Water is not only the most common substance on earth -- it's also the most common substance in the human body ...making up more than 60% of a person's weight.
The water in our bodies performs all kinds of tasks: transporting nutrients to the cells, keeping eyes, mouth, nose and other membranes moist, flushing toxins and waste out, maintaining temperature, lubricating joints and protecting organs. Yet many of us don't drink enough water daily from all sources to properly hydrate this wonderful system.
Add stress, exercise, or illness to your day, and it is possible to become dehydrated. Dehydration can be uncomfortable - even causing light-headedness and muscle cramps - at worst, it can become life-threatening---that's just how important water is to our bodies.
How much water should you drink each day? Somewhere in the range of 8 - 10 eight-ounce glasses is just about right. Sounds like a lot -- and I know it is a lot more than some of us get --- but it is possible to get that - and to get it in some surprising ways. Other liquids besides plain tap water can help you meet that quota - including fluids in watery foods like watermelon, celery and tomatoes. Tea, coffee, juice and even soda ( which I don't recommend!) help meet the 10 glasses a day goal. But pure water, whether from a tap or bottle is the real thirst-quencher and liquid cleanser your body craves!
When we are aiming to lose weight, water is a powerful ally! Did you know that sometimes we think we are hungry - even craving salty foods - when in actuality we are thirsty! So when you start to get a snack, ask yourself: am I thirsty. Even drinking water before eating a snack - or a meal - can help you feel fuller and avoid over-eating.
Whether you like your water plain, or with a twist of lemon or lime: you can indulge in this calorie-free, life enhancing liquid anytime you want!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Don't Drink Your Calories
As you saw in the post about high fructose corn syrup, most soft drinks available for purchase are sweetened with some amount of that sweetener. So are many fruit based drinks.
It's possible to drink more than 50,000 empty calories per year if you regularly have pop, fruit juice and/or sweet tea. That converts to a lot of pounds.
I always advise people not to drink their calories Or their fruit. the vitamins and fiber in fruits is not nearly as available to us when the fruit has been processed into juice. Read the label on a carton of orange juice in comparison to the nutritional content of a whole orange and you will see what I mean.
By and large, we should be drinking water. It doesn't matter if it is tap water, spring water or bottled water; I do draw the line at the flavored waters that have a sweetener added and "vitamin" water. To me that is a waste of money, when you can get the vitamins and minerals you need from healthy whole foods. My philosophy is to consume *real* food...that's one of the reasons I don't like pop as a daily beverage: it's a manufactured, processed product (I can't even call it a food). And did you know that unless your bottled water specifies it is spring water, it is probably purified water from some city's tap. Doesn't mean it's bad -- just means you can drink your own tap water and save money and plastic.
I know several pediatricians who tell their young parents to only give their infants formula, milk or water. No juice. I applaud them! Their reasoning is that the juice is basically a sugary drink. Don't feel that you are depriving your young ones! They don't know what they are missing, and they are much more likely to eat the beneficial fruit itself if their taste buds don't get used to juice.
The Best Life's Bob Green (formerly Oprah's trainer!) has teamed up with Nestle to challenge Americans to replace a sugared drink each day with water.
Here's what he has to say:
Water is a good alternative for your weight management compared to sugared beverages, which may contain up to 160 calories and 40 grams of sugar per 12 ounce serving.
Drinking water is a simple way to keep well-hydrated and as a consequence help maintain concentration and alertness.
Take a water break! Busy days at work, home, or even running errands can keep you from meeting your food and fluid needs. A lack of water can leave you dehydrated; even mild dehydration can drain your energy.
Stay hydrated while working out: Before you begin, drink 8 ounces of water, and then during your workout, drink about 4 to 6 ounces of water (about 5 to 7 gulps) every 15 minutes. After the workout, follow-up with another 8 ounces of water
Click here to find out more or to join the more than 32,000 Americans who have taken the Pure Life Challenge to replace their pop with zero-calorie water!
It's possible to drink more than 50,000 empty calories per year if you regularly have pop, fruit juice and/or sweet tea. That converts to a lot of pounds.
I always advise people not to drink their calories Or their fruit. the vitamins and fiber in fruits is not nearly as available to us when the fruit has been processed into juice. Read the label on a carton of orange juice in comparison to the nutritional content of a whole orange and you will see what I mean.
