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Teens’ Weight; Metabolic Syndrome; HON Code : Ask Dr. Gourmet Newsletter

admin — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:15:03 +0000

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Q: My question is really how much should I weigh? I’m a girl. Almost 13. I’m 5′3″ – almost 5′4″, and my weight is different every day! It’s from 114-118! It changes so much! Can you tell me why, as well?

A: This is a great question. There’s a lot of ways to look at weight but one of the most reliable guidelines that we use is the Body Mass Index or BMI. While the BMI works pretty well for adults, in children and teenagers it is something we use a bit more cautiously. This is because as you grow so much changes. There’s a difference in the amount of body fat as we grow, and boys and girls don’t grow in quite the same way. The Right Weight for Teens

Q: My doctor suspects I might have metabolic syndrome. She advised me to lose weight, which I am in the process of doing: 11 pounds so far. Is there a particular diet that would be better for me, i.e., diabetic diet, Mediterranean diet? Are there any foods I ned to cut out forever? One article I read said not to eat corn, butter beans, beets, and anything white.

A: I love this question because recently there is excellent research to prove that the optimum diet for metabolic syndrome is Mediterranean style diet. This is a recent article that reinforces the conclusions from the last 20 years of research:http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/abstract/57/11/1299

All Dr. Gourmet meal plans and the foundation of our mission at DrGourmet.com is to translate Mediterranean diet principles for the American kitchen. The Best Diet for Metabolic Syndrome

This postscript came to us as part of an Ask Dr. Gourmet question and we realized that we don’t have a place where we address information about HON code certification.

Q: PS: In looking for your email address I noticed the HONcode logo and glanced at their claim of 8 principles of conduct. Is this a valid claim on their part? Or at least a step in the right direction? I remember growing up thinking the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval was a big deal.

A: Yes, the HON code certification is something you can rely on for accurate health information on the internet. Before a website is allowed to claim that they are certified, the Health On the Net organization scrutinizes the website in question very carefully to make sure that the health information on the site is accurate, reliable, and appropriately attributed – which is why you’ll always see us citing the medical journals we use for Nutrition Bites, for example. Then the organization returns on at least a yearly basis to re-assess the site, and they’ll yank certification if the website no longer meets their standards. What is HON-Code Certification?

Have a question? Send it to askdrgourmet@drgourmet.com and your question may be answered in this column. Read more Ask Dr. Gourmet questions – over 500 questions already answered!

Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites: August 24, 2011

admin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:57:37 +0000

Do family meals affect family weight?

In the past thirty years or so we’ve seen fewer families eating dinner together regularly, and this has coincided with the increase in individual’s waistlines. Plenty of studies have looked at the relationship between family meals and weight in children, but few have looked at the family unit as a whole or at the weight of the various family members – not just children.

A recent study in the journal Appetite takes an initial look at family meals and family weight (2011;57:517-524). The researchers recruited 103 families who were visiting Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in order to attend campus tours. (This meant that at least one person in the family unit was a young adult.) The family groups averaged just three people, so 327 persons participated in the study.Do family meals affect family weight?

Ask Dr. Gourmet Newsletter for June 28, 2011

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:04:55 +0000

We’ve had a lot of new subscribers recently (welcome!), and I thought it might be helpful for us to share a few of our “greatest hits” or most frequently-asked questions on a variety of topics.

You can always check to see if your question, or a similar one, has already been answered by visiting the Ask Dr. Gourmet section on our web site.

Coumadin

Q: How much Vitamin K is in…?

A: There’s an easy way to find out about the nutrition content of any food. Just use the USDA National Nutrient Database. By entering an ingredient and following the steps, this web site will report the complete nutritional values of any ingredient and many prepared foods. The Vitamin K content is the last listing at the bottom of the Vitamins section. If it is not there, the food or ingredient that you searched on doesn’t contain enough Vitamin K to be reported.

Q: Can I use nutritional supplements while on Coumadin? What about acai juice / berries / Mona Vie or Resveratrol?

Q: Should you avoid cranberry juice on Coumadin (warfarin)?

Browse all Ask Dr. Gourmet Questions about Coumadin (warfarin).

Weight Loss / The Dr. Gourmet Diet Plan

Q: Is Body Mass Index accurate for everyone?

Q: Is cutting down on carbohydrates a healthy way to lose weight?

Q: Is there any cost involved in The Dr. Gourmet Diet Plan or the Dr. Gourmet web site?

Q: How can I lose weight if I can’t exercise?

Browse all Ask Dr. Gourmet Questions about Weight Loss and The Dr. Gourmet Diet Plan.

Miscellanous

Q: Should I be concerned about the level of mercury in the fish I eat?

Q: Does sea salt have less sodium in it than regular salt?

Q: Would adding baking soda to chili to make it GERD-friendly ruin the taste of the chili?

Q: Do you have diet plans for those with Type 2 diabetes?

Q: Are seeds really a problem for those with diverticulitis?

Browse all Ask Dr. Gourmet Questions about Health Conditions.

Have a question? Send it to askdrgourmet@drgourmet.com and your question may be answered in this column. Read more Ask Dr. Gourmet questions – over 500 questions already answered!

Whole Grains and Belly Fat: Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:25:54 +0000

For the last few weeks I’ve been writing about the effects of the Mediterranean Diet in general and some of the specific components of the Mediterranean Diet on abdominal fat deposition (read: belly fat). My patients are often concerned about belly fat, not because of its effects on their health, but because they don’t like the way it looks. The truth is that abdominal fat is a good indicator of greater risks to your health.

This is why Waist to Hip Ratio is becoming the more favored method of estimating body fat, better than Body Mass Index. Body Mass Index only looks at weight in relation to height, which is a good indicator of overweight and obesity for most people, but it is limited by being unreliable for children, the elderly, people under 5 feet tall, and those who are very muscular. Waist to Hip Ratio, on the other hand, tells us physicians far more about where your body fat is deposited, which we are finding is far more of an indicator of increased health risks and is relevant for everyone. Whole Grains and Belly Fat

Exercise and Weight Loss : Ask Dr. Gourmet

admin — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:26:03 +0000

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Two related questions:

Q: I have Charcot in my left foot and I have been staying off of it for going on 3 months now. I am a diabetic and have been told no weight bearing on the foot. What can I do to exercise?

Q: I am a 52 year old female who in 1996 suffered a massive brain anuerysm/stroke. I was 99 pounds at the time, but by the time I was released from rehab I had ballooned to a whopping 246! I have managed to get down to 175 but I am stuck there. I’m just at a total loss and any advice you can provide me would be greatly appreciated. I am no longer confined to a wheelchair, so I do walk daily, although not fast and not far. I live alone so anything you suggest would have to be able to be done solo.

