Hello! We've been in transition on the web for quite some time now.  Our website has been completely updated and we continue to add content for your reading pleasure.  Take a look around our new look here.

Our YouTube Channel was developed to demonstrate how to cook with the Health One Meal Replacement.  The videos feature cooking demonstrations for the extensive cook or for the kitchen novice.  Easy, 1-2 minute recipes will make you salivate! We also include other general health, nutrition and exercise tips to round out the channel.  See what you can make here!

Facebook is one of social medias fastest growing sites.  With so many users who are actively participating in Indiana's Health and Nutrition Technology's health and weight management program, its a great way to interact. We share recipes, short video tips, and other happenings around HNT Indiana.  The Health One Meal Replacement is utilized as a tool for weight loss all over the United States.  To keep those users in the loop with all things new, we have created a page specifically for the Health One Meal Replacement.  

HNT Indiana's Facebook Page

Health One Meal Replacement Facebook Page

Take a look around at the online aspects to our weight management program and let us know what you think.  If you have questions, feel free to call 317-489-4817 or email info@hntindiana.com.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics-Coconut Oil Information

We posted earlier this summer about the "Coconut Oil Craze", but we thought we would share what the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics (AND) has to say about coconut oil.  Here is a quote from their article, "The bottom line?  Skip food products that contain partially hydrogenated coconut oil. Choose virgin coconut oil and use it in moderation. Despite emerging research, the recommendation is still to limit your total saturated fat intake".  Read the rest of the article for health profile information and how to use coconut oil HERE.

2013 Indianapolis Area Farmers Markets

Binford Farmers Market: Saturday mornings 9a-1p

Broad Ripple Farmers Market: Saturday mornings 8a-Noon

Carmel Farmers Market: Saturday mornings 8a-11:30a

Fishers Farmers Market: Saturday mornings 8a-Noon

Indianapolis Original Farmers Market: Wednesdays 9:30a-1:30p

Noblesville Farmers Market: Saturdays 8a-12:30p

Zionsville Farmers Market: Saturday mornings 8a-11a

Avon Farmers Market: Tuesdays 4-7p

Plainfield Farmers Market: Wednesdays 4-7p

Brownsburg Farmers Market: Thursdays 4:30-7:30p


FYI, the Westfield Farmers Market has been cancelled for the 2013 season.

Decoding Whole White Wheat Bread

After discussion in one of our On-Going Practice classes at one of our Indianapolis locations this week, we decided to research "whole grain white bread".  The first place we went was the Whole Grains Council website as they are the experts on whole grains.  What we found was intriguing and exciting at the same time!

Turns out the whole grain white bread is made from a completely different strain of wheat (white wheat) than traditional wheat (red wheat).  They suggest calling it "albino wheat" as the bran of the white wheat is lighter in color (hence the lighter/whiter bread color).  In addition to the lighter/whiter color, the flavor is also more mild compared to red wheat which makes it more appealing to people.  As far as nutrition, 'experts consider them to be the same' since this white wheat contains all three components that form a whole grain: the germ, endosperm & bran.  

So, there you have it-go ahead and indulge in the whole grain white bread as often as you wish as it is nutritionally the same with fiber + whole grains as 'red wheat whole grain bread' & appeals to the texture of white bread lovers everywhere! Remember to always check the ingredient list for "100% whole grain" or "whole grain wheat flour" and avoid breads that are labeled with "enriched" or "bleached flour" as those are not whole grains.  

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For the complete Q+A about white wheat from the Whole Grains Council, click HERE.

Cool Whip/Whipped toppings: light, fat free, or sugar free? Which is best?

After the last post about strawberries, it is only appropriate to discuss whipped toppings-a topping commonly used in strawberry dishes.  Which is best regular, light, fat free or sugar free...that is the question. We made a chart to compare not only calories, fat and sugar, but also to compare the ingredients in the products.  Check it out below:

image sources: Cool Whip, Reddi Wip

What does all this mean?  All of the Cool Whips are 15-25 calories/2 tbsp while the Fat-Free Reddi Wip is 5 calories/2 tbsp.  The Regular Cool Whip has more sugar and fat (which is expected) than any of the others compared.  The Sugar-Free Cool Whip and Fat-Free Reddi Wip has less sugar and the Fat-Free Cool Whip and Fat-Free Reddi Wip has less fat than the others.  By calories, fat and sugar alone, the Fat-Free Reddi Wip wins big. 

