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Eat Right Mama

Real World Eating & Living Advice with Bridget Swinney Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

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Should You Take a Multivitamin?

May 31, 2023 By Bridget Leave a Comment

People often ask if I take a multivitamin. The answer has been no. Why? I feel like my diet is healthy enough to contain most nutrients, with a few exceptions. There are a few nutrients that are difficult to get from diet alone, so I take extra vitamin D, omega-3, calcium, a probiotic and curcumin. (What about prenatal vitamins? I have a different post on that here.)

If you don't take a multivitamin, consider taking some individual supplements.

Some nutrients are difficult to get from diet alone, like Vitamin D.

However a new study  (Baker, Alzheimers Dement 2022)) may change the way I personally feel about multivitamins, at least for older adults. The study of 1,700+ men and women who took Centrum Silver daily for three years showed that it modestly slowed declines in memory of past events (called episodic memory)and made a slight improvement in short term memory. The cognitive improvements were stronger in those with existing cardiovascular disease. In previous studies, researchers found no benefits of multivitamins supplements. Possibly because the participants were too well nourished to benefit from the extra nutrients.

Choosing a Multivitamin? What to Look For

People often ask– Which brand of multi to choose?

Are all multivitamins the same? Definitely not, so don’t buy the first one you see that’s on sale! Here are a few tips:

  • Look at the Supplement Facts Label; it should not have more than 150% of the RDA.
  • Cost doesn’t guarantee quality. Some of the priciest were just as good as the least expensive.
  • Some multivitamins didn’t pass because they contained too much of what was claimed on the label Rainbow Light Prenatal One, Swanson Real Food Multi-Men’s Daily.
  • There is some concern about the inactive ingredients in multivitamins–such as BHT, titanium dioxide, polyethylene glycol and FD&C Yellow Number 5 and 6.

Check out the Supplement Facts label on any nutrition supplements. You’ll find the % Daily Value as well as any other added ingredients like preservatives and colors.

How to Pick the Best Quality Multivitamin

One way is to check then label for what’s inside. Next look for the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) verification seal. This seal guarantees that the supplements meet stringent standards for quality, such as containing the declared amounts on the label and not containing certain contaminants like heavy metals. You can find links to verified supplements here.

Looking for the USP verification mark can help you find a quality multivitamin.

Look for the USP Verification Mark on your dietary supplements.

Next check out ConsumerLab.com. They test nutrition supplements as well as some foods to check for heavy metals, disintegration rate and to make sure they contain the amount of nutrient that’s listed on the label. In their 2020 tests of multivitamins, 44% failed to meet quality standards. While some of their reports are available online, other reports require a subscription. Besides providing reports and lists of the products that meet their testing standards, they also provide a thorough explanation of the supplement, why it’s used and what research backs up its use.

These are Consumer Lab’s top picks for Multivitamins:

  • Daily Multi: Kirkland Signature Daily Multi (Costco brand)–just 3 cents a day.
  • For Adults 50+: Kirkland Signature Mature Multi, Equate Complete Multivitamin 50+ (Walmart) and Up & Up Adult 50+ Multivitamin (Target).
  • For Women: Bayer One a Day Women’s Complete Multivitamin
  • Women 50+: Nature Made Multi for Her 50+ (For women over 50 who are premenopausal, Centrum Silver Women 50+ may be a better choice due to its iron content.)
  • Vegan Women 50+: Naturelo One Daily Multivitamin for Women 50+
  • Prenatal: MegaFood Baby & Me 2 contains the usual vitamins though less iron than the RDA. a Plus is its choline content, which many prenatal vitamins very little of.
  • Men’s: There was no top pick because the four tested did not pass.
  • Men’s 50+: CVS Health Spectravite Men 50+ Multivitamin. (It does contain BHT.)
  • Children’s: Flintstones Complete. Consumer Lab noted that a US government study found that 44% of children’s multivitamins contained too much folic acid and another study found that many exceeded the recommended Upper Level for vitamin A, folic acid, zinc, niacin and copper. I don’t recommend Gummy vitamins for kids because in general they don’t have enough of (or any) iron, zinc and copper.

Earth Day 2023:  17 Ways to Eat More Sustainably

April 19, 2023 By Bridget 3 Comments

As Mother Nature continues to remind us that we can’t fool her, or abuse her, actions we take on Earth Day (and every day) to live more sustainably and prevent food waste are even more important. It will take everyone’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and reduce climate change, pollution, and improve environmental literacy. Saving the planet shouldn’t be political but it is; instead it should be about making the earth a better place for our kids and grandkids.