A: Since exercise is not my area of expertise, I referred these two questions to our exercise expert, Jacques Courseault. He’s written a fantastic article on How to Exercise with Disabled or Weak Legs that should help you design an exercise regimen based on what you can do.

Q: I cannot stay on a diet. I have gained 40 lbs in 2 years and my doctor wants me to only eat 850 calories per day. I crave sweets and cannot pass them by at work, so I am gaining more. I have high cholesterol, total 358, take Zocor, 80 mgs, I walk 1 mile every day and take blood pressure medicine. What can I do? I need help. I read your website and agree with everything I read, but are there some people who cannot lose weight?

A: One reason that you might not be able to stay on a diet is that many diets are so drastic. For instance, we now know that an 850 calorie diet is just too few calories and will set you up for failure. Once you eat under about 1,000 calories per day the body metabolism slows and weight loss becomes very difficult.

There are five steps to eating healthy and losing weight. The first is to assess where you are and how many calories you should be eating to lose weight. A Reasonable Diet

Q: How can you say that Body Mass Index is “a good tool” when it doesn’t apply to everyone? Lots of athletes and body builders have a BMI in the overweight range (according to your chart), but they have very low body fat. Are you saying these people are fat?

A: You’re correct that there are those who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) that is in the overweight range (or even obese), but they are actually healthy. This because they are very fit and their weight is more in muscle mass than fat mass. This is, unfortunately, the exception to the rule and most folks who have high BMI are overweight and at risk.

Keep in mind the BMI is a guide that we use on an individualbasis. Waist to hip ratio is another good guide that, like the BMI, we use in assessment. The two are complementary but are only a guideto whether your weight is a problem or not. BMI and Fitness

Have a question? Send it to askdrgourmet@drgourmet.com and your question may be answered in this column. Read more Ask Dr. Gourmet questions.

Plan to Clean Your Plate

admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:44:32 +0000

“Clean your plate; there are children starving in Africa [or China, or Ethiopia].” I’m sure you heard it too. We’re well-programmed to eat everything we put on our plate. When studying how much people eat at meals, the vast majority of research focuses on measuring how much people eat when they are able to eat as much as they want, until they are full. The assumption is that how much people eat at any one meal is dependent on mental and physical feelings of fullness, both of which occur while one is actually eating. In those types of situations we’ve seen that how much people eat can be affected by distractions from music to friends.

Researchers in England took another approach towards researching how much people eat at meal times. Their theory was that how much people eat at a meal is largely determined before someone sits down to eat. Plan to Clean Your Plate

Those 100-Calorie Snack Packs

admin — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:29:46 +0000

We know from previous research that when people eat from larger bowls or plates, they tend to eat more than those eating the same food but from smaller plates (Bite, 10/06/2006; Dr. Tim Says,10/13/08). That’s one reason that the food industry has introduced those 100-calorie packs of snack foods. The idea is that if you eat from these smaller packages, you’ll eat less. Unfortunately, what research has been done to test the theory has led to mixed results. Brian Wansink, one of my favorite food researchers, designed a study to see if having smaller packages would really make a difference in how much people ate.

He and his staff recruited 37 undergraduate men and women who were told that they would watch a television comedy and then answer questions about it. While they watched the show, they were given prepackaged crackers to eat as snacks. These crackers were prepackaged in one of two ways: in one large bag or in four smaller bags. Those 100-Calorie Snack Packs

Slim Your Waist with Whole Grains and Legumes : Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

admin — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 18:36:33 +0000

I’ve said for years that the most important factor in weight loss is the number of calories you eat versus the number of calories you burn. That said, we also know that some foods are more filling and satisfying than others, which is just one explanation for why those who eat more whole grains tend to gain less weight over the years. Further, those who eat more legumes seem to have a lower Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR).

But would eating more whole grains and legumes actually help you lose weight? A group of researchers in the United Kingdom and New Zealand designed a study to shed some light on the subject. Slim Your Waist with Whole Grains and Legumes

Sugary Beverages and Your Health : Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

admin — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 20:16:04 +0000

I’ve been saying for years that folks should avoid drinking soda if only because of the extra calories. In the last few years a fair bit of research has been done on sugar-sweetened beverages and their contribution not only to weight gain but also conditions such as Metabolic Syndrome, gout, heart disease, high blood pressure and poor cholesterol scores.

Recently a team of researchers at Harvard published an overview of current research on sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity, type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders in the journal Physiology & Behavior.

Here are just a few highlights of the articles they mention which cite large-scale studies: Sugary Beverages and Your Health

Doctors, Exercise and Nutrition

admin — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 23:19:13 +0000

Does your doctor talk to you about diet and exercise? It doesn’t appear that all that many do. In a study performed at the University of Michigan, researchers surveyed both attending physicians and trainees about their patient counseling habits as well as their own personal dietary and exercise habits (Prev Cardiol 2010;13:180-185).

The physicians contacted to respond to the survey were affiliated with the University of Michigan and were those who could be (broadly) considered “primary care” physicians: internists, family practitioners, endocrinologists and cardiologists. Between March and April of 2009, nearly 200 of these physicians responded to an emailed survey. Doctors, Exercise and Nutrition

Feel Fuller While Dieting

admin — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:46:42 +0000

We know that breakfast can help you lose weight and that those who skip breakfast tend to have a higher Body Mass Index than those who do eat breakfast. If you eat breakfast, you’re also less like to snack during the rest of the day and are less likely to have heart failure. Previous research has looked at eating higher fiber meals in the morning, such as high fiber cereals or whole grain breads or muffins.

We also know that high-fiber foods are more satisfying than the same types of foods with less fiber: whole wheat bread is more satisfying than white bread, for example. During times of energy restriction (read: dieting), however, studies have shown that eating protein helps people feel more satisfied than even whole grains and fiber. So should you be eating protein at breakfast if you’re trying to lose weight? Feel Fuller While Dieting

Will More Whole Grains Help You Avoid Heart Disease?

admin — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:59:07 +0000

We know from one study that those who eat the most whole grains tend to have a lower Body Mass Index, a lower weight, and a lower waist circumference compared to those who eat the least whole grains. Whole grains have also been associated with a lower fasting insulin score (Bite, 12/19/07) and an overall lower risk of death among type 2 diabetics (Bite 05/26/10). These are indirect indicators that more whole grains in your diet can help reduce your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

A group of researchers in Scotland recently published a study focused on the effect of higher whole-grain food intake on fairly healthy individuals. Whole Grains and Heart Disease Risk

Short Term Splurge – Long Term Fat

admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:43:03 +0000

Just this week I posted an article with my best tips for eating healthy during holidays. While holidays are a time to splurge – and that can certainly be part of a healthy lifestyle – what the end-of-year round of holiday parties means for many people is a good month of overeating on foods that are high in fat, calories and salt.

