Pastabilities from Nutrition Action

How to Find a Super Sauce: available at http://www.cspinet.org/nah/articles/pastabilities.html
by Jayne Hurley and Bonnie Liebman, September 2011PrintShare .

Quick. Cheap. Convenient. It’s no surprise that pasta is one of the most popular meals in homes (and at restaurants). That jar or tub of tomato, Alfredo, or pesto sauce is partly what makes pasta so easy. Yet picking a sauce can be anything but. Which has less salt? Less sugar? Little or no saturated fat? More flavor? Which claims on the label matter and which are just marketing blather? Here’s what you need to know.

Information compiled by Zahra Hassanali and Melissa Pryputniewicz.

1. Check the serving size.
Prego Heart Smart Ricotta Parmessan. Built-in cheese. Just missed an Honorable Mention.
The serving on Nutrition Facts labels is typically a half cup if it’s a red (tomato) sauce and a quarter cup if it’s an Alfredo or pesto. But watch out.

Companies like Le Grand, Sauces 'n Love, and Scarpetta use two level tablespoons (an eighth of a cup) for their pestos, and Whole Foods uses two tablespoons for its Mama’s Pesto and just one tablespoon for its 365 Basil Pesto. Seriously? One tablespoon?

Even a quarter or a half cup ain't much. Why are labels allowed to give calories, sodium, etc., for so little sauce? Because it only has to cover one cup of cooked pasta, which is the official serving. That’s the size of a baseball. It's more like a side dish than an entrée. Solution: add enough veggies to bump the volume up to main-dish territory.

2. Look for less salt.
Sodium is the Achilles’ heel of pasta sauces. Unless you find a no-salt-added brand that you like (we didn’t), that half-cup serving can get a rise out of your blood pressure. Sauces vary widely, as you can see from these typical sodium levels in some popular brands:

Francesco Rinaldi ToBe Healthy Garlic & Onion. Thick and herby.
200-300 mg: Amy’s Organic Light in Sodium, Cucina Antica, Dell’Amore
300-400 mg: Francesco Rinaldi ToBe Healthy, Muir Glen Organic, Prego Heart Smart, Prego Veggie Smart, Rao’s Homemade
400-500 mg: Classico, Colavita, Emeril’s, Prego, Ragú
500-600 mg: Amy's Organic, Barilla, Bertolli, Buitoni, Francesco Rinaldi, Hunt's, Newman's Own, Ragú Robusto
See the photos on this and the next page for the best-tasting Best Bites (no more than 300 mg of sodium in every half cup), Honorable Mentions (no more than 350 mg), and near misses. Better yet, make your own pasta sauce (see p. 15 for recipes).

3. Ignore vegetable claims.
"2 servings of veggies in every ½ cup of sauce!" boast Ragú’s Chunky tomato sauce labels. "More than 2 full servings of veggies," say Prego's Veggie Smart labels. "50% of your daily vegetable recommendation."

Dell'Amore Original Recipe. Complex. Seductive. Not your average tomato sauce.
Since each quarter cup of tomato purée or sauce is a serving of vegetables, according to the Food and Drug Administration, a half cup of just about any (mostly tomato) sauce would qualify as two servings. (Veggie Smart adds some sweet potato and carrot juice concentrates, which ups the vitamin A and boosts the vegetables above two servings.)

But you'd be better off not relying on a half cup of pasta sauce to supply two of the six daily servings of veggies (plus five servings of fruit) that the healthiest diets have. Not when you could feast on a broccoli-mushroom stir-fry or a spinach-artichoke-heart salad or a grilled vegetable kabob instead.

And don't bank on the lycopene in tomato sauce to lower prostate cancer risk. Recent studies have found no lower risk of prostate cancer-especially the aggressive type-in men who have higher blood levels of lycopene.

Classico Spicy Red Pepper. Not too spicy, with a pleasant sweet/tart balance.

4. Ignore "no sugar added" claims.
“No sugar added” is showing up on a growing list of sauce labels, from Bobby D’s, Cucina Antica, and Mario Batali to Patsy’s, Prego Veggie Smart, and Ragú Light. The less added sugar, the better. But a serving of most red sauces has only about 4 grams (one teaspoon) of added sugar, plus another 3 or 4 grams of sugar that occurs naturally in the tomatoes. If you have to choose between “no sugar added” and a lower-salt pasta sauce, go with less salt.

5. Don’t be swayed by “healthy” or “heart” claims."Fortified with DHA Omega 3," says the front of the Francesco Rinaldi ToBe Healthy label. Does that matter?

Rao's Homemade Arrabbiata. Fabulously spicy. Perfectly Balanced.
DHA is one of the two oils that give fish its healthy reputation (the other is EPA). If you don’t eat seafood and don’t want to take a DHA supplement, it's worth considering. But don't kid yourself. It would take just 1½ teaspoons of salmon to give you the 64 milligrams of DHA that are in a half cup of ToBe Healthy.

Prego Heart Smart also sounds special. It's low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and it has "more than a full serving of vegetables." But so do most other tomato-based pasta sauces.

