, Salad Week doesn’t seem all that out of the ordinary.

Besides, health and nutrition enthusiasts are embracing this week as more important than ever when it comes to giving the long-suffering salad its due, considering national obesity rates and nutritional concerns. This time of the season is ideal to reinforce principles of health such as eating from the rainbow and getting the daily requirements of fruits and veggies – all things the salad accomplishes as well as or better than any other dish.

While finding just the right card to commemorate Salad Week might be tricky, there are plenty of other ways to celebrate.

Turn Over a New Leaf

You know it’s true: even the traditional Wedge Salad is better with Romaine. But even if you haven’t eaten iceberg lettuce since the seventies, you might still be experiencing salad torpor. It’s easy to get stuck thinking one-dimensionally about salad, repeating the same lettuce-and-cut-veggies routine.

Here are some ways to get past salad inertia and make greens the colorful star of the meal, not just a forgettable necessity.

1. Easy on the lettuce. Don’t misunderstand – greens, especially dark greens, are great for you. But if you’re stuck in a rut where your salads are lettuce-laden barrels obscuring the occasional cherry tomato, try upending the equation. Designate lettuce as bed-only (or eliminate it completely). Then pile high with basil and sliced tomatoes, a stack of wedged cukes, a cascade of beets…whatever deserves to be center stage.

2. Make salad the substrate. Having sliced chicken or braised salmon? Place it on your salad for a beautiful one dish dinner that’s vibrant, fresh and crunchy. Plus, salads take excellent advantage of leftovers. Had steak last night? Tonight you’re perfectly poised to have Tarragon Steak Salad. Crave carbs? Include some thin-cut sautéed potatoes on your salad for a healthy twist on a (let’s face it) less healthy food.

3. Fruit. If fruit is getting short shrift on your veggie-heavy salads, you’re missing out on a delicious flavor profile. Wild blueberries (see below), cranberries, mandarin oranges, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, watermelon, grapes…they all add color and zing and nip salad apathy in bud.

4. Greens only. If you often skip the salad because all you have is greens, go for it –  tossing mixed greens with vinaigrette is easy and good for you, and mixed greens by themselves are delightful, no chopping and slicing necessary. If your greens are a one-man show, buy fresh mixes or mix in your own frisee, baby spinach, beet greens or arugula. Simply salt and pepper to taste.

5. Don’t hold the nuts. Nuts are made for salads. They add substance, texture, taste, and good fat. Be ready with pecan halves, almonds, and walnuts. The same principle applies to sunflower seeds, cumin and fennel.

6. Use herbs. Bored by salad unless you get a forkful of goat cheese or a giant crouton? This could indicate an herb deficiency in your salad plate.  Fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme, parsley and cilantro can turn on taste buds and spice up greens and veggies. You can also infuse your olive oil and vinegar with fresh herbs, such as tarragon, dill, oregano, thyme and basil to turn up salad flavor. Gourmet Sleuth has a neat herb chart that will tell you what goes well with what, like sliced cucumbers, for instance. (Answer: Dill)

Worth a Toss: Salads to Celebrate

The height of the summer is a perfect time to observe National Salad Week because it means a meal that doesn’t require slaving over a hot stove. When the heat is on, salad-as-the-meal is the solution. If Strawberry, Watercress and Cashew Salad sounds good, or Whiskey & Wheat Berry seems worth trying, you can find these and some other distinctive salads at NowPublic.com. It shares 15 great salads that don’t heat up the kitchen.

The Primal Lifestyle gathered some of their favorite salad-related posts in celebration of the week, which they follow up with recipes for Asian Cucumber Salad and so-called “primal” dish, Curried Salmon Salad.

The New York Times has 10 Simple Salad Ideas that are fresh for the summer season and help you capitalize on its most plentiful bounty. These cool customers include green beans, couscous, honey, strawberries, parmesan and mozzarella.

If you just can’t get enough of salads, Eating Well has  the definitive recipe and salad tips collection, along with ways to dress them.

Welcome Blueberry News…In Time for Salad Week

As we think outside of the lettuce during Salad Week, it’s worth noting that a recent report from the USDA indicates that one cup of blueberries has all the age and disease fighting compounds you need in one day. We’ve known that the health benefits of blueberries, especially wild, are enormous, and blues offer unsurpassed nutritional content when compared to most other fruits and vegetables. They are rich in Vitamins A and C, and provide a superior punch of anti-aging and disease fighting antioxidants.

