You Can't Trust a Skinny Chef

The old saying goes you can't trust a skinny chef but, in my eyes they are the one's you want to trust. They know how to eat properly and stay healthy, something a lot of American's struggle with. Part of my job as an RD-to-be is keeping up with the latest health news. The top headline this week: Paula Deen confirms type 2 diabetes diagnosis. As a health professional I am saddened to hear another person is diagnosed with diabetes as this epidemic is booming. I would never wish diabetes on anyone but I think we could have all seen this one coming. Reading many articles and watching the clip of her on the ABC television show "The Chew" I quickly became quite angry over this situation. 


I have never been a huge fan of Paula Deen partially because each recipe she makes calls for a minimum of two sticks of butter and one cup of sugar. I felt bad for Paula Deen for about .2 seconds until this fact came to surface: she was diagnosed with diabetes THREE years ago. I can understand if she didn't want to share the news with the world three years ago but continuing to cook and encourage people to eat their way to getting diabetes really pushed my buttons. It's as if marketing herself and money was more important than the health and well being of people around the world. Last year Anthony Bourdain famously blasted Paula Deen calling her "most dangerous person to America". Sadly, I have to agree with his point of view. Now that she has confirmed her diabetes the comments continue on his twitter with "Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later" and "most dangerous person to America" who's "proud of the fact that her food is f------ bad for you." Yet again, I understand where he is coming from. 


On "The Chew" Paula Deen stated "this is not a death sentence" but unfortunately more often than not it is. Last quarter during my clinicals it was far too common to see diabetes on someones medical record as they sat in the hospital because of kidney failure or other complications caused by diabetes. Diabetes is not something to take lightly, nearly 26 million Americans have type 2 diabetes and approximately 79 million adults have prediabetes. If those numbers don't scare you, I don't know what will. Eating the food the Paula Deen proudly cooks can only contribute to this number and the numerous complications. Just to put it in perspective here is a small list of complications that can arise form uncontrolled diabetes: kidney disease, stroke, hypertension, foot complications, and eye complications. 


Deen also stated "she didn't expect people to eat her food 365 days a year". This may be true but when people find something they love they stick to it. She is already loved by so many and my hope for her coming forward is that she can now be an advocate for type 2 diabetes. She can show American's how modify recipes, keep their diabetes under control and turn their health around. 

It's All in the Shoe

As a new runner I didn't understand the importance of a good running shoe until yesterday. For the past two weeks I have been running about 15 miles a week starting out on the treadmill and then jumping to the track. Once I hit the ground my shins instantly began to sting and running those laps was a lot harder than I imagined. I chalked it up to being a newbie and pushed through the pain. I was already feeling defeated in my journey to run this 10K until I remembered something:

Here in town we have an amazing running store, Bob Ronker's Running Spot. I decided to head over there and see what they had to say. The verdict: My flat, flexible Nike Free Run's were the complete wrong shoe for my type of foot. Inherited by my mother are my small but cute, very high arched feet. Turns out that wearing flat shoes are not good for me and all the pressure goes onto my heels and arch. Apparently that is the reason my shins were hurting, all the pressure was shooting upward. I was fitted for shoes, took a short jog outside in each one and finally settled on a pair of Saucony's.




Today I was anxious to try them and boy oh boy did I instantly notice a difference. My shins never hurt and my feet felt like I was running on a cloud. I was able to run 4 miles with no problem whereas before I was struggling with 2 miles. So, for all those out there who want to start running I highly recommend finding a local running store and getting fitted for shoes. It truly does make a world of difference. I am no longer feeling defeated and can see my goal in sight.

