What’s worse? Soda or diet soda?

                This is a question my patients often ask me. They are trying to get on the road to healthy eating, and they have heard in the media about the evils of artificial sweeteners. There are many different artificial sweeteners on the market.  Some of the more common ones are saccharin (Sweet “n Low,) Aspartame (Equal,) and Sucralose (Splenda.) We have all seen and many of us have tasted these sweet packets. These calorie-free sweeteners are often used by people with diabetes or people who are trying to lose weight.

                But are they safe? Over the years, there were studies that linked these studies to cancers, but these studies were often poorly designed, in rats (not humans,) and the quantities fed were very large. The FDA approved artificial sweeteners if they are eaten in moderation. This means that 1-2 packets in your coffee 2-3 times per day is considered safe by these standards.

There has been a lot of more recent research on this topic. Some studies link these sweeteners to adverse metabolic effects—that is weight gain, higher blood sugars, and heart problems. There have even been proposed mechanisms to these metabolic effects. Yet, a conclusive answer in this area is not known yet.

Practically, when I am advising a patient, the answer will be customized. Is the patient newly diagnosed with diabetes and currently drinks 1-2 cans of regular soda per day? If the patient is ready and willing to drink 1-2 cans of diet soda per day instead of the regular soda, this might be a good swap. For this patient, the risks of regular soda are likely greater than the potential risks of diet soda. What if the patient has never been much of a sweet drink-drinker and is asking if it is okay to start drinking diet soda? I would likely recommend that this patient choose other beverages, such as water, seltzer, or fruit-infused water. This risks of adding diet soda with potential adverse health outcomes is definitely greater than the “risks” of fewer beverage choices.

In short, it is important to take all health news in context. Every person’s health is different, and what might be an obvious choice for one person might be the wrong choice for another person.

How to choose a healthy yogurt

Regular yogurt have around 6 grams of protein per serving, but Greek yogurts can have up to 17 grams per serving. This makes it a great source of protein and it can be the protein source for your meal. Protein helps contribute to feelings of satiety after a meal, so it’s important to always have protein at a meal

Some yogurts have a lot of added sugar, often listed as various names such as sugar, cane sugar, fruit juice, juice concentrate, and honey. Plain yogurts, while they do contain the sugar naturally found in milk called lactose, they do not have any added sugars. You can add your own fresh or frozen fruit to yogurt for a sweeter treat.

Yogurts with live and active cultures contain probiotics. These are bacterial species that are good for health and can help promote adequate quantities of good bacteria so bad bacteria can’t flourish too much. Look for a package that says "live and active cultures" or lists the bacterial species in the ingredients. 

Yogurt contains calcium, which we need for our bone health. Regular yogurt actually has more calcium than Greek yogurt, because some calcium is lost when the whey is strained out to turn regular yogurt into Greek yogurt.

Juice…It’s All-Natural! What could be Wrong?

                Way too often, my patients tell me proudly that they are drinking only natural juice with no sugar. However, I do not congratulate them on that choice. :’( Many assume that natural juice must be good for their diabetes or whatever health condition they have. But what is it with juice? Why is that often not the best choice?

                Even without adding any sugar to a cup of 100% fruit juice, it will have 25-35grams of sugar. The differences depend on the fruit used to make the juice, with grape juice having one of the highest amounts of juice per cup. Any sweet food will have sugar. Many foods have naturally-occurring sugars. All fruit will have naturally-occurring sugar, as will vegetables, milk, and honey.

For someone who is working on achieving a healthy weight, there are a few points that are relevant. Fruit juice does not have fiber. When fruit juice is made, all the fibrous parts, such as the skin, are removed. Because it is fiber-free liquid, it will not help increase your satiety, as juice pretty much goes right through you without stimulating any fullness receptors. Its 120-140 calories per cup provide a sweet drink, but not the same fullness as 120-140 calories of a fruit. For example, a large apple is around 120 calories, and also give you 5 grams of fiber…now that will keep you going a bit.

Next time you want a sweet treat, reach for a whole fruit. My favorites are Honey Crisp apple, bananas, and strawberries. What are your favorite fruits? 

Monkey Bread

                Today I will talk about something wonderful. And that is Monkey Bread. Basically, Monkey Bread is a yeast dough made into small balls that are rolled into a cinnamon-sugar mixture, piled in a pan, and drizzled with oil. When it is done baking, you have a delicious pull-apart, cinnamony yumminess.

                I made it for the first time when I was making challah a few months ago and had too much challah dough. You see, my freezer is quite small, so I do not have room to store the 8 challah that my 7-cup of flour recipe makes. So I turned half of the dough into challah, and the other half had to serve another purpose. I had been reading about Monkey Bread for a long time, and I thought it was time.

