Recently in Beverages Category

Should I Juice or Not?
Juicing can be a great way to get in fresh vegetables and fruits, especially for people who cannot eat a lot of fiber because of surgery.The only drawback to juicing is that you lose the benefit of the pulp that the juicer removes.

For most of us who have not had bowel surgeries or other GI problems requiring a low residue diet, I recommend blending if possible. However, blending a carrot sometimes doesn't taste so good!

A nice resolution to this problem is to use a juicer, drink the juice and then cook with the pulp!

Cooking With the Pulp

• Carrot and apple pulp muffins are a delicious way in which to use the juicer pulp to create a tasty treat.
  
• Soft fruits often leave a wetter pulp than hard produce such as carrots or apples and so the flavor left in the pulp is often more intense. These soft fruits such as the various forms of berries, grape etc can be easily mixed with a little water and frozen to make a Popsicle.
  
• Soft fruit pulp is also great for adding into your own home made ice creams and sorbets or for using as dessert toppings.
• Freeze the pulp in a container / freezer bag until you are ready to use it.
• You can use vegetable and fruit pulp in 'layered' recipes such as vegetable lasagna.

What Kind of Juicer Should I Get?
Here is a question I recently received: "I'm thinking of buying a juicer but not sure what name I should buy or where?  What features should I look for?"

Here's my disclaimer... I am not a juicer! But it is starting to sound more interesting the more i read! For the most part, you need to make sure that the juicer you buy can juice the type of food you plan to use.

For example, are you going to juice just oranges and other citrus fruits, or do you want to juice vegetables like carrots and spinach as well?

Other than that, you will be choosing based on price. It's like choosing a blender, the more expensive ones will probably be more efficient, but some of the less expensive ones work just fine.

If you have tips on purchasing a juicer, be sure to comment on this post and share with others!

Here are some recipes for those who are interested in starting to juice. I got them from the Dana Farber Cancer Center's nutrition website!

Carrot Tonic
4 carrots
1 beet
1/2 apple
6 leaves of Swiss chard
Put all ingredients through a juicer. Drink and enjoy!
Makes two servings.

[PER 1/4 cup serving: Calories 60; protein 2 g; carbohydrate 14 g; total fat 0 g; cholesterol 0 mg; sodium 153 mg; fiber 4 g.]

Carrot Lemon Breeze
4 medium carrots
1/2 medium lemon
1/4 lime (optional)
1 Asian pear or an apple
1 small 2-inch wedge red cabbage
1-inch round piece fresh ginger
Put all ingredients through a juicer. Drink and enjoy!
Makes two to three servings.

[PER 1/4 cup serving: Calories 60; protein 1 g; carbohydrate 15 g; total fat 0 g; cholesterol 0 mg; sodium 0 mg, fiber 4 g.]

Enjoy!
- Julie

Party Strategies for a Healthy Holiday!

Many times good intentions can be sabotaged in party situations. With so many temptations, a busy schedule and well intentioned "food pushers", it's hard to make your intentions a reality.

While attending parties this holiday, here are some tips for making sure that you maintain your healthy lifestyle no matter where you are!

• Eat a healthy snack before you go such as fruit, soup, cereal, yogurt or string cheese. The last thing you need is to be starving and surrounded by convenient junk food!
  
• Limit Alcohol. Enjoy 1 drink if you must and then switch to diet soda or water. Alcohol carries a lot of calories with it that you don't realize you're having.
  
• Have a stick of gum to chew after eating. This will keep your mouth busy so that you don't feel like shoving more food in!
  
• Socialize away from the food. Just being around the food makes you more likely to grab something here and there
  
• Avoid the "food-pusher" and plan how to say "No Thank You". You know the food-pushers! They are the ones that walk around making sure that every dish is empty and that nothing is left behind. They have good intentions but sometimes don't know how to deal with a nicely worded "no thank you"!
  

