Hey friends! Happy Friday. I’m not sure about you but I am more than happy to usher in the weekend.
Nutrition Presentation
I’ve had a busy week this week. Besides having vertigo and going to PT for that, I also taught a wellness class at work for our employees. I talked about 5 tips for healthful eating and I thought the presentation went really well! People are generally interested in topics related to food and their diets, which is one of the reasons I love being a dietitian. It was actually a great way to end a less-than-stellar week.
Vertigo Update
Speaking of which, I ended up having a 2nd physical therapy appointment yesterday evening and had the Epley Maneuver done on me again for the leftover equilibrium issues I was having for my vertigo. Things improved greatly after my first appointment but I was still having some issues when I moved my head from side-to-side. My PT also gave me some exercises this weekend and said that things usually start to clear up after that. Woop! Sorry there are no pictures to this post, but I just took an Antivert as I was writing this post and it knocked.me.out.
Work It
I ended up going to the gym last night to work on the leg weight machines. Weight machines are the only physical activity I can do right now until my balance is back to 100%. There are 6 weight machines that I’m working on currently and I typically do 3 sets of 10 on each. I started out only being able to do 15# on all of them but I’ve worked my way up to 30-50# ! I wish I could snap some pics but my local Y has signs up everywhere saying you’re not allowed to take pictures. And that you’re not allowed to wear thongs. Haha.
Nutrition in the News
So this is something new I’m starting on the blog. Nutrition is an ever-changing field and new information is coming out all the time. Different studies come across my inbox and I want to start sharing them with you! I know not many people love linky-posts, so I do not want these posts to be a list of links. I’d rather just post a few studies to start a conversation about healthful eating. Don’t be surprised if I offer up my thoughts on the topic because that’s just how I roll 
I’m trying to get into a more consistent posting schedule and I think these posts might fit in well on Fridays. I’m going to try it for a few weeks and see how things are going.
These are a few things I’ve read about this week
High protein breakfasts leads to reduction in daily caloric intake and decrease hunger in teenage girls: This study from the University of Missouri found that adolescent girls who consumed 35g of high quality proteins at breakfast ate less calories throughout the day than the control group (who skipped breakfast) and a group who ate a low-protein breakfast. Increasing protein at breakfast is a topic I’ve written about before so I was happy to see this study. I think it’s important to point out that these ladies consumed high-quality proteins such as meat, eggs and dairy. I do think there are many studies to support evenly distributing protein throughout the day (ie increasing protein at breakfast) but we have to do it the right way. High-quality protein =/= a protein bar.
Part of me wonders if they are just going to start recommending a blanket protein recommendation. I see 25-30g used in most of these types of studies. As a dietitian, I’ve always been taught to estimate daily protein needs based on weight (or ideal body weight).
I have really been trying to bulk up my protein at breakfast but I keep it simple with 1 C of cottage cheese. Done.
Limiting saturated fat intake does not decrease risk of chronic disease: “Saturated fats are not associated with all cause mortality, CVD, CHD, ischemic stroke, or type 2 diabetes, but the evidence is heterogeneous with methodological limitations”. There is lots of new research coming out about saturated fats and how maybe they aren’t as bad as we once thought they were. These researchers are actually critical of groups still recommending limiting saturated fats, saying everyone is behind the times on not up-to-date with research.
I think it is interesting… but I also think there’s a boatload of research about the detrimental health effects of saturated fats as well. Also, countries with better heart health than the U.S. have lower intake of red meat- which is higher in sat fats (ie Mediterranean diet). I don’t think we can just make a blanket statement about sat fats as a whole… we need to be examining the overall nutritional integrity of foods with saturated fats. For example, a slice of bacon vs. an avocado. I just can’t jump on the bandwagon of saying that saturated fats aren’t bad for you yet. I am obviously aware of the ongoing debate but I need more information to convince me.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a fabulous weekend!
Tell me about your week and/or weekend plans!
Do you have any thoughts about these 2 studies?
Friday Happenings and Nutrition in the News
The Ultimate “Nutrition in the News”
Should You Drink Full Fat Dairy? New Study About Dairy Fat and Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Weekly Happenings and Nutrition in the News
I don’t know if I can work out at your Y… I only feel comfortable on the elliptical if I am wearing my thong. ;)
Those are two of the articles that caught my eye this week too from the daily newsletter. I appreciate you sharing your own opinion about them! One of the difficult things with research studies is it sometimes seems like to control for everything they have to create such unrealistic conditions which makes it hard to put into practice.
Well… you’re not allowed in my Y with your thong. Wonder what they would they think about people wearing no underwear? And what prompted them to make that sign? So many questions. I completely agree with you about the research.
Study 1 – My own personal experimenting on myself supports the findings from that study, however I think my result is due to the decrease in simple carbohydrates (not eating Honey Nut Cheerios anymore) and the increase in quality food more so than the quantity of protein (though yes I have increased that as well). My question is: what were the students normally eating for breakfast before? (Perhaps I should actually read the entire study before commenting on it).
Study 2 – There are so many risk factors like activity levels, smoking, weight, overall nutrition etc that contribute to CHD, that it’s not surprising that saturated fats are another risk factor. As they have been saying for years – moderation is key. Yet another reason to eat a rainbow and to be active :)
Have a great weekend!
Study #1- Excellent question, Janice :) They used girls who usually skipped breakfast. There were 3 groups… one continued to skip breakfast, one got normal protein and the other got the 35g. I think when it comes to eating healthy in general (not just with protein intake), we have better eating habits when we eat healthier foods because they fill us up. I tell patients all the time that if they just focused on eating enough fruits and vegetables during the day that they probably will not be hungry enough to eat ‘junk food’.
My thoughts on the studies is that I love your summaries!! I do normally love reading nutrition research but I have just had spinal surgery this week and am way to drugged up to dive into any scientific literature. I do find it annoying with research that you can not generalise from the specific sample to the population as a whole though. Like you could not say from the first study that teenage boys, kids, adults or the elderly should increase protein to decrease calorie consumption as the study only looked at teenage girls. I know with this topic there are other studies looking at different populations and reaching the same conclusions but it is frustrating when it is a less popular area of research. I do wish I could convince my 17 year old sister to eat a bit better though! Her diet is mostly white bread, lollies, chips, popcorn and take aways. I don’t even go there though! I don’t live at home normally and know she wouldn’t listen any way, so it’s just not worth getting her mad at me over it!
My weekend is going to be lots of couch time at my parents house as I recover from surgery. They have been spoiling me like crazy and I have been loving every second!! Hopefully I can keep milking this for a while longer! I have some DVD’s, books and I intend to be as lazy as possible, apart from doing my physio exercises! It is going to be great!
Hope you have a fantastic weekend as well! And thank you so much for all the time you put into your blog! I love reading!
Oh wow, Libby. I am so sorry to hear about your surgery! I hope your recovery is going well and that your parents continue to spoil you :) Your sister sounds like me in high school… my diet was less than stellar :) It was only when I went to college and started taking nutrition classes that I started to eat healthier.
We have to take into account how these studies were conducted, on who and what the co-founding factors are. Every single person is created DIFFERENTLY so what might work for one person, may not another. For instance, I do not even eat breakfast and that does not cause me to eat MORE than anyone else my same weight and height and age.