May 28, 2008

Use Vitamins as a Supplement, not a Replacement

Many people think that they can take take vitamins as a replacement for eating right . When it comes down to it, this is not generally a good idea. It is essential to take vitamin supplements, but you need to make sure that you are also eating right. If you are finding it difficult to get enough vitamins through your food intake, for one reason or the next, adding a daily supplement could be the answer to all of your questions. There is no denying that a vitamin supplement offers many benefits. As long as you continue to eat well and do not overdo you can maximize your overall potential.

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May 14, 2008

Lose Weight for the Summer Months the Fun Way

Do you want to look better than ever before when you head to the beach this summer? If so, it is time for you to kick your exercise routine into high gear. While many think that exercise is a boring, necessary evil, this does not necessarily have to be the case.

Believe it or not, people all over the world are putting on their dancing shoes
as a way to lose weight and get in shape. What would your rather do? Dance the weight off, or spend hours on end running on a treadmill.

By combining fun exercise with diet pill supplements, such as the Hydroxytrol Ephedra Diet Pill, you will be able to shed the pounds and attract attention this summer!

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March 21, 2008

Too Stretch or Not too Stretch

Do you feel guilty when you’re running late to the gym and you finally arrive only to skip your stretching routine?! You don’t feel as though you have the time to stretch when your late on your reps! Eager to gulp down cool bottle of Endorush 12 RTD Energy Drinkand start feeling the sweat...the last thing you want to do is relax and stretch! Is it necessary?

Many people routinely stretch before working out and after a work. We are taught at a very young age to stretch before sporting activities, especially high cardio and weight lifting. Stretching is penciled into most classes thatare elected in gyms across the country.
But the question arises, To Stretch or Not to Stretch? The Answer is Elastic

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March 06, 2008

A Few Spring Tips for Your Bodybuilding Snacks- Protein Bars

•Make sure you don’t leave your Protein Bar on your car seat! The rising temperature inside the car can melt away the delicious coating. You may find your hand covered in melted chocolate if you rip into bar that has been sitting in the sun. Keeping your bar in the cool air will help keep the bar fresh. •Check the expiration date on your supplement bars. Some do expire! •Buy in Bulk- Save money by buying your bars in bulk. •Display your nutrition bars on your counter and you may find it easier to grab one and eat healthier than grabbing a cookie from the cookie jar on the counter. •Purchase a Nutritional Bar with nutritional value, low in saturated fat- read the labels. If the internet retailer does not display the nutritional facts- beware and don’t purchase the bars. View image

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January 08, 2008

American Gladiators Revival

People are a buzz about the latest old show to make a comeback. People of all ages have enjoyed watching the Classic battle of strength between our American Gladiators and the average contestant. The original “American Gladiators” series ran for almost ten years from 1989 to 1996. After watching the series last night it was clear the contestants were all prepared to battle against the Gladiators. Supplements like creatine , or protein shakes clearly helped them attain the muscular physiques!

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December 30, 2007

Words to Live By

As we all start the New Year and take time to reflect on the past and look forward to our future goals for the year, we should take the time to ponder the words from Nick Scott, a wheelchair bodybuilder
Nick broke his back in a car accident back in high school that paralyzed him for life. Despite the setback, in the last two years Scott has completed and posed in 10 bodybuilding shows!

Scott states “life is not about having a glass half empty or half full.
It is just having a glass that is enough to be thankful about”.

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Is Physical Activity the Closest thing to a Fountain of Youth for the Brain?

Exercise does seem to slow and even reverse the metal slide that often accompanies aging.
Most people are already well aware of this concept, but researchers are finding more and more evidence to support this finding.

Since it is clear Regular physical exercise can by and large help improve a person’s quality of life, it is important to Take to exercise and harvest the benefits!

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December 27, 2007

20 Steaks & 30 Chicken Breasts in a Week!

An Indreabhan bodybuilder Cathal Mac Tiarnán, consumes 20 steaks and 30 chicken breasts a week to achieve the below physique!

