Author Archive
Fewer Calories Equals Weight Loss
Posted on September 9, 2011 by Hope WarshawResearch demonstrates that consuming fewer calories than your body burns is what will, over time, result in weight loss. If people don’t consume fewer total calories they won’t lose weight.
With that said, research shows that consuming a balance of healthy sources of carbohydrate (~45–50% of calories), protein (~15-20%) and fat (25-35%) is the healthiest way to eat. Healthy sources of carbohydrate are whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy foods. Enjoying bananas, rice and baked potatoes can certainly be part of a healthy eating plan. An important nutrient to consume is dietary fiber. Healthy sources of carbohydrate (other than dairy foods) can provide you with dietary fiber.
Nutrition First foods offer you a good bit of dietary fiber along with a type of dietary fiber called resistant starch in the form of an ingredient called Hi-maize natural resistant starch. Resistant starch, in sufficient amounts, has been found to have a few independent health benefits, such as lower blood glucose after eating, decreased hunger between meals and improved insulin sensitivity. A number of foods you seem to enjoy naturally contain some resistant starch such as just ripe bananas, legumes, yams, barley, and rice (brown or white).
Good luck in your efforts to control your weight.
Hope Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE
A Primer on Insulin Resistance
Posted on August 19, 2011 by Hope WarshawYou’ve likely heard the term insulin resistance. Or perhaps you’re more familiar with its close cousin metabolic syndrome. But, are you aware of the health consequences of insulin resistance, how it develops or why it’s on our radar screen today?
And ,the most important question: what actions can people take to reverse this health hazard? This primer on insulin resistance contains the answers.
What’s Insulin Resistance?
Insulin resistance most often occurs in people who are overweight. It’s particularly common in people who carry their weight around their middle - apple shaped figure. Insulin resistance causes the body to become resistant to the insulin being made and put out (secreted) from the pancreas. Over time (often five to ten years), and if actions aren’t taken to reverse it, the pancreas (which has likely been in overdrive for a few years leading up to this) can no longer keep up with the body’s demand for insulin. Blood glucose rises above a healthy level and towards the ranges high enough for prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.
Ingredients with a Health Twist
Posted on July 11, 2011 by Hope WarshawYou’re constantly on the hunt up and down supermarket aisles for healthy and quick-to-fix foods for your family. You’re likely spotting a growing group of products which take advantage of ingredients with a health twist to raise the roof on fiber and lighten the sugar load. Perhaps Nutrition First’s bake mixes have found their way into your shopping basket, from Pancake & Waffle Mix and Blueberry Muffins to make your breakfast favorites a wee bit healthier to Chocolate Chip Cookies and Brownies for a sensible afternoon or evening sweet treat.
But, as you peruse the ingredient list on Nutrition First bake mixes you may wonder what a few of the foreign sounding ingredients are, what are their health benefits and whether you should wave any yellow caution flags.
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Get to Know the Nutrition First Ingredients:
Let’s look at a few of the ingredients about which you may be unfamiliar – inulin, resistant corn starch, maltitol – where they come from and their functions in foods and the body.
How-to Tips to Fit in More Fiber
Posted on May 11, 2011 by Hope Warshaw
Are you getting the recommended 25 grams of dietary fiber you need each day? It’s doubtful, but don’t feel alone. Studies show that American adults, at best, are getting no more than half of the 25 grams of fiber they need each day. A recent study showed that fewer than five percent of Americans were hitting the 25 grams per day mark.
But, this low fiber intake isn’t surprising bearing in mind the foods that Americans aren’t getting our fill Read more…
Think Color FULLY to Eat Right
Posted on March 23, 2011 by Hope Warshaw
March is National Nutrition Month and Eat Right with Color is this year’s theme. The key message is: If you choose foods from the palette of colors you will increase your chances of meeting your (and your family’s) nutrition needs. ColorFULL foods come packed with a variety of essential nutrients. Think red peppers, brown rice, oranges, pink grapefruits, green leafy vegetables – you get the colorFULL picture.
Unfortunately most Americans aren’t assembling colorFULL meals and snacks. The recently released 2010 Dietary Guidelines point this out vividly.
- Too much color from too much added sugars: Americans are sipping, slurping and chewing about 22 teaspoons of added sugars a day. The leading contributor is drinks – from regularly sweetened/full calorie (and sometimes colorful by artificial means) sports drinks, to fruit drinks, and soda. Add coffee drinks, chai and more.Solution? Think before you drink! Quench your thirst with zero calorie beverages – water, tea, coffee, club soda, or diet beverage.
Make 2011 Healthy Eating Resolutions Stick
Posted on January 5, 2011 by Hope WarshawAre losing weight, eating healthier and exercising regularly on the top of your New Year’s resolutions list — again? If in years past, on January 2nd, you’ve plunged into a rigid straightjacket approach to eating and committed to an unrealistic number of hours in the gym, then consider a new spin on this annual ritual.
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esearch on weight loss and health behavior change has made it clearer than ever that applying the pace of a turtle vs. the hare wins this battle. And no easy battle it is! Losing weight, choosing to eat healthier and fitting in regular exercise is hard work. It takes day-to-day commitment, diligence and long-term perseverance. You’ve got to make it YOUR valued priority!
Try to resist quick weight loss schemes which are a dime a dozen this time of year and opt to set short-term goals to accomplish your life-long weight, food and exercise goals.
Start by taking a deep breath. Next be honest with yourself about your food and exercise habits – the good, the bad and the ugly. This means the nibbles while making dinner, the frequent fast food meals, the one –too-many desserts and the missed opportunities to hit the gym, take a walk or pop in that pilates DVD.
Reality is it doesn’t take that many extra calories to pack on one to two pounds per year – the average adult weight gain.
The good news is that any weight you take off or don’t add to your waistline in 2011 is a plus! It’s losing the first 10 to 20 pounds that will have the most dramatic impact on your health and wellness.
Convinced? Ready to jump in? Great, — here’s step two. Read more…
Foods that Pack BIG Nutrition Punch
Posted on December 17, 2010 by Hope WarshawWhy do we eat? Let’s get down to basics. First and foremost, we eat to fuel our bodies to keep our organs working so we can and complete our daily activities. This requires calories, in the form of carbohydrate, protein and fat, and vitamins and minerals to properly use those calories.
We also eat because food tastes good! Let’s face it – eating is a pleasure!
When it comes to food choices, you’ve got a boatload of options – from foods with lots of calories and nearly no nutrition (like regular soft drink, a pastry, or potato chips) or foods that pack a BIG nutrition punch– foods that offer lots of nutrition for the calories consumed – aka nutrient- dense foods.
Let’s focus in on those nutrient-rich foods that pack the biggest punch. Read more…
