Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.2013-06-19T17:46:26-04:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=joanna-dolgoff-mdCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.Good old fashioned elbow grease.Control Your Cravingstag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.13043422012-04-04T08:30:38-04:002012-06-04T05:12:02-04:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/cravings, but they still don't know exactly why. A craving can mean you're being too restrictive, it can be emotional, it can mean you're eating unhealthy foods too frequently, or could even be due to the time of year. Everyone has cravings, but it is how we handle our cravings that will affect our health and/or our weight loss success. It is possible to manage your cravings in a healthy way. Read on to find out what your must-have-now urges mean and how you can control them.
In order to decipher why you are craving that salty or sweet snack, we first need to decide if there were in external triggers present that would have lead you to want that certain food. Some possible external triggers are:
Have you seen an ad for or read an article about that certain food? The power of suggestion and seeing the food presented in a positive light can lead to a craving for that food.
Did you see or smell the food you're craving lately?
Even sounds -- like the beeping of the microwave, a co-work crunching on chips, or the sound of popping open a drink -- can lead to a craving if you associate those sounds with foods you enjoy.
Cold weather can trigger those cravings for warm, rich foods that are often high in calories.
If you determine that the craving does not stem from an external trigger, decide if it stems from an emotional trigger. Some examples of emotional triggers are:
Stress -- if you tend to reach for a certain type of food whenever you feel stressed, you are actually training yourself to crave this food when under stress. Studies suggest that these cravings can occur up to 24 hours after the stress-response system is activated.
When you were a child, did your parents feed you a certain type of food when you were sick, hurt, or upset? If so, you may experience cravings for these comfort foods even as an adult.
We often don't think of positive emotions when it comes to emotional eating, but celebratory eating and craving certain "reward" foods can also be the result of an emotional trigger.
Last, but not least, are you feeling guilt or shame? Do you feel like you failed following another diet? If so, this may trigger cravings for certain "forbidden foods" that you were trying to restrict.
And if your craving does not seem to be brought on by an external or emotional trigger, it is possible that it was brought on by a biological trigger. Some examples of biological triggers are below.
Has it been more than four hours since your last meal? If so, you may be experiencing a craving for something sugary or starchy due to a drop in blood sugar.
Being physically tired -- if you didn't get enough sleep last night, that can increase your cravings for something sweet.
Do you have an intense craving for ice? If so, this could be a sign of pica, a phenomenon that happens when people have iron-deficiency anemia.
If you are craving chocolate, that could be a sign that you need magnesium. So nosh on some nuts and seeds, which are a good source of magnesium, instead.
Have you been drinking plenty of water? If not, your body maybe mistaking your thirst signal for a hunger signal. With any craving that you experience, start by drinking some water and waiting 10 minutes and you may find that your craving subsides on its own.
Eating lots of simple carbohydrates -- without the backup of proteins or fats -- can quickly satisfy hunger and give your body a short-term energy boost, but they almost as quickly leave you famished again and craving more.
After deciphering why you are craving a certain food, you will be much better equipped to handle the craving and prevent cravings in the future. It can be as simple as getting more sleep, taking a different route to work so as not to pass the bakery, or drinking more water! See below for some tips to help control the specific types of cravings mentioned above.
How to control cravings due to...
External triggers:
Distract yourself -- When you notice a craving setting in, find something else to think about. Take a walk, listen to your favorite playlist, call a friend. Just set your mind to something else.
Trick your brain -- Try eating the lowest-fat, lowest-calorie variety of the item you're craving. If you find yourself wanting sweets like chocolate, opt for nonfat chocolate frozen yogurt instead of chocolate cake. If you're prone to overdoing it, however, don't bring the coveted food into the house, no matter how low-fat or fat-free it is. Instead, go out for your frozen yogurt and order a single-serving cone or cup.
Grab some gum -- If you want to avoid giving in to a sugar craving completely, try chewing a stick of gum which has been shown to reduce food cravings.
Reach for fruit -- Keep fruit handy for when sugar cravings hit. You'll get fiber and nutrients along with some sweetness.
Give in a little -- Eat a bit of what you're craving, maybe a small cookie or a fun-size candy bar. Enjoying a little of what you love can help you steer clear of feeling denied. Try to stick to a 150-calorie threshold.
Lighten up -- Light deprivation leads to depression in some people, and depression could fuel food cravings. So if you tend to feel blue in winter (the severest form of wintertime blues is called seasonal affective disorder, or SAD), try getting outside for a walk during the sunniest part of the day.
Emotional triggers:
Dig deeper -- If cravings linger, get at the root of them. Have you been too restrictive? If you suspect so, plan your meals differently, including more variety and more foods you enjoy in your diet. Is there something going on in your life that's making you anxious, angry or stressed? If that's the case, face the issue head on. By being proactive and making yourself aware of why you may be craving a certain food, you may just make that craving disappear.
Biological triggers:
Get at least eight hours of sleep each night to prevent cravings.
If you have iron-deficiency anemia, be sure to eat foods high in iron and check with your doctor to determine if you should take an iron supplement.
If you are low in magnesium, nosh on some nuts and seeds, which are a good source of magnesium.
Eat full meals. If you skip meals -- out of fear that you'll gain weight or out of the hope that you'll lose faster -- you're more likely to overeat at meals you do eat, and even more likely to fall prey to mindless snacking in between.
Be sure to drink water throughout the day -- eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day is the average amount needed, unless you are extremely active.