Looking at the ingredients, water is the first ingredient in all the Cool Whips while cream (imagine that) is the first ingredient in the Fat-Free Reddi Wip.  Note: the Regular Cool Whip has cream, but it is the 6th ingredient listed on the label.  Remember, the ingredients are listed in order of amounts that are actually in the product.  So, the higher on the list the more of it the product contains.  Each of the Cool Whips contain corn syrup (a source of sugar), hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans fat), and high fructose corn syrup (a source of sugar) while the Fat-Free Reddi Wip does not have any hydrogenated vegetable oil or high fructose corn syrup.

The bottom line: The Fat-Free Reddi Wip wins in all categories and is the best choice to top your strawberries this season based on calories, fat, sugar & ingredients.  You can find it in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, unlike Cool Whip which is located in the freezer section.  

It's Strawberry Season!

May is the start of strawberry season here in Indiana.  The best strawberries are from local patches because they are fresh off the vine.  In Indiana, there are strawberry patches all over the state.  Some even have "u-pick" patches, where you come and pick your own.  These are more budget friendly than just buying from the farmer's stand because you have to do a little work for them!

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We love strawberries! Why? Because 1 cup of sliced strawberries is only 50 calories, contains 3 grams of fiber & 90 mg vitamin C (75-90 mg needed per day). Hey, what a great snack!  Add to your Strawberry Health One Meal Replacement + water + ice for a strawberry shake or on top of a Vanilla Health One Meal Replacement one by one with a little light cool whip for a nice summer treat.  Or, you could get really into it and make your own sugar-free strawberry freezer jam to use as an additive to the Health One or your morning 100% whole grain toast.

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What do we recommend?  Heading to a local patch to pick some strawberries.  The Indianapolis area has a few locations just outside the city.  Here are the farms that we know of and please share any that you know of that grow strawberries. 

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• Noblesville, IN: Spencer Farm

• Hagerstown, IN (east of Indy): Bell's Strawberry Farm

• Greenwood/South Indy, IN: Waterman's Family Farm

Once you have your strawberries, meal plan them in for breakfast, lunch, dinner and/or snack to help you get your 2 full cups of fruit in each day. 

Hot Topic: The Coconut Oil Craze

A couple of the registered dietitians on staff have been getting questions about coconut oil and people raving about using it for making soaps, cosmetics & in food preparation! So, we decided to research a bit on the oil to see if there was any new research that we had missed.  

As dietitians, we know that coconut oil is very high in saturated fat.  Looking at the chart below it happens to be ~91% saturated fat-the oil that contains the most saturated fat!  It contains some myristic fatty acids ("heart healthy"), but more lauric fatty acids ("heart unfriendly") which stirs the controversy on whether this should be touted as something to add to ones meal plan.  Potential health benefits include weight loss, cures Alzheimer's, reduces diabetes/regulate blood sugar, increases bone and dental health by improving calcium absorption, etc....but as stated above they are POTENTIAL.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends "limiting saturated fat intake to less than 7% of total daily calories" and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that "saturated fats have been linked to chronic disease, specifically coronary heart disease".  Both claims have been supported by many research studies with outcomes that are statistically significant linking saturated fat intake with increased risk for heart disease due to raising the levels of LDL or "bad" cholesterol.

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The findings so far on coconut oil are intriguing at best, but the research can not support claims that it is harmful or beneficial.  Additionally, there is increased interest in the oil because it is plant based and many think it can have beneficial plant chemicals, but those have yet to be discovered, states Harvard's own Dariush Mozaffarian MD, DrPH. 

Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD of Penn State University states that coconut oil is better than butter and trans fats but not as good as liquid vegetable oils.  What she means is that coconut oil, a saturated fat, is better than other saturated fats and trans fats, but is NOT better than oils such as canola or olive oil. Even though this particular type of oil is cholesterol free, because it is plant derived, it is still majority saturated fat and therefore should be limited in consumption.  

