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Scott Webb (Host): Many of us have gained a few pounds during the pandemic and are looking to find healthy snack and beverage options at the store. Or maybe just from things that we already have at home. And joining me today is Dr. Deanna Holdren. She's a Family Medicine Doctor with Genesis Healthcare System. And she's got some great tips and advice as we all look to eat and drink healthier, especially as we head into the holidays. This is Sounds of Good Health with Genesis brought to you by Genesis Healthcare System. I'm Scott Webb. So, Doctor, thanks so much for your time today. We were just kind of talking off the air a little bit about how maybe during COVID people have been snacking more and because we've been snacking more and treating ourselves to comfort foods, seems like a good time to have you on and talk about how we can eat healthier, healthier snacks, healthier drinks, and so on. So, as we get rolling here, what are some quick and easy snacks that we can make at home? And why are they good for us?

Deanna Holdren, D.O. (Guest): Great question. And definitely you are absolutely right. So, many people have packed on some extra pounds during COVID and now is the time to do something about it and get that back under control. So, basically what I tell my patients, and this is a topic that I'm asked about frequently, but I like to steer people toward more low-glycemic snacks and a low-glycemic snack is something that is not going to spike your blood sugar, which would then spike insulin levels.

So, what we try to do is basically keep the insulin levels low, keep the blood sugar low. And so we really steer people toward your low-glycemic fruits, which would be like your strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, those sorts of things. Your vegetables, vegetables that aren't high in sugar, which most of them are fine. And then we'll do things like hummus or maybe some guacamole. Those are some great ways to get healthy fats in. I encourage people to include things like almonds and nuts and just a variety of seeds, pumpkin seeds, et cetera. Those work great. They don't spike the blood sugar and they really seem to, to kind of fill you up and to tide you over. I also like to encourage people to do like hard boiled eggs, maybe a low sugar, low carb protein type of shake, or a smoothie even would be great. Unsweetened Greek yogurt. That would be a great option as well. What you want to do is avoid all of the high sugar foods, which would be also high carbohydrate foods.

So a lot of processed, packaged. I always say if it comes from a drive through, a box or a package, you don't want it. You want to eat real food. You want to eat whole foods that are nutrient dense and that are actually going to do something for your body.

Host: Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And that's just great advice for diabetics and the rest of us. Right? And, and the mistake that I made Doctor is I didn't eat before I hosted this, because now as we've been rattling off all the foods that I love, guacamole and avocado and hummus and hard-boiled eggs now, I'm really hungry. So, I apologize to the listeners, if we've done the same thing to them. And when we think about things that we can purchase, right? So we go to the store, not specific brand names, but when we're walking the aisles there, trying to buy the best things for ourselves and our families. What are some of the best snacks we can purchase? And why would those be good for us?

Dr. Holdren: So looking at the snacks that are available, it's surprising. There are a lot of whole food, nutrient dense snacks that are available, you know, in the grocery store that are not processed. Things like just a bag of pecans or a bag of mixed nuts would be something that, that I like to snack on. Or even, you know, they've got the single serving hummus things that you can, you know, even send in your kids' lunches, as well as the guacamole.

So a lot of those things that I mentioned earlier, while they didn't used to be available in a package, they are now. Most of those things are available now. A piece of fruit, you know, would be a great option as well there, as far as, you know, what can I purchase. You know, there are some other low carb snack mixes now that, you know, might say keto on them, that sort of thing, which basically just means that they are not going to spike the blood sugar.

And interestingly, you know, you mentioned earlier for our diabetics, but it's not just our diabetics. It's estimated that about 50% of the population has some form of prediabetes or diabetes. And then the percentage goes up from there, even higher has some level of insulin resistance. So, they're not pre-diabetic yet, but there's still some insulin resistance going on. So, the majority of us could benefit from lowering that blood sugar level, lowering the insulin spike that we see.

You know, that's the thing. So many times when people eat a meal, let's say it's lunch. And then they kind of hit the wall around two o'clock. Well, that all has to do with the insulin and what's happening in the body after eating that high carbohydrate meal.

Host: Yeah, you're so right. And that happens to me because I try to eat between podcasts, you know? And then I end up having that, if I was heavy on, you know, sugars or heavy on carbs, then I have that crash, you know, sort of in the afternoon. And I find myself sometimes getting the shakes a little bit. And I know that I could just solve this if I could just eat healthier, if I would just take Dr. Holdren's advice, which I'm really gonna try to do, after we speak today. We mentioned one brand name when you and I were speaking before we got rolling, but I won't use the brand name, but there are times when you will walk the aisles and we know we should buy the healthy things. We should choose the healthy options.

