FACT OR FAD? What makes food HEALTHY? Part 1 of 2

By: Holly L. Goroff MS, RD, CDN

Have you ever heard someone say something to the effect of ‘I bought something healthy – it was a gluten-free … (insert food name here)’? Or, ‘It’s good for you – NO CARBS!’? I have and it gives me chills! We are such targets of manipulative food marketing that our sense of ‘healthy’ has been obscured and our wallets are consequently drained.

It seems like every six months to a year there is a new definition of healthy. Healthy one day means juicing every morning, colon cleansing and antioxidants and the next it is eating quinoa, going gluten-free, drinking kefir or almond milk and no dairy...the list goes on and on.

I refer to these changing definitions of healthy foods as ‘food fads’. In addition to being heavily marketed, they also seem to get adopted by key public health figures, say…Dr. Oz, Jillian Michael or someone similar. Daytime shows have special guests to speak to the fads and drop key words like ‘toxins’, ‘metabolism’ and ‘cleansing’ and know they will capture your interest to hear more about the latest health craze.

What makes things a bit complicated is that these fads generally have some element of truth to them. It’s just not the WHOLE truth. And generally, it’s a truth that is subjective. We’ll get into this in a minute.

If I were to ask you WHY some of these foods are healthier than others, what would your source of information be? If it is Dr. Oz, Jillian Michael or someone similar, a quick Google search, branding or word of mouth, I would suggest you consider those resources questionable. Ask yourself, what makes them experts in nutrition? They could be super smart in cardiovascular disease and or fitness, but why does that make them worthy of dictating your diet?! Does what works for them work for everyone?

Another red-flag for establishing if your source is credible is asking if their recommendations ebb and flow with the moving trends. If your source’s recommendations change with the trends, I would suspect there is a financial benefit for them and/or lack of knowledge of actual nutrition research guiding their advice.

With all of these food fad’s flying around and your busy life which prevents you from doing scholarly research, what does “healthy food” actually mean? How do we know? And, how do we know quickly?

Excellent questions! Let me help…

Let’s start with the basics. What does it mean to be healthy? 

Here are some helpful definitions to keep in mind:

A) Health – The condition of being well or free from disease.
B) Macronutrients – Food (substance) required in relatively large quantities for providing energy and essential nutrients: Protein, Carbohydrates (including fiber) and Fat.
C) Micronutrients – Organic compounds (notably vitamins and minerals) essential in minute amounts to the growth and health.

Putting it all together:

A healthy food will provide macro and micronutrients to support your bodies’ optimal functional performance. This includes healthy weight, controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol.

Notice I said, YOUR bodies’ optimal performance. Each person has unique needs either for optimal nutrition to accommodate a fast-paced life, athletic lifestyle, pregnancy or perhaps a disease state.

Quick tip for choosing healthy foods before we get to part 2:

• Shop the perimeter of the supermarket where the fresh produce, meats and dairy are located.  Or, patron farmers markets and fill in the nutritional blanks by purchasing a protein like chicken or fish at the supermarket, butcher or fish store. 

Stay tuned to next week’s blog to learn how to calculate YOUR bodies’ optimal performance.
(UPDATE: Click here to read part 2!)

But until then, tell me, what do you consider ‘healthy’ foods for you or your family, especially when you are grocery shopping? 

About the Author: Holly is an experienced dietitian in both clinical and community nutrition. She is currently serving as the Clinical Nutrition Manager at now guest blogger for Choosy Kids!

She received her Master of Science degree in Nutrition and Food Studies from the Steinhardt School at New York University. She is published through her research and contributing work at Burke Rehabilitation Center investigating nutritional factors impacting neurological rehabilitation in stroke patients.

In addition to managing her staff of clinical nutritionists, she has a passion for serving at-need and underserved communities. She teaches outreach programs focused on mindful eating and strategies to make healthier lifestyle choices to at-risk community populations. She has recently been made lead in her hospital for teaching and managing the outreach classes to reduce childhood obesity.

She has expertise in: weight loss and management, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dealing with polypharmacy and achieving nutrition goals, achieving wellness goals in a creative and resourceful manner and motivating change.

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[A] Merriam-Webster.com. Health. Available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/health. Accessed on June 15, 2015.