Of course we know what the outcome is of such overeating: holiday weight gain followed by a New Year’s resolution to diet and exercise.

A group of Swedish researchers looked at the long term effects of such overeating in a small study that was just released by the journal Nutrition & Metabolism. Short Term Splurge – Long Term Fat

Exercise Trumps Heredity

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:10:01 +0000

Studying identical twins is very important because they help scientists separate what has a genetic cause and what is caused by a person’s environment or their lifestyle. Since their genes are the same, generally speaking health differences between the two individuals in a set of identical twins can be traced to lifestyle or environmental factors.

Every now and then I’ll hear someone who is overweight say, “I can’t lose weight. My whole family is overweight. It’s genetic.” An interesting article in the International Journal of Obesity says that while that may be true for some people, it doesn’t appear to be an unavoidable fate. Exercise Trumps Heredity

Multivitamins Linked to Breast Cancer: Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 21:54:59 +0000

I don’t normally report on vitamin supplement research. If you read my The Real World Diet Coaching essay this past Monday, you know that it’s pretty clear that getting your vitamins from foods is better than taking them in pill form. Given that so many people take a multivitamin, however, I felt that this study was worth sharing with my readers.Multivitamins Linked to Breast Cancer

Coffee; Wild Mushroom and Sausage Linguine; Lean Body Mass : Dr. Gourmet Newsletter

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:48:10 +0000

Eating Healthy: Coffee

[This article is part of The Real World Diet Coaching Program, an ongoing series on The How and Why of Eating Healthy. Read the whole series to date.]

Back when David Letterman had his heart trouble a few years ago, he talked about how his doctors had told him that he couldn’t drink coffee anymore. At the time all I could think was, “Find a new doctor.” There has never been good evidence for telling patients not to drink coffee. In fact, there’s a ton of research showing that coffee is good for you.

In one study of coffee consumption, researchers in Italy enrolled over 11,000 recent heart attack sufferers in research lasting three and a half years. At the beginning of the study, and at regular intervals throughout, the subjects were interviewed regarding their diet, including specifically their coffee intake. The diet and coffee consumption of those subjects who experienced another heart attack or a stroke during the study were compared with those subjects who didn’t have any problems. Go Ahead, Drink Coffee

Featured Recipe

Wild Mushroom and Sausage Linguine

I love using sausage in recipes like this. I look for the best quality sausage with as natural ingredients possible. I also look for those with lower sodium – no more than about 350 mg per ounce. Adding the sausage early in the cooking, as with this recipe, intensifies the flavor and means that you’ll have to add less salt to your dish.

How to Conserve Muscle Mass During Weight Loss
Exercise with Jacques Courseault

Conserving muscle mass, or lean body mass (LBM), is essential to maintaining a healthy body composition during periods of weight loss. Muscle supports your joints, helps you to perform daily activities, keeps you looking toned and boosts your resting metabolism, or the energy you expend at rest. Dr. Cedric Bryant, the Chief Science Officer for the American Council on Exercise, states that an extra pound of muscle can result in an extra pound of weight loss over a year. How to Conserve Muscle Mass During Weight Loss

Putting Weight Into Context : Ask Dr. Gourmet

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 17:19:52 +0000

Q: I was with a group of women who attended your wellness seminar during our lunch hour recently. During the drive back to our work site, one question was focal: Why do all the studies about what people “should” weigh never take body type and muscle mass into account?

At one point, you flashed a general guideline that stated something along the lines of; a 5-foot woman should weigh 105lbs; then add 5-lbs for each inch. I’m 5′6″ and the possibility of Christ coming out of heaven and asking my hand in marriage seems more likely than achieving 135lbs! I run 3 hours a week (15 miles) and do Pilates 2 hours a week (I weigh 160) and I have for YEARS! I just can’t believe that I don’t have enough muscle mass to count for something.

A: It’s a challenge to pack a lot of information into an hour lunch time lecture and have folks understand fully what should really take about 3 hours to talk about. That said, the formulas I gave you are meant as a guide and during the discussion I mentioned two other important measures. We talked about how they are at least as important as your ideal body weight (and maybe more so). One is Body Mass Index (BMI) and the other Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR). Both of these are equally important and help folks to do exactly what you are discussing – put your height and weight information in context.

Splenda vs. Sugar: Ask Dr. Gourmet

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:57:28 +0000

Q: We know that diet soda consumption has been positively correlated to weight gain, but do we have any idea why? I stopped drinking all sodas, but still use Splenda in my coffee and tea on a daily basis. Is there any evidence that artificial sweeteners are the culprit rather than diet sodas per se? Would we be better off with sugar?

A: There has been some research that shows an association of artificially flavored diet soft drinks and obesity. The evidence is thin right now but worrisome. While I have used Splenda in some recipes on the Dr. Gourmet web site including muffins, quickbreads and desserts I have tried to be sparing about this. Recently I have tested stevia in baked goods and it works well and is a more natural choice. Splenda vs. Sugar

How Much Exercise Are Your Kids Getting, Really?

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:40:46 +0000

It’s important for kids to develop healthy eating and exercise habits so that those habits persist into adulthood. Yet more and more children are becoming overweight and obese, which can cause diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and other chronic conditions long before they stop needing a pediatrician.

There have been lots of programs aimed at getting children to be more active, but they haven’t been all that effective. Researchers in the United Kingdom theorized that one of the reasons those programs might not be working might be that children (and their parents) believe that they are already active enough. This might also be complicated by the feeling that exercise is only necessary if you need to lose weight. How Much Exercise Are Your Kids Getting, Really?

The Real World Diet Coaching: Calories Count

admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:50:59 +0000

“Just what the heck is a calorie and what do I do with it?!” I hear this a lot from my patients and knowing the answer is the basis for success in eating well and losing weight.

The calorie is a unit of measure of energy, sort of like the watts on a light bulb. It takes more energy (watts) to burn a brighter bulb just as it takes more energy (calories) to climb the stairs than using the elevator.

But not everyone needs the same amount of calories. A 5 foot 4 inch woman needs far less fuel (calories) than a 6 foot 2 male. Think of this as the difference between a compact car and a big pick up truck. (The truck just gets fewer miles per gallon – and that’s where that metaphor breaks down.)

So how many calories should you be eating to lose weight? It’s pretty simple really.

