Definition: It is the study of inherited changes in the phenotype (appearance) or gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence. These changes may remain through cell divisions through the remainders of a cell's life, and may also last for multiple generations. It is non-genetics factors that make the genes behave differently.
Okay, why am I talking about this. The field of epigenetics is very new, it is actually the new project that will happen now that the human DNA sequencing is finished. It is believed to be more important and exponentially more difficult to map out epigenetics. But, let me explain why I am talking about it. As they begin to study the field of epigenetics one thing that is a common theme throughout is how much impact our nutrition has not only on ourselves, but potentially on generations to come. Yes, that's exactly what I'm trying to say.. not only you will impact your own health by your healthy food choices, but now, the study of epigenetics is proving that you can impact generations to come. And not just what you eat while you are actually pregnant, but what you eat since you are born and throughout your life will be passed down to your children, and to your grandchildren!
It is a complicated genetic process, with lots of big words to explain. But basically your genes get "tagged" with methyl groups, sort of "on or off" switches based on different environmental exposures.
Let me give one concrete example so you can understand this better. They looked at women who were pregnant living in NYC during 9/11 attacks, and how they suffered stress and fright. Now, these are outside environmental factors that affected their genes. Their flight response, their "stay alert", and on watch genes were tagged on. And their babies were all born with those symptoms, they were much more alert babies, they were more irritable babies, and made up children who were much more "jumpy", and on edge.
Now, one more reason to breastfeed :) , they also found those same characteristics in babies who were not breastfed, they lacked the sense of safety and nurture provided by breastfeeding mothers.
There some information about this field of epigenetics that we've known for a while, for example, that having a diet rich in folate and B vitamins is extremely important for women who want to have children, their direct impact on methylation of genes or lack thereof can impact the next generation profoundly.
If I were 10 years younger and in another path, I would be in a lab studying this stuff! It will change the way we provide nutrition advice and the way we eat. We will one day be able to have nutrition advice specific to a person's gene expression, and we'll have a way to prevent cancer and other life threatening diseases by simply adjusting our diet and lifestyle.
This webiste has very cool reading material on this: there is a really cool example about a Bee's Royal diet! read on...
http://http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/nutrition/
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
More!!!!!
One of my daughters first words was MORE, and it quickly became one of her favorite words as well. She was a good eater from the start, which I did not take for granted, I knew that was a gift. And I still do and feel fortunate. But I do know the need to teach limits from the start.
I know some of you are rolling your eyes and questioning my sanity at this moment. But one of the biggest problems in our society is knowing limits when it comes to food.
Its not the ice cream chocolate cake desert that makes one overweight, but the double, triple, quadruple serving of it. So its important to start young, because kids from a very early age start to learn that the more the better concept.
So I imposed a rule in my house, I will give my daughter a small serving of something that I know she will ask for more, and then to avoid tentrums and fights, when she does ask for more, I will give her another small serving and say: Now this is it, no more. (One more acabo - famous frase in my household, mix of portuguese with english :)
Since we started using this method from the start it works. You have to stick to it. Never break the rules, kids are driven by predictability.
So if I give her vanilla ice frozen yogurt for desert - her most favorite desert which we have on Sundays - I tell her: One more and you're done. Sometimes she will fight me on that, but since she knows I always stick to my rules, she often gives up in less than 2-3 minutes.
If I think she trully is still hungry or wants something else, I will often offer an alternative. A fruit or something else.
Little by little teaching her to have limits and be able to self control when it comes to food. It is something that requires lots of training... after all, to this day.. if there is a pint of Ben and Jerry's in my freezer I have to exercise my self control not to eat it all at once :)
I know some of you are rolling your eyes and questioning my sanity at this moment. But one of the biggest problems in our society is knowing limits when it comes to food.
Its not the ice cream chocolate cake desert that makes one overweight, but the double, triple, quadruple serving of it. So its important to start young, because kids from a very early age start to learn that the more the better concept.
So I imposed a rule in my house, I will give my daughter a small serving of something that I know she will ask for more, and then to avoid tentrums and fights, when she does ask for more, I will give her another small serving and say: Now this is it, no more. (One more acabo - famous frase in my household, mix of portuguese with english :)
Since we started using this method from the start it works. You have to stick to it. Never break the rules, kids are driven by predictability.
So if I give her vanilla ice frozen yogurt for desert - her most favorite desert which we have on Sundays - I tell her: One more and you're done. Sometimes she will fight me on that, but since she knows I always stick to my rules, she often gives up in less than 2-3 minutes.
