Monthly Archives: March 2012

hCG Diet: What is it?

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Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, or hCG, is a hormone produced by pregnant women that regulates metabolic function.  Currently, this diet is getting a lot of hype.  Is it another magic bullet to help people lose weight? Does it really work? And most importantly, is it safe?

What is the hCG Diet?

There are hCG diet drops and hCG diet injections.  While a prescription is required for injections and monitoring by a doctor is recommended, drops are available over the counter. Side effects like headache and leg cramps are the most common, but more severe ones may occur. In conjunction with hormone injections, dieters must adhere to a 500-calorie diet every day. Usually, a radically low calorie intake will cause the body to burn valuable muscle. But hCG supporters claim the hypothalamus will regulate the burning of fat stores for the additional calories needed to function.  The hormone helps to suppress the appetite a little, but dieters are also very likely to binge when they’re hungry, causing weight gain.

hCG Diet Dangers

The FDA DOES NOT approve of hCG for weight loss. The hormone causes the body to burn unhealthy fat rather than any muscle, but not before releasing any valuable nutrients from the fat into the blood stream.  This results in the release of toxins from the cells as well, which can cause headaches and feeling sick for the first couple of days.  hCG is approved for fertility treatments and is therefore not illegal, but in conjunction with a 500 calorie diet the FDA refuses to stand behind it as a method for weight loss.

hCG Diet Foods

Though there is a 500-calorie limit, the hCG diet recommends that those 500 calories come from high fiber content.  Very lean meats and vegetables are essentially the only thing foods allowed.  Sugar is a definite no-no.

While the official hCG diet is popular right now, there is a reason many doctors, the FDA and health specialists are saying it is not the answer to lose weight.  Over the last 50 years, there is one consistent method for losing weight: sticking to a healthy meal plan of fresh produce, lean protein and healthy fats, and getting plenty of exercise. This is certainly the most natural and healthiest way to lose weight and keep it off.

 

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Juicing: Yea or Nay?

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Is juicing a fad diet or does it have true health benefits? Juicing to lose weight has been popular for many years, but does it work? And do you get the necessary nutrients from the juice of fruits and vegetables? Juicing benefits are widely debated with a long lists of pros and cons.

Nutritionists from the Mayo clinic weigh in with a few things to keep in mind:

  • Juicing doesn’t provide any fiber
  • There is a lot of sugar in fruit juice
  • There is no scientific evidence that the benefits of juicing outweigh those of eating whole produce

However, at the Gerson Institute, where they treat patients suffering from cancer and other degenerative diseases, juicing is a carefully calculated part of the formula. The Gerson therapy selects each ingredient based on its entire chemical make up and ability to affect the body and its immune system. This diet is meant for people who are fighting off life-threatening illness, who must strictly adhere to the prescribed diet as well as use the proper kind of juicer.  There is no deviation from the foods and juice over the course of the illness, and in the case of cancer, no deviation for at least two years after the illness has subsided.

Fruit Juice

Though there are nutritional benefits to pomegranate juice and other fruit juices, insulin levels spike from high-sugar fruit juices and vegetable juices like beet and carrot.  It’s recommended that if you’re going to start juicing, you should even out the sugar content with some low-sugar vegetables as well.

Vegetable Juice

Most shelf vegetable juice, like V-8, is full of sodium. Juicing dieters should drink juice they’ve made fresh or bought made to order. Nutritional value of vegetable juice declines rapidly over a short period of time.

Juicing for Health

Proponents assert there are many juicing benefits, and say juicing is good for adults who have damaged their stomach linings and have trouble digesting raw or undercooked vegetables.  Their bodies are able to absorb the nutrients from the juice without having to break down the fiber.

Juicing Recipes

Juicing allows for a lot of nutritional variety.  While you might not otherwise be able to get anyone in your family to consume kale whole, they may never notice it in a juice mixture with tomato, celery, apples and whatever else you want to put in there.