Take a look at this BMI table to see your Ideal Body Weight (that’s the one listed under the heading of 22). Multiply your Ideal Body Weight by 11. Let’s say that your Ideal Body Weight is 145 pounds. You need about 1,600 calories each day for your body to function (145 x 11 = 1595). That’s your baseline.

For most people it doesn’t take many extra calories each day to add on pounds (or lose them). Of everything that I’ll discuss with regard to weight loss, the most important thing for you to focus on is calories: more than fats, more than protein and more than carbs.

To lose about a half pound each week you need to eat 250 calories less than your baseline each day. So if you should weigh 145 lbs. you’ll need to eat about 1,350 calories per day to lose weight. You can burn those calories exercising – and should – but we’ll talk about that later.

The Real World Diet Coaching: How Much Should You Weigh?

admin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:39:44 +0000

Almost every day I have patients ask me what they should weigh and how much they need to lose. I will admit that sometimes I am a bit evasive, saying such things as, “Start working on your weight, and I’ll tell you when to stop.”

Why am I not always more direct in helping them set goals? Because folks can often be pretty unrealistic about their health and their weight. Usually people are shocked when I tell them what an ideal weight would be for them.

There are a few ways to look at what your best weight should be, but Body Mass Index (BMI) is one of the most reliable to help you know what a healthy weight is for you.

BMI is based on a calculation that estimates weight in relation to height. There are more precise measures of weight, but BMI allows researchers a quick and inexpensive way to compare the weight of different populations. Because this has been the research standard you can easily compare yourself to the findings of researchers on what is considered a healthy weight.

It’s pretty clear that being overweight can have serious effects on your health. There are well established connections between obesity and many illnesses, with heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, breast cancer, colon cancer, arthritis and stroke being the most common problems.

While you have probably heard all of this before, I like to talk with my patients about the real consequences for them of these conditions. If your weight leads to having diabetes or a heart attack will you be able to dance at your son’s wedding? Will you live to see your daughter’s first child graduate from high school? There’s real pain in carrying around too much weight – arthritis of the knees, difficulty breathing, swelling of the ankles, diabetic foot problems – these are the facts of life for most with a BMI in the obese range.

BMI is a rough estimate of body fat. When I say “rough estimate” I mean both – an estimate and a rough one at best. The limitation is that it doesn’t measure body fat directly, so BMI can be misleading for those who have an especially high ratio of lean muscle mass to their overall weight. For the vast majority of us, however, Body Mass Index is a good indication of whether your weight is in a normal range for your height.

This table shows the range of weights for a normal Body Mass Index. Your Ideal Body Weight should fall between the weights for a BMI of 19 to 25.

BMI	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Height (inches)	Body Weight (pounds)
58	91	96	100	105	110	115	119
59	94	99	104	109	114	119	124
60	97	102	107	112	118	123	128
61	100	106	111	116	122	127	132
62	104	109	115	120	126	131	136
63	107	113	118	124	130	135	141
64	110	116	122	128	134	140	145
65	114	120	126	132	138	144	150
66	118	124	130	136	142	148	155
67	121	127	134	140	146	153	159
68	125	131	138	144	151	158	164
69	128	135	142	149	155	162	169
70	132	139	146	153	160	167	174
71	136	143	150	157	165	172	179
72	140	147	154	162	169	177	184
73	144	151	159	166	174	182	189
74	148	155	163	171	179	186	194
75	152	160	168	176	184	192	200
76	156	164	172	180	189	197	205

For instance, if you are 63 inches tall (5 foot 3 inches) a good range for a healthy weight is between 107 lbs. and 141 lbs.

If your BMI is not in the normal range you can use the BMI table below along with the BMI calculator on this site to see if you fall in the Overweight, Obese or Severely Obese ranges.

Less than 18.5	underweight
18.5 to 24.9	normal weight
25 to 29.9	overweight
30 or more	obese
greater than 35	very obese.

Now, for some of you this is going to be shocking information. It is amazing to me how disconnected people are today from what a healthy weight should be. While BMI information is not perfect, it is a pretty good guide, especially for the majority of the population.

Don’t worry, you can get to a healthy weight if you are overweight or obese. It does take some planning and work at taking action, but as you read through these articles, each day you’ll learn a little more about how to make that happen.

Lunchtime is one of the places where people get way too many calories. It amazes me how many people don’t make their lunch to take to work with them, since it is so expensive to eat out these days.

Being very conservative, if you eat lunch out every day and it costs $5.00, that’s $25.00 per week or about $100.00 each month. $1,200.00 per year. (That’s a trip to Cancun!)

Save your money and save your life! Start making your lunch each day and taking it with you. It takes all of 10 minutes to make a sandwich and put it in a bag with a piece of fruit. This is a critical part of this program. By making your lunch, you not only save money but you are in complete control of the amount of calories you’ll have each day at lunch.

The Real World Diet at DrGourmet.com

DrGourmet — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:15:27 +0000

We have updated the Dr. Gourmet web site and meal planning software. Many of you have used ourweb site and software in the last year and we’ve responded to user suggestions for new features and improvements.

It’s the new year and we’ve made it easier than ever for you to eat healthy and lose weight. The Real World Diet is a comprehensive program created because people need a “real world” alternative to silly fad diets. This isn’t really a diet but an overall approach to food and being healthy.

You can use The Real World Diet software to create easy meal plans but over the last year we’ve added many new features based on your suggestions:

> Create customized two-week meal plans complete with recipes.

> Menus plans for you and your entire family.

> Printable shopping lists for each week.

> Use leftovers for lunches and dinners later in the week.

> Use convenience meals in your menu plans.

> Track the foods eat each day with the integrated Food Diary.

> Keep an exercise journal.

> Set and track progress toward your goals.

> Customize your meal plans based on health issues.

You can also follow The Real World Diet coaching program to learn about the state of the art diet research and how to easily apply it to your life.

The basis for The Real World Diet is founded in Mediterranean style diet principles. While that might not seem like part of your real world this program translates those concepts into familiar recipes for you and includes dishes from many cuisines – Comfort Food, American, French, Southwestern, Asian, Caribbean, Italian, Spanish…

The Real World Diet coaching shows you why you should eat better and the software shows you how to do it. Because it recognizes that you have to live in the real world and eat real food it is a practical plan that you can easily make part of your life. These principles are the ones that research has proven time and again to help you lose weight, live longer, live better and best of all, eat great food!

Other websites charge you as much as $29.95 per month for this service, but The Real World Diet is completely free. We don’t even ask for your credit card information.

Click through now to start your new year off right – healthier than ever with The Real World Diet.

Timothy S. Harlan, M.D.

