Choose Your Future

You start off with good intentions, but you may not always grab the healthiest items at the grocery store. These quick tips show you how to shop smart so you buy the healthiest options.

Fruits and Veggies

Think colors of the rainbow when selecting fruits and veggies. As in, find items of all different colors to ensure you’re getting a variety of key nutrients (not to mention adding variety to your diet).

Dairy

If you eat dairy products, try to find the low-fat options rather than whole fat. Also, avoid buying sweetened dairy products such as yogurt with fruit, which may have a lot of sugar added to it.

Bakery Items

Read the ingredient lists carefully. Stay away from anything with hydrogenated or partially hydrated oils, which are unhealthy transfats. Grab whole-grain or whole-wheat items instead of ones made with white flour. Also important: choose items high in fiber (the more the better).

Meats

With meats, the leaner the better. For pork or beef look for the word "round" or "loin", which means a leaner cut, and watch out for white marbling, which is fattier and has more calories. For lunch meats, go with the lower fat, low-sodium options.

Seafood

Fish choices with the pinkest hue are higher in omega-3 fats. And those with clear eyes; moist, shiny scales; and clean scent are your safest bet (a fishy scent is not a good sign!).

Choose whole, fresh ingredients over processed food items. If it somes in a box with a label it is most likely heavily processed. Spend most of your grocery time in the fresh produce section…

Frozen Foods

Frozen food products can often be the unhealthiest, so shop this section with caution. Check the sodium and fat content as well as number of calories. A healthy frozen food product would contain a good balance of the following: a variety of veggies, lean protein, moderate amount of healthy carbs and no more than 800 mg of sodium.

Grocery Guidance

For personalized weight loss diet guidance, work with Dr Oksana Aron Medical Weight Loss Center for actionable, verifiable medical advice on fast and easy weight loss with physician supervision.

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Types of Fat

A much maligned part of our diet is fat, but not all fats are the same. Focusing on more favorable while reducing unfavorable fats from your diet is a wise choice.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest that less than 10% of calories a day should be from saturated fats. The American Heart Association suggests a goal of 5% to 6% of daily calories from saturated fats.

Fats are easily categorized by their food chemistry - with "saturated" fat carrying the weight of most undesirable - coming mainly from meats and even coconuts. Included here are whole milk products and other high-fat dairy goods, and most notoriously baked or fried foods prepared with saturated fats.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the more favorable fats, the former found in various plants foods and oils such as avocadoes, almonds and other types of nuts and seeds, the latter most popularly in fish and fish oils. You may have heard of omega-3 and omega-6 oils, you should strive for a favorable ratio of these, as omega-3 tends to be underrepresented in many diets.

Balanced Diet

The important point about diet is proper amounts, favoring healthy fats over unhealthy fats, and consuming high fiber foods like fruits and vegetables to help you feel full and improve your microboime.

[E]ach gram of fat has 9 calories. That's true for all fats. So calories can add up quickly, even with healthy fats. For example, walnuts are a healthy snack high in polyunsaturated fats. But just a dozen walnut halves contain about 160 calories — more calories than in one large apple.

Some simple rules, starting with favoring plant based food sources, with the complication of heating oils is they can in turn produce trans-fats which are most harmful of all.

• Choose olive oil to saute vegetables
• Consider canola oil for searing and stir frying.
• Favor "oily" fish over meats, or choose lean meats (remove skin etc)
• Select low-fat dairy products.
• Fill up on whole fruits and vegetables, even as snacks

Watch out for processed foods, which often contain saturated fat, and read nutrition labels of "low-fat or fat-free" items which may instead have sugar and other artificial ingredients.

Lose Weight

Work with Dr Oksana Aron to develop a proper diet for you: Visit her practice website to learn more about how medical weight loss can help you reach your weight loss goals.

Labels: diet, easy weight loss, omega 3 fatty acid, red meat

Topics: Weight Loss, Nutrition, Health

Organic milk: Does it help you lose weight?

Organic or non-organic? Whether we’re talking about fruits, veggies, meats or dairy, opinions abound.

