Upcoming Event

Eating for Two!?!

If you are pregnant or planning on it...
...come to a relaxed and informative nutritional workshop!

Topics will include:

• fish, mercury and omega-3 guidelines
• iron and calcium supplements and food sources
• fibre and constipation issues
• food safety guidelines including the safety of herbal products
• caffeine recommendations

Time: June 20, 2009. 10:00-11:00am.
Location: Suite 202 – 1624 56 Street Delta, BC V4L 0A2
Cost: $20
Refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP 

Fibre

Recently I have had a number of conversations about fibre. Not only about preventing/relieving constipation but also about the fact that Canadians’ average intake of fibre is only about half to two-thirds of the recommended intake. The lack of fibre in one’s diet as well as a number of other reasons, such as iron supplements, some medications and the hormone changes during pregnancy, can lead to constipation.

The best things you can eat to prevent/relieve constipation are wheat bran, oat bran, whole grains, psyllium (fibre in some cereals and Metamucil), prunes, prune juice, beans, and lentils. Also, the amount of food you eat is a factor. The more food you eat, the less likely you are to be constipated; the best way increase the quantity of food you eat is to load up on fruits and vegetables because these tend to be lower calorie items and they have some fibre too!

Some other foods that contain specific kinds of starches or fibre that help keep you regular are potatoes, bananas (they can’t be too ripe), carrots, parsnips and rutabagas. There is also some evidence that exercising can help keep you regular and some compounds in coffee may help too.

As for all the hype about yogurt keeping you regular – this has not been proven by any research studies. The bacteria in yogurt may be beneficial to keep the bacteria in your digestive system normal but don’t expect yogurt to help prevent constipation.

Give your new high-fibre diet a two week test period! You may experience some temporary bloating and gas but your digestive track will adapt. Eating a high-fibre diet will help keep you regular but it also can help to control diabetes, blood cholesterol, and possibly prevent some cancers.

One last thing to note: when eating more fibre, drink more water!


References:
HealthLink BC File #68l, October 2007. “Managing Constipation in Adults”. http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthfiles/hfile68l.stm

Nutrition Action Healthletter: Centre for Science in the Public Interest. Exit Strategy: How to Stay Regular. March 2009.

Spinach

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been watching the spinach in my vegetable garden sprout from seeds and grow into tiny plants. My vegetable garden is 4 feet by 6 feet, so I only have room to grow a few select vegetables. Spinach made the short list not only because it can be grown in the early spring – surviving some frost and even a snow fall – but also because it is an amazing vegetable from a nutritional perspective. Spinach is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin K, folate, vitamin C and magnesium. It is also a good source of fibre, vitamin B2, and vitamin B6.

One hundred grams of fresh spinach (about 1 ½ cup packed down) provides as much calcium as 1/3 cup of milk (which doesn’t sound like much but that’s pretty impressive for a vegetable!) and as much iron as 100 grams of cooked ground beef. The amount of iron in spinach is particularly notable even if it is not as well absorbed into the body as the iron found in meat. One can increase the absorption of iron from spinach by eating it along with something containing vitamin C, such as mandarin orange slices, strawberries, or even by putting lemon juice in the salad dressing!

I am looking forward to the day when the spinach in my garden is ready to harvest!

Chocolate

Happy Easter! Along with this weekend being a very important religious holiday, this time of the year has an intimate relationship with chocolate. When our children think of Easter the first thing that often comes to mind is the chocolate they will receive. Chocolate is everywhere! In every store one enters there are mounds of chocolate waiting to be bought and consumed.

If you have begun to think that chocolate is a health food, think again! The reason some of us are lead to believe that chocolate is healthy is the fact that cocoa contains compounds called flavonoids which have antioxidant properties. These flavonoids that are found in cocoa are indeed healthy and can help reduce one's risk of developing cancer and heart disease.

The problem is that the common milk chocolate that is widely available and given/received at Easter is not just cocoa. The cocoa has been processed and this not only reduces the amount of flavonoids found in the chocolate but now the processed chocolate contains unhealthy levels of saturated fat, sugar and calories. In 35g of milk chocolate (just over an ounce) there is about 10 grams of fat or more, most of which is saturated, and 180 calories. This is half a day’s worth of saturated fat and a tenth my calories for the day - all in a few mouthfuls!

So while you pop this type of bite-sized morsel into your mouth, think about it. And next time maybe reach for the dark chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa to satisfy that chocolate craving. At least you will be consuming more flavonoids and less sugar than milk chocolate. More of the good stuff and less of the bad – isn’t that what we all strive for?


References:

Ki Won Lee, Young Jun Kim, Hyong Joo Lee, and Chang Yong Lee. Cocoa Has More Phenolic Phytochemicals and a Higher Antioxidant Capacity than Teas and Red Wine. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2003, 51 (25), pp 7292–7295

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/health/chocolate.html