Is Something Wrong with Our Modern Diet? part 2
by Dr. Mercola
Besides the health hazards related to the trans fats, soybean oil is, in and of itself, NOT a healthy oil. Add to that the fact that the majority of soybeans grown in the US are genetically engineered, which may have additional health consequences. When taken together, partially hydrogenated GE soybean oil becomes one of the absolute worst types of oils you can consume. Unfortunately, as stated in the featured article:4
"[M]ost people don't have a clue they're eating this much soybean oil. They're actually getting most of it from processed foods, which often have soybean oil added to them because it is cheap. The best way to avoid soybean oil (and other nasty ingredients) is to avoid processed foods."
Wheat - A Bane of the Modern Diet
Modern wheat is not the same kind of wheat your grandparents ate. The nutritional content of this staple grain has been dramatically altered over the years and is now far less nutritious than the varieties of generations past. As Gunnars states:
"Modern dwarf wheat was introduced around the year 1960, which contains 19-28 percent less of important minerals like Magnesium, Iron, Zinc, and Copper. There is also evidence that modern wheat is much more harmful to celiac patients and people with gluten sensitivity, compared to older breeds like Einkorn wheat. Whereas wheat may have been relatively healthy back in the day, the same is not true of modern dwarf wheat."
Wheat lectin, or "wheat germ agglutinin" (WGA), is largely responsible for many of wheat's pervasive ill effects. WGA is highest in whole wheat, especially sprouted whole wheat, but wheat isn't the only grain with significant lectin. All seeds of the grass family (rice, wheat, spelt, rye, etc.) are high in lectins. WGA has the potential to damage your health by the following mechanisms (list is not all-inclusive):
Pro-Inflammatory: WGA lectin stimulates the synthesis of pro-inflammatory chemical messengers, even at very small concentrations Neurotoxic: WGA lectin can pass through your blood-brain barrier and attach to the protective coating on your nerves, known as the myelin sheath. It is also capable of inhibiting nerve growth factor, which is important for the growth, maintenance, and survival of certain neurons
Immunotoxic: WGA lectin may bind to and activate white blood cells Cardiotoxic: WGA lectin induces platelet aggregation and has a potent disruptive effect on tissue regeneration and removal of neutrophils from your blood vessels
Cytotoxic (toxic to cells): WGA lectin may induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) Research also shows that WGA may disrupt endocrine and gastrointestinal function, interfere with genetic expression, and share similarities with certain viruses
Flawed Assumptions About Eggs Have Worsened Health
According to USDA data, Americans ate more than 375 eggs per person per year, on average, in 1950. Egg consumption dipped to just over 225 eggs per capita between 1995 and 2000, and as of 2007, it was just over 250 eggs per capita per year—a 33 percent decline since 1950.
Like saturated fats, many naturally cholesterol-rich foods have also been wrongfully vilified. Eggs, which are actually among the most nutritious foods you can eat (provided they come from organically raised, pastured hens) have long been accused of causing heart disease simply because they're high in cholesterol. But dietary cholesterol has little to do with the cholesterol level in your body, and numerous studies have confirmed that eating eggs does NOT raise potentially adverse LDL cholesterol in your blood. Studies have also failed to find any evidence that eggs contribute to heart disease.
Testing6 has confirmed that true free-range eggs are far more nutritious than commercially raised eggs. The dramatically superior nutrient levels are most likely the result of the differences in diet between free-ranging, pastured hens and commercially farmed hens. In a 2007 egg-testing project, Mother Earth News compared the official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs with eggs from hens raised on pasture, and found that the latter typically contains:
2/3 more vitamin A
Two times more omega-3 fatty acids
Three times more vitamin E
Seven times more beta-carotene
Barring organic certification, which is cost-prohibitive for many small farmers, you could just make sure the farmer raises his chickens according to organic, free-range standards, allowing his flock to forage freely for their natural diet, and aren't fed antibiotics, corn, and soy.
You can tell the eggs are free range or pastured by the color of the egg yolk. Foraged hens produce eggs with bright orange yolks. Dull, pale yellow yolks are a sure sign you're getting eggs from caged hens that are not allowed to forage for their natural diet. Cornucopia.org offers a helpful organic egg scorecard that rates egg manufacturers based on 22 criteria that are important for organic consumers. According to Cornucopia, their report "showcases ethical family farms, and their brands, and exposes factory farm producers and brands in grocery store coolers that threaten to take over organic livestock agriculture."
People Eat More Processed Food Than Ever Before
Overall, about 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food is spent on processed foods.7 This includes restaurant foods (i.e. food away from home) and processed grocery foods that require little or no preparation time before consuming at home.
When looking at the ratio of money spent on store-bought groceries only, Americans spend nearly a fourth of their grocery money on processed foods and sweets—twice as much as they did in 1982—according to Department of Labor statistics.8 Pricing of meats, sugar, and flour has had a great influence our spending habits. These items have actually seen a decrease in price per pound, which has had an inverse effect on Americans' spending habits, in that cheaper prices encourage people to buy more.
The result is obvious. Compared with shoppers 30 years ago, American adults today are twice as likely to be obese, and children and adolescent three times as likely to be overweight. Pediatric type 2 diabetes—which used to be very rare—has markedly increased along with the rise in early childhood obesity. According to previous research, early onset type 2 diabetes appears to be a more aggressive disease from a cardiovascular standpoint.9
Take Control of Your Health
Research coming out of some of America's most respected institutions now confirms that sugar is a primary dietary factor driving chronic disease development. Sugar, and fructose in particular, has been implicated as a culprit in the development of both heart disease and cancer, and having this information puts you in the driver's seat when it comes to prevention. A diet that promotes health is high in healthful fats and very, very low in sugar and non-vegetable carbohydrates.
