Milk labels can be very confusing, so today I’m going to try to clarify some of the common misconceptions with milk.  The following are the answers to some questions my patients frequently ask:

1. What is the difference between Fat-Free Milk and Skim Milk?  There is no difference.  Skim, fat-free and non-fat milk are all terms used to describe milk that has 0% fat.
2. Whole milk is often labeled as “Vitamin D Milk”, so is it a better source of vitamin D than skim milk?  No, 1 cup (8 ounces) of skim milk has the same amount of vitamin D as 1 cup of whole milk.  While the vitamin D is removed from skim milk along with the fat, skim milk is then fortified with at least 400 IUs  of vitamin D per quart.   
3. Whole milk is best for children, right?  Whole milk is the best choice for children up until the age of 2 years old.  After that, it is best to start to switch children to lower fat versions.  The fat in milk is a saturated fat which is an “unhealthy” fat that can lead to heart disease down the road.
4. How much of an impact on my weight can there be from switching to a lower fat milk?  Reduced fat milk is lower in fat and calories.  The following is a chart that demonstrates this difference:

So, if you switch from whole milk to skim milk, you would save 70 calories per cup (8 ounces).  If you drink 2 cups of milk per day, you would save 140 calories each day.  This change alone would lead to a 14-pound weight loss at the end of the year by saving 51,100 calories and 2,920 grams of the unhealthy saturated fat.  This shows how small changes can’t make big differences!

We hear the term organic all the time and now there are so many organic foods available in the grocery stores.  But what does the term “organic” mean?  Organic refers to the way in which a food is grown.  Agricultural crops must meet certain specifications in order to label their products as “organic”.  Farmers are restricted as to the amount of pesticides used and organic produce must not be genetically modified.  Therefore, organic produce is much lower in pesticides and these farming practices are generally much better for the environment.

Unfortunately, when shopping for organic products, many people notice that these benefits often come with a hefty price tag.  So, if you’re worried about pesticides but you don’t want to break the bank, you might want to only buy organic fruits and vegetables if the regular products are high in pesticides.  The Environmental Working Group has come up with a list that ranks fruits and vegetables according to their pesticide content. 

The following is a list of “the dirty dozen”.  These fruits and vegetables are highest in pesticides and you may want to look for “organic” products.

• Peaches
• Apples
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Imported Grapes
• Pears
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Carrots

The following are the “Clean Fifteen”.  These are the least likely to be contaminated and you may not need to buy organic products.

• Avocados
• Pineapples
• Mangoes
• Kiwi
• Papayas
• Watermelon
• Grapefruit
• Onions
• Sweet Corn
• Asparagus
• Sweet Peas
• Cabbage
• Eggplant
• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Sweet Potatoes

For a more complete list of the pesticide load of fruits and vegetables, you can visit the following website: http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php.

Fruits and vegetables are jam packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber.  They also provide a lot of volume for the calories, so they can be very filling and aid in weight management.  For these reasons among others, they are truly some of the healthiest foods around. 

The bad news is that most Americans don’t the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.  The good news is that this is the perfect time of year to increase your intakes of these power foods because there are more fruits and vegetables “in season” during the summer than any other time of year.  Not only does this make them tastier, but it also makes them more affordable.  The following is a list of some of the more common fruits and vegetables in season this summer:

Fruits:

Vegetables:

Food allergies have been on the rise along with childhood obesity.  Is this a coincidence?  Not necessarily.  Researchers studied over 4,000 children and found that overweight or obese children are 25% more likely to have food allergies and are over 50% more likely to be allergic to milk.

While researchers are uncertain as to how weight affects food allergies, they speculate that it may be due to increased inflammation within the body.  Although the findings do not prove that extra weight causes food allergies, it may provide one more reason to help kids maintain a healthy weight.

There are a lot of misconceptions as to which alcoholic beverage is the “best” choice when trying to watch calories.  Many people gravitate toward hard alcohol because they feel that it is a better choice than beer, but this is not necessarily true.  In fact, just 1.5 ounces (a shot glass) of hard alcohol often has more calories than a light beer.  To make matters worse, hard alcohol is often mixed with sugary beverages which increases calories even more (i.e. rum and coke, vodka and orange juice). 

The following is a breakdown as to the typical calorie content of alcoholic beverages:

If you’re going to have a drink, the best choice is a glass of wine.  A light beer is probably the second best choice.  Watch out for the mixed drinks because they are high in calories, and some of the drinks like oversized daiquiris and margaritas can end up being a whopping 500 calories or more.  

No matter what you choose, moderation is the key.  Not only is alcohol high in calories but it also stimulates appetite and lowers inhibitions.  Not such a great combination for anyone trying to manage weight or lead a healthy lifestyle.

 Detox diets are all the rage right now despite the lack of research on their effectiveness.  There are many types of detox diets that are popular.  Some examples include:

• Excluding all solid foods
• Only eating fruits and vegetables
• Drinking special drinks (i.e. a mixture of lemon juice, maple syrup, water, and cayenne pepper)
• Taking herbal supplements, laxatives or enemas

Just as there are many types of detox diets, there are also many reasons why people decide to try these diets.  Some people do it to lose weight, others do it to “detoxify their system” and yet others for religious reasons.  The later of which seems to be the only valid reason to go on a detox diet.

