Nutrilink is a private nutrition consultation practice in southeast Massachusetts and Cape Cod. We are now offering metabolic testing - a simple, non-evasive breath test lasting just a few minutes can tell you exactly how many calories your body needs each day. No more 'guess-timates'!

Specialty service areas include:

Group workshops and ongoing focus programs are available on such topics as:

• The Food and Body Connection - a 90-minute workshop for women who struggle with body image and emotional eating behavior
• PACE - an 8-week non-diet approach to weight management which explores behavioral aspects of eating and offers new options
• The GI Edge - a 90-minute workshop for persons with pre-diabetes, diabetes, and sports enthusiasts which addresses how the glycemic index of specific foods/meals can support or hinder health and fitness goals
• Performance Nutrition - a 90-minute workshop for athletes who want to use nutrition to maximize their performance or enhance body-building
• Functional Eating - a 90-minute workshop on structuring eating to support activity, enhance metabolism, increase energy and overall wellness

Workshops are available for home and community settings and can accommodate large groups. Ongoing programs are limited to 6-8 participants.

Try a little "functional eating" on for size!

Functional eating supports the fitness triangle goal of proportionate amounts of eating to fuel, movement to energize and rest to revitalize.

Repeating smaller circular repetitions of this model intermittently during each day will support optimal performance and regenerate the body in a healthy way.

No food needs to be totally eliminated, but individual requirements will determine the amounts recommended. You should work with a registered dietitian and/or licensed nutritionist to determine these requirements.

THE NEW FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID

A Practical Guide

Whenever something new is introduced, a plifora of commentary exudes and somehow, confusion results. The old saying "Everyone has an opinion" truly prevails ~ as it should!

We are now presented the NEW Food Guide Pyramid, not surprisingly in support of the recently published NEW Dietary Guidelines. Personally I believe the guidelines are right on track (with some elements not defined well enough), but certainly are going to be hard for the typical American to comply with. But then, they ARE goals...not mandates. And they are based on the latest research in a effort to combat Obesity, Diabetes, Heart disease, Cancer, GI disorders, Altzheimer's ~ you name it! Diet seems to have an impact, along with lack of exercise and a general lifestyle mismanagement that allows stress to wreak havoc on health.

The Pyramid as presented suggests that we do the following:

•          limit meat (protein) to 5 1/2 ounces per day
•          consume 2 1/2 cups of veggies and 2 cups of fruit each day
•          limit starches (grains, cereals, breads, pasta, rice, crackers,          potatoes, and the limitless myriad of carbs we like to                          consume) to 6 ounces
•          consume at least 3 cups of non or lowfat dairy product                   per day
•          and make sure we get a Tbls or so of good quality mono-           unsaturated fats and omega-3-fatty acids in fish, flax and nuts

Now, to the average American, although these guidelines appear simple and to the point, they are FAR from the daily routine. Most would say it would be hard to meet them. But think about it. My typical client skips breakfast. How easy would it be to start the day with a piece of fruit, and maybe a glass of milk or cup of yogurt ~ maybe on a measly 3/4 cup high fiber cereal? Not a lot of food, but well on the way to meeting the goals.

I ask my clients to consider the 6 meal plan ~ 3 small meals with snacks in between, since the link with weight loss and appetite suppression is clear. Feed the body as it needs fuel ~ NOT as we like to satisfy our never-ending cravings for foods that change our moods! When you give the body fuel, it trusts you. It allows for optimal metabolic function ~ you neither tire, nor do you conserve extra fuel (as FAT!).  All the research suggests that yoyo dieting destroys metabolism and makes it hard for the body to maintain a desirable weight ~ to say nothing of the mental torture dieting permits. Skipping meals tells the body to "hold onto its reserves." And eating too much clearly puts stress on the organs and contributes to excess fat storage and diabetes, and heart disease, and on and on.

I recently heard a researcher suggest we "think IN the box!" ~ that's a shift. But what he meant was that if we PLANNED our day to include the simple amounts of foods listed in the pyramid guide, we would "go to the box" when we were hungry. How easy is THAT?! Most of us have lives that take a little planning to get through each day. Let's make healthy eating one of them!  Let's get our boxes and fill them before impulse leads us astray!

                           NEW DIETARY GUIDELINES ARE OUT!

Dietary guidelines are meant to promote health and wellness and prevent chronic illness. Based on current research, they are updated every five years and include recommendations for daily nutrition and activity goals.

The newest recommendations include eliminating trans fats (those hydroganted ones in lots of snack foods) from the diet and including a good deal more exercise (yes, an hour a day of moderate to strenuous exercise), consistent with recent findings regarding the "fat-making" negatives of the trans fats and the "fat-reducing" positives of exercise. We are a nation on the obesity train and its time to get off. Supersized portions, fat-laden snacks, sugar-filled beverages and hours of sitting in front of computers and DVD's have created a nation at risk !

The fact that there are 3600 calories available every day for every American (and some are still going hungry) seems ludicrous when the average American needs less than 2000 calories/day. Ever wonder why so much money is put into marketing food products? In truth, we are victims of a rich society!

Although there are not huge changes in the new dietary recommendations, the focus on whole grains, whole fruits and vegetables and otherwise unprocessed foods is clear. We have to reduce the sodium (which is mostly added in processing) in our diets and increase the fiber. Whole foods are rich in fibers and nutrients like antioxidants that protect the body from inflammation and free radical contamination. This protects us from heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Obesity has become the number one killer in our country of excess. Most chronic disease begins with that extra weight that comes from too many calories in and not enough energy out. It's time to 'put a lid on it' and start changing how we value food and our health. No-one can force change, but I believe the new guidelines give us something to think about. Check them out at http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005.

© 2003 Nutrilink, all rights reserved.
Nutrilink receives no outside support for its website, nor does
it accept any compensation for the recommendations found therein.
The site is for educational purposes only.







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