DINING OUT DILEMMAS

Restaurant Meals Add Up in Calories, Costs

August is the most popular month for eating out, and while restaurant dining can offer advantages ranging from convenience to a sense of occasion, it can also add up to higher costs, more calories and less nutrition. For example:

• Women consume 250 more calories when dining out, according to a University of Texas study.
• Families who most frequently eat out consume 25% fewer servings of fruit and vegetables per day, according to a St. Louis University study.
• Children who eat out four or more times a week have higher rates of blood pressure and lower levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, according to Wisconsin's Cardiovascular Research and Education Foundation. 
• Restaurant meals cost an average of about three times as much as those cooked at home: $6 vs. $1.90, according to consumer trends research. 

To enjoy the pleasures of dining out without sabotaging your diet, try these tips:

• Start with a large, low-calorie salad. Women who ate a salad before being served the rest of their lunch ended up eating 100 fewer total calories.
• Substitute steamed vegetables or salad in place of high-fat choices like French fries or creamed spinach and you'll save 300 calories or more. 
• Ask for salad dressings and sauces on the side. First dip your fork in the dressing/sauce then spear your food. 
• Have the server put half of your entree in a box before bringing the plate out to you.

GOLFERS' HEALTH SUB PAR

Overweight, Out of Shape

Televised tournaments like this month's PGA championship project images of golfers in top shape -- suggesting the sport must be great exercise. It can be, but an over-reliance on golf carts, aversion to the gym, and excessive alcohol and junk food consumption contribute to the alarming fact that 66% of golfers are overweight.

"The results almost made us drop our hot dogs and hi-cal drinks and sit up in our Barcaloungers: Quite simply, we're in terrible shape," lamented Golf Digest, reporting on their survey of 514 golfers (80% male, average age 52.7). Among respondents, 19% have never set foot in a gym; 18% always use a cart; 29% buy hot dogs and 16% buy a beer on the course, while 9% have drunk 10 or more beers during a round. With such habits, no wonder nearly 1/4 suffer from high blood pressure and cholesterol.

Avid golfers can lower their health handicap by eschewing the cart and carrying their own clubs -- doubling the energy burn to 6 calories a minute, which could add up to as many as 1,800 calories burned over the course of a four to five hour game. While Mark Twain knocked golf as "a good walk spoiled," the health benefits of walking are nothing to sneer at: Brisk, regular walking can increase brain size, lower blood pressure, and even reverse age-related aerobic decline.

For maximum benefit, vary your exercise, by adding strength training, biking, volleyball, surfing, and soccer (rated best-all-around sport for fitness). Not only does variety reduce dementia risk -- it also prevents over-reliance on one sport to meet your fitness needs. For example, even a king-of-cardio sport like biking won't provide the bone-building impact needed to prevent osteoporosis.

HEFT & HALITOSIS

Breath Gets Worse as Weight Goes Up

If health risks like heart disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia seem too far off to motivate weight loss today, then perhaps more intimate and immediate obesity side effects may preempt procrastination. These include psoriasis, heavy snoring, and now, bad breath.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University, Israel, used several methods to monitor the breath odor of 88 male and female volunteers between the ages of 20 and 55, including an old-fashioned "odor judge" -- someone trained to smell and rank odors. Nearly 30% of the subjects fell in the foul-breath category. Study author Dr. Mel Rosenberg found that “the higher the BMI, the greater the likelihood of having elevated breath parameters." Other strong predictors of bad breath: infrequent tooth brushing, excessive alcohol intake, and snoring (these last two might be related to dry mouth). In fact, to the extent that extra pounds aggravate sleep apnea, dry mouth might also be the culprit among the obese for breath woes.

So, would bad breath evaporate if you start melting off the pounds through diet? That depends. Atkins' low-carb dieters are more likely to report foul breath than those on low-fat diets. On the other hand, filling up on high-fiber, low-calorie, nutrient-dense fruit and vegetables can increase saliva production and moisten your mouth. Fruit and veggies are also generally loaded with vitamin C, which helps inhibit oral bacteria growth. In particular, chewing on herbs like parsley, rosemary, mint, and others will keep your mouth busy, moist, and refreshed for zero calories.

BANANAS UNBEKNOWNST

Four Best-Kept Secrets About Bananas

You probably know that bananas are a Superfood for your Heart -- thanks to nutrients like potassium, fiber, vitamins C and B6. But bananas actually contain thousands of different compounds, as hinted by the graph below, depicting results of a Dole-sponsored analysis of banana flesh. 

Such research adds to a growing body of knowledge about bananas and the nutrients they contain. For example, here are four little known facts about banana nutrients that are bound to surprise you.

