December 7th, 2009 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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After a holiday weekend of movie-going and eating that popcorn that smells so good in the theater, it was a shock to read the report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest that shows just how bad theater popcorn is. The researchers studied medium size popcorn from three large movie chains; Regal Entertainment Group, AMC and Cinemark.
The analysis showed that a Regal medium popcorn contains 1,200 calories and 60 grams of saturated fat. AMC popcorn was a “smaller” medium and contained 590 calories and 33 grams of saturated fat. This was before adding the butter topping. Cinemark wasn’t much better at 760 calories but it only had 3 grams of saturated fat.
Kudos to Cinemark for popping their corn in canola oil with less saturated fat. The other chains use heart unhealthy coconut oil, which is about 90% saturated fat. Lard is 40% saturated!
The study showed that a $12 medium popcorn and soda combination at a Regal movie would be the equivalent of three McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with 12 pats of butter. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
December 6th, 2009 by KerriSparling in Better Health Network, True Stories
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Over the last few weeks, I have had a few run-ins with the gentlest of diabetes police – people who don’t mean to be second-guessing me or asking me why I’m eating that, but still, they can’t help but ask. Sometimes their questions are subtle and we end up having a quiet, private discussion about what type 1 diabetes means to my life, and I welcome these opportunities as ways to help educate and advocate.
But other times, when I’m at the table with a piece of pie in my hand and about to sink my fork into it, knowing full-well that I am at a very good blood sugar and have bolused for the pie carefully, and someone asks, “Why are you eating that?” … I feel completely defeated. And embarrassed. Can’t a girl have dessert without being questioned? And when questioned, why isn’t my explanation good enough to justify my actions?
I’d like to be a person with diabetes who sits down for dinner and eats with everyone without the scrutiny. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
July 22nd, 2009 by Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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It’s always a bit of a landmark when something like the Happy Meal reaches a big milestone in years. This week marks it’s 30th anniversary of being introduced into our lives. That’s a lot of years, a lot of meals and a lot of small cute toys!
A meal in a box…who would have thought! I do remember when they first came out and parents with little kids flocked to them like flies to sticky paper. However, coming in at 600 calories for an average meal, packed a huge punch on the typical child’s health and waist band. Indeed, as noted by ABC News, childhood obesity has increased by 4x over the last 3 decades moving from only 4% the child population to 17%!!
The McDonald’s rep interviewed by ABC News mentioned that the “most popular” Happy Meal, the chicken nuggets with apples, is now only 360 calories. That is a great decrease by just shy of 50%.
Let’s not celebrate yet. What we need to consider is what proportion of a daily calorie amount this mean eats up.
Calorie amounts vary by age and gender. Here’s how it breaks down with recent recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics:
- Toddlers: 1000 calories a day
- 4-8 yr old girls: 1200 calories a day
- 4-8 yr old boys:1400 calories a day
- 9-13 yr old girls: 1600 calories a day
- 9-13 yr old boys: 1800 calories a day
- 14-18 yr old girls: 1800 calories a day
- 14-18 yr old boys: 2000 calories a day
Now, let’s look at some of the most popular Happy Meal calorie counts:
- Chicken nugget meal with Apple dippers & Apple Juice: 380 cals
- Chicken nugget meal with fries, 1% chocolate milk: 580 cals
- Hamburger meal with apple dippers, white milk: 460 cals
- Hamburger meal with fries, chocolate milk: 650 cals
- Cheeseburger meal with apple dippers, white milk:500 cals
- Cheeseburger meal with fries, chocolate milk: 700 cals
Finally, what percentage of a child’s daily calorie count will each of these meals snatch up for a toddler at 1000 calories a day?
- Chicken nugget meal with Apple dippers & Apple Juice: 38% Chicken nugget meal with fries, 1% chocolate milk: 58%
- Hamburger meal with apple dippers, white milk: 46%
- Hamburger meal with fries, chocolate milk: 65%
- Cheeseburger meal with apple dippers, white milk:50%
- Cheeseburger meal with fries, chocolate milk: 70%
What about if the child is a 5 year old girl requiring only 1200 cals/day?
Chicken nugget meal with Apple dippers & Apple Juice: 32%
Chicken nugget meal with fries, 1% chocolate milk: 48%
Hamburger meal with apple dippers, white milk: 38%
Hamburger meal with fries, chocolate milk: 54%
Cheeseburger meal with apple dippers, white milk:42%
Cheeseburger meal with fries, chocolate milk: 58%
The kicker here is that if we run these numbers for the teens, the percentages wouldn’t be quite as bad but teens go for the bigger meals which put them right back into these ranges in the end! (A Quarter Pounder alone is 400 calories! Check this list out for more details.)
