Every week I at least one patient say, “Doc, I’m going to lose weight because I have quit eating potatoes.” This is the unfortunate legacy of Dr. Atkins, and what a shame that he left people with the perception that potatoes are bad for them or cause weight gain. Potatoes are pretty terrific and make a fine side dish. They are full of great vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin C, potassium and iron. A 6 ounce serving contains six grams of fiber.

The way that potatoes are cooked is what contributes to weight gain, and there has been pretty good research on this. French fries, potato chips and other highly processed snack foods appear to be the culprit – and not the lovely potato. Potatoes do not make you fat. Potatoes

Featured Recipe

Sweet Potato and Poblano Home Fries

This is a fairly spicy recipe, so if you like your food a little milder, substitute half a roasted green bell pepper for half of the poblano pepper. The key to making home fries like those you get at a restaurant is to use a little bit of oil and a moderately hot pan. After caramelizing the onions and adding the potatoes I reduce the heat slightly and cover. The steam helps increase the heat and cook the potatoes through. If you stir only about every three minutes, the bottom layer of the potatoes will brown nicely but not stick to the pan. Toss them, pat down slightly cover and repeat. Keep a close watch on this dish in the last ten minutes or so of cooking, as you want the onions, peppers and sweet potatoes to caramelize, but not burn.

Amazing ad from the 1950s. Don Draper would be proud.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/health/policy/26herbal.html

http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2010/03/08/daily49.html?surround=etf&ana=e_article

Association of Diet, Exercise, and Smoking Modification With Risk of Early Cardiovascular Events After Acute Coronary Syndromes — Chow et al. 121 6: 750 — Circulation.

Here’s a great organization:

http://www.cyclekids.org/

Study Debunks Notion of ‘Healthy Obese’ Man
BusinessWeek
“There appears to be no such thing as metabolically healthy obesity,” said a statement by Dr. Johan Arnlov, an associate professor of cardiovascular …

Here’s the link:

http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.887521v1

Vivus files application with FDA for obesity drug

MarketWatch
… an investigational treatment for obesity in patients who have additional disorders, including, among others, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. …

Medical Device Studies Lack Scientific Rigor, Researchers Find
BusinessWeek
… as diabetes or hypertension,” were “infrequently reported,” according to the FDA-Beth Israel study of the approval process, the FDA said in a statement. …

Study to help children lose weight and maintain weight loss
Washington University in St. Louis News
However, maintaining weight loss remains a challenge for both children and adults. In order to overcome the problem of weight regain after weight-loss …

Skeptics in the United Kingdom have announced their intention to raise public awareness that homeopathy is quackery. The campaign will launch early in 2010. People who wish to join or monitor the campaign can register on http://www.1023.org.uk/

http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2009/12/ricexx.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091130121433.htm

The original study indicates that it is what folks eat that is the problem:

Q: My brother thinks that drinking Fresca is the same as drinking water. He is diabetic and takes pills to control his numbers. He is about 30 or more pounds overweight and he drinks about 6 cans of Fresca each day. I told him he could drop at least 15 pounds if he didn’t drink so much Fresca. His doctor told him that drinking fresca is the same as drinking water. Is that True?

A: According to the Coca Cola Company, Fresca products have about 2 calories in an eight ounce serving. A can of Fresca is 12 ounces, so 6 cans per day would be only 18 calories. While this is more than water at zero calories, it is not significant.

Of course we know that drinking sugar sweetened soft drinks causes weight gain and leads to an increase in the risk of diabetes. This is well established.

There’s not a lot of research about whether drinking calorie free sodas will contribute to weight gain or not. What we do have is not encouraging for those who drink any type of soda, however. As part of the San Antonio Heart Study researchers in Texas looked at all soft drink consumption in a group followed for eight years. Do Diet Sodas Make You Fat?

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. Is Grape Juice a Substitute for Red Wine?

The link to the abstract is here:

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/31/11/2120

In short, there was a 60% increase in the risk of Type 2 Diabetes in those who at the most calorie dense diet.

Once again, it’s about the quality of the calories you eat that is the key.

Timothy S. Harlan, M.D. AKA Dr. Gourmet

http://www.drgourmet.com

This article (abstract below) indicates that drinking alcohol may worsen the effect of the elevation of liver enzymes. No real conclusion on if this causes more damage or is an indication of worsening liver problems though.

—————————————————–

Effect of moderate alcohol consumption on liver enzymes increases with increasing body mass index1,2,3
Päivikki I Alatalo1, Heidi M Koivisto1, Johanna P Hietala1, Katri S Puukka1, Risto Bloigu1 and Onni J Niemelä1

1 From the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Research Unit, Seinäjoki Central Hospital and University of Tampere, Seinäjoki, Finland (PIA, HMK, JPH, KSP, and OJN), and the Medical Informatics Group, University of Oulu, Finland (RB)

Background:Although both ethanol consumption and overweight alter the activities of hepatic enzymes in circulation, the differentiation of an alcohol or nonalcohol basis for such changes remains problematic. The magnitude of alterations occurring among moderate drinkers has remained obscure.

Objective:We examined the links between moderate ethanol consumption, body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2), and liver enzymes.

Design:Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and {gamma}-glutamyltransferase (GGT) were recorded from 2164 apparently healthy participants (1028 men, 1136 women) reporting either no alcohol (abstainers) or <40 g ethanol consumption per day (moderate drinkers). The study population was further classified according to BMI as follows: <19 (underweight), ≥19 and <25 (normal weight), ≥25 and <30 (overweight), and ≥30 (obese).

Results:Serum ALT (P < 0.05) and GGT (P < 0.001) but not AST (P = 0.805) activities in moderate drinkers were higher than those in abstainers. For all enzymes, a significant main effect was observed of increasing BMI, which was more striking in moderate drinkers than in abstainers. Tests of between-subjects effects indicated significant interactions with sex and drinking status, although not with sex and BMI.

Conclusions:The effect of moderate alcohol consumption on liver enzymes increases with increasing BMI. These findings should be considered in the clinical assessment of overweight alcohol consumers and in the definition of normal ranges for liver enzymes. These results may also help to develop new approaches for examining patients with fatty liver induced by either ethanol or adiposity.

I have so many patients bring in products like these and many of them can barely afford the bus ride to clinic. Good for the FDA in acting on this.

I have laid a lot at the feet of the fast food industry as far as their contribution to the problem with obesity, overweight, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. I do believe that they have a tremendous responsibility to make changes that help their customers eat better. I have been critical as well of the soft drink companies, but there’s an amazing issue with freestanding chain restaurants.

As those of you who follow the Friday Newsletter know, we have been reviewing such places and will be continuing to do so over the next few months. This is in anticipation of the launch of the update to our eatTHISdiet software. Generally before going I have been reviewing the nutrition information if it is available online. (There’s wide variation between restaurants as to whether they offer that information or not.)

