Yesterday, my day began quite well. I completed nearly everything on my to do list, and overall felt pretty productive and good.
My diet was certainly not stellar, I ate about 3 cups of white rice, about 6 pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (recipe to come), and drank about 3 cups of coffee-- but, despite severely lacking in fruits, veggies and whole grains, I did not overly stuff myself at any one time (the rice and cookies were grazing throughout the day....) I did end off the day with an enormous salad in attempts to redeem my poor diet choices throughout the day.
Until 4 pm, I was quite happy with the day.
Last night, I had to teach an Exercise Physiology lab. I packed up my belongings and went to drive to class. My car wouldn't start. I know nothing of cars- but my first reaction is that the battery probably died somehow. Unfortunately I do not really know many people in Boston with cars who may be able to help me jump it, but I called pretty much everyone I know who does have a car to see if they have jumper cables.
One of the things on my to do list yesterday was to move my bike- as it has been outside in the elements and I have not been riding it, so I moved it into the basement.
Of course, with the car not starting, I then had to go remove bike from basement. I managed to get chain grease all over my clothes, which is especially great since another thing on my to do list yesterday was to do laundry, which I did, and now I have more clothes that I need to wash very soon in order to prevent permanent grease stains.
So, I started out on my biking journey. My front tire was flat.
Thankfully I live close to a gas station and I just went and added some air to it.
Turning onto Beacon Street from Mass Ave another Biker cut me off rather rudely (I have no problem with bikers passing me, as I am very slow, but this was not done civily at all). As soon as he passed me, he slammed on his breaks. Following suite, I slammed on my breaks to avoid crashing into him. I avoided falling off of my bike, however, I did slam my knee into my handle bars due to the abrupt stop.
Some days you just have to keep telling yourself there's light at the end of the tunnel.
I have so much to do, and I am really trying to get it done today. Strike that: I will get it done today.
Today's To Do List:
Shower Laundry Clean Room Put Grades in Grade book Write Quiz Write thank you note for internship Bake Thank you treat for internship Send internship evaluation in to advisor Find Planner Organize Wallet Call 21st ammendment (I managed to lose my wallet when drunk the other day hence the last two) Buy stamps (had a book, it had been in wallet.) Buy Lactaid (see above) Move Bike Figure out why power point assignment not working. Lab 6:30-8:30
*Those in red have been successfully completed thus far.
I am too busy to binge eat. Although I did already manage to eat a pound of rice today.... but -there is no sense claiming defeat. I have a bad habit of once I start to screw up I just say screw it and completely give up. I cannot do that today.
Clean room!! (more or less)
And I'm off to finish my list-- and not binge eat in the process. Wish me luck!
Sometimes I forget how delicious rice is, and then I have some (Especially the steamed kind from Asian Restaurants) and remember just how delicious it is.
I worked at a Japanese restaurant, Douzo, for a while, and we had “Family Meal” during our meal breaks, which always consisted of rice (white and brown were available), some form of vegetable (usually bok choy, yum), and a meat. Consequently I ate A LOT of rice, and became a rice snob because rice cooked in a rice cooker is the best, and can no longer deal with that boil in a bag business.
When cooking for myself, I generally make brown rice to get a whole grain in, and it does have a nice nutty taste and more fulfilling texture: but overall I think all rice is great. There are all those studies/ theories that gluten intolerance is on the rise basically because an overconsumption of gluten (namely in wheat.) Plus, whenever comparing a healthy diet, people always bring up the Asian diet which is largely based on rice.
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that the consumption of rice in America is growing, though this is largely in part due to the increase in Asian and Mexican Americans. Basically it was a food frequency study, and the data it found was purely correlation that those who consumed more rice had overall healthier diets. Its hard to determine if there is any real cause and effect relationship there- but overall, rice is not a negative!
Rice is overall low in fat, relatively low in calories, high in fiber (if eaten as a whole grain- brown or wild rice) and a good source of other vitamins and minerals.
“Results Rice is consumed by a significant portion of the US adult population. Compared with others who did not consume rice, rice consumers consumed a smaller share of energy per day from fat and saturated fat; more iron and potassium; and more dietary fiber, meat, vegetables, and grains. Race/ethnicity and education are determinants of the probability of consuming rice, and more so than low income status. Conclusions Rice consumers choose a diet that includes more vegetables, a smaller share of energy from fat and saturated fat, more dietary fiber and more iron than those who do not consume rice; the differences have remained relatively stable over the last decade. Accounting for race/ethnicity and income levels is important for better understanding of factors that affect food choices and for effective design of dietary interventions.” (1)
It was shown that those with a lower income were more likely to consume more rice, which isn’t surprising considering that the demographic of lower income individuals tends to be more minorities, and of course, rice is cheap.
(1) S. PATRICIA BATRES-MARQUEZ, MS; HELEN H. JENSEN, PhD; JULIE UPTON, MS, RD, “Rice Consumption in the United States: Recent Evidence from Food Consumption Surveys.” The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, October 2009.
P.S. I hope ya'll got the joke of the title-- the long and the short of it, Get it? like the grain of rice? haha-- ya I know I am lame.