Why is this especially tasty news during Salad Week? Because wild blueberries are the colorful highlight of many health-conscious creative salads that delight diners, add pizazz to plates, and provide big nutritional benefits. So, befitting the week, here are some salads featuring wild blueberries that are worth celebrating. While these dishes don’t all have a full cup per serving, most offer a respectable start on your daily intake.

With all of these vibrant recipes, why not make Salad Week every week?

Tuna Carpaccio with Wild Blueberry Wasabi Sauce

Wild Blueberries with Roquefort, Celery and Cumberland Sauce

Savory Salad with Goat Cheese and Wild Blueberry Sauce

Rainbow Superfood Salad with Wild Blueberry and Balsamic

Wild Blueberry Vinaigrette

Mediterranean for Dummies: Understanding A Diet’s Baffling Benefits

It really doesn’t matter whether you are focused on heart health, cancer prevention, weight loss, or just maintaining good health. You can’t ignore the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet. Just when we think the research-backed rationale for going Mediterranean is old news, something puts it back on the radar. It’s just a fact of healthy life: making the eating habits of many of the 16 countries that border the Mediterranean Sea the basis of your nutritional goals is a smart move.

The Benefits

  • It helps prevent diabetes. Recently, a large study published by the renown British Medical Journal showed that healthy people who followed a Mediterranean diet had a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
  • It contributes to weight loss. Another recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that a restricted-calorie Mediterranean diet could be even more effective for weight loss than a low-fat diet.
  • It’s never too late. Late adoption of the Mediterranean lifestyle can increase longevity and reduce the risk of chronic disease for the elderly as well as other segments of the population.
  • It has been linked to stroke prevention.
  • It offers huge heart health benefits. The diet provides thousands of micronutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, including the essential elements that go to work on preventing heart disease.
  • It’s more than a two-fer. The diet has also been found to help protect against cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, and the risk of Parkinson’s, among other conditions.
  • It cannot be replaced by a supplement.
  • It can offset bad genes.
  • It can increase your lifespan. On the Greek island of Crete, Cretans live longer than any other populations in the world. In studies of those closer to home, longevity was a byproduct for those on the diet in addition to disease prevention.

The X Factor

There are mounting health benefits to going Mediterranean, but there’s also something mysterious about this diet. There’s an X factor involved in the diets of those living overseas that we can’t seem to replicate by simply eating olive oil, or consuming lots of fruits and veggies. Making those efforts is a great start, of course, but it doesn’t mean automatic health.

For example, The New England Journal of Medicine has shown that it may not be the olive oil itself, but the interaction or synergy between all the foods that leads to the health benefits. When foods interact, they can provide benefits that are more than the sum of their parts, and that could be part of the Mediterranean mystique.

Also, eating in Mediterranean countries seems to be synonymous with leisurely dining, taking pleasure in the experience of eating, and savoring meals – another factor that defies quantifying. The residents of these countries generally enjoy food; it is at the center of conviviality. Ever had a meal with a table full of French diners? Prepare to stay a while, sample many dishes, and when you do finally leave the table, don’t be surprised if there is food left behind on the plates.

Finally, another baffling feature of this diet is that “diet” is really a misnomer. There is no real Mediterranean diet, after all – the diet itself is a dietary pattern that includes eating less animal protein, eating few saturated fats, having lots of fruits and vegetables, and integrating the keystones listed below.

Clearly, those who live in proximity to this famed sea are not just eating the right foods, they are also living a different lifestyle than many Americans. Is it that they are less sedentary? Probably. Is it that they have a different relationship with food? Perhaps. The point is, we cannot seem to fully replicate the phenomenon of the magical region of the Mediterranean in other geographical areas.

Nevertheless, following the keystones of this diet has a clear health benefit.

