Cravings
Do you ever have an urge to eat a particular food or drink something specific? Wanting to eat something once in a while versus needing to eat something is the difference between an indulgence and a true food craving. Indulging in a steak dinner or banana split does not constitute having a craving. A true food craving is a deeper and stronger desire that you can't ignore and that you would even consider satisfying even if it was inconvenient or dangerous.
The story “Rapunzel” comes to mind when I try to find a good example of what a true craving is like. In the story, a pregnant woman developed an extreme craving for the Rapunzel plant she could see in her neighbor's garden. Her craving was so intense that she said she would die if she did not consume it. In the story, the woman's husband had to steal the Rapunzel from the neighbor's garden. When he was caught in the act, he was willing to give up his unborn child just to satisfy his wife's craving. Of course, this is an extreme fairytale example but you get the idea. A craving is much more than indulging in your favorite food. A craving consumes a person's thoughts until it is satisfied.
There are two types of cravings- occasional and obsessive. An occasional craving can occur due to stress, hormonal changes or excessive hunger. Obsessive cravings are far more intense and are often caused from a specific illness, addiction, or deep-seated psychological problem. Most food cravings are caused by hormonal changes that can occur during periods of stress, pregnancy, or different phases of a woman's menstrual cycle. Researchers believe that fluctuating hormonal levels may influence the production of serotonin and other important hormonal chemicals in the brain.
The fluctuation of certain hormones in the brain can trigger the body's desire for specific foods. Researchers believe that these fluctuations will cause a person to crave sweets in order to provide a quick source of glucose to the brain, which is needed for energy. Perhaps this is why many woman crave chocolate more before their menstrual period. Complex carbohydrates and protein are metabolized more slowly than sugars and are better food choices because they can help to prevent any intense cravings for sweets.
Just Say No to Joe: Coffee
Millions of Americans are consumed with the need to drink several cups of coffee each day. There are coffee houses all over the country. Some have drive-thru windows for quick and easy pick up. Coffee is definitely the substance most Americans use to stay alert. Unfortunately, this very popular beverage is associated with several health problems that may have you rethink reaching for your regular cup-a-Joe.
Coffee is made up of nearly 400 chemicals, including vitamins, minerals, tannins and sugars. Generally a simple 6 ounce cup of regular black coffee has about 6 calories. People who add milk, sugar or other sweeteners can increase the fat content and total calories substantially. It is very common for a fancy coffee from a coffee house to have as many calories as a hot fudge sundae.
There are some very possible hazards associated with too much coffee consumption. Like any food, coffee should be consumed in moderation. Too much coffee may cause infertility in women who drink more than 3 cups of coffee per day. Women who drink more than 3 cups decrease their chances of conception by around 25 percent. Caffeine has also been found to increase blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmias in some people. Bone loss is another possible hazard associated with coffee. Calcium is excreted in the urine when coffee is consumed. To compensate for the loss of calcium, coffee drinkers should consume extra calcium-rich foods, such as leafy green vegetables.
Even decaffeinated coffee can have negative effects on the body. Many people think that decaffeinated coffee does not cause all of the same problems as regular caffeinated coffee. This is not the case. Even decaffeinated coffee contains up to 5 mg of caffeine in a 5 ounce cup. The process to decaffeinate coffee can also have health risks. If you like decaffeinated coffee, choose a brand that is decaffeinated by water extraction.
Asthma and Nutrition
Asthma is a chronic lung condition that affects people of all ages. It is also the leading cause of childhood deaths and seems to affect children who live in the city most. Enviromental pollutants are among the list of possible causes of asthma increasing in the United States. Other possible factors include a lack of preventive medical care and the misuse of asthma medications. Most asthma suffers experience wheezing, tightness in the chest, and difficulty breathing. This can often happen when the airways to the lungs are exposed to smoke, pollutants, very cold air, or harmful airborne substances. If you think you have asthma, it is best to contact an allied health professional, and nutrition is obviously not a form of treatment, but it can help.