1. Bananas boost iron absorption. Bananas are a top source of prebiotic fiber, which increased iron absorption by 28% in one Cornell University animal study. Bananas are also an excellent source of vitamin C, which helps "prep" iron in plant sources for absorption. The absorption effect only works when the vitamin C and iron sources are consumed together.
2. Bananas & boy baby gender. Dietary research on potassium intakes during pregnancy may bolster the old wives' tale linking bananas with having boys. Compared to those who gave birth to girls, mothers of boys consumed 300mg more potassium, on average per day. One banana contains 450mg potassium.
3. Bananas preserve muscle mass. Potassium, this time on the other side of the age spectrum: Seniors with higher potassium intakes had more lean muscle mass than their potassium-poor peers. Researchers believe the metabolic by-products of potassium help to maintain the body's alkaline balance, counteracting the breakdown of muscle driven by excess acidity.
4. Bananas fight fat -- and not just by protecting muscle.  Bananas contain resistant starch, which ferments in your large intestine, creating by-products (butyrates) that block conversion of some carbohydrates into fuel. Bonus: Bananas' prebiotic fiber also help curb hunger.

HOT WEATHER HYPERTENSION RISK

Blood Pressure Rises With Temperature

Yet another reason to stress over global warming: Blood pressure rises when hot weather hits. Italian scientists monitoring the blood pressure of patients (age > 65) found that hotter days equaled higher blood pressure at night -- as much as five points higher when the temperature had ranged over 78 degrees. This effect was only observed among seniors being treated for high blood pressure -- not among unmedicated seniors or younger patients.

Previous research had shown that during cold weather, those prone to high blood pressure were more vulnerable to heart attacks. Perhaps moderation -- even in weather -- may indeed be the key to better health. While you don't have much control over the elements, you do have control over other factors impacting your blood pressure, ranging from diet to exercise.  For example:

• Those who derive more protein from vegetarian sources enjoy lower blood pressure than their more carnivorous peers, according to British research.
• Three 25-minute walks a week are enough to lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in one Japanese study.
• Add strength training: University of Maryland researchers found six months of weight lifting helped those with high blood pressure shift back into the healthy range. For best results, follow weights with some light cardio to mitigate any short term spike in blood pressure.
• Eat more bananas, cooked spinach and lima beans for the potassium needed to blunt the hypertensive effects of excess sodium.
• Get magnesium from soy, seeds, and seafood to help dilate blood vessels.
• Choose strawberries, broccoli, and red bell peppers for the vitamin C needed to help prevent oxidized cholesterol deposits that can clog arteries and restrict blood flow.
• Avoid excess salt and caffeine.

Bonus: Learn from blood pressure expert Michael Roizen, M.D., in this interview from Dole TV.

GET MAGNESIUM, STOP GALLSTONES

Cuts Risk by Third--But 64% Are Deficient

Simply meeting daily magnesium needs can slash men's gallstone risk by a third -- yet two-thirds of men fall short on this mighty mineral. Increasing magnesium intake is easy -- and delicious -- including such healthy sources as greens, grains, fish and beans (see below).

The University of Kentucky Medical Center study analyzed dietary data for over 42,000 men and found that those who consumed adequate magnesium (RDA 420 mg/day) from diet alone enjoyed a 32% lower risk of developing gallstones than those in the bottom fifth of intake (260 mg/day). Researchers speculate that magnesium deficiency may cause problems with triglyceride and cholesterol levels, which in turn may raise gallstone risk. An estimated 10-15% of Americans (30-45 million) suffer from gallstones (solid, sometimes painful accumulations of cholesterol and other substances in the gall bladder).

Increasing consumption of magnesium-rich foods may have other benefits, including fewer colon cancer tumors, reduced diabetes risk, lower blood pressure, and more manageable premenstrual symptoms.

Try this issue's featured Superfood Recipe, Layered Black Bean & Spinach Salad, which provides nearly half your daily magnesium needs per serving -- get the other half from healthy sources like those listed below.

FISHING FOR BETTER GRADES

Omega-3 Brain Benefit Twice as Big for Girls

Increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids from foods like fish and walnuts has been linked to higher test scores (including IQ) among children. Of particular interest: The omega-3 brain boost was twice as pronounced among girls as among boys.

In a yet unpublished University of Pittsburgh study, researchers monitoring the cognitive abilities of over 4,000 boys and girls aged 6-16 found that kids performed better the more omega-3 fatty acids they consumed. “A large part of intelligence is determined by your genes, so to have a part determined by environment is pretty significant,” lead study author Professor Will Lessek told us. As for the increased effect among girls: Some of Lessek's earlier research suggests girls may have higher omega-3 needs, as their bodies work to store up enough omega-3s, both for them and for any future offspring.

In addition to fueling brainpower, omega-3s also promote a healthy heart and emotional wellbeing. It may even help prevent obesity: Using lab cell cultures, University of Georgia researchers found that the omega-3 fatty acid found in fish intervened in fat formation, by either stunting or killing off cells that would have otherwise matured into adipocytes. Top sources of omega-3s include salmon, black cod, sardines, flounder, walnuts, and flaxseed.