3 Fool Proof Ways to Say "No Thanks" Politely:

1. Distract them by providing them with an alternative. For example, if they are offering you punch say "No thank you, but I could really use a water". This gives them an option to serve you something without you having to eat or drink something you don't really want to.
2. Compliment how the food looks. Say something like "I'm really not hungry right now, but that looks very good!".
3. Ask for the recipe. A great way to make the host feel good without having to eat or drink the food item is by asking for the recipe. Say "I don't need any right now, but I would love to have the recipe!".

Holiday Punch Recipe

Here's a simple way to make some great tasting punch for the holidays without too many calories. Simply adjust the volume to the number of guests you have. It can be made in individual glasses or in a bowl.

Ingredients:

• Juice (My favorite is pomegranate or black current juice)
• Lemon or Lime Seltzer Water
• Lime Wedges

Pour the seltzer water and add just enough juice to provide flavor. Garnish the glasses with lime wedges. I think I probably do 3 parts seltzer water to 1 part juice. It can be adjusted to your taste!

Happy Holidays!
- Julie

There seems to be a lot of misinformation on the internet and through word of mouth regarding cancer and how sugar and insulin interact with tumors. I've even heard bad information passed from health care providers on to cancer patients. When it comes to sugar, insulin and cancer you have to know the facts!

Insulin Basics

Insulin is a protein hormone produced in your body. After eating any kind of carbohydrate (found in desserts, sweetened drinks, fruits, milk, grains and starchy vegetables), the pancreas produces insulin to move glucose (blood sugar) from the blood into cells all over the body. Glucose is what gives our cells energy to work; they cannot function without it.

If the cells do not respond to insulin, then the pancreas compensates by making even more insulin in order to force the cells to respond. As time goes on, it can take more and more insulin for the cells to take in glucose. In many undiagnosed pre-diabetes cases, blood sugars can measure normal but insulin levels are high.

Some people will get their insulin levels checked to see if they are high. Sometimes that can be helpful in knowing if the blood sugars are normal because the body is functioning correctly or if it's because there is extra insulin being produced. However, it's unlikely that your doctor would check your insulin level unless you have a family history of diabetes or signs of blood sugar problems.

Sugar and Cancer

I've done topics on this before ('Does Sugar Feed Cancer Part I and Part II). But there is constantly new research coming out that can help us see the bigger picture. It is still true that sugar does not directly cause cancer and removing sugar from a person's diet won't prevent cancer.

The problem with sugar is when we eat the not so healthy sugar foods like sodas, sweet tea, cakes, cookies and fruit flavored drinks. High sugar foods are absorbed quickly and cause insulin to rise quickly. This 'spike' results in cells using the sugar for energy or storing it as fat.

When someone consumes excessive amounts of empty calories, the fat builds up and insulin resistance can occur which increases risk of pre-diabetes, diabetes and cancer.

Types of Sugar

The type of carbohydrate consumed makes a big difference when it comes to insulin response. By choosing healthy carbohydrates, like whole grains, low-fat milk, whole fruits and vegetables, you can avoid an insulin spike because these foods come with other nutrients like fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that assist the body in metabolizing the food.

The Bottom Line

Your choices in carbohydrates and sugars can make a big difference in the health of your body. Switch to whole grain breads, cereals, rice and pasta along with eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. And when you choose a beverage, pick one that's not sweetened with any forms of sugar. Learn to appreciate the flavor of an unsweetened tea or plain old water!

Stay sweet!
- Julie

There are a lot of rumors that are going around about water bottles and cancer. Water bottles in the car; Nalgene bottles made with a certain type of plastic; heating, freezing or washing water bottles in a dishwasher.

According to government agency the National Toxicology Program (NTP), "There is some concern for neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures." The NTP has some concern for "bisphenol A (BPA) exposure in these populations based on effects in the prostate gland, mammary gland, and an earlier age for puberty in females."

Recently, Nalgene announced that they would stop making water bottles with BPA. I want to point out that this decision was made NOT because it was recommended by the government. The new plastic is being made mainly because of fear by consumers.

The science is not conclusive at this point regarding chemicals in plastic and human health. It's hard to figure out what is speculation, what is under investigation and what is actually proven. Hopefully this post will clear up some of those questions for you.

