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Nutrition Experts Podcast Episode 36 News Edition, New Products, IBS and New Year’s Resolutions with Janet Brancato, RD

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Janet Brancato is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a Masters degree in Nutrition from New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY.  She did her undergraduate studies and received a Bachelors of Science in Nutrition from Montclair State University, NJ.

She is experienced in the field of Nutrition for over 20 years, teaching groups, and counseling individuals on diet modifications and lifestyle changes to promote health.  She is experienced with kids, teens, and adults. Her specialty is weight management but she also works with various medical challenges.

The past 15 years she has worked at a local hospital in NJ as an outpatient dietitian and community health speaker.

Janet decided to expand her scope of practice and created Nutopia, LLC a virtual private practice about 5 years ago. She can meet with clients using telehealth technology from the comfort of their home or office.

The motto for her business is “Simplified & Personalized” taking the information and breaking it down into manageable goals and giving clients a personal experience. She motivates and supports clients in between visits.

Janet is also a food blogger, you can check it out on her website www.mynutopia.com.

Follow her on social media:

Facebook – @Nutopia, LLC
Twitter/IG – @janetmsrd

Mathea Ford: [00:00:26] Hi there! It’s Mathea. Welcome back to the Nutrition Experts Podcast. The podcast featuring nutrition experts who are leading the way using food starts today right now with our next guest this week is our News Edition with Janet Brancato. So, Janet welcome to the show.

Janet Brancato: [00:00:46] Thank you Mathea. It’s so great to be back and Happy New Year to you.

Mathea Ford: [00:00:49] Oh thanks! Happy New Year to you too. I’m excited to have you on the show. Talk about our topics today. If somebody hasn’t listened before will you tell them a little bit about yourself?

Janet Brancato: [00:00:59] Again, I’m Janet Brancato I’m a registered dietitian I’ve been a dietitian over 20 years and I’ve worked with groups and individuals, adults and pediatrics and counseling them in various stages of health. Currently, I have an online virtual practice telehealth practice mynutopia.com. I have a food blog and I provide tools like meal planning and recipes as well.

Mathea Ford: [00:01:24] Great! So, let’s get into the topics. I have a few topics to talk about this morning and then we’re going to talk a little bit about New Year’s resolutions since it’s been about a week and you may or may not still be sticking with your resolutions but we have some ideas to help you if you’re still wanting to do some changes. So, I want to talk first about Moringa because it’s a new kind of supplement that I get a few questions about and I actually take it myself just because I believe that it helps with the antioxidant factors. But I wanted to talk about Moringa because I think it’s becoming something dietitians are getting asked more about. So, there’s research that talks about what it’s good for. There was a review that says it was it has anti inflammatory anti oxidative properties and these are animal studies that showed it helped with glucose a little bit and some anticancer products properties which have been studied but they’re not really sure about human roles. So, Janet have you ever heard of Moringa.

Janet Brancato: [00:02:32] I really haven’t. It was something new to me but very interesting to read about. You know there’s so many types of plants natural sources out there that could be so beneficial. You know natural sources of anti inflammatory and high in antioxidants. And this one they say the entire plant is edible – the leaves, the bark, the flower, the fruit, the seeds and the root. I thought that was pretty interesting but commonly what’s used in the United States are the leaves and like you said it could be part of a supplement blend or sometimes they’re found in smoothie mixes, teas, kombucha. You can find it in different forms and like you mentioned it’s been possible applications are for diabetes, hypertension, asthma and cancer prevention.

Mathea Ford: [00:03:21] I do want to warn the listeners if you are taking medications you don’t want to just start taking moringa. You want to make sure you talk to your health care practitioner and verify that it’s not going to interact with any of your medications and they may or may not know that. So, they may steer you away from it but we just wanted to talk about it because I think it’s an up and coming thing that we as dietitians and doctors and nurses are probably going to get more questions about. I’ve known people put it in their smoothies. I’ve seen that. Course you can get it in a pill where you can take it in a pill.

Janet Brancato: [00:03:57] And I think these supplements you just have to make sure it’s a reputable source that you’re getting it from because sometimes the concentrations might be different and you have to be careful what else is maybe in that supplement. You know so always reputable sources. Yeah! You want to make sure it has testing.

Mathea Ford: [00:04:17] Yes. So, think about moringa in the new year and it has a antioxidants and accidents are always helpful. And maybe you know you don’t like Vitamin C or whatever you may consider it as a different source. Okay, so another topic I want to talk about I’ve talked to a few dietitians in the last couple of weeks about FODMAP diets. Something I did not know anything about before I started doing some interviews with dietitians about FODMAPS. So, let’s talk about this. It’s F-O-D-M-A-P apostrophe s and it stands for Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Monossacharides and Polyols. So, it’s a specific diet. And the reason I use the word FODMAP is because they don’t want to assail those words. It’s a diet where it’s shown to improve some symptoms in IBS. And basically if you start out by removing all these FODMAP items and then I think you slowly bring them back into the diet a little bit at a time. Janet, have you ever worked with anybody doing a FODMAP.

Janet Brancato: [00:05:28] Yes, I have you know patients with irritable bowel or G.I. symptoms. Many different symptoms. Do find and it has been documented too that 50 to 70 percent has been affected by it. I think it’s great and some sort of good resource for people that are suffering to give it a try. But work with someone work with a dietitian. Don’t do it on your own. It can be very overwhelming because these types of carbohydrates that we’ve mentioned in the acronym you know there’s a lot of lists of those that are higher in the FODMAPS which could increase those symptoms. So you want to work with somebody especially with the elimination aspect to know what to eat because you know you’re eliminating groups of foods. And so now the challenge is “Okay, now what can I eat?” So working with somebody really does help. I’ve worked with clients’ elimination and then there’s a reintroduction phase where you slowly start to reintroduce one by one to see if there’s any symptoms or reactions. As we start to reintroduce some foods. With some people you know getting the gut to sort of heal and relax and take a break from these foods during that elimination phase and then you can slowly see is there any particular food within those categories that are really the irritant. So instead of leaving out a whole category you’re kind of going one by one to see you know and you keep a diary you know the client will keep a diary to see if symptoms return with particular. It’s not a long term diet, it’s a short term diet but it’s a way of sort of isolating foods that might be the triggers.

Mathea Ford: [00:07:15] I think that’s a great way to think about it is it’s not a long term but you are you’re eliminating all the groups and then you kind of bring them back in a group and a small amount at times. And it’s 70% 50 to 70% of people with IBS seeing results from this change in their diet is amazing. But I think it’s great if what you talked about speaking with the dietitian because if you eliminate some of these things like some of the dissacharides are things that are in milk. So, if you eliminate milk and ice cream and yogurt because it helps heal your gut that’s good but then you’re missing some of those nutrients that those foods provide. So, you want to make sure that you’re not totally cutting out calcium. You can get calcium in other products but you just might have to be more cautious or take a supplement if that’s the food that’s going to affect you the most.

Janet Brancato: [00:08:13] Yes! Yes. So, working with someone to find out choices that would be you know if you’re cutting out some of the you know if you’re using more gluten free versus the wheat or lactose free type choices you know but working with someone to sort of give you a good balance so you get those nutrients that you need.

Mathea Ford: [00:08:30] Now, what do they think that it does like these FODMAP foods, are they broken down easily by our gut bacteria and then they cause gas?

Janet Brancato: [00:08:41] The fermentation process in the gut. So, with fermentation it’s sort of we’ll see if these particles are not being digested properly. There’s sort of fermentation going on with the bacteria. So, it’s giving off gases you know it could cause diarrhea you know with absorbing more water with trying to get your gut to sort of dissolve or digest these food particles but when they’re not digestible it sort of can cause the diarrhea or bloating or other G.I. symptoms, pain so it has to do with you know your body trying to digest amd ferment these carbohydrate sources.

Mathea Ford: [00:09:22] So, even your good gut bacteria is digesting this and causing the bacteria you want in your gut but it’s affected by this and your body is just not as able to..?

Janet Brancato: [00:09:34] There might be a lack of enzymes/. You know you need certain enzymes to break down the lactose you may need those lactase enzymes or certain enzymes that you need to help break down these sugars, carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates and if they’re not present or not present enough you know you have enough present at that time. Like I said these are sort of a byproduct of these symptoms and pain of your of the fermentation process.

Mathea Ford: [00:10:00] Just if you have IBS or you have some gut issues going on it’s recommended you go see a dietitian but you may want to talk to him about a FODMAP diet you may want to find a dietitian who specializes in that. It can be if they don’t work with it often it can be a little bit confusing. Okay. So, I wanted to also talk about the new year. Everybody’s not everybody but a lot of people started a new diet. Started different changes in their life to be healthier and happier and all those things. So, there is a new labeling law that came out last year and you probably noticed it in your restaurants when you go. They have if they have over 20 establishments then they have the menu boards and they have calorie levels which the first time I found I was kind of like “Oh gosh! Yeah, maybe I want to change my diet my choice” which I think is the point.

Janet Brancato: [00:10:57] Yes. So, yeah I’ve seen them definitely in chain restaurants, convenience stores you will see the calorie count and it can help you to be again we talk about being mindful, being aware. So, it just is giving the person a chance to make that decision with the awareness. Because you know most people underestimate the calorie content on a menu. So, just being aware and whether you choose to make a change or not at least you know you know with the calorie count is. So, I think it’s I think it’s a good thing. It can definitely help people make changes to improve you know maybe help with weight loss or reduce chronic diseases. You know that kind of thing. The more information I think the better. So, it’s just another tool to help people make good choices.

Mathea Ford: [00:11:51] I think the interesting thing that has come out of this. Like I’ll use Panera for an example. They have online the ability to kind of create your own food and so you can go to their website and you can look and they’ll tell you the calories but you can also check off and add or subtract different new different ingredients and it’ll change the nutritional profile. So, if you’re watching the amount of carbs or the amount of fat that you’re eating or the amount of protein, if you have a sandwich and you don’t want the mayo for example but you do want lettuce you can check and mark those. And I really appreciate the fact that restaurants have done that. I know Panera does it. I know I’ve seen it at Arbie’s on their website. You can really get down into the details and I appreciate them letting consumers have some of that control because then you can go into the restaurant and say at Panera for example, I want a chicken salad sandwich but no this, this or this and it’ll make you and the important thing also I think is to know those numbers before you take a bite of your food because it’s really hard afterwards to subtract calories if you’ve already eaten it.

Janet Brancato: [00:13:08] Yeah and a lot of these restaurants have like you said the online menus. So, I tell a lot of clients you know look on line first because sometimes when you get to the restaurant or you get to the place and you’re hungry, you smell those delicious smells and you know you get overwhelmed by all the choices and it gets hard to make that decision. But if you think about it before you go like you said and you peruse the menu and you look at the calories some people are looking more at sodium levels you know they’re trying to watch their sodium intake so you can find that out online and it will help you to feel more confident once you get to the restaurant or the store or wherever it is that you’re going, you’re going to feel more confident. This is what you want to have and you’re ready for it. So, I think that if you if you do have the time to look ahead of time like we mentioned last month with the Starbucks menu. You know if you kind of have your order in your head or you write it down or something that’s actually a good practice. That’s a good tool and a practice to include when you’re going out especially if you go out frequently. There’s people like you out lunch at every day or they’re getting these coffees out every day. So, it’s a good tool to kind of look online ahead of time so that you know and you know what your choices are going to be.

Mathea Ford: [00:14:25] Yeah. I think you don’t realize all the stuff that they add to food at a restaurant. Like you at home when you make a sandwich you may not naturally put mayo and ketchup or whatever on it but at a restaurant or at a store at a quick service place they probably do. So, looking online ahead of time you can see “oh yeah they’re going to add this. So, I want to tell them not to add that” and that way you have a lot more control. And so that’s a great way to help control your calories. And also just be more aware consumer. So, it also mentioned a little bit about this being an opportunity for dietitians to go in and help customers or restaurants reformulate recipes. So, that’s something I do with Renal Diet Headquarters, I do… I don’t help restaurants necessarily but I take recipes that I like or use and I adjust them to be appropriate for people with kidney disease. For example, so I’ll switch out some of the higher potassium foods, I’ll reduce the amount of protein and I’ll increase maybe the amount of some other vegetables and that recipe is adjusted and changed so that it’s good for people with kidney disease based on their nutritional needs. So, dietitians can offer that type of service if you like doing recipes if you like cooking for example and you want to help they can. You can work with them of course on a paid basis but adjust their recipes if they want to have lower fat recipes, if they want to have lower calories. You may even do this with local restaurants if they’re looking to have a light menu or develop some lighter options.

Janet Brancato: [00:16:10] It sounds like a great opportunity for dietitians to get involved in the process helping restaurants and helping customers and kind of almost like a teamwork. I think that’s excellent.

Mathea Ford: [00:16:20] There’s a lot of gluten free stuff going on. People are moving towards you know less simple carbs and those types of things but also gluten free flours and there’s already some gluten free flours out there that are pretty common. I think there’s almond flour there’s…I’m trying to think of some other ones there’s like oat flour, potato flour…

Janet Brancato: [00:16:44] Quinoa flour, oat flour, chickpea. There’s a lot of bean based flours now too.

