Nutrition

Healthy Tips

10 Tips to Eating Healthy

Always eat a good breakfast.
If you eat fast food, choose wisely: choose pizza with half the cheese, baked potato or green salad with reduced fat dressing.
Keep a healthy snack on hand such as fresh or dried fruit, pretzels, unbuttered popcorn, whole wheat crackers, low-fat cheese, low-fat yogurt, and raw veggies.
Eat plenty of foods rich in calcium.
If you want to lose weight, do it sensibly. Starvation or diets that offer a quick fix are often harmful to your body and mind. The only safe way to lose weight, feel good while doing it, and keep it off is to eat a balanced diet.
Try to switch from refined food to whole wheat items like bread, crackers, and pasta.
Value variety. Enjoy a variety of foods.
Water if crucial! Colorado is at a high altitude so HYDRATION is SO IMPORTANT. A good rule of thumb for water: divide your weight in and that is the number of ounces of water you should drink each day.
Good sources of fat include: olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, peanut butter (made with out saturated fat).
Alcohol is a dense source of hidden calories and a drain on the storage and metabolism of essential nutrients. All things being equal, drinking six beers per week can lead to a 4-5 pound weight gain each quarter!

Portion Sizes

Sometimes it is hard to think about what 1 portion is. Here is a little guide to help you out. One serving is equal to:

cup cooked rice or pasta = a tennis ball
3 oz. of meat = 1 deck of playing cards
1 oz. of cheese = 4 stacked dice or a 9 Volt battery
cup ice cream = tennis ball
1 cup of broccoli = the size of your fist
cup vegetable juice like V8 = small Styrofoam cup
1 piece of fruit (apple, banana, orange, etc.)
cup fruit juice = small Styrofoam cup
1 tsp. of butter = the tip of your thumb
1 oz. of nuts = 1 handful
1 table spoon peanut butter = ping pong ball

Healthy Snacks

Granola bars: portable and filled with vitamins! (avoid the high-sugar bars).
Peanut butter sandwich: easy, quick, cheap and portable. Try adding jelly, honey or banana.
Almond butter: Try it on fruit or toast! It has less saturated fat than peanut butter!
Trail mix: provides variety to your diet. Try making your own with inexpensive ingredients from the grocery store like peanuts, raisins and sunflower seeds. Try it on salads too!
Mixed nuts: loaded with protein aim for 1/3 of a cup in a portable container like a ziplock bag.
Fruit: apples, oranges, strawberries, blackberries, etc.
Fat-free yogurt: mix in fruit or trail mix for a tasty treat.
Cottage cheese: mix in fruit, nuts or soy sauce!

Food Allergies

A food allergy is an immune response to a food that the body mistakes as harmful. Once the immune system decides that a particular food is harmful, it produces specific antibodies to it. The next time the individual eats that food, the immune system will release massive amounts of chemicals, including histamine, in order to protect the body from what it thinks is an invasion. These chemicals trigger a cascade of allergic symptoms that can affect the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, skin, or cardiovascular system.

People can be allergic to any food, such as fruits, vegetables, and meats, but there are eight foods that account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions. These are: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (walnuts, cashews, etc.), fish, shelfish, soy and wheat.

Symptoms

Symptoms typically occur within minutes to two hours after the person has eaten the food to which he or she is allergic. Symptoms include:

Tingling sensation in the mouth
Swelling of the tongue and the throat
Difficulty breathing
Hives
Vomiting
Abdominal cramps
Diarrhea
Decrease in blood pressure
Loss of consciousness
Death

Think you may be allergic? Keep a food diary for 1 to 2 weeks of everything you eat, what symptoms you experience, and how long after eating they occur. This information, combined with a physical examination and lab tests can help a professional determine what, if any, food you may be allergic to.

Tips to Avoid an Allergic Reaction

Practice prevention. Always know what you're eating and drinking. The best way to prevent an allergic reaction is to avoid foods that cause allergy signs and symptoms.
Know about hidden food allergens. Some food allergens may be well hidden when used as ingredients in certain dishes. This is especially true in restaurants and other social settings, such as church or neighborhood gatherings or homemade foods brought into the workplace.
Be proactive when dining out. There's more to preventing an allergic reaction than just avoiding food choices based on a restaurant's menu description. You'll need to ask specific questions about ingredients and how each dish is prepared.
Read and reread. Even though a food product may have been safe the last time you purchased or consumed it, it's possible that the ingredients have changed or the label has been updated. If you have a food allergy, be sure to always read food labels.
Identify your allergy. Wear a medical alert bracelet that describes your allergy and carry an alert card in your wallet or purse. These items are available over-the-counter at most drugstores and can be purchased on the Internet.
Prepare to counteract a reaction. Talk with your doctor about whether you should carry an emergency medication in case of an allergic reaction.

Information taken from FoodAllergy.org and the MAYO Clinic.

Gluten Free

Gluten

Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and other related grains. Many people cannot tolerate gluten when it comes in contact with the small intestine. This condition is known as celiac disease. There is also evidence that there is a skin disorder often associated with gluten intolerance.