Combine foods -- If the idea of stopping at a cookie or a baby candy bar seems impossible, you can still fill yourself up and satisfy a sugar craving, too. Combine the craving food with a healthful one. For example, spread a little Nutella on a banana or mix some almonds with chocolate chips.
For more on diet and nutrition, click here.]]>It is Irresponsible NOT to Put Your Overweight Child on a Diettag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.13977282012-04-03T17:20:55-04:002012-06-03T05:12:01-04:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/
I am a pediatrician. I am a child obesity specialist. I have helped thousands of overweight children get healthy. I am here to tell you that obese children need to lose weight. And yes, that involves putting them on some sort of diet. In fact, it is IRRESPONSIBLE not to put your overweight child on a diet.
And you need to start immediately. Before your child hits puberty. It is much easier for kids to lose weight and sustain weight loss before puberty[3]. During puberty, body chemistry changes make weight loss harder; lower your child's calorie intake and your child's appetite increases and his metabolism decreases. Wait until then and you have set your child up for a lifetime of battling the scale. Start around age 6 or 7 and your child will learn healthy eating habits before she realizes she was ever eating the wrong way.
Our kids are getting heavier and unhealthier than ever before, yet many parents and doctors are reluctant to do anything about it. The facts are staggering. One third of children in our country are either overweight or obese and at risk for medical problems due to weight[4]. The number of possible causes are overwhelming: portion size, processed foods, unhealthy school lunches. It doesn't matter. Parents need to stop pointing the finger and trying to figure out "why" this has happened and "who" is to blame. We are responsible. Parents would rather talk to kids about anything besides weight[5]; it seems they are more afraid of causing eating disorders than they are of their kids dying young of heart disease. It is time for America's parents to wake up. We can no longer risk our children's health for fear of hurting their feelings. Our kids are obese, and unhealthy, and dying young. And we are responsible.
Parents need to stand up and make some changes. We need to acknowledge our children's unhealthy weight. It isn't going to kill them. In fact, it isn't going to even surprise them. Overweight children know they are overweight -- even if you haven't discussed it with them. Your overweight child is getting teased and scorned, whether he or she shares that information with you or not. This is your chance to talk to your child about it in the right way, using the right words. Don't talk about looks and don't mention fat or thin. Discuss your child's health. "Your weight is not the healthiest that it could be. We need to make some changes so we can all be as healthy as possible." And then the hard part starts. You have to actually make some changes.
Refusing your child a second piece of pizza will not cause an eating disorder -- regardless of what your neighbor or mother-in-law tells you. There is absolutely no evidence for this. In fact, it makes sense that treating an overweight child in a sensitive manner will decrease disordered eating[6]. It is the obese child who wants to lose weight but doesn't know how to do so safely that is most likely to start starving or binging and purging.
It is okay to tell your child he or she can't eat something. Fortunately, you don't have to do that all the time. Treats can (and should be) allowed in moderation. At Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right, we encourage our patients to eat two Red Light (unhealthy) foods each week. Once those are eaten, however, it is time to make healthier choices -- and go out and exercise. Our goal is to teach kids how to make healthy choices on their own. However, as a parent, you do have the right to set limits.
Just don't make those limits public knowledge. Child weight loss does not need to be discussed in public and children should not be publicly criticized for poor choices. We all pick the wrong foods now and again. When around others, allow your child to make a poor choice and move on. Save discussions for emotionally-neutral times when behavior can be reviewed without being criticized. Allow poor choices to become teaching points. Remember, everybody in the family needs to (re)learn how to eat healthy.
It is okay to admit that you don't have all the answers. Your children will respect you more for being honest with them than for pretending everything is fine when everybody can see that it isn't. You monitor what your child watches on TV; you monitor your child's Internet use; it is time to monitor what your child is eating.
1. Reports From the Agencies: Institute of Medicine (IOM) Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2011 Shelley McGuireAdv Nutr January 2012 3 1): 56-57; doi:10.3945/an.111.001347
2. Childhood Obesity, Other Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and Premature Death. Paul W. Franks, Ph.D., Robert L. Hanson, M.D., M.P.H., William C. Knowler, M.D., Dr.P.H., Maurice L. Sievers, M.D., Peter H. Bennett, M.B., F.R.C.P., and Helen C. Looker, M.B., B.S.N Engl J Med 2010; 362:485-493February 11, 2010
3. Okie, Susan M.D. Fed Up! Winning The War Against Childhood Obesity. Joseph Henry Press. Washington DC. P. 46
4. Ogden, C.L., et al. 2002 JAMA 299(14):1728-1732
5. "Birds and Bees Are Kid Stuff: New National Study Reveals Weight a More Difficult Talk Between Parents and Teens than Sex, Drugs" The Free Library 14 September 2011. 01 April 2012
6. Okie, Susan M.D. Fed Up! Winning The War Against Childhood Obesity. Joseph Henry Press. Washington DC. P. 59]]>Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right: In Response To Dara-Lynn Weisstag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.13865822012-03-28T18:12:51-04:002012-05-28T05:12:02-04:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/
One clear example of this backlash stems from a recent article written by Dara-Lynn Weiss for Vogue magazine's April 2012 "Shape" issue. In the piece, Ms. Weiss candidly outlines her own lifelong struggles with weight management and how she struggles to find balance in her efforts to help her daughter overcome weight-related issues. Part of those efforts involved starting her daughter in my nutritional program, "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right". While her daughter ultimately loses a significant amount of weight from her initial 6-year-old, 4'4" 93-pound frame (after one year, she has grown 2 inches and lost 16 pounds), Ms. Weiss's methods have received much backlash from readers, bloggers, and pundits alike who have derided her efforts as draconian and severe and point out that her child, despite her fondness for her healthier appearance, was miserable throughout the yearlong exercise.
