Nutrition News

Happy Winter from NutritionWorks

Winter 2005

• Hello from Sandi and Kathleen

• Need a healthy holiday gift idea?

• We are moving offices!

• Vitamin E good or bad?

• Organic versus conventional milk

• Is low carb always a good choice?

• Recipe to try: Chunky Vegetable Soup

• Favorite product: Delicata squash

• NutritionWorks upcoming events and happenings –also check out our recent press interviews and articles

Hello from Sandi and Kathleen
It’s that wonderful (and sometimes stressful) time of year – the holiday season! We wish all of our clients very happy holidays and a new year that is filled with many blessings.

We have so much exciting news to share! Sandi is 4 ½ months pregnant and her and her husband Mike are thrilled to be expecting their first baby in May. Sandi is planning on getting lots of advice from Kathleen, whose 16 month old Hope is a sheer delight!

NutritionWorks is moving to a new office location… read on for more details.

Check out our interesting articles on everything from the vitamin E controversy to the pros of buying organic versus conventional milk, try our delicious, easy winter recipes, and take a moment to see if you can join us for any of our upcoming classes or groups. Read on, and enjoy!

Kathleen and Sandi

Need a healthy gift idea?
Is there someone in your life who could do with some nutritional help and support? We offer holiday gift certificates for 30 minute or 60 minute sessions. You can also purchase a loved one a 3, 5 or 10 session nutrition consult package. For complete rates information, go to www.NutritionWorkSeattle.com and click on Services and then Rates.

Cindy Sherbert, the massage therapist in our offices, also offers massage gift certificates. What a wonderful gift of relaxation and pampering for a friend or family member (or for yourself)! Please call Cindy at (206) 769 7734 for more information.

We are moving offices!
We are so excited to be moving into larger office space on January 1st. Our new address is 2901 NE Blakeley St Suite 3B, Seattle 98105. The new office is located just behind University Village right on the Burke Gilman trail and is called Blakeley Wellness Center. NutritionWorks will be located in the wellness center along with naturopathic physician Gail Buquicchio, massage therapist Cindy Sherbert, psychotherapists Sibel Golden and Peter Martynowych and counselor Dara McKinley.

The open house is planned for Wed February 2nd from 5-9 pm and all are welcome to join us in celebrating the opening of our new space. We will send out open house email reminders closer to the time and we will be featuring the other healthcare professionals in future newsletters.

Thank you so much for your continued support which ahs enabled us to make this exciting move!

Vitamin E good or bad?
There have been two recent studies on vitamin E – the first from researchers at Johns Hopkins University indicates that taking vitamin E in excess (more than 400IU of vitamin E in supplement form) can be a health hazard rather than a benefit and may be associated with a higher overall risk of dying for high risk patients (e.g. patients) with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

However, the analysis of low risk patients and (interestingly enough, Alzheimer’s patients) showed reduced mortality with doses of 400 IU or more per day of vitamin E supplements.

A lower overall risk of dying was shown for low and high risk patients who take 400IU or less of vitamin E per day.

The second study published in the November issue of the journal "Diabetes Care" focuses on high risk patients and has indicated that about 40 percent of diabetic patients can reduce their risk of heart attacks and of dying from heart disease by taking vitamin E supplements.

According to the study, conducted by researchers at the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, diabetics with a particular form of a blood protein called haptoglobin has as much as a 500 percent increased risk of developing heart disease.

But when these at-risk patients, who have the 2-2 form of haptoglobin, take 400 international units of vitamin E daily, they reduce their risk of heart attack by 43 percent, and their risk of dying of heart disease by 55 percent. About 40 percent of diabetics have the 2-2 form of haptoglobin. The rest have the 1 -1 or 2-1 forms of haptoglobin. When they took the same vitamin E supplements, they did not show any significant reduction of cardiovascular risk resulting from vitamin E therapy but their risk of heart disease or overall risk of dying was not increased.

This conflicting research can obviously be very confusing and clearly, more research needs to be done in this area. It does seem clear at this point that keeping vitamin E supplement intake at 400 IU or less per day is a very reasonable recommendation for most people.

There is other research that concludes that vitamin E in food sources can be as or even more effective that vitamin E in supplement form. Thus, it is an excellent idea (whether or not you take a vitamin E supplement) to include vitamin E sources like raw or dry roasted nuts and seeds, and organic oils in your diet.

Organic versus conventional milk
Food scientists at the Danish Research Centre for Organic Farming studied the content of potential antioxidants and vitamins in conventional and organic milk over several months. They found that in seven out of 10 samples the organic source contained significantly more vitamin E - alpha-tocopherol - than conventional milk. This seems to be related to the different feed that organic versus conventional cows are fed.

