“Suggested” Serving Size?

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom

With all the focus on reading nutrition labels, there’s a glaring point of confusion for so many people: how many servings are in a package? We read about calories, protein, fat, sodium, and fiber in a serving – and often just glance at the number of servings per package. Most people look at a package, and assume if it looks like one serving, it is. It’s essential to look at both the nutrient information per serving AND the number of servings per package. This “suggestion” is what the nutrient calculation is based on.

Sadly, people aren’t paying enough attention to these suggested serving sizes (and you can eat more or less of the suggestion!). According to a survey of 2,500 US adults, more than one-fourth of consumers reported eating the whole package of a product in one sitting, when the product contained 2 or 3 servings per package. And those “family size” packages, intended for 4 people? These were routinely consumed by one or two people!

This kind of disconnect between serving size and number of servings per package can easily cause overeating and weight creep over time. It’s easy to avoid, when you become a more mindful label reader.

What do you think of these “suggested” serving sizes? Share your thoughts!

Hunger versus Fullness

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom

When it comes to weight control, this is always the million-dollar question. You’ve heard the advice a million times: ”eat when you’re hungry.” But just when exactly is that?

We all eat for many different reasons. And more often than not, physical hunger is not the drive - it’s comfort, boredom, stress, fun, or sadness. Physical and emotional hunger are sensed in the same way: “let’s get something to eat!”

To combat this confusing set of hunger signals, I’d like to suggest that you flip the hunger/fullness equation. Start to think about “fullness” and “contentment” as the endpoint for eating, rather than “hunger.”

It’s easy when you try my 3-point plan to focus on fullness. Here’s how it works. Think of Level 3 as eating until you’re stuffed, and can’t consume another bite. Think of Level 1, as actively looking for more food, with no sense of any contentment. What you’re aiming for is Level 2, where you are content and satisfied, but you could eat more. This does take a little practice to recognize (but not much). In fact, after this recognition occurs, people are amazed they didn’t think of this earlier! To handle the mental discomfort that occurs with contentment, and not being “stuffed,” you want to tell yourself that there is always more food later, when you need it.

This one-two punch to manage satiety and fullness really works! Thousands of people have learned to do this – and I hope you give it a try!

No TV For Tots

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom

Pediatricians have made a strong statement (and a very positive one in my view) about screen time and young children. The new policy just released from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under the age of 2 limit the time spent in front of the TV, computers, and even adult shows playing in the background. Included in this grouping are self-described “educational games.”

The bottom line of this policy is that video screen time provides no educational benefits for children under age 2, and actually interferes with playtime and person-to-person interactions with other children and adults.

Other studies show that language development in young children can be impaired by too much screen time. Children learn language best from “real people,” resulting in greater understanding and usage later on.

But this is not the “video police” interfering in your personal life. The key word here is “limit” screen time from all sources. As with all modern lifestyle behaviors, moderation is key.

And we adults can learn something from this recommendation! Maybe we should all try to “turn off” a bit, and focus more on “real people” time.

Should Women Be Taking Vitamins?

By Dr. Madelyn Fersntrom

You might have heard about a recent study reporting that women taking vitamin/mineral supplements died at slightly higher rates compared to women who did not rely on supplements. Can this be true? This study, and the surrounding media blitz, has caused a LOT of consumer confusion. I’d like to set the record straight!

Here’s the main finding: scientists following nearly 39,000 women (average age of 62) for 19 years compared supplement (multivitamins, iron, magnesium, zinc, folic acid) users with non-supplement users and their rates of death.
They found a slight increase in the absolute rate of death – 2.4% - with vitamin supplementation.

And this was not true for all supplements. Calcium supplementation appeared to reduce the risk of death.

First, this was only an association study – NOT cause and effect. It was an observation of what happened in a large group of people. This means that there was a connection – an association – between women who took vitamins and a higher rate of death. It does NOT mean that vitamin supplementation was the cause of death. This is a very big point to understand! Also, this was a study only of older, white women – and other factors might have contributed to this finding.

Most other studies do not find this result; many others find that moderate vitamin/mineral ingestion (ie, not exceeding 100% of recommended requirements) are health promoting.

So what should you do? Talk to a health professional (not the health food store!) before taking a daily regimen of supplements other than a single multi-vitamin/mineral product. And always talk to your doctor before taking a dietary supplement of any type if you take prescription medications.