By and large, we should be drinking water. It doesn't matter if it is tap water, spring water or bottled water; I do draw the line at the flavored waters that have a sweetener added and "vitamin" water. To me that is a waste of money, when you can get the vitamins and minerals you need from healthy whole foods. My philosophy is to consume *real* food...that's one of the reasons I don't like pop as a daily beverage: it's a manufactured, processed product (I can't even call it a food). And did you know that unless your bottled water specifies it is spring water, it is probably purified water from some city's tap. Doesn't mean it's bad -- just means you can drink your own tap water and save money and plastic.
I know several pediatricians who tell their young parents to only give their infants formula, milk or water. No juice. I applaud them! Their reasoning is that the juice is basically a sugary drink. Don't feel that you are depriving your young ones! They don't know what they are missing, and they are much more likely to eat the beneficial fruit itself if their taste buds don't get used to juice.
The Best Life's Bob Green (formerly Oprah's trainer!) has teamed up with Nestle to challenge Americans to replace a sugared drink each day with water.
Here's what he has to say:
Water is a good alternative for your weight management compared to sugared beverages, which may contain up to 160 calories and 40 grams of sugar per 12 ounce serving.
Drinking water is a simple way to keep well-hydrated and as a consequence help maintain concentration and alertness.
Take a water break! Busy days at work, home, or even running errands can keep you from meeting your food and fluid needs. A lack of water can leave you dehydrated; even mild dehydration can drain your energy.
Stay hydrated while working out: Before you begin, drink 8 ounces of water, and then during your workout, drink about 4 to 6 ounces of water (about 5 to 7 gulps) every 15 minutes. After the workout, follow-up with another 8 ounces of water
Click here to find out more or to join the more than 32,000 Americans who have taken the Pure Life Challenge to replace their pop with zero-calorie water!
Friday, August 6, 2010
High Fructose Corn Syrup: The Godzilla of Added Sugars?
If you took part in the detective game of looking for sugars on the labels of foods in your kitchen, did you find many foods that listed high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)as an ingredient? And if you did, was it one of the first ingredients on the label?
If so, those are foods I will suggest that you consider crossing off your grocery list and finding a less sweet substitute. High fructose corn syrup has only been around in our food production since the 1970's. It is a cheap, easy to produce, and easy to transport sweetener that helps foods stay moist longer.. Because it is so sweet to our taste buds, manufacturers can use less of it to sweeten a soft drink, for example, than they would if they used old-fashioned sucrose (white sugar), saving money on every can they sell. That wouldn't be such a bad thing were it not for the consequences that many nutritionists and scientists associate with the rise of HFCS in our diets.
There are many studies in progress testing high fructose corn syrup and its affect on human metabolism and its influence on obesity. Many scientists are already convinced that HFCS has a leading role in the rise of obesity in America.
HFCS is a corn-based product that is super sweet. Our bodies react differently to HFCS than they do to other sugars, causing problems with our blood glucose levels, insulin resistance and other hormone responses - particularly involving the hormone leptin that signals us that we are "full" or satisfied.
DiabetesHealth.com cites these problems that are believed to be caused by too much HFCS:
It can lead to higher caloric intake
It can lead to an increase in bodyweight
It fools your body into thinking it’s hungry
It increases the amount of processed foods you eat, thereby decreasing your intake of nutrient-dense foods
It may increase insulin resistance and triglycerides
To read more about HFCS at DiabetesHealth.com, click here
If so, those are foods I will suggest that you consider crossing off your grocery list and finding a less sweet substitute. High fructose corn syrup has only been around in our food production since the 1970's. It is a cheap, easy to produce, and easy to transport sweetener that helps foods stay moist longer.. Because it is so sweet to our taste buds, manufacturers can use less of it to sweeten a soft drink, for example, than they would if they used old-fashioned sucrose (white sugar), saving money on every can they sell. That wouldn't be such a bad thing were it not for the consequences that many nutritionists and scientists associate with the rise of HFCS in our diets.
There are many studies in progress testing high fructose corn syrup and its affect on human metabolism and its influence on obesity. Many scientists are already convinced that HFCS has a leading role in the rise of obesity in America.
