Very low-calorie-dense foods have 0 to 0.5 calories
per gram. These include nonstarchy vegetables,
many fruits, skim milk and light nonfat yogurt.
Low-calorie-dense foods have 0.6 to 1.4 calories
per gram. These include starchy vegetables, cooked
grains (barley, rice, pasta), canned beans, canned
fruit, skinless turkey breast, low-fat fish and shrimp.
Medium-calorie-dense foods have 1.5 to 3.9
calories per gram. These include chicken breast,
whole-wheat bread, apple pie, bagels, lean ground
beef and dried fruit.
High-calorie-dense foods have 4.0 to 9.0 calories
per gram. These include baked and regular chips,
croissants, cookies, French fries, pretzels, oils, margarine,
cake and many other high-fat/high-sugar
foods.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Sumo Squat
The Sumo Squat
Have you ever seen a sumo match? These wrestlers may look funny (and flabby), but they're actually powerhouses of strength and balance. In the beginning of a match, the two opponents face off while performing a special type of squat in slow motion. Lifting one leg while leaning to the side, the wrestler uses his full weight and power to strike the mat. After repeating this move with the other leg, the wrestler then sinks down into a deep, wide-legged squat.
You'll probably never have to intimidate a competitor in the ring, but doing this sumo-inspired exercise will strengthen your inner and outer thighs. Best of all, there's no loincloth required!
Sumo Squat
Stand with your feet as wide apart as possible while pointing your toes outward.
Lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
Hold for a beat, exhale, then press back up to starting position. Repeat.
Keep your shoulders directly over your hips at all times. For best results, don't lean forward or let your knees extend beyond your toes. Keep your abs drawn in and don't arch your back.
Fancy Footwork
Did you know that you can target different parts of your quadriceps muscles by changing the position of your feet during squats? Toes angled slightly inward accent inner muscles, and toes angled slightly outward make the outer quads work harder. For sculpted thighs, use a different foot position for each squat exercise.
Have you ever seen a sumo match? These wrestlers may look funny (and flabby), but they're actually powerhouses of strength and balance. In the beginning of a match, the two opponents face off while performing a special type of squat in slow motion. Lifting one leg while leaning to the side, the wrestler uses his full weight and power to strike the mat. After repeating this move with the other leg, the wrestler then sinks down into a deep, wide-legged squat.
You'll probably never have to intimidate a competitor in the ring, but doing this sumo-inspired exercise will strengthen your inner and outer thighs. Best of all, there's no loincloth required!
Sumo Squat
Stand with your feet as wide apart as possible while pointing your toes outward.
Lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
Hold for a beat, exhale, then press back up to starting position. Repeat.
Keep your shoulders directly over your hips at all times. For best results, don't lean forward or let your knees extend beyond your toes. Keep your abs drawn in and don't arch your back.
Fancy Footwork
Did you know that you can target different parts of your quadriceps muscles by changing the position of your feet during squats? Toes angled slightly inward accent inner muscles, and toes angled slightly outward make the outer quads work harder. For sculpted thighs, use a different foot position for each squat exercise.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Neat Post from a Fellow Weight Loss Doc
LOSE 100#. AVOID STOMACH SURGERY.
Posted 6/1/2010 2:33:00 PM by Dr John La Puma
One of the best ways to help people transform their lives and create their own food revolution is to describe how my extraordinary patients’ do it: this is #6 of 7.*
Kathi uses seat belt extenders on airplanes and airplane trays ride up on her stomach. Her car seat is back as far as it can go.
She owns no pants without elastic waists, except those that do not fit. Sometimes she stops breathing when she sleeps. Her sister died of diabetic ketoacidosis last year.
I recommended that Kathi see a bariatric surgeon for a gastric bypass. It does carry risk and means learning new eating habits, but it works very well.
She refused. She had taken every diet pill and intimidated every dietitian she had met. She rejected theories of genetic fatalism. She knew that I could help her.
So I agreed to try. I drew a plate. Three-quarters vegetables and one-quarter other foods—foods she chose. She would see me and her physician regularly.
We have continued to work at it. As Oprah has said, “I’ve been through lots of diet programs, and there’s nothing like getting up and getting going and going for a walk in the morning.”