While some claim it doesn't make a difference, a recent study published in PLoS One proves that organic milk is healthier for you than conventional milk. Here’s why:

It’s all about the fatty acids

Cows producing organic milk are fed grass with high omega-3 fatty acids, while cows used for conventional milk are fed corn, which have higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids.

• Organic milk has a healthier balance of omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids in all types of milk but nonfat milk, which can aid weight loss or help maintain your weight.
• In the samples taken in the study, the total amount of fat in the organic milk was the same as the conventional milk. But when comparing the types of fatty acids, organic milk had 62 percent more omega-3s and 25 percent fewer omega-6s.
• Both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are essential to a healthy diet. Omega-3s can be found in fish and flaxseed, while omega-6s can be found in many fried foods. The right balance of both is key. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids offer health benefits, but when it comes to milk, organic milk may be your healthiest option.

Struggling with your weight?

Weight loss expert Dr. Aron will personalize a healthy weight loss plan just for you so you can lose weight fast. Call 718-491-5525 for your initial consultation, or visit WeightLossNYC.com for more information.

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Know your Omega-3s and 6s

Have you discovered the fat-melting qualities of fish oil yet in your quest to lose weight? If not, don't just give it a try — make it a mainstay in your diet.

Also known as Omega fatty acids, fish oil can help your health in many different ways and should be an important cornerstone of your everyday diet. Read on for more information on how you can benefit from fish oil.

Burn fat faster

You need fat in order to lose weight — the good, healthy kind. This includes Omega-3 and Omega-6. We need these fats to promote our health and facilitate weight loss, but most Americans do not get enough.

Sometimes a supplement is necessary to make sure you're getting a balance of these healthy fats. Results from a daily dose of Omega-3 can be seen in anywhere from a few days to several weeks, but it's no quick fix. It's important to take it every day on a long-term basis for the best results and overall health.

Health benefits

Fish oil can improve so many aspects of your health, there are almost too many to count. Some of these include your heart, vision, joints, immune system, digestive system, pancreas, blood pressure, cholesterol, hormones, mood, energy and more.

Additional benefits of omega supplements:

• Moderate amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet have shown to reduce your risk of a first heart attack by 30%.
• Symptoms in such inflammatory diseases as rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease are also decreased.
• Omega-3 fatty acids also prevent artery-hardening and heart disease-causing plaques

Omega Fish Oil

Stock up on fish oil at your next visit. Contact WeightLossNYC or call 718-491-5525

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The Eyes have it

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Eating more fruits and vegetables can help protect against disease and improve your overall health. Not all foods contain significant amounts of nutrients you need. Nutritional balance of essential nutrients benefits many systems including these vitamins and minerals found to be most helpful for your eyes:

Antioxidant Types	Foods Rich in Antioxidants
Lutein & Zeaxanthin	Eggs, kale, spinach, turnip greens, collard greens,romaine lettuce, broccoli, zucchini, corn, garden peas, Brussels sprouts.
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)	Red berries, kiwi, red and green bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, and juices made from guava, grapefruit, and orange.
Vitamin E	Vegetable oils, nuts, green leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes, avocados, wheat germ, and whole grains.
Vitamin A & Beta Carotene	Carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, eggs, green leafy vegetables.
Essential Fatty Acids	Salmon, sardines, flax seeds, soybeans, walnuts.
Zinc	Red meat, poultry, oysters and other seafood, nuts, dried beans, soy foods, milk and other dairy products, whole grains, fortified breakfast cereals.

Omega Fatty Acids: DHA and EPA

Dr. +Oksana Aron recommends Omega complex for its well known health benefits. Listed below are some popular cooked fish selections to consider (highest to lowest available omegas). Non-fish folk can supplement DHA with commercial supplements made from microalgae.

