New! Food Labels and Foodtrainers' must-have item for summer

via CNN

Have you heard? There’s a new Nutrition Facts label but this newness will not be implemented until 2018. FLOTUS announced the changes in Washington on Friday. The labels have the sugar people (how do they sleep at night?) freaking. You see, there’s a new listing for added sugar and a % of daily value. So, using Coke as an example, label would read: 65 grams of added sugar and 130% the amount of sugar you should have in a day.  The Sugar Association/ other sugar bad guys are saying added sugar is not different than naturally occurring sugar. Are they missing the point? We cannot control how much fructose is in an apple (well that’s another story) but apples aren’t this country’s problem.

Personally, I’m not thrilled with grams of sugar. Most people cannot identify with grams; teaspoons would’ve been better. Instead of 65 grams, how about listing over 16 teaspoons in that Coke? And daily values are based on 50 grams a day (12.5 teaspoons) still seems like a lot. While we know Coke is sweet, hopefully this provides incentive for companies to pull sugar from places it doesn’t have to be (salad dressing, bread, tomato sauce etc).

Aside from sugar, serving sizes on new labels will also be different. I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, it’s good for people to see that nutrition information for 2/3 cup of ice cream; nobody eats the ½ cup serving previously used. However, it’s a slippery slope if we designate serving sizes based on what Americans eat (a pint). Another positive change is that manufacturers will have to list amounts of Vitamin D, as most Americans do not get enough D.

In other news, we have summer on our minds. Have you seen our new tote bags?

In case you think we’re being hypocritical, 1 glass (3.5oz) of rosè comes in at a little over 1 g (1/4 teaspoon) of sugar. We like a small pour but even if you’re saying that serving size needs adjusting it’s still not high in sugar. Another fun fact, cheaper wine has more RS (residual sugar). Look, it’s not a health food but summer weekends? EAT PLAY ROSÈ.

What do you think of new food labels? Or what about our bags? Let us know.

Sh*t $how

So sorry to have cut off the "We care" slogan, I show my "caring" differently

“How long have we been doing this for?” my friend Keri asked as we rolled our wheelie suitcases toward each other in the Atlanta airport. “A long time” I said but really it’s been at least 10 years we been going to nutrition conferences together. We need continuing ed. credits to maintain our RD (Registered Dietitian) degree and hey- we always manage to have a great time.

We flew in Sunday as our friend Ashley Koff was hosting a dinner at a sustainable seafood restaurant in town for fellow RDs.  The dinner started with us going around the room to introduce ourselves (always embarrassing when you have corresponded with people for years online and do not know their face from their twitter handles). We were also asked to say something we were grateful for. When it was my turn I said something about traveling with close friends but as I thought about it later I had a different answer. I am truly grateful to do what I do. I love nutrition, love counseling clients and writing, trying new foods and really the whole gamut. If you’re read my posts before I generally don’t gush a whole lot so this means something. It will also make you understand why what I’ll write about in a bit upset me so.

Dinner at Goin’ Coastal was innovative and interesting. As the chef, Seth Hendricks, introduced the courses he discussed where he purchased his fish and the importance of things like “day boat fish” as sometimes even freshly caught has been on a boat for weeks. We had hummus with hemp seeds and dolmades made with broccoleaf. Someone from EWG explained the upcoming food scores the group is releasing this month. This app will enable consumers to scan products to find out about ingredients and additives.

The following day was FNCE (The Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo). These are allegedly items dieticians should suggest to their clients or patients.

Here’s what we found when we walked into the expo hall

A little anecdote, I went up to the rep at the marshmallow pie booth and asked "how are these healthy?" She looked puzzled and said "um like what do you mean?" So, I said well it's a NUTRITION expo." I was truly horrified. I didn't go around trying to find unhealthy foods this is just a taste of what was there. I could count the truly upstanding brands on one hand. Where are the standards? How is this corruption (because that’s what it feels like) allowed? How are all these RDs paying dues and admission to an organization that thinks Tony the Tiger cares?  As far as the public, no wonder people are taking advice from health coaches and fitness professionals- would you take advice from an organization that supported marshmallow pie?