Over 3 years she lost 120 pounds. And has kept off 60, after 5 years. Not perfect. But better.
Posted 6/1/2010 2:33:00 PM by Dr John La Puma
One of the best ways to help people transform their lives and create their own food revolution is to describe how my extraordinary patients’ do it: this is #6 of 7.*
Kathi uses seat belt extenders on airplanes and airplane trays ride up on her stomach. Her car seat is back as far as it can go.
She owns no pants without elastic waists, except those that do not fit. Sometimes she stops breathing when she sleeps. Her sister died of diabetic ketoacidosis last year.
I recommended that Kathi see a bariatric surgeon for a gastric bypass. It does carry risk and means learning new eating habits, but it works very well.
She refused. She had taken every diet pill and intimidated every dietitian she had met. She rejected theories of genetic fatalism. She knew that I could help her.
So I agreed to try. I drew a plate. Three-quarters vegetables and one-quarter other foods—foods she chose. She would see me and her physician regularly.
We have continued to work at it. As Oprah has said, “I’ve been through lots of diet programs, and there’s nothing like getting up and getting going and going for a walk in the morning.”
Over 3 years she lost 120 pounds. And has kept off 60, after 5 years. Not perfect. But better.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Don't Buy These
"What Not to Buy
Processed foods may be convenient, but most of them wreak havoc on our bodies and our metabolisms. Find out which toxic foods to avoid at all costs.
No one has enough time these days, as we juggle work, family, and a million daily errands. Turning to processed foods can make life easier, no doubt, but it certainly doesn’t do us any favors when it comes to our health.
A processed food is one that's been canned, frozen, dehydrated, or had chemicals added to make it last longer, texurize it, soften it, or allow it to sit on the shelf forever. While some of these foods — like frozen or pre-chopped veggies — can be a godsend, other ones are like poison for the body. These toxic products are full of cheap chemicals that dilute the food's healthful whole ingredients. Here are six foods you must eliminate to restore your hormonal balance and put you on the road to a healthy, hot body.
1. Refined Grains
Foods made of refined grains are everywhere — in white pasta, flour tortillas, white rice, and white bread. While refining grains helps extend their shelf life, the process also strips them of the good stuff, like most of their fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Even worse, often sugars, salt, fats, and chemicals are then added to these foods. Now that the grains have lost all their healthful nutrients, they're so easy to digest that they guarantee skyrocketing blood-sugar levels and insulin spikes, which mess with your hunger level and ability to burn fat. So stick to whole grains, choosing products that list "100 percent whole ___" as the first ingredient. If you insist on eating some refined grains, make sure they have at least two grams of fiber per serving.
2. Trans Fats
Trans fats (also called hydrogenated fats) are among the most evil foods in the world. They're added to snacks and baked goods, like chips, crackers, cookies, pies, doughnuts, cake, and bread, so they can sit on the shelf for ages and retain their "freshness." These nasty fats are also found in foods like margarine, many fried and fast foods, and even salad dressing.
A small amount of natural trans fats are found in meat, but it’s not those you need to worry about. It's the man-made versions of these fats that you must avoid at all costs. They're created when a regular fat, like corn or palm oil, is blasted with hydrogen to change the liquid into a solid at room temperature. This processed fat does benefit the processed-food industry, but it hurts you. The stuff clogs arteries and causes obesity. It can boost LDL cholesterol (the “bad” kind) and lower HDL cholesterol (the “good” kind), adding to the risk of heart attack and heart disease. There is no safe limit to this stuff! So toss out anything with "shortening" or "partially hydrogenated oil" of any type — palm, corn, soybean — in its ingredient list, as they always include trans fat.
3. High-Fructose Corn Syrup
As one of the cheapest sweeteners around, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is found in everything from bread, yogurt, and cookies to ketchup and soda. It's hard to avoid this stuff! Production of this sugar substitute has increased 350 percent since 1980, and obesity has skyrocketed during this time, too. Coincidence? Definitely not. HFCS is the most evil refined grain of all, since all it does is boost our fat-storing hormones and contribute to us eating more and gaining weight. I have a zero-tolerance policy for this garbage. Train yourself to stay away from all products that have HFCS in their ingredients list.
