Supplement Seminar

Recently I joined the wellness group at my church, White River Christian Church in Noblesville. The group is called LiteHearted, and it is sure to be one of my biggest blessings this year. So much fabulous information on women's wellness spiritually, physically, and nutritionally!

Last night, we had the privilege of having a local chiropractor, Dr. Zimmer, talk about supplements. He first debunked the myth that vitamins just result in expensive urine. I wish I could remember his exact wording, but I'll do my best. Essentially, it's like saying you don't need to drink too much water because you just pee it out anyway. Water is crucial to life, is it not, and drinking lots of it results in good things like clear skin, healthy organs, and a natural way to rid the body of toxins. Yes, you will pee alot if you drink alot of water, but it's still helping your body out. Same is true with vitamins. If you take an optimum amount of vitamins, yes you will rid of some of it in your urine. BUT, the vitamins still do their job for your body, protecting you from all the toxins and pesticides and chemicals we all come across in our daily lives.

It's worth it to invest in a great quality vitamin because there's so much junk and hype out there. Dr. Zimmer listed four questions to ask when choosing a multi-vitamin.

1. Does the multi supply vitamin E in its natural "d" form? Look at the bottle and find the vitamin E. It should read d-alpha-tocopherol, NOT dl-alpha-tocopherol. The dl form is not natural and is in fact derived from petroleum. Remember "dl" stands for don't like!

2. Does the multi supply only higher quality minerals? Higher quality mineral names include: calcium citrate or calcium malate, zinc amino acid chelate or zinc picolinate or zinc glycinate, magnesium amino acid chelate or magnesium citrate or magnesium citramate to name a few examples. Make sure these word do not describe your minerals: carbonate, oxide, gluconate. They are poorer quality.

3. Is your multi completely FREE OF these chemicals? Hold on, the list is long...BHT, hydrogenated oils, polyvinyl alcohol, corn starch, modified food starch, pregelatinized corn starch, artificial colorings or flavorings, polyethylene glycol, sodium benzoate, sucrose, talc, aluminum silicate. Whew!! All junk.

4. Is your multi FREE OF any herbals? Blends of herbs will be listed as a 'proprietary blend' followed by a list of numerous herbs. This is a marketing ploy to make you feel like you are getting a benefit from what is essentially a clinically worthless amount of herbs. Don't be fooled. The herbs probably won't harm you, per Dr. Zimmer. They just aren't doing you any good.

The doctor mentioned that the one supplement he recommends everyone take are omegas (fish oil) in a reputable source that tests for PCBs and rancidity. Good brands are metagenics and nordic naturals. He also touched on the benefits of probiotics, which puts good bacteria in your gut and helps with digestive issues. Find one with billions of a variety of bacteria listed.

The information Dr. Zimmer gave was priceless, as is all of the information at LiteHearted. Join us at WRCC on Monday nights, 6:30pm or contact me for further information about this fabulous group.

Eating Out

Let's face it. If you live in this country, you most likely eat out...at least occasionally. Nowadays, more and more restaurants are posting nutritional information on their menus, websites, ipod apps, and more. That's great. BUT (you knew there was a 'but' didn't you?) in the food science labs where these meals are made and tested for calorie, fat, fiber, protein, etc. counts, the ingredients are very precisely measured. In the kitchens of your local restaurant establishments, they may not be. They want their food to taste good, so more butter, sugar, salt, and sauces may be used than was used in the lab specimen. That means your 550 calorie meal may be a tad, or more, higher. So here are a few tips gathered from various sources that might help you choose a healthier option from your favorite menu:

1. Look for code words. Steer clear of creamy, crispy, smothered, rich, thick, cheesy, fried, au gratin, escalloped, pan-fried, sauteed, or stuffed. Better choices to look for are steamed, broiled, baked, grilled, poached, roasted, and seared.

2. Request dressings or sauces on the side, so you have control over how much is added to your meal. In many a salad, the dressing is where the majority of the calories lie.

3. Either ask for a half portion or share a meal with your dining partner. If the restaurant will not make half portions and no one wants to share, ask for half of your meal to be automatically boxed up to take home. Most restaurant portions these days are two to three times more food than one person needs at any given meal.

4. Ask for the veggie of the day as your side instead of fries or coleslaw or onion rings. Your thighs will thank you later.

