From the monthly archives:

February 2012

Are You a Fan of Fungi? New Reasons to Be a Micophile

by Janet on February 23, 2012

No one seems to be neutral about mushrooms. You either love ‘em or hate ‘em. I’m officially on team mushroom. How about you?

I’m fervently fond of fungi, and now there are a lot of new reasons why you should be a mycophile too.  That was the topic of my most recent post on WebMD’s blog Real Life Nutrition called Mighty Mushrooms.

1439725608_90fe92c602_z-1

Image courtesy of HK2046 on flickr

Scientists are unearthing a variety of potential benefits linked to mushrooms – from boosting our immune system and fighting infections to protecting against heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. Many of the medicinal qualities of mushrooms are traced to beta glucans – the same type of fiber that gives oatmeal its cholesterol-lowering abilities. Mushrooms are also packed with some surprising levels of nutrients, including B vitamins and the minerals selenium, potassium, and copper.

Some of the latest news about mushrooms involves vitamin D. Researchers found that bringing mushrooms out of the dark and exposing them to ultraviolet light causes their vitamin D content to soar, making them an unlikely but significant source of this important bone-building, immune-enhancing nutrient.

Mushrooms are also packed with antioxidants – even more than many deeply hued vegetables, including carrots and tomatoes. When it comes to one particular antioxidant, mushrooms are at the top of the heap. Penn State researchers found that mushrooms are the richest source of ergothioneine. Mushrooms contain 12 times the levels found in wheat germ – once thought to be the highest natural source of ergothioneine.

Other studies suggest mushrooms can help with weight management. That’s not surprising since mushrooms are about 90% water and contain few calories and virtually no fat. Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center in Baltimore, conducted a study that used mushrooms as a meat substitute. Participants in the study saved 350 to 400 calories a day by using sliced, diced, or ground up mushrooms in place of meat in lasagna, chili and other entrees.

The Mushroom Trend

6281566069_7cb78d72f9_b

Fried shiitake mushrooms at La Birreria at Eataly by ChrisGoldNY on flickr

Beyond the renewed attention by the medical community, mushrooms are becoming culinary stars– no longer relegated to the supporting cast in a salad or on a slice of pizza.

These fragrant, woodsy fungi are now featured front and center on restaurant menus, from grilled portabella “steaks” and baby bella mushroom wraps to porcini-laden pastas, warm ragouts spiked with morels, and shitake risottos. Supermarkets now stock a burgeoning array of pre-washed, pre-sliced fresh mushrooms and myriad packages of exotic dried mushrooms – perhaps the greatest evidence of America’s new love affair with mushrooms.

If you don’t think you like mushrooms, it’s worth giving them another chance. Try grilling or sautéing mushrooms in a little olive oil and garlic instead of eating them raw – you might not be as turned off by the texture. Or grill a meaty portabella mushroom cap to use in place of a burger. These flavorful ‘shrooms are a good place to start if you haven’t been a mushroom fan in the past.

What are your favorite ways to enjoy mushrooms?


Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tagged as:

{ 7 comments }

Four Food and Nutrition Words That Make Me Cringe

by Janet on February 9, 2012

There are certain words used to describe foods that make me cringe. I wish we could officially retire them.

I don’t mean health claims on food labels; that’s an entirely different story (and I’ve covered that quite a bit in the past).  Now I’m talking about words that are frequently used in articles about nutrition or on TV food segments. Sometimes they’re used in the titles of recipes or featured on restaurant menus.  Or maybe you just hear your friends use these words to describe specific foods.

I know people mean well when they use these words. I can see how easy it is to go there. But I think these words send the wrong message. I wrote about four wince-worthy food words that I want to see less often in my latest blog post for WebMD’s Real Life Nutrition.  Hope you’ll check it out and let us know what food words bug you.

Here’s my list:

Guilt-Free

    This description is often used to describe a recipe or menu item that has been trimmed of fat or lightened up in some way. That’s great, but why introduce guilt into the discussion? If a certain food or recipe is guilt-free (as it should be), that implies the counterpart must be deserving of guilt. A similar food with a little more fat, sugar, or calories shouldn’t make you feel guilty for eating it. All foods should be guilt-free. Let’s come up with a different adjective to describe a better-for-you food or recipe without conjuring up guilt. Find another way to describe lighter desserts or healthier snacks.

    5451018142_b2113b21e9_b

    Sinful

    You might see this term used to describe a luscious chocolate dessert or an ultra-rich ice cream. You can understand what this word is trying to convey, but why interject morality into our food choices? If you’re in the habit of judging food, you also tend to judge yourself by what you ate. If you think something is sinfully bad, then you’re apt to feel bad if you eat it. That means it’s hard for you to fully enjoy certain foods because you feel guilty when you eat them. This not only robs you of the pleasure, but it’s this guilt that often leads to overeating. I don’t think foods should be considered or “good” or “bad” and you shouldn’t feel bad about eating anything. My hope is that we keep morality out of the picture and stick to moderation.