Understand that excessive sugar/fructose consumption leads to insulin resistance, and insulin resistance appears to be the root of many if not most chronic disease. So far, scientific studies have linked excessive fructose consumption to about 78 different diseases and health problems,10 including heart disease and cancer.
Many also eat far too little healthy fat, and the combination of too much sugar and too little fat is driving disease rates through the roof. If you're still unsure about what constitutes a healthy diet, please review my free optimized nutrition plan, which starts at the beginner level and goes all the way up to advanced.
Healthy Tips....... for Your Busy Lifestyle!
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Is Something Wrong with Our Modern Diet? Part 1.
Is Something Wrong with Our Modern Diet?
by Dr. Mercola
Three decades ago, the food available was mostly fresh and grown locally. Today, the majority of foods served, whether at home, in school or in restaurants, are highly processed foods, filled with sugars, harmful processed fats, and chemical additives.
During that same time, obesity rates have skyrocketed, and one in five American deaths are now associated with obesity. Obesity-related deaths include those from type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, liver disease, cancer, dementia, and depression, as nearly all have metabolic dysfunction as a common underlying factor.
The featured1 article contains 11 telling charts and graphs, illustrating how the modern diet has led to an avalanche of chronic disease. As its author, Kris Gunnars says:
"The modern diet is the main reason why people all over the world are fatter and sicker than ever before. Everywhere modern processed foods go, chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease soon follow."
Sugar Consumption, Especially Soda and Juices, Drives Disease Rates
Of all the dietary culprits out there, refined sugar in general, and processed fructose in particular, win top billing as the greatest destroyers of health. The amount of refined sugar in the modern diet has ballooned, with the average American now getting about 350 calories a day (equivalent to about 22 teaspoons of sugar and 25 percent of their daily calories) from added sugar.
This level of sugar consumption has definitive health consequences. One recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Internal Medicine,2 which examined the associations between added sugar consumption and cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths, found that:
Among American adults, the mean percentage of daily calories from added sugar was 14.9 percent in 2005-2010
Most adults (just over 71 percent) get 10 percent or more of their daily calories from added sugar
Approximately 10 percent of American adults got 25 percent or more of their daily calories from added sugar in 2005-2010
The most common sources of added sugar are sugar-sweetened beverages, grain-based desserts, fruit drinks, dairy desserts, and candy
According to this study, those who consume 21 percent or more of their daily calories in the form of sugar are TWICE as likely to die from heart disease compared to those who get seven percent or less or their daily calories from added sugar.
Needless to say, with all this added sugar in the diet, average calorie consumption has skyrocketed as well, having increased by about 20 percent since 1970.
A primary source of all this added sugar is soda, fruit juices, and other sweetened drinks. Multiple studies have confirmed that these kinds of beverages dramatically increase your risk of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and mortality. Diet sodas or artificially sweetened foods and beverages are no better, as research reveals they appear to do even MORE harm than refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), including causing greater weight gain.
Abandoning Traditional Fats for Processed Vegetable Oils Has Led to Declining Health
Fats help your body absorb important vitamins, including vitamins A, D, and E, and fats are especially important for infants and toddlers for proper growth and development. Moreover, when your body burns non-vegetable carbohydrates like grains and sugars, powerful adverse hormonal changes typically occur. These detrimental changes do not occur when you consume healthy fats or fibrous vegetables.
As explained by Dr. Robert Lustig, fructose in particular is "isocaloric but not isometabolic," which means you can have the same amount of calories from fructose or glucose, fructose and protein, or fructose and fat, but the metabolic effect will be entirely different despite the identical calorie count. Furthermore, saturated fats, although supplying more calories, will NOT actually cause you to get fat, nor will it promote heart disease.
Unfortunately, the healthiest fats, including animal fats and coconut oil, both of which are saturated, have been long portrayed as a heart attack waiting to happen. Meanwhile, harmful hydrogenated vegetable oils such as corn and canola oil have been touted as "healthful" alternatives. Ditto for margarine.
Boy, did they get this wrong. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The hydrogenation process creates incredibly harmful trans fats, which the US Food and Drug Administration is now finally considering banning altogether. (I'll review the health hazards of trans fats in further detail below.) Clearly, switching from lard and grass-fed butter—which contains heart-protective nutrients—to margarine and other trans-fat rich hydrogenated oils was a public health experiment that has not ended well.
Low-Fat Fad Has Done Unfathomable Harm
Conventional recommendations have also called for dramatically decreasing the overall amount of fat in your diet, and this fat aversion is yet another driving factor of metabolic disease and chronic ill health. As I and other nutritional experts have warned, most people (especially if you're insulin or leptin resistant, which encompasses about 80 percent of Americans) probably need upwards of 50-85 percent of daily calories from healthful fats. This is a FAR cry from the less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fats recommended by the US Department of Agriculture.3 As stated in the featured article:
"The first dietary guidelines for Americans were published in the year 1977, almost at the exact same time the obesity epidemic started. Of course, this doesn't prove anything (correlation does not equal causation), but it makes sense that this could be more than just a mere coincidence.
The anti-fat message essentially put the blame on saturated fat and cholesterol (harmless), while giving sugar and refined carbs (very unhealthy) a free pass. Since the guidelines were published, many massive studies have been conducted on the low-fat diet. It is no better at preventing heart disease, obesity or cancer than the standard Western diet, which is as unhealthy as a diet can get."
There's no telling how many have been prematurely killed by following these flawed low-fat guidelines, yet despite mounting research refuting the value of cutting out fats, such recommendations are still being pushed.