HFCS is a corn-based product that is super sweet. Our bodies react differently to HFCS than they do to other sugars, causing problems with our blood glucose levels, insulin resistance and other hormone responses - particularly involving the hormone leptin that signals us that we are "full" or satisfied.
DiabetesHealth.com cites these problems that are believed to be caused by too much HFCS:
It can lead to higher caloric intake
It can lead to an increase in bodyweight
It fools your body into thinking it’s hungry
It increases the amount of processed foods you eat, thereby decreasing your intake of nutrient-dense foods
It may increase insulin resistance and triglycerides
What do I think? I consider HFCS to be to sugar what trans-fat is to regular saturated fat: it makes something we have to be careful about even more dangerous. I think it is interesting that the wide-spread use of HFCS in our foods - even foods that have other sweeteners in them - coincides with the time that obesity rates began to rise dramatically in America. Where can we find large amounts of HFCS?
That's right....High Fructose Corn Syrup is the ONLY sweetener in all regular soft drinks in America. And how much sweetener are we getting per serving when we drink a can of Coke or Pepsi?
Yep, that's right....the equivalent to 10 teaspoons of sugar in a regular size can. But don't you find that these days, that middle bottle is what usually comes out of the vending machine? And, if we buy it, we usually drink it.
I once worked with a patient who made only one lifestyle change: he stopped going through a drive-through restaurant on his way to work. His habit was to get a large Dr. Pepper every morning, five mornings a week. This meant he stopped buying his very large cup of regular Dr. Pepper every work day. He just quit doing it. Started drinking coffee and water at work instead. After 9 or 10 months went by, he noticed he had lost 25 pounds.Without trying. Just by eliminating one source of hidden, added sugar. I guess we can say, he defeated the Godzilla of sugars!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Is Sugar Hiding from You?
Even when you read a food label, you can be fooled into consuming more sugar than you think you are unless you know what words to look for beyond the obvious one: sugar!
I'd like to challenge you to an exercise right in your own kitchen.
Look at the labels on food packages in your cupboards, pantry, freezer, and refrigerator. Every food label has its ingredients listed right below the nutritional values.
Your mission is to read the ingredients on each food to see if you find any of the words on this list (courtesy of health.msn.com):
Brown sugar
Cane juice and cane syrup.
Confectioners' sugar
Corn sweeteners and corn syrup
Dextrose
Fructose
Fruit juice concentrate
Glucose
Granulated white sugar
High fructose corn syrup
Honey
Invert sugar
Lactose
Maltose
Malt syrup
Molasses
Sucrose
Syrup
White sugar
Surprised? That's 19 different ways to say "sugar"!
If you are like me, you may be amazed that so many foods that we don't even think of as being "sweet" have more than one kind of sugar as an ingredient!
It can take a little time to learn which brands have the least amounts of hidden and added sugars, but it will pay off health-wise and weight-wise, to comparison shop for grocery items that are lowest in all kinds of added sweeteners.
I'd like to challenge you to an exercise right in your own kitchen.
Look at the labels on food packages in your cupboards, pantry, freezer, and refrigerator. Every food label has its ingredients listed right below the nutritional values.
Your mission is to read the ingredients on each food to see if you find any of the words on this list (courtesy of health.msn.com):
Brown sugar
Cane juice and cane syrup.
Confectioners' sugar
Corn sweeteners and corn syrup
Dextrose
Fructose
Fruit juice concentrate
Glucose
Granulated white sugar
High fructose corn syrup
Honey
Invert sugar
Lactose
Maltose
Malt syrup
Molasses
Sucrose
Syrup
White sugar
Surprised? That's 19 different ways to say "sugar"!
If you are like me, you may be amazed that so many foods that we don't even think of as being "sweet" have more than one kind of sugar as an ingredient!
It can take a little time to learn which brands have the least amounts of hidden and added sugars, but it will pay off health-wise and weight-wise, to comparison shop for grocery items that are lowest in all kinds of added sweeteners.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The "Stop Light" Carbohydrate: Added Sugars
Sugar is the simplest carbohydrate we have and the biggest boost to our blood glucose levels we can get from food. Need a quick zap of energy: most of us choose a sugary carb-rich food. Some times we don't even know we are doing it!