In addition to vitamin E, the researchers investigated the level of carotenoids found in the two milks, finding that the content was higher in organic milk, and that levels of the powerful antioxidant beta-carotene were two to three times higher in organic milk than in conventional milk.

If you want to increase organic foods in your diet, dairy products are a great place to start. And this research may be just the motivation you need to check out the organic dairy product section in your grocery store!

Adapted from http://foodnavigator.com

Is low carb always a good choice?
The October 2004 issue of the Nutrition Action Healthletter alerted us to The Cheesecake Factory’s new cheesecake invention described on The Cheesecake Factory website as “Creamy and delicious and baked in a graham cracker nut crust, our new 6 Carb Original Cheesecake has all of the great taste of our Original Cheesecake with 6 net carbs per slice”. Sounds good!?

But the problem is that each slice of 6 Carb Original Cheesecake has 610 calories (without the optional whipped cream and strawberries). That’s only 20 calories less than you’d get from a slice of the Original Cheesecake. With 29 grams of saturated fat it’s about the same as eating 8oz of untrimmed prime rib!

Low carb is not always a good choice…you’d be better off sticking with a slice of the Original cheesecake if you want to splurge…and better yet, share the slice with a few of your friends!

Adapted from www.cspinet.org

Recipe to Try – Chunky Vegetable Soup
This soup is a winter staple in our household. It freezes perfectly so can be reheated for a quick and easy meal. You can substitute ingredients with what you have on hand – I have added zucchini, and frozen corn and garbanzo beans, and left out the lima beans and orzo. Any combination works great. Enjoy!

Vegetable cooking spray
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
7 cups water
1 tablespoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound small carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (10-ounce) package frozen large lima beans
1/2 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Coat a large Dutch oven with cooking spray; add oil, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add water and next 9 ingredients (water through lima beans); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Add orzo; cook, uncovered, over medium heat an additional 10 minutes. Ladle soup into individual bowls, and sprinkle with cheese.

Note: Refrigerate remaining soup in an airtight container for up to one week, or freeze it for up to three months.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups soup and 1 tablespoon cheese)

Nutrition per serving:
CALORIES 224(12% from fat); FAT 2.9g(sat 1g,mono 0.7g,poly 0.8g); PROTEIN 10.6g; CHOLESTEROL 4mg; CALCIUM 127mg; SODIUM 574mg; FIBER 5.2g; IRON 3.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.4g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 1996

Favorite Product
Delicata squash
If you enjoy sweets, try this for a delicious and nutritious snack! Delicata squash is also called Sweet Potato squash and Bohemian squash. It is long and yellow with greenish strips. The squash can be baked or steamed The skin is also edible. The delicata squash is actually an heirloom variety, a fairly recent reentry into the culinary world. It was originally introduced by the Peter Henderson Company of New York City in 1894, and was popular through the 1920s. Then it fell into obscurity for about seventy-five years, possibly because of its thinner, more tender skin, which isn't suited to transportation over thousands of miles and storage over months.

Our favorite method of preparation is to cut the squash in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds. Then bake face down on a lightly oiled cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes (or until tender). You can add a little nutmeg and cinnamon before baking. You’ll be surprised at what a sweet and satisfying treat this is! And you’ll be doing your health a favor too – delicate squash is packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. Try it and let us know what you think!

NutritionWorks Happenings
Here are some of our upcoming happenings. See the complete list by going to our website and clicking on Upcoming Events.

Our popular Jumpstart Weight Management support group starts on Tuesday February 1st from 6:30-8pm at our new offices. The group continues for 6 consecutive works and is limited to 10 participants. For more details, go to www.NutritionWorkSeattle.com and click on Jumpstart support group on the home page. Feel free to call or email for more information and to register.

We will be teaching our popular class called “The South Beach Diet” at Discover U in Northgate. The class is on Wednesday January 12th from 6:30-8:30pm. To register, call (206) 365 0400 or register online at www.discoveru.org

We will be teaching a new class for PCC called “Healthy Weight Management for Families” on February 9th in the University District, on February 23rd in West Seattle, and on March 30th in Issaquah. To register, go to www.pccnaturalmarkets.com

We will also be teaching a class about good health and nutrition for families at Discover U in Northgate. The class is on Wednesday March 16th from 6:30-8:30pm. To register, call (206) 365 0400 or register online at www.discoveru.org

Kathleen will be on KOMO TV news in February talking about energy drinks. We have had some fun interviews and press coverage in the last few months. For more details and to read our interviews, go to http://www.nutritionworkseattle.com/
pressroom.htm

Thanks for your questions and suggested nutrition topics.

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