Increased Vegetable Oil Consumption Has Altered Americans' Fatty Acid Composition
The increased consumption of processed vegetable oils has also led to a severely lopsided fatty acid composition, as these oils provide high amounts of omega-6 fats. The ideal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats is 1:1, but the typical Western diet is between 1:20 and 1:50. Eating too much damaged omega-6 fat and too little omega-3 sets the stage for the very health problems you seek to avoid, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression and Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes, just to name a few. To correct this imbalance, you typically need to do two things:
Significantly decrease omega-6 by avoiding processed foods and foods cooked at high temperatures using vegetable oils
Increase your intake of heart-healthy animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil
The Dangers of Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
About 95 percent of soy is genetically engineered to have resistance to glyphosate and is loaded with this highly toxic herbicide. But even if you have organic soy, most of it is hydrogenated. Hydrogenated soybean oil has, like sugar, become a major source of calories in the US diet. Americans consume more than 28 billion pounds of edible oils annually, and soybean oil accounts for about 65 percent of it. About half of it is hydrogenated, as soybean oil is too unstable otherwise to be used in food manufacturing. In 1999, soybean oil accounted for seven percent of consumed daily calories in the US.
Part of the problem with partially hydrogenated soybean oil is the trans fat it contains. The other part relates to the health hazards of soy itself. An added hazard factor is the fact that the majority of soybeans are genetically engineered. The completely unnatural fats created through the partial hydrogenation process cause dysfunction and chaos in your body on a cellular level, and studies have linked trans-fats to:
Cancer, by interfering with enzymes your body uses to fight cancer Chronic health problems such as obesity, asthma, auto-immune disease, cancer, and bone degeneration
Diabetes, by interfering with the insulin receptors in your cell membranes Heart disease, by clogging your arteries (Among women with underlying coronary heart disease, eating trans-fats increased the risk of sudden cardiac arrest three-fold!)
Decreased immune function, by reducing your immune response Increase blood levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, while lowering levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol
Reproductive problems, by interfering with enzymes needed to produce sex hormones Interfering with your body's use of beneficial omega-3 fats.
***Continued in Part 2.
by Dr. Mercola
Three decades ago, the food available was mostly fresh and grown locally. Today, the majority of foods served, whether at home, in school or in restaurants, are highly processed foods, filled with sugars, harmful processed fats, and chemical additives.
During that same time, obesity rates have skyrocketed, and one in five American deaths are now associated with obesity. Obesity-related deaths include those from type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, liver disease, cancer, dementia, and depression, as nearly all have metabolic dysfunction as a common underlying factor.
The featured1 article contains 11 telling charts and graphs, illustrating how the modern diet has led to an avalanche of chronic disease. As its author, Kris Gunnars says:
"The modern diet is the main reason why people all over the world are fatter and sicker than ever before. Everywhere modern processed foods go, chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease soon follow."
Sugar Consumption, Especially Soda and Juices, Drives Disease Rates
Of all the dietary culprits out there, refined sugar in general, and processed fructose in particular, win top billing as the greatest destroyers of health. The amount of refined sugar in the modern diet has ballooned, with the average American now getting about 350 calories a day (equivalent to about 22 teaspoons of sugar and 25 percent of their daily calories) from added sugar.
This level of sugar consumption has definitive health consequences. One recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Internal Medicine,2 which examined the associations between added sugar consumption and cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths, found that:
Among American adults, the mean percentage of daily calories from added sugar was 14.9 percent in 2005-2010
Most adults (just over 71 percent) get 10 percent or more of their daily calories from added sugar
Approximately 10 percent of American adults got 25 percent or more of their daily calories from added sugar in 2005-2010
The most common sources of added sugar are sugar-sweetened beverages, grain-based desserts, fruit drinks, dairy desserts, and candy
According to this study, those who consume 21 percent or more of their daily calories in the form of sugar are TWICE as likely to die from heart disease compared to those who get seven percent or less or their daily calories from added sugar.
Needless to say, with all this added sugar in the diet, average calorie consumption has skyrocketed as well, having increased by about 20 percent since 1970.
A primary source of all this added sugar is soda, fruit juices, and other sweetened drinks. Multiple studies have confirmed that these kinds of beverages dramatically increase your risk of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and mortality. Diet sodas or artificially sweetened foods and beverages are no better, as research reveals they appear to do even MORE harm than refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), including causing greater weight gain.
Abandoning Traditional Fats for Processed Vegetable Oils Has Led to Declining Health
Fats help your body absorb important vitamins, including vitamins A, D, and E, and fats are especially important for infants and toddlers for proper growth and development. Moreover, when your body burns non-vegetable carbohydrates like grains and sugars, powerful adverse hormonal changes typically occur. These detrimental changes do not occur when you consume healthy fats or fibrous vegetables.
As explained by Dr. Robert Lustig, fructose in particular is "isocaloric but not isometabolic," which means you can have the same amount of calories from fructose or glucose, fructose and protein, or fructose and fat, but the metabolic effect will be entirely different despite the identical calorie count. Furthermore, saturated fats, although supplying more calories, will NOT actually cause you to get fat, nor will it promote heart disease.
Unfortunately, the healthiest fats, including animal fats and coconut oil, both of which are saturated, have been long portrayed as a heart attack waiting to happen. Meanwhile, harmful hydrogenated vegetable oils such as corn and canola oil have been touted as "healthful" alternatives. Ditto for margarine.
Boy, did they get this wrong. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The hydrogenation process creates incredibly harmful trans fats, which the US Food and Drug Administration is now finally considering banning altogether. (I'll review the health hazards of trans fats in further detail below.) Clearly, switching from lard and grass-fed butter—which contains heart-protective nutrients—to margarine and other trans-fat rich hydrogenated oils was a public health experiment that has not ended well.
Low-Fat Fad Has Done Unfathomable Harm
Conventional recommendations have also called for dramatically decreasing the overall amount of fat in your diet, and this fat aversion is yet another driving factor of metabolic disease and chronic ill health. As I and other nutritional experts have warned, most people (especially if you're insulin or leptin resistant, which encompasses about 80 percent of Americans) probably need upwards of 50-85 percent of daily calories from healthful fats. This is a FAR cry from the less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fats recommended by the US Department of Agriculture.3 As stated in the featured article:
"The first dietary guidelines for Americans were published in the year 1977, almost at the exact same time the obesity epidemic started. Of course, this doesn't prove anything (correlation does not equal causation), but it makes sense that this could be more than just a mere coincidence.
