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The Meat of the Matter: How Much Protein?

Americans’ traditional dinner plate reflects our love for meat with a big serving smack in the middle. Weight loss gurus to body builders tout meat as almost magical, sure to help us solve our weight problems and be strong and lean.

Yet, AICR (American Institute for Cancer Research) and many health organizations promote a plant-based diet with small meat servings as a way to lower risk for cancer and other chronic diseases. There’s even a movement called “Meatless Mondays” to encourage people to eat less meat. Who’s right?

Why Do We Need Protein?

Protein is important; it’s found in muscles and helps transport nutrients through the bloodstream. In the body, dietary proteins form hemoglobin, hormones, antibodies, enzymes and other substances our bodies need to function. We also need protein for building and repairing the body’s tissues. The richest sources include meat, poultry, fish, milk, yogurt, cheese, beans, eggs, nuts and seeds.

How Much Protein Do We Need?

• An adult weighing 67 kg. (150 lbs.) needs about 54 grams per day (3 oz. of meat contains about 26 gm. protein)

• Some research suggests protein needs may increase to 1.2 g/kg. (0.55 g/lb.) to maintain muscle mass with aging, although this is controversial and research continues.

Where’s the Protein?

Research doesn’t indicate there’s anything magical about extra protein or meat for weight loss. But protein is digested more slowly than carbohydrates, so a meal that includes a food with protein may help you stay full longer – and stop the urge to snack or overeat at the next meal.

Timing may be the key. A few studies do show that people who include high protein foods at breakfast, as part of a healthy, balanced diet, ea t less throughout the day. If your typical breakfast is toast, juice and coffee, try adding a handful of nuts or some yogurt to boost protein.

What about Meatless Mondays?

It is possible to meet protein needs with plant foods and low-fat dairy products, so a meatless day does not need to be protein deficient. Whether you are making a transition to a diet with less meat or choosing a vegetarian diet, you can get enough protein in your diet with the right choices. According to the American Dietetic Association, “Appropriately planned vegetarian diets have been shown to be healthful, nutritionally adequate and may be beneficial in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle.”

Balance It Out

Along with protein, you need to include foods high in carbohydrates and some fat to make sure you have calories for energy. AICR’s New American Plate provides a visual way to make sure you are getting the right balance of nutrients: 2/3 or more of your plate should contain vegetables, whole grains and fruit; 1/3 or less should contain meat or other high protein foods. If you’re aiming to lose weight, choose smaller portions of the highest calorie foods and try using a smaller plate to help you downsize your portions.

So go ahead and try the Meatless Monday challenge if you want. Check the AICR website for recipes at www.aicr.org.

Beat the Heat with a Lemonade Pie

For a refreshing summer treat, try a fun take on lemonade with this recipe for a frozen lemonade pie. Pucker up and enjoy!

Frozen Lemonade Pie 

1 can (12 fl. oz.) Nestlé® Carnation® Evaporated Milk

1 package (3 oz.) lemon-flavored gelatin

2 tablespoons grated lemon peel

1/2 cup (3 to 4 lemons) fresh lemon juice

1 container (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided

1 (9 oz.) prepared 10-inch graham cracker crumb crust

2 candied lemon half slices, cut into 8 wedges (optional)

Directions

Microwave evaporated milk in medium bowl on high (100%) power for 1 minute or until warm. Whisk in gelatin. Refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes. Add lemon peel and juice; mix well. Gently whisk in 2 cups whipped topping. Pour into crust.

Freeze for 4 hours. Dollop remaining 1 cup whipped topping around edge of pie. Top each dollop with lemon wedge. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.

Tips:

• Sliced fresh lemon can be substituted for the candied lemon slices.

• 1 Can (12 fl. oz.) Nestlé® Carnation® Evaporated Fat Free Milk, 1 pkg. (3 oz.) Sugar free lemon-flavored gelatin and sugar free whipped topping can be substituted. Prepare as above.

For the diabetic and low-calorie version, make these substitutions:

• 1 Can Nestle Carnation Evaporated Fat Free Milk, 1 package (3 oz) sugar free lemon-flavored gelatin and sugar free whipped topping can be substituted. Prepare as above.