As part of this backlash, my program, labeled as "the food solution that lets kids be kids," was unfortunately interpreted by some as the impetus for this super-strict approach.
For those who are not familiar with my program, I created "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" in an effort to offer families a simple-to-follow and practical plan to help teach children about healthy nutritional and exercise habits. While I do commend Ms. Weiss on certain aspects of her approach (such as limiting her daughter's overall intake of junk food and promoting the consumption of fruits and vegetables), I believe she did fall short of carrying out many of our program's core attributes. The success of my program is based upon its promotion of flexibility and sensitivity... not severity and emotional distress. Not only did the article fail to capture our core philosophies, such as empowering children and advising parents to refrain from embarrassing their kids in public, it also did not show the flexibility of the program, which allows kids a number of indulgences to enjoy with friends every week.
In the Vogue article, Weiss states, "She (Bea) almost never got dessert." However, on the "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" program, every week, two red light foods are permitted for children to enjoy, such as, a piece of birthday cake or a dessert when dining out with their family. Our program also allows for one small treat every day, such as a 100-calorie-pack or a cookie; after all, we want kids to feel like kids!
The "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" program teaches families how to make healthy choices on their own. We ask families to commit to a minimum of twelve weeks on the program so the healthy choices they learn have time to become lifelong habits. Unfortunately, Bea did not continue her visits for the full length of the program and she missed out on many of the additional benefits our program offers.
While our chief aim is to help children achieve their weight loss goals, "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" is not just about nutrition and weight. Weight loss (for adults and children alike) is emotional. Weekly visits with our practitioners give families the support they need as they navigate these tricky waters. Kids will not always make the healthy choice. We teach parents to support their children's decisions (both good and bad) while in public and then discuss the choices at weekly visits. We never want a child to be embarrassed in front of his peers. For this reason, we suggest that parents and kids come up with a "code word" together, as a team, to remind them of their healthy eating goals in public settings without letting others know what it being discussed. This allows kids to make their own decisions and discuss them later during emotionally-neutral nutrition follow-up sessions.
There is no yelling, no finger-pointing, and no criticizing. The sessions are a learning experience for kids and parents alike. At "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right," we empower kids to make their own choices, take responsibility for their health, and encourage parents to give up the role of food police. ]]>Want Your Kids to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables?: Use Your Creative Side When It Comes to Their Platestag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.11971502012-01-18T09:34:10-05:002012-03-19T05:12:01-04:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/through weaning. Among older children and adults, the avoidance of new or unfamiliar foods (i.e. neophobia) is generally recognized to decrease; however, there is evidence that suggests that older adults develop a stable set of food preferences that is resistant to change.
The finding that aging tends to impact the diversity of one's food preferences clearly makes it important to encourage the development and maintenance of a broad array of food preferences among infants, toddlers and older children.
Be Creative With Your Child's Plate!
Researchers at Cornell University and London Metropolitan University have shown that getting your kids to eat more fruits and vegetables is as simple as putting together a pretty plate of food. A new study shows that while food presentation has been shown to have significant impacts on the way adults eat food, that the same principles can be applied to understanding preferences among children in relation to increasing the diversity of their diet.
In what they called a "preliminary" study, the researchers showed 23 children age 5 to 12 (in attendance at a summer camp in Ithaca, N.Y.) 48 different combinations of food on plates, asking them which were their favorites. They repeated the exercise online with 46 adults. The plates varied by number and mixing of colors; number of components; position of the main component; whether they were crowded or empty; whether they were organized or disorganized; and whether the elements on them were arranged into a picture (such as a heart or a smile.)
Results showed that kids preferred different qualities in a dinner plate than grownups. The differences they observed, suggest that strategies to encourage healthy eating among kids need to be tuned more specifically to children's visual preferences. See below for kids versus adult plate preferences:
Kids Preferred: 7 different food items (the largest number the researchers included), 6 different food colors (the largest number the researchers included), their main food component towards the bottom of their plate, foods arranged into a picture.
Adults Preferred: 3 different food items, 3 different food colors, their main food component in the center of their plate, foods arranged into a "casual" plate design.
It is interesting to note that in a report by Kahn and Wansink, children and adults tend to consume more food (e.g. M&Ms) when there is a greater variety of options (e.g. differently colored M&Ms). Similar findings of overconsumption have been made for studies where participants are presented with varied sets of yogurt and combinations of different food, such as chocolate brownies with vanilla ice cream as compared with simply chocolate brownies.
If children and adults eat more of the unhealthy food items when a variety of options and colors are presented, then it seems intuitive that the same would occur when they are presented a variety of options and colors of fruits and vegetables. However, the recent study finds that adults should not assume that children share their preferences for food presentation, especially, when it comes to the finding that young children appear to prefer plates that feature a wide variety of foods and colors in comparison with adult preferences.
These results should open a window of possibilities for those concerned with childhood nutrition because it would appear as if young children have a preference - to which adults do not typically cater -- for very diverse food presentations. The results suggest amazing opportunities to encourage more nutritionally diverse diets among children and have potential positive implications for parents, caretakers and pediatricians as well as food service managers for pediatric hospitals, child care centers and schools.