If I think she trully is still hungry or wants something else, I will often offer an alternative. A fruit or something else.
Little by little teaching her to have limits and be able to self control when it comes to food. It is something that requires lots of training... after all, to this day.. if there is a pint of Ben and Jerry's in my freezer I have to exercise my self control not to eat it all at once :)
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Juice - healthy or just caloric?
One of the first things most moms introduce to their babies is juice. Juice has had a long term rap as a great nutritious bevarage to offer our children. And I'm not going to argue that it isn't full of vitamins, but lets really pay attention to what we are offering in that one cup of juice.
For example, one cup of orange juice has:
110 calories, 21g of sugar, 2-3g of protein, 0g of fat.
It does have lots of Vitamin C (120%), Folic acid and some thiamin.
A lot of people like to compare it to a can of coke: 140 calories, 39g of sugar.
The juice is a much better choice when given the two. But the argument here is that it does have a lot of sugar, no fiber and you can drink up a glass of orange juice rather quickly.
What we try to promote as dietitians is for everyone to take advantages of the fruit instead of juice. Because with the actual fruit you will get some fiber with it, more vitamins, and are less likely to consume too much sugar in a few minutes gulping it down.
Lets talk on the mom's perspective here: giving kids juice is a good way to get some extra vitamins in them. They like juice, they enjoy it and have fun drinking it. So we should include the juice, but to avoid giving our little ones two tablespoons of sugar in one glass (one glass of orange juice has about the equivalent of 2 tablespoons of sugar!). The best thing to do is to dilute with water, half water. And limit the amount to 2 glasses per day. They should get the rest of their liquids from water and milk.
I can not tell you how many times I've watched mother's put soda in a baby's bottle, or in sippy cups.. yikes! My husband has to hold me back at restaurants and food courts not to go have a little talk with those mothers. Why would you do that to your child! But I digress.. this is another topic all together. For now, just take this message: No soda for kids, even if it is diet! Just no soda, that simple. No gatorade, no crazy waters with extra vitamins, no diet juices. Keep it simple: milk, water and diluted all natural (no sugar added!) juice. When choosing your juice make sure you read the ingredients, it should read: water and the fruit only. Nothing else! (sometimes they add some extra vitamin C, that's ok, just no sugars or syrups).
That was just kids, now for the kids above age of 10-12 and adults. You should really use juice as a once in a while treat. The best thing to do is eat the fruit. That way you are taking advantage of all the vitamins and minerals and also the fiber the fruit has to offer.
The comercials featuring a large glass of OJ with breakfast would do us all a favor if it would just substitute that for 2 oranges instead.
By no means I'm against orange juice, how can I be, Lima is my middle name :). But I like to endorse the fruit instead of juice.
Hint: great summer fun is popsicles! My 2 year old is obssessed with them right now. We make them ourselves to avoid the additives in the store bought ones. Just dilute half juice with water and fill up the molds. Works great and she loves it! For more fun I started dropping a couple of blueberries in the mold too, that way it is 2 flavors in one and she's actually eating the whole fruit while enjoying the popsicle. You may try other fruits too, just cut them up small, strawberries and grapes freeze really well.
Note- juice should not be introduced until the child is at least 6 months old. Before that the only thing they need is breastmilk/formula.
For example, one cup of orange juice has:
110 calories, 21g of sugar, 2-3g of protein, 0g of fat.
It does have lots of Vitamin C (120%), Folic acid and some thiamin.
A lot of people like to compare it to a can of coke: 140 calories, 39g of sugar.
The juice is a much better choice when given the two. But the argument here is that it does have a lot of sugar, no fiber and you can drink up a glass of orange juice rather quickly.
What we try to promote as dietitians is for everyone to take advantages of the fruit instead of juice. Because with the actual fruit you will get some fiber with it, more vitamins, and are less likely to consume too much sugar in a few minutes gulping it down.
Lets talk on the mom's perspective here: giving kids juice is a good way to get some extra vitamins in them. They like juice, they enjoy it and have fun drinking it. So we should include the juice, but to avoid giving our little ones two tablespoons of sugar in one glass (one glass of orange juice has about the equivalent of 2 tablespoons of sugar!). The best thing to do is to dilute with water, half water. And limit the amount to 2 glasses per day. They should get the rest of their liquids from water and milk.
