Body In Mind Nutrition

"We should focus on our health, not size or weight. If it was a show about "Let's be healthy," it probably wouldn't have as many viewers, but it would at least be sending a positive message to viewers.

Diets are multibillion-dollar marketing campaigns that people buy into. I believe it's about a lifestyle change, not a diet. Since 95% of the people who diet will regain their weight within five years, this TV dieting is just setting people up for failure."

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-weight-loss-reality-shows-20110131,0,1018771.story

I am always searching for little ways to create a supportive environment for developing the skill of mindful eating.  Today's radio show On Being was an interview with Jon Kabat-Zinn, which was powerful and "spot on".  Along with this, the website for the show provided a poem which describes the goal of mindful eating, which is so difficult to articulate, and a bell sound meditation which you can download and use as a guided meditation.  I hope that you find these resources as rich and helpful as I do.

http://being.publicradio.org/programs/2011/opening-to-our-lives/poem_walcott-loveafterlove.shtml#loveafterlove

http://blog.onbeing.org/post/724957186/bell-sound-meditation-shubha-bala-associate

"In 2007, Neumark-Sztainer's study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior indicated that teens in families that watched TV while eating together had a lower-quality diet than children of families that turned off the tube while eating together. Teens watching television ate fewer vegetables, calcium-rich food and grains; they also consumed more soft drinks than their peers who ate meals without the TV on.
And a 2010 study in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition showed that school kids who spent prolonged hours in front of television tend to be overweight or obese. A national sample of adolescents indicated that 64 percent of 11- to 18-year-olds had the TV on during meals.
One reason for the weight gain, Burley says, is that people tend to eat more slowly -- and consume less food -- when they are not glued to the tube."



Bottom Line:
If we turn the TV off, he added, "we can engage others and pay attention to our food. It gets closer to what we all claim our values to be."

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_108193.html

I don't want to waste one more minute of your time.  Move on and read this powerful and moving post by a mother writing to her daughter's ED...

http://www.medicinalmarzipan.com/2011/01/20/impact-disordered-eating-families-friends/

Great Diane Rehm show today with author Peggy Orenstein of Cinderella Ate My Daughter.


"The dark side of pretty and pink: how choices we make for our toddlers can influence their teenage years and beyond."

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-01-27/peggy-orenstein-cinderella-ate-my-daughter

 The new commentary in JAMA may serve as a warning shot across the bow of the energy drink sector.
“More research that can guide actions of regulatory agencies is needed,” write Arria and O’Brien. “Until results from such research are available, the following should be seriously considered: health care professionals should inform their patients of the risks associated with the use of highly caffeinated energy drinks; the public should educate themselves about the risks of energy drink use, in particular the danger associated with mixing energy drinks and alcohol; and the alcohol and energy drink industries should voluntarily and actively caution consumers against mixing energy drinks with alcohol, both on their product labels and in their advertising materials.”


http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Industry/Energy-drinks-threat-to-public-health-JAMA-commentary

The popularity of the gluten-free diet is hard to resist.  It is so easy to be persuaded by nutrition fads when you are trying to reach your peak performance or manage your weight.  In the case of going gluten-free, it is not recommended for everybody-far from it!

"...there is no evidence whatsoever that gluten-free eating offers any performance benefits over a balanced diet that contains gluten. "The theory that removing wheat from your diet is going to ease inflammation and digestion and speed exercise recovery just doesn't hold up..."

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--13683-0,00.html

I just love it when the science catches up with my kitchen table wisdom!!  More research supporting the truth that continuing to make strict and uncomfortable changes with "diets" and "exercise" creates more problems.  Developing an individualized plan to make attainable, sustainable changes in behaviors that support a healthier lifestyle (mindfully eating satisfying foods and creating more play every day!!) proves most effective over time!  YES!!!

"Concern has arisen that this weight focus is not only ineffective at producing thinner, healthier bodies, but may also have unintended consequences, contributing to food and body preoccupation, repeated cycles of weight loss and regain, distraction from other personal health goals and wider health determinants, reduced self-esteem, eating disorders, other health decrement, and weight stigmatization and discrimination. "

http://www.nutritionj.com/content/10/1/9

Research has found that yoga can help people who are dealing with health problems as wide-ranging as back pain, chronic headaches, sleeplessness, obesity, neck aches, upset stomach, anxiety, depression and high blood pressure, said Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate neuroscientist in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
The health benefits mainly stem from yoga's focus on the connection between mind and body, Khalsa said.
"The best evidence really shows that yoga is good at reducing stress and helping people cope with the stress they have," he said. "It improves management of stress both psychologically and physiologically."


http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_107974.html

The FDA has been discussing changing food labels to help consumers make healthier choices, but some in the food industry are not waiting for new FDA food labeling guidelines.  Consumers need to be aware of possible confusion with these changes.  Read on...

"Starting in the next few months, the front of many food packages will prominently display important nutrition information, including calorie, fat and sugar content. The industrywide program was announced Monday by food makers and grocers. "      

The  administration concluded that “in the end, the label was going to be confusing, because those things would be included out of context, and it could make unhealthy foods appear like they had some redeeming quality,” said an official who was not authorized to discuss the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity. For example, the official said, “ice cream would be deemed healthy because it would have calcium in it.”        

