French lentils with asparagus, tomatoes and green beans

The last of the spring asparagus will be rolling onto the vegetable stands and market shelves over the next 2-3 weeks so take advantage of the local, fresh flavor! This is a great dish that one of my friends made last week, it is light, satisfying, packed with protein and fiber and low in saturated fat. It will sit in the ice box well for about 4 days so plan accordingly.

1 cup french green lentils (they come in a bag right next to the brown and red lentils in the dry bean section)

1 cup fresh asparagus, cut into 1" pieces

1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1" pieces

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

1 shallot sliced thin

3 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

salt & pepper

1 small clove garlic, minced

1. Cover lentils with water and bring to a boil then lower heat to simmer. Cook until lentils are tender about 20 minutes. You might have to add more water if it evaporates or when lentils soak it up.

2. Meanwhile cut up vegetables. To prepare the asparagus, bend it between your hands, the staulk will naturally break at the tender point which will keep you from eating the 'woody' bottoms of the asparagus. Throw away the bottom portion that breaks off (usually more white/purple in color) and cut up the top part. Bring a small pot of water to a boil so that you can blanch the green beans and asparagus. TO BLANCH: when water is boiling, drop cut green beans and asparagus into water. Let cook 2-3 minutes - they should be al dente. Strain, and immediately run under cold water or place in bowl of water and ice cubes. This is called 'shocking' the vegetables so that they stay a bright green color. Once vegetables are thoroughly cooled, strain again and put aside.

3. Whisk together, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and garlic, set aside.
4. When lentils are finished cooking pour them into a large bowl. Mix with vegetables, tomatoes, cheese, shallots, parsley and dressing. Mix well to combine.

ENJOY!

Farmer's Market Opening

Don't forget this Saturday (May 18) is opening day of the Providence Alternative Farmer's Market!! It is being held in one of Miriam's parking lots (corner of Main St and 2nd Ave) from 9am - 2pm. There will be farmers selling fresh produce, and also local artisans selling their wares. It should be a beautiful weekend, head over there and check out the scene!

For anyone who has said to himself "I made a better choice, I went to Subway"...think again...

Public release date: 7-May-2013


Contact: Enrique Rivero
erivero@mednet.ucla.edu
310-794-2273

University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences

For adolescents, Subway food may not be much healthier than McDonald's, UCLA study finds

Subway may promote itself as the "healthy" fast food restaurant, but it might not be a much healthier alternative than McDonald's for adolescents, according to new UCLA research.

In a study published May 6 in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the researchers found that adolescents who purchased Subway meals consumed nearly as many calories as they did at McDonald's. Meals from both restaurants are likely to contribute toward overeating and obesity, according to the researchers.

"Every day, millions of people eat at McDonald's and Subway, the two largest fast food chains in the world," said Dr. Lenard Lesser, who led the research while a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar in the department of family medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. "With childhood obesity at record levels, we need to know the health impact of kids' choices at restaurants."

The researchers recruited 97 adolescents ages 12 to 21 to purchase meals at McDonald's and Subway restaurants at a shopping mall in Carson, Calif. The participants went to each restaurant on different weekdays between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., and paid for the meals with their own money. Researchers used the participants' cash register receipts to record what each customer ate and estimated calorie counts from information on the chains' websites.

The researchers found that the participants bought meals containing an average of 1,038 calories at McDonald's and an average of 955 calories at Subway.

"We found that there was no statistically significant difference between the two restaurants, and that participants ate too many calories at both," said Lesser, who is now a researcher at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute.

The Institute of Medicine recommends that school lunches not exceed 850 calories. An adolescent should consume an average of about 2,400 calories in a day.

Among the researchers' other findings:

• The sandwiches purchased by participants contained an average of 784 calories at Subway versus 572 calories at McDonald's.

• Participants purchased sugary drinks averaging 61 calories at Subway, and 151 calories at McDonald's.

• Customers in the study purchased side items such as french fries and potato chips that added an average of 35 calories at Subway compared with 201 calories at McDonald's.

• Participants consumed 102 grams of carbohydrates at Subway; 128 grams at McDonald's.

• The meals contained an average of 36 grams of sugar at Subway; 54 grams at McDonald's.

• Meals contained an average of 41 grams of protein at subway; 32 grams at McDonald's.

• Sodium intake averaged 2,149 mg at Subway; 1,829 mg at McDonald's.

"The nutrient profile at Subway was slightly healthier, but the food still contained three times the amount of salt that the Institute of Medicine recommends," Lesser said.

The authors suggested that the higher sodium content of the Subway meals likely came from the restaurant's processed meats. Processed meats in general are associated with obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The researchers noted some weaknesses in the study. They did not track the subjects' meals for the rest of the day, so it was unclear whether participants ate less at other times of the day to compensate for the excess calories. Also, participants were from a single suburb of Los Angeles and most were of Asian descent or of mixed race and ethnicity, so their purchase patterns may not be applicable to other populations.

Lesser recommends that McDonald's customers eliminate sugary drinks and french fries from their meals. "And if you go to Subway, opt for smaller subs, and ask for less meat and double the amount of veggies," he said.