I can not tell you how many times I've watched mother's put soda in a baby's bottle, or in sippy cups.. yikes! My husband has to hold me back at restaurants and food courts not to go have a little talk with those mothers. Why would you do that to your child! But I digress.. this is another topic all together. For now, just take this message: No soda for kids, even if it is diet! Just no soda, that simple. No gatorade, no crazy waters with extra vitamins, no diet juices. Keep it simple: milk, water and diluted all natural (no sugar added!) juice. When choosing your juice make sure you read the ingredients, it should read: water and the fruit only. Nothing else! (sometimes they add some extra vitamin C, that's ok, just no sugars or syrups).
That was just kids, now for the kids above age of 10-12 and adults. You should really use juice as a once in a while treat. The best thing to do is eat the fruit. That way you are taking advantage of all the vitamins and minerals and also the fiber the fruit has to offer.
The comercials featuring a large glass of OJ with breakfast would do us all a favor if it would just substitute that for 2 oranges instead.
By no means I'm against orange juice, how can I be, Lima is my middle name :). But I like to endorse the fruit instead of juice.
Hint: great summer fun is popsicles! My 2 year old is obssessed with them right now. We make them ourselves to avoid the additives in the store bought ones. Just dilute half juice with water and fill up the molds. Works great and she loves it! For more fun I started dropping a couple of blueberries in the mold too, that way it is 2 flavors in one and she's actually eating the whole fruit while enjoying the popsicle. You may try other fruits too, just cut them up small, strawberries and grapes freeze really well.
Note- juice should not be introduced until the child is at least 6 months old. Before that the only thing they need is breastmilk/formula.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Everyone told me this day would come...
Today dropping my daughter off at school was the hardest thing to do! Worse than the first day actually. Why? well, today they were having an "Ice Cream Party" to celebrate the end of school. Okay, call me crazy, neurotic, overboard protective, silly.. whatever you want. But the truth is that I have not introduced my 2 1/2 year old to sugar yet.
I believe in introducing sweets and treats in moderation, to slowly teach your child about these things and hope that they can grow balanced and as excited about fruits as they are about candy. My goal, and recommendation with children is to slowly add treats to their diet, and try to make them as healthy as possible. Why? why not! This is their foundation to their food choices for their lives. So if you can teach them now that you can have your cake and eat it too, isn't that better.
When introducing ice cream, add some sliced bananas, blueberries and strawberries instead of sprinkles, fudge and M&Ms. It is a good opportunity to get some extra fruit intake and make them just as fun as the ice cream itself. There is nothing wrong with a child eating ice cream, the problem is usually on the additives and the portion sizes.
So yes, I was the annoying mother who had to go and ask the teacher to please give my child just one serving of vanilla ice cream, and please add some banana slices and hold off on any other toppings. The teacher looked at me and said:
WHY? is she allergic or something...
No, she is just a healthy child, with a mother concernced about her health and teaching her child how to eat sweets and treats in moderation.
Sure enough the party today will be fun, teacher told me there will be lots of ice cream, fudge, sprinkles, chocolate, and whipped cream. But my little monkey will be having bananas with her ice cream, and I am happy about it!
We worry so much about which lessons they are learning at school, how the teacher was educated, which educational toys they have available, what the curriculum is like.. but we don't seem to pay too much attention to what they are feeding our kids at school.
I would like to think that today at the ice cream party all of the kids would be having fruit toppings with their ice cream instead of suggary toppings.. but that would require some "Food Revolution" to happen... and I will be the first one at the line of battle if that revolution ever gets here!
Power to all the moms who try their best to control what their kids eat! It is part of our jobs as parents :)
I believe in introducing sweets and treats in moderation, to slowly teach your child about these things and hope that they can grow balanced and as excited about fruits as they are about candy. My goal, and recommendation with children is to slowly add treats to their diet, and try to make them as healthy as possible. Why? why not! This is their foundation to their food choices for their lives. So if you can teach them now that you can have your cake and eat it too, isn't that better.
When introducing ice cream, add some sliced bananas, blueberries and strawberries instead of sprinkles, fudge and M&Ms. It is a good opportunity to get some extra fruit intake and make them just as fun as the ice cream itself. There is nothing wrong with a child eating ice cream, the problem is usually on the additives and the portion sizes.
So yes, I was the annoying mother who had to go and ask the teacher to please give my child just one serving of vanilla ice cream, and please add some banana slices and hold off on any other toppings. The teacher looked at me and said:
WHY? is she allergic or something...
