Breastfeeding Nutrition

I recently started taking classes to earn my Masters in Applied Nutrition; one of the first topics we discussed was breastfeeding.  Over the past year I have experienced an increase in the number of pregnant women that I get to counsel.  One question I always ask is if they plan on breastfeeding.  Sadly, a majority of women say no.  The reasons are usually along the lines of hearing that it will hurt, they are uncomfortable with the idea of it, or simply do not know that nursing is actually an option.  Mother’s to be, I am here to encourage you to try breastfeeding!  It truly is the best option for you and your baby.  Studies show that babies who are breastfed decrease their chances for ear infections, respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome, leukemia infections of the gastro-intestinal tract, and possibly even a reduction in food allergies.  Infants who are nursed typically gain weight at a slower rate than those who are formula fed; this helps reduce their chances for being overweight and developing type II Diabetes in the future.  Benefits of breastfeeding for the mother include weight-loss, decreased risk of breast and ovarian cancer, decreased risk of osteoporosis, and a decrease in postpartum bleeding.  I should also mention that breastfeeding is FREE!

The American Dietetic Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that infants be breastfed for the first 4-6 months of life.  However, even if the mother only nurses for 1 week, this is more beneficial than nothing at all.  During the first 24-48 hours after delivery, the mother’s milk contains very important nutrients and antibodies that help protect the infant against infection and disease.  Mothers who choose to breastfeed should be aware that their nutrition is very important to that of their babies. They should focus on consuming a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.  Essentially, what the mother eats, the baby eats.

Nutrients such as calcium and folic acid continue to be important in the new mother’s diet, they should continue to, or begin taking a prenatal vitamin to ensure adequate intake.  These vitamins and minerals are found naturally in cabbage, dark leafy greens, dry beans, oranges, nuts, and whole grains.  Zinc is another important mineral needed for growth and development, it is found in eggs, meat, and oats.  Lactating women produce approximately 23-27oz (3 cups) of milk per day; requiring an extra 500-800 calories per day.  Breastfeeding mothers should consume 4-6 small meals throughout the day, and drink plenty of water.   This is likely not a problem since many mothers find that they are very hungry and thirsty while breastfeeding. 

Some people believe that certain foods such as cabbage, broccoli, garlic, and onions eaten by the mother, will give the breastfed baby gas.  However, just like every adult, every baby is different.  It is not necessary to remove these foods from your diet altogether.  If you find that your infant is extra fussy after nursing, and you have consumed some of these foods; you may try and limit your intake for a while to see if it makes a difference.

Not only are nutrients found in foods capable of being passed from mother to baby, but so are toxins.  This means it is important for nursing mothers to avoid drinking alcoholic beverages and using tobacco products at least 1 hour prior to feeding or pumping.  Alcohol and nicotine can both cause slow growth development in the new baby. Mothers should also avoid taking antibiotics, sulfa drugs, certain laxatives, and any products containing iodine while breastfeeding unless prescribed by a doctor.

While there are some mothers who truly are unable to breastfeed, the majority of new moms are capable of producing enough milk to satisfy their newborn’s needs.  However, if a new mother is having trouble breastfeeding or finds it overly painful, most towns/cities have resources to help.  Lactation consultants can be found at WIC clinics and many hospitals with a labor & delivery ward also have consultants.  Many midwives and nurses also have plenty of experience teaching new moms how to breastfeed.  So start your little one’s life off right, and give breastfeeding a try.

New Sites, New Beans

Ryan and I roasted a chicken the other week and I decided to use the leftovers to make crock-pot-chicken-stock.  I figured several generations of Waacks, Thompsons, Millers, and Wegworths were rolling over in their graves every time we throw out a chicken carcass. Of course I had to figure out how to do so beforehand.  My search led me to this lovely blog, Nourishing Days. I encourage you to check it out.

Other than onions, I didn't have any vegetables on hand.  Nor did I have any fresh herbs, so I substituted with dry.  It still turned out mighty delicious.  I cooked up some lentils and bulgar with it.  The flavor was so rich, I was almost happy just eating that for supper.  I used the rest of the stock to make Louisiana style red-beans.  We had a bag on hand and this was my first time cooking with them.  Finding this recipe landed me at several sites that involved large quantities of bacon, ham, and sausage.  Quite traditional, but I really wasn't interested in something that fatty.  Thankfully, by revising my search I landed at Fat Free Vegan another great Blog that I've added to my queue.  The beans came out delicious, and not too heavy.  Instead of rice, I served them over quinoa.  However, I do believe next time I will invest in the liquid smoke, or just deal with the extra pork products and try Emeril's recipe.   I am also discovering that beans turn out best when soaked over-night. Yes the 2 hour quick soak method works well, but they do not get as soft and breakdown as easily as when soaked for a good 8-12 hours.

