Mama, don't let your babies grow up to eat fast food

Just came across a fascinating study about breast-feeding, asthma, and fast food.

The good news is that more mothers are breast-feeding these days, and breast-feeding for longer.  I'm sure they're motivated in part by all the research showing how much healthier breast-fed babies are.  One widely reported benefit is that babies who are breast-fed have lower rates of asthma later on.

But get this:  Letting your kids eat fast food when they're older appears to completely negate the benefits you gave them by breast-feeding, at least in terms of asthma protection.

More details from the study here.

Breast-feeding is a wonderful thing to do for a child's health but obviously, we need to stay committed to their health and nutrition throughout childhood!

High-fat diet? No problem! (Unless you're stressed.)

A study done at Georgetown University using mice found that a high fat diet did not provoke obesity. However, a high-fat diet combined with chronic stress, did.  Another study, recently published in Circulation, found that mice exposed to air pollution were more likely to develop insulin resistance and abdominal obesity compared with mice who ate the same high-fat diet but enjoyed cleaner air.

We've known for a while that stress and heart disease are linked. Although these are rodent studies, I think its becoming clear that stress and environment may play a role in obesity and Type 2 diabetes, as well--and that we're going to need to think more holistically about tackling these problems.

We spend a lot of time trying to figure out how individual nutrients and dietary factors affect health. But that doesn't necessarily tell us much about how nutrients work in combination.  For example, saturated fat might promote heart disease in the context of a high-carbohydrate diet but not in a low-carbohydrate diet.

But there are even more variables:  The same diet will affect individuals differently depending on their genetic makeup.  And stress (whether physical, mental, or environmental) also changes how your body responds to diet. 

I have a number of clients who are trying to lose weight but also have extremely stressful lives.  Perhaps I need to make reducing and coping with stress a bigger part of their nutritional prescription?

Cooking in cast-iron cookware

Q. I enjoy using cast-iron cookware and I have heard that it can increase the iron content of some foods during cooking.  Is this a safe source of iron and are there any foods that I shouldn’t be cooking in cast-iron?

A. It's true! Acidic foods like tomatoes can react with the metal in a cast-iron skillet and actually absorb some of the iron molecules. This is a safe and effective way to increase your iron intake.

So, how much of a difference does this make in the iron content of foods? Potentially, a lot.

Researchers cooked several foods in new cast iron skillets and found, for example, that the amount of iron in spaghetti sauce increased from less than a milligram to almost 6 mg per serving.  Applesauce absorbed even more, going from 0.35 mg to 7.3 mg per 100g serving.  Scrambling eggs in a new iron skillet increased the iron content from 1.5 mg to almost 5mg.  (Brittin HC, Nossaman CE. Iron content of food cooked in iron utensils. J Am Diet Assoc. 1986;86:897–901. )

The greater the acidity of the food and the longer you cook it, the more iron is transferred to the food.  Foods that contain more water also seem to absorb more iron.  But you probably won't be adding quite as much iron to your foods as the researchers in this study because they were using new pans.

Older cast iron pans, which have become well seasoned through use, tend to transfer less iron to food. This isn't because the iron in the pan has been used up; it's because a well-seasoned cast iron pan has a thin coating that is formed when fat is heated to high temperatures in the pan. This coating makes the pan less reactive with the acid in foods.

Now, the nutritionists who did the study didn't make any comment about how the foods tasted after they were cooked in the pans.  But its probable that the foods that absorbed the most iron also picked up a metallic taste.

In a similar experiment conducted from a completely different point of view, the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine found that cooking acidic foods even in well-seasoned cast-iron pans can impart a metallic flavor to foods if you cook them long enough.  Tomatoes that were cooked for 15 minutes in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet absorbed no off flavors, but those cooked for 30 minutes did.  Foods that were either less acidic or that were cooked more briefly, picked up no off flavors.