Fast food such as Happy Meals is one of the big players in obesity in general for all populations. There are times we all have to grab and go because of work, travel and circumstances beyond our control. The key to not have the loaded calories make too much of a long term dent is to have a fast food plan and to work on being more healthy over all. Here are my suggestions:
1. Pick small portions and healthy alternatives at fast food places, and teach our children to do so as well. When in doubt, down size and pass on the fries or split them.
2. Eat healthy in general so the fast food day is the exception, not the rule.
3. Be as active as possible daily so your body and your children’s bodies have a way to burn the added calories.
McDonald’s job is to sell food and lure you and your kids’ through the doors. Your job is to keep your kids healthy and teach them how to be healthy life long. Have a Happy Meal once in a while…but do so thoughtfully and don’t delude yourself that these meals are anything close to healthy. The new packaging and food choices are just new hype for the same old unhealthy song.
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Gwenn Is In*
July 22nd, 2009 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Do you know that most adults should eat less than 2,000 calories a day? Sounds like a lot, until you consider that if you eat out, you can get your entire days worth in one meal. Here are some amazing facts (chosen at random):
- At Burger King – a triple whopper with cheese has 1,230 calories – add medium fries (360) and medium chocolate shake (690) and you are up to 2,280 calories!
- The Cheesecake Factory brings you beer battered fish & chips at 2,160 calories, add a piece of Adam’s Peanut Butter Fudge Ripple Cheesecake (1,326) for a total of 3,486 calories!
- How about Chicken & Biscuits instead, with 68 grams of saturated fat? Yes, that is more than four days worth of saturated fat (for a 2,000 a day diet, <16 grams a day is suggested).
Right now you can usually request the nutritional information at chain restaurants and someone will point you to or produce a pamphlet, but the information is not apparent. The idea of having those nutritional facts printed clearly on menus is meeting some serious resistance from the restaurant industry. I wonder why?
Public health advocates however are pushing hard to get this information in front of consumers hoping that people will make healthier choices when faced with the facts! The Senate supported a federal labeling law last month as part of comprehensive health-care reform, but we shall see what happens when it all comes to a vote.
Until then, it would be good to know when ordering – and passing on these facts to our teens who are likely to be eating out.
This post, Would You Like A Bigger Butt With Those Fries?, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
May 13th, 2009 by admin in Better Health Network
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We are all trying to cut back at the grocery store, but do you always have to get fresh produce? Not necessarily. I am always all for getting lots of fruits and veggies in whatever form. But I often hear people tell me they don’t think canned is as good as fresh. Hopefully I can set the record straight.
Canned food is often less expensive than frozen or fresh. It is also very convenient. You won’t throw away moldy or freezer burned foods. They are much more shelf stable so you can stock your pantry and always have something healthy on hand. And if you have been reading the Diet Dish for long, you know that I LOVE canned beans!
Fresh is not always best
A study from UC Davis found that all cooked forms of fruits and veggies–whether they come from fresh, frozen, or canned– are nutritionally similar. In fact, many foods are actually more nutritious in canned form. For example, canned pumpkin is higher in Vitamin A than an equal amount of cooked fresh pumpkin because the canning process concentrates the food. Canned tomatoes are higher in lycopene because the heat from the canning process helps the body absorb the lycopene better. The same is true for carotenoids in carrots, spinach, and other leafy greens and lutein in corn.
Surprising ways to use canned food
I just made three recipes I found on mealtime.org which is the website for the Canned Food Alliance.
Green Sal
ad with Posole and Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing
This green salad is dressed with the most amazing creamy cilantro lime dressing. It is so good I wish you could taste it through the screen. What I love about this recipe is that you use only 1 T. of oil (instead of 1/2 or more cup per recipe) because you use pureed cannelini beans. This adds fiber and reduces calories and fat. Did I mention how yummy it is? Oh, and just in case you didn’t know (I didn’t), Posole is simply white corn.
Canned items in this recipe:
- Cannelini beans
- Mild green chilis
- Posole (also called hominy which is white corn)
- Slice ripe black olives
Caribbean Stir-Fri
ed Shrimp
I made this last night and my husband went back for seconds. Even Basil (almost 2 year old) ate it up! Uses frozen shrimp, canned pinepple, and tomatoes. It took me 15 minutes to make. I served it with instant brown rice. Tasty!
Canned items in this recipe:
- Pineapple chunks in juice
- Diced tomatoes
- Mild green chilis
Red Satin Cake w
ith Peaches and Raspberries
OK…ready for dessert now? You would never believe that this cake has pureed beets in it. I hate beets (sorry, but true). But I wanted to see how this would taste. Outstanding! You simply put the entire can of beets in the blender and mix it into a boxed mix of devil’s food cake and some eggs. No oil in cake mix because beets provide the moisture. Then you take canned peaches in juice and blend with cornstarch and boil to thicken for the filling. So easy!
Canned items in this recipe:
- No salt added sliced canned beets
- Sliced peaches in juice
For more recipes, check out the recipe section of www.mealtime.org
This post, Is Canned Food Good for You?, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Brian Westphal.