Dr. Gourmet

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

Sometimes It’s Just That Simple

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:18:47 +0000

If you’ve been reading my Health and Nutrition Bites for a while, you know they’re all about numbers. Quintiles, quartiles, percents, pounds and kilograms… it can all be a little overwhelming when you’re trying to figure out what is the best way to live healthier and longer. While the purpose of Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites is to explain current research in easy to understand terms and tell you just what that science means for you in the real world, today I want to share with you some research that is about as simple as it gets.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control worked with scientists at the German Institute of Human Nutrition on a study that included over 23,000 men and women between the ages of 35 and 65. At the start of the study, each person received a score of 1 or 0 (yes or no) on four positive health factors. Sometimes It’s Just That Simple

Guess what? Cereal advertising to kids works!

DrGourmet — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:58:12 +0000

OK, sarcasm aside, there’s a great report by the Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity that shows how marketing has an profound effect on our children’s nutrition. Here’s the link:

http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=7013

If you want more great info and a look at the Nutrition Facts of cereals click this link:

http://cerealfacts.org/

This is a great organization that looks at exactly what the impact of cereal marketing has on consumption.

Try Turning Off the Television: Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:33:31 +0000

You’re all no doubt more than familiar with the two main strategies for weight loss: reducing the number of calories you eat and increasing the number of calories you burn. Obesity researchers are also looking at ways to decrease the amount of time people spend in sedentary behaviors (activities that don’t significantly increase the number of calories you burn much above your baseline resting state). Sedentary behaviors alone, even if you meet the recommended levels of exercise, are still linked to greater risks of obesity and metabolic syndrome.

One major sedentary behavior is television watching. In fact, according to Neilsen Inc. the average American adult watches television for almost 5 hours per day. Not only is it sedentary, but we also know that distractions while you are eating, such as television, lead to eating more and weighing more (News Bite 11/07/06). Researchers at the University of Vermont devised a study to find out if reducing the amount of television a person watched would actually reduce their caloric intake or their weight. Try Turning Off the Television

More Diet Pills Proven Unsafe

DrGourmet — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:29:54 +0000

One of the problems is that the prescription diet pills on the market work poorly. The studies with the drugs all involve lifestyle change including diet and exercise. Generally speaking, there’s not much difference in the weight loss between placebo and the drugs studied. This study of a widely used drug, Meridia, shows how harmful these drugs can be:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/ProductAlert/Prescriptions/17147

And these are the drugs that get researched. There are thousands of “supplement” preparations on the market that are not subject to such scrutiny as a good randomized controlled trial.

The Kardashian sisters have been in the news lately because of their weight loss using a product that they’ve been paid to promote called “Quick Trim.” This is pretty shameful because these two young women have no idea what risk they might be putting themselves for future health issues but they are telling others to follow their lead.

We know that diet pills don’t work and we have abundant evidence of how harmful they can be.

Dr. Gourmet

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

Lowering Cholesterol Without Medication; More : Ask Dr. Gourmet

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:45:58 +0000

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Q: I am a 30-year veteran of the Army and in pretty good condition. I am active, no weight problems and (other than fried chicken) eat pretty reasonable meals. My big drawback is cholesterol. Mine has been as high as 285. My family has a history of high cholesterol.

I have tried every statin on the planet and have terrible reactions to them all. I have unbelievable muscle pains and had to be hospitalized after taking Pravachol. The doctors say this is rare. Right now I am not on any meds for the cholesterol. I am taking a few natural herbs like fish oil. What can I do that will help?

A: The most important consideration is your cholesterol profile. Occasionally I will have a patient who has been put on medication for a high cholesterol score, but their low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol isn’t putting them at high risk when other risk factors are taken into consideration. Family history, smoking, diabetes and hypertension play a role in evaluating such risk. We also consider weight (Body Mass Index), waist circumference, race, activity level as well as stress. When you can’t take cholesterol-lowering medications….

Q: Could you please tell me how I can calculate the Body Mass Index of my husband? He is an athletic person with a muscular body and you have said that the regular Body Mass Index would not apply to people like him.

A: We know that obesity is a major problem and one way that we track this is the Body Mass Index (BMI). It is not a perfect measure, however. It’s used because of how simple and inexpensive it is to collect the data for research purposes. We use it as an indirect measure of body fat.

What we most care about is central adiposity (belly fat to most of us). There is now tons of research to show that obesity with a large waist circumference is as important (or maybe more important) than BMI. Assessing BMI for Athletes

Q: I purchase large jars of pickled onions imported from Italy and they are the best I have ever tasted. On the main (front) label it states “in balsamic vinegar” but on the ingredients list it states “wine vinegar”.

When finished with the onions there is, of course, lots of vinegar left. Can I safely reuse this vinegar to pickle beets? Other ingredients listed are water, sugar, salt, citric acid and trace of sulphuric anhydride, whatever that is. These sometimes come in cans and then olive oil is also listed.

A: The onions you purchase sound delicious. You could use the leftover liquid, but it likely is not your best choice, because pickled foods such as onions, peppers and artichokes are packed in vinegar as well as all of those other ingredients you listed. The issue that would most likely have an effect on your recipes would be the added salt. Reusing Pickling Vinegar

Q: I have been using your web site information since going on Coumadin (warfarin) about a year ago. It’s been very helpful to me and my wife for adjusting my diet to this medication that I will be on for the rest of my life (artificial heart valve).

I read on one of your replies about parsley being in certain dishes and not combining too many in one day. That made me wonder: how much parsley is in pizza sauce? Is it bad to have 3 slices of pizza for dinner? Should I be more wary about my weekend treat of pizza?

A: This is a really tough question. If there’s parsley listed in the ingredients in your tomato or pizza sauce, it could contain a fair amount of Vitamin K.

Your best choice is to make your own tomato sauce and not use any parsley. For convenience you can look for a tomato sauce that doesn’t have herbs in the ingredient list.

Have a question? Send it to askdrgourmet@drgourmet.com and your question may be answered in this column. Read more Ask Dr. Gourmet questions.

Reducing Your Risk of Heart Disease : Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:49:58 +0000

What causes heart disease? Among others, the major culprits are lack of exercise, smoking, obesity and poor diet. These can also cause high blood pressure and diabetes, both of which are also risk factors for heart disease.

Under most circumstances, research done on lifestyle changes to prevent heart disease focuses on whether risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes numbers are improved – not whether a person’s risk of heart disease itself is improved. In an effort to measure whether that risk is improved or not through lifestyle modification, researchers at Johns Hopkins made use of data collected through a large-scale research study called PREMIER. Reducing Your Risk of Heart Disease

Exercise Trumps Heredity

admin — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:24:27 +0000

Every now and then I’ll hear someone who is overweight say, “I can’t lose weight. My whole family is overweight. It’s genetic.” An interesting article in the International Journal of Obesity (2009;33:29-36) says that while that may be true for some people, it doesn’t appear to be an unavoidable fate. Exercise Trumps Heredity

Eating Chicken; Vegetarian on QCD; Body Fat : Ask Dr. Gourmet

admin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:19:06 +0000

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Q: I am trying to better my diet and eat healthier. I see that you say we should be eating fish or seafood 3 times a week. I don’t like fish or seafood, I can’t eat it.

