Rethinking Skim Milk

I went to college when “fat free” was all the rage.  Snackwells, skim milk and fro-yo were in. Avocado was out. As absurd as it sounds to recount this now, it’s even funnier to think that I was in New Orleans, land of beignets and muffaletas. Little did I know that my eating regime was as off-kilter as the city’s cuisine.  Aside from improved nutrition knowledge and time to “mature” what strikes me about this type of eating is how poorly it must’ve tasted. How many cups of greyish coffee did it take to prove this point?  A few too many.  I write this to show you how easy it is to get swept up in an eating trend or prevailing nutrition advice.

You will not find skim milk in my refrigerator today and I’m proud to say my day starts with coffee and a splash (or 2 splashes) of  delicious half and half. (currently Sky Top farms grass-fed, non-homogenized, adore it). I also didn’t switch my kids to  1%  at 2 years old as the current advice from the AAP suggests. After my brief “blue period” I went back to how I was raised. A little bit of the real thing is best.

I’ve posted before about organic milk and ultra pasteurization but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago  that I realized the potential problems with skim milk. My interest was first piqued reading Walter Willet’s Fertility Foods. We have many clients trying to conceive and the research about skim dairy and infertility floored me. Low-fat dairy contributed to infertility (when issues are based on anovulatory failure) and full-fat dairy increased fertility.  What really turned me off was the proposed reasoning. When the fat is removed from milk, the portion that’s not fat contains more androgens and other hormones that may not be conducive to fertility.  The androgen argument may explain why another Harvard study found that teenage boys drinking skim milk had a higher incidence of acne.  Again, what’s in the fat or skimmed out seemed to help.

Last week, I read an article posted by my colleague Julie Negrin entitled “Is Skim Milk Making You Fat”. The article challenges the traditional “low fat dairy for health and wellness” dogma.   They write:

It’s becoming widely accepted that fats actually curb your appetite, by triggering the release of the hormone cholecystokinin, which causes fullness. Fats also slow the release of sugar into your bloodstream, reducing the amount that can be stored as fat.

I find this so interesting as we have a country that's watching dietary fat and getting fatter.  It always seems to me that children have the best innate sense of calorie regulation. An Australian study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that children’s calorie intake did not change when they were switched to low-fat milk. Children replaced the calories with other energy sources and did not lose weight.  Another large study tracked the habits of 19,252 Swedish women for 9 years. Women increasing their whole milk consumption the most lost 9% of their body weight, on average. Women who increased their low-fat dairy the most gained 10%.

Anecdotally, I am also concerned about skim milk and bone health. Fat in milk can help us assimilate vitamin D. I have not found a tremendous about of research on this but have seen many 30-something clients who grew up on low-fat milk now with osteopenia and fractures. I’d be curious to see if the very thing we think is helping us may not be.  This whole debate reminds me of the whole butter versus margarine debate. On that subject, the great Joan Gussow said “I trust cows more than chemists.” The more I read about the processing involved in making skim milk palatable, I think this applies here too.  If you eat dairy, I would suggest a little bit of the real thing.

Do you purchase milk? What type do you buy? Are you skeptical of skim milk?

Market Melissa Visits East Side Fairway and Dreams up Her Ideal Food Store

Market Melissa reviews the new Fairway Market and dreams up her what her ideal market would look like, take it away Melissa.

You won’t be hard-pressed to find a food market in NYC but what’s tricky is finding one that has everything on your weekly shopping list. I often go to 3 different stores in order to get the best produce, seafood and organic food. Fairway Market is a true one-stop shop. While Westsiders have been enjoying this store for over 50 years, the East side was just recently blessed with one this summer.

Brittany (our summer nutrition nerd) and I checked out the new store on a recent Friday afternoon. We were there around 11am and had quite an enjoyable shopping experience. This was a sharp contract to my experience at the West side store, which I like to compare to the game show Supermarket Sweep.

What I love about the new East side store are the wide aisles (for NYC) and how well everything is laid out and organized. The organic produce is clearly labeled in its own section of the store. In addition to the organic choices, you will also find all of your mainstream brands you find at other supermarket chains.

Here are some of the highlights that wowed us Supermarket nerds:

• A wheat free, gluten free, dairy free section – You won’t need to scour the aisles to find products that meet these allergy needs. All of the products that meet these criteria are neatly labeled and packed into a nook downstairs. 

