How to Live Like a Centenarian

Have you ever wondered if you’ll live to 100? Perhaps you’ve thought about what it would take? What’s the secret? Well, Dan Buettner did and made it his life’s mission to find out the secret to longevity. Leading a pack of researchers from National Geographic, Buettner discovered five places in the word where the highest number of centenarians lived. He coined these places “Blue Zones”. In this post, I’ll share with you the characteristics that make for the healthiest places, but also whether these places are still blue, and whether we can incorporate these same characteristics in an increasing globalizing world.

Introducing, the 5 Blue Zones:

1.    Loma Linda, CA, US

About 100 km east of Los Angeles there exists a small community made up of mostly Seventh-day Adventists. Their diet is mostly plant-based, and they practice the Sabbath on Saturday where they spend time with family and friends, and refrain from using technology.

2.    Nicoya, Costa Rica

Costa Rica benefits from a high life expectancy (2012: 79.7 years). Yet in the region of Nicoya, locals have a significant lower death rate compared to the rest of the country. Typically education levels and/or access to healthcare are determinants of health.  However, in Nicoya centenarians on average have lower levels of education than the rest of the country, and have equal access to healthcare. Their typical diet consists of traditional foods loaded with fibre like rice and beans. There is, though, one characteristic unique to  Nicoyans –Plan de Vida, which translates to “reason to live”. Residents here have a positive outlook on life and typically wake up with purpose and partake in an active lifestyle.

3.    Sardinia, Italy

A typical Sardinian walks five miles a day atop a mountainous region. Their diet consists of whole grains, beans, homegrown vegetables and fruits with a limited intake of animal protein (Sundays or on special occasions). Italians love their wine, and that is no different in Sardinia, where they consume it, although, in moderation.

4.    Ikaria, Greece

Rates of cancer among locals from the small island of Ikaria are 20% less than in North America. Also they have half the rate of heart disease compared to North America. Their diet is largely a Mediterranean one. Evidence has been able to draw the link that eating a Mediterranean diet may reduce our risk for certain chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Check it out here, here and here. Evidence is still evolving in this area, but a Mediterranean diet is intuitively beneficial since it encourages a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, fish and lean sources of protein. Sardinians also enjoy a daily mid-afternoon break (whether it be a nap or a cup of tea) to de-stress.

5.    Okinawa, Japan

The island of Okinawa carries historical significance since it was the site of the last and most decisive battle of WWII between the Japanese and Americans (for those not so historically inclined, this was referenced in Mel Gibson’s “Hacksaw Ridge”). If you are a woman in Okinawa you are 2-3 time more likely to live to 100 compared to all of Japan, Europe and North America. Side note, Okinawa is one of two areas with the highest number of female business leaders in Japan. Not only are female Okinawans living the longest, they’re also killing it in business. An Okinawan’s lifestyle is guided by the old Confucian mantra known as: “Hara Hachi Bu” which means: “eat until you are 80% full”. The theory behind this is that it allows your body time to digest in order to listen to internal hunger and fullness cues.

Globalization Meets Blue Zones

So what happens when globalization reaches these regions and threatens the way of life? Since Buettner’s Blue Zone study, fast food restaurants have popped up in the above five places, and although these changes may not have influenced the elderly population, they have already had an impact on the younger population. The city of Loma Linda attempted to ban drive thru fast food restaurants, but that was squashed and since then a variety of fast food chains have populated the “pure” community. In 2016, Nicoya introduced its first chain of  KFC.

Centenarians from Okinawa may not have been influenced by American society during WWII, but the growing fast food presence in Okinawa today is having a significant impact on the youth. The traditional Okinawa diet is fading and being replaced with Big Macs and Coke Zero resulting in a  rise in cholesterol and heart disease among the population. Japan has seen a three-fold increase in BMI from 1962 to 2002.

In Canada, a number of organizations are trying to direct policy and form advocacy groups to establish healthier food environments.  That being said, what lessons can we, as individuals, take from the Blue Zones study.

