A: According to the dietary guidelines for Americans an adult should consume less than 2300 milligrams of sodium (the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of salt) per day.  You can read more at this website http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter8.htm

A: Body Mass Index (BMI) measures the relationship between weight and height and is one of the most accurate ways to determine if extra pounds pose health risks. In June of 1998, the federal government announced guidelines which established a definition of a healthy weight. A BMI score of 20-24 is associated with the lowest health risk, while a BMI of 25-29.9 is considered overweight. Individuals who have a BMI in the range of 25-34.9 and who have a waist size of over 35 inches for women or 40 inches for men are considered to be at an especially increased risk for health problems. Exceptions to a high BMI score include athletes whose BMI is high due to increased muscle mass, and pregnant or lactating women.

According to health experts, people who are overweight but who have no other risk factors (such as heart disease, hypertension, or diabetes) should eat healthfully and exercise to prevent further weight gain. It is recommended that individuals who are overweight and who have health risks actively try to lose weight. A weight loss of just five to ten percent can reduce an individual's risk for other health problems. It is suggested that individuals consult a doctor or other health professional before beginning any exercise or weight loss program.

A: Here is the definition of lean meat from the food and drug administration.

Lean and Extra Lean can be used to describe the fat content of meat, poultry, seafood, and game meats.

• Lean: less than 10 g fat, 4.5 g or less saturated fat, and less than 95 mg cholesterol per serving and per 100 g.
• Extra Lean: less than 5 g fat, less than 2 g saturated fat, and less than 95 mg cholesterol per serving and per 100 g.

A: According to the Food Safety Research Information Office of the United States Department of Agriculture:

Pasteurization is the partial sterilization of foods by heat treatment to destroy disease-causing and other undesirable organisms. The process can be performed on liquids such as milk, juice, and cider, and on foods such as spices, ice cream, and cheese, with the temperature and length of exposure varying based on the food being treated. The process is named for the French scientist Louis Pasteur, who discovered in the 1860s that undesired fermentation could be prevented in wine and beer by heating it to a specific temperature for a short period of time. The target pathogens of pasteurization are Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella typhimurium DT104, Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia entercolitica, and Salmonella spp.  

A: BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight and it applies to both men and women.  it does have its limitations.  It does have some limitations:

• It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build.
• It may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle mass.
• Appropriate weight gain during pregnancy varies and depends upon initial body weight or BMI level.  Pregnant women should contact a health professional to assure appropriate weight gain during pregnancy. 

When you combine your BMI with your waist circumference and any risk factors for disease, that truly gives you a good indication of risk for obesity related diseases.  Find out more on this website. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/index.htm

Direct, accurate methods to assess body fat exist, however, measuring body fat content by these techniques is often expensive and is not readily available. Although bioelectrical impedance devices are becoming more readily available, they lose accuracy in severely obese persons and are of limited usefulness for tracking changes in total body fat in persons losing weight. Thus, bioelectrical impedance offers no significant advantage over BMI in the clinical management of patients. No research exists to indicate that one measure of fatness is better than any other for following overweight and obese patients during treatment. No studies have been published to compare the effectiveness of different measures for evaluating changes in body fat during weight reduction.  So for now health professionals treating people for obesity and overweight rely on BMI over any other measure.

A: In February 2004, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences updated recommendations for hydration when it published Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride and Sulfate.  In their recommendations they made obsolete the previously common advise for people to drink 8 glasses of water a day and to avoid caffeinated beverages.

They issued "Adequate Intake" (AI) levels for water, which are the recommended average daily intake levels to cover the expected needs of healthy, sedentary people in temperate climates.

For females 19 - 50 years they indicated 11.5 cups (2.7 liters, rounded to the nearest 1/2 cup) including 9 cups as total beverages, including drinking water.

The National Academy also advises:

About 80 percent of people's total water comes from drinking water and beverages such as juice, milk, coffee, tea, soda, seltzer and the other 20 percent is derived from food.  The panel did not offer any rule of thumb based on how many glasses of water people should drink each day because hydration needs can be met through a variety of sources in addition to drinking water.

The panel indicated that most people can meet their daily hydration needs with their normal drinking habits and by letting their thirst guide them.