Omega Source	Portion	Yield
Salmon	3 oz	1800mg
Tuna	3 oz	1300mg
Mackerel	3 oz	1000mg
Anchovy	2 oz (1 can in oil)	900mg
Trout	3 oz	800mg
Halibut	3 oz	400mg
Scallops	100g	350mg
Snapper	3 oz	1800mg
Salmon	3 oz	300mg

Medical Weight Loss and Nutritional Health

Maintaining nutritional health is an essential part of a safe and effective weight loss program. For more information, read about +Dr Aron Medical Weight Loss Center at WeightLossNYC.com or call 718-491-5525

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Fast Weight Diet Program

Trimming the fat in one's diet can be a great way to lose weight,and for those with high LDL cholesterol, it can pack a double punch by lowering cholesterol as well. Sometimes one change yields a huge difference. One patient just cut the weekly block of cheddar cheese out of her diet. After two weeks, she was surprised and thrilled to find that her pants were looser.

In most cases, particularly when high cholesterol is an issue, bodily changes may take longer. The steps below provide guidelines of where to look for unnecessary fat within your diet. Many programs suggest making changes gradually so that they can become part of your lifestyle and not leave you feeling deprived and prone to binge-ing on "forbidden foods." Our fast weight loss program encourages you to take more serious steps forward.

Here are some of Dr. Aron’s low fat diet tips:

• Don’t Be Chicken

  Stick with naturally lowfat chicken, turkey and fish. Limit red meat consumption to once a week or less. Trim all visible fat from meat. Remove the skin from poultry. Look up fat content in fish. While the fat in fish can be heart healthy omega 3s, if weight loss is the goal, choosing lower fat options can speed progress.

• No Day is Fry Day

  Baking, grilling, broiling and roasting meat/poultry/fish serve up less fat than pan or deep frying. Note that sauté means "fry" in French so don’t be fooled that sautéed foods are healthier than fried dishes when reading recipes and menus.

• Butter or Not

  Cut back on butter. Lowfat or fat free cream cheese is an option as are some of the butter alternatives on the market. Read the labels to make sure margarine is free of partially hydrogenated oils (transfats). When cooking, use cooking spray on pan surfaces. Sprays come in olive oil, butter and other varieties so you can choose what works best for dinner dishes, baking or the morning omelette.

• Moo-ve on over

  Switch to low or nonfat dairy products. Lower fat versions of mozzarella, cottage, feta or ricotta cheeses hardly taste different from their full fat cousins, if at all. For dessert, nonfat frozen yogurt, sherbet , sorbet or soft-serve ice cream are generally lower in fat than hard ice cream. Be sure to check nutritional labels though because some brands do have high fat content despite their "frozen yogurt" or "sorbet" label. Experiment with various low fat dairy products to see which suit your taste. Some brands of the same product taste and/or work better in recipes than others.

• Read the Labels

  Read nutritional labels and steer away from foods containing partially hydrogenated oil, palm oil, coconut oil or lard. These are notoriously high in bad cholesterol. Beware of store bought baked goods which often contain these ingredients. Look for low fat alternatives or bake your own using small amounts of unsaturated oils and fats (e.g., vegetable oil, lowfat yogurt).

• Be Fruitful

  The healthiest lowfat or nonfat dessert is fruit. Try new fruits in season. Combine them with Cool Whip topping and angel food cake (which are also lowfat) for special occasions. Other lowfat desserts to satisfy a sweet tooth include sugar free jellos and puddings, flavored lowfat/nonfat yogurts and frozen fruit bars (that don't contain cream). If overall healthy eating is a goal, steer clear of products containing artificial sweeteners.

• Salad Days

  Use salad dressings, homemade or store-bought, that contain olive oil or other unsaturated oils. Mix together with vinegar, lemon juice and/or mustard and fresh or dried herbs to taste. If the dressing has fat of any type, use it sparingly. Many a healthy vegetable salad has turned into a high fat sabotage due to liberal use of dressing.

• Dining Room

  Restaurant eating can pose special challenges since diners are not aware of all ingredients used. Some basic guidelines: order meat/fish/poultry that is grilled, roasted or baked. If choosing broiled meat, ask them to broil without oil. Request sauce and dressings on the side so that the amount consumed can be limited. Skip the butter on the bread. Ask for lowfat milk instead of cream for coffee. Stay away from soups unless the fat content is known; many restaurant soups contain high amounts of oil or cream.

Weight Loss Consultation

Contact Weight Loss NYC today and schedule an initial consultation, 718-491-5525

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