MyPyramid Updates, The Dirty Dozen, and a Video Blog!

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend! This morning my friend Cathy and I walked the Race for the Cure (a race that is held every year in Columbus, which benefits breast cancer research). Cathy isn't a runner (and really, neither am I), so we always choose to walk instead of run. That's fine with me, as we get a nice opportunity to talk about life. She's getting married this fall!

We wore the t-shirts that her company designed; Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW). Many companies have their own t-shirts for the race.

As always, it was a HUGE hit. Literally thousands of people take part in this event each year.

I walked for my grandma Lois, who died from breast cancer 10 years ago. I love you grandma!!

Video Blog

Want to brush up on your "fat" knowledge? Check out our latest video blog! In this video (on the side bar) I talk about "The Skinny on BAD Fat".

Dirty Dozen

Someone asked me to post the list of foods that are most highly contaminated with pesticides and herbicides, also known as "The Dirty Dozen". Check out this link to find the list! I try to purchase these foods in organic varieties, whenever I can. They also provide the 12 "cleanest" fruits and veggies. These lists do not pertain to other countries, only the United States.

MyPryamid Updates

Remember my rant about MyPyramid? I e-mailed the creators of MyPyramid about a month ago and they finally returned my e-mail! I'm sure they are busy people, so despite the late response, I really appreciated the time they took to explain their answers:


Question: Why does processed cheese count towards our intake of milk, but soymilk and almond milk do not?

Answer: We are in the process of updating how we handle soymilk and soy products in MyPyramid, concurrent with the development of the 21010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In the future, we expect that calcium-fortified soymilk will be considered a part of the Milk group.

Question: Why does tofu count as a vegetable, but tempeh does not? Why are french fries considered a vegetable, but tempeh is not? (it's a bean!).

Answer: The best food group placement for tofu and other soy products is being examined, and we will have better guidance on this by early 2011. Not every food fits neatly into one MyPyramid group. This is true for foods that are fried and contain a lot of fat or oil. Potato chips are made from potatoes, which are a vegetable. They are cooked in oil, so they also are high in oils. Therefore, potato chips would be considered a vegetable, but one that would be in the narrow upper section of the vegetable food group-the section representing vegetables that should be consumed less often. Also in this upper section would be such vegetables as French fries, onion rings, other fried vegetables, and creamed vegetables. All of these foods are vegetables, but they contain a large amount of fat or oil and therefore should be eaten less frequently. Vegetables to be consumed more often can be considered to be in the base (the wide lower section) of the vegetable group. These would be vegetables without a large amount of added fat, oil, or sugars. So, a plain baked potato and other plain raw or cooked vegetables would be in the base. Think of this as "you should base your food choices on foods from the base."

Conclusion: It sounds like the people from the USDA are really working hard to perfect MyPyramid. This is fantastic news. Rather than ignoring the issues, they are being proactive and answering America's concerns. They deserve a HIGH-FIVE!

Coming Up

How much added sugar do you consume each day? Research indicates that added sugars are associated with a greater risk for heart disease and other chronic diseases. Monday I will post all the foods I eat, which contain added sugars. I've added up my daily intake and.....well.....you'll see.

Thanks for reading everyone, and enjoy the nice SUNNY (hopefully??) weekend!!