health, wellness and nutrition

Jan 9, 2010

Pomegranate Compounds May Prevent Breast Cancer Growth

Breast cancer is a significant health concern, with one in eight women developing the disease at some point in their lives. While there are various treatment options available, prevention remains the most effective approach, with scientists constantly searching for safe and natural ways of keeping the disease at bay. Recent studies have shown that pomegranate compounds may be crucial in preventing the growth of breast cancer cells, offering new hope for millions of women worldwide.

Pomegranate is a fruit that has been used for centuries for its medicinal properties. The fruit is rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, making it an excellent preventive measure against a wide range of diseases, including breast cancer. Several studies have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of pomegranate compounds in inhibiting the growth of breast cancer cells, with promising results.

One such study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, found that pomegranate extract inhibits the growth and progression of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer cells. These cells are known to be more aggressive and resistant to conventional breast cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. The researchers found that the pomegranate extract suppressed the activity of specific enzymes that promote the growth and spread of breast cancer cells.

Another study, this time by researchers at the University of Colorado, found that pomegranate extract slows the growth of breast cancer cells by inhibiting the activity of specific proteins that regulate cell division. The researchers also found that the extract enhances the effectiveness of conventional cancer treatments like tamoxifen, making it a potential complementary therapy for breast cancer patients.

The active compounds in pomegranate that are believed to be responsible for its cancer-fighting properties include polyphenols, flavonoids, and ellagic acid. Ellagic acid, in particular, has been found to be highly effective in preventing breast cancer by inhibiting the activity of specific enzymes that promote the growth of cancer cells. The compound also induces apoptosis, which is the process by which cancer cells self-destruct.

Aside from its anti-cancer properties, pomegranate has several other health benefits. The fruit is an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and E, which are essential for maintaining good health. Pomegranate is also rich in fiber, which helps to promote digestive health and maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

In conclusion, pomegranate compounds have shown great promise in preventing the growth and progression of breast cancer cells. While more research is needed to establish the optimal dosage and duration of treatment, the findings so far are highly encouraging. For women looking for natural and safe ways of reducing their breast cancer risk, adding pomegranate to their diet could provide significant benefits.

Jan 5, 2010

Serving Size vs. Portion Size: What’s the difference? by Michelle Mirizzi, MS, Registered Dietitian

Serving Size vs. Portion Size: What’s the difference?

Michelle Mirizzi, MS, Registered Dietitian

Find out the difference between serving sizes and portions sizes. Choosing nutritious foods and keeping portion sizes sensible will help keep your family at a healthy weight.

One of the best ways you can help your child live healthy and maintain a healthy weight is to teach them what an actual serving size looks like. They can use this knowledge to make healthier choices when eating at school, having snacks or even choosing from a fast food menu.

Research shows that Americans are eating larger and larger portions. For example, twenty years ago a bagel was about 3 inches in diameter and 140 calories. Today’s bagels are about 6 inches in diameter, 350 calories and may count up to three or even four servings in the grains group. Let’s also compare a soda twenty years ago that was about 6.5 ounces and 85 calories. Today, an average soda is 20 ounces and can have 300 or more calories.

Serving sizes are often smaller than people think. In fact Americans under-estimate the calories they consume each day by an average of 25 percent. A recent poll revealed that 70% of us felt the amount of food that we eat at home and the amount we are served at restaurants is considered a “normal” serving size. People are unaware that the portion sizes have increased over the years. In fact, the standard size plate used in restaurants has increased from 10 ½ inches to 12 inches.

Servings and portions… What’s the difference?

Serving sizes are defined by the USDA Food Guide Pyramid as a standard amount used to help give advice about how much food to eat. It also helps us identify how many calories and nutrients are in a food. A portion is the amount of food that you choose to eat. There is no standard portion size and no single right or wrong portion size. However, knowing the size of a serving can help your child determine healthful portions. Let’s look at some examples:

You eat 2 waffles for breakfast

One serving from the Food Guide Pyramid is equal to 1 waffle.
So that means if you ate 2 waffles, you also ate 2 servings from the grains group.

