Meeting Minutes March 2007
May 14, 2007 2:30 PM
MINUTES OF MEETING, March 24, 2007
Guest Speaker: Samantha Auslander, MS, RD, Cabrini Medical Center
Topic: “Nutrition and Your Health”
OUR 16TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
Committee Chair, Carolyn Herbst, welcomed our members to this special meeting. We celebrated our 17th Anniversary with champagne and chocolate mousse cake, before our guest speaker began her presentation on “good nutrition”. Nagy opened the champagne like a pro (meaning the cork didn’t hit anyone in the eye). We made a “toast” and Beverly cut the scrumptious cake. We then gathered for pictures and commentary from Gene Rubin, UFT Liaison to our Committee, George Fesko, Liaison Emeritus, and Carolyn Herbst. We enjoyed the fact that we were together on a beautiful spring day to celebrate this auspicious occasion.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Our guest speaker, Samantha Auslander, Registered Dietician, has excellent credentials; she received a B.S. in Nutrition from NYU, and an M.S. in Applied Physiology and Nutrition at Columbia University. She began by asking the question, “What is good nutrition?” Good nutrition is eating the right amount of the right kind of foods. Ms. Auslander gave a broad and detailed presentation of all you might want to know about good nutrition and a healthful diet.
There is a new FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID. It is designed to help you make smart choices from each of the 5 food groups: GRAINS, VEGETABLES, FRUITS, MILK, MEAT and BEANS. It’s important to:
· find a balance between food and physical activity,
· get the most nutrition out of your calories, and
· stay within your daily calorie needs.
Ms. Auslander talked in depth about the 5 food groups, and explained the best way to get the most out of the choices you make. In summary:
- GRAINS: eat at least 3 oz. of whole grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice or pasta every day. Read the label whole grains are nutritious, refined grains are not.
- VEGETABLES: eat 2 ½ cups every day. Any vegetable or 100% veg. juice counts. Veggies may be raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated.
- FRUITS: eat 2 cups per day. Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts. Canned fruit should be in juice or water, not heavy syrup.
- MILK, YOGURT & CHEESE: have 3 cups per day. Liquid milk is best skim or 1% fat. Foods made from milk that retain their calcium content are fine, but those that contain little or no calcium such as cream cheese, cream and butter are not. If you can’t consume milk, choose lactose-free products or other calcium sources.
- MEAT & BEANS: have 5 ½ oz. per day. All foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts and seeds are considered part of this group. Dry beans and peas are part of both the vegetable and meat group. Meat and poultry choices should be lean. Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, i.e. salmon, trout, herring.
Other healthy choices include:
- FATS & OILS: choose fats from sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids such as fish, nuts, seeds, and oils like canola, olive, soybean, corn, peanut, safflower, and sunflower.
Limit products which contain saturated fats such as ground and processed meats, full-fat cheese, cream, ice cream, and fried foods. Limit foods containing partially hydrogenated veg. oils which contain trans fats.
- SUGAR & SWEETS: added sugars include high fructose corn syrup, other syrups, sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, brown sugar, honey, molasses, fruit juice concentrates, and raw sugar added to food products. Limit sweet snacks and desserts. Select unsweetened cereals.
- SALT: keep sodium intake to less than 2300 mg per day while consuming potassium- rich foods to reduce the risk for hypertension. Choose and prepare foods with little salt. Foods with less than 140 mg of sodium per serving can be labeled as low sodium foods. Prepare foods from fresh ingredients, not packaged.
- ALCOHOL: if you choose to drink alcohol, consume it in moderation. No more than 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men.
FAD DIETS
- Dr. Phil’s Ultimate weight Solution: Foods are divided into high response foods (good) and low response foods (bad). This approach combines behavior modification and cognitive restructuring. Along with a healthy diet and exercise, this program can lead to permanent weight management.
- The “New” Atkins Diet: This plan restricts carbohydrates and focuses on eating mostly protein with the use of vitamin and mineral supplements. This method causes the body to burn stored fat while building muscle mass. Also, there are major restrictions made on fruits and veggies, whole grains, legumes and low-fat dairy foods.
- The Zone Diet: This diet promotes a balanced nutritional approach that divides each meal into proportions of 40% carbohydrates, 30% proteins, and 30% fat. The theory behind the “Zone”is that the faster sugars and starches are digested, the more weight is gained.
- South Beach Diet: There are 3 phases of this diet…1st Phase bans carbs such as fruit, bread, rice, potatoes, and pasta, but allows normal size portions of meat, poultry shellfish, veggies, eggs and nuts. 2nd Phase reintroduces “good” carbs. 3rd Phase allows almost anything in moderation.
- Raw Food Diets: The idea behind this diet is that cooked foods lose the natural vitamins, nutrients, and enzymes necessary to build a strong immune system. Recommendations include eating only fruits and vegetables picked ripe from the tree, garden or vine, nuts or seeds. {Good luck, urban dwellers!}
- Sugar Busters: The belief is that all sugars are “toxic” because they produce excess insulin which causes our bodies to store sugar as fat and make cholesterol.
- Eat Right 4 Your Type: Eat according to your blood type.
- The 3- Hour Diet: The premise here is that you should eat within 1 hour of waking up in the morning, eat every 3 hours all day long, and do not eat within 3 hours of going to bed.
So, what type of diet is right for you? To be successful in weight loss, small changes must be made toward an overall healthy lifestyle.
Your plan should include:
· Foods from all 5 food groups
· The right number of servings from each group
· Foods you will enjoy eating for the rest of your life
· Foods that you can buy in the supermarket
· Your favorite foods
· Foods that fit your budget and lifestyle
· 30 minutes of regular physical activity or exercise 3-5 days each week!
Now that we know what we are supposed to do, can we do it? Behavior modification is key.
Ms. Auslander gave us plenty of information to chew on! She graciously answered many questions from our members. We were impressed as to Ms. Auslander’s knowledge and concern for us getting the accurate information we need on nutrition and health to make the right choices.
Talking about food…we discussed our End-Term Dinner which will be held on Monday, June 11th at:
Paul & Jimmy’s Italian Restaurant, 123 East 18th Street, NYC
A prix-fixe menu will include a choice of appetizer, entrée, and dessert, plus coffee, tea, espresso or cappuccino. All this will be offered for $35.00 per person. Advance registration and payment is required. For more information on how to register for the dinner see the “In the News & Happenings” page of our website (www.uft.org -- click on “Member Services,” then “Capably Disabled Members” under the heading “Health Services”).
So, hold the date! Let’s get together again.