David A. Kessler, a former F.D.A. commissioner, said the industry should wait for the government to set labeling rules. “What the industry is proposing can make something look healthier than it really is,” he said.      

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/business/25label.html?_r=1&ref=business

I'm pinching myself!!  Great News for our health and for our planet!


"It's easy for health advocates to call for change," says Sid Lerner, founder and chairman of Meatless Monday, "but it's a lot more meaningful when the Sodexo's and Walmart's of the world do so -- when there's real business on the line."
Sodexo intends to keep its Meatless Monday program fresh by sending out new tool kits to its client reps every 4 months. These will include newly created recipes, promo materials and educational background. It also hopes to launch other fitness and health programs created by The Monday Campaigns.
Whether it's about encouraging health and wellness, or simply selling products according to USA Today's top marketing trends for 2011, Meatless Monday is on the cusp of an extraordinary year of growth. It's thanks to institutions both big and small that people around the country are adopting this simple message of moderation and choice for their health and the health of the planet.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-elam/sodexo-meatless-monday_b_812889.html

Love this powerful blog about letting our daughters know how much we value them, not what they look like.  I believe this is just as protective and powerful for our boys to hear from us!!

http://www.eatingdisordersblogs.com/nutrition/2011/01/aaron-sorkin-to-his-daughter-smart-girls-have-more-fun.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FGurze%2Fnutrition+%28nutrition%29

Developing the skills needed to cope with stress offers a great support to your ability to make healthy food choices and manage your weight.  Most of us eat more than we need and exercise less when we are under stress.  My clients are much more successful in making smart food choices when they are learning healthy ways to cope with stress !!


"Participating in an 8-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress.
Participant-reported reductions in stress also were correlated with decreased grey-matter density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110121144007.htm

The government's U.S. Food Environment Atlas website mapping tool has been updated to include 168 searchable criteria. The site lets users compare U.S. counties to see how many fast-food restaurants are in a given area, how many children qualify for free school lunch and what was eaten by people in any one county over the course of a year

http://www.ers.usda.gov/FoodAtlas/

"... this is an extremely important question as concern about weight gain is one of the main reasons why women may avoid or discontinue birth control, which in turn places them at greater risk for an unplanned pregnancy."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110119141901.htm

Just in case you were wondering what to expect when you see a Registered Dietitian:


"New experiences are often a source for anxiety, but don’t let your being a first-timer stop you from seeing the dietitian. Use these tips to help get the most out of visits.
So what’s it like? Consider a visit to the dietitian as the mid-point between seeing the doctor and seeing a therapist. A dietitian will assess many things about you, here is a rough sketch":

"... because Wal-Mart sells more groceries than any other company in the country, and because it is such a large purchaser of foods produced by national suppliers, nutrition experts say the changes could have a big impact on the affordability of healthy food and the health of American families and children.  "
 "A range of studies has shown that low-income people, especially those who receive food stamps, face special dietary challenges because eating healthy costs more and healthier food is harder to get in their neighborhoods. James D. Weill, president of Food Research and Action Center, an organization that has been pressing Wal-Mart to help tackle this problem, said the company seemed to have recognized “how much hunger and food insecurity there is in the country.”
Mr. Dach said the lower prices and food reformulations were motivated by the demands of Wal-Mart’s own customers. He said the company believed that, if it was successful, the price reductions would save Americans who shop at Wal-Mart approximately $1 billion a year on fresh fruits and vegetables alone.
“Our customers have always told us, ’We don’t understand why whole wheat macaroni and cheese costs more than regular macaroni and cheese,’ ” Mr. Dach said, adding, “We’ve always said that we don’t think the Wal-Mart shopper should have to choose between a product that is healthier for them and what they can afford.”    

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/20/business/20walmart.html?_r=1&hp

So many of the messages that we receive about food are negative, that I think we just stop listening or stay focused on what's wrong with our food.  It is a welcome relief to hear good news about the support, pleasure and nourishment offered by food!

"The Mediterranean diet — heavy on vegetables, fish and olive oil, with moderate amounts of wine — may be associated with slower rates of mental decline in the elderly."      

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/health/research/18aging.html?nl=health&emc=healthupdateema6

If you are curious about cooking with tempeh as a way to eat less meat, this recipe would be a great place to start!
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/11155?utm_source=Vegetarian&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=Vegetarian

'if you yearn for the rippled look of "six-pack" abs, consider what you may sacrifice to obtain it: That look might cost you flexibility and freedom of movement. Overdoing abs exercises can lead to a flattening of the lumbar curve, creating a weakened spinal structure. "We're even beginning to see hunchback conditions because of excessive abdominal crunches," claims biomechanics and kinesiology specialist Michael Yessis, Ph.D., author of Kinesiology of Exercise (Masters Press, 1992).

Society's obsession with flat tummies has psychological consequences too. "We want to control our feelings, so we make our bellies hard, trying to 'keep it together,'" says yoga teacher and physical therapist Judith Lasater, Ph.D., author of Living Your Yoga (Rodmell Press, 2000). Soft bellies appear vulnerable; abs of steel don't.


Our center of gravity lies just below the navel, a spot many yoga teachers call the "power center." The source of our vitality, the abdomen is a sacred space in our bodies, so we would do well to shift from criticizing how it looks to respecting how it feels."  

http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/168?utm_source=DailyInsight&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=DailyInsight