[B] Mahan, K. Escott-Stump, S. Food, Nutrition and Diet Therapy 11th Edition. 2004. Page 38. Saunders

[C] Merriam-Webster.com. Micronutriends. Available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/micronutrients.Accessed on June 20, 2015.

Health Needs a Hero!

By: Dr. Linda Carson

When I was growing up, a sailor with big arms and a gruff voice had an influential message about getting strong by eating spinach. Popeye was so influential that he increased the sale of spinach by 33% in the 1950’s. I understand that there is an effort under way right now to bring him back for a new generation of children, but this time without his habit of smoking a pipe! A new Popeye and other children's characters with health messages are desperately needed in our country and around the world.

Currently, American children see an estimated $1.6 billion a year worth of food and beverage marketing, and many of those ads are foods that are high in calories and sugar, but low in nutrition. Some of our cereals and other processed foods in a box are so depleted that they have to be “fortified” and even then, the nutritional value is extremely compromised. For some products, there is not much nutritional difference between the contents in the box and the cardboard the box is made from.

Until food and beverage companies are using children’s characters to market only healthy products, it is up to each family and the other significant influencers to share and repeat consistent health messaging with children and families. The research (samples noted below) confirms that children’s characters are profoundly influential, whether positive or negative.

And a very positive thing that the family and/or preschool teacher can do is take advantage of what we know from research---create or introduce a familiar character to help deliver messages about healthy nutrition, physical activities that help make your body healthy, and appropriate dental health behaviors. Plus, having a character as an influential “assistant” helps with the consistency factor that we humans have trouble with at times.

I have spent my career promoting healthy choices, and advocating for parents as the best play partners ever. After teaching in public school enough years to appreciate the needs and barriers of that context, I spent the next 30 years teaching University students who wanted to be teachers. While methods of delivering the content has changed over the years, one thing has remained constant---the need is great for dedicated, well prepared teachers who collaborate and engage with parents on the profoundly important task of getting young children ready to make responsible decisions about learning and life.

In recent years I have had the privilege of developing resources for parents and teachers who are laying the foundation for healthy decision-making by children and entire families. Long before Popeye was given a do-over, we introduced CHOOSY as a health hero for this generation of young children. Choosy’s name stands for Choose Healthy Options Often and Start Young.

If you want to use Choosy as a health hero in your home or classroom, see www.choosykids.com for examples of unique, easy to use resources, especially children’s music that contains health messages. There is such a thing as stuck song syndrome that can work like reminders. If children (and adults) can’t get that song out of their heads, health messaging is working!

Bottom line: If a character promotes it, whether in a story book, on a window cling, or in music, a young child is likely to be influenced by the character’s preferences! What a concept and what a big help to busy Mom’s and Dad's.

**Research examples supporting the influence of children’s characters on health 

  choices and preferences:

Kotler, et al Journal of Health Communication (2012); 

Roberto, et al Pediatrics (2010); 

Lanigan, J.D. Child: Care, Health and Development (2010) 

About the Author: Linda Carson, Ed. D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.

Mom, Get off the Couch!

By: Christine Cox, The Choosy Mommy

There are some mornings that it is hard to get out of bed. I swear I just put my 2 year old to sleep an hour ago (but really it was like 9 hours ago) and now she is up and roaring to start the day. Milk in her hand, coffee in mine and we sit down so I can slowly wake up while she watches her favorite TV show.

Some days are harder than others to get motivated and move. Many moms can relate to this I am sure. We are tired! Being a mom is a full time job on top of whatever else you may do outside of the home. But for our children’s sake, we need to get off the couch and move! By being a healthy role model for our children, they can learn healthy habits from us that will last a lifetime. But where can a parent find the resources to help children move more and form healthy habits at an early age?

Not since Popeye has there been a health-hero for children. Research has demonstrated that children’s characters are profoundly influential. Choosy Kids can help promote healthy habits in your family that will stick with everyone for years to come. When used consistently, health messages paired with the image of Choosy can become familiar and favored.

Healthy habits can include simple things like teaching our children how to brush their teeth and wash their hands properly. Health also coincides with nutrition and Choosy Kids focuses on reducing the number of obese children in our country. It is an epidemic that needs to change sooner rather than later. To do this, children need to move! Movement is another Choosy theme. Through Choosy Kids’ music and DVDs, children can learn about their bodies, how to move them and how to be healthy all while having fun!