Mathea Ford: [00:16:48] Yes, so this article that we were looking at is on Today’s Dietitian for May but it talks about some other alternative gluten free flours that you may not have heard of and how they work. Each one has kind of its own type of characteristics but one of them was banana flour which was kind of surprising to me.

Janet Brancato: [00:17:07] Yeah. Made from unripe green bananas. Peeled, sliced, dehydrated and ground to make its alternative gluten free flour.

Mathea Ford: [00:17:15] Yes. So it’s going to have more starch because bananas are naturally a little higher and starch and carbohydrate. I think they say it would work well on its own because it’s mimics a little bit more of the gluten type flours but it can be a little higher in calories too.

Janet Brancato: [00:17:31] It’s a light and fluffy texture and does have a hint of banana flavor when you use it for baking but it’s high in that resistant starch which again we were just talking about the fermentation process. So it’s kind of a pre biotic for the good bacteria.

Mathea Ford: [00:17:49] Yeah it works on a low FODMAP diet too. It talks about sweet potato flour probably very similar. You know they’re dried and ground into a flour. It’s going to have sweet potatoes. They’re going to have a decent amount of carbohydrate in them.

Janet Brancato: [00:18:05] It works really well and a quick bread, cookies, breading, coating and adds a nice little sweetness to the flour.

Mathea Ford: [00:18:14] Yeah! And you can use it to thicken up some gravy and sauces to just it has a little bit more that corn starch or flour feel to it. So and then pumpkin flour, similar I was thinking with two sweet potato flour. Usually, you’re not going to use it as the only replacement you’re going to mix it. And any of these you know these are going to be more expensive the ones we’re talking about. So, you want to mix them with some probably with like some almond flour, chickpea, quinoa flour just to not only reduce the costs but also to get some of those properties that are closer to you want it to taste like a regular gluten bread but not obviously have the gluten.

Janet Brancato: [00:18:55] Exactly! Yup you can mix it with other flours, you can use it for baking pancakes and even to smoothies too.

Mathea Ford: [00:19:02] The one I liked was the wine flour. Did you read about the wine flour?

Janet Brancato: [00:19:09] I did. Wine flour which I was you know surprised about that one but it’s actually from fermented grape skins the juices pressed out of the wine grapes and the skins are dried and ground into a fine powder and it gives it a really stunning color. There’s flavor aroma of the glass of wine without the alcohol. So, and again you use it sparingly mentions not to use it in large quantities. Small quantities can really make a good effect and give it a little sweet wine flavor could even be good in like gravies and sauces but definitely can be pretty versatile.

Mathea Ford: [00:19:48] Yes. So, I was watching. Speaking of wine a little bit I was watching Rachael Ray the other day and she was adding a little wine to her dish and she said “just make sure you know it’s okay to buy a little less expensive wine but make sure it’s wine that you enjoy when you drink it because it’s going to get concentrated and be stronger with that less obviously not the alcohol you’re going to bake out the alcohol you’re not going to have alcohol in wine flour but you’re going to have a flavor from that wine from those grapes. So, if you don’t like that or if it’s not appealing to you it’s going to be more concentrated probably so it’s going to have a little bit of a grape flavor to it.” I wouldn’t buy a big batch of it at first. Obviously it’s something you want to try if you’re interested in this but make sure that you’re interested in that flavor. I guess that’s what I’m trying to say.

Janet Brancato: [00:20:44] Yeah! I like that it mentioned that it could be a great rub for steaks so you could rub it on your steak. You can pair it with a cheese sauce. It’s pairs well with red berries and dark fruits and it could be a thickness for gravy, goes best with apples peaches and citrus fruits. So, it sounds interesting. I will definitely be on the lookout for that one.

Mathea Ford: [00:21:07] And the last one they mentioned was coconut flour. Basically they dry the coconut and grind up the coconut meat. And I know I’ve seen a lot of gluten free stuff that uses coconut flakes in the recipes.

Janet Brancato: [00:21:21] It’s a good replacement for regular flour and corn meal and you can use it as a coating like you mentioned. That’s really great. And it’s very absorbent helps to retain moisture so you may need some more liquid in the recipe because of the absorption of the flour.

Mathea Ford: [00:21:39] Yes. So, I was attending this event with the chef from Parade Magazine. His name’s John I can’t remember his last name. Sorry John but he was talking about he had several questions and he was talking about how to make great pizza. He talked about having higher gluten levels in your flour which helps with rising and the recipe and of course there was the question about gluten free bread or dough. And he mentioned that you do want to mix some difference of the types of flours because until you find a blend that you like. So, maybe you use almond flour and some quinoa flour and you add in a little bit of coconut flour and it gives you the texture that you like cauliflower pizza crust. You know if you’re going to make a cauliflower pizza crust you may not want that. I don’t think it has a strong flavor but you may want to add some other flours to it that are gluten free so that you get maybe a little bit of that rising result that you’re looking for with the pizza crust and that crispness. Also I think just like with low sodium, gluten free you kind of get used to the flavor of these flours. So, trying something new can be good and just be aware that they’re always coming out with new ones.

Janet Brancato: [00:22:56] I think like you said experimenting with different combinations is a great idea and you know try it in different forms like you said if you’re making you’re making a big bowl or you’re just coating trying to coat some chicken or meat you’re baking you know. You know now with these new flours you can really you know get different colors and flavors and textures. So, I think it really is great to add to that variety within your recipes.

Mathea Ford: [00:23:24] All right. So, Janet did you make a new year’s resolution?

Janet Brancato: [00:23:27] I’m not big on resolutions. I do try to take a little assessment from the last year and sort of say well, what can I do different or is there anything you know kind of break it down between you know goals that I have personal goals or goals with my family and just different things like that. I know I’m always trying to maybe do some different lifestyle goals for myself, maybe new challenges to keep me active. So, I always look for ways to do that. Cooking, I love cooking. Always a goal of mine is to maybe take a cooking class. You know now that I feel a little inspired with some of these new flours maybe trying something out like that but I do like taking cooking classes and experimenting with new cuisines. So, that’s always on my sort of bucket list and travel. I’m big on travel. I like to travel with my family so I know you get end of the year we kind of think about what we want to do as a trip for the summer you know together. Have some business goals and I’m working on. So, it’s in progress. I wouldn’t say I have a specific justified list just yet but you know when it comes to resolutions I try to think on things that I would do long term not short term you know. Changes that I want to make in my life that are going to just help improve myself as a person and as a part of my family or as part of my business. That type of thing.

Mathea Ford: [00:24:57] Yes. So, when you think about resolutions, the reasons why people tend to not keep them or give them up quickly I think is a lot because they bit off more than they really can chew. Saying you want to lose weight or lose 100 pounds you’re not going to do that overnight. You’re not going to do that without making a significant amount of changes and choices daily, weekly, monthly right?

Janet Brancato: [00:25:24] Exactly. Every goal that you have. Like you said if it’s losing weight or taking a trip you have to break it down into steps. If you’re going to even plan a trip you have to break it down into steps. You know what time of year do you want to go away? You know how much money do you want to spend? So, even if it’s weight loss or whatever it is they’re going to be steps to that process. It’s not fun it’s just like you said you know you want to have a plan. You want to have some steps in line with whatever the goal is that you have in mind.

Mathea Ford: [00:25:54] I read a book this year or actually well it was early this year and it was about a concept called Lead and Lag Indicators. And it talked about creating goals using lead and lag indicators. So, a lag indicator is something that changes after you make it your kind of your end goal. Maybe it’s 100 pounds weight loss or something like that. But if you’re constantly looking for the hundred pound weight loss, it’s hard to find the steps to get there. So, the lead goals are things like drink more water, drink water between meals and exercise 30 minutes daily. So, those are the things that you know if you change those then it will lead to that result that you’re looking for with the lag. So, think about your goals. Whether its eat healthier, get more exercise, go on a vacation. Think about the things that you need to do the small steps that you need to make to get to that big goal. So, for me some things for weight loss might be exercising every day but you also can’t out exercise a bad diet. So, I know you’ve got to make choices whether it’s a smaller plate, whether it’s getting rid of your snack foods between meals those types of things that can help you break down that big goal into doing things that you think are going to make a difference over the long run. And maybe you don’t know what those are. But I think we mostly know if it was just knowing that was the problem. It’s the doing part. So, make those small things and work on those everything an account, hold yourself accountable to those. Did I exercise this week? Did I drink water? Did I have less snack foods? Did I eat more vegetables? Those things when you put them all together are going to lead to that big goal.

Janet Brancato: [00:27:52] Yeah that’s great! And sometimes even putting a time on to things you know meaning trying to be as specific as you can with if you’re picking exercising more. You know look at it as an appointment with yourself. Like think about the days the times. Specifically what is it you want to do. I think if you can get even a little more specific with those goals that helps too. It helps you know to put it in your schedule you know or certain amount of time you know. Kind of assess are you a morning person or you are more apt to do it later in the evening but take each goal and sort of break it down a little more specific. And you know like I said steps in mind that will help you to achieve that goal. And like you said every day that you do it you’re getting closer to your overall big goal. You sort of just chipping away you know every single day leading to that big goal.

Mathea Ford: [00:28:45] I think you need to realize that the person that weighs a hundred pound less or 50 pounds or 20 pounds less than you do today has different habits. And so if you want to even lose 20 pounds or you just want to exercise more and be healthier you have to create those habits that that person that is when you think of yourself when you’re there what sort of things are you doing. Are you always eating you know green vegetables or colorful that she pulls on your plate? Are you always parking far away and walking in? You know what are those habits that healthy you has? And how do you get there? So, I have this friend who has the little challenge that she did and it was called… She had a friend named James. It was called What Would Awesome James Do? This guy changed his habits and his activities and what he would do is think about what he was going to do. So he’s going to go to McDonald’s for example not the McDonald’s is bad but… And he thought to himself “What would awesome James do?” Which was the future James that he wanted to be and awesome James would not choose a Big Mac and french fries. He would choose maybe a small fry and a cheeseburger maybe a salad. But he started making those choices. Every time he made a choice he would ask himself “what would the future me do or what would the awesome me do that I’m trying to get to?” And he improved his relationship with his family. He lost weight and he did just basically have a healthier, happier life because he said think about what I want to be when I grow up you know ,Awesome James and started making those changes. So I think that if you can do those types of things what would awesome Mathea do? What would awesome Janet do? You can get there.

Janet Brancato: [00:30:38] And I think that people in general tend to get overwhelmed because they get such a big goal for themselves and a few weeks into the new year they’re not where they want to be. They sort of give up or get frustrated. Well, like you said keep visioning yourself there in the future. You know it may take a little bit more time but that’s okay. You know you’re like I said you’re chipping away at it and having that vision you know having a vision of yourself completing that goal. That’s how you want to keep your mindset very positive. You know as much as you can. Well, I think that’s a great way of looking at it you know looking at you know making those decisions being mindful of these I think somebody like that is very tuned into themselves and their habits. And you know just slowly making those changes and over time it’ll get easier and easier. Beginning is when it seems all the more challenging. But as you be consistent with it. And every day you kind of wake up ready for battle you know you’re ready to kick it into gear. That’s really very important.

Mathea Ford: [00:31:42] Yeah. If you stop thinking that the minute you fall off the wagon everything’s over. You now realize.

Janet Brancato: [00:31:48] We’re human. You know we’re gonna have good days and we’re gonna have not so good days. And that’s okay. You get back on track. That’s all. One day isn’t such a great day. No worries. Just get back on track. You always have that new day to just start over again.

Mathea Ford: [00:32:02] All right Janet thank you so much for being on the podcast today. We talked about fun stuff for the new year and some things that happened last year that people should be looking forward to. So, you mentioned a little bit at the beginning but if listeners want to connect with you what’s the best way to do that?

Janet Brancato: [00:32:17] So, you can connect with me at mynutopia.com. That’s my website and you will find my blog, a little bit about me, possibly working together about meal planning and some tools that I have. I’d love to connect.

Mathea Ford: [00:32:31] Okay. Well guys this has been another great episode of the Nutrition Experts Podcast. The podcast is all about learning more so you can do more with nutrition in your life.

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Nutrition Experts Podcast Episode 31 News Edition, Mindful Eating and Enjoying Your Holidays with Janet Brancato, RD

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Janet Brancato is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a Masters degree in Nutrition from New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY.  She did her undergraduate studies and received a Bachelors of Science in Nutrition from Montclair State University, NJ.

She is experienced in the field of Nutrition for over 20 years, teaching groups, and counseling individuals on diet modifications and lifestyle changes to promote health.  She is experienced with kids, teens, and adults. Her specialty is weight management but she also works with various medical challenges.

The past 15 years she has worked at a local hospital in NJ as an outpatient dietitian and community health speaker.

Janet decided to expand her scope of practice and created Nutopia, LLC a virtual private practice about 5 years ago. She can meet with clients using telehealth technology from the comfort of their home or office.

The motto for her business is “Simplified & Personalized” taking the information and breaking it down into manageable goals and giving clients a personal experience. She motivates and supports clients in between visits.

Janet is also a food blogger, you can check it out on her website www.mynutopia.com.

