National Nutrition Month: The Ins & Outs of Food Labels

Ever wonder about the difference between reduced fat and low fat? Or does “light” on a label really mean no fat? The Food and Drug Administration has strict guidelines on how these food label terms can be used.

Here are some of the most common claims seen on food packages and what they mean: 

• Low calorie: Less than 40 calories
• Low cholesterol: Less than 20 mg of cholesterol and 2 gm or less of saturated fat per serving
• Reduced: 25 percent less of the specified nutrient or calories than the usual product
• Good source of: Provides at least 10 percent of the Daily Value of a particular vitamin or nutrient per serving
• Calorie free: Less than five calories per serving
• Fat free/sugar free: Less than ½ gram of fat or sugar per serving
• Low sodium: Less than 140 mg of sodium per serving
• High in: Provides 20 percent or more of the Daily Value of a specified nutrient per serving
• High fiber: Five or more grams of fiber per serving
• Lean (meat, poultry, seafood): Ten grams of fat or less, 4 ½ grams of saturated fat and less than 95 mg cholesterol per 3 ounce serving
• Light: 1/3 fewer calories or ½ the fat of the usual food
• Healthy (individual food item): Low fat, low saturated fat, less than 480 mg sodium, less than 95 mg cholesterol and at least 10 percent of the Daily Value of vitamins A and C, iron, protein, calcium and fiber
  

The FDA also sets standards for health-related claims on food labels to help consumers identify foods that are rich in nutrients and may help to reduce their risk for certain diseases. For example, health claims may highlight the link between calcium and osteoporosis, fiber and calcium, heart disease and fat or high blood pressure and sodium.

National Nutrition Month: Know Your Fats

March is National Nutrition Month!

Learn the following healthy tips and try some new recipes from our Saint Joseph Clinical Dietitians

Fats and oils are important parts of a healthful diet, but the type of fat you choose can make a big difference in the health of your heart.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend the majority of dietary fat come from two sources: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat, which are mostly derived from oils in plants. Common examples of monounsaturated fats are canola, olive and peanut oils. Sources of polyunsaturated fats include corn and soybean oils as well as many seeds, nuts and their oils.

For your heart’s sake, keep your fat intake between 20 percent and 35 percent of your total calories. Make sure most of your fats come from sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids like plant protein, nuts, seeds, vegetable oils and vegetable oil products like trans fat-free spreads, mayonnaise, salad dressings and natural peanut butter.
Produced by ADA’s Public Relations Team

RECIPE: Hummus (Garbanzo Spread)

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans (drained) ½ tsp cumin
2 tsp tahini (sesame butter)
1 clove garlic
Juice of ½ lemon
Red pepper to taste
2 Tbsp sesame seeds

1) Mash or puree all ingredients, thinning mixture with fluid from canned beans if necessary.
2) Chill 2 hours
2) Serve as a thick dip with raw vegetables, whole grain crackers, pita bread – or serve as a sandwich spread.

Nutrient Info: Serving size 1 tablespoon = 23 Calories, 1g Fat

Medical Team to Leave for Haiti Tomorrow

Tomorrow, February 2, a team of physicians and nurses will travel to Haiti to provide much needed medical relief. They will be working at Sacred Heart Hospital in Milot, Haiti where it is expected they will perform surgery from 8 am until 11 pm with 30-minute breaks for lunch and dinner.

Every day, 10 - 12 helicopters carrying up to 10 patients each land in Milot. These are patients with critical orthopedic needs, and many of them will have to undergo amputations. 

Please keep these brave volunteers and their families in your prayers:
Dr. George Friend
Dr. Meredith Wierman
Dr. Jeff Lindquist
Dr. Rick Skupski
Dr. Mark Walsh
Dr. Fred Ferlic
Dr. Henry DeLeeuw
Dr. Randy Ferlic
Dr. Michael Yergler
Michelle Crawford, RN
Donna Dickens, RN
Doug Gibson, RN
Kyonna Charlston, RN
Dana Brackett, PA
Dr. Joey Garcia
Dr. James Wierman

In addition, thank you to our physicians here at home for taking call and seeing extra patients as needed while their colleagues are in Haiti. Bless everyone who has worked to make this relief effort possible.

We are accepting monetary donations to assist with the group’s travel expenses. If you would like to donate, send a check to the Foundation of SJRMC, 837 E. Cedar St., Suite 350, South Bend, IN 46617. Write “Haiti” on the memo line. To donate online go to Click here to make a secure donation online. 

Mock Move a Real Success

In preparation for the big move on December 14 to the new hospital, Physicians, Nurses, Administrators, and Staff participated in a Mock Move drill on Monday, November 16.

The drill actually began the evening before with sequencing of the mock patients in order to simulate what will happen in the early morning hours of December 14 before the actual move begins at 7 am.

“We have planned for the move for almost 18 months and with the Mock Move we had the ability to test our processes,” said Marsha King, Chief Nursing Officer, who is coordinating the patient move. “Our Move Teams did an awesome job. The purpose of the Mock Move was to identify what areas we need to review and continue to refine. All in all the Mock Move went great and we now have 3 weeks to tweak and improve our processes and flows for December 14.” 

  

WSBT's Kirk Mason was one of our "patient" during the Mock Move.

SJRMC Reminds Community to Follow CDC Guidelines for H1N1

Before Seeking Emergency Room Care ...

Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center reminds the entire community that those with flu-like symptoms should stay home and avoid contact with others, except to get medical care from their primary healthcare provider.

That is one of the main messages the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conveying on its website, www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu, and SJRMC asks the community to adhere to this, and other CDC guidelines, to alleviate its overcrowded Emergency Room, due to H1N1 Flu concerns.