• Ground peanut butter and almond butter station – Whole Foods has this as well. This is perfect for those who can’t be trusted with a full jar of peanut butter at home. You choose how much you want to purchase with a no nasty ingredients added. 

• Probiotic section – Next time you experience digestive woes or your immune system needs a kick in the butt, head to this section of the store. You will find everything from Kombucha, yogurt shots such as Siggi’s yogurt here. and supplements including Culturelle. 

• Oil tasting section – No more just picking up a plain extra virgin olive oil. Fairway has a whole section dedicated to different flavored oils, which you can taste with a small piece of bread that is offered. We opted out but there were numerous shoppers dipping in (perhaps double dipping).

• Made to order sushi – For all of you sushi lovers out there, Fairway offers grab and go, as well as made to order sushi. The best part is you can also request brown rice.

Despite the "specialty" nature of the store, Fairway is known for great value. I have yet to find a store in the city that can beat Fairway’s prices. Shoppers beware though – not everything is healthy. As always, read your labels and steer clear of the hot food self-serve bar upstairs.  They were serving fried chicken and mac n’ cheese during our visit.

Lauren asked me what my ideal supermarket would look like. After spending a good part of the past year at various markets I said:

It would be a place where everything you could possibly want would be available to avoid running to 10 different stores.  I would have a seasonal/local section and plenty of organic options. I'd love a cafe like Whole Foods so customers could buy food and sit down and eat and really spend time there. A juice bar would be nice. My store wouldn’t sell items with HFCS, hormones, food dyes or artificial sweeteners (so it may be a smaller store). And of course there would be someone like myself who could offer shopping advice and recipes to correlate with what the store was currently selling.

Where is your favorite place to shop? Do you find you need to visit numerous stores to find everything you need? Tell us about your dream market.

Overwhelmed with food shopping? Join us on a Market Foodtraining tour at the new Fairway or your store of choice. Contact Melissa to hop on the next tour. Not in NY? Follow Melissa on twitter (@MarketMelissa) for the latest market finds. Melissa is also giving away a NYC Market Foodtraining tour for four. To be eligible leave a comment below telling us you’re in the NY area.

Take it With a Grain of Salt

I love blog requests, this came from a client last week:
  I'd like to know what you think about salt.  My husband says I shouldn't put it in anything, even when the recipe calls for it.  I know that my body reacts negatively to it and that it is better to avoid it (and given the paucity of salt we eat, things, especially fast food, tend to taste overly salty).  But soy sauce on sushi, salt on edamame, and even on some scrambled eggs, tastes good.  What do you think?  Is a sprinkle a good thing or a bad thing?

First, I think whomever is making the recipe gets the final say on what goes in it. Just so you don’t think your husband is the only one with questionable salt habits, my husband salts everything before tasting it. So we don’t all “shake” the same but I’m getting off topic.

We do need some salt. It's  particularly important for people, like yourself,  who bike and run outside in the heat. Salt or sodium is lost in sweat. The higher the temperature and humidity, the more sweat and the more sodium you lose. While I don’t think salt replacement during exercise is warranted for workouts or races under 90 minutes. I do think some salt does an athlete good.

While dangerous hyponatremia or low sodium is rare. Too little salt is as dangerous as too much. Salt is needed for muscle contractions (our heart is a muscle), salt moves nutrients and water into our cells and interestingly salt may be a mood food or mood mineral. Research from the University of Iowa showed rates deficient in sodium chloride (table salt) shy away from activities they normally enjoy.  I provided the link if you’d like to learn more about rat fun but let’s suffice it to say we’re very similar to rats.

The amount of salt we need isn’t all that much. The AI or “adequate intake” which differs slightly based on age is 1500 mg or about ¾ of a teaspoon of salt. The UL or “upper limit” is 2300mg and 2000mg is 1 teaspoon so this is a little over that. To put this into food context show how easy the AI is to hit:

• 1 medium pickle has about 800 mg of sodum


• 4 slices of smoked salmon have 500mg


• canned beans have 500mg in ½ cup (rinsing reduces this number almost in half).


• Sushi Roll (naked, sans soy) 500-1000mg per 6-piece roll.

