Water and Hydration Revisited

During the month of March I'm getting community hours by writing newsletters for a employees at a WIC [Women, Infants, and Children] Clinic here in OKC. Here's the one I sent in today:

“Nutrition From the Ground Up”
March has finally arrived and with it so has National Nutrition Month! The campaign, sponsored by the American Dietetic Association, is used to help better display “informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits”. This year's theme is Nutrition From the Ground Up, and what better way to start from the ground up than at a cellular level with water intake.

Your Hydration Station
On average water accounts for 60% - 70% of your total body weight and water is essential for the stability of many bodily functions. It plays a role as a structural component in cellular form and transports nutrients throughout the body. Water also helps in the processes of digestion, absorption, and excretion.
Unlike some nutrients, your body cannot store water for later use. You must continuously supply your body to maintain your best level of health and efficiency. On average men should consume 125 ounces of water a day and women, 91 ounces. These numbers account for total water intake, including the food that you eat. About 25% of your water intake is through food alone.
Drink to Your Health!
Even if you do not think you are thirsty chances are your body could stand a few ounces sent down. As your age your 'thirst mechanism' gets weaker even though your need remains the same. So drink to a better complexion, feel fuller and in turn eat less, and feel more productive at work [your brain is made up of mostly water after all].
Tips on Getting It All In

• Set a timer each hour as a reminder to drink a glass.
• Add flavoring like lemon or lime slices for as a refreshing twist.
• Eat fruits and vegetables high in water, like lettuce, cucumbers, watermelon and oranges.
• Milk, coffee, tea, fruit juices, and broths count too [just watch your sugar and sodium intake]
• Carry a reusable bottle with you wherever you go so it's always on hand.

Fiber

Foods, their serving sizes and the amount of fiber per serving

Food---Serving---Fiber in grams [g]

Apple with skin: 1, 3.3
Blueberries: 1 c, 3.5
Banana: 1, 3.1
Pear: 1, 5.1
Orange: 1, 3.4

Broccoli: 1 c, 5.1
Carrots: 1 c, 4.8
Collards: 1 c, 5.3

Black Beans: 1 c, 15.0
Kidney Beans: 1 c, 16.4
Navy Beans: 1 c, 19.1
Pinto Beans: 1 c, 15.4

Whole Grain Bread Slice: 1.9
White Bread Slice: 0.6
All Bran Cereal: 1/2 c, 8.8
Oat Bran [cooked]: 1 c, 5.7


Recommended Fiber Intakes

Men
Age Amount
9-13: 31 g/day
14-50: 38 g/day
51+: 31 g/day

Women
Age
9-18: 26 g/day
19-50: 25 g/day
51+: 21 g/day

*Remember that if you are increasing your intake of fiber in your diet a sharp increase will cause gastrointestinal distress. By slowing increasing the amount you consume you can avoid these issues. The body needs time to adjust so the fiber does not interfere negatively on digestion, absorption, or excretion.

Fruit Smoothie Recipe

Smoothies seem to have a name that makes people think they are healthy. In reality many smoothies out there can be chocked full of kilocalories. I devised my own recipe to make a great tasting and very healthy smoothie. Try it out if you have a blender handy!

Strawberry Banana Organic Yogurt Smoothie
-2/3 crushed ice
-1 small banana in pieces
-6 frozen medium sized berries
-1/2 cup organic plain or vanilla low fat yogurt [I use Stonyfield]
--Blend until smooth on high. It made need some coercing with a spoon. Blending without the lid on should be fine since the mixture is nice and thick.
----Makes about 14 ounces of drink.

Tips:
1. If you place the items in the blender as listed you can get away with not having to use any skim milk. Sometimes if it isn't at the consistency you like you may need to add more.
2. When the banana is a nice ripeness you don't need any honey or sugar. If you want a sweeter taste however, you may need to add it to your liking.
3. Switch out the fruits. I also like blueberry banana or peach. FYI I tend to think berries without banana require honey. A TBS of honey should be enough sweetness. I prefer honey over sugar because it is a. not grainy and b. a natural sugar

I haven't figured out the kilocalories on this but depending on the amount of calories in your yogurt will affect things. Either way, it is a great way to get a couple of servings of fruits and some dairy in a tasty, filling drink.

Water & Hydration

Just a few things to discuss:

Kidneys have an ability to work with less fluids depending on intake. If you intake less, the kidneys 'learn' to retain certain electrolytes, like sodium. This does not mean you do not need or can get away with having less fluids, however. I do not recommend stressing the kidneys, and dehydration DOES put stress on the kidneys. "The body has no provision for water storage; therefore the amount of water lost every 24 hours must be replaced to maintain health and body efficiency." [Krause's Food and Nutrition Therapy] On average the kidney will excrete 50 - 60 ml of fluid per hour. Keeping hydrated is essential. The kidneys [healthy ones] don't stop working [thank goodness!] so you shouldn't stop supplying it with the fluid it needs to do it's job.

An important way you know you need to hydrate and give those kidneys work is through the thirst mechanism. The thirst mechanism is not precise at dictating your body's state of hydration. However, your body does not sense thirst until well after dehydration begins [the point where you begin to lose weight due to water loss]. Also, as you age this mechanism becomes less strong. Seniors, for example, may not realize they are thirsty until well after they are showing signs of dehydration.

