Renew You Challenge

Let’s start this week off right!

Weekly challenge (I mean opportunity!) to help set you off on the right foot and in the right direction for bringing health to your week. You could even add it to your calendar.  Join us! 

The new MyPlate icon that represents the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines is a step in the right direction as far as food recommending goes, but it still falls short of what I call—and what many people call—healthy eating.

A recent study has found that Americans only achieve at least 70 percent of the guideline recommendations seven days each year. So if Americans are not even able to meet these guidelines, how difficult will it be to make even greater improvements in diet? Clearly, something has got to change.

A recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine criticizes the new MyPlate Guidelines, saying that the food industry greatly influenced the new recommendations. The editorial, which came from two Harvard public health professors, questioned the allowance for up to half of grains to come from refined grains. Refined grains are a big part of why over two-thirds of this country is overweight or obese, and why so many people have diabetes and heart disease. Refined grains should be eliminated completely, in my opinion.

Other recommendations were not made as clearly as they could have in the new MyPlate recommendations. The editorial stated, “A clearer message would have been that Americans must reduce consumption of red meat, cheese, butter, and sugar, but that message would have offended powerful industries.”

This week, when planning your meals, fill your plate with plenty of vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Snack on fruits like berries. Consume whole grains, as well, but don’t make them the focus of your meals. And get the sugar out of your diet—it really doesn’t belong there.

Share this Post...

butter, cheese, diabetes, dietary guidelines, food, food industry, fruits, grains, healthy eating, healthy fats, heart disease, lean proteins, MyPlate, obese, overweight, red meat, refined grains, sugar, vegetables

Renew You Challenge

Let’s start this week off right!

Weekly challenge (I mean opportunity!) to help set you off on the right foot and in the right direction for bringing health to your week. You could even add it to your calendar.  Join us! 

Eating processed and red meat regularly may increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health recently analyzed data from studies involving a total of over 440,000 people over 10 years. Over six percent, or about 28,000, of those people developed type 2 diabetes during the ten-year time span. After taking into consideration other factors like weight, physical activity level, smoking and family history diabetes, researchers discovered the following dietary links to diabetes:

Eating two ounces of processed meat per day (hot dog, bacon, salami or bologna) increased the risk of diabetes by 50%.

Eating four ounces of unprocessed red meat per day (hamburger, steak, pork or lamb) was associated with a 20% increased risk of diabetes.

And the good news…

Substituting nuts, whole grains and low-fat dairy (like yogurt) for these meats decreased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 16 to 35%.

The researchers attribute the high amount of salt, nitrites and nitrates in processed meats as possible reasons for the increased risk; and high amounts of iron may be the culprit in red meats. Further, people eating high amounts of processed and red meats may not be eating enough nuts, beans and fish, stated Vivian Fonesca of the American Diabetes Association, in response to these studies.

This week, take a look at your meat intake. If you are eating processed meats try to cut back and replace these with healthier foods. One alternative might be nitrate- and nitrite-free meats like bacon and lunchmeats.  These options still pack a lot of salt, however, so don’t be too liberal with this substitution. Opt for nuts and whole grains instead. As for red meats, cut them back as much as possible. Higher red meat consumption is also associated with colon cancer risk, so it’s best to minimize this food. Further, meats like beef and pork require high-input agriculture. That means they require a lot more water and cropland to produce, especially when compared to a more plant-based diet.

Share this Post...

bacon, colon cancer, diabetes, hamburger, hot dog, lamb, lunchmeats, meat, nitrates, nitrites, nuts, physical activity, pork, processed, red meat, risk, salt, Smoking, steak, type 2 diabetes, weight, whole grains, yogurt

When’s the last time you really thought about where that steak on your plate came from? Or how that juicy burger ended up on your grill in the first place? If you’re like most people (and believe me, I’ve been guilty of this too) you’d rather remain in the dark when it comes to how your food—especially your meat—is raised and processed, but a recent USA Today article may just have you reconsidering.

The article, which focused on how our country’s beef supply is inspected, stated that the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency, “is not accomplishing its mission of monitoring the food supply for…dangerous substances, which has resulted in meat with these substances being distributed in commerce.”

Concerning? Absolutely. Shocking? Not necessarily. The reality, folks, is that the testing of U.S. beef for harmful substances is basic at best. There are no limits set for many “potentially harmful substances,” and sometimes high levels of pesticides or antibiotics are found in the same meat you bring home for you and your family to eat. But, since no limits are set for these substances, the meat passes inspection and lands at your local grocery store.

Hopefully, the recent spotlight on our less-than-adequate meat inspection standards will bring about more awareness and a better, safer way of monitoring where our meat is coming from. In the meantime, choose organic, grass-fed beef when red meat is on the menu…and even then, only in moderation!

Share this Post...

antibiotics, audit, beef, burger, chemical, contamination, dangerous, environmental, EPA, food, FSIS, grass-fed beef, grocery, harmful, inspection, limits, meat, monitoring, organic, pesticides, processed, raised, red meat, residues, safety, steak, store, substances

My Weekly ‘Renew You’ Challenge

Disclaimer: If you’re a vegetarian, you might want to skip this post!

Okay, so we all know that red meat is not especially healthy for us. The saturated fat content alone is enough to clog our arteries, and experts having been telling us for a while now that a diet high in red meat is linked to a higher risk of developing colon cancer…not to mention that raising cattle is highly energy intensive.

