Goodbye Free Radicals, Hello Antioxidants!

Food Transforms Our Bodies!!!!

• In order to maximize the operation of all metabolic systems, consume a powerful diet of vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates of the highest quality foods.
• It is important to not eat the wrong things on the other hand such as refined sugar, white flour, margarine, hydrogenated oils, and excess of animal products as they are not utilized by the body in a healthful way.

Why should you eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables?

• There are numerous studies out there that show lower rates of cancer in those who consume a diet based on raw fruits and vegetables, based on the theory that fruits and vegetables contain high amounts of antioxidants to prevent free radical formation.
• Slows the aging process in the skin, internal organs, mind, and preventing disease and illness.
• Athletes also use more oxygen uptake and there are numerous studies backing the fact that athletes should be consuming more antioxidants through diet to pervent free radical formation.
• On the contrary, regular physical activity increases antioxidant activity against free radicals.

Free Radicals

• Atoms or group of atoms that have an unpaired/odd number of electrons.
• Form when oxygen interacts with certain molecules.
• Once formed, the free radicals start a chain of reactions and can damage DNA or cell membrane and result in a number of free radicals.
• Formation of free radicals is a normal process of the body to neutralize viruses and bacteria, but can pose a problem when too many of them form.
• An excess can be caused by smoking, sunbathing, fried food, excessive exercise, infections, stress, smog and other environmental pollutants, harmful chemicals, toxins, radiation.

Antioxidants

• A defense mechanism against free radicals.
• Safely interact with free radicals to prevent a chain reaction before vital molecules are damanged.
• Donate an electron to a free radical to convert it to a harmless molecule.

The main micronutrients/vitamins that scavenge free radicals are as follows. All of these are required for optimum health and illness prevention, however our bodies cannot manufacture them so they must be supplied to the body through proper nutrition.


Vitamin E

• d-alpha tocopherol, a fat soluble vitamin present in nuts, seeds, vegetable and fish oils, whole grains fortified cereals, and apricots.
• Recommended daily allowance is 15 IU per day for men and 12 IU per day for women.

Beta-Carotene

• Liver, egg yolk, milk, butter, spinach, carrots, broccoli, yams, tomato, cantaloupe, peaches, whole grains.
• Beta Carotene is converted to vitamin A by the body and vitamin A actually has no antioxidant properties and can be quite toxic when taken in excess.

Vitamin C

• Citrus fruits, green peppers, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, kale, cantaloupe, kiwi, strawberries.
• Recommended daily allowance is 60mg a day.

Selenium

• When consumed, activitates an antioxidant enzume called glutathione peroxidase that protects the body from cancer.
• Prevents apoptosis, or cell death and required for proper thyroid function and promotes immunity.
• Nuts-brazilian, fish-tuna oysters, chicken, oats, grains, mushrooms, rice.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Consume a diet high in fruits and vegetables of at least 5 servings of each a day.
- Take part in exercise at least 3 times a week to get your heart rate up.
- Consume berries such as acai berries
- Different fruits and vegetables interact with different parts of the body, so it would be best to get a variety of antioxidants.
- When grocery shopping, opt for fresh, organic, raw fruits and vegetables that are at their highest state to prevent nutrient loss.

Learning to Live with Gluten and Wheat Allergies

Headache? Bloated Feeling? Skin Rash? These are just a few of the symptoms of having a wheat allergy or intolerance.

A wheat-free diet involves cutting out all products made from wheat and wheat flour, such as bread. It is not the same as a gluten-free diet. On a wheat-free diet you just have to cut out wheat products alone, but on a gluten-free diet you must cut out all wheat, oats, barley and rye, because all of these foods contain gluten.

Food allergies are turning into a part of life for a large population of people around the world. Finding gluten free products in stores, restaurants, online, in physicians offices is becomming more prevalent as more people are being affected by this life altering food allergy. The fact is, not being able to go out and have a beer with coworkers, order pasta at an Italian restaurant, have a piece of pizza, a sandwich, have a bowl of cereal for breakfast, or pretty much any staple food in the carbohydrate category, is a huge pain and inconvenience for anyone with this intolerance. However, consuming gluten and wheat when you have an intolerance or Celiac's Disease can tear away at your intestines and gut in general, making you very ill.


An alarming 35-50% of the human population is gluten sensitive, while about 70% is lactose sensitive.