I pretty much eat chicken and wheat pasta and vegetables. I eat some red meat on occasion. I do take Omega 3 pills every day, so that should help with the health benefits of eating fish.

How many times a week I should eat chicken?

A: This is a great question. We have folks that are allergic to fish or shellfish and there are those like you who simply don’t like fish. The research does show that using fish oil capsules may be almost as good as having fish 3 days a week, so using these is a good idea. The rule of thumb….

Q: I signed up for The Quality Calorie Diet today and do not seem able to get a menu. I requested “vegetarian” and within the list of foods I do not like I listed goat cheese. The menu I received includes an item requiring chicken stock and another includes goat cheese. How I can get this straightened out?

A: With the Vegetarian option all the recipes that the software chooses will work well using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. We have modified recipes to reflect this.

The Vegetarian option in the Quality Calorie Diet Plan doesn’t yet offer the ability to eliminate ingredients. A good option….

Q: My mom is on warfarin and I have gone through your listing regarding the vitamin K content in foods but for some reason, orange peppers are not listed. Can you help me out? My mother eats the yellow peppers because their vitamin K level is zero and I would like her to have some variety.

A: Yellow, red and orange peppers have a very low amount of Vitamin K and should be safe for those taking Coumadin (warfarin).

Q: Where can I go to get my percentage of body fat measured and compared to my muscle mass?

A: There are a number of different ways to measure body fat. Most use calipers to look at various areas of the body including the chest, abdomen, thigh, arms, hips and back. Many folks can help you with measuring the percentage of body fat. Measuring Body Fat

Have a question? Send it to askdrgourmet@drgourmet.com and your question may be answered in this column. Read more Ask Dr. Gourmet questions.

Leaner Body, Stronger Bones

admin — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:48:45 +0000

Osteoporosis is a big concern for postmenopausal women. Menopause is marked by a significant decrease in estrogen production, and remaining estrogen levels are direct indicators of bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. This is just one of the reasons that so many women were encouraged to start hormone replacement therapy at menopause – to help prevent osteoporosis. Other factors, like body fat, how long it’s been since a woman started menopause, whether or how much a woman smokes (or did smoke), and their dietary calcium intake also factor into a woman’s risk of bone loss.

Of course, another strong indicator of bone mineral density in women after menopause is… wait for it… their bone density before menopause. Some studies have indicated that the amount of fatty acids in a woman’s diet can have negative effects on her bone density. What about other variables, such as Body Mass Index, hormone levels or even ethnicity? Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch designed a study to assess womens’ bone density in relation to these and other factors. Leaner Body, Stronger Bones

Frequently Asked Questions : Ask Dr. Gourmet

admin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:55:26 +0000

We’ve had a lot of new subscribers recently (welcome!), and I thought it might be helpful for us to share a few of our “greatest hits” or most frequently-asked questions on a variety of topics.

You can always check to see if your question, or a similar one, has already been answered by checking our main Ask Dr. Gourmet page.

Coumadin

Q: How much Vitamin K is in…?

A: There’s an easy way to find out about the nutrition content of any food. Just use the USDA National Nutrient Database. By entering an ingredient and following the steps this website will report the complete nutritional values of any ingredient and many prepared foods. The Vitamin K content is the last listing at the bottom of the Vitamins section. If it is not there, the food or ingredient that you searched on doesn’t contain enough Vitamin K to be reported.

Q: Can I use nutritional supplements while on Coumadin? What about acai juice / berries / Mona Vie or Resveratrol?

Q: Should you avoid cranberry juice on Coumadin (warfarin)?

Weight Loss / The Quality Calorie Diet

Q: Is Body Mass Index accurate for everyone?

Q: Is cutting down on carbohydrates a healthy way to lose weight?

Q: Is there any cost involved in The Quality Calorie Diet (formerly My eatTHISdiet) or the Dr. Gourmet website?

Q: How can I lose weight if I can’t exercise?

Miscellanous

Q: Should I be concerned about the level of mercury in the fish I eat?

Q: Does sea salt have less sodium in it than regular salt?

Q: Would adding baking soda to chili to make it GERD-friendly ruin the taste of the chili?

Q: Do you have diet plans for those with Type 2 diabetes?

Q: Are seeds really a problem for those with diverticulitis?

Have a question? Send it to askdrgourmet@drgourmet.com and your question may be answered in this column. Read more Ask Dr. Gourmet questions.

Keep Up With Dr. Gourmet

Follow Dr. Gourmet on Twitter!

Find Dr. Gourmet on Facebook!

Got Something to Say?

Did you know that you can now make comments on the recipes on the DrGourmet.com website? If you have a Facebook account, you can make comments on the recipes and have those comments posted to your Wall for you to share with your Facebook friends. (If you don’t have a Facebook account, you don’t have to have one to make comments.) Let us and your friends know what you think of our delicious healthy recipes!

Over the next few weeks you’ll see the comment boxes added to all of the pages on DrGourmet.com, from “Ask Dr. Gourmet” to the special dietary needs sections such as Coumadin (warfarin), gluten and lactose intolerance, and low sodium diets.

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users:
The CookBook

Over 200 pages of everything you need to know while on Coumadin (warfarin), including food lists – you’ll know what you can eat! Includes a complete six-week eatTHISdiet for Coumadin users, with weekly meal plans, shopping lists, and over 90 recipes. Just $31.52 for the spiral-bound book and $14.95 for the eBook. Order yours now!

It’s Calories In vs. Calories Out

admin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 17:22:00 +0000

You know as well as I do that there’s a lot of controversy about which diet is best for long-term weight loss. High fat? Low fat? No carbs? Some carbs? Even though there have been studies done on all sorts of diets, the results are contradictory at best (and the research not very well designed, at worst). Often these studies are done for short periods of time (six months or less) or don’t include a good mix of men and women or just don’t have many participants, period.

Researchers at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts partnered with researchers at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to create a study (N Engl J Med 2009; 360:859-73) that they hoped would overcome all of those barriers to quality research – and maybe even answer the question of what combination of protein, fat and carbohydrates would be best for long term weight loss.

