Got to Get Me Moose By!

Eating wild game is certainly popular here in Newfoundland Labrador, and has been for quite some time. Interestingly though is across North American for food and diet industries, eating wild meat is quickly becoming the new ‘it’ thing to do. Exotic wild meats are making statements across dining establishments as such offerings are now becoming the norm. The Paleo, or Caveman diet, based on eating plants and wild animals similar to cavemen thousands of years ago, is now the latest diet and healthy eating craze for movie stars and everyday people alike. Eating wild meat is not only the thing to do, but in terms of nutrition it’s something we should do. Lucky for us, our hunting season is well underway, but isn’t over yet. In addition, there are a many wild meat options we have to choose from like moose, caribou, black bear, ptarmigan, grouse, and hare, to name a few.

There can be big nutritional benefits to eating wild meat. For the most part, wild game is leaner than other dietary protein choices. In comparison to lean cuts of beef and pork, wild meat has on average one-third fewer calories. Swapping a four ounce piece of beef, for a similar size and cut of moose can cut you fifty calories per piece. Try that three times a week over the course of a year, and that’s over two pounds of calories shaved off your diet and waistline.

On average wild meat has less cholesterol, saturated and overall fat than its beef, pork and poultry counterparts. Cholesterol for wild and domestic meat ranges from 50 to 75 milligrams for a three ounce serving. That being said, some meats, like rabbit, goose and duck can be a little higher. All in all however, the combination of fewer calories, less saturated fat, and cholesterol, make wild proteins, like ours, a smart heart-healthy choice. To keep lean meats lean and tender, but still tasting good, cook slowly by either braising in liquid, or roasting and basting frequently. If you must use extra fat, try heart-healthy monounsaturated oils like extra virgin olive, canola, peanut, flaxseed, walnut, hemp, avocado, or almond.

It’s not just the calories and fat that can make wild meat nutritious. Moose, caribou and rabbit also have more iron and vitamin B12 than a dietary staple well known well for being high in these nutrients. You guessed it, beef. Iron and vitamin B12 are important for many functions, including the prevention of anemia. Black bear and caribou meat are excellent sources of the B vitamin, riboflavin, which is key for energy production. A four ounce serving has 40% of all the riboflavin we need in one day. That’s more than often the touted riboflavin sources of a one cup serving of leafy greens or milk.

There is a word or two of caution on wild meat however. One concern is the possibility of a food infection from consuming meat tainted with trichinosis. Traditionally a parasite found in pigs, today it is more often found in wild meat, particularly bears. The good news is that it can be killed by cooking meat to a minimum internal temperature of 71°C and holding this for a minimum of fifteen seconds. The other concern with wild meat has to do with using lead bullets. A possibility exists that using lead ammunition may cause lead contamination of game. Ways to get around this may be discarding portions of meat that contain bullet fragments or using non-lead ammunition. Pregnant women, and young kids, or those at highest risk of lead toxicity and adverse effects, may be wise to avoid eating meats shot with bullets containing lead.

As seen in The Telegram November 26, 2012

The Sugary Scoop on High Fructose Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a liquid sweetener that is made from corn being broken down into a simple sugars, the first called glucose, and then next, fructose. You’ve likely heard of HFCS as it has gotten a lot of media attention, but what you may not of heard is just exactly where it can be found. In fact, it is the sweetener of choice for about 40% of the foods on grocery store shelves, and safe to say it’s found in nearly all foods that have added sugars. Soft drinks, cookies and similar snack foods, condiments, and even ‘healthy’ foods such as bread products, pasta sauces, yogurts, canned fruits, canned baked beans and peanut butter have all been known to include HFCS, which vary by brand of course. But why not use real sugar, and why is this found in so many food products? HFCS is about 20% cheaper than regular table sugar (sucrose). HFCS can also make foods softer, extend shelf life and prevent freezer burn.