4. Artificial Sweeteners
I used to be all for artificial sweeteners — I was a Diet Coke addict, for crying out loud — but that was before I was up on the research indicating they might actually make us fat. These bad guys include aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal), saccharin (Sweet'N Low, SugarTwin), and sucralose (Splenda), and ironically enough, they may put us in even greater metabolic danger than real sugar or HFCS. There are many theories for why this is, ranging from our bodies essentially "forgetting" that sweet things contain lots of calories to some of these sweeteners causing permanent damage to our brain's appetite center. Regardless of which theory wins, it's best to avoid these sweeteners altogether. In fact, I prefer that you keep your consumption of all sugar as low as possible. Beware, too, that there are lots of names for sugar, like honey, syrup, evaporated cane juice, and pretty much anything that ends in "-ose" (like glucose and fructose).
5. MSG and Glutamates
You've probably heard of MSG (monosodium glutamate), but do you know what it's used for? MSG and other glutamates are "flavor enhancers," meaning they artificially boost the taste of your food. You'll find this stuff in everything from canned ravioli, soup, and tuna to bouillon, ice cream, and ranch dressings. Some processed foods even have a few different kinds of glutamates. It turns out that high levels of these glutamates may mess with our brain chemistry big time, causing damage to the brain's appetite center. There's still heated debate over MSG's safety, but why take the risk when there are so many natural ways to boost your food's flavor, like spices and fresh herbs?
6. Artificial Preservatives and Colors
Ingredients don't get more fake than the many artificial preservatives and colors found in our foods. There's evidence that these chemicals mess up our biochemisty, inhibit our metabolism, and get in the way of losing weight. Plus, some of them are suspected to be human carcinogens. Do you need any more reasons to avoid this stuff like the plague?
I'll admit that it's hard to cut out all artificial preservatives and colors, but here are some big ones you should definitely avoid:
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) — a potential carcinogen and endocrine disruptor
Sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite — preservatives found in processed meats that may contribute to metabolic syndrome and colon cancer
Sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate — preservatives in sodas that may be carcinogenic when combined with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), another common additive to sodas
If you can't memorize these names, much less pronounce them, just remember this: The shorter the ingredients list on a food product label, the better the food is. If the list is a mile long and you can’t pronounce half of it, that's a pretty good hint that your food is chock-full of preservatives, colors, and other additives. "
Processed foods may be convenient, but most of them wreak havoc on our bodies and our metabolisms. Find out which toxic foods to avoid at all costs.
No one has enough time these days, as we juggle work, family, and a million daily errands. Turning to processed foods can make life easier, no doubt, but it certainly doesn’t do us any favors when it comes to our health.
A processed food is one that's been canned, frozen, dehydrated, or had chemicals added to make it last longer, texurize it, soften it, or allow it to sit on the shelf forever. While some of these foods — like frozen or pre-chopped veggies — can be a godsend, other ones are like poison for the body. These toxic products are full of cheap chemicals that dilute the food's healthful whole ingredients. Here are six foods you must eliminate to restore your hormonal balance and put you on the road to a healthy, hot body.
1. Refined Grains
Foods made of refined grains are everywhere — in white pasta, flour tortillas, white rice, and white bread. While refining grains helps extend their shelf life, the process also strips them of the good stuff, like most of their fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Even worse, often sugars, salt, fats, and chemicals are then added to these foods. Now that the grains have lost all their healthful nutrients, they're so easy to digest that they guarantee skyrocketing blood-sugar levels and insulin spikes, which mess with your hunger level and ability to burn fat. So stick to whole grains, choosing products that list "100 percent whole ___" as the first ingredient. If you insist on eating some refined grains, make sure they have at least two grams of fiber per serving.
2. Trans Fats
Trans fats (also called hydrogenated fats) are among the most evil foods in the world. They're added to snacks and baked goods, like chips, crackers, cookies, pies, doughnuts, cake, and bread, so they can sit on the shelf for ages and retain their "freshness." These nasty fats are also found in foods like margarine, many fried and fast foods, and even salad dressing.
