Doug Cook RD
Nutrition Demystified. Health Exemplified
Nutrition advice that makes sense. Separating hype from reality.
sugar cubes

Sugar

Confused Woman

How do you confuse someone with diabetes? Just tell them to use the Glycemic Index

Steak

Paleo, primal, ancestral. What’s the essence behind this eating plan?

Salmon and asparagus

Think dementia is only something for the elderly to worry about?

Beet vegetable

Nitrates are not necessarily a dirty word.

Newspaper_man

Nutrition stuff that drives me nuts!

devilinmilk

Got Milk? You might got problems.

Are you getting the benefits from green food powders?

May 19th, 2012   dougie_c   No comments
Super Greens Powder - LITN

Are you getting enough green?

Time and time again, surveys of people’s eating habits reveal that the majority of people are not eating the recommended number of servings of vegetables and fruit each day.

It is estimated that the percentage of people not meeting the older minimum 5 serving of vegetables and fruits each a day is:

  • Less than 1% of men & 4% of women ages 18 to 24
  • Less than 6% of men & 9% of women ages 25 to 34
  • Less than 14% of men & 16% of women ages 35 to 49
  • Less than 24% of men & 22% of women ages 50 to 64

This is based on older survey results, with the new recommended minimum of 7 servings, these numbers are actually worse.

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Product Review. AOR Astaxanthin Ultra

May 17th, 2012   dougie_c   No comments
Astaxanthin Ultra

Chances are you’ve never heard of astaxanthin but if you’ve ever eaten salmon, shrimp, lobster, and crab, you’ve eaten it – not to worry, this is a good thing. Astaxanthin is skyrocketing to stardom, and with good reason, research is finding it to hold many health-promoting properties.

What the heck is astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid. Carotenoids are pigments that give plants many of their distinctive colours. You’re most likely familiar with the carotenoids that become visible to the eye during the autumn with leaves ‘turn’ bright red, orange, yellow and variations there of. The carotenoids are always there, just masked by the dark green chlorophyll. Most of the interest in the nutritionally important carotenoids has focused on beta and alpha carotene, lycopene, lutein, and zeaxanthin to name a few, however the new kid on the block is astaxanthin; a vibrant orange-pink carotenoid that is found abundantly in micro-algae, particularly Haematococcus pluvialis. When lobsters, shrimp, salmon and crabs eat the algae,

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Grocery Store Navigation. Imperial Cinnamon Spread

May 15th, 2012   dougie_c   No comments
Imperial Cinnamon Spread

Product: Imperial Cinnamon Spread

Manufacturer: Unilever Canada

The Position: Delicious on toast, pancakes and waffles. May also be used as a tart or cake filling

Ingredients: sugar, soybean oil, modified palm and palm kernel oil, spices, salt, BHA, artificial flavour, citric acid, and sulphites

Analysis: Considering I could not get, as hard as I tried, an image from Unilever for this product is telling. What’s kind of scary is that we used to have this in our kitchen growing up. Granted, there were a lot of foods that made it into my household over the years that I would never touch today.

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Weekend Wrap Up – soundbites that caught my eye

May 12th, 2012   dougie_c   No comments
Computer cat

Consumption Of Probiotics Associated With Reduced Risk Of Diarrhea From Antibiotic Use
Consuming probiotics reduces the risk of diarrhea caused by antibiotic usage, researchers from RAND Health, Santa Monica, California reported in Jama (Journal of the American Medical Association).

Oral Zinc Found To Reduce Common Cold Symptoms In Adults More Than Kids
People who take oral zinc may experience shorter common cold symptoms than those who do not, researchers from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto, and McMaster University reported in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Daily Omega 3 Fatty Acids In Fish May Ward Off Heart Disease
Most people, whether healthy or having cardiovascular disease (CVD), would benefit from regular consumption of oily fish, concluded speakers at the EuroPRevent 2012 meeting. While eating whole fish undoubtedly offers the optimum approach for increasing omega-3 intakes in both primary and secondary prevention, delegates heard, supplements have a major role to play in increasing omega-3 intakes for people who do not like fish.

