Your Personality, Health and Nutrition Expert

Cavemen Never Went on Diets

2009-04-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

I know it's funny to even think of a caveman or cavewoman worrying about his or her figure. Back then it was survival - eat what you can find. Contrast that with today where most of us don't have to struggle to find food. It's as near as your 7-11 or gas station. And that's the rub. Accessibility has taken us far from our roots. Of course, social standards of size hasn't helped us either.

Back then cavemen didn't have to practice the skill of resistance. We do. Studies are showing that practicing a little resistance can end up with big rewards. In one study the authors found that in situations when self-control is repeatedly tested, a defense strategy that works for a first temptation can be used to tackle the next. Let's say that when you go to McDonald's you're tempted to have fries with your hamburger. You decide that you will resist the temptation and just have the hamburger. You finish your lunch and head back to work. You're proud of yourself for having resisted the fries. According to the study results, the next time you head to McDonald's you'll more easily be able to resist the fries because you were successful the last time.

This philosophy holds true, as well, for trying to decrease your intake of fat. Every time you eat something with a little less fat, it becomes that much easier to eat something else that has less fat. In fact, in time your taste buds and tongue won't even enjoy greasy foods. You will have lost some of the "need" for fat. The same holds true for sugar. Put a little less sugar in your coffee each day and you'll see that one day you may even be drinking your coffee without sugar.
Believe it or not, even though the saying goes "you can't teach an old dog new tricks", it isn't so. You can change as long as you want to change.

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

Pea and Lentil Capitol of the World

2009-02-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

Pea and Lentil Capitol of the World – The Palouse, an area of rolling hills in Washington and Idaho, had been the Pea and Lentil capitol of the world. After all, that’s where both crops were started in the United States back in the 1900s. More recently, North Dakota and Montana’s production has outpaced that of Washington state.

According to the USA Pea and Lentil Council, lentils provide more fiber than any other legume. That’s one reason why Washington's local lentil crop is used as lentil flour to enrich pasta, such as Barilla Plus and Fiber Wise. The Council also represents chickpeas (garbanzo beans) which have increased in production to meet the growing demand for hummus.

One interesting tidbit about chickpeas. They got their name because they have a little "beak" that makes this pea resemble a chick’s head.

(Source: Nutrition Education Network of Washington "Energize" and Jennifer William, USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, 208-882-3023, www.pea-lentil.com.)

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

Eat Right When Money is Tight

2009-02-26T17:31:00.001-08:00

Need some help eating on a tight budget? Go to the government's website, http://snap.nal.usda.gov, and look under Spotlight. Then click on "Eat Right When Money’s Tight" which leads to the SNAP-Ed Resource library with not only that tip sheet but other useful resources.

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

Eating Home is Becoming Chic

2009-02-26T17:14:00.000-08:00

According to Grocery Shopper Trends 2008, a recent survey by the Food Marketing Institute, 71% of families are cooking at home more and eating out less in order to cut costs. Interestingly, 91% of those surveyed say they eat healthier when dining at home. Families also save money because a restaurant meal costs more than twice per person, a median of $12 compared with $5 in the FMI report.

This means that more people will need to learn how to cook. Cooking can be fun and it doesn't have to be gourmet. The best part of it is that maybe more families will sit down at the dinner table together - a great opportunity to enjoy each other's company.

I can remember when my girls were younger. They'd come home from school - I'd ask them how their day was - and they'd say fine and that was all I heard about what went on. Yet, when we were all sitting down at the table for dinner and we really got to talking, so many stories would flow. So, don't miss that opportunity to connect with your kids and family. Maybe even consider cooking together. And as the survey showed, you could be the healthier for it.

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

Cooking Healthy With Macadamia Nut Oil

2009-02-04T11:55:00.000-08:00

Most people think of olive oil as being the healthiest of the oils because of it being associated with the Mediterranean diet. Research has shown people who live in the Mediterranean area have a lower risk of heart disease, partly because of what they eat. They eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, a little fish and their fat normally comes from olive oil. Olive oil is a healthy fat because it isn't too high in omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6 fatty acids, when taken in great amounts, overpowers the anti-inflammatory benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. The real benefit of olive oil is it's high amount of monounsaturated fat (omega-9 fatty acid), which has a neutral effect on our blood lipids.

