Source: Guardian News

Labels: appetite, dieting, exercise, fat, food, health, overweight, patient tools, sugar, weight gain

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.

Source: Fitness Magazine

Labels: calories, low fat, manhattan, new york, nutrition facts, ny, nyc, omega 3 fatty acid, sugar

Finding Healthy Calories

We all know when calories add up, so do the pounds. But where those calories come from is even more important. That’s why it’s vital to choose quality calories over empty ones for everything you eat.

What to look for

Ingredients

Look to see what is in your food. Even though the package says it’s only 100 calories, if they include hydrogenated oils instead of far-healthier olive or sunflower oil or bleached white flour instead of whole grains, then it’s junk.

Fiber

We all need roughly 25 grams a day of fiber, which not only helps with regularity, it can keep us feeling fuller and more satisfied than foods without it. Fiber in turn keeps you from overeating and helps you consume less overall calories.

Sugar

If the sugar content is high, then it’s not good for you. If you’re going to eat sugar at all, make sure it’s natural and comes from fruits or vegetables instead of refined sugar in processed foods. Too many sugars in your diet cause you to gain weight.

Fat

Fat is actually a necessary part of a healthy diet — as long as it’s unsaturated. Watch out for trans fats and saturated fats, which will make you fat!

Vitamins and Minerals

Check to see what kinds of vitamins and minerals are in what you’re about to eat. If it has none, then you know it has no nutritional value. Healthy snacks and foods, however, will have at least some.

Get More Guidance

Still confused about low calorie-diets? Learn more how Dr Oksana Aron medically supervised diet plan can get you on the right path to healthy weight loss results.

Start your journey with your initial consultation with Weight Loss Medical Expert Dr. Oksana Aron.

Source: SelfGrowth

Labels: calories, fat, nutrition facts, sugar, weight gain, weight loss

Dream Meme

A new study in the journal Obesity looked at what happened to sleep quality when healthy young men ate nutritious meals vs. junk food. Even though both groups slept the exact same number of hours, eating junk food disrupted the quality of deep sleep—making it more shallow and less restorative.

Short-term consumption of a more unhealthy diet alters sleep oscillatory features that regulate the restorative properties of sleep.

This matters because restorative sleep is necessary for hormone production, a healthy metabolism, graceful aging, brain function, mood, and more.

Low fiber and high saturated fat and sugar intake is associated with lighter, less restorative sleep with more [disruptions].

Health Benefits Add Up

Diet and health in public health posed by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) affirmed:

Strong and consistent evidence demonstrates that dietary patterns associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease are characterized by higher consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and seafood, and lower consumption of red and processed meat, and lower intakes of refined grains, and sugar-sweetened foods and beverages relative to less healthy patterns.

Considerable evidence supports the stance that proper diet matters, and you can make simple and meaning changes to your health by making the right food swaps in your daily diet.

Randomized dietary intervention studies have demonstrated that healthy dietary patterns exert clinically meaningful impact on cardiovascular risk factors, including blood lipids and blood pressure. Additionally, research that includes specific nutrients in their description of dietary patterns indicate that patterns that are lower in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium and richer in fiber, potassium, and unsaturated fats are beneficial for reducing cardiovascular disease risk.

Looking to Improve Your Health?

Schedule a consultation with Dr Oksana Aron via her practice website, Dr Aron Medical Weight Loss Center and find how you can lose weight easily via physician supervision. Her clinical evaluation and guidance can help you improve your fundamental health metrics in the course of participating in her medical weight loss program.

Labels: diet, dieting, low fat, nutrition, sleep, sugar

Food labels often don't tell the full story. Viewing the ingredient list can often give you more details than the numerical summaries indicate.

Many foods are marketing as having less sugar than they do by using other names for the sugars that are added. Dozens of terms including fruit juice concentrate, beet sugar, [barley] malt syrup, evaporated cane juice, corn sweeter (and many other corn syrups including the nefarious HFCS) are just some of the more innocent sounding names of added sugars.

Despite attempts back in 2016 to have FDA mandated labeling for added sugar, efforts have stalled:

“Currently, the official Nutrition Facts Label does not require disclosure of the amount of "added sugar" in a product. "Added sugar" is the amount of sugar in a food or beverage item beyond what naturally occurs in the item.” ^[1]

Ultimately the best plan is to seek and eat least-processed foods and prepare them with ingredients you fully know. Barring that, start to take note of the colorful names in your ingredient labels and start to educate yourself on what items are really in your foods and if they are counter-productive to your goal to lessen sugars in your diet.