I’d love to hear from RDs, I’d love you to comment if you are as fed up with this as I am. I’d love (pipedream perhaps) to go to FNCE next year and see that soda is no longer part of a healthy diet according to the governing body of dietetics and nutrition. And if you’re not an RD what message is this sending you? 

Do You Know What Happy Calories Are?

I’ve previously outed myself; I watch pretty lousy TV, American idol included.

A new season of Idol started last week. As much as it pains me to watch the judges sip from their gigantic coke-emblazoned tumblers. I understand corporate sponsorship and here it is loud and clear. What got me way too worked up at a time I was counting on mindless relaxation was the Coke commercial that debuted during this episode. Not to worry if you missed it, it’ll air again during the Super Bowl pre-game show.

The commercial begins with that combination fart/explosive sound of a can of soda opening. The caption reads “happy calories”.  When I think of soda, I think of diabetes, sugar, caramel coloring, reproductive issues, osteoporosis and many other far from happy things. Coke is going to sort this out for me.

Cue the music and one of my favorite singers, Ingrid Michaelson’s song Be Ok. It’s catchy. If you don’t know it you can listen here.  I have since found out the song has been used to promote Motts applesauce and Ritz Crackers and has been used on numerous television shows.

The lyrics start “I just want to be ok, be ok, be ok, I just want to be ok today.” I have nothing against okay-ness. What I take serious issue with is figuring out a sneaky way to present Coke as OK. You see, there are 140 calories in a can of regular Coke and Coke shows you how you can burn these negligible 140 calories laughing, dancing and walking your dog. So that’s OK right? Drink “happy calories”, laugh, dance and we’re all good?  Word from the Coke camp was they felt people had skewed notions of the calories in soda and they wanted to set the record straight or so they say. I say crooked.

During Idol I tweeted to Ingrid Michaelson, because I am like that and couldn’t help myself, “is drinking coke ok”? Shockingly she didn’t respond but was tweeting that same night about overeating granola.  I guess after all the money from the endorsements, any calories are “happy” to her.

Coke and all soda for that matter are not ok. Chemicals aren’t something you laugh off.  Coke can twist the truth and employ all the pretzel logic they’d like and it’s still Coke. I promise you they do not have your happiness and wellbeing in mind in that advertising office (David The Agency).

 It’s one thing to sell something that’s unhealthy. It’s unacceptable to justify how it can be part of a healthy lifestyle.  Can you imagine if the same reasoning was used for Vodka? “I just want to be ok, be ok, be ok and that includes having a martini everyday?” Then cut to all the ways you can burn off that vodka?  It’s so much easier to tap your feet to the catchy song and tune this all out but we can’t really afford to do so.

Do you think Coke’s tactics with this commercial are reprehensible or just part of advertising? What do you think can be done to tell Coke that walking your dog doesn’t undo the soda damage? How do you feel when a musician, actor or other public figure you are a fan of endorses something like this (Beyoncé and Pepsi caused a stir recently)?

Relax, it's not really even a soda ban.

Source: Grist

In case you haven't heard, Mayor Bloomberg has proposed what some are referring to as a soda ban in NYC.  Bloomberg has suggested that movie theaters, restaurants, stadiums and food carts limit soda size to 16 ounces. Bodegas and markets will continue to sell sodas of all sizes. While it's hard to believe that 16 ounces (over a can’s worth) of soda is limiting even more alarming to me is the degree of pushback this is receiving. Our government has decided BPAs are safe, it permits food dyes banned in other countries and has yet to notify the public when our food is genetically modified. So when someone takes food seriously and tries to enact positive change, I'm going to support it.