1.    Find Ways to De-Stress

Residents from the Blue Zones all had one thing in common: less stress. It sounds easy, but in a Western society so governed by technology, short lunch breaks and long working hours, finding time to de-stress is challenging.  However making it a priority can have a significant impact on your health. Whether it’s 15 minutes of meditation, art therapy, taking a walk or picking up a book, these actions can – at least temporarily – help to de-clutter our mind.

2.    Get Enough Zzs

This may seem like a no-brainer but getting enough sleep can do wonders for our health. In the Blue Zones, residents enjoy regular naps and typically get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep.

3.    Get Moving

We may not all be lucky enough to live near mountains or along the coast or have to walk many miles to get to the nearest market/town square, but there are tricks to get moving throughout the day. Try getting off the bus a few stops earlier, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or using half of your lunch break to get some fresh air.

4.    Support

Okinawans call it: Moais –these are groups of five friends that are committed to each for life. At age 5, Okinawan children are placed into these groups and meet up most days for sake and gossip. This dependency on one another and constant emotional and at times financial support has a tremendous impact on their health. Surround yourself with loved ones, join a community group or give your family members a call once in a while.

5.    Hara Hachi Bu

Eat until you are 80% full. It takes us 20 or so minutes for our stomach to empty, so take that time to listen to your body and recognize its fullness cues.

6.    Eat a Balanced Diet

Diet plays a considerable role in our health and can have significant long term impacts. Fuel your body with whole grains, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, fish and lean sources of protein.  Your 100-year-old self will thank you.

At the end of the day, remember that making it to 100 is influenced by a number of factors, including genetics, food environment, and even luck. What is important is to keep our health intact as we age.  Even though the Blue Zone regions may no longer be as relevant, with globalization now reaching even these isolated islands and communities, the data from these regions can still be used today to enrich our lives, and maybe even help us to reach 100. Here’s hoping.

Thanks for reading FoodVice.

The Truth About MSG

I think all of us can agree that we may not know what it stands for, but at one time or another you’ve been told to steer clear of the big bad MSG. What you might not have been told is what it is, why it’s used in food, and why we should be rethinking its banned status by society. I’m here to give you the low-down on MSG and what the research says.

The nutrition world always seems to be deduced to the classic black and white ideology. Once a food or nutrient gets one bad review, it gets etched in stone, and that’s it… it’s kind of like when a restaurant gets a bad review and then goes bankrupt the next day. It’s not fair, and from a science perspective, which is changing every single day, it’s impossible to live by that ideology.

Keeping with the restaurant simile, that’s exactly what happened back in the 60s which to this day is still the bane of many North American Chinese restaurateur’s existences.

It all started when a Chinese physician ate at Chinese restaurant and suddenly started to feel a variety of symptoms like: headache, flushed skin and sweating. He coined these feeling as: The Chinese Restaurant Syndrome (man, he was intensively targeting when he created this syndrome). He blamed his symptoms on a common food additive used in Asian cuisine: monosodium glutamate, known more common as MSG.

We’ve all heard of food sensitivities and allergies, and the symptoms that this physician was describing sounded like he may have been sensitive to MSG, which can happen, much like someone who is sensitive to dairy. Food sensitivities occur in a small subset of our population, but to say MSG impacts every single one of us, is a questionable statement.

From that day on, MSG became known as the most vilified food additive in North America. MSG became the toy nobody wanted to play with, and led restaurants to remove the additive completely from their menu and even advertise with a MSG-Free sign to convince customers to come back.

So why was it used in the first place?

Glutamic acid is a non-essential amino acid, which basically means we make it in our body and it is one of the building blocks to make proteins. Glutamic acid is found naturally in food so the notion that MSG is a dangerous chemical is simply not true. We can find glutamic acid in tomatoes and cheese. Glutamic acid combined with salt becomes the superhuman monosodium glutamate, also known as flavour town.