Then again, I believe that if you deprive yourself of something that you absolutely love, it can have a tendency to backfire on you. So first, let me say that if you don’t eat red meat, good for you!

But, if you haven’t quite reached that point, don’t be so hard on yourself. From now on, just do your best to opt for organic, grass-fed beef, since it’s the safest, healthiest choice if you’re going to eat red meat. However, if you like to grill your steaks and burgers—as a lot of folks do—keep in mind that grilled meat is often contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals as the result of the high heat.

The good news? Looking through a natural health magazine the other day, I found the following two recommendations for reducing carcinogenic compounds in red meat and realized that both were pretty smart!

•  Marinate beef in red wine before grilling
• Rub fresh rosemary on the meat before grilling

Both red wine and rosemary are high in health-promoting antioxidants, which help prevent damage to healthy cells in the body. So with summer right around the corner, I wanted to pass on these helpful (and easy!) tips.

Happy grilling!

Share this Post...

antioxidants, arteries, beef, cancer-causing, carcinogenic, cattle, cells, chemicals, colon cancer, compounds, contaminated, damage, diet, energy, fat, grass-fed, grill, Health, healthy, helpful, intensive, organic, red meat, red wine, risk, rosemary, saturated, tips

When’s the last time you really thought about where that steak on your plate came from? Or how that juicy burger ended up on your grill in the first place? If you’re like most people (and believe me, I’ve been guilty of this too) you’d rather remain in the dark when it comes to how your food—especially your meat—is raised and processed, but a recent USA Today article may just have you reconsidering.

The article, which focused on how our country’s beef supply is inspected, stated that the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency, “is not accomplishing its mission of monitoring the food supply for…dangerous substances, which has resulted in meat with these substances being distributed in commerce.”

Concerning? Absolutely. Shocking? Not necessarily. The reality, folks, is that the testing of U.S. beef for harmful substances is basic at best. There are no limits set for many “potentially harmful substances,” and sometimes high levels of pesticides or antibiotics are found in the same meat you bring home for you and your family to eat. But, since no limits are set for these substances, the meat passes inspection and lands at your local grocery store.

Hopefully, the recent spotlight on our less-than-adequate meat inspection standards will bring about more awareness and a better, safer way of monitoring where our meat is coming from. In the meantime, choose organic, grass-fed beef when red meat is on the menu…and even then, only in moderation!

Share this Post...

antibiotics, audit, beef, burger, chemical, contamination, dangerous, environmental, EPA, food, FSIS, grass-fed beef, grocery, harmful, inspection, limits, meat, monitoring, organic, pesticides, processed, raised, red meat, residues, safety, steak, store, substances

Disclaimer: If you’re a vegetarian, you might want to skip this post!

Okay, so we all know that red meat is not especially healthy for us. The saturated fat content alone is enough to clog our arteries, and experts having been telling us for a while now that a diet high in red meat is linked to a higher risk of developing colon cancer…not to mention that raising cattle is highly energy intensive.

Then again, I believe that if you deprive yourself of something that you absolutely love, it can have a tendency to backfire on you. So first, let me say that if you don’t eat red meat, good for you!

But, if you haven’t quite reached that point, don’t be so hard on yourself. From now on, just do your best to opt for organic, grass-fed beef, since it’s the safest, healthiest choice if you’re going to eat red meat. However, if you like to grill your steaks and burgers—as a lot of folks do—keep in mind that grilled meat is often contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals as the result of the high heat.

The good news? Looking through a natural health magazine the other day, I found the following two recommendations for reducing carcinogenic compounds in red meat and realized that both were pretty smart!

• Marinate beef in red wine before grilling
• Rub fresh rosemary on the meat before grilling

Both red wine and rosemary are high in health-promoting antioxidants, which help prevent damage to healthy cells in the body. So with summer right around the corner, I wanted to pass on these helpful (and easy!) tips.

Happy grilling!

Share this Post...

antioxidants, arteries, beef, cancer-causing, carcinogenic, cattle, cells, chemicals, colon cancer, compounds, contaminated, damage, diet, energy, fat, grass-fed, grill, Health, healthy, helpful, intensive, organic, red meat, red wine, risk, rosemary, saturated, tips

Notable News – I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to red meat, but  believe me, it’s really bad for you. On top of being loaded with saturated fat, studies confirm that red meat increases your risk of developing lung cancer and colorectal cancer, and now it’s being blamed for yet another health problem – prostate cancer.  I know, you were probably bought up on steaks, burgers, hotdogs and  bologna sandwiches – good all-American diet – but it’s time to rethink red meat.

Guys, listen up! Eating red meat (in addition to processed meats, which are loaded with cancer-causing nitrates) has been associated with a 9 percent increase in prostate cancer, and a 28 percent increase in advanced prostate cancer. That’s pretty scary stuff if you ask me!

Not to mention, cooking red meat to the point of charring it (you know, like when you see those black grill marks on your steak?) adds dangerous carcinogens called HCAs (short for heterocyclic amines). Makes me want to reach for that glass of red wine – at least there’s some healthy proanthocyanadins there!

Need any more reasons to avoid red meat? I don’t think so!

Share this Post...

carcinogens, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, nitrates, processed meats, prostate cancer, red meat, saturated fat