It’s finally here.  A quick and easy to use app that gives the low down on all those ingredients in your food that you have no idea how to even pronounce their names, never mind what they are!  That’s right…Food additives; what they are, what’s the latest science saying about them and most importantly, are they safe for you to eat.

The Centre for Science in the Public Interest has come up with a $0.99 app called Chemical Cuisine where you can find answers if you’ve ever wondered what ‘Inosine Monophosphate’ is and if it’s safe for you to be eating in your food.

My recommendation? Check it out. You can download this app from the ITunes or Android Market – it makes a very interesting read!

Is eating earlier in the day better than eating late at night?

Weight Watchers, Dr. Atkins, the authors of the South Beach diet all have touted that foods should be consumed earlier in the day rather than late at night.  This has amounted to one BIG assumption that eating when you are less physically active (at night) will ‘cause’ you to store those calories as fat rather than being burned for energy.

True, we would agree that eating the energy your body needs when you require that energy (meaning during the day when you’re the most active) is the logical way to feel your best…but there is no hard evidence concluding that just because you consume energy later at night you are going to store it as fat.  In fact quite the opposite; A US study followed 7400 women and men for 10 years and concluded that the percentage of calories consumed after 5pm had no bearing on weight change.

You see the truth is weight gain (and weight loss for that matter) is a numbers game.  Calories in have to be less than calories out. If you eat too much food (too many calories), then you’re going to store the excess as fat.  So even if you ate all your food after 9pm everyday – as long as it wasn’t overall too much food (calorie wise), then you’d maintain your weight.  …wouldn’t do much for your energy levels especially during the day when you need more energy, blood sugar control and mood throughout the day though – but we’re talking weight here, right? 😉

While the sun is out you might just be attending a BBQ with friends in the near future!  But navigating your diet at a BBQ need not be difficult.  There are some basics to every BBQ that make following the PLATE MODEL easy: there’s always a starch (think buns, potato salad etc.), veggies and something for the grill.  So follow the plate model and you’re set right?  …well, almost.

Typical BBQ fare can pack more calories than we expect.  The biggest culprit: potato salad.  The average potato salad provides you with a generous serving of 250-300 calories per ½ cup!  All is not lost however…Check out our potato salad recipe posted on our ‘recipes’ blog – this ultra delicious and low calorie rendition of the dish will leave your head whirling!

A few more calorie saving tips for your next BBQ:

• Skip the cheese on burgers (saves 120 calories)
• Have the veggies without the dip (saves 200 calories – or use low fat dressing – saves 1/2 the calories)
• Use low fat condiments such as mayonnaise and avoid the sauce on the meat (saves 100 calories)

We are creatures of habit after all…but have you ever wondered *why* it is so hard to change our diet?

If you think of it this way, when you discover a new cereal or frozen pizza you liked at the grocery store, you’d change brands at the drop of a hat.  And what about a new entrée or special at a restaurant… You’d try it wouldn’t you?  If you can do that you can change your diet – it’s just that simple!

At Spectrum Nutrition, week by week, we introduce you to new food products, ideas and ways of thinking about your food choices so that by the time you’re done the program – these little changes add up to one big ‘lifestyle’ change and permanent weight loss.  Try some of these simple little changes every day and watch the results…before you know it; you’ll be eating better and controlling your weight!

• Meat or cheese – NOT both on your sandwiches and salads
• Insist on double veggies at restaurants
• Go for ‘kids’ sized desserts and other treats
• Make it a skinny latte – not full fat
• Go for ½ fat everything – cottage cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, cream cheese, yogurt, milk

Salt (sodium) is not the only thing affecting your blood pressure. True, too much sodium contributes to these staggering figures:

-1 in 5 adults has high blood pressure in Canada

-Only 1/3 of Canadians who have high blood pressure have their blood pressure under control

-3 out of every 4 Canadians suffering from a stroke or heart attack have high blood pressure

And alas, it seems like a never ending battle to get salt intakes down to acceptable levels.  Not all hope is lost however…instead of focusing on what you’re getting too much of (sodium), what about examining what you might NOT be getting enough of – Potassium.

Potassium matters because it seems to counter the damage caused by sodium, especially at high sodium intake levels.  So just take a potassium supplement and get on with it you say?  Not so. Potassium found in whole fruits and veggies is bound to citrate (not chloride as it is in most supplements) which seems to be the key for potassium’s’ benefits on blood pressure (not to mention the citrate can also prevent kidney stones).

The average person needs 4700mg of potassium daily: here are a few foods that are particularly high in potassium:

• Swiss chard
• Kale
• Tomatoes
• Oranges
• Cantaloupe
• Potatoes
• Bananas
• Yams
• squash
• Lima beans

We are all tired of hearing that we need to eat more fruits and veggies but what you don’t eat CAN hurt you.  Just in case you’re not yet convinced of the benefits, fruits and veggies are also the key to weight loss as every Spectrum Nutrition client knows 😉

What have you heard about the ‘must nots’ of dieting?  To put your mind at ease, let’s debunk some of those myths for you shall we?  If we don’t address a myth you want answers to…post it on our Facebook page and our dietitians will provide you with the real answer!

Myth #1 – eating at night is strictly forbidden – FALSE! We’ve addressed this myth in a previous tip – go back to read the detail.

Myth #2 – no carbs after 4pm (or no carbs at all) – FALSE! Your body is not sophisticated enough to distinguish how to deal with a ‘carb’ at 2am or 1pm.  Carbs, and more specifically starch, is your energy food.  You should include starch at every one of your meals (especially if you’re following the PLATE MODEL). Remember however, I’m not suggesting white bread and rice here – whole grain, high fibre breads, pasta and grains is what you want – think a minimum of 5g of fibre!