The Keystones

  • Monounsaturated fats. The most popular MS is olive oil (which does double duty by replacing butter), but other unsung heroes of monounsaturated fats are avocado, fish, and canola oils. They are anti-inflammatory, fight disease at the cellular level, and have been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol and oxidative stress. But be warned: no two-handed pouring a la the TV chefs. Passion for EVOO does not mean losing the measuring spoon.
  • Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods.
  • Limiting red meat. Mediterranean dieters max out on red meat at just a few times a month.  Fish and poultry makes an appearance at least twice a week, but even these proteins are eaten in moderation in favor of things like veggies, grains and legumes.
  • Drinking red wine. Much has been made of the red wine element of this diet as well as red wine’s benefit for the heart, but wine consumption may be part of the X factor. It is generally done in moderation – 5 ounces a day for women and no more than 10 ounces for men – as part of enjoying a meal and may be part of the synergy that is a feature of Mediterranean meals.
  • Fruits and vegetables. Plants are the cornerstone of this diet. Consider that Greeks eat an average of nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. If you are not Greek (or you are Greek but live in, say, Altoona) shoot for at least 10 – and yes, they can be small.
  • Nuts. While nuts are high in calories (and restraint is difficult), in moderation they provide good fats, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and are fantastic for heart health. They are not, incidentally, honey-roasted, dry roasted, salted or covered in chocolate or sugar. Natural peanut butter and tahini are great options, too.
  • Replacing refined flour products with whole grain bread, cereal, and pasta.
  • Minimally processed, fresh, and preferably local foods. A hallmark of the Mediterranean lifestyle is by sticking by these three tenants. Sure, calorie for calorie and nutrient for nutrient, setting off to the Farmer’s Market can seem trivial, but it contributes to a lifestyle that values real food and its origins, and the rest will follow.

Get Smart

The jury is in on the benefits of Mediterranean. It’s true that no one can replicate the diet’s inscrutable power when it comes to good health and longevity, but experts and nutritionists agree, you can’t win if you don’t play.

Here’s some fun ways to get in the game from WebMD:

Fig Kebabs on Mixed Greens

Mediterranean Magic Popcorn

Lentil Bulgur Pilaf With Squash

Caramelized Onion and White Bean Flatbread

Fried Twinkies Optional – Fairs & Festivals Launch a Healthy Eating Heyday

This summer, we’ve discussed treading lightly around summer barbeques and cookouts and talked about ways to keep fruits and veggies in our line of sight when nutritionally gaunt foods flourish. But summer revelry is about celebrating food, not ignoring it.

Even though chocolate-covered bacon may be getting all the attention, attending an annual fair or festival can actually be one of the best things you can do to solidify your healthy eating commitments.

For all the glory, fun and nostalgia fairs provide, there is no denying that they can be nutritionally devastating.  When we heard that the Orange Country fair featured Fried Butter – butter-injected dough that’s frozen, fried, and served with either whipped cream, parmesan cheese or marinara sauce – well, we could practically hear the crash cart being wheeled in. But fried dough and funnel cakes are fair and festival traditions, and if it’s not over the top, vendors are just not doing their job.

Before you cave in and order two fried Twinkies (420 calories per pop) consider the other edible wonders that summer fairs offer. Agricultural fairs, country fairs, and festivals that celebrate a regionally beloved fruit or veggie can offer a perfect opportunity to connect with real food. Perusing giant garlic heads, blue ribbon tomatoes, and twisty tubers can teach kids about where fruits and vegetables really come from. Beautiful garden specimens can provide the best lesson kids can have in understanding that food comes from the ground, not the can or the package. Fruit pies that ooze sweetness from their edges can be a reminder that baking from “scratch” hasn’t gone the way of the Victrola. And, witnessing a grower’s pride and joy in the form of a zucchini the size of a suitcase can be a lesson for grown-ups, too, and inspire us to make sure healthy, real food has a prominent place on the table long after the Ring Toss has been packed up for the season.

While corn dogs are a reliable fair indulgence (and not a bad choice, considering, at about 250 calories) it’s the wild, regional, unprocessed foods that towns around American take the most pride in. Crowning the Blueberry Princess just seems to have more resonance with the community than Queen of Cotton Candy. These examples of summer celebrations around the country are healthy cases in point:

  • Verrill Farm in Concord Massachusetts presents the Corn & Tomato Festival in August, with the chance to taste 30 farm varieties of tomatoes, as well as other farm fresh foods.
  • They say New Englanders lock their cars so someone won’t come along and fill them with zucchini. Your chances of being a victim of this heinous veggie crime is likely to skyrocket at the Zucchini Festival in Ludlow Vermont in August.
  • Virginia has its Cantaloupe Festival in July to showcase this luscious local fruit.
  • If seed spitting is your sport, the Mize Watermelon Festival in Missisippi will welcome you this July. The region is home to world famous Smith County watermelons – the ones you should be eating while the getting is good.
  • The Union Fair is dubbed a “Real Maine Agricultural Fair” and earns the characterization with oxen pulls, rooster crowing contests, and vegetable judging. It even includes its own Blueberry Festival where berry-busting desserts rival any funnel cake, hands down.
  • Early August is time to celebrate the raspberry harvest during Utah’s Raspberry Days. Permission to eat pie.
  • Not everyone is throwing ribs on the smoker in August. VeggieFest Chicago 2010, the largest free vegetarian food festival in the country, is on, with food demos and a food court that boggles the mind.
  • Late summer is the best time to get your veggies in cob-form. Nearly 50 tons of sweet corn will be consumed during the 63rd Annual Mendota Sweet Corn Festival this August in Illinois.
  • Sky high in natural antioxidants, the chokecherry has its day at Minnesota’s 3rd Annual Chokecherry Festival, including a pancake breakfast with chokecherry syrup. (Watch out for flying pits.)
  • Plus, Pier 21 will host Food for Health all summer through September at the Canada Agriculture Museum in Nova Scotia, which looks at concerns and questions many Canadians have about the role food plays in ensuring good health.

Finally, one of our favorites, the Machias Wild Blueberry Festival gives wild blueberries their day in the sun. They call the wild blueberry “the powerful little fruit that put our corner of Down East Maine on the map,” but the fact that it is a list topping food for disease prevention and antioxidant potency hardly seems to matter to those swarming downtown Machias. They are there to see the blueberry musical, participate in a pie eating contest, and take the blueberry farm tours.

Everything in town will be unapologetically blue, including the passenger railroad that rides sightseers throughout the festivities.

There are plenty of wild blueberry-themed festivals in Northern Maine and Canada that celebrate this indigenous fruit of honor that is harvested in late summer. If you live there or plan to visit, you can get a comprehensive list of 2010 Fairs & Festivals in the Maine area along with agricultural fairs that range from carny to classic and are always busting with fruits and veggies – real food with a little dirt on their natural packaging.

Seek out your own local fair that offers the best of good food. This summer, there is truly something for absolutely everyone.

Warts & All: Food & Health Survey Reveals…Us

The International Food Information Council Foundation’s fifth annual Food & Health Survey takes an extensive look at Americans’ eating, health and physical activity habits, as well as food safety practices. In other words, they reveal us for what we are and what we think when it comes to eating and staying healthy. The unsurprising headline? That many Americans are concerned about their weight.

A whopping 70% say they are concerned about their weight status, and 77 % report trying to lose or maintain their weight. At the same time, we don’t have a solid handle on our calorie needs and intake, and despite being extremely weight-conscious, we are not using exercise to assuage those concerns.

Here are some additional findings about the American consumer that we found interesting:

69% are changing the amount of food they eat
 
63% are changing the type of foods they eat

12% accurately estimate their recommended daily calorie intake for weight maintenance

73% are focused on trying to consume more whole grains

53% are concerned about the amount of sodium in their diet

86% say taste has the largest impact on food and beverage purchasing decisions

58% say healthfulness does

73% are satisfied with the healthfulness of products offered at their supermarket

77% do not meet the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Physical Activity Guidelines

68% actively use the Nutrition Facts Panel

74% of those who use the Nutrition Facts Panel rank calories as the top piece of information they use

10% say they have either eliminated caffeine from their diet

View the full findings (warts and all) at  www.foodinsight.org.

Bite-Size Guidelines for a Cookout that Sizzles, Guaranteed

Love, don’t dread, your summer cookout. Cookouts are great ways to go healthy and still indulge—no sacrifices necessary. Whether you are hosting, bringing the dessert, or fingered for grill duty, here’s the scoop on stellar cookouts that don’t put health on the back burner.

Veggie Up

Did you know the average ear of corn has 800 kernels, arranged in 16 rows, with one strand of silk for each kernel? This amazing emblem of summer is a perfect way to indulge in great taste and get big nutrition too. Corn provides fiber, folate, thiamin, phosphorus, vitamin C, and magnesium.

WebMD provides a recipe for Grilled Corn Confetti Slaw. You can also try grilling corn in the husk at your next gathering. It’s a delicious and dramatic way to serve a veggie.