Follow her on social media:

Facebook – @Nutopia, LLC
Twitter/IG – @janetmsrd

Mathea Ford: [00:00:27] Hi there! It’s Mathea. Welcome back to the Nutrition Experts Podcast. The podcast featuring nutrition experts who are leading the way using food starts today right now with our special guest Janet Brancato. Janet, it’s great to have you on the show today.

Janet Brancato: [00:00:43] Hi Mathea! So glad to be back!

Mathea Ford: [00:00:45] Yes! So, this is our monthly News Edition where we kind of talk about current events and what’s coming up in the next month. And I’m excited to have you on the show and talk through our topics today because I think these are things that are just in general good to remember but also very specific to the holiday season. So, we’ve just finished Thanksgiving. What did you do for Thanksgiving?

Janet Brancato: [00:01:12] So, Thanksgiving. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I usually go to my mom’s house she has a full house of people on my husband’s side and also my brother’s family and everybody brings dishes. So everybody helps out. She does the main event which is the turkey and we all help with the sides so and I love to do the roasted vegetables because that’s something that I really love. So, I bring that. Yeah! It was amazing! We had a great day of family and good food.

Mathea Ford: [00:01:43] Yeah! So, I love roasted vegetables because you really… I just love that flavor that the roasting in the pan gives them. You know it’s not the in water or steamed but it’s got a depth to the flavor I guess is the right way to say that. So that sounds awesome.

Janet Brancato: [00:02:02] Yes! I like to roast up butternut squash, cauliflower, broccoli. You can really you know you use that sheet pan and some spices that you love, a little drizzle of olive oil and like you said it takes on a nice crisp flavor, brings out the sweetness of those vegetables and everybody loves them even the kids. So, it’s always a win win.

Mathea Ford: [00:02:22] So, for my Thanksgiving we had prime rib because it’s my birthday the week after Thanksgiving so that’s my favorite meal. And we have my nephew and my mom and my dad and my husband’s mom and dad and we had a great meal and just so you know you’re right it’s so nice to be together and we actually had pecan pie which the good thing is is that it’s not my favorite. So, instead of an eighth of a pie I just really took like a 16th of a slice. So and then a little bit of ice cream. I love having that wonderful meal to sit around. We all put our phones away and just have a good discussion and talk about what a wonderful year we’ve had because regardless of what has happened you know we’re here together as a family. We’re having a wonderful year.

Janet Brancato: [00:03:14] Yes, I agree. It’s always a special time. And like you said just to reflect on the things that you’re thankful for and family is up there at the top. So I totally agree.

Mathea Ford: [00:03:24] Into some of our topics, this year Starbucks has come out with some very good probably the same ones they have every year espresso beverages different types of high kind of seasonal products. And I wanted to talk through because I think you can easily forget how many calories are in a liquid drink because it’s so easy to just get the drink and drink it and not realize how much is in it. And so I wanted to talk through some of their seasonal drinks maybe talk through the calories in a grande with like a 2 percent milk and then compare to the calories in a different size or with some different changes. So, a couple drinks I wanted to talk about was the eggnog latte because that was really surprising to me. The eggnog latte for a grande which is a 16 ounce with 2 percent milk has 470 calories, 20 grams of fat and 57 grams of carb.

Janet Brancato: [00:04:27] Wow! That’s a lot!

Mathea Ford: [00:04:29] That’s like how many teaspoons of sugar?

Janet Brancato: [00:04:31] You know the carbs there – 57 carbs. I mean you know you’re up there with you know definitely carbs are up there you’re getting at least what we say you know..

Mathea Ford: [00:04:44] I think you said like 14.

Janet Brancato: [00:04:45] Yeah! You mean that did not tell me the specific sugars there but they’re telling you the carb. But definitely, yeah, you look at it like five carbs. You know if you’re going by the you know each carb serving so a little weight like you said it’s a liquid. So, usually you’re eating something along with it. You know you’re having a nice warm beverage but a lot of times you’re eating something with it. So, it’s generally a lot of times people are not just having that alone and maybe they’re having another little sweet component with it. So, it can really kind of add up. And like you said a lot of it has to do with the size. You know that grande is 16 ounces but they do you can bring it down to a tall or even a short which the tall is 12 ounces and the short is 8 ounces. So, you’ll stumble over.

Mathea Ford: [00:05:37] So, the short cuts it in half. Basically 8 ounces. Obviously 16 to 8 but you still get that flavor like you said that you want but it’s not as high in calories and carbs. It’s only 230 calories.

Janet Brancato: [00:05:52] Exactly! Yes. So that would really bring everything down just by changing the size.

Mathea Ford: [00:05:58] Yeah. And switching to nonfat milk so you’re getting a little bit less fat too.

Janet Brancato: [00:06:03] You’re getting less calories, less saturated fat. Some of these can be high in the saturated fats as well. The caramel brulee latte I was looking at was 40% saturated fat, 8 grams there. So and that’s the type of fat that can raise our lipids so we know we don’t want to overdo the frequency of that. If you switch it to a nonfat milk then you bring in everything down then bring that 0 down to we bring in that fat component down to zero. So that will really help.

Mathea Ford: [00:06:33] So in a caramel brulee latte with grande with 2% milk is 370 calories, 6 grams of fat and 66 grams a carb but you’re right it’s not all bad carb but it’s just a lot at once especially if you’re drinking it. So, if you put in a grande with nonfat milk and you go down to a tall which is a 12 ounce it’s 250 calories, no fat and 51 grams of carb. So that cut out a whole serving carb just by bringing it down to the tall size. It’s still a lot. So, I think you know the important thing to realize is frequency like you should not go to Starbucks to get a caramel brew a latte every day. There’s also which I already told you this is my favorite but a peppermint white chocolate mocha. I don’t even know if I want to talk about it because then I’ll have to realize how much…

Janet Brancato: [00:07:34] Even just the names and descriptions can definitely make you want to go there.

Mathea Ford: [00:07:38] Oh yeah! Absolutely!

Janet Brancato: [00:07:40] These drinks you have to look at like a dessert. That’s how I usually look at them. You know if you really want to have a dessert and you’re in the mood for it again and get it. Definitely! But maybe like you said have less you know or maybe make substitutes there so that you know it’s not as decadent. You still enjoying the flavor but I generally look at these drinks as the dessert.

Mathea Ford: [00:08:04] Yeah. So, a peppermint white chocolate mocha is 430 calories at a 16 ounce grande, 10 grams of fat and 71 grams of carb. Let me see. So, if I bring that down to just an 8 ounce with nonfat milk and it comes to try to see. Oh! It’s not even available in an 8 ounce. Well, maybe it’s maybe it is. No. Oh yes it is. Okay, peppermint white chocolate mocha has 190 calories, two and a half grams of fat and 36 grams of carb. So, that’s definitely an improvement. And you would get your little bit of flavor that you were looking for.

Janet Brancato: [00:08:44] Bringing down the size, bringing it to a nonfat milk or they have dairy free options you could get a soy milk and a coconut milk. So, they do have dairy free options. You can ask for no whipped cream. Some of them do come with whipped cream but you can ask for a no whip and you can ask for less syrup. They will do less pumps. Just tell them to go light on the pump for less syrup and they will also that will cut back on the sugar, a lot sugar is coming from the syrups.

Mathea Ford: [00:09:16] I think they also have some sugar free syrups.

Janet Brancato: [00:09:18] Yes! They do have that too. You can ask for a sugar free syrup and that will have splendid in it.

Mathea Ford: [00:09:24] Okay. So I think those are good ideas for your favorite drinks if you’re paying attention because there’s lots of ways to get extra calories during the holiday season. And so why not try to manage that as well as possible. But I don’t want you to give up if you really love Starbucks and you really want a Starbucks drink. I don’t want you to not take it. I want you to pay attention.

Janet Brancato: [00:09:48] Again, yes. A lot of it is just awareness. Just building awareness and having a plan. You can have it. You can enjoy it. A lot of these flavors are only around in the holiday season. So, again you know enjoy but like we said maybe it’s the frequency. Maybe not you know so often. Make it something special.

Mathea Ford: [00:10:10] So, speaking a little bit about portion control I know we just got done with Thanksgiving but we will have lots of opportunities to have similar foods like the green bean casserole, the candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, turkey, ham all those types of things. Pumpkin pie. Let’s talk about a little bit I read this Consumer Reports article about how an average calories that Americans take in is 3,000 to 4,500 calories at a Thanksgiving meal. And that’s really I think just because we can easily take two or three servings of a food without even thinking.

Janet Brancato: [00:10:50] Exactly! Yeah. The foods are a little richer and the portions tend to be a little larger. Everybody’s getting those either large portions at your first plate or you going back for seconds or thirds like you mentioned. So, that’s where it could really add up.

Mathea Ford: [00:11:03] Even a little bit extra calories on Thanksgiving or a holiday thing is not bad. It’s because as long as you go back to kind of eating your normal healthy diet the next day. Let’s talk about what are some normal portion sizes and how many calories those might have and how we might even be able to identify that when people are eating like mashed potatoes?

Janet Brancato: [00:11:27] A cup serving about 237 calories. So, if you think of a measuring cup as a visual that could be you know like a typical serving size although a lot of times we say a serving is half a cup which is like a handful or an ice cream scoop amount. So, a lot of times for those carbs we tell people for advice using half a cup as a serving but here in the article they’re mentioning a cup as a serving size. So, that makes sense for a holiday.

Mathea Ford: [00:11:59] Yeah! And they’re saying the 237 calories is talking about making it with whole milk butter and salt and really you can use nonfat milk. You can use you know 2% milk and replacing some of that butter with low sodium chicken broth. You need the broth and the milk to make it mash and stick together but you can change a few of those ingredients and make it a little healthier mashed potatoes.

Janet Brancato: [00:12:27] Yeah! That’s great! That’s excellent! And I know some people even for a lower carb option do cauliflower mash or they do half cauliflower, half potato and bring the carbs down a bit. But either way even just by lightening up using like you said a non-fat, low fat milk and then the broth is going to give it nice flavor, a little you know use the low sodium but it will give it a savory kind of flavor. I think it would be a nice addition.

Mathea Ford: [00:12:57] Yeah! So, green bean casserole. Did you have green bean casserole at Thanksgiving.

Janet Brancato: [00:13:01] I did! Yes, the tradition.

Mathea Ford: [00:13:03] I love that stuff.

Janet Brancato: [00:13:05] I do too.

Mathea Ford: [00:13:05] Yes! It mentions a third of a cup which is smaller than a half a cup. Its a serving is still the 227 calories because you use the cream of mushroom soup and the French fried onions. A regular half a cup of green beans I think is about 20 calories if you don’t put all the other stuff in it. So, you may consider doing that just a small serving or you may consider not dressing them up so much and just doing plain green beans.

Janet Brancato: [00:13:33] Yeah! I mean a lot of times even at Christmas I just like a little drizzle of olive oil, some garlic and some sliced almonds on it or just a little squeeze of lemon and it gives it a nice flavor. You’re tasting those green beans where I feel like sometimes it gets lost in that casserole you know but I think if you lighten it up a little bit you know it gives nice color, festive and it’s really delicious. Green beans are very versatile you could even roast them I’ve roasted green beans and it’s a little crisper. So, they’re pretty you know versatile but you can definitely lighten it up a bit. Same thing when you’re making that if you want to make the green bean casserole use like maybe like a low fat milk or non-fat milk. I think they have a lighter version of the mushroom soup too. You can look for it and maybe add a little less of those fried onions just maybe just at the top instead of throwing them in.

Mathea Ford: [00:14:28] You know what kind of surprised me is the the turkey or the main you know what you’re thinking about when you’re thinking about the meal, Turkey about the size of a deck of cards which is about 3 – three and a half ounce portion is just with the meat white meat with the skin is just about 175 calories and dark meat has about 200 calories and that’s almost the lowest calorie thing on the plate.

Janet Brancato: [00:14:57] Yes! That’s the protein and that’s the item that’s really going to fill you up so you can opt for a little more turkey and then go lighter on the other options you know and will really fill you up if you’re getting for that. Even just that 3 ounces you’re getting a good 27 grams of protein there. Trying to get at least 15 to 30 grams at a meal will fill you up and satiate you so you’re definitely in that zone of getting that you need just in a 3 ounce portion which is like the palm of your hand or the deck of cards.

Mathea Ford: [00:15:31] Yeah! And then there’s some other things people like like stuffing and sweet potatoes. Same thing just a half a cup serving, you might look at the box and see what the serving size says it is and just pay attention to kind of how much you’re taking. It is about the size of an ice cream scoop. Most people don’t use an ice cream scoop unless they’re in a commercial kitchen. So, use the lower sodium broth. Think about like you mentioned. So, if you’re even if you’re using a box stuffing you could chop up some cauliflower pretty small and maybe even some other veggies like carrots or celery and add it in so that gives more volume but the calories from all the breading and stuff in the stuffing is less because you’re getting more of those vegetables which are higher fiber, lower carbohydrate in your meal. I love that idea. I’m going do that at Christmas.

Janet Brancato: [00:16:27] You could put mushrooms in it and they also really fill you up. They give you that savory umami type of flavor that flavor that it’s like a meaty texture to dishes so you could add mushrooms to the stuffing like you said you could add any vegetables that you love that your family loves. You could really roll them in there.