The Chemical in Water Bottles

Most of the concerns over water bottles and platics causing cancer are related to the chemical Bisphenol A. BPA is a produced in large quantities for use primarily in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins.

Plastics are used in food and drink packaging and resins are used to coat cans and bottle tops. BPA can leach into food from the containers and is more likely to leach depending on the temperature of the container.

Government Recommendations

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) had an expert panel review the current information on BPA's and disease. They rank risk in one of 5 categories:

1. Serious Concern
2. Concern
3. Some Concern
4. Minimal Concern
5. Negligible Concern

The greatest risk for any one group of people is for pregnant or lactating mothers, infants and children. This is because an intake of a small amount of BPA can have a larger effect if the person's body is small and they are in a stage of rapid physical development.

It's good to know that the panel did not find any areas of 'serious concern' or 'concern' regarding BPA and health. However, they did find areas of 'some concern', 'minimal concern' and 'negligible concern'.

Here are the Expert Panel Conclusions regarding plastic and health.

For pregnant women and fetuses:

• Some concern that exposure to BPA in utero causes neural and behavioral effects.
• Minimal concern that exposure to BPA in utero causes effects on the prostate.
• Minimal concern that exposure to BPA in utero potentially causes accelerations in puberty.
• Negligible concern that exposure to BPA in utero produces birth defects and malformations.

For infants and children:

• Some concern that exposure to BPA causes neural and behavioral effects.
• Minimal concern that exposure to BPA potentially causes accelerations in puberty.

For adults:

• Negligible concern for adverse reproductive effects following exposures in the general population to BPA.
• For highly exposed subgroups, such as occupationally exposed populations, the level of concern is elevated to minimal.

The FDA has also made a statement and says that the "... FDA sees no reason at this time to ban or otherwise restrict the uses now authorized." (See the entire statement).

Environmental Group Recommendations

There are definitely more cautious groups out there, including the Environmental Working Group (EWG).(FYI, they are the ones who made the recommendations on sunscreen).

The EWG says that "BPA is associated with a number of health problems and diseases that are on the rise in the U.S. population, including breast and prostate cancer and infertility. Given widespread human exposure to BPA and hundreds of studies showing its adverse effects, the FDA and EPA must act quickly to set safe levels for BPA exposure based on the latest science on the low-dose toxicity of the chemical."

What Should You Do?

It's hard to know what to do with conflicting information. Who do you believe and what choices do you make? The decision will be different for each person, but should be made based on the facts. In the next post I will talk more about evaluating information and what I choose.

Stay Tuned!

- Julie

In the last post, we covered hormones and antibiotics in milk. At this point, most science suggests that the synthetic hormones and antibiotics that are used with many milk producing cows do not cause cancer or other health problem. And conversely there is no risk if you prefer to drink milk without added hormones or antibiotics.

It's a different story when it comes to pasteurization!

Pasteurization: There is a lot of people now who are proponents of drinking "raw", unpasteurized milk. They say that pasteurization destroys enzymes and "healthy" bacteria. This is true. However, the important thing to realize is that pasteurization also kills very harmful bacteria like E.coli, salmonella and campylobacter, which are very dangerous pathogens. Unpasteurized milk can also contain mycobacterium bovis, which can cause tuberculosis.

Before pasteurization, the likelihood was much higher for intestinal tuberculosis and GI infections that cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever and vomiting. The FDA suggests not drinking unpasteurized milk because of the increased risk of illness. Some like the taste of unpasteurized milk, but need to be aware of the risk they are taking when making the decision.

Personally, I don't want to risk the infection and I've never had a taste for raw milk. If you are worried about not getting enough healthy bacteria, see my posts on prebiotics and probiotics and foods that contain healthy bacteria.

Organic Milk: The definition of organic milk is hard to come by, but it basically means that the milk comes from a cow whose milk production was not prompted by an artificial growth hormone, whose feed was not grown with pesticides and which had access to pasture.

