March is National Nutrition Month®
March 4, 2010 in Aspirus News
National Nutrition Month® is a nutrition education and information campaign sponsored annually by the American Dietetic Association. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. Initiated in March 1973 as a week-long event, "National Nutrition Week" became a month-long observance in 1980 in response to growing public interest in nutrition. For more information, visit www.eatright.org/nnm.
As part of National Nutrition Month®, Aspirus Keweenaw Fitness Center is sponsoring a series of articles in conjunction with a grant from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan promoting healthy lifestyles. Every week in March, the Daily Mining Gazette will publish a different article in the wellness section throughout the month. Below are the articles.
Soy is good for you! 
- Patricia Koskiniemi, FNP
Healthy lifestyles include healthy food choices. Most medical recommendations encourage a low fat diet with less processed or refined foods. Animal protein can have a lot of saturated fats, hormones, and other chemicals that adversely affect our health. Alternative plant proteins are one source of foods that are low in fat and provide protein, vitamins, and fatty acids. Research indicates that including plant-derived protein foods, instead of or as an alternative to, animal protein is part of a healthy lifestyle that can be tasty and satisfying. Soy foods are processed from the soybean plant. This plant has been used for a protein food source in China for thousands of years. Soy foods are a fine example of a low-glycemic food that are rich in protein and packed with nutrients. Isoflavones are a weak phytoestrogen found in soy. These isoflavones appear to be able to lower lipid levels, and, in conjunction with a diet low in saturated fats, reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Soy may prevent osteoporosis and may provide antitumor effects. Soy is a protein rich in omega-3 fatty acids, cholesterol free and low in saturated fats. And, soy is a good source of fiber! Soy has a nutty taste and a satisfying texture. Soy products taste great and are available in a variety of forms. Soy milk is a great alternative for cow’s milk. Soy has more protein than cow’s milk and is often fortified with calcium. Tofu comes in many textures and absorbs the flavors in sauces and spices. Tofu is an excellent alternative to animal protein as it is low in saturated fats and high in protein. Soy flour can be added to regular flour as an additional protein source and it retains moisture during baking. Soybeans and soy-bars come in a variety of snack forms and flavors, and are a good alternative for after school snacks or for a pre-workout energy source. Soy food products are readily available and easily incorporated into a favorite meal or as a snack. Recipes for cooking with soy are easily accessible and easy to prepare. Eat healthy and heart smart by trying a few meals and snacks with plant based proteins such as soy!
Simple steps to better nutrition - Katie Curtis, Fitness Coordinator
Many people feel overwhelmed with all the information out there about what to eat and what not too. Sometimes the solution is to ignore all the information and go about daily life without thinking about changing eating habits. The truth is, there are small steps, and simple ways to begin creating a healthier lifestyle through nutrition.
One of the most important ways you can begin eating healthier is to plan ahead. Making a list before you go to the store can help prevent impulsive purchases. Planning ahead each day what you eat can prevent eating too much. It can also help you eat a balanced diet, opposed to quick and easy fast food. While planning, make sure to be realistic about how many calories are needed, and include the special foods into your plan. That way, if temptations arise throughout the day, they can be resisted easier knowing there is a special treat that is planned for later on.
Fruits and vegetables are an important part of every diet. Most people do not eat enough of them during the day. Always keep fresh cut up fruit and vegetables in your fridge for easy snacking. There are also canned, dried and frozen fruits and vegetables. Always be open to try new ones. Add some dried or fresh berries to cereal or salad to add some flavor. Try your pizza with vegetable topping and add some vegetables to casseroles.
Many people do not get enough fiber in their diets either. Fiber is important for healthy digestion, preventing high cholesterol and it helps you feel full longer. Fruits and vegetables are one source of fiber. Fiber can also be found in whole-grain and whole-wheat products. You can increase your fiber intake slowly in different ways. Include oatmeal with your breakfast. Snack on dried fruit and nuts instead of chips or cookies. Use 100% whole-wheat bread and try some brown rice.
People often have an all or nothing attitude when it comes to changing behavior or habits. That is why people often fail and give up because it is too hard to make such a drastic change all at once. When trying to make changes in your diet, start slow and simple. Try a new change each month. You can increase your fruits and vegetables the first month until that becomes a habit. Then the next month you focus on fiber. If you add one healthy habit per month, that is 12 new healthy habits per year!
Living a Healthy Lifestyle - Katie Curtis, Fitness Coordinator
By now, everyone has heard of the rising trend in childhood obesity. This is a serious issue that has no easy solution. Parents have all heard how they should feed their children “healthy” food and have their children exercise to maintain a healthy weight. Easier said than done, right? The biggest question is not what to do; it is HOW to do it.
One of the biggest actions adults can take is model healthy behavior to our children. If a child is told to eat his vegetables, but the adults around him never do, he is less likely to as well. If a parent is active around their children, always taking walks and moving their body, the child will more likely be active as well.
Eating or exercising together as family also promotes habits. During a family meal parents can take the opportunity to model healthy eating patterns and conversation can be about making nutritious choices. During these meals, parents can expose children to a wide variety of healthy food options on a regular basis. Children are more likely to develop a preference for certain foods after repeated exposure to the foods. Scheduled activities such as a family walk or a sledding outing will help develop healthy view towards moving the body. When children see parents participating instead of being told to go do it on their own, they are more likely to want to participate.