Dietitian Nancy Dell offers some advice for healthy summer picnics which includes doubling up on the carrots, celery, onions, zucchini and summer squash that get added to traditional macaroni or potato salads. The goal is to get as much color into those white dishes as possible, for health and for aesthetics.

Get Fruitastic

If you are in need of something impressive to bring to your summer gathering, remember that fresh fruits are in their glory, and color is the way to dazzle up a dish and provide disease-fighting antioxidants at the same time. The Wild Blueberry Association always has recipes that bring a rich, vibrant splash of blue to the potato salad beiges and burger browns. Start with daring Veggie Sticks with Ricotta Wild Blueberry Dip and end with Wild Blueberry Cassis Mousse Cake. Love lemon glaze? It’s creates the perfect profile with wild blueberries. A Lemon Glazed Wild Blueberry Cake is a simple crowd pleaser that won’t stick around for long. Also, serve or bring watermelon instead of chips – that’s a summer no-brainer.

Grill Something Good

Grills seem to call out for butter-slathered buns in the summer, but there’s more to grilling than burgers and dogs.

  • Opt for shrimp and chicken. Ginger-Garlic Shrimp with Tangy Tomato Sauce and Grilled-Vegetable Gazpacho are part of these good-food cookout recipes at delish.com. You’ll be missing nothing when it comes to standard cookout fare, and you can still enjoy the flames.
  • Cover the grill with veggie-laden kabobs. They are colorful and fun party eating, and even with bite-sized beef included, they cut meat intake and coerce eaters to take in a pepper or a mushroom before they get to it. Sneaky!
  •  Grill lobster for a veritable cookout event. There’s plenty of dipping sauce ideas out there so you don’t have to soak them in butter.
  • Cook a Portobello Burger. Loaded with veggies and some tasty condiments, this faux burger is no sacrifice—anecdotal evidence suggests they are even better than their meat counterparts. Bring on the compliments.
  • Grill fruit. That means apples, pears, pineapples, strawberries…Chaos in the Kitchen soaks their grilled fruit kabobs in rum. Delicious. Enough said.

Be a Burger Buff

If you are at a summer cookout, you’ll be exposed to burgers and hot dogs – it’s a summer fact. If you either fear or love the burger, pull up a chaise and relax. Here’s the fix:

  • Use a 100% whole wheat bun.
  • Use low fat content meat.
  • Go for a turkey dog or turkey burger to cut the fat.
  • Say no to the cheese, skip mayo in favor of mustard.
  • Load it with veggies.

Know the Low Down on Char

Even when you’re in the party mood, take a moment to get serious about charring. Grilling leads to charred food, and ingesting that char can increase cancer risk. Here’s the low down:

Research has revealed that preferences for high temperature cooked meat were generally linked with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. In terms of overall consumption and doneness preferences, those with highest intake had 70 percent higher risk than those with the lowest intake.

Also, taking in smoke from the grill can be dangerous, and that’s no summer myth.  Wood smoke is 12 times more carcinogenic than equal amounts of tobacco smoke, and the American Cancer Association says inhaling the smoke from or eating well-done, charred meat regularly may increase your risk of pancreatic cancer by up to 60 percent.

That’s enough to put a damper on your family barbeque. But you can keep health and safety in mind and still enjoy the festivities:

  • Stay upwind of grill smoke and keep exposure to a minimum.
  • Cut charred areas of meat off before eating or serving.
  • Turn down the heat to avoid char.
  • Microwave meat for a few minutes before cooking on the grill so it’s cooked through without  necessitating char.

Enjoy

Finally, stay conscious of grazing, eliminate soda sipping in favor of other healthy liquids, and when the family Frisbee competition starts up, join in.

Now you’re ready. Go forth and cook out – summer won’t last forever. Enjoy!

Wicked! Are Bread Sins Going Unpunished?

Even the most ardent healthy eating enthusiast will agree that there’s more to a well-rounded diet than fruits and veggies.

There is also Grain.

Grain is simply a staple no matter where in the world you live. Italians consume loads of pasta, Asians devour tons of rice – even the ancient grain of the Incas, quinoa, has had a resurgence. Grains aren’t just the foundation of a good diet – in their minimally processed form, they have huge health benefits.

