Confession: There is a reason why I do not post many recipes. Recipes are hard for me. Even with teenage boys, I have figured out that not cooking actually works best (clever rationalization). Sometimes I cook (define “cooking”) and mostly I don’t (define not "cooking"). I only post the recipes I have actually made. I made real lasagna the other night, yet, I did not post that one because that would not be considered “healthy” for my website by all viewers opinions and because I do not follow a recipe. I am talking real, traditional lasagna, made with ground beef, canned tomatoes, my seasonings, part skim ricotta cheese, mozzarella and parmesan. You see, for two 14 year old boys and a fabulous husband, this is defined as healthy because 1) They eat a huge salad with it and 2) It keeps one of my sugar craving sons out of the pantry for less healthy choices 3) A small piece of homemade lasagna and a big salad for many of us is a whole lot healthier than other things we might eat! So what does it look like in my house during a typical week? First of all, there are no typical weeks! My family will tell you that I cook amazing foods one week and then the next week I have no idea what to make. Well, I am embellishing with the “amazing foods” part. I think it is mostly the fact that they see I have food prepared and flowing each night! That is “amazing food”! I do have food on the table each night. I really do "cook"; and it is as simple and healthy as I can make it. Time is valuable. It seems when I spend too much time trying something wonderful, they do not enjoy it anyway. I wanted to share how I pull off healthy food preparation and eating without “cooking” for my family with my full time work, more work, and community involvement.
Some of these food ideas are for my kids, and some for my husband and me. Think of the opportunity to serve foods with fresh fruits and veggies. It is like taking the “good” with the “bad” even those are not the words I prefer. One time my child said to me “Mom, don’t put your issues on me, and let me enjoy these foods; I am a kid!” They are both lean and mean healthy kids. I lead by example and try not to say too much. I give a friendly reminder sometimes when I say , “Hey, how about something green with that?” and they respond with at least a few bites of veggies. I do eat differently than my children with many more veggies than they could ever imagine eating at this point, yet they do like veggies. I am happy to accommodate them (different meals) and you certainly need to do what is right for you and your family. Most people may disagree with my approach, and that’s OK. I do what works for me and my family. I like salad and I like fish. I cannot expect two 14 year olds to have this most nights. I also like pizza…but you have to choose what goes in your body and how much. We are adults for goodness sake. Lead by example and they will learn. You don’t have to “cook” to eat healthy. What you do need in order to eat healthy are the right foods, in the right portions, ready and available to eat, and a plan of what’s for dinner. Health Inspires.
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My Nutrition, Marketing and Diet Rant.
The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) started in 1994. It is where people that have lost 30 lbs and kept it off for over one year can share how they did it and how they maintain keeping the weight off. It is the largest prospective investigation of weight loss success and maintenance. It might not surprise you that:
The research shows that of people that have kept the weight off, and are now at 5.5 years of keeping it off:
I often say that talking about nutrition is like talking about religion or politics. Everybody is in a different place with what they believe. My other favorite read was the 2005 Consumer Reports article that rated 9 diets in 8,000 dieters and found that the best diet is ones’ own diet and exercise regimen, and this NWCR data confirms that. Diets work when you figure out that choosing to eat mostly fruits and veggies and little or no processed foods, and exercise most days of the week are key. Diets can work, yet I am writing this to point out the obvious for all practical purposes. I would like to share my free opinion of all diets, dilute the hype around them, and point out what they all have in common. My approach will not cost you a thing outside your grocery store trip, and as a matter of fact; it will save you money and help you realize you can do this on your own. It will help you lose weight, think clearly and have a bounce in your step. Are you ready for the free opinion that is actually fact? Gluten Free: 1% of our population has a true Gluten pathologic response. It is not an allergy. We will all agree that celiac disease is not good. For others that do not have celiac disease, you may have a gluten sensitivity. As I had lunch with my friend two