Do You Have Any Tips To Stay On Track With My Diet During The Holidays?

The holidays are a real challenge for those trying to lose weight and eat right. There are tons of opportunities for poor eating. Here are just a few quick tips to help you stay on track:

1) I love the concept of having 2 cheat meals each week when you are allowed to go off your diet a bit. Use these strategically around the holidays so you can have a few days where you can pretty much eat what you want.

2) Keep up your exercise habits. Even though we are all busy during the holidays, keep exercise a priority. Daily cardio and twice per week weight training will do a lot to keep your weight where you want it to be on the other end of the holiday season.

3) Strictly limit sugar. I have seen it completely derail weight loss progress. It not only increases hunger due to its negative impact on blood sugar, it also has a powerful addictive component. 

Go with sugar free desserts, like fresh berries and whipped cream. Another strategy is to make sure you have a dessert on hand made with non-nutritive sweeteners. For example, at Thanksgiving, we simply substitute Splenda for sugar in our pumpkin pie recipe. 

The Mediterranean Diet And Hearing Loss

The Study

Hearing loss in the elderly is closely associated with a decrease in function. In this interesting study, 882 older participants of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study had their diet monitored for 8 years and had their hearing examined by pure-tone audiometry. 

Subjects most closely following a Mediterranean diet had a significantly lower risk of hearing loss by the end of follow-up.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2024; 119:1338-45

Take Home Message

This is the first article I have ever seen that looked at diet and hearing and is yet another reason to consider the Mediterranean diet. The research literature consistently shows that it has a powerful impact on our physical and mental health.

There are several potential mechanisms at play here:

-This diet includes an abundance of vitamins, carotenoids and specific fatty acids that have a positive impact on inner ear health.

-The Mediterranean diet reduces inflammation and oxidative damage.

-This way of eating may improve cochlear blood flow.

Ultra Processed Foods And Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease

The Study

Ultra-processed foods are food products that contain extra ingredients that add palatability and extend shelf life. The research literature has recently shown that they are quite detrimental to our health. 

In this interesting study, ultra-processed foods were combined into categories to examine their long-term impact on risk of cardiovascular disease.

This study included over 200,000 subjects from 3 different Harvard cohort studies. Subjects had their ultra-processed food consumption monitored for over 30 years and were watched for incidence of heart disease and stroke. 

Among the findings:

-Total ultra-processed foods were significantly associated with cardiovascular disease risk.

-Among food groups, both processed meats and sugar sweetened beverages were associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2024.100859

Take Home Message

Processed meats include bacon, sausage, hot dogs and preserved deli meats like salami and pepperoni. Strictly limit these in your diet along with sodas and other sugary beverages.

Protein Choices And Healthy Aging

Although nutrition is a very popular topic in the media, the majority of the conversation focuses on sources of dietary fat and carbohydrate. Protein tends to be a lot less trendy. However, the amount and type of protein we choose to put into our bodies is important. Really important.

Harvard University’s Department of Nutrition recently published an impressive study examining the impact of different types of protein foods on healthy aging over a 30-year follow-up.

The Study 

In this investigation, 48,762 women over the age of 60 from Harvard’s Nurses’ Health Study were followed for 30 years (Reference 1). The purpose of this study was to see how different types of protein influenced healthy aging.

Healthy aging was considered:

1) Being free from 11 major chronic diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

2) Good mental health.

3) No cognitive impairment.

4) No impairment of physical functioning.

The results were very interesting:

-A 3% increase in total protein increased the odds of healthy aging by 3%.

-A 3% increase in animal protein increased the odds of healthy aging by 7%.

-A 3% increase in dairy protein increased the odds of healthy aging by 14%.

-A 3% increase in plant protein increased the odds of healthy aging by 38%.

Conclusions And Recommendations

There are really 2 important messages here:

1) Protein is critical for healthy aging. All types of protein were associated with healthy aging.

2) The type of protein really matters. While all were beneficial, plant and dairy protein seemed to help the most.

I have my clients shoot for about 20% of their diet as protein and make sure they get a serving at each and every meal.

Good sources of dairy protein are plain non-fat yogurt, low fat milk, low fat cottage cheese and low fat cheese.

Good sources of animal protein are fish and shellfish, turkey and chicken, eggs and egg whites.

Good sources of plant protein are whole grains (such as quinoa and protein pasta), beans, lentils, nuts and seeds.

References

1) Korat A, et al. Dietary protein intake in midlife in relation to healthy aging- results from the prospective Nurses’ Health Study cohort. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2024; 119:271-82.

On Food Labels, What Is The Difference Between “Total Sugars” And “Added Sugars”?

Many who are trying to manage their weight or improve their health are looking to reduce sugar in their diet. Food labels are a bit confusing, because they have two categories for sugars: Total Sugar and Added Sugars.

Total Sugars are all sugars in the product. This includes naturally occurring and those added in the manufacturing process.

Added Sugars just includes those added in the manufacturing process.

Total sugars can be a bit misleading. For example, a glass of plain low-fat milk has 12 grams of total sugars. However, this is all lactose, a naturally occurring sugar that does not have much of an effect on blood sugar. Added sugars are 0.

When looking at food labels, focus on the Added Sugars column. Keep this at 0 or close to 0 if you are trying to limit refined sugar.

Nut Consumption And Brain Insulin Sensitivity

The Study

Improvements in brain insulin sensitivity may prevent cognitive decline and reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease. In this randomized crossover study, 28 healthy overweight adults consumed 60 grams (359 calories) of mixed nuts for 16 weeks and then no nuts for 16 weeks. 

Brain insulin sensitivity was measured by MRI. Other risk factors for cardiovascular disease were also taken.

After consuming the nuts, subjects showed statistically significant improvements in brain insulin sensitivity. These subjects also had improvements in triglycerides, systolic blood pressure and LDL cholesterol.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2024; 119:314-23

Take Home Message

Nuts are a nutrition powerhouse that have previously been associated with reductions in risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity. They may also have a nice impact on cognition and reduce risk of cognitive decline.

The researchers were not sure of the potential mechanisms at play here, so more research is needed in this area. I try to have nuts with breakfast and lunch just about every day and recommend my clients do the same.

How Variety And Portion Size Can Influence Food Consumption

The Study

In this interesting crossover trial, 42 women ate a lunch once per week for 4 weeks that varied in 2 properties:

Low Variety: Consisting of 3 bowls of their favorite dish.

High Variety: Consisting of 3 different main dishes.

Small Portion: 450 grams

Large Portion: 600 grams

The results were interesting:

-When women ate the high variety lunch, they consumed significantly more food (15 more grams per meal).

-When women ate the large portion size lunch, they also consumed a significantly higher amount of food (57 more grams per meal).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2023.107089

Take Home Message

If you are trying to cut calories, don’t include too many kinds of food in your meals. Keep it simple.

It is also a good idea to serve yourself a reasonable portion in your kitchen and bring it out to your table rather than having a huge serving dish right in front of you.