He explains, "The worst part of bodybuilding is the diet. You have to eat every two and half hours. The whole rocky thing with a big glass of raw eggs is myth,” he explains, however Cathal eats 12 egg whites fried every morning followed by a huge bowl of porridge and then a cup or two of coffee. Two or three chicken breasts, two or three steaks, 200g of brown rice, 250g of turkey, 250 of diet cottage cheese, broccoli, salad, power bars and two large tins of tuna make up the rest of his daily diet.

I’ll stick to my protein shakes!

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Soy News

One scientist may have found another clue as to why SOY helps promote weight loss .
Current research shows that when soy consumption is up, body weight decreases!
"And we found that soy did have an effect on these mechanisms and hormones that are induced in the body to help us degrade lipids and reduce body weight, but it did so by boosting metabolism and not by reducing food intake," she said.

Pass the SOY !

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December 15, 2007

Raw Eggs for Building Muscle?

Believe it or not, many hard core bodybuilders have found that raw eggs are not among the best foods for building muscle. Yes, you heard that right. Even though this was a huge myth in the past, it is more or less dying down. Not only does the thought of eating raw eggs disgust many bodybuilders, but they are also high in cholesterol; which is obviously bad for your health.

Bodybuilders have found that they do not need to eat raw eggs in order to get the proper level of protein . Instead, they can rely on supplements as well as energy drinks such as Whey protein .

Bodybuilders may have gulped down a couple of raw eggs
per day in the past. But with so many supplements on the market today, this is no longer necessary.

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New Generation of Bodybuilding Supplements

With all of the negative talk about steroids in sports, it is about time that something good comes about. There is a new generation of bodybuilding supplements that are becoming quite popular among online retailers. These Pro-steroids are more or less a natural variation of illegal steroid supplements. As you can imagine, these have become very popular among both amateurs as well as those who are hoping to take their career to the next level.

While Pro-steroids are walking a fine line between legal and illegal, they have been around in some form for many years. For instance, androstenedione became very popular during the late 1990’s and is still widely used for the best performance.

It will be interesting to see if these drugs, such as Permadrol stick around or are simply a fad.

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December 04, 2007

5 Minuets A Day?

A Better Body in 5 Minuets’ is this realistic?!?!
Bodybuilders know it takes more than 5 mins. a day.

Nutritional & bodybuilding supplements, Hard Work, Eating Healthy outweighs the 5 mins a day that is portrayed in this article.

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3 Off Base Exercise Tips from a Celebrity Trainer!

Exercise and working out are something that a lot of people are interested in. Unfortunately, many people get off on the wrong foot because they listen to the many myths that are circulating the fitness industry.

Check out three of the worst exercise tips as given by celebrity fitness trainers

1. An over abundance of sit-ups will help you to get rid of excess belly fat.

2. Unlike men, women should stay away from weight training unless they want to add bulk.

3. Working out in the fat burning zone will produce the best results.

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November 26, 2007

Bulking Season

Countdown to 2008 is underway. The Bulking Season is around the corner! The weather is cold, the midriff is covered… this is the season to bulk up. Breaking up the year into a bulking up season and a cutting up season enables you to make gains that you would never be able to make by trying to do both at the same time.

Workouts: Cardiovascular endurance is very important for your overall health. But the sheer amount of calories it consumes can get in the way of a bulking up program. The solution is to make your cardio workouts short but intense. Sprints on your favorite exercise equipment are in order. Another solution is to occasionally skip the cardio portion of your workout in favor of a heart-pounding strength training session. The key to this is to move from exercise to exercise with little to no rest between. It works out your heart as well as surprises your muscles. Any change in your workout will increase your gains.

Most importantly, change your strength training sessions to utilize the extra calories and nutrition. Regularly change your routine, and in general, concentrate more on heavy weights and less on reps.

Diet: As appealing as it is to turn the bulking up season into a cheat season… resist the temptation! The goal is to gain muscle, but if that goal is accomplished with a good amount of fat you will be doing a huge disservice to yourself when spring rolls around. Instead, take this opportunity to not only bulk up on muscle, but the nutrition that you may have cut back on during the summer. Load up on the fruits and vegetables that were possibly excluded before… sweet potatoes, berries, oranges, kiwi, pomegranate juice.. Include produce from all spectrums of the rainbow to ensure a broad range of vitamins and antioxidants.

