We like to bring you links to articles we find interesting. This time we are doing something a little different – giving you links to things to do outside in Memphis this weekend. The weather looks to be wonderful again, so get outside and enjoy it while you can.
In an earlier post, I looked at whether or not energy bars could help with weight loss. This time, let’s take a look at energy drinks, and whether or not they can help in your weight loss plan.
First, let’s define what an energy drink is. It is a beverage that contains some form of a legal stimulant and/or vitamins for a short term energy boost. They usually have a high caffeine content, which can increase energy and alertness.
Caffeine can also be used to suppress your appetite, and is often found in diet pills and supplements. It also acts as a diuretic,which will decrease the fluid in your body, temporarily reducing your weight. However, neither of these effects lasts for long – you appetite will return and fluid will be replaced when you eat and drink again.
Also note that the sugar content of these drinks can be very high. While they may provide a short-term energy boost, they are also high in calories. If the drink is replacing a meal or snack, make sure you don’t overdo the calories later when you are hungry.
Additionally, energy drinks can present a number of other health risks. The high caffeine content can lead to cardiovascular concerns, especially for those sensitive to stimulants, an increase in blood pressure and heart rate, insomnia, heart palpitations, and dehydration. Be aware of your body and how it reacts to energy drinks.
As with many things, an occasional energy drink won’t ruin your weight loss plans. Remember to eat well-balanced meals the rest of the day, drink plenty of fluid, and count your total calories. Those are the healthy eating habits that will make a real difference on the scales.
Energy bars can go by several names – protein bars, cereal bars or snack bars. And while they do provide a needed energy boost (from protein, carbs and fats) can they really replace a meal or snack and help with weight loss?
The positives of energy bars as an occasional substitute for a meal are:
Portion control to help you avoid overeating
Portable so you always have something to eat
Eating one is better than skipping a meal, and helps prevent binges later
As a snack, provide better nutrition than a candy bar
On the negative side:
They are no substitute for food, but it is better than eating nothing.
The quality of nutrition may be lower than in real food, and none are as nutritionally balanced as the meal they are replacing.
They provide plenty of calories for their size, but may be less satisfying than the larger volume of real food you could eat for the same calories.
They can contain large amounts of saturated fat, sugar and refined carbs – maybe even more than you would consume if you ate a meal.
Energy bars can replace meals, but you should only do so occasionally. When you do, choose one with higher calories, and add low fat yogurt or cheese and fresh fruit to make a complete meal. Make sure the bar has 10-15 grams of protein and 3 or more grams of fiber to help you feel satisfied and reduce hunger for a longer period of time. If using one for a snack, choose a low calorie version; otherwise, you could take in more calories than usual and end up with a weight gain.
Look for whole, natural ingredients and carefully watch the amount of saturated fat, sugar, refined carbs, and hydrogenated oils in the bar. As with calories, make sure you know what, and how much, you are taking in, and that it fits within your total daily allowance.
Energy bars can assist in weight loss efforts, as long as they are used occasionally as part of a healthy eating plan and provide good nutrition. Read the label and know what you are eating.
Frequent readers know that I usually go on a rant about nutritional supplements every year or so. You can read past articles on this subject in the July, August and September newsletter archives. This time I am going to narrow my focus to a particular type of supplement, vitamins. The source for much of this article comes from the August, 2011 issue of the Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Newsletter.
About 40% (and growing) of Americans take a multivitamin daily, which is the single most popular type of supplement. But many Americans take individual vitamins also. Why have they become so popular?
I think there are several reasons:
1. We all learned in grade school about how a lack of vitamins caused scurvy, rickets and beriberi. Those discoveries were played up big in science classes.
2. The government has mandated that certain foods be fortified with particular vitamins as a public health measure.
3. There is a growing belief that our food supply is not a good as it used to be.
4. We all know that people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables – which are vitamin-rich – have less risk for chronic diseases.
5. Our medical system tends to emphasize drugs over other forms of care, which plays into our own preference to take the easiest way out whenever possible.
6. The 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act had the effect of separating supplements from food, and from regulation, giving marketers the advantage over scientists.
7. Finally, the media are very sloppy about their coverage of research findings, inadequately covering potential harms and benefits, as well as the quality of the findings. Think about this the next time you hear a news story about vitamin research: If you were in the study, would you be able to eat any strictly regimented diet prescribed to you, in the way they want you to eat it, with no additions or subtractions, for the entire length of the study? If you can, why can’t you stick to your weight loss diet?
The science is clear that the most important factor in health outcomes is not any individual vitamin or supplement, but rather it is the whole dietary pattern. Eating a lot of fruits and vegetables provides a lot of vitamins, and a lot of health benefits, but taking those same vitamins as supplements does NOT seem to have the same health benefits. Yes, some people with certain conditions can benefit from taking a supplement of certain vitamins or minerals, and that should be a medical decision, not a whim after reading a magazine article about a Hollywood star.
