I recently talked with CBS news about the pros and cons of calorie cycling as a method for losing weight.
See also: How to break a weight loss plateau
Author: Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN
Is There an Optimal Ratio of PUFAs, MUFAs, and Saturated Fats?
Q. Is there an optimal ratio of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fats that you’d recommend for optimal health?
A. Interesting question, and any answer I give will be controversial, but I certainly don’t mind getting the conversation started!
Here’s how the typical American diet (which, one could argue, is clearly not optimal) breaks down, with fat taking up 34% of total calories. Continue reading “Is There an Optimal Ratio of PUFAs, MUFAs, and Saturated Fats?”
Water, water, everywhere…plus amber waves of grain
Oh dear. I’m afraid I tipped another sacred cow in this week’s Nutrition Diva newsletter. In response to readers who find water “boring” and want to know what they can drink instead, I suggested that we stop viewing beverages as sources of entertainment. One dietitian wrote to say that she found my advice “deplorable,” citing the conventional wisdom that people who only drink when they are thirsty are likely to be clinically dehydrated. (I’ve never seen any evidence to support this assertion.) Judging from the comments, however, most readers seemed to understand the point I was trying to make. Staying with the water-y theme, I have tips on seasonal vegetables that help fight water retention over on the What’s Cooking Blog.
In recognition of National Celiac Awareness Month, we reissued a Nutrition Diva episode on gluten free diets this week. And, as long as we were on the topic of grains, I tried to clear up a listener’s confusion over the pros and cons of brown rice on the Quick and Dirty Blog.
Thanks for all of your great questions and comments. Your curiosity and enthusiasm (and even the objections and complaints) keep my job interesting!
Eat eggs for breakfast and you might eat less at lunch
Here’s an example of a well-designed, industry-funded study that–unlike others I’ve mentioned in the past–actually yielded useful information.
The study, which was funded by the American Egg Board, found that people who ate eggs for breakfast were less hungry and ate less for lunch than people who ate cereal. But before you conclude that the study was simply rigged to yield a flattering result for the funder, take a closer look at how it was designed.
Although it’s impossible for a study like this to be truly “blinded” (how do you keep the subject from knowing that they are eating eggs instead of cereal?), the effects on satiety and subsequent food intake were measured objectively as well as subjectively. The subjects were asked to rate their hunger but researchers also took blood samples and found that levels of “hunger” hormones were consistent with their reports. They also didn’t ask the subjects to self-report their subsequent food intake; they actually measured how much the subjects ate (without the subjects being aware of that their intake was being monitored). The study is currently before a peer-review board.
Now, if this were just a story about protein being more filling than carbohydrates, I wouldn’t be wasting space here on my blog with it. (See also: How to eat less without feeling hungry.) But here’s what’s particularly interesting about these results:
The two breakfasts contained virtually the same amount of protein.
The protein in eggs is considered to be a higher quality than wheat protein because it provides a more balanced and complete profile of amino acids. The study suggests, therefore, that when it comes to controlling hunger, it’s not just about how many grams of protein you include in your meal. The quality of the protein appears to be at least as important as the quantity. Definitely something for vegans to keep in mind…it may take more grams of vegetable protein to get the same appetite-controlling effect as you would get from animal sources.
Before we go re-writing the dietary guidelines, I should note that the study only involved 20 subjects, all of whom were obese. It remains to be seen whether we’d see the same results in non-obese subjects (or in a larger study group). I’d also be interested in taking this research a step further, comparing eggs and wheat to other protein sources, like dairy, soy, fish, or legumes.
In the meantime, however, this is an interesting contribution to the “What’s for breakfast” debate.
See also: Can we Trust Industry Funded Research?
This week: Fructose fears, apricot cures, and grilling tips
A public service campaign on one of the networks has as its tagline, The More You Know. And information is, in general, a good thing. But sometimes it seems to me as if the constant stream of nutrition information and advice coming at you from all directions serves only to ratchet up needless anxiety. Take, for example, the alarmist rhetoric about fructose that circulates around the internet these days. I regularly hear from people who are now afraid to eat fruit. In this week’s Nutrition Diva podcast, I explain the two crucial details that the fructose fear-mongers forget to tell you.
In this week’s Nutrition Diva newsletter, I address internet rumors that eating apricot pits can help prevent cancer. And on the Quick and Dirty Blog, I calm one reader’s fear that eating too many vegetables could lead to vitamin toxicity and perhaps even cause her hair to fall out.
On a lighter note, as we Northern Hemispher-ites get ready to kick off the summer barbecue season, I have some reminders on how to keep those cook-outs healthy as well as delicious over on the What’s Cooking Blog. (Don’t you love it when the thing that tastes better is also better for you?)
This week: Fish food, carrot tops, grain bellies, and inner toddlers
Parents quickly learn that redirecting a toddler’s attention toward an approved toy or activity works far better than simply saying “No” to undesirable behavior. In this week’s Nutrition Diva podcast, I have some ideas on how to use the same strategy to tame the “inner toddler” of your appetite and make dieting a little easier.
On the Quick and Dirty Blog this week, a reader wonders how to square research on the benefits of whole grains with the anti-grain arguments put forth in the popular new book, Wheat Belly, by William Davis. Meanwhile, on the What’s Cooking blog on Recipe.com, I discuss some of the pros and cons of adopting a gluten-free diet.
This month’s Smart Nutrition segment on WYPR-FM focused on the food OUR food eats, and how that affects our health and the environment. And in the random-facts-about-nutrition category, this week’s Nutrition Diva newsletter featured this Q&A on whether carrot greens are good for you–or even edible!
Finally, I had a great time talking with Harris Faulkner of Fox News about all things nutrition–pros and cons of red meat, recovering from surgery, energy drinks, organics, and whether growing your own vegetables actually saves money!
Health Headlines: More Hype than Help?
Does eating red meat really shorten your life? Are pesticides truly to blame for the pesticide epidemic? Are organics worth the cost? I tackle these and other nutrition topics in this interview with Harris Faulkner.
Hippocrates was ahead of his time
Back when Hippocrates counseled his followers to let food be their medicine, he wasn’t really advising an alternative course; he was stating the obvious. Back then, dietary cures were about all that doctors had to offer. In today’s there’s-a-pill-for-that medical culture, of course, Hippocrates’ advice takes on a different tone. And although it’s not really how he originally meant it, it’s still pretty good advice–especially when most of today’s chronic illnesses are caused by dietary excesses and indiscretions.
Regular readers know that I always advise getting your nutrition from foods, not supplements. Case in point: a recent study finding that, while vitamin E-rich foods offer lots of benefits, vitamin E supplements are largely useless. On the What’s Cooking blog this week, I’ve got the top foods for vitamin E, along with some delicious ways to enjoy them. Meanwhile, following last week’s good news about nitrate-rich vegetables ability to lower your blood pressure, I included some additional information about how to put this research to work in this week’s Nutrition Diva newsletter.
For those taking blood-thinning medications, this week’s Nutrition Diva podcast explains why people taking these drugs are sometimes instructed to avoid broccoli, spinach, and other super-nutritious vegetables. I’ve also got tips on how to enjoy the benefits of these great foods without interfering with your anticoagulant therapy.
Of course, it’s also possible to over-estimate what foods can do for us. On the Quick and Dirty Blog, I respond to a reader who wonders whether she should be eating more brown rice in order to get the benefits. Can you guess what my answer is?