Mathea Ford: [00:16:52] Yeah! And you Just heat up your stuffing and then heat up the veggies chop them up and heat them up and then mix them together. And that sounds really good. So… Let’s talk a little bit about holiday weight gain because I know that’s something that people are concerned about a lot this time of year. I found this Time Magazine article that talked about it’s from December of 2016 but it mentioned that people even though they think they gain about five pounds they gain about one pound, one to one and a half pounds over that November to January timeframe they just don’t tend to lose it. So, then it comes back and just stays on your body that next year you add another pound next year you know just people don’t tend to lose that. So, did you have any thoughts about kind of helping people manage their holiday weight gain or how to approach it?

Janet Brancato: [00:17:44] I always tell clients if you could even maintain your weight over the holidays, it’s not always a good time to be losing weight because obviously you want to be part of the festivities. You want to enjoy the you know all the holiday options and that type of thing. But even if you can coast through with your weight that will be a great goal you know. And again I think it starts with like you said being mindful, being aware maybe how much you’re eating or how often you’re frequenting like a Starbucks or something like that. Or am I exercising? You know. What am I doing to try to like keep my lifestyle going? The holidays shouldn’t throw off your lifestyle completely. I mean obviously it’s going to be a little bit more than what you’re used to. But I think if you kind of tune in and have a plan ahead of time you know. Watching portions a little bit more, making sure we’re not skipping meals because a lot of times what people do is they might skip meals, don’t have breakfast, saving up all their calories for that one meal. They’re so hungry by the time the meal comes that it’s hard to watch those portions they tend to overeat. So, I say try to treat it like a typical day. Have your breakfast, have a lunch. Maybe you need a little snack before you go. by Being a little bit full, you’ll be a little bit more apt to hold back on those extra portions or extra plates and that kind of thing. You know keep your exercise going. Even if it’s not the full amount of time. You usually do a half hour and you can’t do it, if you do 15 minutes. That’s grea!. You know just try to build in some activity into your day.

Mathea Ford: [00:19:27] Well, if you have Amazon Prime you may not realize this but on Amazon Prime they have videos that are exercise videos. So, even if you can’t make it to the gym if the weather’s too bad whatever or you just don’t feel like going to the gym you can pop on one of those videos either on your computer or a lot of smart TV have Amazon Prime you can connect. And what I love about exercises, it helps reduce stress. And if you have you know if you’re affected by the less daylight or you have more stress at this time of year, you know a lot of times we miss family members that may have passed or other things that have happened and exercise teaches your body to deal with stress, teaches your body to raise your heart rate and lower your heart rate quickly using those Amazon Prime videos or other videos if you have a you know a video on a DVD or something like that. YouTube is free and there’s plenty of exercise videos on there that you can find different topics about but I just love that exercise is good for that reason. I don’t think about exercise necessarily. Like you said it doesn’t help you. You’re going to try to maintain your weight but not being stressed when you’re going to that family meal or going to out for that party. If you’re not feeling stressed you’re not going to be as likely to overeat.

Janet Brancato: [00:20:51] Yeah! Exactly right. Stress. Exercise definitely counters the stress. And like you said this could be a very stressful time of year. I know too that a lot of people get less sleep this time of year which that’s another factor that can affect our eating, our weight you know because when we have less sleep those hormones or stress hormones tend to go up and sometimes we have more cravings. So, I know it’s a tough time of year but trying to keep up with your good sleep habits is another key component to overall obviously good health but also helping with the stress relief and the holiday weight gain.

Mathea Ford: [00:21:33] Yeah! And Just another thought about what you’re eating. Try to pair like if you have say you’re you brought home from Thanksgiving or a holiday party a special dish that you really like. You brought home mom’s banana bread that you really love and you’re going to eat it over the next three or four days, just make sure that when you pair that which may be a higher sodium, higher carb, higher fat item you pair it with something that’s kind of the opposite so you have a slice of banana bread with some salad mix or like a lighter sandwich. So, you’re not eating your full regular meal plus the dessert that you brought but you’re more making that part of the total plan.

Janet Brancato: [00:22:18] Yes! Maybe even with a protein which might fill you up and satiate you a little bit more. Putting a little peanut butter maybe on that bread you know or either something on the side that this way if you can get that little flavor from the baked good but then you’re also pairing that with a protein that will be filling you up so you’re not up to fill maybe more slices.

Mathea Ford: [00:22:44] Yeah! And I also think drinking water. So, this year in about June or July I gave up Diet Coke and I love Diet Coke and I miss it a little bit but I drink pretty much plain water all the time and I do find that the more water I drink the less kind of hungry I feel in between meals. I just grab water I drink it. And so you may want to add some water, even more water to your daily meals. If you’re used to drinking sodas try to drink you know a little more water so that you’re staying hydrated and you’re not.. It helps you not feel as hungry.

Janet Brancato: [00:23:27] Yeah! And I find that water actually energizes me. Like I can feel a little sleepy middle of the day and I drink you know a cup of water or maybe half of my bottle and somehow like my brain wakes up I feel more energized. Yeah! So, when you have that midday slump try to go for drinking more water. Really try to make sure we’re well hydrated.

Mathea Ford: [00:23:51] Yeah! And I really wanted to end this news edition talking about mindfulness because in addition to stress and all the available food I think being mindful can help lead you into a good place for the coming year and instead of thinking about diet, you’re thinking about different ways that your food feeds your body and feeds your soul. Some of the mindfulness tips I found this on the Health Harvard blog from 2015 but they mentioned some tips for eating more mindfully. Their first tip was to reflect and it was kind of like taking a minute before you start shoveling the food into your mouth to think about what are you getting ready to eat. And being a little bit maybe grateful for that food that’s in front of you. Grateful that you’re there with your family and why you’re there.

Janet Brancato: [00:24:50] I love that. I think that’s so important. Like you said just reflecting and you know taking that time like you said for the gratitude and just that like you said you have that food in front of you. It’s such an awesome thing you know. And just slowing down, I think that so much of our lives are rush rush rush and even the meals become rushed. We’re not even tasting them, we’re not even savoring them, we’re not enjoying them. So, we feel like we need more because we don’t feel satisfied. So, I think like you said even just stopping from moment before you put that fork, the first forkful. And again how do you feel it? Do you feel ready to eat? Maybe take a breath for 5 to 10 seconds and before you put that bite in and really just start to slow down. Eat it nice and slow and savor it.

Mathea Ford: [00:25:45] Yeah! They also mentioned sitting down instead of standing. So, instead of grabbing a plate of food and standing around eating kind of without thinking about it. Sitting down, focusing, not having the TV on, not having your phone there and something else that I have my kids do is they have a tendency to grab the bag of chips and take it to their room and I’m always like “serve yourself a portion in a bowl. Put the chip bag away and you can eat that. And then instead of just mindlessly putting the food in your mouth.”

Janet Brancato: [00:26:19] Yeah! And that’s an excellent tip. And you know your hand is a good tool for a portion size. Just take a handful. If you have a bag or a box you know I mean obviously if you don’t want to stick your hand and you want to just serve it out but you could pour it into your hand, your hand is a great serving tool. You know you take it wherever you go. It could be a great you know portion size or you could read the label if you really want to see what a portion is you could lift that bag or box over and say “oh! It says you know five crackers” or you know whatever it is. You fill those out. But like you said in a little napkin or a small plate or something like that.

Mathea Ford: [00:26:54] They mention chewing 30 times. I have an aunt who did this and I think her stomach loved her for it. I know it’s hard to chew two or three times if you’re not even thinking about it. So, just chew your food a little more before you swallow. It gives your body a chance to start those hormones and stuff that then tell your brain when you’re full and allow you to kind of stop.

Janet Brancato: [00:27:20] Yes! And I think too you take less air which could definitely cause gases and GI upset some people have stomach aches or feel bloated after meals and if they’re eating very fast or chewing very quickly they might get more gases you know as well. So, I think like you said slowing down, chewing more helps you to really enjoy those bites. It’s better for your digestion and you’ll get those full sensations. You’ll get that full feeling.

Mathea Ford: [00:27:50] And putting down your utensil between bites. So, we have a tendency to eat, stick in our mouth and go grab the next thing before we’re even then chewing. And when you chew 10 or 20 or 30 times that will help you to put your utensil down to that by fully get the full flavor out of it and swallow. And feel like we said fill full quicker because your body has that time to adjust to what you’re actually feeding instead of being behind. When you eat really fast your body doesn’t have time to tell you hey “I’m getting full!” So.

Janet Brancato: [00:28:26] Yeah. And also when you put that fork down that’s a good time to maybe take a glass of… Take a sip of your water, make a drink of your water. That could even help with the process, enjoy the conversation with your family, if you’re with other people you know. So, really making it more of an experience rather than a rushed activity.

Mathea Ford: [00:28:47] Yeah! And maybe even using a smaller plate. Taking smaller portions and because the thing about mindful eating that’s always reminds me is those first couple bites are really good and I really feel the flavor and I enjoy that flavor. But after four after four, five, six bites it doesn’t give me that same amount of satisfaction. Eating slower, eating a smaller portion and really enjoying and savoring that portion you thought might find that you really don’t get the satisfaction out of eating the whole amount that you used to eat because you got the satisfaction from enjoying it and eating it a little slower.

Janet Brancato: [00:29:29] Yeah! That’s great! Definitely! That’s that’s another key.

Mathea Ford: [00:29:32] Any other thoughts on mindfulness?

Janet Brancato: [00:29:34] Yeah! And then when you feel like you’re getting full that’s when you stop you know. I know they say resigned from the clean plate club. A lot of feel like we have to clean our plates or eat everything that’s on the plate but if you are full, your body is kind of telling you to stop and you can always wrap it up. You could always have a full lunch the next day or another meal. Don’t feel like you’re going to throw it out. So, tune into your body with mindfulness is that you’re tuned in. You’re in the moment and you’re checking with your body. Your body’s telling you. So, really try to listen to it until it gets easier as you keep doing it. Maybe it sounds a little strange but as you practice it it does get easier and your body feels better.

Mathea Ford: [00:30:24] Remember kind of what the holiday weight gain and almost everything we talked about today. It’s really about portion control. Kind of it’s really it truly is it’s about thinking about what is a serving and enjoying that food and enjoying the company.

Janet Brancato: [00:30:41] Excellent! All good tips!

Mathea Ford: [00:30:43] So, Janet, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. It was a pleasure to have you on the show. I know our listeners love listening to this News Edition every month. So, if listeners want to connect with you what’s the best way to do that?

Janet Brancato: [00:30:56] Okay, Mathea. Thank you so much for having me. They can find me at mynutopia.com. I have a virtual private practice. Also a food blog and meal plans and recipes.

Mathea Ford: [00:31:07] Great! Well guys this has been another great episode of the Nutrition Experts Podcast. The podcast is all about learning more so you can do more with nutrition in your life.

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Nutrition Experts Podcast Episode 27 News Edition, Holiday Eating, Losing Weight, Eating Healthier with Janet Brancato

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Janet Brancato is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a Masters degree in Nutrition from New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY.  She did her undergraduate studies and received a Bachelors of Science in Nutrition from Montclair State University, NJ.

She is experienced in the field of Nutrition for over 20 years, teaching groups, and counseling individuals on diet modifications and lifestyle changes to promote health.  She is experienced with kids, teens, and adults. Her specialty is weight management but she also works with various medical challenges.

The past 15 years she has worked at a local hospital in NJ as an outpatient dietitian and community health speaker.

Janet decided to expand her scope of practice and created Nutopia, LLC a virtual private practice about 5 years ago. She can meet with clients using telehealth technology from the comfort of their home or office.

The motto for her business is “Simplified & Personalized” taking the information and breaking it down into manageable goals and giving clients a personal experience. She motivates and supports clients in between visits.

Janet is also a food blogger, you can check it out on her website www.mynutopia.com.

Follow her on social media:

Facebook – @Nutopia, LLC
Twitter/IG – @janetmsrd

Mathea Ford: [00:00:27] Hey there! It’s Mathea. Welcome back to the Nutrition Experts Podcast. The podcast featuring nutrition experts who are leading the way using food starts today right now with our next guest. It’s great to have Janet Brancato back on the show today. Janet welcome to Nutrition Experts.

Janet Brancato: [00:00:45] Hi Mathea! It’s so nice to be back here again.

Mathea Ford: [00:00:47] Yeah I’m excited. We’re going to talk. This is our news podcast so it’s episode number 27 and we’re going to talk about some things that are important at this time of year. So, it’s November and we have Thanksgiving coming and we have Christmas coming and Hanukkah and all the different kind of holidays that involve getting together with families and eating. So we’re going to go over some different topics that we felt would be good to remind you of this time of year. So, let’s get started. I thought we’d start with talking about good snacks to take with you on the go. So, you may be traveling either in the car or on a plane. Other ways buses whatever. And going somewhere to visit family or whatever. So, what are some good snacks that you could take with you that are healthy that are easy to travel? Obviously yogurts not going to last very long in your purse. So, Janet did you have any thoughts on that?