The reason why wheat and dairy are the most common triggers for food intolerance is because they are the most common foods in our diets. Eating a particular food too often can cause the digestive enzymes to be overwhelmed. When this occurs, the particular food is not digested properly. This is likely to happen with foods which are not easy to digest in the first place and wheat and dairy are not easy foods to digest.







Why is wheat difficult to digest?




Wheat is highly  processed and highly sprayed. During processing, wheat germ is stripped from the grain and this process reduces its nutritional content. This means that the body is less equipped to process the toxins from the chemicals from spraying and from the refining process. The liver quickly becomes overwhelmed and stores the toxins in fat cells. Secondly, the wheat protein, called gluten, is very hard to digest.When we consume foods that we are intolerant to we cannot efficiently digest them, which ultimately leads to constipation and not letting go of waste products. In response, the toxin levels in our body rises and the liver stores these toxins in our fat cells. As the toxin levels increase, fat cells in our body are created and maintained to assist with the storage of these toxins. When cut out the foods we are intolerant to, our toxin levels fall and the body disposes of the fat cells.


Although these aspects of having gluten intolerance sounds unbearable, having a wheat allergy may actually benefit you in more than one way and more products will be available as the years go on to make this intolernace a cinch to handle!

 My Wheat Free, Gluten Free, Vegan, Sugar Free, Brownies!

The benefits of avoiding wheat and gluten:

• Weight Loss
• Clear Skin
• Increase Energy Levels
• Feel Better and Look Better

The following is a list of diseases that may benefit from gluten and wheat free lifestyle:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Parkinson’s disease
• Neuromyelitis (inflammation of the nervous system)
• Peripheral neuropathies
• Seizures
• Autism
• Ataxia (loss of balance)
• Late-onset Friedreich ataxia
• Down’s syndrome
• ognitive problems (brain fog)
• Osteoporosis
• Type 2 and Type 1 diabetes
• Anemia

My Wheat Free, Gluten Free, Vegan, Sugar Free ALMOND BUTTER CUPS!

Are You Gluten and Wheat Sensitive? Here's a list of the main side effects:

• Itchy skin and acne prone skin
• Rashes
• Upper respiratory tract problems, sinusitis, allergies, glue ear.
• Malabsorption, anemia, fatigue, osteoporosis, insomnia, lack of calcium, lack of iron and folic acid.
• Bowel complaints, diarrhea, constipation, bloating and distention, spastic colon, Chron's disease, diverticulitis.
• Autoimmune problems: rheumatoid arthritis, bursitis, Chron's disease.
• Nervous system diseases: motor neurone disease, epilepsy
• Mental problems: depression, behavioral difficulties, ADD, ADHD

Products that are OK!

• Buckwheat, bean, sorghum, amaranth, teff, montina, coconut, mesquite, soy, brown rice, quinoa, cornmeal, tapioca, sweet rice, arrowroot, muesli.

There is nothing harmful about eliminating wheat from your diet. On the contrary, it forces you to eat better by eliminating a lot of crappy, unhealthy food from your diet, and forcing you to rethink what you eat.  By cutting back on processed foods in general, especially those foods that contain refined wheat, it will be a sure to improve health and overall well-being!

Helpful Websites:

http://www.wheatanddairyfree.com/
http://www.celiaccenter.org/
http://www.wheat-free.org/

Look out flax, there's a new seed in town!

The most important medicine, especially for prevention and disease is our diet.

• Research has shown that over 2/3 of all deaths in the US are diet related
• More than 50% of all deaths are caused from coronary coclusion-blockage of the blood flow to the heart and/or brain
• According to the Journal of American Medical Association, fourteen hundred American's are dying of cancer everyday and they concluded that
  none of the risk factors for cancer is...more significant than diet and nutrition."

This is where the superfood Chia Seed comes into play:

• When mixed with liquids, the chia seed forms into a gel like substance in your stomach, slowing carbohydrate conversion to sugars thus creating an increased fueling effect for your body and increasing endurance, and also aids in weight loss.
• Chia seeds have hydrophilic properties and can hold on to about 12 times its weight in water, prolonging hydration and are recommended for athletes.
• A solid source of protein, promotes growth of muscle tissue for athletes.
• High in Omega 3 fatty acids, 3-10 times that of other grains, which help nourish skin cells, aid in respiration and oxygen transport.
• A rich source of calcium, containing the mineral boron, which acts as catalyst for the absorption and utilization of the calcium by the body.
• Chia seeds do not need to be ground like the flax seed to be able to process them in the digestive system.