Juicing is not meant to replace healthy meals or regular healthy meal planning. Diabetics, people suffering from kidney problems and others with health problems should consult a physician before beginning a juicing regimen.  As an addition to a healthy diet, juicing can boost nutrition and make for great snacks.

 

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Knowing Your Nutrition Data Could Improve Your Health

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The saying, “you are what you eat” has more scientific basis than folklore. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that chronic diseases like stroke, heart disease and cancer cause more than 50% of adult deaths every single year.  Complications due to diabetes such as kidney failure, lower-limb amputation and blindness are common and on the rise.  Paying attention to the nutrition data on goods you consume could help prevent these kinds of ailments.

The CDC recommends checking the nutrition information for sodium especially, as high sodium in packaged foods leads to high blood pressure and possible stroke.  A recent study done in England proposed millions in financial savings plus added years to people’s lives just by cutting back daily sodium intake.

Nutrition Facts

Diets high in fruits and vegetables, lean protein and fiber, and low in saturated fats, sodium and sugar can ward off certain diseases and help maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Nutrition is the basis for how we feel and how our bodies function.  Without the proper nutrition, the body doesn’t have the tools to maintain proper health.  A recent study at Northeastern University about preventing coronary heart disease through food and nutrition suggests that fruit, vegetables, fish and whole grains are the best tools for maintaining heart health.

Nutrition Analysis

The American Cancer Society recommends that preventative measures against cancer may also reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-other disease related mortality.  This suggests that what is good for the body in one way is also good for the body in a whole slew of other ways.  These antioxidant foods help promote heart and vascular health:

  • Berries, dark green veggies, red and yellow peppers, tomatoes, onions, sweet potatoes and mango
  • Olives, nuts, whole grains and beans
  • Salmon and tuna (fatty fish)

These foods contain Vitamin C and E, Selenium, and Beta Carotene, which are all vital in vascular health.

What is Healthy?

While some doctors agree that supplements can help remedy certain nutritional deficiencies, our bodies primarily need nutrients from food sources.  Dr. Joel Fuhrman has stated that there are unknown phytochemicals in our whole foods that can’t be duplicated in supplements.  Nature knows the proportions and combinations that the human body needs more than any study ever will.  Healthy is less about the calories and grams of fat consumed and more about the nutritional value.  The foods mentioned above have high-yield nutrition for their caloric intake, whereas potato chips do not.  The calories in a candy bar may equal those found in apple slices dipped in almond butter, but the nutritional yield into your system is much different.

A healthy diet is the best way to prevent disease and promote health and longevity for you and your family.  Make sure to manage your sodium and chemical intake with a printable grocery shopping list of healthy favorites.  When in doubt, whole foods like fresh produce, nuts, grains and lean meats are the best option!

 

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Fair Trade Food Phenomenon

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Lately everyone is using the term “fair trade.” But what is fair trade exactly? Fair trade is the movement to put an end to the exploitation of poor regions for their natural resources.  In order to get fair trade certification in the United States there is a rigorous process of fact checking that must occur to ensure that:

  • The people producing the product are working in safe conditions and being compensated with a living wage
  • Profits are being used to help develop the community
  • No genetic modification (GMO) to food is allowed
  • No child labor is allowed
  • No hazardous chemicals are used

Fair Trade Products

Most stores carry at least a few fair trade products, most commonly coffee and chocolate, tea and sugar. Any fair trade product will be labeled with the fair trade certified logo generally found in one of the 4 corners on the front of the product. Flowers, cotton, fruit, clothes, jewelry, spices, wine are other items are joining in the fair trade movement.  The growth of this kind of commerce is expanding exponentially and is expected to exceed 5 billion dollars in 2012.

Numbers

According to the World Bank, 2.7 billion people exist on less than $2 per day.  In certain parts of the world, thousands upon thousands of children work on cocoa, coffee or cotton plantations and factories and work in hazardous labor conditions.  Fair trade certified means that the supplier has been thoroughly investigated for these kinds of practices and absolutely does not participate in them.  In the U.S. alone we can choose from over 7,000 fair trade products from 58 countries.