Because they're more concerned with the the success of your recipes than your nutritional status, the folks at Cook's Illustrated recommend that you use stainless steel cookware when cooking acidic foods for more than a few minutes in order to reduce the chance that your dish ends up with an unpleasant metallic taste.

But even the small amounts of iron that you will add to your diet by using your well-seasoned cast-iron cookware to cook non-acidic foods can add up to a meaningful increase in your iron intake.

In terms of the nutrient values shown here on NutritionData.com, assume that they represent the amount of iron in foods that were NOT cooked in cast iron cookware. 

Diabetics sought for trial using anti-inflammatory drugs

After promising results in an initial trial, researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center are seeking Type 2 diabetics to participate in a study using a mild anti-inflammatory drug. The earlier trial found that the drug (salsalate), which is usually used to treat arthritis, reduced blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetics.

If it proves to be an effective treatment for diabetes, reducing inflammation may have the additional benefit of reducing cardiac risk.  (Salsalate is chemically similar to aspirin but appears to cause fewer adverse side effects. It's been in widespread use for several decades.)

"These are very important studies aimed to test whether reducing inflammation can actually be used to treat diabetes," says principal investigator and Harvard Med School Prof. Steven E. Shoelson, M.D., Ph.D. "Given what we are learning about how type 2 diabetes develops, we think this might be getting at an underlying cause. We hope the study shows that targeting inflammation is a safe and inexpensive way to treat type 2 diabetes. We also hope that reducing inflammation decreases risk for coronary heart disease, which is another theory that we will be testing in a separate clinical study in the coming months."

Researchers are seeking adults ages 18 to 75 whose glucose levels are not in good control and who do not take insulin. Participants must be using no medication or be taking only one or two oral medications, among other criteria. Most participants can expect their involvement to last about one year.  For more information about the study, see this announcement.

Related Info on the ND Blog:

Inflammation, not obesity, the culprit in diabetes

The links between diabetes, inflammation, and obesity

Controlling inflammation with diet

Ask Monica: Diet Tips for Pre-Diabetics

Q.  I've been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. Should I eat like a diabetic?

A. Short Answer: Yes.

Long Answer:

If you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, it means that your blood sugar is elevated but not yet high enough to qualify as full-blown diabetes.  This is your opportunity to turn things around! Your goal is to reduce your blood sugar to safe levels.  One thing that will help is to control your intake of carbohydrates, especially those that cause your blood sugar to go up sharply.  ("Eating like a diabetic" essentially means controlling carbohydrate intake.) 

If everyone "ate like a diabetic," we'd all be a lot healthier!  A diet that limits refined carbohydrates like breads, sweets, sodas, and fruit juices and emphases whole grains, fruits, vegetables, protein foods, and healthy fats is ideal for diabetics, pre-diabetics, and non-diabetics alike.

Related Resources: Smart Carb Quick Start food list

There are two more things that will be a big help:

1) Lose weight if you are overweight
2) Exercise 30 minutes every day

Losing weight and exercising are powerful tools for keeping your pre-diabetes from developing into diabetes. Both will improve your body's ability to control your blood sugar naturally by making your cells more sensitive to the effects of insulin.

Once again, both of these habits are important for diabetics, pre-diabetics, and non-diabetics alike!

Related Resources

Learn more about tools for controlling diabetes (or pre-diabetes) on our Type 2 Diabetes Resource Center.

For help with weight loss, visit the Diet and Weight Loss Resource Center

For exercise tips, check out Steve Cabral's Fitness Blog on ND.

Good luck!

Sugar as a source of antioxidants?

This month's issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association includes a study that compares the antioxidant content of different kinds of sugar. Katherine Phillips and her team at Viginia Tech found "substantial differences" in the different sugars they studied:

• Refined table sugar, corn syrup (not high fructose but the kind you buy in the grocery store), and agave nectar all contained "minimal" antioxidant activity.
• Maple syrup, brown sugar (which is refined sugar with a bit of molasses added), and honey had "intermediate" antioxidant activity.
• Dark and blackstrap molasses had the highest antioxidant capacity.