Finally, increase your Protein intake to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. A two hundred pound man would, thus, need to consume 300 grams of lean protein. Since this is such a huge amount, it’s very important to break it up into 7-8 meals. Any more protein than that in one sitting would be detrimental to your goals.

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October 31, 2007

Kids Nutrition and Fitness in the News

School administrators and parents everywhere are doing their best to make eating healthier and exercise more fun for kids. 

School nutrition improving; students served healthier foods

When it comes to encouraging healthy habits, the nation's schools still aren't earning straight As. But with a three-year plan outlining nutritional objectives, the Fairfield Community School District is making an honest effort.

Program gets kids into fun fitness habit

More than 20,000 children from 260 area elementary schools came with their parents to get their promised medals and T-shirts — rewards for completing the Go! Kids Challenge, which requires that children log six days of 30-minute exercise periods a week.

Questioning the Value of ‘Stealth’ Veggies

While it’s always a good idea to try to improve the nutritional quality of the foods we eat, the stealth veggie strategy doesn’t teach kids to like vegetables. It just teaches them to like macaroni and cheese and brownies.

Obesity study shapes up kids

A trailblazing new study on childhood obesity shows promise in tackling the epidemic by changing a child’s environment, and hundreds of kids in Somerville have narrower waistlines to show for it.

Freshman year is fraught with nutritional perils

The "Freshman 15," named for the amount of pounds students tend to gain during their first year in college, is one of the most talked about college phenomena.

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October 05, 2007

Workout Tips: Nutrition and a Cold Bath

Matching nutrition to your fitness goals and easing discomfort after a hard workout are the subjects of two informative articles.

Linking your nutrition needs with your workouts

Many fitness experts agree that the average person who works out for about an hour a day doesn't require specialized food or drinks, especially if they're trying to lose weight.

Fitness tip: Take a cold bath

“After hard efforts you have microscopic tearing to your muscles,” said Scott. “That tearing causes inflammation, swelling, aches and pains the next day. You want to stop the bleeding and reduce the inflammation. When you use ice it starts to constrict the muscles. Then when the muscles warm up again, blood gorges into the muscles and flushes out the toxins.”

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August 28, 2007

You Are What You Eat

Three new articles explore that ever-fascinating adventure -- what we put in our mouths.

Nutrition Notes: Knowing Your Calorie Needs

Many of today's nutrition recommendations -- whether for weight control or for how much fat, vegetables or other foods fit in a healthy diet - are based on calorie needs. That's a problem, since most of us apparently cannot identify our calorie needs.

FAMILY DINNERS: Keep Them Off the Endangered Species List

Social scientists from UCLA have just completed an exhaustive study of what the typical two-income American family eats for dinner. Instead of relying extensively on take-out foods, families are making dinner at home. They aren’t cooking from scratch, but they are assembling a meal from numerous convenience products. Hamburger extender meals, pre-prepped entrees that only need to be heated and eaten, bagged salads, and frozen vegetables form the bulk of most dinner meals. 

3 On Your Side: Fast Food Breakfast Nutrition

If you're constantly on the run, chances are you've grabbed breakfast from a fast-food chain or your favorite coffee house. If you're not careful, you could be consuming most of your day's calories in that single meal.

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August 20, 2007

Back to School -- Time to Eat Right

Back to school nutrition is in the news as summer comes to a close and Labor Day approaches. For some great tips, check out these articles.

How to Avoid the 'Freshman 15': Tips from The Nutrition Twins
The Nutrition Twins offer time-tested tips to help college students be prepared and organized to fight the 'Freshman 15'.

Kellogg Unveils New US Cereal Packaging With Nutrition Data
The new packaging follows Kellogg's announcement in June that it will raise the nutritional value of cereals and snacks it markets to children.

Back to school nutrition quiz
"One of the most important messages you can deliver to your children is that all foods are permissible as long as portion sizes are appropriate."