weeks ago at the Galaxy Cafe, he orders the salmon and a salad and I find that his concern is that the salad dressing may have gluten in it. He gets it anyway. I ordered the same thing with olive oil on the side for my salad dressing because, I do not eat processed salad dressings ever, http://www.healthinspires.com/recipes/heart-healthy-salad-dressings , I usually eat a salad at lunch and I have salmon at least 3 times per week as far back as I can remember. As he shares his gluten approach and that gluten MAKES YOUR BRAIN SWELL! (Thanks Dr Perlmutter- Grain Brain), and I listen. Here’s the deal on gluten….by Kathryn- It is in barley, wheat, rye, bread, cakes, beer, pasta, crackers, salad dressings, canned soups, cereal and anything that is made alongside gluten. Thanks to the Wheat Belly book, we have a new line of products like almond flower and many other things you can buy. Not a bad idea or sales gimmick…I am just pointing out the fact that gluten is not in fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, beans, nuts, seeds, and it is in processed foods! The gluten free diet eliminates processed foods and encourages fruits, veggies! OHHHHHHH! Paleo- No grains, no beans. Plenty of fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins. No processed foods! OHHHHHHH! Sugar Busters- No breads, grains or starchy foods that have a high glycemic load. No alcohol except wine in moderation. Fruits and veggies in abundance, yet favors to those that have the lowest glycemic load (so your body does not have a blood glucose surge and have your pancreas spit out insulin and store fat). This diet promotes fruits, veggies, lean proteins, nuts and seeds, and limited alcohol. No processed foods! OHHHHHHH! Atkins- Fruits, veggies, cheese and cream (too much animal fat!), and proteins. No processed foods! OHHHHHHH! Phytochemicals- Fruits, veggies, whole grains, No processed foods! OHHHHHHH! High Fiber Diet- Fruits and vegetables, whole grains. No processed foods! OHHHHHHH! Ideal Protein- You can buy this processed food that contains palm kernal oil (that is not a good choice). That part is weird. Yet, it is all about lean proteins, fruits and vegetables!! OHHHHHHHH! Nutrisystem- It all smells the same. What is in that stuff? That is processed. Oh yes, and supports fruits and veggies! OHHHHHHH! Pick a diet, any diet, if that is your means to better health. The theme is no processed foods, fruits and veggies, unless it is the bluebell diet, of course. MyFit foods will sell you, Snap Kitchen will sell you, and so many others will sell you. You can certainly choose these options. I am all for losing weight if you need to, and if you need help with convenient healthy foods, then you can buy those healthier choices. They are not cheap. You could also grill a bunch of chicken at the beginning of the week, http://www.healthinspires.com/recipes/basic-chicken-marinade , a pot of beans, http://www.healthinspires.com/recipes/chickpeas-and-diced-tomatoes , buy fresh veggies such as baby carrots, and those big containers of spinach and have your own meal prepared in less than 5 minutes each night for example. Losing weight, if you need to, is the best thing you can do for your health right after tobacco cessation. Diets work, cleanses work, they all work if you stick to them. They eliminate food groups and that is not always good. Who wants to live like that? I love bread, yet I don’t eat it all of the time. I choose whole grains and I eat some, not bowls and bowls. Here is the very free advice and the no diet approach to your health: Eat more fruits and vegetables, eat less processed to no processed foods, make your own salad dressings (it is easy!), enjoy your favorite foods sometimes. If you love sandwiches…then have a sandwich. Balance that with not adding any other bread to your day, make it whole grain, use avocado as a spread instead of less healthy options, ditch the cheese, throw on some spinach. Rethink your sandwich or just make it smaller than what you normally would eat. Eliminate the practice of having bread at your dinner table. Your new normal will evolve. Small change equals lasting change. We tend to eat what is available, so have fresh fruits and veggies cut up and available to eat when you are hungry as a healthy fast food solution. Ditch your protein bar (glorified candy bar and processed food) for a handful of almonds and a small piece of fruit, and never, never, never, leave home without a piece of fruit and water, at the very least. Take your hand out of the cracker box. These diets, generally speaking in terms of the fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, nuts and seeds, represent are how we should be eating anyway. No wonder they make us feel good and lose weight. I did a cleanse two years ago with my husband just to see what all the rage was about. My conclusion? I was crystal clear in my thinking. I was hungry most of the