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South Macomb Internal Medicine

Warren, MI

Nutrition

Food Safety, The Perfect Picnic Salad & Updating Your BBQ Traditions!

June 12th, 2021

By Nanette Cameron, RDN

Food Safety

 

Picture this for a dose of wonderful nostalgia:

A nice summer day, the grill is fired up, the friends arrive with a couple dishes to pass like potato salad (yum), and a nice big seven layer dip with some deviled eggs!  The sun is out, the pool is refreshing, music is playing, the drinks are flowing…  And the hot dogs have just come off the grill with just the slightest bit of char, and the burgers are dripping with melted cheese.  Delicious!

What a day.  A couple hours go by and you notice that there is still food left.  You’re going in for seconds.  The beer is on ice but the potato salad has been baking on the table in the hot sun next to the few remaining deviled eggs.  You grab another dog, put some potato salad on your plate and you’re pretty sure no one is looking so you just pop another deviled egg while standing by the food so you don’t get in trouble.  Hot dogs, burgers with a side of food poisoning from food borne illness makes for a great night of elevated cholesterol and indigestion with antacids for dessert – right?  Well actually the dessert was the pie and the cake that you ALWAYS have room for.  At 2 AM you’re swearing you’ll never do this again (until the next invitation).

If you are still doing this – you don’t even have to admit out loud that you are – it’s time to make some changes because this routine is absolutely dangerous short term AND long term and easily avoidable.  Long term because we know this is not a sustainable way to eat without consequences to your health such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.   Short term because food borne illness is very real and food safety is not practiced nearly enough.

Food Safety – 3 things you need to know:

Temperature: Danger zones are between 40 and 140 degrees.  A nice 80 degree day turns your potato salad into a petri dish – you need to keep cold food below 40 and heat hot food to above 140 to avoid food poisoning.

Time: Bacteria can start to grow on food within 2 hours.  Don’t keep food sitting out that long.

Fully cooked:  So important to cook meats properly – chicken, pork and ground beef in particular should be cooked thoroughly – above 165 degrees for all three, and you can even use a thermometer to confirm they are cooked all the way through.

 

Time to update your old school BBQ traditions for the 21st century and the post-pandemic age now that we’re gathering together again.  And since some time has passed since your old routine for these things, now is the perfect time to start anew with some fresh new habits.

Here are a couple of ways to do it:

Here are some tips for a healthy cookout at EatRight.org – take a minute to read this.  And here is my go-to salad that I make and bring with me when I’m invited to one!

PERFECT PICNIC SALAD

Makes 4 servings

1 Cup red grapes sliced in half

1 can (15 ounces) small white beans, drained

½ cup diced celery

¼ cup minced green onion, thoroughly washed before chopping

2 Tbsp. Chopped fresh parsley

Lemon mustard dressing

Lettuce leaves

Lemon Mustard dressing

Combine:

2 Tbsp. Canola oil or Olive oil

2 Tbsp. Lemon juice

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ tsp. Salt 

¼ tsp. Pepper

Combine all ingredients except lettuce and dressing.  Mix well.  Add dressing and toss.  Serve over bed of lettuce.

Nutrition per serving:

Calories

248

Protein

10 g

Fat 

8 g

Carbohydrates

37 g

Fiber

9 g

Sodium

170 mg

I hope you start on your path to a healthy summer with friends and family!

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South Macomb Internal Medicine

28401 Hoover Rd.  Warren, Michigan 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

South Macomb Internal Medicine has been designated a Patient Centered Medical Home by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/SMIMdoc for updates, articles and fun!

Call us and ask to be added to our email newsletter that comes out every couple weeks!

Telehealth and virtual appointments are still available.

Nutritional services are also available with Nanette Cameron, RDN. Don’t forget to ask us for a $25 gift certificate for trying dietary services with Nanette the first time for patients who have insurance coverage!

Feel free to click on the categories and keywords below to find more content as we add more to the website!

Beware of Too Much Sugar – Why It’s Dangerous & 3 Tips to Limit It!

March 12, 2021

By Nanette Cameron, RDN

Certain holidays have their own traditions right?  But they all seem to have one common denominator.  FOOD, and in many cases a heavy dose of sugar.  Take Easter for example which is almost here….  Whether you celebrate Easter or not there WILL be more sugar around and right in front of you like at the checkout of your local grocery store or pharmacy for example.  Jellybeans, chocolate bunnies, and Peeps oh my!  Even chocolate eggs and who knows what other temptations they’ll come up with.  Granted there won’t be the large gatherings for this upcoming holiday perhaps, but as the year goes on and we start getting back to normal your relatives will be itching to make their famous cakes and cookies to bring to 4th of July parties and the like.