It always amazes me what is on these pages. I have written about the problem with traditional fast food joints and how high in fat and sodium as well as calorie dense their foods are. I am just not sure there’s any reason for McDonald’s to sell a 740 calorie hamburger or an 1,160 calorie milkshake.

All of this makes a 150 calorie can of Coca-Cola seem like it’s diet food. Likewise, the McDonald’s choices seem positively slimming when you look at some of the foods at chain restaurants. Chain Restaurant Madness

Featured Recipe

Zucchini Pizza Crust

I saw this idea on a menu a few years back and have been thinking about what a great idea it is. Not the same old pizza crust and really healthy. As with a lot of recipes I mull on them a lot and take some time to do the research.

This turned out really great. You can use this for any pizza that you normally make and it adds a wonderful flavor and texture.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin® (warfarin) users and those with GERD / Acid Reflux. It contains cheese, and some of those who are lactose intolerant may be able to tolerate it. It is not gluten-free.

Wowser! Even if you split this, that’s outrageous. And it’s listed as a “Starter!” This is one place where folks who believe that a salad might be a healthy choice would be wrong. The entree salads are all over 800 calories and the Boneless Buffalo Chicken Salad has 58 grams of rat and over 4,000 mg of sodium. (That’s not a typo: over 4 GRAMS of sodium). Whew!

If you are on a sodium restricted diet, just don’t even set foot inside. There are amazing amounts of salt in their food and it shows – not just on the Nutrition Facts sheet but on your taste buds as well. That said, for the rest of you here are some choices….

They used a nifty portion control tool called “The Diet Plate,” which is a dinner plate decorated with outlines for appropriate servings of a dinner meal: carbohydrates, proteins, cheeses, sauces, and vegetables. “The Diet Plate” also comes with a cereal bowl with concentric rings painted around the inside, which indicate appropriate servings of various types of dry cereal. For the study….

Grilled Sage Lamb Kabobs | Coumadin Safe Version or Barbecue Chicken or Salmon with Caper Mayonnaise | Coumadin Safe Version
Black Eyed Pea Salad or Red Potato Salad or Three Bean Salad
Cole Slaw and Cornbread Muffins and Strawberry Shortcake

Chicken Safety

Unfortunately, in this day and age you have to be very careful when handling chicken. The estimates by the CDC of contamination with bacteria are frightening.

Use the freshest chicken possible. If there is any odd odor don’t use it. Rinse the chicken thoroughly in cold water prior to preparing it.

Only cut chicken on a plastic cutting board and wash the cutting board, your hands, and your knives in soapy water as soon as you are finished. This reduces the risk of spreading the bacteria to other foods. Chicken Safety

Dr. Tim Says….

When I am creating recipes I choose ingredients that are lower in calories but very satisfying. Sometimes this means simply cutting down on the amount of fat in a dish by using healthier oils or leaner meats. A recipe might call for a substitution to give the dish more volume so that it’s more filling without adding too many calories. Adding more veggies like onions or mushrooms to a pasta dish, stew or soup, for instance, can make a big difference in the total calories.

There has been some very well designed research showing that eating lower calorie dishes that are higher in volume can be very satisfying. The interesting thing about this is that folks don’t tend to replace all of the calories they might be used to eating by snacking or eating more later in the day. Ingredients are Everything

Featured Recipe

Chilled Tomato Soup | Low Sodium Version
I started out thinking that I would make this soup with tarragon, but it just hasn’t grown well in my garden. I had the fresh basil and used it instead. I love this soup, but you should use what you have available and basil, tarragon, oregano or even thyme would be great choices.

This recipe is Coumadin (warfarin) safe and lactose-free. It is too acidic for those with GERD / Acid Reflux.

Featured Ingredient: Tomatoes

There are thousands of varieties of tomatoes and a look at any seed catalogue always makes my mouth water. I love some of the names — Isis Candy, Cupid, Tiny Totem, Snowberry…. Not many of these make it to the markets, however.

Buying tomatoes at the supermarket can be a daunting task. The quality is often poor because most are picked green and ripened in big rooms using ethylene gas. Even so, even the worst tomato can be made better by placing it stem side down on a sunny windowsill. It will continue to ripen further and if you want it chilled, place it in the fridge for only a couple of hours, as cold is the enemy of the tomato. Tomatoes

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users: The Book

Many of our readers have written to ask about a book on Coumadin use, and we’re pleased to announce that eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users is now available for purchase in both spiral-bound paperback and PDF format!

Over 200 pages long, it’s packed with vital information for Coumadin users, including information on dosage, interactions, and contraindications. Most importantly, it contains a complete six-week eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users, with weekly meal plans, shopping lists, and recipes, plus frequently asked questions and answers. It’s just $27.95 for the spiral-bound book and 14.95 for the eBook! To purchase, visit: eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users: The Book.

One of the current theories regarding heart disease is that it’s at least partially caused by a chronic level of low-grade inflammation in the body. Olive oil, as part of the style of eating known as the Mediterranean Diet, is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease. This is often attributed to olive oil’s high amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids.

It’s not just the monounsaturated fatty acids that are the healthy component of olive oil, however: it also contains high amounts of substances called phenolic compounds, which are powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants are known to help combat that low-grade inflammation which is suspected to contribute to heart disease.

Chef Tim Says….

There are so many different varieties of corn, some used for animal feed, others for milling, and in the last few decades, many that are used for everything from plastics to high fructose corn syrup to ethanol (for drinking and running your car). There are also a myriad of others that we eat (right off the cob or not).

Popcorn, for instance, is a corn variety unto itself. The corn that we use in cooking in most recipes today, however, is referred to as sweet corn. Corn

Featured Recipe

Creamed Corn | Low Sodium Version
I will tell you straight up that I love creamed corn and most recipes are really high in fat or salt. It depends on whether you buy frozen or canned or make your own, but most all of them are just over the top nutritionally. This recipe gives you so much of what I love in creamed corn: fresh corn flavor, sweetness and (best of all) creaminess. Serve this with any comfort food you choose: Oven Fried Chicken, Pulled Chicken Barbecue Sandwiches or Oven Fried Fish.

This recipe is Coumadin (warfarin) safe as well as safe for those with GERD / Acid Reflux. It is not lactose-free, and those who are lactose intolerant should avoid it.

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users: The Book

Many of our readers have written to ask about a book on Coumadin use, and we’re pleased to announce that eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users is now available for purchase in both spiral-bound paperback and PDF format!