MSG is used because it takes us to an area of flavour town you might never have been before, AKA Umami town. Umami is the 5^th basic taste. It’s not sweet, sour, salty, bitter or a combo of all… it’s even better and unique. Much of Asian cuisine is thanks to the umami discovery. In Western cuisine we tend to use fat as our flavouring tool, however some genius in Asian cuisine was able to still produce that same flavour minus the fat.

To this day, no research has been able to make a strong enough argument that MSG causes Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. Even the government got involved. A joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives back in the 80s reported that MSG poses no hazard to our health. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (that was a long title to type) undertook a review in 1995 that could also not find a link between MSG and these symptoms.

Anti-MSGers (not a thing) tend to make the direct association between MSG and brain function and claim MSG causes headaches and even brain damage (whoa… hold up, let’s hear from research). A 2016 review gathered all relevant human studies measuring the effect of MSG on headaches and concluded that there were no significant differences in the incidence of headaches between the MSG group and the placebo group. One study did find that with a high dose of MSG without food (given in capsule form), some individuals experienced adverse GI reactions which led to vomiting. However, I think you can agree with me when I say most people aren’t hooked up to an MSG IV/taking MSG capsules or eating that much Chinese food in a day to experience symptoms like that –like it would take a truck load of Chinese food to experience symptoms like that. Remember that those results only came from one study so we cannot say for sure the direct cause was MSG and future studies will be needed to make that conclusion. Some of the studies were not completely blind, meaning the test subjects knew they were ingesting MSG, which can prove difficult when assessing results, since some may be more prone to migraines or may believe they are MSG sensitive which greatly affects the results.

Now it’s time for the TSN Turning Point. We’ve established that some people may be sensitive to MSG (small subset of population) and we’ve established that there is no evidence to suggest the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome (sorry Doc). Here’s the twist: there’s some evidence that MSG may carry some benefits.

When everyone was hating on MSG, some researchers were busy looking at MSG as a potential salt substitute.

“MSG contains only 1/3 of the amount of sodium as table salt”

 Our society loves to eat salt… we eat too much of it and so much of our processed foods are loaded with salt, mainly for preservation and for taste. One study decided to reduce the sodium content in its soup and replace with MSG in an attempt to not compromise the taste. The results showed that individuals still enjoyed the taste of the soup and that when sodium was reduced and MSG was increased, the soup was still tasty. Canned soup is a hot ticket item in stores because it’s convenient and affordable –the only downside is the high sodium content, which puts us at risk for high blood pressure and several chronic diseases. Salt substitutes are highly popular in the market, but with the bumped up umami flavour profile from MSG, it may be a more desirable option for people who don’t want to miss out on flavour.

When people were still hating on MSG, some researchers looked into MSG as a solution to get the elderly to eat more in hospitalized settings.

As individuals age, some start to lose their sense of taste which leads them to eat less and puts them at risk of malnutrition and unintended weight loss. As Dietitians, our job is to find strategies to increase food intake by intensifying the taste and smell of foods. One method tried adding MSG to the food and the results were interesting. Researchers found that individuals with decreased food intake who were given MSG in their food experienced an increase in appetite due to the palatability of MSG.

Since we’re already talking about extravagant theories, how about I introduce my theory: “The I’m going to eat everything in sight because I’m at a Chinese restaurant”.

Some people may feel totally bloated or uncomfortable after eating Chinese food because of its binge like tendencies. Stick with me. When I get to a Chinese restaurant, I order like a King: “Oh yeah, let’s get an order of that and why not that and worse come to worse we’ll have leftovers”.  Honestly I think Chinese restaurants are the only place where people always order more than they should. So maybe you’re sluggish the next day or still stuffed from the night before but don’t blame the restaurant or the MSG because you decided to order like it was your last night on earth. The best tip I can give you is let everyone at the table pick one dish they like. Then give everyone time to digest –it typically takes us about twenty minutes for our stomach to empty so use that time to chit chat. If by then people are still hungry, order a few more plates.

So what have we learned?