A small amount of natural trans fats are found in meat, but it’s not those you need to worry about. It's the man-made versions of these fats that you must avoid at all costs. They're created when a regular fat, like corn or palm oil, is blasted with hydrogen to change the liquid into a solid at room temperature. This processed fat does benefit the processed-food industry, but it hurts you. The stuff clogs arteries and causes obesity. It can boost LDL cholesterol (the “bad” kind) and lower HDL cholesterol (the “good” kind), adding to the risk of heart attack and heart disease. There is no safe limit to this stuff! So toss out anything with "shortening" or "partially hydrogenated oil" of any type — palm, corn, soybean — in its ingredient list, as they always include trans fat.
3. High-Fructose Corn Syrup
As one of the cheapest sweeteners around, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is found in everything from bread, yogurt, and cookies to ketchup and soda. It's hard to avoid this stuff! Production of this sugar substitute has increased 350 percent since 1980, and obesity has skyrocketed during this time, too. Coincidence? Definitely not. HFCS is the most evil refined grain of all, since all it does is boost our fat-storing hormones and contribute to us eating more and gaining weight. I have a zero-tolerance policy for this garbage. Train yourself to stay away from all products that have HFCS in their ingredients list.
4. Artificial Sweeteners
I used to be all for artificial sweeteners — I was a Diet Coke addict, for crying out loud — but that was before I was up on the research indicating they might actually make us fat. These bad guys include aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal), saccharin (Sweet'N Low, SugarTwin), and sucralose (Splenda), and ironically enough, they may put us in even greater metabolic danger than real sugar or HFCS. There are many theories for why this is, ranging from our bodies essentially "forgetting" that sweet things contain lots of calories to some of these sweeteners causing permanent damage to our brain's appetite center. Regardless of which theory wins, it's best to avoid these sweeteners altogether. In fact, I prefer that you keep your consumption of all sugar as low as possible. Beware, too, that there are lots of names for sugar, like honey, syrup, evaporated cane juice, and pretty much anything that ends in "-ose" (like glucose and fructose).
5. MSG and Glutamates
You've probably heard of MSG (monosodium glutamate), but do you know what it's used for? MSG and other glutamates are "flavor enhancers," meaning they artificially boost the taste of your food. You'll find this stuff in everything from canned ravioli, soup, and tuna to bouillon, ice cream, and ranch dressings. Some processed foods even have a few different kinds of glutamates. It turns out that high levels of these glutamates may mess with our brain chemistry big time, causing damage to the brain's appetite center. There's still heated debate over MSG's safety, but why take the risk when there are so many natural ways to boost your food's flavor, like spices and fresh herbs?
6. Artificial Preservatives and Colors
Ingredients don't get more fake than the many artificial preservatives and colors found in our foods. There's evidence that these chemicals mess up our biochemisty, inhibit our metabolism, and get in the way of losing weight. Plus, some of them are suspected to be human carcinogens. Do you need any more reasons to avoid this stuff like the plague?
I'll admit that it's hard to cut out all artificial preservatives and colors, but here are some big ones you should definitely avoid:
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) — a potential carcinogen and endocrine disruptor
Sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite — preservatives found in processed meats that may contribute to metabolic syndrome and colon cancer
Sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate — preservatives in sodas that may be carcinogenic when combined with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), another common additive to sodas
If you can't memorize these names, much less pronounce them, just remember this: The shorter the ingredients list on a food product label, the better the food is. If the list is a mile long and you can’t pronounce half of it, that's a pretty good hint that your food is chock-full of preservatives, colors, and other additives. "
Monday, May 31, 2010
Fruit, Veggies and Artery Function
More Fruits & Vegetables Improve Arterial Function
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is believed to start with damage to the inner lining of the arteries. This lining is known as the endothelium. The endothelium releases chemical signals that can dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow when needed. The endothelium’s ability to dilate its surrounding muscle layer with chemical signals such as nitric oxide can be compromised by inflammation, elevated blood fats, the stress of increased blood pressure and/or perhaps electrolyte changes.