But back to discussing omega-6 fatty acids overpowering omega-3 fatty acids in the diet - Americans tend to eat almost 12-16 times as many omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3s. Research shows that a 2:1 ratio is far better for us. All the margarine we eat, the crackers, cookies, and cakes made with such oils as corn oil, sunflower or cottonseed oil, contribute to our high intake of omega-6s. Put that together with a low intake of fish, such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, which are high in omega-3s, you can understand why our ratio of the two fats is out of whack.

Because I love the taste of macadamia nuts, when I was in the market the other day, I was happy to find a bottle of macadamia nut oil. What a fantastic flavor it has. And what's even better is knowing that it has an ideal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids - that is, 1:1 or equal amounts. You can even cook with it because it has such a high smoke point. I "heartily" recommend macadamia nut oil for use in cold dishes, as well as hot dishes. Consider using it on your salads or when you're stir-frying.

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

It's All in the Genes

2009-02-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of the term "nutrigenomics"? It's the science that studies the effect of what you eat on how your genes get expressed. If you visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrigenomics, you'll see a brief discussion about it. Also visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_expression for a brief discussion of gene expression.

First you need to understand that all the proteins in your body, such as enzymes, hormones, cell walls and immune factors, are made based on your DNA. Your DNA, which contains your genes, serves as the blueprint to make these proteins. So much of how our body functions is based on gene expression. For example, when you eat carbohydrates, your pancreas produces insulin to help those carbohydrates (which are now broken down into glucose) enter your liver and other cells in your body. The presence of the glucose in the bloodstream turns a sensor on in the pancreas that says make insulin.

Your pancreas contains DNA. That DNA is the blueprint or instruction guide on how to assemble proteins in a particular order to make the insulin. So every time you eat carbs, whether they be simple (e.g., sugar) or complex carbs (whole grains), the pancreas is signaled to start the DNA factory production of insulin.

That is just one example of how what we eat dictates what genes need to be expressed. Here's another one which is really not healthy for you. When you're overweight, your fat cells get bigger and bigger (you also make more fat cells). There comes a point where the fat cell gets so big that it bursts. Now you've got broken cell walls and loose fatty acids floating around, which are irritating to the body and cause inflammation. Your body knows to clean up the mess. So now the genes for "clean-up" are activated, making macrophages to act like Pac-Man and gobble up the mess. So all of the excess calories you've been eating that have been turned to fat and stored as fat, are now causing your genes to have to make macrophages, exacerbating the inflammation. What you don't want going on in your body is inflammation.

Just losing some weight will decrease your odds that your fat cells will burst. Eating less refined carbs (most anything that is white - white flour, white sugar, white bread) will keep your pancreas from having to work so hard and so fast.

I'll talk more about nutrigenomics in upcoming blogs because it is so important to know about. For now, try to eat your carbs in the form of vegetables, fruits, and whole grain foods. Limit your fat intake and when you do eat fat, focus on eating unsaturated fats, such as olive oil and canola oil that should replace such oils as corn oil and safflower oil (found widely in margarines).

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

Is Your Personality Type Making You Fat?

2009-01-27T13:46:00.001-08:00

If you're ready to lose weight, you might want to consider what your personality type is (based on the world-renowned Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). Once you know your type, then pick the best weight-loss approach for your type. Just think - no more use of willpower.

The only reason people use willpower to lose weight is because they're having to do things that aren't comfortable for their type. As I tell my clients, "You have not failed. The plan failed you." So find out what is right for you to finally have the success you're capable of having.

Visit www.advantagediets.com to see more details about this series. There's a link on the page (about midway down) called "About Personality Typing". Click on that and watch the slideshow to learn more about personality typing.

What are you eating that for?

2009-01-23T12:01:00.000-08:00

Good morning.
With most of us not having overactive metabolisms where we can eat just about anything and it never shows, we need to make every calorie count. So I decided to use that thinking and analyze what I had for breakfast.

I had an orange for its vitamin C (to act as an antioxidant and help my immune function) and fiber (to provide bulk for the intestines to keep their muscle tone), along with 1/2 a banana for its potassium (for fluid balance, heart muscle activity and the nervous system).

The hot oatmeal I had gave me a good supply of soluble fiber. (Soluble fiber turns into a gel with the water in your intestines. It then traps cholesterol, making less cholesterol available for absorption. That's great news for lowering one's risk for heart disease and high cholesterol).

