2014 Food & Fitness Trends!

Getting fit, losing weight and feeling great are always top priorities for the New Year. How we achieve these goals is constantly evolving to fit our busy, eclectic lifestyles. 

Here are a few of the top food and fitness trends for 2014!

Clean Eating. I don’t mean practicing food safety like washing your greens, the idea behind Clean Eating is to eat foods in their “whole” state. With increased awareness of frankenfood (GMOs) or fake foods, people are paying more attention to what they put in their bodies rather than just looking at calories and grams of fat. This means staying away from processed/refined foods and additives like artificial chemicals (i.e. artificial sweeteners), flavors and preservatives. Next time you have a meal, ask yourself: Is this food or foodstuff? 

Farm-to-Table. Following in the footsteps of the clean eating approach, choosing cleaner, sustainable, exotic meats (like goat and rabbit that come from small-scale producers) as well as seasonal produce from local farmers offers a new feel-good approach to eating. A few of my favorite farm-to-table restaurants in NYC are Rosemary’s (don’t forget to visit the rooftop garden that supplies their kitchen!), Roberta’s in Bushwick, Brooklyn (where I had my wedding reception—oh yeah, ahead of the trend!) and Blue Hill NY (you can also visit their farm).

Promoting Healthy Gut Bacteria. It’s just not enough to take away foods that may be bad for your gut, i.e. the Standard American Diet (appropriately called SAD); we also have to promote a happy gut. The hundreds of trillions of bacteria (or lack thereof) may predispose us to obesity and a whole range of inflammatory chronic diseases including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and perhaps cancer. Eating foods high in fiber such as whole grains, vegetables, fruit (not just supplements), fermented sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, yogurt, kombucha and kefir increase our microbial diversity and keep our gut healthy.

Egg Yolks Are Back! Woohoo! Blood cholesterol (aka having high cholesterol) is strongly affected by saturated fat, but not so much by dietary cholesterol. So, unless you are at particularly high risk for cardiovascular disease, there is no need to shun the egg yolk! This awesome whole food is loaded with choline associated with brain health; lutein and zeaxanthin two antioxidants particularly great for eye health and vitamin D, a vitamin that most Americans highly lack.

Fishy Fish. I get it; most people have a love hate relationship with anchovies and sardines. But there is no denying these fish are really good for you. They are extremely high in omega-3 fatty acids, amazing for your skin, hair and heart. In addition, they are chockfull of calcium and vitamin D. They are also on the bottom of the seafood chain, so they are naturally low in mercury and PCBs. If you are interested in the canned fish experience, check out Maiden Lane in the East Village. If you’re not sure what to order, try their excellent fish board!

Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts. I will be talking more about these amazing vegetables in later posts, but for now, all I can say is—eat them. These cruciferous super vegetables are incredibly beneficial to your health, versatile and go well with just about anything.

Express Workouts. High intensity interval training (HIIT) involves short bursts of exercise with brief recovery breaks. Jenn Hamlin, a group fitness instructor at NYHRC, describes Tabata, a specific form of HIIT, as the perfect New York workout. “It enhances your athletic performance activating both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems and spikes your caloric expenditure while decreases body fat in the shortest amount of time!” It’s an efficient method of training that still gives you time to grab lunch. 

Corporate Wellness. Ask about Worker Incentive Programs. These are part of employer-based health promotion programming and health care benefits. They are becoming very popular and many businesses offer them. Imagine how quickly you would achieve your goals if you also paired it with nutrition counseling!

What trend are you looking forward to trying out in 2014?

Written by Alanna Cabrero, MS, RD, CDN  

References:

Fitness Trends 2014: 20 Popular Workouts For The Year Ahead. Huffpost Living. 

2014 Nutrition trends and their nutrition benefits. Rachel Begun.  

The Top 8 Healthy Food Trends for 2014. Wake Up World. 

10 Fitness and Wellness Trends of 2014. Well+Good’s

Fitness trends 2014: Zumba not the HIIT the trendspotters thought 

Exciting new fitness trends are making workouts easier. The Wellness Advisor, Fall 2013/ Winter 2014.

Edited by Tamara Cabrero 

Originally posted on NYHRC Tumblr 

Farmers’ Markets: Where You Can Find Real Food

If you are into local/real food, you’ve probably been to The Union Square Greenmarket. This wonderful market attracts around 140 regional farmers, fishermen and bakers each season, and approximately 60,000 shoppers daily! 

I am a huge fan of farmers’ markets, because even though they may not have the fancy “organic” label, the food is most assuredly grown in a greener fashion. They use natural fertilizers and cattle/chicken/pigs are allowed to roam and feed on grass, rather than force-fed corn or soy (which is probably a genetically modified organism (GMO) to boot!). 

Below are some of the reasons why I heart farmers’ markets:

Yummier. Have you ever compared the smell and taste of a grocery store tomato to a local tomato? There is no comparison. Food imported from far away is older because it has traveled so long to get to you. Also, as food expert Darya Pino Rose states, industrial produce is “bred for durability, mass production, and ease of transport,” not for taste and much less for health. Local produce quality is retained because the farmer allows foods to ripen and then harvests them at the peak of their flavor.

Healthier. Not only does fresh food tend to have higher antioxidant and phytonutrient counts, but local produce also has less pesticide residue and fewer preservatives.

Easy. USDA Farmers’ Markets Search and Grow NYC are great resources to find the farmers’ market nearest you. It’s that easy! You can also check whether food assistance programs such as SNAP and WIC cards are accepted. 