time. I felt amazing alongside all of that. I also had no alcohol at all, no caffeine at all, and had no bread at all. Did I say I was hungry? Would I continue, no bread, no alcohol, no caffeine forever? These diets actually make you think you would for a while, because you feel so good. Then back to reality that these are some of the simple pleasures of life…at least for me they are. During the time I did this cleanse was also when I was training for the MS 150 at that time. I lost 8 pounds in 21 days, and I am not sure that I had that to lose to begin with. I am sure my heart did not like me. It is a muscle you know. I gained the 8 libs back in one year. Oh well. I do not have a weight problem, yet it still feels good to feel slim. This is my first nutrition rant. It will not be my norm, yet I wanted to make a point and it is factual and practical. I don’t know if your brain is swelling on bread alone. I do know that we are not healthy as a population, so lets take that into account please. We have an obesity epidemic in our country and heart disease is our leading killer in both men and women. Type 2 diabetes is taking lives and consuming our children. The clincher?..... These diseases that kill are modifiable by diet and exercise, and yet, we, as in the general population, we choose fake food either because, we don’t know it is full of chemicals or we think it is ok to eat these products, or we are duped by marketing, or we do not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, or simply because we choose and value convenience, or we are hooked on it and (choose not to) won’t stop. Sounds silly doesn’t it? It makes no logical sense that we choose a box of “fake” food over real food. The problem is not bread alone. It is not soda alone. It is all processed foods, it is marketing and our excuse is that we are busy. As soon as we realize it is all about fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, exercise, limited alcohol, no tobacco, and for God’s sake, if you like milk, then have some and make it skim, all in moderation and all with the right portions. Even real food can help you gain weight if you are eating too much. The best predictor of disease risk outside of tobacco is your weight. “Too much of anything is not a good thing” seems to be a factual mantra. Moderation in all things, and then every now and then, it is OK to indulge a little for the joy of life. Buy fresh fruit and vegetables, and buy frozen fruits and vegetables for convenience and make sure the only ingredient is the fruit or veggie. Only eat when your are hungry. If you are stressed, go for a walk and not go for the pantry. Small change equals lasting change. What can you do today that you are willing to do and can stick with? I know you can do it. Live Healthy. Dream Big. Be Bold. Health Inspires. Know your health plan. Call your carrier today if you already have a plan. If you are still looking at the marketplace, use a “navigator” and ask all your questions. You may not be getting what you think you are buying. ASK QUESTIONS. Make sure you know the answers before you are faced with an emergency situation. You want to have a plan of action and know the type of care you will receive and what your out of pocket costs will be. 1) Know what your deductible is and what that means when you go for a doctor visit 2) Know which doctors and hospitals are “in network” (costs you less) and which are “out of network” (costs you more), and which systems/facilities are “affiliated” (maybe a reduced fee from out of network or closer in cost to “in network”). Know what prescriptions will cost more and which ones cost less (generic? copay?) 3) Know what your monthly premium is 4) Know when you should go to primary care, urgent care or the emergency room 5) Know how much will you pay for the initial healthcare visit and then the percent covered when you go to each of those care providers listed in #4 6) Know all about free preventative screenings and which ones you should get and when (schedule those now! An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure) 7) Know that “preventative” screenings are free UNLESS, they find something that is diagnosable and then you will be billed (and become aware of your health (bonus)-THE GAME CHANGER) 8) If you find yourself in a hospital or awaiting specialty healthcare in some regard, make sure the person registering you does a “pre-authorization” to make sure your insurance will cover its share 9) It is completely your responsibility to know what is covered on your plan. Call your carrier to walk you through you the answers to the questions above. Better than that, know the answers to your questions before you buy 10) Have a family plan of action of where you are going for healthcare for primary care, urgent care and emergency situations Also, know what your employer provided healthplan offers in terms of incentives for taking