So let’s discuss why we should be more mindful of how much sugar we eat.

Sugar

As the very latest research shows there are 10 major reasons to limit your sugar intake.  Just the first three in that report alone are big time problems – inflammation, type 2 diabetes and obesity?  YIKES.

The amount of sugar that the average American consumes has skyrocketed according to the research.  It’s insane.  In a year the average American consumes 152 pounds of sugar – an ENTIRE ADULT HUMAN of sugar – the biggest culprits are soft drinks, sugary juices and yes, candy (remember Easter and jellybeans?).

3 Tips To Limit Your Sugar:

Part of the problem is simply the crave – that feeling that you just want something sweet.  So here are three tips:

  1. Add more fruit to your diet!  Fruit can indeed satisfy your sweet tooth in a much healthier way.  Fruit is good for you – it provides vitamins, minerals and fiber that the concentrated and refined sugars in jellybeans for example do not.  Don’t be as concerned about the sugars in fruit – they aren’t the problem.
  2. If you are hooked on pop try adding a water enhancer for a little flavor boost without the sugar.
  3. Moderation is key – this may sound like an obvious tip but do not buy your sugar at Costco!  If you have a massive 5 lb. bag of sugar you won’t ration it.  Believe me this will help.

So please take care of yourself and be mindful of sugar.  What other tips & tricks do you use to cut down your sugar?

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South Macomb Internal Medicine

28401 Hoover Rd.  Warren, Michigan 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

South Macomb Internal Medicine has been designated a Patient Centered Medical Home by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/SMIMdoc for updates, articles and fun!

Call us and ask to be added to our email newsletter that comes out every couple weeks!

Telehealth and virtual appointments are still available as well as nutritional services with Nanette Cameron, RDN. Don’t forget to ask us for a $25 gift certificate along with a copy of Nanette Cameron’s cookbook The Perfect Day for trying dietary services with Nanette the first time for patients who have insurance coverage! Nanette is also available virtually!

Feel free to click on the categories and keywords below to find more content as we add more to the website!

 

How and Why to Get Your Vitamin D – It’s VERY IMPORTANT!

February 12, 2021

By Nanette Cameron, RDN

They call Vitamin D the “sunshine vitamin” because sunshine literally gives you vitamin D!  Well, it’s pretty tough to get vitamin D that way right now for two pretty obvious reasons:

  1. The pandemic.  We just aren’t spending as much time away from home with restrictions in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and as a result many of us aren’t getting as much sunlight as we might normally get.  You can certainly spend time outside in a pandemic, but less movement and travel naturally can lead to a little less sunlight, and besides………
  2. ……it’s FREEZING out right now.  During the winter we naturally spend less time outside and even when we do we’re bundled up so our skin isn’t absorbing sunlight.

Vitamin D

While there is some debate about this, recommendations range for you to get from 800 to more than 2000 International Units (IU) per day of vitamin D and without supplements it’s extremely difficult to get to that level consistently.

So many people are deficient in Vitamin D and it’s very important because of the following health benefits:

  • It helps with depression
  • It helps absorb calcium to help prevent osteoporosis (which is why dairy milk is fortified with vitamins A & D to help with the calcium).
  • It helps your immune system
  • It helps prevent heart disease
  • It can help prevent obesity

There aren’t a ton of obvious food choices that provide vitamin D either, so as we mentioned we highly recommend you take supplements, and be sure it’s vitamin D3 (not D2).  Without supplements here are your main options:

Sardines

Salmon – fattier fish has more vitamin D in general

Herring – and by the way herring for example has about 216 IUs per 3 oz.  Remember the recommended daily amount is as high as 2000!

Cod Liver Oil

Canned Tuna – 3 oz of light tuna has about 268 IUs

Egg yolk – Grass fed chicken eggs have more at 37 IUs per yolk – not a ton and these are pricier than non-grass fed eggs.

