Archive for 1. Nutrition tips
Vitamins – What Brands and Form is Best for You
Posted by: | CommentsVitamin supplementation is a real issue in our society. Nutrition is about more than the number of calories contained in food. It is about supplying your body with the basic building blocks it needs to repair itself and remain “in like new condition” throughout 
your life.
I have a professional colleague, Bette Dowdell, who has a blog and news letter called Too Pooped to Participate. She had a serious problem with her endocrines system and like a lot of my patients, took charge of the condition and learned all she could about it. She shares her knowledge of supplements and endocrine function with all of us in her newsletter and teleseminars. Here is what she said about vitamins in her most recent newsletter.
People are asking about what brands of vitamins I use. Truth to tell, I’m kinda fickle. Something on sale always catches my eye, for instance. But I always stay with form of each vitamin that I know is best and the brands I can trust to produce a superior product.
I love vitamin questions! Why? Because everybody needs vitamins. We simply can’t get all the nutrition we need from our food, no matter how hard we try.
People with endocrine problems REALLY need vitamins because we don’t absorb nutrients as well as we should. And once we pass our fortieth birthday, it gets worse.
So here’s an alphabetical list of brands I use. Other quality brands are around, but here’s a good start for you.
Biochem Country Life Jarrow LifeTime Natrol Nature’s Way NOW Solaray Source Naturals TwinLabs (but read the label)
You’ll notice that none of these brands are sold in grocery stores, drug stores, Walmart, KMart, Target, Sam’s Club, Costco, Trader Joe’s, etc. Go to a health food store or buy at an on-line equivalent.
Why do I say this? The highly advertised, mass produced vitamin brands tend to use less expensive ingredients. For instance, the ingredients on a multi say it includes a good amount of Vitamin D, but don’t mention the fact it’s in the D2 form which the body can’t use. And maybe the Vitamin E is the synthetic dl form instead of the natural d form. And so on.
Plus, mass-produced vitamins tend to come in pills instead of better absorbed capsules. Worse, those pills are compressed to a fare-thee-well, and you may never get any value from them because they don’t dissolve. If a pill comes out looking pretty much the same way it went in (please excuse the visual), it’s a bad pill, and you wasted your money on it.
With that, I’ve probably said enough.
Until next time then.
God is good,
Bette Dowdell
I encourage you read Bette’s blog and subscribe to her newsletter. When you can make it, check out her teleseminars. Until next time, I hope you begin thinking about the brand and form of vitamins you are taking.
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Self Care Practices – A Diet to Keep You Healthy
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The word diet has several different connotations. It can mean a temporary change in eating habits and macro-nutrient ratios (percentage of protein, carbohydrate or fat in your diet) to effect some end result ( look better naked or lose “weight”). This does not mean it improves your health or longevity or strengthens your mind and nervous or immune systems. Diet can mean all the things you eat – your diet is what you eat. It could mean the habitual eating pattern of some non-human species that eat so they can live and reproduce. Humans get to choose and often choose badly or have no choices and don’t eat enough of all they need.
What nutrients do you need to stay alive and stay alive long and remain healthy? There are three main macro-nutrients – those you need the most of – Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat. You need all 3 and you need them in proper ratios. Generally, not eating quite enough is better than eating too much. I need you to remember I am talking about most people but if you have phenylketonuria or some other inherited metabolic disorder, listen to your specialist!!!! If you are not diabetic, hypertensive, or do not have some other chronic disease especially liver or kidney disease then this is for you. If you have a disease and have been told to follow a specific diet – DO SO!
OK, disclaimers aside, you need to eat and you need enough energy to sustain your needs. You need to be able to repair your body, fuel your brain with glucose (about 60 grams a day) and ketones from fat metabolism (equivalent to 40 grams of carbohydrate). We get multiple times that much glucose and not nearly enough ketones for our brain. At least the average American does. We need protein, but not nearly as much as most believe. Even serious weight lifters need only slightly more than most people who are much more sedentary. If you eat too much protein your body will turn it into sugar! It has the same effect as eating too much carbohydrate. Lastly you need a little saturated fat and a larger quantity of unsaturated fats like omega 3 fatty acids.
How much? Your body will tell you, but you need to follow a few guidelines so you can hear what your body says.