The anti-fat message essentially put the blame on saturated fat and cholesterol (harmless), while giving sugar and refined carbs (very unhealthy) a free pass. Since the guidelines were published, many massive studies have been conducted on the low-fat diet. It is no better at preventing heart disease, obesity or cancer than the standard Western diet, which is as unhealthy as a diet can get."
There's no telling how many have been prematurely killed by following these flawed low-fat guidelines, yet despite mounting research refuting the value of cutting out fats, such recommendations are still being pushed.
Increased Vegetable Oil Consumption Has Altered Americans' Fatty Acid Composition
The increased consumption of processed vegetable oils has also led to a severely lopsided fatty acid composition, as these oils provide high amounts of omega-6 fats. The ideal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats is 1:1, but the typical Western diet is between 1:20 and 1:50. Eating too much damaged omega-6 fat and too little omega-3 sets the stage for the very health problems you seek to avoid, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, depression and Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes, just to name a few. To correct this imbalance, you typically need to do two things:
Significantly decrease omega-6 by avoiding processed foods and foods cooked at high temperatures using vegetable oils
Increase your intake of heart-healthy animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil
The Dangers of Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
About 95 percent of soy is genetically engineered to have resistance to glyphosate and is loaded with this highly toxic herbicide. But even if you have organic soy, most of it is hydrogenated. Hydrogenated soybean oil has, like sugar, become a major source of calories in the US diet. Americans consume more than 28 billion pounds of edible oils annually, and soybean oil accounts for about 65 percent of it. About half of it is hydrogenated, as soybean oil is too unstable otherwise to be used in food manufacturing. In 1999, soybean oil accounted for seven percent of consumed daily calories in the US.
Part of the problem with partially hydrogenated soybean oil is the trans fat it contains. The other part relates to the health hazards of soy itself. An added hazard factor is the fact that the majority of soybeans are genetically engineered. The completely unnatural fats created through the partial hydrogenation process cause dysfunction and chaos in your body on a cellular level, and studies have linked trans-fats to:
Cancer, by interfering with enzymes your body uses to fight cancer Chronic health problems such as obesity, asthma, auto-immune disease, cancer, and bone degeneration
Diabetes, by interfering with the insulin receptors in your cell membranes Heart disease, by clogging your arteries (Among women with underlying coronary heart disease, eating trans-fats increased the risk of sudden cardiac arrest three-fold!)
Decreased immune function, by reducing your immune response Increase blood levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, while lowering levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol
Reproductive problems, by interfering with enzymes needed to produce sex hormones Interfering with your body's use of beneficial omega-3 fats.
***Continued in Part 2.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
8 Things You Should Never Eat if You're Trying to Lose Weight
Lots of experts say it's stupid to forbid yourself from eating certain foods – that denying yourself something you really want to eat can ultimately lead to binge eating and eventual weight gain. So dessert isn't on this list — it's OK to indulge sometimes! But some foods really do deserve the axe — especially if you are trying to lose weight. In which case, avoid these foods (when you can!) to fend off cravings and hunger, and support your efforts to slim down.
1. Any Snack That Only Contains Carbs
When you eat crackers, dry cereal, bread, or rice cakes alone, your body converts the carbs to simple sugars, and sends it directly into your blood stream. In response to the sugar rush, your body produces extra insulin, which helps your body absorb the sugar ASAP. The problem: You end up with low blood sugar and the same hunger pangs that led you to carb it up in the first place. You then may be inclined to reach for sugary foods with no nutritional value to satisfy your need for instant energy, says Dr. Charlie Seltzer, M.D., a weight-loss specialist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.It's not that carbs are off-limits entirely. That'd be crazy — and it's no way to live! The point is that snacks containing a combination of carbs, healthy fats, and protein take longer to digest, and will, therefore, tide you over for longer. Another thing: When you treat snacks as balanced mini meals, they contribute to a balanced diet (instead of just holding you over between full balanced meals). Try a slice of bread with nut butter, or whole grain crackers with low-fat cheese, suggests Rachel Harvest, a registered dietitian affiliated with Tournesol Wellness in New York.
2. Frozen Meals
To make fresh ingredients last extra long in your freezer, food manufacturers often load frozen meals with sodium, a natural preservative, Harvest says. Sodium makes you retain water, which bloats you up – so you won't look and feel your best regardless of how much weight you want to lose.Also: When food manufacturers try to squeeze a meal's worth of calories into a teeny tiny box, every bite ends up containing lots of calories by design, Harvest adds. While large portions trick your brain into thinking your body is full, the measly portions found in freezer meals are inherently unsatisfying, even though they contain plenty of calories. So skip them if you can, and supersize your portions of lower-calorie foods.
3. High-Fiber Snack Bars
Yes, everyone needs fiber — it keeps your digestive system churning and keeps you feeling full, even when you're cutting back on calories. What you don't need: Nearly one day's worth of fiber (about 25 grams) in one snack bar, with a diet that's otherwise devoid of it, Harvest says. "Fiber intake has to be consistent throughout the day to stave off hunger, improve digestive health, and not cause stomach upset." So ditch the bars, and try to include some kind of naturally fiber-rich produce — any fruit or veggie will do— in every snack and meal.
4. "Low-Fat" Foods
Research suggests that people tend to eat upwards of 30 percent more when they know they're eating a food that's low fat. The problem (besides overeating, which can thwart your weight loss goals fast) is that when food makers remove fat from food, they inevitably remove some of the flavor. To compensate, they often add sugar, which makes the product even worse for you.
