Heart-Warming Frustration: A Review of the First Two Episodes of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

The first two episodes of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution in Los Angeles have aired. (There was no episode on yesterday so now is your chance to make sure you're all caught up!) If you've missed them, head on over to Hulu to check it out.

Episode 1: Maybe L.A. Was A Big Mistake
Episode 2: I Think I Found A Loophole

While Jamie may be banned from the schools, he still wants to help. So he's finding whatever ways he can to see the food, talk to the kids and motivate their parents to act. You'd be hard-pressed to watch this show and not learn a single thing.

I, for one, had no idea about the gross practices allowed in the making of ground beef. I'm not going to go into it here; Jamie will show you what I'm talking about. But let's just say if you ever plan on eating ground beef, you should know this.

Burger from Wikimedia Commons

Since his hands are sort of tied in the school venue, Jamie is trying to make a difference elsewhere too. He's taken it upon himself to try to make the menu of a family-owned fast food restaurant healthier for its customers without driving up the price too high. This story line especially is a microcosm for so many people's eating situations. They want to eat healthier but they have these preconceived notions that are so ingrained they're really hard to leave behind.

While there was no episode, last night the L.A. USD superintendent announced with Jamie Oliver on Jimmy Kimmel's show that they will be no longer offering chocolate- or strawberry-flavored milk in their schools starting this fall. Those milks are high in sugar. In fact, in Episode 1 Jamie showed just how much sugar there is.

So give it a whirl Tuesday nights 8pm ET/ 7pm CT on ABC, but be prepared to be both frustrated and encouraged by one person (and his team) trying to make a difference.

©2011 Memo To My Health. Please do not republish our content without notifying us and getting permission.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

I meant to write this post about a year ago.

Last spring, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution premiered on TV. I watched the whole series (all 6 episodes). I smiled. I cried. I decried that it was on Friday nights - when a lot of people were probably not watching it...

Season 1 Poster from Wikipedia

Jamie, also known as The Naked Chef, went to Huntington, WV - a place statistically known as one of the unhealthiest places in America. It was moving to watch him try to teach people about healthy eating habits in an attempt to decrease incidences of obesity, heart disease and diabetes when so many wouldn't even listen to him at first. You see apparently Americans don't want to be told what to do - especially by a British guy.

As he went to work understanding and trying to change school lunch programs, he revealed lots of bureaucracy, ridiculous guidelines, but also opportunity for change. There were plenty of poignant moments - like the time he went into a grade school classroom and asked the kids to identify some foods. They knew what pizza and fries were but had no idea on most vegetables. Their mortified teacher made it her mission to teach them about fruits and vegetables so when Jamie returned, they impressed him with their new knowledge.

The whole mission was a fight but he was able to make changes to the school food programs that they still have in place today. He also taught the children, their parents, and other members of the community how to make simple, but healthy dishes instead of relying on fast food when they needed a meal in short time.

Now the show is coming back. Tuesday (April 12th) 8pm ET/7pm CT, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution premieres its second season on ABC. This time he's working in Los Angeles and he faces the addition hurdle of being banned from the schools before he event gets there.

I'm looking forward to it.

Learn more on Jamie Oliver's website.

©2011 Memo To My Health. Please do not republish our content without notifying us and getting permission.

Alicia Silverstone Explains the Soy Situation

Ah, the soy situation. I know soy has good properties but there's the idea out there that too much of it can be bad for you - which is even further complicated by not knowing how much is too much. I mentioned my uncertainty back in the Non-Fish Omega-3 Sources post and even further back in my review of The Kind Diet. But I know it's something I already include in my diet in forms such as edamame, the occasional pieces of tofu and the once-in-awhile scoop of soy-based ice cream. (There's more but you get the point.) Soy is a rich source of protein, fiber, and... no-surprise-see-link-above omega-3 fatty acids.

Well Alicia Silverstone - yes, the same one who in my review of her book I said confused me on the soy situation - cleared things up a bit.

edamame image from Food Thinkers on Flickr

Basically she's saying that phytoestrogen (which is different than the estrogen you find in dairy products) in soy (especially organic soybeans) can help regulate our own hormone levels. But the soy you should really moderate is the heavily processed soy... like my aforementioned soy ice cream. According to her post, this is because there is some evidence suggesting this highly concentrated form of the protein can produce an insulin-like growth factor in the bloodstream linked to high cancer risk.

