A flag concept of a dinner plate with the flag of France on it.
More lessons are to be learned from the French culture. They just keep giving and we (the U.S) just keep ignoring their clues reflected by their lower disease rates (some of the lowest on the globe).
For example, the cardiovascular disease rate: 86.89 deaths in U.S per 100,000 population; 43.25 in France. The obesity rates are much higher in the U.S. than in France. However the lower rates are climbing in France due to less adherence to their traditional diets and their higher intake of Westernized fast and processed foods.
The dietary lessons are relatively simple suggestions(in my opinion). The French generally do not diet or snack. They enjoy food and eat sensibly when it comes to portions. There may be others that are more complex. Please check out the table and graph in the article.
Was a new diet part of your 2020 resolutions? Great, but forget the new fads, diet pills, and starvation deprivation. There are many of the old diets still around- keto, paleo, Whole 30, NutriSystem, Jenny Craig to mention a few. Just look at the magazine covers at the supermarket checkout – keto seems to have taken over all the others. The keto diet is quite restrictive, difficult to maintain and the long-term effects are not known. There is little evidence that this type of restriction, although shown to be effective for weight loss, may not be a lifestyle choice for most people. Is there a better way? In my opinion, yes. The best diet is one you can live with and with a few adjustments compatible with the foods you choose. The best diet is one that with a little guidance and knowledge, is decided by you.
The following article is worth looking at if you want a simple approach. All you need is a plate, a bottle of water, real food and of course, your commitment. And even better, this plan lets you be in control in following a reasonable and evidence-based plan that can fit easily into your lifestyle.
The article speaks for itself and provides a few links to add to the basics, i.e. some things you need to know like a guide to non-starchy vegetables. Oh, you may have to give up fast food and processed foods for a while. But, you may be glad when you realize that you will feel a lot better (and healthier) and the effort will be well worth it.
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t want to say that weight loss itself is easy – it ‘s hard work but worth it when your goals are either weight loss or just changing to a healthier lifestyle. That is why this plan is appealing. it is straightforward and makes sense.
So join the new “non-diet” approach that will help you lose some pounds but even better, eating for health. That is what eating should be about, not body image, eating disorders and food restriction. Learning how to eat rather than just what to eat is the answer (my opinion). ENJOY!!
One more thing – Always consult a registered dietitian, certified nutritionist, and your primary physician to discuss any dietary change to make sure it is nutrient dense. Also make sure you have no underlying medical problems like high cholesterol, hypertension, pre-diabetes, diabetes or digestive issues, for example.
Dan Buettner’s groundbreaking ambitious Blue Zone project is beginning to transform American cities into Blue Zone cities and has so far helped thousands of people lose weight, reverse disease, and increase life satisfaction by changing in part the way they eat, live, and connect.
The original Blue Zones areas helped shape these transformations. Practically speaking, Americans cannot be expected to eat the same foods as the Blue Zone inhabitants did. That would be impossible in the U.S. food environment. However, lots of lessons can be learned from their way of life that led them to longevity and health in their older years than anyone could have imagined. Get a brief glimpse of how one city (Ft. Worth, TX) transformed themselves into better health outcomes. Small changes can make a difference over time.
Source: The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People, Dan Buettner
What factors have led us to the Standard American Diet (SAD)? What changed in the American food culture that led us to the current obesity/diabetes epidemics?
As we evolved, we as a species needed calories for survival purposes and our bodies developed many life-saving mechanisms to keep us from starvation. That worked very well for eons until our food environment changed dramatically. “Relatively recently in human history, refined starchy foods took the place of tubers and herbaceous plants in our diets. Sugar crept in. The quality and quantity of foods available changed drastically in the last few decades, with results at once triumphant and disastrous.” Page 153.
Primarily since the mid-20th century, “food science and government policy conspired to favor wheat, soybeans, sugar, and corn over other crops. The food processing industry devised ways to use them to create cheaper food products that could be replicated in factories around the world. According to the USDA, from 1970 to 2000, the number of calories the average American consumed jumped by about 530 calories a day, a 24.5 percent increase.” At the same time, we have managed to have engineered physical activity out of our daily lives. “Page 154.
Our lifestyles need to change to counteract these facts. A study of five “hot spots” on the globe of good health and longevity has shown us the way to become the most long-lived cultures and examples of good health in the later years. These include: Ikaria, Greece, Okinawa, Japan, Ogliastra region in Sardinia, Loma Linda, California, and Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rico, collectively called the Blue Zones. How do they live and more specifically what and how do they eat?
These are the “six powerful food practices” of the Blue Zone populations that are associated with longer, fuller lives.