Janet Brancato: [00:01:52] Yes! I always try to bring snacks whether I’m going on a long distance trip or even a short trip, traveling on the car, in the air. I always try to plan for a snack. Something that’s going to be easy and portable like you said. Doesn’t need refrigeration and something that’s going to really fill me up and hold me. So, I always try to pair of fiber and a protein together. The fiber comes from the plant based foods. So, maybe a fruit or vegetable or some kind of whole grain, whole grain bar or crackers or something like that along with a protein, a simple easy protein could be like a nut butter or some nuts or seeds. I find that those are easy to sort of bring about on the road. They really fill me up and hold me and also give me energy because the longer the time you want to keep your energy up, mental alertness, you know stay well hydrated definitely bringing water on the go as well.

Mathea Ford: [00:02:52] Yeah I love the idea of whole fruits. You can buy I’m usually in the airport or whatever but you also can see a lot of times at gas stations or whatever they’ll have some whole fruit at the counter but obviously even easier is just to bring some with you. Bananas, oranges as long as you have a little bit of wipes to keep your hands clean. Sometimes we don’t think about this. My kids hate it when their sandwiches are soggy but if we’re traveling you can bring you know kind of the components separately. So, you bring bread or crackers like you said and then maybe some peanut butter and jelly or some other things that you want to put on those crackers, hummus. I know hummus isn’t always as portable. But also I love the idea of nuts. Like you said it got fat and they’ve got protein and that’s going to really hold you over for a longer period time specially between meals. And I just think sometimes we snack a little too much. So, I always try to make sure and do a double check and do I really want some water. Do I really just need some fluid. We tend to not drink as much while we’re traveling and I think it’s because it’s less convenient. And it’s a little bit harder to manage but just make sure that if you’re snacking and you think you’re hungry. Check “Okay, when was the last time I ate? Maybe I just need a little water.” Any other thoughts on that?

Janet Brancato: [00:04:17] I mean I look at companies now are coming up with these little nut butter packets it’s much more portable. And even the little hummus cups. Again they’re small sort of portions size even a little guacamole are made to be very portable and snack size which is great because you can take one of those. And like you said pair it with like a fruit or vegetable or a little baggie of crackers. So, those little packets are definitely helpful even a little oatmeal pack. Do that in hot water in the airport or on the plane and then you have a quick little you know nice little oatmeal there or the little trail mix you could actually make your own or you can buy a trail mix all the way together. It’s about the drive through usually a nut or a seed. Sometimes you can get a roasted bean in there. Those are really good and nice and filling.

Mathea Ford: [00:05:11] Yeah! I love dried fruit too. There they can be a little calorically dense but just a few of them gives you that sweet instead of buying a candy bar. Have a little bit of that. So, that’s a good point. Okay. So, those are some of our ideas for you to you with travel and we all know what’s coming up at the end of this month that’s the big meal that everybody either loves to get together with their family for just gets together with their family for Thanksgiving. I wanted to just talk about kind of the calories that are in the Thanksgiving dinner and how we can make a Thanksgiving dinner a little bit healthier. And I think you’ve got to start with your plate when you go through the first time I just grab a little bit because there’s always plenty of food. If there’s not plenty of food then that’s a different story. But usually there’s an abundance of food. So, I just grab a little bit of everything and I want to try. Broccoli Bacon Salad, a little bit a turkey, a little bit of gravy, a little bit of potatoes and then I get a little taste of everything. And I get a chance to sit there and talk with my family and munch and then not too many snacks beforehand. You know usually there’s maybe some snacks out our appetizers while everybody’s waiting for the food to finish but I try to manage that just that way and then go back and get a little bit more of the things that I really like. And I also try to remember that there’s always dessert – a special in Thanksgiving.

Janet Brancato: [00:06:44] Exactly! And just don’t stress out you know enjoy the holiday. I know a lot of people eat or skip meals you know to save up for the Thanksgiving meal. They’re not eating breakfast and denying lunch. What happens is that really does backfire because at some point the hunger is on it again and then it gets to lose control. So feeding regular breakfast have something for you. Well, don’t stress but stay mindful. Like you said you know stay mindful of how much you are putting on your plate. You know depending upon whether you’re the host or you’re going to the celebration you know you can have a little bit of control of what’s there. So if you are the host you could again try to make sure there’s a lot of those nice healthy colorful vegetables on hand. If you’re going to the celebration you can bring a veggie platter or you could bring a fruit ball so that you know there’s going to be some options for you to go to. So, yeah definitely you know stay mindful with your portions but enjoy yourself. I mean it only comes once a year and there might be foods that you only eat on Thanksgiving. So, again you know maybe start with a smaller helping but try a lot of different things and then eat it nice and slow. Really enjoy.

Janet Brancato: [00:08:03] I think a lot of us are so hungry and are so excited that we eat so quickly. We feel like “oh! I feel I didn’t eat anything. I know they want to go back for more so I think like slowing down and really savoring even that first plate is really kind of a good strategy as well.

Mathea Ford: [00:08:21] Yeah! And if you’re the host or hostess. Good idea is to think about the serving spoons that you use. So, if you put that big huge serving spoon in the mashed potatoes everybody’s going to grab that much and put it on their plate. But if you maybe use some smaller utensils or even just offer them they’re at the place then people can take a little bit of everything, you can let everybody know hey you know just grab a little bit of everything you want and come back and get whatever you know you liked the best and get a little more of. But you’re right there’s things we only eat at Thanksgiving that we only put that effort into eating of that time a year. Other things are, I feel that way when I go to a new place I’m always like I don’t want to go out to dinner at a place that I’ve already been if I can unless I really really want something from there. So, if you can get a dinner roll any time of the year then I would skip the dinner roll but you can’t get necessarily candied yams anytime of the year. Candied sweet potatoes or maybe your mom’s grooming casserole. So, do enjoy that at that time but it’s not required that you take a little bit of everything. You know it’s not that way. So, you can really eat just a dab. And so I think we forget that it is about gathering and about being with your family.

Janet Brancato: [00:09:45] Exactly! Yeah! Focus on the people. You know there’s some things you can do like go a little lighter on the gravy you maybe it was a little drizzle vs. weeding out a drenching something in it or leaving the skins off the turkey. Like all those things can really help too.

Mathea Ford: [00:10:02] And with your dessert you can go have these so maybe they cut the pumpkin pie piece eight to a pie. Find somebody that wants to maybe go half and half maybe you want some pecan and some pumpkin. And we used to do this when I worked at the V.A. hospital for Thanksgiving dinner we would do just half slice each of a pumpkin and a pecan so that everybody got a little taste of each but we weren’t given them two whole slices of pie. And so think about maybe cutting your desserts a little smaller so that people can get more like a taste. If we’re the host, we tend to do a lot of the work and we’re exhausted. So make sure that you’re inviting other people to help. People will offer to bring things and I just encourage you to let them.

Janet Brancato: [00:10:48] Yeah! Yes! Definitely get them involved with preparations and then even helping you you know with clean up or that type of thing. It shouldn’t be all on one person you should be able to enjoy yourself as well.

Mathea Ford: [00:11:03] Yeah. My husband got a new grill this year which is it’s an indirect heat. I don’t know if it has these wood pellets but the guy who was selling it to them looks at me and he says “well, he can cook the Thanksgiving Dinner Turkey on this grill.” And I was like “I’m all for that.” So, this year we’re going to try it out with my husband took the turkey on his grill. Anyway it’s more like a oven. It’s kind of a weird setup but I’m like I’m so excited because now I get the oven back to cook a few other things. So…

Janet Brancato: [00:11:34] Beans, ram, shallots is delicious!

Mathea Ford: [00:11:36] Yeah it’ll be a little interesting taste but Thanksgiving, Christmas this applies to any of those things we’ve kind of gone over so when you got a Christmas dinner do the same thing. Cut your desserts in half. Try to just take a little bit of everything if that’s what you want and not overdo it. There was an article that just came out that talked about nutrition and exercise and bone strength. So, I wanted to talk about that a little bit because I’ve always thought weight bearing exercise is really what helps with bone health. I mean I know you need to have the vitamins and the minerals as long you have a healthy diet but this one asks the question: Exercise or Nutrition, which one has a bigger positive impact on bone strength? And the result that they came up with is that nutrition has a greater impact on bone mass and strength than exercise. And they said even after the exercise training stopped the mice that they were looking at this in mice. The mice retained bone strength gains as long as they ate a mineral supplement diet. So, this was from University of Michigan and it was dated October 17th. So, you have any thoughts on that Janet?

Janet Brancato: [00:12:53] This was something new. I mean I knew these minerals are so important for bone health but you know I didn’t realize that the nutrition kind of outweighed the exercise is actually something that I thought was very interesting. It wasn’t just the calcium but it was the phosphorous too so it’s really all those minerals sort of working together that seems to be you know like you said even more so than…. The exercise is important too but this sort of is more of a longer term solution and works even without the exercise. Yeah this was great to know that you know having that diet with all those minerals is so beneficial to own mass, bone density and strength. That was something new for me but I think that’s very good to know.

Mathea Ford: [00:13:41] Well, I think we’ve known for a while that bone mass kind of gets to its peak when we’re young, 20s or whatever. This just reminds me that it’s super important to make sure that our kids are getting a variety of food that you don’t have a lot of control over or when they go out on their own not necessarily college but that’s the peak bone time and we need to make sure that they’re either getting foods with lots of calcium and phosphorus in them. You know that obviously begins early but making sure that our young teens and early 20s we’re encouraging them to make sure they get that healthy diet. And I know we do some but we always kind of I mean I always kind of thought “well, they have to get their exercise soon. And I think exercise is definitely important but it’s one of those things where it’s like “wow if I make sure that they have a good basis in their diet, they’re getting all these vitamins and minerals that’s can also make sure that that happens.”.

Janet Brancato: [00:14:44] Yeah. Well you know when they’re young they’re at their highest calcium needs. And I know a lot of kids kind of stopped drinking milk at a certain age. They don’t like it. So, it’s always that challenge of getting in the calcium. Some of them don’t eat green vegetables that are also its source of calcium like the Kale you know or broccoli you know but we want to try to see where we can maybe entice them by you know me making a smoothie or doing something with a yogurt Parfait or just finding ways to get those calcium and phosphorus rich foods into their diet young like you said they’re in a bone building phase though it is sort of a key component of their eating. We want to try and make sure that we’re being tuned into that.

Mathea Ford: [00:15:27] Yeah I think they tend to move towards the phosphorus dense beverages like sodas or diet sodas which then can deplete that calcium because our body has a very extensive mechanism to manage the calcium, phosphorus levels in our blood.

Janet Brancato: [00:15:44] Throws off that balance.

Mathea Ford: [00:15:46] Yeah. So, I just wanted to kind of talk about that little because I think it’s new information and obviously it’s an animal study and it doesn’t translate automatically to humans. But as we learn more, I think it’s important to just start thinking in that direction. It just reinforces what we already knew that nutrition is important especially at that stage in life. And like you said plant based diet can get plenty of calcium. You don’t have to necessarily be eating or drinking those beverages so… I saw this other article that was posted and I’m trying to see the date on it. It said it was from March early this year. Broiling, barbecuing, grilling a roasting to prepare beef and chicken increase the risk for Type 2 diabetes. And this was information from the Nurses Health Studies and the Health Professionals Follow Up Studies which was 289 men and women. So, it’s a big study. And I’m sure they looked at food frequency questionnaires then correlated they said fish was not related to this but the chicken and the beef. So, I just want… It says it who frequently ate meats and chicken cooked at high temperatures were one and a half times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes compared to those who ate the least. There was also increased risk of weight gain in developing obesity in the frequent users of high temperature cooking methods which may have contributed to the development of diabetes. I think we’re discovering more and more that obesity is almost a precursor to especially type 2 diabetes. So, did you have any any thoughts on that Janet?

Janet Brancato: [00:18:11] Yeah! I Mean I saw that it said too that it had a lot to do with if it was well done or the charred well. The more charred, the more of an increase risk vs. if it was lightly browned so that seemed to be a little bit of a difference there. And there seemed to be a connection between those chemicals coming from the heat contributing to an increase in inflammation which we know is sort of a root cause of a lot of chronic conditions. So, it’s a little bit better to use a slower cooker method so cooker, baking, steaming, stewing or even a stir fry. It’s not really on the high heat for long. We don’t want to encourage people to under cooked chicken for sure. But you know you want to cook that chicken fully but… So, some other options, my thoughts were you can do to grill marks ahead of time if you’re concerned about this you do on the grill quickly just to put in the grill marks and then bake the chicken you can again just bake it. You have the option to do some blackened type of things which is more of a spice not necessarily a charring. As we learn more there’s a lot of conflicting information too. You know obviously but I think there’s that link between the obesity and the diabetes that while they found these people were more likely to eat you know red meat and chicken that were cooked on a grill. They also said that they tended to have more issues with the obesity which I believe may be of good factor in there too that they obviously said is a factor but they didn’t necessarily measure how much. So…

Janet Brancato: [00:19:59] Right! And it could be a portion control thing too. Maybe just eating less of that you know animal source as well. I mean you know they’re recommending just not keeping it on the high heat that long. Like you said you want it to be cooked through but maybe just initially putting it on there and then finishing it off in a slower cooker method putting it in oven in or in your crackpot or something like that you could finish it off and then maybe most of the meal are more plant based. So, kind of balance things out a bit more.