Over 200 pages long, it’s packed with vital information for Coumadin users, including information on dosage, interactions, and contraindications. Most importantly, it contains a complete six-week eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users, with weekly meal plans, shopping lists, and recipes, plus frequently asked questions and answers. It’s just $27.95 for the spiral-bound book and 14.95 for the eBook! To purchase, visit: eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users: The Book.

I’m sure you’ve seen them at the supermarket: foods that have been enriched with plant sterols. These compounds have been shown to help improve cholesterol scores – so much so that the FDA has approved the use of a health claim about it on foods that contain plant sterols. The American Heart Association actually recommends that you include 2 grams of plant sterols per day as part of a healthy diet.

Flavonoids are another plant compound that have been shown to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It’s a happy coincidence that cocoa is rich in flavonoids (News Bite 4/10/07). Put flavonoids and sterols together, and what do you get? A chocolate bar enriched with plant sterols!

Chef Tim Says….

Your favorite recipe is often the most comforting. We here at Dr. Gourmet are all about making sure that comfort food continues to be a part of your diet. While there are a lot of recipes for you to choose from, we often receive questions about how to make changes in your own beloved dishes to make them healthier.

Here are four simple things you can look at in your recipes that will help: Making Your Comfort Food Healthier

Featured Recipe

Red Beans and Rice
This recipe was a challenge not so much because of the amount of fat that many Creole recipes have in them but because of the amount of salt. The first concern was the sausage. A number of variations of ham and sausage were tried but the Healthy Choice and Healthy Ones are really good products with only 480 mg of sodium and 2.5 grams of fat in 2 ounces. You may be able to find similar products at your grocery — look for the American Heart Association “Heart Check” Symbol.

The other issue was seasoning. There are countless recipes for Creole seasoning but most of us don’t have the time and will choose one off of the shelf at the store. The ones made in Louisiana are the key — Chef Paul Prudhomme’s and Tony Chachere’s are GREAT products! The McCormick is the national brand with the lowest amount of sodium and has great flavor, but if you use this one don’t add any salt.

Lastly, there is the issue of the beans. Most canned beans have a lot of salt in them. There are versions without salt and you could use them in place of soaking and cooking dried beans. Rinse them well before adding them to the pot. A great alternative is frozen kidney beans. I stumbled across a product by a company called Pictsweet® and these work great. There’s virtually no salt and the 32 ounce bag is about equivalent to a pound of dried beans.

This recipe is Coumadin (warfarin) safe, low in sodium, and lactose-free. Those with GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid it, as it contains multiple GERD triggers.

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users: The Book

Many of our readers have written to ask about a book on Coumadin use, and we’re pleased to announce that eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users is now available for purchase in both spiral-bound paperback and PDF format!

Over 200 pages long, it’s packed with vital information for Coumadin users, including information on dosage, interactions, and contraindications. Most importantly, it contains a complete six-week eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users, with weekly meal plans, shopping lists, and recipes, plus frequently asked questions and answers. It’s just $27.95 for the spiral-bound book and 14.95 for the eBook! To purchase, visit: eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users: The Book.

We know that eating fish that are high in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids can have a profound effect on your health, from bones to brain to heart. A couple of years ago I reported on several studies (News Bites, 5/3/06, 10/24/06, 11/17/06) comparing the effects of eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids with the effects of those oils in capsule form.

While the studies showed that the fish oil supplements seemed to have similar effects on health to eating fatty fish, what we don’t know is whether the fatty acids in capsule form are absorbed by the body as easily as those from fish.

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics and the Center for Disease Control. It is really a group of long-term studies, and each one surveys a large, representative sample of United States citizens aged 2 months and up. The survey includes a face-to-face interview, a physical exam including calculation of their Body Mass Index, and several laboratory tests. The volunteers are also asked whether they consider themselves to be overweight….

Chef Tim Says….

Barley is one of the oldest cultivated cereal grains and a great choice for soups, stews and casseroles. It has long been used in brewing beer and making whiskey, but it has also been a popular starch in many cultures. Unfortunately, it has not remained in favor as much as rice, pasta or potatoes, even though it is amazingly tasty and good for you – in many ways better than other starches.

Barley must have its outer hull stripped away to make it edible. The form that is available in most grocery stores is pearled barley, which has been hulled and then processed to remove the bran. In the process it is polished, resulting in a pearled sheen. Barley

Featured Recipe

Pork Tenderloin with Barley Casserole
Not only is my mom really cool, but she can be relied on for some great meals. Not long ago she served a variation of this barley dish that I loved so much I couldn’t help but tweak it a bit. There’s not much different except that I added the pork tenderloin where she has generally served this as a side dish. It’s a warm and hearty dish full of savory flavors and the barley is so good for you with a ton of fiber.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin® (warfarin) users and those with GERD / Acid Reflux. It is also low in sodium and lactose-free.

Try My eatTHISdiet – The Comfort Food Diet!

You might think that those comfort foods you grew up with are bound to be full of fat and calories and unhealthy ingredients, but they don’t have to be. With my recipes, you can eat those familiar, comforting foods like Meatloaf, Macaroni and Cheese, or Spaghetti with Meat Sauce – and still eat healthy.

The Comfort Food Diet is not designed for those with food allergies or special dietary needs, such as those taking Coumadin® (warfarin), on low-sodium diets, or those who are lactose intolerant or have GERD / Acid Reflux. If you have one of those special needs, you’ll still want to use the original My eatTHISdiet. Ready to start eating healthy – on comfort food? Register and start using The Comfort Food Diet.

I have had a lot of questions recently about salt. It’s clear that too much salt leads to health issues. At the very least it raises blood pressure and is also an issue for those with conditions such as congestive heart failure. While the research says the increase in blood pressure with too much salt is only modest, in some people it appears to be more of an issue than for others. There’s a recent study that also links high salt diets with heart disease.

A teaspoon of table salt, like good old fashioned Morton Salt in the round blue box, weighs 6 grams. The salt is made up of one sodium molecule linked to one chloride molecule to form sodium chloride. The Nutrition Facts on the box reports this as having 2,360 milligrams (mg) of sodium per teaspoon. Salt

Featured Recipe

Asian Lettuce Wraps | Low Sodium Version
These lettuce wraps have recently become a very popular dish in large chain Chinese restaurants like P.F. Chang’s. This is an easy version for you to cook at home, and by adding the rice to the dish it makes a complete meal.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin® (warfarin) users and those who are lactose intolerant, but should be avoided by those with GERD / Acid Reflux.

Halibut with Dill and Potato Topping
This is a very simple, easy and elegant fish that is at home on the weeknight dinner table or a weekend dinner party. It takes all of about 30 minutes to prepare and is almost a complete meal. Pair it with your favorite green veggie and you’re good to go. You don’t have to use halibut, but a fatty fish like salmon or sea bass is going to work better and make for a lovely succulent dish.

