Are you absorbing what you should from your healthy food choices?

It's easy to assume that if you eat a salad you are getting the wonderful, nutritious benefits that come along with all those veggies.  However, if you are topping your salad with a non-fat salad dressing, your body may not be able to absorb all the phytonutrients and vitamins it should be.  A little fat is needed to absorb all the good stuff from lettuce, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, etc.  I’m not saying you need to drench your salad in full-fat ranch to get the benefits, instead, choose a low fat dressing, make your own dressing with a little drizzle of olive oil and vinegar, or stick to your favorite fat-free dressing but add a few slices of avocado or a sprinkle of walnuts to ensure your body is able to absorb and use all the good stuff you are feeding it.

Here are a few other tips to making the most out of your healthy choices:

• Heat garlic to increase its potential to decrease the risk of cancer.
• Heating increases lycopene’s availability. Lycopene is an important antioxidant that helps prevent several forms of cancer. The richest source of lycopene is found in cooked tomatoes.
• Steam broccoli to increase its glucosinolates, which may help to prevent cancer.
• Cook carrots and zucchini to increase antioxidant availability.
• Canned meats and beans retain their nutrients, including thiamine, as well as freshly cooked meats and beans. (Just remember to rinse your canned beans to decrease the sodium!)
• Vitamin A and potassium are not lost during canning.(In fact in some foods, such as canned pumpkin, the vitamin A content actually is higher than it is in fresh pumpkin!)
• Canned fish has more calcium than fresh fish does. (Just be mindful of mercury levels in all fish)
• The fiber content in canned food is equivalent to that in fresh foods. (However, fresh or frozen foods will have less sodium and other preservatives than canned, while keeping the same fiber content)
• Cooking methods can change the antioxidant content and type in a food. For instance, cooking garlic in oil creates different antioxidants than the kind created by cooking the garlic in water. (My advice? Add garlic into your cooking in a variety of ways – sautéing, boiling, roasting… YUM!)
• Combining Vitamin C with iron will increase your body’s ability to absorb the iron (important for people who are anemic).  Try mixing in some mandarin oranges into your next spinach salad, or sliced red pepper into a stir fry with lean beef and edamame.

If your lifestyle doesn't control your body...

If your lifestyle doesn't control your body, eventually your body will control your lifestyle.

I heard this phrase a little while back and it has really resonated with me.  As I read it, it reminds me what my overall objective is, to be healthy, live with vitality and enjoy life.  It is so easy for us to get wrapped up in inches, pounds, body fat percentages, jean sizes, etc, but what is your underlying motivation to change these things? I have found more than once, that if your goal is completely aesthetics, then you will fail.

You can be a size 2 and look great in a bathing suit, but what good is that if your heart and lungs are failing due to poor nutrition and lack of exercise… what if you can’t even run into the waves without becoming winded and having to lie down?

I started my journey years ago with my main objective being to look good in smaller jeans.  Although this was a powerful ‘want’ in my mind, it wasn’t deep enough for me to really commit to, so I began the yo-yo journey that many people do. Sometimes I was up 10 pounds, and then I’d get mad at myself and starve until I took those 10 pounds off… only to put them back on in a couple weeks as soon as my willpower wore off.  Back then I was always asking myself, how many calories does this have in it? Can I afford it, or will it show up as back fat?  Boy, am I glad those days are over!

Now I look at food differently.  Instead of asking about how many calories and fat grams are in these potato chips, I ask myself if this food choice is contributing to my overall goal of better health.  I could choose to do the Hollywood Cookie Diet and eat cookies all day long and lose weight, but is that making me healthier? No. It limits my calories, but doesn’t provide my body with the nutrients, fiber, antioxidants and other important things that my body needs to live up to its health potential.

Now it is more important to me to eat healthfully and take care of my body so I can have many (many, many, many) years full of jumping into waves, dancing in the rain, swimming with my dog, laughing with my friends, walking with my husband, chasing my (future) kids, and enjoying life to the max. 

For me, it has taken the stress out of eating.  It doesn’t mean I never indulge in potato chips (I do, and they go great with my Grandma Betty’s famous cream cheese dip!), but the majority of the time, I base my food decisions on what will help me become healthier. And, you know what? I haven’t had a problem with my weight since I started living this way.

So, I’m curious… what do you look forward to being able to do for years to come because of the healthy choices you are making today?

Organic Produce: worth the extra buck?

Although organic produce is becoming more prevalent, the price of it generally remains higher than its conventional counterpart.  During these tough economic times, many people are left to wonder, is it worth the extra buck to go organic?

In my opinion, the answer is an emphatic ‘yes’! Not only do organic fruits and vegetables have less pesticide residue (which most people are aware of) and have more flavor (they really do taste better!), but they also have a higher nutrient content.  A 2007 study out of the United Kingdom showed that organic produce contained up to 40% higher levels of some nutrients (including Vitamin C, zinc, and iron) than its conventional counterpart.  Another 2003 study showed that organically grown berries contained 58% more polyphenols than conventionally grown berries. (Polyphenols are cancer-fighting antioxidants found in berries, as well as some other fruits and vegetables).

