For Your Heart - Oats

As January comes to a close I remind people to review the goals they set earlier this month and remember them as we roll into February, and the sweets begin to make a come-back: heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States.

Since 1963 congress has require the president to proclaim February as “American Heart Month.”

On both this and my other blog NewMexicoWellness.blogspot.com, I will be dedicating the rest of January and all of February to heart disease issues.

When I have patients/clients see me for high cholesterol, one of the many risk factors for heart disease, I often get the question: “does oatmeal really help lower cholesterol?”

Yes, it does, so here is what you need to know about oatmeal. It has soluble fiber in it, which helps lower your LDL cholesterol, the one you want to be low. It seems that soluble fiber helps lower the absorption of cholesterol.

Ideally we would be getting 10 grams of soluble fiber a day, and we would find it in not just oatmeal, but also oat bran, apples, pears, prune, and beans to name just a few sources. Fruits and vegetables in general are going to help you out - big surprise!

Your oatmeal would ideally be the cooked kind rather than the instant, but they both have soluble fiber in them. Adding some fruit would add more fiber. You could also have a cold cereal made from oats or oat bran, like Cheerios.

In 1997, the FDA authorized the claim on foods such as oat bran and whole oat, as well as oat flour to bear health claims such as "Soluble fiber from foods such as oat bran, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease." or "Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include soluble fiber from oatmeal may reduce the risk of heart disease." The stipulation was that “diets low in cholesterol and saturated fat” must be included in the claim.

The evidence/research has shown that one needs to consume about 3 grams of soluble fiber per day to have an effect on cholesterol levels (it does help with other things too). The primary issue is that the effect lasts only as long as the consumption. So, consuming oatmeal every day for a week or a month, just won’t be beneficial a year from now. To have the benefit long-term, it needs to be consumed on a regular basis long-term, not temporarily.

Here is a recipe for you to try this weekend: Cherry-Hazelnut Oatmeal from Cooking Light.

To your heart health – Eat Well, Live Well, and Be Well

Thinking About Going Vegetarian? Try Being a bit “Flexitarian”

In the 21st century some people equate eating meat to smoking a cigarette – you just don’t do it if you want to be healthy.

Some people are set on believing that going vegetarian, in its various forms, is a more righteous way to eat and an automatic way to healthier eating, and in some cases, automatic weight loss as well.

While research has shown that overall vegetarians do consume less fat and cholesterol and suffer less from the ill effects of having too much of these nutrients than their meat consuming counterparts, research has also shown that people who follow a vegetarian diet exercise more, smoke less, and generally have less stress.

One must note, that following a vegetarian diet does not automatically make the diet “healthy.” Vegetarians can eat unhealthy diets as much as a non-vegetarian. Candy, chips, soft drinks, and other snack foods can each qualify as vegetarian and someone who calls him/herself a vegetarian can easily not eat fruit and vegetables just as easily as a non-vegetarian.

If you are considering a vegetarian route, think about this: how do you eat now? Do you plan your meals and eat a balanced diet and pretty healthy already? Why are you choosing to cut out or reduce your animal product consumption? Is it for your health? Is it for ethical reasons?

If it is for ethical or religious reasons, be careful in that you are still getting plenty of plant-based foods: fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Get your protein from plants like beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy products.

If you are thinking of going vegetarian for your health, consider this: rather than going vegetarian "all the way" consume meat, poultry, and/or fish a one, two or a few times a week. The rest of the week, consume primarily plant-based foods and protein like beans, nuts, and seeds, and soy products.

Can’t do it? What are you going to do when you are a vegetarian? Many people turn to pasta with pasta sauces for all of their non-meat or “vegetarian” meals, and this just isn’t the way to go.

"Flexing" your way to a part-time vegetarian diet just might help you out, and help your health. And it is much more reasonable. That way you can have your meat and not eat it too.

For more information about a flexitarian diet – check out the book The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life by Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, LDN


Eat Well, Live Well, Be Well – with just a bit of meat…

Little Luxuries – Can’t Wait to Try Them!

So many people think that dietitian’s don’t “do” indulgences and don’t “allow” others to do it either. It couldn’t be farther from the truth – at least among the levelheaded dietitians that I know. We love our food, and we love our good food.

I personally love my sweets – desserts. Chocolate, usually. Lemon something or a good crème brulee stands out. But I’ll go with just about anything except perhaps a Black Forest or a meringue, but the rest is pretty much open.

I get frustrated when I go out to eat however, because I often find that when I’m finished with my meal, I’m too full to have dessert, let alone enjoy dessert. And I do want to enjoy dessert!