All Other Things Being Equal, Have Some Fruit

admin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:39:45 +0000

All Other Things Being Equal, Have Some Fruit

I recommend that my patients eat fruit for snacks because they’re delicious and have lots of fiber, so they’re satisfying. They’re also low energy density foods: they have comparatively few calories for their weight. This idea of energy density is really important to keep in mind when you’re trying to lose weight, because you can eat more of a low-energy-density food and still eat the same number of calories as those in a high-energy-density food like cookies or potato chips.

On the other hand, weight loss is basically burning more calories than you consume. So you’d think that it wouldn’t matter what, exactly, you eat, as long as you eat fewer calories than you burn. Right?

Maybe not. All Other Things Being Equal, Have Some Fruit

How to Prevent Stroke (and lots of other stuff)

admin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:46:53 +0000

We know that maintaining a healthy weight, eating right, getting some exercise and not smoking is a good way to help reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes. What about stroke – the third leading cause of death in the United States?

In a study that included over 110,000 people, researchers defined a healthy lifestyle as not smoking, having a Body Mass Index in the normal range, getting at least 30 minutes per day of “moderate” exercise, drinking alcohol in moderation, and following a healthy diet (Circulation 2008; 118:000-000).

Those women who had the healthiest lifestyles were up to 80% less likely….

Kidney Stones; Kids’ Weight : Ask Dr. Gourmet

admin — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:52:00 +0000

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Q: Could you please tell me if paprika, chili powder, salsa with chilis, cinnamon, and nutmeg have Vitamin K?

A: Paprika, chili powder, cinnamon and nutmeg do not contain significant amounts of Vitamin K. Most chili peppers would not be an issue in the salsa, but sometimes salsa can have other ingredients that might be higher in Vitamin K. Often salsas are made with parsley – which could be an issue. Consider using cilantro to season your chili. Two tablespoons contains only 6 micrograms (mcg) of Vitamin K.

More information is available on our Coumadin® (warfarin) pages and in the eatTHISdiet For Coumadin Users book.

Q: y 15 year old daughter just had surgery for a kidney stone. Her maternal grandfather suffered with these all his life, so we feel it is hereditary. It is unusual for such a young girl to have a kidney stone. She runs cross country and we also feel she has hydrated enough on a daily basis. The doctor told us to reduce her protein intake as her stone was a uric acid stone. What types of things should be cut out of her diet? Do you have recipes that are low protein for a lifestyle change?

A: There are a number of types of kidney stones and it is not unusual for children to have them. They are the most common type of kidney stone in kids. This is one of the better articles on the web that can help you understand how the stones form: http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2361.htm

Diet can also play a role and reducing the amount of proteins that are high in purines is key to avoiding more stones. This is the same sort of diet that those with gout will follow (gout is also caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood stream). Here’s a set of dietary guidelines for those with kidney stones.

Exercise Really Is Key to Weight Loss and Maintenance

admin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:36:00 +0000

A couple of years ago I reported on a study that showed the importance of exercise in achieving and maintaining weight loss (News Bite, 11/03/06). At a minimum, the National Institute of Health and the Center for Disease Control recommend thirty minutes per day of exercise on most days of the week, or 150 minutes per week. Studies also show, however, that the difficulty is not really in losing the weight – it’s in keeping it off for the long term. How much exercise is necessary to help maintain weight loss?

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Brown Medical School, and Wake Forest University recruited 170 overweight or obese women who had signed up with a hospital-based weight loss research center (Arch Intern Med 2008;168(14):1550-1559). These women were all between 21 and 45, were otherwise healthy, and exercised less than three days per week for twenty minutes or less at a time.

Those women who began the two-year study weighing less than 90kg (about 200 lbs.) were prescribed a 1200 calorie per day diet, while those who weighed more than 200 lbs. were prescribed a 1500 calorie per day diet. All of the women were randomly assigned to one of four exercise programs….

Body Mass Index and the Link to Heart Disease or Stroke

admin — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:38:00 +0000

Medicine does not follow the algebraic formula many of us learned in school, where if A equals B and B equals C, then A equals C. Often the cause of one condition (A equals B) which can lead to another condition (C) does NOT mean that the cause of the first condition is also the cause of the second.

Take heart attacks and stroke, for instance. We know that those who are overweight or obese are at a higher risk for high blood pressure, poor cholesterol scores and diabetes, which are all known risks for heart disease and stroke. (For those doing the math at home: A is overweight or obese; high blood pressure, poor cholesterol scores and diabetes are B; and C is heart disease and stroke.) But what we don’t know for sure is if A = C (overweight or obesity are causes for heart disease and stroke). Medicine just isn’t that linear.

On the other hand, sometimes it is – at least statistically.

Lean Cuisine – Coumadin Safe?; Body Mass Index

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:01:00 +0000

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Q: Is Lean Cuisine Coumadin safe?

A: It’s difficult to say whether such pre-prepared meals are safe for those who use Coumadin® (warfarin) or not.

We have asked companies repeatedly to provide us with the Vitamin K content of their products but to no avail. The only way to even possibly be safe might be to check the ingredient list carefully for those foods that are higher in Vitamin K.

Q: Is there a substitute for red wine? Perhaps grape juice made from grapes rather than concentrate? I do not drink alcohol at all and would not do so even for the benefits of red wine.

A: There is good evidence that drinking grape juice has many of the same benefits as drinking red wine. The antioxidant polyphenols in red grape juice have been shown to have positive effects on cholesterol in the same way as red wine. Much of the research that has been done is in the test tube and there are not large scale trials in humans to support this yet. That said, the action of the red grape juice acts very much like red wine.

Q: Living a few miles outside a town of 700 or so people in the middle of nowhere (Nebraska), I have the choice of one grocery store. They do carry some frozen fish. However, it is generally farm raised fish from China like tilapia and salmon. Is that really a good choice?

A: Frozen fish can be a good choice, especially in a situation where you might be in “the middle of nowhere.”

Many of the big grocery store chains sell much of their fish that’s been shipped to them frozen and then thawed at the fish counter.

Keep in mind the BMI is a guide that we use on an individual basis. Waist to hip ratio is another good guide….

How Much Should You Weigh?; Pecan Shrimp Linguine : Dr. Gourmet Newsletter

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:16:00 +0000

Dr. Tim Says….

Just as with people’s expectations of how fast they should lose weight, there’s a disconnect these days between what people weigh and what they think they ought to weigh. There are a few ways to look at what your best weight should be, but Body Mass Index (BMI) is one of the most reliable to help you know what a healthy weight is for you.

The BMI is based on a calculation that estimates weight in relation to height. There are more precise measures of weight, but BMI allows researchers a quick and inexpensive way to compare the weight of different populations. It also lets you compare yourself to the findings of researchers on what is considered a healthy weight.