People with asthma are highly sensitive to airborne substances and can have asthma attacks from substances or routines that would not affect a person who does not have asthma. For example, an asthma suffer may experience asthma attacks after exercising or from inhaling pollen in the air. So far no foods have been discovered to prevent asthma but there are several that have been found to reduce asthma complications. Omega-3 fatty acids from cold water fish have an anti-inflammatory effect that may help to prevent bronchial inflammation.
Eating foods that are known to boost the body's immune system is also recommended. One or two cups of tea can help to relax the bronchial muscles in people who are sensitive to salicylates. The best way to prevent asthma attacks is to identify the triggers that cause the attacks. Some asthma suffers have food allergies that can trigger attacks. Identifying and eliminating these foods from the diet can be challenging, especially in children. Sometimes the best way to identify an offending food is to keep a detailed food journal that lists all foods and drinks ingested, the time and any symptoms that occurred. A pattern of offending foods will become clear within a few weeks. Skin or other allergy tests can be done by a physician to confirm the results.
Alcohol: Helpful or Harmful
Alcohol has been around for thousands of centuries. The earlier versions may not have been as strong or diverse as modern forms but the idea of using fermented beverages has endured through the ages. Today alcohol is mostly consumed to alter a person’s mood. In the past, alcohol was also regularly used as a tonic, anesthetic and disinfectant. Alcohol is still used in medicines and is commonly seen in many popular over-the-counter medications.
Alcoholic beverages are made from ethyl alcohol. This alcohol is made when yeasts ferment starches or sugars. Any starch or sugar can be used to make alcohol. Grains, potatoes, and grapes are a few examples of popular foods used to make alcohol.
There are many different types of alcohols. There are hard liquors, wines and beers. The effect of liquor is the same regardless of what type of alcohol is consumed. The difference comes from the immediate impact certain types of alcohols can have on the body. For example, hard liquors, like whiskey and vodka can affect the body much faster than wines and beers. All alcoholic beverages are absorbed quickly when they are mixed with carbonated beverages, such as club soda.
Unlike most foods, alcohol is not digested by the body. Instead almost 95% of the alcohol consumed is directly absorbed into the blood stream. The absorption often begins within an hour after ingestion. The remaining 5% of the alcohol finds its way to the kidneys, lungs and skin for elimination. The liver has the important task of metabolizing alcohol. It generally takes 3 to 5 hours to metabolize an ounce of alcohol.
There are studies that suggest drinking small amounts can be beneficial to the body. Red wine is considered to lower the risk of heart attack. Studies have found that red wine helps to reduce cholesterol levels and prevents clot formation. Researchers are still unsure why red wine is able to have these effects on the body. They are beginning to think it might have something to do with the concentration of bioflavinoids found in red wine and other wines as well. Bioflavinoids are antioxidants that protect cells from damage.
Metabolic States
The human body exists in two different states. Following the consumption of a meal, the body is in an absorptive state, where food substances are being absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract into the bloodstream. When these absorptive processes are completed, the body enters a postabsorptive (fasting) state. In the postabsorptive state, body needs are met by materials already present in the body. When studying how to become a nutritionist, it is important to understand the metabolism and how it digests food.
During the absorptive state, the level of insulin is high, and the body transports, glucose molecules into cells, and utilizes them as a major energy source. It stores the excess carbohydrate as adipose fat and glycogen synthesized in its cells. The liver converts to cells of the adipose tissue. Also, the body uses Amino acids for protein synthesis and may store excess protein as fat, while converting some excess to carbohydrates.
During Postabsorptive state, the level of glucagon is high, and the body maintains blood glucose levels in homeostasis. Glucose sources are supplemented by metabolic amino acids catabolism also supply energy-containing compounds. During periods of prolonged fasting, the body uses muscle protein not essential to cellular functions for energy purposes.