Milk – 115-130 IUs per cup – you would have to drink a lot of milk still not nearly enough (some plant based milk beverages are also fortified with vitamin D)

Not exactly a long list…

You can have your vitamin D levels tested at South Macomb Internal Medicine so you know if you’re deficient.  40-80 ng/ml is the healthy level of D we should have in our blood.  Oh and another tip for when the weather is nicer – the darker your skin color the less your skin absorbs vitamin D from the sun, and any sunscreen blocks it completely which is a bit of catch 22…  You need to protect your skin from too much sun but you won’t get the vitamin D when you do – which once again is why we need to supplement!

So pay attention to your vitamin D, get tested, and supplement!

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South Macomb Internal Medicine

28401 Hoover Rd.  Warren, Michigan 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

South Macomb Internal Medicine has been designated a Patient Centered Medical Home by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/SMIMdoc for updates, articles and fun!

Call us and ask to be added to our email newsletter that comes out every couple weeks!

Telehealth and virtual appointments are still available as well as nutritional services with Nanette Cameron, RDN. Don’t forget to ask us for a $25 gift certificate along with a copy of Nanette Cameron’s cookbook The Perfect Day for trying dietary services with Nanette the first time for patients who have insurance coverage! Nanette is also available virtually!

Feel free to click on the categories and keywords below to find more content as we add more to the website!

 

Why High Cholesterol Needs To Be Taken Seriously and What You Can Do About It

January 29th,2021

High Cholesterol

High Cholesterol is serious business

Cholesterol is a substance that exists in the lipids, or fats, in your blood and your body uses cholesterol to build healthy cells. However, having high cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease.

A person with high cholesterol tends to develop fatty deposits in their blood vessels, which can eventually clog the vessels and make it difficult for enough blood to flow through the arteries. The heart in this situation may not get as much oxygen-rich blood as it needs, which increases the risk of a heart attack. Also, decreased blood flow to your brain may cause a stroke.

High cholesterol can be inherited, and it may often be the result of unhealthy lifestyle choices. It is largely preventable and treatable. A healthy diet, regular exercise and sometimes medication can go a long way toward reducing it.  Here is a recent article from Harvard Medical School entitled 11 Foods That Lower Cholesterol.  We also have Nanette Cameron available to help – she is our nutritionist and she has even published a cookbook called The Perfect Day.  Just ask us for a $25 gift certificate along with a copy of her book for trying dietary services with her the first time for patients who have insurance coverage!  Nanette is also available virtually!

NO SYMPTOMS

High cholesterol has no symptoms. A blood test is the only way to detect it.

Cholesterol test – A blood test is taken after you have fasted for a certain number of hours. It measures your total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, and HDL levels. Cholesterol’s components — LDL, HDL, and triglycerides — work together for the healthy functioning of your body. But too much or too little of these fats can lead to artery damage and cardiovascular disease.

There are three main components of cholesterol:

  • LDL (low-density lipoprotein):  L for “lousy” cholesterol, because it can damage your cardiovascular system. LDL carries most of the cholesterol in the blood to be stored away for future use.
  • HDL (high-density lipoprotein): H for “healthy” cholesterol that carries cholesterol from the body to the liver, where it is eliminated.
  • Triglycerides: The most common type of fat in your body, triglycerides, transport (carry) and store fat in the blood. When you eat excess calories, especially sugar and alcohol, they are stored as triglycerides.

There are two main ways to manage cholesterol (many patients require both): medication and changes in lifestyle which we discussed earlier. Medications are commonly prescribed if you are at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), or you are at moderate risk and have additional risk factors.

Our doctors will personally assess your individual situation and make
a plan that will help you manage your cholesterol effectively.

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South Macomb Internal Medicine

28401 Hoover Rd.  Warren, Michigan 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

South Macomb Internal Medicine has been designated a Patient Centered Medical Home by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/SMIMdoc for updates, articles and fun!

Call us and ask to be added to our email newsletter that comes out every couple weeks!

Telehealth and virtual appointments are still available as well as nutritional services with Nanette Cameron, RDN. Don’t forget to ask us for a $25 gift certificate along with a copy of Nanette Cameron’s cookbook The Perfect Day for trying dietary services with Nanette the first time for patients who have insurance coverage! Nanette is also available virtually!

Feel free to click on the categories and keywords below to find more content as we add more to the website!

Nutrition and Preventative Medicine Go Hand In Hand!