Low-fat diets can stunt child's growth
Researchers have shown that children burn more body fat than adults for each calorie spent, which means they get rid of it more easily. They hope this information will convince parents not to go to extremes in fighting the battle of the bulge for their kids.

 

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August 11, 2007

Branding Makes It Taste Better

A new study shows that young children think foods taste better when they're in a McDonald's wrapper.

The study, by Dr. Tom Robinson, had kids sample identical foods that were either in branded wrappers or plain. Kids overwhelmingly said the branded foods tasted better. Read the details at CNN.com's Study: Food in McDonald's wrapper tastes better to kids.

Parents were quick to find some ways to exploit this information -- wrap your carrots in the Golden Arches. Tricks are for kids' nutrition outlines some fun and easy ways to get nutrition into your kids' diet, unbeknownst to them.

Finally, an editorial from The Republican deplores the study results but advocates giving your children good eating habits at the earliest possible age.

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July 30, 2007

The Language of Nutrition

Sometimes we all have trouble sorting out what people mean with various nutritional terms. Here are two great articles that give some essential definitions:

Nutrition and Health: Decoding the confusing language of vitamins: Learn more about Multi-vitamins, Vitamin C, folic acid, Calcium, Vitamin B12 and fat-soluable vitamins. 

A smart way to shape up for good: learn more about the Glycemic Index.

With nutrition, it's important to know what you're talking about!  

 

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July 09, 2007

"An Organic Cheesepuff Is Still a Cheespuff"

Time to bust some more food myths!

• Does skipping breakfast mean losing weight?

• Are calories eaten at night more fattening?

• Does fasting help rid the body of toxins?

• Does low-fat always means low calories?

• And, is organic food is always more nutritious?

For the answers, refer to Food-myth busters from the Columbus Dispatch. 

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June 25, 2007

"Have You Had Your Colors Today?"

For an innovative way to look at nutrition, don't ask, "Have you had your veggies?" but "Have you had your colors?"

Colorize your diet shows just how practical this question can be. 

"Recent studies have shown that red vegetables such as tomatoes contain lycopene, which promotes a healthy heart and memory and may help prevent prostate cancer. Meanwhile, blue and purple fruits and vegetables, such as blueberries, plums, raisins and eggplant, may slow aging. Dark green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and mustard greens contain calcium, which promotes strong bones and teeth. Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables — cantaloupe, nectarines, papayas, peaches, peppers, pumpkins, squash and sweet corn — may protect the immune system, strengthen the heart and eyes, and lower the risk of cancer.

"Which brings us to the question mothers might ask today — not 'Have you eaten your vegetables?' but 'Have you had your colors?'"

Paint a beautiful palate for your palate with all the colors of the rainbow.  

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June 18, 2007

Summer Yummies

There's a lot of plusses to the summer, not the least of which is the wide array of fruits available.

The Friday Flyer brings us Taking full advantage of fresh summer fruits, a fun article extoling the virtues of fruit. Don't miss the recipe for Fruit Pizza!

Remember spitting watermelon seeds as a kid? Well, celebrity Chef Harry Schwartz announces his 'Fitness from the Start' National Tour promoting the health benefits of watermelon and fighting childhood obesity.

Enjoy your summer choices, and get fit.

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Kellogg Doing Its Good Deed for the Kids

You could argue that it's really up to the parents to police what their kids eat, but at least one food company is taking the reins itself to encourage better nutrition.

Kellogg, maker of Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks and the like, has agreed to raise the nutritional value of cereals and snacks it markets to children.

The company said it won't promote foods in TV, radio, print or Website ads that reach audiences at least half of whom are under age 12 unless a single serving of the product meets these standards:

• No more than 200 calories.
• No trans fat and no more than 2 grams of saturated fat.
• No more than 230 milligrams of sodium, except for Eggo frozen waffles.
• No more than 12 grams of sugar, not counting sugar from fruit, dairy and vegetables.

Kellogg said it would reformulate products to meet these criteria or stop marketing them to children under 12 by the end of 2008.

