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Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
There’s been a lot of talk lately about kombucha and other fermented foods and why we should be eating them. Many of you have been wondering: is this just another fad or is there some truth to the hype?
I asked my friend and fellow nutritionist, Daina Slekys, to help answer this question for me. Not only is Daina a nutritional biochemist, but she’s also the founder of a kombucha company called Health-Ade – and a fermented food pro. Here’s what she had to say.
What is kombucha?
Kombucha is a fermented tea that has been around for thousands of years in countless cultures. It’s similar to other fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, vinegar, sauerkraut, kimchi, etc. — all of which give your body a great dose of beneficial bacteria and yeast in your intestines, which promotes healthy digestion. Kombucha also contains B vitamins, vitamin C, and other antioxidants, and is low in sugar and caffeine.
Why eat fermented foods?
These days, the average American diet is full of processed, refined foods. And those of us who eat meat are consistently exposed to antibiotics (which are used in meat production unless you buy organic). As a result, the beneficial flora that is meant to be in our “guts” is not. This allows for more threatening bacteria to migrate in and damage our bellies, and may explain why close to 20% of Americans are suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) according to the NIH.
Why do people choose to drink Kombucha?
Many people like the taste, and just plain feel better when they eat kombucha and other fermented foods. Kombucha is naturally full of the “good” cultures our guts are starved for, so as long as you buy kombucha that’s prepared carefully and safely, it’s a great way to get some fermentation into your diet!
Want to hear more?
If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of kombucha, I urge you to check-out www.kombuchakamp.com or read the comprehensive and informational book called “Kombucha Tea” by A. Bartholomew.
This post was written by Daina Slekys, MS, MPH. Daina is the founder and nutritionist of Health-Ade kombucha and can be reached at daina@health-ade.com with any questions.
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
Between the gluten-free folks and the low-carb dieters, I sometimes feel like I’m one of the last few people in LA who still eats bread. While my friends order bun-less burgers and tortilla-less tacos, I’m sinking my teeth into a warm buttered slice of sourdough, and not feeling guilty in the slightest.
Why? Because contrary to popular belief, bread does not make you fat.
In fact, there isn’t any one food that makes you fat. Weight gain occurs when you eat more calories than you burn. These extra un-burned calories could come from bread, but they could also come from anything else you eat.
So why does bread get such a bad reputation?
For a few (good) reasons:
- Refined white bread products – not just bread but bagels, cakes, cookies, muffins, biscuits, crackers, etc – are high in calories and low in nutrients. So if you frequently choose refined options, you won’t get much nutritional bang for your buck.
- Many Americans eat bread as part of every meal, which is not good partly because of Reason #1 and partly because bread is being consumed instead of something more nutritious, like vegetables.
- People who eat a lot of white refined carbohydrates tend to weigh more and have more belly fat, which increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other lifestyle-related health conditions. Great reason to choose whole grain on most occasions.
- Carbohydrates – especially refined ones – can cause spikes and drops in blood sugar if they’re not eaten along with protein and fat. This leads to uneven metabolism and lack of energy – so best to make meals and snacks a combination of carbs, protein, and fat.
If you stick to whole grain breads (most of the time), bread can actually be a great source of nutrients.
100% whole grain bread offers:
- Fiber, which helps keep you satisfied and helps keep cholesterol in check
- Protein, which helps keep you feeling satisfied
- Naturally-occurring vitamins
And you can certainly eat bread on a regular basis – in moderate portions of course – without gaining weight.
Here’s how to make bread part of a healthy diet:
- Choose 100% whole grain breads most of the time. White refined carbohydrates are just empty calories that take up precious space in our diets, but whole grain choices offer satisfying, heart-healthy fiber and protein as well as other nutrients.
- Keep track of your consumption. If you have toast with peanut butter for breakfast, skip the lunchtime sandwich and dinnertime pizza and aim to have bread-less meals instead (like soup, salad, stir-fry, etc). If you’re going out for an Italian dinner later (read: bread dipped in garlic oil followed by pasta), make a smoothie for breakfast and have a big salad for lunch. Thinking about what you’ve eaten/what you’re going to eat helps you achieve moderation throughout the day.