My earlier post on this topic gives you some great hands-on tips to teach your kids how to better take care of their planet to celebrate Earth Day. Today I reach out to some other colleagues to get their best tips on how to tackle food waste, sustainable living and more.

Sustainable Living

To live sustainably means you aim to live in a way that reduces your personal impact on the environment around you.

Ashley Petrie, RDN, LDN

Ashley Petrie RDN, LDN of EverydayNutritionandWellness.com is a newbie homesteader and shares her living tips on her post 17 Ideas for Sustainable Living in 2022. Some of her tips include:

Cook with Seasonal Ingredients. She says seasonal ingredients are usually fresher, require less transport time [using less energy] and thus have more nutrients. To shop more seasonally, shop produce that’s on sale at the grocery store and utilize your local farmer’s market. Consider supporting a local farmer’s coop to eat more sustainably. To find local food sources and community supported agriculture organizations in your area, go to this USDA website.

Boxes of peaches at a farmer's market. Shop sustainably by buying food in season.
Photo by Conor Brown on Unsplash

Swap Common Kitchen Items with a Reusable Version

  • Paper towels: “We use more than 13 billion pounds of paper towels each year, according to Ashley, “manufacturing these paper towels is one of the leading causes of global warming.” At our house, we use cotton towels—a separate one for hands and drying dishes. Reusable sponges are also a great way to safe on disposable towels. This is one of the easiest habits to change for Earth Day (and every day.)
  • Plastic wrap: “Beeswax wrap has become a popular, sustainable alternative over the past few years. It comes in a variety of patterns and sizes and, when cared for and used properly, can be reused for up to a year! ” Last year I got stretchable silicone covers to put over bowls, cans, baking dishes etc. They are awesome! Now they can be found all over amazon.com, but I really like the products from www.netzerocompany.com.
A stack of white napkins shown here is one way to reduce your use of disposable items on earth day and every day.
Photo by Dan Burton on Unsplash

Food Waste

Raise your hand if you threw out food in the last week. I’m guilty too but thankfully it was minimal—a moldy grapefruit that we kept too long in the pantry when it was getting too warm in there. I know I’m not alone here.  Unfortunately 30-40% of food in the US is tossed. What? Yes, that adds up to 80 BILLION pounds each year. That’s the equivalent of each American throwing away 650 apples each year! And, food waste accounts for the single largest component of landfill space–22%.

Besides the environmental cost of food waste, it’s also expensive! Imagine, throwing away 30-40% of the money you spend on food in the trash! Yikes!

Here are a few of my favorite tips from Judy’s post How to Reduce Food Waste at Home: 60 solutions and tips [free grocery list]:

Photo from blog post How to Reduce Food Waste at home by Judy Barber

Food for Thought on Earth Day:

According to Judy Barber RDN of www.LiveBest.com, Consumers throw out 20% of the food they buy and food trash is the largest chunk of waste in American trash.

  • Her top shopping tip is to shop your kitchen first to see what you have rather than what you want. Then shop with a grocery list. How many times have I bought avocados only to find there’s some hidden in the produce drawer?
  • Post an “eat first” sticky note on foods you need to eat soon.
  • Add leftover chopped veggies to hummus, quesadillas, pizza, tacos, frittatas and omelets.

Using Food Scraps is a Great Way to Reduce Food Waste

I know this is an issue for many people who have great intentions for eating more produce, (present company included) but some of it spoils before we can use it. Colleen Woods over at Zest Nutrition Service has five great tips on her post How to Reduce Food Waste This Week. Her first one is the most important and that is Plan Your Meals for One Week. Planning is the key to both having a healthy diet and living greener and a great first goal for Earth Day! More of my favorites:

If you’re at the end of orange season, Colleen suggests you dry the oranges you might otherwise throw out, into potpourri.
Did you know you can also pickle watermelon rinds?

Infographic by Colleen Woods that shows different tips to use food scraps to reduce food waste. These tips can help you live sustainable for Earth Day and every day!

Recycle your food waste by starting a compost bin–it’s great for your garden! Or Donate your food waste to a community compost.

