HRT-Free Perimenopause Linked To Less Breast Cancer Rates!

When the landmark study (Women's Health Initiative trial) hit the news waves in 2002 with the shocking results that there were elevated health risks among hormone replacement therapy users, including breast cancer and stroke...I wrote a book about how to get through perimenopause WITHOUT resorting to hormone replacement therapy (The Change of Life Diet and Cookbook).

I wanted to show women that they had other options for finding comfort from the various and sundry menopausal symptoms. I wrote it for women who, like myself, would soon be entering that next (hormonally driven) right of passage. My mom is a breast cancer survivor and so I am personally unwilling to go the HRT route.

Writing this book right after this first landmark study was released was a bit like going out on a limb. But my heart told me this was the right thing to do!

But guess what, folks? Researchers at Kaiser Permanente reported (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, August 1, 2007 99 (15): 1152-1161) a drop in breast cancer rates from 2003 to 2004 that parallels a decrease in women's use of hormone therapy beginning in 2002. This decline is even more significant because it cannot be explained by mammography screening rates (which remained stable during this time).

• Hormone replacement therapy use went down (menopausal hormone therapy dispensings increased from 1988 to 2002 and then dropped by 75%)


• Breast cancer rates went down


• Mammography rates remained the same


• In women aged 45 years and older, age-adjusted incidence of breast cancer (mainly estrogen receptor- positive) increased from the early 1980s through 2001, then dropped by 18% from 2003 through 2006.

Well, what do you know! We are on to something here, ladies - and this is definitely great news.

NOTE: Currently health officials advise women to take HRT only when needed and for as short a period as possible.

Related Topics:

• FDA Goes After 'Natural' HRT Claims
• Hormone Replacement Therapy: Where Are We Now?

Technorati Tags: menopause, perimenopause, HRT, healthy diet

Taste Test Tuesday: 100% Whole Wheat Boboli

Over the years I've used Boboli (partially baked and ready to use) pizza crust occasionally to test various and sundry appetizer and entrée recipes that call for it. You can't say it isn't super easy and convenient! You can keep it in your refrigerator just in case you need an impromptu dinner or snack in the coming weeks.

But I've often thought, "I would love this convenient crust even more if it was whole-wheat or part whole wheat." Well, someone heard me because Boboli now comes in a 100% whole wheat version. If you eat 1/5th of the shell, which is definitely do-able as an entrée, you add 5 grams of fiber to your meal total!

The crust holds up very nice as it bakes and if you like whole wheat or part whole wheat bread products, you will love this product.

As you read through the list of ingredients, you'll come to the first ingredient, which is whole-wheat flour (awesome) and then the second ingredient - water (okay), and then the third ingredient - palm oil (what?). This is where that 1.5 grams of saturated fat is probably coming from. Do I wish they were using canola or olive oil? Absolutely!Is buying the whole wheat crust, even with the 1.5 grams of saturated fat, better than a lot of the other convenient pizza products out there? Most likely.

1/5th shell (57 grams) =

150 calories
6 g protein
27 g carbohydrate
5 g fiber
3 g fat
1.5 g saturated fat (0 g trans)
0 mg cholesterol
200 mg sodium

First 5 ingredients:

1. Whole-wheat flour
2. Water
3. Palm oil (this is where the saturated fat is coming from)
4. Polydextrose
5. Yeast

Related Topics:

• Time for an Oil Change?
• Tips for Reaping the Benefits of Whole Grains

Technorati Tags: Taste Test Tuesday, Boboli, pizza crust, whole wheat, fats, healthy diet

Sports Drinks: How Much Caffeine Do They Have?

I was shocked last month when I was reading labels on sports/energy drinks (for an article I was writing) that most didn't have the milligrams of caffeine anywhere on the package. I searched for it, trust me. At first I thought it was my 40-something eyes failing to see the small print. But I pulled out my reading glasses and confirmed this lack of labeling.

What I did find out while reading the ingredient list on these cans/bottles is that pretty much the advertising term 'energy' on drink packaging is synonymous with 'caffeine.'

Apparently food companies are only required to list the caffeine content if the caffeine is added as an actual added ingredient, like it is to many energy drinks, instead of as a component in another added ingredient like tea extract or an herb.

I know some of you are probably saying, who cares how much caffeine is in it, bring it on! But take it from me, the amount of caffeine could be a problem to someone sensitive to its stimulant effects (I'm thinking people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome or people with a tendency toward low blood sugar after the caffeine surge, etc.) Enviga, for example, has around 67 milligrams of caffeine, AMP Energy has 71 milligrams and Red Bull has 80.