- Eat bread with protein and fat. A piece of plain bread won’t fill you up for long or give you sustained energy. Try to eat grains with cheese, nut butter, avocado, a slice of turkey, an egg, etc. so that you get more nutrients and feel more satisfied.
- Decide between bread, alcohol, or dessert when eating out. In an ideal world, I’d have bread and wine with dinner every night followed by dessert. But to maintain a healthy weight you have to make choices, and there isn’t room for everything.
- Bread is a serving of starch, not a side dish to accompany other starch. Keep this in mind when eating pizza and pasta (limit or skip the garlic bread), sandwiches (opt for a side green salad instead of pasta/potato/macaroni salad), burgers (choose a side salad instead of fries), etc. Again, it’s all about choosing what you most want to indulge in.
Some breads I like and recommend:
- Food For Life Sprouted Grain Breads – Cinnamon Raisin and Sesame are my favorites
- Rudi’s Organic 7 Grain with Flax
- Milton’s 100% Whole Wheat
- Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Tuscan Pane
- Homemade whole grain bread of any kind!
Monday, April 2nd, 2012
The term whole grain has become a lot more complicated than it sounds. A quick walk down the cereal aisle of the grocery store would make you believe that practically every packaged product is made from whole grains. This is not the case – and not all whole grain products are created equal. Here’s what you need to know when shopping for cereal.
Statements like these don’t mean much:
“Now made with whole grains!”
“10 grams of whole grains in every serving”
“Includes whole grains in every bite!”
These types of claims usually appear on the least nutritious sugar cereals like Lucky Charms, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Trix, etc. While these cereals do include some sort of whole grain, they are are not 100% whole grain and don’t contain much heart healthy fiber – plus they’re still loaded with sugar.
Processed Whole Grains vs. “Intact” Whole Grains
Some cereals are made from whole grains that have been ground into flours and combined with thickeners, flavorings, vitamins, and other ingredients during the cereal-making process. These cereals may still be very healthy, but anytime you heavily process something you lose some of the nutritional benefits. Studies have shown that “intact” grains – grain kernels that are eaten in their pure form – are better at lowering cholesterol and maintaining heart health than highly processed whole grains. Here are a few (tasty!) cold cereal options made from intact whole grains:
- Uncle Sam (ingredients: whole wheat kernels, flax seed, salt, barley malt)
- Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice (ingredients: organic brown rice, barley malt, sea salt)
- Bob’s Red Mill Meusli (ingredients: whole wheat, dates, sunflower seeds, raisins, whole grain rye, whole grain barley, whole grain oats, whole grain triticale, flaxseed, almonds, walnuts)
- Kashi Autumn Wheat (ingredients: organic whole wheat, organic sugar, natural flavor)
- Kashi Simply Maize (ingredients: organic corn, organic sugar, salt, organic molasses)
- Barbara’s Shredded Wheat (ingredients: 100% whole wheat)
How to Pick Out a Healthy Cereal
There are many kinds of whole grains – wheat, oats, corn, brown rice, rye, barley, quinoa, etc – that can be turned into hot and cold cereals. Thus you have many delicious whole grain cereal options to choose from. Aim to buy and try a variety of cereals, so you get a wide variety of nutrients from these tasty grains. Here’s what to look for when shopping for a cereal:
- At least 3 grams of fiber per 100 calories (so if a cereal has 200 calories per serving, it should have at least 6 grams of fiber) – this is a sign that the cereal is truly whole grain
- 6 or less grams of sugar per serving (cereals with raisins or other dried fruit will have more, which is OK)
- Organic or natural brands that are made with responsibly grown ingredients (the word “natural” on a food label doesn’t mean much, but many brands in the natural foods sector offer healthier cereals made with healthier ingredients)
- Some other healthy cereals I recommend
Monday, March 19th, 2012
A walk down the juice aisle of the grocery store might make you believe that just about any condition or disease can be cured by drinking juice. It seems that every brand is now making a juice that “boosts energy” or “nourishes your brain” or “improves heart health.” But are these juices really good for you?
Simply put: No.