Ok. So I still don't know quite how much soy is too much, but now I have an idea of which soy is helpful and which I should have small amounts of, if any.

The strange thing is I knew this already. Processed foods tend to not be as nutritious and/or have elements that can harm your health in the long run. But it took Alicia Silverstone bringing up the issue for me to realize this applies to soy too.

Her post also mentions 5 soymilk alternatives (nut, rice, oat, hemp, coconut). Cow's milk has never been a staple of my diet due to intolerance so I was never in the mindset that I had to replace it with soymilk. Pretty much the only time I use a milk of any kind is if I have to when I'm baking and when I make smoothies, but in both cases I use almond milk because almonds are good for you (helps lower bad cholesterol, Vitamin E source, and more), I can tolerate it,  I don't mind the taste, and it can be gluten-free. Also it helps make smoothies a bit creamier.

Now I also know soy has issues all on its own in regards to farming subsidies, but as far as health goes (which is the main concern of this blog) - going for whole/non-highly-processed, organic-when-possible soy sources can be a helpful part of your diet.

And if you haven't tried edamame yet, do it. (It's on the good soy list.) Simple. Yummy. Great snack, appetizer, or side.

Well. I'm feeling better on this issue.

If you want to read the whole Alicia Silverstone post, you can find it on her blog with a title of "the deal with soy... and five soymilk alternatives."

©2011 Memo To My Health. Please do not republish our content without notifying us and getting permission.

Chips/Crisps: You Cannot Eat Just One

I'm pretty sure that's scientifically proven. Pretty sure. ;)

Even with everything I've learned I've been unable to completely walk away from the chip.

I know potato chips are not the healthiest food. I try not to buy them too often and when I do I go for what I think are the more natural (and hopefully healthier) options. They all still have fat and usually saturated fat too. (Saturated fats raise total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad one). The AHA recommends limited saturated fat intake to less than 7% of calories a day.) I know this and yet in the last year at least once I ate a family-size bag in less than a week. It's that same salt/fat combo that makes people want to eat more and more fast food and is so so so not good for you. I can stay away from fast food though.

It's not just the nutritional content that can be problematic though; it's the overeating. See the aforementioned family-size bag. The other day I stumbled upon an article on NPR's Shots blog: "The Naked Truth About the Chip Aisle." It made me realize I have never had just one chip (or crisp, dependent on which country I'm in) and then closed up the bag and put them away. You eat one. And without even thinking you hand is back in the bag. Suddenly you're stuffed, your greasy and/or salty hand is sweeping for any remaining fragments and you're not even totally sure how it happened.

In my case, I then try to appease myself with the thought that I could have bought less healthy chips.

image from Roadsidepictures on Flickr

This article though brought up a point I hadn't even considered... that those premium, "natural" chips could have more fat per serving than Pringles. Crap. I've fallen for the allure of the naturally formed chip that doesn't stack neatly in a tube. They say in the article that comparing the salt, fat, and calorie count on the fly in the grocery store is overwhelming. While I wouldn't call it that, I know it is time consuming. I've taken several minutes in the aisle before comparing bags to find the least unhealthy of the options in front of me.

Enter HealthCastle.com, a nutrition website run by dietitians (and introduced to me by the article). They compare foods and have a handy chip review tool. Of course it doesn't have every kind of chip out there, but I definitely found ones I recognized and had bought before in the 40 listed. You can go see if your preferred chips are on the list, make some comparisons, and decide where to go from there. And remember to multiply the calories/salt/fat since you're liable to eat more than one serving size in a sitting.

You can also read the Shots blog article if you'd like.

I'm going to go definitely put chips on the only-eat-sometimes food list... in marker.

©2011 Memo To My Health. Please do not republish our content without notifying us and getting permission.

Conscious Eating & Oprah's Vegan Challenge

Ok. I still haven't seen all of the Oprah's Vegan Challenge episode, but... I have managed to see about ten minutes of clips that people have shared online. It's not enough to really make an assessment of the whole adventure, but there were some interesting points.

