I hope you get to celebrate this weekend.  Now during this fantastic holiday, eggs become very popular.  So let's talk about eggs.

Eggs often get bad press as bad for your heart and contributing to heart attacks and heart disease.  This conclusion is made because eggs contain cholesterol and some fat.  However, a study published in 2008 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by Djoussé L and Gaziano JM, did not find a correlation with eggs and cardiovascular disease.  Fortunately, eggs in moderation can be a very healthy edition to most diets. 

One large egg contains 186 mg of cholesterol and about 5 grams of fat.  The American Heart Association recommends less than 300 mg of cholesterol per day for the average person.  Some organizations recommend less than 200mg per day for people at high risk of heart disease.  Although this does not allow for the mega breakfast sandwich with 5 eggs, it will healthily allow one egg a day. 

Also, all the fat and cholesterol are located in the yolk which can be easily separated from the egg white.  Egg whites are primarily protein.  You may hear of people asking for egg whites only, I suggest 1 whole egg and 2 additional egg whites for a great tasting, low fat compromise.

Here is a great article by another dietitian who had a very similar idea for an Easter theme:  Egg-cellent nutrition.

Remember the food pyramid?  It went through stages and dietitians tried to use it to teach the general public about nutrition but everyone was very confused by it. 

Well, they changed the brand and adopted the plate.  Same nutrition concepts, much more user friendly.  "The Plate Method" has been around for a long time and I find it to be a very helpful tool because honestly, who remembers what they ate for breakfast and how many servings of what?!  We live in the moment and the less adding and remembering we have to do, the more successful we tend to be. 

Teach yourself the different food groups and adjust your portions to the plate (http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/).  Combine this portioning with your other nutrition knowledge and you are on the road to great health!

I am passionate about prevention.  It just makes so much sense to prevent pain and heart ache when you can.  I try not to live life as a victim in any aspect.  I know many hard working people who take their responsibility to work and provide financially very seriously but completely ignore their responsibility to protect their health. 

Unfortunately, in this day and age, health responsibility is not optional.  Those who choose not to prevent, choose to suffer.  I do not want anyone to suffer.  I have figured out that a consistent morning routine makes prevention easy.

Not everyone is a morning person and you do not have to be.  The simple fact that most of us plan a time to wake up and have a time to be somewhere in the morning makes a routine possible.  Utilize this "regularly planned" time to incorporate health prevention.  It will allow your mornings to become like putting on a seat belt, most of us do not even think about it anymore; it is habit.  Whether you wake up at 4:30am or 9:30am, begin to include brushing your teeth, floss, any preventative medicines your doctor prescribes, 20-30 minutes of exercise, and put sunscreen on your face! 

  In that morning routine, you possibly prevented infection, cavities, heart attack, stroke, obesity, and skin cancer.  All and all it took you 40 minutes if you exercised, if not 5-10 minutes.  It is inexpensive and can become habit.  With a good preventative morning routine, you will protect yourself from disease and have more time to enjoy your life and less time at your doctor's office!

Do not put off your colonoscopy, mammogram, vaccines, and other preventative health tools. 

We are not talking less CO2 save the planet craziness.  We mean GO Green like moma’s dinner table threat.  In honor of St. Patrick’s day, let’s remember all the wonderful things the Lord created green. 

Most natural green foods have numerous health benefits including antioxidants, fiber, and vitamins.  Which loosely translates less cancer, less constipation, and more energy.  Key word though:  natural.  I am not using natural like the marketing term “all natural” which marketing companies paste on any product including bags of Cheetos as long as something to make the product came from the earth.  I mean natural, from the earth, no green coloring involved. 

Get creative this week and add to your health goals to GO Green and eat a naturally green food with every meal, yes even breakfast.  I provided 6 ideas at the top.  What other naturally green foods can you think of?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The time is coming to put those winter sweaters away and bring out your bright, warm weather clothes.  That also means you may need to start thinking about what you can do to make yourself feel comfortable wearing your warm clothes.  It is time to get those arms toned for the tank tops and your abdomen firm for shorts and swim suits.  I love this time of year.  Hopefully this year can be better for you than previous years because of your hard work and commitment throughout the winter months to healthy living.  If you have not been doing what you know you need to do, you still have some time. 

Healthy living is a two part commitment: eating well and exercising.  SIXTY minutes of exercise daily, seven days a week is recommended for optimal health by the CDC(420 minutes).  I know it is tough to get people to even commit 30 minutes 3 days a week (90 minutes).  The best thing to do is to START with something.  If it is 5 minutes 3 days a week, that is more than you were doing previously.  Work your way up slowly as you are able.  If you are already capable of exercising just "too busy," than write it on your schedule.  Make it a commitment, and challenge yourself to increase your exercise to the CDC recommendations. 