Study explains what triggers those late-night snack cravings

Public release date: 29-Apr-2013

Contact: Mirabai Vogt
vogtmi@ohsu.edu
503-494-7986
Oregon Health & Science University

Study explains what triggers those late-night snack cravings

OHSU researcher and colleagues at Harvard discover that an internal circadian rhythm causes increased appetite in the evening

A study published in the most recent version of the journal Obesity found that the body's internal clock, the circadian system, increases hunger and cravings for sweet, starchy and salty foods in the evenings. While the urge to consume more in the evening may have helped our ancestors store energy to survive longer in times of food scarcity, in the current environment of high-calorie food, those late night snacks may result in significant weight gain.

"Of course, there are many factors that affect weight gain, principally diet and exercise, but the time of eating also has an effect. We found with this study that the internal circadian system also likely plays a role in today's obesity epidemic because it intensifies hunger at night," said Steven Shea, Ph.D., director for the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology at Oregon Health & Science University and senior author on the study. "People who eat a lot in the evening, especially high-calorie foods and beverages, are more likely to be overweight or obese."

Indeed, eating a lot in the evening can be counterproductive since the human body handles nutrients differently depending on the time of day. For example, sugar tolerance is impaired in the evening. Additionally, consuming more calories in the evening predisposes people to more energy storage; we simply don't expend as much energy after an evening meal in comparison to morning meals.

Furthermore, artificial light enables people to stay up later than they probably should and often people don't get enough sleep. "If you stay up later, during a time when you're hungrier for high-calorie foods, you're more likely to eat during that time," Shea said. "You then store energy and get less sleep, both of which contribute to weight gain."

"If weight loss is a goal, it's probably better to eat your larger, higher-calorie meals earlier in the day," said Shea. "Knowing how your body operates will help you make better choices. Going to bed earlier, getting enough sleep and choosing lower-calorie foods rather than higher-calorie foods in the evening can all help with weight loss."

Conducted by Shea and two Boston-area researchers, Frank Scheer, Ph.D. and Christopher Morris, Ph.D. of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, the study examined the appetite and food preference of 12 healthy non-obese adults throughout a 13-day laboratory stay in very dim light in which all behaviors were scheduled, including timing of meals and sleep. Dr. Scheer, first author on the study, explained that "by the end of this long protocol, all of the participants' meals and activities were spaced evenly across the day and night, allowing examination of the true internal circadian effects on appetite, while controlling for other effects on appetite including the amount of food recently consumed."

The researchers found that the internal circadian system regulated hunger, with participants feeling the least hungry in the morning (8 a.m.) and most hungry in the evening (8 p.m.). Similar rhythms were found in appetite for types of food, such as sweet, starchy and salty, and the estimate of how much food participants could eat. The study concludes that the internal circadian system causes an evening peak in appetite that may promote larger, higher-calorie meals before the fasting period necessitated by sleep.

"Our study suggests that because of the internal circadian regulation of appetite, we have a natural tendency to skip breakfast in favor of larger meals in the evening. This pattern of food intake across the day is exactly what Sumo wrestlers do to gain weight." said Steven Shea. "So, it seems likely that the internal circadian system helps with efficient food storage. While this may have been valuable throughout evolution, nowadays it is likely to contribute to the national epidemic of obesity".

###

This research was supported by NIH-R01-HL76409 and NIH-K24 HL076446 to SAS, NCRR GCRC M01 RR02635; NIH-P30-HL101299 and NIHR01-HL094806 in support of FAJLS; National Space Biomedical Research Institute through NASA NCC 9-58 in support of CJM.

About OHSU

Oregon Health & Science University is the state's only public academic health and research university. As one of Oregon's largest employers with more than 14,000 employees, OHSU's size contributes to its ability to provide many services and community support not found anywhere else in the state. OHSU serves patients from every corner of Oregon and is a conduit for learning for more than 4,400 students and trainees. OHSU is the source of more than 200 community outreach programs that bring health and education services to each county in the state.

About CROET

OHSU's Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) supports basic and applied research that helps workers stay healthy. CROET's mission is to promote health, and prevent disease and disability among working Oregonians and their families.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-04/ohs-sew042913.php

Need motivation to exercise?

If you haven't caught spring fever yet with the nice weather (unless you're my buddies still in Denver, in which case you are seeing snow today), and are looking for some motivation to exercise, try using these little fellas to help you. On Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 6pm, Churchill Downs will host one of the oldest ongoing athletic contests in organized sports in this country, the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the triple crown. Currently, 21 horses are entered to start the race though some might scratch come post time (race time) due to injuries or other issues, but there will not be more then 21 contestants. These 3 year old horses will run just over 1 mile in time between 1min 30 seconds and 2minutes. That time makes the fastest man in the world look like a infant crawling to cross the finish line. However, the jockeys are even more amazing. They will fully dress in their uniform (silks), put on their boots, and with helmet on and saddle in hand, most will weigh in between 100-110 pounds. Then each one will climb aboard an animal that weighs between 1200-1400 pounds, maneuver themselves into a perched position, straddling the horse and balancing by putting each foot in a metal stirrup that is about 2" wide, and in that position they will 'ride' that 1300 pound animal running about 35-40mph for just under 2 minutes, hopefully to cross the finish line first and win a purse for the horse owner of about $1million. Oh and did I mention that the jockey also has to weave in and out of the 20 other horses running at roughly the same speed, more densely packed together then the worst, crowded airport terminal you have ever seen, while perched in that position?

If that doesn't give some desire to go out there and do some strength training I am not sure what will!