steps to being healthy and making healthy choices. Sometimes there are premium reductions for doing your part to take care of yourself. There are resources such as your EAP (Employee assistance Program) for stressful life situations, discounted gym memberships, tobacco cessation classes and more. Know what those are. What I understand is that sometimes people purchase medical insurance through their employer or the “exchanges”/“marketplace”/what most of us know as “Obamacare”; and are not clear on what they are buying. It is the “surprise” of what is not covered when we need healthcare and find that the doctor we have established a relationship with over 15 years is not covered on the plan. Sometime the surprise comes when you have a costly emergency visit because you went to one not covered by your plan. Have a strategy and know where your doctors are, which plans (SPECIFICALLY) they are on, and check and double check. Your MD may take BlueCross BlueShield or UnitedHealthcare, yet it might not be the specific plan you have. It is our responsibly to ask the questions and know your plan for the best care first and the most economical care as well. Most importantly, take care of yourself. Most of our disease states and health risks are preventable by lifestyle choices. This is where the cost savings come in and that is probably not a large enough motivator for most. Don't wait until you are sick to have an awakening. The fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle are the same, yet the prescription, goals and motivators for each of us will be different; because each of us is unique. I can help you learn what yours are, and help you get to your best self. You are complete already, yet life is more fun when you are on track, purposeful, happy and inspired! Live Healthy. Dream Big. Be Bold. Health Inspires. Health Inspires FREE 3 Day Challenge How to Stop Your Cravings in 3 Days Watch it on you tube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1k30BV2Idc First, I would like to recognize that most of us have some type of habit, or addiction, if you will; whether it be food, alcohol, the need for approval, or power, for example. What I am talking about is something that has more power over us than we wish it did. For the purpose of this health tip, I am going to discuss cravings in the context of a habit. 10 things you need to know about cravings:
So what can you do to stop your cravings? Accept my 3-day Challenge! Why? Because 3 days is just long enough to help you get back in the game,reduce your cravings, gain control over your actions, and you will feel better without the junk. All you have to do is to decide that you are going to do this and do it! Health Inspires 3 Day Challenge 3 Steps to Stop your Cravings in 3 Days
All you need is one day in a row. Then…pat yourself on the back, wake up and do this again. After 3 days, your cravings will subside and you will feel amazing. For all future days, continuing on day 4, is to limit all junk food and to know what you are eating. Plan your meals, know what days you might want to enjoy your favorites and limit the portion. For example, if everybody is going out for pizza at lunch one day from work and you would like to enjoy that, then order a salad and have one and no more than two pieces of pizza. Read all food labels and check for added sugar. I want to hear from you! Did it work? How do you feel? Health Inspires. As part of the mad dash to solve “what's for dinner”, and oh by the way, “we need milk”; I run to Whole Foods to pick up 4 items 1) Milk 2) Chobani yogurt 3) Fruit 4) Rotisserie Chicken (sound familiar?) Hmmm….there is no Chobani yogurt at (this) Whole Foods. At that point, I am looking for another yogurt option to replace my typical 6 oz - 4 pack Chobani blueberry yogurt purchase. (My default is Chobani based on a few considerations such as 1) The taste and texture is good 2) It does not have much added sugar by comparison 3) My kids like it and will eat it.) I am selecting based on price and value, and so I compromise. With all yogurts considered and based on my criteria, I decide on the more reasonably priced Stoneyfield Greek style yogurt, vanilla flavored, 0% fat in the 16 oz. container. I thought I could spoon that on top of my fruit in the morning and add it to smoothies for my kids. I also thought that a change will taste good. Allow me to back up and set the stage:
Fast forward, I open the container the next morning. I look at the label and ingredients to see what they list as a serving size, how much protein, how many calories and there it is! Boom! SUGAR! So much added sugar! So disappointing. The serving size of 1 cup, more than I would eat on top of fruit anyway, is 200 calories packed with 28 grams of sugar. What a bummer. I expect sugar in the obvious treats such as ice cream, and not in my healthier foods. Not a good choice for yogurt. What you can do:
In closing, when buying yogurt, the very best choice would be plain yogurt. With plain yogurt you can add your own honey or fruit to sweeten to your taste. However, yogurt doesn’t need to be sweet. It can be used in place of sour cream, or in recipes that include colorful vegetables. Brands such as Frage have two compartments; one side is plain yogurt, and the other side has sweetened fruit or honey. You can add the sweet to the plain, and try out your taste. Your goal is the less sugar the better. Health Inspires. Recent studies are quick to compare sugar’s affect on the brain to heroin, nicotine and alcohol use. The word ADDICTION is being used to describe the CRAVINGS one may have with sugar consumption, as opposed to the softer and more descriptive word as I see it, HABIT. The word "habit" seems to offer the opportunity for us to take responsibility for our behaviors. It implies we can change if we are willing and able by creating strategies to help ourselves walk away from the habit of consuming too much sugar whether it be in the form of soda, cake or cookies, or in the less obvious processed foods like spaghetti sauce and crackers. Calling sugar an "addictive" substance is alarming. My concern is this allows for a sense of defeat, validation for it, and excuses to continue caving to the craving and hitting the Oreos, or fill in your blank for whatever food or drink drives this example for you, and then, possibly the remorse of wishing you didn't. I want to acknowledge that your cravings are real. I am not denying that you may feel out of control sometimes. In return, I would ask that you acknowledge that you know what to do to break this cycle. There are suggested action steps below to help. In addition, I offer the idea that if you lay off the sugar for a few days, your cravings will subside. Whether you believe sugar is addictive or not will be dictated by a few factors, and two are most significant: 1) Your past experiences with sugar Your feelings are unique and built upon your life experiences. If you associate drinking a soda with happy childhood memory that made you feel good; like going to the park with your dad, then your neurotransmitters, or your "happy chemicals" have built those connections. Coke will play on that memory in their ads, and seeing a Coke for the sake of this example, will be your cue and you will find yourself wanting a Coke. 2) Your present consumption of sugar both measured in quantity and frequency If you have created the vicious cycle for yourself consuming sugar laden processed food, then you know it tastes good, it makes you happy, and then you crave it again. Sugar is in more than the obvious foods such as in kids breakfast cereal, soda, candy, cakes or cookies. It can be less obvious and in most processed foods such as spaghetti sauce, crackers, sugary "yogurts", trail mix, added to dried fruits, granola bars, and then starches such as white bread, pasta and so on, break down into sugar. The list goes on. When you consume sugar (a class of molecules called carbohydrates), your taste receptors are activated and the signal goes to the brain and activates the brain’s reward system. Dopamine is a part of this reward system and associated with our food cues. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and important chemical in your brain that is released when you consume sugar, and connects to the receptors on your brain. With a bite of sugary food, your brain says Yummy! Yippee! Do I want to do that again? YES!!!!!!! Reward. It is interesting to note that dopamine is also released with sexual behavior, socializing and with drug use. It makes us feel good! Some studies show, for example, that the more sex you have, the more you will want. That makes sense with what we know about dopamine. Experience, once again, being a significant piece of the puzzle. The reason studies are suggesting that sugar has addictive qualities is that dopamine is also released with heroin, nicotine or alcohol. Although with drugs, the dopamine release goes into overdrive and the response is much more violent and volatile than with sugar and creating addiction and out of control behaviors and subtle cues that make an addict go searching for more drugs; sugar is the one "food" that science has found to be associated with dopamine release with the consistent reward response. Compare sugar to the consumption of a healthy balanced meal. The healthy meal may increase dopamine levels at first, but it will balance out over time which explains a little about why we get bored with the same foods. If you rarely eat sugar or do not eat much at a time, the affect of dopamine is like eating that balanced meal. However, if you consume sugar often or in large quantities, you are creating the desire to have more because with sugar consumption, the dopamine levels do not balance out and it continues to feel rewarding. Because sugar is in so many processed foods, you may be consuming more sugar than you think and that keeps the vicious sugar craving cycle alive and well. With more sugar consumption, we are essentially developing a tolerance to it, and want more and more and more. Those are those cravings that you just cannot seem to escape! Action steps to break your sugar cravings: 1) Know what you are eating