As always, you can discuss your food concerns with Dr. Aron during any of your visits. She can help you make healthy food choices for your weight loss dieting needs.

Sources: [1] Forbes, Here is how sugar is hiding in your snacks

Labels: calories, carbs, diabetes, diet, snacks, sugar

Sources: New York Times Well, Harvard School of Public Health, image phanlop88 of FreeDigitalPhotos

Labels: appetite, diabetes, diet tips, food, new york, obesity, sugar

Los Angeles Times

Labels: 718-491-5525, appetite, artificial sweeteners, brain, calories, drinks, hunger, sugar, weight gain

Weight Loss Diet Tips

What you don't understand about dieting can cost you at the scale, resulting in extra pounds. If you continually find yourself still not losing the weight you think you should, there may be some hidden diet problems. Here we shed some light on common diet misunderstandings.

1.) Hidden sugars
Sugar lurks in some of the most unsuspecting foods and the results are disastrous to your healthy diet. Common culprits include cereals, pasta sauces, soups, salad dressings and sauces in general. Not only does a diet high in sugar lead to weight gain, but it can also cause you to burn your energy stores too rapidly.

Tip: Check the ingredients listed on the nutrition label. If the first few ingredients list sugar or some variation of sugar such as high-fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, dextrose, sucrose, honey, malt syrup, molasses or agave, then you know it has a high sugar content.

2.) Lack of fiber
Fiber-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and whole grains are an important part of a healthy diet. They keep you fuller longer and can help prevent snacking and overeating.

Tip: Make sure your daily diet includes about 30 grams of fiber for healthy weight loss.

3.) "Healthy" junk food
Even though that snack bar is organic, all natural or sweetened with evaporated cane juice instead of refined sugar, it still can cause weight gain because of its sugar or calorie content. Not only that, but you may even give yourself permission to binge on these "healthy" snacks, so consume with caution.

Tip: Limit your snacking on healthy snack foods and fill up on fresh, natural foods for a quick energy boost without the additives or extra calories.

Tired of not knowing how to eat right and lose weight? Call 718-491-5525 and WeightLossNYC will lead the way to a healthier you.

Source: shine.yahoo.com

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Labels: appetite, calories, diet, sugar, weight gain, weight loss

Snacking 101: The granola bar

A granola bar can be the perfect healthy snack for an afternoon pick-me-up or a post-workout nosh, but if you pick the wrong kind, you may be grabbing something that is just as bad as a candy bar. Here, we explain what to look for when checking out granola bars in the snack food aisle.

What's in your granola bar?

Always check the nutrition facts and list of ingredients on your granola bars. If it contains a lot of sugar, fat and calories, then it's probably a candy bar in disguise. Some granola bars even contain just as much sugar and calories as bad-for-you candy bars, so beware.

Your ideal granola bar

Look for a granola bar that has less than 5 grams of sugar per bar, not per serving, to make sure you aren't getting too much of a sugar fix. Also be on the lookout for fat and calorie content, as chocolate and peanuts are common contributors to all of the above. Natural and organic granola bars are also a better buy because they aren't going to contain artificial ingredients. Still, check the ingredients to be sure of what's in your granola bar!

Tip: Make your own healthy, quick snack by mixing plain granola with a small amount of fruit for no-sugar-added natural sweetness.

Source: shapefit.com

Labels: 718-491-5525, appetite, manhattan, new york, nutrition facts, ny, nyc, snacks, sugar, weight gain

Vitamins + Sugar = ?

Adding vitamins to popular sugary drinks, from Vitamin Water to Coca-Cola is all the rage right now.

These drinks may even have a healthy-sounding name, but don't be fooled by the slick packaging. These drinks still aren't good for you or your weight. If you look closely at the nutrition facts, you'll quickly realize what you'll be getting: lots of sugar and calories that can cause weight gain.

Vitamin Water, for example, contains 13 grams of sugar per serving, 32.5 grams per bottle; and more than 100 calories per bottle, which actually contains 2.5 servings.

Additionally, the added "vitamins" offer no real benefit to you:

Because the sugar found in Vitaminwater or Coke is made from a refining (or purifying) process, it contains no nutrients or vitamins beneficial to our health. It instead acts only as a source of energy -- once anything with sugar is ingested, the sugar skips digestion by passing through the stomach wall and raising blood sugar levels. Since your body is programmed to keep its blood sugar at a certain level, the pancreas secretes insulin to balance everything out.