Here are some other common portions and their respective Food Guide Pyramid serving sizes:

Common portions that people eat	Food Guide Pyramid Serving Size	Total servings per Food Guide Pyramid
1 bagel	½ bagel	= 2 servings
1 English Muffin	½ English muffin	= 2 servings
1 Hamburger bun	½ bun	= 2 servings
1 cup cooked rice	½ cup cooked rice	= 2 servings
1 cups cooked pasta	½ cup cooked pasta	= 2 servings

In each food group, look at these different Food Guide Pyramid examples indicating 1 serving each. How do these compare with what your portions look like?

Grains
1 slice bread, waffle or pancake
½ bagel, hamburger bun, or English muffin
½ cup cooked rice, pasta or cereal
1 cup ready to eat cereal

Vegetables
¾ cup (6 fluid ounces) 100% vegetable juice
1 cup raw, leafy vegetables or salad
½ cup cooked or canned vegetables

Fruits
1 medium apple, orange or banana
½ cup fruit (canned, cooked or raw)
½ cup (4 fluid ounces) 100% fruit juice
¼ cup dried fruit (raisins, apricots or prunes)

Milk
1 cup milk or yogurt
2 ounces processed cheese (American)
1 ½ ounces natural cheese (cheddar)

Meat and Beans
1 tablespoons of peanut butter counts as 1 ounce
¼ cup nuts or 20-24 almonds
1 medium size egg
2-3 ounces of poultry, meat or fish (2-3 servings)
¼ cup of beans

Tips on how to visually estimate 1 serving size

Grains Group
1 oz. bread or 1 slice of bread	CD case
10 French fries	Deck of cards
½ cup cooked rice or pasta	Computer mouse

Vegetables Group
1 cup raw leafy vegetables	Baseball
½ cup vegetables	Computer mouse

Fruit Group
1 medium fruit such as an apple or an orange	Tennis ball or the size of your fist
¾ cup juice	6 ounce juice can (1 ½ servings)
½ cup chopped or canned fruit	Computer mouse

Milk and Milk Products Group
1 ounce cheese	Pair of dice or the size of your thumb
1 ½ ounces cheddar cheese	2 (9-volt) batteries
1 cup of milk	8 ounce carton of milk
8 ounces yogurt	Baseball or tennis ball

Meat & Beans Group
3 ounces of meat, fish or poultry	Deck of cards (3 servings)
2 tablespoons of peanut butter	Ping–pong ball (2 servings)
½ cup cooked beans	Baseball (2 servings)

Try these ideas to help control portions at home:

When your child is hungry and looking for a snack take the amount of food that is equal to one serving (refer to the Nutrition Facts label) and have your child eat it off a plate instead of eating it out of the box or bag.
Don’t be tempted to finish off leftover dinner the next day. Freeze leftovers as single servings so that you can pull it out of the freezer when you need a quick, healthy meal for your family.
Be prepared and have emergency snacks on hand if your family is running late and needs a quick snack. Make your own snack bags for traveling by reading the Nutrition Facts label and placing a single serving size into plastic bags.
Have your child measure out a single serving of food before sitting in front of the television or doing other activities that can distract him/her from realizing how much food is being consumed. This way your child will know exactly how much he or she is eating!

Serving sizes on food labels are sometimes different from the Food Guide Pyramid servings. For example, the serving size for beverages is measured in cups or fluid ounces. Whether it is milk, juice, or soda the nutrition facts labeling guidelines is 1 cup or 8 fluid ounces, which equals 1 serving size. However, the Food Guide Pyramid serving size for milk is 1 cup, but for juice it is ¾ cup.

So, even though the amount of 1 serving on nutrition facts labels and the Food Guide Pyramid may be slightly different it is still a great tool to help you and your child decide if you are getting enough or too much food each day. Encourage your child to get familiar with the serving sizes because smart eating is an essential part of growing and staying healthy!

This family wellness article is provided by Nourish Interactive, visitwww.nourishinteractive.com for nutrition articles, family wellness tips, free children's healthy games, and tools. Available in English and Spanish.

Photo by Max Griss

Healthier Fast Foods - Healthy Nutrition by Michelle Mirizzi, MS, Registered Dietitian

Eating Fast Foods … The Healthy Way

Michelle Mirizzi, MS, Registered Dietitian

As a parent, you have a strong influence over how much fast food your child eats. Find out how to set some guidelines to follow when eating out that will teach them how to make healthy choices as adults.