5. Juice
It takes several oranges to make one 6-ounce glass of OJ, but when you drink juice, you consume all the calories from those oranges without the natural fruit fibers that fill you up. It's why "even 100 percent juice is just empty calories and another blood sugar spike," Harvest says.Another thing: Fructose, the natural fruit sugar that makes fruit and fruit juice taste sweet, tricks your body into gaining weight by blunting your body's ability to recognize when it's full, says Melissa Rifkin, a registered dietitian at Montefiore Medical Center in New York and a Rise nutrition coach. This makes you eat more, and increases your risk of developing insulin resistance and diabetes.
6. Artificially Sweetened Drinks
Goodbye, diet soda, and every other sweet-tasting drink that mysteriously contains zero calories! "There are some people whose brains are wired in a way that artificial sweeteners induce or enhance cravings," says Dr. Seltzer. "If drinking a Diet Snapple leads you to the Ben & Jerry's, then you'd certainly be better off with water or water with lemon." Or sparkling water: It's calorie-free, but carbonated, which makes your stomach feel full so you end up eating less overall.
7. Cereal Sold in a Value-Size Box
The same goes for super-sized snack packages. People consume up to 22 percent more when they eat from larger packages, according to a study conducted by researchers at Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab. When people know there is more food available, they subconsciously let themselves eat more of it. The same goes for food you buy on sale: you're more likely to consume more when food costs less, according to another study. That's not to say you should spend more on food to eat less overall — it's unsustainable (and silly). If you're going to spring for a value pack of any packaged food, measure out your serving instead of eating out of the bag so you don't fall pray to your own mind's games.
8. Booze
It's almost impossible to find a weight loss expert who recommends alcohol for weight loss. (Believe me, I tried.) While some cocktails have fewer calories than others, alcohol just doesn't support weight loss. It contains empty calories that don't fill you up or provide any nutrients; softens your resolve so you're more likely to overeat; and impairs your judgement, regardless of your weight loss goals. (It's why you drunk-eat pizza, not salad.) But it gets worse: "When alcohol is present in your body, it's considered a toxin that your body wants to get rid of, and becomes you liver's top priority," says Dr. Caroline Cederquist, MD, creator of bistroMD. When your liver is in hardcore detox mode, it can't burn fat as efficiently. Because that's a major buzz kill, skip the buzz altogether if you're serious about losing weight. Or at least cut back on the booze, big time.
Source: Elizabeth Narin 3-12-15
Cosmopolitan Magazine
1. Any Snack That Only Contains Carbs
When you eat crackers, dry cereal, bread, or rice cakes alone, your body converts the carbs to simple sugars, and sends it directly into your blood stream. In response to the sugar rush, your body produces extra insulin, which helps your body absorb the sugar ASAP. The problem: You end up with low blood sugar and the same hunger pangs that led you to carb it up in the first place. You then may be inclined to reach for sugary foods with no nutritional value to satisfy your need for instant energy, says Dr. Charlie Seltzer, M.D., a weight-loss specialist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.It's not that carbs are off-limits entirely. That'd be crazy — and it's no way to live! The point is that snacks containing a combination of carbs, healthy fats, and protein take longer to digest, and will, therefore, tide you over for longer. Another thing: When you treat snacks as balanced mini meals, they contribute to a balanced diet (instead of just holding you over between full balanced meals). Try a slice of bread with nut butter, or whole grain crackers with low-fat cheese, suggests Rachel Harvest, a registered dietitian affiliated with Tournesol Wellness in New York.
2. Frozen Meals
To make fresh ingredients last extra long in your freezer, food manufacturers often load frozen meals with sodium, a natural preservative, Harvest says. Sodium makes you retain water, which bloats you up – so you won't look and feel your best regardless of how much weight you want to lose.Also: When food manufacturers try to squeeze a meal's worth of calories into a teeny tiny box, every bite ends up containing lots of calories by design, Harvest adds. While large portions trick your brain into thinking your body is full, the measly portions found in freezer meals are inherently unsatisfying, even though they contain plenty of calories. So skip them if you can, and supersize your portions of lower-calorie foods.
3. High-Fiber Snack Bars
Yes, everyone needs fiber — it keeps your digestive system churning and keeps you feeling full, even when you're cutting back on calories. What you don't need: Nearly one day's worth of fiber (about 25 grams) in one snack bar, with a diet that's otherwise devoid of it, Harvest says. "Fiber intake has to be consistent throughout the day to stave off hunger, improve digestive health, and not cause stomach upset." So ditch the bars, and try to include some kind of naturally fiber-rich produce — any fruit or veggie will do— in every snack and meal.
4. "Low-Fat" Foods
Research suggests that people tend to eat upwards of 30 percent more when they know they're eating a food that's low fat. The problem (besides overeating, which can thwart your weight loss goals fast) is that when food makers remove fat from food, they inevitably remove some of the flavor. To compensate, they often add sugar, which makes the product even worse for you.
5. Juice
It takes several oranges to make one 6-ounce glass of OJ, but when you drink juice, you consume all the calories from those oranges without the natural fruit fibers that fill you up. It's why "even 100 percent juice is just empty calories and another blood sugar spike," Harvest says.Another thing: Fructose, the natural fruit sugar that makes fruit and fruit juice taste sweet, tricks your body into gaining weight by blunting your body's ability to recognize when it's full, says Melissa Rifkin, a registered dietitian at Montefiore Medical Center in New York and a Rise nutrition coach. This makes you eat more, and increases your risk of developing insulin resistance and diabetes.
6. Artificially Sweetened Drinks
Goodbye, diet soda, and every other sweet-tasting drink that mysteriously contains zero calories! "There are some people whose brains are wired in a way that artificial sweeteners induce or enhance cravings," says Dr. Seltzer. "If drinking a Diet Snapple leads you to the Ben & Jerry's, then you'd certainly be better off with water or water with lemon." Or sparkling water: It's calorie-free, but carbonated, which makes your stomach feel full so you end up eating less overall.