If you aren't exercising these calories off, you will gain weight from drinks with added sugars and calories.

The best choice for quenching your thirst still remains: pure, unadulterated water. Your body needs it to function, it can also facilitate weight loss and it contains no harmful additives. Getting the right nutrients in your body means eating a healthy diet full of delicious natural foods. A multivitamin should only be a supplement to your already healthy diet.

Lose weight the safe and sane way, and call us at 718-491-5525 for your first appointment at WeightLossNYC.

Source: HowStuffWorks.com

Labels: 718-491-5525, blood sugar, bronx, brooklyn, calories, drinks, exercise, new york, nutrition facts, ny, nyc, sugar, vitamins, weight gain

Children today are snacking more than ever, and they're snacking all day long on junk food, says a new study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Childhood obesity is on the rise, and it's no surprise, considering that 27 percent of children's daily diets now consist of such junk food snacks as chips and candy.

Below are a few facts from the study:

Children--even some at a very young age--snack as frequently as three times a day.

Children eat three meals a day, but also snack on a lot of empty-calorie foods during the day.

Between 1977 and 2006, children's caloric intake from snacks increased by an average of 168 calories per day (up to 586 calories total).

They are more likely to drink fruit juice and other sugar-sweetened drinks than milk and are less likely to eat a fresh fruit or vegetable at snack time.

Eating habits start at a young age, which makes it important to establish healthy eating habits, including eating fresh, healthy foods at snack time instead of junk, early on. Parents also need to set a healthy example for children to model after to prevent childhood obesity and encourage a healthy lifestyle for the entire family.

Schedule your first appointment at WeightLossNYC today!

Source: UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Labels: 718-491-5525, appetite, calories, childhood obesity, childhood weight gain, sugar, weight gain

Source: Fitness Magazine

Labels: 718-491-5525, calories, fat, low fat, new york, ny, nyc, sugar

It's hard to believe, but your child's popular brand-name cereal may contain more sugar than a Twinkie. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but what do you do when your go-to breakfast option isn't good for your child's diet and can actually make him/her gain weight?

A study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) of 84 popular cereal brands in the U.S. found that Kellogg's Honey Smacks, which is 56% sugar by weight, contains 20 grams of sugar in a one-cup serving--more than a Hostess Twinkie snack cake. One cup of any of the other 44 cereals, including Cap'n Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios, contains more sugar than three Chips Ahoy! cookies, or about three teaspoons.
 
The last thing any health-conscious parent wants to give their child is a sugar-laden dessert posing as a nutritious meal. Here's what you can do to make sure your child gets a healthy, quick meal in the morning (but this list also works for adults):

• Choose a cereal with a short ingredient list
• Find a cereal that's high in fiber, which will help fill you up more
• Select a brand that has little or no added sugar, but also look out for honey, molasses, fruit juice concentrate, brown sugar, corn sweetener, sucrose, lactose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup and malt syrup.
• Or, make breakfast from scratch with all-natural, non-processed ingredients.

Still clueless about your diet? Call us now and make an appointment to get your diet on track with Dr. Aron.

Source: Medical News Today

Labels: 718-491-5525, appetite, childhood obesity, childhood weight gain, diet, new york, nutrition facts, ny, nyc, sugar

Did you know that a diet lower in calories could lengthen your life? That's what findings in a recent scientific study published in Molecular Cell say, which could completely change the way you look at what you eat daily.

"We are able to show that caloric restriction slows down aging by preventing an enzyme, peroxiredoxin, from being inactivated. This enzyme is also extremely important in counteracting damage to our genetic material," says Mikael Molin of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology.

By gradually reducing the intake of sugar and proteins, without reducing vitamins and minerals, researchers have previously shown that monkeys can live several years longer than expected.

Other benefits from consuming fewer calories include slowing down the aging process as well as diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes. The earlier you reduce your caloric intake the greater the effect, researchers say.

Making such changes to your diet as reducing total calories should be done with the advice of a knowledgeable medical weight loss doctor, and Dr. Aron can help.

Source: Medical News Today

Labels: 718-491-5525, appetite, calories, diabetes, diet plan, portion control, sugar

What's in YOUR Diet?

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recently conducted a study examining the relationship between beverage consumption and changes in weight with results confirming what doctors and dieticians have been telling patients all along: sugary drinks are not good for the waistline.