3) Get plenty of rest. Studies indicate that sleep deprivation helps us hold onto extra weight
Know that if you can get one day under your belt without consuming any added sugars, you are well on your way. That is one more day than yesterday. Do it again on day two, and then three. After that, you will already have the hang of it. If you feel a sweet tooth coming on, choose what you will have and limit the amount. You have full control when you know that you do. Let me hear from you on FB our comment on my blog. I want to know if you are going to try this for a few days and if you find it is working for you. I can offer suggestions if you like. Another option is to call or e-mail me to schedule a coaching session if you would like help finding your way to conquer your cravings. Go to my Inspiring Services page and fill in your contact information. Health Inspires. “We need dirt,” he said. “What? Why do we need dirt?” I asked. My 13 year old son replied, “We need dirt for our backyard so I can make (bicycle) jumps.” Ohhhhh….I thought as I now understood where he was coming from. I then said, “Sure, we can look at that.” Although I decided to make the calls and investigate bringing in dirt, I was mostly thinking, “That’s my guy…keeps my hopping, never a dull moment, and man… that child likes to spend some money!…On dirt this time! I think I will try and discourage him.” There I am…the supportive mom. A couple of weeks roll by and he mentions it again. My husband and son go outside to look at the greenbelt behind our house. It is full of trees and needs to be cleaned out. They were discussing and designing where the dirt should go. I am still thinking… “Really…dirt?” One of the things I consistently teach is that we have everything we need right now to take the next step in the direction we want to go. We allow inevitable challenges and obstacles to become the reasons of why we don’t finish something (yet) and accomplish little or nothing. Many times these “obstacles” are nothing more than a thought we allowed ourselves to think. A reason or excuse of why we haven’t done something. That happens sometimes, doesn’t it? Rather than waiting on dirt, waiting on me to visit Home Depot and asking for the dirt guy list of numbers, calling the dirt people, getting the estimate on dirt, who is delivering it? Really? I really do not want to spend my money on dirt. In the meantime, my son and his friend got to work. With our shovel, ax, hoe and their desire for and willingness to work to create bike ramps; they cleared a path in the greenbelt. They collected sticks and branches that had fallen from trees and piled them horizontally in one nice stack until it reached a reasonable height for a ramp. They found a piece of plywood and angled that plywood on that pile of branches. In another spot, about 15 feet in front of that, they found some large stones (probably from my garden), and used a smaller piece of plywood to create the first and smaller ramp. I was so proud of them. They used the resources they had, worked for what they wanted and created some jumps! Free! Complete! Now they can enjoy their jumps and feel amazing for making it happen; the reward for their efforts. Not to mention, saving the mother her time and money. Imagination. Creation. Accomplishment. Achievement. Success. These things can be measured in many ways. Some of those measures are not what you would normally think of. Those measures are that you kept your commitment to yourself, you stayed the course, you created your reality and did not allow something you made up in your head, a thought, keep you from doing what you wanted to do. You know what you need to do. Take that step, then the next, and the next. Take one day at a time, and get one in a row, then two and so on. Control what you can and understand that you can’t always control outside factors, yet you can control what you do to move forward. Most importantly you can control your thoughts. You may have heard the saying that if you believe that you can’t, then you are right. Stay peaceful, stay on track, take a deep breath and look at your choices when a challenge arises. What will you choose? Chip away. You can. Build your ramps. Those will take you where you want to go. Health Inspires. The real you is waiting. You know you are in there! You know how good it feels when you are doing your best, feeling purposeful and when everything is clicking in your life. Keep that feeling, self awareness, joy, happiness and connectedness by practicing these 5 ACTIONS to the REAL YOU.