Factors that compromise the function of endothelium in the short run are also known to increase the chances for CVD events in the longer term. A well-established measure of endothelium function is called flow-mediated dilation (FMD), which measures the ability of blood vessels to dilate in response to intravenous injection of chemical signals such as acetylcholine. Previous research has shown even a single fat-rich meal can impair FMD for several hours compared to an isocaloric low-fat meal.1 More recently reducing salt/sodium in the diet from 3,600 to 1,500 mg per day improved FMD by 45% in just a few weeks in normotensive subjects (see March 2009 CFFH for details). Dietary fat may impair FMD at least in part by increasing inflammation perhaps due to toxins absorbed along with the fat from the gut (see Feb. 2009 CFFH for details).
British researchers looked at the impact of consuming more fruits and vegetables on FMD in 117 hypertensive subjects 40-65 years old. Subjects were randomly assigned to 3 groups that were instructed to eat 1, 3 or 6 standard servings of fruits and vegetables daily for 8 weeks. Dietary compliance was assessed with 4-day food logs during weeks 4 and 8 and also by measuring the levels of vitamin C and several carotenoids in their blood. The authors conclude “…among hypertensive participants, there is a dose-response relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and endothelium-dependent vasodilation, ….”2 This study found each additional serving of fruit or vegetable consumed daily improved FMD by about 6% or about 30% improvement for an extra 5 servings. The results of this study may help explain why prospective cohort studies have found a reduced risk of coronary heart disease3 and stroke4 in people who eat more fruits and vegetables.
Precisely how eating more fruits and vegetables may have improved endothelial function in this study is not known. The increased intake of vitamin C, carotenoids, polyphenols, and other phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables may help protect the endothelial cells from the damaging effects of postprandial lipemia, endotoxins, and increased plasma sodium levels. In addition, the increased potassium intake from extra fruits and vegetables may also mitigate the damage from excessive salt intake. It is also possible that subjects who ate more fruits and vegetables modestly reduced their intake of fat and salt. Nevertheless, the results of this study clearly show that instructing people to eat more fruits and vegetables is likely to improve their endothelial function and cut their risk of CVD events in the future.
Bottom Line:
It seems increasingly clear that the typical modern diet high in fat and salt impairs FMD by compromising the ability of the endothelium to function properly. By contrast, this recent study has shown when hypertensive people eat more fruits and vegetables they dramatically improve the FMD response in their arteries.
By James J. Kenney, PhD, RD, FACN
References:
1. Am J Cardiol. 1997;79:350-354
2. Circulation 2009;119:2153-60
3. J Nutr 2006;136:2588-93
4. Lancet 2006;367:320-6
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is believed to start with damage to the inner lining of the arteries. This lining is known as the endothelium. The endothelium releases chemical signals that can dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow when needed. The endothelium’s ability to dilate its surrounding muscle layer with chemical signals such as nitric oxide can be compromised by inflammation, elevated blood fats, the stress of increased blood pressure and/or perhaps electrolyte changes.
Factors that compromise the function of endothelium in the short run are also known to increase the chances for CVD events in the longer term. A well-established measure of endothelium function is called flow-mediated dilation (FMD), which measures the ability of blood vessels to dilate in response to intravenous injection of chemical signals such as acetylcholine. Previous research has shown even a single fat-rich meal can impair FMD for several hours compared to an isocaloric low-fat meal.1 More recently reducing salt/sodium in the diet from 3,600 to 1,500 mg per day improved FMD by 45% in just a few weeks in normotensive subjects (see March 2009 CFFH for details). Dietary fat may impair FMD at least in part by increasing inflammation perhaps due to toxins absorbed along with the fat from the gut (see Feb. 2009 CFFH for details).
British researchers looked at the impact of consuming more fruits and vegetables on FMD in 117 hypertensive subjects 40-65 years old. Subjects were randomly assigned to 3 groups that were instructed to eat 1, 3 or 6 standard servings of fruits and vegetables daily for 8 weeks. Dietary compliance was assessed with 4-day food logs during weeks 4 and 8 and also by measuring the levels of vitamin C and several carotenoids in their blood. The authors conclude “…among hypertensive participants, there is a dose-response relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and endothelium-dependent vasodilation, ….”2 This study found each additional serving of fruit or vegetable consumed daily improved FMD by about 6% or about 30% improvement for an extra 5 servings. The results of this study may help explain why prospective cohort studies have found a reduced risk of coronary heart disease3 and stroke4 in people who eat more fruits and vegetables.