5. Tell the waiter NOT to bring the bread and butter before the meal.

6. Choose your restaurants carefully. Indian foods are often high in calories and fat. Other not so great choices: pubs (heavy on fried foods), diners (often specialize in foods covered in cheese, gravy, or syrup), and buffets (all-you-can-eat, which is usually more-than-you-need). On the other hand, sushi is a light, nutritious choice as long as its not the deep fried variety. Grills often have a healthy choice or two. And bistros usually carry entree salads and lighter options.

7. Go the "small plate" route by choosing 2-3 healthy appetizers as your meal. Just remember all of the above guidelines when choosing. Crispy chicken wings with ranch dressing - NO. Grilled shrimp on a bed of spinach - YES.

8. When it comes to dessert, order one for the whole table. Quite often, just a bite or two of a treat will satisfy a sweet tooth. Or order sorbet, fresh fruit, or low fat yogurt.

9. When it comes to fast food, go hungry. Just kidding! Well, sort of. But I guess most fast food places have grilled chicken sandwiches these days, and side salads, and....bottled waters.

10. Instead of drinking your calories, or your poisons for all you diet drink junkies, stick to water. That's a super easy way to do away with added calories and sugars.

Most of all, when you eat out, enjoy the friends & family that surround you at the meal, making them the focus of the experience instead of the food.

"The 11 Best Foods You Probably Aren't Eating"

Following is from an email I received from my wonderful friend, Jen. The author is Tara Parker Pope, a NY Times health writer and the article originally appeared in her column back in 2008.

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Nutritionist and author Jonny Bowden has created several lists of healthful foods people should be eating but aren’t. But some of his favorites, like purslane, guava and goji berries, aren’t always available at regular grocery stores. I asked Dr. Bowden, author of “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth,” to update his list with some favorite foods that are easy to find but don’t always find their way into our shopping carts. Here’s his advice.

1. Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.

2. Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.

3. Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes.
How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.

4. Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.

5. Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants.
How to eat: Just drink it.

6. Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants.
How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.

7. Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death.
How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.

8. Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.” They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread.

9. Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,” it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.

10. Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies.
How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.

11. Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.
How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Top Tip #4

Don't eat Twinkies.

Nine Reasons to Avoid Processed Foods

1. They ruin your taste buds. Processed foods contain refined sugar, excess salt, and other flavor enhancers. These foods are not only unhealthy, they also dull our taste buds to natural flavors. So then you need to eat more processed foods to get the taste you want because you can no longer appreciate the flavor of natural foods.

2. Deadly additives. Harmful chemical additives are added to many foods to give them a longer shelf life and to enhance flavor & color. Our bodies are unable to process these additives into nutrients. Therefore the additives hang out indefinitely in our systems, delaying digestion and adding extra toxins to our blood, tissues and organs...and extra pounds to our weight.

3. Hide & seek. Processed foods contain hidden sugars, salt, and harmful fats. All three of these contribute to health problems.

4. Mystery ingredients. Many processed foods are filled with strange parts and pieces. For example, "edible offal" in hot dogs means they contain animal skin, snouts, ears, esophagi, etc.

5. No nutritional value. Processing takes most of the nutrients out of nutrient-rich foods. You'll get almost nothing of what your body needs.

6. Fortified with synthetics. To make up for the loss of the nutrients mentioned above, synthetic vitamins and minerals are added. These may appear healthy, but our bodies aren't built to process synthetic nutrients. A perfect example is "enriched flour" found in many breads and other products. Wheat is stripped of all its natural nutrients and then synthetic vitamins are added. That's considered "enriched."

7. Wrong market. When you spend money on processed foods, you encourage growth in this market. Spending money on organic and local fruits and veggies instead promotes growth in that market, thereby potentially bringing prices down for those items.

8. Money. Although fruits and vegetables often appear to be expensive, they are quite often less expensive than processed foods.

9. They are dead! Most of the goodness is cooked or processed out of those foods. Therefore, we cannot benefit from the enzymes and nutrients the foods normally contain.

(from the Dietary Guidelines of GCNM textbook module 1)

A Personal Victory

On Friday, January 8, 2010, my daughter Brynn had an annual check-up with her pediatric allergist/asthma specialist. While there, her doctor changed her "severe" asthma status to "minor" and told me he really saw no hint of asthma in her at all anymore. He took her off all asthma meds. No more nebulizer treatments. No more pulmicort. She only has an emergency inhaler, just in case. During the course of the visit, he asked what (if anything) we had changed over the last year. I told him we had taken dairy out of her diet, as well as many of the "convenient" foods that are so full of preservatives & artificial ingredients; that we don't eat out as much as we used to; and that we added supplements in the form of a multi-vitamin, probiotics, and omegas. He smiled and said his advice would be to keep doing those things.

