blog #85: How to cure a hangover with nutrition

I want to start this post by saying that drinking alcohol can displace nutrients in the body, damage your liver, and cause unwanted weight gain, among a long list of other detrimental effects.

                Drink Alcohol in Moderation, if at all.

Moderation = 1 drink/day for women

2 drinks/day for men

You can cure a hangover with: 1. Sleep 2. Fruit or water 3. No coffee

1. Go back to bed

—  A body needs rest to recover from what you've put it through. Chances are, you stayed up late earning your hangover.

—  You'll cure your hangover faster if you get some rest. Sometimes time and sleep are the best hangover remedies.

—  Heavy alcohol abuse has adverse effects on nutrition both because it displaces other, more nutritious foods in the diet and because chronic use impairs absorption and metabolism of many nutrients including: protein, thiamin, B6, niacin, riboflavin, magnesium, zinc and calcium.

2. Rehydrate.

Alcohol is a diuretic.

—  This problem is made worse by the fact that when people are drinking alcohol, they seldom stop to have a glass of water.

—  This loss of fluids causes dehydration.

—      Symptoms of dehydration include headache, dry mouth, and thirst.

—  Drink water. Eat water-filled fruits.(like grapefruit or berries)

3. Skip coffee.

Coffee is a diuretic, so drinking it will be counterproductive to your body’s needs by inhibiting hydration. Stick with water and fruit. Toast helps, too.

check out this article for more detailed tips and tricks 

blog #84 meat facts

To follow up on my “meat as a condiment post,” here are some interesting meat facts:

Hot dog facts:about 460 calories including bun (170 from fat)

Rib facts: 236 calories in 3 oz (182 from fat)

Lean chicken facts: 120 calories in 3 oz (14 from fat)

Turkey dog 100 calories (70 from fat)

When choosing meats, why not make healthier choices like a turkey dog opposed to a hot dog, or lean chicken breast as opposed to ribs? Or have your ribs and hot dog, but use meat as a condiment (meaning portion control)?

I gave the calories for one ounce less then one serving of ribs and chicken, but I didn’t mention the size of the hot dog because they vary. Also do you eat your hot dog plain or with toppings? Ketchup is extremely high in sugar and carbohydrates. Chilli dogs and hot dogs with cheese pack on the calories. Mustard is a better option. If you keep adding on, your hot dog will eventually look like this:

Curious what’s in a hot dog? I will answer in a future blog post. Feel free to comment!

Nutrition Facts                                                           (hot dog)
Serving Size: 1 sandwich (175.0 g)

Amount per Serving
Calories 460 Calories from Fat 170
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 18.9g	29%
Saturated Fat  5.1g	26%
Monounsaturated Fat  9.1g
Polyunsaturated Fat  3.5g
Cholesterol 79mg	26%
Sodium 973mg	41%
Potassium 263mg	8%
Total Carbohydrate 55.8g	19%
Dietary Fiber  0g	0%
Sugars  0g
Protein 16.8g	34%

Vitamin A	4%
Calcium	102%
Iron	34%
Vitamin D	0%
Vitamin E	0%
Thiamin (B1)	0.28mg
Riboflavin (B2)	0.7mg
Niacin (B3)	4.165mg
Vitamin B6	4.4%
Folic Acid (Folate)	44mcg
Vitamin B12	7.33333333
Phosphorus	166mg
Magnesium	18mg
Panthothenic Acid	1.348mg
Zinc	8.73333333
Manganese	0.193mg

---

Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat 37.0%     Carbs 48.5%

Protein 14.6%

blog #83 My calves hurt

A couple weeks ago, my calves were burning up like crazy from running and jumping a bit more then usual. I was in so much pain and it seemed like no matter what I did, I was debilitated. I decided to reach out to my community and ask people what to do. I collected some tips and have categorized them into both free/cheap and non-free tips/tricks.

While stretching your calves can be a good way to elongate the muscles, it is somewhat limiting because self-stretching will only hit the superficial (or outside portion) of the muscle. To hit the deep muscles, you need to be more creative.