Myth #3 – no gluten – FALSE! Unless you have Celiac Disease, avoiding gluten is the surest way to avoid all those healthy high fibre whole grains I just mentioned. Typical gluten free fair is generally higher in calories and lower in fibre then more traditional whole grain products (think rice bread and rice pasta). More calories and less lasting power is a great combination for weight gain, not loss…

Coffee and more specifically the caffeine found in coffee is safe for consumption but as with everything, moderation is the key. Health Canada suggests that up to 400mg of caffeine daily is safe for non-pregnant adults (300mg per day if you are pregnant). How much is that you ask? Below are some common foods and how much caffeine they contain:

• 1 cup drip coffee – 100mg caffeine
• 1 – 355mL cola – 40-50mg caffeine
• 1 cup moderately brewed green or black tea – 40mg caffeine
• 3 squares of dark chocolate – 50mg
• 1 cup chocolate milk – 10mg

In fact, regular coffee drinkers seem to have amassed some benefits from the habit: In many studies, regular coffee drinkers may have a lower risk of gout, diabetes, some cancers and Parkinson’s disease. The bottom line? If you drink coffee, keep it to no more than about 3-4 cups per day. This isn’t the newest latest cure all, but I think it’s safe to say a couple cups of coffee is not causing you any harm 😉

Protein = Muscle?

Many trainers would like to have you think so – but simply eating more protein won’t ‘create’ more muscle. I’m sorry folks, but the only way to build muscle is to strength train regularly. Getting enough protein is an important component to building muscle, but don’t be fooled into thinking eating protein = gaining muscle (look around you, you don’t see all those carb-a-phobs growing pipes do you? The proof is in the pudding).

In fact, if you’re consuming more protein than you need (and hence more calories), your body is just burning this extra food as fuel. Keep in mind that our body’s currency is sugar. That’s right; your excess protein is being turned into sugar for fuel and to the detriment of your kidneys too I might add.

So, how much protein is too much? The recommended daily allowance for protein is 0.8g per kg body weight. There is good research out there suggesting that a little more than that is a good thing and for those of you trying to gain muscle mass – more like 1.2g protein per kg body weight should be the goal. If you are 150lbs, that’s 68kg so 68kg x 1.2g protein = about 82g protein per day. Some good sources of protein are listed below with their typical protein content:

Meat, fish & shellfish = 7-10g per oz

• Cottage cheese = 16g per ½ cup
• 0% Greek yogurt = 18g per ¾ cup
• 1 cup milk = 9g
• 1 egg = 6g
• 1oz cheese = 7g
• Beans/lentils = 9g per ½ cup
• 1 oz tofu = 5g

So you see, as a weight lifter – if you eat ½ cup cottage cheese with breakfast, have a tuna sandwich at lunch, have Greek yogurt as a snack and 4oz chicken for dinner, you’ve already met your needs – never mind the protein found in the other foods you eat throughout the day. My advice, skip the protein powder 😉

We’ve come a long way when it comes to foods in the market place prepared with trans fat – and thank goodness! That stuff is terrible for your heart!   …potato chips…French fries…fish sticks…to name a few of the old common trans fat offenders are now pretty much guaranteed not to contain the artery clogging fat.

Today, I am happy to announce that Mr. High Liner has taken his “Healthy Bake MultiGrain Fish Fillets” to a whole new level.  High Liner Healthy Bake MultiGrain Fish Fillets are baked, not fried (keeps the calories down even if it’s not fried in trans fat), low in calories (160 calories for 2 pieces of fish) and have a whopping 7g of fibre!  Now that’s whole grain – not just whole grain lip service.  Oh, isn’t it wonderful to have your cake and eat it tooJ.

This new product find is dietitian approved, fun for the kids and super easy and quick to make – Enjoy!

I would not be a good dietitian if I did not point out the benefits of breakfast.  So, yes, eating breakfast is healthy for you 😉  No surprise there, but did you know that eating breakfast (and specifically the kinds of things we North American’s typically eat for breakfast) can actually improve your mood, memory and productive performance?

Have you ever reached 9am (not a long day yet by any standards) and felt like you’d ‘woke up on the wrong side of the bed’?  This likely has more to do with what you ate (or didn’t eat) for breakfast rather than your surrounding circumstances.  A recent scientific review concluded that our cognitive function is sensitive to short term variations in the nutrients we typically eat in abundance at breakfast (many of the B vitamins, vitamin A & D, zinc, magnesium and iron).  Meaning that ‘mood’ you’re in or the ‘slump’ you feel in your productivity may not be due to “just a bad day”.

So what do I recommend?  Start everyday as a good day with a good breakfast.  Keep it simple but make sure the basics are always on your plate (bowl, whatever).  You need to have a good high fibre grain product with at least 10g fibre, some protein – aim for at least 12g – and likely some fruit for good measure.  Here are some ‘dietitian approved’ suggestions that anyone can manage…yes, even you 😉

• 2 slices of Silver Hills bread with 2 eggs
• 1 cup of  Fibre fit or fibre 1 cereal with 1 full cup of milk
• ¾ cup 0% Greek yogurt with ¾ cup Kashi GoLean Crunch cereal
• ½ cup cottage cheese with 2 packages of Quaker Weight Control instant oatmeal
• 1.5 cups of cooked oatbran (cooked with milk) plus an egg