The Fair Trade Movement

The fair trade movement is starting to take hold and gain ground globally. It is now possible to create grocery shopping lists full of fair trade products.  This is a positive thing for all nations, and especially for women and children.  Community development and humane work practices will provide the world with quality products, not at the expense of ethical standards. By providing money for education the children can go to school and female workers have ways to make money for themselves and their families to help promote equality and independence.  The extra cost to the consumer in the U.S. is minimal and as consumers start to demand only fair trade products, companies that practice exploitation will be cut out of the equation completely.

 

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Health Benefits From Learning How to Pickle

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Most people just throw out the remaining pickle juice after they’ve eaten all the pickles in a jar, but new research is suggesting the juice may be the best part.  The news and Internet are crawling with stories of people using pickle juice for muscle cramps, heartburn, and even hangovers.  Dr. Rick Ganzi from Holland, Michigan encourages marathon runners to drink pickle juice.  He even got Heinz to donate leftover pickle juice from one of their factories to the ING New York City Marathon for runners to drink.

Even the Philadelphia Eagles claim that pickle juice was their “secret weapon” in defeating the Dallas Cowboys in the 109-degree Texas heat in 2000. Learning how to pickle all kinds of different foods might have a lot of health benefits we’ve never considered.

Chemistry

Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium and Sodium Chloride (the chemical that composes common salt) are the elements that we refer to as “electrolytes”. These elements are lost through sweat when we work out, which is why sweat stains often leave salt marks on clothing. Cellular balance is thrown off by electrolyte loss and muscle cramps can occur.  Water isn’t enough to replenish your body’s need for these elements, so people often consume sports drinks after working out.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of unnecessary sugars and dyes in sports drinks and different brands have different ratios of electrolytes.

Science

In a study conducted in 2010 at BYU, 10 male university athletes were tested to determine the effects of consuming pickle juice after exercising. The subjects worked out and dehydrated themselves, then induced muscle cramps in their legs with electrodes on their toes.  Some were given water and others pickle juice. Researchers found that pickle juice remedied the cramps 37% faster than drinking water.

All-Natural Pickling

A drawback to drinking store-bought pickle juice is the red and yellow dyes and PolySorbate 80 used by some companies.  Here’s where learning how to pickle your own foods can come in handy.  You can choose what goes into your brining solution this way.  Let’s say dill pickles aren’t your favorite, but you still want the health benefits from the brine. Why not try pickled beets, pickled okra or even pickled eggs? Pickling spice can be used for a number of things. The salt and vinegar are helping the body more than the food itself.

If you want to learn how to make pickles, check out your local library or community center for books and classes on pickling. This can be a fun and healthy way to help prevent muscle cramps and treat heartburn, keep healthy and delicious snacks around all year and make presents for others. Plus, finding some kid friendly recipes can turn pickling into a family activity. The process is not too difficult and after you try pickling once or twice you may find you have a real knack for it.

 

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Atkins Diet Myth: All You Can Eat Steak and Eggs

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In 2004, after years of advertising an “all-you-can-eat” approach to steak and eggs, Atkins diet promoters began to advise that dieters limit the amount of red meat and saturated fat they eat.  Despite this suggestion, the Atkins myth of limitless Rib-eyes endures.

Atkins Diet success stories extol the virtues of strict carbohydrate limitation and promise incredible results. After years of trying low-calorie, low-fat diets, many dieters are enticed by the Atkins mythology of bacon for breakfast and cheesesteak for dinner. In reality, the Atkins food pyramid is based on lean proteins, healthy oils, and leafy greens and other vegetables. The program operates in stages, and is most restrictive in Stage 1. During this stage, Atkins recommends a higher intake of so-called “good fats,” which are naturally occurring fats that are rich in essential omega-3s.  As dieters progress, they can reintroduce fruit, nuts, legumes, dairy, and whole grains, and should reduce their fat intake to 30%-40% of calories from fat.