Current dietary guidelines recommend eating 6 to 11 servings of grain products daily, including at least three whole-grain foods. (Find the recommended amount of grains for your age and gender.) While the Department of Health and Human Services called for 75% of Americans to meet whole grain intake goals by this year, only 7% reportedly do. While grains are consumed heartily, for most of us, they are not whole grains.

Breadly Sins

Grains have earned their good food classification, but when it comes to processing, they take a devilish turn. It’s not that processing is all bad. Some minimally processed grains can get the thumbs up, like brown rice, barley, and oats, for example. That being said, substituting whole grains for refined grains can help lower risk for diabetes, stroke, heart disease and some cancers. If you’ve taken up brown rice over white and darker breads for white squishy ones, you’re on the right track –  you are preserving the vitamin and mineral-rich “germ” of the wheat that gets stripped out in the refining process.

Deceptive Foods

 Divine Caroline helped pull back the curtain on deceptive foods in a recent post about supermarket breads. Deceptive foods are those with healthy-sounding names (termed “healthful halos”) that hide the fact they should be on the Don’t list. She outs breads that hide towering sodium amounts, bleached flour and high fructose corn syrup, despite their deceptively healthy names. (Does Healthy Choice 7-Grain Bread sound nutritious? Better check the label.)

It’s a good idea to get bread savvy: when it comes to grains, marketing jargon can obfuscate food evils. Common misnomers include stone ground, organic and 7-grain. While these terms sound healthful, they don’t designate a whole grain product, and they may hide a multitude of diet and nutrition sins to boot.

Another common bread blunder is seeking out brown breads as a way of separating “good” from “bad”.  Avoiding white by choosing tan colored breads is well-intentioned, but a toasty color doesn’t always mean whole wheat. Breads can be colored by caramel and molasses, turning evil white to a seemingly angelic brown without the advantages.

Addressing the Grains (Hello, Grains)

Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another cereal grain is a grain product. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas, and grits are some common examples. (MyPyramid.gov provides a reference list of what foods fall into the grain group.) When we refer to grains, we are generally referring to these subgroups:

1. Whole Grains

Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel — the bran, germ, and endosperm. Examples include whole wheat flour, bulgar and oatmeal. Often, cereals can be labeled “whole grain” because they include the entire corn kernel in its ingredients, even though the cereal also contains corn syrup and artificial dyes.

Whole grain foods also contain higher amounts of fiber, and some contain significant amounts of bran. But research suggests that it’s the whole-grain that delivers abundant amounts of antioxidant vitamins and phytochemicals that appear to act together to provide protective effects.

2. Refined Grains

Refined grains have been milled, a process that removes the bran and germ. This is done to give grains a finer texture and improve their shelf life, but it also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins. By removing the germ and bran from the grain, whole grains are turned into refined carbs stripped of nutrients. Some examples of refined grains are white flour, white bread and white rice. Most pitas, tortillas, and crackers are made with refined grains, though some are not, and some may be a mixture of both refined and whole.  

3. Enriched & Fortified Grains

Many refined grain products have key nutrients, such as folic acid and iron, that were removed during the initial processing and added back, earning them the name enriched. White rice and white bread are enriched grain products, and their packaging indicates as much. This means certain B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid) and iron are added back after processing. (Fiber is not added back to enriched grains.) In addition, some enriched grain foods have extra nutrients added. These are called fortified grains, a term you’ll recognize from many cereal packages.

4. Multigrains

We often hear the term multigrain when we shop for breads. It sounds healthful enough that we tend to associate it with whole grain. In fact, multigrain means what it says: different types of grains have been included, and none of them have to be whole grain. Multigrain breads are as likely as any bread to have enriched flour as their first ingredient.

Shopping for Virtuous Grains: The Bottom Line

Are you gazing affectionately at a virtuous bread product or are you staring evil in the face? No guesswork is required to figure this out: Simply check the ingredient list.

  • If “whole” doesn’t appear in the first ingredient you see, it’s not a whole grain product, and you may be treading in the land of bad bread.
  • Don’t trust the marketing. Any whole or multigrain brand name could still contain refined grains, so pay attention to ingredients.
  • High fructose corn syrup at the top of the list? Hydrogenated oil making an appearance? You’re in black hat territory, no matter what the                                                                  angelic name on the package is.
  • Finally, check the fiber content. If the Nutrition Facts has less than 2-4 grams of fiber content per serving, say buh-bye, bread.