Mix Chia seeds into yogurt, sprinkle them on cereal or oatmeal, add to salads, or even add them to your baking for optimal health benefits!

The truth behind burning body fat!

While it is true that a higher proportion of calories burned during low-intensity exercise come from fat (about 60 percent as opposed to approximately 35 percent from high-intensity programs), high-intensity exercise still burn more calories from fat in the final analysis. However, if you have 30 minutes to spare and workout at a low to moderate intensity, you will burn approximately 200 calories, and 60% or 120 calories of those will come from fat. If you workout for the same time at a high intensity, you will burn around 400 calories and 35% of them or 140 calories will come from fat. Overall, if you have 30 minutes to spare, it would definitely benefit you to push yourself to the highest level you can go, but in the end, you will burn close to the same number of fat calories.




Top recommendations if you are trying to lose body fat:

• Take part in high intensity interval training- running and biking sprints, or sprints on the elliptical or other cardio machines, and running stairs are great examples.  
• Circuit training on weight machines and with free weights and doing cardio-weights-plyometric circuits. Example=jumping rope for 2 minutes, standing lunges for 1 minute, tricep dips for 1 minute, and plank for 1 minute. Do this cycle 3 times and then switch to another set with different exercises.
• Consuming adequate amounts of complex carbohydrates, protein and fat is important. By consuming nuts, seeds, legumes, brown rice, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and some lean meats,  you will feel fuller longer and meet nutritional requirements.
• Keep a food diary- by writing down everything you eat, you can go on myfoodpyramid.com or any website where you can plug in your foods eaten and figure out your calories. By cutting out a few hundred calories a day of your diet, it will ultimately result in weight loss.

Cutting carbs extensively to lose weight? Think again...


Fats and carbohydrates are the primary fuels for exercise. It is estimated that a person stores between 50,000 to 100,000 kcals of energy in the adipocytes (fat cells). Fat and carbohydrates are oxidized (burned) as a mixture during physical activity, which depends on intensity, duration, level of fitness and diet.


There are various studies that indicate the primary fuel at rest and at low intensity activity is fat from adipose tissue. And fat oxidation is highest at moderate intensity activity such as light jogging. Higher intensity exercise such as running use carbohydrate as the primary fuel.


Low carbohydrate diets result in ketosis and most of the weight loss from these diets is due to water weight loss as each gram of carbohydate holds onto three grams of water. When there are no carbohydrates in the diet, ketones are produced, which are emergency sources of fuel to the brain and muscles. It's important to understand that the calorie restriction on a low carb diet is causing weight loss, not the carbohydrate deficit.


Key points to remember that will help your diet plan:

• Fat metabolism depends on carbohydrate- when carbs are depleted, fat oxidation is not possible.
• Fat is the primary fuel at rest and at low to moderate intensity physical activity levels.
• Fat is not an efficient energy source for exercise. 

"What a person eats everyday is an importance aspect of how his or her health will be in everyday as well as later life. "

It all comes down to will power.

And when it comes to being stressed out at work and there is a huge box of donuts in the break room, the last thing you are probably thinking about is your diet or how that donut will affect your organs, blood sugar, and how you will feel and look in the next 20 minutes and in the future. It's difficult, but try to have will power and think before you eat!!!!


So, pack healthy snacks for work that will keep you full and when you're feeling stressed out at work or life in general, breathe and just remember what you put into your body will 100% affect how you look and feel physically and mentally now and 10 years down the line. Snacks that are full of complex carbohydrates (whole grains, oats, flax, bran, agave nectar, etc) which enter the blood stream slowly and digest at a slow rate, combined with a protein such as nuts will keep you full longer.


Examples of great snacks to pack for work:

• Trader Joes snack packs of organic trek trail mix
• Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame plain or with dried goji berries
• Yoplait or Danon lite and fit yogurt
• Trader Joes organic brown rice cakes with Better than Peanut Butter
• A piece of fruit
• Fill a bag with high fiber, high protein, sugarless cereal (Puffins, museli, Kashi)
• celery and PB or better than peanut butter from Trader Joes
• Carrots and other chopped up vegetables
• Back to Nature sunflower and pumpkin seed granola
• Protein Bar (Lara Bar, Raw Bars from Whole Foods, Mini Clif Bars)
• raw peanut butter with organic sugarless jelly on eziekiel bread

Your snacks should be anywhere from 100-200 calories and ideally you should try to keep your blood sugars and liver and muscle glycogen stores in check by consumig a snack every few hours. Also, make sure you are drinking plenty of filtered water in a BPA free water bottle throughout the day and herbal green tea!! You should be urinating once an hour and your urine should be almost clear, which means you are fully hydrated!