How Does The Atkins Diet Work?

The Atkins diet is based on the principle that a drastically reduced refined carbohydrate intake will cause the body to switch from burning carbs to burning fat. This metabolic state is referred to as ketosis. Instead of gleaning energy from carbohydrate energy, the body is fueled by tiny carbon fragments called ketones. While in this state, dieters may feel less hungry than usual and are in turn more likely to eat less. This principle was promoted and interpreted as a free pass for dieters: simply cut out foods with carbohydrates and replace them with unlimited low-carb and carb-free choices, regardless of fat content. But high-protein, high-fat diets can put dieters at risk for high cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Low carb meal ideas that incorporate lean proteins like grilled chicken or fish are the more healthful choice.

Atkins Diet Side Effects

The Atkins ideology states that in addition to weight loss, this way of eating will increase overall wellness and body function and can mitigate risk factors for diseases like diabetes and heart disease. However, there are some risks involved. Ketosis can cause side effects like bad breath and nausea, and in some cases ketones can cause organ failure, gout, and kidney stones. These effects can be avoided by eating at least 100 grams of carbohydrates a day.

The Atkins myth of indulgent eating has generated massive amounts of press and continues to attract dieters. But studies have yet to prove any long-lasting weight loss from the diet, and many doctors have expressed lingering concerns over the lack of fresh fruit and essential nutrients from carbohydrate foods. Before beginning any weight-loss regiment, dieters should consult their doctors and strive to fully understand the rules and restrictions of the program.

Sources:

  • “Make That Steak a Bit Smaller, Atkins Advises Today’s Dieters,” Marian Burros, The New York Times
  • Atkins Nutritionals Website, Atkins.com
  • “High Protein, Low Carb Diets,” WebMD Women’s Health

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Using Low Calorie Meal Plans

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Researchers at Louisiana State University have concluded that a low calorie diet can lower your insulin levels, reduce your core body temperature, and reverse signs of aging. However, those same researchers urge people to avoid going overboard when it comes to restricting calories. Consuming less food and using low calorie meal plans can undoubtedly be beneficial to your health. However, you should set realistic and healthy expectations for yourself.

If you regularly eat around 2000 calories a day, switching to a 500 calorie a day meal plan won’t be healthy or realistic. On the other hand, switching to a 1500 calorie meal plan wouldn’t be detrimental to your health or particularly difficult for you to do, especially if you were armed with the right strategies.

Strategies to Help You Switch to Low Calorie Meal Plans

  • Pay Attention to Portions: If you’ve made the decision to change your diet and adopt healthy low calorie meal plans, you’re going to have to change the way you eat and what you eat. First and foremost, you should adjust your food portions. The plates we eat off of are simply too large, and their large size often tricks us into eating more than we should. After all, we’ve been trained from childhood to clean our plates. Try eating off salad plates instead of dinner plates. Many dieters find this to be a successful strategy.
  • Customize: Your low calorie meal plans don’t have to be the same as everyone else’s, particularly if you aren’t trying to adhere to any particular diet like the Paleo Diet or HCG diet. If your primary goal is to reduce your caloric intake, you should plan your meals based on what you like. You may want to make a list of all the low calorie foods you normally enjoy eating and include those in your healthy meal plans. Some low calorie foods you could include in your meal plans, for instance, are apples, grapefruits, legumes, black beans, turkey, spinach, low-fast yogurt, oranges, brown rice, and fish.
  • Use Online Tools: Online tools can help you plan out your meals and count the calories you consume. Your goal should be to calculate all the calories you plan to consume each day as a part of your overall meal planning efforts. You should also keep track of how many calories you actually take in versus how many you plan to take in. This can give you an idea of whether or not you need to adjust your eating habits or meal plans to take in fewer actual calories.