So, my husband and I, and sometimes our son, and sometimes all by myself, go to a great place here in Albuquerque: Flying Star Café. They have fantastic desserts made daily. If you go early afternoon to early evening you can get a pretty good selection. As the day goes one they start to run out, and once they are out, you outta luck… My favorite is Chocolate Mousse Cake, which tends to disappear pretty quickly and isn’t there if we go in the later evening. So my second choice is generally a toss up between the Crème Brulee, Carrot Cake and the German Chocolate Cake (which is best when left in the car for about an hour on a warm day). But I do try some of the new items that pop up too.

The one downfall here is these desserts are extraordinarily large, at least from my view. I have conservatively estimated some of them to be my entire days calories in a single piece, probably more with the items that have nuts. I have asked, even though I don’t think I really want to know about the nutrition information on some of the food items. Unfortunately, they do not currently have nutrition information on their foods, which is pretty common at locally owned restaurants.

When I get these always-great desserts, I really have to struggle to finish them. I also inevitably have a sugar headache the next day! One would think I would be willing to forego these “Large Luxuries” for the headache. I do…for a month or two, but then I just have to go for it, and deal with the sugar hangover the next day.

If only I could have the wonderful dessert in maybe a half portion…? It is so rare that my husband wants chocolate – so sharing? Out of the question!

My dreams have come true! Today I in my email, my Flying Star Frequent Flyer eNews announcing the forthcoming “Little Luxuries”…smaller pastries to satisfy my sweet tooth and just might not give me a headache! Just might not give me an extra (ahem) calories. And best of all, I don’t have to sacrifice what I really want and share a non-chocolate dessert with my husband!

Flying Star, here are my requests for the Little Luxuries Line: Chocolate Mousse Cake, Crème Brulee, Carrot Cake, German Chocolate Cake, the Kahlua Chocolate one…and maybe a smaller version of the Bread Pudding. I’ve always wanted to try the bread pudding, but it is just too much.

I will be there in February asking for the Little Luxuries line. And I’m telling my friends!

Eat Well, Live Well, and Be Well – and enjoy those Little Luxuries in small amounts.

Eating Breakfast – Just Try It!

For years we have heard it over and over, from our mothers, from health experts, from everywhere: eat breakfast, it is the most important meal of the day.

But just saying it doesn’t do the trick for people. If saying something was the way to get people to do things, then that would make so many of our jobs so much easier! We have to experience it for ourselves, and sometimes it is trial and error before we finally get the hang of it.

Excuses abound: “I’m not hungry.” “I don’t feel like eating.” “I tried it, but when I did, it was starving 2 hours later, so I stopped.”

So, let’s get to the bottom of this. There is loads of research on the benefits of breakfast including that is heaps keep weight down throughout life (the research covers child, adolescents, and adults). That tends to be the important for most people.

By the very definition of the word, break-fast, you need to fuel your brain and your body after the long fast you have had for the past 8-10-12 hours, depending on when your last meal was.

Breakfast should be within a couple of hours after you wake/get up, and it doesn’t have to be big. You can also spread it out over a couple of hours if you don’t tend to be hungry. It should total about 300-500 calories. Coffee or tea can be with your breakfast but shouldn’t be considered breakfast.

Your breakfast should consist of a whole grain carbohydrate, some protein with healthy fat, and some fruit. If you have just carbohydrate, like oatmeal and don’t have protein, you will digest it within an hour and, guess what? You will be hungry within a couple of hours!

Here are some suggestions:

• Whole grain toast with peanut butter and banana
• Whole wheat English muffin with an egg, one ounce of cheese, and slice tomato
• Oatmeal with chopped nuts and sliced or dried fruit
• Yogurt with fruit and granola (or high fiber cereal)
• Smoothie with fruit, soy milk or yogurt and 1/4 cup uncooked oatmeal (try it!).
• Half whole grain bagel with cream cheese and fruit or vegetable juice (be careful, bagels tend to be between 350-400 calories each without the cream cheese).
• Tortilla or pita with egg, cheese, and green chile only. If you start adding bacon and potatoes then you start adding calories, trade out something else, like the cheese for the bacon. (Classic New Mexico breakfast burritos can pack a 800-1200 calorie punch!)

Set a goal to have breakfast three times this week and work you way up to five times a week in a couple of months. Before you know it, it will be a part of you daily habit.

Eat Well, Live Well, Be Well – Starting Tomorrow Morning Sunshine!