A little background, half the US population over two years old consumes sugary drinks daily and these beverages account for approximately 8% of our calorie intake. The average male teen gets close to 20 teaspoons a day from soda. We would find it strange if you ordered wine in a restaurant and the waiter poured the whole bottle into your glass but this

 is totally acceptable. We’ve learned from Brian Wasink’s research that intake is highly dependent on the size of the food presented. Of course the Beverage Association sees no problem with soda and had this to say, “It's time for serious health professionals to move on and seek solutions that are going to actually curb obesity. These zealous proposals just distract from the hard work that needs to be done on this front."

Nice attempt at passing the buck, this sounds like my children arguing,  “I didn’t do it, he did it”.  I’m a serious expert, or at least an expert, who would love to get more involved as would many of my collegagues. I’ve written about soda and sugar extensively. How about they make smallersize their nasty (told you I wasn’t “serious”) sodas and experts can educate and discuss why this and other ways to limit sugar is important. Obesity and simply better health needs everyone’s cooperation. Speaking of which, the first National Soda Summit, organized by the Center for Science in the Public Interest is being held in DC next week, if you’re looking to learn more that sounds like a good start.

Aside from the beverage industry, there’s also the nanny state objection-that government shouldn’t tell us what to eat.  I’m sorry to say but they already are (see image above for a little refresher) and that’s why sodas are the size of a bottle of Clorox bleach and for many people fresh vegetables are unaffordable. The Atlantic, in an especially whiny piece, suggested that the focus should be on access to healthy food versus banning. How about both? Measures should be taken to increase access to wholesome food and decrease the size of sodas, nobody is taking soda away. The truth is, the power of the soda people may thwart Bloomberg’s plans to have the Department of Health pass this. Talk about politics, if I’m choosing a “nanny” I would take Bloomberg over the Beverage Association any day. And if you think we, as a country, don't need a nanny- what do you propose?
Are you in favor of or against Bloomberg's proposal? Do you think it will pass? 

love me a good infographic

I am not this person.

In a massive case of Spring-cleaningitis, I initiated a major kitchen purge. Dishes, serving trays, pantry contents and spices were removed from their homes so that I could decide what stayed and what went. What stuck me most, other than the fact that most people probably don’t have 15 varieties of salt and 4 types of cinnamon, was the items in my possession that do not reflect my style or who I am;  the majority of these things were acquired from my bridal registry.  I’ve always had simple, modern taste but I guess at 23 (yikes) when I got married I assumed that you have kids and you learn to like fussy crystal. It hasn’t happened yet and I can say with conviction, it never will. And then last week, my son had a sleepover with a couple of friends. In my head, I want to be the mom who can have a million kids over messing everything up without me batting an eye or in my case raising her voice. I do love guests but I’m way too anal to roll with all the punches. It’s just not who I am. I will have you over, feed you well but it’s all planned out and when things don’t go as anticipated, watch out.

So the question is, do we “know thyself” for who we are, in my case impatient and anti-crystal, or do we try to nudge ourselves in a different direction? These are insignificant examples but I confront food-related versions of this with clients all the time. If someone tells me they hate exercise, I’ll often suggest a nonthreatening amount to embark on but an incident with a friend made me rethink things.

Marc and I were at an event last Wednesday.  During dinner, someone we know really well sat down with us. This woman is thin, beautiful and always put together but we’ve never talked nutrition in the 18 years I’ve known her. She sat next to me and said “I stopped drinking soda and cut out sugar completely, I don’t even want it anymore. “ She was on a roll and proceeded to tell me all these sweeping changes she had made with her diet, her enthusiasm left me excited for her.  Had she been a client in my office I would never have proposed as many concurrent changes as she undertook on her own.

So while my life will not be significantly different based on my choice of serving pieces, I don’t think acquiescing and accepting our habits is always the answer. Sometimes sweeping changes work quite well. Non-exercisers can run marathons and meat and potatoes people may love green juice. Don’t rule it out.