As to what type of salt to use, there are a few I love. Himalayan Sea Salt is unrefined so it’s a more natural product in a more raw state and contains more minerals (84 different minerals) than processed table salt. I like the Himalania brand. I also used Kosher salt and received a gift of Sicilian Lemon Salt recently. Table salt contains iodine (can throw off taste) and can contain additives so look at your labels. The only ingredients should be salt.

So salt via soy sauce (unless you're gluten free) or with edamame or eggs is absolutely fine.  You mentioned “reacting negatively” and I assume you were referring to bloat. Bloat may be telling you you over salted. Salt can be sneaky, here’s a list of some surprising salt sources. So don’t close the salt cellar just hide it from your husband.

Are you pro or anti salt? What type do you use? What are your favorite salty foods?

Celebrity Spokesperson: Weighty Considerations

from People.com

We’re all familiar with celebrities endorsing diets. Some seem more genuine that others. Certain actors use their role as spokesperson to increase their exposure or energize a lagging career. Others, Jennifer Hudson comes to mind in this group, appear genuinely committed to making changes and invested in the process. As a nutritionist I’d like to think I can sniff out sincere dedication but the more I think about it, I'm not sure the public responds to motivated spokespeople as much as they do to results and physiques they find aspirational. No matter how fantastic a celebrity transformation-buyer beware. You must closely scrutinize the means to the (smaller) end. Look closely at the plan and not just the "packaging".  Last week, The New York Times examined celebrity spokespeople for various diets in “When Dieting Becomes a Role to Play.”

Until reading this piece, I hadn’t thought of the tricky nature of celebrity endorsements for weight loss companies. While most companies want to link up with a celebrity for the potential revenue and image boost what happens when things backfire? Suddenly, things don’t look so good when, ala Carnie or Kirstie, the weight comes back as quickly as it was lost. Celebrity weight gain has the potential to discourage legions of dieters. Countless clients have watched Oprah over the years and her struggle worries them. They will come to me and say “if Oprah can’t do it, how can I?” While disheartening, I’m not sure people cancel their Weight Watcher’s memberships when the Duchess expands. After all, before you know it there’s a new smiling celebrity and the rounder representative is rapidly removed from all promotional materials as quickly as you can say (or eat) cheese.

As for the celebrity, the financial incentive exists for them too. They are paid nicely for their work. As the spokesperson, the celebrity undoubtedly will receive supplementary support and what better accountability could you have than a whole country watching? While I would have zero interest airing my dirty laundry (or larger laundry) in this manner, these are celebrities and accustom to being in the public eye. I can understand the reasoning, people are already noticing and commenting on your weight why not show them you’re doing something about it? This point of view makes sense until things start to unravel. With some of these plans, especially those based on meal delivery, they seem undeniably temporary. After all, at a certain point you would think people need to make choices and figure the food thing out which includes food shopping and preparation.

I would love to see one of these companies run a campaign in support of the “off the wagon” celebrity. I think it would be refreshing (and financially beneficial) to hear “this person has been struggling and this is what we do when this happens.” Instead of hearing that companies dumped the celebrities or failed to renew their contracts. That would be enlightening and real but then again that’s not what the weight loss industry is about. Silly them.
Have you ever been tempted by a plan based on the spokesperson? Or discouraged when a celebrity gains weight? Any celebrity transformation you've been impressed by? My vote goes to Valerie Bertinelli, did you know she also ran the Boston Marathon last year? Do you think this spokesperson business is more risky for the company or the celebrity?

Unrealistic Serving Sizes or Unrealistic Consumers?

On Tuesday I was contacted by Good Morning American to tape a segment on serving sizes. I shuffled my afternoon calendar and made my way over to Fairway Market to meet their crew. The news of the day involved a request by CSPI (often referred to as the food police) asking the FDA to revise serving sizes on certain food labels. I was interviewed in various aisles and went back to my office.  I watched the show the next morning and later contacted the producer; I thought I had missed the nutrition segment. She apologized to me and explained the story “had been bumped for the peacock.” The peacock being the one who had escaped from the Central Park Zoo. Serving sizes would wait another day.