The public health study finds that not only are both liquid and solid calories associated with weight changes, but reduction of liquid calories can significantly affect weight loss after a 6-month follow-up, Benjamin Caballero, MD, PhD, told ScienceDaily.

“A reduction in liquid calorie intake was associated with a weight loss of 0.25 kg at 6 months and 0.24 kg at 18 months. Among sugar-sweetened beverages, a reduction of 1 serving was associated with a weight loss of 0.5 kg at 6 months and 0.7 kg at 18 months. Of the seven types of beverages examined, sugar-sweetened beverages were the only beverages significantly associated with weight change.”

Other study findings include that sugar-sweetened beverages were the only type of beverage associated with significant weight change over periods of 6 and 18 months, supporting recommendations to reduce liquid calories, particularly sugar-sweetened beverages, to aid weight loss.

Call WeightLossNYC™ at 718-491-5525

Source: ScienceDaily.com, April 2, 2009

Labels: 718-491-5525, metabolism, overweight, snacks, sugar, weight loss

Don't Judge a Box by its Cover

Nutritional labels on prepared foods are meant to guide consumers in making healthy choices. What has evolved in recent years are scores of empty and misleading claims requiring time and perhaps a college degree to decipher which foods really are “good for you.”

Common misleading food labeling includes empty claims that imply health benefits which have no backing. Among these are “Made with natural flavor,” “Doctor recommended,” and “Made with natural goodness.”

Some claims are accurate but don't give the consumer additional information such as pasta packages labeled “no cholesterol” — Plain pasta does not contain cholesterol! More misleading are labels such as on Edy's Dibs Bite Sized Snacks. They boast “0 grams of trans fat!” giving the impression that these chocolate covered morsels of ice cream are heart healthy when in fact a serving contains 16 grams of saturated fat. The Center for Science in the Public Interest recommends that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibit companies from boasting of “0 grams trans fat” on products with more than one gram of saturated food per serving.

Don't Believe the Hype

Many labels for fruit-flavored items suggest that products offer the health benefits of fresh fruit when in reality, real fruit is found in small quantities if at all. Gerber Graduates Juice Treats-marketed for preschoolers- depict six different fruits on the package. The product actually contains grape juice concentrate and less than two percent raspberry and apple juice concentrate. The main ingredients are corn syrup and sugar, 17 grams worth, or about four teaspoons of refined sugars per serving.

One of the most widely used claims capitalizes on the food pyramid's recommendation that “at least half of recommended total grain intake should be whole grains.”^[5] Bread, cereal, cracker and even cookie packages often feature their whole grain and high fiber content. Yet these products often have refined flour as the first ingredient and a minimal amount of whole grains. Furthermore, a number of products which claim to be good sources of fiber are peddling fiber not from traditional sources such as whole grains, beans, vegetables or fruit, but from “isolated fibers” made from chicory root or purified powders of polydextrose and other substances. Unlike traditional sources of fiber, isolated fibers have not been shown to lower blood sugar or cholesterol, two of the key benefits of eating fiber.^[3].

Kellogg’s Froot Loops cereal boxes tout “Good Source of FIBER & Made with WHOLE GRAIN.” (A green leaf adorns the ampersand further fostering the image of healthy food.) While Froot Loops boxes list whole grains among the first five ingredients, the first ingredient is sugar. Ditto for many cereals and cookies labeled “made with whole grains.“

While the Center for Science in the Public Interest continues to urge the FDA to crack down on false and misleading food labeling, consumers can take proactive steps towards better nutrition. Read labels discriminately. When faced with choices among products (such as different yogurts), compare the nutritional facts and choose products with less saturated and trans fats and sugar, fewer artificial ingredients, and more nutrients such as protein and vitamins.

Eat more foods without labels, the foods your great-grandparents would recognize. As food guru Michael Pollan says, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

– Healthcare Author, Sima Michaels Dembo

References:

1. Center for the Science in the Public Interest, www.cspinet.org/new/200912291.html
2. Niman, Nicolette Hahn “Defending &rlquo;Foodies’: A Rancher Takes a Bite out of B.R. Myers,“ February 17, 2011, theatlantic.com/life/archive
3. Parker-Pope, Tara, “Six Meaningless Claims on Food Labels,“ New York Times, January 28, 2010.
4. Wikipedia, Nutritional Facts Label
5. DietaryGuidelines.com

Labels: 718-491-5525, artificial sweeteners, blood sugar, calories, cholesterol, dieting, fat, healthcare costs, nutrition facts, obesity, organic food, portion control, snacks, sugar