Organic milk is still pasteurized, as law requires all milk sold commercially to be pasteurized. For a lot of people, they choose organic because it doesn't have antibiotics or artificial hormones. Others choose it for animal welfare reasons or the fact that it's probably better for the environment.

Personally, I choose it because of all of those reasons but mostly because it tastes better to me!

Bottom Line:

If you are avoiding antibiotics or hormones, or are concerned about animal well being or the environment, buy organic milk.

Remember you can always drink soy or rice milk as a substitute for cow's milk if you don't tolerate lactose or you just don't want to deal with cow's milk!

Got Milk?

- Julie

[Reference: Know Your Milk: It's Not All Equal. Food and Fitness Advisor]

I know there is a lot of talk about milk. Do the added hormones cause kids to start puberty early? Should I drink unpasteurized milk, and what about antibiotics?  What about organic milk?  It can be very confusing, especially as the prices of food go up and you're trying to keep your budget.

What Are the Facts? Hormones and Antibiotics

Many people feel that the more natural something it is, the better it is for  you. For the most part, this is true. However, there are some scientific advances that make our food much safer to eat and don't significantly increase risk for disease. It all comes down to weighing out the benefits and the risks.

Hormones: There is no such thing as hormone free milk. All milk contains some BST, which is a hormone that cows naturally produce. The synthetic hormone that is sometimes given to cows is called rBST. While you might think that drinking hormones would increase your bodies level of hormones, this is not true.

First off, rBST is metabolized by the cow just the same as the naturally occurring hormone, BST. Secondly, protein hormones are broken down in your stomach and have no effect on your hormone level. Therefore, there is not an increased risk for cancer or other disease by drinking milk with rBST.

However, if you're still not sure, there is no risk in drinking milk from a cow that was not treated with rBST.

Antibiotics: Many cows are treated with antibiotics for infections. The FDA requires that during and following antibiotic treatment, for 96 hours the cows milk must be discarded.

It is possible that milk containing antibiotics can get into the food supply but we would be unlikely to know because of the difficulty in enforcing the FDA rules. It would be problematic for those who are allergic to antibiotics, or extremely sensitive, neither of which are common. The most common antibiotics used for cows are ampicillin and erythromycin.

The chief risk in drinking milk from a cow that was not treated with antibiotics is if that cow had an untreated infection, which can taint the milk, yuk!

The Bottom Line:

The FDA regulates milk, but many feel that they do not do enough to keep our food supply safe. When it comes to milk, evidence so far suggests that there is not an increased risk for cancer or other diseases by drinking pasteurized milk with rBST or from cows treated with antibiotics. However, if you prefer to drink milk without hormones or antibiotics, there is no significant risk but it is usually more expensive.

Stay tuned for Part II where we will look at pasteurization, organic, and "raw" milk.

- Julie

[Reference: Know Your Milk: It's Not All Equal. Food and Fitness Advisor]

Alcohol and Cancer:

You've heard that red wine reduces risk for heart disease. And you've probably also heard that it increases risk for breast cancer. If you're like me, you have a history of heart disease AND breast cancer in your family, so what do we do?

And what about other types of alcohol? How do they affect cancer risk?

Nutrients in Red Wine:

First you have to understand what it is in red wine that is supposed to be so good for us. Most studies have looked at one of two phytochemicals in red wine: resveretrol and procyanidin. Resveratrol is a polyphenol and procyanidin is an antioxidant. They are both thought to provide cardiovascular benefits.

Second, it is important to know that in studies showing benefits of resveratrol, mice were having the equivalent of hundreds of glasses of wine daily. I know what you're thinking and no, the mice did not have to drink that much wine. They were given powdered resveratrol!

When it comes down to it, there is still not enough evidence to know that the wine itself is beneficial. There are many other foods that contain these phytochemicals including:

• grapes
• cranberries
• blueberries
• peanuts
• dark chocolate

Dangers of Alcohol:

If there's one thing we do know for sure, it's that drinking alcohol increases risk for mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus and breast cancer. It is also thought to increase risk of colorectal cancer and liver cancer.