Image from Ex-Smith on Flickr

Oprah had Michael Pollan on as a guest - which seemed like an interestingly odd choice because Michael Pollan is not a vegan. He is a food guy though. And I have to credit his writing with giving me that last big push to become a definitively more conscious shopper and eater. From what I saw, I think that was his role for this Oprah show too - to help the audience understand what it means to be aware of what you're eating and why it is important. He pointed out that their week-long vegan challenge would really help force them all to think about how much animal product is in their daily diets.

I think it'd be beneficial for everyone to really take a good look at how much of everything is in their diet - not just animal products. But taking an element at a time will empower you to make your own decision as to whether or not you feel like maybe there is too much or not enough of that element in your current diet. And then you can take action to make a change for your overall health.

Pollan admitted that he does eat meat a few times a week but he makes a point not to eat feedlot/industrial meats. If you read his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, you can learn more about what he means by that and how he came to that decision. But I can tell you right now that it means if he's eating fish, it's wild. If he's eating chicken, it was truly free-range and it ate what chickens are naturally supposed to eat... and so on.

The clips I watched also included a few moments with staffers and their thoughts on this vegan challenge. Some were not thrilled but one said she thought she could be vegan two or three days a week easily. And that's something I've been talking with people about lately - unless you are making sure you eat meat at every meal, you could easily consume a vegetarian or vegan meal and not even realize it. That's because many people aren't raised to frame their meals that way.

Image by karimian on Flickr

I also wondered - What if everything that was technically vegan was labeled so? Many vegan packaged food products have a small symbol somewhere near the nutritional information. But what if absolutely everything that was vegan was largely and clearly marked so? Would people turned off by the idea of veganism move away from those foods/products - even if they were foods/products they had liked? Would some people automatically assume it meant they were eating healthy?

Because that's another important key - vegan does not necessarily mean healthy. It can, but it doesn't have to. The classic example is Coca Cola. Yes, Coca Cola is technically vegan. Yet I think we all know soda is not the healthiest drink available. It has 170 calories in a 8oz bottle. Then there's the highly processed high fructose corn syrup and the caffeine. The point is you could consume a technically vegan diet and still feel crappy from eating tons of sugar or sluggish after coming down off of a caffeine jolt. You could still become overweight from consistently consuming way more calories than you burn.

The thinking is that vegans have to be more conscious of what they eat because mainstream food isn't always vegan-friendly. And conscious is a good step but it's not an instant fix. As Michael Pollan put it on Oprah's show, people are eating "too many calories, too much processed food, tons of refined carbohydrates..." (Refined carbohydrates would include white flour, sugar, and soda.)

So here's where I encountered a huge disconnect. This is the shopping list posted on the show's website.

The vegetable and fruit section is the smallest section on the whole list! And almost the whole first page is processed "replacement foods"... aka fake meat, fake cheese, fake mayonnaise... aka highly processed foods. If you eat meat at least twice a day, every day, but now it's fake meat... is that really mounds better for you?  Aren't you now eating a bunch of preservatives and possibly dyes and other chemicals?

Again, I did not see the whole episode. But between what I saw and this list, I'm not sure viewers got the full message about eating healthy because so much attention was paid to associating veganism with processed foods.

©2011 Memo To My Health. Please do not republish our content without notifying us and getting permission.

Non-Fish Sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

All the way back in January of last year I briefly mentioned Omega-3 fatty acids in my Sustainable Seafood: Salmon post. Well Elle is not a fish fan. And I just haven't eaten much fish in recent months. (The American Heart Association recommends eating fish twice a week.) Our bodies can't make Omega-3 on their own so for Elle, sometimes for me, and for anyone else who doesn't eat fish, here are some other sources of this essential nutrient that plays a role in brain function, reduces inflammation and may lower heart disease risk. 

Flax Seeds

photo from digiyesica on flickr

According to WebMD each tablespoon of ground flax has ~1.8g of Omega-3. I buy the whole seeds because they last longer. If you buy ground, it's a good idea to keep them refrigerated if not if the freezer. I usually grind the whole seeds myself in a small coffee grinder (and then I have to wipe it down because someone else actually uses that for coffee). Grinding it helps give your body a better chance of digesting it instead of the tiny seed passing through whole. You can easily add it to a salad, soup, smoothies, and oatmeal or even throw it in when you're baking bread, muffins, or pancakes. About two tablespoons should be plenty.

