World Salt Awareness Week - Sodium and Stroke Connection

Did you know that March 26 – April 1 is World Salt Awareness Week? I had no clue. However, in honor of National Nutrition Month and in the name of heart health, I wanted to share this article published by the CDC. You can find the original article here. This type of information is important to me because, despite physical activity, sometimes your genetics can make you more prone to high blood pressure. My husband is in the pre-hypertensive phase (120-139 systolic and 80-89 diastolic). See all levels here. He works out almost everyday so in order to keep his blood pressure normal, we have to watch his salt intake. Bread is my weakness on the top ten sources for sodium list (I bet my husband's is pizza!). What's yours?

 There is strong evidence that eating too much sodium raises blood pressure, and high blood pressure is the most important modifiable risk factor for stroke.

About 9 in 10 Americans aged 2 years and older eat too much sodium. Most of the sodium we eat comes from packaged, processed, store-bought and restaurant food. There is strong evidence that eating too much sodium raises blood pressure, and high blood pressure is the most important modifiable risk factor for stroke. A person with normal blood pressure has half the risk of having a stroke in their lifetime compared to someone with high blood pressure.

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Nearly 800,000 people suffer a stroke each year, and contrary to popular belief, most of them survive – but often with serious consequences. At least half of all stroke patients are left permanently disabled with paralysis, speech difficulties, memory loss and emotional problems. Stroke survivors also face enormous medical expenses. In 2010, stroke cost the nation an estimated $54 billion in health care services, medications, and missed days of work.

Eating less sodium can help prevent or lower your risk of stroke. Current dietary guidelines recommend eating less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. If you are African American, 51 years of age or older, have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease, you should further reduce sodium to 1,500 milligrams per day.

According to a recent CDC Vital Signs report, 44% of the sodium we eat comes from only 10 types of foods.

Top Sources of Sodium in the diet:

• Breads and rolls
• Cold cuts and cured meats
• Pizza
• Poultry
• Soups
• Sandwiches
• Cheese
• Pasta dishes
• Meat dishes
• Snacks

To reduce sodium in your diet:

• Read Nutrition Facts labels when shopping to find the lowest sodium options of your favorite foods.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables, either fresh, frozen (without sauce), or canned (with no salt added).
• Limit processed foods high in sodium.
• When eating out, request no salt be added to your meal.

Reducing sodium intake is a major part of the Million Hearts™ initiative to prevent a million heart attacks and strokes over the next 5 years.

This E-book is available for the next 3 days ONLY! so ACT NOW!
Jules Gluten Free has become an amazing force in the gluten-free world. In addition to some pretty phenomenal products she also has a number of e-Book cookbooks available. The newest cookbook is a compilation of 13 of the most requested gluten-free recipes.
To claim this awesome deal, click the picture of the book below, then simply add the e-Book to your cart and enter the code: SPRING. After clicking “Apply”, check your cart & the total should read “0.00”. Complete the checkout process & you should be able to download the e-Book right from that page or via a link sent by email. If you have an iPad like me, you can open it and read it in your kindle app!

Additionally, Jules is offering “The New to Gluten-Free Pack” for 50% off, which makes it $62.00 instead of $126.00.

Kettle Cuisine Get One Give One Campaign

Founded over 20 years ago by Jerry Schafir, Kettle Cuisine, started off providing restaurants with high quality, great-tasting pre-made soups. They then moved into the supermarket by providing refrigerated, single serve soups to customers. Then, Jerry's daughter, Katy, was diagnosed with Celiac Disease and needed a lifelong gluten-free diet to stay healthy. Jerry quickly realized that there were not a lot of prepared gluten-free items on the market so, it inspired him to make a line of frozen, single-serve gluten-free soups. Today there are ten different flavors that can be found in grocery stores in all 50 states.
Now, not only do they make wonderful gluten-free soup but they are helping their community in a big way. They have launched a Facebook promotion and for every like they get on their page, they will donate a cup of soup to someone in need. Here is the e-mail they passed along to me:

Friends,

We’ve launched an exciting facebook promotion and I’m wondering if you might be interested in helping us to spread the word?  Our lofty goal is to donate 10,000 cups of soup to people in need so any assistance you can provide is greatly appreciated!

