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Dr. Roizen joins Dr. Oz onstage at Food for Your Whole Life on Sunday, June 6th
Good friends Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz shared the stage for a few minutes during the first day of the Food for Your Whole Life Symposium.
Archive for the 'healthy living' Category
Dr. Oz speaks at the 2-day Food for Your Whole Life Symposium on Sunday, June 6th, 2010 in NYC
Dr. Oz kicked off the 2-day Food for Your Whole Life Symposium on Sunday, June 6th, 2010 in NYC. Dr. Oz shared his knowledge about eating right and living well with the 1,000+ crowd who gathered that day. People from around the tri-state area came out to hear about how to live a whole and healthful life through better food and health choices.
By Corinne Dobbas, MS, Green Grapes Blog
We’re constantly reminded of what we need to do to be better, fix the problem, or undue any “wrongs.” But, what if you could go back in time—even for a little—and do something just a tad differently to change that one oh-how-I-wish-I-could-have-done-this-differently life moment because things would have been just that much better. Perhaps, you wish you would have taken that job, made that move, or spoke up to that special someone. Whatever it is—each of us has a wish-I-would-have moment.
Yet, when it comes to your health, there are certain things you can start doing RIGHT NOW so you never have to look back and regret. We have seen the future and know what will help keep your bod in top-notch shape—and it all starts with proper nutrition.
Nutrition is powerful, and when you seek the best of the best for your bod, you have the power to help prevent some chronic diseases, such as stroke, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity, osteoporosis, and some cancers. So, the real question is whether you’ve got the will to make these changes NOW to prevent problems later.
Some Answers:
- Glorify fruits and veggies: Make produce the main focus of your daily eats. This mantra is mentioned all the time, but there’s a reason for it—fruits and veggies are easy on the waistline, and are chock-full ofvitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other health-friendly micronutrients that help keep you free of disease.
- “Hug” those heart-healthy fats: Amp up your intake of mono- and poly-unsaturated fats to keep your heart health in-check. Healthy monos are found in olive and canola oil, sesame oil, avocado, and many other nuts and seeds. Polys include the essential heart-friendly fatty acid, omega-3, and are found in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring and trout. Other sources include walnuts and sunflower seeds and flaxseeds.
- Fill up on fiber: Foods like brown rice, whole-grain bread, oatmeal, popcorn, broccoli, sweet potatoes, beans, blackberries, strawberries—basically, foods from plants are a fabulous source of fiber that can help you achieve your goal of 20 to 30 grams of fiber per day (with men towards the higher end of the spectrum). Getting in your daily dose of fiber has shown to help reduce the risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, diverticulitis (inflammation of the intestine), and constipation. Plus, as my mentor, Joan Salge Blake, MS, RD, LDN would say, “Fiber helps fill you up, before it fills you out,” always a positive!
- Watch the added sugars and sodium: Limit processed packaged foods, the biggest sugar and sodium hitters, and opt for foods that you can actually recognize. When you choose foods in their whole form compared to processed form, you’re automatically—and drastically—reducing the sodium and sugar content of the foods you put in your bod. This allows your heart to work more efficiently and you to take in more essential nutrients. For example, choose low-fat cheese and strawberries instead of Cheetos® and a strawberry Fruit Roll-Up®.
- Go light on protein and dairy: Choose lean turkey, ham, seafood, and skinless chicken and trim any excess fat. Also, make sure to stick with lean cuts of beef—round steaks and roasts. If you can, opt for grass-fed meat too. It’s lower in total and saturated fat, slightly higher in omega-3s, and higher than grain-fed and finished meat in vitamin A and E—antioxidants that help prevent disease. And don’t forget about beans and lentils. They’re fabulous sources of fiber and protein that will help you stay fuller longer. When you can, replace meat with beans to increase fiber, decrease fat, and still get in satisfying, muscle-promoting protein. When it comes to dairy, pick low or non-fat goods. This way you’ll keep your heart and waistline in shape and give those bones the calcium and vitamin D they need to stay strong.