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schedule your meals – know when you are going to eat and don’t eat at other times
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eat sitting down so you can chew thoroughly and know when you are full – not when you have eaten everything
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to slow yourself down and guard against over eating – use smaller utensils and plates and only eat one helping
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don’t fear hunger – skip a meal on a light activity day – go 8 hours without eating – you will live
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Drink plenty of water – learn to like it! You need it. – 2-3 quarts(liters) per day
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Skip eating anything with added sugar of any type M-F and sparingly on weekends and holidays (see Reinhard Engels at EveryDaySystems.com )
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When you are full quit eating! Throw away the excess on your plate and take less on it next time. This is not wasting food. Wasting food is becoming a human garbage can and eating more than you need just because it is on your plate.
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cut down alcohol – men one 12oz beer per day, 4 ounces of Wine or 1 ounce of distilled spirits, Women 3-4 times a week max when you are not pregnant.
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Eat real food – raw unprocessed nuts, vegetables from the produce section or frozen not canned that require minimal cooking. If you could eat it raw it is better for you than things that must be cooked (they have some toxin or protective system that must be denatured by cooking (potatoes, beans, etc…)
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Eat small servings of meat 4 ounce twice a day is plenty for all but athletes – they could eat another 4 ounces.
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Get enough rest 7-9 hours of horizontal time with lights out – no TV, no computer, soft music if you must but get melatonin into your brain with enough time in darkness. There are only two good things to do in the dark – do the first one then get to sleep but no lights!
You can use the scales but the fit of your clothes, your energy level and the size of your waist and hips should tell the story. Over a few weeks you should see a return of youthful energy and clearing of your mind when you awaken and a decreasing percentage of your body weight as fat.
Who has done this? Share with us your story and experiences. Who wants to do this? Sign up for one of my virtual workshops so I can show you how you can use coaching to empower your changes and gather some momentum toward your goal of better health and greater vitality. Leave me a comment on this article please.
A healthy Diet Podcast, #1: Download A Healthy Diet Podcast #2: Download A Healthy Diet Podcast #3: Download A Healthy Diet Podcast #4: DownloadPopularity: unranked [?]
Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease by 3000 year old Life Style
Posted by: | CommentsCould our the lifestyle of our ancestors 3000 years ago teach us how to prevent Coronary Heart Disease now? Some people, 
physical anthropologists, think it is possible. Evidence from previous studies of the bones and teeth of people from pre-agricultural times suggests that people grew taller, were healthier and lived longer.
Studies suggest that when cheap carbohydrates in the form of grains became available, people moved into more dense population centers. The waste from humans and animals subjected people to diseases they were protected from in previous times and also made it possible for certain animal illnesses like influenza to mutate and jump to humans causing pandemics. The study of bones an teeth show that there was a lack of vitamin B12 and Iron in the agricultural diet preventing full development of the children raised in this environment.
One study showed that in two different villages of the same period in Northern Kentucky, one agricultural and one of hunter-gatherers, that the hunters suffered retardation of bone growth from starvation at regularly spaced intervals. This probably represented winter. The agricultural village had more tooth decay, and their bones showed more periods of slowed bone growth and more irregular intervals probably reflecting drought, crop failures as well as winter time starvation.
A study of an ancient culture of foragers in Bolivia called the Tsimane, is underway with some interesting findings. No heart disease. Many live into their late 60’s and 70’s. It appears the most common cause of death is infection. There seems to be a chronic state of infection throughout their lives that eventually breaks down their immune system late in life but not much earlier than many people in the United States. To learn more about this study go to this link.
Researchers that have ongoing studies related to research on Culture and Health are:
Thomas W. McDade PhD Richard Steckel George Amelagos Clark Spencer Larsen
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Nutritional Facts and Information – do you really need more
Posted by: | CommentsWhat do You Need to Know?
It may be that you need more information. Many of us believe if we have that one more fact we will know just what we need to make us healthier, more beautiful, more handsome, and cause us to live longer in that state. I don’t think this is true. I think you know most of what you need to know and that with very few more facts, could live a long and healthy life. It isn’t more facts and figures and information that is needed.
What do You Need to Do?
It isn’t knowing, it is doing that makes the difference. You need to do more of the things you already know and then add more knowledge that helps you take better action. Let me ask you a few questions.
- Do you think you are getting enough to eat?
- What foods do you need to eat more of or less of than you do right now?
- What is your vision of perfect nutrition for you? How does that vision look, feel, sound and smell?
- Can you write some affirming statements about bringing that vision into reality in your life?
- Write down some strengths you have in this area and some success you have had in doing something like this.
- What struggles might you have in trying to do this?
- What is one thing you could do to begin to bring this vision into reality? When would you do this?