While 100% fruit juice is slightly healthier than soda (because it’s made from fruit not sugar + chemicals), it’s certainly not the best beverage choice for most Americans, for these reasons:
- Calories from liquid don’t satisfy you like calories from food
- Juice is a source of extra calories that most people don’t need
- Eating fruit is healthier than drinking fruit juice (there’s naturally-occurring fiber in fruit)
- Drinking juice may raise the risk of diabetes
The latest trend of “enhanced” juices are really no better – they’re just more expensive. Here are some recent fads in the juice market, and why they’re not worthy of your dollar:
Juice with Omega-3 – These juices only provide a tiny bit (50mg) of DHA and EPA – which is much, much less than you would get from eating a serving of fatty fish
Juice with Fiber – Yes, fiber is healthy. But the fiber added to juices is synthetic fiber, not the heart-healthy fiber that’s naturally occurring in whole fruits. Synthetic fibers (e.g. maltodextrin, dextrin) can cause stomach upset and have never been shown to improve health.
Juice with Added “Energy” – These juices often contain B-vitamins and caffeine, but it’s the latter that is making you feel “energetic,” not the vitamins. Why not just drink a cup of freshly brewed coffee, which really does offer natural health benefits?
Juice with Extra Antioxidants – The term antioxidants doesn’t really mean much when it comes to packaged food, and “antioxidant juices” are no different. If you want the most bang for your buck when it comes to nutrition, eat plenty of whole foods like fruits and vegetables instead of drinking this juice . No liquid with added vitamins can beat a freshly made salad or bowl of real fruit.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but just like with every other packaged food – juice is not going to work any miracles!
image source for above: Welch’s website
Tuesday, March 13th, 2012
Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed by a simple trip to the grocery store? Or felt so stressed by the prospect of what to buy that you just end up eating out? If so, you’re not alone.
With so many products, labels, ingredients, and conflicting nutrition information, it’s often hard to accomplish the basic task of grocery shopping.
Of course, you have Eating Made Easy to help guide you 
But you also have access to a great app (available for iphone, ipad, and Android) called Fooducate.
Fooducate acts as your dietitian sidekick while you shop. You simply scan an item with your phone and it gives you a grade (A, B+, C- etc) for that food so you know whether it’s a healthy choice or not. The grades are based on extensive nutrition analysis and Fooducate receives zero funding from the food industry, so you can be sure that the information you receive is trustworthy.
Fooducate also has a blog which covers all sorts of relevant nutrition topics in a reliable, straightforward fashion.
When you’re not using Eating Made Easy, I highly recommend Fooducate!
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012
Snacking on whole unprocessed foods is always best, but much of the time we need snacks that are quick and portable. Thankfully there are a zillion snack bars on the market…and as long as you pick one that satisfies a few criteria, you can feel good about eating these when you’re on-the-go.
Here’s what to look for:
- 150-200 calories for a snack, and about double that for a meal replacement
- 3-6 grams of fiber (more than that may be a sign of added synthetic fiber, which doesn’t offer much health benefit and can give you a belly ache).
- 6-12 grams protein
- Less than 12 grams sugar
Here are some tasty bars that fit the criteria:
- Corazonas Oatmeal Squares – tastes like an oatmeal cookie! (5g fiber and 6g protein)
- Luna Bar — only some flavors fit the bill, like Nutz Over Chocolate (3g fiber and 11g protein)
- Kashi GoLean Crunchy Bar — Chocolate Peanut or Chocolate Almond (6g fiber and 9g protein)
- Larabar – the large amount of sugar in these comes from dates, not added sugar (5g fiber and 5g protein)
- CORE meal bars – these are a meal, not a snack. CORE is earth-minded and non-profit! (5g fiber and 19g protein)
There are a handful of other good bars out there; these are just my favorites. As long as you read the Nutrition Facts label and ingredients list to make sure the bar isn’t loaded with sugar (here are all the code words for sugar) or ingredients you can’t pronounce, you can consider a wide range of bars.
Eating snacks at home most of the time?
Here are some non-bar snack ideas:
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Lately, eating has become downright hard. So many questions about what to eat, when to eat, where to eat, how to cook, where to shop and what to buy. Eating Made Easy is your trusted resource for reliable, science-based nutrition information as well as practical tips to make healthy eating easier. -
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