This is good news! Of course, it might have been to avoid a lawsuit, but the effect is still a good one. As an article about US Representative Ed Markey, proponent of the change and chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, says, it's Grrreat!

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May 15, 2007

Good and Good For You: Nutrition Tips for Kids

Check out these online articles fro some great tips on how to get your kids eating right.

In 5 Tips to Teach Your Kids About Nutrition, you'll learn about these essential strategies:

• Involve Kids in Purchasing
• Take a List and Stick to it
• Compare Ingredients
• Try One New Thing
• Be Positive

 

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Did You Know?: Ice Cream and Protein Facts

Do you know how much protein you should have every day per your body weight? Do you know how much of ice cream must be milk fat to be called "ice cream"?

For these and other fun facts, check out two Nutrition IQ columns in two different publications.

The Columbus Dispatch's column tells us about protein. Are the following True or False? Check out the column to be sure.

• Adults need to eat 0.08 gram of protein per day for every 2.2 pounds of ideal body weight.
• Growing children and pregnant women need more protein for every pound of body weight than adult men.
• A diet high in protein increases the body's muscle mass.
• The body converts excess protein to fat.

We learn about ice cream from The Sacramento Bee. True, or False?

• Ice cream is a good source of calcium.
• In general, less expensive ice cream has less fat.
• Federal standards require that anything labeled ice cream must be made with a minimum of 10 percent cream, milk or butter fat.
• Ice cream is low in protein.
  

Learn other important facts at the links provided.

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April 30, 2007

Fruit IQ

Do you know all there is to know about fruit? How about answering these true / false questions?

• The best way to eat a grapefuit is to use a spoon to dig out the segments.
• Green seedless grapes have more nutritional benefits than purple ones.
• Dried figs are high in sugar and calories, but they also are high in protein and fiber.
• Sweet cherries have more beta carotene than sour cherries.

For the answers to these and other challenging factoids, check out Nutrition IQ.

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April 24, 2007

Coaching for Better Nutrition

The New York Times brings us this in-depth report: Winning the Nutrition Game, With Help From a Coach.

In it, you'll read about Mariam Noorzai of Camarillo, Calif., who weighed 279 pounds but dropped to 128 pounds with the help of a personal nutrition coach.

"Nutrition coaches often rely on tests they conduct themselves, or those conducted by a physician, to determine problems related to blood sugar, hormone imbalances, cholesterol level, food allergies and even brain chemistry. ... Services from nutrition coaches range from creating meal plans to shopping with clients, cooking for them and even stocking their cupboards. For executive clients who travel often, coaches give advice about what to order at restaurants."

Like any kind of coaching, one-on-one works the best.  

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April 11, 2007

Nutrition Myth Busting

University of Nevada's Rebel Yell brings an informative article on nutrition myths.

In Rebel Nutrition: The myths about eating, you'll find the truth about:

• Brown food -- is it always whole grain?
• Are all preservatives bad?
• Is raw food always more nutritious than processed?
• Do we really need to drink 8 glasses of water every day?

Check out the article for some surprising truths about nutrition.

In related news, Fort-Wayne.com offers Nutrition – with no guilt, letting us know the secret to guilt free protein: our friends, the fish.

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April 06, 2007

Tips on Portion Control

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Old Standbys Give Good Nutrition

Eggs and peanut butter -- you can't get more basic than that.

In Both white, yolk part of egg's nutrition package, Ed Blonz from San Diego's Union-Tribune maintains that all parts of the egg are halthy. "I am wondering why you are tossing your yolks," he writes to an inquirer. "You are throwing away good food." He also answers questions about fiber and legumes, along with omega-3 in tuna packed in water. 

In Peanut butter good for gaining muscle, Colin Kennedy of the Daily Evergreen writes, "Peanut butter is high in calories, but this by no means makes it unhealthy. I wouldn’t recommend downing spoonfuls of peanut butter if your goal is to lose 10 pounds, but for those trying to gain a little muscle mass, peanut butter is an excellent way to fuel your body with the energy it needs." 

