Bread: How to Choose a Healthy Loaf

by ADMIN on SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

There’s an entire aisle devoted to bread. Looking down it all you see are loaves upon loaves stacked high, looming over you.

By the time you stop your head from spinning from the overwhelming amount of choices, you simply make up your mind to just pick one up, dump it in the cart, and move on. How the heck are you supposed to choose one that’s healthy? Where do you even start?!

Here are some tips to help you feel in control of the bread aisle!

1. Whole Grain. Don’t be fooled by sneaky packaging and whole-grain claims. Look for “100% whole wheat” or “100% whole grain”. That’s when you’ll know that there won’t be any refined white flours, which can be called ‘enriched wheat flour’, ‘unbleached wheat flour’, or just ‘wheat flour’. Also be sure that the bread has at least 3 grams of fiber per slice.

Ignore claims on the bread that say “Made with whole grain,” “12 grain,” “multigrain,” “wheat,” “good source of whole grain” — these are typically used if the company is trying to fool you into buying bread that doesn’t have a lot of whole grain or fiber.

2. Calories. Bread loaves are getting bigger and bigger, just like meals in restaurants. In fact, some slices of bread can have as many as 250 calories! Yes – that’s for one slice. Look for bread that has around 100 calories per slice. Some of the light breads have around 50-60 calories per slice – these are fine to get as long as they’re 100% whole wheat.

3. Sodium. Did you know that both cereal and bread can be hidden sources of sodium? In fact, some slices contain the same amount of sodium that’s found in 1 serving of chips, about 220mg! That’s 30% of what you should be getting in a day. Look for bread that has less than 120mg.

4. Added Sugar. A little bit of honey or other sweetener in your bread is OK – but beware of the breads that add more than 1 type of sugar! If you see a sprinkling of added sugars such as: cane juice, raisin juice, honey, molasses, sugar, beet sugar/juice, brown rice syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, or other sweeteners – look for another loaf. Choose a bread with no more than 1-3 grams of added sugars.

Good Choices:

Regular Breads

• Trader Joe’s Sodium Free Whole Wheat

• Pepperidge Farm Stone Ground 100% Whole Wheat

• Nature’s Own 100% Whole Wheat made with Real Honey

• Nature’s Pride 100% Whole Wheat

• Sara Lee 100% Whole Wheat

• Wonder Soft 100% Whole Wheat

• Natural Oven Whole Grain Multi Grain or Whole Grain Sunny Millet

• Arnold or Oroweat Soft Family 100% Whole Wheat

• Sara Lee Soft and Smooth 100% Whole Wheat

• Sara Lee Hearty and Delicious 100% Whole Wheat

Light or Low Calorie Breads

• Pepperidge Farm Very Thin 100% Whole Wheat

• Fiber One 50 Calories – Honey Whole Wheat or Multigrain

• Natural Ovens Whole Grain Right Wheat

• Arnold Bakery Light 100% Whole WHeat

• Nature’s Own 100% Whole Wheat

• Wonder Smartwheat 100% Whole Wheat

Gluten Free Breads

• Udi’s Millet-Chia or Omega Flax & Fiber

• Udi’s Whole Grain

Cereal: How to Choose Healthy Flakes

by ADMIN on OCTOBER 4, 2012

(Photo: Cooking Light)

The dreaded cereal aisle. Kids pestering, people staring cross-eyed at Nutrition Facts Panels, the token owner-less cart left idle in the middle of the row, blocking traffic from both directions.

Then there’s you… wanting to make a good decision but also just wanting to get the heck out of dodge!

Breakfast is an important way to start the day, but only if you eat the right thing. Cereal can be an easy, quick solution – so here are some tips for choosing the best one for you and your family.

1. Whole Grain & High Fiber. Most cereals are made of primarily refined grains or sugar, which will leave you on a crazy blood-sugar roller coaster that ultimately ends with sluggishness and fatigue. Look for cereals with little or no refined grains in the ingredient list OR make sure the first two ingredients are whole grain, bran, or soy.

Also, be sure the cereal has at least 3 grams of fiber per serving in light cereals (1 oz or about 30 grams) and 6 grams per serving in heavy cereals (2 oz or about 55 grams).

2. Calories. Cereals don’t have a uniform serving size, rather, they vary anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup to 1 1/4 cup. This means if the granola cereal you pick up has 210 calories in one (1/2 cup) serving, you’ll be eating 420 calories when you eat one full cup in the morning! Look for cereals with no more than 250 calories per cup.