The segment did air yesterday but my gripping comments about soup and cooking spray were cut to about the length of time the label suggest you spray (or a ¼ second) so I’ll fill you in. CSPI feels that the labels for certain foods such as the aforementioned canned soup, cooking spray as well as ice cream and coffee creamer (not a particularly healthful foursome) underestimate the actual amount of these foods consumers use. It’s hard to argue that one-cup of soup, an actual cup not a restaurant mug is pretty teensy and measuring ¼ second as aerosol oil sprays  suggest on the label is silly. I mean, “one-Mi” if we’re using the exact science of Mississippi counting.  So yes, the labels have their faults but perhaps consumers of canned soup, ice cream, spray oil and coffee creamer have bigger fish to fry.

While the serving size may be a little off, all labels list “servings per container.” So to determine just how much of a sodium bomb your Chicken Noodle soup is you need to multiply the serving by a factor of 2 or 2.5. Are we unsure consumers can do this?  CSPI is worried about people with hypertension, I am too. Should people who care about their blood pressure be eating canned soup? Or, are they reassured by the 790 milligrams if they eat the suggested 1-cup serving? I am all for pointing out confusing and misleading food packages but don’t see this as all that misleading.

CSPI suggests “the FDA should define serving sizes to reflect what consumers actually eat.” To me that’s opening up an extra large can of worms. With that reasoning is a serving size of frozen pizza one pie? A pint of ice cream? A liter of soda? CSPI found on a phone survey that most Americans do not consume 1 cup of soup, can we use what people actually eat to formulate guidelines? I don’t think so.  

Food companies know what’s going on. Chips would be less attractive if calories per bag were listed. “One hundred calories per serving” sounds much better, too bad if there are 25 servings in the bag. So there’s a little fudging in on the part of the companies but who are we kidding when we down the bag of chips? So while I know most people don’t have a “teacup” of cold cereal, if you eat fewer packaged foods you’re in a better place for a host of reasons.  And in case you are more interested in the peacock story, here it is.

Do you think serving sizes are “misleading”? Do you think they should, as CSPI requested, reflect what consumers actually eat? Do you eat any of the four foods mentioned?

What's More Important Cardio or Weights and Should You Do it Twice a Day?

I had lunch with an old friend yesterday. By old I mean a friend I’ve know since grade school, god knows we’re so far from old. We talked about work. He teaches film at Columbia and is in the process of making his first feature film. We moved onto friends, some soon to be married, some soon to be divorced and one in the middle of a very public scandal (more on that later). Toward the end of our meal, my friend said he had a nutrition question for me. I had to laugh because this was the last person I ever thought I'd be talking shop with. This was a friend for whom “green” in high school didn’t refer to kale, a friend who spent more time in the pubs one summer at Oxford than in class, you know the type.

My friend mentioned he had put on a few pounds and he and his brother have been debating something lately. He had started to run but his brother suggested he lift weights instead. He said:

You have to settle this, what’s better for weight loss cardio or weights?*

The cop out answer is they are both important and to a certain extent that’s true. However, if I have a client who wants to lost weight and start an exercise routine initially I would encourage a cardio-heavy regime. Cardio will give a faster initial result. After some weight loss and the cardio routine is established weights can be integrated. Once at a comfortable weight I would put more exercise “eggs” in the strength-training basket. If weight isn’t as much a concern I think a cardio/yoga or a cardio/barre class (the latter more so for women) compliment each other nicely. I told my friend to keep running but not too increase mileage too quickly or his appetite would go through the roof.  There’s such a thing as marathon munchies too. And as long as I mentioned food, let's be clear that exercise alone does not produce results. 

I then asked my friend how his girlfriend was doing. He said she was doing well and, as a teacher, enjoying her summer off. “She would’ve come to lunch but she’s on this twice a day yoga kick, isn’t that a little much?” I told him I didn’t think so. Many of my triathlete clients do an AM and a PM workout. I don’t think everyone needs two hours a day of exercise but a “doubleheader” once a week is a good way to ratchet up results. This double header can be two yoga classes, one hour of cardio and one hour of strength or simply a longer cardio (such as a run or a bike ride).

Lunch ended and I walked back to my office. I thought about how times had changed. Instead of concerts, we were now talking cardio. I also though about my friend’s comment about our classmate involved in the scandal (that may have something to do with phone tapping). “How funny is it that this is the same person who always wanted to be an archaeologist?” Maybe it’s not that surprising, he’s just doing a different type of digging now.

Are you more of a cardio person or do you prefer strength training? Ever do a double header? Is it funny how people can suddenly have an interest in exercise or nutrition? Does that mean that person is old?