Eggs and peanut butter. They've both been around a long time. Don't leave them out of your eating regimen!

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March 13, 2007

Nutrition Myths -- Busted

Test yourself: do you know if these statements are fact or myths? Find out the answers at Nutrition myths are easy to swallow. 

1. Calories eaten at night are more fattening.

2. Fasting helps rid the body of toxins.

3. Skipping breakfast helps you lose weight.

4. Your body can't tell the difference between honey and sugar.

5. Low-fat always means low calories.

6. You can still eat shrimp and other shellfish on a cholesterol-lowering diet.

7. Multigrain foods are always made with whole grains.

8. Olive oil has fewer calories than other fats.

9. Frozen vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh.

10. Foods boasting "0 trans fat" contain "good" fats.

11. Organic food is always more nutritious.

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February 05, 2007

Nutrition for Every Age

Here's a sampling of some of the lastest news on nutrition, especially as it relates to kids. 

New Food Pyramid Offers Building Blocks to Good Nutrition from Forbes.com:  "The new pyramid features vertical bands (rather than the old horizontal pyramid sections) in six different colors to represent different food groups and types. Orange equals grains, green is for vegetables, red is for fruits, blue represents dairy, purple is meat and beans, and yellow stands for oils." See more at MyPyramid.gov.

Raising Healthy Eaters from the Parents and Kids section of townonline.com: "So much is written these days about the epidemic of childhood obesity that it’s easy to forget that nutrition involves more than just not getting fat. Although low-fat choices are smart, parents also need to be sure their kids are getting all the nutrients they need."

Moms get nutrition, exercise lessons from sunjournal.com: "'Moms tend to be a group that is a little more interested or focused on health for their families. They are at that stage where they are more likely to change or improve their behaviors. If we move them along that continuum of behavior change they will hopefully lead the way along for others as well.'"
 

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January 08, 2007

For a New Kind of Training, Get a Nutrition Coach

You've got a personal trainer at the gym and a coach for your team. Add one more coach to make the set complete: a nutrition coach.

Nutrition coaching is seen as effective in reducing weight and staying healthy. Nutritionists give one-to-one attention that takes into account your personal lifestyle and preferences. They can take a detailed look at what you're eating and to help you determine what changees to make that will suit you best, thereby increasing the odds of your successfully achieving your goals.

NUTRITION COACHING DOES INCREASES WEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS is a press release that outlines some of the benefits of nutrition coaching.

For articles about two nutrition experts, see:

• Nutrition expert offers healthy eating advice for new year (about Laura Molseed, a registered dietitian at Del Monte Foods)

• Holistic nutrition can help you get healthier (about Kathy Shackleton, holistic nutritionist)

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January 06, 2007

Get the Most from Your Veggies

It's not just what you eat, it's how you eat it.

"The key to retaining vegetables’ nutrients is to cook them quickly and with little water," MSNBC's Avoid watering down veggie nutrition tells us. Steaming, microwaving or stir-frying are better ways to go.

Another helpful column is WRAL's Nutrition Basics for the New Year. In this blog posting, we're given a wide range of tips on how to eat all day long, from breakfast on.

Maximize your veggie power in 2007, and feel the health benefits. 

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December 30, 2006

Smart Tips for a Happy, Healthy New Year

Being SMART about your goals, deepening your understanding of your fitness regimen, and making small, incremental changes can be the keys to successful resolution-keeping.

• Fitness Guru: Get 'SMART' With Your Fitness Resolutions from Eugenie Jones

If you’d like to see your New Year’s resolutions make it past Valentine’s Day, setting "S.M.A.R.T." resolutions is the way to go. SMART resolutions are thoughtfully considered, scripted goals where the "S" stands for specific, the "M" for measurable, the "A" for attainable, the "R" for relevant and "T" for timetable.

• For the Love of Fit: Understanding can empower a fitness regimen from Milo Bryant

Too many of us are hurting our attempts at gaining better fitness because we do not understand why we are doing the exercises we do.