Now mom, I know what you are thinking. “Great, another annoying kid’s song to get stuck in my head.” WRONG! Choosy Kids music is fantastic. I bet you’ll even be bobbing your head while listening and dancing along with the directional movements!

I know that I will do what it takes to teach my children healthy habits while they are at home because once they go to school, they will learn to explore other choices that weren’t available at home (vending machines!!!) So let’s all be Choosy Moms, healthy role models, and active play partners to promote healthy habits in our families.

About the Author: Christine Cox is the blog master and The Choosy Mommy for Choosy Kids. She has always had a passion for writing and is honored to contribute her work to this blog. Most of her writing inspiration comes from her daughter, Capri, who is fun-loving and full of energy, and newborn son Cam. Click here to learn more about Christine.

Guest Post - Baby Pull-Up Bar (DIY)

Guest blogger Desiree from www.mymomsgeeky.com shared with us a great way to get your babies up and moving! We know babies like to pull themselves up and down, so why not make them a pull-up bar to practice on!? This way it can be done safely and when they have perfected it, it can become a bar to practice new dance moves on (imagine the bars ballerina's use!)

My little man is on the move and just dieing to stand and walk. Problem is, we don’t have any furniture for geek baby to practice pulling himself up and side step. So, I put my problem-solving brain to work and designed a baby pull-up bar for my son easily and affordably.

Here is how you can make one for your little one too.

Here is what you need:
 10 ft 1” PVC pipe
 2 corner PVC connectors (1”)
 4 3 split PVC connectors (1”)
 4 PVC caps (1”)

Step 1: You want to cut your 1” PVC pipe into 10 pieces. I just had the staff at Home Depot do it for me. Here are the measurements –
 Two 2 ft 6 inch pieces
 Two 1 ft pieces
 Six 6 inches pieces

Step 2: Then just assemble like so:

Step 3: For extra sturdiness, use some Monkey Glue to keep the pieces fastened together.

Now be warned, this is super light so you will need to weigh the feet down with something. I just slide the feet under the playpen walls and it stays in place.

Have fun playing with your baby as they grow and develop.

Check out her blog on mymomsgeeky.com to see her little man in action using his pull-up bar!!

About the Author: I am Desiree, Disney junkie, crafting nut, puppy rescuer of two, wife of handsome engineer Stephen and Geek Mom to my little squishy, Flynn (yes Flynn from Tangled. No my next kid will not be named Rider, but that would work for either a boy or a girl.) Anyway, I love being super geeky and I wear my cape proudly. Ok, so maybe it isn’t a cape as much as it is yoga pants and boob accessible tank tops, but I really do love it.

When I am not teaching my son the ways of the force, reading him Harry Potter or working on his monthly cosplays, I spend my time talking and listening with my husband about life as we know it, video game ideas and the inevitable end of the world. We plan to have more spawn and love to travel anywhere and everywhere in our super awesome CR-V, Eugene (yes also from Tangled. Yes I am aware we are a little weird.) When adventure isn’t calling I cook, craft and take this mom & wife thing one day at a time. I can’t wait to share these adventures. Follow Desiree on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.

Real Life Heroes!

By: Dr. Linda Carson

As we get ready for another holiday that brings friends and families together for picnics, parades, and fireworks, let’s take just a moment to acknowledge real life heroes---those who have served or are currently serving in our military. Recognizing how busy and stressed we all feel at times, for our Fourth of July this year, let’s lift up military families with young children as our personal heroes for the stress and sacrifice that they make on behalf of us each day while trying to nurture their own families.

Forty percent of military children are under the age of five, and the unique circumstances and challenges facing military families make early childhood years even more vulnerable. Having a parent sent to an active combat zone with an undetermined return date may rank as one of the most stressful events of childhood. And the spouse back at home has to cope with the personal stress of deployment and the insecurities of the youngest children over parental separation.

So, U.S. military families everywhere, we salute you and thank you for your many sacrifices that impact your entire family.

About the Author: Linda Carson, Ed. D, is the founder and CEO of Choosy Kids, LLC, and the Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita at West Virginia University. An award winning, nationally recognized expert, Dr. Carson has devoted her career to promoting healthy preferences for young children and the adults who make decisions on their behalf. Click here to learn more about Linda.