Rosanne Rust,MS,RDN

People who skip breakfast are found to be deficient in certain nutrients like iron and B vitamins, folate, vitamin A and vitamin D. Breakfast cereals provide these key nutrients and can be eaten with milk for additional protein, calcium and vitamin D. While nutrient deficiencies are found in those who skip breakfast, research shows that there is no risk to skipping breakfast as long as a healthy diet is maintained over the whole day.
 
Transcript: "What are the most common nutrient deficiencies found in people who regularly skip breakfast? This is a great question. We have a lot of data from NHANES, which is the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. And it's an ongoing research study that examines the health and nutrition of adults and children. So what they recently found in an evaluation of that data is that people who skip breakfast tend to be a little deficient in certain nutrients, particularly iron and B vitamins, including folate, also vitamin A and vitamin D. Folate is really important in children and women of childbearing years, as is iron. And breakfast cereals provide a lot of those nutrients through fortification. Breakfast cereals are fortified with B vitamins, iron, and those important key nutrients. It's often also eaten with milk, which provides vitamin D, additional protein, calcium, etc. So I'm going to link to that study, and you can take a look. But there is some evidence that nutrient deficiencies are found in people who skip breakfast, but there has also been evaluations of that NHANES data that show that breakfast skippers still have healthy diets and there's no risk to skipping breakfast. So it really depends what's eaten over the whole day, but this can be a trend. So check the link."
 Study: skipping breakfasts leads to clear nutrient gaps

Cross contamination can be minimized in food preparation by storing food properly, using designated cutting boards for meats and produce, cleaning all cooking surfaces and knives, and washing hands continuously while cooking.
 
Transcript: "How can the risk of cross-contamination be minimized in food preparation? This is a great question because it's a very important part of food safety practice at home. First of all, it's about food storage. So you want to be sure that you're storing food properly in terms of overall food safety. Cold foods stay cold, hot foods stay hot. You can avoid cross-contamination by making sure that any kind of raw foods, especially raw meats, meat, beef, pork, poultry, raw fish, are not coming into contact with any other type of food. For instance, your produce, your fruits, your vegetables. It's a great idea to kind of designate a cutting board for meat and a cutting board for produce and other foods. You should be keeping all of your cooking surfaces clean. Your cutting boards should be washed with hot soapy water and they should be stored clean. All of your knives and cookware should be clean as well. So you don't want to use a fork to pick up a piece of raw chicken and then use that same fork to stir a pot or to do anything else with. You want to keep everything separated. Raw foods should be separate from cooked foods and raw meats should be separate from raw fruits and vegetables. And then when you're done cooking, you want to make sure you clean surfaces properly. Always keep your hands washed, store all of your cutting boards and knives clean and properly. I hope that helps. One more quick thing. Wash your hands continuously. Keep your hands washed. So while you're cooking, wash them several times in between."
 USDA food safety guide

Prebiotics are non-digestible components of food that positively impact the gut microbiome, while probiotics are naturally occurring microorganisms in the gut. Prebiotics provide food for the probiotics.
 
Transcript: "What is the difference between a Prebiotic and a probiotic? A Prebiotic is sometimes. A non-digestible component of food, like a fiber that has an impact on the gut microbiota. A Prebiotic can also be other substances that may positively impact the gut microbiome. A probiotic, are the naturally occurring organisms microorganisms in our gut? So including foods that provide some probiotic to the diet like naturally fermented foods, like sauerkraut or kimchi kombucha, also things like aged cheese yogurt when you see the label set that says live cultures and the yogurt, those are examples of a probiotic and the prebiotics service the food for those probiotics. So I hope that helps this is a complicated topic and there's a a lot of research on going about the gut microbiome."

Brown rice is higher in fiber than white rice, but both are good sources of B vitamins. Ultimately, it depends on what you prefer to eat and there are many other sources of fiber available.
 
Transcript: "Is there truly a difference between consuming brown rice versus white rice? There is brown rice is higher in fiber. It's naturally high in some B vitamins, but white rice is generally enriched with the vitamins that are stripped off during the Milling process. So, nutrient wise, it doesn't matter too much but fiber, there's about 3.5 5 grams of fiber in a cup of brown rice versus only about a half a gram of fiber in a cup of white rice. It also depends on what you enjoy to eat eating, you know, I like both and I use both in my cooking or when I'm ordering out and sometimes I really want white rice, it just has a totally different flavor profile. And that might be what I, what I enjoy and there are lots of other sources of fiber. There are whole grain, breads. Popcorn is a good source of fiber. Fiber a medium apple is going to provide you with over 4 grams of fiber. So the important thing is that you're getting that 25 to 30 grams of fiber per day. And if you enjoy brown rice, that's one way to get it. If you don't, there are a lot of other options."

There is no one single way to improve your relationship with food. Consider journaling your emotions around eating as well as recognizing that food brings more than just nourishment and nutrition. If you are having difficulty, talk to a qualified counselor or registered dietitian.
 
Transcript: "This is a complex question is, what is the number one way to improve your relationship with food? There is really not a number one way, there are multiple ways and it's a little more complex than that. And part of the answer to this is not just your relationship with food but it also likely includes your relationship with your body and your body image. Consider a journal where you're writing down. Not just what you're eating, but more importantly, What kinds of emotions you're experiencing as you eat, you're stressed, you're anxious. What else is going on, and sometimes, it's okay to eat for other reasons, Beyond hunger. It's important to recognize that food brings more than just nourishment and nutrition. It brings culture and tradition and and love to the table. So, if I had to pick a number one way to improve your relationship with food, it would be to stop thinking of food as good or bad or thinking of yourself as good or bad for eating it, if you're really struggling with your relationship with food, talk to a qualified, counselor or registered dietitian, who specializes in disordered eating and eating disorders."

Beans can help with fertility as they are a good source of folic acid, protein and fiber. However, to boost fertility it's important to follow your doctor's recommendations and have a well-balanced diet that is low in saturated fat and high in nutrient dense foods. Include calcium rich foods such as milk or yogurt in your daily diet.
 
Transcript: "I read that eating beans can help boost my fertility, is this a myth or does it contain some fact, it does contain some fact because beans are a good source of folic acid there, a nice source of protein and fiber. However, as a registered dietitian, I'm hesitant to say that. Anyone food would boost fertility, fertility is complicated, and you want to have a good relationship with your obstetrician and follow his or her. Vice as far as dietary recommendations my recommendations pre-natal are very similar to during pregnancy and postpartum as well. You want a well-balanced diet, that's low in saturated, fat high and nutrient dense foods like beans and lentils and vegetables. Some whole grains low in sugar. No alcohol. So your food choices should be nutrient-dense you want to be sure you're getting enough. Of calcium because if you don't, your body will rob it from your teeth and bones. So, three servings of milk or yogurt, everyday include those kinds of foods as well. A balanced nutrient, dense, diet that's low in saturated fat, low in sugar is best"