This recipe is Coumadin® safe, is low in sodium, and is safe for those with GERD / Acid Reflux. Those who are lactose intolerant should avoid it.

Poached Salmon with Lemon Dill Mayonnaise
I love poaching food but don’t always think of it. It’s the perfect way to cook because it gives you just the right control over the cooking process. The poaching water is a good way to impart flavor and the best part — no added calories because of having to cook in a fat.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin® (warfarin) users and is low in sodium (salt). Those with GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid this recipe due to the acidity of the mayonnaise, and because of the sour cream, those who are lactose intolerant should also avoid it.

Mashed Parsnips
I also like to use a potato ricer to make my mashed parsnips. It gives the recipe a smoother texture but there’s still some body to the dish.

This recipe is safe for those with GERD / Acid Reflux and is low in sodium (salt). Coumadin® (warfarin) users and those who are lactose intolerant should avoid this recipe.

Chef Tim Says….

I love the holidays. I like giving gifts and try to find the right present for the right person each year. This doesn’t have to be expensive and in the last few weeks I have written about some of my favorite kitchen gifts (especially for making pizza!).

It’s getting close to the time we should all be about done, but there’s always that stocking stuffer or party gift that you need to pick up. Here are some of my favorite little gadgets for you to put on your shopping list. Holiday Gift Guide, Part Three

Featured Recipe

Chicken Saltimbocca
Back in the Seventies recipes like this were really popular — almost every restaurant served Chicken Kiev or Saltimbocca. I like Saltimbocca because it’s so easy to make and hits all the right spots. “Saltimbocca” is Italian for “leaps into the mouth.” It’s a great description — the recipe is sweet, salty and savory all at once.

This recipe is low in sodium and is safe for Coumadin® (warfarin) users and those with GERD / Acid Reflux, but it is not lactose free.

Chiffonade

In French this means “made of rags,” so slicing a food into very thin strips is known as a chiffonade. Lining up the leaves of spinach and slicing across yielding long thin strips is a chiffonade. This is also done with herbs, such as basil or mint, by stacking the leaves, rolling them up in a tube and cutting across the roll into ribbons.

Chef Tim Says….

I love the holidays. I like giving gifts and try to find the right present for the right person each year. This doesn’t have to be expensive, and last week I talked about a few gifts that keep on giving for that cook on your list. This week is one of my favorite topics: pizza!

Pretty much everyone loves pizza and it’s so easy to make at home and so good for you. Here’s a few ideas to help make fresh hot pizza at home even easier. One note, don’t spend money on expensive pizza ovens — there’s dozens of them out there costing as much as 3 to 5 hundred dollars. Simple tools make for great tasting pizza. Holiday Gift Guide, Part Two: Pizza!

Featured Recipes

Sauteed Leeks | Low Sodium Version
This is a deceptively simple recipe. Often the easiest and least complex dishes are. Leeks are so fantastic and cooking them like this where they slightly caramelize brings out the natural sweetness. This goes great as a side dish with almost any savory meal.

This recipe is lactose free, but is not safe for Coumadin® (warfarin) users, and those with GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid it as it may provoke symptoms.

Zucchini with Sun Dried Tomatoes | Low Sodium Version
This goes well with almost any dish, but especially a steak or roasted pork main course. The zucchini is simple to prep. Cut the stem end off and make three slices lengthways so you have 4 slices. Stack two slices and cut lengthways three times again. Do this with all four slices and then cut crossways for a large dice.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin® (warfarin) users, is lactose free, and is safe for those with GERD / Acid Reflux.

Featured Ingredient: Leeks

Leeks are a member of the onion family but with a milder sweeter flavor. They look like overgrown green onions or scallions. The white part grows below ground, so leeks are usually pretty dirty and need plenty of washing.

Cut the leek at the lower end of the green top and run water over the leaves as they separate. Usually the rings of the white part have dirt embedded in them towards the top. Slice the leek in an X across the top and gently clean the dirt from between the rings under cold water.

4 ounces leeks = 69 calories, 0g fat, 0g sat fat, 0g mono fat, 2g protein, 16g carbohydrates, 23mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol, 53mg Vitamin K

The package of Cajun Style Chicken and Shrimp also has the little “heart check” symbol from the American Heart Association. This means that the product meets certain criteria for fat, calories, sodium, etc. that make it “heart healthy.”

With the holidays coming on, I’m busier than ever, and I’m sure you are, too. For those times when you’re just too busy (or too tired from holiday shopping) to cook, I’ve put together a list of those frozen meals that we’ve tested recently here at Dr. Gourmet. Granted, I have low expectations for frozen foods, but I was surprised to find that some frozen meals are actually pretty good. Here’s a rundown of the results so that you’ll know what to eat – and what not to eat.

They can be a real pitfall, because many times we go to those parties at the end of the day, and the buffet table, with all those different choices, greets us with our empty stomach. Eat a little something before you go. Cut up an apple or have a handful of nuts and eat them before you go.

Here are a few ideas to help you eat well and eat healthy at the holidays:

1. Make less food.

This one’s pretty easy. Figure out how many people you are having and make enough food that comfortably serves that number. At almost every holiday meal I have gone to, people complain about having to fix “too darn much food.”

It can be pretty easy to cook the right amount these days, since you can purchase just turkey breasts (or even drumsticks) and don’t have to worry about having that 20 pound monster turkey sitting in the fridge saying “Eat me, eat me.” Or choose a roast loin of pork recipe instead of that giant ham.

2. Make plans for the leftovers.

This sort of relates to Number 1, especially if you are not cooking for a crowd. Even if you are cooking for only a few, many recipes just don’t serve only 2 or 4 servings. Decide what you are going to do with the extra food in advance. Make that leftover turkey into a salad, serve the dressing with meals for the next few days, or even take some of the treats to work or to your neighbor.

3. Make specific portions.

I was at Whole Foods the other day and they were selling individual pumpkin pies. I have seen individual serving pies also in the freezer case at other groceries. Depending on how many you are going to serve for dinner at the holidays, this might work great for you.

For instance, if you are only serving 4 people, then having four individual servings of pie instead of a whole pie that serves eight just makes sense. The research is pretty clear that when there are more portions available we tend to eat them. If they are not, we don’t miss them.

4. Go for a walk.

Or better yet, go out and play some touch football or throw a Frisbee. You’ll have the time while the turkey is roasting, and spending just 45 minutes burning some calories will go a long way toward a healthier holiday.

5. Fruit and Nuts and Popcorn.

For snacking, keep healthy options on hand for watching that football game on television. Nuts and popcorn (choose the 100 calorie mini bags) are a fantastic choice for those salty / savory snackers in your household.