It is the gap between knowing and doing that is the larger problem.
You know enough to get started. You either don’t believe you can do it or don’t see the benefit in trying. Do you ever tell yourself things like -
- I can’t do this
- I tried that and it did not work for me
- This is just the way I am, it is in my genes
- I am lazy and just like sweets way too much
- I am a big eater, I need all that I eat
- I think I look bad when I am thinner
For most of us it is not lack of knowledge, but lack of application of knowledge. The thing that stops us most from applying that knowledge is how we talk to ourselves. You can find some good articles on this blog on that topic. I want to stress this point now, having a positive, real affirmation that you say and associate with a mind-body practice as simple as gently massaging your ears will help you move in the direction you want to go. Remember, this is a journey, and you are a complex being. It may be you already have strengths to help you with nutrition and it may be that your gut will tell you, nutrition is not the problem. When you look at your life, and assess yourself in 12 different areas represented on the picture of the wheel you see in this article, you may find that strengthening another area will help you improve that area and your nutrition.
If you want to know more about nutrition, affirmations and intentions, I suggest you look at my Personal Empowerment Plan that incorporates the Circle of Life Coaching process. Simply click on the link http://budurl.com/CircleLifeCoach and learn more about how I may be able to help you. Using the circle, the most ancient symbol known to man, I will coach you through a process individually or in groups. Click on the link to learn more about applying these principles to your own life.
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Lose Weight by Thinking like the IRS – Take Deductions
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The IRS is our governments tax collection agency.
The picture to the right is a sculpture in front of the IRS building in Savannah, GA. It is appropriately named “The Shaft”. I liked that one too. But I am not writing about taxes. I am writing about about ideal health. There is only one way to get it and that is to apply IRS thinking to all you do.
My definition of IRS is “I RESPOSIBLY Solve…” That means you take responsibility. It means the good and the bad are yours. You can take credit. I once heard a person say that every person is “Self Made” but only the successful will admit it.
By being an IRS thinker you can solve every obstacle one at a time and be the healthy person your genetics intended you to be. You can insert Creator or any name you choose into genetics but the agreement here is on the idea that “men” were not only created equal, they were created to enjoy life and to be fit and vital and disease free. It does not always work that way, but for most of us it should.
If becoming an IRS thinker means you have to change, join the club. Everyone who wants something different than they have has to make changes. The idea here is to decide when you get a break. I wrote an article on this on EzineArticles.
Basically, a deduction is permission to suspend work. Like a deduction on your tax return, you get to not count something. The tax return does not count some of your income. The IRS living plan does not count the food if you meet your own criteria for receiving such a deduction. Like the IRS you need rules. Decide your rules, write them down, and get someone to help you live your plan. You can adjust it as you go. It will be good for you and will work for you. Don’t be in a hurry to have your life over. Enjoy everyday of your journey. Don’t get caught in the “I will be happy when…” trap. Be happy now, be happy you can try now, that it isn’t too late. Be satisfied to make a great efffort every day. Don’t give yourself a verbal and mental shaft. Read my linked articles on the IRS way of weight management thinking, join my PEP Membership Program and move toward that goal.
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IRS – Avoid High Glycemic Foods and Avoid Big Penalties
Posted by: | CommentsEating is necessary and good for you. Don’t think about not eating enough! Even if you are morbidly obese, you have to eat enough. What you don’t want to do is avoid following correct principles.
When I pay my taxes, my accountant suggests I pay on time to avoid penalties and interest. There are penalties to eating too much total food or to not eating the correct ratios of food. What are those penalties you ask? First will be excess fat. Then there is high triglycerides, high blood sugar and high blood pressure. All three of those are risks for heart disease which is the number one premature cause of death in most western countries including the USA.
Begin to assess your ratios of nutrients. There are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The only one of these three that has no deficiency disease associated with it is carbohydrates. I suggest you keep foods with a high glycemic load as a tiny part of your diet.
Glycemic Load is a measure of how fast a particular food becomes glucose and how much is in a portion. PORTION is the all important word here. For instance, I see Cheerios as depicted as a “healthy food”. In terms of Glycemic Load a portion is 30grams or about an ounce. The glycemic load of that portion is 15 but 10 or less is low. If you want to improve your health by lowering your insulin response, keep you portions in control and your glycemic load low.