I asked a massage therapist and she said that the “tennis ball approach” is a good way to alleviate tension (but it can hurt!). Foam rolling is good, too, as well as getting professional massages.

check out the "tennis ball approach"

Free/Cheap	$-$$$
Self-massage Tennis ball approach Calf stretches Downward-facing dog Soak calves in warm water for 15 minutes	Professional massage (my fave option) Foam rolling (most foam rollers start at about $20 dollars, and most gyms have them) A heating pad or hot water bottle

blog #82 What do you put on your salad?

A salad is a salad, right? That means that it’s healthy if there is some green? NO NO NO!

pick veggies that:

• have high water content
• have low calorie count
• are nutrient dense
• have high satiety factor (will fill you up)
• add color and variety!!

Ideas: broccoli, cucumber, tomato, spinach, romaine lettuce, fresh herbs, citrus, celery.

Keep to a minimum (or avoid): cheese, dry fruit, croutons, bacon bits, breaded chicken

Balance your salad by adding:

·         Omega 3-rich  foods like canned tuna (skip the mayo!) or salmon

·         Beans or legumes

·         Nuts: walnuts can be a nice addition to a salad, but remember to measure your portions. Use nuts as a condiment not the main portion.
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I got this salad at Trader Joe's last week (and loved it!) Remember to read the label, add dressing per bite or just sparingly, and add variety.

blog #81 Using meat as a condiment

I do not advocate any one particular diet because, much like workouts, diets will depend on individual needs. I don’t preach vegetarianism, but I do recommend an adequate intake of fruits and veggies every day. The professor of my Medical Nutrition course this past semester was part of this film titled "Food fo the Fight."

A quote that caught my attention from the film was “meat should be eaten as a condiment.”

I thought that was fantastic advice! I never tell clients or friends that they HAVE TO give up something that they love. Instead of deleting something, I recommend curtailing portions. For example, instead of sloshing 4 tablespoons of cream in your coffee, measure out 1 or 2 tablespoons. Taking control of your health and wellness is about moderation, dedication, and consistency.

Lean sources of protein are highly recommended, but if you are eating lots of fried or highly fat-saturated meat choices, maybe you can start by limiting your consumption or taking note of how much and how often you elect to eat foods that are less lean or nutritious.

Start with small goals and objectives

Goal: to lower saturated fat intake.

Objective: Count portions per day, count portions per week, substitute saturated fatty options like hot dogs for lean sources or just ….have a bite. Therefore, think of meat as a condiment. So what condiments do you use? I use mustard and hummus often with my veggies as a dip. So if I were to treat meat as I do hummus, I would only consume a small amount…say, an ounce. 

Another way to monitor portions is the “plate method.” Think of three-quarters of your dinner plate’s contents as being of plant origin and one-quarter animal sources.

blog# 80 shopping aisles and placement: Where are all the whole grains??

When speaking with a classmate/friend Sahara she said to me awhile back:

“The grocery store is intimidating.”

I guess that depends on where and what you shop for.

I thought a great deal about her comment and I decided to document my weekend grocery store trip to Fairway market in the Upper West Side.

I wonder: Why are all the whole grains hidden? At this market and others, I notice that the eye-level foods are much more heavily processes and higher in sugar content than the foods placed closer to the floor. In order to photograph Old-Fashioned oats, I had to crouch down because that’s where they’d hidden them! Without having nutritional knowledge about food processing levels and sugar content, it is easy to feel intimidated and pick the first thing you see.

The instant oats found at eye level are not as good as Old-Fashioned oats because there is more processing needed to make them “instant.” As I’ve written about before, it’s healthier to eat slow-cooked oats that are not flavored. Flavor them yourself with creative ideas like cinnamon, nuts, peanut butter (but measure!)

Have more ideas? Let me know.

General tips that I follow in grocery stores:

• Stick with the outside aisles. (That’s where they put fresh foods like produce.)
• Avoid last-minute purchases
• Don’t shop hungry. (We have all done this and ended up paying/buying more--and choosing more unhealthy foods!)
• Bring a list. (I recommend keeping a digital list on your cell phone so that you don’t forget it.) 
• Look down and around for whole grains. (Sometimes they are less visible then processed ones.)

