Eat the Zucchini, Wear the Bikini

ALEXANDRIA, VA–(Marketwire – July 13, 2010) –  Summer means gardening, grilling, and swimming at the pool. Summer’s produce and expanded cooking options also mean the season is an opportunity to improve your eating habits. The American Diabetes Association announced today a completely revised online nutrition tool in English and Spanish to help you get ready for the season: MyFoodAdvisor™ (www.diabetes.org/MyFoodAdvisor).

The award-winning MyFoodAdvisor has new and expanded features that allow people to track their daily meals, substitute healthier alternatives in recipes or on the plate, and browse recipes. People with diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and those looking to lose weight can use MyFoodAdvisor to find nutrition information on calories, carbohydrates, sodium, fat and cholesterol.

“You would be surprised to see how small substitutions at meal time can make a real difference in your health,” commented Christine Tobin, CDE, President, Health Care & Education, American Diabetes Association. “MyFoodAdvisor can set you up for success by showing you healthy alternatives, tracking what you eat and helping create goals. Losing 10 or 15 pounds can help stop diabetes by preventing or delaying type 2 diabetes or diabetes complications.”

Join American Diabetes Association’s Director of Nutrition and Clinical Affairs Stephanie Dunbar, MPH, RD, and USA Today’s Medical Reporter Mary Brophy Marcus to discuss healthy eating and using the completely revised MyFoodAdvisor during a Twitter Chat on Thursday, July 15, at 2 p.m. ET, at @AmDiabetesChat and #ADA_USAT.

New features include:

• Track It – You can create your own goals for calories, carbohydrate, sodium, saturated fat and fiber and compare what you currently are eating to what you want to be eating. This analysis allows you to make healthier options to lower sodium or saturated fat intake or to keep your carbohydrate intake consistent from day to day.
• Spanish Version – The entire web site is now available in Spanish. The prevalence of diabetes is 2 to 4 times higher among Hispanics/Latinos.

Updated features include:

• Healthy Alternative – This feature, unique to MyFoodAdvisor™, allows you to search for healthier foods. For example, searching for a healthier alternative to ground beef for your favorite burger recipe would provide choices for other ground meat products like turkey or even vegetable-based meat alternatives. The algorithm, based on recent research, takes into account 13 different nutrients to recommend the best alternatives based on your selections.
• Recipe Analysis – Analyze your favorite recipes with our Create Dish functionality. You can request healthier options for all of your recipe ingredients to make your old favorite a healthier favorite. Your own recipes can be saved in your recipe box and imported into the tracking it tool, and ingredients added to a shopping list.
• Create Dish – The portion sizes have been expanded to meet your preferences for using simple cooking measurements.
• Simpler Navigation – The new version allows you to better search and compare food options.

“For people with diabetes and their caregivers, one of MyFoodAdvisor’s useful features remains that serving sizes are based on 15 grams of carbohydrate, which makes it easier to count carbs. There is also information on phosphorus and potassium, two important nutrients to watch for people with kidney disease,” commented Tobin. “But MyFoodAdvisor can help anyone looking to make smart food choices this summer.”

The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to stop diabetes and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, our mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

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