They did indicate that those who are very physically active or who live in hot climates may need to consume more water.  For example, prolonged physical activity and heat exposure will increase water losses and therefore may raise daily fluid needs. Very active individuals who are continually exposed to hot weather often have daily total water needs of six liters or more, according to several studies.

Q:  I have just had my gallbladder removed and find that I am having trouble retaining nutrients. I'm losing more hair than normal and my skin is breaking out and dry. Do you have any dietary suggestions to help with my problem? Thanks!
        View Answer | Hide Answer

A: As you probably know the gallbladder stores and concentrates bile which is used to help digest fats. As fatty food enters the upper portion of your small intestine (the duodenum), the gallbladder contracts and releases bile into the small intestine through a duct.  It is made in the liver, then stored in the gallbladder until the body needs to digest fat. At that time, the gallbladder contracts and pushes the bile into a tube--called the common bile duct--that carries it to the small intestine, where it helps with digestion.

Q:  What is a good diet for a person that has reflux?   What foods are good and what should be avoided?
        View Answer | Hide Answer

A: If you have gastric reflux disease your doctor may recommend an eating plan that eliminates or reduces foods that irritate your esophagus or that cause reflux of stomach acids.   Not knowing your whole history I can provide you with some general tips.   You may want to see further information from a registered dietitian in your area.   She/he can provide guidance for meal planning and snacks. You can find one by using the American Dietetic Association's search engine at www.eatright.org .

Some foods to avoid include chocolate, alcoholic drinks, carbonated drinks, citrus juices, tomato products, coffee with and without caffeine and mint.   High fat foods and large meals may also irritate.   Obesity is associated with greater risk for reflux so often people are advised to loose weight.

Q:  I've been substituting ground turkey instead of ground beef in many recipes.  The 97% fat free ground turkey is much more costly than some of the ground turkey with higher fat. Do they actually add extra fat to the ground turkey and sell it?
If your turkey is 80% lean as opposed to beef 80% lean, are you still getting a health benefit with the turkey?
        View Answer | Hide Answer

A: Thanks for your questions about ground beef versus ground turkey.  A great website about turkey is www.eatturkey.com .  There is a wealth of information there from recipes to nutrition information to chef demonstrations chefs.

Ground turkey does come with varying amounts of fat.  Ground turkey with more fat such as an 87% lean product contains both white and dark meat.  The dark meat has more fat.  In a 3 ounce cooked portion of 87% lean ground turkey there are 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 87 grams cholesterol and 23 grams of protein. Ground turkey that is 99% lean has more white meat.  In a 3 ounce cooked portion of 99% lean ground turkey there are 98 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 45 mg cholesterol and 20 grams of protein.  This is your leanest ground turkey. For beef a good site to visit is www.beefnutrition.org . 85% lean ground beef, 3 ounces cooked contains 204 calories, 12.2 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 77 milligrams cholesterol and 22 grams protein 95% lean ground beef was the leanest I could find, 3 ounces cooked contains 162 calories, 5.4 grams fat, 2.4 grams saturated fat, 62 milligrams cholesterol and 23.2 grams of protein.

As always it's best to use the product with the least amount of fat, especially saturated fat.  What you may want to do is put the two 80% lean products next to each other at the grocery case and then choose the product with the lowest total and saturated fat.  Then you are comparing equivalent products.

Q:  What is the difference between Calories and Calories from Fat and Total Fat, Saturated Fat, and Trans Fat?  Which one should I look at when buying products?
        View Answer | Hide Answer

A: Calories per serving listed on a label are the total calories in the recommended serving of the product.  Calories come from fat, protein and carbohydrate.  the calories from fat are those that can be attributed to the fat content in the product.  Fat provides 9 calories per gram versus protein that provides 4 calories per gram and carbohydrate that provides 4 calories per gram.

Total fat is made up of different types of fat such as saturated fat, trans fat, polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat.  Saturated fat and trans fat are the fats to keep as low as possible in your diet.  Saturated fat comes from animal products like meats and full fat diary products.  There are some saturated vegetable products like palm oil and coconut oil.  Trans fat is a type of saturated fat formed when companies hydrogenate vegetable oils.