Why go veggie?? Here's the top reasons...

I've been a vegetarian for about 8 years when I decided that I needed to take care of myself and live a healthy lifestyle as an athlete. I did this transformation on my own, with not a lot of support from friends and family. The fact is, I could not be happier that I have chosen this lifestyle. Not only am I a lot healthier than I was when I was younger, I also am happier overall. I have acquired a taste for all vegetables, fruits, soy and legumes, and crave healthy foods. I highly recommend this lifestyle to everyone, and am constantly sending my family and friends articles and e-mails about the benefits of being a vegetarian. All of you crack jokes at me still, and try to trick me into eating meat all the time, but get serious...everyone knows that a plant based diet is the healthiest diet and lifestyle to lead, that will ultimately lead to decreased risks for disease and an overall happier person! So, if you don't believe me that eating veggie has some serious benefits, check out this article and let me know what you think!

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/resources/why_go_veg/
 
Easy ways to incorporate veggies into my diet:
- Baking huge portions of vegetables such as asparagus, eggplant, tomatoes, squash, or anything else to last for a few days to save time and energy.
- Easiest way to bake big portions of veggies? Cut up a ton of vegetables and place in large baking dish, sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil, chopped garlic and top with sesseme seeds and place in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until crisp.
- Cut up veggies such as cucumbers, peppers, celery, etc, and place into containers or ziplock bags for easy access throughout the day.
- When it comes to salads, adding a ton of other bright vegetables into the mix will make it taste much better! Mix in sunflower seeds, baked squash cubes, grilled oninos and mushrooms, jicama, tofu, sprouts, grilled tempeh, slivered almonds, chopped zucchini, etc. And for dressings, whole foods Galeo dressings are the best! Also, you can easily make your own healthy dressing with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic, and rosemary, thyme, dill, etc.

Happy World Vegetarian Day!

Check out the website below to find out more about World Vegetarian Day, which is actually the first day of World Vegetarian Month! No worries if you're not a vegetarian...but having a plant based diet full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants will benefit your short term and long term health.

http://www.worldvegetarianday.org/


For those of you who have a hard time making your daily workouts, you're not alone. It's not easy working a 10-12 hour day and then heading home to workout, so here are a few tips that can help push you along.


-If you don't have to be at work until 9:00 AM, wake up at 7 and run for an hour or hit the gym for an hour. Just make sure you eat something small before you work out such as a banana, yogurt, small bagel, bowl of cereal, or anything else that is 100-200 calories or 20-50g of complex carbohydrates. Getting a workout in before work can jumpstart your entire day making you more energized. And once you get home from work, you won't feel guilty about lounging.
-Coming from experience, I can tell you that working out after a long day is definitely worth it. Not only do I feel better and sleep better at night, I feel like I can release my days work of tension on a 1/2 hour to hour run. I would also recommend eating a small snack before your nightly workout to ensure energy levels.
-Overall, logging your food and exercise is a great way to keeping a solid routine and it helps with motivation too!
-Just a side note...when you're on your way home from work and the last thing you want to do is go for a run, just remember how great you'll feel after that workout session!!

Welcome all health freaks on the run!

The fact is, it's hard for the majority of people to keep a perfect diet and exercise regimen. Each of us has our own story of things that seem to occupy our time and keep us from following a solid diet and exercise plan to maintain our health. Between working, school, dinner parties, dates, having kids, weekend football parties, going out with friends, going out to eat, making it out for happy hour, summer bbq's, doctors appointments, and all of the other things that seem to get in the way of our schedule, we're all in the same boat.






It's a challenge. Don't get me wrong, but with the help of a calender or planner, a healthy recipe book and a work out plan, anyone can easily organize and prioritize their life. Planning ahead is key. First and foremost, I would recommend picking out healthy recipes for the week and going to the grocery store the Sunday before you start your busy week. Write down in your planner or on a calender or in your blackberry what you will be eating for lunch and dinner all week. Some healthy options could be grilled eggplant with tofu and lentils, baked asparagus with shrimp or tempeh, whole grain or brown rice pasta with grilled veggies with tomato sauce. All of these options are easy and quick to make and can be made in large quantities to last a few meals for the week!