The CDC and SJRMC recommend you should not go to the Emergency Room if you are only mildly ill.

"The Emergency Department should be utilized by the significantly ill,” said Dr, Steven Gable, SJRMC’s Vice President of Medical Quality Improvement. “If people are experiencing flu-like symptoms, but the symptoms are not severe, they should stay home, get plenty of rest, and drink lots of fluids. Coming to the ER in these situations would only spread the disease."

Those who go to Emergency Rooms and are not sick with the flu are at risk of catching it from those who do have it, according to the CDC’s website.

The CDC’s website provides a wide range of information regarding what to do if you get sick, as well as information for specific groups including schools, parents, pregnant women, and there is even an evaluation link www.flu.gov/evaluation, where users can evaluate their possible symptoms. The CDC can also be reached at 1-800-CDC-INFO.

SJRMC urges the entire community to consult primary healthcare providers or the CDC at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu or at 1-800-CDC-INFO before immediately deciding to use Emergency Rooms. 

Cooking with Your Kids

Gwen D. Ehlers, RD, Clinical Dietitian, SJRMC

Cooking with Your Kids

Quick Tips from Gwen D. Ehlers, RD, Clinical Dietitian

How can you get yours kids to beg for bananas instead of brownies?  What could convince them to choose carrot sticks over candy bars?

• Eating healthy is a lifestyle, and needs to begin at an early age. Help your kids start by including them in the selection and preparation of food.
  
• Ask your little ones to pick out their favorite color fruit or vegetable at the store.
  
• Snack with dips that include peanut butter, light salad dressing, low fat yogurt or salsa. This will encourage young ones to expand their choices of fruits and vegetables.
  
• Cook with your kids! While you’re spending quality time together, they are learning new skills, whether it is mixing, measuring, or cutting.

Try these recipes with your child:

Wonderful Stuffed Potatoes

• 4 medium baking potatoes
• ¾ C low-fat (1%) cottage cheese
• ¼ C milk
• 1 TB soft margarine
• 1 tsp dill weed
• 2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Prick potatoes with fork. Bake at 425° for 60 minutes or until fork is easily inserted. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out potato leaving ½” pulp inside. Mash pulp in large bowl and mix in remaining ingredients, except Parmesan cheese. Spoon mixture into shells and sprinkle top with 1/3 tsp Parmesan cheese. Place on baking sheet and bake 15-20 min until tops are golden brown.

Chicken & Veggie Wrap

• Flour tortillas
• 1 C diced cooked chicken
• ½ C chopped cucumber
• ½ C chopped red bell pepper
• ½ C chopped raw sugar snap peas
• ½ C chopped lettuce
• ½ C hummus

Combine chicken, cucumber, bell pepper, peas, and hummus in a bowl. Lay the wraps on the counter and cover each with a lettuce leaf. Divide the vegetable mixture among them and spread, leaving half-inch border around the edge. Roll up tight, tucking in the edges as you roll. Cut in half.

Feedback from the Community

At SJRMC, we receive so many letters of appreciation from our patients. In addition, we encourage our Associates to share their "Kudos," recognizing each other for displaying excellence and compassion in our work. Here are some recent Thank Yous and Kudos we have received...

Dawn Brammer, RN, Four North, South Bend Campus
Dawn is so in tune to our Diabetic patients. The patients love her energy and smile as she takes time to clearly educate the patients. Dawn goes beyond the call of duty and she consistently does it with a smile. I have asked Dawn to see patients that have been newly diagnosed and when the patients see me the next day they tell me how appreciative they are. Kudos Dawn!

Center for Spiritual Care, In God's Arms Program
We have written this letter to send a very special thank you. Our baby was one of the many babies remembered at the “In God’s Arms” Memorial Services held on April 26, 2009. Even through the rough time, what a delight it truly was to attend the service. It is such a blessing for wonderful people like yourselves and the staff of Palmer Funeral Home to make such a beautiful service like this happen! We are blessed to know there is such a beautiful and peaceful place we can go and reflect and rejoice the life of our precious child, as we truly believe life begins at conception, as we lead our way down the road of recovery. We have not only been blessed with such a wonderful and precious angel, but we have been blessed with God given people like all of yourselves! You all will always hold a very special place in our hearts! This has been such a true wonderful blessing to our lives and we are sure it will be a blessing to many more families. In loving memory of our child.

Denise Pitts, Pediatric Therapy
At the age of 20 months my son Ryan started Pediatric Physical Therapy here at SJRMC South Bend. He could not walk and was in the process of diagnosis. Within 2 weeks of PT with Denise Pitts my son was walking. She gave us the avenue to make it possible. He ended up with a diagnosis of mild Cerebral Palsy. He’s had PT at SJRMC for six year now and we have been fortunate to have Denise as our PT the entire time. Denise takes her patients and works with them in such a way that they are totally unaware of how hard they are working. Part of PT is showing me how to motivate him at home and get the exercise in. She rises to this challenge and helps me with new and fun ideas. She brings so much humor, genuine caring and creativity to her job. She has even shared toys of her own children to help motivate my son. We only see Denise once a month now. My son is 8 and still is excited on the day that he has PT. The work is very hard and it says a lot that he wants to come. He doesn't remember his life before PT and I think there are many kids that come to PT in that same situation. I feel so fortunate that SJRMC and Denise Pitts have been there to guide and help my son. Enough cannot be said for Denise and the entire Pediatric Therapy Department here at SJRMC.

Kate's Hope
Many of our Associates were part of Kate’s Hope, the group that recently walked in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s MS Walk in memory of former SJRMC Associate Kate Coleman. Kate’s Hope was by the far the Walk leader, raising more than $10,000 in support of the fight against MS.