Just thought you should know...

Related Topics:

• Pros and Cons of the Caffeine Craze
• Chocolate Milk: The New Sports Drink?

Technorati Tags: sports drinks, energy drinks, caffeine, healthy diet

Taste Test Tuesday: Oscar Mayer Chicken Breast Strips

Southwestern Seasoned

It happens every now and then--you need to buy some chicken that is already cooked and ready to go. No baking, no shredding. You can find this in a 6-ounce package near the cold cut section by Oscar Mayer. This checken is fully cooked and ready to eat/use.

The Southwestern seasoned chicken strips are nicely spicy and surprisingly they look and taste appealing. They are pretty high in sodium so make sure you only add these strips to dishes that aren't also high in sodium. If the recipe you are adding them to calls for added salt, you could probably delete it and it will still taste nicely seasoned!

One 3-ounce serving =

110 calories
22 g protein
less than1 g carbohydrate
0 g fiber
1.5 g fat
1 g saturated fat
55 mg cholesterol
690 mg sodium

First 2 ingredients: (product contains less than 2% of the rest of the ingredients)

1. Chicken breast meat
2. Water

Related Topics:

• WebMD Video: Portion Sizes
• Eating Out on a Low-Sodium Diet

Technorati Tags: Taste Test Tuesday, Oscar Mayer chicken breast strips, healthy diet

Edamame Is Safe To Eat!

Photo Credit: Tammy Green

Some people worry that eating edamame isn't good for us because we aren't cooking it very long. They think that the short cooking time does not eliminate the enzyme that inhibits digestion of proteins.

I'm here to tell you, open that bag of shelled edamame! Continue to peel those pods (if you like buying edamame with their shells). In case you haven't come across these mild flavored green soybeans, they are available in the frozen section with or without their shells. They need only brief cooking and are completely different from dried mature soybeans, which must be soaked and cooked until tender. It seems the enzyme that can inhibit protein digestion doesn't even "turn-on" until the bean is completely matured. Plus, edamame beans are blanched right after harvest at high temperatures that inactivate various enzymes that might cause digestive disruption.

Dr. Lester Wilson, University Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Iowa State University, has been quoted as saying that "the frozen edamame available in supermarkets and restaurants has been blanched before freezing and is reheated before serving (usually several minutes in the microwave). This heating inactivates or denatures the SBTI (soy bean trypsin inhibitor) that might otherwise bind with the trypsin enzyme and interfere with protein absorption."

Wilson goes on to explain that, while a tiny amount of trypsin inhibitors may remain, there's not enough to cause any harm. In fact, a tiny amount of trypsin may act as an anti-cancer compound.

Here are my favorite ways to use edamame:

• Add to fried rice (the lower fat version in my book, FRY LIGHT, FRY RIGHT!) instead of peas
• Add to scrambled eggs
• Add to green salad instead of kidney beans
• Puree with avocado to make guacamole
• Add to canned or homemade soups
• I like to eat them as a snack by themselves too!

Related Topics:

• The Secret of Edamame
• Chefs' Secrets for Healthier Cooking

Technorati Tags: edamame, soy, healthy diet

Taste Test Tuesday: Silk Soymilk Plus Omega-3 DHA

Over the years I have definitely enjoyed tasting the various Silk soymilk products. They seem to have a way of making soymilk actually taste pretty good. One of their new soymilks has omega-3s added. You know I'm big on smart fats and working them in any way I can (via fish twice a week, ground flaxseed, higher omega-3 eggs, etc.)

This could potentially be one more way of getting them! The carton says an 8-ounce cup contains 400 milligrams of omega-3s. That's certainly not as good as eating a serving of salmon, but it's better than nothing and certainly a step in the direction of getting more beneficial omega-3s! The ingredient list shows flax oil as the 5th ingredient and DHA Alagal Oil (DHA derived from algae) as the 8th ingredient. So my next question was, how much ALA (omega-3s from plants) was part of those 400 milligrams and how much was DHA (the longer chain omega-3 famous for being in fish)?

The WhiteWave website cites the product as having 370 milligrams of the ALA type and 32 milligrams of the DHA type. So it's still a good thing to get those fish servings with 4 ounce servings getting you more in the 3,000 milligrams of omega-3 ballpark, but if you enjoy soymilk, this is a nice way to bump up your plant omega-3s for sure and get a bit of the DHA omega-3s at the same time.
How did it taste?