Family History

This week I worked no 9-5 job. If there is one thing known about food service it is the early morning (or late night) hours. As my alarm went off at 5am, a nice change from 3:30am I breathed a sign of relief that it was my last day. As I said in my last post this was the dreaded rotation. Not because I do not enjoy cooking but, because of the excruciating early mornings and the painful pins and needles feeling in my feet from standing for 8 1/2 hours. I haven't done that in a while a realized I don't want to do it again. To all my fellow high school classmates, I thought you might get a kick out of this: After talked to one of the sisters for a while I told her where I went to high school she looked at me and said "well, I won't hold that against you". I began to talk to another sister she said the same thing. I asked her why and she knew a few of them (one happened to be from MND) and informed me that the Sisters of Notre Dame had a reputation of being very strict and mean, which is why she decided to become part of the Sisters of Charity.







































Today I worked the salad prep station and couldn't help but think of my family history in food service. Although I am the first one to take a 'traditional' path in nutrition, as I thought back I realized many before had the same idea. This runs in both my Mother and Father's sides of the family and, for the sake of turning this post into a novel due to my large extended family, I will only mention my grandparents, aunts and uncles. 


Let's start with my Mother's side. Her father was a restaurant manager for 7 years and then went on to own his own restaurant for 10 years. 5 out of the 10 children (including my mother) have been in the restaurant business, mainly in manager positions. On to my father's side. His grandmother (my great grandmother) worked and owned many bars in the Steubenville, OH area and was a cook for priests. My grandmother followed in her shoes for 35-40 years. She was a cook for two bishops in the Steubenville area and, for her service the bishops presented her an award from the Pope and she then went on to cook for the Priests of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. 



I had always thought I just ran into majoring in nutrition but the more I look back I realized it runs in my blood and maybe it was somehow a divine intervention. 

Dish Duty

Although most people think that the only role a dietitian has it to tell people what to eat, we wear many hats. A dietitian can work in foodservice usually in a management position. This could be in a school, hospital, prison, restaurant, business, or a motherhouse. They come up with new menus, coordinate programs, train and supervise, and so much more. 

Today marked the first day of the dreaded food service rotation. I am at the Sister's of Charity Motherhouse which is a gorgeous campus inside and out. I guess it's about time to give back to all those nun's that taught me throughout the years. I have had some experience in food service as a hostess, busser, and waitress. I absolutely loved waitressing (could have a little something to do with the instant cash) so I didn't think it would be all that bad. My duties today were to work the dish room and tray line. The dish room is exactly what you think, I washed dishes but, for the tray line I took a certain position (cold food items) and put those foods on the trays to be delivered to the nun's who can not walk to the dining area. As the day went on I was quickly reminded of all the things I did not enjoy about serving...my feet hurt, my back hurt from lifting heavy dishes, and by 1:30 I was exhausted. As the day went on I questioned what the point of this was? I didn't put in so much work for the past 4 years to be an RD and work in a dish room. At the end of the day we spoke to the RD who is the food service director and she said something that put things into perspective: The things you do this week will come back to better you in one way or another. Basically, you have to understand the fundamentals before you can do anything else. 

New Year's Resolutions

Personally, I'm not one for new year's resolutions. It always seems as if resolutions are made and a week or so later we all fall out of touch with them. For me, every minute is a new time to do something for yourself. This year I decided to change it up, set a new year's resolution, and keep it. The month of March is National Nutrition Month and every year a 5/10k run/walk is held the first Saturday. I have always walked the 5k but this year I will be running the 10k (6.2 miles). This may sound like a small goal for some but, I am not a runner. Let me repeat, I am not a runner. Not to mention it's the dead of winter so running conditions are not the best. Yoga, swimming, biking, dancing, etc. are no problem but when it comes to running you can count me out. 


I have always admired runners for the dedication and willpower it takes and desperately wished I could pop on my running shoes and run a marathon. Well, my new year's resolution is the first step to that. 8 weeks and counting until I cross that finish line. 












Here are some of my favorite tips to help keep your new year's resolution:

• Make measurable goals.  Instead of making your goal 'drink less pop', make it 'have 2 pops a day instead of 3'
• Write it down. Look at your goal every day for a reminder 
• Take baby steps. You didn't develop these habits over night so, don't expect them to go away over night. 
• Track your progress. Keep track of small successes, they will help keep you motivated in reaching the big picture. 
• Reward yourself. Treat yourself to something you love that doesn't contradict your resolution. 