  • Drink Plenty of Water: Drinking water throughout the day will help curb your appetite.  And drinking one or two glasses before each meal has been proven to reduce food intake. When you reduce your caloric intake, hunger is going to be your biggest hurdle. Drinking more water will help you overcome that hurdle. Additionally, choosing to drink water as opposed to sodas and juice will help reduce how many empty calories you take in. If you drink diet soda, it’s still a good idea to switch over to water, if possible. Certain additives in diet soda are actually thought to increase your appetite.
  • Don’t Forget to Snack: Plan to eat two or three snacks a day, and bring those snacks with you to work or wherever you go throughout the day. Some ideal snacks are baby carrots, apple slices, grapes, and whole-wheat pita bread with hummus. If you start to feel hungry before a meal, eat one of the 100 or 150-calorie snacks you’ve prepared. Eating snacks throughout the day will help prevent overeating at meals and keep your blood sugar levels stable. One of the most difficult parts of conforming to a low calorie diet is practicing portion control. Since snacking throughout the day helps prevent overeating at meals, you should consider snacking a part of your overall portion control efforts.

So, practice portion control, plan out your customized meals, drink enough water, and snack to avoid overeating. Remember that you are in control of your nutrition, and you have the power to succeed at eating a low calorie diet!

Balanced Diet and the Role of Snacks

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By adding necessary nutrients and providing energy, the right snacks can have a significant positive impact on building a balanced diet. In a pinch, well-selected higher calorie snacks can even stand in for meals. And though it may seem counterintuitive, snacks can actually help dieters eat well and achieve weight loss goals by reducing bingeing through managing hunger.

The trick is to choose a snack that is both low in calories and satiating enough to combat hunger. The Mayo Clinic emphasizes the importance of incorporating nutrition and recommends choosing fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and low-fat dairy products into your meal plan.

Balanced Snacking Using the Five Food Groups:

  • Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta: With today’s low-carb craze, this food group has received a bad rap. But whole grain is a great source of fiber, plus provides essential energy for snacking-on-the-go. Try a small bowl of whole-wheat pretzels, a slice of whole-wheat toast, or a few whole-grain crackers.
  • Fruit: Fruit is delicious and refreshing and a great source of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Snacking is the perfect opportunity to boost your daily intake. Fruit is also one of the simplest foods to prepare and comes in perfect, nature-made serving sizes. Try a fresh apple or orange, dried mango slices, or a summer fruit salad made of watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, and drizzled with citrus juice.
  • Vegetable: It’s no secret that vegetables are an important corner stone of a balanced diet and a powerful weight loss tool. But even with all the benefits, it can be challenging to incorporate the 3 to 5 recommended servings a day into your diet, especially if you only eat at meal times. Supplement your diet with veggie snacks to load up on healthy fiber and nutrients without adding a lot of calories. Try a bowl of sliced carrot sticks, a halved avocado, or fresh string beans.
  • Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts: This food group is chock full of protein, which is essential to growth and healthy brain function. The trick is to choose wisely. Select a snack with lean protein instead of high in fats and cholesterol. Try a hard boiled egg, a handful of walnuts, or a scoop of almond butter
  • Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese: Foods from this group are full of bone-strengthening calcium and other vitamin and minerals.  Some studies even suggest that a dairy-rich diet may promote weight loss. Choose non-fat or low-fat options, and be sure to check the sugar content. Try: 2 small pieces of cheddar cheese, a cup of non-fat yogurt, or a glass of skim milk.

Source:

  • “Snacks: How They Fit Into Your Wellness Plan”, The Mayo Clinic

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Low Carb Diet Myth: All Vegetables Allowed

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Vegetables are often considered a “free pass” for dieters. However, Diabetic dieters and low-carb dieters should be aware there are two kinds of veggies, with two very different effects on the body: the carb-laden, grain-like starchy vegetables, and their low-carb, non-starchy counterparts.