About Corinne
Corinne Dobbas has a MS in Nutrition Science from Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She completed her BS in Nutritional Sciences from Boston University. Recently, Corinne finished her dietetic internship at Tufts Medical Center’s Frances Stern Nutrition Center and is in the process of studying to take her Registered Dietitian exam. You can find Corinne at GreenGrapesBlog.com writing about nutrition, food, and wellness.
By Corinne Dobbas, BS, of Green Grapes Blog
Stress. Somehow the word alone creates tension. Yet not all stress is bad. Keep in mind that stress is a normal physiological reaction that allows us to meet the demands of our daily grind—pushing us to accomplish tasks and increase productivity. Think about all those deadlines, meetings, and presentations that you have going on. Would you be able to get them done just as fast without that extra added push of stress? For most of us, the answer is no.
However, when stress no longer motivates, but begins to “weigh you down”—the fine line between healthy and unhealthy stress has been crossed. If not properly managed, stress will begin to take a toll on your health. You may exhibit physical symptoms (i.e., fatigue, nausea, and insomnia); mental symptoms (i.e., poor concentration, burnout, and restlessness); social and emotional symptoms (i.e., isolation, anxiety, and feeling insecure), and/or behavioral symptoms (i.e., overeating, undereating, and relationship conflicts).
Know that stress is subjective. Everyone reacts to stress differently and has their own sources of stress called stressors. Your stressors may actually lessen the impact of another person’s stressors. Despite there being different symptoms and sources of stress for each of us, we all have one thing in common—the need to learn how to manage stress.
In order to decrease the negative effects of stress on our bodies and minds, we need to first pinpoint what exactly is stressing us out. Maybe it’s a fear of public speaking, deadlines, or problematic relationships. Or perhaps it’s heights, exams, or a big life change. Take time to identify your stressor. Next, determine what you can do to make whatever your stressor is stress you out less. For example, if you find making your lunch in the hectic AM is tacking on unneeded stress, make your lunch the night before. If a presentation is stressing you out because you have yet to start it, map out your plan of attack and get the ball rolling. Simply identify, plan, and attack.
Until you uncover your stressors and create a plan of attack, below are some practical tips to help you destress your day-to-day.
- Sweat it out. The endorphins from your feel-good workout will boost your mood and so will the feeling of accomplishment from a tough sweat session.
- Eat healthfully. Amp up your fruit, veggie, and whole grain intake. You’ll find that when you’re eating well, you’ll feel better, be more energized, and have an improved sense of well-being.
- Learn to say “no.” Sometimes the focus needs to be on you and not on what you “have to do.” Don’t forget that you need personal time too.
- Keep a journal. Simply writing down how you feel can be a fantastic release, and you may come to find that through journaling lies your answer of exactly what it is that you need to do to live more “stress-free.”
- Take a deep breath. In times of immediate stress, instantly calm yourself by taking a deep breath in while counting to 10, hold that same breath for 10 seconds, and exhale for 10 seconds. This tool serves as an instant destressor.
- Communicate. Talk out your feelings with your friends and family, or a counselor. Sometimes we just need someone to listen.
About Corinne
Corinne Dobbas has a BS in Nutritional Sciences from Boston University and is currently working towards her MS in Nutrition from Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She is also in the process of completing her dietetic internship at Tufts Medical Center’s Frances Stern Nutrition Center. Come June 2010, she will be a Registered Dietitian. You can find Corinne at GreenGrapesBlog.com writing about nutrition, food, and wellness.
By Jessica Maillet MS RD LDN CPT-ACSM from A Fete for Food
While “live long and prosper” may strike a chord with Trekkies, to nutrition experts it has an entirely different connotation. The secrets to aging with grace are fairly simple: Live lean, eat clean, choose green, and exercise in between.
Live lean. Maintaining a healthy body weight throughout life will reduce your risk for chronic diseases related to overweight and obesity like diabetes and heart disease. As we age, our metabolic rate slows slightly; exercise regularly and eat the right number of calories for your size and activity level to maintain a rockin’ metabolism into your 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and more.
