Tag Archives: Irene Franowicz

The inner path to an outer glow

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If it’s great skin you’re after, make healthy food and hydration a priority. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)

By Irene Franowicz, Spectrum Health Beat


Yes, some women can thank their genes for that youthful glow. But they don’t have the market cornered on smooth and seemingly ageless skin.


Those of us who haven’t been genetically blessed can still glide into our 40s, 50s and 60s with soft, dewy skin.


Vitamin-infused creams and lotions can certainly improve skin and hair, but if you really want to look great, you have to start on the inside.


The truth is, the right foods will not only help you feel great, they’ll also help you get beautiful locks and a glowing complexion.

8 essentials for better skin:

Water

Water is essential to providing moisture and suppleness to skin. It helps transport nutrients to all our cells—skin, hair and nails—and it’s a natural lubricant for our joints.


You should drink about half your body weight in fluid ounces each day. (So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink about 75 ounces of water.)


If you’re feeling bloated, you may be retaining fluid from too much sodium. Drinking water flushes away excess sodium and aids in weight loss by removing excess water weight.


Want to add a refreshing flavor to your water? Add in a slice of lemon, lime or cucumber, or try my favorite: chopped fresh pineapple and fresh strawberries.

Vitamin A, beta-carotene

Think green vegetables, orange vegetables and fruit.


Vitamin A is an antioxidant that helps maintain and repair tissues in the body. It provides moisture for eyes, skin and epithelial cells that cover or line all our body parts, externally and internally.


Beta-carotene winners: sweet potatoes, mangoes, butternut squash, apricots, broccoli, collard greens, spinach and kale.


The options are without limit: Try some mango salsa. Toss a handful of baby spinach into your smoothie. Roast some butternut squash. Roast some sweet potatoes with olive oil. Enjoy a broccoli salad with cranberries and sunflower seeds.


You can make healthy substitutions, too. Instead of fries with your burger, trade them for baby carrots and broccoli with a spinach dip.


Just a tip: Traditional, store-bought spinach dip is laden with mayonnaise, so instead use thawed, drained and chopped frozen spinach to make it greener and healthier.

Vitamin C

The American Academy of Dermatology says vitamin C can be highly protective against sun damage. Vitamin C’s antioxidant properties help reduce skin damage caused by free radicals, a harmful byproduct of sunlight, smoke and pollution.


This vitamin also promotes production of collagen, which acts like tissue cement to help keep skin from sagging.


Excellent sources include strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, tomatoes, bell peppers and citrus fruits.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E helps keep skin smooth, healthy and younger looking. It’s an antioxidant much like vitamin C, as it counters the effects of sun exposure. It’s also used topically as a cream and lotion to soothe dry skin.


Great sources include hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, wheat germ and avocados.

B complex vitamins

A deficiency in B vitamins can cause dermatitis—an itchy, scaly skin reaction. Sources of these vitamins include bananas, eggs, oatmeal, whole grains, lentils and cereals.

Seafood

Seafood has good fats—essential fatty acids and omega-3—which help reduce inflammation in the body. These may also help reduce wrinkles.


The best types of seafood are salmon, albacore tuna, mackerel and sardines. Try adding a seafood meal twice a week. It’s as easy as a tuna fish sandwich for lunch and grilled teriyaki salmon for dinner.

Get calcium

What do milk, yogurt and soy have in common? They’re high in calcium, which makes them great not only for your skin, but for your bones and nails.


Yogurt also has probiotics that aid in digestion. It’s a great way to add protein and calcium to your smoothies.

Mediterranean staples

Don’t avoid fat just for the sake of your waistline. Eat the Mediterranean way and include plenty of olive oil, flaxseed, avocados, nuts and seeds.


Many women have dry, flaky skin because they don’t eat enough good fats—essential fatty acids. Fat is needed to absorb fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A, D, E and K.


Enjoy some guacamole, serve olives on your appetizer tray, enjoy almond butter on your whole grain toast topped with banana slices, and top your yogurt with almonds and sunflower seeds.


Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.


Let’s get grilling

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A surefire route to healthy grilling: Toss some fresh fruits and vegetables on the grill and drizzle on some olive oil. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)

By Irene Franowicz, RD, CDE, Spectrum Health Beat


Tired of the same old barbecue? Looking for healthier options that transcend those humdrum hot dogs and banal burgers?


It doesn’t matter if you’re a vegetarian or a meat-lover, or even something in between—there are plenty of ways to add variety and flavor to your summer grilling plans.


And the best part is, you can keep it healthy along the way.

Healthier hot dog

At a ball game or barbecue, hot dogs just seem to call your name. And they appear so innocent because they’re so small and simple.


But don’t be fooled. Done wrong, a single hot dog can pack on the calories.


If you get a dog with all the fixings—cheese, chili, ketchup, mustard, mayo and baked beans—and you add coleslaw, macaroni salad or potato salad as a side, you’re looking at anywhere from 750 to 2,000 calories. Not to mention all the fat.


But you don’t need to avoid hot dogs altogether. You just need to choose wisely.


Look for a hot dog that has less fat than its original version.


For example: A Hebrew National standard beef frank has about 150 calories and 13 grams of fat, but the “97 percent fat-free” version has 45 calories and 1 gram of fat. The better-for-you version has 105 fewer calories and 12 grams less fat.

It’s simple math.


You can also get turkey, chicken or veggie franks as a healthier option to make at home. It’s also recommended you choose a whole wheat bun for added fiber.