                Last night was actually my third attempt at Monkey Bread. I made my challah dough recipe, which is the first recipe in Shira Wiener and Ayelet Yifrach’s The Taste of Challah. It is recipe that produces an incredibly fluffy challah….maybe too fluffy as you will soon see. I left my braided challahs and prepared Monkey Bread on my counter to rise while I went to the supermarket. When I returned, my Monkey Bread was humongous! It had doubled in size, and some of the cinnamon-sugar rolled balls had rolled off of the loaf and onto the counter and floor! Once it was in the oven and rising a bit more from the heat, more cinnamon-sugar balls rolled off and landed on the bottom of the oven. (One of which is still there—it was too stuck to pry off while the oven was hot!) But it baked beautifully, and I have one report that it tastes good. My first hand report is upcoming—I had already brushed my teeth by the time it was ready, and who wants to brush their teeth twice in one evening??

humongous Monkey Bread after rising

you can see the runaway cinnamon-sugar balls on the counter, challah pan, and floor

How Much Coffee Can I Drink?

                The media have so much to say about coffee these days. Is it safe? Maybe it is even healthy? In general, the only question about coffee’s safety comes from its caffeine content. It is considered safe for most adults to have 400mg of caffeine per day. People with heart conditions or other medical conditions may have a lower safe limit. Supplements that contain caffeine can pose a risk to some—with high enough intake of those, there is risk of caffeine toxicity.      In the day to day life of a coffee drinker, it will take about 4 cups of coffee to reach the recommended daily limit.

                Research has actually shown a link between coffee intake and decreased risk of some disease such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, research has not been able to confirm a link between coffee intake and increased risk for diseases. Still, there is not enough evidence to encourage non-drinkers to start drinking.

                What is the bottom line? I would say that coffee is okay in moderation. Just watch out for what comes with it…sugar, creamer, whole milk, and the flavor syrups. Once those are added, coffee goes from being an okay option to a high-calorie, high-sugar choice. 

Raw Honey...Is it Better?

                One of my readers asked me a very interesting question: “Is raw honey better than processed honey?” My answer is “No.” Okay, that is the end of this blog.

                Just kidding! I’ll give you a bit more information. Most people would say honey is raw if it was not heated or processed in another way. There are claims that raw honey is better because it has some pollen that is removed when honey is heated and filtered. While it is true that heating and filtering the honey will reduce the pollen content in it, a study that was presented as an abstract at a conference showed that this did not change the nutrient content of the honey[1]. That is to say, the micronutrient and antioxidant content was the same before and after it was heated and filtered. Regarding the benefits of pollen, I had difficulty finding any studies that showed definite health benefits of bee pollen.

                The reason why I almost did not want to give this explanation is because I do not like to focus on the insignificant differences between two items. Somehow, the media picks up on these “nutrition” issues and focuses on them. Then, we as consumers are led to believe that we need to start being concerned about differences between types of honey.

What if there was a difference between the two honeys? Do you think you are eating enough of it for the difference between the little amounts of micronutrients to actually affect your health? If you have concerns about whether or not you are getting enough vitamins, minerals, or antioxidants, the answer is to eat more fruits and vegetables, not to choose a honey that might have a drop more micronutrients than the other one! And quite frankly, honey is another type of sugar, so honey should not be eaten in large quantities anyway.

You may wonder, maybe there are health benefits of pollen—there are some studies that seem to seem to indicate some sort of link. Well, perhaps there might some health benefits that have not yet been clarified by research, but I do know some nutrition changes that are actually supported by a lot of high quality literature—eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking less soda, and eating less red meat. Perhaps these may be areas of nutrition change that can be more impactful on our health than eating raw honey.

                This is a theme in how I practice nutrition: We need to be looking at our overall diet to determine its quality. Am I eating vegetables a few times per day? Am I choosing whole grains and other foods with fiber? Am I choosing beverages that do not contain sugar? Am I eating food that tastes good and is good for my health? Let’s focus on the main stuff before moving on the “extra credit” of nutrition.

                Check out this link for my blog about the basics of good nutrition.

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[1] Beals K, Ropa D. Effects of processing on the pollen and nutrient content of honey. The FACEB Journal. April 2013. vol. 27 no. 1 Supplement 859.7.

Is honey better?

Were you wondering if honey is better than sugar? “Well, it’s natural,” you might say, “so it must be better.”

Let’s take a look and compare.

	Honey	Table Sugar	Brown Sugar
Calories per teaspoon	22	16	17
Chemical makeup	mostly fructose and glucose	sucrose	sucrose
What it becomes in your body	glucose	glucose	glucose
What else is in it?	very small amounts of vitamins and minerals	nothing	Molasses, very small amounts of minerals

If you are aiming for the lowest calories, white sugar is the one. The amount of vitamins and minerals in honey and brown sugar are so small, that they frankly add an insignificant amount to what you eat in a day. If your goal is to eat more vitamins and minerals, have a fruit or vegetable as a snack, as honey and brown sugar are not good sources of those.

If you are wondering what to add to your tea or coffee, I would suggest choosing whichever one you like best, and limiting it to 1 teaspoon. Although they differ slightly in calories, in the scheme of things, a 6 calorie difference is not going to alter much.

Good nutrition is not going to come from choosing honey or table sugar or brown sugar. Good nutrition involves an attitude you have when making food choices the entire day.