While today’s blog is brief, the link to which I’m directing you is rich with content.  That’s because it’s my new website!  Check out www.gourmetnutritionist.com, and let me know what you think!
 

Too Good to Resist!

I was never a fan (or follower) of low-carb diets; I always felt they were more hype than help and frustrating for those stuck in a cycle of weight loss and re-gain.

Recently, I’ve been reading about the growing interest in “resistant starches” and their potential to expedite weight loss, prevent high blood pressure and protect against diabetes. 

While you might not know much about resistant starches, I’m willing to bet you’ve been eating them for a long time.  That said, I thought I’d devote today’s entry to this good-for-you carbohydrate.

Resistant starch is actually a type of fiber found naturally in potatoes, beans and legumes (black-eyed peas, kidney and soy beans, lentils, etc.) and grains (brown rice, barley, etc.).  How it got its name is that it “resists” digestion and doesn’t go into the bloodstream, and since it can’t be absorbed or digested, it doesn’t act like other carbohydrates which are stored as body fat when you eat too much.

Here are some other benefits:

• Resistant starches help control blood sugar levels.  After you eat a meal containing resistant starches, blood sugar and insulin levels are depressed.  This is encouraging news for those with diabetes.
• Research indicates that butyrate, a good-for-you fatty acid produced by the digestion of resistant starches, may help prevent
  colon cancer
• Resistant starch also triggers satiety-inducing hormones, so a meal including potatoes or beans may prompt you to eat less
  and feel full sooner

So, add yams, corn and bananas to your shopping list and do your body good!

Last week, many of you tuned in to my ChefsLine (http://www.chefsline.com/) interview on Blog Talk Radio.  For those of you who missed it, I’ve attached an audio clip of the segment (show_vday.mp3 ).  Several hundred people downloaded the broadcast onto their iPods, so it was great knowing the spot was popular!

If you’re listening to the clip for the first time, let me know if you have questions about what was discussed.  I’d be happy to respond to your queries!

One of my favorite authors, Robert Lewis Stevenson (who was also a prolific travel writer and poet), wrote a poem called Requiem.  Two verses at the very end state:

Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

It is a gorgeous poem, and taking these verses out of context is tragic, but doing so helps me make a point:  I have returned!

It’s been nearly six months since I’ve last written an entry, but lots of opportunistic things have happened in the interim:

• I’m now a free agent working on writing assignments for magazines and newspapers
• I’ve begun doing blog talk radio shows, the next being this Thursday, February 14th.  Tune in at 5:00PM eastern time to  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chefsline.  We’ll be chatting about (what else?) dessert!
• I’m working on a nutrition and culinary-related book proposal
• I’m continuing to provide corporate and private clients with nutrition solutions for just about every need or challenge

Having transferred my blog to another sever, I’m ready to resume answering your nutrition questions, chatting about nutrition news of the day or sharing tips and hints for cooking and eating well.

I’ll look forward to hearing from you!

Everywhere you turn, there seems to be baby news. From the cover of People magazine to the pages of major dailies, babies (and their expectant mothers) are making headlines. That’s because babies are big business.

The maternity-clothes industry rakes in nearly $200,000,000 annually; layettes, cribs, baby carriages, baths, feeding accessories and toiletries gross half a billion dollars a year, and diaper services do an annual business of $30,000,000.

Clearly, when a baby is on the way, there’s a lot at stake financially, not to mention emotionally and physically, so it’s understandable you want to do everything possible to ensure your new arrival will be healthy and happy.

That process begins long before the baby arrives though, and it begins with a diet rich in folic acid. Why? Well, women who plan on becoming pregnant can reduce their chances of having a baby with birth defects if they consume the recommended 600 micrograms folic acid up to one year before conceiving.

Folic acid, a member of the B-vitamin family, is responsible for making cells and, specifically, protecting against spina bifida, a neural tube defect. In recent years, scientists have suggested that folic acid might also lower the risk of developing Alzheimer?s and heart disease.

To get your daily dose of folic acid, try to include a serving of any of the following foods in your diet:

Peanuts
Orange juice
Fortified breakfast cereal
Snow peas
Broccoli

Asparagus
Lentils
Spinach

Black beans
Papaya

Making informed food choices in advance of becoming pregnant is one of the most simple and powerful things you can do to help ensure the health of your newborn. Why not start today?

Last week, I was traveling (hence my lapse in posting an entry), but it was precisely that trip which inspired today’s log. . .

Believe it or not, I took a few days off to enjoy some sunshine and sport fishing in the Florida Keys. There, I had high hopes of catching Mahi Mahi, Red Snapper and Tarpon, though none found my bait and hook.

On the other hand, the tourists who were visiting the Keys didn’t seem to have any trouble scoping out and devouring fast food, desserts, snacks and whipped, sweetened coffee drinks that proved too tempting to resist.

Seeing this made me shake my head in disbelief, and it was not because delicious tropical fruit, refreshing yogurt smoothies and local fish were equally present but ignored. My reaction was prompted by the ignorance of politicians like California State Senator Carole Migden (D-San Francisco).

A few weeks ago, Migden introduced a menu labeling bill that would require warning labels to remind us that food contains calories. Indeed, this is true. And do you know that bill passed the State Senate? This is how tax dollars are being spent.

Now, if Senator Migden were standing along side me on Duval Street last week, she would have seen how ineffective her bill would be if implemented; consumers will just turn a blind eye.

