Shamrock "Not-So-Lucky" Shakes

The bright green minty sugar rush known as the Shamrock Shake has been a staple on McDonalds March Menus since the 70’s.  I know it tastes great, but in this case ignorance is NOT bliss my friends.

Yeah, "Lucky You" you get to eat all these chemicals!

The 2013 Shamrock Shake now has added whipped cream and a cherry on top, making a 22 oz Shake worth the following in nutritional cash…

820 calories

135 grams carbohydrates

18 grams protein

23 grams fat (15 saturated, 1 trans)

and 260 mg of sodium

Along with the 800+ calorie hit, we are getting quite a few chemicals!  See red for the most problematic.

Body of the Shake:

1. Milk
2. Sugar
3. Cream
4. Nonfat Milk Solids
5. Corn Syrup Solids – Dried corn syrup
6. Mono & Diglycerides – Emulsifying agents made from fats (may be animal or vegetable derived) by releasing a fatty acid from a diacylglycerol.  The fat from this ingredient is not calculated towards the total you see on the label.
7. Guar Gum – The ground up endosperm of guar beans. This is another form of sugar. It helps to thicken and prevents ice crystal growth.
8. Dextrose 
9. Sodium Citrate – This is what makes “American cheese” kindof creamy and rubbery at the same time. A chemical for emulsification.
10. Artificial Vanilla Flavor – Most artifical vanilla flavor is synthesized from lignin, a chemical compound found in wood.
11. Sodium Phosphate – Salts derived from sodium hydroxide and phosphoric acid. 
12. Carrageenan – Emulsifier and stabilizer extracted from seaweed.  Causes major GI upset in animal studies and has been recommended to be avoided by many MD’s.
13. Disodium Phosphate – anti-caking additive.
14. Cellulose Gum – Thickener that may cause reaction in those with wheat intolerance.
15. Vitamin A Palmitate – Synthetic Vitamin A added back to Milk when fat is removed.

Shamrock Syrup:

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup – Created through an enzymatic process to convert glucose into the sweeter, fructose.  Making it sweeter and more addictive. Also, many health claims including the intake of HFCS in autistic kids causing loss of Zinc and increase in Copper levels in our bodies, making it harder for them to excrete heavy metals. 
2. Corn Syrup – made by treating corn starch with enzymes and/or acids. Mostly dextrose, which is another form of sugar. 
3. Water
4. Sugar
5. Natural Flavor
6. Xanthan Gum
7. Citric Acid – Emulsifying agent
8. Sodium Benzote - preservative
9. Yellow 5 – Most allergenic of all color dyes.  Phasing out of its use is being forced by the European union due to its hyperactivity effects in children.
10. Blue 1 – color dye previously banned in the European Union. May cause allergic reaction in those with pre-existing asthma conditions.

Whipped Cream:

1. Cream
2. Nonfat Milk
3. Water
4. Corn Syrup – made by treating corn starch with enzymes and/or acids. Mostly dextrose, which is another form of sugar. 
5. Sugar
6. High Fructose Corn Syrup – Created through an enzymatic process to convert glucose into the sweeter, fructose.  Making it sweeter and more addictive. Also, many health claims including the intake of HFCS in autistic kids causing loss of Zinc and increase in Copper levels in our bodies, making it harder for them to excrete heavy metals. 
7. Mono & Diglycerides – Emulsifying agents made from fats (may be animal or vegetable derived) by releasing a fatty acid from a diacylglycerol.  The fat from this ingredient is not calculated towards the total you see on the label.
8. Carrageenan – Emulsifier and stabilizer extracted from seaweed.  Has caused GI upset in several animal studies.
9. Polysorbate 80 – Emulsifier. May be harmful in people with Chrons Disease.  
10. Beta Carotene
11. Natural & Artificial Flavors – This is where a lot of things “hide”
12. Mixed Tocopherols 
13. Nitrous Oxide

Marachino Cherry:

1. Cherries
2. Water
3. Corn Syrup – made by treating corn starch with enzymes and/or acids. Mostly dextrose, which is another form of sugar. 
4. High Fructose Corn Syrup – Created through an enzymatic process to convert glucose into the sweeter, fructose.  Making it sweeter and more addictive. Also, many health claims including the intake of HFCS in autistic kids causing loss of Zinc and increase in Copper levels in our bodies, making it harder for them to excrete heavy metals. 
5. Sugar
6. Malic Acid – A sour tasting acid originally extract from green apples.
7. Citric Acid – Emulsifying agent
8. Natural & Artificial Flavorsatural & Artificial Flavors – This is where a lot of things “hide”
9. Sodium Benzote - preservative
10. Potassium Sorbate - potassium salt of sorbic acid, a naturally occurring antimicrobial compound; used as a preservative
11. Red 40 – Originally manufactured from coal tar, but now mostly petroleum. Previously banned in the European Union due to health effects in children.
12. Sulfur Dioxide

Seriously, a cherry on top should not be that complicated.  I propose a healthier St. Patties Day in 2013 – Lets make our own dang shake!