Precisely how eating more fruits and vegetables may have improved endothelial function in this study is not known. The increased intake of vitamin C, carotenoids, polyphenols, and other phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables may help protect the endothelial cells from the damaging effects of postprandial lipemia, endotoxins, and increased plasma sodium levels. In addition, the increased potassium intake from extra fruits and vegetables may also mitigate the damage from excessive salt intake. It is also possible that subjects who ate more fruits and vegetables modestly reduced their intake of fat and salt. Nevertheless, the results of this study clearly show that instructing people to eat more fruits and vegetables is likely to improve their endothelial function and cut their risk of CVD events in the future.
Bottom Line:
It seems increasingly clear that the typical modern diet high in fat and salt impairs FMD by compromising the ability of the endothelium to function properly. By contrast, this recent study has shown when hypertensive people eat more fruits and vegetables they dramatically improve the FMD response in their arteries.
By James J. Kenney, PhD, RD, FACN
References:
1. Am J Cardiol. 1997;79:350-354
2. Circulation 2009;119:2153-60
3. J Nutr 2006;136:2588-93
4. Lancet 2006;367:320-6
Friday, May 28, 2010
Healthy Eating?
Healthy Eating or Wishful Thinking
A recent survey of Americans by Harris Interactive found that nearly two-thirds of those polled say they are “healthy eaters”. The survey also found that 75% of those age 55 or older reported eating healthy while only 47% of those 18 to 34 considered their eating habits healthy.
Are they right or is this just wishful thinking? Another survey of the dietary habits of American adults found that only about 5% actually consumed a diet that was close to that recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
So, the question remains, are most Americans overzealous about the healthfulness of their dietary habits or do they really have a lot of work to do to follow the Dietary Guidelines?
Diet-Related Diseases Kill Most Americans
Half of all Americans ages 55 to 64 have high blood pressure and most of the rest have prehypertension. More than 90% of those living to age 65 without hypertension, develop it before their 85th birthday. So nearly all Americans will develop high blood pressure sooner or later. Every 20/10 mmHg increase in blood pressure starting around 110/70 doubles the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD).
There’s little reason to believe that factors other than diet play much of a role in the development of hypertension. An Institute of Medicine (IOM) report said even healthy young Americans should consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium a day, but most Americans consume two to three times that amount. More is not healthy since excess salt intake is the primary dietary factor promoting increased blood pressure over time.
The IOM report said ideally older Americans and those with elevated blood pressure should consume less than 1,300mg of sodium per day. Those past 70 should consume no more than 1,200mg per day. It is doubtful that even 5% of Americans routinely meet those guidelines, which may help explain why nearly everyone develops hypertension and CVD kills more than half of all Americans after age 65.
The vast majority of older Americans have too much LDL in their blood because most have diets high in saturated fat, cholesterol and hydrogenated fat. Diets high in junk foods and fatty animal products lead to atherosclerosis and clogged arteries, which have killed more Americans than anything else for decades.
Hypertension and atherosclerosis have been linked to strokes and senility which often leave so many older Americans unable to care for themselves. With 700,000 strokes and twice that many heart attacks each year, it is clear a lot of Americans aren’t eating nearly as healthfully as they seem to believe.
Healthy eating leads to obesity?
We’ve all heard the frightening statistic that nearly 2/3 of all American adults, as well as more and more children, are overweight or obese.
It gets worse. A recent study found that about 90% of men and more than 70% of women are destined to become at least overweight if not obese in their life times.
This is the result of unhealthy diets full of refined carbohydrates and fat and too low in fiber coupled with a sedentary lifestyle.
About 21 million Americans now have diabetes and that number is expected to increase dramatically as the Baby Boomers move into their 50s and 60s.
Bottom Line:
This Harris survey demonstrates that most Americans need far better nutrition education to better understand what constitutes healthy eating and how they can protect themselves from diet related diseases. The back page to this issue explains the disconnect between the survey and the actual dietary practices of most Americans.
A recent survey of Americans by Harris Interactive found that nearly two-thirds of those polled say they are “healthy eaters”. The survey also found that 75% of those age 55 or older reported eating healthy while only 47% of those 18 to 34 considered their eating habits healthy.