Get a Leg Up on Legumes

Foods that are high in fiber and protein will keep you full longer because they take longer to digest. The meat and bean group has the most protein; it includes meat, fish, poultry, eggs, beans, and legumes. Beans and legumes are high in fiber as well, as are whole grains, and fruit and vegetables eaten with their seeds and peels. Vegetables are very filling and very low in calories too.[1]

Dieting Tip: Make a Sensible Start

Planning your daily caloric intake to achieve your target goal takes skill and practice; Making your menu of favorites and alternates for each meal is a helpful diet practice too. You can always switch things around to keep it fresh not boring, but ultimately your motivation is to find healthy nutritious meals you enjoy to eat, not to deprive or punish yourself daily!

Process This: Eat Fresh or Frozen

Americans eat 31% more packaged food than fresh food ... A sizeable portion is … read-to-eat-meals like frozen pizzas and microwave dinners, and salty or sweet snack foods.[2]

Choosy Dieters, Choose This..

Choosing foods with least amount of processing and processed ingredients gives you far more control over the quality as well as the quantity of food. Remember you never need to eat any portion of ANY meal that's before you. Knowing the right amount to eat is as much as having the right foods in front of you to enjoy.

[1]Source Hartley
[2]New York Times

Labels: 718-491-5525, cravings, dieting, fat, health, hunger, protein, self-control, snacks, sodium, sugar

Supplement Your Weight Loss Wisely

Don't Believe the Hype

Many foods that consumers gobble up, thinking they’re healthy, are actually sugar and fat packaged to look like they are nutritious.

Granola Bars

Prime example: granola bars which may have as much fat, ounce per ounce, as a Snickers® candy bar.

Protein shakes

Protein shakes meant for bodybuilders doing heavy lifting not for folks sitting in front of computers all day. In addition to the protein, they can contain LOTS of sugar and fat too.

Protein Bars

Protein bars also fall into this category. They should replace meals, not supplement them, for more sedentary people.

Vitamin Waters

Water is the best drink for you, right? Not when 32 grams of sugar are also crammed into the bottle. Even a full size Snickers® candy bar has less sugar — 30 grams of sugar! Stick with the plain stuff to hydrate your way through a healthy summer.

Your best defense: Read the nutritional labels

They’ll tell you calorie, fat, sugar and protein content. They’ll also indicate where there are enough vitamins to count towards your daily requirements. Knowledge is power!

Get Smart

Work with WeightLossNYC to build the best weight loss plan for you. Call today for your first appointment & Start Losing Weight — Today!

Labels: 718-491-5525, appetite, calories, childhood obesity, fat, nutrition facts, portion control, protein, quote, sugar, vitamins, weight loss pills

If you’ve experienced elevated blood pressure and have no clue what caused it, you may have to take a look at your daily soda intake.

New research now shows that the sugar in soda – and not caffeine – may be the cause of increased blood pressure. In a dietary and blood pressure study of 810 adults, it was found that reducing intake of sugar-spiked soda to one serving per day led to a significant blood pressure drop in 18 months. Overall, those in the study who drank less soda had lower blood pressure levels.

High blood pressure typically has few symptoms and is a risk factor for stroke, cardiovascular disease, kidney failure and shortened life expectancy. Limiting sugary drinks to one per day is recommended until further research can effectively pinpoint the causal link of raised blood pressure.

—BeverageDaily

Labels: cravings, high blood pressure, sugar

An ice cold chai latte sounds refreshing on a warm day, but a seemingly innocent treat could also add some serious calories to your daily intake.

Coffee drinks are notorious for being loaded with lots of hidden calories that will derail you from your goal of slimming down for the summer. An untouched cup of black coffee contains a mere 5 calories and can boost metabolism, but your average mocha from a fast-food chain -- drowning in sugar, coffee syrup and whipped cream -- can contain as much as 1,000 calories and way more grams of sugar and fat than you will want in one week.

These diet-busters in a cup come from your local coffee shop or fast-food restaurant. The 23 oz. Double Oh! Arctic Mocha from Cosi has 1,210 calories, 19 g fat (10 g saturated) and 240 g sugars. You don't have to forgo coffee drinks completely. Check out the nutrition facts first and go for options such as skim milk and no sugar, whipped cream or chocolate syrup. Make your own drinks at home so you know exactly how much of each ingredient goes into it for better portion control.

--Men's Health

Also check out our other post on coffee drinks.

Labels: appetite, calories, cravings, dairy, drinks, sugar