For the sweet snackers, putting out a lot of cut up fruit makes for a great alternative. If you have folks who you want to treat (even yourself), portion those M&Ms into small ziplock bags. There’s great research that shows we eat less when we have less put in front of us.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

Dr. Gourmet

It was interesting, though, because I was giving a talk the other day at a medical school and one of the questions I had was about snacking. It was similar to many Ask Dr. Gourmet questions I have received lately such as this one:

I find the hardest time to stick to healthy eating is when I get home from work. I’m tired, hungry, and I won’t have dinner ready for at least 30-40 minutes. What are your recommendations for healthy snacks at that time of the day? It’s too easy to fill up on chips and salsa!

When I was asked the question at the lecture I didn’t hesitate in my reply: “Nuts.” The fellow asked what type and I again replied, “Nuts.” I think that he may have been a bit taken aback by the quickness of my reply and how emphatic I was. There is, however, a ton of evidence about how good nuts are for you, and if you are going to snack on anything, they are your best choice – hands down.

There is some evidence that having a snack before you eat will minimize how much you eat and increase how satisfied you are after dining. At the same time, we have research that shows that eating almonds with a meal appears to minimize the type of cell damage that leads to heart disease, eating more walnuts may reduce cholesterol, and that pistachios can improve your cholesterol profile.

In one of my favorite studies, researchers compared a lower fat diet with a Mediterranean style diet supplemented with nuts or olive oil. Those consuming the higher fat diet made up of what we now know are the healthy fats found in nuts and seeds didn’t gain any weight. There are a lot of similar studies and while many are funded by the nut growers, I think that the best evidence says that nuts are your best snack choice.

One question that I get when asked about eating nuts is what kind are best. There may be some research that says almonds are better than walnuts and walnuts are better than cashews or peanuts, but I don’t believe that we have that detailed information about this. Eat what you like. Raw may be better than roasted and certainly eating your nuts unsalted is likely to be better for you.

But… if you prefer dry roasted salted peanuts, I am OK with that. You will still be better off eating salted nuts than eating salted Doritos or Wheat Thins before your dinner. The nuts have a few more calories in an ounce (170 for the nuts and 140 for the Doritos). The almonds have about half the sodium, however (85 mg for the nuts and 180 mg for the Doritos).

Best of all, the nuts are fresher, better for you, and more satisfying.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

Dr. Gourmet

The researchers looked at data from a long-term, large scale study known as the Physicans’ Health Study I. The data from over 21,000 male physicians were included in the data analyzed. Part of the study included a food frequency questionnaire which asked, among others, about the subjects’ intake of cereal for breakfast, how often they ate it, and what kind of cereal it was. The questionnaire was repeated every 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 years after the beginning of the study. Information about the subjects’ physical health was collected on a yearly basis.

Both sets of results were analyzed to discover any link between breakfast cereal intake and heart failure. Overall, those subjects who ate more breakfast cereal tended to have a reduced risk of heart failure. However, when those who ate high-fiber cereals were compared with those who ate low-fiber cereals, the researchers found that those who ate at least 2 servings of high-fiber cereal per week had a reduced risk of heart failure of almost 20%.

What this means for you

Once again: fiber for breakfast. It doesn’t have to be cooked oatmeal; there are lots of great cereals out there for a quick breakfast. All you need is a splash of milk. Try Multi-grain Cheerios, Kelloggs All-Bran Extra Fiber, or another cereal with at least 4 grams of fiber per serving.

In the great snack hunt that I’ve undertaken I thought that I had seen most of what is available. While I don’t eat snack foods very often, I do try to keep up with what is out there. The new offering from Nabisco caught my eye not just because it is something I hadn’t seen, but also because the package boasts “1/2 serving of vegetables in each 1 oz. serving of chips.”

This was on the label of the Garden Harvest Toasted Chips. I guess that they do this by using the “dehydrated vegetable blend” that’s noted in the ingredient list. For the Vegetable Medley chips this includes carrot, tomato, broccoli, onion, green bell pepper, spinach and mushroom. I was really intrigued by their offering of not just savory chips but sweet ones also.

Don’t Eat

The fruit offerings are Banana chips and Apple Cinnamon chips. Ugh! These are really awful. I am not sure what I was hoping for, but I did expect more since the first ingredient for the Banana chips is actually Banana and the second in the Apple Cinnamon is apples. Both of these taste artificial, however.

I am sure that someone at Nabisco is going to read this and think, “See, that’s what happens when we give them real food instead of artificial flavorings – it doesn’t taste right.” It may be that this is true, but the result here is perfectly terrible, with both flavors being so overwhelmingly bad that I am amazed that they released them. (As one long-time tester said, “This is the first time I actually wanted to spit something out.”)

I generally take the leftovers from testing to my clinic, for snacks when the pediatric nurses need something for the children, but these went directly in the trash.

Eat

At least they make up for it with the Vegetable Medley and Tomato Basil flavors. Both of these are good, and as snack chips go you would be able to serve these at a party and no one would know that they are better for you than potato chips and Fritos. An ounce is about 16 chips and is only 120 calories and 4 grams of fat. None of that fat is saturated fat and they have 3 grams of fiber.

The basil flavor in the Tomato Basil chips is a little intense, but not overwhelming. The Vegetable Medley is the best, being more subtle. There’s a good fresh green pepper taste to these that doesn’t overpower everything else (dispelling the idea that making a product with natural ingredients can’t taste good).

I am still not going to be a convert to eating snack foods, but these two are good choices when you are having a party or just have that craving.

For some folks this might take some getting used to. If you’ve been eating white bread all your life, you may have to try the lighter version of whole wheat bread before you transition to high fiber breads. It’s worth it though. Study after study is showing how important this is to living longer and living better.

Here’s a handy guide of ingredients for you to use that can help boost the fiber in your diet. Slowly replace the ingredients that you have on hand with the higher fiber alternative.

In addition, when you’re looking for snacks take a look at the Nutrition Facts and make sure that you’re choosing one with as much fiber as possible. A snack with 3 grams of fiber per serving or more is best.

Below is a list of recipes on the Dr. Gourmet website that have ten grams of fiber or more. This is a good way to begin to work more fiber choices into your diet.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

Dr. Gourmet

For those of you who might not subscribe to the Monday newsletter or didn’t have a chance to read it, yesterday marked the launch of the new My eatTHISdiet meal planning software. Lots of you have been using the meal plans provided on the website and this software lets you create similar meal plans – but much more customized. Get started.

Let your friends, family and colleagues know about the new free software by forwarding this email onward.

It’s Fall now and my favorite time of year. Halloween is near and Thanksgiving right around the corner. That means pumpkins. Pumpkin pie is the definitive fall dessert and there’s so many other great pumpkin recipes. I am particularly fond of these Pumpkin Tarts as they are easy to make. And everybody loves crème brulee. This Pumpkin Crème Brulee recipe is simple too and so rich and creamy. It makes the perfect end to a fall meal.