Katie Mumford MS, RDN, author and blogger at momskitchenhandbook.com, says the average family loses nearly $1500 a year on food waste. Yikes! I think we could all find better ways to spend that cash. Here are some of her tips from 10 Ways to Stop Food Waste, Save Money and Help the Planet. I also love her post 12 Steps to a Greener Kitchen—with tips like drink from the tap, use second-hand shops for kitchen ware, carbonate at home with a Soda Stream of similar and unplug appliances when not in use to reduce your carbon foot print.

  • Get Creative. She writes, “using what you have is getting creative with ingredients. Who says you can’t make chili with chick peas or muffins with raspberries instead of blueberries?”
  • Store Food Smart. Katie recommends labeling everything you freeze, with the name and the date. She says you think you’ll remember but if you’re anything like me, you won’t. So true! Recently hubby and I took something out of the freezer that wasn’t labeled. We took wild guesses as to what it was but were totally wrong. Labeling is the key!
  • When You Eat Out, Share. It’s true that restaurants often brag about their super-sized entrees. Sharing the entrée and ordering another side veggie or salad ups your veggie intake. Our family takes it one step further—we keep containers in the car to take our leftovers home in. You use less Styrofoam and plastic and you’ve got another meal for another day. Another win for Earth Day (and your waistline!)

Speaking of Eating Out…

Photo of white cardboard take out box, which is a great alternative to plastic and styrofoam to reduce our environmental impact. A great way to celebrate Earth Day every day by living sustainably.

Practice Earth Day when eating out! Melissa Traub a plant-based nutritionist has great tips for being kind to the earth in the guest post by Rebekah Lara Zero Waste Takeout. Rebekah is the founder of Simply Living Green with Rebekah.

  • Choose the restaurant based on their sustainability practices. Read Yelp reviews and see if there are any related comments there. There is also an app called PlasticScore Zero Waste Dining, which is a crowdsourced zero waste rating for restaurants. The company uses the data to help restaurants improve. This is a great way to support restaurants that practice sustainability.
  • Say no thank you to the plastic utensils, straws and single-serve condiments. Just politely make this request when you are ordering, or you can kindly refuse it when you arrive to pick up your order. 

Last but not least, Christine Milmine RDN owner of www.plantpoweredyou.com has this tip, which is a common tip for eating more sustainably:

A jar of different colored beans gives a great example of eating sustainably on Earth Day and Every Day! Prevent food waste by using leftovers for lunch.

Consider adding some legumes to the menu as a protein source! Legumes are generally accepted as a more eco-friendly source of protein than meat. Luckily, they are inexpensive and easy to find as well. There are so many ways you can add in legumes, so get creative with soups, chili, curries, and more! Consider eating beans on Earth Day!

“Our planet is headed for disaster. We need to learn how to work with nature, rather than against it.” – David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet (Netflix documentary)

Learn More:

EarthDay.org

Your 2022 Go Green Guide

Recycle Track System: Food Waste in America 2023

Graphic of the earth hugging herself with title of post 17 ways to eat more sustainably with Happy Earth day

Earth Day 2023:  17 Ways to Eat More Sustainably

April 19, 2023 By Bridget 3 Comments

Thinking about Earth Day? Check out these 17 tips to live and eat more sustainably, reduce your use of plastic, save cash and eat better too!

high fiber foods, how to eat more fiber, health benefits of fiber

Why You Should Eat More High Fiber Foods

April 1, 2023 By Bridget Leave a Comment

You probably know you should eat more high fiber foods–the easiest way to do that is to choose foods high in fiber. We’ve got you covered with this post!

One More Veggie Challenge

One More Veggie: Join the Challenge!

February 13, 2023 By Bridget 4 Comments

You know you should eat more veggies, but it’s not always easy…. Maybe eating more veggies is part of your healthy eating resolutions… But maybe that resolution is forgotten by now… As a registered dietitian nutritionist, I sometimes feel like a broken record, telling people to eat more veggies. After all, more veggies on your…

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I'm Bridget...and I'm a mom on a mission to help you and your family eat healthier. I'm also a registered dietitian and author of three books on family nutrition.

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  • Should You Take a Multivitamin?
  • Earth Day 2023:  17 Ways to Eat More Sustainably
  • Why You Should Eat More High Fiber Foods
  • One More Veggie: Join the Challenge!
  • Eat Red-Go Red! It’s Heart Month!

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