Fats that are often encouraged are "heart healthy" because they raise HDL "good" cholesterol and lower LDL "bad" cholesterol.  Those fats are made up of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and are found in vegetable oils such as canola or olive oil (see chart for compositions high in PUFA's & MUFA's), fatty fish, nuts or avocado.  

The research suggest that coconut oil can be included in a persons meal plan, but should be done in moderation (less than 7% of total calories) until further research concludes health benefits.  Remember that one food will not make or break your meal plan, it is what your overall dietary pattern provides that can tell the real story.  Be aware of those who tout certain nutrients or foods as "health life savers" as those have done with coconut oil recently. 

Hot Topic: Exercise with a Hula Hoop

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The hula hoop-you know the plastic and sometimes glitter blasted ring that children use to play outside?  It has been the latest exercise craze!  Have you tried it in a while?  It has been years for me & I'm not sure I could actually sustain it long enough to call it exercise...but apparently some do.  A quick Google search brings up 192,000 hits when searching "hula hoop workouts".  Now that's a lot of information.  This 'new' form of exercise is touted as being FUN! That is something that all our exercise or physical activity should be.  Finding ways to incorporate the things that you love doing into physical activity is the golden pathway to a more active lifestyle.  That means that the hula hoop may not be for everyone.  But for those still interested here are a few info tidbits:

• Start by using a regular child-like hula hoop and when you get the technique down, start using a weighted hula hoop. You can find them online or in sports stores across the nation.  Just look at all THESE hoops! They even have a "travel hoop" that breaks down to increase portability!

Travel Hula Hoop Image Source 

• Read about hula hoop workouts and determine if you would like to do it at home or in a gym setting.  
• Real Simple has an online guideline to hula hooping
• Find an instructor HERE
• Benefits include: increased torso flexibility, core strength, inches lost around the waist
• Like any other exercise, you must be consistent to see results

If you are looking for a different way to get in your physical activity this might be just the type of activity you have been looking for! Let us know what you think after you try it!

Meet HNT Indiana's Intern: Brittany LoCoco

Meet Brittany LoCoco. She is majoring in Dietetics at Purdue and will graduate in May.  She started her college career at IU majoring in Exercise Science with the hopes of becoming a Physical Therapist.  She was required to take an introduction nutrition class and fell in love!  Upon her decision to transfer to Purdue she switched to Dietetics and has been following her passion ever since.  She has gotten a lot of grief for transferring from IU to Purdue, but says it was the best decision she could have made.  While at Purdue she was able to pursue her passion of nutrition and meet her future husband, Tyler.  

After graduating and becoming a Registered Dietitian, she would like to work in weight management.  More specifically, she desires to help people live long, happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives.  Brittany enjoys cooking, experimenting with new recipes, reading, traveling and spending time with friends, family, and my fiancé.  Avocados are her favorite food and she will eat them with almost anything.  She is a strong believer in fitting any foods into a healthful diet because moderation is key!  

Top Reason To Use a Food Scale

There are many food scales out there that have a million different functions from weighing food to breaking down the nutritional components (ie. number of carbohydrates, etc).  While the extra functions are worth while, the top reason to use a food scale is to be able to figure calories, especially if you are looking for weight loss.  Even though the extra functions may be beneficial to some, we teach our patients to utilize a food scale for most foods to determining calories.  

Take a banana for example.  If you look a banana up in any calorie book it will say size: medium calories: x.  Someone please tell me what a medium sized banana is! My medium is different from your medium and the book may say 6-7" but not all bananas are the same girth.  The way to solve this problem is to weigh the banana and calculate the number of calories per ounce or gram and then the number of calories for the entire banana.  A much more accurate way to take a measurement.  We know estimating is key, but we are not always good estimators if we don't have reference for which we are estimating.  Bananas being easy to travel with and one of the more popular fruits are also one of the most calorie-dense fruits.  If we underestimate and consume a lot of them, we could be making a very inaccurate estimate.  This inaccuracy becomes a real problem when it happens over and over again or with foods that can be higher in calories like meat. 

We recommend a standard digital scale that you can get at any department store for around $20-$30 like this one below.  However, if you look HERE, there are a million different types and styles. 

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Use the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference to assist you in your quest for accurately measuring calories.  The example in the link is the banana.  The gram measurements are much more accurate than size measurements.