This week’s Eat – Don’t Eat is really simple. Canned pumpkin is the Eat. Canned? Yep, that’s correct. Canned pumpkin.

What’s the Don’t Eat? Fresh pumpkin.

I know that you might be surprised to hear me tell you to use something canned but read on…

You might be tempted to use one of those pumpkins that you have as decoration and peel it, cut it up and cook it to make your pumpkin pie, tart or crème brulee, but don’t bother. It will take you hours and hours to do this and when you get done with peeling, cutting it up, braising the pumpkin until it’s soft and then pureeing it in a blender you will have….

Canned pumpkin. There’s so little difference in taste the only thing you will get by using fresh pumpkin is a dirty kitchen

The great thing is that pumpkin is really good for you and makes great desserts. It has 7 grams of fiber in a cup and essentially no fat and no cholesterol. So get ready for your fall dinner by opening a can and not wrestling with a fresh pumpkin. Take a walk in the beautiful fall afternoon instead.

For those of you who might not subscribe to the Monday newsletter or didn’t have a chance to read it, Monday marked the launch of the new My eatTHISdiet meal planning software. Lots of you have been using the meal plans provided on the website, and this software lets you create similar meal plans – but much more customized. Get started.

Let your friends, family and colleagues know about the new free software by forwarding this email onward.

Fiber for Breakfast!

Studies have shown that those who eat more fiber have a reduced risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, but it’s not clear whether this is an effect of the fiber itself, nor what type of fiber has this effect.

Scientists at the University of Toronto devised a study to compare the effects of different types of fiber on appetite and blood glucose levels (Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86;972-9). They recruited 31 healthy young men in the normal-to-overweight range to participate in their feeding study, which took place on a weekly basis for four weeks.

Each subject was served one of four meals between 7 and 10am (breakfast): a high-fiber breakfast cereal in milk (with water to drink), a low-fiber breakfast cereal in milk (with water to drink), white bread with milk on the side (as well as water to drink), or just water. The three food meals yielded the same amount of calories. Before and after the breakfast meal the subjects completed a survey assessing their level of hunger and a blood sample was taken to test blood glucose levels.

After finishing the breakfast meal, these measurements were taken again at 15-minute intervals until one hour had passed, at which time the men were given water and several mini-pizzas of their favorite kinds – as much as they wanted – and were instructed to eat until they were comfortably full. How much they ate was recorded, and again their level of hunger was assessed both before and after the meal. Their blood glucose levels were also taken at fifteen-minute intervals for an hour after finishing the pizza meal.

The researchers found that those who ate the high-fiber cereal or the white bread ate less at the pizza meal than those who ate the low-fiber cereal. The subjects’ appetite levels, fifteen minutes after eating the high fiber cereal, were much lower for those who ate the high-fiber cereal, followed by the low fiber cereal, then the white bread, then (of course) the water. The higher fiber meals also helped keep the subjects’ blood glucose levels more stable after their meals.

What this means for you

Whether you’re diabetic or not, eat your breakfast – it doesn’t have to be a big one. Eating a high fiber cereal (they used Fiber One) at breakfast will help you feel less hungry at lunch. I do wish they’d included whole wheat bread in their test breakfast, but if you look there are high-fiber breads available. Compare the fiber levels of your favorite cereals or breads and pick the one that will keep you feeling fuller longer.

When scientific studies are reported on in the media they can appear far more conclusive than they really are. For example, many clinical studies in humans have shown a link between high sodium (salt) intake and high blood pressure. Based on that evidence, the American Heart Association has recommended a maximum daily intake of less than 2300 milligrams of sodium. Yet there are still those scientists who argue, based on other studies, that improving overall dietary quality, including high intake of fruits and vegetables and adequate intake of minerals like potassium and calcium, is just as important as salt intake to reducing high blood pressure in humans.

These conflicting interpretations of scientific studies in humans are perfectly reasonable when you realize that the effects of changes in the human diet are affected by multiple variables, including age, gender, body weight, smoking status, and more. It’s simply not feasible to control all other variables so that the effects of salt intake can be assessed as accurately as possible.

That said, it is possible to control all other dietary variables – if you don’t use humans.

An international group of scientists studied the effects of varying levels of salt intake in chimpanzees, our closest genetic neighbors (Circulation. 2007;116:1563-1568). Unlike studies of humans, the scientists were able to control the monkeys’ dietary intake with great accuracy, as their diet consisted solely of vegetables and fruits supplemented with dietary “biscuits.” These biscuits provided the chimps with potassium, calcium, and salt in specific amounts, so the biscuits could be manipulated to provide varying levels of sodium in the monkeys’ diet. Obviously humans would find it difficult to tolerate such a restricted diet – nor could they participate in such a study for the term of this study, which was over two years in length.

The results are striking: Increases in sodium intake were clearly linked to increases in blood pressure. Similarly, decreases in blood pressure were seen along with dietary decreases in salt intake. The amount of salt in the monkeys’ diet, unlike other, previous studies, was similar to the amount of salt in that of humans and represented the high sodium intake of a typical Western diet (as much as 6-8 grams of sodium per day) versus that of current recommendations (about 2 grams per day).

What this means for you

It’s hard to draw conclusions from animal studies that clearly apply to humans, so you won’t see me talking about them all that much. However, this one is pretty compelling, as it removes a lot of the complicating variables and controls the participants’ salt intake very accurately and for an extended period of time. No study is absolutely conclusive, but this one adds a hefty weight to the sodium-intake side of the blood pressure debate.

Food vs. Medication

Several years ago I had a patient, a woman in her early forties. She wasn’t overweight, but her triglycerides (one of the items we test when we check cholesterol levels) were over 12,000. No, that’s not a typo. Twelve. Thousand. (Normal would be under 150.) This put her at a greatly enhanced risk for heart disease.

Most of the time a woman like her would be put on medication to improve her cholesterol scores. In clinical trials, medications known as statins (Mevacor and Lovastatin are two examples) have improved LDL cholesterol scores by about 30%.

On the other hand, studies have shown the possible benefits of adding soy protein to the diet – or nuts, or certain types of fiber, or plant sterols. A short-term study in 2003 was devised to test the combined effects of those three foods when compared with treatment with medication (JAMA 2003; 290: 502-510). The study was perfomed by scientists from the University of Toronto and partially funded by the Almond Board of California and the Unilever Health Institute (makers of Promise Buttery Spread and Take Control spread).

Forty-six otherwise healthy men and women of normal weight – but with elevated cholesterol levels – were recruited to participate in the study. They were randomly assigned to one of three different, but all vegetarian, dietary paths for one month:

1. Low in saturated fat, based on low-fat dairy and whole grain cereals (the control group);
2. The same diet, but supplemented with a statin, or
3. A diet containing soy foods, almonds, fiber, and plant sterols.