As a Registered Dietitian with a private practice, I know the key to weight loss is behavioral. Of course, knowledge is power, but application of that insight is what yields success. Americans are already overwhelmed with nutrition and health information. Access to food facts is unprecedented through websites, toll-free numbers, health care providers and the media. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually on diet books. Yet, Americans’ expanding waistlines seem to be keeping pace with the availability of nutrition information.

We need menu labeling like we need tax breaks for vegetarians. And we don’t need politicians legislating solutions for health and well being. We need exercise, a little motivation and a lot more self-discipline.

When I was a little girl, I dreamed about princes and other valiant heroes coming to rescue me. (From what, I’m not quite sure, but that’s beside the point.) My swashbuckling knight-errant was shielded in armor, carried a gleaming sword and rode a massive, white stallion with a shiny coat and mane.

Fast forward a few decades, and my definition of a hero is very different. He actually drives a white SUV, carries a whisk and wears a toque.

He is my personal chef.

Now, it’s not what you’re thinking. I haven’t adopted a lifestyle of the rich and famous, nor have I thrown in the towel (pun intended) when it comes to cooking. I just needed help and qualified help, fast.

As most of you know, I travel a lot for business, and last week, things got out of hand. Not only was I in the air most days and at client meetings most nights, I decided to throw into the mix a last-minute party for a few friends. What would it take to coordinate an informal dinner, right?

Well, a delayed connection, bad weather and an empty refrigerator left me in a panic the day of my fete. I had a few hours to get my act together, and there was no way I was going to pull this off without serious help. And that’s when I thought to contact the U.S. Personal Chef Association.

No sooner did I log on to their site, I had found Prince Bob, certified personal chef, located in my area and willing to leap tall grocery shelves in a single bound. I was saved!

Bottom line, Chef Bob shopped, prepped dinner and left me with some finishing instructions that were easy to follow and ensured a successful event — all in a few hours and at an affordable rate.

So, the moral of this tale is 1) try not to be superwoman and 2) check out the local, personal chefs in your area. They’re probably better and less expensive than any caterer, and many give private lessons in your own home; an affordable gift, too, for cooking enthusiasts or those who’d just like to feel like a hero for one night.

Green is the new black. It’s hip, cool and makes a statement. But I’m not talking about fashion; I’m referring to products with an ethical positioning.

“Green” foods and beverages are appearing everywhere and, along with their earthy artwork and recycled packaging, appear to be responsible choices. Further, merchants capitalize on this positioning to sell you what might be just an ordinary food product in a green-washed disguise.

Earlier this week, I was in Arizona, and I put my theory to the test. Strolling through a gourmet food marketplace, I came across a meatcase filled with veal, beef, chicken and pork. When I queried the butcher about his beef, he led me to the “pure, honest, grass-fed beef.” The price was nearly double that of his grain-fed beef (always tastier and more tender, and not “cleaner”), and therein lied the rub. He was selling hype.

Ever since the environment became a hot topic and a strong marketing platform, manufacturers have been expanding their portfolios in this sector, but it’s really within consumers’ control to make educated choices about what’s “best.”

“Green,” “environmentally healthy,” “ethical” and “clean” are all marketing terms. “Sustainable,” “organic” and “fair trade,” on the other hand, have legal definitions. Understanding that the ecological value of a product is holistic, involving cultivation, procurement, processing and packaging, is essential to assess “green” claims. Many company websites will help you do just that, but if you want to leave your children a better environment or teach lessons of social responsibility, I encourage you to closely examine claims, ask questions, and THEN feel good about what you put on your table.

I had to laugh after reading a 55-page research report issued last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The study, called Food for Thought: Television Food Advertising to Children in the United States, prompted headlines across the country ranging from Kids Gorge on Junk Food Ads, to Kids Besieged by Food Ads. Quoted in these stories were the usual suspects of food police and activists and, frankly, all the coverage was a yawn.

While the Kaiser Family Foundation study examined the overwhelming amount of TV children watched per day and the number of food ads they saw daily, and newspaper reports screamed about marketing’s detrimental effects on childhood obesity, no one addressed a critically serious problem underlying the epidemic: effective ways to motivate kids to become active vs. leading a sedentary lifestyle.

Clearly, it’s easy for consumer advocates and policy makers to point fingers and lay blame as opposed to asking their constituents to take responsibility for their own health. That takes effort. And it surely doesn’t win votes. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) told a forum held to discuss the Foundation study that the food industry must voluntarily shift marketing campaigns away from unhealthy foods for kids or face the prospect of government imposed limits on advertising.

Can we be realistic for a moment? Will candy ads touting a fitness message really solve the problem? In theory, that sounds lovely, but kids get information from innumerable sources and, as long as we ignore the basics of behavior modification, these block-and-tackle attempts to solve the obesity crisis will never be effective.

I was filing some papers this morning and came across a recent ACNeilsen study that indicated Americans really do know how to manage their weight. Further, almost 82% of consumers surveyed acknowledged they are most responsible for their weight not food manufacturers or fast food restaurants.

This made me wonder if law has become the new medicine. Do influencers (and activists) really think they can regulate the public’s way to better health? It sure seems as if they’re trying.

When the Nutrition Labeling Education Act (NLEA) was established in 1990, it was done so to foster a healthy food environment, provide public guidance and education. Now, so many guidelines and regulations have been established that we’ve lost sight of the real problem: changing or modifying consumer behavior.

With attorneys interpreting science and translating their findings into policy, I tend to wonder if we’re leveraging the laws appropriately to facilitate consumer empowerment of their own well-being. I don’t think so. But we’ve sure done a great job of stirring controversy, making headlines and creating platforms for politicians.

Of course, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this issue.