Mathea Ford: [00:20:29] Yeah! I think we are finding very clearly that plant based diet whether they’re purely vegetarian or just emphasized the plants on the plate vs. the meat is leading to better outcomes is making people healthier. Obviously lower a little bit lower fat but also just not processed. So, they said in this that to lower diabetes risk it’s important reduce red and processed meat consumption which like you said can be replaced by chicken, fish, plant protein foods. I would say that if you’re concerned about diabetes you definitely need to manage how much of this especially red meat and processed meats that you’re eating. You know they also again I’ll go back. They said the weight was also a factor. So, as long as you’re getting exercise and doing those things that we know altogether combined make you healthier then that’s going to lead to a decreased risk as well.

Janet Brancato: [00:21:31] And that those player base foods are also anti-inflammatory so they can really help sort of counter that inflammation as well.

Mathea Ford: [00:21:40] So, inflammation your body you want to talk about for the listeners maybe they don’t know what that is. Would you kind of talk through them a little bit?

Janet Brancato: [00:21:47] You know something that’s more of inflammation is when your body gets some sort of trauma to it like you got a cut or a bruise. Obviously, there’s a short term inflammation going on the body so your body sort of heals and repairs it. This is talking a little bit more of a chronic inflammation where there’s sort of an underlying invader sort of you know in the body that your body is sort of like fighting against and it’s causing you know other reactions in the body that might be causing you know blood sugar to rise or you know other sort of chronic conditions sort of as a way of a defense mechanism or is this inflammation of that kind of makes sense. But it’s sort of something that’s a little bit more chronic versus a short term response. It can like you said diet is a part of it. Also weight gain or obesity could be part of it too. You know causing certain chemicals to get released in the body and can cause other ripple effects in the body. Maybe a little more insulin resistance could go on or you know things like that might happen a little more long term obviously not in the short term but it could be more of a root cause of things.

Mathea Ford: [00:22:56] So, if you think about when you have like a cut in that area it gets a little bit swollen and it gets red, it gets kind of puffy your body has a reaction where it goes in there and starts to clear out those cells.

Janet Brancato: [00:23:09] Yeah! your immune response.

Mathea Ford: [00:23:10] Right! So, imagine that happening kind of chronically in your body and so your body is constantly kind of at that irritated state and that’s not healthy for us. So, the things we can do to lower that inflammation are important. And you’re right those eating more plant based foods are definitely lower inflammation. So, we’re getting close to the beginning of the year. And while we don’t want to think about a diet and I don’t like the word diet. Well, I like the word diet as far as a diet is the food that I eat every day. It’s not necessarily a change that I make for a couple of days to lose weight. So, if you think about healthier overall diet a report I saw said that the Mediterranean and the DASH diets are kind of the top ways of eating. I see it summarized a lot as W-O-E way of eating. So, the Mediterranean and the DASH diet are the best overall diets for 2018 at least that they were measuring. And I wanted to talk about. So what is the DASH diet and what is the Mediterranean diet? So the DASH diet is an abbreviation for Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension but basically it’s more plant based. It has lots of fruits and vegetables, a little bit lower sodium, lower protein but it was a study that showed that when people ate that way, that their blood pressure was naturally lowered and I do a lot of counseling with people, educating people with kidney disease especially Stage 3, Stage 4 but when people who have stage 1 or stage 2 kidney disease, if their doctor actually told them. I always encourage them to follow a DASH diet because it is it does help lower their blood pressure and it kind of puts them on a little bit more plant based diet. So, Janet do you want to talk about what the Mediterranean diet is?

Janet Brancato: [00:25:13] You know pretty much stems from that area of the world. The Mediterranean countries which of course has those influences and definitely there’s the plant based you know a lot of plant based foods as well as fish. So, fish a big food on the Mediterranean diet you know. So, in those Mediterranean countries they eat a lot of fish and olive oil is their main source of fat which we know is a very healthy type of fat. The mono unsaturated fats it also has those healthy omegas, a lot of the antioxidants. So, it’s really been known. Lots of research with olive oil being not only heart healthy but good for the brain and the joints. So, it’s overall very healthy type of fat. They also eat beans and nuts and seeds. So those are also a big part of the diet as well. Definitely you know those plant based foods are a bigger amount on the plate. Obviously, you know there’s some grains too in those countries they eat them in smaller portions. You know they’ll have maybe some bread or the pasta or maybe a couscous or some type of Mediterranean grain but it’s also balanced with fish and the plant based foods, the vegetables or fruit and that olive oil on top. So, this diet for really centuries has been shown to increase longevity and decrease chronic conditions. It’s a heart healthy. So, a lot of these countries have been studied and they have low incidences of heart disease in this Mediterranean region of the world.

Mathea Ford: [00:26:55] I think sometimes we think fat is bad or we’ve taught people, recent cardiac guidelines that fat was bad. And I know that the American Heart Association changed their recommendation to not necessarily say a specific amount but more just like you said the healthier fats so the mono and polyunsaturated, the olive oil. And I just want encourage people that fat is not necessarily bad in our diet. It actually helps us to feel full and is able to eat a little less even though the calories might be the same but there it’s healthy for our hearts and our brains. The reason they stated that they liked the DASH and the Mediterranean diets the bests was because they felt like they were more sustainable. So, I know in the past we talked about intermittent fasting and the Keto diet and they just felt like those were more short term diets and really it’s easier just the sustainability of like a DASH diet or a Mediterranean diet is higher because it doesn’t necessarily you know restrict an entire category of food. It’s just more about portion and about the amounts and the types of food that you eat the majority of. But again there it is plant based and both of those are really heavily based in fruits, vegetables, grains, beans type diet that work over a longer period of time.

Janet Brancato: [00:28:25] Exactly! And they’re you know they’re well-balanced. You know they fill you up, they satiate and their food quality you know the quality of foods. High nutritional quality and they’ve been effective. They’ve shown to be very helpful in the long term. So, like you said it’s a long term solution not really a short term solution.

Mathea Ford: [00:28:45] I think we forget sometimes when we lose the same. Losing, regain the same ten pounds that we really don’t get any further ahead vs. even if we weighed the same if we were eating a healthier diet that’s not as like we talked about inflammatory for our bodies and helps us to all of those healthful benefits we’re better off than if we can go back and forth on some different fad type of diets. So, yes! Food quality is super important. And kind of to end the podcast, I wanted to go over this talking about some different things, foods, ingredients that we like to use in this time of year because it’s the fall and we like “If you’re like me like your sweaters” and you’re kind of that fall feeling. Oh! When I flew somewhere last week and I flew through Denver and they had snow and I was like “oh I’m so excited to see snow. Even I really didn’t want to go out and be in it because it was cold. So, some different ingredients we use a little more this year. Cranberry. So, any ideas for using more Cranberry in our diet?

Janet Brancato: [00:29:59] Yes. I love cranberry. And it’s really so personal adds a little bit of sweetness but it’s got those antioxidants in it and fiber. So, I usually top it on my salad. I put a full cranberries on top on top and it really adds a nice flavor. You could put it in your oatmeal or your yoghurt or you could bake with them. A lot of great… They’re very versatile.

Mathea Ford: [00:30:21] Yeah! We are talking about Thanksgiving a little bit before and I know cranberries, jelly or whatever is one of the things we do but we could put cranberries like you said on a salad. I love them on steel-cut oats. They’re delicious and it does give that little bit a sweet without being sugary. So, what about garlic? I know a lot of people that love garlic. So, how do we use garlic a little more?

Janet Brancato: [00:30:44] Ohh garlic! I use garlic on everything. I’m Italian. I love garlic. It’s very versatile and it will really add a lot of flavor. And it has a great health component and its been shown to lower cholesterol, lower risk of cancers so you could really chop it up. You know you can either buy the already diced if you really don’t have time to do a lot chopping and throw it into vegetables or if you’re doing a stir fry, if you’re making a sauce. You know you could just grate a little bit over dishes. Keeping it on hand to add flavor if you’re cutting back on salt or sodium you know adding herbs and spices and garlic is a great way of adding flavor and nutrition.

Mathea Ford: [00:31:29] Yeah! And you dont have to add a ton but definitely if you’re cooking like if you’re doing a dish where you have a little bit of onion that you’re sauteeing you could throw some garlic in there and sautee it at the same time and it makes it really that flavor come out.

Janet Brancato: [00:31:44] Soups. It chops these and you can add it to soups.

Mathea Ford: [00:31:47] So, cinnamon. Cinnamon may help lower blood glucose level in people with type 2 diabetes. But we love adding cinnamon this time of year. So adding it to coffee, adding it to on top of all desserts or hot or iced tea. What other ideas?

Janet Brancato: [00:32:06] I love to just springkle it on my apple. It’s a great combination if you slice up an apple and you just sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon on top. It’s a great flavor. I also like to put it on my yogurt, my plain Greek yogurt. A lot of people say well it doesn’t have a lot of flavor, it’s tangy. If you add that cinnamon it actually adds a little sweet flavor to it. Oh I like to do that as well.

Mathea Ford: [00:32:29] A couple of my favorites that I love to use I’m probably going say this wrong. So apologize ahead of time. Turmeric. I call it tumeric but turmeric and then ginger. I love both of those. I love adding them to it. It’s got that warm flavor. I’ve loved Ginger since I was pregnant because I used to eat I used to buy pickled ginger in the Asian markets and I would buy a pickled ginger and I had a lot of stomach upset with my daughter and so I would chew on it but I just loved ginger grated and things or a little bit of spice and the turmeric is that warm, it gives warm flavor to me. So…

Janet Brancato: [00:33:15] You know those are great and turmeric adds nice color too. You can put it on your vegetables and then you roast them like a cauliflower. I like to add ginger, turmeric to a stir fry, to your salad dressing. Ginger adds a nice little flavor.

Mathea Ford: [00:33:31] Yeah! A little garlic, a little ginger in that salad dressing. And Asian dishes for those. You know I just remembered I was thinking about this when I was little we used to put a little bit of cinnamon on rice when we would have a little bit of milk and rice for breakfast. And I love a little bit of cinnamon on rice just like you said kind of gives you that warm feeling.

Janet Brancato: [00:33:54] Right! And you can put a little in Chile. Seen that in recipes too.

Mathea Ford: [00:33:57] Well I think Janet, that’s about it for this week. So, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. It was a pleasure to have you on the show. I know our listeners love listening to us just chat about the news that’s going on in nutrition. So…

Janet Brancato: [00:34:12] It was great. I really enjoyed it.

Mathea Ford: [00:34:15] Well guys, this has been another great episode of the Nutrition Experts Podcast. Janet, if listeners want to connect with you what’s the best way to do that?

Janet Brancato: [00:34:23] You can find me on my web site mynutopia.com. I have a virtual web site. Virtual practice working with pediatrics and adults and I also have a food blog as well so I’d love to connect with you.

Mathea Ford: [00:34:35] Okay, so this is the podcast that’s all about learning more so you can do more with nutrition in your life. Have a great week and talk to you next week.

 

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Nutrition Experts Podcast Episode 22 News Edition, Nutrition Counseling, Halloween Candy, CBD and Vegetarian Diets with Janet Brancato

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Janet Brancato is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a Masters degree in Nutrition from New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY.  She did her undergraduate studies and received a Bachelors of Science in Nutrition from Montclair State University, NJ.

She is experienced in the field of Nutrition for over 20 years, teaching groups, and counseling individuals on diet modifications and lifestyle changes to promote health.  She is experienced with kids, teens, and adults. Her specialty is weight management but she also works with various medical challenges.

The past 15 years she has worked at a local hospital in NJ as an outpatient dietitian and community health speaker.

Janet decided to expand her scope of practice and created Nutopia, LLC a virtual private practice about 5 years ago. She can meet with clients using telehealth technology from the comfort of their home or office.

The motto for her business is “Simplified & Personalized” taking the information and breaking it down into manageable goals and giving clients a personal experience. She motivates and supports clients in between visits.

Janet is also a food blogger, you can check it out on her website www.mynutopia.com.

Follow her on social media:

Facebook – @Nutopia, LLC
Twitter/IG – @janetmsrd

 

Mathea Ford: [00:00:27] Hi there! It’s Mathea. Welcome back to the Nutrition Experts Podcast. The podcast featuring nutrition experts who are leading the way using foods starts today right now with our next guest. It’s great to have Janet Brancato on the show today. Janet, we’re back with our news episode of the Nutrition Expert Podcast. How are you doing today?

Janet Brancato: [00:00:49] I’m doing great! It’s so great to be back with you Mathea. I am so looking forward to discussing some really great topics today.

Mathea Ford: [00:00:57] Yes! So, we found some interesting things that we thought were in the news. If you haven’t listened to a news episode yet, we are talking about things that are basically coming up in the news media or other areas that we think need a little more explanation or maybe people that didn’t pay attention to or just even give our opinions on them. So, we have a couple good topics. I wanted to start with talking about nutrition counseling vs. nutrition coaching and I don’t want to say either of them is bad but I just think it’s important to talk about the difference because as a registered dietitian/nutritionist I think it can be sometimes confusing as to what our role is in health care or even sorting with patients. So, did you have any thoughts on nutrition counseling versus nutrition nutrition coaching?

