"Wateress Green Greatness Smoothie"

"Bitter is Better"

Susan Peacock MSRDN

Diabetesfix.net

Watercress, this cruciferous vegetable, has so many health benefits you shouldn't let the bitter taste keep you from enjoying how beneficial it is for your body.

If you don't like the taste, add other greens and fruit to mask the bitter flavor.

In fact, it is the bitter flavor that makes this little phytochemical vegetable so good.

It contains, Calcium, Iron, Folate, Magnesium and Phosphorus, along with the alphabet of vitamins: A, B12, C and K.

This powerhouse of a vegetable helps guard against many cancers especially breast cancer.

It has been shown to maintain the health of the thyroid and protect against chronic   cardiovascular disease.  Additionally, it has been shown to maintain bone health and lower the risk of depression.

 Initially, just try a few sprigs to get used to it. I like adding mint or cucumber to freshen the flavor. You can always add protein powder to make it a meal replacer.

Watercress (a few sprigs to start and add to taste)

Spinach - ½ cup

Kale - ½ cup

½ cup - raspberries or any fruit,  & ½ of a medium banana.

2 oz. - juice of your liking with water

¼ of a small cucumber

A few sprigs of mint.

Whirl in a blender till smooth. Enjoy your Greatness!

Bariatric weight loss surgery is on the rise. In 2008 there were 220,000 surgeries and has become popular as a solution to obesity.

If you are thinking of the surgery and you are doing your research it is important to engage the surgeon and have a list of questions available so you feel comfortable with your decision.

In Dr. Shillingford’s office the gastric bypass surgeon we have a support group the second Monday of every month.

The support group is for pre and post surgery patients as well as patients who are thinking of surgery.

As a registered dietitian and counseling pre and post patients who have under gone the surgery I find that every one has a story to tell, and I have found that the surgery may be the same but the experiences are different.

In the support group the attendees find support for their concerns and fears as well as definitive information that will allow their surgery to be successful.

For example it is important to know exactly how much food you will be eating after the surgery, how much protein and fluid your body needs as well as how you will get your nutrients into your body.

We discuss products and methods of eating to make sure you know exactly what you need to know to loose the weight you desire and to maintain your health.

Information is powerful for the patient who has had a weight loss procedure.

Know that returning to your physician and dietitian for follow up visits with you latest lab work in hand is soimportant. Deficiencies can be detected and is key for allowing your surgery to give you the optimal long-term results you seek.

Next time: Your intake of vitamins and mineral after surgery.

Susan Peacock M.S.R.D.

Times Have Changed

Recently a friend brought me yearbooks he had saved from our high school days. The smell of the old pages wafted to my brain and I immediately started reminiscing about times gone by, a good 30 years or so.

When flipping through the pages I started to remember the faces and names, and whether I had known them as close friends, or acquaintances. Were they in my classes and hadthey affected my life in anyway?

There was a section for teachers, senior’s, underclassmenand activities. I spotted myself in various places other than my class picture. There I was in my green jumpsuit we had to wear for gym class. Not the prettiest piece of clothing but it was provide for class because gym was a requirement in our school. Everyone had to get their exercise.

I also noticed the other girls, and the band along with the dances. The lucky girls got dressed up and were taken by a nice boy, given a corsage, and taken to the prom. How dreamy it all was.

But as I flipped through the pages and identified some ofmy classmates it occurred to me that none, yes none were obese. Maybe a few pounds but only if you were to ask them. From first look everyone looked to be a fairly normal weight.

Of course being a dietitian I would look at these things, but since I had know these people I started to think about what we were concerned about in high-school?

Looks were very important; especially for the girls at this age and carrying a few extra pounds might mean that you would be excluded from a certain group or the lips would wag behind your back.

This could be solved with a little more walking, and passing up the chips at study hall. We wanted to fit in, and we did what we had to do to make that happen.

Today it seems that maybe you would fit in even if you had not only a few extra pounds but be more than 20% over weight making you obese.

Unfortunately this is true.

Today 66% of the population is overweight and 37% of thepopulation of the United States are obese.

What difference would it make to anyone if you were heavy, if everyone looks the same?

Of course doing what everyone else is doing, doesn’t make it right.

In fact part of my discussion with my weight loss patients is for them to practice  looking at the world differently.

I use the “sheep” example: That they are not sheep and should not be following everyone else by eating poorly and being overweight, just because everyone is doing it.

I also add that to loose weight you almost have to “buck” the system by going your own way.

It does seem that it is easier to be out of shape and eat “junk food” than to be healthy.

In Fact Did you know ?: A new study shows that the rate ofobesity in U.S. children and teenagers has tripled over the past three decades.

Amazing isn’t it? It also is a fact that: Between 1969 and 2001, the percentage of middle and high school students walking or biking to school decreased from 41.6 percent and 26.4 percent, respectively, to 15.2 percent and 8.1 percent.

Part of the problem is that schools have removed physical education from the curriculum. Even though I didn’t like my green gym outfit, I got my exercise, and I am forever grateful.

These statistics confirm the obvious that my high school chums were thinner, because we got more exercise and even though there was junk food around we ate less of it.

It might have been for different reasons to be thin back in high school other than for health but the fact is we were thinner, and healthier for it.

Your “Nutrition Advocate”. Susan Peacock M.S.R.D.

I recently found an email on clipping coupons. When I accesed the web site all the coupons were for packaged foods, and I found myself thinking, I don't use this stuff.

Even though vegetables are known for a low calorie, high nutrient food. Food to eat when you want to get fiber and increase your vitality. You don't find many coupons  for spinach or a pachage of carrots. Why?

Well it may be the age old supply and demand issue. Or it's just that the profit margin is so low on produce that the big food manufactures make more money offering coupons on processed, packaged food.

There is an opportunity here for all of those people who want healthy bodies and longevity not to mention more quality to their lives. Don't bother with the coupons and head for the produce department.

Sure, there are always coupons to clip to save some money on various products that we all use. But if your shopping cart is filled with packages and not produce then their is an imbalance in your menu planning.

The good thing is that you can read all the ingredients that is in the food in those packages. Since packaged food are the only  items that must have by law, labels. All the sodium, sugar, fat etc. that you are getting in your packaged food is written right there for the world to see.

Produce does not have to have a label. However the nutrition information must be posted in the produce department for the top 20 selling items. Really? Yea, it's there. Usually on a large hanging board, or it may be in a pamphlet, but not on a label.

I provide an extensive label reading session with my patients because I find that they may be able to read the information, but not know what the numbers, and percentages mean to their overall health.

Do you know what the human body needs as far as nutrients every day to stay in optimal health? If not the food label will tell you what is in the food but not what it means to you.

If you knew how important those nutrients were to your body, and what they would be doing for you everyday would you eat them? Hopefully you would learn to love thefoods that would keep you healthy and you would eat more of them.

What is interesting is that their is not information on the label telling you that "if you eat this food it can make you sick". 

 Hmmm, that would be something wouldn't it?

For Example:

Did you know that brocolli is loaded with antioxdents and phytochemicals to prevent heart attacks and cancer? It has fiber to fill you up to prevent you from over eating. And only .3 grams of fat for one cup. 

I would love for you to ponder that if you ate good nutritious food everyday all your life you probably would have a longer healthier more productive life.

I will be exploring healthy foods here in my blog to help you envision your life as healthy just by providing your body with the best nutrients it can get.

Please contact me: suepeacock@earthlink.net with questions or comments.

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