Percentage of Water in Common Foods:
Lettuce, iceberg --- 96%
Celery -------------- 95%
Cucumbers -------- 95%
Watermelon ------- 92%
Nonfat Milk ------- 91%
Raw carrots -------- 88%
Eggs ---------------- 75%
Beef, sirloin ------- 59%

Percentage of Body Weight Lost
By 1% - Thirst
4% ---- Increased effort for physical work, nausea
6% ---- Failure to regulate excess temperature
10% --- Muscle spasms, delirium, and wakefulness
11% --- Inability of decreased blood volume to circulate normally; failing renal [kidney] function
Between 9 - 12% body weight loss of water can be fatal

At rest in a cool environment your body loses 60% of its water loss through urine. Another 30% is lost through skin and respiration. The other 10% is lost through sweating and feces.

During prolonged exhaustive exercise in a cool environment your body loses 91% of its fluids through sweating. Another 7% is through respiration and the final 2% is through skin and urine.
This water loss change is because the body shuts down the unnecessary systems to perform physical exercise. This is much like the 'Fight or Flight' response. For example, even if you've just finished a meal and are attacked by someone your body will shut down your digestive system to save up energy and prepare for fighting back or running away. Again, this is why during prolonged exercise your body loses almost all of the fluids through sweat rather than through the urine [as a person at rest will].

Enjoy the month of October, and check back soon :)

Apologies are in Order

I have to begin this post by saying I am so sorry. Unfortunately, this week's post is going to be incredibly late. While most posts will be on or around Tuesday, since my applications are due in ten days I'm focusing my time and attention on getting those completed. Maybe [no promises though] I can do two for next week as a make up. Again, so sorry, for the four of you who read this.

Prep Work & Openmindedness

URL for youtube video this week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdCJOFb14NI


Prep work makes all the difference! If you do things after you get back from your big grocery run, makes lists of food you want to make, stick to just that list, wash the produce, chop all items needed that week, and cook extra batches for later in the week you will slide through to the next week without so much hassle and not one "Whaaaat's for dinner? I'm starving" all week!

People need to try new things several times before they get a grasp on whether they want to eat a food again or not. Keep in mind cooking foods in different ways can drastically change the taste of something. For example, eating a red bell pepper raw is going to taste different than if you roast it in the oven! The recipe below is something I created to get more vegetables on my plate without feeling as if I was unwillingly shoving them down. The beauty of this recipe is that it is so easy to modify to what you like. I make big batches because it's great to keep as leftovers for lunch the next few days. Here's what I do.

ROASTED VEGETABLES
3 bell peppers [green, red, yellow, or orange], seeds removed and sliced into strips
1 large onion [I prefer sweet or red] sliced into rings
1 zucchini sliced into small rounds
1 yellow squash sliced into small rounds
[I have also done carrots in this mix. I just love how sweet everything tastes]

Lightly toss the vegetables with extra virgin olive oil [I don't really measure but 3-4 TBS works well] Put on a rimmed baking sheet and spice with salt and pepper.

Place in a 450* F oven for approximately 15 minutes or until tender. Serve while still warm.

CUSTODIAN CHILI [serves 6, but is great for leftovers]
1 lb ground meat cooked [I tend toward sirloin because it is so lean but you can use ground turkey breast, or even textured vegetable protein!]
1 can corn UNDRAINED
1 can beans [I use kidney] UNDRAINED
1 15 oz jar salsa
1 tsp chili powder
After the meat is fully cooked all other ingredients can be added and let to simmer until all ingredients are hot. I like to eat mine with low fat shredded cheese on top and hot sauce.

This chili is great because there can be several additions or substitutions. I have used creamed corn, added more chili powder, or different types of canned beans. You can also easily add more vegetables like onions, diced tomatoes, peppers, etc.

The name of this chili was given in honor to the janitor that gave my mother this recipe when I was in high school!

COOKED KALE
1 bunch kale [with the woody stem and center removed] roughly chopped into one inch segments
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the kale for five minutes. Drain the water and set the kale aside. Add the olive oil, onion, garlic and red pepper. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes. Add the kale back in and stir. Pour apple cider vinegar [or vinegar of choice] over kale then add salt and pepper to taste.

WEBSITES TO CHECK OUT
Ellie Krieger from Healthy Appetite is an RD and has great healthy recipe ideas! Robin Miller from Quick Fix Meals is a nutritionist and gives fantastic ideas for prepping things ahead of time [as discussed in the youtube video] Both ladies have recipes on the Food Network website under Chef Recipes [on the top right hand-ish side]: http://www.foodnetwork.com/

Search around Mypyramid for information from the USDA for information about the Food Guide Pyramid and much more! http://www.mypyramid.gov/

For recipe ideas with the click of your mouse [or the touch of your phone] go to Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/

Another great site to check out that breaks down in depth information on food is: http://www.nutritiondata.com/

The America Dietetic Association [ADA] also needs some of your browse time: www.eatright.org/

Introduction

Since it is the beginning of a new month I decided I was going to also start up this new blog which coincides with a video blog on youtube [http://www.youtube.com/user/Webegail]. Under PLAYLIST you'll find Nutrition News Flash which will contain all videos pertaining to what is covered more in depth on this blog. Along with the vlog there will be interesting links to other websites with more information and some recipes. Hopefully, each month will have a particular theme. And finally, blogs and video logs will be posted weekly.

Have a wonderful month of September!