New School Nutrition Standards Proposed

One month ago, the current administration signed the "Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010", which is designed to improve the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs.  As part of this new law, the USDA was given the authority to set nutritional standards for all foods sold in schools during the day.  However, at the time it was not known when the new nutritional standards would be set.  Yesterday was the first big step in that direction.  Yesterday, the USDA published a proposed rule to update the nutritional standards of the meals served in these school programs.  While you can download and read the full proposal (Docket ID: FNS-2007-0038 at regulations.gov), I have outlined some of the major recommendations below:

Breakfast Calorie Recommendations:

• Grades K - 5 = 350 - 500 calories
• Grades 6 - 8 = 400 - 550 calories
• Grades 9 - 12 = 450 - 600 calories

Lunch Calorie Recommendations: 

• Grades K - 5 = 550 - 650 calories
• Grades 6 - 8 = 600 - 700 calories
• Grades 9 - 12 = 750 - 850 calories

Breakfast Foods:

• Fruit - 1 cup per day (up from 1/2 cup)
• Grains & Meat/Meat Alternatives - 1.4 - 2 grains per day plus 1 - 2 meat/meat alternatives per day  (up from 1 each per day)
• Whole Grains - At least half of grains consumed should be whole grains
• Milk - 1 cup with fat content to be less than 1% (previously had no fat content recommendation)

Lunch Foods:

• Fruit - 3/4 to 1 cup of vegetables plus 1/2 to 1 cup of fruit per day (up from 1/2 to 1 cup of fruits and vegetables combined)
• Vegetables - recommend a weekly requirement for dark green and orange vegetables and legumes, while limiting starchy vegetables (no recommendation previously)
• Meat/Meat Alternatives - 1.6 to 2.4 ounces daily average over 5 days (down from 1.5 to 3 ounces)
• Grains - 1.8 to 2.6 ounces per day on average
• Whole grains - at least to half to be whole grains
• Milk - 1 cup with fat content to be less than 1%

Other Changes:

• Decrease saturated fat to less than 10% of total calories
• Decrease sodium to below 1,500 mg per day over a 10 year period.
• Foods used in school nutrition programs must have zero trans fat
• Offer versus Serve Program - At breakfast, students would be allowed to decline one food item, but MUST choose 1 fruit or vegetable item.  At lunch, students would be allowed to decline 2 food items, but MUST choose 1 fruit or vegetable item.  This program would be required at the high school level, but optional for schools at the elementary and middle school levels.

These proposed recommendations appear to make an overall improvement in the nutritional profile of the foods offered at all school levels.  These changes are clearly designed to increase our kids' consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, while reducing their saturated fat and sodium intake.  As part of this, schools will no longer be allowed to offer whole milk or reduced-fat (2%) milk. These changes place the school breakfast and lunch programs more in line with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and consistent with the daily recommended intakes suggested by the Institute of Medicine.  At the moment this is still only a PROPOSED rule.  As such, it is open to public comment for the next 90 days.  So if you have any comments or suggestions on these new recommendations, now is the time to voice your opinion.


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Dance Your Way To A Healthier You!

Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and is essential for maintaining or losing weight.  However, most of us have a difficult time adopting a regular exercise program.  Even those of us that start a regular exercise program with the best of intentions have difficulty in sticking with it over the long-term.  A new research study (free to download) explored the use of a combination of Latin dancing and educational information on healthy eating as a way to enhance physical activity and improve dietary habits.

In this study, adult overweight women who reported low levels of leisure time physical activity and low consumption of fruits and vegetables were subjected to two interventions: (1) 4 weeks of Latin dance lessons twice weekly and (2) internet-based education.  Group 1 women were asked to dance during the first 4 weeks and were provided education materials during the second 4 weeks of the study.  Women in Group 2 received educational materials first, followed by 4 weeks of dance lessons.  Dance lessons consisted of 8 one-hour lessons during which study participants learned the Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, and Cha Cha from a professional dance instructor.  Physical activity and heart rate were monitored during the dance lessons.  Educational material on improving dietary habits by increasing fruit and vegetable consumption was provided via an interactive website that was updated with new material on a weekly basis.  The results of this small pilot study showed that:

• Based on heart rate, women obtained about 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity during their one-hour dance lessons.
• All study participants reported an increase in leisure time physical activity from about 10 minutes per week at the start of the study to about 30 minutes per week at the end of the study on average.
• Fruit and vegetable consumption remained stable throughout the study in women receiving educational material first and dancing second, while women who danced first and received educational material second showed a reduction in fruit and vegetable consumption.
• Group 2 women (education first) showed decreased consumption of dietary fats compared to Group 1 women (dance first)
• Body mass index (BMI) did not change significantly in either group