Eat clean. Choose foods that are wholesome and contain the fewest number of ingredients in their original state. If a food has a label, check the ingredient list to determine if it is a whole food or a processed food; if there are words you cannot pronounce or the list covers most of the product’s side panel, it is probably highly processed. Even frozen fruit can contain other ingredients like added sugar, so do your research!
Choose green. Fill up your plate with plant-based foods. A diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, plant oils, and plant-based protein foods like beans, nuts, and seeds help to maintain a balance of healthy fats, protein, and carbohydrates filled with fiber to keep you body running like a well-oiled machine.
Exercise in between. Develop a love for exercise that you can take with you for years to come. This may be an enjoyment of taking a walk around your neighborhood, a ride on your bike with your child or grandchild, or a swim at your local health club. Exercise keeps your muscles, bones, brain, heart, and many other body parts working like a charm. I recently completed the Boston Marathon, and around mile 16, a woman with a “75” on her race bib passed me. Around mile 19, I realized that this woman was 75 years old and was completing the 2010 Boston Marathon! Now there’s a true love for exercise!
Adopting a healthy lifestyle of staying lean, eating clean, choosing green, and exercising in between can potentially improve the quality of your life. So, live long and prosper!
About Jessica
Jessica is a Registered Dietitian and certified personal trainer with a Master’s degree in clinical nutrition from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Check out Jessica’s blog at www.afeteforfood.com as she shows you how to develop a love for healthy foods and physical activity. Her passion is to inspire people to eat wholesome, local, affordable and delicious food that promotes happiness and health, and improves the environment and community in which we all live.
Janel Ovrut MS RD LDN from Eat Well with Janel
In my opinion, no other decade in our life is as diverse as our twenty-something years. You could go from living in a dorm room at college, to starting your first desk job, living on your own (and cooking too!), to marrying, and starting a family – all in a span of your 20s!
How are you supposed to healthfully handle the twenty-something years? Many 20-somethings are constantly on the go and choosing fast food or convenience foods, which may be high in fat, sugar and sodium and low in nutritional value. But eating well and staying active in this decade can be simple.
Elisa Zied MS RD CDN
Cooking at home may seem stressful for someone who is living in her own place for the first time, and navigating around an oftentimes teeny apartment kitchen. And most recipes serve multiple people, so it can seem wasteful to make all those meals when dining solo. My tip? Make big-batch meals and freeze single serve portions in glass containers for future dinners or leftover lunches. This will cut down on the amount of times you need to cook each week, and you’ll have home-cooked meals in a pinch that you can defrost and heat up in minutes. Elisa Zied, FFYWL speaker, agrees. “You don’t have to cook a whole meal! You can always lightly sauté veggies and chicken breast in olive oil, onion and garlic powder, for example and serve alongside some instant rice and voila!, you have a healthy delicious meal in no time. You can make double the amount you’ll eat and save it for leftovers the next day.”
After starting your first desk job, you may find that all of that sitting on your bottom is resulting in a slightly bigger bottom. Even during your 9-5 you can find time to move. Create desktop reminders to take a walk around the office to stretch your legs. “Set aside at least ten solid minutes each hour to get up and move; go talk to a friend, take a short, brisk walk, and/or stretch…if you can get some fresh air and sunlight that’s even better!” recommends Zied. Why not use a stability ball to sit on instead of a desk chair to work those core muscles while at your desk?
Finally, be prepared. If working long hours, juggling school and a job, or starting a family is leaving you less time to focus on nutrition, make a point to have healthy foods on hand for when you’ll need them most. Crackers, nuts, dried fruit, and small cans of water-packed tuna can provide you with food in a snap at work. Keep granola bars in your car and gym back in case your stomach starts to growl while you’re on the go. Have unsweetened applesauce in the cabinet, and frozen veggies in the freezer so you always have fruit and veggies when you’re in a jam and don’t have fresh on hand.
