Month of March, 2009

This week my husband and I were blessed with the opportunity to get iPhones. It is amazing everything that they can do; an iPhone truly is a mini computer. It is also amazing how many applications are out there for the iPhone. The commercial is really true—whatever you are interested in, there’s an app for that. And the best part is that a lot of the apps are free!

One free app that my husband and I discovered is called “Lose It.” This app gives you a daily calorie budget (based on height, weight, age, gender, activity level, etc.) and helps you to track your calorie intake from food and calorie burn from exercise in order to reach your goals whether that be to maintain your weight or lose weight.

It is an easy way to keep a food journal, something that I have always encouraged my clients to do. Keeping a food journal is a great way to make you more aware of everything you are eating and why you are eating it. It has also been shown to be one of the most effective tools for losing weight. In fact, scientists at several clinical research centers across the U.S. found that dieters who kept a food journal lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t, even when they were on the same eating and exercise plans.

If you would like to start your own food journal, I recommend including the following:
· The date
· What foods/drinks you eat/drink at each meal or snack
· Your portion size of each food or drink item that you consumed
· Your hunger level before eating on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 is no hunger and 5 is starving)
· Why you made the choice to eat this food (i.e., boredom, a social situation, because you were low on time, you had a craving, you were health conscience)
· How you felt about what you ate (i.e., satisfied, guilty, ashamed, proud, smart)

 Since March is National Nutrition Month, I would like to provide you with some ways to seek out reliable nutrition information. There is a lot of misinformation when it comes to nutrition, and if your information comes from an unrelaible source--someone who says they are trained in nutrition but is not a R.D.-- not only could the information be wrong, it could also pose serious risks to your health.

Did you know that R.D.s have to complete a bachelor’s degree in nutrition or a related field as well as complete graduate training that includes over 1200 hours of supervised practice in many different areas of nutrition from tube feedings to diabetes counseling. After completing this program, students must pass a rigorous boards exam to become registered and many states, such as Tennessee require dietitians to obtain a license as well (L.D.N., which stands for licensed dietitian and nutritionist). Also, in order to stay registered and certified, registered dietitians must complete at least 75 hours of continuing education on current nutrition topics every 5 years.

While registered dietitians must complete all of this training, others who call themselves "nutritionists" or even "nutrition consultants", "trainers", or "certified nutritionists", etc. may not be required to have a degree in nutrition at all! In fact, at most, they may only have to complete one year of training and take a mail-in "test" that only covers a fraction of the informaiton covered on the R.D. exam. Others may only have to pay a few hundred dollars to receive a certificate in the mail.

According to the USDA, Americans eat about 140 pounds of potatoes per person per year! However, potatoes often get a bad rap nutritionally speaking, and many Americans beat themselves up for eating this starchy “white food.” When counseling my clients, many of them are surprised to find out that they “can eat potatoes.”  The truth is that potatoes provide many nutritional benefits. It’s just how we prepare them sometimes that makes them a less than healthy choice. When prepared correctly, potatoes provide a relatively inexpensive source of many key nutrients. There are many good reasons to include potatoes as a part of a healthy diet. I have listed five reasons below.

Are you aging well? Is your nutrition what it should be to maintain your health and prevent disease? Take this true and false quiz below to find out!

Anwer true or false to each of the statements below and then score yourself, giving your self 0 points for each true answer and 1 point for each false answer.

1. I have an illness or condition that caused me to change the amounts and/or type of food I eat.

2. I eat 2 meals or less per day.

3. I eat less than 5 fruits/vegetables per day.

4. I eat less than 3 servings of low-fat dairy products per day.

5. I drink 3 or more alcoholic drinks (such as wine, beer, or mixed drinks) almost everyday.

6. I have missing teeth or other mouth problems that make it hard for me to eat and chew.

7. Sometimes I don't have enough money to purchase the food I need.

8. Most of the time I eat by myself.

9. I take 3 or more perscribed or OTC medications per day.

10. Unintentionally, I have lost or gained 10 or more pounds in the past 6 months.

11. Sometimes physical limitations prevent me from being able to shop, cook, and/or feed myself.

How did you do?

If you scored between 9-11 points, you are doing pretty well. But check again in 6 months. Having a nutrition session with Sarah-Jane could ensure that you stay nutritionally healthy and prevent future problems. Go to the contact us page to make an appointment.

If you scored between 3-8 points, you are at a moderate nutritional risk. You need to make some changes to your diet and lifestyle to improve your health. Meeting with Sarah-Jane for a one-on-one nutrition session can help you get on the right track. Go to the Contact Us page to make an appointment.

In some of my previous blog posts, I've mentioned how important it is to get your nutrition information from a Registered Dietitian. Now, I am going to make it easier than ever for you to get sound, medically based nutrition information you can trust. In some of my weekly blogs, I will be answering your most burning nutrition questions. Do you have a nutrition question that you need answered? If so, go to the contact page of this website and fill out the "contact us" form with your information and your nutrition question. Feel free to ask anything related to food or nutrition--the sky is the limit! And then I will answer your nutrition question in one of my weekly blog posts (or if you would prefer me to answer you privately, I can do that as well)! Ask away!

I will start this week by answering a common question that a lot of my clients ask me:

"Should I buy organic fruits and vegetables?"

I will first start with a definition of what organic is so that we are all on the same page. Organic produce is grown without synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Organic products never use genetic engineering or irradiation.