Recently the New York City Department of Education passed Chancellor Regulation A-812 which prohibits the sale of home baked goods at fundraisers, but approves the sale of Doritos and Pop-Tarts.  The complete list of approved items can be found here.  How ironic that these highly processed, nutritionally void foods are somehow deemed safer than goods baked at home with whole ingredients and love.

NYC Green Schools is organizing a Bake-In rally to protest this new regulation on Thursday March 18th from 4-6pm on the steps of City Hall.   Detailed information about the bake-in regarding posters, banners, slogan ideas, etc. will be posted on their blog nycgreenschools.org.

If you are in New York City, please join the Bake-In and let your voices be heard. 
 

Tags: Healthy School Food, Nutrition News, Politics by Integrative Nutrition
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We live in a fast paced world.  People are on the go, multi-tasking, planning and thinking ahead.  In a busy world, people also eat on the go; in the car, at their desks, standing up, walking down the street, barely taking the time to enjoy their meal.  When we eat quickly, we tend to eat more, therefore consuming more calories.

Digestion begins in the mouth.  Slowing down to completely chew your food, allows the release of digestive enzymes that break down food and greater assimilation of nutrients. Whole foods, especially whole grains, must be mixed with saliva and chewed until they become liquid to release their full nutritional value.  Because digestion becomes so efficient when you chew your food thoroughly, your body will begin to feel wonderfully light.  To get into the habit of chewing correctly, try counting the chews in each bite, aiming for 30 to 50 times. It helps if you put your fork down between bites.

The New York Times reported on a few scientific studies to support the claim that eating slowly is a method for consuming fewer calories.  Who could imagine that losing weight is as simple as taking a few more minutes to slow down and eat what is already on your plate? For more information check out the Power Eating Program: You Are How You Eat by Lino Stanchich.

Tags: Healthy Tips, Nutrition News by Integrative Nutrition
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Will taxing and putting warning labels on soda discourage people from buying it?  Has this method discouraged people from using tobacco?  Should tax revenue from sodas and sugary beverages be used in anti-soda campaigns or put in a fund for healthier school food?  The rise in childhood obesity rates have the attention of lawmakers, but will raising prices on unhealthy foods keep kids from consuming them?

The Obama administration has a commitment to remove junk food, including sodas from schools.  This is a great first step in the fight against childhood obesity.  But, as Mark Bittman of the New York Times writes:  “a growing number of public health advocates are pushing for even more aggressive actions, urging that soda be treated like tobacco: with taxes, warning labels and a massive public health marketing campaign, all to discourage consumption.”

Taxing soda has the potential to raise over a billion dollars annually in New York State alone.  The question remains, where is the best place to apply this money?

Where do you think lawmakers should apply these funds?

Tags: Nutrition News, Politics, obesity by Integrative Nutrition
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The Food and Drug Administration is considering increasing serving size on nutrition labels to match what people are actually consuming as a serving.  This in turn will increase the calorie amount and determine all the other nutritional values.  The hope is that people will think twice before going back for seconds when it may actually be fourths!

Barbara O. Schneeman, director of the F.D.A. office that oversees nutrition labels, said in a New York Times report, “We are actively looking at serving size and evaluating what steps we need to take.  Ultimately, the purpose of nutrition labeling is to help consumers make healthier choices, make improvements in their diet, and we want to make sure we achieve that goal.”

One concern is that by increasing serving size, consumers will think the government is saying it’s ok to eat even more.  Consumers need to be educated.  When shopping for food, read the labels closely.  Consider that packaged processed foods tend to be high in fat and calories.  The best foods are ones without nutrition labels.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are much more nutritionally dense than most processed foods, yet they have no fancy packaging to proclaim their immense health benefits.  When shopping, it is important to shop the perimeter of the grocery store where you’ll find more whole and nutritious foods.

Do you think the FDA’s plan to increase serving size will work to curb the obesity problem among Americans?  

Tags: Nutrition News, Politics by Integrative Nutrition
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Federal legislation banning junk food from schools is soon to be introduced.  Will something as powerful as the federal government work to keep junk foods out of schools?  Or is the answer to childhood obesity a more traditional approach with parents teaching their kids good eating habits?  Parents want nutritious foods served, but removing vending machines and candy sales cuts into a major source of revenue for schools.  Are there more creative ways to raise money for sports uniforms and school trips?