In the ‘olden days’ there were no video games or televisions. People ate all their meals at home or sometimes at another family’s home. All the food was prepared from scratch and a lot was home grown. Most families would only go out to eat if it was a very special occasion. Times have changed and now we are often referred to as the ‘fast food nation.’ Everyday, one out of every four children eat fast food and nearly half of all of us eat fast food more than once a week. We do this primarily because of convenience and because it’s less expensive than going to a restaurant. Let’s face it, children love fast food meals because it comes in a colorful box, it’s served quickly and, most importantly, it comes with a toy!

Fast food chains spend a huge amount of money on marketing to get the attention of children. They know that most people form their eating habits as children so they try to shape these ‘future customers’ as best as they can. They spend so much money on marketing to children that according to Eric Schlosser, author of the book “Fast Food Nation”, 96% of children can identify Ronald McDonald. The only other fictional character that is better identified by children is Santa Claus!

Why do we as parents visit these places? Well, our lives are more hectic than ever between school, sports, work and friends. Who has time to think about what to eat? The good news is that you can still enjoy an occasional meal from fast food restaurants by learning how to make smart choices. As a parent, you have a strong influence over how much your child eats. Setting some guidelines to follow when eating out will teach them how to make healthy choices as adults.

There are some tricks that can help make any fast food meal better for you and your family. Follow these tips to cut down on fat, sodium, sugar, overall calories and make your meal healthier:

If you are ordering á la Carte items on the menu, find out if there is a child’s size available. Another option is to order the regular size and split the order and share it. Avoid ordering extra large portions just because they are a deal! These deals usually have the words jumbo, giant, super sized or deluxe in the name.
Don’t be shy about making substitutions! Children love kid’s meals because it comes with a toy and it is usually in a cool looking box. Let them order it but ask to make substitutions for the fries and soda if possible. Many restaurants will offer milk or water as a beverage and apple slices instead of fries.
Talk to your child before ordering a meal and give them a choice of milk, juice or water (make sure it is low fat milk or 100% fruit juice.) Explain to them that soda is high in empty calories that will just fill up their tummies.
Let your child know that they can ask for items prepared a specific way. For example, salad dressing on the side, baked or grilled instead of fried, brown rice instead of white rice.
Finally, set a good example by ordering a healthy meal for yourself.

What Can Parents Do?

By learning how the food is prepared, you will be able to make healthier choices ordering from a menu:

Order foods that are not breaded or fried because they are higher in fat and calories. Foods that are breaded and deep fried include: chicken nuggets, fried chicken, fried fish sandwiches, onion rings and french fries.
Order foods that are prepared by being steamed, broiled, grilled, poached, or roasted.
Have gravy, sauces and dressings served on the side so you can control the amount you eat.
Use salsa and mustard instead of mayonnaise.
Use non-fat milk or low fat milk instead of whole milk or heavy cream.
Order a salad with ‘lite’ or non-fat dressing instead of regular dressing.
Choose a regular, single patty hamburger without mayonnaise and cheese.

Over the last few years, many chain restaurants have been adding healthier menu options. They also started providing nutrition information for all the foods on the menu, but you usually need to ask for it. Try checking their website as well for additional information.

Hamburger fast food restaurants are the most popular with children. However, other options are available such as Asian food, sandwiches, or Mexican grills. Keep in mind that every fast food restaurant has both healthy and less-healthy choices. Here are some pointers to remember that can help you make better choices when eating out at various fast food places:

Mexican food:

Choose grilled soft tacos or burritos instead of a crispy shell or gordita-type burritos.
Black beans are a better choice because they have less fat than refried beans.
Ahhh, the Mexican condiments! Salsa is low in calories and fat and it makes a great substitute for sour cream, guacamole and cheese.

Deli sandwiches:

Choose lean meats such as chicken breast, lean ham or roast beef, instead of salami or bacon.
Ask for 100% whole wheat bread for sandwiches. Skip the croissants and biscuits because they are high in fat.
Add low fat salad dressings instead of special sauces or mayonnaise.
Choose baked chips or pretzels instead of regular potato chips.

