Holiday eating and New Year's resolutions

The time around Thanksgiving and Christmas is difficult for people in so many ways, including dealing with food. With all the food preparation, parties, food gifts, holiday meals, travel, and visitors, it’s hard to maintain regular habits and you won’t be alone if you end up feeling guilty and unhappy with your behavior.

It might help to understand that this season really does require super-human behavior. We evolved to want to overeat whenever possible. Our brain is screaming at us to eat so that we’ll gain weight and survive any future famine.

If all the foods around you were healthy whole foods, eating wouldn’t be such a struggle. Of course this includes fruits, nuts, seeds, veggies, beans, soy, whole grains, and seafood. But did you know that eggs, pecans, macadamia nuts, peanut butter, mayonnaise, shrimp and even beef, especially if it’s grass-fed, are included in the healthy whole food category?

Instead of worrying about your lack of will power, give yourself a break and start the new year by making your environment healthy- surround yourself with healthy foods.

Is tap water still safe to drink?

In April 2009 I recommended in this blog that instead of using plastic water bottles people should fill glass bottles with tap water. According to an investigation by Charles Duhigg published in the New York Times yesterday, the quality of tap water in this country made a steep dive during the Bush administration as water pollution increased and regulation was lax.

Journalists like to make things sound as dire as possible, so I wish I had the time to read all of the scientific studies he refers to, as I would if this were a matter of nutrition instead of toxicology. But I’m glad that when our water started tasting of chloramine a few years ago, we started using a filter.

Tamoxifen in the news

In the Science Times today, Tara Parker-Pope tries to make the case that women are being illogical in not taking tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer.

I'm a scientist and the conclusion I draw from Ms. Parker-Pope's data differs from hers. Is it really logical to take a drug that when given to 100 high risk women, will lower the number of breast cancer cases from 1.9 to 1.0, but cause 8.5 additional cases of endometrial cancer, blood clots, cataracts, and sexual problems and 12 additional cases of hot flashes and irregular periods?

Are women really being illogical when they are willing to take birth control pills, but not tamoxifen? If the same 100 women were sexually active and not using birth control, 85 of them would become pregnant. Birth control pills would reduce this number to 1 to 8. If the pill were as ineffective as tamoxifen, women would be in big trouble.

Enjoy pasta without feeling guilty?

I just had a great lunch of leftover pasta with tomato sauce.

The pasta was Barilla Plus spaghetti, which contains such healthy stuff that you would think my family would hate it, but amazingly, it cooks up in only 10 minutes to a perfect al dente and my family likes it.

(I am not paid by Barilla, but if you know someone there please let them know of this win-win opportunity).

Anyway, it contains some ground lentils and flax, giving it more protein, higher quality protein, and omega-3 fats.

If you would like my yummy adaptation of Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce III, just Email me (Endemann@healthyfat.com).

Are your vitamins and supplements contaminated?

When you go to a health food store and buy some vitamins or some other supplement, hoping that it will give you energy or build muscles, the last thing you expect is to be self-administering toxins. But, as described by Dr. Pieter A Cohen of Harvard Medical School in the October 15, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, supplements may not only contain toxic contaminants that the manufacturers are unaware of, but may contain dangerous drugs that the manufacturers don’t list on the label.

Weight loss products are some of the worst offenders, since they add illegal amphetamines and other drugs that have caused addiction, dehydration, high blood pressure, and suicide. The bottom line: buy supplements from reputable companies.  Don't expect miraculous or overnight results. 

Nuts are good for you. Does this include Brazil nuts?

People are finally realizing that almonds, walnuts, and peanuts are health foods, but still think that Brazil nuts, cashews, and macadamia nuts can’t possibly be good for you. All of these nuts are great in slightly different ways.

Almonds have more protein than the others and plenty of monounsaturated fat, the kind that’s in olive oil. But macadamia nuts, cashews, and Brazil nuts have a lot of monounsaturated fat too. Walnuts are my personal favorite with lots of cholesterol-lowering polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fats. But Brazil nuts also contain polyunsaturated fats.

Don’t worry about these minor differences- enjoy a variety of nuts and you’ll get all the healthy fats you need, together with minerals, vitamins, protein, and as a bonus, plant sterols that will lower your blood cholesterol.

Had gastric bypass for weight loss? See a nutritionist.

I keep reading in scientific journals about serious vitamin and mineral deficiencies caused by gastric bypass surgery for weight loss. Does this make it to the popular press? It must not, because otherwise people who’ve had stomach surgery would know to work with a nutritionist to prevent these deficiencies. Symptoms- anemia, fatigue, weakness, night blindness, etc. etc.