Notice in these pictures that the grains with the least amount of processing are more toward the floor. The eye level foods have more sugar...read labels, look around and shop smartly!

blog #79 What type of gloves do I need to protect my hands?

To follow up with my previous post about workout gloves, I’d like to add that there are many types of gloves that can protect your hands and fingers while working out. 

Some of the options that I have seen include: velcro, slip-on, zipper, and seven tabs near the fingertips for easy removal.

Did you know that workout gloves are washable?

I used to wear the slip-on type, but I found them irritating to remove. I now prefer velcro gloves, but actually I don’t wear them at all because I can’t seem to remember them when I go to the gym.

I like grizzly pads, which you can use for pull-ups and heavy deadlifts. Straps are another alternative to gloves, but straps serve a different function, which is to strengthen you grip. (Gloves protect, straps help strengthen, and grizzly pads can be used either way.)

With that said, do any of my readers have favorite workout gloves that they wish to share?

Gloves for protecting hands:

Grizzly grip pads for grip strengthening:

Lifting straps to improve strength:

In closing:

• gloves protect your hands
• grizzly pads may help you grip more, but also strengthen your grip
• straps: strengthen your grip

What if you want a stronger grip?  You should use no gloves (if you don’t care about calluses).

blog #78 Humanitarianism at its best

I have been practicing yoga for almost five years and teaching for about two. I have been afforded the opportunity to take many different types of classes in many different settings with many different instructors and students, all of which has taught me many lessons beyond the yoga itself. At New York Yoga (where I volunteer), Juliana’s class has touched me not only physically but also emotionally. She is so beautiful, in tune with her students needs, and receptive to changes or alterations in poses or the class flow.

Juliana has also found a touching way to connect with the community: She has agreed to volunteer at the Inwood house. There, Juliana will teach yoga classes to a group of homeless pregnant teens. I was so moved by her idea that I wanted to share her involvement with my readers:

Juliana says:

“The blessings that yoga brings to my life, in my capacity as student and as teacher, positively overflow! I sought a meaningful way to pass on this gift. When beginning my search with the question ‘Where can I be of service?’ I wasn't even aware that a population of pregnant, homeless teens existed. Stumbling upon information about Inwood House, an organization in NYC that provides housing and other services to homeless pregnant teens – among other programs), I was thunderstruck. Can you imagine the combination of those three challenges?

I felt immediately that this is a population in whom the loving seeds of yoga might flourish in extraordinary ways. I wrote to Inwood House and told them about my experience as a prenatal yoga teacher and I told them I wanted to provide prenatal yoga classes to their maternity residents. Happily, they've accepted my offer.

• The homeless women’s ages range from 12 to 21. Some attend college, others have a third grade    education, and there’s everything in between.
•  Most grew up in the foster care system.
• The classes will commence shortly and will be a weekly and 45 minutes each.

In closing, Juliana says:

“It's clear to me that these young women will have far more to teach me than I will ever have to teach them. That said, I am dearly hoping I can be of some service.”

Juliana inspires me to give more to my community. 

If you would like a free pass to one of her classes at NYY, please let me know and I will give you one.

You can check out Juliana’s bio and class schedule here

blog #77: Cocktails and alcoholic beverages with the lowest calories

 While volunteering with private practice Registered Dietitian Keri Gans she said: 

“If the cocktail that you are consuming has a long name, then it’s probably loaded with sugar.” 

After thinking about my favorite drinks and their names, I decided to analyze calorie content and blog about my results.

She’s right: Drinks with fancy names, such as a Mai Tai (9 oz.), are loaded with calories (620 to be exact.) 

Check out this link  “High Calorie Cocktails To Watch Out For”

Obtaining from alcohol is a great way to avoid consuming unnecessary calories (and damaging your liver), but if you are going to drink alcohol, keep your drinks simple and stick with hard alcohol only, or light beer.

My recommendations:

(Note: Calories in a shot of vodka depend on the proof and if it’s flavored.)