We’ve learned that with the current research we have, MSG is safe to ingest and may even carry some benefits. We’ve learned that some individuals may be MSG-sensitive and may need to speak with their doctor. Remember pacing yourself at a Chinese restaurant will leave you feeling less bloated and you’ll end up enjoying the experience. Finally, I think it’s about time we all stop quoting the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome from the 60s… and as coined by our Prime Minister Trudeau: “Because it’s 2017”.

    (retrieved from: https://www.liberal.ca/because-its-2015-t-shirt/)

Still applicable for 2017

Thanks for reading FoodVice.

Have you avoided MSG? Please share your comments below.

 

Making the Perfect Cup of Matcha

If you haven’t heard about matcha yet, I’m sure you won’t be able to avoid it for long because it has become the trendiest of drinks. Read on and I’ll take you through the steps of enjoying the perfect cup of matcha.

Getting a solid cup of matcha used to be hard to come by, but now every neighbourhood java joint features this elegant smooth green tea beverage.

What is matcha you might ask? Matcha is a finely ground powder that is made from green tea. Matcha is a stable ingredient used in Japanese cuisine –from using it in baking to dying noodles. Drinking matcha in beverage form, specifically in the form of a latte, has become very popular and super trendy. You can thank Starbucks for the beginning of matcha lattes in North America. However, many underground cafes are preparing matcha the authentic way by whisking with hot water. To see this in action, hit up Neo Coffee Bar in the St. Lawrence Market for an authentic perfect cup and real matcha experience. They also offer an array of matcha desserts. So if you’re really in the matcha mood, hit em up.

Another reason matcha has become trendy, is because it is often prized for its health benefits. Matcha is a common ingredient now in weight loss pills and its supposed ability to burn fat. Recent research has found a very weak link between matcha and wt. loss and has yet to prove any real results.

Matcha has gotten a lot of attention because of its antioxidant contents that can protect our cells from being damaged and may have protective effects from disease. Research around this concludes there may be benefits but they are minimal. Matcha can still be a great alternative to high calorie sugary drinks, so why not give it a try.

One thing many people might not know is that making matcha requires attention and careful preparation. One wrong move and you may burn the tea which can be a major pain seeing how expensive authentic pure matcha is. We’re talking around $20 bucks for a few ounces.

Choosing Your Matcha

Ceremonial Grade

This grade is the top brass of grades –it has a bright green colour and an incredible smooth flavour. This grade is best prepared with solely hot water and shouldn’t be used in smoothies or lattes –don’t mess with its purity!

Culinary Grade

This grade is more realistic in terms of price and for many who are not matcha snobs, this may be the matcha for you. Not as bright in colour as the ceremonial grade, this matcha works well in baking, smoothies or lattes to add a bit of umph to it.

There’s a third grade out there that you must be aware of. I call it the tainted grade. You may find cheap matcha out there, but be sure to check the ingredients list. Some matcha out there are only really made up of ¼ matcha and the rest is mixed with sugar and powdered milk. So look for unsweetened matcha for the real thing.

What You Need

• A tea kettle
  
• A matcha bowl or any ordinary bowl
• Ceremonial grade matcha
• A matcha bamboo whisk or any ordinary whisk
• A matcha teaspoon or any ordinary teaspoon

* I am a bit of a matcha snob and rely entirely on my matcha equipment, but quite honestly these substitutes work fine and make you look less like a pretentious hipster *

Step 1: Boil Your Water

Listen carefully. This part is important. Your water temp can make or break the perfect cup. Once your water is boiled, place about ½ cup into a tea cup and let it sit a few minutes until it cools down to 180-190 degrees.

Step 2

Place 1.5 teaspoons of matcha into matcha bowl and then use a whisk to gently break up and the clumps –you want it too look like a very thin powder. If you have a sifter, use that.

                    

Step 3

Once the water was cooled down, pour the teacup of water slowly into the matcha mixture in the matcha bowl.

Step 4: Figure 8s

This next step requires a bit of fancy technique. Picture figure eights in your head and use your whisk to follow that pattern. Your matcha is ready once the mixture fills your bowl with tons of bubbles and turns frothy.