How is it that organic produce has more nutrients? Experts say that the secret is in the soil.  Nitrogen in organic, composted soil is released more slowly than in conventional soil, which allows the fruit or vegetable to grow slowly.  Fruits and vegetables that are fertilized with ordinary soil grow quickly and do not have time to develop all the nutrients they are supposed to.  It is also important to know that nutrient content begins to decrease after harvest, so for the most nutrient-dense foods, choose locally grown, organic produce.

Please note that the focus of this blog is on fruits and vegetables. Although I personally feel that organic milk and hormone/pesticide-free meats are worth the extra buck too, that is a topic for a different blog.  I am not, however, a strong advocate for organic, processed “junk”. I feel that companies that create organic snack foods are misleading consumers.  Please don’t be one of those people that think eating an organic cookie is going to help you lose weight.  Organic doesn’t mean that what you are eating isn’t still filled with sugar, fat and a lot of other organic junk.

If you would like to try going organic, but aren’t quite ready to commit more money to your grocery budget, check out the following list that highlights the fruits and vegetables that are most contaminated with pesticide and insecticide residues. You can pick and choose the fruits and vegetables most important to you and get the biggest bang for your organic buck.

Preferably Organic —Most Commonly Contaminated*	If Budget Allows, Buy Organic	It’s Your Call —Least Commonly Contaminated
·         Peaches ·         Apples ·         Sweet Bell Peppers ·         Celery ·         Nectarines ·         Strawberries ·         Cherries ·         Kale ·         Lettuce ·         Grapes - Imported ·         Carrots ·         Pears	·         Collard Greens ·         Spinach ·         Potatoes ·         Green Beans ·         Summer Squash ·         Peppers ·         Cucumbers ·         Raspberries ·         Grapes - Domestic ·         Plums ·         Oranges ·         Cauliflower ·         Tangerines ·         Mushrooms ·         Bananas ·         Winter Squash ·         Cantaloupe ·         Cranberries ·         Honeydew Melon ·         Grapefruit	·         Sweet Potatoes ·         Tomatoes ·         Broccoli ·         Watermelon ·         Papaya ·         Eggplant ·         Cabbage ·         Kiwis ·         Sweet Peas - Frozen ·         Asparagus ·         Mangoes ·         Pineapple ·         Sweet Corn - Frozen ·         Avocadoes ·         Onions
*Listed in order of pesticide load Source: Environmental Working Group. Go to foodnews.org for updates.

Sleep it off

It’s not news that your hormones are affected by how many hours of sleep you get.  However, many people still aren’t getting enough sleep and, as a result, are packing on (and keeping on) the pounds. Let’s take a closer look…

Leptin and ghrelin are two hormones in your body that work together to control your appetite.  Ghrelin is produced in your gastrointestinal system and stimulates hunger. Leptin is produced by fat cells and lets you know when you are full.  Lack of sleep creates hormone mayhem, as it causes ghrelin levels to rise (increasing your hunger) and sends leptin levels plummeting (leaving you less satisfied when you do eat).  As a result, you overeat to try and quench your hunger, but are never satiated because your leptin levels aren’t high enough to send your brain the message that you are full.  This troublesome combination leads to an increase in calorie consumption and weight gain.

Here are a few eye opening facts about the link between sleep and weight gain, from Columbia University in New York City:

• People who slept 6 hours a night were 23% more likely to be obese than people who slept between 7 and 9 hours.
• People who slept 5 hours were 50% more likely to be obese than people who slept between 7 and 9 hours.
• People who slept 4 hours or less were 73% more likely to be obese than people who slept between 7 and 9 hours.

What constitutes enough sleep?  In an ideal world, we’d all go to bed, fall asleep immediately, sleep solidly for 8.5 hours and wake up naturally, fresh as a daisy! I know that in today’s world of stressful jobs, busy lives and crazy kids, sleep isn’t always that easy to come by. However, knowing how much it affects your health, it is important to make time for sleep each night (“catching up” by sleeping for 10 hours on the weekends does not work to regulate your hormones).  Try not to fall below 7 hours of sleep each night.  If you are currently only getting 5 hours of sleep each night, try to increase a little at a time to make it manageable.   Try going to bed 30 minutes earlier and you will start to notice the immediate benefits of a longer night’s sleep.  Develop a bed time routine that helps you relax so you can fall asleep quickly.  Use the bedroom for only sleep and sex. Turn off the TV and leave your blackberry on the kitchen table. The world can wait until morning for your reply to an email.  DVR your favorite show that starts at 10:00pm, and watch it tomorrow at 7:00pm instead of staying up late tonight. Your health and your scale will thank you!

Do you have tips for a better night’s sleep? If so, please share them. I know many people struggle with getting enough quality sleep, so the more suggestions, the better!