Tips for untipping the scales
Young children may need more iron than they’re getting. Athletes shouldn’t overly restrict carbohydrates. And new fitness activities must be carefully considered.
Such advice was abundant at last week’s meeting of the American Dietetic Assn. in Anaheim. Here is a sampling.
Healthier kids
Infant and toddler nutrition isn’t expected to be included in the update of the nation’s dietary guidelines, so the American Dietetic Assn. has stepped in to fill the information gap.
According to the group’s Start Healthy Feeding Guidelines, which are meant to encourage healthy eating from birth and prevent childhood obesity:
* There is little room in a young child’s diet for high-calorie, low-nutrient foods.
* Television is inappropriate for children younger than 2 because of its potentially negative effects on development and physical activity.
* It can take 10 to 15 exposures for a baby to accept a new flavor. But parents may limit a baby’s diet by giving up on a new food too soon.
* Iron can be hard for babies to get in their diets. Iron-fortified infant cereals or pureed meats are good high-iron choices.
The guidelines were a collaboration between the ADA and Gerber Products Co. The full recommendations can be found at www.gerber.com.
Carb intolerance
People who are plagued by gas, abdominal pain and bloating may have a newly defined condition called complex carbohydrate intolerance.
Dr. Barbara Levine, director of the Nutrition Information Center at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, has found that a shortage of the intestinal enzyme alpha-galactosidase causes incomplete digestion of complex carbohydrates such as vegetables, whole grains, cereals and legumes.
Gas and bloating can be treated by replacing the enzyme with a supplement, said Levine, whose study is published in the current issue of Nutrition in Clinical Care. The only over-the-counter product that contains alpha-galactosidase is Beano, she said.
Carbs and athletes
The low-carbohydrate diet craze may help some people lose weight, but it’s not ideal for athletes -- even recreational athletes. Such diets may be so low in carbohydrates that performance is affected, said Susan Kundrat, a registered dietitian in Urbana, Ill.
“Carbohydrates are the body’s key fuel source for energy during workouts,” she said. “People say, ‘If I eat carbs they’ll be stored as fat.’ But calories are the big thing that’s going to cause you to gain body fat.”
Instead, athletes should eat plenty of carbs before a workout as well as afterward when the body is trying to recover from exercise, said Kundrat, who offered her exercise advice at a session on sports nutrition.
Tailored workouts
Before you get off the couch and begin an exercise program, spend a bit of time considering your interests and needs, said Jenna Bell-Wilson, a registered dietitian at Ohio State University. It will improve the chances of meeting your exercise goal.
First, in choosing the exercise, she suggested, pick something you enjoy doing so you’ll stick with it. Second, while doing the activity, make sure you’re working hard enough. You can calculate your target heart rate or, if that’s too bothersome, just try to exercise so that you’re breathing hard. Finally, get some advice from a doctor or registered dietitian about how often you need to work out. Be realistic, advised Bell-Wilson. “If you’re at zero now, you’re not going to start at five days a week.”
But frequent exercise is needed to achieve particular goals, she added. People trying to lose weight should work out five days a week. And people with cardiovascular disease should exercise every day.