Last Day

I am sad to say the last day of my clinical rotation ended yesterday but, happy to say I am off for the next 3 weeks. Well, not really...time to go back to the paying job. This week was filled with tons of patients, it seemed as if the consults never stopped rolling in. We presented our case studies on Tuesday and got rave reviews! My case study was on a patient who had a surgical complication called chylothorax. The dietitians urged me to present this as my case study because it is pretty rare. Out of the 20+ years some have been there they have only seen this twice. I had such an amazing experience in acute care that I will admit I got a little teary eyed thinking about leaving the place I have called home for the past 10 weeks. Just as you get the hang of it, it's all over.


On my last day I was fortunate enough to see a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube get place in a patient. The tube is passed into the stomach through the abdominal wall, and is used for feeding when they can't take anything by mouth. This particular patient was still able to eat by mouth but was going to be starting chemo and radiation for tongue cancer. I suspect he won't be eating much after that and will only be fed through his PEG tube. It's amazing to think that you can get fed without eating anything--the wonders of nutrition. 


your guess is as good as mine for where I'm headed for my next rotation. For now, I will enjoy my 3 weeks of relaxation and holiday festivities. 

Super Foods

We finally presented our super foods project! On Wednesday we set up a table in the cafeteria with our poster, handouts, and samples of super foods to try. The samples we gave were vanilla and strawberry yogurt topped with blueberries and walnuts and an oatmeal parfait that included oatmeal, yogurt, blueberries and walnuts. Let's just say, they all went like hot cakes! Oh, and I can't forget the dark chocolate we handed out (YES! chocolate is a super food). 

What is a super food? Foods that provide multiple disease fighting nutrients. These foods fill you up with plenty of nutrients without providing an excess amount of calories.  

There is no set list of super foods out there and different super foods come with the different seasons. We chose 12 super foods that are easy to incorporate into your everyday meals. 

• Oatmeal- A dietitians food from the gods. A complex carbohydrate that is high in fiber. It also helps lower cholesterol and supports a healthy digestive tract.
• Blueberries- You can find these in my fridge at any given time. They are high in vitamins C & E, fiber, and high in antioxidants. Blueberries have been linked to slow or even reverse many degenerative disease that are associated with aging of the brain. 
• Walnuts- Good source of protein, fiber, B vitamins, magnesium, and antioxidants. Walnuts have more omega-3 fatty acids than any other nut. 
• Yogurt- A nutrient dense food packed with protein and calcium. It Contains probiotics "good bacteria" which strengthen your immune system and support a healthy digestive tract. One cup of yogurt has 450 mg of calcium whereas a cup of milk only has 300 mg of calcium. 
• Avocado- High in monounsaturated fat (lowers LDL cholesterol-the bad cholesterol and increases HDL cholesterol- the good cholesterol). Avocado contributes to a healthy blood flow which promotes brain health and supports healthy blood pressure. 
• Beans- Beans are what I like to call 'the hidden gem'. They provide 1/4 of your daily protein and 1/2 of your daily fiber recommendations. They help stabilize glucose levels and are packed with calcium, iron, vit K, potassium, and B vitamins. They are high in antioxidants and can help lower LDL cholesterol to promote a heart healthy life (go beans!). 
• Broccoli- Nutrient dense food that boosts your immune system and has been shown to reduce the risk for cancer. It is rich in folate, B vitamins, vitamin C and potassium. 
• Salmon- High in omega-3 fatty acids which decrease the risk of heart disease. Salmon is a prime source of protein, vit A & B. Salmon improves joint health and contributes to healthy functioning of the brain and nervous system. 
• Olive oil- High in monounsaturated fats. Olive oil has been shown to lower blood pressure and promote skin integrity.
• Tea- Rich in antioxidants and can help reduce your risk of stroke and protect against skin damage from the sun. Sorry everyone, this does not include sweet tea-mainly green tea.
• Dark chocolate- Contributes to lowering blood pressure, increasing blood flow, and ultimately contributing to a healthy heart. It also reduces risk of blood clots, improves skin quality, and increases endurance. Remember: keep it to no more than 100 calories a day.
• Sweet potatoes- Contain plenty of vit A & C, potassium, calcium, and a good source of fiber. Because they are fat and cholesterol free they have a low glycemic index and help stabilize blood glucose.

The sky's the limit when it comes to incorporating these foods into meals and desserts. This week I'm going to see how many meals I can use these super foods in. Care to join me?