Here’s what we are doing:

As you know, here at Kettle Cuisine we are passionate about feeding people and ending hunger.  This is why, during the month of March (which is National Nutrition Month and National Frozen Food Month), every fan who LIKES our facebook page will GET a valuable coupon and we will GIVE a serving of soup to a person in need.  Neat huh?

Please feel free share this through your support group, blog, twitter and/or facebook or with any anyone you feel might be interested.

Thank you for all of your support!

https://www.facebook.com/kettlecuisine?sk=app_131036337011602

Best,

Amanda and Lindsey

Amanda Moorhouse
Retail Sales Coordinator

amoorhouse@kettlecuisine.com
w 617.409.1130 c  413-218-3530

  

Crafting uncompromised soup since 1986

www.kettlecuisine.com

Town Hall meeting with Senator Giessel

When I heard that Senator Giessel was holding a town hall meeting for her constituents, I knew I had to be there. She has worked so hard on pushing my resolution, SCR 16, through the Senate committee and floor. She gave an amazing speech (see previous blog post for video) and has rallied an amazing amount of support. For those who are just joining my blog, SCR 16 recognizes May as National Celiac Disease Awareness Month in Alaska.Here is a copy of page 1 of the resolution:

The resolution has passed in the Senate and will be heard in a house committee next week. Hopefully, after the committee accepts it, they will move it to the House floor and it will finally become official. I had never been to an official town hall meeting held by senators and house members so, I was very curious to see what it was all about as well as show my support for Senator Giessel. When I arrived, there was already a crowd. Senators Giessel, Dyson, and Huggins as well as House Representatives Saddler, Stotlz and Fairclough were seated at the front of the crowd. I listened intently as each person who had signed in were called on to share their opinions and concerns for different issues that effected our community.

It was really interesting to hear everyone's point of view. I was given time to talk as well and I let everyone in attendance know what was important regarding this piece of legislation. Senator Giessel informed the crowd about what Celiac Disease is exactly and how it effects a person. She also told them what we were hoping to achieve with recognizing May as National Celiac Disease Awareness Month. I am so proud to have her as my Senator.

Afterwards, I was able to have my picture made with her and some of the other politicians. I spoke with the House Representatives after the meeting as well, and talked more specifically to them about Celiac Disease and why this resolution was so important to me. I discovered Rep. Saddler has a son with autism and I informed him of how 30% of children with autism benefit from a gluten-free, casein-free diet. He said that he had heard that before and I could count on his support of SCR 16 when it came up for vote. 

All and all, it was a very exciting day and I am really looking forward to watching SCR 16 move its way through the house! Stayed tuned!

Udi's new dinner rolls!

Now here this!!

Isn't this what we have all been waiting for?! I am so excited to find these and try them! It is like icing on the cake for dinner - dinner feels more complete! Now, I don't think every dinner should have a roll with it, remember that variety is best for a healthy diet but, for sharing a dinner with guests and for holidays with family and friends, the dinner rolls are a treat that I have been missing! I had a perfect spread laid out for my first Thanksgiving dinner but we ended up using regular sliced bread from Udi's which was a little anti-climatic. I am excited to get these in Alaska and share them with my support group, family and friends!

For the real, complete announcement from Udi's click on their blog link - Udi's blog

Here are the photos that were released:

Udi's Gluten-Free Classic French Dinner Rolls. These look so good, I bet no one will know they are gluten free!


 

and not to be outdone . . .

Gluten-Free Whole Grain Seeded Dinner Rolls. They are just as delicious as their Classic French Dinner Rolls, they just happen to be more nutritious. Definitely a plus! These rolls are loaded with healthy chia, sunflower, and flax seeds. Perfect for lunch as well! I plan on using them with spreads of meat, cheese, and condiments for one of my meetings! So YUMMY!

5 myths about the Gluten-free diet

This is a nutrtion label for
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1) It’s a healthy lifestyle.