• When it comes to diet, simple change biggest from J.M. HIRSCH

Maybe this year try a more novel -- and more likely to succeed -- approach: small changes that are easy to live with, but that cumulatively can have significant and lasting effects on your health.

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December 27, 2006

Fitness after the Holidays

Here's a feast of fitness tips for getting back on track if the holidays threw you for a loop.

• Party's over, feasting's finished, time to pay: from Stephen Glass and Terence Rueben. Sensible tips, such as, "Frequent, small meals, at about 500 calories each, will help to reduce the amount of fat storage. 'Think of it as a "dose" of food to meet immediate needs. Too large a dose, and you store the excess as fat.'"

• Test your nutrition knowledge: from Gwen Schoen. Quick: True or false? Fast foods should not be eaten when dieting. Find the answer in Gwen's quiz on nutrution.

• Fitness for the brain: Aerobics!: from Sharon Begley. "For the first time, scientists have found something that not only halts the brain shrinkage that starts in a person's 40s, especially in regions responsible for memory and higher cognition, but actually reverses it: aerobic exercise."

So keep moving, and keep in shape!

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December 18, 2006

Nutrition Notes

Here's a sampling of some of the latest nutrition news.

There's a lot of nutrition information out there, and Americans are turning to the Internet to find it. Denver Post lists many Internet resources for nutrition in Americans hunger for nutrition, diet advice from the Internet, including Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, The Portfolio Eating Plan, and My Pyramid.

Los Angeles Times fills us in on "the rainbow effect," or how foods with widespread pigments combine to give us the most nutritional punch. "In nutrition," the article states, "there is sometimes a tendency to identify a food by a single outstanding nutrient — milk for calcium, meat for iron, orange juice for vitamin C. But in looking at foods this way, the forest may be lost for the trees. Foods are certainly more than one single component — and this is especially true for fruits and vegetables, which contain literally thousands of substances called phytochemicals, which have wide-reaching effects on health."

Finally, the Washington Times reports in Faith-based diets promote health for body and soul that "the latest crop of faith-based diet books are moving outside the realm of food and exercise, touting a more holistic approach that encourages everything from advanced hygiene, a challenge to feed the poor and a call to add prayer and meditation alongside your vegetables and hormone-free meat."

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December 04, 2006

Health-Conscious Habits Lead to Success

In two recent studies, it's been shown that health-conscious habits indicate a person is more likely to succeed in their health goals.

• Weighting oneself daily is a habit of those who are most successful at weight control, reports Karen Collins in Weight Checks: How Often? How Helpful?
  

"Recent evidence does suggest frequent weight checks influence behaviors. Weight checks allow you to catch small gains before they become large ones. That can lead to cutting back on portions and high-calorie foods or adding an extra 15 minutes of daily exercise. Data from the National Weight Control Registry suggests that people are more likely to stop and reverse small weight gains than large ones. In a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine, people who lost weight maintained their loss better by checking weight daily and changing eating or exercise anytime weight changed by more than three pounds."

• A U.S. study suggests adolescents who take multiple-vitamin supplements also tend to follow more healthful dietary and lifestyle behaviors, reports Study links diet and vitamin supplements.

"Supplement users were more likely to be physically active, have more healthful diets and participate in team and organized sports, and were less likely to be overweight and to watch more than an hour of television per day."

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November 27, 2006

Santa Claus Isn't the Only Holiday Myth

The State Journal-Register does us all a favor by busting some holiday nutrition myths: It’s time to separate nutrition fiction from fact.

So, which of these are fact, and which are fiction?

American adults gain an average of 5 to 8 pounds during the annual feasting season, the end of October through the beginning of January. FICTION. In 2000, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health that found that although people did gain weight over the holidays, it’s only about 0.48 kilograms, or slightly over 1 pound. The problem, according to the study, is that few adults lose that extra holiday weight.

Total caloric intake for Thanksgiving Day is often more than 4,000 calories. FACT. “Many people start by snacking throughout the day, and that combined with the meal can lead to a total caloric intake of 4,500,” says Dr. Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the San Diego-based American Council on Exercise. Bryant says holiday delicacies can be enjoyed as long as they’re eaten in moderation and combined with a proper exercise plan.