Are the authors suggesting that we should be eating more (or different types of) sugar in order to boost our intake of antioxidants? Not exactly.  But they do make the following disturbing observation:

The average intake of refined sugar in the U.S. is around 130g a day. At that level of intake, replacing low antioxidant sugars with higher antioxidant sugars could increase antioxidant intake the equivalent of a serving of berries or nuts.

I've got a better idea: How about substituting a serving of berries or nuts for some of that sugar? The fact that Americans eat an average of 130 grams of refined sugar a day is shocking. The antioxidant capacity (or lack thereof) of all that sugar is the least of our problems.

The World Health Organization recommends limiting added sugars to no more than 10% of total calories, or around 50 grams a day.  They are not talking about sugars found naturally in whole foods like fruit or dairy products, only the refined sugars found in things like soda, breakfast cereal, and baked goods, or added to coffee.

No amount of refined sugar is necessary to health, of course. But cutting back to 50 grams a day would be a huge step in the right direction--and much more helpful than simply substituting molasses for table sugar.

Nutrient Search Tool: Decoding Your Results

Q. I used the Nutrient Search Tool to look up vegetables high in calcium and found freeze-dried chives and freeze-dried leeks near the top of the list. However, when I went to the listings, they showed that the foods contained zero calcium. Is this an error?

A.  Depending on what you select in the Nutrient Search Tool, the results are based on either 100g serving sizes or 200-calorie serving sizes.  A 100 grams of dried chives is a whole heck of a lot of chives and contains a whole heck of a lot of calcium--813 mg to be exact.  Dried chives are about 8% calcium by weight.

When you go to the individual listing, however, you'll see the default serving displayed: 1 tablespoon, which weighs just 1/4 of a gram.    In this serving size, the amount of calcium is small enough to be considered 0. (If you change the serving size for the chives to 100g, you will see the calcium numbers change.)

Obviously, it would be hard to consume enough dried chives or leeks to supply a meaningful amount of calcium--but our search tool doesn't know that. It simply looks at 100g portions of every food and picks the ones with the most calcium. For more useful suggestions, try scanning the results for foods that are more commonly eaten in 100 gram quantities (such as frozen collards).

Here's another post on How to use the Nutrient Search Tool (better)

Winter Blues: The Carbohydrate Connection

If you crave carbohydrates during the shorter, darker days of winter, your body may simply be trying to make up for low serotonin levels.  Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that--among other things--regulates mood and energy levels. When serotonin levels fall, you may experience fatigue, depression and irritability.  Serotonin levels tend to be lower in the winter--and this can be the reason behind your winter blues or, the more extreme version, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

The connection with carbohydrates is this:  Eating carbohydrates will increase serotonin production, which should elevate your mood--temporarily at least.  So, those comfort food cravings may be your body's way of self-medicating.  In fact, some experts advocate the controlled use of carbohydrate meals or snacks as a way of treating SAD.

"Eating carbohydrates is therapeutic," says diet detective Judith Wurtman. "The brain makes new serotonin, and the symptoms of SAD diminish.  Eating potatoes, rice, bread, pasta and other carbohydrates is a natural way of dealing with the darkness of winter. This does not mean that protein foods, vegetables, fruit, dairy products should be avoided. Not at all. But one approach might be to eat protein for breakfast and lunch. As the sun and serotonin levels go down, switch to carbohydrates. A dinner of pasta, or roasted potatoes or rice and vegetables, will restore serotonin, your good mood and your energy." (SAD, serotonin, and carbohydrates.)

In fact, a small study in 2006 found that a twice-daily carbohydrate drink relieved symptoms of SAD and, researchers hoped, might do less dietary damage than the uncontrolled carbohydrate binging that some SAD sufferers resort to.  ("High-Carb Drink Eases SAD Symptoms.")