Remember take the stairs, park further away, walk instead of drive, stand instead of sit, and choose active fun activities.  Warm weather is just around the corner!

Who does not love to eat out for a special occasion?  I love going to nice restaurants for the food and the company.  One of my preceptors during my dietetic internship had a phrase for dining out:  "Pick your Poison."  She meant, decide before you go out to eat what extras you will indulge in.  Rather than throwing all your nutrition sense to the side and over indulging in delicacies, pick one and stick to it.  Making a good entre choice is important, however the additions can sabotage even the best main dish choice. 

The three typical add ons are:  DRINK - BREAD - DESSERT.  These can be the poison to your health goals.  It is easy to sit down, consume two calorie filled drinks, two bread rolls, and scrape a dessert plate clean.  You can easily add 1,200 Calories to your resaurant meal.  Although the extra 200 Calories in one drink is not ideal, it is BETTER than the alternative and maneagable in an overall healthy diet.  It can take extreme will power to resist such wonderful delicacies.  The trick I learned from that preceptor stuck with me and has helped make eating out simple and guilt free.  Before you even arrive at the restaurant, make up your mind what "poison" you will choose and only have one.  No drinks, bread, and desserts are not poisonous, but "Pick your Poison" is a simple phrase that will be easy to remember next time you go celebrate a special occasion.  It can be a great rule for holiday parties as well!

"Pick your Poison"

_  How fast are you going?  Most people have no idea it is just 10 years later and 30 extra pounds.  Then you show up at my door and want to go in reverse at 100mph!  Anyone who has been steadily gaining weight, first must STOP gaining.  Seems simple, but it is not all that satisfying when people want to watch their love handles immediately melt away.

 I consider it a great success when I can get someone to stop gaining weight.  This is a key principle of pediatric nutrition.  If I can get a 6 year old to stop gaining weight at such a rapid pace, he or she will then grow into that weight eventually.  Unfortunately, adults will not grow into their weight when they stop gaining, but just as you would not take a car going 70 mph on a freeway and throw it into reverse; I do not take an adult who has been gaining weight and throw them into weight loss mode the first week.  First we must stop the weight gain. 

When calculating how much weight one has lost, people forget to add in how much they would have gained had they not been paying attention.  Eventually those love handles will melt away, but give it some time.  So let me ask again, how fast are you going?  Are you flying forward gaining weight at a shocking rate or are you in reverse?  Remember you do not want to reverse too quickly, you might hit something!

  Are you thirsty?  You may have heard before that it is easy to mistake thirst for hunger and it is SO true.  As I write this, I am extremely thirsty.  It is so easy to go all day and not drink any water.  We constantly think about food we want to eat and look forward to meal times but water can easily be off our radar.  Of course, we can only survive about 3 days without water so obviously people are not dropping dead of dehydration on a regular basis in America, but health is about more than just not dying. 

You may be feeling more tired lately.  My question to you is:  Are you well hydrated?  Dehydration can make you tired.  Do you crave sweets and sodas?  Again:  Are you well hydrated?  Sometimes our bodies draw attention to thrist by craving sweets which then draw you to drink something or you may crave sodas to get extra fluid.

 You may have a morning cup of coffee and a soda with lunch as many people do, but that does not keep you well hydrated.  It keeps you living but not well hydrated. 

If you want to FEEL good and look great, stay well hydrated!  A water bottle on your desk at work may help you more than RedBull, coffee, Coke, and Prozac combined!  Oh, and you don't need a sports drink such as Gatorade or Powerade unless you are doing more than 2 hours of strenuous exercise (and no, cleaning your house does not count!).

Is chocolate good for you?  It is true, chocolate has potential health benefits.  It contains flavonoids and magnesium which have potential blood pressure lowering effects.  Flavonoids are mostly found in plants and in humans have antioxidant properties.  Antioxidants in simple terms run around your body finding "chipped" cells and fix them which decrease your risk of heart disease, cancer, etc, etc.

Now not all chocolate is created equal.  Dark chocolate gets such a better reputation with the health conscious because it contains twice the amount of flavonoids as milk chocolate.  Also, the extra milk in milk chocolate decreases the absorption of the flavonoids.  If you are eating chocolate for the most health benefit, choose at least 70% dark chocolate and make sure it contains only one type of fat - cocoa butter.  Often palm oil, coconut oil, and milk fat may be added but are not as neutral for your cholesterol as cocoa butter. 

HOWEVER, even with the most optimal chocolate, remember portion is everything.  Chocolate is high in fat, cholesterol, sugar, and calories.  It can easily lead to weight gain.  A one ounce portion will cost around 150 calories of your total daily calories.  And remember, chocolate can be a migraine trigger for many people who suffer from migraines.  It can also be an IBS trigger.  If you experience discomfort after consuming chocolate, you may need to avoid it all together.  So PLAN, PORTION, and ENJOY! 

Happy Valentines Day!