    Decadent

5773762522_261d963786_bRelated to sinful, decadent is another common term that’s used to describe foods that you think you shouldn’t eat. The official definition of decadent is “being self-indulgent or morally corrupt.” Again, there’s my problem. I think it all comes down to the misguided notion that certain foods are forbidden. Here’s where I really believe in the principles of mindful eating. The more you try to avoid certain foods, the more power they gain over you. When you know you can enjoy those “forbidden foods” when you want, the urgency to eat them in large amounts will eventually diminish.  Can’t we find other ways to describe a luscious dessert that’s more about taste and pleasure instead of indulgence and guilt.

Fattening

    OK, here’s a word that’s getting lots of wear. It’s used so frequently to describe all sorts of foods. But there’s no single food that deserves that moniker on its own. It’s what you do day-in and day-out that really matters. You can have fattening habits. Eating too much is fattening. Not being active is fattening. But a single food does not equate to “fattening,” just because it may be high in fat, for instance. Sure, there are foods that are dense in calories and don’t have much to offer nutritionally.  But it’s one food.  It’s what you do the rest of the day that counts.

Is there anything that you would add to this list?

Images courtesy of cathy scola (brownies) and dawn huczek (banana) on flickr

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tagged as: , , ,

{ 10 comments }

A Closer Look at Diabetes Myths

by Janet on February 3, 2012

pauladeen diabeetusNow that the recent Paula Deen brouhaha is past us, what can we learn from it? 

To me, the positive outcome is the attention it’s brought to the role of diet in managing type 2 diabetes. No amount of medication (even $500-a-month injections) can override careless eating.

Yet, what people  need to eat if they do have diabetes is not as restricted as many folks think.  

Sure, it’s probably best to forgo Paula’s famous bacon and egg burger that’s sandwiched between  two glazed donuts or skip her deep-fried mac n’ cheese, but a ‘diabetic diet’ (an outdated term no longer used) is not all that different from the basic tenets of healthy eating. paula deen burger

Now experts say people with diabetes should follow the same type of eating plan as the rest of us, with an emphasis on fiber-filled whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein, low-fat dairy, and ‘good’ fats.

Even so, there’s been no shortage of  sugar-free, diabetes-friendly foods showing up in supermarkets.  Yet some experts I talked to believe the growing popularity of ‘diabetic foods’ simply perpetuates a myth.  That was the topic of my latest post for WebMD’s  Real Life Nutrition.  Hope you’ll check it out and leave a comment.

One of the experts I consulted was registered dietitian Hope Warshaw, a certified diabetes educator and author of the American Diabetes Association’s book Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy.

“What is a diabetic food?  There are no special foods that people with diabetes need to eat.  We do a disservice to people by having them think they need to run out and buy special foods.”

Warshaw says the nutrition recommendations for people with diabetes are the same as the general public – no rigid diet and no need to go low-carb or limit your selections to sugar-free foods. In fact, the no-sugar myth is one of the biggest misconceptions about diabetes, according to registered dietitians Karen Chalmers and Amy Campbell, authors of the American Diabetes Association’s book 16 Myths of a Diabetic Diet. This easy-to-read book busts the most common myths about diabetes and cleverly compares the old and new methods for managing the disease.

Sugar has always been intrinsically linked to diabetes. It was even referred to as ‘sugar diabetes’ in the past because people mistakenly believed that eating too much sugar was the cause. For years, people with diabetes were advised to eliminate all sweets to avoid overloading the blood with glucose. Now researchers recognize that sugar has an impact on blood glucose that’s similar to other carbohydrate-containing foods. Today’s emphasis is on keeping track of total carbohydrates rather than strictly avoiding all sugar.

Even if all carbohydrates impact blood glucose levels in similar ways, they do differ nutritionally. Experts still advise choosing whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes – in place of concentrated sweets or ‘simple’ carbs. Sugary foods and beverages can add a lot of empty calories and make it more difficult to maintain a healthy weight, which is important for managing type 2 diabetes.

So that’s where some sugar-free options that contain minimal calories (particularly beverages) can be helpful. However, some of the products on the market may not be as beneficial as people think. Many sugar-free candies, cookies, cakes and ice creams contain nearly the same amount of calories and carbohydrates as their real-sugar counterparts. That’s particularly true for sugar-free foods made with polyols or sugar alcohols (such as sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol).

Diabetes cookbooks are changing to reflect the new thinking and you’ll start to see books that no longer have such a heavy reliance on artificial sweeteners. One example is Jackie Newgent’s The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook, which uses real sugar in recipes and emphasizes unprocessed, whole-food ingredients.

You can even have your favorite comfort food if you have diabetes, as demonstrated in the American Diabetes Association’s latest book The Diabetes Comfort Food Cookbook by culinary nutritionist Robyn Webb. The book features lasagna, meat loaf, mac n’ cheese, and cake — along with the message: “Just a tweak here and there and familiar foods can remain favorites, guilt-free, and enjoyed every day.”

Maybe Paula Deen won’t have to make so many changes after all. But a few tweaks would certainly be good.

Images courtesy of Jeff Houck and Yummies 4 Tummies on flickr.
Related Posts with Thumbnails

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Tagged as: , ,

{ 5 comments }