No, she is just a healthy child, with a mother concernced about her health and teaching her child how to eat sweets and treats in moderation.
Sure enough the party today will be fun, teacher told me there will be lots of ice cream, fudge, sprinkles, chocolate, and whipped cream. But my little monkey will be having bananas with her ice cream, and I am happy about it!
We worry so much about which lessons they are learning at school, how the teacher was educated, which educational toys they have available, what the curriculum is like.. but we don't seem to pay too much attention to what they are feeding our kids at school.
I would like to think that today at the ice cream party all of the kids would be having fruit toppings with their ice cream instead of suggary toppings.. but that would require some "Food Revolution" to happen... and I will be the first one at the line of battle if that revolution ever gets here!
Power to all the moms who try their best to control what their kids eat! It is part of our jobs as parents :)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Recipe: Turkey Meatloaf - Fer style :)
First of all I have to ask permission to my awesome sister-in-law to let me post this recipe. She was the one who gave it to me, the original recipe, which is delicious. But of course, as a dietitian and a mom looking for different ways to expand my daily menu I twicked it a little. It is a house favorite now, and you can change it up a bit and get great results!
1 lb of ground turkey (use at least 93% fat free)
1 package of dry onion soup mix (they have it in low sodium now)
1 egg (you may also use just the white, I alternate)
2 tbsp of ground flax seeds
2 tbsp of wheat germ ground
Spinach
Mix ground turkey with egg first, then add all other ingredients. The spinach should be cut up or ground. I found that using the frozen kind and putting it in the food processor for grinding really works. Once you have your meat "dough", put it in a baking dish making it into a meatloaf shape. Cook for 30-45 min at 375F.
My daughter enjoyed it and so did my husband! And of course you can vary the veggie. I have tried it with broccolli and cauliflower as well.
The recipe is a good source of lean protein, it is low fat and high in fiber and omega fatty acids.
Enjoy! And share with us if you changed something or added something else to the recipe, get creative.
1 lb of ground turkey (use at least 93% fat free)
1 package of dry onion soup mix (they have it in low sodium now)
1 egg (you may also use just the white, I alternate)
2 tbsp of ground flax seeds
2 tbsp of wheat germ ground
Spinach
Mix ground turkey with egg first, then add all other ingredients. The spinach should be cut up or ground. I found that using the frozen kind and putting it in the food processor for grinding really works. Once you have your meat "dough", put it in a baking dish making it into a meatloaf shape. Cook for 30-45 min at 375F.
My daughter enjoyed it and so did my husband! And of course you can vary the veggie. I have tried it with broccolli and cauliflower as well.
The recipe is a good source of lean protein, it is low fat and high in fiber and omega fatty acids.
Enjoy! And share with us if you changed something or added something else to the recipe, get creative.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Cereal: which one should I pick?
Cereal is an integral part of our breakfast, up to 85% of American breakfast eaters consume cereal in the morning. Some say that the cereal you pick says something about your personality. I say the cereal you pick says something about your health and that of your family as well. Since it is an item you will be consuming daily you should really put some thought into your choice before you just randomly pick the cute box, or the one on sale that week. But good news is that you should only have to pick one cereal, that's right, the same one for the whole family. There is no need for a separate cereal for your kids and one for the adults. After all, don't we want to serve as good examples to our kids when it comes to food choices.
So put down the box of Cinnamon Crunch and lets look at your choices and how you can set yourself up for a great day by picking the right cereal.
How can you make sugar frosted mini chocolate chip cookies healthy? You put them in a cereal box and put a really big seal of approval in the front of the box saying: "Whole grains". Do not buy a cereal by reading the front of the box, ever! You must read the nutrition panel. They are so good at making something not so nutritious and full of calories sound like the perfect way to start your morning. Be careful, do not let them fool you. You are an informed consumer and manager to your family's health, therefore your decision in the cereal isle is one to take seriously with consequences.
There are some basic and simple rules about picking your cereal. You look at the label and it must follow these rules:
1. No saturated fat, no trans fats, and very little fat at all for that matter. The only fat in there should be from nuts for example. 0-1g total.
2. Must contain Fiber ! This is an important part of keeping you feeling fool, and helping with your digestive health from the start. How much fiber.. the more the better! Fiber One cereal has up to 14g in one serving, but it does look like rabbit food and taste very blend (my sister is the only person I know that actually enjoys them!), so you can always use FiberOne cereal to add fiber to your other cereals, by mixing it up. It is an easy way to get your daily intake of fiber (25-32g/day recommended), and is cheaper than supplements. But you should choose a cereal that has at least 4g of fiber per serving (you can add some fruit to your cheerios to get to 4 g since one bowl of plain cheerios has 3g).
