New Dietary Guidelines Cheat Sheet

The Sun News
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Sunday March 27, 2005

Fridge Facts - Apply the New Dietary Guidelines in you Kitchen
The government issued new dietary guidelines in January, and we wouldn't blame you if you didn't slog through all 70-plus pages of recommendations. Not surprisingly, the guidelines emphasize fruits and veggies, whole grains and lean meats. Also not surprisingly, double-fudge ice cream and french fries don't get high marks. Physical activity is strongly encouraged - about 30 minutes almost every day.

Those are the bare-bones basics (read the details at www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines ). But if you're like most of us, you don't have time to decode the guidelines (what qualifies as a "whole grain" anyway? So we've collected a bit of nutritional miscellany to help you apply the guidelines to your very busy everyday life. The government says potassium is a must have to lower blood pressure. But what foods have potassium? And what's all the fuss about "trans fats"?

Post this page on your fridge, and refer to it whenever a nutrition label starts to seem a little mystifying.
~Compiled by Sara Clark and Beck Sher, Knight Ridder Tribune

Potassium Pointers
What's the big deal about potassium? It's a mineral that keeps your muscles and nervous system running smoothly, and it can lower blood pressure, which is why it's mentioned in the government guidelines. Adults and teens need about 4,700 mg. of potassium a day. But what does that really mean? Here's a list of some foods that are rich in potassium. Take your pick:

=Sweet potato, baked: 694 mg
=Plain, nonfat yogurt, 8 oz: 579 mg.
=Halibut, 3 oz: 490 mg
=Banana: 422 mg.
=Skim Milk, 1 cup: 382 mg.
=Dried apricots, 1/4 cup: 378 mg.
=Lentils, cooked, 1//2 cup: 365 mg.
=Orange juice, 3/4 cup: 355 mg.

Creative Calcium
It probably comes as no surprise that calcium is a big part of the government's guidelines. They recommend drinking 3 cups of low-fat or fat-free milk - or an equivalent amount of low-fat yogurt or cheese (1 1/2 ounces of cheese equals about a cup of milk). The goal for an adult is to get about 1,000. milligrams of calcium each day.

But what if you're lactose-intolerant, or choose not to eat dairy products? No problem - here are some dairy-free, calcium-rich foods that will help you meet the government goal:

=Fortified cereal, 1 oz: 236 to 1043 mg.
=Calcium - fortified soy beverage, 1 cup: 368 mg.
=Spinach, cooked from frozen, 1/2 cup: 146 mg.
=Canned white beans, 1/2 cup: 96 mg.
=Kale, cooked from frozen, 1/2: 90 mg.
=Canned clams, 3 oz: 78 mg.

The Whole Truth on Whole Grains
OK, whole grains are a hot topic these days, but what makes a whole grain,well, whole? Whole grains are made up of the entire grain seed. It's called the "kernal" The kernal includes the bran, the germ and the endosperm. But let's skip the technical stuff and get to the heart of the matter - "whole grains" are good for you. They can reduce the risk of several chronic diseases and help with weight maintenance.

When you're shopping for food, the USDA recommends that you look for the words "whole" or "whole grain" on the ingredient label, and that should be the main ingredient. Here are a few things to look for:
=Whole Grain versions of bread, crackers, pasta and couscous
=Whole-grain cold cereals (Cheerios, Grape nuts, Shredded Wheat) (Back to Nature, Good friends, Kashi & Nature's Path brands are a few brandnames I have found which I find have good nutritious grains without all the bad ingredients mixed in)
=Raw grains, such as oats, barley, brown rice, buckwheat, bulgur, millet and quinoa

Here is a cereal recipe from Cooking Light magazine that is a good way to get your whole grains, plus a lot of other good-for-you things. Top this as you would a bowl of oatmeal - with fruit, pure maple syrup, honey, brown sugar(?) or peanut butter.