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Healthy Eating. McDonalds McCafe Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothies

May 9th, 2012   dougie_c   No comments
McDonalds Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie

I don’t know if you’ve seen the commercials for the new McDonald’s McCafe Smoothies? There’s one where a runner puts down two pieces of fruit on a park bench, a mango and pineapple, bends down to tie his shoe, goes back to grab the fruit and presto, chango – there’s now a mango pineapple smoothie. The implied message is clear, McDonald’s new smoothie is just like eating real fruit…

Smoothie undressed

Once you get past the slick marketing of the ad and take a closer look, things, as the saying goes, are not always as they appear to be. The small Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie [the others version are essentially the same] has 210 calories with 52 g of carbohydrate, 47 g of sugar, 3 g fiber and a whopping 4% of the daily value of vitamin C [i.e. why bother? that much vitamin C is negligible].

47 g of sugar = 11.75 teaspoons of sugar, the same as a can of pop. It’s true that some of that sugar comes from the fruit puree

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Recipes. Quinoa Salad with Blueberries & Mango

May 8th, 2012   dougie_c   No comments
Quiona salad with blueberry and mango

Quinoa
1/2 cup quinoa (washed)
1 cup water

Salad ingredients (minus the quinoa)
1 mango cut into cubes
1/2 cup blueberries
1 medium cucumber cut into cubes
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Dressing
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon orange marmalade

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Does beta-carotene have a ‘dark side’?

May 5th, 2012   dougie_c   1 Comment
Woman eating carrots

According to  new study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, consumption of very high amounts of beta-carotene could be worrisome because it blocks the action of vitamin A rather than enhancing it.

What are carotenoids?

Beta carotene is one of at least 500 identified carotenoids found in nature, pigments that give plants their respective colours, like the orange in carrots and mangoes, the deep red in tomatoes and bright yellow of corn. Of these, about 50 or so, have vitamin A activity meaning that the body can convert them into vitamin A as needed. The most studied carotenoid is beta carotene, the carotenoid found in orange fruits and vegetables and dark green vegetables [the chlorophyll in dark green vegetables masks the orange of beta carotene]. Beta carotene is found in a lot of foods and has one of the most vitamin A activity.

The story

This new study found that certain molecules, derived from the normal metabolism of beta-carotene, have an opposite effect of enhancing the activity of vitamin A,

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Grocery Store Navigation. Voortman Strawberry Turnover

May 4th, 2012   dougie_c   No comments
Voortman Strawberry Turnover

Product: Voortman Strawberry Turnover Cookies

Manufacturer: Voortman Canada

The Position: so delightfully soft and chewy….made more special by the great tasting real fruit filling

Ingredients: enriched wheat flour, sugar, strawberry filing (strawberries, glucose-fructose, glucose, modified corn starch, sugar, citric acid, pectin, monocalcium phosphate, potassium sorbate, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, colour, artificial flavour), glucose-fructose, vegetable oil (canola, soybean, modified palm and palm kernel, sunflower), dried coconut, defatted soy flour, whey protein, baking soda, salt, dried whole egg, natural and artificial flavour.

Analysis: I think I am challenged with this cookie on a couple of fronts.

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Whole grain means healthy – right?

May 2nd, 2012   dougie_c   No comments
whole-grains-3-lancastria

With dietary guidelines encouraging people to include sources of whole grains in their diet, food manufacturers have jumped on board by using health claims, nutrient content claims and other nutrition information on food labels, but what does it mean when a product states that it’s made with ‘whole grains’, ‘whole wheat’ or ‘multi-grain’ or is a source of ‘whole grains’ as in the case of  Froot Loops and Lucky Charms? Is a refined breakfast cereal with loads of added sugar, artificial colours and flavours healthy and can it considered a valid way of getting more whole grains?

According to the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s website, whole grains, as defined by The American Association of Cereal Chemists International (AACC) “consist of intact, cracked, or flaked caryopsis [grain], whose principal components – the starchy endosperm, germ and bran – are present in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact caryopsis”.

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  • Doug’s Philosophy

    I'm on a journey of revisiting most of what I've held to be true. Having been educated and trained in a traditional hospital internship, I now appreciate that there are many valuable voices and perspectives to be considered in the field of nutrition, and that no one body of experts has all the answers. I am willing to take a stance even if it doesn't mean 'towing the party line'. I strive to be a free thinker versus running with the pack. Likes: coffee, sarcasm, red meat, blueberries, Brussels sprouts, eggs, organic butter, 90% dark chocolate, authenticity, french fries & coconut milk/oil/dried flakes. Dislikes: arrogance, phony bologna & other soy analogues, margarine, skim milk, cooked mushrooms, liver, decaffeinated anything, nutrition professionals who don't walk the walk & chocolate ice cream.
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