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The New Pregnancy Nutrition Rules
Tweet Share on Facebook April 16, 2013 CommentWhen I was in graduate school, Bridget Swinney's book on infant feeding, "Baby Bites," was one of my textbooks for a course on pediatric nutrition. Later on in life, I returned to her book for help navigating the thorny waters of transitioning my own kids to solids.
Recently, I heard she had published a fourth edition of "Eating Expectantly," a veritable bible for pregnancy nutrition. So I rushed out to get a copy, devoured it in one sitting and stalked her online to score an interview for this column.
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Are Portion Sizes Shrinking?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 15, 2013 CommentOver the past 50 years, the portion sizes of food have more than doubled, which has negatively influenced the waistlines of our country. Indeed, Americans have a portion distortion problem. But there is some good news!
The Hudson Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, recently published an extremely encouraging report on lower-calorie foods. Restaurants are now offering more calorie-controlled, healthy options, and consumers are buying them, the group reported. One of the key findings from the food chains studied was an increase in sales of low-calorie foods while sales of other foods had declined. These chains also saw more traffic due to their healthier options. In short, offering lower-calorie foods is showing good business results, since customers are responding favorably to these smart, nutritious options.
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How to Overcome Your Sugar Addiction
Tweet Share on Facebook April 15, 2013 CommentThere are many silly questions in nutrition, and many more silly answers. Sometimes, a rather silly question is very well disguised as serious, deep and important. A noteworthy example of this is: Can food be addictive?
This question has received considerable attention in pop culture and scholarly circles alike and seems anything but silly at first blush. And there is, I suppose, a case to be made for its legitimacy, at the level of competing and detailed definitions of addiction, or the release and metabolism of specific brain chemicals.
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Artichokes, 3 Ways
Tweet Share on Facebook April 15, 2013 CommentLegend has it that the artichoke was created when the love-struck Greek god Zeus was rejected and thus turned his beloved into a thistle. Bummer for Zeus, but his loss is our gain, because that thistle is now known as the artichoke. Aside from being a mainstay of your favorite dip, artichokes boast tons of health benefits. Whether you believe this myth or not, we're sure thankful to have the artichoke today.
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How to Cook for One
Tweet Share on Facebook April 11, 2013 Comment"What's for dinner?" These three simple words can stir up many feelings when cooking for one. Maybe you dread the chore of cooking because it feels like a lot of work for just one person. Or maybe you simply don't know what to cook. Sounds familiar? You're not alone. I tell my patients to think of cooking for one as an opportunity. You're in the driver's seat and can choose to cook whatever you like without worrying about pleasing others. And you can make sure your meal is healthy, because who better to care for yourself than you? So get to cooking, and follow these tips:
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You'll Gladly Die for Your Children; Why Won't You Cook for Them?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 11, 2013 CommentI'm a parent of three. I hold no illusions that I'm a uniquely dedicated parent or that my love for my kids is greater than anyone else's. And like all parents, should the opportunity arise, I'd gladly, immediately and unquestioningly give my life for their's. And it's my firm belief in the incredible and powerful love of parents for their children that regularly leads me to scratch my head and wonder: Why it is that while most every parent would happily die for their children, it's an increasingly rare parent who will cook for them?
I've heard all of the explanations—time, cost, after-school activities, lack of cooking skills, picky eaters, etc. But ultimately, I think the real reason parents who would die for their children are comfortable feeding them from boxes and drive-thrus isn't due to a lack of love or concern. It's because society has been so firmly and conclusively duped into believing that doing so is both safe and healthful that it has become our new normal.
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Sports Nutrition for Food-Sensitive Athletes
Tweet Share on Facebook April 9, 2013 CommentAs triathalon season approaches each year, my patient roster becomes peppered with endurance athletes emerging from the winter hiatus. As they look ahead to triathlons, half-marathons, marathons and other highly-competitive events, questions arise about the beverages, bars and energy shots they should use to fuel these athletic endeavors.
[See Performance Foods: What and When to Eat Before Your Next Workout.]
I've reported previously about a category of poorly-absorbed carbohydrates called FODMAPs, which range from fructose and lactose to sugar alcohols (or polyols) and bean-derived galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS). In susceptible people—and particularly in larger doses—these carbs can trigger symptoms like gas, bloating and diarrhea. As it turns out, sports nutrition products are generally loaded with high-FODMAP ingredients.
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Diet Alone, or Live It Together?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 8, 2013 CommentI was delighted to join an episode of Katie Couric's show, to air on Wednesday, devoted entirely to the issue of childhood obesity. I was also delighted to learn that People Magazine was a sponsor of the episode and would be devoting next week's issue to the same topic.
But in some ways, a dedicated focus on childhood obesity is problematic, in just the same ways that an isolated focus on obesity among adults is. Children live with adults, not in some parallel universe. We are all in this together. The basic functional unit of our society is only very rarely a lone individual, and almost always a family.
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Spring Snacks: Make These Smart Swaps
Tweet Share on Facebook April 4, 2013 CommentThe birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming and the temperature is rising. Now that spring has arrived and you'll be peeling off excess layers of clothing, it's also a good time to take stock of the extra pounds that may have accumulated over winter. Let's start cleaning up your act by spring-cleaning your snacks.
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The Most Important Skill for Weight Management
Tweet Share on Facebook April 3, 2013 CommentWhat do you think it is?
I'll start by telling you what it's not. It's not willpower, determination or motivation. It's not avoiding carbs or sugar or fats. And it's not cooking, hitting the gym or sticking to your plan.