Asian food:

Steamed brown rice has more nutrients and less calories than fried rice.
Stir fried, steamed, roasted or broiled dishes are healthier choices than battered or deep fried.
Sauces such as low sodium soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, wasabi, or ginger are better choices than sweet and sour sauce or coconut milk.

It’s OK to enjoy fast food once in a while, but try to limit the visits to no more than twice a month. An average meal at a fast food restaurant has around 1000 calories and does not have the vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients that your child needs to grow healthy and strong. While fast food consumption has greatly increased over the years there are several contributing factors why childhood obesity is becoming more and more prevalent. While all the above information is important, we need to keep things in perspective by understanding that the weight epidemic in this country is because of how much food children eat, rather than what food children eat.

If your family is going to have fast food for one meal, just make sure the other meals that day contain healthier foods like fruits and vegetables. Perhaps you could take an afternoon with your child and prepare a few homemade meals in advance that can be served quickly to avoid the temptation of getting fast food too often while at the same time teaching them some simple food preparation steps. Either way, just remember, it is not that difficult to eat healthy even when you don’t have much time.

Healthy Barbecue Grilling by Anne Kolker MS, Registered Dietitian

A New Twist on Summer Grilling

Anne Kolker MS, Registered Dietitian

You'll be surprised what your kids will eat on a stick. Have the butcher help you out for easy meal prep. Poultry can be cubed for easy threading. If you aren't that creative w/ the entrée and just want to stick to low-fat turkey burgers, go for it but change up the menu by grilling different veggies and fruit. Get the kids involved; they'll love to place the food on the stick.

August is already here and my kids share in my thought: "Summer is going by too fast." Before you start thinking of school and all the changes that it brings, hold on to the summer feeling: Race the kids in the pool, play croquet, or plan a family hike. Most importantly, take advantage of summer-time fruits and veggies and prep the BBQ.

Many fruits and veggies peak during summer. This means cost savings for the consumer but also great taste. Summer squash taste great sautéed or served raw in a salad. You probably have seen blueberries and raspberries at the store or farmer's market. Stone fruit, such as cherries, apricots and peaches, are perfect this time of year. Did you know that a nectarine is basically a bare naked peach? The smooth skin is actually due to a recessive gene.

Usually when we think of grilling, we think of BBQ'd ribs and chicken. Try something new this August – focus on fruits and vegetables. Vegetables actually taste a little sweeter when grilled because the sugar is more concentrated. Adding a little bit of salt to them also intensifies the flavor (draws water out, if you recall your high school chemistry). Just brush them with a little vegetable oil prior to grilling and add salt or other seasoning. Asparagus will grill quite quickly while thicker vegetables need to be grilled longer (35+ minutes). Try slicing up potatoes in thin, long pieces for a healthier way to serve chips. Corn on the cob is an easy one, just remove the husks and rotate during grilling (about 10 minutes).

Fruits also benefit from being brushed with vegetable oil prior to grilling so they don't stick. Ideally, fruit should be cut uniformly so they cook at the same rate and placed away from the heat. Be careful with soft fruits as they will heat up fast. For added flavor, brush them with margarine, sugar, and cinnamon. Try this with pineapple: Remove the skin and slice width-wise making sure each piece is about the same thickness. Get your son or daughter involved and have them use a small circular cookie cutter to remove the core and create uniform rings. Your family will enjoy a nice caramelized healthy treat.

Get the kids involved. They can choose the types of fruits and vegetables they want to grill. Plus kids love eating anything on a stick. Soak the sticks in water for 30 minutes and place half-sliced nectarines or tomatoes and mushrooms for fun kabobs. Have a tasty fruit and veggie filled August!

Photo by Julia Filirovska

Kids' Healthy Beverage Choices By Anne Kolker MS Registered Dietitian

Drinking your Calories

By Anne Kolker MS Registered Dietitian

Photo by Thamires Teles

The options for drinks seem to be at an all time high with energy and sport drinks, new flavored sodas, tropical fruit juices, fancy vitamin water, and even water with protein appealing to all ages. Sodas and sport drinks, however, can have as much as 13 teaspoons of added sugar. It is especially important to look at the serving size on the nutrition label. So if you quickly read that a beverage bottle says 80 calories, you may need to look again. For example, if the serving size sates 2.5 servings/bottle, you need to do the math. In this case, the 80 calories beverage actually contains 200 calories. Similarly, not all fruit juice is alike. Many do provide 100% juice but be careful of marketing. SunnyD® may look like orange juice and sell you on it’s 100% vitamin C, however it’s second ingredient is high fructose corn syrup as well as other ingredients not found in juice.