Fitness 3 Ways

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom

When you think of “exercise” or “fitness” what comes to mind? A sweaty workout, leaving you exhausted? Think again! An active lifestyle comes in many forms. What’s known as “activity of daily living” is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. It’s the day-to-day steps we take throughout the day that make us “mindful movers”. I’m sure you’re already doing a lot of these simple activities: taking the stairs, parking further away from your destination, or carrying grocery bags.

For all of you beginners out there, getting at least 20-40 minutes of daily brisk walking is the best cardio goal to work towards. Even 5-10 minutes at a time, repeated several times during the day, is a big health boost. And it’s important to aim for “most days” – meaning at least 5-6 days a week. Consistency counts.

But don’t think you’re “done” if you’re already doing the “cardio” part of physical activity. That’s a great starting point to expand your fitness profile to the other two pillars of fitness: strength training and flexibility.

Improving muscle strength with weights supports bone health, improves your body core (abs and back) and can helps with weight control. Just twice weekly can help round out any fitness plan; make sure to seek the help of a certified trainer or exercise physiologist to get started and avoid injury; plus setting up a plan you can do on your own.

One way to quickly assess your flexibility is your ability to touch your toes, without bending your legs. Flexibility is important – a key part of overall fitness throughout your body. Stretching is a good place to start, but activities like yoga and tai chi can also help. And the goal is to feel loose and relaxed – not to turn into a human pretzel!

It’s not easy to build in extra time for this activity triad. The bottom line: just do your best to increase fitness – in any of these 3 areas - using activities you enjoy.

And always check with your doctor before starting or boosting an exercise plan.

Herbs and Spice Support Healthy Eating

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom

Herbs and spices can provide extra taste to make your taste buds dance and “doll up” everyday eating. Whether fresh or dried, herbs and spices are a quick and economical way to enhance the flavor of your favorite foods – or a way to help acceptability of new foods.

Food is not medicine, but you might have heard about studies suggesting some herbs and spices that have health-promoting properties. Cinnamon has been touted to help stabilize blood sugar, in amounts that can be realistically consumed in a day (about a teaspoon). While a valid connection, it’s unlikely to promote much of a blood sugar lowering effect in daily living. Another popular example: hot peppers contain a compound called “capsaicin,” with a documented effect on boosting metabolic rate. It remains questionable whether hot peppers burn enough calories to make a difference in any weight loss effort. Garlic consumption has been linked with lower blood pressure in population studies. But always be wary of terms like “food cures” – and never stop a medication to replace it with a food.

Herbs and spices can definitely enhance the flavor of low-calorie foods, like chicken, fish, and vegetables, providing a flavor intensity to keep you satisfied. Intense taste and flavor can often help reduce portion sizes - by providing more eating satisfaction and contentment.

Here are some quick and easy ideas:
- Sprinkle a teaspoon of cinnamon (mixed with a low-calorie sweetener or teaspoon of sugar) on a sliced raw apple, and microwave for a minute or two; you’ll have the taste of apple pie without the extra calories.
- Add your hot pepper sauce of choice to some steamed green vegetables for an intensified taste.
- Sauté some chopped garlic (buy it prepared and water-packed in convenient jars if you like), and put over sliced tomatoes, or add to a mix of vegetables (carrots, onions, and green beans work well) and roast them all in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.
- Add fresh basil and oregano to any tomato-based sauces

The Truth About Fruit

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom

Fruit is one of nature’s perfect carbohydrates – filled with fiber, water, and nutrients. With naturally-occurring fruit sugar (fructose), it’s also referred to as “nature’s candy,” perfect for taming a sweet-tooth.

Nowadays, there seems to be a big debate about the health benefits of fruit. So what could be bad? As with all things in nature, moderation is key – and too much, or too little consumption of fruit can each pose problems. Weight Watchers (WW) recently proclaimed fruit a “free food,” while Atkins and other “low-carb” diet plans strictly limit fruit intake.

Replacing a slice of apple pie with an apple, saves your about 300 calories – a great idea. However, munching on 4 extra apples a day (that’s about 400 calories), in addition to your daily food intake might be healthy, but can impair your weight loss effort. Even healthy calories count when it comes to weight loss!

And don’t confuse diabetic requirements with those of healthy people. Diabetics need to limit dietary sugars of all types, include that found in fruit, so the balance of fruit and vegetables is different, with some limitation (but not exclusion) of fruit.

The best health advice is to aim for a mixture of at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. But that’s hard for many people. If you’re way below that number, take a small step – and just add one serving a day. When it comes to fruit, some is better than none!

And don’t forget to always eat your fruit and not drink it!. Even 100% juice is lacking many of the natural benefits of fruit, especially the fiber.

What are your thoughts on fruit?