Unique. Many farmers’ markets offer lesser known fruits and vegetables, providing a variety that can be both tasty and nutritious. In most grocery stores, you find a few plant varieties, but with smaller local farms, it benefits their soil to grow many different varieties. Therefore, we reap the benefits of unique flavors, colors, and shapes! For more ideas on seasonal varieties, check out the USDA’s seasonal produce guide or the awesome seasonal chart from Grow NYC.  

Sad Statistic: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that more than 75% of agricultural genetic diversity was lost in the 20th century. Yet, small, biodiverse farms preserve our food heritage!

Safe & Smart. Not only can local farmers answer questions about the quality of their produce and how the food is raised, they also have great recommendations on ways to prepare their products. After all, they love (real) food.

Good for Humanity & the Environment. If nothing else, farmers’ markets are a way to connect to the land through the grower. Knowing where your food comes from makes for an extremely powerful experience. In addition, by selling locally, farmers reduce distribution and packaging, reducing waste as well as advertising costs. Well-managed farms conserve fertile soil and clean water in our communities. In addition, farms provide habitats for wildlife since they retain the surrounding fields and ponds.

Wow Tip: In conventional food markets, the farmer gets about 10 cents of each dollar after all the middlemen have been paid. At a local farmers’ market, farmers keep 80-90 cents of each dollar. Doesn’t that make more sense?

Tips for Visiting a Farmers’ Market:

1. Ask questions!Some of these foods are not going to be familiar, and that’s okay, but you’re never going to get acquainted if you don’t start somewhere. Ask away! 
2. Pick one or two new foods at a time. Buying too much at one time might overwhelm you and lead to food waste.
3. Buy vegetables.If cost is a concern, start with vegetables. Since fruits are more perishable and harder to transport, they are usually more expensive. Vegetables, on the other hand, are hardier.
4. The more asymmetrical, the better!Gertrude Stein declared “there are no straight lines in nature.” Usually, the less perfect a fruit/vegetable looks, the better it is for you. Consider the funky shapes of heirloom tomatoes!

How do farmers’ markets make your life better?

Pictured: Local farmers’ market in Ansouis, France. 

Originally posted on NYHRC Tumblr

References: 
Pino Rose D. Foodist: Using real food and real science to lose weight without dieting. Haper One. 2013. 
Why buy local? 10 Reasons to Buy Local Food. Grow NYC. 
Top 10 Reasons to Shop at a Farmers Market. Farmers Market. Nutrition.Gov. 

Edited by TCabrarr

The Breakdown on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)

Whole Foods has received a lot of acclaim recently for announcing that it will be the first grocery store chain in the US to require labeling for Genetically Engineered (GE) foods. But don’t run out to your local Whole Foods quite yet. This change won’t take place until 2018. 

While Whole Foods has taken an important first step toward identifying genetically modified foods in its stores with clearly marked labels, this is not a new idea. The topic was first broached as early as the 1970s. A few decades later, a member of congress tried to pass legislation requiring GMO labeling. It stated that foods that were “materially changed” should be labeled because the public had “the right to know.” The bill did not pass due to overwhelming opposition from both government and industry, including the Food & Drug Administration. Proposition 37, an initiative that would require all genetically engineered  foods be labeled, met similar resistance in November 2012. 

Why exactly all the resistance? If you ask me, the reason for the lack of transparency in marketing GMO foods is pretty simple. As stated by Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, if foods are labeled as genetically modified you may choose not to buy them, and that would have a huge negative impact on the food industry.

Another concern is the debate regarding the safety of ingesting GMOs. Genetically engineering ingredients are produced by inserting genes, generally from bacteria and viruses, into plants and animals in order to alter their genetic makeup. For instance, salmon has been engineered to grow larger and mature faster, cattle has been altered to exhibit resistance toward mad cow disease, and enzymes have been removed from tomatoes to avoid softening. 

Most studies have found that GMOs are safe and nutritionally equivalent to their non-GMO counterparts (not healthier!). However, a recent study conducted on 200 rats clearly demonstrated that higher intake levels of GMO corn (Roundup-resistant developed by Monsanto) induced severe hormone-dependent mammary, hepatic and kidney disturbances. Potential additional health risks linked to eating GM-containing foods include exposure to new allergens as well as the transfer of antibiotic-resistant genes to gut flora. Needless to say, more research remains to be done in this field. 

The lack of comprehensive labeling makes it incredibly difficult to be a smart consumer. Nonetheless, there are steps you can take to decrease your exposure to GMOs and play an active role in improving our food industry: 

• Demand the government allow labeling of GEs and GMOs
• Look for non-GMO labels
• Choose organic, especially when buying conventional corn, soybean, and canola. 90% of these products are genetically altered.
• Support smaller, local health markets instead of big industries. 

Whole Foods has taken an important step in the right direction concerning GMO and GE labeling, and hopefully others will follow. Because after all, we absolutely have the right to know what kind of food we are putting in our bodies.  

Written by Alanna Cabrero, MS, RD, CDN

References:

Assessment of the health impact of GM plant diets in long-term and multigenerational animal feeding trials: A literature review. Food and Chemical Toxicology.
Safe Food by Marion Nestle
What to Make of the Scary GMO Study? Food Safety News. 
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs): Transgenic Crops and Recombinant DNA Technology. Scitable by Nature. 
Health & Wellness. What’s the big deal about GMO foods? 

Edited by TCabrarr

Originally posted on NYHRC Tumblr