7. Cereal Sold in a Value-Size Box
The same goes for super-sized snack packages. People consume up to 22 percent more when they eat from larger packages, according to a study conducted by researchers at Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab. When people know there is more food available, they subconsciously let themselves eat more of it. The same goes for food you buy on sale: you're more likely to consume more when food costs less, according to another study. That's not to say you should spend more on food to eat less overall — it's unsustainable (and silly). If you're going to spring for a value pack of any packaged food, measure out your serving instead of eating out of the bag so you don't fall pray to your own mind's games.
8. Booze
It's almost impossible to find a weight loss expert who recommends alcohol for weight loss. (Believe me, I tried.) While some cocktails have fewer calories than others, alcohol just doesn't support weight loss. It contains empty calories that don't fill you up or provide any nutrients; softens your resolve so you're more likely to overeat; and impairs your judgement, regardless of your weight loss goals. (It's why you drunk-eat pizza, not salad.) But it gets worse: "When alcohol is present in your body, it's considered a toxin that your body wants to get rid of, and becomes you liver's top priority," says Dr. Caroline Cederquist, MD, creator of bistroMD. When your liver is in hardcore detox mode, it can't burn fat as efficiently. Because that's a major buzz kill, skip the buzz altogether if you're serious about losing weight. Or at least cut back on the booze, big time.
Source: Elizabeth Narin 3-12-15
Cosmopolitan Magazine
Sunday, March 8, 2015
The Best Workout for Weight Loss, Heart Health
Exercise is clearly a key to fitness. But what hasn’t
been clear is whether the intensity of your workouts mattered.Researchers now
think they have the answer: Exercising vigorously makes a positive
difference.
According to a study published March 2 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, obese people who exercised briskly for 40 minutes per day, four days per week, significantly improved not only their cardiovascular health, but also lost weight and reduced their blood sugar levels. In comparison, those who exercised at lower intensity improved their health and lost weight, but didn’t reduce their blood sugar level.
“Improvement at the higher intensity — just walking briskly on a treadmill — was substantially better,“ says Robert Ross, PhD, lead author of the study and an exercise physiologist at the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. “Participants were surprised at how easy it was to get to the higher intensity,”
About one-third of U.S adults over the age of 20 are considered obese, putting them at a much higher risk for cardiovascular disease. Exercise reduces that risk. Adults are currently advised by the federal government to exercise at moderate intensity for 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) per week or high intensity for 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) for the best health outcomes.
Intensity is measured by how hard a particular physical activity makes the cardiovascular system work, and it differs from individual to individual based on their level of fitness. For someone who isn’t fit, a brisk walk is enough to raise the heart rate to the optimal level for improving cardiovascular health. For someone who is fit, it takes a jog to get them to the ideal level, Ross says.
“Exercising at any intensity is good, whether it be a slower walk or brisk walk, but this study shows that if you want to improve all three — your waistline, your fitness level, and your blood sugar — then high intensity is your ticket,” Ross says.
The randomized controlled study, conducted between 2009 and 2013, monitored the physical activity and diet of 300 abdominally obese non-diabetic adults for six months. About two-thirds of the participants were women and one-third men. All had normal blood pressure.
The study broke the adults into four groups. One, the control group, was sedentary. A second group exercised at low intensity, for an average of 31 minutes per session. Another exercised at low intensity, for an average of 58 minutes. Another exercised at high intensity for 40 minutes. All of those in the three groups who exercised lost weight and improved their fitness. Only those in the high intensity group reduced their two-hour glucose levels. During the study, all participants ate a healthful, balanced diet (meaning 50 percent of calories from carbohydrates, 30 percent from fat, and 20 percent from protein), Ross says. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded the study.
“It’s an interesting study,” says Michael Emery, MD, medical director of the sports cardiology program at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine's Heart and Vascular Institute of Cardiology in Greenville. “It shows that you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck, in terms of cardiovascular fitness, if you run a mile at a high intensity rate, rather than walk a mile at a leisurely stroll.”
Whether the reduction in blood sugar levels in the high intensity participants was meaningful in terms of treating diabetes, Dr. Emery is less certain.
“It would have been interesting to know if the effect would have been more pronounced if there were a higher number of participants with high blood pressure or diabetes,” says Emery, who is also co-chair of the American College of Cardiology’s Sports Council. “It’s something where there could be more research.”
According to a study published March 2 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, obese people who exercised briskly for 40 minutes per day, four days per week, significantly improved not only their cardiovascular health, but also lost weight and reduced their blood sugar levels. In comparison, those who exercised at lower intensity improved their health and lost weight, but didn’t reduce their blood sugar level.
“Improvement at the higher intensity — just walking briskly on a treadmill — was substantially better,“ says Robert Ross, PhD, lead author of the study and an exercise physiologist at the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. “Participants were surprised at how easy it was to get to the higher intensity,”
About one-third of U.S adults over the age of 20 are considered obese, putting them at a much higher risk for cardiovascular disease. Exercise reduces that risk. Adults are currently advised by the federal government to exercise at moderate intensity for 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) per week or high intensity for 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) for the best health outcomes.
Intensity is measured by how hard a particular physical activity makes the cardiovascular system work, and it differs from individual to individual based on their level of fitness. For someone who isn’t fit, a brisk walk is enough to raise the heart rate to the optimal level for improving cardiovascular health. For someone who is fit, it takes a jog to get them to the ideal level, Ross says.
“Exercising at any intensity is good, whether it be a slower walk or brisk walk, but this study shows that if you want to improve all three — your waistline, your fitness level, and your blood sugar — then high intensity is your ticket,” Ross says.