“vodka +water with lemon” (64-100 calories per shot of alcohol)

“(hard alcohol such as rum, whiskey, gin)+water” (64-100 calories per shot)

“vodka+soda” (64-100 calories per shot)

Light beers (around 100 calories per 12-ounce serving. That’s a bottle or a can--not a pint.)

Wine, red (127 calories for 5 oz)

One exception to the light beer rule: Guinness (126 calories per 12 oz)

Did you know that Guinness beer has less calories then skim milk and orange juice per 8-oz serving?

blog #76 Workout gloves and calluses

During training sessions, I mix up pulling, pushing, and squatting exercises, in addition to abdominal work. When the time comes for pulling, clients SOMETIMES complain that their fingers hurt, or they can't grip the bar, machine, dumbell, etc. Exercises that cause particular complains are pull-ups, heavy lat pulldowns, deadlifts, shoulder shrugs, and farmer’s walks. 

Solution: workout gloves

Pulling exercises (especially pull-ups) are hard, but eventually you will get use to pulling and your hands will adapt. If you DON'T use gloves, you will get calluses. 

Wearing gloves preserves your pretty hands.

Not wearing gloves allows your grip to strengthen naturally so that you can lift heavier.

What will you choose? 

If you want to know more about grip and calluses, check out this article from World Fitness Network. 

blog #75 Nutrient-dense vs. energy-dense foods

Nutrient-dense foods have lots of nutrients, generally with fewer calories. Superfoods, like broccoli, are particularly nutrient-dense

Energy-dense foods have more calories in proportion to the volume of food and generally fewer nutrients. Examples are cakes, cookies, and doughnuts

I really like this article from Mayo Clinic, “Energy density and weight loss: Feel full on fewer calories” 

So, something from McDonald’s? Energy-dense.

 Spinach salad? Nutrient-dense.

CAUTION: NOT ALL SALADS ARE CREATED EQUAL. A Caesar salad with croutons, cheese, and creamy dressing is not nutrient-dense simply because there is a hint of green. This salad, with its high-calorie, low-nutrition ingredients, is energy-dense.

What do you put in your salad? I bought this at Fairway market and it was so delicious. It was a pretty large salad so I ate half, filled the container up with mushrooms and spinach, and saved the other half for later. 

Do any of my readers have salad tips and tricks?

blog #74 Healthy picks at a street fair

This Sunday as I was traveling to work, I passed by a huge street fair that closed off 86th street from broadway to the far Upper West Side.

I peeked over at the carts and saw people who were laughing, eating, and enjoying their doses of vitamin D from the sun (we need about 15 minutes a day of unprotected sun exposure). The smells and colors were so intense that I was drawn to check out the stands. I managed to find healthy options for lunch, and I wish to share how you, too, can eat healthy at a street fair.  

In my medical nutrition class last week, we were discussing cancer and how nutrition plays a role in the development of cancer and various illnesses. In addition to touting the virtues of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, my professor also brought up how it is really important to avoid charred or burnt meats because of the nitrites (which can be a cause of cancer.)

 •Do not eat charred food

•Consume only occasionally meat and fish grilled in direct flame; as well as cured or smoked meats

On the other hand, raw or undercooked meats can harbor foodborne illnesses like e. coli and salmonella. Charring is at least a sign that food is probably well-cooked...

So, if you remove the grilled foods options (and all the fun!) from a street fair, what is there to eat?

I found these delicious crab summer rolls, which included lettuce, carrots, mint, celery, and basil. There was a side sauce offered with the roll, so I could choose how much or how little I wanted on my roll. 

Per serving (including the sauce), the roll averaged:

161 calories; 3g fat; 7g protein; 22g carbohydrate; 1g dietary fiber; 18mg cholesterol; 321mg sodium. 

Not bad!

I am well aware that not everyone eats shellfish, so I want to mention another healthy option: I also enjoyed one of these stuffed grape leaves which has 77 calories per serving (2 grape leaves equal one serving)

So what are some of your favorite food finds at a street fair?