The diets were designed for each participant to maintain their current body weight. Their cholesterol levels were tested at the beginning and end of the study.

The results are striking. The control group improved their LDL cholesterol scores by about 8%. The statin-supplemented diet improved their score by almost 31%. But what’s really impressive is that the group with the soy, nuts, and fiber diet improved their score by almost 29%!

What this means for you

Quite simply, you can get just as good results from improving your diet as you would by taking medication. Certainly that doesn’t give you license to dump your cholesterol medications if you’re already on them, but a better diet could help you get off them or avoid having to take them at all.

And my patient? I put her on an early version of eatTHISdiet. Six weeks later her triglycerides were in the normal range.

A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2007;33 (4S): 209- S225) looks at the prevalence of sugared soft drinks in middle schools and high schools and reports on the just how much revenue soft drink sales generate for those schools. With adolescent overweight a current (and future) concern, you have to wonder if the revenues generated by soft drink sales are worth the long-term health costs.

The study focused on 345 middle schools and high schools in the 2004 and 2005 school years. As part of two ongoing surveys, data was gathered from school administrators as well as cafeteria workers and was collected anonymously to encourage honesty.

The study found that “the vast majority” of students have sugared soft drinks available to them through vending machines through most of the day as well as through the school-supplied cafeteria. Diet soft drinks were less available to students, while the most healthful option, bottled water, was available throughout the day through vending machines to less than 20% of middle school students and less than half of high school students.

Lunch time was the worst time for choosing healthy drinks, with nearly 50% of middle schoolers able to purchase sugared soft drinks at lunch, and nearly 60% of high schoolers. Diet soft drinks, interestingly, were the least available at lunch, while no information was available regarding whether students could purchase bottled water at lunch.

Given the market penetration of these products, you’d think that the schools would be generating a significant amount of income from their pouring rights contracts. Not so. On the average, high schools only generated about $6,000.00 per year. Total! Middle schools averaged only $500 per year.

What this means for you

One of the simple ways to eat healthy and have your kids eat healthy is to not drink soda. Soft drink companies bear some responsibility for the epidemic of obesity in both children and adults.

Given the significant impact that sugared soda has on weight, it seems clear that the benefits of removing sugared soft drinks from schools outweigh the financial advantages to the school district. Teach your children by example to reach for water before soda, and tell your school board to take the sale of sodas and sugared drinks out of the schools and make water easily available to your kids throughout the day.

Over 260 children (137 3-year-olds and 130 8/9-year-olds) completed the seven week study. Every day for a week at a time the children were given a pre-measured juice-flavored drink containing a group of food colorings and sodium benzoate (a preservative). One of three drink mixes were used: one placebo mix, with no food colorings or preservatives; one drink mix with a specific amount of sodium benzoate and food colorings; and a third drink mix with a greater amount of food colorings and the same amount of sodium benzoate as the other test mix. The amounts of both additives were 25% greater in the drinks given to the 8/9-year-olds to account for their larger food intake. For the duration of the study, the children’s parents were asked to refrain from feeding their children any other foods that contained the preservative and food colorings used in the study.

The scientists then measured the levels of hyperactive behavior in the children using the combined assessments of trained observers, parental observation, and teacher observation.

All of the children showed increased levels of hyperactive behavior during the weeks they received the drinks containing food colorings and sodium benzoate. However, the younger children showed more hyperactive behavior while receiving the drink containing greater levels of food colorings, while the older children did not. Further, the individual children showed a wide range of effects from the drinks – some only slightly more hyperactive, some much more hyperactive.

The researchers note that it is impossible to assess exactly which compound was causing the hyperactive behavior and call for further study to establish whether the age-related differences in the effects of food coloring on the children’s behavior could be replicated.

What this means for you

This study lends strong support to the notion that hyperactivity in children is related to the consumption of artificial food additives. Certainly highly-processed foods aren’t that great for you OR your children – stick to fresh foods and you and your children will be healthier. Here are some ideas for snacks for your kids – and yourself.

To find out, they recruited 35 women and 38 men, all of normal weight and otherwise healthy, to eat both breakfast and lunch in the lab once a week for five weeks. On each lunch occasion the subjects were presented with one of five soup variations, then a standard meal that remained the same each week. The five soup options were as follows: a cup of broth with cooked vegetables on the side; the cooked vegetables in the broth (to make a chunky soup); part of the vegetables pureed in the broth and part left chunky; the vegetables and the broth pureed until smooth; or no soup (”No soup for you!”). Regardless of which soup course they were served, the amount of calories remained the same (except for the no-soup option, of course). The subjects were required to finish the soup before being served the main course.

The researchers correlated the type of soup the subjects were served with the amount of the main meal that subject ate. They found that regardless of the type of soup served, those subjects who received soup as a first course ate 20% less of the main course than they did if they had no soup at all.

What this means for you

Soup is good food, and this shows that eating soup can be a good strategy to use for weight loss. (Cream-based soups, however, can be loaded with fat and calories because they’re made with heavy cream or half and half. Best to avoid them unless you make them yourself.) The next time you go out to dinner, have a bowl of vegetable or other non-creamy soup as your starter. You won’t mind taking half of your dinner home in a doggy bag for lunch the next day.

I have ten pretty simple rules that can help you make it easier to eat well, eat healthy and enjoy life.

No. 1 – Go out to eat, but when you go out, enjoy it.
Don’t just eat out because there’s no time to cook. Eating great food takes a bit of advance planning and being “trapped” into not cooking for yourself is the easiest way to end up eating food that’s not so great tasting and not great for you.

When you do go, pick a restaurant before you go that you know will have great food.

No 2. – Stop going out so much.
Eating out is so easy now. Lots of patients tell me that they eat out more often than they have dinner at home. The key to being healthy is to begin making your own food and cooking from fresh ingredients.

This takes a little planning but there’s so many great resources available. While there’s plenty of recipes on the Dr. Gourmet web site there are also hundreds of thousands of great healthy meals to be found on the Internet and most of them take less than 30 minutes to cook.

That’s less time than it takes to drive to most restaurants or even order in a calorie-dense but nutritionally empty pizza that tastes like the cardboard box it was delivered in.

No. 3 – Don’t eat fast food.
Just don’t. Just stop going to McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and any place like them. If the restaurant you go to doesn’t make food fresh, don’t go there.

I believe that in spite of what McDonald’s would have you think, they and the fast food chains like them are responsible for the obesity epidemic. There’s not much of anything on their menus that’s very good for you. Most everything that is available is pre-made in a factory somewhere and not a lot different than what you find in a frozen TV dinner.