]]>Small and Steady Changes Win the Health Racetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.11840202012-01-16T11:09:53-05:002012-03-17T05:12:01-04:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/
Take a look at our health tips below for eating healthfully, fitting exercise into your busy day and revamping your daily routine. Start by picking five changes that you're sure you can tackle and practice them this week. Then try another five next week. Not every idea is right for everyone, so experiment and see what works for you. Lots of little changes can yield big weight-loss results -- and a healthier new you!
For more on personal health, click here.
]]>Healthy Processed Foods: Do They Exist?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.11485472012-01-08T10:59:08-05:002012-03-09T05:12:01-05:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/
The Better Homes and Gardens2010 Food Factor Survey revealed just how dependent today's cooks are on convenience foods. Of 3,600 women surveyed from across the United States, 71 percent of them purchased convenience produce (eg., prepared salads, chopped fruits and vegetables), and 81 percent purchased convenient forms of fresh poultry and meats regularly.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the quest for convenience is leading more people to consume away-from-home quick-service or restaurant meals or to buy ready-to-eat, quickly accessible meals to prepare at home. When the wrong choices are made, the trend contributes to obesity, especially among children. However, while most people might think of processed food as something that comes wrapped in plastic from a factory across the country, many processed foods can deliver lots of nutrition without doing you any harm.
The best way to assess a food's value is to decipher its nutrition facts panel. Besides the basics of paying attention to calories and serving size, here are tips from the Food and Drug Administration to guide you:
●Choose products with high daily value percentages (20 percent or more per serving) of fiber and of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron.
●Look for low daily value percentages (5 percent or less) of total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.
●The following terms signal added sugars, which contain lots of calories but little nutritional value: corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, dextrose, sucrose, honey and maple syrup.
Healthful Processed Convenient Foods
Here's a roundup of foods that, though processed and packaged, pack a nutritional punch.
For more on diet and nutrition, click here.]]>Pizza Sauce Wins the Food Fighttag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.11634192011-12-21T17:31:07-05:002012-02-20T05:12:01-05:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/efforts to improve the nutritional quality of federally-funded school lunches.
The current nutrition standards for school lunches are based on federal dietary guidelines from 1989. After the guidelines were updated in 2005, the USDA developed a plan to bring the school lunch program in line with them. The plan included:
Cutting back on ingredients like salt and potatoes -- the plan called for a gradual sodium reduction over 10 years. In elementary school lunches, for instance, the average level would fall from 1,377 milligrams per week now to a maximum of 640 mg per week in 2021.
Reducing saturated fats and total calories -- The USDA recommends that saturated fats contribute less than 10 percent of total calories.
Boosting fresh fruits and vegetables -- the plan specified that once a week, lunches offer at least one half-cup serving of each of the following items: dark green vegetables (such as spinach or broccoli), orange vegetables (carrots, squash), legumes (chickpeas, kidney beans), starchy vegetables (white potatoes, corn) and "other" vegetables, including tomatoes.
Increasing whole grain servings -- The USDA wants to see at least half of the grain servings be whole-grain; in two years, all grain servings should be "whole-grain rich."
What about tomato paste?
Under current regulations, an eighth of a cup of tomato paste is considered the nutritional equivalent of a half-cup serving of vegetables, since that's how much tomato it takes to make it. But the USDA noted in its proposal that other pastes and purees don't get the same treatment -- they get credit only for the "actual volume as served." That "loophole" is what makes it possible for a slice of pizza to count as a serving of vegetables.
The USDA acknowledges that one-eighth of a cup of paste contains half a cup's worth of tomato solids. And that one-eighth cup is a nutritional match for some half-cup servings of other produce items. For example, an eighth cup of tomato paste has more vitamins A and C than a half cup of canned green beans, as well as similar calcium levels and about half the iron and fiber -- all for a similar calorie count.
Despite the Department of Agriculture's good intent, let's be honest, no one is going to eat half of a cup of tomato paste on pizza or as a side serving. Children need to eat more vegetables, and we should push for increased intake of conventional vegetables and not look toward pizza as providing a satisfactory substitute.
Although it takes a lot of exposure before children will start accepting new foods, the introduction needs to start somewhere. This doesn't mean pizza should be taken off the menu, but what's wrong with adding veggies to it?
Vegetable and fruit consumption is important for children for a variety of reasons. For instance, it gives children the essential vitamins and nutrients they need to grow and helps them establish healthy eating habits at an early age. In fact, the Red Light Green Light Eat Right Program requires that a fruit or vegetable serving be eaten with each meal and snack.
If your child's school lunch isn't making the grade, talk to your school food service director and share your concerns. We need to make our voices heard if we are going to boost the nutrition being served to our children.
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Simple Ways To Have A Healthier Thanksgivingtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.10929152011-11-17T08:04:19-05:002012-01-17T05:12:01-05:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/
The good news is that with a little foresight, those holiday pounds can be easily avoided while still enjoying the holiday season.
To start off, here are our tips for getting through Thanksgiving:
• Start the feast on a healthy -- and filling -- note. Instead of caloric dips and fatty appetizers, have low-calorie pre-dinner munchies available during food preparation and pre-dinner socializing.
• Place bowls of different-colored veggies without sauces on the table first, either at the start of the buffet or as the first dishes passed around the table. That will allow people to cover a good portion of their plates with healthier choices before serving calorie-denser foods like stuffing and mashed potatoes.