Also of interest is the fact that drinking alcohol is especially harmful when combined with smoking. So even if you only smoke when you drink, you might want to think twice.

How Much is Too Much?

Ok. We know that some alcohol may be beneficial but that too much is harmful. So where do we draw the line? Just as with many things, you are going to have to evaluate for yourself what risk you are comfortable with. I'm here to give you the facts!

For cancer prevention, the American Institute for Cancer Research recommends not drinking alcohol at all. They also recommend, if consumed at all, to keep it to 1 drink/day for women and 2 drinks/day for men. By the way, those cannot be saved up for the weekend or an end of the month binge! 

My general rule is no more than 1 drink in any given day. I also typically don't have more than 2 drinks per week. There are going to be times of splurging just like with any food, but that is probably only 2 times per year.

Bottom Line:

Drink up if you must, but not too much and certainly don't light up!

- Julie

Think Your Drink!

We've talked about sugar, and we've talked about artificial sweeteners. Regular sodas, juice, Kool-Aid and here in the south, sweet tea, can contribute a significant amount of calories. Take this example:

Scenario 1:   16 oz. latte with whole milk (they use whole milk unless you ask for something else)
                    20 oz. soda with lunch
                    Sweetened ice tea in the afternoon
                    12 oz. can of ginger ale with dinner

Scenario 2:    12 oz. latte with skim milk
                     Water or diet soda with lunch
                     Sparkling water with lemon flavor in the afternoon
                     Water with lemon, or seltzer water with a splash of 100% fruit juice at dinner

Scenario 1 provides the consumer with 800 calories in their drink choices alone. Scenario 2 provides between 125 and 155. That difference would amount to 1.3 pounds of fat gained per week, 5.5 pounds gained per month, or 68 pounds gained per year. THAT is a big difference!

But you're not sure that you want to consume a lot of artificial sweeteners either. Here is a breakdown of what the Beverage Guidance Panel recommends for fluid intake. Remember that 1 drink = 8 ounces or a measured cup.

• Sodas, "fruit" drinks, other sweetened beverages: 0-1 drinks/day
• 100% fruit juices, sports drinks, alcoholic beverages: 0-1 drinks/day
• Diet drinks and other artificially sweetened beverages: 0-4 drinks/day
• Milk/Soy Milk: 0-2 drinks/day
• Unsweetened coffee, unsweetened tea, mineral water, other unsweetened beverages: 0-5  drinks/day
• Water: 2-6 drinks/day

What Would Julie Do?

Personally, I try to have no more than 1 sweetened or artificially sweetened drink per day. In reality, I probably don't have more than 2 a week. I try to have unsweetened tea (usually hot) in the morning, water with lunch and during the day, and a juice/seltzer water mix in the evening. I might have hot tea or a glass of water before bed.

Typically, I mix up the types of tea that I drink, just for variety. Sometimes green tea, sometimes herbal tea, oolong, black, or whatever looks interesting at the store!

Now that you know how much difference a drink can make, here are some ways to make smart beverage choices:

• Choose water
• Don’t “stock the fridge” with soda. Instead, keep a jug or bottles of cold water or unsweetened tea in the fridge.
• Serve water with meals.
• Make water more exciting by adding slices of lemon, lime, cucumber, or watermelon, or drink sparkling water.
• Add a splash of 100% juice to plain sparkling water for a refreshing, low-calorie drink. (My favorite is lemon or lime seltzer water mixed with pomegranate/black current juice).
• When you do opt for a sugar-sweetened beverage, go for the small size. Some companies are now selling 8oz. cans and bottles of soda, which contain about 100 calories.

The bottom line is that our body needs water. Our taste buds want sweet. Retraining our taste buds and our habits is not easy, but can be a smart thing to do for health.

So tip your cup, and try some new beverages or treat yourself to a new reusable water bottle!
- Julie

References: (Pour Better or Pour Worse, Nutrition Action Newsletter, June 2006.; Rethink Your Drink, Center for Disease Control).