Take time to stay in love, in kindness, in prayer, in gratitude and on your path. We all benefit from this. Health Inspires. I heard a Pepsi commercial this week on the radio. The marketing hook was Pepsi with “real sugar”. I was afraid of this. With the hype and awareness around high fructose corn syrup, manufacturers are now using sugar (cane sugar/sucrose) again and promoting it as a good thing. HFCS, is a liquid sweetener, easy and less expensive for manufacturers to use in their sweetened beverages and processed foods. It seems we are switching back to sugar in many products. Although I would agree that cane sugar is the lesser evil; added sugar is added sugar and the the real message stays the same…LIMIT YOUR INTAKE OF ALL ADDED SUGARS. For informational purposes only, I wanted to share a description of many sugars on the market today. Some may be better choices than others as some may be a more natural sugar, less processed or contain trace minerals. However, keep in mind that you are not consuming sugar for nutritional value. THESE ARE ADDED SUGARS. Consider the better argument that because some sweeteners are sweeter than others, you might use less of it…and that is a good thing. They also may wreak less havoc on your blood sugar as well. My overarching advice is to limit sugar and know how much you are consuming. Types of Sugar:
Health Inspires. Talking about nutrition is like talking about religion or politics. Talking about sugar can be equally controversial. To level the playing field, I suggest that we can all agree on two things no matter where we are in our nutrition beliefs:
Why diet books are denouncing fruit:
Answers:
The real question to ask yourself:
Sugar statistics:
Recent meta analysis findings: Dr. Lisa Te Morenga (University of Otago, Nuned in New Zealand) and colleagues, included the results of their meta analysis that included 30 randomized controlled trials and 38 cohort studies of dietary sugar intake and adiposity. They published their paper online in the BMJ, January 15, 2013. They found that cutting consumption of sugar produces a small but significant reduction in weight for adults and not as much for children. Why? Because children were not as compliant. They defined “free sugars” as sugars that are added to foods by the manufacturer, cook, or consumer, plus those naturally present in honey, syrups, and fruit juices. The review is accompanied by an editorial by Dr. Walter C. Willett (Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA) and Dr. David S. Ludwig (New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center, Boston Children's Hospital, MA). I like what Drs. Willett and Ludwig said in their editorial of this meta analysis:
More practical comments:
Actions you can take:
Diet matters. If one person eats a granola bar containing added sugars, flavorings and color, and another eats an orange and a handful of almonds, which will perform better? Eating healthy makes us feel better. Eating junk displaces healthy foods that provide needed nourishment, and ESPECIALLY for our children’s proper growth and development. The brain works best with about 25 grams of glucose circulating in the blood stream which is about the amount found in a banana (not to be confused with "added sugars"). It is suggested that eating smaller meals works well for the brain. For perspective however, a small diabetes study proved that those eating two larger meals per day vs. those eating smaller meals throughout the day, lost an average of 8 lbs. more over the study period. Studies focus on what they are trying to prove or disprove. The practicality of a healthy diet is to find what works for you based on your preferences and healthy choices. Feeling satisfied has a lot to do with our cravings or lack thereof. Real food, prepared healthily, will help you feel satisified. Processed food will not. Choose wisely, know what you are eating and how much, enjoy your favorites sometimes and in the right portions; and remember, fruit is not the enemy. Health Inspires. |
Kathryn ScoblickMy passion and purpose is helping people reach their full potential and master their wellbeing. Categories
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Disclosure: Always consult with your physician or other qualified health care provider before beginning any diet or exercise program and ask whether you are healthy enough to engage in a diet and exercise program. Never disregard, avoid or delay in obtaining medical advice from your doctor or other qualified health care provider concerning your overall health and wellness, including your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. It is your choice to follow the suggestions, opinions and advice given by a Health Inspires wellness coach.
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