Lucky Shamrock Shake

2 cups Vanilla Ice Cream (homemade in bag or Organic)

1 cup Organic* Milk

¼ cup Organic Half & Half

½ tsp Mint (Spearmint) Extract

4 drops India Tree** Yellow Food Dye

4 drops India Tree Blue Food Dye

*I say organic because we should all be food snobs when it comes to our dairy.  There are a lot of companies that don’t treat their cows nicely, feed them genetically modified corn and shoot them with antibiotics.  So lets give the nice farmers who feed their cows grass and don’t give them unnecessary shots our money ok?

**Also, there are lots of theories that color dyes cause behavioral issues in humans and contribute to worsening symtoms with ADD/ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders, so lets stay away from the checmical food dyes and go with India Tree. They are here in Seattle (down in Ballard) and make their colors from plants.  Nice and natural.

Enjoy!
Ashley

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February Nutrition Clinic: Indulgences

Monday, February 20th, 7pm - 8pm @ The Woodmark Hotel

Come taste wine, eat chocolate and other sweet extras while learning how to incorporate these types of foods into a healthy lifestyle, whether you are maintaining weight or losing weight.

Hear tips and tricks from Ashley (Registered Dietitian) and learn the why behind our desire to use sweets and alcohol as a stress reliever from Melissa (Licensed Mental Health Therapist).

$30.00, Limited Space, Please RSVP at Crave Health

or by calling (425) 828-0100

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What's in a Peep?

By Crave Health Intern Alyssa Rieser

Easter is almost here, and the grocery stores are stocking their shelves with chocolate bunnies, Cadbury eggs and, of course, Peeps. We were curious about what the colorful, marshmallowy Peeps are made of and how much nutritional value they have. After a little bit of research, I have some answers to share with you. Here's a rundown of what you'll see on the nutrition label:

• 140 calories per five-chick serving (28 calories per chick)

• 0 grams fat

• 15 mg sodium (1% of the DV)

• 26 grams carbohydrate (12% of the DV)

• 1 gram protein (2% of the DV)

• 34 grams of sugar - that's almost 9 teaspoons of sugar!!!

While the Peeps might seem like a good indulgence because they are low in calories and have no fat, consider that they also have zero nutritional value. Providing no vitamins or minerals, the consumer is getting 'empty calories'. And that's not the worst news. These are the ingredients for the yellow chicks: sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, potassium sorbate (a preservative), artificial flavors, yellow #5 (tartrazine), and carnauba wax. These ingredients are combined to form a 'food' that is nearly indestructible. Scientists at Emory University performed experiment on Peeps to see how easily they could be destroyed using agents such as cigarette smoke, boiling water, and liquid nitrogen. It was found that these cute little confections wouldn't completely dissolve in anything, including acetone, diluted sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide. It kind of makes you wonder what happens once a Peep is in your stomach, doesn't it?

Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manual, famously gave the advice that if your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, then neither should you. Food additives and preservatives have been linked to cancer, allergic reactions, and other deleterious health effects. Corn syrup is recognized as one of our nation's top dietary contributors to the obesity epidemic. You can check the safety status of any food ingredient on the FDA's website here.

In the context of an otherwise healthy, whole foods based diet, eating a few Peeps won't cause any harm but it isn't the most nutritionally sound choice. As an alternative treat for your Easter baskets, try Annie's Organic Tropical Treat Bunny Fruit Snacks. Each snack pouch contains only 70 calories, 18 grams carbohydrate, 10 grams of sugar, and 100% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C. Another good option is dark chocolate, which contains cancer-fighting antioxidants and other phytochemicals that are beneficial to heart health and stimulate the production of endorphins (promoting an overall feeling of pleasure and well-being). Bunny ears, anyone?

Alyssa

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Revolutionary Solution to Sugar Cravings

Although seeming too good to be true, new research gives us a solution for those patients that struggle with sugar addition or the typical "sweet tooth."

April, 2010

"Researchers in Houston, TX working within NASA's abundance of laboratories have released a long awaited technology that allows the pleasure center or "reward center" of the human brain to be activated and cued without actually engaging in activities that normally trigger that euphoric release."

What does this mean for the field of health and nutrition?

One of the biggest struggles for my clients trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle is avoiding tempting foods. Most people communicate that sugar is the number one trigger food that they desire and also have trouble staying away from. Studies show that sugar can have the same effect on the human brain that heroin does, in the sense that you get that euphoric "high" and calming sensation just by eating sugar. Now the sensation isn't necessarily a bad thing, its giving in to that sensation all the time that causes weight gain over time and high sugar intake. We can build up a tolerance to sugar just like we do alcohol, and pretty soon we need 3 cookies instead of 1 and then 5 instead of 3... and the pattern continues.