So what about the hype regarding high fructose corn syrup being bad for us? When it comes to weight, the research focuses on the connection between hormones that regulate hunger and appetite. One hormone, ghrelin, works to increase hunger and appetite. Another hormone, leptin, sends fullness signals to our brains, decreases appetite and controls body weight. Insulin, yet another hormone, important for long-term energy regulation and body fatness, is normally released along with leptin following a meal. Where this gets hairy is that some studies have shown increases in ghrelin and decreases in their leptin and insulin following fructose consumption. In other words, people who ate fructose were hungrier and still wanted to eat more as they didn’t feel full. People consume more in order to get the same feeling of fullness and satisfaction, over time this equals more calories in and a higher number on the bathroom scale. (Note that fructose is also the natural sugar found in many fruits and vegetables. These do contain the natural form of fructose in small amounts, but much higher are the levels of health promoting fibers, micronutrients, and antioxidants).

Truth be told, much of our problem with obesity lies simply in the fact that we consume too much of everything. It’s not the result of one particular food or food component, like HFCS. The science shows us even if you eat a lot of foods with any added sugar, be it HFCS, white sugar, brown sugar or honey, you will see your clothes mysteriously shrinking. In addition, there has been attention surrounding HFCS in relation to diabetes and heart disease too. Studies involving animals show that HFCS can affect risk factors for these conditions, and studies involving people have pointed in both directions. A well established health concern with eating too much HFCS though can be digestive problems. HFCS is not absorbed by the body in the same way as other sugars. In fact, fructose it is the ‘F’ of the FODMAP diet, a list of foods to avoid for individuals with severe irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

 The bottom line with HFCS is to limit it like you would any sugar. One can see how much sugar is in a product by viewing the nutrition facts panel. If you wanted to take that one step further and determine the source of sweetness you’d have to direction your attention to the ingredient list. In an ingredient list, HFCS will more often be listed as ‘glucose-fructose.’ To keep overall sugar low, a rule of thumb is for any food that has sugar in the first few ingredients, be it HFCS or not, keep it on the shelf.

As seen in The Telegram November 19, 2012

Low Calorie Sweeteners for Your Weight – Helpful or Hindrance?

 

It was combination of a sugar shortage during the Second World War in addition to a societal shift to a thin frame that first turned women to artificial sugar substitutes. Today, about one in five of us are consuming artificial sweeteners through diet drinks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the popularity of the beverages has continued to increase in the past ten years. Sugar and other calorie sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup have no doubt been casted as main villains for the obesity epidemic. Talks of a fat tax for soda is enough to illustrate that point I believe. Truth be told, sugar is actually a form of carbohydrate, which is the preferred fuel source for our brains and muscles. But like any other caloric nutrient consumed in excess it can most likely lead to weight gain. (More truth to be told is that we tend to over consume on most all calories, not just those from sugar).

A lot of people choose non-caloric artificial sweeteners over sugar to lose or maintain weight. Some of the artificial sweeteners we see in our food supply here in Canada include, aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, and sugar alcohols such as xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol and maltitol. With the exception of the last four ending in –ol, the rest don’t contain any energy (i.e. calories). These artificial sweeteners have a different chemical makeup from sugar, but don’t actually affect blood sugar the same way as real sugar. The application of these low calorie sweeteners in foods and beverages has continued to increase as have other aspects of the typical Western diet as well. Foods come with variations in fat and carbohydrate content, increased or decreased nutrients. All due to changing lifestyles and attitudes toward food, and not to forget the rising cost of food too. All a while these changes are happening, we have seen the prevalence of overweight and obesity increase to about 70% of adults in our country.

The other truth is that analyses of research tells us that low calorie do not affect appetite, provoke hunger, overeating, or over stimulate taste receptors in our mouths. Which are some of the proposed mechanisms as to how they might contribute to weight gain. There is a potential for artificial sweeteners to have beneficial effects on energy intake, body weight, blood sugar and blood fat levels, when in comparison to sugar. But that is as much as we know. Right now the medical world doesn’t have any randomized controlled clinical trials (the gold standard for science) concerning adults and low calorie sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are a relatively new addition to our food, and we do need to learn more.