Make breakfast or lunch the biggest meal of the day with a light, early dinner and most food is consumed before noon. Most do not regularly make a habit of snacking and when they do, a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts is sufficient. An Israeli study found that dieting women who ate half of their daily calories at breakfast, third at lunch and a seventh at dinner lost an average of 19 pounds in 12 weeks along with a drop in triglycerides, glucose, insulin and hormones that trigger hunger.
Cook at home. Always try to eat breakfast at home. Pack a lunch the night before. Prep ingredients for dinner in the morning and using a slow cooker can make dinner easy. Use Sundays to cook meals for the week and freeze for later use in the week.
Hari Hachi Bu. This saying is a 2500-year-old Confucian adage that reminds Okinawans to stop eating when they feel their stomach is 80% full. Many people in Blue Zone American cities use the method of wearing a blue bracelet to remind them to use this tool. Wear the bracelet (does not have to be blue) for six weeks as a reminder to be mindful of this practice that listens to inner signals innately found to detect hunger. After six weeks, it should be part of your eating patterns.
Fast Fasts. You can experience intermittent fasting every 24 hours by scheduling the time you eat to only 8 hours of the day. As best you can, try eating only two meals a day; a big late-morning brunch and second meal around 5 p.m. It is important to consult your doctor before any kind of fasting. Avoid starvation diets as they may lead to binge-eating. When fasting, eat foods that are nutrient dense and provide plant or animal protein at each meal.
Eat with family and friends. A 2011 study found that children and adolescents who share family meals three or more times a week are more likely to be at a normal weight range than those who share fewer family meals together. Don’t eat alone, standing up, when driving. If you eat alone, avoid reading, watching TV or using your phone – all leads to mindless eating.
Celebrate and enjoy food. From Buettner: “pick one day of the week and make it your day to splurge on a meal with your favorite foods. The Blue Zone centenarians primarily eat a plant-based diet, but they don’t give up that slice of birthday cake.” Some are vegetarians; others are not. Deprivation and restriction can lead to binge-eating.
A new cookbook is now available that is beautifully illustrated with the people and food of the Blue Zones. Find it at Amazon or Barnes and Noble – The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100, Dan Buettner, 2019.
Americans need all the help they can get in eating more vegetables (nutrient dense, low in calories, loaded with fiber). If you have children, It’s even more important My personal advice?
Roast them – they caramelize and take on a whole new flavor and texture. Add a little honey and/or butter for more appeal. And it’s so easy on a foil-lined baking pan. Easy clean-up, too. – yes it can be done.
Now that the New Year is becoming a part of our lives, you may want to rethink your resolutions. Here is a provacative list from Mark Bittman, food writer and company. Enjoy!! There may be a few you can try in the new decade. Enjoy!
Portions are out of control in the Standard American Diet. Do you know how much food you ate yesterday? If you had meat what size of serving of meat? Whatever happened to the single burger? Few people are aware of how much food they eat. Portion sizes of today’s food tends to exceed standard serving sizes due to our past experiences at family meals, the size of servings at restaurants, supersize meals, large bakery products and larger cups of soft drinks all contribute to the problem.
Typical portion sizes and calorie content of foods in the marketplace versus calorie content and portion sizes 25 years ago.
People have been dieting for centuries and the best advice from the so-called experts or fad diet enthusiasts still tell us to – “eat less and move more”. This in itself is good advice but does not even begin to offer what is needed to keep that weight off and save you from the diet cycle of weight gain, loss, gain, loss cycles. There would not be billions of dollars spent trying to lose body weight over and over again for millions of people. My own experience with weight loss has been limited fortunately most of my adult life due to not having to diet. But there was a price. More specifically, I was on a continuous reducing diet my whole life to prevent weight gain in the first place. I remember weighing 94 pounds at a height of 5 ‘ 5 inches tall. But as a nutrition student, I knew that was not a healthy weight by any account and being in a “starvation” mode for a lifetime is not the way to go.
Eventually as I got older and put on a few unwanted pounds, I finally did “go on my first formal diet” a few years ago. Specifically it was a low carbohydrate diet and it worked slowly but consistently. But it did take a lot of hard work. I have now kept that weight off for the past few years.
But every woman at any weight wants to lose those “last five pounds” and I am one of them. But did I ever learn a lot how our bodies fight against weight loss in order to prevent what it perceives as starvation. So now I know what hard work it is. So many diet programs try to make it seem easy and all it does for a lot of people is to make them feel guilty for not succeeding after each attempt. So here are some truths.
Some basics:
Only about 1/3 of dieters are successful at maintaining their loss. Chronic dieters know it takes vigilance and for some weight maintenance is harder to accomplish than the actual loss.
Weight maintenance requires continued modification of your lifestyle – you cannot let yourself go back into the old habits that caused the weight gain in the first place.
