Nutrition Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Mendocino Coast Clinics

It’s a good thing you’re already sweet enough, since this month’s wellness challenge is to cut back on added sugar.

Men should consume no more than 150 discretionary calories of sugar per day. This is equivalent to 38 g or 9 teaspoons of sugar. Women and children should use no more than 100 discretionary calories on sugar per day. This is around 25 g or 6 teaspoons of sugar.

Our Registered Dietitian tells us that added sugars are sugars or caloric sweeteners that manufacturers put in foods or drinks. Added sugars can be natural or chemically manufactured.

Examples of natural sugars that manufacturers add to provide sweetness include honey, maple syrup, and coconut sugar.

Even fructose and lactose qualify as added sugars in many processed foods.

Examples of added sugars to look for on food labels include:

• refined white sugar
• brown sugar
• raw sugar
• invert sugar
• malt sugar
• coconut sugar
• molasses
• syrup
• maple syrup
• corn syrup
• high-fructose corn syrup
• corn sweetener
• honey
• fruit juice concentrates
• sugar molecules ending in “ose,” such as fructose, glucose, dextrose, lactose, maltose, and sucrose

So skip the candy aisle and head to the produce aisle this month. You can do it! #behealthywithus

According to The New York Times, new guidelines suggest that young children should mostly drink just dairy milk and water. Plant based milks are not recommended due to added sweeteners. The idea is to stop children from developing a taste for sweet drinks when they are young that could lead to health problems later in life.

Here are the new recommendations by age group:

Birth to six months: Infants should drink only breast milk or infant formula. They should not drink juice, milk, flavored milk, so-called transition or weaning formulas (also called toddler milks, growing-up milks or follow-up formula), low-calorie sweetened beverages (diet or “light” drinks, or those sweetened with Stevia or Sucralose). These children also should not receive plant-based and nondairy “milks,” caffeinated beverages (soda, coffee, tea, energy drinks) or sugar-sweetened beverages (soda, fruit drinks and fruit-flavored drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened water, and sweetened coffee or tea).

6 to 12 months: Babies should still rely on breast milk or infant formula. Once they have begun eating solid food, they can start sipping water. Parents should avoid juice, milk, flavored milk, transition formulas, low-calorie sweetened beverages, plant-based and nondairy milks, caffeinated beverages, and sugar-sweetened beverages.

12 to 24 months: Children should drink one to four cups of water daily, and they can start drinking plain pasteurized whole milk. They should have no more than four ounces of 100 percent fruit juice per day; the juice may be watered down. Parents should avoid other drinks (flavored milk, transition formulas, caffeinated drinks, plant-based and nondairy milks, sugar-sweetened beverages and low-calorie sweetened beverages).

2 to 3 years old: Toddlers should drink one to four cups of water daily and transition to fat-free or low-fat (1 percent fat) milk. They should drink no more than four ounces of 100 percent juice and should not be given other drinks.

4 to 5 years old: These toddlers should drink 1.5 to five cups of water a day, skim or low-fat milk, and no more than four to six ounces of 100 percent fruit juice. They should not be given other drinks.

You can read the whole article here.

Happy Farmers’ Market Day! Today’s special, made by our very own Registered Dietitian Susie, is tomato bisque soup. Enjoy the summery flavors of tomato and basil, and take the recipe with you to try at home. This vegetarian delight can easily become vegan by omitting the yogurt and using vegetable broth.

Come by and try a sample of delicious soup, ask Susie your health and wellness questions, and ask our Advocate Albert about Medi-Cal, Medicare Part D, Covered California, and Cal Fresh. They have the answers to all those important questions!

They will also be giving away Market Bucks to children up to the age of 18 and adults 60 and up. These can be redeemed for fruit and vegetables at the Fort Bragg Certified Farmers Market. And don’t forget: If you receive CalFresh, you can double your buying power at the Farmers’ Market. See you there! #behealthywithus

Any child can come to Redwood Elementary School at 324 S. Lincoln Street in Fort Bragg to receive a FREE BREAKFAST and/or a FREE LUNCH from June 13 through July 10. Breakfast is served 8:00-8:30 a.m. and Lunch is served 11:00-11:45 a.m. Mondays through Fridays. Kids can just drop in during service time.

Most eating habits are established during childhood. But that doesn’t mean it’s too late to adopt new, healthy habits.

Going beyond peanut butter, nut butters have become more widely available and made with more varieties of nuts than before. While the definition of a “natural” nut butter is not regulated, it generally refers to nut butters that contain only nuts (and perhaps salt and oil) with no stabilizers, which creates a spread that separates (oil rises to the top) and must be stirred before use.

Beans are a magical food, in a sense. They are the only food that can count as a serving of starchy vegetables or protein (but not at the same time), and depending on the type, beans contain 5 to 8 grams of fiber per ½ cup serving. Beans also can help reduce cholesterol, blood sugar levels and improve intestinal health.

By Jane Brody

When The New York Times hired me to write about science and health 52 years ago, I was 40 pounds overweight. I’d spent the previous three years watching my weight rise as I hopped from one diet to the next in a futile attempt to shed the pounds most recently gained.

Anyone who has ever been on a diet knows that the standard prescription for weight loss is to reduce the amount of calories you consume.

Chia seeds were discovered more than 5,000 years ago and were a staple in the Aztec and Mayan diets. It’s no wonder they have stuck around for so long — they are a nutrition powerhouse! One 2-tablespoon serving provides 190 calories, 4 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrates, 11 grams fiber and 9 grams fat, along with numerous vitamins and minerals.

Newer Posts

Older Posts

Wellness Challenge: Cut Back on Sugar

Milk and Water Are Best for Small Children

Farmers’ Market June 26

Free Summer Meals for Children

5 Habits of Healthy Eaters

Enjoying Nut Butters

Magic Beans

Jane Brody’s Personal Secrets to Lasting Weight Loss

The Key to Weight Loss Is Diet Quality, Not Quantity, a New Study Finds

Chia Seed Pudding