Fitness Food and You

There are so many “milks” out there nowadays. It’s confusing so I thought I’d simplify this for you if you were trying to figure out what to drink.

Milk is a great source of carbohydrate (coming from lactose, the milk sugar) and protein. It also has various amounts of fat in it, depending upon which one you choose. (Non-fat, 1%, 2% or whole.) But what makes milk special is that it has 8 grams of protein per cup. This is even more protein than what you would find in one cooked egg. Not bad.

Almond, rice, coconut and soy milk are non-dairy alternatives. Many people choose these if they don’t like milk, are vegetarians/vegans and don’t drink anything from an animal, or are sensitive to dairy products.

Almond, rice, and coconut can’t compare to milk when it comes to protein—they vary slightly in carbs and fat, but they all have a mere 1 g of protein per cup. They are all fortified with and same, if not more, Vitamin A, D and calcium as regular milk.

Soy milk is in a different league because unlike almond, rice and coconut milk, it is higher in protein—it has 6 grams per cup. Therefore, it’s much closer to milk in terms of protein. Soy has a unique flavor that some people find hard to get used to.

So if you’re looking for a milk alternative, give these a try but remember—they’re not equal substitutes nutritionally. If you’re looking to match milk’s protein level, try soy. If protein is not an issue for you but find that milk gives you some gastrointestinal disturbances, try almond, rice or coconut. They all have distinct flavors–I’m sure you’ll find one that you like.

My favorite it almond.

What’s with me? I keep talking about protein. That’s because everywhere I go I see people eating very large portions of protein. Protein is a great nutrient but we don’t need so much of it.

I just want to show you how protein adds up. You might be surprised.

Let’s just quickly review. We calculate our protein needs  (to prevent a deficiency) by taking our body weight in kilograms and multiplying it by .8 grams. So, we would calculate the protein needs of  a 140 lb woman as follows:
140/2.2 = 63.6 kg x .8 g = 51 grams of protein.

Here we go………

Breakfast:

½ cup oatmeal:                           5 g

1 cup skim milk:                          8 g

½ cup blueberries:                    .5 g

1 oz walnuts (about 14 halves): 4 g

Total for Breakfast:    17.5 g

Snack:

low fat Greek yogurt:                  20 g   

Lunch:

large toss salad (about 3 cups)

with chopped vegetables

with olive oil and vinegar:             2 g

½ cup chickpeas:                            6 g

1 multigrain flat bread:                 9 g

1 large apple:                                   1 g

Total for lunch:                             18 g

Snack:

air popped pop-corn (3 cups)      3 g

Dinner:
I actually don’t even have to include a detailed list of dinner. With just breakfast and lunch and two snacks, I already hit 58.5 grams of protein, which is already 7.5 grams over my target. And there were no eggs for breakfast and no giant sandwich for lunch! If this person ate a mere 3 ounces of chicken for dinner (very few people actually eat only 3 ounces), we can tack on another 27 grams bumping up our number to 85.5 grams and I haven’t even included vegetables or grains. See what I mean?

Protein is found in vegetables, legumes, nuts, grains and dairy products—not just in meat. If you eat these other nutrients, you WILL get enough protein to thrive.

Bottom line………it all adds up!

Now here’s something interesting. People think chickpeas are “fattening”. After I posted my chickpea salad recipe, I got a few comments about my favorite legume. So, I figured I’d shed some light on chickpeas.

Nutritionally speaking, chickpeas have protein, fat and carbohydrates. For ½ cup of chickpeas, there are 2 grams of fat, which is less than the amount of fat you will find in 3 ounces of chicken breast. Plus, the fat in chickpeas is completely unsaturated. Not the case with chicken.

There are 6 grams of protein in ½ cup of chickpeas. This is same amount of protein you will find in 3/4 cup of milk.

There are 20 grams of carbohydrates in ½ cup of chickpeas. Don’t let that scare you—that’s equivalent to 1.3 ounces of whole grain bread—a decent slice. However, chickpeas are loaded with fiber. There are 7 grams of fiber in ½ cup, which means that they will really fill you up.

I think the chickpea discrimination is due to the association with hummus. Hummus is another story. Yes, it’s made with chickpeas. However, hummus also contains tahini, which is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. Tahini is similar to peanut butter—1 tablespoon has 100 calories and 9 grams of fat—it’s very calorie dense. One half cup of humus has twice the calories of chickpeas and 5 times the amount of fat. Plus, we often dip things in hummus and lose track of how much we’re actually eating. There in lies the danger.

You can roast chickpeas in the oven, make them into a salad or even toss them onto a salad. Bottom line: Chickpeas are a healthy, tasty legume–don’t be afraid of them!

The glycemic index can be a helpful tool in understanding how carbohydrates affect blood sugar. Here’s how it works: Carbohydrates, which break down into glucose,  are given a number based on a scale from 1-100. Higher values mean a quicker rise in blood sugar and lower values mean a slower rise in blood sugar.

Remember–carbohydrates are not just bread, pasta and cereal. They are also starchy and non-starchy vegetables, fruit, and milk. Some carbs will break down slower (these are more desirable) while others break down much faster.

Let’s look at a quick example: Cherries have a score of 22 whereas watermelon has a score of 72. Both are fruit, and yet they react very differently in the body.

In general, high fiber foods will have a much lower score because fiber slows down the absorption of sugar.

The problem with the glycemic index is that it doesn’t tell the whole story. People associate low glycemic foods as being “healthy”. A Snickers Bar has a low score of 55. Does that mean we should head for the vending machine? Of course not. The reason for this low score is because a Snickers Bar is loaded with fat. Like fiber, fat will slow down the absorption of sugar.

So be careful when looking at this index. (You can find a variety of indexes on-line.) It does not tell us the caloric value of foods, which is key in losing weight.

The glycemic index IS a good tool but it’s certainly not the “end all, be all”.