Do you know that in plants there are over 2000
non-nutrient biologically active substances called Phytochemicals? These give plants
their unique color, aroma and flavor. Some of them, such as flavenoids
and caroteinoids, have health benefits including a
decrease in cholesterol and control of blood pressure.
Join us to explore how these substances and more work in your body to
enhance health and prevent disease. We will also explore where they can be
found in food. The Bernards Township Health Department is offering this program
first at the Bernardsville Library, 1 Anderson Hill Road, Bernardsville,
NJ on Monday, May 4th from 1:00 to 2:00
PM and secondly at the Mendham Township Library, Cherry Lane, Brookside, NJ on Wednesday, May 20th from 7:00 to 8:00 PM.
Registration is required. To register call the respective library: Bernardsville
Library at (908) 766-0118 or the Mendham Township Library at (973) 543-4018. For more information, please call
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Questions and Answers
Disclaimer: The
information provided herein is intended for educational purposes only. It is
not intended to be a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment; always
consult your own physician or other health care professional for
recommendations regarding your symptoms or medical condition.
Q: My sister tells me
I should not give my daughter juice, that it is not a
good food. I am surprised to hear this.
My child is 2 ½ years old and healthy.
A: Although eating the
whole fruit is more nutritious, small amounts of fruit juice is fine.
However, excessive juice
intake is a cause of diarrhea or chronic loose bowel movements, especially in
young children. This can lead to decreased absorption of nutrients, and in some
cases will cause poor growth.
Excess juice also
displaces other foods, and can lead to dietary imbalances. It provides
relatively “empty” calories and lessens a child's appetite for nutritious meals.
How much juice is too
much? I recommend no more than 4 to 8 ounces of juice per day.
Q: My teen-age
daughter is now a vegetarian. The rest of the family is not. Please put our
minds to rest regarding the safety of this and how to go about mealtimes with
her.
A: If done right a
vegetarian diet can be as good as, or even better than, one that includes
meats. So you really don’t need to be overly concerned.
For starters, most of us
get more protein than we need, even vegetarians!
Some good sources of
protein that your daughter can include are soy milk, tofu, nuts and seeds,beans, peas and lentils,
peanut butter, milk, cheese and eggs. Additionally, a healthy vegetarian diet
has grain products (preferably whole grain), vegetables and fruits. If she eats
a variety of foods she will be well-nourished.
To get sufficient
calcium, she should have at least 3 calcium-rich foods a day.Choices
here can include cow’s milk, fortified soymilk (check the label), cheeses,
green leafy vegetables, and calcium-fortified orange juice.
Your teenage daughter can
meet her high iron needs by eating a variety of foods like broccoli, spinach,
beans, iron-fortified cereals, raisins, other dried fruits, and nutritional
yeast. If she includes a vitamin-C food at the same meal (orange juice, citrus
fruits, strawberries, broccoli, peppers, and tomatoes are rich in C) it will
increase the amount of iron absorbed.
You may have heard that
only animal foods contain vitamin B12, and this is true. If she does not eat
eggs or dairy foods, she will need to find a way to get B12.
Some cereals, and some
brands of nutritional yeast and fortified soy milks contain B12; you need to
check the labels. A vitamin/mineral supplement is always helpful as well.
According to the American
Dietetic Association, a well-planned vegetarian diet is a healthful choice, and
is associated with decreased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and some
forms of cancer. I hope this serves to put your mind at rest.
Q: How long can I
continue breast-feeding my son? He is 10 months old and is taking only small
tastes of solid foods. I have no problem with allowing him to continue nursing
if this is okay for him.
A: Congratulations on
your successful breastfeeding! Typically, full- term babies get all the
nutrition they need from breast milk, for at least the first 6 months. Most
babies will require more iron after 6 – 9 months of age. The easiest way to get
that iron is by offering meat or infant cereal.
You may want to discuss
with your physician whether your child should be receiving supplements such as
iron or vitamin D.
If your son is growing
well he is probably getting sufficient calories. The calories from breast milk
may become inadequate after 8 to 9 months of age.
Continue to breast feed,
as long as the two of you want. It is common for mothers around the world to
breastfeed a child for much longer than people do in this country. But also
continue to offer other foods to ensure he gets adequate calories.
There is no one specific food
that your child really requires, so if he doesn’t like a certain food, don’t
push it. Try different foods, encourage self-feeding (finger foods and messy
eating are to be expected!), and your child will thrive!
Q:Should I be giving my 3 month old baby extra water, in addition
to what is in the formula she gets? I have gotten conflicting advice about this.
A:You need to be careful how much plain water you give a baby. Babies under
4months who are given too much water on a regular basis can suffer harmful
effects.
After 4 months of age,
it's okay if you give her a couple of ounces of water between feedings. But she
shouldn't drink more than 6 ounces of water per day.
Formula(or breast milk) should be an
infant’s main source of nourishment, and too much water will displace what the
infant needs. At the same time you don't want to overfeed
her by giving a bottle every time she cries. A little water can be used to
soothe a baby who is not truly hungry.
After one year of age
keep your child well hydrated. Her kidneys will be mature enough to handle more
water. Plain water, diluted juices and milk are good to drink, in order to
prevent constipation and other symptoms of dehydration.
Q: Our family has a
question about healthy after-school snacks. The kids and I disagree on what
types of foods are good snacks and what is junk! Please help us settle this one!
A: While there are no
hard and fast rules defining “junk” foods and healthier ones, in general if you
choose those containing less sugar and fats/oils you are getting a healthier
food. In addition, “whole grain” is better than white flour.
A tip: remind the kids
about what they undoubtedly learned in school about the Food Guide Pyramid, and
how the items at the top are what we want to limit: excessive sugar, fats and
salt.
Some quick snacks to try:
Q: Please tell me,
what is the big deal about eating sugar? If I brush my teeth often I won’t get
tooth decay from it. And if I eat plenty of other good stuff I am getting what my
body needs, right?
No one can say what an
“okay” amount of sugar is, but it certainly is wise to keep it to a minimum. In
addition to tooth decay, sugar becomes a problem when it takes the place of
more nutritious foods. If, for instance, you take in 20% of your days calories
as sugar, that’s a large amount of good food that is being eliminated that day.
Remember, sugar is energy (calories) without any other nutrients.
Q: We hear all the
time about not leaving foods to defrost on the counter overnight. Well, I don’t
do that anymore, but I used to. In the old days everyone did. Can you explain
why we didn’t get sick from it?
A: It is a matter of luck
or chance that you did not become seriously ill. Many people do come down with symptoms
of food poisoning that they do not attribute to the food they ate: belly aches,
diarrhea, etc. And keep in mind that there is no such thing as a 24-hour
virus…that is usually a brief bout of food poisoning!
Disease-causing bacteria
grow extremely well in warm, perishable foods. Storing foods at room
temperature gives them just the right conditions to grow like crazy! It is now
recommended that any perishable food be thrown out if it has been held between
40 and 140 degrees F for more than 3 hours. Perishable foods include meat,
poultry, fish, cooked vegetables, dairy products and eggs.
Q: I think I am finally ready to stop smoking. The only thing I am
really concerned about is the weight that I may gain. Any help here would be
appreciated.
A: You are doing yourself
such a tremendous favor by choosing a healthier lifestyle! But keep in mind,
that not everyone gains weight when they stop smoking. Some people do, and the
number of pounds is usually minimal.
The fear of putting on
weight often prevents people from quitting smoking. Please remember this: You
would have to gain at least 100 lbs. to do the damage equal to that of
continuing to smoke.
To keep weight gain
minimal, try the following: Before you quit, shop for healthy snacks. Instead of potato chips, buy crunchy baby
carrots and celery. Dip in low-fat dressing if desired. Instead of candy, try almonds, sunflower
seeds and other nuts that are good for you.