When kids spend the majority of their day at school and are left to make their own choices about what to eat, many will choose a high sugar, high calorie option over one that is more nutritious.  Do we leave these choices up to the students or let the government make these choices for them? 

Read this article from the New York Times for more info.  Please comment and let your opinion be heard. 

Tags: Healthy School Food, Nutrition News, Politics by Integrative Nutrition
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Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett hopes so.  He wants to inspire the residents of his city to be healthier and lose weight.  Mayor Cornett’s appeal is in response to his city listed as of one of the unhealthiest in America.  The OKC Million community challenge to lose a total of 1,000,000 pounds is open to all and everyone is encouraged to join.  Individuals, families, friends, corporations, churches, local organizations, community groups, sports teams, police departments, fire departments and schools are all welcome. 

When Oklahoma City residents join the site www.thiscityisgoingonadiet.com they have access to nutrition information, recipes, weight loss programs and success stories.  Sounds like a recipe for success! 

Watch this report from NBC Nightly News to see how Mayor Cornett’s city is accepting the challenge.

How healthy is your city?

Tags: Nutrition News, diet, obesity, weight loss by Integrative Nutrition
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When you grocery shop do you find labels that tout “Natural Goodness, Kid Approved, Parent Tested, or Doctor Recommended” leading you to believe that the product is a good choice?  Marketers avoid regulation on front of package labels and rely on consumers trust in a name brand product by labeling with misleading phrases. 

How often do you go further in your investigation of what’s inside the package?  Do you stop at the front of the package or do you turn it to the side and read the nutrition facts and ingredients list?  How can we be sure that what we are feeding our families is actually a good choice nutritionally? 

For more information The New York Times Well Blog discusses meaningless claims on food labels, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest published a detailed report.
 

Tags: Food, Nutrition News by Integrative Nutrition
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When Michelle Obama says she wants to make a deeper impact on the issue of childhood obesity, we know she will get things done. The First Lady has been promoting locally-grown food and healthy eating with a vegetable garden, and shops at the farmer’s market blocks away from the White House.

Michelle is striving for a legacy that can affect millions of children today and in the future. Her efforts to bring awareness to the way we eat and the way we feed our children has the potential to end the growing crisis of childhood obesity.

The First Lady spoke to the Conference of Mayors yesterday to enlist help on the front lines.  Her initiative “will involve the federal government working with local officials to provide more nutritious food in schools, allow more opportunities for kids to be physically active and give more communities access to affordable, healthful food.” With 1/3 of kids in America considered obese, this is clearly a problem worthy of national attention.

Cheers to Michelle for making a profound and meaningful impact on the future generation.

Tags: Nutrition News, Politics by Integrative Nutrition
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Is your pantry stocked with Fruit Roll-ups, Goldfish, Twinkies, and Cheez-it’s?  Could you describe your family as “grazers” who walk by the refrigerator or pantry and grab a handful of whatever looks appealing several times a day?  Have parents gotten used to snacks as a way to stop whining or avoid tantrums?  It’s not unusual to see children snacking at recess, after school, before and after sporting events; basically at every extracurricular activity.  Parents are getting bombarded with requests for snacks and quite often the preferred choice is packaged processed foods:  cookies, crackers and sodas. 

With the increase in activities, marketers target busy parents and kids with mini packs of cookies and other junk foods.  This makes it easy for moms to toss into backpacks for afterschool snacks.  The New York Times reports that, “According to the Agriculture Department, American children get 40 percent of their calories from food of poor nutritional quality.” 

Perhaps it’s time to reassess snack time.  Please comment and let us know how your family snacks.

Tags: Food, Nutrition News, diet by Integrative Nutrition
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The New York City Mayor is at it again.  In the past few years, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was successful in getting chain restaurants to visibly display calories, and remove trans fats.  Now the Mayor has turned his attention to curbing the salt intake of city residents.

The mayor’s plan, which is voluntary, aims to cut the amount of salt in packaged and restaurant foods in the city by 25 percent over five years.  Since the sodium in salt causes high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes, the Mayor’s plan is to improve the overall health of New Yorkers.

It sounds like the Mayor is on the right track in his quest to help New Yorkers get healthy, but will a voluntary plan do the trick?  If “Eighty percent of the salt in Americans’ diets comes from packaged or restaurant food,” as the New York Times reports; is the answer for better health to reduce the salt in those foods or to reduce those foods?

Tags: Nutrition News, diet by Integrative Nutrition
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