Good Mood Diet Blog

If you are a sushi-eater, you may have read the articles posted in the New York Times and online in the past week about unsafe levels of mercury in sushi-grade tuna. Most of the people that I know who eat sushi-style fish eat tuna. Many have discounted the concerns about high mercury levels in tuna, figuring that good sushi restaurants would make sure that their fish was not only fresh, but safe. The last week's news has suggested that this assumption might not be true.

According to the report in the New York Times, several excellent sushi restaurants and stores in New York allowed their tuna to be tested by the laboratory selected by The Times. The proprietors and chefs sounded as surprised as the readers and customers that their fish might not be considered safe and healthy.

According to the January 23rd article in the Times, "Recent laboratory tests found so much mercury in tuna sushi from 20 Manhattan stores and restaurants that at most of them, a regular diet of six pieces a week would exceed the levels considered acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency."

The results of the testing pointed the most accusatory finger at bluefin tuna, showing the highest mercury content. "“Mercury levels in bluefin are likely to be very high regardless of location,” said Tim Fitzgerald, a marine scientist for Environmental Defense, an advocacy group that works to protect the environment and improve human health.", reported in the Times article.

Other species of sushi-grade tuna, such as yellowfin and albacore, are typically much lower in mercury content. I advise that you request these two species of tuna whenever you order fresh tuna, especially if you are a weekly sushi-eater.

For more specific information about the exact levels determined in the lab tests, go to the online article from The New York Times January 23, 2008 edition.

Yours in a Good Mood,
Dr. Susan Kleiner

I don't usually promote products in my blog, but when I find a great product, I like to sing its praises. A great tasting food is especially important when you're trying to make your portion sizes smaller. My clients always tell me that when food tastes great, they are satisfied more easily, and they often find that they can eat less. They savor the delicious flavor, and know that they've eaten something really special. I keep that as an important philosophy as a I choose the foods that I will eat.

When it comes to pasta, most of it tastes pretty much the same: bland until you put sauce on it. I have found a wonderful pasta that is so full of different flavors you won't believe it. We are very fortunate here in Seattle that Pappardelle's Pasta has a stand at Pike Place Market. But you can go to their website to see and purchase their flavored pastas. Each pasta also has a recipe that has been created to go with the unique flavor of the pasta.

It is very filling, and I find that a little bit goes a very long way. While it may be more expensive than standard pasta, my family eats half as much as usual, leaving a whole other meal as leftovers. So it seems to balance out my food budget in the end.

Tonight I made the Lime-Cilantro Linguine with their Lime Cilantro Pasta with Chicken in Citrus Cilantro Sauce recipe. It's easier to make than it sounds, and it totally fits into The Good Mood Diet.

Always remember to love what you eat, and think about what you NEED to eat next.

Yours in a Good Mood,
Dr. Susan Kleiner

Being physically active is one of the most important steps to good health, a good body weight and a good mood. From the time you wake up in the morning until you finally go to bed at night, each step you take counts toward your goal to be physically active. Of course a trip to the gym, tennis court or jogging trail are all great ways to get exercise but there are other ways, besides formal exercise routines, to help set your mood.

How Much is Enough?
Research has shown that those people who are physically active throughout their lives are the healthiest. But just how active do you have to be? How do you know if you're doing enough?

The answers: 10,000 steps a day and a digital pedometer.

A pedometer is a tiny, battery-operated mechanism that you wear on your clothes that counts every step you take. A pedometer is smaller and lighter than a cell phone or pager and is easy to use. The pedometer works because it feels your foot impact the floor and has a screen that shows your daily step count. This immediate feedback on how many steps you've taken is a great motivator. You will feel good knowing that every step counts as you go about your daily activities.

How Far is 10,000 Steps a Day?
Research has shown that it doesn't matter how far you travel in a day it just matters how many steps you take. An average person takes a 2½ foot long step; if they do that 10,000 times (2.5 X 10,000 = 25,000 feet), the distance is just a little less than 5 miles! You can get all your activity steps in your home or office and still be active enough to meet the daily health goal of being "physically active."

You don't need to change your clothes and go to the gym for this part of the health prescription. You see, Every Step Counts, even if it's walking around the house behind the vacuum cleaner or across the driveway carrying your groceries.

Start Here and Now
The place to start in your good mood plan is with getting enough physical activity. If you don't have an accurate pedometer, check out the pedometers at Pro-Fit's Exercise Express.

Put on a pedometer when you first get up in the morning and find out how many steps you take during the day. Wear your pedometer daily for a week or so and write down the number of steps you take each day. This will let you know if you are meeting the health goal of getting 10,000 steps a day. If you aren't quite there yet, you'll be able to watch the step count each day and know how much more you need to do. As you start to average 10,000 steps a day, your mood should be good and your health will start to improve.

Alice Lockridge,
Pro-Fit
MS Phys

The field of nutrition is full of wonderful professionals and scientifically-based information. But it's also rife with quacks and frauds. If you don't have a nutrition degree, how can you judge the quality of the information that you are receiving?