I added about 1/2 cup of lowfat milk, giving me about 150 mg of calcium. (While I know 150 mg of calcium is far from my goal of 1200 mg, it was contributing to my overall total in my attempts to protect my bones against osteoporosis. But calcium isn't just for your bones. It also regulates heart beat, muscle action and nerve function, and a number of other chemical reactions that occur in your body. There is also some protein in the milk. For those of you familiar with "complementary proteins", the missing amino acids in oatmeal are complemented or made up for by the amino acids in the milk. By the way, there isn't a concern that they be eaten in the same meal. Your body will manage them even if they come in at different times of the day.)

I included about 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed to give me some healthy omega-3 fatty acids to help reduce any inflammation in my body. (Inflammation is the basis for many of the diseases in the United States, from heart disease to diabetes to arthritis and inflammatory bowel syndrome.)

Lastly, I topped it off with about 1/4 cup of lowfat Greek style yogurt for its probiotic content, calcium and protein. (Probiotics are healthy bacteria that we need in our intestines. Most people don't appreciate that there are many, many different types of bacteria in our intestines, some doing some very valuable jobs of breaking food down and giving us some healthy byproducts. What's even better about having the fiber in the oatmeal and the flaxseed, is that these foods will feed the healthy bateria so that if I ever get some bad bacteria down there, I'll always have a larger population of healthy bacteria to fight them.)

And what's best of all, I came away very satisfied and know that I won't be hungry in an hour. The fiber will slow down the absorption of my meal so it becomes more like a time-release energy capsule.

In many of the following blogs, I'll share with you foods that I think you should be eating and why. I hope that you'll start thinking about food in terms of "why am I eating this?" While you can justify dark chocolate now that we know it has valuable antioxidants, I'd love to hear how you would justify, say, jelly beans!

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

Make It a Different New Year's Resolution This Year

2009-01-02T16:43:00.000-08:00

We all feel we've got to make those New Year's resolutions. And why not? It's such an exhilarating feeling to know you’re starting with a clean slate. You allow yourself the privilege of forgiving your mistakes of 2008, promising you won’t make those again. It’s very possible you won’t. But that doesn’t guarantee you won’t make some new ones. Always keep in mind that if you’re not making mistakes, you’re not growing. So, view what you did wrong last year from a different perspective. Evaluate what worked, what didn’t work and what you’d like to change.

I’m sure many people will have, right at the top of their list, to lose weight. Considering that almost 65% of Americans are overweight or obese, you’d expect some of them to want to come to terms with how much they weigh. But wait — before you jump to that resolution called “I promise to lose so many pounds this year”, let me suggest a new approach. Forget the number of pounds. In fact, forget discussing weight at all.

Restage your thinking. Instead of stipulating that you want to lose weight or want to lose a certain number of pounds, consider the alternative resolution: I’m going to do whatever it takes to become a healthier me. It’s not the weight that’s the issue as much as resolving to change your not-so-healthy lifestyle habits that have led you to wanting to lose the weight. When you appreciate “why” you’d want to make some changes, you’ve got a resolution taking shape.

What you really should want is a good quality of life. For example, if you’re too heavy, walking upstairs is a struggle. Wouldn’t it feel so much better to walk up those stairs without huffing and puffing? Now that is a good goal — being able to walk upstairs comfortably. Once you’ve set yourself a goal such as this, you’ll figure out what is required for you to reach that goal. And not once will you moan over having to make those changes. In fact, you’ll embrace the changes, always keeping that picture of the “new” you in your mind’s eye.

Most of the relatives on my dad’s side of the family died of heart disease. For me, staying as heart-healthy as possible is my resolution. Then I ask myself what steps does that take? I get on the treadmill in the morning for 30 minutes, not because I enjoy jogging, but because to be heart healthy, exercise is right there on the top of the to-do list. I eat foods that I know will foster a healthy heart — fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids, vegetables, fruits, and grains that are high in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and drink plenty of fluids. I’m not eating these foods because I’ll lose weight with them. I’m eating them because I know they’re good for me. Instead of using the scale as my judge of how well I’m doing, how I feel is my guide. Having more energy, feeling more alive, keeping my sense of humor all will tell me I’m on the right track.

Your resolution should be in terms of how you want to feel this year. For me, it’s to be the healthiest I can be, whatever that takes. How about you?