Many carbohydrate foods have some kind of sugar in them.Even milk! We may think of milk as a protein food - actually it belongs to the dairy food group - but if you read the label on a carton of any kind of cow's milk, you will see each serving has about 12 grams of carbohydrate, and nearly all of those are labelled as sugars in the form of lactose ( simply put, lactose is milk sugar)
You can view the carbohydrate content of each type of cow's milk by re-visiting the blogpost about the 1% or less campaign.
Of course lactose occurs naturally in milk, just as fructose occurs naturally in fruit. The fructose in fruit is why we call fruit a simple carbohydrate...the sugar in most fruit is released to our blood streams quickly.
But what happens when berries or apples are processed into juice or jelly? If you look at food labels you may find that their natural sweeteners are enhanced by added sugar in the form of sucrose, maltose, honey, corn syrup or - worse yet - high fructose corn syrup.
The same thing happens to many, if not most processed foods: including breads of all kinds, cereals, canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, juices and "juice drinks", sauces and spreads like ketchup, salsa and peanut butter, frozen "meals," and yogurt. Most of us can handle the naturally occurring sugars in our carbohydrate foods, but the added sugars have made a big contribution to our nation's weight problem. I am astonished that sugar is sometimes added to foods that are already sweet - or that don't seem to need more sugar at all!
Added sugar provides lots of calories in very little food and virtually all of those calories are empty. That's why the refined sugar carbs earn a "Red Light'!
You can view the carbohydrate content of each type of cow's milk by re-visiting the blogpost about the 1% or less campaign.
Of course lactose occurs naturally in milk, just as fructose occurs naturally in fruit. The fructose in fruit is why we call fruit a simple carbohydrate...the sugar in most fruit is released to our blood streams quickly.
But what happens when berries or apples are processed into juice or jelly? If you look at food labels you may find that their natural sweeteners are enhanced by added sugar in the form of sucrose, maltose, honey, corn syrup or - worse yet - high fructose corn syrup.
The same thing happens to many, if not most processed foods: including breads of all kinds, cereals, canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, juices and "juice drinks", sauces and spreads like ketchup, salsa and peanut butter, frozen "meals," and yogurt. Most of us can handle the naturally occurring sugars in our carbohydrate foods, but the added sugars have made a big contribution to our nation's weight problem. I am astonished that sugar is sometimes added to foods that are already sweet - or that don't seem to need more sugar at all!
Added sugar provides lots of calories in very little food and virtually all of those calories are empty. That's why the refined sugar carbs earn a "Red Light'!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Refined Carbs:Proceed with Caution
Yesterday we gave the "green light" to complex carbohydrates: the whole grains and colorful vegetables and fruits. Have you noticed that I always say "vegetables and fruits" instead of "fruits and vegetables"? There's a reason for that.....
Complex carbohydrates like oats, whole wheat, navy and pinto beans and most vegetables are full of FIBER. Fiber is our nutrition and weight loss friend! These carbs that get absorbed slowly into our systems, avoiding spikes in blood sugar levels. Some fruits are also fiber-rich, especially those whose skins we eat, but some - like bananas - are very sweet.
WEbMD explains the connection between fiber and weight management this way:
Why Fiber in Carbohydrates Counts
Fiber slows down the absorption of other nutrients eaten at the same meal, including carbohydrates
This slowing down may help prevent peaks and valleys in your blood sugar levels, reducing your risk for type 2 diabetes.
Certain types of fiber found in oats, beans, and some fruits can also help lower blood cholesterol.
As an added plus, fiber helps people feel full, adding to satiety.
The problem is that most Americans don't eat a diet high in fiber. We tend to eat lots of carbs....but usually it's lots of refined carbs. What's a refined carbohydrate and why is it so bad?
Some carbohydrate foods are processed to look or taste a certain way: they are peeled, hulled, milled, bleached and sweetened -- in that refining process, the fiber is stripped away. White flour is probably our guiltiest carb..and if you think about it, many of us eat a muffin or white toast for breakfast, a sandwich or burger on a white bun at lunch and then have white rice or pasta for dinner. Throw in a couple cookies or snack cake, crackers or pretzels, and you have nothing but a steady stream of fiber-poor, refined carb foods all day long. And these refined carbs can keep your blood sugar level spiking all day.