The research is clear that it’s just as cheap now to make your own food. Not only is the meal less expensive, there’s great evidence that you’ll pay less in doctor’s bills later.

No. 4 – If you do have to eat fast food, check out the lists on the Dr. Gourmet web site first.
There’s a lot of info that will help you make better choice. These files can be downloaded as PDF documents so you can print them out and take them with you to the restaurant.

No. 5 – Don’t go out to eat without a plan.
This is not much different from how to eat better in general. One of the easiest places to get tripped up is not thinking about where or what we’re going to eat. If you have a plan, then it’s more likely that you won’t be needing to go out anyway.

The other five rules deal with decisions you make once you are in the restaurant. More on this in next week’s Dr. Tim Says… column.

Eat well, eat healthy and enjoy life.

Dr. Gourmet

These three studies utilized three plates of identical appearance, but of different sizes: 17, 22, or 26 centimeters in diameter.

Part One: Participants ate lunch in the laboratory once a week for three weeks. On each occasion they were presented with an identical amount of food on a serving dish and were directed to serve themselves from the serving dish onto their plate prior to eating the meal. The same serving dish was used for each meal, but a different size plate (small, medium, or large) was used each time. The amount of food consumed by each participant was measured each time and analyzed, comparing amount eaten to the size of the plate.

Part Two: Participants ate lunch in the laboratory once a week for two weeks. Each time the same amount of food was served, but the difference this time was on the size of plate the meal was presented on (medium or large, in this case). Again the amount of food the participants ate was measured, then the researchers compared how much was eaten by each subject on which size plate.

Part Three: In this last arm of the study, once a week for three weeks the participants were given the smallest plate and given access to their own private buffet consisting of five popular foods containing the same number of calories by weight. Participant were directed to serve themselves from the buffet several feet away, then return to their place setting to sit down to eat. Once again the amount of food consumed was measured along with the number of trips made to the buffet.

The results? All three of the studies showed that the size of the plate (or needing to walk across the room) made no significant difference to the amount of food the subjects ate.

What this means for you

This study shows that you can’t fool yourself into eating less by using smaller plates, and it does conflict with some other research on this subject. This is, however, one of the best designed studies I have seen on this topic and supports the idea that portion control is still an important tool for managing your weight. Here are some portion size guidelines to help you know what is a standard portion size.

While it’s not the “most important meal of the day,” lunch is the one where a lot of folks get into trouble. There have been hundreds of my patients who by simply eating a good breakfast and planning for lunch have made significant changes in their health and had significant weight loss.

One of my favorites was a discussion that I had with a patient about peanut butter. She loved peanut butter sandwiches but wouldn’t prepare them and take them to work because the peanut butter was “so high in fat and calories.” Instead she was eating out at different fast food joints. She thought that she was eating healthier, but the Smokehouse Turkey sandwich at Panera Bread that she was regularly eating had 700 calories, 22 grams of fat and over 2,300 mg of sodium! (Here’s a list of healthier choices at Panera.)

That “unhealthy” PB&J? All of 438 calories, with only 18 grams of fat. Even using peanut butter made with salt it comes in at only 433 mg of sodium. While there’s a lot of fat, it’s mostly good monounsaturated fat (9 grams of mono for the PB&J vs. 9 grams of saturated fat in the Panera sandwich). Now, keep in mind that she loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Worth it at a savings of 250 calories per day (which is about what you need for a weight loss of a pound or so every couple of weeks).

There’s some guidelines about portion sizes and making good lunch choices on the Lunch Guidelines page for eatTHISdiet.

By taking a few extra minutes to package up last night’s leftovers, make a sandwich or a salad you’ll feel better, eat better, lose weight and be healthier. Best of all, you’ll save money. The average lunch ticket at a fast food restaurant is around $6.00, while it’ll cost you about $2.00 to take your lunch (sandwich or salad or leftovers and a piece of fruit).

Hmm. . . $20.00 per week, $80.00 per month, $960.00 per year. . . That’s a trip to the Caribbean.

Eat well, eat healthy, go to the Islands for a vacation!

Dr. Gourmet

He wrote:

“old fashioned breakfasts” such as cereal, hot or cold; toast and its trimmings; milk, non fat: fruit juice. A combination of such items has been my staple for years. Are you suggesting that I stop using them, or should I be creating a new group for my breakfast? They are fast, convenient, nutritious.

This types of breakfast that he describes are exactly correct. What we think of as “an old fashioned” breakfast as part of a Western diet is actually pretty healthy if you make the right choices. The key is to include some carbohydrates (the higher in fiber the better) along with a serving of protein. So a slice of whole grain toast and a scrambled egg is a fantastic way start to the day. Most folks prefer fruit juice at breakfast but having fruit is a better choice because fresh fruit has so much more to offer (more vitamins, more fiber, more satisfaction).

There’s pretty good research that eating a balance of foods like this at breakfast will sustain you throughout the morning and keep you from feeling hungry around “coffee break” time. For instance, having some “complex” carbs like whole grain cereal along with milk is similar to the toast and eggs. A good quality whole grain cereal is filling, the fiber is good for you and the protein in the milk helps sustain you through the morning until lunch (Interestingly, the coffee break is a modern invention that is claimed by the company that is now Barcalounger. This evolution of taking a break was in response to social changes in the workplace at the turn of the last century and workers wanting a mid-morning and mid-afternoon break— not for dietary reasons.)

There’s information on the website about all of the items that make up a great breakfast as part of the eatTHISdiet plans.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

Dr. Gourmet

For the study, the team cut the two sample foods into various shapes, including a single block, multiple fine strips, and a number of small blocks. The procedure of the study was fairly simple: A computer screen was used to present a sample size of the given food on the left of the screen (for example, a single block of carrot labeled as 5 grams in weight). On the right side of the screen was a sample of the same food in a different form: perhaps fine strips instead of a single block. Both sides of the screen also showed a plastic spoon as a size reference item. The subjects were given a target weight for the item on the right (say, 12 grams) and were instructed to use the arrows on the keyboard to display pictures of larger or smaller quantities until they felt that the picture they selected matched the target size. The two types of food were not compared to each other, but each test subject performed over 200 comparisons for various reference sizes, food types, and target weights.

The scientists found that the subjects consistently overestimated the weight of finely cut foods, regardless of which type of food (carrots or surimi gel) they were estimating. All of the subjects had normal vision and had some cooking experience, although none was a professional cook or chef.

What this means for you

Chances are you can’t eyeball your food and accurately estimate how much you’re eating. One of the most important pieces of equipment you can have in your kitchen is a good scale. Weigh and measure everything you cook. Eventually you’ll learn how to look at different foods and judge their weight accurately, but until then… use a scale.