Now she is still severly allergic to peanuts - that may never change, and we still have so much room for improvement in some of our eating habits (like the fact that we're all still sugar addicts!!) That being said, I knew she had been healthier with the few changes we've managed to stick to. Still, I had no idea how powerful one's diet can be and I certainly didn't expect the tremendous report we received at the doctor's office. (I think he was a bit surprised, too!)

So, yes, though the judges have frowned at my rice milk and rolled their eyes at my insistence on supplements every morning, I will continue on this journey because I feel it is very GOD LED. And believe me when I say that I could FEEL Him smiling down on us in that doctor's office Friday, nodding His head and saying right along with the doctor, "Keep doing those things."

Singin' the Blues

Lately, a handful of my friends have mentioned a slight case of depression/irritability/the general blues and asked if I'd read anything nutritionally related to feeling down in the dumps. So after consulting my main text, The New Optimum Nutrition Bible by Patrick Holford, I thought it would be most helpful to just type verbatim what he says...

"There are many nutritionally related causes of depression, the most common being suboptimum nutrition resulting in poor mental and physical energy. Disturbed blood sugar balance can result in periods of depression. Lack of omega-3 fats can make you depressed. If you are low in serotonin, you may benefit from (the amino acid) 5-HTP. People who produce excessive amounts of histamine (allergic individuals) are also prone to depression. Adrenal exhaustion, usually brought on by stress and overuse of stimulants, can result in it. Allergies, too, can bring on depression.

Diet advice: Cut out or avoid sugar and refined foods. Cut down on stimulants -- tea, coffee, chocolate, cola drinks, cigarettes, and alcohol. Experiment for two weeks without wheat or dairy products (to rule out allergies being the cause of the depression).

Suggested supplements: multivitamin with multiminerals, vitamin C (1000 mg), 5-HTP (100 mg twice a day), and omega-3 fish oils providing EPA of 1200 mg."

So, did anyone else say, "What is 5-HTP?" or was I the only one? I looked that up, too.

"A particular amino acid called 5-hydroxytryptophan is the daughter of tryptophan and the mother of serotonin, the brain's 'happy' neurotransmitter. Many people have low levels of this essential brain chemical and feel depressed as a result. This is especially true of people on weight-loss diets, which are notoriously low in tryptophan. But that isn't all. Serotonin controls appetite. The more you have, the less you eat. This may be why people eat more in the winter. The less light you get, the less serotonin you make. If you are low in serotonin, one of the quickest ways to restore normal levels, and normal mood, is to supplement 5-HTP."

A website on 5-HTP makes the claim that it can help control appetite, calm anxiety, relieve insomnia, improve mood, and reduce sympoms of pms, fibromyalgia, and headaches. After reading this, I wondered why everyone wasn't taking 5-HTP!!! But seriously, never take anything, even a supplement, without discussing it with your health care professional. Though no drug interactions were mentioned with 5-HTP, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Foods that can help: cold water fish, such as salmon, mackerel, and herring (due to their high levels of the omega EPA, known to be a potent anti-depressant), nuts and seeds (due to their omegas, magnesium, and B-vitamins), and foods rich in tryptophan such as beef, chicken, turkey, cow's milk, and eggs.

Lastly, I did stumble upon a website called Food for the Brain (www.foodforthebrain.org) that looked promising. Hopefully, something here will help someone, even if just in a small way. And next time you're feeling down and out, always remember Jesus loves YOU. YOU matter. YOU are not junk because God doesn't make junk.

2010!!!

Happy New Year! Any resolutioners out there? I've decided mine is to be more 90/10 this year than 80/20. The healthier I eat, the better I feel, so I just need to keep that in mind. Over the holidays, I ate/drank stuff I haven't in a while, and I'm feeling it now, for sure. And I don't like it. Time to get back on track!

A few websites I've found that might help me do this (and that you may enjoy as well) are:

www.snack-girl.com ---> She focuses on good for you snacks at 100 or so calories. I like her because she does not believe a mini pack of 100 calorie Oreos is equal to a fresh, 100 calorie apple no matter what Nabisco claims!

www.fooducate.com ---> This website looks at all the popular brands of food found at the grocery store and rates them for nutritional value. I was quite shocked by Yoplait yogurt and Ritz crackers. They are not backed by/endorsed by any food company or government agency, either, so they are honest assessors! You can get to their blog from my blog ~ left side of page, bottom column, Blogs I Enjoy.

Whatever your resolutions may be, I wish you much success and great health in 2010!