During the postabsorptive state, almost all the tissues and organs depend primarily on fat for energy. This spares glucose for use by the nervous system, which normally requires glucose as its principle energy source. The liver also utilizes fatty acids, thus sparing its amino acids for use in glucose synthesis. As a result of these adjustments, an average person can fast for many days, so long as water is provided.
All this talk about food is making me hungry!
Nutrition and Breast Milk
Human breast milk is the best option for feeding your infant. Besides that it is free, does not require you to buy or wash bottles and offers excellent nutrition and immune strengthening components, there are several other reasons to consider breast feeding and a few considerations to be aware of. We decided to ask a certified lactation consultant to enlighten us.
Human milk can usually provide a complete source of nutrients for your growing baby. In some instances, mothers who are not exposed to enough sunlight daily or who do not have enough vitamin D in their diets may increase the risk of vitamin D deficiency for their infants. Breast fed babies are more likely to be vitamin B12 deficient the mother is vegetarian. This can occur even if the mother does not show any signs of being vitamin B12 deficient her self.
Generally breast fed babies gain the same amount of weight as formula fed babies during the first 2 to 3 months. After these first few months breast fed babies typically will consume less than formula fed babies and will also have a lower energy intake. Healthy breast fed babies will generally gain weight more slowly and formula fed babies.
Breast fed babies tend to have fewer health problems compared to formula-fed babies. Formula-fed infants seem to have more digestive and respiratory problems, food allergies and certain chronic diseases. This may be due to the lack of important immune building components that are typically found in breast milk but not found in formula. Also, brush border cells that aid with digestion are obtained from breast milk. A strictly formula fed baby will not obtain these cells and may end up with digestive problems.
Grains: The Good and The Bad
Grain products can be found in every culture and are typically stapels in most diets. Today, we have access to all of the diverse foods made with grains from all over the world. Rice from Japan, Moroccan couscous, Italian polenta, Quinoa from South America and many other foods can be found in local supermarkets. However, the most popular grain eaten by Americans is wheat. It is most commonly ground into flour and made into bread or other baked goods. There are many health benefits associated with grains and some drawbacks.
Grain products are usually inexpensive to prepare and highly nutritious. Whole grain foods, such as brown rice and whole wheat flour, are complex carbohydrates that provide fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Grains are also low in fat and are a good source of complete protein when they are eaten with beans and other legumes.
When choosing the best grains to eat it is important to consider whether the grain is whole or refined. Many of the valualbe nutritients that grains possess are found in the outter covering that are often removed during milling. The process of removing the outter covering transforms the grain from whole to refined. Whole grains are much higher in nutrition and fiber, which adds texture and makes whole grains more filling. Refined grain products, like flours, breads and breakfast cereals, are usually fortified with vitamins and minerals to replace some of the nutritients that were lost during in refining. Generally, refined products have fewer vitamins and minerals and less fiber than whole-grain products.
When reading labels look for the words “whole-wheat flour,” if you want a whole-grain product. Products labeled “wheat flour” are refined white flour.
There are several grain products available on supermarket shelves. Here is a little about some of the more common grains you may come in contact with.
Barley: This grain is often used in soups and has a somewhat sweet taste. It is a staple food in the Middle East.
Corn: This grain is gluten-free making it one of the grains that people with Celiac Disease regularly.
Lactation Consultants and Nutrition
Human babies and human breast milk is unique compared to other mammals. Human babies at birth have larger brains than other animals. Human milk is also the sweetest of all milks. Carbohydrates make up a large portion of human breast milk and provide babies with energy and protection from pathogens. As a lactation consultant it is important to know the nutrition of the babies as well as the mothers.
The primary carbohydrate found in human breast milk is the disaccharide, lactose, which is only found in milk. Approximately 40% of a baby’s energy needs are supplied by the carbohydrates found in breast milk.