Step 5

You’re done and you can now reward yourself with a perfect cup of matcha. Enjoy plain, or add honey or agave syrup.

I know some of us feel like we should cut back a tad on our coffee intake, so next time coffee hour hits try a cup of matcha instead. Matcha still contains caffeine but less than a cup of coffee, so to ease your caffeine addiction try a soothing cup of matcha, and it may be a complete game-changer.

Has matcha changed your life? Comment below if it has!

Thanks for reading FoodVice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Recipe for the Most Sustainable Diet

Did you know that lettuce produces three times more greenhouse gases than bacon? In this post, I’m evaluating saving the planet diets, and will provide you with some tips to achieving the most sustainable diet.

I think that at this point, we can all agree that we humans, have had an impact on climate change. Because of this discovery, I personally believe it is our responsibility to work to reduce our footprint, one small action at a time.

Maybe you didn’t get the memo, but humans’ greatest contribution to climate change is likely the high levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) we’ve emitted over time. In nature, these gases trap heat (much like what a greenhouse does) in our atmosphere. And humans over time, yeah you and me, have produced too much in our atmosphere and that is making the earth warmer than it should be.

As we speak our politicians, scientists and international leaders are engaging in climate talks and making pledges to reduce global gas emissions. So what about us, the average consumer? What can we do? If consumers come together and we each make small lifestyle changes –whether it’s choosing to cycle to work instead of driving, or by using fuel efficient light bulbs, we all can have a positive and sustainable impact.

Aside from that, there are consumers that are reducing their carbon footprint simply through their dietary choices. In the past, most people would change their diets for one sole purpose –weight loss. Recently, I’ve seen a trend where people are changing the way they eat food to be environmentally friendly. The common diet trend is to adopt a local and/or vegetarian diet to save the plant.

My big question is: are these diets actually making a dent in solving the world’s climate problem?

When you buy local, you’re not only supporting local producers, but there are also fewer trains, planes and automobiles (in other words, big energy users) bringing your food from farm to fork. While this is an important step in helping the environment, a guava’s flight from Brazil to Ottawa only accounts for a small percentage of its actual environmental impact – 11% to be more precise. So where’s the other 89% of GHG emissions coming from?

Researchers Weber and Matthews  found that “83 percent of emissions occur before food even leaves the farm gate”. So maybe we need to rethink the local movement? We need to think bigger. We need to consider the production end of our food system.

Let’s dig deeper.

Our food producers are trying to feed our growing population and in the process are emitting large amounts of GHG emissions. These high GHG emissions result in extreme weather conditions like rising sea levels and heat waves which ironically destroy crops and disrupt agricultural production making it more difficult to feed everyone. Sounds silly doesn’t it? In the process of trying to feed everyone, we’re causing more harm, and making it even harder to feed everyone.

Is that a catch 22?

So eating locally is clearly a step in the right direction, but to address the 89% of GHG emissions there must be more we can do.

So then that led me to a vegetarian diet.

Vegetarians have good intentions –they have seen the evidence that livestock farming (beef, pork and poultry) emits the greatest amount of GHGs through manure and feeding methods. Side note: Bon Appetite Magazine breaks down which meats are more sustainable than others. Click here to find the answer.

There are also added bonuses from a health perspective if you go veg the right way: a vegetarian diet can lower your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Avoiding red meat means eating a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol which can protect you from the diseases just mentioned.

Great, so let’s go vegetarian.

But then we come to something I like to call the “bacon and lettuce paradigm”. A recent 2016 American study  found that “lettuce produces 3x more greenhouse gas emissions than bacon”. Why lettuce? Well this leafy green is difficult to grow since it requires large amounts of water and energy to produce.

Now, I’m confused. If we want to reduce our environmental footprint, then should we all be switching to a bacon-only diet? While I’m sure it would make a lot of people very happy, I am in no way advocating that we should all be eating bacon all the time since nutritionally, lettuce wins each time. What I am saying is that we need to have a more nuanced understanding of how complex our food system is. And we need to be critical of the all or nothing diets that label “good” and “bad” foods, whether from a health or environmental perspective.