So those are the foods we want to eat in moderation. They're not green light foods - which may take some adjustment on your part if that carb-scenario sounded familiar to you. The refined, white flour/white sugar foods and the super sweet fruits are yellow, caution-light foods!
Complex carbohydrates like oats, whole wheat, navy and pinto beans and most vegetables are full of FIBER. Fiber is our nutrition and weight loss friend! These carbs that get absorbed slowly into our systems, avoiding spikes in blood sugar levels. Some fruits are also fiber-rich, especially those whose skins we eat, but some - like bananas - are very sweet.
WEbMD explains the connection between fiber and weight management this way:
Why Fiber in Carbohydrates Counts
Fiber slows down the absorption of other nutrients eaten at the same meal, including carbohydrates
This slowing down may help prevent peaks and valleys in your blood sugar levels, reducing your risk for type 2 diabetes.
Certain types of fiber found in oats, beans, and some fruits can also help lower blood cholesterol.
As an added plus, fiber helps people feel full, adding to satiety.
The problem is that most Americans don't eat a diet high in fiber. We tend to eat lots of carbs....but usually it's lots of refined carbs. What's a refined carbohydrate and why is it so bad?
Some carbohydrate foods are processed to look or taste a certain way: they are peeled, hulled, milled, bleached and sweetened -- in that refining process, the fiber is stripped away. White flour is probably our guiltiest carb..and if you think about it, many of us eat a muffin or white toast for breakfast, a sandwich or burger on a white bun at lunch and then have white rice or pasta for dinner. Throw in a couple cookies or snack cake, crackers or pretzels, and you have nothing but a steady stream of fiber-poor, refined carb foods all day long. And these refined carbs can keep your blood sugar level spiking all day.
So those are the foods we want to eat in moderation. They're not green light foods - which may take some adjustment on your part if that carb-scenario sounded familiar to you. The refined, white flour/white sugar foods and the super sweet fruits are yellow, caution-light foods!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Making Sense of Carbs
If you look again at the list of carbohydrate foods in the last post, it can seem overwhelming to sort them out and know which foods it's wiser to eat. You may have heard people say "don't eat any white foods" or that they are going on a low-carb/ high protein diet, or that they are carb-counting. We'll try to apply the KISS principle here, and keep it all a little simpler!
Let's start with the carbohydrates you want to eat the most of: the complex carbs. This group includes "whole" grains like oats, barley, brown rice and whole wheat. They are complex because they have not been bleached or had their fiber-rich coatings "refined" away. These are the grains you want to choose when you choose grains.You can be comfortable having one of these complex carb choices at eat meal.
Other complex carbs include vegetables and fruits - great sources of vitamins C, A, calcium, iron and other minerals - and - again! - FIBER! A point to remember is that the more colorful the vegetable or fruit (red, orange, dark green or dark blue) the more vitamin-packed it is likely to be. Using color as your cue, it follows that blueberries, greens like spinach, bell peppers, broccoli, raspberries, carrots, yams, and green beans are going to be our fruit and vegetable high-fiber powerhouses. Again, you can choose from this group at every meal.
Notice I didn't list potatoes and corn there? That's because they are vegetables that fall into the starch category. Starchy veggies are as detrimental to our weight loss program as other high calorie starches like pancakes, waffles, muffins, cookies, dinner rolls and some breakfast cereals. So limit them if you are watching your weight.
When you make your shopping list this week, make sure you have included the non-starchy complex carbs we've listed!
Let's start with the carbohydrates you want to eat the most of: the complex carbs. This group includes "whole" grains like oats, barley, brown rice and whole wheat. They are complex because they have not been bleached or had their fiber-rich coatings "refined" away. These are the grains you want to choose when you choose grains.You can be comfortable having one of these complex carb choices at eat meal.
Notice I didn't list potatoes and corn there? That's because they are vegetables that fall into the starch category. Starchy veggies are as detrimental to our weight loss program as other high calorie starches like pancakes, waffles, muffins, cookies, dinner rolls and some breakfast cereals. So limit them if you are watching your weight.
When you make your shopping list this week, make sure you have included the non-starchy complex carbs we've listed!
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