This is an interesting study that should be followed up with a larger, longer study.  In this study, the volunteers participated in over half of the dance lessons, suggesting that Latin dance might be a form of exercise that many individuals might find enjoyable enough to stick to on a long-term basis.  Additionally, this study suggests that learning about healthy eating habits before taking dance lessons might provide the best long-term results in regards to developing and maintaining healthier eating habits.  While no changes in BMI were observed in this study, it is important to remember that this was not a weight loss study and did not include any form of weight loss program.  Without the inclusion of a weight loss program, it would likely be difficult to lose much weight with moderate-intensity physical activity just twice per week for 4 weeks.  Nonetheless, no weight gain was observed suggesting that this intervention of education and dance might help maintain body weight or reduce weight gain.  It would be interesting to see if studies that include a weight loss program with the dance intervention, are of longer duration, and perhaps provide both education and dance over the same time frames would provide additional benefits like weight loss.

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Eat Plenty of Vegetables Rich in Alpha-Carotene!

Most, if not all, of us have been told as children to "eat your vegetables so you can grow up strong and healthy" and research continues to show us that eating our vegetables has many benefits.  Vegetables are typically rich in nutrients, low in calories, and contain many health-supporting antioxidants.  One such anti-oxidant is alpha-carotene.

A nutrition research study published a few days ago in the Archives of Internal Medicine examined the possible link between alpha-carotene and the risk of death in over 15,000 adults who took part in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Follow-up Study.  At the beginning of the study blood samples were collected from study volunteers, who were then followed for about 14 years.  The study researchers measured blood levels of alpha-carotene and analyzed the link between alpha-carotene levels and risk of dying.  The study investigators reported that higher levels of alpha-carotene were linked with a lower risk of dying from all causes.  Specifically, compared to individuals with low levels of alpha-carotene (0 - 1 micrograms/dL), individuals with alpha-carotene blood levels of:

• 2 - 3 micrograms/dL showed a 23% reduction in the risk of death from any cause
• 4 - 5 micrograms/dL had a 27% reduced risk of death
• 6 - 8 micrograms/dL were at a 34% reduced risk of dying from any cause
• 9 micrograms/dL or more had a 39% reduced risk of death

This new study clearly shows a potential link between higher blood levels of alpha-carotene and a lower risk of death during the study's 14-year follow-up, suggesting that higher alpha-carotene levels might be important for living a longer, healthier life.  This is also supported by the lower risk for death specifically due to poor heart health observed in this study.  As you might expect, higher alpha-carotene blood levels can be obtained by eating more foods rich in alpha-carotene.  These include orange and dark green-colored vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash, broccoli, green beans, spinach, collard greens, kale, and romaine lettuce.

According to current recommendations, adult men and women should eat anywhere between 2.5 to 3.5 cups of vegetables daily depending upon specific needs.  Despite this many of us rarely consume enough vegetables each day.  This new study continues to impress upon us the importance of eating plenty of vegetables each day.

Are you eating all your vegetables?

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Maintain A Healthy Body Weight With A Mediterranean Diet

A Mediterranean type diet pattern, which is typically rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, olive oil, nuts, beans, and seeds, with only low to moderate consumption of red meat and wine, has been reported to have a number of possible health benefits.  Some studies have suggested that the possible benefits of the Mediterranean diet might be due to the levels of olive oil consumption in a Mediterranean diet.  In fact, recent research reports that the possible benefits of olive oil might be through a reduction in chronic inflammation.

While research suggests that following a Mediterranean diet plan might support normal human health, the benefits of this dietary lifestyle on obesity risk are apparently less clear.  To examine the impact of the Mediterranean diet on weight gain and obesity risk, nutrition researchers conducted a study in over 103,000 men and over 270,000 women from 10 European countries.  Study investigators collected body characteristics at the beginning of the study and after an average of 5 years and determined the volunteers' adherence to the Mediterranean Diet pattern by measuring their consumption of 9 different dietary components typical of the Mediterranean diet.  The results of this research showed that individuals who stuck to the Mediterranean diet pattern closely maintained their body weight over the 5-year study period.  Compared to individuals who did not comply well with the Mediterranean diet pattern, individuals who complied well were 10% less likely to become overweight or obese.  The nutrition researchers further reported that the low level of meat consumption, typical of the Mediterranean diet pattern, appeared to be the reason for the ability of individuals to maintain their body weight while on this dietary pattern.