Limiting the amount of television, video games or computer time is very important. Not only is it a sedentary activity, children are being exposed to advertisements for unhealthy foods. Have a daily time limit for children and have the child choose which shows or video games are most important to them to watch or play.
Children are attracted to “fun”. Make a healthy snack fun by being creative with the presentation. Some examples are celery with peanut butter and raisins for “ants on a log”. Use a banana instead and make a face with peanut butter and raisins. Let the children get creative and “play” with their food. Activities to get children moving can be turned into games so the kids don’t even realize they are exercising. Play kickball, tag, or another schoolyard game to get their hearts pumping. This puts a positive association to movement rather than a structured workout program.
Finally, children are wired to resist persuasion. This means that parents should try different ways to help their children move more and eat healthier than just telling them they have to. Strategies such as modeling, increasing accessibility and exposure, finding ways to help make the food taste better, and having fun with activities and healthy food will be more effective. These strategies will also have a longer lasting affect as a child grows into an adult.
Eating less the key to weight loss - Glenn Kauppila, DO
“Doctor, I’m having a hard time losing weight because my knees hurt and I can‘t exercise.” This conversation, from a fictional patient, is a common statement that physicians, like myself, hear very often in our practices. Patients understand the importance of losing weight whether it’s to help with the painful joints of arthritis, better blood sugar control in diabetics, to reduce triglycerides in those with heart disease, or to breathe easier in those who have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Maybe weight loss is an important goal so their clothes fit better and to improve their sense of well-being. Whatever the reason, losing weight is on our minds.
We have all seen the ads on television, in print, and on the internet for the myriad of ways we can try (and buy!) to lose weight. These range from unproven supplements that are free - you only pay the shipping. To those expensive gyms, treadmills, ellipticals, etc. that promise you the “pounds will fall off.” Every year it seems a new diet is suddenly “the in thing” to lose weight. The Atkin’s, the South Beach, cabbage soup, etc. Billions of dollars are spent annually by those struggling with the “battle of the bulge.”
Because of the large amount of information we are inundated with on a daily basis many of assume we know how to lose weight because of what see and read. Much misinformation exists because of the apparent (and not so apparent) agendas of companies trying to sell the latest weight loss gimmick. The biggest myth today is that exercise is the key to weight loss and that it’s absolutely necessary to lose the pounds. This simply is not true. Surprising isn’t it! It goes against what all of us think is fact, but the fact is exercise really has very little, if anything to do with, weight loss. What we come to think of as common sense - that we need to exercise to lose weight - does not hold up to scientific scrutiny. A large study, called a metaanalysis, reviewing much of the weight loss research has shown that exercise contributes very little weight loss. Time magazine had a front page article recently about these findings. (a bibliography for this article can be found below).
How could this be? The human body is a complex machine. It’s not as simple as “calories in and calories out. Although the reasons are not entirely clear we do know that generally people do not exercise enough to burn the calories needed to lose weight. It takes a decrease of 3500 calories in week to lose weight. That’s about 500 calories a day. Running, at a moderate pace, burns roughly 100 calories a mile. Therefore, if eating the same amount of calories, it would take running 5 miles a day or 35 miles a week to lose a pound of fat. Most people do not have the fitness level or time to exercise this much so they walk - the most common form of exercise. Walking, at a moderate pace, burns between 70-90 calories a mile (about 10 lifesavers). You’d have to walk about 40 miles in a week to burn a pound of fat. Plus research has shown that even mild exercise stimulates the appetite and may lead to consuming more calories. Reducing your calorie intake, by 500 calories a day, would be the equivalent of running 5 miles a day. Even doing both, reducing calories and exercising, has not been shown to be all that helpful.
This is not to say that exercise isn’t important. It is. There are numerous benefits to exercise, but losing weight isn’t one of them. Let’s be clear though, moderate exercise does help to maintain a healthy weight once it’s reached.
As I mentioned earlier, there are numerous diets available to help to but the way to lose weight, that is available to all of us, is to simply eat less. Eating less is inexpensive (you’ll actually save money), requires no special knowledge, and no time commitments. And you can start right now!
Bibliography
1. Cloud, J. Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin. Time http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html
2. Miller, W.C., Koceja, D.M., Hamilton, E.J. A meta-analysis of the past 25 years of weight loss research using diet, exercise, or diet plus exercise. Int. J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1998 Aug:22(8):825
3. Church, T.S., Earnest, C.P., Skinner, J.S., Blair, S.N. Effects of Different Doses of Physical Activity on Cardiorespiratory Fitness Among Sedentary, Overweight, or Obese Postmenopausal Women with Elevated Blood Pressure. JAMA 2007 May 16(297)19:2081
4. Healthy Diets Beat Exercise for Weight loss, http://www.4woman.gov/news/english/535503.htm
5. Clark, T., Wall, D., Holman, J.R., Obesity: Is There Effective Treatment? Consultant 2006 March(46)3:301