Some people relax their vigilance too much after they lose the weight, then gain it right back. You can relax a little, but not too much.
You will be tempted by certain foods and certain situations – moderation is the best approach to keep in mind in those difficult situations. Diets are not just about the kinds of foods we eat, but how we eat.
Successful Losers/Maintainers (From The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) of people who have lost at least 60 pounds and kept it off for a minimum of five years). This is what they have found to be successful from their weight loss and weight loss maintenance.
Write your food intake down. Keep a journal or visit MyFitnessPal to help you track your typical food intake. This is a must – it is so easy to forget what you ate yesterday or how many snacks you mindlessly consumed.
Most losers follow low fat diets and more recently I would suspect low refined carbohydrates, no gimmicks, special diet foods, or magic pills. Most simply do not work.
Exercise daily – walking is most popular and it should be scheduled into your day like brushing your teeth. About an hour a day is practiced by NWCR members.
Eat breakfast – all the research supports this, so intermittent fasting was not much of a factor.
Weigh in regularly. This advice goes against many experts who say “stay away from the scale”. However, in my opinion, this tool is necessary to see if you are gaining a few pounds, you can then make some adjustments to your diet to get back to your intended goal weight. You be the judge on scale use – if it helps you stay on track, use it.
The bottom line: The longer you keep the weight off, the easier it becomes to maintain the loss. It becomes more of a part of your lifestyle and not just considered a “diet”. If you can make it for two years, you’re more than likely to become successful. The practice of intuitive eating (mindful) can help dieters keep their weight off – it teaches you to think of food in an entirely different way. Why repeat the old habits that caused you to gain weight in the first place. Future posts will address intuitive eating more thoroughly. It’s worth it to know especially for maintaining your lost weight.
For now, the basic principles can be thought of as:
You may have noticed that cannabidol (CBD) seems to be available almost everywhere you look. No single compound expanded its market in 2019 quite like CBD did. This cannabinoid has the bragging rights for new product diversity, after finding its way into water, lattes, jellybeans, hummus, cosmetics and even doggie treats.
CDB products have claimed to treat or even cure a plethora of ailments such PTSD, cancer, arthritis pain, anxiety, sleep disorders, depression, Crohn’s and opiod addiction to name a few. The question remains: how could a single family of molecules help so many different maladies? The most obvious response is that they might not; all of this research might not pan out.
The FDA has approved only one CBD product, a prescription drug product called Epidiolex to treat two, severe forms of epilepsy. It is currently illegal to market CBD by adding it to a food or labeling it as dietary supplement. Some CBD products are being marketed with unproven medical claims and are of unknown quality.
So far, the FDA has warned about some possible side effects:
CBD can cause liver injury.
CBD can affect the metabolism of other drugs, causing serious side effects.
Use of CBD can cause changes in alertness, drowsiness, especially with alcohol.
CBD can cause changes in mood as agitation and irritability.
GI distress, decreased appetite, abdominal pain.
There are also disturbing regulation issues like cumulative exposure and how much is actually in the various products? For example, the FDA has tested the chemical content of some cannabinoid compounds and many were found to NOT contain the levels they claimed. Some have been found to contain pesticides, heavy metals, infective agents, and the neuroactive compound THC, the euphoria -inducing compound in marijuana.
A study in JAMA documented that in 84 products sold online, 26% had less CBD than advertised and 43% had more.
In May, the FDA held a public hearing on the safety and efficacy of CBD products. In June, a bipartisan team of legislators introduced a bill aimed to streamline research, and in September, the NIH (National Institutes of Health) announced a $3 million research package to investigate the use of cannabinoids and other cannabis-based, non-THC compounds for pain management.
For a full comprehensive report from the FDA:
Disclaimer: Pop-up advertisements are appearing on this blog without permission, and Food, Facts, and Fads is not associated with any brand that appears. In my opinion, with the list of side effects that have been associated with these products, it would be prudent to be careful with their use until regulations can be put in place by the FDA. As with all supplements, inform your doctor if you are using any of these products due to interactions with regular prescriptionn medications.
Was a new diet part of your 2020 resolutions? Great, but forget the new fads, diet pills, and starvation deprivation. There are many of the old diets still around- keto, paleo, Whole 30, NutriSystem, Jenny Craig to mention a few. Just look at the magazine covers at the supermarket checkout – keto seems to have taken over all the others. The keto diet is quite restrictive, difficult to maintain and the long-term effects are not known. There is little evidence that this type of restriction, although shown to be effective for weight loss, may not be a lifestyle choice for most people. Is there a better way? In my opinion, yes. The best diet is one you can live with and with a few adjustments compatible with the foods you choose. The best diet is one that with a little guidance and knowledge, is decided by you.
FOOD, FACTS and FADS 