Heart Smart’s best feature is its sodium (360 mg). You can find lower levels in fabulous premium sauces like Dell'Amore and Cucina Antica. But they’ll cost you two to three times as much.

6. Watch the saturated fat.
It doesn't matter if a pasta sauce has cheese or sausage or if it's bolognese (meat-based). As long as it’s red-and isn't a (creamy) vodka or rosa sauce-you shouldn’t have to worry about saturated fat.

Colavita Garden Style. Bright, fresh flavor with plenty of veggies..
Vodka, rosa, and Alfredo sauces, on the other hand, can have enough cream, cheese, and/or butter to do some damage. A half cup of vodka sauce, for example, ranges from a harmless 1½ grams of sat fat to 11 grams (half a day’s worth). Most fall between two and six grams. (Those at the lower end don't contain much cream.) Unfortunately, Colavita Vodka, the only one to earn an Honorable Mention, didn’t win any taste awards.

The saturated fat numbers on Alfredo labels look similar to the numbers on vodka labels: three to six grams per serving. But a serving of Alfredo sauce is a quarter cup, while a serving of vodka sauce is a half cup. So if you eat a half cup of Buitoni’s Alfredo, for example, you'll end up with 14 grams of sat fat and 280 calories. Pour it on a cup of pasta (200 calories), and it’s like eating a Quarter Pounder with Cheese. A half cup of Whole Foods refrigerated Alfredo sauce dumps 26 grams of sat fat-more than a day's worth-into your lap.

7. Go easy on the pesto.
A traditional pesto-made with basil, extra-virgin olive oil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and garlic-packs 200 to 400 calories, 400 to 800 milligrams of sodium, and three to six grams of saturated fat in every quarter cup. While pesto's fat largely comes from heart healthy oils and nuts (exception: cream supplies most of the three grams of sat fat in Sauces 'n Love Pink Pesto), there’s little you-or your hips or blood pressure-can do about the calories and sodium. Tip: stretch your pesto by thinning it with a couple of tablespoons of the pasta cooking water. You'll use less...and it will coat the pasta better.

8. Don’t fall for extra-virgin olive oil claims.

Dell'Amore Artichoke & Capers. A subtle, satisfying, delicious sauce.
"Made with extra virgin olive oil," say the labels on many Newman’s Own pasta sauces. First of all, there's very little oil in jarred tomato sauce, so the kind of oil probably doesn’t matter. Second, some of the Newman’s Owns that make the claim-the Five Cheese, Marinara, Mushroom Marinara, and Roasted Garlic & Peppers, for example-have more soybean oil than olive oil. (In fact, they have more salt than olive oil.)

In contrast, Bertolli and Eden Organic use only olive oil. So do Amy's Organic, DeLallo, Dell'Amore, Gia Russa, Lucini, Mario Batali, Muir Glen Organic, Sauces 'n Love, Scarpetta, and Victoria. And none of their labels brag about it.

9. Pour your sauce over whole-grain pasta.

Mario Batali Tomato Basil. Quality tomatoes and fresh basil make for a winner.
A cup of white pasta is a decent source of protein (7 grams) and fiber (2½ grams). But whole wheat pasta beats white hands down. While it has no more protein, it delivers more fiber (6 grams per cup), magnesium, vitamin E, and zinc...and has a more interesting taste. And brands like Bionaturae Organic and Whole Foods 365 have found a way to make 100 percent whole wheat pasta that isn't gritty or gummy.

If you can't find those brands, look for Barilla Whole Grain, which is 51 percent whole wheat, or (grittier-tasting) Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Grain, which is 54 percent whole wheat. (Kudos to Barilla for putting the percentage right on the front of the box. We had to call Ronzoni to find out.) Barilla wouldn't tell us what percentage of the grain in its Barilla Plus is whole. But it contains more semolina (refined wheat) than anything else.

If you're on a gluten-free diet, try one of Lundberg's Brown Rice Pastas.

10. Follow your taste buds, but don’t forget your pocketbook.
The two knockout pasta sauces—Rao's and Dell'Amore-are expensive ($7 to $10 a bottle) for a reason. They use the highest-quality ingredients, and they're simmered for far longer than most other sauces. But don't ignore the other brands pictured on pages 12 and 13. They're all worth a taste. You may find one you love...and save a bundle.
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This article is reprinted from the December issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter. To view the full content click below.

CDC report finds people live longer if they practice one or more healthy lifestyle behaviors

Healthy behaviors include not smoking, eating well, getting regular exercise and limiting alcohol consumption

People can live longer if they practice one or more healthy lifestyle behaviors – not smoking, eating a healthy diet, getting regular physical activity, and limiting alcohol – according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During the study period, people who engaged in all four healthy behaviors were 63 percent less likely to die early, compared to people who did not practice any of the behaviors. Not smoking provided the most protection from dying from all of the causes examined.

“If you want to lead a longer life and feel better, you should adopt healthy behaviors– not smoking, getting regular physical activity, eating healthy, and avoiding excessive alcohol use,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.”