Being overweight or obese has been linked to a number of chronic health conditions, which emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy body weight throughout life.  A typical Mediterranean diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and fish, but low in red meat and wine.  This is in contrast to a typical Western diet, which is generally high in red meat, high-fat foods, refined grains and sweet desserts.  This new research study shows that following a healthier diet pattern might help us each with our weight management goals and reduce the risk for obesity.

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Dietary Intervention Messages: Restrict Fat vs. Promote Fruits & Vegetables

There are many approaches that nutritionists, registered dietitians, or other healthcare professionals use to get healthy eating messages across to the public or those in their care.  In some instances, these messages can be non-restrictive where healthy foods are promoted.  In other cases, the messages are restrictive where unhealthy foods are discouraged.  Differences in the effectiveness of these various strategies are understudied.

Researchers from Laval University in Quebec, Canada compared the effectiveness of two such strategies.  For their study, the investigators assigned 68 overweight or obese postmenopausal women to one of two dietary interventions: (1) a restrictive approach using messages to limit high-fat foods [LOFAT group] or (2) a promotional approach where messages encouraged addition of fruits and vegetables to the diet [HIFV group].  Both groups received 3 group sessions and 10 individual counseling sessions with a registered dietitian.  Changes in dietary intake, eating behaviors, and body size were determined at the beginning of the study, after 6 months when the intervention was completed, and after 12 and 18 months. The study investigators reported:

In the LOFAT group:

• Dietary intake of fat and overall energy was reduced at the end of the study period compared to the initial values.
• Energy and fat consumption remained lower than baseline as far out as 12 months after the study ended.
• Dietary restraint increased by the end of the study intervention period and remained high after 12 months of follow-up.
• Body weight was reduced by about 8 lbs after the first 6 months.

In the HIFV group:

• Consumption of fruits and vegetables increased by the end of the 6-month study intervention period.
• During the 12-month follow-up period, fruit and vegetable consumption returned to levels observed at the beginning of the study.
• No substantial changes in dietary restraint were observed in the HIFV group.
• Body weight decreased by about 4 lbs after the 6-month study period.

This is an interesting study comparing two approaches to healthy eating and weight loss.  Based on the results outlined above, it appears that the negative message strategy (messages to limit high fat foods) was more effective than the positive message strategy (encouraging fruits and vegetables).  The results suggest that while messages to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables are effective as long as they are delivered, people find it difficult to maintain high fruit and vegetable intake when the encouragement is withdrawn.  While both approaches resulted in similar weight loss success, the messages to restrict high fat food intake was apparently easier to follow.  Based on the study summary, it seems uncertain to me whether the inability of study volunteers to stick with their fruit and vegetable consumption was due to a failure of the positive message approach or the foods that were being encouraged.  Although the results of this study suggest that telling people what foods to avoid was more effective than telling people what foods to include, it is probably still important to educate consumers about healthy foods that can replace the less healthy high fat foods.

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Make Healthy Eating a Lifetime Habit!

Many of us have gone through the weight cycling process... go on a diet to lose the unwanted weight, gain the unwanted pounds back, then go on another diet.  Unfortunately, over time this seems to lead to additional weight gain since we often seem to regain more than we originally lost.  Additionally, it has been suggested that weight cycling might have negative health effects.  A better approach, of course, is to follow a healthy diet plan to reach a healthy body weight and then maintain that new healthy weight for life.  But how successful are we at doing this?

A research review paper examined the scientific literature on long-term weight loss studies to determine the answer to just that question.  This new study examined long-term changes in the daily intake of fat, fruit, vegetables, and fiber in multiple clinical trials that included over 62,000 study volunteers. According to the study investigators:

• Study volunteers overall were able to maintain a reduction in dietary fat consumption and an increase in fiber and fruit and vegetable consumption for 1 year.
• Each following year showed a reduction in the ability to maintain a healthy diet as dietary choices slowly reverted back to the unhealthy choices made at the beginning of each study.
• Only one study reported successful maintenance of healthy eating habits beyond one year.

It is clear from this study that the majority of us find if difficult to develop and maintain healthy eating habits permanently.  While healthy eating habits need to be a life-long choice, it is a choice many of us find very difficult.  There are many reasons for this including the cost of healthy food choices, the bombardment of advertisements for unhealthy, energy-dense foods, and the comparatively poorer availability of healthy options.  Our inability to develop life-long healthy eating patterns is due to a combination of the choices we ourselves make and the food environment to which we are exposed.  Changes to both of these will be needed if we ever hope to develop better eating habits as a population and reduce the incidence of obesity.