So what is a parent to do? Certainly, 100% fruit juice can be counted as a serving of fruit in a child’s diet. Just be careful of portion sizes. Offering OJ in a small glass (4- 6 oz) is great at breakfast but shouldn’t be the main choice of the day. Orange slices would be a great option, providing beneficial fiber and phytochemicals. If the soccer moms are bringing in sports drinks, you may need to be the one to point out that water is just fine. Sport drinks can be useful for the athlete who vigorously exercises for more than an hour, but isn’t necessarily needed for kids, teens, or adults. It is more important that you child is hydrated. Have your son or daughter drink water at least a half hour before his/her practice. Bring a water bottle to ensure he can drink during breaks in the game. Offering watermelon after the game is great as it contains 90% water. Finally, most adults and kids get plenty of protein (think cheese, milk, peanut butter, chicken, tofu, etc). Adding protein to a beverage just comes down to marketing again. Similarly, children consume plenty of vitamins in real food as well as fortified cereals and bread. Drinking vitamin water adds no real health benefit.

When you are out and about doing errands with the kids, it is quite convenient to just to purchase sodas, Slurpies ® and even a Jamba Juice® for you family. Again, it is all about portions. A 16 oz Jamba Juice ® Mango-A Go Go has 300 calories. Ask for an extra cup and split it up between your kids or just ask them to only fill it up half way (it is hard to stop halfway once it is in your cup). Even for yourself as you drop in to Starbucks for a 12 oz pick-me- upper café mocha (with whip cream of course) you’ll be drinking in 260 calories. Having young children have sips of your frosted mocha is not a great idea because caffeine can have more of an effect on children whose body weight is much less than an adults. Caffeine can cause upset stomachs and disrupt sleep.

The concern in our society today it that these sweetened beverages become the norm or daily beverage choice. Certainly, a decaffeinated soda at a pizza party once in awhile really won’t do that much harm to your child, however, if you go home and add in the ice cream that day, and the high sugar cereal from the morning and the hard candy sweet form a quick stop at the store, you have a lot of empty calories and sugar being consumed in just one day. Also, remember if you are drinking soda throughout the day, eventually your teenage will do so too (role modeling does have a huge impact).

Kids do need calories. For example a 10 year old girl may need 2,000 calories. Of course, if she is on the petite side or isn’t very active, she’ll need less calories.

Most of these sweet drinks provide very little nutrition. It can either fill the child up so he doesn’t want to eat later, missing out on other beneficial food like sliced fruit, or it can actual add unnecessary calories. For a child or even an adult needing to lose weight, this can be easy just by changing beverages. It is possible to fall back on good ol’ water. Many companies now offer flavored water such as lemon and raspberry. At home, add fresh mint or sliced oranges or cucumbers into a glass of ice water. For a special event, serve club soda with sliced lemons. The best benefit of water – there are zero calories.

Tips

There are flavored water or club soda with zero calories that are better options.
Start your young kids off right when they are little. Avoid offering children soda and punch.
Limit juice but do offer two cups a day of non-fat or 1% milk. It’s great for children older than two to provide calcium and vitamin D (whole milk is fine from ages 1 to 2).
Do offer water through out the day
(try a keeping cold pitcher in the frig).
Add slices of lemon or squeeze a little bit of fresh orange juice to add some flavor.

If your child plays sports like volleyball, basketball or soccer, it is important to drink water 20 minutes prior to your practice or game. Their body sweats off fluid to keep cool. So, if your children are super active and/or it is really hot, remember to have them drink every 20 minutes or so including after their game.

Keeping Kids Active By Michelle Mirizzi, MS, Registered Dietitian

LET’S GET MOVING!