• Serve salad as a first course. Go heavy on greens, light on non-veggie add-ins like cheese.
• Make the vegetable side dishes the star of the show -- or at least the co-star. Try new, eye-appealing and interesting veggie recipes that pack plenty of flavor without extra calories.
• Avoid adding hidden calories during food preparation, such as adding butter to mashed white or sweet potatoes, or butter, oil or cheese to veggies.
• Sneak a few veggies into the dressing, such as diced onions, celery, leeks, shallots, carrots, even cauliflower.
• Make gravy a choice, not the default. Instead, the default serving should be turkey without gravy. If someone wants gravy, they should add it themselves.
• Be mindful of served portion sizes; someone can always ask for more.
• Get everyone up and moving before dessert. Always have plain fruit options along with traditional choices.
• Have plenty of water on the table and readily available. Make non-caloric beverages the default option.
Green Light It Up!
Holiday meals don't have to pack such a high-calorie punch. Simple makeover tips can lighten a meal and keep the taste just as good:
• Baked turkey -- choose a plain bird over a self-basting bird to lower the sodium content. To ensure a moist bird, bake un-stuffed, leave the skin on while roasting and remove from the oven when internal temperature reaches 170 degrees in the breast.
• Gravy -- use a gravy cup or refrigerate the pan juices (to harden the fat) and skim the fat off before making gravy. Save around 656 grams of fat per cup!
• Candied yams -- leave out the margarine and marshmallows. Sweeten with a little fruit juice, such as apple and flavor with cinnamon.
• Green bean casserole -- cook fresh green beans with chunks of potatoes instead of cream soup. Top with almonds instead of fried onion rings.
• Mashed potatoes -- use skim milk, roasted garlic and a little parmesan cheese instead of whole milk and butter.
• Bread -- serve smaller pieces or omit it altogether.
• The plate method -- imagine your plate divided into thirds. Use the first third to fan out white meat turkey, no skin. Use the second third for salad and low-fat vegetables. Finally, the last third is for all the starches (sweet potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce).
Holiday Food Facts
A typical Thanksgiving Meal:
Roast turkey (dark and white meat) with skin (4 oz)
Candied sweet potatoes with marshmallows (1 cup)
Green bean casserole
Jellied cranberry sauce (½ cup)
Caesar salad
Mashed potatoes with milk and butter (1 cup)
Apple pie with vanilla ice-cream
Pecan Pie
TOTAL CALORIES: 2,796 calories -- or 7 red lights!
Green Light Thanksgiving Meal:
Roast turkey (light meat only), no skin (4oz) (2 GREENS)
Small Baked sweet potato (1 GREEN)
Sautéed green beans (1 GREEN)
Green Light cran-berries sauce (½ cup) (1/2 GREEN)
Mixed green salad with fat-free Italian Dressing (FREE)
Mashed potatoes with roasted garlic and skim milk (1 cup) (2 GREENS)
Green Light pumpkin pie (1 GREEN)
TOTAL CALORIES: 750 calories -- or 2 red lights!
Recipes for Thanksgiving
Green Light Pumpkin Pie
This pumpkin pie saves 244 calories and 14 grams of fat per slice from the traditional version and it tastes identical!
Ingredients:
1 cup Fiber One
16 oz. can pumpkin
½ cup egg whites (about 4)
½ cup sugar OR 3 ½ teaspoons Splenda for Recipes
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, cloves)
12 oz. can evaporated skim milk
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grind the cookies in a food processor.
2. Lightly spray a glass pie pan with vegetable cooking spray. Pat the cookie crumbs into the pan evenly.
3. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Pour into the crust and bake until knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Store in the refrigerator.
4. Allow to cool and slice in 8 wedges. Optional: serve each wedge with fat free whipped cream.
Traditional Pumpkin Pie: 557 calories, 33g fat
Traditional Pecan Pie: 680 calories, 35g fat
Green Light Cran-Berries Sauce
This easy-to-follow recipe is the BEST cranberry sauce you have ever tasted! You will be hooked! It is also great with roast meats, fish and as a dessert topping!
Most cranberry sauce recipes call for one cup of sugar -- 774 calories. Instead replace the sugar with Splenda and cut the calories in half.
Ingredients:
1 10-oz bag fresh cranberries
1 cup of water
1 cup Splenda
1 10 oz. bag frozen blueberries (defrosted) or mixed berries
1 small can crushed pineapple in natural juice (optional)
1. Place cranberries, water and Splenda in a medium-sized pot.
2. Bring ingredients to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Remove pot from stove and add blueberries and pineapple.
4. Place in a container and chill in the refrigerator until needed.
Green Light Cran-Berries Sauce (made with Splenda):
Traditional Cranberry Sauce (1 cup):
418 calories, 1g protein, 107g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, <1g fat. (1 RED + 1 GREEN)]]>Are Our Kids' Diets Too Sweet?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9137882011-10-27T10:31:16-04:002011-12-27T05:12:02-05:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/
Foods that are high in added sugar (soda, cookies, cake, candy, frozen desserts and some fruit drinks) tend to also be high in calories and low in other valuable nutrients. As a result, a high-sugar diet is often linked with obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
A recent American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement containing specific guidelines on limiting sugar intake has sparked conversation about just how much sugar people should consume and how to make cutting back less bothersome.
How Much Sugar Should You and Your Kids Consume?