So, for a summary of the research findings on vitamin supplements and chronic diseases, click on the link to see which are HOPE, HYPE, or HARM.
When considering which supplements to take, here’s the latest research on which provide benefits, which don’t, and which may be dangerous.
Hope
There is encouraging evidence that Vitamin D supplements can increase bone mineral density and decrease fractures, although specific advice is still a guess. Calcium is also required.
Vitamins C and E, along with beta-carotene and zinc, are strongly supported by the research to have a preventive effect among high risk people for age-related macular degeneration.
Hype
B 12 deficiency is common in older adults, including those with Alzheimer’s, but supplementation does not slow or prevent Alzheimer’s.
B vitamins such as folic acid supplements have not been shown to affect heart disease, cancer, or mortality by lowering homocysteine, but the jury is still out because the research that was done was poorly designed.
Vitamin D is thought to be a potential help for heart disease, cancer and diabetes, but definitive trials have not been completed.
Multivitamins have not been shown to have any effect on chronic disease, but have not been shown to cause any harm. The NIH says that the current evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against multivitamin usage. Personally, I used to take one daily but have discontinued that practice.
Harm
Vitamin E was thought to be cardio – protective by keeping LDL cholesterol from oxidating, but repeated large clinical trials using high-dose supplements found no benefit, and later research indicated that doses of Vitamin E above 400 IU actually increased mortality.
Beta-carotene in high doses was initially thought to reduce the risk of lung cancer, but clinical trials found that it actually increased risk for smokers.
I know, schools in Memphis and Shelby County started several weeks ago…but it is not too late to think about healthy habits for the school year. Here’s some links to articles that can help you get started -
Want your kids to get more physical activity? Here’s an article on the importance of exercise (which you already know, right?) and ways to help kids be more active.
Each child needs to find the right sport or activity to participate in. Here’s some ideas broken down by age group. Whatever you do, keep your kids moving!
A good day at school starts the night before with enough sleep. Here’s some tips to help your child get the rest they need.
Please leave a comment and let us know if these are helpful for you and your kids.
Who has given any of these video games a try? Who wants to? Might be a way to add some variety to your fitness routine – but don’t let it completely replace your regular workouts with us!
Iced tea is a southern staple, and has some health benefits. It is certainly better than soda as we discussed in a previous post! Here’s tips on making a delicious pitcher of it!
Smart phone apps can help you determine the nutritional value of the groceries you buy -
If external cues can lead you into bad eating habits, you can use the same cueing process to eat better, and less mindlessly. Stop relying on your all-too-exhaustible supply of will power or your intelligence and education, which has been demonstrated not to work. Think about financial planning. Companies with 401K plans used to make people sign up to contribute to the plans, and participation was low. But when they automatically enrolled people, with an option to opt out if they wanted to, participation went way up. Set your default to healthy rather than unhealthy.
Here’s how:
Use smaller bowls, plates, glasses, etc. Put the big ones away so you can’t get to them easily.
Leave salad and vegetables dishes on the dinner table, where they are easy to reach, but put the entree on the counter, where it is harder to get to.
Buy foods in smaller containers, or if you buy in bulk, repackage them into serving sizes.
Leave fruit out on the counter in bright serving bowls so it is attractive and people can take it easily.
Put carrots, celery, and other vegetables in water in clear containers in the front of refrigerator to attract the eye.
Put the ice cream, cheese, and other high fat foods in the back, out of site and out of mind.
Put leftovers in plastic containers to encourage or discourage their use: clear containers in the front for veggies & salads, opaque containers in the back for entrees.
If you must eat fast food, change your default order from burger & fries to grilled chicken & side salad. You may also have to change your default place to make this work.
Think about your own life and how you can use your intelligence and awareness to change your daily cues from overeating to healthy eating patterns.
You do deserve a break today – a break from self-destructive eating. Good luck!
Please post your own suggestions or examples of how you have used re-cueing to eat better.
All the research was done by Brian Wansink, a professor at Cornell and the author of Mindless Eating – Why We Eat More Than We Think. You can learn even more at his website mindlesseating.org
When researchers served the same tasty brownies on either a napkin, a paper plate or fine china, the people rated them respectively as either really good, really really good, or the greatest brownie ever eaten, worth triple the price.
Note: put out the good china when you host dinner parties.
It works in your favor as well. Serve the same amount of food on a big plate and a small plate. I’ll bet you feel more full after eating the small plate than the big one, because it looks bigger on the small plate. Well, don’t eat the actual plates, just the food on them.
All the research was done by Brian Wansink, a professor at Cornell and the author of Mindless Eating – Why We Eat More Than We Think. You can learn even more at his website mindlesseating.org.
Healthy
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