Dinner isn’t a race to the finish. You’ll eat less food if you eat slowly. FACT. It takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to signal the brain that you’re full. So, chew your food thoroughly, put down your fork in between bites and savor the flavor, smell and texture of your foods. By lingering over your meal, you’ll let the body’s natural satiation mechanism work and you’ll likely eat less than if you wolf down your meal, says Katie Bogue, a registered dietitian and director of the San Diego & Imperial Counties Nutrition Network.

You can barely keep your eyes open to finish your dessert. Blame it on the turkey and all its sleep-inducing tryptophan. FICTION. Tryptophan is only one minor amino acid among many in turkey and other protein foods, and the amount eaten even in a big Thanksgiving meal is not enough to cause an appreciable effect. That lazy, lethargic feeling is more likely because of eating a high-calorie meal while imbibing alcohol.

Hide the candy canes and cookies. All that sugar will have the kids bouncing off the walls. FICTION. Contrary to what many people believe, sugar doesn’t make children hyperactive. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine gave some kids sugared foods and others foods with artificial sweeteners. Their parents and the researchers didn’t know who was eating sugar and who wasn’t. The kids were monitored for things like irritability and hyperactivity, and no difference was found. Kids get hyper because there are other kids around; they’re excited because it’s a party.

Go ahead and have another cookie, or four or five. They’re fat-free so they’re not fattening. FICTION. Low-fat or fat-free doesn’t means no calories. Sometimes a fat-reduced food may have more calories than the full-fat version because extra sugar, flour or starch thickeners are added to make it taste better.

For other important tips, check out the entire article!

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US Navy Improves Shipboard Menus

Looks like the US Navy is trying to put the days of unappetizing and unhealthy rations behind them.

In New shipboard menu offers more nutrition, less fat, NavyTimes.com reports:

The Navy in October introduced a new and standardized menu designed to inject more health into every meal served on ships across the globe. Officials want to set a new course for a healthier fleet with a menu that incorporates some favorite foods and tried-and-true recipes but that also offers more foods that are lighter on fats and calories and dense in nutrients.

With the standardized menu, every ship in the fleet will serve the same basic meals that are healthier than what’s offered now. Gone will be the hodgepodge of meals, the disparate menus and the long list of food supplies required to sustain them.

The new menu includes chicken, beef, pork, seafood and fish dishes. Sailors will get smaller servings of some foods, such as mashed potatoes, but larger portions of items such as steamed vegetables. Sandwiches, soups, desserts, cakes and pies will remain, along with packaged items such as dry cereal. Ice cream, hot dogs and barbecued ribs remain on the menu, along with pizza. Hamburgers, too, will remain a weekly menu mainstay, but will now be made from leaner cuts of beef. 

But one thing had to go -- the Navy plans to deep-six its deep-fat fryers. 

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November 20, 2006

How to Keep Fit through the Holidays

Here's a little pre-holiday buffet of nutrition ideas:

• The Jackson Hole Star-Tribune tells how to Avoid post-holidays heftiness.
  

• No, it's not turkey that makes you sleepy! Southern Utah University brings us: Planning, preparation make a difference in season's nutrition

• Avoid diet sabotage over the holidays with these Nutrition IQ tips.
  

• And, last but not least to pet owners: Pets need to watch weight during the holidays, too.

Eat right and enjoy the holidays! Happy Thanksgiving.

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November 13, 2006

Nutrition during Pregnancy

Eating for two doesn't mean eating twice as much.

This and other helpful tidbits are from Facts and figures about prenatal nutrition by Kyra Williams, MD.

The article answers the questions:  

Other healthy eating tips include:

• Don't skip breakfast. If you wake up to morning sickness, eat a slice of whole-wheat toast or whole-grain crackers to relieve your nausea.
• Eat high-fiber foods such as whole-grain cereals, vegetables, fruit and beans.
  
• Keep healthy foods within easy reach.
  

Great tips for a healthier you, and baby, too!

Posted by worldclass on 07:23 PM | Comments (0) |