3. Added Sugars. Because Nutrition Fact labels don’t distinguish natural sugar from added, it’s hard to give a specific number to stay under. Instead, look at the ingredient list and avoid cereals that have more than 2-3 different added sugars. Added sugars include: honey, beet sugar/juice, evaporated cane juice, evaporated fruit juice, molasses, brown sugar, luo han fruit concentrate, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, brown rice syrup.

4. Sodium. Just like breads, cereals can be a hidden source of sodium. Some have the same amount of sodium as a serving of chips! Look for cereals with less than 120mg sodium per serving.

Watch out for:

Fruit. Sometimes added fruit also means more added sugars and food dyes to enhance the flavor.

Yogurt. How can they get yogurt to stay solid when it’s not refrigerated? Because it’s not real yogurt! It’s just sugar, oil, and heat-treated yogurt powder. In fact, many “yogurt” coatings are made with partially-hydrogenated oils (trans fats!).

Chocolate. Really? You want chocolate in your cereal? Ok, even if you do – most times they don’t even use real chocolate but instead a blend of sugar, soybean oil, milk, and a bit of cocoa.

Added Fiber. Many times, cereals boast extra fiber. How do they add it? Isolated fibers. These are things such as inulin (chicory root fiber), soy fiber, oat fiber, and soluble corn fiber. Unfortunately, research shows that only intact fibers provide health benefits. That’s fiber from whole grains. When fiber is separated from it’s original source and then added to something else, it hasn’t been shown to have the same benefits.

Good Choices

• General Mills Cheerios

• Geneal Mills Multigrain Cheerios

• Cascadian Farm Organic Purely O’s

• General Mills Fiber One 80 Calories

• General Mills Total Whole Grain

• General Mills Wheaties

• Arrowhead Mills Organic Flakes – Amaranth, Oat Bran, Spelt

• Newman’s Own Sweet Enough Honey

• Newman’s Own Sweet Enough Cinnamon Fiber Flakes

• Weetabix Whole Grain Biscuit

• Whole Foods 365 Organic Whole Wheat Flakes

• Kellogg’s All Bran Complete Wheat Flakes

• Post Bran Flakes

• Trade Joe’s Bran Flakes

• Kellogg’s Special K Protein Plus

• Kashi Honey Sunshine

• Kashi Berry Blossoms

• Nature’s Path Organic Heritage Bites

• Nature’s Path Organic Multigrain Oatbran

• Nature’s Path Organic Flax Plus Multibran Flakes

Gluten Intolerance: What is it?

by ADMIN on JUNE 29, 2011

I have several friends who are gluten intolerant. Chances are – you may know a few as well!

Gluten intolerance is becoming more wide-spread not only in diagnosis, but also as a ‘diet’. Many people are starting to follow gluten free eating patterns to see if it helps with their energy, mood, and over-all health and well-being.

But what exactly is gluten?

Interestingly enough, gluten is a protein that’s found in wheat, barley, rye, and anything made with these grains.

For some individuals, this protein may trigger an allergy-type of reaction which damages the small intestines and causes malabsorption (poor absorption) of nutrients.

Some people are only gluten intolerant, meaning their body doesn’t react as strongly as someone with Celiac Disease. CD is a genetic disorder that requires strict exclusion of gluten; even cross-contamination could cause a severe reaction.

All is not lost if you are diagnosed with gluten intolerance, there are still plenty of grains that won’t cause a reaction. These include: corn, rice, soy, potato, tapioca, beans, quinoa, sorghum, buckwheat, millet, arrowroot, amaranth, flax, nut flours, and oats (in moderation if they’re not contaminated). People with very severe CD may not be able to tolerate oats.

It’s difficult going totally gluten-free because there are hidden ingredients in many processed foods. That’s why staying with minimally processed, whole foods is the best way to eat for this diet pattern.

But beware; many of the foods that touted as gluten-free are also ‘nutrient-free’.

For example, many of the cereal bars are made with puffed rice and juice concentrates – which is really just sugar on sugar.

So if you’re going gluten-free to try to simply ‘get healthier’ and not because you have to, I’d recommend continuing to eat wheat products but simply eating foods closer to their natural form. This way you’re cutting out many of the processed foods that can cause gastrointestinal (stomach!) distress and focusing on eating the foods that are naturally nutrient-packed. Be sure to include plenty of fruits and vegetables as well!

You’ll be doing your body a favor by providing it foods for wonderful, optimal health.