The moral of this story can be summarized with Michael Pollan’s mantra: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants”. Maybe this time meat isn’t the enemy –meat commonly takes the fall when we talk about reversing climate change. Environmental issues occur when we consume too much of it. Maybe the secret to a good and green diet is balance. The new trend that more and more people are gravitating towards is the flexitarian lifestyle. You’re basically a semi-vegetarian but you occasionally eat meat and fish. Sounds like a compromise.

Restricting foods in our diet could mean restricting important nutrients. So a way to mitigate this is to consume in moderation, and you can still reap the nutritional benefits of food and be sustainable at the same time.

Diversifying the diet can’t hurt. If you already ate lettuce today, maybe try experimenting with another vegetable like brussel sprouts, which emit less GHGs.

“Focusing on food miles is simplistic and is only one piece of the puzzle.”

A low greenhouse gas diet (LGG) may not be trendy enough for Gweny’s lifestyle blog Goop, but it’s flexible and is aimed at letting the consumer examine a food’s lifecycle –where it’s been, how it’s been produced, and ensuring that it’s disposed correctly. Focusing on food miles is simplistic and is only one piece of the puzzle. So is just choosing to eliminate meat. A LGG has positive effects not only on the environment but also on our health.

So logistically, what does a LGG diet look like? Here are some tips:

• Eat a small amount of animal products (2-3 servings a week) – try a ‘Meatless Monday’

1 serving = the size and width of a deck of cards or the size of your palm

• Include vegetable protein sources like lentils, beans, tofu, nuts and seeds
• Choose vegetables grown closer to home –this would limit the travel of your food
• Do some research! Learn about the amount of energy used in growing the food you’re eating
• Avoid wasting food –once waste arrives at a landfill it produces harmful GHGs
• Avoid heavily packaged food –packaging requires lots of energy and usually ends up in a landfills
• Avoid highly/ultra-processed foods –these foods require large amount of energy to produce and are often calorie dense and nutrient-deficient

It may not be sexy, but the bottom line is that moderation, variation and flexibility is the best way to enjoy our food without guilt. So yes, occasionally indulging on bacon will not hurt. But remember that what you eat, the earth does also.

Thanks for reading FoodVice.

Comment below with your thoughts!

 

Is This a War on Sugar?

Not all sugar is created equal, and I’ll tell you what you need to know to tell the difference.

The nutrition world just got hit with another controversy – it’s white, sweet and practically EVERYWHERE. Sugar has been around since ancient times, but only now is receiving flack. Why? Well, many scientists are now concluding that our excessive use of sugar in our food supply may be correlated to the excessive rise in type 2 diabetes and obesity. Hmm, coincidence?

Over the past two weeks, sugar has been on many people’s mind and the media’s to-do list. We owe this attention to Gary Taubes. Gary Taubes is an American author whose interests have focused mainly on medicine and nutrition. He has recently published a novel known as: The Case Against Sugar and this book has garnered a lot of attention in the media because of his claims. His main conclusion is that our high intake of carbohydrates stimulates the production of lots of insulin which causes the body to store fat.

The strongest case scientists have to make the link between sugar and obesity is sugar-sweetened beverages. The WHO gathered systematic literature (the gold standard in research) reviews and other studies that showed a significant association between these liquid sugar beverages and obesity.

      

Countries around the world have acted on this link by imposing sugary drink taxes. I’m sure we all remember Bloomberg giving it a whirl, when he wanted to prevent the sale of 16oz or greater containers of sugary drinks. Many critics saw this as an attempt to create a “nanny state” and at the last minute the State Supreme Court dismissed the law and Bloomberg’s dreams were crushed.

I have to give Bloomberg credit for his efforts. I know the libertarians out there, like Ron Swanson would say:

Photo Credit: ronsays.tumblr.com

But Bloomberg was not only looking out for the health of his city but also healthcare spending.