December 3rd, 2020

By Dr. Scot Goldberg, MD

On our Facebook page and in our email newsletter we talk a lot about nutrition – especially on what we call “Foodie Fridays”, and as it relates to preventative medicine it’s a key element.  We found a recent article that explores the role of nutrition in fighting against COVID-19 which is obviously on everyone’s mind in these challenging times, but it can apply to anything since a healthy immune system can help you ward off plenty of illnesses!  We can help with diet – just ask us for a $25 gift certificate along with a copy of our nutritionist Nanette Cameron’s cookbook The Perfect Day for trying dietary services with her the first time for patients who have insurance coverage!  Here is the link to the article at News Medical:  Healthy diet plays vital role in warding off COVID-19

Nutrition and preventative medicine

SMIM is Focused on nutrition AND preventative medicine

So to be clear, we are very focused on preventative medicine all the way around – we have a page dedicated to it on our website, and we aim to help you! Regular well visits and open conversations with a healthcare team that cares about and gets to know you is the best way to stay well!  We don’t want you sick.  We want you to have success with your health and we want to use our knowledge and experience to help you prevent disease!  Do NOT wait until you are sick to start taking care of yourself – that approach really makes no sense.
Stay safe and be well!

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South Macomb Internal Medicine

28401 Hoover Rd.  Warren, Michigan 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

South Macomb Internal Medicine has been designated a Patient Centered Medical Home by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/SMIMdoc!

Feel free to click on the categories and keywords below to find more content as we add more to the website!

5 Little Tricks To Make Your Comfort Food Healthier!

October 9, 2020

By Nanette Cameron, RDN

We all love our comfort food.  You know the kind – the stuff that just makes you feel GOOD as you’re eating it.  And as you’re probably aware, some of these are not exactly the healthiest foods for your body.  So why are we drawn to eat things that are so unhealthy, and why do we crave them in certain seasons?

For example, in the fall we tend to eat a lot of foods that are higher in fat and carbohydrates such as mashed potatoes, pastas and stews.  Fall and winter months also bring less activity since it’s colder out and gets darker earlier and that can be a problem because we might be burning less calories.

Less activity + higher fat foods = weight gain.

So, let’s discuss 5 ways we can combat this formula and set ourselves up for healthier habits!

Comfort Food

5 Little Tricks To Make Your Comfort Food Healthier!

1)  Substitute mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes.  You can find these in the frozen foods section and all you need to do is heat them up!  And while we’re at it, use either a little less (or no) butter or gravy or lower fat versions of these products.  You can make up for them by focusing on seasonings instead of just adding calories from fat.

2) Pasta – look for more whole grain or veggie based pastas.  You can usually find pastas made from whole grain, lentils, chick peas, zucchini, or spinach right there next to the regular old pastas, and this will add more nutritional value.  These pastas contain more fiber which will fill you up faster with more nutrition and you will east less.

3) Chili instead of stews.  Stews tend to have more fat from red meat and gravy, whereas chili especially when made with beans can still give you that hot and hearty comfort that you’re looking for with more fiber and less calories from fat. 

4) Soups – use broth based soups instead of cream.  There are several ways to accomplish this.  For starters add veggies, and then when you’re done adding veggies, add more veggies.  Creamy soups like broccoli cheddar or clam chowder are the biggest offenders and contain too many calories from fat.  You can make a really hearty soup with broth instead of cream by loading it up with carrots, celery, broccoli and even some riced cauliflower and it will be a hearty dish.  Also here’s a tip: Take a couple labels of your veggie soup, blend it and add it back to create that creamy texture that you love.

5) Apples.  Granted this can be applied to other fruits which you should eat more of, but in particular apples are abundant in Michigan in the fall and you can make them in many tasty and yes, healthy ways.  Apple pies can add more carb and fat calories.  Try cutting them up, sprinkling them with cinnamon, sautéing them in a skillet with maybe just a little cooking spray, and topping them with low fat cottage cheese or vanilla greek yogurt – YUM!  Or try this – slice an apple, place it in a baking dish, pour a half cup of diet Vernors over the apple and bake at 350 for 10 minutes…  DELISH (with a little Detroit flavor to boot)!!!  An apple bake per day keeps the doctor away (even though the doctors at South Macomb Internal Medicine are very nice hehe…)!

So how are YOU going to use these tips to make YOUR comfort food healthier?  Let us know, and enjoy!

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South Macomb Internal Medicine

28401 Hoover Rd.  Warren, Michigan 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

South Macomb Internal Medicine has been designated a Patient Centered Medical Home by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/SMIMdoc!

Feel free to click on the categories and keywords below to find more content as we add more to the website!