If you trade in your pork brat for a turkey brat, you’ll cut your calories in half and drastically lower your fat intake. A pork sausage has anywhere from 290 to 455 calories and 23 to 38 grams of fat per link. A turkey or chicken sausage, on the other hand, has about 140 to 180 calories and 7 to 12 grams of fat.


If you’re vegetarian, opt for veggie sausages made of soy, bean or tofu protein. Just about every grocery store offers delicious gourmet chicken sausages that are additive-free and they have great flavors such as sun-dried tomato, gouda and apple, and spinach feta. (For the sake of comparison, the typical chicken sausage has about 180 calories and 12 grams of fat.)


As a side, meanwhile, fill up on grilled veggies and veggie-and-bean salsas (sometimes called “cowboy caviar”). Or choose fruit salad instead of pasta and macaroni salad.


It’s truly all about making healthy substitutions that suit your taste.

Meat mythology

Somewhere along the way, you’ve probably heard that ground turkey is a healthier option than ground beef, particularly if you’re looking for fewer calories and less saturated fat.


But that’s not always the case.


Turkey breast is lean, but dark turkey meat is not. And some ground turkey contains both.


A quarter-pound of regular ground turkey contains 3 grams of saturated fat, but the same amount of extra-lean ground turkey has just 0.5 grams of fat. The right cut of turkey offers a sizable difference.


A few tips for ground beef:

  • With ground sirloin, always opt for the 90/10 ratio over the 80/20 or 85/15. Just 4 ounces of 90/10 contains 190 calories and 11 grams of fat.
  • Beware of 80/20 ground chuck. About 4 ounces has 280 calories and 20 grams of fat.

For juicy, grilled burgers that are good for you, don’t just look to beef to satisfy you.


Try veggie burgers with guacamole topping for good fats, or try grilled salmon patties. These are easy to find in your local grocery store. You can also try ground lamb with spinach and feta if you’re looking for a Greek twist.

Marinate your protein

Kansas State University researchers found that using herbs and spices in marinades can reduce carcinogenic compounds in grilled meats by up to 88 percent.


Other research has found that oils, vinegar and even beer can cut down on carcinogens in meat. The marinade could create a protective barrier between the meat proteins and the heat of the grill, or the antioxidants in the marinade may combat the carcinogens.


If you want to reduce charring, use a George Foreman Grill. It works beautifully for salmon, flank steak, burgers (veggie and meat) and pork tenderloin. Smaller, 1-pound tenderloins are great, and flank steak is an excellent lean meat for grilling.

Go beyond the bun

You don’t have to rely on mainstays like burgers and hot dogs for your outdoor cooking. A few quick examples of some creative alternatives:

  • Pizza. Grill a pizza and make it caprese by topping it with fresh-sliced mozzarella, tomato slices, basil and a drizzle of garlic olive oil and fig balsamic.
  • Fajitas. Grill your chicken strips, onions and peppers and top it with fresh salsa and guacamole in a corn tortilla.
  • Portobello. You can make a vegetarian burger by grilling portobellos, red peppers, goat cheese and basil pesto.
  • Tacos. Grill up fish tacos and add your favorite slaw, or try a Korean taco made with flank steak and guacamole. There are so many great recipes for this on the internet.
  • Veggies. Toss them with olive oil, and use sturdy ones that won’t fall through the grill. Asparagus, sweet potatoes, onions, multicolored peppers, zucchini and eggplant are all great options. They can take just five to 10 minutes depending on the heat. Toss with pesto or garlic for added flavor.

Grill your dessert

With all these healthy grill options, you’ll of course need to leave a little room for a fun dessert.


Grill a slice of pound cake and serve it with grilled pineapple with chipotle olive oil and Persian lime olive oil, or grilled peaches with a little olive oil and a cinnamon pear balsamic and your favorite gelato.


These tips are bound to brighten up your grilling this summer. They’ll also keep you healthy while you still get to enjoy great-tasting food.


Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.


Make it a Mediterranean holiday season

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Your meals don’t have to be dominated by meats and sweets. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat

By Irene Franowicz, RD, CDE

Spectrum Health Beat


If you’re looking to eat healthier, but don’t want to give up those deliciously satisfying foods, look no further.


What you want exists—it’s the Mediterranean diet.


The best part of it all: A plethora of research correlates this cuisine with improved health and longevity. A Mediterranean-style diet reduces risk factors for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and Alzheimer’s, and it also fights inflammation and adds antioxidants.


People who eat this kind of diet live longer with less disease.

Offer a Middle Eastern vegetarian appetizer menu at your holiday events and reap the delicious health benefits. You can buy many of these items at a Middle Eastern deli.

The diet limits red meats, placing emphasis on plant-based proteins and nuts, and promoting seafood and chicken along with legumes, veggies, high-antioxidant fruits and whole grains.


The result is a lower-glycemic diet, which can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity and the function of cells in the pancreas, which helps to improve blood sugar control.


Olive oil replaces butter in Mediterranean recipes, and delicious herbs and spices make it easier to reduce salt.


In my series Eating the Mediterranean Way, participants have reported significant reductions in blood sugar with minimal weight loss. Because the cuisine emphasizes good fats instead of low fat, it’s better for weight loss than a low-fat diet.


The Mediterranean diet is more satisfying because people feel less deprived by their meals—they’re getting essential nutrition in a delicious way. They also report reduced cravings for sugar, which makes weight loss easier.


An important thing to keep in mind: Lifestyle is just as important as food.


People from Mediterranean countries enjoy and savor their food, turning every meal into an excuse for a social occasion with family and friends. A little red wine may be part of the menu, too.


Learn more about or sign up for the next Eating the Mediterranean Way class by calling 616.774.7779.


Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.