But SAD expert Norman Rosenthal (author of Winter Blues) worries that the mood-elevating effect is temporary at best. In a few hours, you need another fix. By the time winter is over, you may have packed on a lot of carbohydrate-fueled pounds. Rosenthal advocates a low carbohydrate diet for those with SAD. 

A better way to stimulate serotonin is to exercise regularly.  Exercise stimulates serotonin production with no carbohydrate hang-over. Instead of gaining winter weight, you might even trim down.  Overcoming your winter fatigue and getting yourself moving may take some self-discipline at first. But the rewards, in the form of more energy and a brighter mood, come quickly.

If you struggle with low moods and/or carbohydrate cravings at this time of year, why not give this a two-week trial: Get 30 minutes a day of moderate to high intensity exercise. If weather and schedule permits, take your exercise outdoors and get the additional benefit of some natural light therapy.  If not, take advantage of your home gym or health club membership to exercise indoors.

Also, if you suffer from seasonal depression, be sure your diet contains sufficient folic acid.  People who are depressed are often deficient in this nutrient, which helps to support healthy serotonin levels. Folic acid supplementation has been shown to relieve symptoms of SAD. Even better, focus on foods that are naturally high in folic acid, such as edamame, spinach, collards, and asparagus.

And, take heart!  Spring begins in about two months!

Which popular diet is the best fit for you?

Should you go low-carb? Mediterranean? Anti-inflammatory? Vegan?

No diet is right for everyone. Really, the best diet for you is the one you can stick to. So, instead of jumping on the bandwagon with whatever diet your friends or co-workers are talking about, pick a plan that fits your health goals, food preferences, and lifestyle. 

Need some help?  I recently compared five popular diet strategies for a feature story on our sister site, Epicurious.com, listing some of the pros and cons, and then designing gourmet menus to fit each one, using some of the fabulous recipes on Epicurious.  I even analyzed all the recipes and mealplans for you so you can see the complete nutrient breakdown (and save them to My Recipes)!

If you're looking for a diet plan that fits your life (along with some fabulous recipes to get you started), check out the story here: Trendy Diets Done Right. 

Ask Monica: Is dairy a "bad" source of calcium?

Q. I have recently been diagnosed with borderline osteoporosis. My OB/GYN stressed the importance of my finding other protein sources besides dairy. I previously only used skim milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, and cheese for protein sources. The information I read seems split between "dairy is good"/"dairy is bad." Apparently the acid/alkaline levels are a big deal. Please help.

Thanks, Kay

A. Calcium from dairy products is very well-absorbed by the body. On the other hand, some fear that protein foods (including dairy products) are acidifying and cause the body to use up calcium from bone reserves to maintain a proper pH.  Because dairy products are themselves calcium-rich, I don't think that this is as big a deal as some others do.   When your diet is rich in calcium, protein does not cause bone loss.  (Protein and Bone Health: A Paradox Unraveled)

In any case, there are plenty of other foods that are rich in calcium, including many vegetables.  You can see a list of foods high in calcium using the nutrient search tool. One note: spinach, which is high in calcium, also contains oxalates, which can impair calcium absorption. But other high calcium greens like kale, broccoli, and grape leaves do not contain oxalates and are great sources of calcium.  If you are concerned about acid/alkaline balance of your diet, eating a lot of vegetables is the easiest way to keep your diet from being too acidic.

There are also lots of ways to get protein besides dairy products. You don't mention whether you are a vegetarian or not but fish might be an excellent addition to your diet--for several reasons.  Canned salmon or sardines are good sources of protein and good sources of calcium as well!  As a bonus, both are rich in omega-3 fats, which can reduce inflammation.  (Did you know inflammation has been linked to an increased risk of osteoporosis?)

For more surprising facts, check out this week's episode of the Nutrition Diva podcast, which is all about calcium, diet and bone health: