With Halloween and the holiday season approaching I thought it would be helpful to interview nutritionist Elissa Brenner. It's especially hard to stay on track during the holiday season when temptation abounds. Elissa's advice is sensible and easy to digest.
JZ: What are your patients always surprised to learn when they see you?
EB: People think that diet food is healthy. Things like Diet Coke and 100 Calorie packs are not healthy. People are too concerned with the amount of calories and they don't look at the ingredient labels. Instead of eating a 100 Calorie pack of Oreos, you should have a whole grain or something that is healthy and not a fake chemical food.
JZ: If you are craving something sweet, what is your treat?
EB: I love soft serve fruit. It looks like frozen yogurt but it's just fruit, organic sugar and water. It's good and it's filling. You can top it with some chocolate. There is no dairy or gluten in the soft serve. I also like sorbet or a small amount of dark chocolate.
JZ: Halloween is coming up. What are some tips to keep your kids on track when they are surrounded with all this candy?
EB: As a parent the best thing to do is just to limit your child to 2 pieces of candy. Most of the time the kids just eat too much and they get a stomachache.
Gummy candies and candy corn are just pure sugar and the worst. If you are going to have something sweet you should have dark chocolate or candy apples. The candy apples at least have some nutrition. It's hard because kids just love candy.
JZ: Do you have any ideas for eating smartly at holiday parties?
EB: You should always eat before because you never know what's going to be served. You should try to avoid sauces because they usually have cream and butter. You should also avoid doughy items like pretzels.
JZ: I thought pretzels were healthy.
EB: Pretzels have no real nutrition. They are only healthier than potato chips because they aren't fried. They are just empty calories and not filling. You aren't getting any vitamins or fiber. You are better off to have celery with some almond butter.
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Lisa Borden: 7 Ways to Party in Good Health
"Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberry Chambord Coulis" (in spite of its name, my recipe is tres simple!)
http://www.newyorkchick365.blogspot.com
Oh, oops, I'm sorry, we're actually talking about "How to Have a Slightly Less Unhealthy Holiday Season".
And *facepalm* at trashing cream and butter, well talking up fruit (fructose and some fiber) covered in "organic sugar" and possibly dipped in chocolate.
How difficult can it be?
'Organic sugar', really? What's the difference between organic sugar and regular sugar to your nutrition?
Avoid the butter and fill yourself up with the magic whole grains (really, it's just sugar in your body, it just doesn't taste sweet)?!?
At first only the elite people in China drank tea since it was their best herb or superfood. It is the most alkaline food that there is. Studies show that it helps people lose weight, avoid cancer, avoid dementia, avoid Alzheimer's and lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol! http://bit.ly/afK0hM Studies showed the more green tea they drank, the lower their chance of getting cancer. It is great for cleansing the body.
What about caffeine. Tea has a unique amino acid called theanine. It counteracts the effects of caffeine. That is why studies show that drinking tea lowers high blood pressure (HBP or hypertension) while caffeine raises blood pressure. The theanine calms your nerves and brain while helping you stay alert. Tea also contains flavanoids and catechins like EGCG.
Different people with different goals.
Also consider that during the holiday season, there tend to be many more parties than the rest of the year. Especially for those who are generally health conscious and not plugged into their local party-scene.