Walnuts
This one is a bit more straight forward. Step one: buy them. Step two: eat them. 
This one works fine on its own but of course you can add them to salads or muffins or what not. A quarter cup is a good amount.


Soybeans
Here at Memo to My Health we're still not completely clear ourselves as to how much soy is good to have in your diet and where the boundary is for potentially affecting hormones, but soybeans are a source of ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), a Omega-3 fat that the body can convert into other Omega-3s it may need. ALA is also the source of the Omega-3 in walnuts and flax seeds. The compounds in cold-water fish for Omega-3 are EPA and DHA. 1 cup of soybeans can be an adequate source of Omega-3.


Supplements
There's still so much we don't understand about how we get certain nutrients from foods and all the roles the combination of elements in whole foods play, so it's probably your best bet to get your Omega-3 from a food source. But if you can't or aren't getting enough, you can discuss with your doctor taking a supplement and what quantity is right for you. 


Now the issues with the pills are 1) many are from fish (which may or may not bother you) and 2) a lot of people taking them end up burping a "fishy" taste all day. I've been told that if you buy a high-quality supplement the burping doesn't occur very often. 


I recently got a chance to sample the liquid Total Omega from Barlean's Omega Swirl line at a local health-food store. It was fish-oil-based but I did not experience any fishy-taste or burping in the hours after taking it. In fact, it was orange cream-flavored and was yummy enough that I could see someone getting carried away and taking too much of it. On the flip side, if you go this route, you definitely won't dread taking this daily... unless you hate the taste of orange creamsicals. Barlean's does offer other options though. I can't vouch for their taste because I'd already had my dose of the day in my sample, but in fish-based oils they also have lemon zest, mango peach, and pina colada. What's more, they have three vegetarian Omega-3 options and one vegan Omega-3 liquid. I plan to read more about it and consider it as a possibility for times when I'm not getting my Omega-3s elsewhere.  


All of the quantity recommendations for the foods in this post came from The George Mateljan Foundation. You can read more about which medical conditions there is clinical evidence that Omega-3s ameliorate as well as precautions at The University of Maryland Medical Center. And see answers to some common questions about Omega-3s (the good fat) at The Harvard School of Public Health. 


©2011 Memo To My Health. Please do not republish our content without notifying us and getting permission.

Calorie-Posting Conundrum

photo from bitchcakesny on flickr

This past week U.S. News posted an article about a study published a couple of days ago in the International Journal of Obesity. The researchers were looking to see if posted calorie amounts at fast food restaurants affect how teenagers and the parents of young children order.

The short answer? Not really.

57% of the teenagers noticed the calorie labels, but on average they ordered slightly higher calorie meals when the labels were present. Only 9% of them said they even considered the calorie information when ordering. Now the article doesn't say exactly what the results were for adults outside of mentioning the findings echoed earlier research by the same team. In the earlier research around 25% of adults who noticed the labels said they considered the information when choosing their food.

To some people, I'm sure this says that mandatory calorie-posting at fast food restaurants is a waste of time. But as I touched on in the dietary guidelines section of my last post, I think the posting of calories is a good start but people need context.

 If I had to guess, I'd say a large percentage of those adults who noticed/considered the calorie count just chose one of the items with fewer calories in relation to other items on the same menu. If you tell someone a sandwich is 500 calories - what does that mean to them? Well it seems like maybe a better choice than a 700 calorie sandwich. Does the average person have an idea of how many calories are ideal for them to consume in a day though? Unless they're on a calorie-counting diet, probably not. So 500 could be fine if you think you're supposed to consume 4,000 calories a day. But 1,500 a day? 500 is starting to seem a little high.

And don't forget, unless its posted or you're using equipment with monitoring software built-in, you probably don't know how many calories you're burning a day. Plus if you made food at home earlier, you probably don't know how many calories you've already consumed when you find yourself at the fast food restaurant, so that small bit of info on the sign can't really help you figure out if you're making a choice that's fairly likely to lead to weight gain.

It all gets really messy really fast.

We haven't even gotten to the part where your overall health is about so much more than calories. Sigh.

Read the whole article that got me going "Calorie Labels Don't Affect Kids' Fast-Food Choices" and try to think of it as a step in the right direction... on a really long road.

©2011 Memo To My Health. Please do not republish our content without notifying us and getting permission.