For weight loss, these diets are usually ineffective.  Yes, it is true that most people will lose weight on detox diets, but this will likely be regained when people go back to their normal eating patterns and most people will end up with a less desirable body composition (less muscle and more fat). These diets are usually very low in calories (so you are losing some fat weight), but they also provide insufficient protein and carbohydrates (so you are also losing muscle and water weight). The following is an example of what happens with 20 pounds of rapid weight loss:

As you can see, you end up with less muscle and more fat after the diet.  The muscle loss ends up slowing down the metabolism which lowers calorie needs.  This is why it can get more difficult to lose weight after yo-yo dieting.

As for detoxification, our body has its own built-in detoxification system…the kidneys, liver and intestinal tract.  Some proponent of detox diets suggest that you need to give your system “a break” so that the cells in your intestinal tract can rid themselves of toxins and regenerate.  However, these cells are constantly regenerating at a rapid rate (even without detoxifying the system) and I would have to ask if you would ever consider giving your heart or lungs “a break”?  If not, I wouldn’t worry about giving the other organs a break.

For a healthy individual, following a liquid diet or eating only fruits and vegetable for 3-5 days will probably not cause harm.  However, following any extreme diet for long periods of time can lead to nutrient deficiencies or more serious problems.  Taking laxatives can lead to dependence and some herbal substances can be very dangerous, especially when combined with certain medications.  People with medical issues need to be even more careful.  For example, a person with diabetes could end up with hypoglycemia (low blood sugars) within a few hours on some of these extreme diets.  Physician supervision is always recommended for any extreme diet or adding laxatives, herbal supplements or enemas.

If you really want to keep your intestinal tract “cleaned out”, I would recommend a diet that is high in fiber and drinking plenty of water on a regular basis.  (Unlike detox diets, there is a lot of scientific evidence behind this recommendation.  Please see my post on the benefits of fiber.)  If you want to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume, but a more moderate approach (i.e. creating a 100-500 calorie deficit per day)is much safer and much easier to maintain in the long run.

Once again, milk has been found to be the ideal post-workout beverage.  In a study done on cyclists, researchers provided chocolate milk, a sports drink or a commercially available fluid replacement drink after an intense workout.  Four hours later, the men were then asked to cycle to exhaustion.  Those given chocolate-milk were able to cycle 51 percent longer than those given the sports drink and 43 percent longer than those given the fluid replacement drink. 

Researchers from England’s Northumbria University speculate that the differences between the beverages could be due to the type of carbohydrates that are in milk or the fat content in the milk (because the overall calorie content among the beverages was similar).

So, before spending a lot of money on expensive sports drinks, consider milk after your next workout.  Not only can it help improve recovery periods, but it also provides other nutrients, like calcium and vitamin D, that many of us don’t get enough of in the diet.

Reference: http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/news.asp?artid=13503&title=Chocolate-milk-wins-battle-of-the-sports-drinks&odr=&page

 Acai supplements have become extremely popular recently, and it is no surprise when you look at the ads.  Who wouldn’t want to take a supplement that “melts off the pounds”, detoxifies the body and is great source of antioxidants.  In fact, it almost sounds too good to be true…and that’s because it is too good to be true.

There is no research to support using Acai for weight loss, to increase energy or to detoxify your body.  But what about Oprah…if she endorses it, it must work, right?  The truth is that Oprah does not endorse Acai, and this supplement has been part of a multimillion dollar scam.  Need proof??  Check out this “Berry Weight Loss” clip from ABC news and read this “Fraud Alert” in April’s Nutrition Action Newsletter.  Still not convinced, please take a look at the newsletter of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The only  reason to take an Acai supplement would be for the antioxidant properties.  Antioxidants in the diet have been found to help stabilize free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can lead to cancer, wrinkling of the skin, arthritis and many other conditions.  Therefore, a diet high in antioxidants can have protective measures.  However, they have not found that taking antioxidants in supplement form has the same benefits as eating foods that are rich in antioxidants for general health benefits.  However, if you have certain conditions (like arthritis or need to heal a wound) taking additional antioxidant in supplement form may be beneficial.  If you are looking to add more antioxidants to your diet consider blueberries, pomegranate, tea and red wine.  If you are looking for supplements, a red wine extract or a green tea extract would probably give you more benefit because they have a greater antioxidant capacity than Acai.

Lack of sleep has been linked to several health problems such as increased risk of heart disease, stroke, obesity and certain types of cancers.   Last week, researchers added another reason to make sure that you are getting adequate sleep.  They found that people who get less than 6 hours of sleep per night are 4.5 times more likely to have abnormal blood sugar readings after 6 years. 

Without adequate sleep our bodies develop insulin resistance, a condition where our bodies produce too much insulin but can not use it efficiently.  Insulin resistance can lead to Type 2 diabetes.

Finally, there is a way to improve your health that is so easy you can do it with your eyes closed.

Reference: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE52A7EC20090311

Gout is a type of arthritis caused by too much uric acid in the body.  In December, I wrote about how Diet Can Help Manage Gout.  One dietary treatment mentioned is that vitamin C may be able to help in the prevention or treat of this disease, and a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine this week provides more evidence to support this. Researchers looked at nearly 47,000 men and found that those who consumed more vitamin C had a lower risk for gout.  They believe that vitamin C may help to lower uric acid levels in the body, and that every 500 mg increase in Vitamin C can decrease the risk of developing gout by 17%.  In fact, when men consumed 1,500 mg of Vitamin C, they had 45% lower risk of gout than those who consumed less than 250 mg.

The following chart lists some good food sources of vitamin C and their vitamin C content:

Including some of these foods in the diet is a great start to meet your vitamin C needs, but a vitamin C supplement may also be necessary in order to prevent/treat gout.