BOOM! BANG! July 4th Recipes Put Colorful Foods on Display!

From Jell-O flags to 3-layer pies, this weekend is perfect for foods of color, and that means America’s birthday is the best time to celebrate both fun and nutrition. There’s no time like the present to get out your wild blueberries, combine them with raspberries, watermelon, or cherries, and throw in a little something white (hey, it’s a holiday). Here are some patriotic selections that will inspire you to color up the Fourth of July holiday and add some oohs and aahs to those bang-booms!

Pillsbury offers many berry-laden ideas.

Recipezaar makes the perfect flavorful flag.

Better Homes & Gardens offers a killer three color fruit pie.

Taking Pride in Your Colorful Creation? Snap your tri-color treat, send it to [email protected],  and we’ll post the spoils here! Happy 4th!

Armor Up, America – We’re in the Salt Battle of Our Lives

Recently, news concerning the nation’s salt intake brought some tough love to American consumers. Tough enough to prompt the author of the study, which was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to be quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying, “This is not good news”. True enough. It is in fact alarming news, proving that when it comes to salt, the term “silent killer” is no misnomer.

Adults, the study indicates, should eat less than one teaspoon of salt each day, while 70% of the population should eat less than 2/3 of a teaspoon. But in fact, only 1 in 18 people meet this goal. With heart disease and hypertension numbers on the climb, it looks like a true battle royale, with NaCl donning the armor.

It’s Not the Salt Shaker

This insidious mineral stepping into the gladiator arena is sodium chloride. Used traditionally for food preservation, it is something necessary for human life in small quantities and harmful – even deadly – in excess. It is a major player in the fight against high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.

Decades ago, putting down the salt shaker may have been solid advice for maintaining good health. But today, minding the shaker is old school. If you are a human being consuming food in 2010, you know your salt issues originate elsewhere:

  • Processed food: tomato sauce, soups, condiments, canned food, prepared mixes…
  • Restaurant foods
  • Cold cuts / meats
  • Baked goods
  • Grain-based products

In addition, some medications include sodium, and we can even be taking in a significant amount sodium from natural sources, such as well water. In fact, the Mayo Clinic determines that a mere 6% of salt originates from the shaker while 77% of salt intake comes from processed food. The rest comes from salt added while cooking and natural sources.

We could shake all day long and never reach the amount we get from processed of prepared food.

Salt is Part of the Golden Trinity

We have talked about David Kessler here in previous posts, and the recent salt news has catapulted him into the mainstream. Currently, more of the public is hearing about his mission to understand and expose the golden trinity of taste for what he feels it is: a concoction created by food companies to seduce the brain chemistry into making us eat and crave more. The recipe? Fat, sugar and salt that bathes food in startling amounts, in the most appealing and scientifically proven combination. Arguably, it’s the NaCl gladiator’s most powerful weapon.

It’s really no wonder that 1 in 3 U.S. adults has high blood pressure, and the government estimates that 9 in 10 will develop it in their lifetime. We at risk, according to this study, are often eating twice their daily requirement of sodium.

Salt Reform

FDA’s anti-salt initiative begins later this year and would eventually lead to legal limits on the amount of sodium allowed in food. Its plan would be phased in over ten years and would not be voluntary. Restaurants are targets as well, and while some have said they will voluntarily reduce salt in items on the menu, they may also be required to visibly post amounts. Recently, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg began a national campaign to cut salt levels, and food companies were recruited to comply. Starbucks and Heinz were one of 16 that agreed to cut salt levels in their products.

While regulation debates rage on, some eschew regulations and prefer to enter the gladiator ring for a one-on-one. For those, there’s one dagger of knowledge that can help us get medieval on salt starting now.

Sodium is an Acquired Taste

Your secret weapon is knowledge. We know, for instance, that salt is an acquired taste. It’s acquired by the processed and prepared foods we eat over our entire lifetime and the result is that low sodium foods taste bland.

But as we take steps to reduce sodium in our diets, our taste sensitivities will adapt. We will appreciate foods for their true flavor. The process of adapting takes about 8-12 weeks – that’s the amount of time it takes for a shift in taste preference to occur in most people.

Give yourself 8-12 weeks.

The American Heart Association offers these tips to get you started.