Consumers of diet beverages with artificial sweetener tend to be both male and female, of non-Hispanic white ethnicity and individuals who have higher levels of education and income may also be more likely. It’s interesting to note that those who consume low calorie sweeteners also tend to consume more fruit and vegetables, less sodium, and saturated fats and are overall more physically active. But before you stock your fridge with artificially sweetened foods and drinks, remember that many of these – be it sugar free ice cream or fruit flavored drinks – aren’t always the most nutritious choice. If you are looking to lose weight and the only approach you’re taking is replacing sugar with low calorie sweeteners, then it’s safe to say you are likely to be unsuccessful in this approach.

Ordering the Big Mac with large fries and balancing that off with a diet soda just isn’t going to cut it. For any weight loss approach to be successful, be that low calorie sweeteners, or the latest weight loss supplement, the approach needs to be used with other lifestyle changes that focusing on good diet and increased activity.

As seen in The Telegram November 12, 2012

 

 

Diabetes & Nutrition Myths

In the words of Dr. Elliott Joslin, ‘The diabetic who knows the most lives the longest.’ Dr. Joslin was a pioneer in the field of diabetes. He was the first American physician to specialize in the disease, and the Joslin Diabetes Centre which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School is suitingly named after him. If you are one of the 47 000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians living with diabetes or know someone affected by it, then you’re certainly aware of its challenges. When it comes to diabetes though, there are several myths on what and what not to eat.

Myth #1: People with diabetes have to eat different foods than others without diabetes. Up to the mid 90s the thought was that people with diabetes should avoid foods that contain ‘simple’ sugars and replace them with ‘complex’ carbohydrates, like those in potatoes and cereals. Today, people with diabetes are taught to focus on how much carbohydrate they can eat throughout the day to maintain health and keep blood sugar levels under control. The bottom line and reality is that people with diabetes can eat the same foods as the rest of their family. Amy Campbell a dietitian with the Joslin Diabetes Center and co-author of ‘16 Myths of a Diabetic Diet’, states nutrition guidelines for diabetes are very flexible and can offer many choices, allowing people with diabetes to fit in favorite or even special occasion foods. Whether you have diabetes or not, it’s important to focus on a diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein foods, and heart healthy fats.

Myth #2: Foods with a high glycemic index (GI) should be avoided and only foods with a low GI value consumed with diabetes. Glycemic index is a special ranking of food from zero to one hundred that shows the expected effect a food will have on raising blood sugar levels. The higher the GI, the more rapidly a food is digested, and hence a more dramatic spike in blood sugar expected. Low GI foods produce slower responses in blood sugar and often contribute to feelings of fullness as food is digested slower. Studies from Harvard School of Public Health indicate that the risks of diseases like type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease are strongly related to the GI of the overall diet. The problem with glycemic index is that it is subject to much variability. The variety, ripeness, and preparation methods of food, in addition to what a food is eaten with can all affect the overall effect on blood sugar. In addition, some low GI foods, like a Snickers bar and peanut M&Ms (the nuts make it a lower GI food) are not so great for our health. The bottom line here is that the GI can be a tool for watching blood sugar, but it won’t always tell you the overall healthiest choice.

Myth #3: Eating fat has no effect on blood sugar. Fat, found in margarine, oils and salad dressings, has little immediate effect on blood glucose levels. Smaller amounts of fat in our diet can be helpful as they slow absorption by slowing the emptying of our stomachs. Too much fat can have the opposite effect, and actually end up spiking blood sugar levels. Eating a fatty meal can make it harder for insulin to work, causing a possible high blood glucose level hours after your meal. We all need a little fat in our diets. Try and include more of the unsaturated fats such as those found in fatty fish, nuts and seeds and oils. Some fats, such as saturated and trans, can raise blood cholesterol, increasing the risk for heart attack or stroke. 

November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Stay tuned for an article next week on artificial sweeteners. Do they or don’t they contribute to weight gain?

As seen in The Telegram November 5, 2012