Mexico has one of the highest rates of obesity and I am positive that translates to mucho public healthcare costs. Due to these numbers and the evidence around sugary drinks and obesity, Mexico imposed a 1 peso/L (0.06 CND) tax on sodas. Since then, the sale of sodas has gone down and the purchase of water has gone up. Success? It’s a step in the right direction and countries worldwide are following suit.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, the study looking at sugar-sweetened beverages did not look at total sugars, so we can’t yet make the blanket statement that all sugars are evil. It is hard for research to study the effects of total sugar because when I think of sugar, as an RD, I think about sugar found in whole foods like milk, breads and fruit. Remember those?

When we break these foods down we see sugars like sucrose, lactose, fructose and glucose. These same sugars are added to highly processed foods, but the one difference is that whole foods provide us with an added bonus: vitamins, minerals and nutrients. The problem with highly processed foods is that someone out there is engineering your food – they are adding loads of concentrated sugars that many of us can’t pronounce.

I think the lesson from all of this, is that sugar is not evil, but the way sugar is used in highly processed foods is evil. Before I throw around the term: processed, I want to explain a few things. Some people (I don’t want to point out anyone in particular…. But they tend to gravitate towards the cleanse/clean eating lifestyle) will make blanket statements like: “I’ve cut out all processed foods and I feel great… you should try it Debbie! I’ve lost like 20 pounds!”.

So Debbie’s probably wondering, what makes a food processed?

You have to think of processed foods as a continuum. Cutting out processed foods is kind of impossible, because a food can be considered processed if it’s frozen, dried or chopped up – it basically describes a change to a food before it’s eaten. So those frozen berries and pre-washed container of kale you throw in your smoothie are actually considered processed foods –minimally processed foods to be exact. As we move along the processed foods continuum we get to the extreme end known as ultra-processed foods.

Dietitians of Canada defines ultra-processed foods as: “formulations made from substances extracted or refined from whole foods (i.e. cookies, soft drinks, prepared dishes)”. These foods are usually injected with more added salt, sugar and fat which make them packed with more calories than the average home-cooked meal. These are the foods we want to limit. Gary Taubes is speaking particularly to these foods. Foods that may have originally been whole foods, but have been engineered to such an extent that you don’t even recognize them anymore. Scary stuff.

We also can’t ignore the societal context we live in now. Things are different. We’re using technology for practically everything we do, and we’re moving less. We need gadgets like Fit Bits and Apple Watches to tell us to move. Our sedentary lifestyle and our dependence on quick accessible foods is hurting us… So like some things, we have to go back to the basics. And we are. We’re starting food gardens, we’re bringing food back to cities, we’re baking bread, canning foods, and learning to cook.

I think food innovation is great, but there are dangers of changing food too much. Much like ultra-processed foods, we are using food technology to create evil beings, our grandmothers wouldn’t recognize. When talking about food, keeping things simple is a concept I like to lean towards.

So this war on sugar… what side am I on? I’m on the natural sugar containing foods side. Here are some tips to stay on the right side of history:

• Throw fruit in yoghurt/cereal to still achieve that sweetness effect
• Maybe your favourite 12 grain loaf of bread contains sugar, but remind yourself of the fibre and vitamins and minerals you’re getting from that bread
• Spend more time in the outskirts of the grocery store – that’s where the whole foods are
• Slowly cut back on the sugar that you add to your coffee – over time you won’t even miss it
• Watch out for those flavoured lattes and blended drinks – I used to work at Starbucks, and let me tell you that I got a fairly good workout by pumping those syrups into cups. Ask for half sweet next time you’re at your fav coffee joint and over time reduce your intake
• Use sugar substitutes like apple sauce or dates when baking
• Read food labels – thanks to lobbying and public interest there is a movement to have clearer sugar details on food labels, by specifically distinguishing the type of sugars, so be proactive and keep an eye out.
• Keep an eye out for “low fat” foods – even though they are low in fat, this tends to mean they are packed with sugar to make up for the lack of fat flavour. So be sure to check the sugar content on the nutrition facts table.