These are the strategies that I use to quickly evaluate information that I am reading. I frequently share them with my clients, students and audiences. Recent questions have prompted me to share them with you. I call it:

The Quackery Criteria*

Based on unproven theory that usually calls for effortless therapy

Credentials of author/purveyor not recognized in scientific community

No reports in peer reviewed journals, but mass media used for marketing

Purveyors claim the medical establishment against them; play on public’s paranoia about phantom greed of medical establishment

Treatment known only to author/purveyor; drugs and preparations manufactured according to secret formula

Excessive claims that promise a dramatic, miraculous, cure, including prolonging life or preventing disease

Emotional images rather than facts used to support claim

Treatment calls for special nutritional support such as vitamins, minerals, or health food products

Purveyors caution clients or readers against discussing the program so that they don’t get discouraged by those who are negative

Programs based on drugs, treatments, or tests that have not been labeled for such use

* (adapted from Kleiner, SM. Beware of Nutrition Quackery. Phys Sportsmed 1990;18:46, 49)

I hope that you find these helpful.

Yours in a Good Mood,
Dr. Susan Kleiner

It’s almost Valentine’s Day – are you still working on what to give your sweet heart? Perhaps it’s just the right year to give the gift that really works on the heart that you love! This year consider giving a gift of cardiovascular exercise. Here are a few shopping ideas:

1. A new pair of walking shoes. (Check the size of your loved one's old worn out shoes – let them become yard mowing shoes this summer and give your sweetie a new supportive pair.


2. A 60-minute collection of walking tempo songs for your Valentine's iPod. Choose songs that are about love to help them enjoy their mid-winter walking workout.


3. A replacement for that favorite workout CD. Sure they’ve been using it since this new year’s resolution, but reward them with a new one to put some variety in their campaign to do more exercise.


4. Get a pair of jumbo exercise balls so you can both stretch and strengthen together at home.


5. A jump rope for the honey that travels a lot and needs a lightweight way to carry a personal workout. For a video to help them know what to do with the rope, visit Rene Bibaud’s Ropeworks web page.


6. A chair disc to add some spinal movement to that all-day-at-the computer office worker in your life. Find them on my Exercise Express web site.


7. Create a neighborhood walking path with Mapquest.com. Print it out on pretty paper and attach some cut out hearts to show your heart-felt affection.


8. Pick up a new book of local hikes and trails for your adventurous, outdoorsy loved one.


9. Put together a heart-healthy snack pack for your best friend's afternoon hunger pains. Include some dried blueberries, almonds, cranberries, walnuts, and your favorite whole wheat cold cereal and a few dark chocolate pieces.


10. Join a fruit-of-the-month club or a produce subscription service with your family in mind. Set up the mailings/deliveries so they fit your group's size and taste preferences. When these goodies arrive it's easy to get excited about food that are good for you and put everyone in a good mood too! Find produce subscription services in your area on Local Harvest's web site.

The single most important thing that you can do to help your children become adults who eat healthfully, is to eat well yourself. It's not what you say, it's what they see you do that counts. The same goes for exercise. Talking about it is nice, but they should see you exercise.

Even better, exercise with your children. And cook with them. Research has shown that what you say as a parent has far less impact on your children's behavior as adults, compared to what they see you do, and what you do with them. We really practice this principle in my house. We hike together, we wash the car together, we clean the house together, we bicycle together, we dance together. You get the picture. We are an active family. And we cook together.

My younger daughter has been planning for days what she wanted to cook during our long weekend together, without any school on Friday or Monday. One of her favorite recipes is "Blue Corn Meal Muffins", prepared for her during the holidays by her Aunt Jodi from Cleveland. She loves the stone ground corn meal, and the blue color is a real hit.

With her bag of Valentine's Day candy sitting on the floor untouched, she couldn't wait to eat these healthy muffins. The fact that she made them herself today was no small influence on that choice.

Bring your children into the kitchen with you. Take the time to engage them in the fun of cooking and baking. Let them choose the recipes from your cookbooks. In time they'll start creating their own, and maybe even helping to cook meals.

They're never too young to start.

Yours in a Good Mood,
Dr. Susan Kleiner

It's pretty exciting to live in the city rated as number one for eating smart, being fit, and living well, by Cooking Light magazine. According to the magazine, Seattle has

"An abundance of fresh local foods, walker-friendly streets, and inclusive attitudes helps make Seattle America's best city for healthy living."

That wasn't all the criteria. We also have to take advantage of these things, and Seattlites certainly do.

To read about the top 20 cities for healthy living, go to the article.

Think about how you can help to make changes in your community to make it a healthier place to live.

Yours in a Good Mood,
Dr. Susan Kleiner

New research has confirmed that even small amounts of exercise can help you lower your hypertension and improve most aspects of your health. In a recent study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (see abstract), 101 healthy but sedentary civil servants (40 – 60 years old) worked out for 12 weeks. Forty-five of them were assigned to exercise for 30 minutes of brisk walking for 5 days each week. Forty-two of them walked briskly for only 3 days a week. The control group remained sedentary – like they had been.

The two walking groups’ participants wore pedometers and recorded their mileage. The first bit of encouraging news is that most people (89%) completed the full 12-weeks, which I think has a lot to do with the magic of pedometer feedback helping new exercisers face the facts.

As would be expected, the control group had no changes in any of their health measurements; they were 12 weeks older and no healthier. But both walking groups had good results for systolic blood pressure and waist and hip girth – they all fell significantly, and overall fitness levels increased.

Get a calendar and mark out 12 weeks from today – wouldn’t you like to be a little smaller in your waist and hip area and have better blood pressure control on that date? The time is ticking; start today walk briskly at least 3 days a week and watch the results.

Alice Lockridge, MS Phys Ed
Exercise Physiologist for Every body
PRO♥FIT