Category: Ask Monica

Your nutrition questions answered

When is White Bread Preferable to Whole Wheat?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

In my recent post “Are Your Nutrition Priorities in the Right Order?” I observed that portion size has a bigger impact on blood sugar than whether a grain product is whole or refined.

Laura’s not buying it! She comments:

So you’re saying that eating 1 peanut butter sandwich on white bread is better nutritionally than eating 2 on whole wheat bread? I find that hard to believe.

Fair enough. Let’s take a look at how these two options stack up. Continue reading “When is White Bread Preferable to Whole Wheat?” >

Are Your Nutrition Priorities in the Right Order?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

I’ve been giving a lot of interviews surrounding the launch of my book this month and reviewers seem fascinated by the subtitle: What to Eat, What to Avoid, and What to Stop Worrying About.

As I wrote in the introduction to the book, “that last category may be the most important of all…In addition to helping you make the best choices at the grocery store and navigate the many decisions you make throughout the day, my ultimate goal is to help you prioritize the things that will make the biggest difference in your health.”

I can’t think of a better illustration for this than the e-mail I received this morning:  Continue reading “Are Your Nutrition Priorities in the Right Order?” >

Is Salt Unfairly Demonized?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Q. In a recent interview,  you mentioned cutting back on added sugar as one of the most important things you can do to improve your diet. I noticed you didn’t mention the importance of limiting sodium.    Do you think the concerns over sodium are over-blown?

A.  In a word, yes.  In the recently released 2010 Dietary Guide for Americans, they really came down hard on salt, stressing the need for all Americans to reduce their sodium intake.  Given all the things about the typical American diet that could use fixing, I thought it was a little odd how much emphasis they put on this. (Obviously, the salt lobby was asleep at the switch during the hearings…)

The rationale for universal sodium restriction rests a string of loosely related statistics:

Continue reading “Is Salt Unfairly Demonized?” >

Fish Oil to Reduce Cholesterol?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Q. I’ve listened to your podcast on fish oil and omega-3s and shared it with some people I know who take fish oil. But today my physician told me that my “bad” cholesterol is borderline and that a way to get it down without statins would be to take fish oil twice a day. I’m wondering what you think about that.

A.   In the podcast you’re referring to, I was talking mostly about prophylactic or preventive use of fish oil supplements.  Here’s the point I was trying to make:  Taking fish oil supplements, which are high in omega-3s,  is one way to balance out  diet that’s too high in omega-6 fats. But another way to improve that balance is to reduce your intake of omega-6.   Reducing omega-6 intake (which come mostly from vegetable oils and processed foods) can reduce the need to take fish oil supplements.

Continue reading “Fish Oil to Reduce Cholesterol?” >

Sugar: The Bitter Half-Truth?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Q. Are you familiar with Dr. Robert Lustig’s presentation on fructose, called “Sugar, The Bitter Truth” ?
What’s your opinion on this? Shouldn’t pure fructose sweeteners (which are marketed as low calorie) be banned? According to this presentation, wouldn’t it be a good idea to substitute all sucrose with a larger amount of maltose?

A.   Although I respect Dr. Lustig and his work, your questions are the perfect illustration of just how badly this viral video has confused the issue among consumers (and more than a few professionals).   Here’s what always seems to get lost in the biochemical mumbo-jumbo:  Dr. Lustig’s observations apply to the dangers of excessive fructose intake.

Continue reading “Sugar: The Bitter Half-Truth?” >

Is Kelp High in Sodium?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Q.  On this website, it says that kelp is very high in sodium.  But it also says that 10 grams (2 tablespoons) of fresh kelp has just 23 mg of sodium, or 1% or your daily needs. These two statements seem to contradict each other. Which is correct?

A.  Sea vegetables tend to be higher in sodium than land vegetables–after all, they grow in sea water! Nonetheless, fresh kelp is not high in  sodium.  Dried seaweed will obviously be a more concentrated source of sodium.  In fact, dried kelp granules are often sold as salt substitute.

Powdered kelp adds a salty, savory flavor to dishes but has just a fraction of the sodium of regular table salt. Plus, kelp is rich in other nutrients, including iodine.  For more about the nutritional profile and health benefits of different types of seaweed, see my podcast “Is Seaweed Good For You?”

Why Does Nutrition Data Say Kelp is High In Sodium?

As for the contradictory information you found on NutritionData.com:  As it happens, I’m fairly familiar with this site.   I spent four years as Chief Nutritionist for Nutrition Data and although I’m no longer associated with them, it seems I am destined to remain the Chief Explainer for the site!

In any case, you’ve stumbled across a little weakness in the way the site reports nutrition info.  The statement “This food is very high in sodium” is automatically generated for any food that contains more than 20% of the daily allowance for sodium in a 200-calorie serving. That’s all well and good for foods like potato chips or pasta, where 200 calories represents a reasonable portion.  But in order to get 200 calories’ worth of kelp, you’d have to eat an entire pound of the stuff–which I doubt you’d ever do.   Nonetheless, 200 calories’ worth of kelp contains about 1000 mg of sodium, or almost half the daily allowance, so it triggers the Nutrition Data “high sodium” warning.

Bottom line: Computer programs are powerful, but they sometimes lack common sense!

Does Caffeine Increase Fat-Burning During Exercise?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Q. I read recently that the consumption of caffeine prior to exercise will assist the body in using body fat as fuel, up from 21% to 40%. The remaining fuel comes from stored carbs. Any truth to the story?

A. There may be a grain of truth to the story but not much more.  Taking caffeine  before exercise has been shown to increase energy expenditure (the number of calories burned) during exercise by around 10%.  So if you would normally burn 200 calories in a half-hour, some extra caffeine might help you burn 220.  Continue reading “Does Caffeine Increase Fat-Burning During Exercise?” >