Ironically – despite my love of the kidney that I discussed yesterday. I recently had a relatively serious kidney infection. Why you ask? Because I am an idiot. Greater consumption of alcohol and coffee than water, and general lack of taking care of my body.
In the process of attempting to cure my Kidney Infection I tried every at home remedy possible to fix myself including drinking baking soda in water, drinking tons and tons of water in general, vitamin c, Airshield (CVS brand Airborne), and of course, Cranberry Juice, and even cranberry supplements.
In general, I am rather anti supplement and believe that more benefits are extracted from eating the whole food, but after suffering the pain of a UTI, I was ready to try anything, so heck, I'll give Super Cranberry a try and see how I fare from now on.
In the end, I had to give in an go to the doctor and be on antibiotics—however, I will definitely not knock the healing power of some of the more natural remedies, especially as preventative measures.
Today I specifically want to focus on the Cranberry! After all it is fall and cranberries are in season, and furthermore, I am a New Englander, and cranberries are a native crop. Heck, Cranberry World is even in Massachusetts (its pretty awesome if you ever happen to be in Plymouth)
Cranberries are, of course, a fruit, and therefore contain antioxidants and phytochemicals which offer the body many benefits. However, due to their tart taste they are rarely consumed as is. Cranberry juice is one of the main ways people consume these magical berries.
Cranberries are very well known for their benefits in urinary tract health, and I’m sure, in particular any girl who has ever had a urinary tract infection, has been told to drink cranberry juice.
There is also research that shows that cranberries are useful in preventing asthma attacks, improving circulation, reducing cholesterol, and preventing ulcers!
So while cranberries are in season, eat and drink up!
For One idea on how to utilize cranberries, try out this stuffing recipe:
** I would like to cite the source of these recipes, but I have no idea... we made them last year at the BU Nutrition Club, if any one has any idea, let me know**
Cranberry-Mushroom Stuffing
Makes 8 servings (200 calories each)
1 tsp. barley malt sweetner
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. honey
1 ½ cups fresh cranberries or thawed frozen cranberries
½ loaf Cinnamon-Orange Poppy Seed bread (see below)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 ½ Tbsp. chopped fresh sage, or 1 tsp. dried
1 celery stalk, cut into ¼ inch dice
2 pounds small mushrooms, quartered
1 egg, beaten
½ cup nonfat milk
½ cup coarsely chopped pecans
1. In a mixing bowl, combine the barley malt sweetener, water, and honey. Stir in the cranberries and let stand for 2 hours.
2. To make croutons, preheat the oven to 200F. Trim the crust off the bread and cut into ½ inch cubes. Spread out the cubes on a baking sheet and bake for 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool.
4. Mix together the egg and milk. Strain the cranberries and discard the liquid.
5. In a large bowl toss the croutons with the onion-mushroom mixture. Add the cranberries and pecans and toss again. Add the egg mixture and toss for 30 seconds and serve.
Cinnamon-Orange Poppy Seed Bread.
Makes one 8” loaf (124 calories per ½ inch slice)
1 ¼ cups stone-ground whole-wheat flour
½ cup raw sesame seeds
2 Tbsp. noninstant nonfat dry milk
2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
1 ½ Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs lightly beaten
¼ cup honey
¼ cup fresh orange juice
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled.
2 Tbsp almond oil or other cold-pressed vegetable oil
1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, sesame seeds, dry milk, poppy seeds, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir until well blended.
3. Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and stir into the dry mixture. Mix just until blended. Spoon the batter into an 8 inch nonstick loaf pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool and serve. (or use in stuffing).
I have mentioned before that I have a great interest in Renal Disease. I had been hoping to work in the Clinical Setting of Dietetics and specialize in Renal Disease.
For a very brief overview: the Kidney is the organ that filters your blood and cleans out the waste, which then gets excreted as urine. It also place a large role in fluid balance in the body and can affect your hydration status, or whether or not you retain fluids.
Kidney failure and diseasecan occur as a part of other chronic or acute diseases such as Congestive Heart Failure, Diabetes, high blood pressure etc and so on…
Once someone enters Kidney Failure, they generally have to go on Dialysis, which is a process where one’s blood is filtered and cleaned out by an outside source (either a machine, or a series of “baths”) Also, ones diet is SIGNIFICANTLY affected, which is why I was so interested in it.
Basically someone with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or Renal Failure has to very carefully monitor their fluid, phosphorus, sodium, calcium, and protein intake.
If they do not follow their diet, they will make their condition significantly worse, and can wind up with severe fluid overload, which in turn makes it much harder for the heart to pump, difficult to breathe, and overall a feeling of great discomfort.
I first developed an interest in Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) for this disease after taking MNT II (which was basically a course on treating pathological conditions through nutrition therapy.) We had a case study on renal disease, and had to plan a diet for our "patient. "
It seemed IMPOSSIBLE! There are soo many limitations to the diet. I feel as though I am pretty knowledgeable about food, and (according to my bachelor of science degree) nutrition. So the thought that I was struggling so much to design a diet for someone made me realize that this population REALLY needed professional help.