Let’s face it – with a new job…boyfriend…apartment…kitchen…family – you might find it hard to focus on food. But with a few simple tweaks, your twenty-something years can be the prime time to get your nutrition in tip-top shape.
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Our guest blogger this week is Janel Ovrut of EatWellwithJanelBlog.com. She is a registered dietitian with a master’s degree from the Nutrition Communication program at Tufts University in Boston, and a bachelor’s degree in Dietetics from Syracuse University. Janel is passionate about good food and enjoys helping others realize simple steps to take to improve eating habits…one bite at a time. Check out EatWellwithJanel.com for more about Janel and her work.
You can also follow Janel on Twitter!
By Corinne Dobbas, BS, of Green Grapes Blog
We all want to live a long life. But, let’s be real, we want more than just that. We want our time on Mother Earth to be invigorating, energizing, and rejuvenating.
Now, there’s no one trick—or pill for that matter—to achieving this ideal state of being. However, there are little things along the way that can help you get there. And, if you haven’t guessed yet, those “little things” all revolve around living a healthy lifestyle. Because honestly, there’s no way you’re going to feel invigorated, energized, or rejuvenated if you’ve been staring at a screen all day, noshing nightly at the local Mickey D’s, going days without your fruit and veggie friends, sleeping four hours a night, or going waterless for hours at a time.
You see where I’m going with this? It’s our day-to-day actions that add up, and eventually form a lifestyle. And it’s when that lifestyle is full of healthifying behaviors that you’re heading in the direction of longevity. WooT! WooT! I don’t know about you, but that’s a direction I’d like to head in!!!
SO…Let’s take a peek at some healthifying behaviors, shall we? Great! Here we go! Eating more fruits and veggies, switching to 100% whole grain products, dedicating seven hours of your day to sleep, eating more home-cooked meals, breaking a daily sweat, and downing more H20! These ALL top the healthy lifestyle 101 list. However, just because they’re the renowned chart toppers doesn’t mean that everyone’s doing them. So—let’s move in that proactive direction!
Grab a pen and paper…
Taking the First Little Step
- Write down one thing you plan on doing to become healthier, and make sure it is a S.M.A.R.T. goal
- S—Specific. Define your goal well. For example, “After work, I will walk 45 minutes three times per week around my neighborhood from this date forward.”
- M—Measurable. Set a goal that is measureable in some way. You want to be able to assess your progress. Not “I will eat more veggies,” but “I will eat at least 3 servings of veggies from today on.”
- A—Achievable. Make sure your goal is humanly possible! And reasonable for you! If you’ve never run a day in your life, your goal should not be “to run a marathon next week.” Instead try, “By the end of this year, I want to complete my first half marathon.”
- R—Relevant. Create a goal that’s important to you and that you’re confident you can achieve. This will allow you to get the job done and will set you up for success. Ask yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest level) where your goals falls. If your goal isn’t at least a seven in importance AND a seven in confidence that you can achieve it, modify or change your goal so it hits a seven in both categories, allowing for success!
- T—Timely. Give yourself a time frame to accomplish the goal. If your goal is to “replace sandwich bread with 100% whole-wheat bread each day starting today,” your time frame would be daily, from this day forth. If your goal is “to lose 10 pounds,” shoot for a realistic achievable time frame, such as 2 ½ months (about a pound per week).
Little Steps do Equal Success
Remember, nothing happens overnight. Just start small. The first step is choosing one S.M.A.R.T. goal and then choosing another. And before you know it, you’ll be walking along that healthy lifestyle path with some extra pep in your step, inching your way to a more zestful day … and longer life!
About Corinne
Corinne Dobbas has a BS in Nutritional Sciences from Boston University and is currently working towards her MS in Nutrition from Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. She is also in the process of completing her dietetic internship at Tufts Medical Center’s Frances Stern Nutrition Center. Come June 2010 she will be a Registered Dietitian. You can find Corinne at GreenGrapesBlog.com writing about nutrition, food, and wellness.