Are you a fan of slow and steady change or major shifts? Did you register of items you never use? What would I be surprised about if we emptied all your kitchen cabinets?

Full disclosure, the bowl above belonged to my Grandmother but I only realized that after writing the post. And I am aware of the weird font, blogger is very uncooperative today (some things do not change).

There Are Bad Foods and Bad Kids Too

This "wonderful child" isn't anyone I know

I know there are some people who think all children are wonderful. After nine-plus years of parenting and plenty of play dates I know this is not true. There was one child who expressed his disappointment at having to leave our house by biting my babysitter when she tried to comfort him. There were others who not only played “army” but concocted battle scenarios with such detail I know I will be reading about them one day and not in a good way. All children “have their moments” but some are just not good.

There’s a food equivalent of all “all children are wonderful” and this is a belief system that holds there are no bad foods. I’ve questioned this one for a while but felt validated to read a recent Jane Brody article. The article focuses on the habits of 120,877 health professionals followed for 12 to 20 years. Periodically the subjects answered in depth questions about their eating, exercise, sleep, alcohol and television habits. Participants weren’t obese at the study’s start but steadily gained an average of 16.8 pounds in 20 years. One of the lead researchers, Dr Mozaffarian a cardiologist and epidemiologist had this to say about the results:

“There are good foods and bad foods, and the advice should be to eat the good foods more and the bad foods less. The notion that it’s O.K. to eat everything in moderation is just an excuse to eat whatever you want.”             

In this study foods that contributed to greatest weight gain were French Fries, potato chips, sugar-sweetened drinks, red meat, processed meat, other forms of potatoes, sweets and desserts and refined grains.  My bad food list, not solely concerned with weight, would include artificial sweeteners and anything artificially sweetened (diet soda topping this list), bagels, bottled salad dressings, foods using dyes, TVP and products using processed soy and factory farmed meat.

Many people have items on my list and the items from the study’s findings they eat. Lest people accuse me of advocating dietary perfection, I will confess that I adore a crispy French fry and really enjoy chocolate (and not only the dark kind). Having said this, when I consume these foods I am aware they are a deviation from my healthy diet and know they are bad (if the criteria has to do with health) foods. We need to move away from the Pollyannaish food thinking.

The retort to any acknowledgement that all foods don’t fit is that deprivation leads to disordered eating and eating disorders. With all due respect to eating disorders and the struggle ED individuals endure, we are not a deprived nation.  Telling people they can have fries and chips and hot dogs and soda “in moderation” is akin to telling the “wonderful” boy above he can bite every so often.

As important as it is to acknowledge that certain foods lead to weight gain thereby affecting our health, that isn’t the only message. When I meet with a new client I first focus on what needs to be added to their diets. “Eat more fruits and vegetables” suffers from vagueness.  Dietary advice needs to encourage people to snack on sliced watermelon in the summer, roast Brussels sprouts in the winter and bake some French fries. It’s not dietary doom and deprivation but honesty and inspiration that’s needed.  We cannot wait for people to be ill or obese to embrace significant behavioral changes, the writing is on the wall we just have to read it.

Do you agree or disagree there are bad foods? If you agree, what foods would you add to the unhealthy list? What’s your biggest pet peeve when it comes to children’s behavior? Or do you think all children are wonderful?
The winner of our Travel Snack Bundle is Erin from The Healthy Apron, thank you to everyone for entering and for spreading the word about our new store.

Moderation Schmoderation

A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed for an article about soda . I am not anti caffeine or completely anti sugar but I am not a soda fan and if you read this article that’s very clear. From my research, I am convinced soda is not something I should drink, nor do I keep it in the house or have my children drink it. One of my colleagues, a colleague I respect tremendously, read the article. She’s a diet soda drinker and proceeded to make a good case for her habit. She explained she had an “otherwise healthful and balanced diet” and that we all have our vices and said ‘if I were convinced from the research that it was really the devil I would find a way to cut it out.” I love a debate and here, in my face, was the case for moderation, the case for there being no bad foods, a case that is sensible, logical and completely not the way I think when it come to food and weight.