Are they right or is this just wishful thinking? Another survey of the dietary habits of American adults found that only about 5% actually consumed a diet that was close to that recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
So, the question remains, are most Americans overzealous about the healthfulness of their dietary habits or do they really have a lot of work to do to follow the Dietary Guidelines?
Diet-Related Diseases Kill Most Americans
Half of all Americans ages 55 to 64 have high blood pressure and most of the rest have prehypertension. More than 90% of those living to age 65 without hypertension, develop it before their 85th birthday. So nearly all Americans will develop high blood pressure sooner or later. Every 20/10 mmHg increase in blood pressure starting around 110/70 doubles the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD).
There’s little reason to believe that factors other than diet play much of a role in the development of hypertension. An Institute of Medicine (IOM) report said even healthy young Americans should consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium a day, but most Americans consume two to three times that amount. More is not healthy since excess salt intake is the primary dietary factor promoting increased blood pressure over time.
The IOM report said ideally older Americans and those with elevated blood pressure should consume less than 1,300mg of sodium per day. Those past 70 should consume no more than 1,200mg per day. It is doubtful that even 5% of Americans routinely meet those guidelines, which may help explain why nearly everyone develops hypertension and CVD kills more than half of all Americans after age 65.
The vast majority of older Americans have too much LDL in their blood because most have diets high in saturated fat, cholesterol and hydrogenated fat. Diets high in junk foods and fatty animal products lead to atherosclerosis and clogged arteries, which have killed more Americans than anything else for decades.
Hypertension and atherosclerosis have been linked to strokes and senility which often leave so many older Americans unable to care for themselves. With 700,000 strokes and twice that many heart attacks each year, it is clear a lot of Americans aren’t eating nearly as healthfully as they seem to believe.
Healthy eating leads to obesity?
We’ve all heard the frightening statistic that nearly 2/3 of all American adults, as well as more and more children, are overweight or obese.
It gets worse. A recent study found that about 90% of men and more than 70% of women are destined to become at least overweight if not obese in their life times.
This is the result of unhealthy diets full of refined carbohydrates and fat and too low in fiber coupled with a sedentary lifestyle.
About 21 million Americans now have diabetes and that number is expected to increase dramatically as the Baby Boomers move into their 50s and 60s.
Bottom Line:
This Harris survey demonstrates that most Americans need far better nutrition education to better understand what constitutes healthy eating and how they can protect themselves from diet related diseases. The back page to this issue explains the disconnect between the survey and the actual dietary practices of most Americans.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Fattening of Americans
The Fattening of Americans
There is widespread agreement that normal weight Americans have a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, gallstones, and numerous other ills than those who are overweight or obese.
Recent data suggests that overweight and obese Americans appear to be aging faster than those who remain in the normal weight range (shorter telomeres). Not surprisingly, overweight and particularly obese Americans have a significantly shorter life expectancy than normal weight Americans.
Studies of human population groups following a hunter-gatherer lifestyle have observed that overweight and obesity are very uncommon. In addition, people living in hunter-gatherer cultures, presumably similar in many ways to that of ancient human ancestors, tend to hit their peak body weight when they are in their early to mid-20s. By contrast, in modern America, body weight tends to increase in the majority of Americans at least into their 50s and 60s, and sometimes even into their 70s. Today, about 65% of American adults are above normal weight. This cross-cultural data does not mean 35% of Americans will never have a weight problem.
An important question for which we have little data is what is the risk of normal weight American adults becoming overweight or obese? The fate of the minority of middle-aged, yet still normal weight, Americans is unclear. Are they somehow immune to the fattening of Americans? Or, are most of them destined to become overweight or obese in the future?
Study Follows Normal Weight Americans
Researchers examined data from the Framingham Heart Study to determine the future risk of 4,117 normal weight people in their 30s, 40s and 50s, becoming overweight or obese over 30 years of follow-up.
• For both men and women who were normal weight in their 30s and 40s, the calculated risk of becoming overweight or obese over the next 30 years was more than 60%.
• For that shrinking minority of men and women who made it into their 50s having remained normal weight, still 55.5% of the women and 48% of the men became overweight or obese over the next 30 years.