In patients with celiac disease, gluten injures the lining of the small intestine. This injury results in weight loss, bloating, diarrhea, gas, abdominal cramps, or vitamin and mineral deficiencies. When patients totally eliminate gluten from the diet, the lining of the intestine has a chance to heal.

Removing gluten from the diet is not easy. Grains are used in the preparation of many foods. It is often hard to tell by an ingredient's name what may be in it, so it is easy to eat gluten without even knowing it. However, staying on a strict gluten-free diet can dramatically improve the patient's condition. Since it is necessary to remain on the gluten-free diet throughout life, it will be helpful to review it with a registered dietitian. The best way to sustain a gluten free diet is to work with a doctor and/or dietician. Here are a few websites to help get you started:

How to Adapt Recipes to be Gluten-Free

1. Focus only on the items in the recipe that need to be adapted. Choose a recipe with very little flour or gluten-containing items. Sometimes the flour can be omitted. (Breading or flouring meats can easily be omitted for most recipes.) Concentrate on the major flavors. Serve simple fruit and vegetables while gaining skills. Think "omit" or "substitute" while reviewing a recipe. Perhaps mark problem ingredients in a recipe.

2. Avoid recipes that rely on convenience foods. Go back to the "from scratch" recipes the convenience food replaces. Learn to make the basic sauces and gravies often used in casseroles and soups.

3. Look in a gluten-free cookbook or Lifeline for a similar recipe. Compare proportions, they are the key. Flour and other ingredients that act as thickeners are compared to the amount of liquids in the recipe. Keep proportions nearly the same for your recipe. Given the same amount of liquid, it takes less starch to thicken than flour (cornstarch vs. corn flour).

4. Use commercial or home-made gluten-free substitutes. For example, gluten-free macaroni, bread and corn tortillas.

5. Don't make anything more complicated than it already is. But do take family health concerns, likes, dislikes and food dollars available into consideration.

Dairy-Free

Lactose-Intolerant

People who react to lactose are called "lactose-intolerant." They lack adequate amounts of an enzyme (called lactase) needed to digest milk sugar. Most lactose-intolerant people can consume dairy products that naturally contain only traces of lactose, such as hard cheese or those that have been treated to break down lactose such as Lactaid milk. Many lactose-intolerant people can also eat yogurt without suffering, despite the high amount of lactose found in yogurt. The bacteria in most yogurt products (except frozen yogurt) consume most of the lactose as soon as the yogurt moves from the stomach to the intestines. These bacteria are so efficient that they often break down the lactose before the lactose-intolerant person has a chance to react to it.

Symptoms of lactose introlerance occur within a few hours of ingestion of milk or milk products. The severity of lactose intolerance varies greatly among individuals. Symptoms include:

Bloating
Abdominal pain
Gas
Diarrhea

Milk Allergy

Milk allergy is an immune system response to the presence of milk protein in the body. The body perceives the protein as foreign and proceeds to mount an attack against it, which results in the symptoms of an allergic reaction. Cows milk is the most common cause of food allergyin infants and young children. Cows milk proteins are potent allergens and around 2.5% of infants experience cows milk allergy in the first years of life. However, food allergies usually diminish with advancing age. Up to 85% of children will outgrow their allergy by the age of three; the majority will outgrow it by the time they reach school.

Symptoms include:

Skin rashes
Hives
Gastrointestinal distress
Breathing problems
Anaphylaxis. This is a life-threatening allergic reaction, is only rarely triggered by consumption of dairy products, even in people who are allergic to dairy.

How to Eat Dairy-Free

Milk Substitutes:

Soy milk
Almond milk
Hazelnut milk
Hemp milk

Cheese Substitutes:

Soy cheese
Tofu "cream cheese"

Desserts:

Rice Dream Ice Cream
Soy Dream Ice Cream
Tofutti
Fruit Sorbets
Dark Chocolate

Beating the Freshman 15

Diet

Avoid keeping high-calorie foods such as ice cream, candy and cookies in your room. Instead, eat a small portion for dessert after a meal once each day to satisfy your craving for something sweet.

Eat breakfast! Breakfast can be a bagel and juice in your room or on the way to class; cereal, milk and fruit in the dining hall; or even a hot meal. Breakfast will get your body and brain ready for the day, and you'll be less likely to snack due to mid-morning hunger attacks.

Eat a variety of different foods. Instead of choosing fries for lunch every day or stocking up on ramen noodles because they're cheap, expand your horizons! Make sure to include fruit, vegetables, whole grains, protein and dairy products in your food choices every day.

Stock your dorm fridge with fat-free milk, yogurt and individually fruit, cottage cheese and veggies for quick meals or snacks.

Make a goal of trying one new food each week. Share with friends so you can all experiment.

Exercise

Work out 2-4 times per week.
Do a variety of different exercises such as cardio, strength training and endurance.
Check out the Coors Fitness Center located in the Ritchie Center. They offer classes as well as free weights, weight machines and cardio machines. Click here for more information.
Dont want to work out in the gym? Here are some ideas of other ways to get exercise:

Hiking
Running around Wash Park
Rock Climbing/Ice Climbing
Soccer
Basketball
Football
Baseball
Volleyball
Skiing/Snowboarding
Snowshoeing