Or, make a lemonade pie this quick and easy way:

Crystal Light Lemonade Pie

1 graham cracker crust

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup milk

1 container crystal light lemonade mix

8 ounces cool whip

Mix cream cheese and milk until smooth. Add crystal light lemonade mix. Blend well then add cool whip; blend well. Pour into crust. Chill for at least 3 to 4 hours.

(Recipes courtesy of Nestle and Crystal Light.)

The Myths About Light Cigarettes

Many smokers choose “low-tar,” “mild,” “light,” or “ultra-light” cigarettes because they think that these cigarettes may be less harmful to their health than “regular” or “full-flavor” cigarettes. Although smoke from light cigarettes may feel smoother and lighter on the throat and chest, light cigarettes are not healthier than regular cigarettes.

The truth is that light cigarettes do not reduce the health risks of smoking. The only way to reduce a smoker’s risk, and the risk to others, is to stop smoking completely.

1. What about the lower tar and nicotine numbers on light and ultra-light cigarette packs and in ads for these products?

• These numbers come from smoking machines, which “smoke” every brand of cigarettes exactly the same way. They do not tell how much tar and nicotine people get because people do not smoke cigarettes the same way the machines do. And no two people smoke the same way.

2. How do light cigarettes trick the smoking machines?

• Tobacco companies designed light cigarettes with tiny pinholes on the filters. These “filter vents” dilute cigarette smoke with air when light cigarettes are “puffed” on by smoking machines, causing the machines to measure artificially low tar and nicotine levels.

• Many smokers do not know that their cigarette filters have vent holes. The filter vents are uncovered when cigarettes are smoked on smoking machines. However, filter vents are placed just millimeters from where smokers put their lips or fingers when smoking. As a result, many smokers block the vents—which actually turns the light cigarette into a regular cigarette.

• Some cigarette makers increased the length of the paper wrap covering the outside of the cigarette filter, which decreases the number of puffs that occur during the machine test. Although tobacco under the wrap is still available to the smoker, this tobacco is not burned during the machine test.

• Because smokers, unlike machines, crave nicotine, they may inhale more deeply, take larger, more rapid or more frequent puffs or smoke a few extra cigarettes each day to get enough nicotine to satisfy their craving. This means that smokers end up inhaling more tar, nicotine and other harmful chemicals than the machine-based numbers suggest.

3. What is the bottom line?

• There is no such thing as a safe cigarette. The only proven way to reduce the risk of smoking-related disease is to quit smoking completely.

• Smokers who quit live longer than those who continue to smoke. In addition, the earlier smokers quit, the greater the health benefit.

For information and advice on quitting, contact Centers for Disease Control at 1-800-232-4636.

Medicare Answers

Dear Marci, I am the primary caregiver for my mother, but I will be out of town for a few days next month. Will Medicare pay for my mother’s care while I am away? – Bernard

Dear Bernard, Medicare will pay for respite care (a rest for caregivers) only if your loved one has a terminal illness and qualifies for the hospice benefit.

Under the Medicare hospice benefit, your loved one can get respite care in a Medicare-approved hospital or skilled nursing facility for up to five days at a time. Medicare will pay 95 percent of the Medicare-approved amount for respite care. – Marci

Marci’s Medicare Answers is a service of the Medicare Rights Center (www.medicarerights.org). To speak with a counselor, call (800) 333-4114.

New Dementia-Diabetes Research Findings

Researchers from Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus say that dementia in some diabetics appears to be caused often by vascular disease in the brain, and the dementia that develops in people without diabetes is more likely associated with deposition of the plaque seen in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

“This helps in understanding diabetes and dementia,” says Mayo neurologist Neill Graff-Radford, M.D. “It suggests that the vascular dementia seen in diabetics, which appears to be related to small blood vessel disease and strokes, can potentially be averted if development of diabetes is prevented.”

The results agree with a number of autopsy studies conducted on patients with dementia and diabetes, in which vascular abnormalities were found to be related to the dementia but the Alzheimer’s pathology of plaque and tangles was not, he says.

The findings also suggest that an experimental blood test to predict development of Alzheimer’s disease may be more accurate than some studies of people with dementia have suggested, because those studies included participants with diabetes, says Dr. Graff-Radford. “We now propose that future studies of this test should take into account diabetic status,” he says.