• About one-third of women who were not overweight in their 30s, 40s and 50s became obese. For men, the risk of obesity was similar, except for those in their 50s who had a slightly lower risk of becoming obese (25.9%).
• Overall, the researchers found more than 90% of men and more than 80% of women became overweight or obese during their lifetime.1
This study examined only those of European ancestry. It is known that Native Americans, along with African and Hispanic Americans, are even more prone to become overweight and obese than White Americans. Some of the data was collected back in the 1970s and 1980s when Americans were less likely to become overweight or obese.
Weight Gain in Adulthood Unnatural
Among those human cultures where modern foods and energy-saving devices are largely unavailable (like rural China) or shunned (like the Amish in Pennsylvania) less than 5% of adults are overweight and less than 1% are obese. Average body weight is steady or declines slightly with age. It is increasingly clear that modern foods are fattening because they are high in fat and/or refined carbohydrates, calorie-dense and low in fiber. Certainly inactivity, aided and abetted by TVs, computers and numerous energy-saving devices in the home and at work have diminished our need for calories, while modern foods promote increased calorie intake. Unless Americans are willing to exercise regularly and eat more low-fat, high-fiber foods, it is likely that most Americans will become overweight or obese.
By James J. Kenney, PhD, RD, FACN
There is widespread agreement that normal weight Americans have a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, gallstones, and numerous other ills than those who are overweight or obese.
Recent data suggests that overweight and obese Americans appear to be aging faster than those who remain in the normal weight range (shorter telomeres). Not surprisingly, overweight and particularly obese Americans have a significantly shorter life expectancy than normal weight Americans.
Studies of human population groups following a hunter-gatherer lifestyle have observed that overweight and obesity are very uncommon. In addition, people living in hunter-gatherer cultures, presumably similar in many ways to that of ancient human ancestors, tend to hit their peak body weight when they are in their early to mid-20s. By contrast, in modern America, body weight tends to increase in the majority of Americans at least into their 50s and 60s, and sometimes even into their 70s. Today, about 65% of American adults are above normal weight. This cross-cultural data does not mean 35% of Americans will never have a weight problem.
An important question for which we have little data is what is the risk of normal weight American adults becoming overweight or obese? The fate of the minority of middle-aged, yet still normal weight, Americans is unclear. Are they somehow immune to the fattening of Americans? Or, are most of them destined to become overweight or obese in the future?
Study Follows Normal Weight Americans
Researchers examined data from the Framingham Heart Study to determine the future risk of 4,117 normal weight people in their 30s, 40s and 50s, becoming overweight or obese over 30 years of follow-up.
• For both men and women who were normal weight in their 30s and 40s, the calculated risk of becoming overweight or obese over the next 30 years was more than 60%.
• For that shrinking minority of men and women who made it into their 50s having remained normal weight, still 55.5% of the women and 48% of the men became overweight or obese over the next 30 years.
• About one-third of women who were not overweight in their 30s, 40s and 50s became obese. For men, the risk of obesity was similar, except for those in their 50s who had a slightly lower risk of becoming obese (25.9%).
• Overall, the researchers found more than 90% of men and more than 80% of women became overweight or obese during their lifetime.1
This study examined only those of European ancestry. It is known that Native Americans, along with African and Hispanic Americans, are even more prone to become overweight and obese than White Americans. Some of the data was collected back in the 1970s and 1980s when Americans were less likely to become overweight or obese.
Weight Gain in Adulthood Unnatural
Among those human cultures where modern foods and energy-saving devices are largely unavailable (like rural China) or shunned (like the Amish in Pennsylvania) less than 5% of adults are overweight and less than 1% are obese. Average body weight is steady or declines slightly with age. It is increasingly clear that modern foods are fattening because they are high in fat and/or refined carbohydrates, calorie-dense and low in fiber. Certainly inactivity, aided and abetted by TVs, computers and numerous energy-saving devices in the home and at work have diminished our need for calories, while modern foods promote increased calorie intake. Unless Americans are willing to exercise regularly and eat more low-fat, high-fiber foods, it is likely that most Americans will become overweight or obese.
By James J. Kenney, PhD, RD, FACN
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