And sometimes we see something and we go, oh, I know that's not good for me, but man, that sounds so good. So again, in a very generic way, doctor, maybe you can give us some ideas, some of the snacks we should avoid and why.

Dr. Holdren: Okay. And what should we avoid and why this is, this is a big one. You know, again, always turn the package over, read the labels, look and see, you know, how many carbs, how many sugars, you know. If it's loaded with carbohydrates, it's loaded with sugar. It's a, it's pretty much a no-go. And that's what you're going to find in most of the boxes and the packages and so forth. So for me, you know, I pretty much run in the grocery store. I shop around the perimeter, around the outer edge because that's where all the living, the whole foods are. The stuff in the middle is usually packaged, processed with a lot of added sugar, a lot of added artificial ingredients and so forth.

So I kind of skip that part, but definitely, those are the things that you want to avoid. A lot of breakfast type options that you would see that are packaged are, again, going to be very, very high in those, things that I mentioned. So, avoiding those, you know, you will be better off with that. And the interesting thing is when you are eating lower carb, lower sugar, you actually don't have that crash in the afternoon.

So, you know, I often think, wow, how much time could you give in terms of productivity back to a person, if they didn't hit that crash, you know, during that time where they're really not good for much of anything, because their brain's not quite right because of the crash. So, if they make this tweak in what they're eating, you know, they can see some really big benefits there.

Host: I think you're so right. And I think as I'm stealing somebody's little catchphrase here, but I think we really are what we eat. And as you say, if we have that crash, we're just not going to be ourselves. We're not going to be productive and we can sort of break that cycle, if we would just listen to you and eat things that are better for us and avoid the sugars, avoid the carbs. And when we think about beverages, I know that water is my go-to. I drink so much water during the day, but I also drink coffee, but I got a lot of water in my coffee, of course, but what are some of the best types of beverages other than water that you recommend? And why?

Dr. Holdren: The beverage industry has really made a lot of gains in the whole health food industry in recent years. And so now you can find beverages out there that are actually sweetened with things like Stevia. I avoid the artificial sweeteners, which you would see like an a diet soda. But, you know, you can find beverages that are sweetened with Stevia, which is an, a natural substance, that or even some that are sweetened with something called Monkfruit.

And so those are going to be zero calories options, but are not going to spike the blood sugar, not going to have an impact on insulin levels. Also, you know, for a lot of people, they might drink certain types of tea. Tea that is unsweetened, of course, is the ideal. And then also a lot of people have gone to what's called kombucha, which is a fermented type of tea. There's a little bit of sugar sometimes in that. But you are getting a nice, healthy dose of probiotics. So, there's kind of a payoff there, or a trade-off, if you will.

Host: A trade-off. Yeah.

Dr. Holdren: Yep. There's a trade-off. So, that works really well. And again, I'm really pleased to see that the beverage industry has kind of come a long way and they are giving more options because I think most people are realizing they just don't want to drink soda because it's not good for them. It's loaded with high fructose corn syrup, which is absolutely horrible for you.

Host: Yeah, and you've brought up a couple of things here. You know, the beverage industry has sort of met the demands that we have, the needs that we have, which is awesome. And as we wrap up here Doctor, what are your takeaways? You know, I feel like we should all allow ourselves to occasionally, eat something unhealthy, that we can treat ourselves, you know, occasionally. And that's probably okay. But in general, on a daily basis to avoid the crashes and to be our best selves, I'm sure you recommend all the healthy options we've discussed today. So what are your takeaways for listeners?

Dr. Holdren: Yeah, I think one of the biggest things, especially moving into the holiday season is that nobody's perfect. We're all gonna make mistakes, on whatever plan it is that we're following. And the great news is that we can immediately get right back on that plan with the very next meal. One thing that I like to do personally, you know, if it's been Thanksgiving or something like that, then I may fast the next day. I make sure that I increase my exercise, you know, get out and take a long walk. Those things can make such a difference. Increase your fluid intake, your water intake, just to try to flush some of that stuff that you ate out, makes a huge difference.

Host: Yeah. You're so right. Heading into the holidays, I just know I'm going to eat some pumpkin pie. I make the pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. So, I know that I'm going to eat them. I just try to forgive myself. You know, when I know I've made the less healthy choices, I try to forgive myself. And as you say, the very next meal, we can get right back on track. So, Doctor it's been so great having you on today. This is really helpful, educational and fun. Thanks so much. And stay well.

Dr. Holdren: Thank you.

Host: And for more wellness tips, go to Genesishcs.org. And thanks for listening to Sounds of Good Health with Genesis brought to you by Genesis Healthcare System. If you found this podcast to be helpful, please be sure to tell a friend and subscribe, rate and review this podcast and check out the entire podcast library for additional topics of interest. I'm Scott Webb. Stay well.