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

Who To Call When Your Turkey Is a Flop

2008-11-19T13:41:00.000-08:00

You're just hours away before family and friends arrive for your Thanksgiving dinner. Your pumpkin pie is cracked. Your turkey is cooking unevenly. You knew it wasn't completely defrosted when you started cooking it, but figured getting it in the oven would speed up the defrosting process. And you've lost the recipe for the traditional string bean casserole. What are you going to do?

Here's some helpful hotline numbers to keep posted when November 27 rolls around:
Crisco Pie Hotline: 877-367-7438
Butterball Turkey Talk-Line: 1-800-BUTTERBALL (288-8372) or http://www.butterball.com/
Empire Kosher poultry customer hot line: 717-436-7055 or http://www.blogger.com/www.empirekosher.com Fleischmann's Yeast Baker's Help Line: 1-800-777-4959 or http://www.breadworld.com/
Foster Farms Turkey Helpline: 1-800-255-7227 or http://www.fosterfarms.com/
General Mills: 1-800-248-7310
King Arthur Flour Co.'s Bakers Hotline: 802-649-3717 or e-mail questions to bakers@kingarthurflour.com
Nestle Toll House Baking Information Line: 1-800-637-8537
Ocean Spray consumer help line: 1-800-662-3263 or http://www.oceanspray.com/
Reynolds Turkey Tips Hotline: 1-800-745-4000 or http://www.blogger.com/www.reynoldskitchens.com
U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Hotline: 888-MPHotline (674-6854)

Stay calm. Everything will work itself out.

Let me share with you one of our most memorable Thanksgiving dinners, which looked like it wouldn't happen. It was many years ago we had a power outage on Thanksgiving at 10:30 in the morning. I had just gotten my turkey in the oven. Calling the electric company, we got the bad news that this was going to be a long day for them and us. They had no idea when they'd be able to get the power back on. As it turns out, it didn't come back on until 10:30 that night.

At first, I panicked. Then we did the next best thing - started thinking of options to get the meal made. At the time this didn't look like an opportunity but a disaster. But it was a marvelous opportunity to show to ourselves we were clever and resourceful. A neighbor up the street had a huge barbecue, so we took our turkey up there to be cooked. We had a little mini-motorhome with 2 small propane burners. That's where I cooked the vegetables. Our little barbecue worked nicely for the yams. And fortunately our friends, who brought the pies, never lost their power and so had pumpkin pie ready for our feast.

We set a beautiful table in the dining room (which actually is really the living room with a fireplace). So we lit a fire, had candles lighting our table and had the greatest dinner we've ever had. And, by the way, the most memorable.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

Bugs in My Breakfast

2008-11-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

As I was eating my breakfast this morning, I was thinking how happy my gut would be when my breakfast finally arrived. That may sound like an odd thought, but you should first know what I had for breakfast. I started out with 1/2 of an orange and 1/2 of a banana, which took care of the fruit portion of my breakfast. Then I had 1 cup of cooked steel-cut oatmeal with 1/4 cup of Greek style plain yogurt with active cultures. I added 1/4 cup of 1% milk to moisten the cereal plus about 1 tablespoon of a flavored non-dairy coffee creamer.

Now you may be wondering why my gut would be so happy. The yogurt with its active cultures is considered a probiotic. As per wikipedia.com - "Probiotics are dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria or yeasts. According to the currently adopted definition by FAO/WHO, probiotics are: ‘Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host’.[1] Probiotic bacterial cultures are intended to assist the body's naturally occurring gut flora, an ecology of microbes, to re-establish themselves. Claims are made that probiotics strengthen the immune system to combat allergies, excessive alcohol intake, stress, exposure to toxic substances, and other diseases.

So now I have these great little microorganisms running around in my gut. But these little critters like to eat the same as you and me. The oatmeal I had is very high in fiber, especially soluble fiber, something which these microorganisms love to feed on. The more good guys I can have swimming around in my gut the better.

The idea of eating foods high in probiotics and prebiotics is to increase the number of beneficial microorganisms in the gut in an effort to push the harmful ones out. Research is pointing to inflammation as a participant in such diseases as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Eating probiotics and prebiotics can potentially decrease inflammation in the body,

It's so simple to do so much for yourself. Give my breakfast a try. If nothing else, you will find it is so satisfying and filling that it keeps you going until lunch.

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

Coffee Perks

2008-08-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

Are you one of those people who can't seem to get their day started without a cup of coffee, but have been feeling a little guilty when hearing that it may be bad for your health? Have a second or third cup without guilt. At least that's what the latest study out of Spain is saying. It might even be good for you since the study showed a trend toward decreasing risk of death from cardiovascular disease, chronic liver disease and diabetes.