The guidelines, published in the August 2009 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, state that most women should consume no more than 100 calories, and men no more than 150 calories, of added sugar. These numbers average out to about 6-9 teaspoons, or 25 to 37.5 grams, of sugar a day.
Preschoolers with a daily caloric intake of 1,200 to 1,400 calories shouldn't consume any more than 170 calories, or about 4 teaspoons, of added sugar a day. Children ages 4-8 with a daily caloric intake of 1,600 calories should consume no more than 130 calories, or about 3 teaspoons a day. As your child grows into his pre-teen and teen years and his caloric range increases to 1,800 to 2,000 a day, the maximum amount of added sugar included in his daily diet should be 5 to 8 teaspoons.
A study conducted by the AHA found children as young as 1-3 years already bypass the daily recommendations and typically consume around 12 teaspoons of sugar a day. By the time a child is 4-8 years old, his sugar consumption skyrockets to an average of 21 teaspoons a day. The same study found 14-18 year old children intake the most sugar on a daily basis, averaging about 34.3 teaspoons. That is about four times the recommended amount!
For this reason, it is extremely important to be able to recognize sources of added sugar in your diet, understand why consuming extra sugar can be harmful to health, and how best to limit added sugars.
Beware of Hidden Added Sugars
Added sugars are sugars and syrups included in foods during processing or preparation, as well as sugars and syrups that consumers add themselves. According to the AHA statement, a healthy and well-balanced diet contains the naturally occurring sugars present in fruits, vegetables, dairy products and many grains. Naturally occurring sugars supply healthy nutrients while still fulfilling people's cravings for sweets.
The best way to determine whether a food contains added sugar is to read the ingredient list. Although added sugars may appear in a variety of ways, in terms of calorie content, all added sugars are essentially the same. The names for added sugars used on food labels include those listed below:
As of now, sugar grams listed on the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels don't distinguish naturally occurring sugars from added sugar so it is important to scour the ingredients list for hidden sources of sugar.
The main sources of added sugars in the Western diet include soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages such as fruit juices and sports drinks. In fact, according to the AHA statement, between 1970 and 2000, the per-person daily consumption of caloric soft drinks increased by a whopping 70 percent! While you may know that such foods are sugar sweetened without reading labels, there are other items that may not be so obvious. Examples include ketchup, barbeque sauce, baked beans -- and even some salad dressings.
The Problem With Sugar Overload
High intakes of added sugar have been linked to overweight and obesity, a lower intake of essential nutrients, increased triglyceride levels, hypertension and inflammation. All of these are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which is what the AHA scientific statement addresses on specifically. In addition, too much added sugar in the diet can also "take up space," leaving little room for healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy foods and lean sources of protein.
Defeat the Sweets
Start out small, and note that beverages are often a great starting point for change. Beverages are especially problematic because research shows that liquid calories are not as satiating as calories consumed through solid food. As a result, people don't compensate for liquid calories in the same way they do calories from solid food. Quench your thirst with these healthier alternatives:
• Plain or carbonated water are the best choices.
• Add a splash of your favorite fruit juice to a glass of sparkling water!
Although there's no added sugar in 100 percent fruit juice, the calories from the natural sugars found in fruit juice can add up. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends limiting juice intake to 4-6 ounces (118-177 milliliters) for kids under 7 years old, and no more than 8-12 ounces (237-355 milliliters) of juice for older kids and teens.
Candy is another sweet treat that many may find difficult to relinquish. Try substituting candy with these healthier alternatives:
• Mixed nuts, dried fruit (made without added sugar), and low-sugar cereals for candy
• One square of 70 percent dark chocolate
• Apple slices with 2 tablespoons of almond butter
Remember, enjoying a treat now and again is not a bad thing, which is exactly why two red light foods are allowed on the "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right" meal plans. Those who allow themselves an occasional indulgence rather than trying to abstain often find success making healthy lifestyle changes. Those who attempt to deny themselves all sweets may not have as much success, especially if they previously consumed a lot of sugar. By taking small steps, you can begin to cut back on the sweet stuff and get on track to a healthier, green light, lifestyle.]]>6 Ways To Make Healthy Choices At A Partytag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9593192011-09-24T10:44:09-04:002011-11-24T05:12:02-05:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/
Moderation is the key word to remember in these situations. Knowing that no food is off-limits will allow you to indulge without feeling that you have completely blown your diet and therefore might as well go on an all-out binge. In fact, little indulgences are what make life special. Here are some tips to help you maintain a healthy weight -- while still celebrating at these parties to the fullest.
]]>It's Cool to BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch) to Schooltag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9398872011-09-21T13:19:06-04:002011-11-21T05:12:02-05:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/
Take, for example, the study of sixth graders recently published in the American Heart Journal that found that students were 29 percent more likely to be obese if they ate school lunches.
Most parents appreciate the importance of good nutrition and aim to provide healthy food choices for their children. After all, good nutrition helps provide them with the energy required to function effectively in the classroom. Also, children that have a more substantial lunch at school are less likely to graze on high calorie, high fat snack foods when they get home.