It is pretty clear that being overweight can have serious effects on health. There are well established connections between obesity and illness with heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, breast cancer, colon cancer, arthritis and stroke being the most common problems. How Much Should You Weigh?

Featured Recipe

Pecan Shrimp Linguine

This is made a Pantry Meal by virtue of the use of frozen shrimp. In experimenting with frozen fish products I have found them to be quite good. Keep in mind that many of the grocery stores are selling you fish that was frozen, shipped and thawed just before being put into the seafood counter. If you handle the fish carefully, you can get the same results as you would with fresh — and you’ll always have fish on hand.

It’s best to thaw the fish in the refrigerator. It takes about 6 hours, so you do have to plan a little bit. After it is thawed, pat the fish dry with a paper towel because sometimes there’s retained water. Likewise, cooking in a larger pan then you think you might need is a good idea because the steam generated will evaporate away.

This recipe is Coumadin® (warfarin) safe, low in sodium (salt) and safe for those with GERD / Acid Reflux. Those who are gluten sensitive or lactose intolerant should avoid it.

Crimini Mushrooms

Crimini mushrooms are marketed under many names, including Baby Bella, Roman, Italian, Brown or Classic Brown mushrooms. They are similar in size to white mushrooms but are a light cocoa color and have a firmer texture. They are much more flavorful than white mushrooms, having a richer, earthy taste that activates the umami taste buds. Their flavor has often been referred to as “meaty”.

Portobello mushrooms are actually large crimini mushrooms and, because of the savory meaty flavor, have become popular in the last few years. As mushrooms mature, the ring that protects the spores breaks and as a result there is loss of moisture. Young mushrooms contain as much as 80% water and, as they lose water (as portobellos do by having their gills exposed), the savory mushroom flavor is increasingly concentrated.

If you are going to use portobellos in a recipe that has liquid or a sauce, scraping the gills from the mushroom before cooking will keep the sauce from turning black. Some taste will be lost, but there will still be plenty of rich mushroom flavor.

4 ounces mushrooms = 28 calories, 0g fat, 0g sat fat, 0 mono fat, 3g protein, 0g carbohydrates, 4mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol

Fast Food Restaurants are A Public Health Risk

admin — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:19:00 +0000

I wrote back in January about a study performed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. They looked at census data for the entire United States and correlated the number and types of restaurants with the Body Mass Index of the people who live in the area, and concluded that those people who lived in areas with more fast food restaurants than full-service restaurants tended to weigh more.

The researchers at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research have taken this type of study a step further. They correlated income and census data for the state of California with the results of a large-scale telephone survey which asked about weight status and specific health issues. This information was further correlated with a geographic survey of California….

Sugary Soft Drinks Linked to Adolescent Overweight

admin — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:13:00 +0000

I’ve reported on several reasons to avoid sugared soft drinks, including:

Calories from sweetened liquids, whether from soda or fruit juices, don’t seem to be perceived by the body as food in the same way that solid calories are perceived as food (News Bite, 11/7/07)
On average, a single can of soda, diet or sugared, per day increases the risk of obesity by 41% (News Bite, 4/17/07)
Those who drink the most sugared soda per day have a 67% greater chance of type 2 diabetes than those who drink the least sugared soda (News Bite, 5/23/07), and
Drinking more than 2.5 sugar-sweetened drinks per day increases your risk of death from cardiovascular disease (News Bite, 05/12/06)

A study in Germany looked at the types of beverages that children between the ages of 9 and 18 consumed and correlated that amount with the change in their Body Mass Index….

DrGourmet » bmi

Teens’ Weight; Metabolic Syndrome; HON Code : Ask Dr. Gourmet Newsletter

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites: August 24, 2011

Do family meals affect family weight?

Ask Dr. Gourmet Newsletter for June 28, 2011

Coumadin

Weight Loss / The Dr. Gourmet Diet Plan

Miscellanous

Whole Grains and Belly Fat: Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

Exercise and Weight Loss : Ask Dr. Gourmet

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Plan to Clean Your Plate

Those 100-Calorie Snack Packs

Slim Your Waist with Whole Grains and Legumes : Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

Sugary Beverages and Your Health : Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

Doctors, Exercise and Nutrition

Feel Fuller While Dieting

Will More Whole Grains Help You Avoid Heart Disease?

Short Term Splurge – Long Term Fat

Exercise Trumps Heredity

Multivitamins Linked to Breast Cancer: Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

Coffee; Wild Mushroom and Sausage Linguine; Lean Body Mass : Dr. Gourmet Newsletter

Eating Healthy: Coffee

Featured Recipe

Wild Mushroom and Sausage Linguine

How to Conserve Muscle Mass During Weight Loss Exercise with Jacques Courseault

Putting Weight Into Context : Ask Dr. Gourmet

Splenda vs. Sugar: Ask Dr. Gourmet

How Much Exercise Are Your Kids Getting, Really?

The Real World Diet Coaching: Calories Count

The Real World Diet Coaching: How Much Should You Weigh?

The Real World Diet at DrGourmet.com

Sometimes It’s Just That Simple

Guess what? Cereal advertising to kids works!

Try Turning Off the Television: Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

More Diet Pills Proven Unsafe

Lowering Cholesterol Without Medication; More : Ask Dr. Gourmet

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Reducing Your Risk of Heart Disease : Dr. Gourmet’s Health and Nutrition Bites

Exercise Trumps Heredity

Eating Chicken; Vegetarian on QCD; Body Fat : Ask Dr. Gourmet

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Leaner Body, Stronger Bones

Frequently Asked Questions : Ask Dr. Gourmet

Coumadin

Weight Loss / The Quality Calorie Diet

Miscellanous

Keep Up With Dr. Gourmet

Got Something to Say?

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users: The CookBook

It’s Calories In vs. Calories Out

All Other Things Being Equal, Have Some Fruit

All Other Things Being Equal, Have Some Fruit

How to Prevent Stroke (and lots of other stuff)

Kidney Stones; Kids’ Weight : Ask Dr. Gourmet

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Exercise Really Is Key to Weight Loss and Maintenance

Body Mass Index and the Link to Heart Disease or Stroke

Lean Cuisine – Coumadin Safe?; Body Mass Index

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

How Much Should You Weigh?; Pecan Shrimp Linguine : Dr. Gourmet Newsletter

Dr. Tim Says….

Featured Recipe

Crimini Mushrooms

Fast Food Restaurants are A Public Health Risk

Sugary Soft Drinks Linked to Adolescent Overweight

How to Conserve Muscle Mass During Weight Loss
Exercise with Jacques Courseault

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users:
The CookBook