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, many low-carb diets are built around the idea that foods that are high in carbohydrates cause a quick blood sugar high. This in turn causes higher insulin levels, leading to hunger and the increased desire to snack. A food’s Glycemic Index (GI) refers to how fast a certain food releases sugar into the bloodstream. A lower number means a slower rate, which in most situations is generally considered preferable. While most vegetables have a very low or negligible GI, there are a few exceptions.

What Are Starchy Vegetables?

A good rule of thumb is that the sweeter and starchier a vegetable is, the higher carbohydrate count it will have. Some high-carb offenders are peas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and plantains. To build low carb meal ideas, begin with veggies like bean sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, mushrooms, onions, pea pods, salad greens, and greens like collard, kale, mustard, and turnip. There are plenty of low carb fruits as well, including apples, berries, cantaloupe, orange sections, peaches, pineapple, and watermelon.

When buying frozen, canned, or other prepared vegetables it’s also important to pay attention to additives. Many canned vegetables have added sugar or salt, which can greatly increase carbohydrate, calorie, and sodium counts. A good solution is to choose frozen vegetables instead of canned (they will rarely have added sugar or salt unless in sauce), or to thoroughly rinse canned vegetables. Of course, when possible, fresh is always best.

Low Carb Menu Planning

For dieters that are trying to a create a low carb menu plan, keep in mind that ½ cup of cooked or 1 cup of raw non-starchy vegetables contains about 5 grams of carbohydrate. However, these foods are also often very rich in fiber, which affects the way the body absorbs the carbohydrate and depending on your diet plan, might be counted differently than a carb from grain.

The Plate Method

The American Diabetes Association says that it is perfectly healthy to fill up on non-starchy vegetables, and recommends 3-5 servings of vegetables a day. One way to boost vegetable intake for low carb dinners is by using the “Plate Method,” filling up one half of a plate with vegetables then supplementing the other half with protein.  The ADA also recommends filling up on salad to get a double dose of vegetables if a meal isn’t satiating enough.

Sources:

  • “Non Starchy Vegetables,” The American Diabetes Association
  • “Low Carb Diets: The Right Way To Go?” The University of Maryland Medical Center

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Natural Foods Myth: Strict Regulations

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In our food system inundated with artificial flavors and man-made chemicals, many shoppers are reassured when they see a “Natural” label on their favorite products. Unfortunately, this label can be misleading. While organic products must be regulated by the USDA, there are no standards for these so-called natural products.

Think of your own kitchen: when you are cooking from organic recipes, it is essential that each ingredient is organic in order to the integrity of the food. This same principle applies to products on the shelf. If a food is made with some all-natural foods, some organic fruits and vegetables, and then rounded out with processed, chemically enhanced ingredients, then the end result is neither truly natural nor organic. Using and advertising a few natural ingredients in a food is an easy way to mislead consumers.

What is a Natural Product?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have a go-to definition for a “natural” product. The agency makes the point that when a fresh food is prepared, packaged, then be sold at a grocery store, it is no longer solely a product of the earth. Therefore, it is hard to quantify a food’s degree of naturalness. The FDA says that while there is no working definition for “natural”, they do not object to a label using the term if the food lacks added color, artificial flavor, or other synthetic substances.

The Ad Game

Organic and natural foods are enjoying a recent surge in popularity. Consumers are becoming more and more aware of the unhealthy ingredients in food, and growing concerns over ailments like cancer and juvenile diabetes are causing families to take a closer look at what they are serving their families. This creates a huge opportunity for brands to attract customers. When food marketers identified this attractive concept and found ways to position their product, “natural” became just another misappropriation in a long list of buzzwords.

Paying close attention to labels and labeling practices is an important part of buying food.  It is easy to assume that a product with labeled “All-Natural” is an organic product. If choosing truly natural, non-chemically enhanced food for your daily meal plan is a priority, don’t rely on labeling practices. The easiest way to quickly know what is in your food is by checking the ingredients.

Sources:

  • “What is the meaning of ‘natural’ on the label of food?” FDA.gov
  • “Organic Certification”, USDA.gov

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