Foods high in protein with a low glycemic index can be healthier options than many energy-dense foods that typically provide little nutritional value.  My protein bars and shakes are a delicious, low glycemic part of my easy diet plan, making them a great way to lose weight without punishing yourself with hunger.

Emotional Eating Impacts Food Choices

When we think about emotional eating many of us picture ourselves splurging on chocolate, ice cream, or other foods and snacks that have little nutritional value.  A recent study published in the current issue of Appetite examines the relationship of emotional eating and depressive symptoms with consumption of energy-dense foods and fruits/vegetables.

For this new nutrition study, 1,679 men and 2,035 women were asked to complete questionnaires to assess eating habits and depressive symptoms.  Relationships between depressive symptoms, emotional eating, and consumption of sweet and non-sweet energy-dense foods and fruits and vegetables were determined.  Depressive symptoms were closely linked to emotional eating and both depressive symptoms and emotional eating were linked to higher body mass index.  The study investigators also reported that:

• In both men and women emotional eating was linked to consumption of sweet, energy-dense foods.
• In men, emotional eating was also linked to higher consumption of non-sweet, energy-dense foods.
• Consumption of fruits and vegetables was substantially lower in individuals with symptoms of depression.

These results are not completely surprising as the concept of emotional eating has been around for quite some time now.  Nonetheless, these findings confirm that our emotional state can cause us to make unhealthy food choices, such as over-consumption of energy-dense foods with little nutritional value and inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables.  This can lead to increased body weight and likely impacts the high incidence of obesity. Programs designed to reduce emotional eating or to recognize emotional eating can lead to healthier food choices and subsequently healthier lifestyles.  Getting rid of unhealthy foods from the pantry and replacing them with healthier options can be one way to start.  This way, when we find ourselves eating as an emotional outlet, at least our food choices on hand will be healthier.

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Fiber Is Lacking In American Diets

Fiber is an important part of our daily diet.  The Institute of Medicine recommends that women consume between 21-26 grams and that men consume between 30-38 grams of fiber daily.  Despite these recommendations, new marketing research from Mintel, a leading market research company, suggests that Americans are not consuming enough fiber in their diets.  According to a press release, this market analysis of dietary fiber intake revealed:

• Only 20% of consumers look for and purchase products with added health claims, suggesting that only a small number of consumers are looking for fiber-enriched products.
• 25% of survey respondents think fiber is only needed for individuals with digestive difficulties.
• 22% of consumers are unaware of the health benefits of dietary fiber intake.
• The market research suggests that the prevalence of inadequate fiber intake might be due to the number of people (27%) who are under the impression that fiber-rich foods taste poorly.

Considering the importance of dietary fiber for human health and well-being, the results of this survey are unsettling.  While no final numbers were provided in the press release, this survey suggests that a pretty large percentage of the American population are not getting enough fiber in their diet.  Research suggests that getting enough fiber in the diet appears to reduce the risk of developing various health conditions including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, constipation, and diverticulitis.  In fact, the U.S. FDA has issued a health claim for dietary fiber and heart disease that states "diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol and rich in fruits, vegetables, and grain products that contain some types of dietary fiber, particularly soluble fiber, might reduce the risk of heart disease, a disease associated with many factors".

Based on the importance of dietary fiber, it is imperative that we all make sure to consume enough each day.  Small changes in dietary habits can make a big difference in regards to dietary fiber consumption.  Simple ways to increase our dietary fiber intake include:

• Snacking on raw vegetables instead of less healthy options
• Getting our fruit serving each day through whole fruits instead fruit juices.
• Replacing refined grains (white bread, white rice, etc) with whole grain products (whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc.)
• Looking for fiber-enriched products when grocery shopping

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Are You Getting Enough Fruits & Vegetables?

Numerous studies have reported that consuming adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables helps to lower the risk for chronic health conditions and can be an important aspect of weight management.

Fruits and vegetables are nutrient-dense foods, which means that they contain a high level of various nutrients (fiber, vitamins, minerals, etc) while being low in calories.  In contrast, energy-dense foods are high in calories and low in nutrients.  Because of this, following a diet rich in energy-dense foods often leads to either consuming too many calories, consuming inadequate levels of needed nutrients, or both.  Therefore, it is important to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables in order to get all the nutrients we need without consuming too many calories.