No List
For better or for worse, I believe there are foods or food products we shouldn’t eat. I don’t believe in artificial sweeteners blue, pink or yellow (though there is probably a hierarchy of nastiness). I also have a hard time with fake meats and many meat substitutes made with TVP. I think many vegetarians and vegans who rely on these products are replacing one dietary danger with another. I don’t eat wheat and feel there are many better, more wholesome grain choices even for those who do. And I’m not afraid to say most bread, at delis and sandwich shops, that people eat is junk. I am also frankly scared by factory farming. I don’t know how anyone can see Food Inc, read the work of Michael Pollan and others and not be. And finally there are products with multiple food colorings, high fructose corn syrup and preservatives, that means most supermarket products unless you sift through carefully, skip those too. Simply said, choose natural over chemical in all cases.

The Research
I see approximately 10 clients a day in at Foodtrainers. In these sessions I get a good sense of what they are eating and also the questions that arise as individuals try to change their diets. “Is sugar free Jell-O going to kill me” or “how bad is HFCS” are the types of questions that come up time and again. The truth is no research study, no matter how well designed, is going to prove that eating a food (no matter how chemical or fake) will lead to immediate death. It would be unethical to administer the amounts of these ingredients in a matter that would simulate 36,500 sodas (2 a day over 50 years), 87,600 packs of aspartame (4 a day over 60 years). In the meantime, I think we have to see the worrisome writing on the wall. Whether it’s cancer, kidney damage, diabetes blood sugar complications or any other lifelong ailment, if I see a few studies connecting a food to a disease, I’m going to take it seriously. If, in the process, I cut out a food coloring from my diet or my clients’ diets that ends up seeming safe, no harm done. Call it alarmist, extremist (wow I sound like a terrorist) whatever you will (and you will) but with food I say guilty until proven innocent though our government seems to disagree.

The Passion
I am not a vegan or vegetarian but admire them. While I have no plans to give up fish or eggs, I know the passion it requires to maintain a meat or animal free diet successfully. I also enjoy the manner in which vegans network, share ideas and inspire others to try new recipes or discover new ingredients. A post on one of my favorite sites, No Meat Athlete, caught my attention. Here, (he happened to be explaining the use of the term “no meat” versus pro vegetable) he said “safe has a shortcoming: by its very nature, it doesn't hold onto passionate people to help share it. I don't know many passionate almost-vegetarians.” I completely agree though I’d like to hold the flag for passionate almost-vegetarians. Though not everyone will jump on board and some will run away I think, when it comes to helping people navigate their food choices, you have to take sides. I too think safe has a shortcoming and frankly isn’t always safe. Web media expert published a list of 15 steps to social medial success. I especially liked “be daring. The most memorable stories tell the unexpected, speak directly to the heart or dare customers to live life to the fullest.”

The fun
And that’s just the thing, when you suggest that there are things we shouldn’t eat you’ll inevitably encounter someone saying, as another commenter did following my soda summary “You can always just drink water, if you want to remain totally safe and consume no calories. Gee, what fun” I call it the where’s the fun retort. The truth is, eating chemical-free, well produced food is fun and there’s a wonderful peace of mind that comes from putting good, real food in your body. And though this commenter thinks differently, there are lots of beverages to drink, even with the removal of the soda group. I love fruit smoothies and coconut water, Fizzy Lizzy drinks and all sorts of iced teas. As for food, believe it or not, I don’t suggest my clients hole up with organic broccoli and brown rice and call it a day. I love Farmers’ markets and fresh herbs, spices and once in a while a juicy (grass-fed) burger and yes, I’d like a glass of wine with that burger.
Do you think (and be honest) that all foods, even soda, have a place in our diets? Do you believe in moderation? I’d love to hear what you think.