Red Beans over Quinoa, Salad with Walnuts & Bleu Cheese

Today I'm tackling black-eyed peas.  Even though I've been in Georgia for 2+ years, I can't say I've really eaten any black-eyed peas(BEP) yet.  BEP are not indigenous to the united states.  They were brought here from Africa during the slave trading days which started in the mid 1500s.  They are also found around the globe in Portugal, Greece, and even vietnam.  During Rash Hashanah, the Jewish New Year; they are eaten as a symbol of good luck since they swell when cooked.  Interestingly, a large sect of Jews settled in Georgia during the 1730's and helped initiate them into what is now considered traditional southern cooking.  The 1700s is also when the slave trade really took hold in the United States and began moving northward from Florida and the Carolinas up into Virginia.  During the Civil War, Union troops led by General Sherman plundered their way through the South; destroying everything except...field corn and BEP which they thought were only used as animal feed.  Little did they know, BEP are high in calcium, Vitamins A & K, Folate and Potassium.  1 cup of cooked beans contains: 160kcal, 1g fat, 34g carb, 8g fiber, 5g protein.  Of course, that is when they are cooked without fatback, ham, or bacon...

Southern BEP
1. Soak 2 cups black eyed peas overnight.  Simmer for 1.5 hours or until tender.  Drain beans.

2. In a large pot add beans, 3 cups low sodium chicken stock, 1 smoked ham-hock, 1 onion diced, 4 cloves garlic finely chopped, 2 bay leaves, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer 45-60 minutes.  Serve with hot pepper sauce.

Vegan Diabetics

I finished reading the book "Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes" a few weeks ago.  Overall I thought it was a decent 'self help' book, in that it didn't just repeat itself over and over, and the average person can read it and gain a lot of knowledge.  It sites some interesting studies and builds a strong case for rethinking the American Diabetes Association diet.  What is his diet?  It's a low-fat vegan meal plan, the same thing Dr. Ornish studied and recommended for patients with heart disease in the 80's and 90's.  Dr. Barnard is the president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).  The organization promotes vegan diets for everyone and are also activists in the promotion for ethical treatment of research animals.  The organization studies how diet and lifestyle affect chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and many others.  I'm not going to go too in-depth, but here is what I liked and didn't like about this book:
Yay:

• Being a vegan = more vegetables and fruits!!!
• Decreases junk food, a box of potato chips might be vegan, but it isn't low fat.
• It promotes weight loss, which is a good thing since most people with Type II diabetes are overweight.  Weightloss alone helps lower blood glucose.
• The program apparently works really really well.
• Excellent explanation and analogies of the disease process and complications of diabetes.
• His studies did not include an exercise component, but he does discuss how exercise is needed for optimal blood glucose control.
• No need to measure portions, encourages people to eat until they are comfortably full.
• It's an alternative to the high fat, low carb diets.
• Not only does the diet address diabetes, but also heart disease and renal failure.  Both are major issues for people with diabetes.

Nay:

• He sites the China Study, which has been reviewed by many people and found to be very unfounded and based on correlation.  My high school psychology teacher used to say "correlation does not equal causation"
• His two studies were very small 13 test subjects in one, 49 in the second.
• He states "there is no reason for anyone to eat animal-derived foods"... let me know if I'm wrong but I think we evolved with canine teeth for a reason.  People must supplement their diets when they cut out meat, and no ancient culture would ever willingly cut out meat or seafood all together.
• He attributes food cravings to a release of opiates from meat, sugar, cheese, and chocolate.  And poor diet to poeple having a lack of dopamine receptors in their brain.  He skips over the fact that both these issues have major social, environmental, and emotional connections too.   
• He promotes the ingestion of a high amount of processed meat substitutes.  According to him, I could have: Scrambled tofu, 'Facon', and a glass of rice milk for breakfast, A tofurkey and soy cheese sandwich at lunch, and a stir-fry with Boca meatless crumbles for supper.  This is a lot of processed soy.  While edemame and small amounts of tofu and tempe are ok, these highly processed products may be linked to....CANCER! Something he also forgets to mention; women with certain types of breast cancer need to avoid soy secondary to it's estrogen mimicking effects.
• He limits nuts because they are high in fat.  He considers a serving of nuts as 3oz, but in actuality it's only 1oz.  Almonds and walnuts have been shown to lower overall cholesterol while simultaneously improving HDL cholesterol levels.  Nuts should be promoted, not limited.

What I found most interesting and controversial was the research on milk.  Much of what he discusses in the book can be found on the PCRM website, and it's worth taking a gander at.  They cited a study finding that drinking more than 1 glass of milk/day increases a woman's chance of ovarian cancer by 73%.  WHOLEY MOLEY that's a lot.  The studies concerning IGF-1 and it's links to prostate and breast cancer may be suspect.  I question it especially after reading this literature review by the  Cornell University Sprecher Institute on Comparative Cancer Research; it appears that the milk consumption and cancer risk are rather unfounded.  There are a few other issues in the research he cites, such as the one finding that children under the age of 1 should not drink dairy milk since it leads to colic and iron deficiency.  Duh...ideally they should be drinking their mothers breast milk; formula is a close second. No dietitian or doctor would ever recommend that children under 12 months drink regular dairy milk.