Recipe - Three-grain Cereal with Sunflower seeds and fruit
Combine the dry ingredients and store them in a zip-top plastic bag in the freezer. Add 1/2 cup dry cereal mix to 1 1/2 cups boiling water for each serving. You can also microwave the cereal for 3 1/2 minutes on high, stirring occasionally.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup flaxseed
1 1/2 cup steel-cut (Irish) oats
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried sweet cherries
1/3 cup oat bran
1/3 cup untoasted wheat germ
1/3 cup sunflower seed kernals
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
9 cups water

Directions:
Place flaxseed in a spice or coffee grinder, process until coarsely ground.
Combine flaxseed, oats, and remaining ingredients except water in a large bowl, stirring well to combine.
Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan; add cereal. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
Nutrition per serving:
Calories 327 (25 percent from fat);
Fat 9.1 grams (sat 1.1 g, mono 2g.poly 4.8g);
Protein 1 g;
Cholesterol 0.0 mg;
Calcuim 61 mg;
Sodium 300 mg;
Fiber 9.3 g;
Iron 3/7 mg;
Carbohydrate 56 g.

Get physical
At the very least, the guidelines suggest getting about 30 minutes of exercise almost every day. To control body weight, try to keep your calorie intake and calorie expenditure in proportion. Here's a list of how many calories are expended through an hour of various activities.
= Stretching: 180 calories/hour
=Walking (3.5 mph): 280 calories/hour
= Bicycling (less than 10 pmp): 290 calories/hour
= Dancing: 330 calories/hour
= Light gardening/yard work: 330 calories/hour
= Hiking: 370 calories/hour
= Basketball (vigorous): 440 calories/hour
= Aerobics: 480 calories/ hour
= Running/jogging: (5 mph): 590 calories/hour

Tips for being more active (small lifestyle changes)
(Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
=Walk, cycle, jog, skate, etc. to work, school, the store or place of worship
=Park the car farther away from your destination.
=Get on or off the bus several blocks away.
=Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
=Play with children or pets. If you find it too difficult to be active after work, try it before work.
=Take fitness breaks-walking or doing desk exercises - instead of taking cigarette or coffee breaks.
=Perform gardening, or home repair activities.
=Avoid labor-saving devices - turn off the self propel option on your tlawn mower or vacuum cleaner.
=Use leg power - take small trips on foot to get your body moving.
=Exercise while watching TV (for example, use hand weights, stationary bicycle/treadmill/stairclimber, or stretch)
=Dance to music
=Keep a pair of comfortable walking or running shoes in your car and office for those opportunites to get active.
=Make a Saturday morning walk a group habit
=Walk while doing errands.

Lost in Translation
The government's new guidelines list how much fruit you should be eating and how many servings of dairy you should consume daily, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. But in practical terms, what does that mean? What counts as a serving, and what foods are in each group?

Fruit: 2 cups (four servings)
(I personally believe all fruit which we eat should be raw and fresh and unprocessed in anyway and organic if at all possible and juice should be very limited)
This group contains all fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruit and fruit juices.
=Examples: apples and apple juice, oranges, and orange juice, grapes, melons, berries, bananas, raisins.
=For one serving, you can eat 1/2 cup fruit (fresh, frozen or canned)

Vegetables: 2 1/2 cups (five servings)
(I personally believe all vegetables eaten should be raw or only slightly cooked and organic when ever possible)
This group contains all fresh, frozen and canned vegetables, broken down into five subgroups.
Dark Green vegetables: includes all dark green vegetables (cooked or raw). Examples: spinach, romaine, broccoli, collards, turnip greens, mustard greens.
Orange vegetables: includes all orange and deep yellow vegetables (cooked or raw). Examples: sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, winter squash.
Legumes: includes all cooked dry beans and peas and soybean products. Examples: pinto beans, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu.
Starchy vegetables: Includes all starchy vegetables. Examples: corn, green peas, white potatoes.
Other Vegetables: Includes all other vegetables (cooked or raw). Examples: tomatoes, tomato juice, onions, green beans, lettuce.
=For one serving, you can eat 1/2 cup cut up vegetables (raw or cooked).

Grains: 6 - 1 oz equivalents
This group contains grains, broken into two subgroups. It's recommended that of your 6 ounces, at least half come from whole grains. (I personally disagree... I believe you should have Only whole grains)
=Whole Grains: All whole-grain products and whole grains used as ingredients. Examples: whole-wheat and rye breads, whole-grain cereals and crackers, oatmeal, brown rice.
=Other grains: All refined grain products and refined grains used as ingredients. Examples: white breads, enriched grain cereals and crackers, enriched pasta, white rice. (Personally I believe we should stay away from these other grains, as they congest our bodies and do not allow our bodies to digest properly causing glue like factors in our intestinal system)

Meats and Beans: 5 1/2 - 1 oz equivalents
This group contains all meat, poultry, fish, dry beans and peas, eggs, nuts, seeds.
For one serving, you could eat 1 oz. of cooked lean meats, poultry or fish.