People who engaged in all four healthy behaviors were 66 percent less likely to die early from cancer, 65 percent less likely to die early from cardiovascular disease, and 57 percent less likely to die early from other causes compared to people who did not engage in any of the healthy behaviors.

The study, “Low Risk Lifestyle Behaviors and All-Cause Mortality: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III Mortality Study,” is published online today by the American Journal of Public Health at http://ajph.aphapublications.org/first_look.dtl.

Researchers analyzed data from CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III Mortality Study, a mortality follow-up of NHANES III survey participants aged 17 years and older who were recruited from 1988 to 1994 and followed through 2006.

The researchers defined low-risk health behaviors as never smoking, eating a healthy diet, moderate intensity or vigorous intensity physical activity, and moderate alcohol consumption. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, men should drink no more than two drinks per day; women, one drink per day.

Among people in the CDC study, 47.5 percent had never smoked, 51 percent were moderate drinkers, 39.3 percent had a healthy diet, and 40.2 percent were adequately physically active. The percentage of people who reported low-risk behaviors did not differ significantly by gender. Mexican-Americans had more healthy behaviors compared to whites and African-Americans.

The authors noted the challenges in encouraging a large percentage of the U. S. population to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Although studies have shown only a small percentage of people have adopted all of these healthy lifestyle behaviors, significant progress has been made in decreasing the rate of people who smoke. This study adds to the mounting evidence of the substantial gain in life associated with healthy behaviors, and underscores the need for the clinical and public health communities to work together to promote greater adoption of these behaviors.

For more information about CDC’s efforts to promote healthy lifestyles visit www.cdc.gov/tobacco, www.cdc.gov/alcohol, and www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao.

Support Group Monday at 6 pm: The "Marathon" Journey of Weight Loss

Support Group is Monday at 6 pm. We will be reviewing and discussing "The Marathon Journey of Weight Loss Surgery" by Warren Huberman, PhD. The article can be found here

http://www.wlslifestyles.com/all-blogs/warren-l-huberman-phd/20090607556/the-marathon-journey-of-weight-loss-surgery.php

I look forward to seeing everybody there and having a great and beneficial discussion.

Stand Up For Your Health -- Physiologists And Microbiologists Find Link Between Sitting And Poor Health

June 1, 2008 ScienceDaily -- Physiologists analyzing obesity, heart disease, and diabetes found that the act of sitting shuts down the circulation of a fat-absorbing enzyme called lipase. They found that standing up engages muscles and promotes the distribution of lipase, which prompts the body to process fat and cholesterol, independent of the amount of time spent exercising. They also found that standing up uses blood glucose and may discourage the development of diabetes.


To view the rest of the article and video click here or cut and paste the link into your browser.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/0610-stand_up_for_your_health.htm

Body Image: How much do we let it impact our lives

This weekend I happened to put on The Kardashians. In the particular episodes I watched, the family was going on vacation to celebrate the 20th wedding anniversary of Bruce and Kris Jenner. Instead of embracing this noteworthy occasion, Kris Jenner obsessed on how she hated her body, comparing herself to their twenty-something yaer old daughters. Granted the exaggerated reaction may have been coaxed by show producers, but there was some truth to her experience and distain with her physical appearance. The show aired a beautiful woman, who was maybe a size 4 or 6 and obviously does not struggle with obesity, publically barrage herself for the way she looked; letting let it overshadow a monumental life event. This made me think, “How many of us permit a distorted perception of ourselves to negatively impact life?”

A quote by Dr. Joyce Nash in Thin for Life by Anne Fletcher has always stood out to me, “When you find yourself at the pearly gates, God forbid that you should say to St. Peter when he asks you what you did with your life, ‘I watched my weight.’” The question I pose to you is what do you want your life to be filled with? Enjoying and savoring the moments that define life or permitting your perceived faults overshadow or diminish the experience.

There are many ways to define our lives other than weight or looks, but sadly the later has become the cultural and personal norm. When friends get together, particularly females, they discuss weight, wrinkles, and body image. The obsession with the “ideal” body image can be found on TV, magazines that circle cellulite of perfectly normal celebrities, and advertisements for hair replacement, Botox or other age delaying products.

Over the years, I have worked with many individuals who have lost weight and are unable to embrace themselves at a new body weight, continually obsessing and engaging in negative self talk. Sadly, negative self talk becomes “normal,” and is a very difficult habit to shed.

Why wait to be the perfect size to enjoy life and accept yourself? Catch yourself engaging in negative self talk to raise awareness of how often you do it. When you notice it creeping into your thoughts or words, replace your thoughts with more positive affirmations. Wage war against negativity and poor body image. Surround yourself with positive people and individuals who are likeminded.

To be honest, I should be ashamed of myself for not turning off a show that conveys the message that self hated, in regards to body image, is acceptable and normal. Take a moment to reflect on your thoughts on personal image, if how you perceive yourself affects life, and if the culture helps define “ideal” or “normal” for you. Then consider “catching” yourself when negative self talk creeps in and redirect your thoughts to a more positive and accepting statement.