This new technology in a way can trick your brain into thinking that you are in fact engaging in an activity that would normally hit that reward center, with out actually doing it. Obviously, a lot of people and companies may use this technology to sell more product or drive more consumers to their food, one of the major investors right out of the gate was Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. To better demonstrate this on a nutritional level they have used the technology within ice cream, which is now fully accessible on their website:

http://tinyurl.com/4r4axv

Let me know what you think! It might just be the future for pracitioners like me to use technology like this!

I will post more information as it becomes available for use in clinical practice.

Blessings,

Ashley

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Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Save Second Base!

Get it??

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As organizations across the United States gear up to promote early screenings and detections and new information and treatments, I want to talk about the healthy lifestyle changes that you and your loved ones can make now in order to possibly prevent Breast and other cancers in the future.

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 192, 370 women will be diagnosed with invasive forms of breast cancer in 2009, and 40,170 women will die from breast cancer this year. About 1 in 8 women in the US will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer at some point in their lives. The chance of dying from that diagnosis is about 1 in 35. However, there are a strong 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States who beat those odds and live healthy lives today! If you know a breast cancer survivor or someone struggling with breast cancer currently, one of the first things they will tell you that they changed about their lifestyle is their diet.

Nutrition is a key component to health and one of the simplest things you can change right now. As more research is done on various nutrients and the effects on gene expression, disease fighting properties and effects on cellular processes, we are learning that the phrase “you are what you eat” is so true! In cancer and breast cancer specifically there are some nutrients that you should know more about to help dispel any myths you may have heard.

1. Soy.
The controversy over soy has been debated and discussed among health care providers for a while now, and admittedly, we still have no solid answer. Regarding breast cancer specifically, the tug-o-war of soy continues. Most of the controversy comes from a study published by the University of California, San Francisco about 13 years ago in October of 1996. In that study, they gave female participants 38 grams of genistein per day for a year. (Genistein is the phytoestrogen compound found in soy, as well as other legumes. A phytoestrogen is a naturally occurring compound that binds to estrogen receptor cells in the body.) The women did not eat foods that contained genistein but were actually given isolated genistein in a supplement form. The women over that year experienced elevated levels of estradiol (the main estrogen hormone in humans) in their blood and their breast cells showed signs of stimulation and increased growth. This lead researchers to think…uh oh, does this mean it could increase breast cancer cells as well? Since then there have been numerous studies showing the protective effects soy has against breast cancer as well. The problem is – we just don’t know yet. So, in the meantime, please feel free to eat a wide variety of foods, including soy that comes from whole foods like edamame and tofu, but avoid using lots of processed products containing soy isolates if you have a family history of breast cancer.

2. Sugar.
If you’ve searched anything on the internet about cancer and nutrition, the tagline “sugar feeds cancer” almost always comes up. The issue with this statement is that it is misunderstood. In 1931 a Nobel Prize winning researcher found that malignant tumors run in a state where they use glucose as fuel and create lactic acid as a byproduct of that process. This leaves the cancerous tissues more acidic than other body tissues. This state makes the body very tired and also uses less energy from food to work. This is why about 40% of cancer patients will die from malnutrition. The process that the cancer uses for energy wastes our body’s energy. Sugar comes into play not as refined sugar eaten, but a balance of blood sugar levels in the body. If one can maintain blood sugar levels within a normal range, it’s possible to help “starve” the cancer cells while giving your body energy from the food eaten. This was proven true in a study where mice were injected with an aggressive form of breast cancer and then split into three groups, each one holding their blood sugar levels at a different range: hyperglycemic (high), normoglycemic (normal) and hypoglycemic (low). After 70 days, 8 of 24 hyperglycemic mice survived; 16 of 24 normoglycemic mice survived and 19 of 20 hypoglycemic mice survived. This suggests that regulating blood sugar levels is key to slowing breast tumor growth. Understanding the glycemic index and how to incorporate a variety of foods into your diet by pairing them properly with protein and fat intake can easily regulate your blood sugar levels. For more information on any of these topics or how to balance your own diet, talk to a Registered Dietitian near you http://eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/home_21343_ENU_HTML.htm for more specifics.


A well-balanced diet including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and the proper balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates is the best way to go when thinking about cancer and other disease prevention. Changing your diet now can change your future.


Blessings,

Ashley



References:


Santisteban GA, et al. Glycemic modulation of tumor tolerance in a mouse model of breast cancer. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1985 Nov 15;132(3):1174-9.


Quillin, P. PHD, RD, CNS. “Cancer’s Sweet Tooth” Nutrition Science News, April 2000.

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