Milk: 3 cups
This group contains all milks, yogurts, dairy desserts, cheeses (except cream cheese), including lactose-free or lactose-reduced products.

Oils: 24 grams (6 teaspoons) (best oil to use is Olive oil)
A 1-tsp equivalent is:
1 tbsp. low fat mayonnaise
2 tbsp. light salad dressing
1 tsp. vegetable oil

The Skinny on Fat
When it comes to dieting and nutrition, most people think fat is the bad guy. They are right - and wrong. While it's not a good idea to consume mass quantities of foods high in fat, you can't eliminate fat entirely; fats perform a variety of important functions, such as supplying energy and facilitating the absorption of several vitamins. Instead, you can focus on the types of fat you're eating, since they're not all the same.

There are three main types of fats: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. High amounts of saturated fat can be found in animal products, such as beef, pork, chicken skin, whole milk, butter and cheese. Saturated fat is bad news because a diet high in saturated fat may increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

You can also heighten your risk of heart disease by eating a diet high in trans fat. Trans fat is found in many processed foods, as well as in cookies, crackers, vegetable shortening, some margarines and salad dressing. There's proof that diets high in trans fat can lead to increased LDL cholesterol level (that's "bad" cholesterol), which in turn can lead to increased heart-disease risk. ( I believe if we remove trans fats from our diets totally we can all become much healthier)

Trans fat isn't yet listed on all nutritional labels; in the meantime, you an determine that an item contains trans fat by looking at the ingredient list for these ingredients.
=Shortening
=Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil
=Hydrogenated vegetable oil
(When the ingredients list "hydrogenated" oils stay away from it. This means that the oil has been broken down so many times that your body will not be able to break it down any further. The body will instead become congested in all areas with these oils. Pores will become clogged, arteries and veins will become clogged and eventually brittle with these oils attaching themselves to the walls. This will attract all kinds of debri causing problems with nutrient absorption and making it so that the blood will become the wrong consistency. It will eventually also cause your body be unable to absorb glucose properly and can lead to problems with blood sugar elevation and blood sugar imbalances [diabetes II]. It will also cause congestion in the lymphatic system so that your body will have a hard time removing toxins properly. These trans fats are the one thing we should all stay completely away from.)

How does all this relate to the new dietary guidelines? The guidelines recommend consuming less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fats and keeping consumption of trans fat as low as possible. It's also recommended that you keep your total intake of fat to 20 percent to 35 percent of the total calories you consume. Most of that should come from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, such as nuts, fish and vegetable oils (Olive oil best)

Sources: Kidshealth.org; www.nutrition.gov; www.cfsan.fda.gov; "Dietary guidelines for Americans, 2005

Herbsplus4health.com and the publisher of this blog, namely Karen Doolan do not necessarily agree with all of the statements in this article or in the new guidelines. I have forwarded this article to readers for informative reasons and so that readers can visit these sites to learn more. I have made some brief notes throughout in red/italicized areas which relate to some thoughts I have about these recommendations. What we put into our bodies is the most important factor in our health. My personal belief is that we should consume those things which have been put on the earth naturally (Vegetables, Fruits, whole grains all in the rawest and most organic form possible. These things should be about 75% of our food intake. Meats and fish I feel are important as well, at about 25% of our intake.

With soils being very depleted in todays world I also feel it is important to supplement with vitamins and herbs. The amounts would depend on our individual bodies. It is important for all people to listen to what their bodies tell them daily about deficiencies and needs.

A very important factor which is not touched on at all in this article is the intake of Pure water. Our body is made up of 70% water, and this needs to be constantly replenished in order for us to stay healthy. We should drink 1/2 our bodies weight in water in ounces. i.e. If you weigh 200 lbs you should drink 100 oz of pure clean water each day.

Share the Health,
Karen Herrmann-Doolan
herbsplus@mynsp.com