I’ve read news articles online that say going gluten-free is a healthier lifestyle, and that’s not always true. While 1% of the population has Celiac Disease and another 6-7% have gluten allergies people who have no issues with gluten could be limiting their diet of vital nutrients. Cutting out wheat can lead to decreased fiber intake and folic acid, a B vitamin found in whole grain breads.Also, gluten-free packaged foods contain a lot of salt, fat, sugar, and increased calories than regular packaged food. So if you are going to go gluten-free you need to understand how to supplement your diet to make up for the loss of a food group. The gluten-free diet is by no means a miracle diet. You still need to make healthy food choices and keep a healthy lifestyle.

2) Going gluten-free is cheap.

Though the rise in gluten-free products has helped to reduce some prices, the price of gluten-free bread compared to white bread is quite significant. The gluten-free lifestyle is not a cheap way of living because you get less food for more money. Even if you use this diet change to add more fresh vegetables, fruits and complex carbohydrates to your diet, it can be costly. For ideas on how to cut down the costs of a gluten-free diet, check out Nicole Hunn's book Gluten-Free on a Shoestring

3) Going gluten-free is easy.

Going gluten-free requires effort, time and vigilance. Sticking to a strict gluten-free diet requires constant awareness of what one is eating and where one is eating. It requires effort to stay gluten-free and fight urges to eat gluten-filled foods. It requires vigilance to know what is gluten-free, which places are gluten-free, where it is safe to eat and where it isn’t. Going gluten-free is no simple task, and it is not something that comes easily. You have to work at it until you get it right. The Celiac Disease Foundation has an excellent free resource that can help you stay disciplined. Gluten-free Resource Directory

4) Gluten-free can be done all by myself.

Going gluten-free and living a gluten-free lifestyle become much easier when you have someone backing you up and pushing you through it, even when the going gets tough and you have an urge to eat gluten. I was lucky to have my mother, who was diagnosed around the same time, help me begin. My little sister was tested after my diagnosis and it was fun to explore recipes with her. After I was married, it took me six months to figure out how to cook foods that my husband would enjoy (and eat) that were gluten-free. If you do decide to go gluten-free, forming a support network with at least one partner is important and then letting your friends, family, and co-workers know so they can support you will help keep you vigilant and decrease temptation. Also, finding a support group can be helpful to find others who know what you're going through and have ideas on restaurants, recipes etc.

5) There is no information out there about Celiac disease.

The community is growing, and the amount of information is increasing, too. There are magazines, websites, articles, doctors and much more. One should not get lost with all this information. Click here to go to the National Foundation for Celiac Disease's website.

Take gluten-free living step-by-step until it becomes part of your everyday thing. Start slow and simple. You'll get there!

Michelle Wei Adopts a Gluten-free Diet

When Novak Djokovic, a professional tennis player, attributed much of his crazy-awesome tennis success to his new, gluten-free diet, he may have started quite the trend. Not only did Djokovic bring increased attention to the benefits of the gluten-free diet, but he also focused that attention on athletic performance. Now, golf star Michelle Wie, a two-time winner of the LPGA championship, has announced her own gluten-free diet. Will it bring her the same runaway success?

Wie has admitted to being directly inspired by Djokovic.  Wie, who is Hawaiian-born and with a Korean background has had some longstanding allergies to eggs, dairy, and bees. The article goes on to quote her as saying, “I am allergic to everything in this world, I don’t really digest food very well…So, I just thought maybe if I cut out gluten, I can feel better because I heard that it causes inflammation, everything … but it’s been week three and I feel a big difference.”

This is good press for those of us who require a gluten-free diet. What we learn from this is a) a reminder that Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity can affect people of all ethnic backgrounds and b) a reminder that symptoms are not always related to the gut — joint pain and swelling are just as likely to be caused by gluten as are traditional GI symptoms.

However, I would recommend proper testing by a physician in order to make sure a gluten-free diet will be beneficial. A simple and cost-effective blood screen, called a tTG antigen test, can be performed by your regular physician. You must still be eating gluten when you have your blood drawn but it is a very accurate. The reason it is important to be diagnosed properly is because a gluten-free diet can have the tendancy to be lower in fiber, calcium, and a few other key nutrients if you do not pay attention to your eating habits. So, if you don't have to limit your diet of certain foods, you should not in order to provide yourself with the best nutrients possible.

That being said, do you think will going gluten-free have an impact on Wie’s game?