By Michelle Mirizzi, MS, Registered Dietitian

When it comes to physical activity, every little bit counts! LET’S GET MOVING month is designed to get you and your child to become more physically active. Children are less physically fit than they were a generation ago. In fact, inactive children, when compared to active children, weigh more and have higher blood pressure. Most importantly, inactive children are more likely to become inactive adults.

Photo by Gerald Yambao

Many parents think of organized sports like soccer or baseball when they think of getting exercise. Unfortunately, practice and games once or twice a week are not enough activity to reach the recommended goal of at least 60 minutes everyday. As parents, we also can’t rely on physical education in schools to provide enough activity for our children. The good news is that there are many ways that we can keep our children active everyday!

The current recommendation for children is to have at least 60 minutes of physical activity on most, preferably all days of the week. Activity can be accumulated throughout the day. Even blocks of time as short as 15 minutes or more can be accumulated throughout the day to achieve this goal. This sixty minute recommendation can be accomplished very easily by including activity into your daily routine. For example, try taking the stairs instead of an elevator or parking further away and walking to the store. Don’t forget activities like raking leaves, shoveling snow or having your child clean his or her room.

Why is physical activity important for my child?

It helps to maintain a healthy body weight
It improves your child’s physical skills like jumping, throwing, kicking and catching
It strengthens your child’s muscles and improves coordination
It can increase your child’s life expectancy
It can reduce the risk of some cancers and diabetes

Just like choosing healthy foods, children are more likely to want to be active when other family members are active too. Lead by example; show your child that exercise is important by regularly exercising yourself. Here are some activities that the whole family can do:

Take a family walk after dinner a couple times a week
Go on a family bike ride through the neighborhood
Create sidewalk art with chalk and play hopscotch
Fly a kite on a grassy field at a local school
Enjoy a playground at a school or a park
Play Duck, Duck, Goose or London Bridge
Limit time spent in sedentary activities, such as watching TV, playing on the computer or playing video games to no more than one hour a day.

All children need to be physically active. A child with a chronic health condition or disability should not be excluded from physical activities. Consult your child’s doctor about which activities are safe and if the activities can be adjusted to meet your child’s needs. An overweight or even a less coordinated child may feel uncomfortable in competitive sports, so activities everyone can participate in, regardless of skill, may be best. Some activities that are less dependant on skill level include:

Walking
Biking, playing outside
Flying a kite
Sledding
Bowling
Tag

Another way to increase physical activity with your child is to use it as a fun reward instead of food or money. When your child reaches a certain goal (like doing well in school) celebrate by going miniature golfing, hiking or visiting a swimming park.

Children need physical activity to build strength, coordination and confidence. All of these characteristics lay the groundwork for leading a healthy lifestyle in the future. Studies show that children who are exposed to various sports and exercise tend to stay active throughout their adults lives. Also, children who are more physically active tend to get sick less often than children who are inactive. So remember, when it comes to physical activity, every little bit counts!

Safety Considerations

Safety is always important when it comes to physical activities and your child. Make sure your child wears the proper safety gear. For example, a helmet for bike riding, skateboarding or rolling skating. Study after study will show that helmets save lives! Make sure to put sunscreen on your child when he or she is playing outside; and don’t forget to bring water to drink even if your child is playing in water. Lastly, if your child is in an organized sport, ask the coach what kind of safety equipment your child may need during the season.

Water needs of the Active Child

Now is a good opportunity to teach your child about the importance of drinking water and staying hydrated while exercising. Did you know that our bodies are estimated to be about 60-70% water? Water has several important functions in the body: it helps regulate your body’s temperature, it helps nutrients travel to all your organs and it also protects all of your joints. Water is equally good for your skin and helps your body process food more efficiently.

The current recommendation for children is to drink at least 4 ounces (a half-cup) of water every 20 minutes while exercising. We lose water everyday by sweating, going to the bathroom and even breathing! Explain to your child that water keeps the body hydrated and, if you don’t get enough water, you may start to feel dehydrated. Signs of dehydration can include:

Feeling tired or confused
Having a headache
Having leg or stomach cramps
Feeling thirsty

This family wellness article is provided by Nourish Interactive, visit www.nourishinteractive.com for nutrition articles, family wellness tips, free children's healthy games, and tools. Available in English and Spanish.