Janet Brancato: [00:01:53] Yeah. I mean like you said sometimes people you know get mixed up with that but when I think about the counseling portion especially when it comes to nutrition counseling I think about you know making a proper assessment going, seeing what’s going on medically with somebody. Counseling session, spending time talking about their diet and maybe medical needs that they have. So, there some medical nutrition therapy going on as well whereas maybe more of a health coach might be more on the preventative side of things maybe looking more at wellness. They may talk about a little bit more than just diet. They may look at the person’s total lifestyle. Nutrition counseling does too but I know a lot of health coach talk about sleep and other lifestyle practices. Maybe spiritual practices so they kind of look at that whole person. Nutrition counseling does as well but a lot of or sometimes is a little more medically oriented with maybe past medical history or you know the medications you know. So, some of those differences is usually what I like of how I distinguish it as well.

Mathea Ford: [00:03:05] In most states, we have licensure for dietitians so you have to be licensed to do medical nutrition therapy, nutrition counseling and nutrition coaching is not necessarily regulated which is almost frustrating for me as a dietitian because I’m regulated by the states and by our organization as far as ethical guidelines and standards. And I’m not complaining about that. But it also you know it’s difficult to use some of it beyond the state that you’re in or working with other people so I think sometimes we as dietitians or able to do nutrition coaching across borders if we’re wanting to do something that’s not necessarily like we’re not necessarily look at your labs writing a note for your doctor using that type of thing but using our knowledge and our basic information to help someone to make better choices. And that reminds me of like the motivational interviewing a little bit that people do sometimes but really it is about what you’re motivated to change. So, I think that’s where health coaching can help is looking at what are you willing to do. What is the next best thing for you to try to change.

Janet Brancato: [00:04:26] Yeah exactly! Yeah. And also as an RDN, we need to follow evidence based guidelines so you know we need to keep up with continuing education credits. Like you said we need to follow research that’s been done. Evidence based guidelines. We’re giving somebody the information that they need you know supporting them with knowledgeable information as well as counseling.

Mathea Ford: [00:04:53] That’s interesting. Thinking about the outcomes based and evidence based because this man I went to our Oklahoma City Dietetic Association we had a speaker come and he was talking about obesity and weight loss and stuff but something he said towards the end was very interesting because he talked about the Placebo Effect. So we all know what the placebo effect is or if you dont. It is basically used in a scientific study. A lot of times you may you’re given either a drug or you’re giving something that is inactive but it’s called a placebo and they tell you you basically don’t know if you received the drug or the placebo which have no effect but people respond sometimes to getting the placebo just because they believe they can. He presented a study about anabolic steroids and these weightlifters believed that they were being given a steroid and they are had these incremental gains that were supported you know by research to show as significant 10 percent 20 percent increase in bench press and things. And the reality was they were given a placebo. Everybody was given a placebo and so when they were told at the end of the time after they made these gains that really you were not given the drug you did this you know basically because you believed you could you push yourself harder whatever. And they found that after a period of time that those people went back to having not the same gains because they basically didn’t have that belief anymore. And so he referred to that as Noceboing. Basically, you tell him you given placebo tell them they can do it and then you tell them “Oh! I didn’t give you a placebo, you can’t. You do it all on your own and that’s like a buzz kill or whatever.” So, he was using that in reference to talking about when you talk to your patients to basically let them and help them understand and feel like what they’re doing is normal. So, yes you didn’t lose weight this week but you can’t give up because you have the ability to do this or these things work. We know this outcomes research works. Instead of giving them an excuse of saying like I’m if they say “I’m an emotional eater” you don’t give them that basically cop out to say “Okay, you’re an emotional eater you don’t have. You’re never going to lose weight whatever.” We would never say that but in a way when they say “I’m an emotional eater” we have to basically direct them back to those things that they can do that are going to help them to help them to believe that this is possible.

Janet Brancato: [00:07:44] Yes. You have to help somebody find their motivation even have to paint that picture for them where they want to be. When I work with clients I asked them you know “what is your goal? It’s not just losing weight. Okay. What is that going to mean for you? How is that going to change your life? How are you going to feel? How is that going to affect you long term?” And you know you sort of get it out of them and paint that picture with them. It really stirs something. They start to picture themselves. You break it down into steps with them and you say “Look, this is something you can do let’s break it down the steps. It’s the small goals that you can work you know and that’s why the extra support is needed when you’re coaching or counseling somebody you know you’re that extra support. You’re that cheerleader behind and you’re helping them along the way. If you just have one visit with somebody you’re going to give them a lot of information but it’s going to be hard for them to put it into action. People need that extra support and motivation. That’s what I try to instill and provide is that support and helping them to break it down into doable tests like you said that they can feel like “wow! I did this you know and I can continue to do this!”

Mathea Ford: [00:09:00] That reminds me of the way we think about our goals a little bit sometimes. Instead of thinking “I want to lose weight to think about what am I going to” So, if I think I want to lose weight and I lose five pounds then I achieved my goal. Maybe I didn’t maybe my goal was was to lose 50 pounds but I lost five pounds and I go “Oh! I met my goal!” But if my goal is to run a marathon or to exercise five days a week or to even state that number instead of saying “I want to lose weight, I want to weigh 150 pounds.” That gives you somewhere that you’re going not somewhere that you’re moving away from. So, that can be really helpful to people. We know that we have training. We go to school, we have an internship, we have testing, we work on outcomes based. Health coaches can have some training. I’ve talked to a couple in the last couple months that were functional nutrition practitioners and it seems like that’s a pretty good program that has a lot of basis in education, facts and even some RDs that I talked an RD the other day that did that has done that certifications.

Janet Brancato: [00:10:19] The thing that I also want to mention is that nutritionist is a broad term. It’s a very general broad term. So, like you said there you want to find out what the background of that person is. Okay? You want to find out about their training and their coursework. Did they just take one class or did they have a degree in it or do they have some kind of certificate of some sort from accredited you know institution? So, you want to find out you know like I said nutritionist is broad we know a registered dietitian has a criteria. Okay? So, we have all had to go through the criteria of coursework and passing a rigorous exam and keeping up with credits where a nutritionist is more broad so you need to do a little math homework to find out. “Okay. What kind of background in training?”.

Mathea Ford: [00:11:09] Okay, so next topic. I’m not even going to do a transition. I don’t even know how to do one. I want to talk a little bit about eating more plant based. This month is vegetarian month. So, how can you eat more plant based? What is eating more plant based mean?

Janet Brancato: [00:11:31] Okay. So, eating more plant based and we’re finding out more and more that the plant these foods are anti-inflammatory. So, you know inflammation can be a root cause of some chronic conditions. So, anti-inflammatory sort of counters that and can help anti-aging. It can help with weight management. It’s good for your heart. It’s high in lots of nutrients, fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and a lot of vegetables are lower calorie so you can actually more of those foods feel nice and full but you’re getting all these benefits so and it’s also really great for the environment. We’re also finding that it’s good for our gut bacteria which is good for overall health as well. So there’s really so much evidence about eating more plant based. It doesn’t mean you have total vegetarian but it’s leaning more towards plant based. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds seeing where you can implement them into your regular eating pattern.

Mathea Ford: [00:12:32] I think people get confused when they think about plant based because they think it means vegetarian. But what it really means is more of your plates is from plants, from nutrients and I listened to your presentation in February or something this year and I honestly can’t remember the person although I apologize but she talked about you either eat the plants that have the nutrients or you eat the animals that ate the plants that have that nutrients. So, eating plant based more plants. You’re basically just going closer to the source because cows and pigs and other animals that we eat eat plant based. So you’re just getting the nutrients that they basically processed and built in two different muscle that we then eat. So, more plant based is just going to be having a smaller portion of meat or even just using some time to not have meat on your plate.

Janet Brancato: [00:13:31] Yeah! You could fill up three quarters of your plate with some plant foods you know. Try to get in a lot of times you could do half your plate as vegetables. It could be one main vegetable like maybe a big salad or you could do maybe some broccoli in the salad or you know you can kind of break it up with different types of vegetables you could put a whole grain on your plate which could be like a brown rice or a quinoa or something like that or some beans, maybe some fruit and then either an animal source like you said a really good quality animal source that’s had a plant diet. The grass something grass fed or something that’s lean, some kind of a lean source of protein would also be good as far as a balanced plate.

Mathea Ford: [00:14:15] How do you get more vegetarian if you’re thinking about it kind of doing a little more vegetarian? How do you work to get more vegetarian meals in your diet?

Janet Brancato: [00:14:26] Well, me personally I mean I you know I tried to when even when I go food shopping I try to start at that produce section and I try to get inspired. I try to start there. Now, there’s all that color and I try to add color to my plate whether I’m having a meal or snack or say “well, how can I have some color?” You know so I try to add veggies either at every meal. Slip it into dishes that I’m making. You know sometimes we’ll have a vegetarian night where I just kind of swap out the maybe the chicken for some beans or a little tofu. You know so you could find ways of either going meatless for a night, you can do like a Meatless Monday a lot of people do that. And there’s actually a great website called meatlessmonday.com where you can find some great recipes. You could start with one day a week. Some people I know do they might do meatless per say breakfast and lunch and then they’ll have an animal source at dinner. I’ve done that or I might do one or two nights where I do meatless. So, I’m not you know I try to eat more plant based I’m not totally vegetarian. I do enjoy you know meat, chicken, fish you know. So, I don’t have a problem with eggs and dairy and all but I’m leaning more towards plant based something I do you know hope to inspire others to do you know. So, it’s so easy to do adding more veggies doesn’t all have to be fresh veggies because I know a lot of people say well they go bad easily. So, maybe some frozen you know have some frozen veggies that you could easily turn into something for dinner. Something that you could either put in the microwave or easily sautee. It doesn’t have to be very time consuming.

Mathea Ford: [00:16:08] Yeah! I’ve found that it seems to almost take just a little bit of a mindset switch. So, when I grew up meat was the center of the plate and that was how I grew up with that mentality, that thought process. And so starting to think of it as more filling, better, healthier foods but also just acknowledging that I didn’t really need the whole eight ounces or twelve ounces of steak. I really only three or four ounces of that meat and sometimes not even any meat at all but just enjoying the flavor of those vegetables and getting that variety. So, I love the idea of you know doing like a meatless meal once a week or whatever but I have really found the biggest change for me is to just say to myself “I really enjoy eating salads.” That doesn’t matter whether why I’m doing it? If I’m doing it just because I enjoy it. Does it have to be for some higher purpose but instead of thinking I have to eat meat at every meal because or somehow I’m going to be deficient. Which it’s very rare in this country. You did mention something that I do would like I would like you to talk about a lot more because there are nutrient dense foods and there are calorically dense foods. And since I know there’s a lot of people in this that are not necessarily dietitians can you talk about how nutrient dense and calorically dense. What’s the difference?

Janet Brancato: [00:17:43] It’s so nutrient dense is going to mean that you’re going to get a high amount of nutrients. So, very high in nutritional components like vitamins, minerals, fiber, other nutrients maybe those antioxidants. You’re going to get a lot for lower calorie intake. You can actually eat more of those and get more of those nutrients but naturally they’re high in nutrients. Calorically dense is meaning that the calories are a little bit richer. You know still there still could be nutrients especially if it’s like a healthy oil or fat or something like that. They’re a little more calorically dense but they still providing nutrients but you might have to eat less of those just because those calorie intake. And then you have calorically dense foods maybe more like sugary foods or sweets or things like that that are lower nutritionally but are calorically high. So, those you might have to again not do every day or watch portions of those nutrient dense foods you could eat more often, eat more higer portions of you know they tend to be less calories but they are higher in nutrient profile, those vitamins and minerals, nutrients that our body needs – essential nutrients that we need.

Mathea Ford: [00:19:01] Yeah I think sometimes people don’t realize you can eat a ton of salad for the same amount of calories as you know two or three ounces of meat or you know a doughnut or something like that.

Janet Brancato: [00:19:13] Sometimes you can’t even eat when I show people like a cup of raw veggies you know is a serving and you it’s lot to eat a cup of carrots. Let it crunch two halves and you get full you know but the calories are so low you could eat more of those you know. So you could definitely you know fill up on that versus even you know something that’s maybe more calorically dense might be like nuts. You want to eat a smaller portion but there are nutritionally there are good quality you know. So sometimes you know you have to think about that too. But yeah definitely a lot of salad and those veggies you could definitely do more of.

Mathea Ford: [00:19:50] You also mentioned that being a vegetarian is a lot more than just not eating meat. What do you see as some of the social or environmental focus that people who are vegetarian because it does seem to be more of a lifestyle choice? And when I talk to people especially dietitians who are working toward plant based diets or vegetarians. Most of the time they mentioned the social and environmental impacts that it has.

Janet Brancato: [00:20:17] It’s more environmentally friendly you know for the environment. Obviously, plants are good for our environment right? Providing oxygen and feeding our you know feeding for the environment in general. It’s so important. And then even just the processing it takes a lot to process animal sources of food you know. So, that’s sort of a big impact on our environment just caring for you know and handling you know meat production and that type of thing of where it is you know plants you know are really good for the environment. You know so we need more you know why those plant based foods. Like I said just you know in terms of the environmental cycles.