The randomized controlled study, conducted between 2009 and 2013, monitored the physical activity and diet of 300 abdominally obese non-diabetic adults for six months. About two-thirds of the participants were women and one-third men. All had normal blood pressure.
The study broke the adults into four groups. One, the control group, was sedentary. A second group exercised at low intensity, for an average of 31 minutes per session. Another exercised at low intensity, for an average of 58 minutes. Another exercised at high intensity for 40 minutes. All of those in the three groups who exercised lost weight and improved their fitness. Only those in the high intensity group reduced their two-hour glucose levels. During the study, all participants ate a healthful, balanced diet (meaning 50 percent of calories from carbohydrates, 30 percent from fat, and 20 percent from protein), Ross says. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded the study.
“It’s an interesting study,” says Michael Emery, MD, medical director of the sports cardiology program at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine's Heart and Vascular Institute of Cardiology in Greenville. “It shows that you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck, in terms of cardiovascular fitness, if you run a mile at a high intensity rate, rather than walk a mile at a leisurely stroll.”
Whether the reduction in blood sugar levels in the high intensity participants was meaningful in terms of treating diabetes, Dr. Emery is less certain.
“It would have been interesting to know if the effect would have been more pronounced if there were a higher number of participants with high blood pressure or diabetes,” says Emery, who is also co-chair of the American College of Cardiology’s Sports Council. “It’s something where there could be more research.”
c/o Everyday Health
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
4 Reasons Why Diets Don't Work
It's not you, it's the diet.
Learn from their mistakes and build a sustainable eating plan for you.
I hear it all the time: You have tried every diet out there, and absolutely nothing has worked. You're still overweight, have no energy and you’re pretty much ready to just give in to the idea that this is how your life is going to be forever. Or, maybe you finally lost the weight or you are healthy, but it’s a constant struggle. One tiny step in the wrong direction threatens to undo all of your hard work and sabotage everything you've accomplished so far. Why does this happen?
Diets don’t work.
It’s as simple as that. There’s a lot of hype out there surrounding dieting and what the perfect program is. But the fact of the matter is, what works for those people on TV or your best friend may not work for you at all. Thirty percent of Americans are trying to lose weight, while another 30 percent are just trying to maintain their weight. Nearly two-thirds of Americans who lose weight on diets gain it back within one year, and a whopping 98 percent of those people gain back their weight and more within two years.
With facts and studies like this, it’s easy to get really discouraged. However, it should also be very clear that the reason for these shocking statistics is that diets simply do not work. Why not? And what can you do to find what works for you?
I hear it all the time: You have tried every diet out there, and absolutely nothing has worked. You're still overweight, have no energy and you’re pretty much ready to just give in to the idea that this is how your life is going to be forever. Or, maybe you finally lost the weight or you are healthy, but it’s a constant struggle. One tiny step in the wrong direction threatens to undo all of your hard work and sabotage everything you've accomplished so far. Why does this happen?
Diets don’t work.
It’s as simple as that. There’s a lot of hype out there surrounding dieting and what the perfect program is. But the fact of the matter is, what works for those people on TV or your best friend may not work for you at all. Thirty percent of Americans are trying to lose weight, while another 30 percent are just trying to maintain their weight. Nearly two-thirds of Americans who lose weight on diets gain it back within one year, and a whopping 98 percent of those people gain back their weight and more within two years.
With facts and studies like this, it’s easy to get really discouraged. However, it should also be very clear that the reason for these shocking statistics is that diets simply do not work. Why not? And what can you do to find what works for you?
1. Diets tend to be all or nothing.
Any time a diet plan cuts out major food groups, or has you going from zero to 60 in one day, you’re bound to fail. A lot of the plans out there are incredibly restrictive. The more restrictive the diet – no matter how well-prepared you are – the higher your chances of ending that diet with a righteous binge that takes you off track permanently. Life happens, and most diets don’t account for any type of wiggle room.
It’s all about the willpower. Once your willpower is depleted, cravings can overpower you and give you that perfect excuse to trash your diet plan and "get back on track Monday".” To be effective, a plan needs to meet you where you are and not where you “should” be. As a fellow colleague of mine, Joni Jones, of Substainable Life and Health, says: “Create healthy habits, not restrictions.”
2. Most diets are not goal-oriented.
Sure, the goal may be to lose weight, but how much weight? In what amount of time? What’s the driving force behind wanting to lose weight or maintain your current weight? Lofty goals that only focus on the end result tend to feel unattainable. When the little triumphs happen along the way that weren’t the focus of your end goal, it’s easy to miss them and instead dwell on what you haven't accomplished yet. When was the last time your diet focused on S.M.A.R.T. goals? That is, goals that are specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and timely?
3. “Calories in versus calories out” is a very outdated way of thinking.
It is more about the quality, not the quantity, of calories that can make or break you. A 300-calorie plate of kale is very different from 300 calories of chips or cookies. Packaged and processed food – even the stuff in the 100-calorie packs or the “healthy” frozen food aisle at the grocery store – are keeping you from losing weight and reaching your goals. I hate to burst your bubble, but that stuff is not healthy and it’s not helping you.
When you eat food, your body digests it and pulls the nutrients from the food to feed the cells in your body. If your cells aren’t getting everything they need, they will keep sending signals to your brain to eat more food. You could spend years feeling physically full, but be nutritionally starved. In order to lose weight or maintain the weight you’ve worked so hard to get off, you have to be ready to make lasting lifestyle changes. If the foods you’re eating are keeping you inflamed, not meeting your nutritional needs or depriving you to the point where it’s all you can think about, you're setting yourself up for failure.