I know it’s not possible to avoid added sugar, like adding sugar to coffee or baking a cake, but there are recommendations about how much added sugar we should have on a daily basis. The Heart and Stroke Foundation recommends no more than 12 teaspoons, while the World Health Organization recommends no more than 6 teaspoons.

 

Either way, this can provide you with a guideline. This guideline does not include natural sugar containing foods like the ones mentioned above (fruit, bread, milk…etc.). It means added sugars like: molasses, honey, table sugar and brown sugar.

The obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemic came quickly and doesn’t seem to be going away. There are a variety of factors influencing our health, but food is one thing we can try to control. The amount of sugar in highly processed foods is out of control, and countries have already tried to ban highly sugary drinks in schools. Too much of a good thing, becomes a bad thing, and we are starting to see that with sugar. Remember, not all sugar is created equal – whole fruits, vegetables, bread and milk provide us with a good dose of nutrients, vitamins and minerals and should not be avoided. Maybe the only war we should be starting is against ultra- processed foods.

Please give me a comment for your thoughts!

 

 

 

 

 

Trendy Turmeric: An Antidote for Longevity?

For some, turmeric is one of the many spices you’ll find in Indian curries. For others, they are praising its almighty powers and drinking it in liquid form.

Once featured in Bon Appetit as a trendy drink and obviously Paltrow’s site Goop, I had to ask what all the hype was about.

Personally, I don’t have any beef with turmeric –I use it in rice dishes, soups, stews and curries. It’s a great spice, and adds a beautiful colour and flavour to any dish.

I did want to find out why out of nowhere it became the hottest drink of 2016. I decided to google it and as I’m scrolling I got hit with terms like:

“Anti-inflammatory” 

“Cancer-protecting”

“A remedy for chronic disease”

“Cures arthritis”

And my ultimate favourite by a Dr. Oz wannabe:

“10 Turmeric Benefits Superior to Medications”

Back it up… did you say superior to medications? Why is nobody doing anything about this. If turmeric can reverse cancer cell division and cure arthritis, why are we not acting on this? Why are baristas at underground cafes the only ones providing creamy delicious turmeric lattes… Not to hate on baristas, since I used to be one, but I didn’t know their job description included public health responsibilities.

I decided to do some research digging on my own, and turmeric has been studied exhaustively. Not really turmeric, the spice, but more specifically an ingredient found in the spice: Curcumin.

Curcumin is a polyphenol, also known as an antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory properties, which is why so many people praise it as a cancer-protecting super spice. However, the extent of its superpowers is still under scrutiny.

There are a variety of studies looking at the role of curcumin as a therapeutic tool, but a lot of the claims coming from these studies revealed they only used rats as subjects. From a research methods perspective, we cannot rely on rat studies to make concrete nutrition recommendations.

A 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials looked at the role of turmeric in alleviating symptoms of joint arthritis and found that turmeric did not have a significant impact on treating individuals with those symptoms.

Some literature online stated that turmeric was so magical it could reduce depressive symptoms in patients with major depression. That’s quite a claim. All I found was research with more rats and also a 2016 clinical trial that could not find any evidence to support that claim. More bad news.

Not to be a Debbie Downer but from a clinical trials perspective, the evidence for turmeric being a treatment for all the ails of man, are thin. However, I cannot discount the history of turmeric –it is an ancient spice used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine and for many people, having their parents whip up hot milk and turmeric brings back warm memories of home.

Aside from golden milk being a deliciously creamy latte, we cannot yet say it is the end all of all diseases so please don’t throw back abundant shots of turmeric (I think I just gave a juice bar another flavour idea).

With all this said, don’t let that discourage you from having turmeric in your cupboards. Turmeric is a great spice to season vegetables and meat without having to add salt.

And if you are curious about testing out this creamy milk anecdote, for $6 you can at Toronto Cafes like Nutbar and Offsite. So for now, we wait… I am sure another super spice is right around the corner.