Have you heard of BRI?
Recent headlines have brought food safety into focus. There was an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s that sparked fresh concerns among moms wanting to keep their families safe. It’s another reminder that from the grocery store to the dinner table, we want to make sure every bite our family takes is safe and healthy.
Studio 5 Health Contributor Miki Eberhardt emphasized that while we can’t control everything, we can take significant steps to minimize risks. She also shared her take on a few other new developments in the food and nutrition world.
Food-borne illnesses can feel out of our control, especially when they make headlines. “We don’t think about it until a headline like this pops up,” Miki noted. We can be proactive in our kitchens so that the food you’re making doesn’t cause illness in your family.
General Food Safety
Miki shared a few practical pieces of advice to help prevent food-borne illnesses:
- Hand Washing: Always wash your hands when prepping food.
- Cooking Temperatures: Use a food thermometer to ensure food is cooked to safe temperatures. “145 degrees for beef and pork, 160 for ground beef, and 165 for poultry,” Miki advised.
- Managing Leftovers: Be mindful of the “danger zone” where bacteria thrive, between 40°F and 135°F.
Body Roundness Index (BRI)
Moving beyond food safety, Miki discussed new developments in nutrition, such as the Body Roundness Index (BRI). Unlike the traditional Body Mass Index (BMI), BRI considers waist and hip measurements to provide a more accurate assessment of health risks. “Studies show that fat through the midsection can lead to a higher risk for chronic disease,” Miki explained.
There are online calculators where you can plug in your measurements, and the closer the result is to zero, the more at risk for chronic disease you are. “It’s not that you can’t have curves by any means,” Miki said, “but there’s a range depending on, age, height, weight, gender… those kinds of things.”
Exercise and Nutrition: Finding What Works for You
Another topic Miki addressed is the debate over eating before or after exercise. The answer, she said, depends on the individual and the workout. “If you can get through your workout and you have energy and you feel great, carry on,” she advised. “If you tank halfway through and you don’t have the energy to get through, your workout is suffering because you didn’t fuel yourself before.”
Miki emphasized the importance of refueling within an hour after exercising. “Everybody needs after,” she said. “Within an hour after, eat protein and carbs.”
The Role of AI in Nutrition
Finally, Miki explored the potential of AI in the nutrition sphere. While AI can be a helpful tool for meal planning and budgeting, she cautioned against relying on it for medical advice. “It can get some things wrong,” she warned. “We’ve seen chat lines go to AI and have them give totally wrong information and have to scale back.”
Miki likes to use AI when it comes to budget. “If I’m trying to have a week of meals, three meals a day for a vegetarian woman within a budget of $150, this is what’s in my pantry already, it can spit that out for you,” she explained. There may still be some flaws in the response, but it can be fun to play around with.
Find more of Miki’s advice on Instagram, @nutritionbymiki.
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