Ultimately I like the book, it does promote a healthy lifestyle and for people who are tired of counting carbs and limiting their favorite pasta dishes, going vegan might be a good alternative.  I just feel that Dr. Barnard may have taken studies and twisted their results to favor this type of lifestyle.  For the most part the jury is still out on what the best type of "diabetic diet" is.  Low Carb, Vegetarian, Paleo, Low Fat... I encourage people to eat whole foods especially fruits and vegetables, and so far there are no studies to show otherwise.

Spinach Pesto

Summer is upon us once again here in South Georgia.  Typically we would be getting short afternoon rain storms almost daily; however the entire region is experiencing a drought. Ryan and I once again attempted a windowsill garden and currently have a large lavender plant, 2 large stalks of mint, and a mixture of baby basil and chives that are cohabitating in the same pot.  While there may be a 10” rain deficit outside, our plants are growing nicely.  A few weeks ago Ryan’s coworker who has a bit of a green thumb let us confiscate some of his basil which I took quite happily and made into a basil/spinach pesto.

My grandmother used to make pesto with basil from her garden every year.  Making this brought back memories of watching her whip up a batch and helping her pour it into ice cube trays to save for the rest of the year.  She would slather it inside a pita with cheese, turkey, and broccoli and then warm the whole thing in the microwave until the cheese just started to melt.  Yum Yum Yum.

This was the first time I made pesto myself, and it’s a little nontraditional in that the recipe I followed called for spinach not basil.  But I threw some basil in anyway.  I think condiments are often overlooked as a source of calories, but also as a source of important nutrients such as fiber and antioxidants including: potassium, vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin E, and many others.

1 Tbs of basic pesto: 80 kcal, 7g fat, 123mg sodium, 1g carb, 0.5g fiber, 3g protein

Here is the recipe that I tried:

 Steam 1lb of baby spinach until wilted, approximately 5 minutes.  Drain and squeeze out excess water. Transfer to a food processor and add 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1/4tsp red pepper flakes, 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts, 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese.  Pulse until finely ground.  While machine is running add 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and the zest of 1 lemon. 

1 Tbs contains: 70 kcal, 6g fat, 1.6g carb, 0.73g fiber, 2.5g protein

This recipe was very thick since it uses very little oil. If you want a thinner consistency without adding more oil try adding some of the water squeezed out of the spinach.  You’ll gain back those lost nutrients.  While it doesn’t exactly count as a serving of vegetables, it does provide an alternative to the usual mustard/mayo combination for sandwiches and packs more antioxidants in as well as some heart healthy fats. But what else to do with it…

Vegans: stir into whole wheat pasta with sautéed veggies. (omit parmesan cheese in recipe, add a dash of salt instead).

Vegetarians: add to a grilled mozzarella and tomato sandwich

Pescetarian: Smear onto toasted baguettes and top with sardines

Carnivore:  Add juice of 1 lemon to ¼ cup of pesto and marinate 4 chicken breasts for 1 hour before baking in the oven at 375 for 30-45 minutes.

Locavore:  Spread onto slices of home grown zucchini and grill for 10 minutes till tender.

Running and Eating

This posting was written by my super-mom, Evie.

I started running later in life -- after age fifty.  The reason I started running was because I discovered I could run.  Another mom-friend and I chased our high school age children around Iowa cross country fields .  About a year after starting to run I entered and finished my first 5-K road race.  The second 5-K race I entered featured post race pancakes flipped onto our plates by a popular cook.  We had just run a race on a hot and humid July morning.  We deserved a treat!  In addition to continuing to run, I continued having an extra treat after races - my favorite low fat fudge nut sundae ice cream along with little chocolate chip cookies.

About a year after running my first 5-K my jeans felt a bit snugger.  I thought that I would o lose weight with the additional exercise, not gain weight!  An extra ten ponds had crept on.  How could this happen?  After doing some research I discovered that running a 5-K used up energy equivalent to only one half cup of my favorite fudge nut sundae ice cream.  My post race splurges also included an extra chocolate chip cookie.  Running does not mean I can indiscriminately eat more food.  And, sweets are not the best choice.

Instead of sweets, my body needs protein and carbohydrates.  Now, when runs extend beyond three miles I usually make myself a peanut butter sandwich afterwards.  I also eat more fruit.   In addition, after a race I head for the bananas, oranges and water.  I stay away from the sweet rolls and donuts.  Ice cream and cookies are still part of my diet, however, they are a smaller part of my diet.

Six years after my first 5-K road race, I âstill enjoy running and it does help me maintain my weight and enjoy my favorite ice cream and cookies - in moderation.  In March I ran the Snickers Half Marathon in Albany, Georgia.  While training for the half marathon I secretly hoped to lose a couple pounds.  The extra training only helped me continue to maintain a constant weight.  At the end of the race, I picked up my usual bananas and oranges.  Brenna added a carton of chocolate milk and yogurt, to my stash of post race food.  Later that day she fixed a delicious baked chicken.  The protein in the chicken rejuvenated my tired body.  Just being with my daughter rejuvenated my soul!