The color is on the light yellow side, which might turn non-soymilk drinkers off, but it doesn't faze me since I mostly consume soymilk in my coffee and in my hot or cold cereal. For you though, I drank it straight to test out the taste and it was very nice. That may have something to do with the other top 5 ingredients (organic soymilk, organic evaporated cane juice, calcium carbonate, natural flavors, and the 5th ingredient was flax oil).

1 cup of the milk =

110 calories
7 grams protein
8 grams carbohydrate
5 grams fat
.5 grams saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
1 g fiber
120 mg sodium

Drinking this milk is a bit like taking a vitamin supplement too because they fortify it with an assortment of favorites:

20% Daily Value vitamin A
35% vitamin C
35% calcium
30% vitamin D
20% vitamin E
And more!

Related Topics:

• Good Fat, Bad Fat: The Facts About Omega-3
• Painless Ways to Add Soy to Your Diet

Technorati Tags: Taste Test Tuesday, soy milk, Silk, omega 3, DHA, healthy diet

Where's There's Trans, There's Usually Saturated Fat

I was doing research for a fast food article for WebMD - thumbing through chart after chart of fast food items and their nutrition content, and was excited and horrified to find that many had the trans fat content listed. I was excited because this was the only way I could see which items still had trans and which items didn't. I was horrified because some fast food chains still have quite a bit of trans fats in certain items.

But one thing became quite clear as I looked at the items that still had trans fat - where there is trans fat, there is usually saturated fat too. Add them together and you've got the total of the less desirable fats or "bad" fats. This is true for items in the supermarket too, but here are just a few examples from fast food:

• Arby's Apple or Cherry Turnover contains 6 grams of trans fat and 5 grams of saturated fat
• Arby's Cinnamon Twist contains 4 grams of trans fat and 5 grams of saturated fat
• KFC's Chicken Pot Pie contains 14 grams of trans fat and 15 grams of saturated fat
• Long John Silver's Crispy Chicken Club Salad contains 6.5 grams trans and 9 grams saturated fat
• McDonald's small French fries contain 3.5 grams trans and 2.5 grams saturated fat
• Chick-a-fil's Fudge Nut Brownie contains 2.5 grams trans and 3.5 grams saturated fat

You get the picture!

Related Topics:

• The Skinny on Fat: Good Fats vs. Bad Fats
• Make Your Own Fast Food

Technorati Tags: fast food, fats, trans fat, saturated fat, healthy diet

Taste Test Tuesday: Kashi Oat Flakes & Wild Blueberry Clusters Cereal

It just sounds good - oat flakes with wild blueberry clusters - but then you notice that the front of the cereal box reads:

• Can help reduce cholesterol (1 grams soluble fiber from oats)


• Can help support healthy arteries (6 natural antioxidants including green tea, white tea & grape seed)


• Can help promote healthy blood pressure (low sodium)

This cereal is part of Kashi's "Heart to Heart" line of breakfast cereals and since they make my husband's favorite type of cereal (Kashi Go Lean Crunch), it was definitely worth a try.

The first ingredient is impressive, oat bran, and the other 4 top ingredients are: rice, evaporated cane juice crystals, whole grain rolled oats, kashi seven whole grains & sesame blend (whole oats, hard red winter wheat, long grain brown rice, triticale, rye, barley, buckwheat, sesame seeds).

A cup of cereal adds up to:

200 calories
6 grams protein
42 grams carbohydrate (13 grams sugar)
4 grams fiber
2.5 grams fat
.5 grams saturated fat (0 g trans fat)
130 mg sodium

And like many breakfast cereals, this cereal adds some vitamins and minerals into the mix. The cereal adds in some vitamin E (100% daily value), vitamin C (50% daily value), B6 and B12 (100% Daily Value for each), Iron and zinc (10% of each), beta carotene (25% Daily Value for vitamin A), and folic acid (100% Daily Value).

I like that there is some protein and fiber in the cereal - I try to eat breakfasts with at least 5 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber.

How did it taste? Definitely sweet enough for me and I liked the crunch from the clusters and the oat flakes. I enjoyed my bowl of cereal with some soy milk (which adds protein) and it was nicely satisfying.

Related Topics:

• Choosing a Healthy Breakfast Cereal
• Eat Cereal, Weigh Less

Technorati Tags: Taste Test Tuesday, Kashi, cereal, healthy diet