As parents, we know that good nutrition will help our children grow-up healthy, but what foods comprise a healthy meal? Here are some "good nutrition" guidelines for you to follow when your kids BYOL:
Lean Meat/Protein Substitutes -- Such as chicken or turkey breast, tuna packed in water, eggs, beans, fat-free cheese, fat-free cottage cheese or yogurt
Whole Grains -- Such as a 100 percent whole grain bread, crackers, English muffins, pitas, tortillas, or cereals
Fruits and Vegetables -- At least one portion each of a fruit and vegetable (children tend to prefer it sliced which is easier to handle -- for cut fruit that tends to go brown i.e. apples -- squeeze lemon juice)
Beverage -- Low in sugar and preferably without artificial ingredients, such as infused water or lightly sweetened iced tea
Optional: Healthy Green Light Snack -- Such as air-popped popcorn, trail mix, dried fruit bars (like Trader Joes Fiberful bars)
This balanced lunch will provide your child with a variety of nutrients including: fiber, calcium, protein, and iron.
Read labels: Avoid foods with unhealthy food additives and other ingredients such as:
partially hydrogenated oils
saturated fats
nitrates
artificial colors and flavorings
high sodium
excess sugar
MSG -- Look for glutamic acid or glutamate on the ingredients list.
Tip -- Choose natural and organic foods as much as possible.
With a clearer sense of what to include, it should be easier to prepare healthy lunches. But what about getting your kids to eat the lunches you prepare? These tips can help you pack wholesome meals that your kids are likely to eat and enjoy.
Involve your child -- Children often like to help their parents and are more likely to eat foods that they choose and make. So let them help you make the shopping list, look through recipes, and help prepare their lunches (to whatever extent their skills allow). The kitchen can become a place where you can bond with your children over food and educate them in a fun atmosphere.
Portion appropriately -- Offer more foods in smaller serving sizes versus large quantities of fewer foods so that larger portions do not overwhelm your child.
Create variety -- Don't get into the rut of serving only the foods your child says he will eat. The wider the range of colors a meal offers, the more varied nutrients it contains. If your children are interested in trying new foods, suggest that they keep a log of new foods and what they think about them.
Add visual appeal -- Presentation can make lunch fun and interesting for kids. Use cookie cutters to cut fruits, veggies and sandwiches in fun shapes. Choose lunch containers in their favorite colors and let them decorate the outside.
Transform old favorites -- For example, take the usual ham and cheese sandwich and use whole-wheat bread instead of white, and substitute organic ham.
]]>How To Put The Brakes On Speed Eatingtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9441742011-09-20T08:05:40-04:002011-11-20T05:12:02-05:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/
A recent study has revealed just how much weight gain can be expected based on eating speed. As researchers of this study expected, faster eating was associated with weight gain, but they were surprised at the actual amount of weight gain. The Department of Human Nutrition researchers recently analyzed the relationship between self-reported speed of eating and Body Mass Index in more than 1,500 middle-aged Australian women. Researchers determined that for every one-step increase in speed in a five-step scale, BMI increased by 2.8 percent, which equates to a weight gain of approximately four pounds.
It's true that eating slowly and taking smaller bites can be very difficult to do, especially when you are busy and famished. But you'll find it easier to slow the pace if you eat regular meals, and never allow more than four hours to pass between meals.
Still can't slow down the pace? Try a few tricks we've put together at "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right! (RLGLER)" to help you put the brakes on speed eating and recognize a full belly. Here are tips to slow down eating:
RLGRER Tip #1: One of the major reasons for eating too fast is not chewing long enough. To slow down your eating, chew every bite a minimum of 10 times -- but shoot for 20.
RLGLER Tip #2: Put down the fork or spoon after each bite. This will slow down the automatic response of fork-to-mouth.
RLGLER Tip #3: Sip water regularly or in between bites. It forces you to put down the fork.
RLGLER Tip #4: Make meals a social time. If you eat with your family or friends, engage in conversation. Since you don't want to be impolite and talk with your mouth full, it will take longer for you to eat. Plus a good conversation and good meal make a great combination.
RLGLER Tip #5: Eat with chopsticks. They automatically slow down your rate of eating and the amount of food you're going to eat. If you're a pro with chopsticks, however, use them in the opposite hand. As an added bonus, chopsticks allows heavy sauces to fall through the cracks and stay on the plate where they belong.
RLGLER Tip #6: Don't wait to eat until you're ravenously hungry, or you'll eat quickly and consume too much. You'll find yourself inhaling food.
RLEGER Tip #7: Sit down to eat and use a plate. Those who stand are usually rushing through the meal to get on to other things.
RLGLER Tip #8: Eat foods that require some work: artichokes, pistachios, sunflower seeds, pomegranate, crab or lobster. You have to work for your food here and that will help slow you down.
We can actually learn a lot about eating slow from pistachios. A great concept developed by Dr. James Painter, Ph.D., R.D., called "The Pistachio Principle" is a basic idea of slowing down when eating and you will eat less. When eating a pistachio, you must first break open the shell to get the nut out. By having to break each shell open, the consumption rate is much slower. A study found that people who ate pistachios in shells ate 50 percent fewer calories than those with shells. The participants in the study also reported feeling satisfied even having eaten fewer pistachios.
Another study also found that when the empty pistachio shells were left on a table in plain site after eating, 35 percent fewer calories were eaten. This is kind of a mind trick on the brain. It looks as if you have eaten a large amount of nuts due to the shells but in reality, you have only eaten a few.
RLGLER Tip #9: Try the Bite Counter, a new wristwatch-shaped device that, like a pedometer, keeps count of a specific repetitive physical movement. The machine is described as having the ability to count bites taken with and without the use of a fork or spoon, such as eating an apple.
Be creative and develop your own tricks for slowing down your eating.
