Nutrition News

Happy Spring from NutritionWorks

Spring 2005

• Hello from Sandi and Kathleen

• The 3-Day Solution Plan

• Another great reason to laugh!

• The benefits of regular meals

• Fun snack ideas

• Recipe to try: Spring Asparagus and Lemon Fettuccine

• Favorite product: Mrs Dash 10 Minute Marinades

• NutritionWorks upcoming events and happenings

Hello from Sandi and Kathleen
Happy spring to all!

What an exciting time! Sandi will be going on maternity leave at the end of April and will be out of the office until July. Kathleen will be available to see clients and to schedule clients for Sandi’s return. Please be aware that we are often booking 2-3 weeks out so bear that in mind when you call to make an appointment.
Check out our interesting articles on everything from the benefits of laughing to a new book which is definitely worth a read, make our delicious, easy spring recipe, and try our product of the month. Read on, enjoy and have a delightful, healthy spring!

Kathleen and Sandi

The 3-Day Solution Plan
The 3-Day Solution Plan is a fantastic new book by Laurel Mellin MA, RD.

It is based on The Solution method which was developed by Mellin at the University of California, San Francisco’s School of Medicine. Health magazine named it one of the 10 top medical advances of 2000. The 3-Day Solution Plan will give you a step-by-step plan to try a 3 day adventure to turn off the drive to overeat.

The life-changing potential of The Solution Method is that it directly addresses the feeling brain, the home of our most primitive urges, like eating. It is very challenging and frustrating to try to lose weight using only our thinking brain. This is because there is no significant relationship between the feeling brain and the thinking brain. Reason can’t make anyone stop wanting a cookie.

Two- and six-year follow-up studies have shown The Solution to produce weight loss without dieting and unparalleled results in terms of keeping it off.

Mellin’s new book has delicious recipes, complete menus, and suggestions for easy restaurant substitutions.

Most importantly, it also shows you how to move beyond the 3 Day Plan to incorporate these skills into your life.

Sandi is a certified Solutions provider and will be running Solutions groups at the Blakeley Wellness Center starting in September. Feel free to call or email if you would like to be part of these groups or explore these skills in individual counseling sessions.

Another great reason to laugh!
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have shown for the first time that laughter is linked to healthy function of blood vessels. Laughter appears to cause the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood vessels, the endothelium, to dilate or expand in order to increase blood flow.

Researchers used laughter-provoking movies to gauge the effect of emotions on cardiovascular health.

When the same group of study volunteers was shown a movie that produced mental stress, their blood vessel lining developed a potentially unhealthy response called vasoconstriction, reducing blood flow.

That finding confirms previous studies, which suggested there was a link between mental stress and the narrowing of blood vessels.

Researchers note that the endothelium has a powerful effect on blood vessel tone and regulates blood flow, adjusts coagulation and blood thickening, and secretes chemicals and other substances in response to wounds, infections or irritation.

It also plays an important role in the development of cardiovascular disease.

"The endothelium is the first line in the development of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, so, given the results of our study, it is conceivable that laughing may be important to maintain a healthy endothelium, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease," says principal investigator Michael Miller, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

"At the very least, laughter offsets the impact of mental stress, which is harmful to the endothelium." The study included a group of 20 non-smoking, healthy volunteers, equally divided between men and women, whose average age was 33. The participants had normal blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels.

There were no differences in the baseline measurements of blood vessel dilation in either the mental stress or laughter phases. But there were striking contrasts after the movies were seen.

Overall, average blood flow increased 22 percent during laughter, and decreased 35 percent during mental stress. "The magnitude of change we saw in the endothelium is similar to the benefit we might see with aerobic activity, but without the aches, pains and muscle tension associated with exercise," says Dr. Miller.

"We don't recommend that you laugh and not exercise, but we do recommend that you try to laugh on a regular basis. Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system."

Other researchers in the study included Charles Mangano, R.D.M.S; Young Park, M.D.; Radha Goel, M.D.; Gary Plotnick, M.D. and Robert A. Vogel, M.D., all from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health and a Veterans Affairs Merit award to Dr. Miller. Report from www.altmedicine.com March 2005.

The Benefits of Regular Meals!