Best way to do that is to avoid foods that contain a sweetener or taste sweet. Exceptions would be melons and berries in correct portions. Back to Cheerios, ~75% of the calories come from highly processed carbohydrates. That is why the glycemic load is moderate. Cut your total glycemic load and you reduce the IRS penalty. No not the tax agency but the attitude “I responsibly solve”. In this case it is responsibly eating and keeping your glycemic load low almost every day.
Why not everyday? You have to live and living is about celebration. You are likely to have higher glycemic load foods during a celebration. Just pick the celebrations. Keep them infrequent and brief. You may need to be very strict at first and then ease up on yourself. The idea is to develop good habits so you don’t receive a health penalty. Those penalties do not show up the first time, but habits have a way of repeating themselves and when someting is a habit you will do it without thinking about it. Work on one habit at a time. Cut down eating high glycemic load foods.
I will be discussing this on this blog and in my weekly calls. If you don’t listen in live, catch the replay. Sign up for PEP by Bruce and receive an invitation to hear more on this topic as well as ask me any health questions. You can leave me comments below. I suggest you take some action to interact with me so we can work together. It is always more fun that way and I will never nag you. I promise.
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The Food Pyramid – Science or Politics
Posted by: | CommentsDr. Mike Eades says the food pyramid is the result of political lobby and not science. Here he is interviewed by Bill O’Reilly.
I am interested in your reaction to this and your opinion of the food pyramid? I would also like to know if you like to see video like this or do you only want me to write and link to video?
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Good Calories vs Bad Calories
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A technical book written by Gary Taubes, a scientific writer, Good Calories Bad Calories, challenges the idea that eating fat is evil and that exercise is not the answer to the obesity epidemic. The answer is complex but lies in controlling our hormones, especially insulin, adrenalin and cortisol.
One of the reasons kids may be so fat is that the mother was heavy when she became pregnant, gained lots of weight during preganancy- causing gestational diabetes – and exposed the fetus to lots of sugar during its growth in the womb. This may trigger genetic traits to be expressed that make these children extra sensitive to carbohydrates with a high index and load.
Here are 3 respected experts on Larry King live in 2007, Dr. Andrew Weil,
Dr. Mehmet Oz and Gary Taubes. Listen to what they have to say for 6 minutes..
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Paleolithic Diet – an opinon
Posted by: | CommentsSome think that our ancient ancestors ate this way and that we are genetically adapted to eat this way. What is your opinion?
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Food Deception
Posted by: | CommentsI don’t want to be Mr. Negative and talk about how careful you have to be in reading information, so I will give you an example and let you conduct your own experiments. The companies that sell you food have found tiny loopholes in the law that require them to give you nutritional advice. Here is how that works.
You go the the site and read the nutritional analysis or you read the label on the side of the product. Labeled products are easier because the info you want and the product are together at the time you purchase them. You usually don’t have that information in a restaurant, so it can be harder to remember.
Here is an example of the deception from one restaurant. I don’t mean to pick on them, they are not unique, but they were reviewed in Nutrition Action Newsletter, April 2009.
The restaurant is Chicago Uno. They have a restaurant near me and I really like them. Like all restaurants, the portions are too large and the plate to serve them even larger (eating on a smaller plate with smaller utensils is psychologically better and makes you eat slower so you feel full on less food). Here is an example from their less than 500 calorie menu and one from the burger menu.
The Honey Crisp Chicken Salad has 410 calories for every 249 gram serving (454 grams in a pound). Trouble is each salad served is 500 grams and contains 820 calories. The portion size for 410 calories is 1/2 of the salad since they list the salad as containing two portions. Another example from the burger menu.
The Chicago Uno BBQ Burger with Bacon and Cheddar is listed at 700 calories but it contains 2 – TWO – portions. It is actually 1400 calories if you eat the whole burger. This is one reason I tell you to get a to go box with your order, divide it in half and put 1/2 in the box before you begin to eat. Remember 1/2 of this burger is 700 calories, not including what you drink, a side salad or fries – not to mention dessert. Eat 100% of all I mentioned and you could have consumed 3000 calories easily.
It isn’t just calories but how many grams of carbohydrate in this meal and the effect of those calories on your insulin and other essential hormones. It isn’t just Chicago Uno but every food service business that does this. The most important thing for you to remember is what you want from your health. It is always most valuable when it is threatened. Take actions that will preserve it by not over indulging in food of low quality and too many empty calories.
Let me hear your opinions and thoughts on this. I don’t want to start a business bashing binge! I want to discuss how we can retain our health and improve it and what you do about it. I also want to know what you think of this information.
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