Also, as I mentioned, non-compliance with the diet can lead to severe consequences FAST, such as 40 pounds of edema (water retention) in a matter of days. So, in theory, the patient would be more compliant, whereas other diseases like cardiovascular disease, noncompliance has a significant effect but the patient can't persay sense it right away. Due to this, Renal Disease appealed to me as a specialty thinking that my patients would be more apt to listen to me.
At Mass General, I work in the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and I worked very intensively over the past 2 years on a weighed diet study of Renal Disease, which furture spiked my interest in the disease. Basically the study was trying to see if feeding individuals with renal disease, that is not severe enough to warrant dialysis, the renal diet, could improve their condition and stave off ESRD. The study is still going so I have no results for you yet, I'll try to keep you posted, but anyway, I got more insight on the disease and got to work very closely with the patient population.
Since the summer, I have also worked at St. Elizabeth's and have gained even MORE experience with the renal population. and what I have learned:
I DO NOT want to work with them... (or not as much, I'm still interested in it...) Despite the dyer consequences of them ignore their MNT advise, they completely ignore their diets and are in general very uncompliant.
There are of course exceptions, but over all, renal disease is just like type 2 diabetes, or hypertension, or cardiovascular disease. Very few people listen to the dietitian. It is depressing.
I am currently doing my Dietetic Internship at Caritas Carney Hospital, and my preceptor always says, to her own dismay, "it's the nature of the beast" the individuals who wind up with these diseases tend to not put a high priority on their health. They often lead sedentary lives, and eat unhealthy foods for their entire life. There are again, always exceptions, some people are just genetically predisposed to these conditions or they are subject to them as comorbidities and complications of other diseases they did not persay have control over- but for the most part- lifestyle plays a significant part in the development of Kidney Disease, and people are not generally that motivated to change.
It occured to me that the fact that I wanted to work with Renal Disease patients made NO sense in regards to the fact that I am mainly interested in prevention. Once some one has ESRD- they are at an END STAGE! there is no prevention here... which is why the process of elimination is detering me away from this field.
This post does have some relevance other than just a review of the Kidney... check back tomorrow.
This post is somewhat of an extension of yesterdays, I guess I am just feeling rather philosophical lately.
I want to share one of my favorite poems, which is unrelated to food I guess, but my blog is called LIVE and eat abundantly, no? So in essence I can tie any thing in!
After a While
After a while, you learn the subtle difference Between holding a hand and chaining a soul, And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning And company doesn't mean security, And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts And presents aren't promises, And you begin to accept your defeats With your head up and your eyes open, With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child, And learn to build all your roads on today Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans, And futures have a way of falling down in midflight And after a while, you learn That even sunshine burns if you get too much. So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure... That you really are strong And you really do have worth And you learn and learn... With every goodbye, you learn.
by Veronica A. Shoffstall
I think it most obviously applies to relationships, but really it is about life in general. Things fail and fall apart, life does not turn out the way you expect. Friends, family, significant others, and even strangers disappoint you on a day to day basis. But at the same time, people and life is out there exceeding expectations, surprising and inspiring you.
I have given up on the concept of "life plan," and believe more in a "rough draft of a life outline." I think you definitely should figure out what you want in life, and develop some form of plan of action to get towards those goals, but its not a hard and fast.
I am a firm believer in the Charles Swindoll statement (Maybe not the exact numbers but you get it...):
"Life is 10% of what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
I am feeling incredibly old today. Old and unsure of what on earth I want to do with my life.
I am getting really good at deciding what I DO NOT want to do, but I foresee this process of elimination business not being the best way to go about this.
I feel so much stronger, independent and adaptable now.
A year ago my life plan was: do dietetic internship (preferably down south), probably move back north, get married, working in clinical dietetics, hopefully work in Renal, and then once I had a better understanding of what I wanted to do go back for my masters in a field other than Nutrition that would compliment my practice, perhaps Public Health or Environmental Health, or maybe another Health Science. Who Knows? I also was a really big fan of the American Dietetic Association (ADA). I had served the Massachusetts Student Dietetic Association (MSDA) quite faithfully for the past few years and put a lot of effort into their initiatives to build connections among the Dietetic community, and help lobby for more rights and re-imbursements for dietitians.
And then, I was rejected from everywhere I applied. I was upset, but I had expected it. And although it may sound mean, I was happy that the majority of people did not get internships (the match rate was somewhere around 40% I believe), and know that I was competing against people with their Masters Degrees and years of work experience also made me feel a bit better – I’m young and inexperienced, I still have time!
I did, however, lose a lot of respect for the ADA. How could an organization leave some many people striving to get into the profession out in the cold? The fact that they allow so many people to go to school for dietetics, but then form such a harsh bottle neck for getting into internships just seems so unfair.
Of course, there are plenty of options to do without persay getting your RD (becoming a Registered Dietitian), but there are certainly much more opportunities, and often a higher pay scale with the RD.
On the plus side, I am not getting a bit more experience working, and doing the combined masters/ internship, and gaining all these fun new life experiences.
And in the mean time…. I will continue to try to figure out what the heck I want to do.
So in conclusion, this is a really long way of saying – I expect to have some future blogs dabbling in the various aspects of nutrition that I am considering.
