By Joanne Chaconis, RD
Chief Clinical Dietician
Food labels are a great idea, right? They’re like windows on the products we buy. Despite the fact that they are under the watch of either the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the U.S. Department of Agriculture, some of the wording can make food labels difficult to decipher. Here are some guidelines adapted from an article in the March edition of “Real Simple” magazine.
Heart Healthy: These foods are low in saturated fats, low in cholesterol, and low in sodium. They also have no trans fats. It also means they contain three or less grams of fat per serving and have at least 0.6 gram of soluble fiber.
0 grams trans fat: Contains less than 0.5 gram of fat per serving. Light means the food has up to 50 percent less fat than the counterpart.
Fat-free: This product contains less than 0.5 gram of fat per serving. Most adults should aim for 2,300 milligrams or less per day. Try to choose foods with fewer milligrams of sodium than calories.
Low-carb: There are no standards for this term. Remember that whole grains and fresh fruit and veggies are healthy carbs. The low-carb term does not distinguish between “good, healthy” carbs and “refined” carbs like sugar.
Sugar-free: The serving contains less than 0.5 gram of sugar. Sugar free doesn’t always mean low calorie as these products are sometimes laced with sugar alcohols or starch.
Gluten-free: This product contains no gluten, which is a wheat protein. A gluten-free product means no wheat, but a product labeled wheat-free doesn’t mean it’s gluten-free. Check also for rye, barley, malt, and malt extracts (oats can also be an offensive item to someone who is gluten intolerant.)
Organic: Foods are made without potentially harmful pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, synthetic hormones or genetic engineering. It also means the product contains at least 95 percent organic ingredients.
100 percent natural: These products do not contain artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. They can still be abundant with sugar, fat or calories, however.
Light: Most of the time this means the product contains a third less calories than the full calorie counterpart. If referring to sodium or fat, it means up to 50 percent less.
No antiobiotics: Found on the labels of red meat, poultry and milk. This means the animals were raised without being fed antibiotics.
No hormones: Found on the labels of beef and dairy. This means the animals were not given hormones. The hormones are usually added to make the animals gain weight or produce milk quicker.
Happy shopping!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Care for the Caregiver
By Dana Pavelock, Dir.,
Home Care Operations
Roughly 25 percent of families are relying on informal family caregivers to bridge the needs of caring for a loved one at home. Today, 30 million households are providing care for an adult over the age of 50 and this number is expected to double over the next 25 years. This informal and highly motivated workforce of caregivers often find themselves struggling to navigate a very complex system of health care and are under a great deal of stress.
Informal caregivers tend to be family members, mostly women between ages 45 and 65, attempting to balance the needs of parents and grandparents with children and grandchildren. Often these individuals find themselves suddenly immersed in the role of caregiver without warning, preparation and/or training and are at risk of compromising their own health care and social needs. Rarely is there a support system for them.
As the aging population continues to grow at a very fast rate there will be more and more demands placed upon family caregivers. Combined also with a higher life expectancy and with the trend for the aging population to want to remain at home, we will need ongoing support from local and county government and private agencies.
Some of you may not be in a care-giving role at this time. While you might not be thinking about it now, being proactive and establishing a plan in anticipation you will soon be launched into caring for a family member may help avoid some of the stress and other tensions that materialize at work and at home.
The first step is a conversation with the person you expect will require more care and support to live safely at home, identifying potential support and services that are readily available, anticipating care needs and establishing a plan. All too often, one person takes on the primary role as caregiver which often leads to physical and emotional exhaustion and can result in development of increased health risks to the caregiver.
Fortunately there is help available for individuals who find themselves suddenly in that care-giving role. The best resource is to start by contacting your count’s Office for the Aging, surfing the Internet and reaching out to home care agencies. There is a wealth of information that will provide you with the necessary tools and support you may need so that you can take good care of a loved one and, at the same time, help maintain your own quality of life.
As you might expect, it takes a very special person to fulfill the role of caregiver. In our particular agency, we have long recognized the value of both paid and unpaid family caregivers, recently obtaining a grant through the Dutchess County Office of the Aging to lead a Caregiver Support, Training and Counseling program that provides various workshops, trainings and even an employee to provide one-on-one visitation in the home, free of charge for caregivers.
When it comes to paid caregivers, please do not underestimate their genuine concern and passion for what it is they do every day.
Relationships that are formed between patients and our caregivers is priceless and can be captured by quoting a few words taken from something written by Home Health Aide Sharon Greene: “I am a health care worker, I enjoy my job and this is what I do best. Put a smile on someone’s face, making their day and just being there for them.”
Home Care Operations
Roughly 25 percent of families are relying on informal family caregivers to bridge the needs of caring for a loved one at home. Today, 30 million households are providing care for an adult over the age of 50 and this number is expected to double over the next 25 years. This informal and highly motivated workforce of caregivers often find themselves struggling to navigate a very complex system of health care and are under a great deal of stress.
Informal caregivers tend to be family members, mostly women between ages 45 and 65, attempting to balance the needs of parents and grandparents with children and grandchildren. Often these individuals find themselves suddenly immersed in the role of caregiver without warning, preparation and/or training and are at risk of compromising their own health care and social needs. Rarely is there a support system for them.
As the aging population continues to grow at a very fast rate there will be more and more demands placed upon family caregivers. Combined also with a higher life expectancy and with the trend for the aging population to want to remain at home, we will need ongoing support from local and county government and private agencies.
Some of you may not be in a care-giving role at this time. While you might not be thinking about it now, being proactive and establishing a plan in anticipation you will soon be launched into caring for a family member may help avoid some of the stress and other tensions that materialize at work and at home.
The first step is a conversation with the person you expect will require more care and support to live safely at home, identifying potential support and services that are readily available, anticipating care needs and establishing a plan. All too often, one person takes on the primary role as caregiver which often leads to physical and emotional exhaustion and can result in development of increased health risks to the caregiver.
Fortunately there is help available for individuals who find themselves suddenly in that care-giving role. The best resource is to start by contacting your count’s Office for the Aging, surfing the Internet and reaching out to home care agencies. There is a wealth of information that will provide you with the necessary tools and support you may need so that you can take good care of a loved one and, at the same time, help maintain your own quality of life.
As you might expect, it takes a very special person to fulfill the role of caregiver. In our particular agency, we have long recognized the value of both paid and unpaid family caregivers, recently obtaining a grant through the Dutchess County Office of the Aging to lead a Caregiver Support, Training and Counseling program that provides various workshops, trainings and even an employee to provide one-on-one visitation in the home, free of charge for caregivers.
When it comes to paid caregivers, please do not underestimate their genuine concern and passion for what it is they do every day.
Relationships that are formed between patients and our caregivers is priceless and can be captured by quoting a few words taken from something written by Home Health Aide Sharon Greene: “I am a health care worker, I enjoy my job and this is what I do best. Put a smile on someone’s face, making their day and just being there for them.”
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