This FDA website will provide you with a wealth of information on labeling http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/lab-gen.html

Q:  I have recently been diagnosed hypoglycemic - does this have any correlation to possibly getting diabetes in the future?  Is this a wake-up call? I am obese and am currently working on losing weight and starting an exercise program. I am also gluten-intolerant - what would you suggest in terms of a healthy diet plan each day?  Also, how many calories?  Also, I am 5' 3 ½ " - what would you say an ideal weight would be for me - for my height?
        View Answer | Hide Answer

A: Hypoglycemia is a condition where your blood sugar falls below a normal level.   Some symptoms associated with hypoglycemia are feeling faint or weak. It is best to speak with your doctor or endocrinologist about what is causing and how to treat your hypoglycemia. One way of determining ideal body weight is to use the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation. On the Your Health Your Way website we have a BMI calculator that will calculate your BMI. An ideal weight for an adult who is 5'4" is between 115 and 140 pounds. At this height and weight, the BMI would be in the ideal range of 20 - 24.

A person with gluten-intolerance should follow a gluten-free diet in order to alleviate symptoms and maintain health. There are numerous foods that contain gluten. Primarily, any food with wheat will contain gluten and therefore should be avoided in a gluten-free diet.

For a complete list of gluten-containing foods, please visit www.celiac.com.

Q:  I am currently on weight watchers. Can you list the point values for your featured Your Health Your Way items as well as other offerings in your in house restaurants?
        View Answer | Hide Answer

A:  The Weight Watchers point system is proprietary information owned by Weight Watchers. We do not have permission to use the Weight Watchers point system for our menu offerings. However, on all Your Health Your Way items we do provide the information one needs in order to identify the point value of a Your Health Your Way item. One can find this information on the Counter Top Signs identifying that menu item or on the Nutrition Calculator online.

Q:  There is just as much sugar in a lot of fruit juice as in pop.  What makes the sugar better for you in the juice?
        View Answer | Hide Answer

A:  The sugar in most fruit juices is fructose, a naturally occurring sugar. The sugar in soda is a modified sugar called high fructose corn syrup. When selecting fruit juice, it is best to choose ones that have greater than 50% real fruit juice, as these juices will have more natural fructose. In addition, fruit juice has important vitamins and minerals that soda does not have.

Q:  I was looking for a vegetarian meal plan for a border-line diabetic. Can you give me some ideas for meat replacements?  
        View Answer | Hide Answer

A:  Some good lower carbohydrate meat replacements include soybeans, tofu, any bean or legume, nuts, and seeds. A good source of information on vegetarian diets is the Vegetarian Resource Group at www.vrg.org .

Q:  Do your have recipes or daily diet plans that follow limited food choices which include sensitivities to wheat, milk and corn and that are in the 1300 - 1400 calorie
range?           
       View Answer | Hide Answer

A:  The nutrition calculator on www.yourhealthyourwayonline.com provides the nutrition information for our menu items with recipes. We are also looking to add to it to include items without recipes i.e. an apple. If there is anything in particular you would like the nutrition information on and you cannot locate it by searching the nutrition calculator, let me know and I will locate it for you. Thanks again for your question.

Q:  Do you have the nutrition breakout of the food items you serve?    
        View Answer | Hide Answer

A:  Our website does feature a nutrition calculator that will allow you to search for menu items served in our on-site restaurants. Once you do a search and select the item, the nutrition information populates in a nutrition label format. This you can print from your computer.

Q: I calculated my BMI and it is between 17 and 18, which is underweight. Is that any cause for alarm? 
        View Answer | Hide Answer

A:  Body Mass Index is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women. It is just one of many factors related to developing a chronic disease (such as heart disease, cancer or diabetes). It may overestimate body fat in athletes who are muscular and it may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle mass. It is important to remember that there are other important factors related to health such as: Diet, Physical Activity, Waist Circumference, Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar Level, Cholesterol Level, Family History of Disease. Your BMI as calculated by the calculator puts you in an underweight category (less than 18.5). Generally as BMI increases, particularly into the 25+ range, the risk for some diseases increases. You don't fall into that category. What I would suggest is to visit your physician for a full assessment so you have a complete picture of your health.

Q: What foods have High Iron?                                                                             
        View Answer | Hide Answer

A:  Some good dietary sources of iron include meats, dairy products, green leafy vegetables, and fortified cereal products. Meat is the best source of iron because the type of iron found in meat is best absorbed by your body.

Q: How much sodium should an adult consume in a day?                             
        View Answer | Hide Answer