3. Sugars- on the nutrition label your cereal should have no more than 10-12g of sugar per serving. Fiber One for example has 0g, cheerios original has 1g, honey nut cheerios has 11g. There are some exceptions to this rule in particular. Raisin Bran for example will have more sugar because of the raisins, but because of his high content of fiber, it is still a good choice for cereal. This rule is really more for us to stay away from the sugary nutritionally empty cereals. Some cereals also list on the box that now they have reduced the sugar from their original versions, but they are still high in sugar, so the best thing to do is always read the label.
4. Protein- It should have some protein, that is a simple rule. It doesn't matter really how much, as long as it is more than 0g :)
5. Whole grains - should have whole grains, but that is easy since most cereals now do. But be an overachiever! Go for the first 3 ingredients on the box being whole grains, can you do it?
Here are some cereals that made my list of favorites: and there is my little one snacking on cheerios!
1. Caramel Delight Fiber One- it tastes so great you would think it is not a healthy cereal, it has 10g of sugar, 8g of fiber with 3 being soluble fiber, 0g saturated fat.
2. Cheerios, there are many within the line of cheerios that are great. But I like the multi grain the best, and it is also a favorite with my 2year old.
3. Life Cereal is my husbands favorite, and although I would prefer that he would choose one where the second ingredient is not sugar, it still is within my guidelines and way better than most of the cereals in the market.
Last remarks about cereal, as I could go on forever as a cereal lover, pay attention to serving sizes. Just like any other food, you should try to stay within 1-2 servings at breakfast.
Hint- Use cereal as snacks for kids, so much better than cookies and crackers. Also you may crush cereal and use as topping to puddings, frozen yogurt and many other treats.
And if you find a cereal that meets the requirements but doesn't really taste that great, don't give up that easy! Try to spice it up yourself, add some fruit to it, some cinnamon. Just don't add sugar, honey or syrups so you don't rack up the sugar grams and calories.
Remember you should eat your cereal with fat free milk, even for kids starting at two years old.
Have a good and healthy morning, pick a good cereal for your family.
So put down the box of Cinnamon Crunch and lets look at your choices and how you can set yourself up for a great day by picking the right cereal.
How can you make sugar frosted mini chocolate chip cookies healthy? You put them in a cereal box and put a really big seal of approval in the front of the box saying: "Whole grains". Do not buy a cereal by reading the front of the box, ever! You must read the nutrition panel. They are so good at making something not so nutritious and full of calories sound like the perfect way to start your morning. Be careful, do not let them fool you. You are an informed consumer and manager to your family's health, therefore your decision in the cereal isle is one to take seriously with consequences.
There are some basic and simple rules about picking your cereal. You look at the label and it must follow these rules:
1. No saturated fat, no trans fats, and very little fat at all for that matter. The only fat in there should be from nuts for example. 0-1g total.
2. Must contain Fiber ! This is an important part of keeping you feeling fool, and helping with your digestive health from the start. How much fiber.. the more the better! Fiber One cereal has up to 14g in one serving, but it does look like rabbit food and taste very blend (my sister is the only person I know that actually enjoys them!), so you can always use FiberOne cereal to add fiber to your other cereals, by mixing it up. It is an easy way to get your daily intake of fiber (25-32g/day recommended), and is cheaper than supplements. But you should choose a cereal that has at least 4g of fiber per serving (you can add some fruit to your cheerios to get to 4 g since one bowl of plain cheerios has 3g).
3. Sugars- on the nutrition label your cereal should have no more than 10-12g of sugar per serving. Fiber One for example has 0g, cheerios original has 1g, honey nut cheerios has 11g. There are some exceptions to this rule in particular. Raisin Bran for example will have more sugar because of the raisins, but because of his high content of fiber, it is still a good choice for cereal. This rule is really more for us to stay away from the sugary nutritionally empty cereals. Some cereals also list on the box that now they have reduced the sugar from their original versions, but they are still high in sugar, so the best thing to do is always read the label.
4. Protein- It should have some protein, that is a simple rule. It doesn't matter really how much, as long as it is more than 0g :)
5. Whole grains - should have whole grains, but that is easy since most cereals now do. But be an overachiever! Go for the first 3 ingredients on the box being whole grains, can you do it?
Here are some cereals that made my list of favorites: and there is my little one snacking on cheerios!
1. Caramel Delight Fiber One- it tastes so great you would think it is not a healthy cereal, it has 10g of sugar, 8g of fiber with 3 being soluble fiber, 0g saturated fat.
2. Cheerios, there are many within the line of cheerios that are great. But I like the multi grain the best, and it is also a favorite with my 2year old.
3. Life Cereal is my husbands favorite, and although I would prefer that he would choose one where the second ingredient is not sugar, it still is within my guidelines and way better than most of the cereals in the market.
Last remarks about cereal, as I could go on forever as a cereal lover, pay attention to serving sizes. Just like any other food, you should try to stay within 1-2 servings at breakfast.
Hint- Use cereal as snacks for kids, so much better than cookies and crackers. Also you may crush cereal and use as topping to puddings, frozen yogurt and many other treats.
And if you find a cereal that meets the requirements but doesn't really taste that great, don't give up that easy! Try to spice it up yourself, add some fruit to it, some cinnamon. Just don't add sugar, honey or syrups so you don't rack up the sugar grams and calories.
Remember you should eat your cereal with fat free milk, even for kids starting at two years old.
Have a good and healthy morning, pick a good cereal for your family.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sugar and Salt, Again?!
I already discussed sugar and salt as additives to our foods and how we should limit them and avoid them. But I wanted to discuss another issue involving sugar and salt. In the past few years these have become so popular, and many don't really understand what they are and if there is any difference. So I wanted to clarify a little bit and answer the question I so often get: Isn't salt rock better for you? Are natural sugars better to give to our kids?
Salt: More popular on the market nowadays is natural sea salt also known as rock salt. It is often more expensive and can be dangerously used a salt substitute by someone uninformed. It has also been marketed as a healthier alternative. But lets be clear, sea salt and table salt are made up of the same two minerals, sodium and chloride, their nutritional make up and values are the exact same! The only real difference is in their processing and texture. So bottom line, it is still salt and it should never be used as a substitute for someone trying to avoid salt. You should limit sea salt just like salt, keeping it to 1,500 to 2,200mg of sodium per day.
Sugar: There are so many nowadays... raw sugar, evaporated cane sugar, refined white sugar, brown sugar, turbinado, molasses, organic sugar, natural sugar. Is any of these any better for you, or at least less bad? Well, short answer: NO. I love it when they mark up the product by saying: Natural Sugar. So silly because all sugars are natural and all sugars are refined. The difference between all these types are only on how much processing they get and what kinds of process. The organic sugar of course will be produced without pesticides or herbicides. These sugars are in no way more nutritious, your starting product is sugar cane or sugar beets which are not that nutritious to start off with anyways. Our body recognizes all these sugars the same way, they are all chemicaly equivalent. So bottom line, limit them all just like you would white refined sugar. So keep your added sugar to no more than 10% of your total calories per day.
And remember, as you regain your palate to better taste fruits, vegetables and all foods in their more raw and natural form you will be needing less sugar and salt everyday.
Salt: More popular on the market nowadays is natural sea salt also known as rock salt. It is often more expensive and can be dangerously used a salt substitute by someone uninformed. It has also been marketed as a healthier alternative. But lets be clear, sea salt and table salt are made up of the same two minerals, sodium and chloride, their nutritional make up and values are the exact same! The only real difference is in their processing and texture. So bottom line, it is still salt and it should never be used as a substitute for someone trying to avoid salt. You should limit sea salt just like salt, keeping it to 1,500 to 2,200mg of sodium per day.
Sugar: There are so many nowadays... raw sugar, evaporated cane sugar, refined white sugar, brown sugar, turbinado, molasses, organic sugar, natural sugar. Is any of these any better for you, or at least less bad? Well, short answer: NO. I love it when they mark up the product by saying: Natural Sugar. So silly because all sugars are natural and all sugars are refined. The difference between all these types are only on how much processing they get and what kinds of process. The organic sugar of course will be produced without pesticides or herbicides. These sugars are in no way more nutritious, your starting product is sugar cane or sugar beets which are not that nutritious to start off with anyways. Our body recognizes all these sugars the same way, they are all chemicaly equivalent. So bottom line, limit them all just like you would white refined sugar. So keep your added sugar to no more than 10% of your total calories per day.
And remember, as you regain your palate to better taste fruits, vegetables and all foods in their more raw and natural form you will be needing less sugar and salt everyday.
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