Mathea Ford: [00:20:59] Speaking of eating more veggies, I know we talked about I think we talked a little bit about farmers’ markets last month but I wanted to talk about farmers’ markets all year round and specially kind of the summer year finding farmers’ markets near you. Because I think farmers markets are a great place to start if you’re trying to be more plant focused more plant based. If you go to a farmers market you find products that are in season and then you create the rest of your meal around that. So, if tomatoes are on season and cauliflower and broccoli are in season you go and you go to the farmer’s market you buy those and you find you know you make your meal a round that. Instead Of making it around the meat, you’re making the meal around the vegetable. So, or you know fruits as well but… So, I have a resource for people if they want to find a farmer’s market near them, you can go to a localharvest.org/farmers-market so that will show farmers markets near you. But you have any tips for shopping at farmers’ markets?

Janet Brancato: [00:22:13] I love going to farmers markets. I think it’s really great for towns, for farmers. Like I said environmentally it’s great. You’re connecting with where your food sources so you get to know where your food is coming from and like you said seeking out seasonal produce in foods is really great because they’re at their peak of flavor and they’re at their peak of nutrition so they’re probably more budget friendly. You know it’s not going to take a toll on your budget as well. So, yes, so seeking out a good farmer’s market in your area they’re popping up all over. I know by me we have almost every town has one. You just want to maybe have a plan before you go. Think about maybe what you want to buy you know, how much you want to spend you know. Think a little bit about meals maybe you want to do or maybe you want to just try something new, you want to just kind of peruse through the farmer’s market first. Just kind of walk around and just sort of take in what’s there you know and what’s what looks good to you maybe even talk to the farmer or whoever is selling the products and just kind of find out a little bit about it. And you know whatever kind of strikes you mean you know try something new. That’s always good to always try to look for maybe something I can’t find in the grocery store. So you do that as well. I actually wrote a book, a blog recently about farmer’s market but more on the food safety end of things because we actually had a friend that was on vacation and became ill from something that they ate at a farmers market. Not that this is going to be a common practice but it just kind of stood out to me and I said wow I really wanted to write a little bit about maybe some tips for just kind of keep it safe. You know just making sure that you know the people that are serving you the food or if you’re buying like something Jarg you know that they’re there handling things well. Things look clean you know. There’s gloves on when they’re handling the food. So, you know just safety practices that you just want to maybe you know make sure that things will like I said clean, if anything refrigerated you know that temperature controls are there of some things being served hot or cold. Those are things to keep in mind too. Farmers’ markets are safe but you know you just want to sort of like you would any other type of restaurant or food market. Just want to make sure that things look clean are handled well. You know maybe things are covered if there’s insects around you want to make sure that things look safe as well. But farmers’ markets are wonderful. Like I said you can find so many good delicious finds, produce and other maybe some of them have bakery type items as well seasonal cheeses but you want to make sure things are pasteurized. You know that things are safe as well.

Mathea Ford: [00:25:08] Well, it’s important to note that most cities if you’re serving food do inspections. So if you don’t see some sort of food inspection sign or they usually have the rating or something you may want to be a little more cautious. But I agree with you that it’s also a great way to get to know farmers and talk to them and to say “hey if you’re trying to buy more organic” I think a great way to get maybe some more organic stuff without necessarily it’s expensive to be quote unquote certified as organic. But a lot of times if you talk to the farmer and you ask them about how they’re doing, how they’re raising their produce, how they’re you know what kind of pesticide are they using. A lot of their practices are along the lines of organic but maybe they didn’t have the money or the resources or it’s not a 100 percent organic but it’s certainly better if you’re choosing along those lines. So, I think it’s great to get the opportunity to get to know them and talk to them and find out how how do I know this is right? How do I know that avocados are right? How do I know that whatever type of thing is healthier or ready to serve and how is the best way to serve it? So I think it’s a great opportunity to talk to farmers and get to know them and a lot of times like you said they have prepared foods. They may have Jelly’s, they may have other things that they make.

Janet Brancato: [00:26:42] Yeah! And Find out about it.

Mathea Ford: [00:26:43] So, I think it’s just great when you’re thinking about eating more organic, eating more vegetarian if that’s what you want to do. We know there’s research that shows that eating more plant based is definitely healthier. So, just change your focus a little bit on that plate to being more about the side dishes so to speak. So I wanted to I on the Food Nutrition magazine this month. There was talk about Cannabis and it was a one page article written by Janice Bissex who’s going to be on my podcast and I thought it was a great article because CBD is in almost every state. And so CBD is short for I mean I’m probably mispronounces cannabinoid oil. Its something like that. That’s why what we call CBD. So, she talked about some myths and thoughts and I just wanted to talk a little bit because I think even my first impression when I saw CBD being sold. First of all, it’s being sold everywhere at like gas stations in stores and on the Internet and I happened to have a little bit of hesitance when I think there’s probably a lot of quality difference between. You don’t know necessarily that is the highest quality depending on where you’re buying it. So, I would just caution people if they’re looking for CBD to make sure they know the source because they they’ve done some testing randomly and found that you know there’s this is still a product that is not regulated or tested like a medicine because it’s considered like a supplement. So there’s no rules that if you say it’s 10 percent or 50 milligrams or whatever that that has to be there.

Janet Brancato: [00:28:40] Right! Yes. See, that’s what I had read as well that you don’t always know what the concentration is going to be and if you’re going to get what they’re saying that’s in there as far as a CBD oil so you may not get that concentration. So, knowing like you said that source because it’s not regulated you may or may not be getting all of that. So that’s that’s sort of a key thing to remember.

Mathea Ford: [00:29:04] CBD is used for a lot of different things. There’s a lot of claims people make. I don’t believe any of them have been researched. And the reason that I’m in research is because they’re part of the marijuana plant. They are not marijuana. So, CBD versus marijuana, CBD does not contain THC which is the psychoactive part but I’ve had a little bit of reading and did you know about the endo cannabinoid system? So, it’s a system that’s in our body and it’s basically like a neuro it’s a receptor in our body. And there are some in our brain and there some along our nervous system and that’s what the endocannabinoid cannabis oils or whatever connects to that cause the relief that people feel. And I was like I have never heard of this system and it’s because basically marijuana has been a drug and it’s considered a drug sold by the FDA but are not well federal government. As a lot of states approve it, I think we as dietitians have to start understanding what the effects are and what the changes can be and how it can help people because both of these medications if they’re I shouldn’t call them medication both of these products if they’re truly what they say they are do have benefits for people.

Janet Brancato: [00:30:38] Yeah! I Mean I’m not an expert in it and I’m really interested in finding out more and I want to listen to your podcast about it. But just reading a little bit about it it really does encompass. I mean if it’s does what it say it’s going with you know relieving anxiety, pain, pain management, insomnia, other saying seizure disorder, inflammatory bowel disease, muscle spasms. So, again this is what is being said as far as health benefits of CBD and even medical marijuana for chronic pain like I mentioned cancer, decreasing appetite, epilepsy. So you know we’ll have to wait and see you know sort of outcomes with that. Like you said you see I’m seeing it everywhere you know in terms of CBD because it doesn’t have the THC in it. It’s you know you can find it in oil form, there’s gummies, there’s all kinds of methods of using the CBD. But like you said it has to come from a reputable source so that really is a key component there. But it’ll be interesting to see the future of this. They are definitely you know it’s a hot topic.

Mathea Ford: [00:31:51] One of the things that I think people are confused by is a lot of times people see hemp seed oil and CBD oil and those are two different things. The hemp seed has grapes like antioxidant properties but it doesn’t necessarily have the same function of CBD. But even my first impression was that it’s dangerous or risky and CBD oil if you’re truly getting a product that is tested and produced ethically then it’s not just oil and water in a jar. Then it can be people can find some some help from it. So yeah yeah yeah I talked about it. You know that’s interesting because I think a lot of times here in Oklahoma we just became the 30th state or whatever to approve medical marijuana. And when I talk to my doctor it’s almost like there’s still a fear about it. They just don’t get educated on it. They don’t understand it.

Mathea Ford: [00:32:59] If you feel like it’s something that’s good for you. Talk to your doctor verify that it’s not going to be affecting you negatively. So I would just I guess kno medical professional, we tend to go with the outcomes based on the evidence base. In this case there’s just not the research because of the past history. What I hope in the next 10 years were like “Okay. These are all the research and the sort of things that have been shown.” You just have to make sure that it’s truly what it says. All right. So this month is October and we went from talking about CBD which can be gummies.

Janet Brancato: [00:33:36] Uhuh!

Mathea Ford: [00:33:37] Let’s talk a little bit about Halloween because Halloween is a big opportunity to just get your sugar fix. I want to talk about some ways that families and dietitians and health care professionals can help people to not necessarily go crazy on Halloween. So, you got any ideas?]

Janet Brancato: [00:33:58] First of all don’t stress about it. I mean I have a lot of clients are saying “Oh no! Halloween’s coming!” It’s only one day. Here’s a thing, maybe don’t have candy hanging around in your home. Some people buy it so early because the stores are putting it out. You know as soon as summer is over you see the Halloween candy out in the grocery stores which always makes me laugh. But people start buying and so it’s hanging around their house too long. So you know I always wait. I know personally I wait. So, right before Halloween I only try to buy a few things you don’t even have to buy all candy. You know I know a lot of people that will not provide like pencils or erasers or you know you could do non-food related giveaways. But if you want to you know have the candy maybe something that you don’t like have that in the house. That could be something that you do buy something that you’re not a fan of. So that could be something as well as I said just don’t have a lot of bags hanging around and then once the holiday is over. Get rid of it. You could donate the candy or just kind of slowly get rid of it. I used to do that with my kids just slowly empty out the bowl every day. But with your kids again you know try not to make such a big deal about them. Obviously, it’s exciting but some things that you can do to maybe control their intake might be you know making sure they eat something decent before they go out trick or treating. You don’t want them to be starving when they go trick or treating they’re going to be eating all that candy as they go so maybe try to give them a little mini meal or good snacks. And this way they’re sort of full. They’re not so hungry. And you know maybe talk to them about like you know we’re not going to eat while we’re trick or treating just you know get the candy and when you get home you know you want to check that candy make sure packages are closed and things like that so you know we want to make sure that it’s safe. So, tell them to just bring the candy home and then you can kind of sort through it with them. So that would be great as well. And then you know maybe let them select a few of their favorites to have that day. You know just like them because they’re going to want to eat their candy. You don’t want them to go crazy but you know maybe a couple of their favorites they can enjoy.

Mathea Ford: [00:36:13] Yeah! Love these ideas. In my house. Yeah, we try to pick the last very last day to get the candy and then I agree. So, sometimes I’ve taken my bags of the candy and put them in the freezer. So, it’s kind of hidden behind the vegetables. The frozen vegetables so the kids not hold for it and then they can have it some time later. But I agree with donating. A lot of times dentists sold what you donate or you know shelters whatever. Just make sure you’re checking the candy. A lot of things look like candy that aren’t candy. And make sure that the kids are brushing their teeth after eating the candy. So, they have a meal. Maybe you let them have some candy at night just make extra sure that they’re brushing their teeth instead it eating that candy kind of all throughout the day and then just not it back can cause more cavities so. But yeah you had some great tips there just trying to make sure that it’s just a little bit healthier and giving away things that are aren’t candy. And sometimes you just limit how many houses they go to. I know they want to go to tons of houses and they want to stay out for a couple of hours.

Mathea Ford: [00:37:30] But truly you if you dress up, you do all the pictures and go to houses for an hour 30 minutes or whatever. A lot of times kids are tired at that point anyway. They’re dragging. You don’t have to somehow let them have a whole pillowcase full of candy.

Janet Brancato: [00:37:50] You could set up a little time limit with them. And I think in terms of food allergy so maybe if you’re going to have candy in your home. Keep in mind that you know kids you know maybe don’t have to have nut free type of selections too. So, that would also be good. But yeah, just don’t overdo it. You know and maybe have a conversation before Halloween say “you know it’s fun, it’s enjoyable. You know let’s have a little strategy here so we’re not overdoing things” and sometimes having that little conversation with your child. You know they might be going to parties and all that so you know not just see what the plan of the day is going to be. But like you said if you give them that healthy meal before they go out and then you sort of have a conversation look “when you come back full check for your candy you could select you know two or three favorites. Enjoy it. Brush your teeth” like you said and then you know right after that I start to get rid of it in some way.

Mathea Ford: [00:38:45] Well and a lot of times you just reminded me a lot of times at schools they have Halloween parties or ball parties or whatever that kid can get candy at to say you just want to know kind of what the plan is at the school too if you have kids that go to school. Well it’s a great talk Janet. We talked about nutrition counseling, we talked about vegetarian, farmers markets, cannabis, marijuana and Halloween. This is a great talk today.

Janet Brancato: [00:39:13] Yes, a lot of fun, a lot of great topics. I really enjoyed it.

Mathea Ford: [00:39:18] Janet did I let you last time to tell us where to find you?

Janet Brancato: [00:39:21] So I think I mentioned it briefly last time. But yeah just remind everybody that my website is mynutopia.com. And I do online nutrition counseling and coaching. I have meal plans and recipes. And so you know you can find online and I also have a blog as well so I’d love to connect.

Mathea Ford: [00:39:40] All right. Thanks!

Janet Brancato: [00:39:42] Great!

Mathea Ford: [00:39:42] This great episode of the Nutrition Experts Podcast. The podcast that is all about learning more so can do more with nutrition in your life.

 

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