Of all the mammals, human milk has the highest amount of lactose, which is the primary carbohydrate in milk. It is also the most consistent carbohydrate. The enzyme lactase is produced by the body to help digest lactose between the age of 2 and 7 years or more. This enzyme is present in fetal life as early as 24 weeks and is an important brush border intestinal enzyme. The amount of this enzyme that is produced is genetically determined and tends to decrease with age. The carbohydrate lactose helps the body to absorb calcium and iron.
There are 130 or more ogliosaccharides that are found in breast milk. Specific compounds are very active against pathogens and help to stimulate the growth of beneficial flora, such as lactobacillus bifidus. The oglisaccharides also help to block pathogens from attaching to the gut, making it more difficult for them to invade the immune system. The oglisaccharides also protect against enterotoxins that may be in the gut.
A combination of several different oglisaccharides creates the “bifidus factor”- which helps to promote lactobacillus bifidus and produce an acid that is detrimental to pathogen growth. This suppresses pathogens and gives breast milk stools an exclusively unique aroma.
Other types of carbohydrates found in breast milk include glycopeptides, fructose, and galactose.
Good Carbs Are A Must
We humans simply cannot function without carbs. Carbs give us energy and without them, we couldn’t think, drive, walk, dance or do the many things we want to do throughout our day. We need them to live. One study found that people who severly restricted their carbs for three days binged by eating 44% more calories from carbohydrate foods than they would have initially consumed.
Carbs give our food texture, and crunch, variety and color. They make us happy, literally, by feeding our neurotransmitters. It is proven that people who eat three servings of whole grains a day are 30 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Carbs are also the vehicles for so many of nature’s disease fighters. Phytochemicals come only from plants, people you can’t get vitamin C from a bunless burger. Without carbs, we’d be sitting ducks for cancer, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, chronic inflammation, and digestive problems.
And as much as we’ve abused the vegetables in this country for years and years, pouring our toxic chemicals all over them, they may yet help to save us from ourselves. Eating fiber, a carbohydrate that can only come from plant sources, is one of the few ways we can help our bodies flush out the toxins that have built up in our tissues and messed with our endocrine systems for years.
Remember, the key here is t eat good carbs. Vegetables, fruits, and whole grains qualify as good carbs. We need carbs to help us live an active productive life.
Folic Acid Deficiency Can Lead to Anemia
The essential vitamin, Folic acid, is used by the body to produce red blood cells. Should the body become folic acid deficient, anemia can ensue. This type of anemia is caused by a reduced number of red blood cells, which causes an inadequate supply of oxygen transporting red blood cells to the tissues of the body. This type of anemia is very common among infants, adolescents during a growing phase, pregnant or lactating women, the elderly, smokers, alcoholics, and people who frequently undergo fad diets or who have digestive disorders. Iron deficiency anemia can also occur in conjunction with folic acid deficiency anemia. While studying to get my allied health degree, anemia seemed to be a common ocurrance with many patients.
For most people who suffer with folic acid deficiency anemia the main cause is either insufficient dietary intake of folic acid, or sometimes, an inability of the intestines to properly absorb folic acid. Because the body does not store large amount of folic acid, a person can become deficient during certain phases of the life cycle when the demands for it are greater than the dietary intake. This commonly occurs during childhood, pregnancy and when breastfeeding. There are certain medications that can also interfere with the absorption of folic acid. Some common drugs that have been associated with folic acid deficiency are anticonvulsants, antibiotics, oral contraceptives, and anticancer drugs.
Some common symptoms of folic acid anemia include severe fatigue and weakness, paleness, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, loss of appetite, abdominal swelling, nausea and diarrhea. If you suspect that you may be anemic, make an appointment with you doctor. Only a blood test can verify whether your body’s folate stores are deficient.
If it is determined that you have inadequate folic acid the best way to treat this deficiency is to increase the folic acid in your diet. Folic acid tablets can quickly correct this disorder. If the deficiency is due to an intestinal disorder, treating the disorder may cure the folic acid deficiency anemia.