Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Facts Up Front should help shoppers in the grocery store.
Have you ever felt like you spend too much time grocery shopping? Does reading labels, lists of ingredients and health claims on food labels cause more confusion than they help? If this is how you feel when you grocery shop a new tool might make things a bit easier. The Grocery Manufacturers Association along with the Food Marketing Institute recently announced a new initiative to provide nutrition information, education and easier label reading. The “Facts Up Front” nutrition icon and website are designed to communicate the facts of good nutrition and to highlight the nutritional information of each food product. The “Facts Up Front” program (I have been on the advisory panel helping to guide development of these tools) is based on the …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Our Washington University columnist shares tips for cutting down on sodium intake by watching six foods with high salt content.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends keeping sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams or less each day, yet most Americans are consuming a little more than 3,400 milligrams each day. Reducing sodium intake requires cutting back on salt used in cooking and added to your food but the AHA says six foods might be the real source of sodium in your diet. The AHA points to six foods as the top sources of sodium in diets. These foods are: In the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for American's breads and rolls, cold cuts, pizza and chicken and chicken dishes were all listed as top contributors but the other two top items were pasta and pasta dishes, along with condiments. If a part of your New Year’s resolution is to eat healthier, paying more …
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Make your family's comfort foods a bit healthier this holiday season.
Over the course of this week and next many traditional or “comfort” foods will likely grace your table and since these foods might only appear once a year the inclination is to enjoy them as much as you want. While this is fine, you can find a midpoint that allows for enjoyment and some degree of healthy eating. Enjoying the special foods of the season is part of what makes the season special but if recipes still retain the more traditional high fat, high sugar, high calorie bent it might be time to make some modifications. Recipe changes that are easy to make include the following: In addition to recipe changes, you can maintain the comfort of traditional foods by choosing smaller portions, by eating more slowly to savor the flavor and by…
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Our dietician says to enjoy the tastes of the season - just do it in moderation.
Holiday eating is often a time of lots of cookies and candy and eating on the run, two behaviors that can pose a challenge to a goal of healthy eating. Have no fear you can enjoy your holiday treats and still keep a healthy eating plan. If you’re spending the next two weeks baking for holiday parties you know that cookies, cakes, bars and candy are plentiful not only in your house but also at work – after all that’s where we take those “too many to keep” items. Manage your sweet eating by trying these tips. When it comes to grabbing meals on the run, studies show that we make poorer food choices and we eat more when we aren’t focused on what we are eating. If your day is packed with work, decorating, baking and shopping make sure you keep…
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
WUSTL obesity prevention experts offer tips to navigate the holidays.
There’s nothing wrong with a cookie or a glass of eggnog at the holidays, says Debra Haire-Joshu, PhD, director of the Center for Obesity Prevention and Policy Research and the Center for Diabetes Translation Research at Washington University in St. Louis and associate dean for research at the Brown School. The key, Haire-Joshu said, is balance. “The holidays are a great time of the year – time spent with family and friends – and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t enjoy them,” Haire-Joshu said. “But the key is to balance those treats with healthy habits and choices. “Drink more water. Reduce portions. Limit TV viewing and keep moving. All these things can add balance and ensure that 2012 is the year of the healthy holiday,” she said. Haire…
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Our nutritional columnist looks at flavored milk during National School Lunch Week.
This week we celebrate the nutrition program that feeds more than thirty million children each day – School Lunch. School Lunch dates back to 1946 when President Truman signed it into law as a way to safeguard the health of the nation’s children. School lunches have seen big changes this year with the enactment of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. This year there are more whole grains, fruits and vegetables on the menus. School milk served with the meals is now lowfat and fat free white milk and fat free chocolate milk. I’ve worked on some educational projects with milk processors and learned that over the past several years they’ve lowered the calories and sugar in school flavored milk, giving kids the taste they love while still …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
WUSTL’s Peter Kastor says relationship between style and substance important, but precarious in the town hall format.
The first presidential debate was most striking for Gov. Mitt Romney’s aggressiveness and President Barack Obama’s rhetorical reserve, but the town hall format in the second debate provides an extra challenge for the candidates, says Peter Kastor, PhD, professor of history and American culture studies in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. The two debates also reveal one of the greatest challenges to candidates as they try to appear presidential: balancing emotional display with appropriate reserve. Kastor notes that there’s more to this than looking for smoke and mirrors. “The relationship between style and substance has often turned on a discussion of truthfulness (does a candidate use a particular style to cover the …
Sunday, October 7, 2012
A Washington University study in the St. Louis area shows a decline in abortions when contraception was readily available.
For Catholics, a fundamental part of the doctrine is this: Neither abortion nor birth control are acceptable. So much political debate centers on that fundamental part of Catholic or otherwise conservative philosophy: How much control should mankind assume over the bringing of life into the world? Now we have word, reported on University City Patch on Friday and other outlets this week as well, that a Washington University study—known as the Contraceptive Choice Project—links access to affordable or free birth control to a decline in abortion rates in the St. Louis area. The study notes that abortion rate in the St. Louis area declined by more than 20 percent in the St. Louis area between 2008 and 2010, while other parts of the state not …
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Aronson's husband, Adam, founded Laumeier Sculputre Park in Sunset Hills.
Judith Spector Aronson, a long-time member of the Regional Arts Commission, died Monday, Aug. 27, 2012. She was 84. Aronson and her late husband, Adam Aronson, were active in the arts community for many years, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Adam Aronson founded Laumeier Sculpture Park in Sunset Hills. Judith Aronson served on the Regional Arts Commission board from 1988 to 2009 and was its chairwoman from 1992 to 1996. She also served on the Missouri Arts Council from 1981 to 1986, on President Bill Clinton's Presidential Advisory Committee on the Arts, and on committees and boards for the St. Louis Art Museum, Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Laumeier Sculpture Park. Jill McGuire, director of the Regional Arts Commission, told the …
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Laura Katherine Hmiel, Austin Patrick Hope and Maximilian You Fei all earned GPAs of 3.5 or above.
Two students from Sunset Hills and one from Crestwood were named to Washington University's Dean's List for the fall 2011 semester. All three students are Lindbergh High School graduates. Laura Katherine Hmiel of Crestwood is enrolled in Wash U's College of Arts & Scienes. Students in the College of Arts & Sciences must earn a semester GPA of 3.5 or above and be enrolled in at least 14 graded units to make the Dean's List. Austin Patrick Hope of Sunset Hills also is enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences at Wash U. Maximilian You Fei of Sunset Hills is enrolled in the university's School of Engineering and Applied Science. The School of Engineering requires a GPA of 3.6 or higher and be enrolled in at least 12 graded units for the …
St. Louis Salt Room
12:31 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Low sodium diets can be VERY bad for one's health. Yes, some salt - if it's cheap table salt - should be avoided due to dangerous additives and over-processing, but natural salts should be used moderately. For example, if your body needs salt and you don't provide enough, it will rob salt from your bones, making them weaker. MDs unfortunately have no meaningful training in nutrition and don't … more ›