Many people assume that skipping meals is a good strategy for controlling body weight. After all the logic goes, if you cut out a meal, you will cut out calories. Two new studies from scientists at the University of Nottingham in England shed light on this issue.

In this research lean women and overweight women were asked to follow either a regular meal schedule for 14-days or an irregular meal pattern for 14-days (including skipping breakfast). After the first two-week period, the women were then asked to follow other meal pattern. This is called a crossover design in research and is a strong scientific design. The results showed that when women (both overweight and lean) ate regular meals their total calorie intake per day was less than during the period when they were eating irregular
meals. The results go even further. The scientists also saw that total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and glucose control were better when the women were eating regular meals.

These results contribute to the mounting evidence that skipping breakfast and not having regular meals may contribute to weight gain and poor cardiovascular risk profile in women.

No matter how busy your life is, you owe yourself the time to have regular, healthy meals.

From www.strongwomen.com

Snack Ideas
We know that eating regularly is a good idea, but it is easy to get into a rut when it comes to quick and easy snack ideas. Here are 20 suggestions to get you started with 100-200 calorie snacks!

1. Half an apple with 2 teaspoons of any nut butter (peanut, almond etc)
2. An orange and a few dry-roasted nuts
3. 10 cashew nuts
4. 10 almonds
5. 2 ounces of lean roast beef
6. Half a small avocado
7. 3 ounces cooked whole-grain noodles with 1 fresh tomato and 1/2 ounce hard cheese
8. 1 seven-grain Belgian waffle
9. 4 mini rice cakes with 2 tablespoons low-fat cottage cheese
10. 3 ounces low-fat cottage cheese and 3 whole-wheat crackers
11. 1/4 cup fat-free ranch dressing with mixed raw veggies
12. A serving of whole wheat crackers with two teaspoons of peanut butter (or any nut butter)
13. 1 small baked potato with 1/2 cup salsa and 2 tablespoons of fat-free sour cream
14. 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce with 1 slice of whole-wheat toast, cut into 4 strips for dunking
15. 1/2 cup frozen orange juice, eaten as sorbet
16. 2 large graham cracker squares with 1 teaspoon peanut butter
17. 3 handfuls of unbuttered popcorn, seasoned with herbs
18. 4-6 ounces of low-fat yogurt
19. A 5-ounce tossed salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber and 1/4 cup low fat dressing
20. A string cheese with 4 whole-wheat crackers

Adapted from www.webmd.com

Recipe to Try – Spring Asparagus and Lemon Fettuccine
This delicious recipe is a great way to use lots of fresh asparagus. We made it with wholewheat pasta shells for increased fiber and it tasted just great!

2 tsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
1 pound asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 large egg
1 cup fat-free creamer, such as fat-free half-and-half
1 tsp cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
1/2 pound uncooked fettuccine, cooked and kept hot
1/4 cup parsley, fresh, chopped
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Place butter and olive oil in a large skillet; melt over medium heat. Add asparagus, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until asparagus begins to brown, about 6 minutes; remove from skillet and set aside.

(Note: If using thick asparagus, peel the bottom of each stalk with a vegetable peeler and then slice each in half lengthwise to ensure they'll be properly cooked.)

Meanwhile, whisk egg and creamer together in a small bowl; add mixture to skillet used to cook asparagus. Place skillet over medium heat and add cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add remaining ingredients and asparagus back to pot, stir to combine and serve immediately.

Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

From www.weightwatchers.com

Favorite Product
Mrs Dash 10 Minute Marinades
Y0u just have to give these 10 Minute Marinades a try! They are a quick, easy and healthy way to marinade chicken or fish, pour on veggies before you grill or roast them, or add to rice or couscous for delicious additional flavor.

There are 4 varieties – Zesty Garlic herb, Mesquite grille, Southwestern Chipotle, and Lemon herb Peppercorn.

But here’s the best part – in 2 tablespoons of most marinades, you would get 500-1000mg of sodium (25-50% of the daily maximum recommended for most people). In Mrs Dash Marinades – you get zero sodium!

That’s quite amazing – try them and let us know what you think!

NutritionWorks Happenings
We will be taking a break from most of our community classes for spring and summer and have lots of new classes planned for the fall.

Thanks for your questions and suggested nutrition topics.

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