*I hold no degree in exercise physiology so this post is the equivalent of a trainer or physical therapist giving nutrition advice which I loathe. Know that I am aware my opinion means absolutely nothing. 

Seven Links, Five Great Blogs No Partridge or Pear Tree

from Istock, I don't have that much free time.

In the early days of this blog, I read a post on a friend’s well-established blog (AKA as blog people actually read and enjoy) about meeting some of her blogging friends. At that point blog friends was as foreign a concept as having a blog people actually read. After a year and 10 months, no need to age the blog prematurely, I have a blog that some people seem to enjoy and as of a week ago I also have blog friends. These friends aren’t just virtual friends, we met face to face. Ameena of Fancy This Fancy That, Sam of Mom at the Barre and I had lunch at Candle 79 and I’m now convinced that in this world of screens you can meet lovely, smart people.

I was flattered when Sam nominated me for 7 links.  I hadn’t heard of 7 links before but have loved reading some of my favorite blogs 7 links.  To quote Sam:

The "My Seven Links" project has been going pretty strong for the past week or so. In a nutshell, its goal is to unite bloggers from all sectors in an endeavor to create a bank of posts that deserve to be re-read.

Rules are as follows: Blogger is nominated. Blogger publishes his or her 7 links on his or her blog. Blogger then nominates five more bloggers to take part. And the cycle continues.

On the 7 links website it advises participants “don’t overthink”.  There’s no way that was going to happen. I found it interesting to go back and read old posts. There were posts I’d love to edit, posts I forgot I wrote and a good year of posts I’m fairly certain nobody else read. So here it goes:

My most beautiful post-some of my best ideas come from my clients who I see in our Foodtrainers offices each week. I have fantastic clients some of whom I've known for a long time. This was a post I wrote about one of my favorite clients and the special gift she gave me at a hard time in her life.  

My most popular post-was a recent post. It was viewed a lot though readers did not necessarily agree with me.  I realized with this post and a few others that it’s much more fun to receive comments where readers disagree with me and make me think than when they say “loved this.” It's still totally fine to say "loved this." I never take comments personally and love nothing more than a good debate (well I may love a good massage a little more).  If you haven’t read this, see what you think- and feel free to let me have it.

My most controversial post may have been the post above but this one was controversial for its subject matter. I have no issue talking about bowel movements or any bodily functions but this was me writing about it. Since then I wrote another Potty Talk post as well.  

My most helpful post- is a hard one to pick. There are a lot of food situations that trip us all up. In this post I responded to a clients hysterical 911 email from a bachelorette party. My advice holds for any food situation involving peer pressure

Post whose success surprised me- this is a post people always comment on. I hate fast food but found myself in a blizzard on an interstate with two hungry children and an exhausted husband and food supply. I caved and wasn’t happy about it. No fast food since (it was 2009) or hopefully ever again because, as I described, it makes me feel so ill.

Post that didn’t get the attention it deserved- it’s hard to give something attention when you don’t know what the thing is. So while I’ll single out one post, there were about a year’s worth that went unread or were only read by about five of my dearest friends. And of those posts, after rereading them, there are many that don’t deserve your attention.  There’s one, however, I think you should know about and that’s TIDEI. TIDEI stands for Tweet It Don’t Eat It. Clients email us all the time seeking our help and this extends our reach to twitter. Simply tweet @Foodtrainers I’m walking by the Mr Softee truck trying to ignore it #TIDEI.  We’ll respond with advice as needed. It’s fun, try it.

Post I’m most proud of- professionally I take pride in helping people make important changes in their lives; however, I’m most proud of my family (so sappy I know). I ‘ve talked about my boys and Marc but wrote a post for each of my boys. This technically makes 8 links (and yes I overthought that) but here was the one I wrote Weston last year and this year for Myles.

And my nominees are:

Camille and Sarah @ Svelte Gourmand

Lauren @ Running Dialog

Andy @Small Bites

Dr Ayala @ Herbal Water

Shari @ My Judy The Foodie

I should mention I've also met the adorable Erica Sara through this blog. I am wear my 26.2 "race bling" she designs with pride. 

What’s the strangest place you’ve ever made a friend? Do you have any posts you’ve especially liked or disliked on this blog?  Did you read any of my 7 links? Be honest.