]]>How Parents Can Help Their Kids Overcome Obesitytag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9190322011-09-16T16:40:10-04:002011-11-16T05:12:01-05:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/ How to determine if your child is overweight or obese:
A doctor is the best person to determine whether your child has a weight problem. Doctors will measure your child's weight, height, age and growth patterns to determine if his or her weight is within a healthy range. Based on your child's height and weight, they will calculate a body mass index (BMI). If your child's BMI is greater than 95 percent of children their age and gender, they are considered to be overweight.
Why Children Become Overweight
Genetic factors: Children become overweight for a variety of reasons. The most common causes are genetic factors, lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns or a combination of these factors. In rare cases, a medical problem, such as an endocrine disorder, may cause a child to become overweight. A careful physical exam and some blood tests will determine if your child is overweight due to this type of problem.
Children whose parents or brothers or sisters are overweight may be at an increased risk of becoming overweight themselves. However, not all children with a family history of obesity will be overweight. Genetic factors play a role in increasing the likelihood that a child will be overweight, but shared family behaviors such as eating and activity habits also greatly influence body weight.
Lifestyle: A child's total diet and his or her activity level both play an important role in determining a child's weight. The average American child spends approximately 24 hours each week watching television -- time that could be spent in some sort of physical activity.
What Parents Can Do to Help
Be supportive: Overweight children need support, acceptance and encouragement from their parents. Children's feelings about themselves often are based on their parents' feelings about them. It is also important to talk to your children about weight, allowing them to share their concerns with you.
Don't use food as a punishment or reward: Withholding food as a punishment may lead children to worry that they will not get enough food which may result in overeating. When foods, such as sweets, are used as a reward, children may assume that these foods are better or more valuable than other foods. For example, telling children that they will get dessert if they eat all of their vegetables sends the wrong message about vegetables.
Set a good example: Children are good learners and they learn best by example. Set a good example for your kids by eating a variety of foods and being physically active. Involve children in food shopping and preparing. Children may be more willing to eat or try foods that they help prepare.
Teach healthy habits: Teaching healthy eating practices early will help children approach eating with the right attitude: Food should be enjoyed and is necessary for growth, development and essential energy. Guide their choices rather than dictating foods. This will help your children learn how to make healthy food choices. Encourage your child to eat slowly. A child can detect hunger and fullness better when eating slowly.
Cut down on some fats: Reducing fat is a good way to cut calories without depriving your child of nutrients. Simple ways to cut the fat in your family's diet include eating low-fat or non-fat dairy products, poultry without skin and lean meats, and low-fat or fat-free breads and cereals. However, make sure not to cut out healthy sources of fat such as walnuts, almonds and avocado.
Healthy snacking: You should make snacks as nutritious as possible, without depriving your child of occasional chips or cookies, especially at parties or other social events. Healthy snacks include: applesauce, carrot sticks with hummus, peanut butter on apples, yogurt, dried fruit, fruit juice popsicles, low fat cheese etc.
Increase your physical activity: Regular physical activity, combined with healthy eating habits, is the most efficient and healthful way to control your weight. Some simple ways to increase your family's physical activity include the following: Plan family activities like walking, dancing, biking or swimming.
For example, schedule a walk with your family after dinner instead of watching TV or playing video games. Overweight children may feel uncomfortable about participating in certain activities so it is important to help your child find physical activities that they enjoy and that aren't embarrassing or too difficult.]]>Fall For These Seasonal Fruits And Veggiestag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9549682011-09-14T08:27:13-04:002011-11-14T05:12:01-05:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/
This week, as I was educating a picky 8-year-old patient on the benefits of fruits and veggies, we came to an agreement. This month he would have to try at least one new vegetable, more than once. This is perfect for fall because there are a ton of fruits and veggies in season. Not only do these fruits and veggies taste great, they are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, such as Vitamin K and carotenoids, which have been linked to protect against certain cancers.
For your guide on fruits and veggies in season I have provided you with a list. These are some of my faves!
]]>Stumped At The Supermarket? Your Food Label Glossarytag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9277052011-09-11T06:50:06-04:002011-11-11T05:12:02-05:00Joanna Dolgoff, M.D.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-dolgoff-md/cartoon characters on a cereal box can be a blinding spell that leads kids to believe a particular food actually tastes better, parents are not impervious to the food industry's marketing tactics when it comes to particular health claims -- some of which are on children's cereal boxes.
A recent study by Yale researchers from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity found that parents often misinterpret health claims on children's cereals, assuming they are more nutritious than they actually are.
Researchers surveyed parents with children between ages 2 and 11, asking them to view pictures of common children's cereals and say whether the health-related buzzwords on the boxes might influence them to buy the products. While the cereals were of below-average nutritional quality, the boxes featured various nutrition-related health claims including "whole grain," "fiber" and "calcium and Vitamin D."
Approximately one-quarter of parents believed that the "whole grain" claim on Lucky Charms® and "calcium and Vitamin D" claim on Cinnamon Toast Crunch® meant these cereals were healthier than other children's cereals.
Being blinded by health claims is very common. The concept is so widespread, that it is has been dubbed the "health halo" effect. The concept of a health halo has been around for several years now and new studies continue to document the potential windfall.
Remember to always turn the product around and check the nutrition facts panel. Never assume that food product with a "calcium and Vitamin D" health claim is necessarily healthier or lower in calories than a product without a "calcium and Vitamin D" label.
I believe that increased regulation is needed from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reduce confusion about the nutrition claims, but in the meantime, I have provided a list of common terms often used to describe the level of a nutrient in a food and how they can be used: