Nutrition News

May 2003

In this issue:

• Hello from Sandi and Kathleen
• Sesame oil may lower blood pressure
• The Oreo lawsuit
• Carbohydrate, fat and calorie guide
• Recipe of the Month: Stuffed Eggplant
• Book of the month: Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense
• Favorite Product of the Month – Field Roast
• NutritionWorks upcoming events and happenings

Hello from Sandi and Kathleen
As most of you know, Kathleen is pregnant and so plans to be home with her new baby for the months of July, August and September. We are so excited and are all set to welcome the new addition to the Putnam family whenever she chooses to arrive!

Sandi will be working with clients through the summer so we will continue to provide the level of support and care that we pride ourselves on at NutritionWorks.

We have some great classes coming up in June and July– we hope to see you there if your summer plans allow.

Oh – and if you haven’t tried the organic raspberries and strawberries that have arrived in stores, you are in for a real treat!

Enjoy the start of the Farmer’s Markets and have a great month!

Kathleen and Sandi

Sesame oil may help to lower blood pressure
It's tasty. It's nutritious. Now there's another sesame oil benefit: It may lower high blood pressure.

Sesame oil is one of those vegetable oils that are heart healthy. It's rich in mono- and polyunsaturated acids (PUFAs)-- the kinds of fat that help to reduce cholesterol. Sesame oil is also low in saturated fats, which can increase LDL cholesterol levels. Sesame oil also contains two unique chemicals called sesamol and sesamin, which are very powerful antioxidants. In addition, sesame oil contains vitamin E, which also has an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect.

Now there's evidence that sesame oil can lower blood pressure. It comes in a report to the American Heart Association's annual meeting of the Inter-American Society of Hypertension by Devarajan Sankar, DO, PhD, of Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India.
Sankar and colleagues studied 195 men and 133 women with high blood pressure. All were taking nifedipine (brand names include Adalta, Nifedical, and Procardia), a common blood pressure-lowering drug. Despite this treatment, all patients still had moderate high blood pressure. Sankar's team asked the patients to switch to sesame oil as the only cooking oil they used.

Sixty days later, the patients' average blood pressure dropped into the normal range.
Sankar has been quoted as saying that "The reduction in blood pressure in our study may be due to the presence of PUFAs, vitamin E, and sesamin in sesame oil. The blood-pressure reduction was noted at the third week of using sesame oil as the sole edible oil."

It's an impressive finding, agrees Sampath Parthasarathy, PhD, director of gynecology and obstetrics research at Atlanta's Emory University. Parthasarathy, a biochemist, is a leading expert in antioxidants and lipid/protein metabolism.

" Usually the benefits of these unsaturated fats are measured in terms of cholesterol lowering," Parthasarathy says. "Here, the benefit appears to be on blood pressure. That makes the study even more exciting."

The other wonderful benefit of sesame oil is that it is so flavorful that one only requires a small amount of oil to impart a large amount of flavor to a dish.

So you may want to include sesame oil in your cooking (other oils we recommend include extra virgin olive oil, organic canola oil and nut oils such as peanut and walnut oils). The variety keeps the cooking interesting – and the addition of the sesame oil may just benefit your blood pressure as well!

Adapted from www.webmd.com

The Oreo lawsuit
A San Francisco lawyer has filed a lawsuit against Kraft foods, the maker of Oreo cookies. The lawyer is claiming that the hydrogenated oils in Oreos pose a health risk.

Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils (trans-fats) are used, in part, to extend the shelf like of snacks and can be found in forty percent of most foods, including most cookies, crackers and microwave popcorn, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Trans-fats are linked to heart disease, obesity and other health problems. Last summer the Institute of Medicine, the medical division of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), issued a report stating that any amount of trans-fats raises total cholesterol and LDL (artery clogging) cholesterol.

Since we now know that trans-fats have harmful affects on the public's health, many people feel the food Industry should be forced to label all products containing trans-fats. Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, (and author of Eat, Drink and Be Healthy) says trans-fats are much more unhealthful than saturated fats, which are already listed on nutrition labels.

The FDA will be ruling in the next several months whether trans-fats will be required on labels. Stephen L. Joseph, the lawyer suing Kraft Foods says that the effect of the lawsuit is to educate people.

Until trans-fats are listed on the food label, you can find out if they are present in the food you are eating by reading the list of ingredients. If the words "partially hydrogenated" or “hydrogenated” are listed, you can be sure that you are eating some trans-fats. Be aware that it does not matter what kind of oil has been hydrogenated – the effects of hydrogenation are the same on all kinds of oils.

Source: The New York Times. Wednesday, May 14, 2003. Adapted from www.sensiblenutrition.com

Carbohydrate, Fat and Calorie Guide
We get many questions with regard to recommending a quick resource for carbohydrates, fat and calories in a variety of foods. As you know, at NutritionWorks, we do not subscribe to a dieting philosophy. We believe in realistic lifestyle changes that can be maintained in the long term. Thus, we typically do not encourage clients to spend a lot of time focusing on calorie counting.

However, we have found a useful resource that provides carbohydrate, calorie and fat info for a wide variety of foods (including many restaurant items). It also provides protein, saturated fat, fiber, cholesterol and sodium info so it can help you with planning nutritious meals and snacks at home, on the run or in restaurants. And best of all, it is small so it can easily fit in your purse, briefcase or glove box. And it costs less than $10!

If you are interested in purchasing this resource, please give us a call at (206) 551 3407 or email us at NutritionWorkSeattle@hotmail.com

Book of the Month
Child of Mine, Feeding with Love and Good Sense by Ellyn Satter MS, RD, CICSW, BCD

After reading this gem for expecting and new parents, we want to put it at the top of our list for recommended books!

Satter discusses all the "hot topics" regarding feeding children from birth to the preschooler. We are asked all the time about how to provide healthy food and help develop nutritious eating patterns and behaviors for children - this is the resource!

This book takes a step-by-step approach to solving problems parents encounter such as: initiating breastfeeding, choosing infant formulas and a gentle discussion around this decision making process for new parents. Guidelines are provided around how much, when, and how and all topics are discussed along with techniques for problem solving difficult feeding circumstances.
Beyond nutrition, behavioral strategies are also included around calming babies, dealing with eating behaviors, and developing or changing meal or table "rules" to encourage healthy relationships around food and eating.

We love the practical approaches, the empathic encouragement, and the wonderful success stories, which aim to empower parents in addressing a wide variety of concerns. For those of you with older children, some of this book may apply but you may want to look at Satter's books Secrets of Feeding a Healthy Family and How to Get Your Kid to Eat...But Not Too Much
You can order all three of Satter’s books through the NutritionWorks Online Bookstore.

Recipe of the Month - Stuffed Eggplant
We have been experimenting with stuffed eggplant recipes and then a client sent us this delicious recipe to try. You can use the recipe but stuff zucchini instead if you prefer– just remember that they will cook more quickly.

This recipe lends itself really well to adaptations – use any vegetables or grains you like in the stuffing mixture. You can add some feta cheese to the mixture for a delicious Greek inspired stuffed eggplant!

2 small eggplants
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup cooked brown rice or grain of your choice 1/4 cup chopped water chestnuts
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 medium tomato, peeled and diced
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise. Make shallow cuts in cut side of eggplants at 1/2-inch intervals; brush cut sides evenly with 1 teaspoon oil. Place, cut side down, on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until eggplant is tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven, and reduce temperature to 350 degrees.

Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to a large nonstick skillet, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion, and sauté until tender. Add rice (or grain of choice) and next 5 ingredients; stir well.

Scoop out pulp from eggplant halves, leaving 1/2-inch-thick shells. Set shells aside. Chop pulp; add to rice mixture, and stir well. Spoon mixture evenly into eggplant shells. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 additional minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 2-4 servings (2 as entrée, 4 as side dish)
From Cooking Light Magazine, 1997

Product of the Month – Field Roast
Our product for this month is field roast. Field roast is a locally produced, vegetarian grain meat substitute made from grains, vegetable and legumes. It does contain gluten but does not contain any dairy and is a vegan product.
A 2oz serving provides 87 calories, 13g protein, 11g carbs, 1g total fat, no saturated fat and no cholesterol.

This meat substitute can be served hot or cold. You will find it in the refrigerator in the natural foods section of the store in three flavors: lentil sage, tomato, or wild mushroom.

Field roast works really well as a meat substitute in sauces, casseroles, and soups. It comes in a ‘loaf’ or a ‘lunch meat’ form. The thinly sliced field roast works great in sandwiches.

Give the field roast a try and let us know what you think!

NutritionWorks Happenings
Here are some of our happenings for April and early May 2003. See the complete list by clicking on Upcoming Events.

• May 29th from 6:00-8:00pm. Managing Cholesterol through Nutrition, Swedish Hospital at First Hill. To register, please call (206) 386 2502
• We are again teaching our popular class called “Live, Don’t Diet” at Discover U in Northgate. The class is on June 11th from 6:30-8:30pm. To register, call (206) 365 0400 or register online at www.discoveru.org
• We are teaching a very informative class called “Eating for Healthy Weight Loss” at the Kirkland Senior Center on June 4th from 12:45-2pm. To register, call (425) 899 2660
• We will be at a fun health fair at West Coast Fitness in Factoria from 11:00am – 1:00pm on June 14th. Pop in to ask any nutrition questions, to sample some delicious snacks or just to say hi. Call (425) 226 3898 for directions.

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