  • Choose fresh, frozen or canned food items without added salts.
  • Select unsalted nuts or seeds, dried beans, peas and lentils.
  • Limit salty snacks like chips and pretzels.
  • Avoid adding salt and canned vegetables to homemade dishes.
  • Select unsalted, lower sodium, fat-free broths, bouillons or soups.
  • Select fat-free or low-fat milk, low-sodium, low-fat cheeses and low-fat yogurt.
  • Learn to use spices and herbs to enhance the taste of your food.  Most spices naturally contain very small amounts of sodium.
  • Add fresh lemon juice instead of salt to fish and vegetables.
  • Specify how you want your food prepared when dining out. Ask for your dish to be prepared without salt.
  • Don’t use the salt shaker. Use the pepper shaker or mill.

Now that you are armed with tactics, remember that they must be combined with strategy. In the end, according to Kessler, we must change our relationship with food by understanding that hyperpalatable foods that use hyperportions of salt are not our friends. They should be understood as harmful and be duly replaced by healthier foods and their own positive associations – until we get to the point where the golden trinity of taste is no longer what we crave.

Best of luck, gladiators. Let the games begin.

.

A Month of Fruits & Veggies: Real Help for the Serving Impaired

Tired of chewing the same old carrot stick in order to get a serving of veggies into your day? We know the feeling: with daily recommendations of fruits and vegetables coming in at 1 to 2½ cups (depending on your age and gender) getting your daily servings can seem daunting. But keep the faith! With this Idea-a-Day list made for any month (start now, or hang it on your fridge for July) you’re guaranteed to find at least one new way of getting a daily serving every day of the month.

So ditch the bare celery sticks and start mixing it up. Try one new idea every day, or combine 2 or 3 ideas together with your own regular servings of fruits and veggies for a month of better health and disease prevention. (Feeding a family? Many are kid-friendly!)

Idea-a-Day: An Easy, Printable List for a Whole Month of Fruits & Veggies

 Day 1: Start your day with a glass of juice.

Day 2: Pile lettuce leaves and tomato slices on your sandwich for lunch.

Day 3: Have slices of avocado with a half piece of pita bread for a snack.

Day 4: Add ½ cup salsa to a dinnertime baked potato.

Day 5: Munch a pear before going out to dinner (it will replace the “bread” course when you get there).

Day 6: Eat six strawberries for breakfast on yogurt or cereal.

Day 7: Eat fifteen grapes with lunch.

Day 8: Have four slices of onion (no deep frying) with dinner or a sandwich.

Day 9: Add a half of a baked sweet potato to your plate during dinner.

Day 10: Serve fresh berries topped with cream for dessert.

Day 11: Mix 100% fruit juice with club soda for a healthy soft drink.

Day 12: Send yourself a fruit basket at work for munching.

Day 13: Make a smoothie at home with bananas, blueberries and a little non-fat milk.

Day 14: Sprinkle ½ cup of wild blueberries on a salad.

Day 15: Put a colorful helping of wild blueberries on a piece of fish.

Day 16: Puree zucchini, peas and greens and add to marinara sauce.

Day 17: Add dried fruits to oatmeal. (Raisins count.)

Day 18: Serve apple sauce as a side dish at dinner.

Day 19: Freeze grapes and eat them as a cool snack.

Day 20: Eat a half of an avocado with lime juice and little salt for lunch (no dish necessary!).

Day 21: Throw in extra broccoli florets to dress up a green salad.

Day 22: Add a stash of frozen vegetables to canned or homemade soup.

Day 23: Buy frozen vegetable blends to steam in the microwave oven for quick side dishes.

Day 24: Top pizza with spinach, peppers, olives and tomatoes.

Day 25: Bake apples with cinnamon for a warm dessert.

Day 26: Combine apple slices with raw almonds or peanut butter as a mid-morning snack.

Day 27: Munch blueberries and nuts – synergy is the new caffeine!

Day 28: Have a bowl of snap peas ready for after-work crunching.

Day 29: Use about-to-be-tossed vegetables in a veggie stir-fry for dinner.

Day 30: Make delicious hummus or dip for an hors d’oeuvre – use the broccoli and the “sticks” as your delivery system and ditch the chips.

Day 31: Put chutney on your pork, duck or beef.

TELL US: Got your own favorite way to sneak the good stuff into your diet? We want to know!