4. Support systems are integral to success.
Diet programs that don’t offer any one-on-one attention or a support system of readily accessible peers are basically just trying to sell you something that works only for the obsessively dedicated. Unless you have all the time and energy in the world to put toward your diet plan, you’re going to need some kind of support. Questions and concerns come up while following a diet program all the time. Who is going to answer those questions? Who is going to support you in putting down that pint of Ben and Jerry’s when you’ve had a bad day and help you focus on the reason you turn to junk when things are bad?
This is where health coaches, for one, have taken front and center. They pick up where doctors and diets leave off and offer support and one-on-one guidance to help you make changes that are sustainable for a lifetime. My health coaching practice, Whole Green You, for example, works with individuals – both one-on-one and in very supportive small groups – to help make life-long changes. In fact, you can listen to one of our group calls and download the handouts to get started on your road to success.
In the end, anything that deprives you, pushes too quickly, doesn’t focus on nutrition, or isn’t goal- and support-oriented isn’t going to work for the long haul.
By Sarah Haskins
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Get lean and eat clean in 2015!
With the January blues upon us, most of us need a push in the right direction to kick start our New Year fitness regimes.
The festive season of overindulgence is over and the team at British Military Fitness (BMF), have put together their top tips to make 2015 your year to get lean and eat clean!
1. Master the basics
Learn to master some fundamental exercises. Learning how to complete these exercises with great form and technique will ensure your workout is effective.
Spend time learning some of the following exercises: Squat, Lunge, Press up, Sit up, Pull up, Dips.
2. Train with intensity
Our lifestyles can be very demanding so when training, focus on the intensity. Lots of research suggests that High Intensity Training is one of the best ways to train and quickest ways to get results.
3. Use your own body weight
Body weight exercises can be very demanding and challenging but they have great benefits. They are free to do, you can do them anywhere and you can get a whole body workout in a very short time.
Start to build up your exercise regime with body weight exercises.
4. Eat breakfast
Breakfast should be one of your most important meals of the day. It is essential to get your metabolism started for the day so you continue to burn calories all day long.
Most people tend to either skip or rush breakfast. Yes, you may need to get up a little earlier but it will put you in a much better position to start your day and help you on the way to achieving those goals.
5. Ensure adequate hydration
Hydration is key for anyone looking to exercise. Make sure you are drinking a minimum of 2 litres of water a day.
Always turn up to sessions hydrated and make sure you rehydrate with at least 1.5 times the fluid that was lost during your training session.
6. Don't neglect cardio
Cardio work should be factored into your sessions. It is one of the greatest ways to get into shape and is necessary to keep your heart healthy and your body functioning the way it should.
7. Get outside
Exercising in the great outdoors has many benefits. It is much better for you to breathe in fresh air compared to air conditioning, especially if you are stuck in a gym with loads of germs floating around.
8. Carbs are not the devil
Carbohydrates seem to get a bad name. Those who are looking to drop weight tend to avoid any form of carbohydrates.
Lowering the amount you consume will help with losing weight but you shouldn't cut them out completely. They are important for energy production, recovery, muscle growth and fat loss.
Instead of removing them completely, just ensure that you are consuming carbohydrates that are not full of sugar.
9. Have variety
Variety is a key factor to the success of your training. Your body very quickly recognizes and adapts to any exercise or training session that you complete.
Therefore, in order to progress you must continually make the body guess and challenge it in different ways. Variety in a diet is also key to enjoying what you are eating as well as getting all the essential minerals and vitamins.
10. Train with others
Having a training partner or training in a group has some great benefits. They will help you stay motivated, it becomes a great social environment and you can have some great fun.
The festive season of overindulgence is over and the team at British Military Fitness (BMF), have put together their top tips to make 2015 your year to get lean and eat clean!
1. Master the basics
Learn to master some fundamental exercises. Learning how to complete these exercises with great form and technique will ensure your workout is effective.
Spend time learning some of the following exercises: Squat, Lunge, Press up, Sit up, Pull up, Dips.
2. Train with intensity
Our lifestyles can be very demanding so when training, focus on the intensity. Lots of research suggests that High Intensity Training is one of the best ways to train and quickest ways to get results.
3. Use your own body weight
Body weight exercises can be very demanding and challenging but they have great benefits. They are free to do, you can do them anywhere and you can get a whole body workout in a very short time.
Start to build up your exercise regime with body weight exercises.
4. Eat breakfast
Breakfast should be one of your most important meals of the day. It is essential to get your metabolism started for the day so you continue to burn calories all day long.
Most people tend to either skip or rush breakfast. Yes, you may need to get up a little earlier but it will put you in a much better position to start your day and help you on the way to achieving those goals.
5. Ensure adequate hydration
Hydration is key for anyone looking to exercise. Make sure you are drinking a minimum of 2 litres of water a day.
Always turn up to sessions hydrated and make sure you rehydrate with at least 1.5 times the fluid that was lost during your training session.
6. Don't neglect cardio
Cardio work should be factored into your sessions. It is one of the greatest ways to get into shape and is necessary to keep your heart healthy and your body functioning the way it should.
7. Get outside
Exercising in the great outdoors has many benefits. It is much better for you to breathe in fresh air compared to air conditioning, especially if you are stuck in a gym with loads of germs floating around.
8. Carbs are not the devil
Carbohydrates seem to get a bad name. Those who are looking to drop weight tend to avoid any form of carbohydrates.
Lowering the amount you consume will help with losing weight but you shouldn't cut them out completely. They are important for energy production, recovery, muscle growth and fat loss.
Instead of removing them completely, just ensure that you are consuming carbohydrates that are not full of sugar.
9. Have variety
Variety is a key factor to the success of your training. Your body very quickly recognizes and adapts to any exercise or training session that you complete.
Therefore, in order to progress you must continually make the body guess and challenge it in different ways. Variety in a diet is also key to enjoying what you are eating as well as getting all the essential minerals and vitamins.
10. Train with others
Having a training partner or training in a group has some great benefits. They will help you stay motivated, it becomes a great social environment and you can have some great fun.
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