The big buzz in New York today is all about fashion week (nope New Yorkers are not convinced by the Obama-Beyoncé French rumor) but since neither the weather condition nor my own condition are allowing me to follow more closely what’s happening on the other side of the park, let’s shed the light on some other buzz dominating the Food & Nutrition milieu: Yogurt.

Yogurt’s health superpowers are getting a boost by a couple of recent studies underscoring a number of previously unhighlighted benefits:

• Regular consumption of low fat yogurt (in replacement of less nutritious snacks) could ward off type 2 diabetes
• Yogurt consumed as a daily food could help in shedding weight and maintaining weight loss (particularly in women)

Yogurt is therefore making its way to the top of the list of recommended foods to be incorporated in one’s daily diet. Praising yogurt however is not a new phenomenon. We’ve known for a while that probiotics (the good bacteria) in yogurt promotes digestive health.

Probiotics:

• Improve lactose intolerance
• Prevent or cure diarrhea and help treat several gastrointestinal and inflammatory bowel diseases
• Fight H. pylori (a bad bacteria causing stomach ulcer)
• Delay the development of allergies in children, decrease allergy symptoms in adults and boost the immune system
• Play an anti-tumor role in the digestive tract which helps in preventing colon cancer
• Lower bad cholesterol and hence the risks of heart diseases

Yogurt is also rich in calcium, an essential nutrient for bone and teeth health and also proved effective at reducing body fat. Yogurt can also provide us with vitamin D (since fortifying yogurt with vitamin D is a big trend now). Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that helps calcium to be absorbed. It is mainly provided by sunshine (few types of food contain vitamin D / such as fish, fortified milk and fortified eggs). During the winter season when your exposure to sun is minimal, it’s imperative to opt for foods rich or enriched in vitamin D. Nope, winter break sun is not enough!

When choosing a yogurt at the grocery store, focus on the fat, probiotic, calcium and vitamin D figures. Go for:

• Low-fat (low-fat versions tend to have less added sugar than the non-fat ones)
• Brands that state “live active cultures” to ensure that you are getting high-quality probiotics
• 15% (or more) of the Daily Value (DV) for Calcium and vitamin D per serving
• Plain yogurt instead of flavored versions to avoid a high amount of added sugar and artificial coloring. Mix your yogurt with fresh fruits instead.

There are so many ways to incorporate yogurt in your eating habits. I love to start my day with a bowl of yogurt, granola, some nuts and berries. I also use yogurt as a side dish with many of my cooked meals as an alternative to sauces or dressings.

Valentine is just around the corner, so treat your heart with some amour and indulge in some smoothilicious yogurt… make a habit of it and let it be your daily love declaration to your heart!

Happy Valentine xoxo

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced recently an upcoming ban on artificial trans fat use in the food industry considering it a public health menace in light of a significant increase in heart diseases, and in the hope of preventing an additional 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year and up to 20,000 heart attacks each year.

Now that’s an AMAZING health news to wind-up 2013 with!

While waiting to see how the FDA’s preliminary resolution will unfold, be an avant-gardist and let this be your own 2014 resolution! Making a resolution to opt for a “0 trans fat” eating habit has a twofold benefit: while protecting your body from the most harmful, high-cholesterol fat, a cut on trans fat also means a cut on many empty calories! So, forget about all those unrealizable, extreme diet resolutions and have this one health worthy objective.

Now how to track and avoid trans fat?

• While the natural type of trans fat occurs minimally in foods (some animal products like meat and dairy) and has so far been proved to have no major health concerns, it is the artificial trans fat that is behind obesity and heart diseases, the one created through a process called hydrogenation. This process transforms liquid fats (oils) to a more solid form, increasing their shelf-stability. In recent years, many food manufacturers, fast food chains and restaurants, reduced or eliminated the use of partially hydrogenated oil (PHO) and in consequence the trans fat content in their products has decreased. However trans fat can still be found in various processed foods.

• Foods that might contain trans fat: cookies, biscuits, crackers, chicken nuggets and wings, muffins, pizzas, garlic bread, hard taco shells, fries, donuts, vegetable shortenings and stick or hard margarine, microwave popcorn, croissants, coffee creamers, ready to use frostings and some other processed foods, mainly snack foods, baked goods and frozen foods.

• Most countries list trans fat content on nutrition labels. So checking the nutrition label is one big step to avoid that villain fat.

Nutrition label
Source: American Heart Association

•  Note that in the United States products that contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, can indicate 0 grams trans fat on the label. Be aware of this disguise: If you eat multiple servings of foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans fat, you end up with a high total amount of trans fat. So if a label lists 0 trans fat, look at the Ingredients List for the words “partially hydrogenated”, “margarine” or “shortening”.

Ingredients list
Source: American Heart Association

•  In some places, like New York City, restaurants are not allowed to use trans fat. Wherever you are, to make sure you’re escaping trans fat when you’re eating out, one strategy is to avoid fried foods and desserts and to opt for lower-fat dishes like stir-fried, barbequed or grilled and fresh fruits or sorbet. You may also consider asking the server, the chef, or the manager if the restaurant is a trans-free.

Bottom line, the more you opt for fresh or un-processed foods the less chance you have to encounter trans fat. Further, keep in mind that the very best way to keep control over your level of trans fat intake is to trust your cook and often the most reliable available person for that will be yourself!

Now, on a more personal note, I hope my husband’s secret affair with the Cronut (which I’ve uncovered only recently!) will end in 2014!

While a Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York created the first Cronut in the world, it might not contain trans fat due to the strict regulations on trans fat use in NYC, but that was undoubtedly replaced with a whole lot of saturated fat which is also a high cholesterol, high calorie harmful fat. Now with the Cronut becoming viral around the world, it could be packed with trans or saturated fat or both, but what is for sure is its crazy fat/sugar/calories contents, and that’s why some call it a “nutritional nightmare”!