What's great for us decaffeinated coffee drinkers, it's not the caffeine that's providing the protection. There must be something else in coffee beans that has yet to be found. I'm sure Howard Shultz of Starbucks was pleased with these results. I wonder if Starbucks will start pushing coffee as the next "health" food.

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

Is Gaining Weight Due to Your Taste Buds?

2008-07-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

I was just reading an interesting article from the National Institutes of Health titled, "Research Uncovers Little-Known Impacts of Smell and Taste on Health". They're trying to determine if we are genetically predisposed to want certain flavors. Did you know that there are 5 types of taste buds in your mouth? We can sense the presence of sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and the newest one, savory (also referred to as umami)?

I always wondered why many Americans have taken to eating spicy food. Is spicy food a bitter taste or is it a savory (umami) one? I honestly don't like spicy food because I find that the spicy ingredients added to dishes overpowers the taste of the ingredients in a dish. But I think I'm in the minority when you watch television cooking shows or see what restaurants are the most popular in your area. Do you think that more and more Americans are eating spicy food because they need a jolt from their food, a way of telling their body they're eating?

One of the interesting points in the article is that sweet foods, when they enter the intestine, send a signal to the body to crank out some insulin. That's because insulin is needed to move the glucose from that sweet food into the cells of the body and keep the blood sugars at an even level. The hormone that's produced in response to sweets in the gut modulates sensitivity to sweet tastes. Is it possible that eating sugar substitutes triggers the same hormonal reaction, stimulating the release of insulin, which in turn removes glucose from the bloodstream, and thereby actually makes us hungrier? Would we be better off eating small smounts of sugar than to overload on sugar substitutes? Some studies have shown that eating sugar substitutes can actually cause people to crave more sugar or sweet foods.

Do you like beer, dark chocolate, coffee, and leafy greens like bok choy? If so, it means your sensitivity to "bitter" flavors is greater than what other people may experience. It would be an interesting study to see if people, who are sensitive to bitter foods, find they can eat less of these bitter foods and still be satisfied. If someone isn't as sensitive to that taste, he or she may need to eat more of it, trying to get a bigger taste sensation. I know that I can eat a very small piece of dark chocolate and be satisfied, yet eating milk chocolate would cause me to eat more in my attempts to be satisfied with the taste.

The NIH study also found that someone's occupation could adversely influence their sense of smell and therefore, their sense of taste. Fire fighters, for example, often destroy some of their sense of smell while fighting fires, and, in turn, destroy some of their sense of taste. People with chronic sinus problems also experience similar effects. These factors can influence a person's choice of food and the amount eaten.

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets

N.E.A.T. activity

2008-07-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

If we all did a little N.E.A.T. activity, we'd be pounds lighter by the end of the year. N.E.A.T. stands for "non-exercise activity thermogenesis". It's activity that isn't intentional exercising. Just walking up a flight of stairs or parking your car as far away from the mall as you can helps you burn NEAT calories.

I just recently got a mini exercise bike, one of those pedal machines that you put in front of your chair and pedal like a stationary exercsie bike. I put it under my desk so that as I work at the computer, I can keep my metabolism revved up and improve the circulation to my legs.

So many of us have sedentary jobs that we've got to make up for the lack of exercise some way. While I ride my bike outside when the weather is nice (which isn't often enough when you live in the Seattle area) or use the treadmill when the weather is inclement, it still is just an isolated piece of exercise. I do it for an hour and then go sit for 8 hours (with, of course, some breaks for lunch, etc.). This way with a mini exercise bike, I can get a lot more activity while sitting.

Finding the right type of mini exercise bike was a bit of a challenge. There are many types available, from the very inexpensive to the way-too-much-for-me variety. In doing research on the web, I found out that when you go too cheaply, the bike can overheat. But more importantly, the inexpensive ones have a jerky movement that can eventually affect your joints. I ended up getting a mini bike with magnetic resistance by MagneTrainer. It uses magnets to adjust the tension and because of that, gives a smoother pedaling.

When you get something like the mini exercise bike and put it in front of the sofa while you watch television, you can no longer be called a "couch potato". You'll find it actually increases your energy levels, far better than a candy bar will do. For some who haven't yet accepted that exercise is good for you, this is a nice way to start.

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Copyright 2008 - Advantage Diets (all rights reserved)