But how much do we need?  According to Fruits & Veggies Matter, a website from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the amount of fruits and vegetables that we each need depends on our age, sex, and level of physical activity. Adult women over 19 years of age that are moderately active (30 – 60 minutes of physical activity per day beyond everyday life activities) should include 1.5 – 2 cups of fruits and 2.5 cups of vegetables.  In contrast, moderately active adult men need to consume slightly more, 2 cups of fruits and 3 – 3.5 cups of vegetables.  The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends eating more vegetables than fruits as part of a healthy eating plan, partly because vegetables typically contain fewer calories than fruits.

While this might seem like a lot of fruits and vegetables, there are plenty of ways to get in your daily requirements.

• Redesign your plate… instead of focusing on meat and pasta; make half your plate a combination of fruits and vegetables.
• Make fruits and vegetables that require little to no preparation your main snacking option.  Apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, and baby carrots make delicious and nutritious mid-morning, mid-afternoon, or evening snacks.
• If you are having yogurt for breakfast, add sliced fruit or berries to make a refreshing way to start your day.
• Add fresh or frozen vegetables to any casserole or pasta dish.  Not only does this help you reach your daily requirement for fruits and vegetables, but it also reduces the calorie-content of the meal on a cup-for-cup basis.

While it can be easy to get enough fruits and vegetables in our daily diet, it probably will not happen without a conscious effort.  So the next time you go shopping for food, make a point of adding a variety of fruits and vegetables to your grocery list in place of less healthy, energy-dense options.

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Weight Loss Tip: Don't Serve Food From The Table

There are lots of weight loss tips floating around and many of them work if we actually follow them on a regular basis.  A new research study examined the effectiveness of one weight loss tip on caloric intake.

In this new healthy eating research study, researchers investigated whether the place from which food was served had an impact on how much food was consumed.  For the study, food was served to 78 study volunteers either (1) from the kitchen counter/stove or (2) from serving dishes placed on the dinner table.  The number of calories consumed under each serving condition was measured.  The results showed that:

• Serving food from the kitchen instead of the dinner table resulted in a 23-35% decrease in food consumption.
• The decrease in food consumption that resulted from keeping the serving dishes of the dinner table was greater in men than women.

This is a great example of Mindless Eating®.  If the food is placed on the table in a serving dish and we are allowed to eat what we want, we typically eat more than we realize.  This is because it is much easier to take a second or even third helping if the food remains on the table in front of us.  If we have to leave the table to get an additional helping of food from the kitchen, we are less apt to have a second helping.  The study researchers suggest that this same strategy can be used for foods of all types... simply keep healthy foods, fruits and vegetables in particular, in plain sight and easy reach and hide unhealthy foods from site.

Keep simple ideas like this in mind when trying to develop healthy eating habits.  Following a good diet plan is another way to start developing good eating habits.  My diet plan is an easy and delicious way to help with your weight management goals.

Pepper Compounds Might Aid Weight Loss

When we think about pepper compounds that might support healthy weight loss, we typically think about capsaicin, the compound responsible for the heat in hot peppers.  However, recent research studies have shown that compounds in sweet peppers might also support healthy weight loss.

In a new study presented at the 2010 Experimental Biology meetings, researchers examined the impact of dihydrocapsiate, a non-hot pepper compound, on body metabolism endpoints.  For the study, 33 volunteers followed a very-low calorie diet using high protein liquid meal replacements for 4 weeks.  The volunteers were assigned to take either (1) no dihydrocapsiate, (2) 3 mg dihydrocapsiate per day, or (3) 9 mg dihydrocapsiate per day.  Changes in after-meal energy expenditure and fat oxidation were measured at the beginning and end of the study.  The results of this study showed that taking 9 mg dihydrocapsiate per day for 4 weeks increased both after-meal energy expenditure and fat oxidation, suggesting that this pepper compound might help support healthy weight loss.

This is not the first study to examine the potential weight loss benefits of these compounds (capsinoids) from sweet peppers.  A study (free to read online or download) last year examined the potential benefits of a capsinoid extract (containing three different capsinoids) on weight loss in overweight/obese individuals following a modest diet plan.  The results of this study showed that supplementing the diet plan with 6 mg capsinoids per day decreased belly fat and increased fat oxidation after 12 weeks compared to individuals not taking any capsinoids.

Overall, these two studies suggest that naturally occurring compounds found in certain sweet peppers (bell peppers and chili peppers) might support healthy weight management strategies.  Bell peppers are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, making them an good vegetable choice to include in any good diet plan, such as Dr. Tabor's easy diet plan.