Replace your soft drinks with lots of water. Or drink diluted fruit
juice instead. Take bananas, oranges and
apples with you when away from home. Limit yourself to low-cal choices when
eating out. Avoid fast-food restaurants! Take a walk daily. Work this up to a
half-hour a day. Instead of a candy bar,
try a slice of toasted whole wheat bread topped with fruit spread. If you haven't already done so, start taking
a multivitamin supplement daily.
A wonderful resource to
assist you in stopping smoking is New Jersey QuitNet an
online personalized support program tailored to meet your specific needs. You
may also want to call the New Jersey Quit Line at 1-866-NJ-STOPS or contact our
local “
Q: What do you
recommend in the way of margarine-type products. I
know that butter is out!
A: You are right to be
concerned about the amount of butter you eat. Too much of that yummy stuff
would be doing your heart a disservice. On the other hand the old type
margarines are not any better because they used hydrogenated oils.
Hydrogenation of the oils results information of trans
fats. We now know that trans fats are something to be
avoided.
Many newer products -
light tub, squeeze or sprays have little or no hydrogenated oil, and therefore
can boast “No trans fats” on the label. This is good.
Another bit of advice- try to substitute liquid oils when possible, for example in
cooking. Olive oil is still tops, but any other liquid vegetable oil is fine.
Just don’t use too much of ANY fat… they all have considerable calories!
Q: Does my son really
need sports drinks? I say that plain water is just as good. Who is right?
A:
For most of us, the main advantage of a sport drink is that it tastes good and
encourages us to drink more, giving us the water we need. If your son is
exercising for less than one hour, plain water will probably be just fine. But some people do not enjoy drinking plain
water, so the flavored stuff comes in handy. And the big goal here is to
prevent dehydration.
The carbohydrates
(sugars) and electrolytes in sports drinks may be less important than we are
led to believe by product advertisers. A bit of extra sugars may help some
athletes during very strenuous events, but too much sugar (as in plain fruit
juice) can be detrimental.
In short, a good-tasting
sports drink is fine, as long as it does not cause cramping or other digestive
upset, and contains no more than 8 percent carbohydrate (50 to 70 calories per
8 ounces).
Q: I am trying to eat
more beans. Are there any kinds that will give me less gas?
A: There is not much
difference in the gas-producing effect of beans. But there are ways to minimize
this problem. If you do follow through on your plan to eat more of them, your
body will adjust and you will start getting less gassy after a bean meal.
Also, if you discard the
soaking water when preparing beans you will eliminate some of the gas-producing
carbohydrates that beans contain.
If you need further “gas
relief” you can try a product such as Beano™, which is a natural enzyme that
reduces the gas-forming substances in beans.
By the way, I am glad to
hear that you want to eat more of these nutritional super-foods! They are
extremely healthful and under-appreciated!
Q: I like to take
vitamin C. Am I just wasting my money?
A: Taking vitamin C
supplements is not a bad idea. The currently recommended amounts will prevent
scurvy (a classic vitamin C deficiency disease), but those amounts may not be
optimal. On-going studies of vitamin C show that it has many benefits and the
actual levels needed are still being determined.
We know that Vitamin C
may help prevent gall bladder disease, some cancers, atherosclerosis, and
cataracts. And, of course, it seems to reduce the duration and severity of cold
symptoms.
An intake of about 200
mg. per day is probably sufficient to achieve most of these benefits. It is
possible to reach this amount by choosing your fruit and vegetables wisely, but
many of us do not.
So, to answer your
question, it wouldn't hurt to also take a vitamin C supplement to guarantee
you're getting your 200 mg. per day
Q: Will eating Jello™ help to strengthen my nails? They seem to split
easily and my mother always took gelatin for her nails.
A: Sorry, but Jell-O™ or
gelatin) will not help. While it is true that nails are made of protein, eating
gelatin protein will not make them stronger. Most of us already get more than
enough protein in our diets, and gelatin is not even a good quality protein.
It is more likely that
dishwashing, physical trauma, or something else is
affecting your nails. Try using rubber gloves when doing dishes. Avoid nail
polish (and nail polish removers) and other harsh substances. And eat a
nutritious, varied diet that contains enough (but not excessive!) protein.
For more helpful
information, check out the nutrition-related online resources: