Enjoy this Unique and Tasty Guacamole!

A Really different, refreshing way to eat guacamole. The addition of baby peas adds an unusual, fresh, sweeter taste to the guacamole. And the peas add a little more fiber as well as decreasing the calories in the guacamole.

GREEN PEA & AVOCADO GUACAMOLE

A Really different, refreshing way to eat guacamole. The addition of baby peas adds an unusual, fresh, sweeter taste to the guacamole. And the peas add a little more fiber as well as decreasing the calories in the guacamole. Try it for Cinco De Mayo–it’s sure to become everyone’s favorite!

GREEN PEA GUACAMOLE

8 ounces frozen baby peas

1/2 large or 1 whole small avocado

1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and de-ribbed for less hotness)

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice from a half of a lemon or lime,

Sea salt, to taste

fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp cumin

2 Tsbs chopped cilantro

1 garlic clove, minced

1 Roma tomato, diced

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup minced red onion

2 Tbsp of plain yogurt or sour cream if desired for a more creamy texture

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and ‘chop’ until combined. Does not need to be well blended, can be chunky. Enjoy with chips or better yet, slice up some cucumber, zucchini, and red and yellow sweet bell peppers for an awesome dip.

Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone!

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN,is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist.
In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.
Her mission is to help others prevent disease, lose weight, and live their best life ever.
Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

The Fat Burning Kitchen will get you started on the path to a healthy diet, weight loss and vibrant health. You will notice a difference in the first 24 hours! Learn about the so-called ‘health’ foods you may be eating that are actually ruining your health, and causing you to gain weight. And find out the best, fat-burning super-powered nutritious foods to eat to lose fat, gain boundless energy, and feel better than you ever have!

Mexican Fiesta Salad with Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette

This is a super healthy meal full of color, fiber, antioxidants and absolutely bursting with vitamins and minerals!
This is a great meal for company, and perfect for summer when these ingredients are easy to find locally…

Mexican Fiesta Salad with Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette

This is a super healthy meal full of color, fiber, antioxidants and absolutely bursting with vitamins and minerals!

It will make you feel full of energy and vitality after you eat this wonderful salad. I like to make this when I have company over because it is so popular. Perfect for summer when so many of these ingredients are easy to find locally, bursting with freshness and nutrition.

I am sure this will become one of your favorites too!

Dressing

¼ cup chopped shallots

¼ cup fresh lime juice (juice of 1 lime)

½ cup fresh cilantro chopped

2-3 cloves of minced garlic

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Combine first four ingredients in medium bowl.

Gradually whisk in oil. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Salad

3 cups of thinly sliced red leaf lettuce (preferably organic)

3 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage

2-3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped

½ roasted red bell pepper (you can usually find these already roasted in the store or see below on how to roast your own)

½ roasted yellow pepper

Half (or more) firm avocado, peeled and diced

¼ cup minced red onion

Half a can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small jalapeno, de-seeded, de-ribbed and minced

1-2 small tomatillos, chopped (green Mexican tomatoes)

¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds or pepitas

½ cup crumbled queso anejo, or feta cheese (optional)

2 chicken breasts (optional), cooked and sliced thinly or shredded with a fork (I usually grill the chicken)

Directions

To roast peppers: heat oven on ‘broil’. Slice peppers in quarters; remove stem and seeds. Place skin side up on flat pan in oven near heat. Roast for 4-7 minutes until skin begins to turn black. Remove and cool. When cool, slide off blackened skin and slice up peppers.

Combine above ingredients in large bowl and stir in dressing just before serving. If you would like to make a meal out of it, add chicken. Serves 4-6.

Enjoy!

Till next time,stay healthy and lean!

 

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.

Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

Easy, Fat-Burning Chili

I made this chili this weekend for a group mountain bike outing.I like to add some unexpected ingredients into my chili recipe, not only for a taste sensation, but to increase the nutrient and antioxidant punch. This chili seems to be a proven crowd pleaser. Adjust the seasonings as you wish for a milder or spicier version.

Tired of holiday eating and holiday food? I know I am. Ready to get back to normal? Maybe lose a few pounds that you picked up over the holidays?

The trick to quick weight loss (and better health) is to pitch the holiday cookies, breads, rolls, and starchy, processed foods. Grains (even whole grains) and sugars are your enemy. As soon as you can wrap your head around this fact, you are well on your way to quick and easy weight loss.

What foods are the best fat burning foods? The best fat burning foods are those foods that nourish your body, satisfy your hunger (you do not have to starve to lose a few pounds!), and KEEP YOUR BLOOD SUGAR STABLE. That includes healthy fats, a good protein source, fiber and antioxidants.

That’s why this healthy chili recipes is just the ticket. Warming, satisfying, delicious, and full of antioxidants, protein, and fiber.

Fat Burning, Supercharged Chili

I made this chili this weekend for a group mountain bike outing. After a long ride outside in the fresh air, sunshine, wind and chilly air, nothing tasted better.

I like to add some unexpected ingredients into my chili recipe, not only for a taste sensation, but to increase the nutrient and antioxidant punch. This chili seems to be a proven crowd pleaser. Adjust the seasonings as you wish for a milder or spicier version.

I personally like LOTS of seasoning, but try to keep it under control when serving this for a group!

The added spices and ‘secret ingredients’ in this chili add a massive amount of healthy, fat burning antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber.

I always add a generous amount of cumin. Not only does it taste great, but cumin stimulates your body’s pancreatic enzymes, which aids in digestion and your body’s ability to absorb nutrients. Cumin also contains iron–and it has powerful antioxidant properties as well. The latest research also shows that cumin has the power to keep blood glucose in check, adding to its fat burning potential.

Oregano contains two oils, thymol and rosmarinic, that are also very potent antioxidants. These antioxidants are so potent that they contain 42 times more antioxidant power than apples, 12 times more than oranges and 4 times the antioxidants of blueberries. Oregano also has anti-bacterial properties, as well as providing vitamin K, iron and manganese, an often overlooked but essential trace mineral.

One of my chili’s ‘secret’ ingredients is cinnamon. Cinnamon has the ability to lower your LDL (the bad kind) cholesterol, keep blood sugar stable, (which means you stay in fat burning mode!), fight certain types of cancer, and helps prevent harmful blood clots (like the kind that cause heart attacks and strokes).

The touch of chocolate in the chili adds a dark, rich flavor to the chili. Dark chocolate powder is chock full of flavenoids, a powerful type of antioxidants. It also contains a rich source of magnesium, a mineral the majority of people are deficient in. (Did you know one of the reasons people crave chocolate is because they need magnesium?) The serotonin and other phytochemicals in chocolate also have a calming effect on mood and lift depression.

Chili peppers have some very powerful medicinal properties. Although some chiles are quite hot, many are valued for their soothing effects on the digestive system, their warming effect on the body, circulation, and as a hangover remedy. (Bet you wished you knew about that yesterday!)

Peppers, especially the hotter ones can prevent heart attacks and strokes and are proven to ease depression and create endorphins.

And chili peppers actually raise your metabolism and help you burn fat better.

I add a variety of chili peppers (canned green chilis, chili powder, paprika, chopped jalepenos, etc.) for the best flavor.

On top of all that you have the super healthy (Omega 3, and CLA) fats in the grass fed beef, the lycopene in tomatoes (known for its cancer fighting ability), and the anti-inflammatory and immune strengthening power of the onions and garlic.

So you see—how can you not feel GREAT when you eat this chili?

Ingredients
1 lb of grass fed ground beef or bison, or beef stew meat, chopped in small pieces
1-2 Tbsp of olive oil
1 medium red onion chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic chopped
2 Tbsp of cumin, or more to taste
2-4 Tbsp of chili powder (I used Whole Foods’ “Valle de Sol”)
1 Tbsp of oregano
1 Tbsp of cinnamon
2 tsp of unsweetened organic cocoa
1 tsp smoked paprika or regular paprika
1 can of crushed fire roasted organic tomatoes
1 to 2 cups of water
2 14 ounces cans of any combination of kidney beans, black beans or pinto beans
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1-2 Tbsp of Frank’s red-hot sauce
½ to 1 tsp of sugar
Red pepper flakes to taste (be careful, these get hotter as they cook!)
Sea salt

Directions
Brown meat over medium heat with onions, garlic, salt, and seasonings. Add in rest of ingredients, and simmer over low heat, 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings to taste, keeping in mind that red pepper flakes pick up heat and intensity as they cook.

Garnish with grass-fed grated cheese (if you would like), avocado slices and a big handful of chopped cilantro. Serves about 4.

Note: This is great for leftovers and tastes even better when it’s re-heated as a leftover. The flavors and spices all mingle together and become richer and tastier.

If you really like your chili served over noodles, try it with spaghetti squash instead, for a gluten free, grain-free version. (Slice a spaghetti squash in half, scrape out seeds and bake, cut side down in ½ “ water in shallow pan covered foil, 30-40 minutes in oven at 375 degrees F. Scrape out “spaghetti with a fork.)  Voila!  Chili Mac the healthy way.

 

Dandelion Greens, Not Just Another Annoying Weed in Your Yard

What if there was a new drug that could cure liver disease, dissolve kidney and gall stones, aid digestion and weight loss, act as a diuretic, eliminate acne, relieve constipation, lower blood pressure and cholesterol…

Dandelion Greens, The Amazing Natural Medicine

Often overlooked as an annoyance in your yard, dandelion greens contain an amazing array of dazzling benefits.
What if you read in the news that medical science just discovered a new drug that could prevent or cure liver disease–including hepatitis, purify your blood, dissolve kidney and gall stones, help digestion, aid in weight loss, act as a diuretic, eliminate acne, relieve constipation and diarrhea, lower high blood pressure, prevent or cure anemia, lower cholesterol, reduce acid reflux, prevent various types of cancers, and prevent or control diabetes?

What if it had no harmful side effects?

All of these benefits are packaged in one plant—the dandelion.
The dandelion is one of nature’s top healing plant foods.

Dandelion has been used for hundreds of years in China, Europe, and the Americas to treat hepatitis, kidney, and liver disorders. And it’s often used as a natural treatment for hepatitis C, anemia, and general liver detoxification.

Rich in beta carotene (plant-based source of vitamin A), fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, cobalt, copper, boron, molybdenum, magnesium, phosphorus, B vitamins, vitamin D, and a good source of protein as well—this plant is as super-powered as you can get!
•    Vitamin A is important in fighting cancers of epithelial tissue, including mouth and lung.


•    Potassium rich foods, balanced with magnesium, help keep blood pressure down and reduce risk of strokes.


•    Fiber helps stabilize blood sugar, lowers cholesterol, reduces cancer and heart disease, and assists in weight loss.


•    Calcium, boron and phosphorus and magnesium work together to build strong bones and can lower blood pressure.


•    B vitamins help reduce stress, aid the nervous system and give you energy.
Dandelion’s strong diuretic properties help to lower blood pressure, and remove excess fluids from the body by increasing urine output, helping to flush toxins from the body.

Dandelion is excellent for reducing edema, bloating, and water retention. Dandelion diuretic is actually as effective as the potent diuretic drugs, Furosemide and Lasix, used for congestive heart failure and cirrhosis of the liver, with none of the serious side effects.

Dandelion roots contain inulin and levulin, substances that may help balance blood sugar, making it helpful in treating diabetes. Inulin, a soluble fiber, also helps digestion by feeding the healthy bacteria in the intestines, where it increases nutrient absorption as well.

Dandelion has had a long history of being effective for helping with weight loss.
In controlled tests on laboratory mice, a loss of up to 30% of body weight in 30 days was possible when the animals were fed dandelion extract with their food.

The bitter substance in dandelion (taraxacin) stimulates effective digestion.
The bitter taste actually promotes the secretion of bile from the liver and gallbladder, as well as hydrochloric acid from the stomach.

Choline is another ingredient of dandelion that is a liver stimulant.

Our livers work very hard to filter the toxins that we come into contact with on a daily basis, and need help removing some of these modern day poisons from our body. Rough skin and acne, constipation, gas and bloating, frequent headaches, and PMS are all possible indications of an overburdened liver.

Dandelion is high in Linoleic and Linolenic Acid–essential fatty acids (omega 3 and omega 6) required by the body. These fatty acids can lower chronic inflammation, such as proliferative arthritis, regulate blood pressure and the menstrual cycle, and prevent unhealthy blood clots.

Both dandelion leaves and root are used to treat heartburn and indigestion. The pectin in dandelion relieves constipation and, in combination with vitamin C, reduces cholesterol.

On top of all that, dandelion contains multiple anti-diarrheal and antibacterial properties.

Dandelion greens are high in oxalate, a naturally occurring anti-nutrient found in some fruits and vegetables that binds up minerals preventing their full absorption and can contribute to kidney stones, gallstones, and gout in susceptible people. 

But luckily, oxalate can be easy to mitigate by simple and light cooking as in the recipe below. 

If you pick wild dandelions, rather than purchasing them at the market, you can take advantage of the flower and roots, which also offer health benefits. But be sure to pick dandelions from areas that are safe from lawn pesticides, car exhaust and passing dogs, however.

The dandelion greens that you buy in the market are usually more mild tasting and less bitter than straight from your yard. You can add them to salads, soups, or stir-fries.

The following is one of my favorite recipes for you to try from my friend, Jenny at Nourished Kitchen :

Wilted Dandelion Greens
Ingredients
1 Tbsp whole mustard seed
1 Tbsp grass fed butter
4 ounces nitrite-free bacon, chopped
1 small shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 pound young dandelion greens, rinsed well and coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons red wine or apple cider vinegar

Directions
Place a cast iron or stainless steel skillet over a high flame and toss in mustard seeds, toasting gently until they release their fragrance – about two minutes.  Transfer mustard seeds to bowl or dish to cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Reduce the heat to medium and spoon butter into the skillet, allowing it to melt until it begins to froth.  Add chopped bacon to the butter and fry it until crisped and its fat rendered. Transfer the bacon to the dish holding your toasted mustard seed.

Toss chopped shallot into the rendered bacon fat and fry until fragrant and softened, about three minutes.

Stir in dandelion greens into the chopped shallot and bacon fat, and immediately turn off the heat as the greens will wilt in the skillet’s residual heat.

Pour in vinegar and continue stirring the greens until wilted to your liking.  Transfer to a serving dish and dress with toasted mustard seed and crisped bacon.

Serves 4, Prep time: under 10 minutes

Enjoy dandelion’s massive health benefits!

Till next time, stay healthy and lean!

 

 

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree innursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

               Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

       Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

 

 

Do You Have the Power to Change?

How do some people totally change their habits while many of us are stuck in the same rut day in and day out? It appears that the key is…

 

happy lady

How do some people totally change their habits while many of us are stuck in the same rut day in and day out?

It appears that the key to losing weight, gaining healthy lifestyle habits, exercising regularly, and being very productive in your work all have to do with having a knowledge of how to form good habits.

Did you realize that most of our lives is really just a mass of habitual behaviors? 

In fact almost half of the behaviors we do on a daily basis (about 45%) are based on habits. Yes we humans are truly creatures of habits. But think about it, habits do serve a very good purpose as well. If we had to actually think through everything we did on a day to day basis, we would go nuts with the details. Habits allow us to function in our lives, and our minds can actually be occupied with other, more important thoughts.

Take driving for example. When you first learned to drive, you had to think about everything—and there were a lot of details! Sit down, put on your seatbelt, adjust the seat and mirrors, adjust the radio and temperature controls, take off the parking brake, put the car into reverse, turn around, look behind you, and put your foot on the gas, and back out of your driveway. Put on the brake, put the car into drive, gently press on the accelerator, and drive. And that’s just the first few feet! Now we can drive for several miles and our minds can be totally preoccupied with other thoughts, but we (usually!) get from point A to point B in one piece with no traffic infractions, right? It’s habit.

One of my favorite books “The Power Of Habit,” by Charles Duhigg, takes a close look at habits and how they are formed. In it, he points out that in almost any scenario in life, habits can be changed for the better, provided we know how they work, how to disassemble then and rebuild other better habits in their place.

And yes, learning about habits can fill a whole book, so I am here to highlight a few things that may help see habits in a whole new light.

The funny thing about habits is that once they are ingrained, they sort of disappear and  operate in the background in our brains, making us behave somewhat like robots with automatically pre-programmed behavior.

The key then, to changing some habits, is to learn how to spot those behaviors and find ways to change them.

It’s not always as hard as it may seem.

One of the interesting things about habits is the ‘context’ in which they happen. Many habits are unconscious behaviors that exist because of certain sets of conditions in the environment. When the context changes, then so do the habits.

The same applies to the things you do or don’t do for your diet and health. Most all of those things we do or don’t do for our health are habits. Now here is where the habits become very important. People often eat out of habit, and exercise or NOT exercise out of habit. Perhaps the cue is sitting down in front of the TV at night. Since you are used to munching on something, every time you sit down in front of the TV, you eat—whether you are hungry or not. You eat at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Habit. Sometimes you eat at meals not because you are hungry, but because it’s habit.

Do you follow an exercise routine? If you do, it’s most likely become a good habit. Or, are you TRYING to get an exercise routine in your life? You need to make it a habit.

How do you do that? Well, if you break it down into its parts, you can analyze how habits work and start implementing the changes you desire. But first, it requires a bit of mindfulness on your part and an awareness of the habits you want to change. Being mindful can really make things snowball in your life. So start paying attention to what you are doing. Really paying attention.

When you take a look at any habit, you will find that habits generally have three parts:

  • The cue
  • The routine, which is the actual behavior or habit
  • The reward

Changing any one of these three parts will help to change a habit.

And the coolest thing about changing any one of these three parts of habits is that they often set off a chain reaction that can be so powerful its ripples affect other habits in a good way.

Take exercise for example. When people add the habit of exercise into their lifestyle, generally the ripples of that habit begin to extend to other parts of their lives—in a good way. Often exercise leads to eating better, and that makes you feel healthier. And then that leads to weight loss, which leads to other good things. Because your mood is better and you feel better, perhaps that leads to better relationships in your life. And maybe the improved relationships in your life improve your work and add to its success, and then you make more money, and on and on…

And the ripples can keep on going…and you end up realizing how much control you have over things in your life, things you thought you could never change!

So what’s important to remember here is that when you change a habit to become a positive habit, the immediate reward is not the only the actual positive change.

There is a definite ripple effect that goes on here.

The other thing about habits, and this is one that I KNOW is important, is that tiny changes and minor little habits have a cumulative effect over the course of your life and when you think about those little ‘things’ that you do, day in and day out, these little ‘things’ matter more than some of the BIG things or big changes.

That cookie you had last night while you watched TV is inconsequential, but if you have cookies EVERY night, it become a much bigger thing. And conversely, adding in a small behavior that benefits you in a positive way may not seem like a big deal, but if you do it day after day, after day, after day, the cumulative benefits start to really add up. You gotta look at the big picture here.

Those small decisions can have a huge impact, as they add up over time.  

Ok, so what about old habits, how do we get rid of them, and do they just go away?

Well, first of all, lets talk about physiology first. Habits actually create a neural pathway in your brain. Much like a dirt road becomes a major highway with repeated use, repeated behaviors create neural ‘highways’ so to speak, in your brain. So, yes, reverting to the major highway instead of carving a new path out of the wilderness is the easiest way to go.

But you want to change your habits, right? So that bad habit that has become the super highway, has to be diverted. A detour. And that detour then needs to become a major roadway. Just like cars and traffic help to change narrow little roads into major highways, you can create that major highway in your neural pathways.

It’s just repeated use over time.

What then happens to that now deserted highway in your brain—the neural pathway that was once a major habit? Does it just disappear? Well, no. It’s still there. Like a deserted highway, weeds may grow up around it, and cracks may appear in the road, and eventually it crumbles over time, but it is still there.

So this is where it gets a little tricky.

You have to find a new behavior that responds to the old cue and gives that behavior a reward and build on that.

So let’s break this down.

1.     Be mindful of your daily routine—and remember that’s more than half of the things you do on a day in and day out basis. Pay attention.

 2.     Identify the behaviors or habits you want to change.

 3.     What is the cue that brings on this habit? Is it a time of day, a location, an emotional state, or other people? What happens right before the habit that triggers the behavior?

 4.     And finally, what are the rewards of that habit? Look closely. Think about this one. Find the reward. Its there, no matter how small that reward is and how unconscious, there is a reward.

Let’s use exercise as a habit. Do you have it now? Want it to be a habit? Ok, add in a reward. It can be a seemingly silly as a smoothie at the end of your workout or you get a latte from the local coffeeshop when you are done. Or it’s just the awesome way you feel afterwards.

Identify a cue—perhaps its your alarm clock going off an hour earlier in the morning, perhaps it’s the workout clothes you have at the end of your bed, ready for you when you open your eyes.

And then, repeat. Build that highway in your brain and reap the rewards.

Once you pinpoint the behavior or habit, the cue and the reward, you can make a plan to change it.

Begin now.

Start with ONE habit you want to change. Put a positive one in place of a negative. It may be something as simple as kissing your child, or spouse or significant other every morning and telling them you love them. The cue is the morning, the habit is showing someone you love them, and the reward is the good feeling it provides both you and them. Small, seemingly insignificant, but huge in the course of a lifetime.

Now do that with your eating habits. Take one thing and change it. Do it over and over again and your life changes. Remember the ripple effect? Go for it.

Sometimes it takes a long time. Sometimes it takes a lot of trial and error, but you can do it. Once you figure it out, you can gain power over your habits and make some major changes in your life.

Takeaway #1

Be MINDFUL of the things you do on a day to day basis.

Takeaway #2

Look at habits you wish to add, remove or change. Replace a bad habit with a good one.

Takeaway #3

Identify the cue and identify the reward. Replace the behavior with a positive one. Add in a cue and a reward. Lather, rinse and repeat over and over again, and you are on your way to positive changes in your life.

What habits do you want to change? How successful have you been?

I’d love to see your comments!

Till next time,

cat

Save the Colorado picCatherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, (studying MSN/PH) is an international health, wellness and longevity expert, author, explorer, and adventurer. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing, she has spent the last 30 years studying sustainable diets, health and nutrition all over the world. She also has 4 books including the worldwide best-seller,  “The Fat Burning Kitchen,” “The Top 101 Foods That Fight Aging”, and “The Superfoods Diabetes Reversal Diet”,  and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health

Her mission is to help create a healthier planet and healthier people.

                             Cat’s Global Green Kitchen

 

 

 

Hidden Food Addictions Can Make You GAIN Weight

Think—what foods do you eat day in, and day out on a regular basis? Foods eaten daily can often cause chronic health problems. Would you believe that the majority of people have some hidden food sensitivities?

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Think—what foods do you eat day in, and day out on a regular basis?

Often these may not even be foods you realize you are eating, but exist as ingredients in many packaged foods. Foods and food substances, eaten every day can often cause chronic health problems like weight gain, puffiness, inflammation—and even more serious health conditions like migraine headaches, arthritis, osteoporosis, neuropathy, bladder infections and other illnesses associated with long-term nutrient deficiencies.

One of the most overlooked and least understood parts of diet is food allergies and sensitivities. Did you know that a large percentage of the population has food sensitivities and don’t know it? Many allergies and sensitivities come are actually food addictions.

Food allergies or sensitivities do not always occur as a big, full-blown allergic reaction with hives, shortness of breath and anaphylactic reactions. Often these food reactions can occur on a ‘sub-clinical’ level without obvious symptoms. But not always obvious is the inflammation and reaction on the cellular level.

As surprising as it sounds, it is possible to be both allergic and addicted to a food or chemical substance—and this is often the case. The two things go hand in hand.

This sets up cravings with both physiological (physical) and psychological (mental or emotional) discomfort, withdrawal symptoms and cravings when the offending food is not available.

While there often is a much longer list, the top offenders are usually foods that contain wheat, dairy, corn or soy. And if you think about it, its pretty hard to avoid these foods as they are the ingredients in many, many processed or packaged foods—and often disguised as ingredients you may not recognize.

What happens in a food sensitivity reaction? Foods that are partially digested leak through the cell wall of the intestinal lining. Then the undigested particles of food are attacked by the immune system as if they are foreign invaders.

When the immune system is activated, our bodies react in a similar way to fighting off a virus or bacterial invasion. The ability to fight other infections drops, inflammation in the body goes up and some kind of reaction takes place. Often it is a chronic reaction because the offending food is eaten every day.

When reactions occur to foods that are eaten on a regular day-to-day basis, there is constant chronic inflammation that can manifest as a variety of symptoms.

Part of the weight gained from food allergies is fluid retention caused by inflammation and the release of certain hormones. In addition, some foods do not break down and digest properly–particularly carbohydrate–in the intestines which can result in a swollen distended belly, indigestion, and gas production.

Eating these foods actually creates a physiological reaction in the body similar to way we would react to an addictive drug like cocaine or heroin. Foods can release substances in the body that create an almost euphoric high. This reaction is just like when an addict gets “high”.  Endorphins and other hormones are released, the body reacts and then withdraws.

And guess what? All addictions have the same type of reaction – whether cigarettes, coffee, heroin, corn, wheat, milk or other foods. Both addictive and allergic responses to a food allergy can cause uncontrollable eating behavior. Every hear someone say they just can’t live without their _________ (fill in the blank here–bread, pasta, milk, etc.) ?

And it’s not just hives or a rash that come from the allergy-addiction syndrome. Most any chronic physical problem can come from a low grade food allergy. As Dr. Ellen Grant reported in the medical journal, Lancet, 85% of people who suffer from migraines could be symptom-free if they eliminated common food allergens. And, there is also strong evidence that chronic arthritis, asthma and diabetes may be caused by allergic reactions as well.

Huge numbers of people have hidden food allergies, which are manifested in the form of addictions. And the misleading thing is that food allergy reactions are not always immediate and severe (as in the case of hives, shortness of breath and other life threatening symptoms), but often reactions are very subtle and delayed for 24-48 hours, making it difficult to trace back to a particular food.

Food allergies and sensitivities can cause symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, heartburn, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, sinusitis, irritability, yeast infections, migraines, rashes, psoriasis, acne, anxiety, depression, insomnia, PMS and more. Chronic food allergies can affect virtually any system in the body.

Often one of the best ways to detect a food sensitivity or delayed allergy reaction is to look at the foods that you eat every day, all the time. Can you go without them? Think about it–if you cannot live without your daily bread, bagel, cereal, etc., its highly possible you have a sensitivity to that food and is most likely it is causing an inflammatory reaction in your body.

What’s the solution? Anyone who is trying to lose weight or has any kind of chronic health condition should look at food allergies or sensitivities. Become suspicious if you eat a particular food every day—and that includes most of us—or if you have a favorite food that you eat often or crave. Pay attention when you are eating—are there certain foods you just cannot get enough of?

Since the most common offenders are wheat, corn, soy and dairy products, the first step is an elimination diet.  Remove all the foods that contain wheat, corn, soy and dairy from your diet for a minimum period of two weeks.

That means reading every label and scrutinizing everything you are eating. Most processed or packaged foods contain these ingredients in some form, so eating simple one-ingredient natural foods is the easiest way to avoid the allergens—and it’s far healthier as well. So for example, eat an apple instead of something out of a box.

It’s important to note that wheat is the primary content of most all flours (except gluten free) and prepared items, so that means cutting out most all breads—whether its whole wheat, rye or white; pastas, crackers, cookies, cereals, and more. However, it’s pretty easy now to find plenty of wheat and gluten free items to substitute–but watch out for added corn in gluten free items.

Wheat and corn starch are also commonly used as thickeners in sauces and gravies as well, so beware when eating prepared soups or eating out when sauces are served with foods.

Doing an elimination diet is NOT easy. You may feel intense cravings the first 24-48 hours after you start and you could begin to feel sick as your body detoxes the offending substances out of your body.

But–if you stick with it–4 or 5 days into the diet, you may suddenly feel like a brand new person!  Your energy will rebound, you will have sparkling mental clarity, and smooth glowing skin. Not only that, but many lose 5-10 pounds in 4-5 days! As you continue on the diet, you may also continue to lose weight, since you are not overeating certain foods to get your ‘fix’.

After the two weeks, slowly re-introduce the allergenic foods, one at a time. Try adding wheat back in for one full day, then wait 2 more days to record any delayed symptoms. When you add in a food, eat it at all three meals to get the full reaction. You may be really shocked!

Food allergies and sensitivities have been ignored by most medical doctors. Because no pharmaceuticals are involved,doctors don’t tend to diagnose or treat health conditions with elimination diet.

The simplest answer to food allergies and sensitivities is to eat pure, natural, whole foods like grass fed meats, fresh fruits and vegetables with ONE ingredient, and avoid processed, packaged convenience foods and fast foods with multiple ingredients.

Removing foods that you are allergic or sensitive to can have life changing benefits. You can actually change health issues such as depression and anxiety, improve your sleep, have better digestion, clearer skin, reduce asthma, stop eczema and psoriasis,  and end arthritis and joint pain, and more. It’s really worth the effort.

To get help for an elimination/detox diet, contact me at Cat (at) simplesmartnutrition(dot) com. I can help you–I’ve been there!

Till next time,

Stay healthy and lean!

 

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN,is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

Her mission is to help others prevent disease, lose weight, and live their best life ever.
Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

The Fat Burning Kitchen will get you started on the path to a healthy diet, weight loss and vibrant health.You will notice a difference in the first 24 hours! Learn about the so-called ‘health’ foods you may be eating that are actually ruining your health, and causing you to gain weight. And find out the best, fat-burning super-powered nutritious foods to eat to lose fat, gain boundless energy, and feel better than you ever have!

How to Deal with Your Child’s Weight Problem While Maintaining his Self Esteem

Editor's Note:

 

Today's post is from Nicole Harris. She has some great tips on how to help keep your child from becoming an unhappy, overweight adult. Starting with better habits now will go a long way towards helping your child avoid obesity, diabetes and many other chronic diseases. 


 

Fear that you may have to buy plus size costumes for your 6-year old boy this Halloween? You can see that your child is getting overweight but you aren't so good at convincing him to quit the soda and the cookies that he is so fond of.

You may also need to get him off the couch and start exercising.

But what if you point out these things and he doesn’t listen? Or, worse, it brings down his confidence irreparably?

You don't want your child to have self-esteem issues. Then how can you address this issue without any of these negative effects? The only way to tell your child all these things without hurting his self-esteem is by tackling it as a family, and making sure he/she feels loved and accepted the way they are. 

You have to tempt your child with healthy foods that also taste good and find a fun, enjoyable program for him/her. Better yet, maybe you should join in too! It is not only healthy for him but also healthy for you.

You will be surprised at some of the changes in diet that your child is willing to make to lose his weight if you involve him in all the decisions. Remember that children are very sensitive and you must be careful that you don’t damage the child emotionally by pointing out his flaws.

Below are a few tips to help your child lose weight by involving the whole family in this weight loss program:

 

1.         Make the meal attractive – There are a lot of online tools that will help you to plan a healthy meal. Plan a colorful mean that looks attractive. Plan a balanced diet or all parts of a healthy meal and then ask your child to fill in the different colors that appeal to him. Sit down and discuss what healthy foods you can add that will match the color of the diet chart. This exercise involves the child and the entire family in planning a healthy meal.

2.         Add New Foods – You can ask your child to help you select a healthy recipe and then shop together for the recipe. This will be a fun exercise for the family and the child will enjoy it. This also works with snack foods. There are a great many healthier options other than chips or cookies. Try apples and peanut butter, or peanut butter and celery, or some tasty trail mix.

3.         Kitchen Time With Your Child – Your child loves cooking with you and this should not surprise you. Give him tasks that are appropriate for his age. He will love helping you in the kitchen and meal times will be looked forward as fun time. You can ask him to pack his lunch and your lunch too. Make him feel that he has chosen the lunch for both of you. He will eat all the healthy foods that he is given and has helped to cook.

4.         Avoid Second Helpings – Don’t set the pot on the dining table. Instead, serve single helpings on the plates and carry them to your dining table. Make sure that everyone has only one serving.

5.         Exercise Together – Exercising can just as much fun as choosing healthy food and recipes is. There are so many things that you can do together. Go for walks or jog together or you can play tennis. Another good option is to join a gym. You may even get a discount when the whole family joins it. This will also limit time before the computer or the Television.

 

Children today are aware of health issues and the dangers of obesity. All they need is some understanding and a gentle push in the right direction. Support them by being a part of their endeavors and your child will soon be happy and fit like you always wanted.

 

Nicole C Harris is a personal fitness trainer and a freelance writer. In her free time, Harris loves partying with her friends and recommends that you should buy themed birthday party supplies online to get great discounts. 

Diabetes–A Deadly Epidemic You Can Avoid


On a recent trip to the grocery store, I noticed several magazines devoted entirely to diabetes. An entire magazine devoted to a disease?

Why?

The number of Americans with diabetes is expected to DOUBLE in the next 25 years — from the current 25.8 million to 48.3 million in 2050. That is 1 in 3 adults in the US with diabetes, it is predicted. 

Of course, annual health costs for treating those patients are expected to soar, doubling from the current $174 billion to some $350 billion and crippling the health care system.

This latest information on the diabetes trends in the United States are pretty convincing proof that the food pyramid, conventional medicine, and the food industry are very wrong in their diabetes diet and lifestyle recommendations.

Those numbers should be DECREASING not increasing.

Obesity is the number one most preventable risk factor to avoid diabetes.

Besides the rapidly growing numbers of diabetics are those with ‘pre-diabetes’, who are well on their way to having full-blown diabetes.

Nearly one out of four people in the US have a condition called ‘pre-diabetes’.
What is ‘pre-diabetes’?

Pre-diabetes is a condition of elevated blood levels higher than normal, but not quite high enough to be diagnosed as full-blown diabetes. Similar long-term damage to the heart and circulatory system is already happening during the pre-diabetes stage.

Physicians can use three different tests to check for pre-diabetes conditions:

•    The A1C test
•    The fasting plasma glucose test (FPG)
•    Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

Both diabetes and pre-diabetes are becoming so common, it’s almost easy to overlook how serious this disease is. It increases your risk of early heart disease and fatal and non-fatal heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events, as well as significantly shortening your lifespan.

The additional health complications include:

·       Heart disease and stroke
·       High blood pressure
·       Blindness
·       Kidney disease
·       Nervous system disease
·       Amputations
·       Dental disease
·       Pregnancy complications

The fact is that diabetes can be preventable and curable.

No you won’t hear this from mainstream medical practice, or pharmaceutical companies, because treating diabetics is incredibly profitable. But a real cure can come from YOU — by changing your lifestyle, your diet and increasing exercise.

Drew Carey did it and countless others have done it too.

Conventional treatment focuses on treating the symptom of elevated blood sugar, rather than addressing the true causes of the underlying disease. Treatments that concentrate merely on lowering blood sugar while raising insulin levels can actually worsen the actual problem of metabolic miscommunication.

Lifestyle Changes Can Get Rid of or Drastically Improve Diabetes

Diabetes is actually not a difficult disease to prevent or reverse because it’s not really an affliction that takes over randomly.

Even the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine concludes that “the majority of cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented by the adoption of a healthier diet and lifestyle”.

The results of a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine show that intense lifestyle changes including diet and exercise demonstrated significant decreases in body weight and lowered blood pressure and A1C blood glucose readings. Cardiovascular health also improved as blood pressure was reduced and HDL cholesterol levels increased.

Diet is the single most important factor which leads to metabolic dysfunction, rising blood sugar, insulin control issues, and excessive levels of triglycerides which then become stored as abdominal fat.

Following a natural diet which excludes all sugar, processed carbohydrates, grains and hydrogenated fats in favor of grass fed meats, wild caught fatty fish, free range chicken, and plenty of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables is the best and healthiest way to regain your body’s natural balance, prevent diabetes and related cardiovascular disease.

1.    Eliminate Grains and Sugars
For the last 25 years, many people have been following the nutritional recommendations dictated by the food pyramid, uninformed physicians, and the food industry of consuming a high carbohydrate diet and avoiding fats. The end result has been a several hundred percent increase in diabetes—so this route is obviously NOT working.

Eliminate foods that cause an insulin response in your body–this includes all types of sugars and grains–even so-called “healthy” grains such as whole, organic grains promote an insulin response. Avoid all breads, pasta, cereals, rice, potatoes, and corn (which is in fact a grain not a vegetable and highly glycemic). You may even need to avoid most fruits until your blood sugar is under control.

Stop eating all refined sugars. This means totally avoiding made with HFCS (especially soda) or other refined sugars, including regular table sugar, syrups, honey, fructose, agave and more. This means reading labels carefully and HFCS has been snuck into many foods you would not suspect—catsup, sauces, soups, mixes, etc.

Do NOT substitute with artificial sweeteners. These sweeteners are very harmful and will cause more health problems in the long run. In addition, they do not help keep blood sugar and insulin levels in check—contrary to what you may have been told. Best to use Stevia—an all natural low calorie sweetener that will not affect blood sugar levels.

2.    Eat real, whole foods.

Refuse to eat refined or processed anything. That includes packaged foods, processed meat (which strongly promotes diabetes) and commercial dairy products. This alone will reduce sugars and lower blood sugar, in addition to giving your body more valuable, disease fighting nutrients.

3.    Get plenty of omega 3 fats in your diet.
There is clear evidence supporting the link between fish oil and diabetes relief. Administration of EPA (a component of omega 3 fats) decreases blood sugar and clotting factors, as well as lowering LDL cholesterol.

A large study on the omega 3 fats and the diabetes link found that taking one gram of omega 3 a day reduced cardiovascular mortality by 30% and the risk of death by heart attack by 45%.

4.    Optimize Your Vitamin D Level
More than 70% of white Americans are vitamin D deficient. That number rises to an even higher percentage among those people with darker skin pigmentation. Vitamin D deficiency promotes diabetes (and cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, immune suppression, and more).

Boost your vitamin D levels with either daily sunshine or quality vitamin D3 supplements. Interestingly, optimizing your vitamin D levels can not only help improve type 2 diabetes if you have it, but can likely eliminate the risk of type 1 diabetes in your children if you are pregnant.

Ideally the best way to receive vitamin D is to get it from the sun, but if you live in colder climates in the winter, it is often hard to do. In that case, you may want to use an oral vitamin D3 supplement.

5.    Exercise
Exercise is an absolutely essential factor, without which you’re highly unlikely to get this devastating disease under control. It is clearly one of the most potent ways to lower your insulin and leptin resistance.

Regular exercise reduces the demand for medication by 20% in diabetics and checking the blood glucose levels before and after exercise can be a motivator to continue the exercise regimen. The benefits of exercise include:

•    Control of blood sugar: Glucose is the source of energy in our body. Physical activity uses glucose and helps to reduce the blood sugar levels. Physical activity also decreases insulin resistance. A few studies have also indicated that activity increases the insulin receptors in the red blood cells.

•    Improved cardiovascular function

•    Psychological benefit: Physical activity is associated with an increased sense of well-being, a positive attitude and improved quality of life.

•    Weight control: Physical activity helps obese/overweight individuals to lose weight and also helps them to maintain a healthy BMI.

Serious lifestyle and dietary changes mean making a huge commitment to implementing and maintaining the changes. However, you can and will greatly improve your health, your quality and length of life if you follow these guidelines. Don’t be a diabetes statistic!

Till next time,

Stay healthy and lean!

cat Healing Chicken Soup

DSC 6815 Healing Chicken Soup

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back-to-basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled “The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation” that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.   

                       Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

               Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

 
Sources:

Time, “Why so Many of Us are Getting Diabetes” November 27, 2009

Elbert S. Huang, MD, MPH1,    Anirban Basu, PHD1,Michael O’Grady, PHD2 and James C. Capretta, MA3, “Projecting the Future Diabetes Population Size and Related Costs for the U.S”. Diabetes Care, December 2009, vol. 32 no. 12 2225-2229

Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, “How I cured diabetes in five steps, and why one-third of U.S. adults will have diabetes by 2050” Natural News, October 23, 2010

Dr. Joseph Mercola, “Diabetes Epidemic Expected to Double”, December 15, 2009.

Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Lipids
Glycemic Control in Type II Diabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome and on Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Renal Disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, and Osteoporosis, http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcsums/o3lipidsum.html.

 

How to Enjoy Holiday Treats and NOT Feel Guilty, or Gain Weight

Editor's Note:

I know I've neglected to post blogs for the last month, but I've been really busy!

I just finished an awesome 290 page book that includes over 125 superfood, fat burning, delicious recipes with full color mouth-watering luscious photos.

You are going to love this book! So please look for here any day!! I can't wait to let you get your hands on this book.

Meanwhile, here is a way to enjoy all those great yummy holiday treats and not feel guilty about eating them. Happy Holidays! 

Feeling deprived this Christmas, trying to avoid all those sweet, yummy holiday treats?

Or have you said, "the heck with it, I'm going to enjoy the holidays and deal with it later!" Only to find that come the new year, you have about 8-10 unwanted pounds that have crept on your body, while you were busy eating and drinking and enjoying yourself.

Well guess what? There is a way to enjoy some of those special treats of the season, not feel deprived, and still burn fat.

Really?

You can actually incorporate 'cheat days' into your diet plan and not get totally off track.

In fact, cheat days may help you lose weight. Cheat days can actually reset your body's metabolism, and actually kick start your body's fat burning ability. And you get to eat some of those ‘taboo’ foods without totally derailing your healthy diet.

There are actually real physiological and hormonal benefits to cheating.

And of course, you can take a break from the somewhat strict confines of your diet and eat what you may be missing without feeling guilty.

How does this work, you ask?

Well it has a lot to do with a recently discovered hormone called, Leptin.

Leptin, is synthesized mostly in your fat cells, along with some coming from your muscles and brain. The amount of leptin you make is controlled by both the quantity and the size of your fat cells. When you eat, and your brain signals that you are full, your leptin levels rise. That tells your body it is ok to go into full gear and rev up the metabolism.

Everything is fine and dandy, right?

Until you are trying to lose weight and cut back on your eating, especially if you cut out carbs…

When leptin levels start to fall, as they do when you’re on a diet and losing fat, they send a signal to your brain to eat more. And unfortunately leptin levels can fall by about 50-60% in just 6-8 days of dieting.

When those leptin levels are low, your primitive brain thinks there must be a famine, and your metabolism slows down. This is where many dieters stall. Weight loss slows, and appetite and cravings go up.

Soon, you may be devouring everything in sight, especially carbs and sugar and anything else, to satisfy this monster.

So how do you fight this?

Enter ‘Cheat Days’.

The goal here, is to periodically increase your leptin levels and avoid those intense cravings, and the slowed-to-a-crawl metabolism.

What do you eat on cheat days? Well, basically those things you’ve been craving, but have previously been off-limits.

Ok, but that means it’s ok to eat a FEW cookies, not the whole plate of beautifully decorated and iced Santa Claus cookies. Savor that baguette or croissant, but don’t eat a dozen. Allow yourself that doughnut you’ve been longing for, but try to avoid eating 10 of them.

The best foods that work for a cheat day are actually carbs, and some suggest that simple carbs (as in doughnuts, bread, pasta, cookies, etc.) are actually the ones that raise leptin levels the best.

In theory a cheat day will:

Increase your thyroid hormone output. The thyroid is the hormone that governs your metabolism. Which in turn, increases your 24 hr calorie output-by about 10% or more. All of this means, then you start burning fat better again.

The big thing about cheat days is that they are a DAY. Not a week, not a month.

A DAY.

And the best way to get the most out of a cheat day is to eat a very low carbohydrate diet the day following your cheat day. Some recommend fasting, but I think this is a bit extreme.

So here we are at the Holiday season, and wow, yes it seems like there is a party every weekend. So choose your party, line up your cheat day and enjoy those hors d’oveures and those frosted Santa cookies, along with a slice of pecan pie.

And keep burning that fat.
 
Enjoy the holidays and stay healthy and lean!

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled "The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation" that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.   

                        Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

          Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.


Agave-A Healthy Sweetener or Fat Fuel?

Is Agave the New “Healthy” Sweetener?

Agave syrup has been advertised as a new “healthy” sweetener that is low glycemic, good for weight loss, and better for you than either regular sugar (sucrose) or high fructose corn syrup.

And sales of agave syrup have skyrocketed in the last few years.

But is it really that much healthier? No, not so much.

What is agave?

Agave is an exotic plant that is a member of the yucca family that grows in the tropical heat of Mexico. It has been used for thousands of years by the Mayans in herbal remedies to help with indigestion, bowel irregularity, and skin wounds. Fermented agave juice is the familiar alcoholic beverage, tequila.

The agave industry would like you to think that agave nectar is a very natural product that goes straight from the plant to a jar and is a healthy, natural sweetener great for weight loss, but this is not really the case.

Agave syrup has been deceptively marketed as a ‘health food’ and it most certainly is not.

The truth is, agave nectar or agave syrup is not a natural sweetener at all, but a highly refined type of fructose sweetener—very similar to the common sweetener, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Depending upon where the agave comes from and the way it is processed, agave syrup can be anywhere from 50-90% fructose!

Guess what?? High fructose corn syrup is about 55% fructose, the rest glucose.

Yep, you heard that right–almost the same exact composition as agave syrup! So that doesn’t make agave syrup a good choice if you’re hoping to avoid the high levels of fructose in HFCS (high fructose corn syrup).

Ok, so what is wrong with fructose?

Isn’t that the sugar that is found in fruit? Well yes, and no.

There is a huge difference between how our bodies handle the natural fructose in fruit and the highly refined unnatural fructose in sweeteners. The fructose eaten in the form of fruit is in its natural form along with lots of fiber, vitamins and antioxidants, and is way different than the concentrated, refined fructose in agave syrup.

When fructose is extracted from fruit, concentrated and made into a sweetener, it wreaks havoc with your metabolism.

Don’t be fooled by agave syrup’s reputation as a great weight loss sweetener. It is not low calorie—in fact it has about the same number of calories as regular table sugar. And while it is often marketed as “low glycemic”, it still contributes to weight gain.

According to most research, fructose, more than any other kind of sugar, contributes not only to insulin resistance, but it raises blood levels of triglycerides (a risk factor for heart disease) in both obese and healthy people.

Triglycerides are a form of fat in the blood, and are stored in the body as excess body fat.

Elevated triglycerides (a key marker for heart disease), contribute to clogged arteries and increased inflammation. Fructose also has a greater propensity than other sugars to increase abdominal fat, which then elevates the risk for diabetes, heart disease and metabolic syndrome.

And the fructose, like that in agave, is most often linked to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

So, if you need to lose weight, fructose is a sweetener you will definitely want to avoid, especially in its refined form.

And if that’s not enough, here are a few other good reasons to avoid agave:

• Eating sweeteners in the form of fructose (both agave and HFCS) doubles advanced glycation end products, (AGE's), which are harmful chemical byproducts that age (no pun intended) the human body.

• Yucca species, together with other agaves, are known to contain large quantities of saponins. Saponins are toxic steroid derivatives, and should be avoided during pregnancy because they might contribute to miscarriage.

These toxins have negative effects on non-pregnant people as well. They can destroy red blood cells, and are especially harmful to people taking statins (cholesterol medicine) and high blood pressure drugs.

• Poor quality control and pesticides. There are very few quality controls in place to monitor farming and production of agave syrup. Most agave sold in the U.S. comes from Mexico. There is concern that agave producers are using other more toxic species of agave plants due to a shortage of blue agave and the agave is heavily sprayed with pesticides.

• Some agave syrups contain a contaminant called hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF, also called 5-hydroxymethyl furfural), an organic heat-formed compound that forms during the refining process of both agave syrup and HFCS. HMF has possible toxic and carcinogenic effects on humans. HMF is also extremely toxic to honey bees.

• Agave syrup is not a whole food–it is refined and processed; devoid of the nutrients contained in the original, whole plant.

Bottom line—agave syrup or agave nectar is NOT the healthy alternative to high fructose corn syrup or sugar.

Nor is it a good sweetener for fat burning or weight loss.

If you are looking for a low calorie, healthy and natural sweetener, use Stevia, or  use raw honey or maple syrup (although not low calorie) in small amounts.

 

Till next time, stay healthy and lean!

 

 

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back to basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled "The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation" that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.

               Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

       Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.


 

Sources:

Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, Jeannette Bessinger, “Agave Health Claim Doesn't Match Its Hype;

Prickly Health Problems Arise from Agave Nectar Sweeteners” Bottom Line’s Daily Health News, March 8, 2010. Bottomlinesecrets.com

Joseph Mercola, “Agave: A Triumph of Marketing over Truth”, July 2, 2009. Mercola.com Joseph Mercola, “Shocking! This 'Tequila' Sweetener is Far Worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup”, March 30, 2010.

Mercola.com Joseph Mercola, “Is this Popular Natural Sweetener Worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup?” July 3, 2010.

Mercola.com Morell SF and Nagel R. , "Agave nectar: Worse than we thought," April 30, 2009.

Weston A. Price Foundation. Westonaprice.org Carr C. "Agave’s sweet spot," January 31, 2009. Time Magazine.

Increase Testosterone Naturally–Not for Men Only!

It may come as a surprise, but testosterone is a hormone that is necessary for both men and women.

Optimal levels of testosterone not only affect (men’s and women’s) libido, but also muscle strength, muscle recovery, lean muscle to body fat ratio, good mood and feelings of well-being, bone density, energy levels, and overall aging.

Testosterone levels tend to decrease starting around the age of 40 at the rate of about 1% a year. Short term that doesn’t seem like a lot, but over a few years, it can be a significant amount and be a cause of low libido, obesity, brittle bones, muscle loss. and depression.

Testosterone levels in the low range may also increase your chances of dying of a heart attack. While low testosterone levels primarily affect men and women in middle age, it can also affect men as young as 30.

The first most noticeable symptom for low testosterone levels is lack of interest in sex.

And this applies to women as well as men. Some men may have difficulty obtaining an erection as well. “If you have reduced levels of sexual desire, have your testosterone level checked immediately,” says Dr. Allen Seftel, a urologist at Case Western Reserve University Hospitals of Cleveland.

Men and women with borderline testosterone scores can raise their levels by natural means before getting into medical testosterone therapy.  And it pays to start at a younger age as well.

Do women need testosterone?

Yes. Women’s testosterone levels start to rise in puberty, because testosterone is actually a precursor to estrogen. Testosterone in women increases libido, helps clear thinking, sound sleep, and overall feelings of well-being and confidence as well helping the body maintain lean muscle mass and less body fat.

During perimenopause and menopause, testosterone production drops as the ovaries stop producing hormones. Women’s ovaries produce most of the testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen in the body.

Most women only replace estrogen after menopause, and replacement of estrogen alone will not correct the loss of interest in sex, loss of muscle, and general lack of mental get-up-and-go.

This decrease in testosterone production is sometimes referred to as andropause in men. Falling levels of testosterone can cause a wide variety of unrelated symptoms including:

-sexual dysfunction, including loss of interest, inability to have orgasms and impotence

-depression

-fatigue

-irritability and mood swings

-loss of strength and lean muscle mass

-increased body fat

-hot flashes

Lifestyle factors such as poor diet, excessive beer drinking, stress, lack of exercise, exposure to environmental toxins, smoking, and certain prescription medications can significantly reduce testosterone.

But there is good news. You can actually increase your testosterone significantly naturally by following the guidelines below.

1. Eat grass-fed beef instead of commercially raised beef.

Commercially raised animals are fed growth-stimulating hormones–including synthetic estrogens, antibiotics and processed grains. These hormones in commercially raised beef affect the body’s natural testosterone levels.

Research shows consumption of hormones from commercial beef contributes to falling sperm counts, cancer, and obesity.

2. Increase your zinc. 

Supplementing with zinc can really help raise testosterone levels. Zinc is the most crucial of all the minerals in the body for testosterone production. And, zinc deficiency is very common in the U.S. population, especially among athletes and the aged. Zinc is missing from most commercially-processed foods, and easily lost by drinking alcohol, sweating, and medication.

Red meat, especially grass-fed meat, is high in zinc, as well as seafood–especially oysters.

3. Along with zinc, vitamins A, E, C and B6 are all necessary to convert pre-hormones in the body to testosterone.

Eating bountiful helpings of fresh vegetables is essential in testosterone production–especially green, leafy and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. These vegetables all contain chemicals that are essential for healthy metabolism of estrogen in both men and women, allowing better utilization of testosterone.

4. Omega 3 fatty acids and saturated fats, are essential for normal testosterone production.

Foods containing cholesterol (your body needs cholesterol, and it will NOT contribute to heart attacks) are excellent, so eating butter, egg yolks and other animal products will supply the necessary cholesterol.

Did you know that the body makes most of its hormones from cholesterol? So, cutting back on fats, cuts down your body’s ability to make the hormones it needs. Studies clearly indicate that low fat diets result in lower testosterone levels. A high protein, moderate amount of fat and lower carbohydrate diet will contribute to the best levels of testosterone.

4. Limit your intake of refined, high-carbohydrate foods.

Of course that means cookies, candy and ice cream, but also starches such as breads, potatoes and pasta. Excess intake of these carbohydrates raise blood sugar rapidly, creating chronically elevated levels of the hormones insulin and cortisol.

Insulin and cortisol oppose testosterone and slow its production.

5. Losing weight alone will restore testosterone production.

In both men and women, fat cells breed aromatase. Aromatase is the enzyme that converts estrogen into testosterone. Fat cells also store estrogen, and too much is harmful to both men and women. As you loose weight your ability to convert testosterone to estrogen diminishes.

6. Lifting weights stimulates testosterone release for men and women, while excessive cardio decreases testosterone.

The best movements involve compuond movements like squats, dead lifts, pushups, pullups and presses. The greatest workout-related testosterone production occurs with the use of heavier weights and lower rep range. A study shows that the best is 85 per cent of your one-rep max. Make sure to train with high intensity for short periods of time. Your overall weight training workout should not last longer than 60 minutes (45 min is optimal). Train hard and get out of the gym to let your muscles recuperate and grow!

Rest Harder Than You Work Out.

If you overtrain — meaning you don’t allow your body to recuperate adequately between training sessions — your circulating testosterone levels can plunge by as much as 40 percent.

To avoid overtraining, make sure you sleep a full eight hours at night, and never stress the same muscles with weight-lifting movements two days in a row.

If you follow the above guidelines you may find your low testosterone symptoms disappear without having to resort to injections, patches or pellets.

If you see no change in your symptoms, you may need to visit the Doctor to get your hormone levels checked. Both men and women, especially those in their 40’s and 50’s, may find that free testosterone levels need an extra boost.References: 1. The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno. 2. Benders’ Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology. 3. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. 4. Ponnampalam EN, Mann NJ, Sinclair AJ. Effect of feeding systems on omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid and trans fatty acids in Australian beef cuts: potential impact on human health. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2006;15(1):21-9. PMID: 16500874. 5. Li D, Siriamornpun S, Wahlqvist ML, Mann NJ, Sinclair AJ. Lean meat and heart health. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2005;14(2):113-9. PMID: 15927927. 6. Dietary lean red meat and human evolution. Eur J Nutr. 2000 Apr;39(2):71-9. PMID: 10918988. 7. Fung TT, Schulze M, Manson JE, Willett WC, Hu FB. Dietary patterns, meat intake, and the risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Arch Intern Med. 2004 Nov 8;164(20):2235-40. PMID: 15534160. 8. Harris WS, Sands SA, Windsor SL, Ali HA, Stevens TL, Magalski A, Porter CB, Borkon AM. Omega-3 fatty acids in cardiac biopsies from heart transplantation patients: correlation with erythrocytes and response to supplementation. Circulation. 2004 Sep 21;110(12):1645-9. Epub 2004 Sep 7. PMID: 15353491. 9. Jiang R, Ma J, Ascherio A, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Hu FB. Dietary iron intake and blood donations in relation to risk of type 2 diabetes in men: a prospective cohort study. PMID: 14684399. 10. Longcope C, Feldman HA, McKinlay JB, Araujo AB. Diet and sex hormone-binding globulin. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2000 Jan;85(1):293-6. PMID: 10634401. 11. Prasad AS. Zinc in human health: effect of zinc on immune cells. Mol Med. 2008 May-Jun;14(5-6):353-7. PMID: 18385818. 12. Image by yongfook. 13. http://www.elements4health.com/grass-fed-beef-can-boost-testosterone-and-lower-cholesterol.html

3 Critical Things You MUST know in Order to Lose Weight and Keep it Off.

If you are working on burning body fat and increasing your energy, there are three key things to keep in mind.flat belly fit girl

These things are so important and so many people are trying like crazy and cannot figure out why dieting does not work. Until you ‘get’ this, weight loss and fat burning will be hit or miss.
Many people have been brainwashed into believe that “calories are calories” all the while trying unsuccessfully to lose weight. Not that simple really….

The first of these principles is to eat food your body recognizes.

By that I mean, eat REAL food. Our bodies have evolved in a relatively short time and the foods we are putting in them are often unrecognizable. Packaged, refined processed foods with chemicals and preservatives in them are foreign substances to the body. Yes, foreign substances.

What happens when you eat something that is processed and unnatural is that the body doesn’t recognize or is confused by something artificial. Unable to metabolize it into usable nutrients, it breaks it down as well as it can, causing a blood sugar response, the resulting insulin surge and viola!

All the calories you have just ingested get stored as fat.

The easy solution? Eat REAL food that your body recognizes. Eat unrefined, natural foods with one ingredient. And for excitement, combine a couple of one ingredient foods for snacks. Like fruit and nuts. Cheese and nuts. Eggs and veggies. Avocado and turkey slices. Get it?

Principle number two: Losing weight is less about calories and is ALL about controlling your blood sugar and insulin response.

Blood sugar spikes cause insulin to be released in the body. Insulin causes the body to immediately start storing everything consumed as fat. That includes anything with any kind of sugar–fructose, glucose, sucrose, etc. That also includes grain products such as corn, wheat, soy, oats and more. And that INCLUDES whole grain products.

Starchy products like potatoes and gluten free foods also stimulate insulin as well.

And, while it sounds healthy, fruit juice is actually just a natural form of sugar water. This is a refined product that basically contains fructose–a sugar–and water. This stuff hits your system fast and your blood sugar spikes quickly. Insulin follows, your body stores calories ingested as fat, blood sugar drops, and you are hungry again. Not good.

Fruit on the other hand, while it too, is full of fructose and too much of a good thing can be fattening, has lots of fiber in it, so the sugar in fruit is absorbed more slowly. Better.

Best–eat fruit with nuts, nut butter, cheese, or other form of protein and/or healthy fat to help it get absorbed more slowly into the body. Result is more stable blood sugar and no fat storing.
So the main trick here is pretty simple: control your blood sugar by avoiding the starchy and the sweet and you stay in the ‘fat burning’ zone.

Principle number three: The nutritional value of your food makes all the difference.

In other words, if you had to choose between something with little nutrition and few calories or a superfood packed with nutrition, antioxidants, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, but high calorie–which would you choose?

The correct answer and the best fat burning, healthy answer is the higher calorie, nutrient dense food. If it’s real, your body recognizes it and packed with tons of nutrition–go for it. Your body will metabolize this food, use it to build health and energy in your body, and rev up your energy and fat burning as a result.

Controlling your blood sugar has significant health benefits other than JUST fat burning too:

-Controlling blood sugar and insulin response actually is extremely healthy for the heart and blood vessels, dropping your risk of heart attacks and stroke immensely.
-Controlling blood sugar and keeping it at an lower even level will drastically reduce your risk of cancer and will prevent any cancer (whether it has been detected or not) from growing.
-Controlling blood sugar is very effective as an anti-aging tool and will keep you looking younger and prevent wrinkles and sagging skin as well.
-Controlling blood sugar also keeps your energy high with no peaks and valleys. You stay alert and vibrant.
-Controlling blood sugar also keeps triglycerides low and helps prevent deposits in the blood vessels.

I will go into these important principles in depth in upcoming articles, and you can read more about these KEY principles in The Fat Burning Kitchen. Check it out.

And start burning fat to get healthy and lean!

America’s Feedlot?

 

Have you ever stopped to think that America is turning into one big gigantic feedlot–but WE are the cattle?

The American public is now living on a diet that consists mostly of corn, wheat, and soy products, very very similar to commercially raised cattle, chickens, and fish.

These industrialized big business agricultural products have been pushed into our food supply in thousands of insidious ways.

Starting with the thousands of packaged, processed items available at the grocery store, all the way back to the feed for commercially raised meats–it seems that corn, wheat and soy are on the ingredient list in some form if you look long enough.

Our diet is way out of whack.

It's far too heavily weighted with grain, and grain-based food products  and grain-fed meat, poultry, dairy, fish and eggs as well.

At least a third or more of your local supermarket’s 45,000 or so ingredients have corn, wheat or soy products or their derivatives in them.

The tricky part is the derivatives do not always say they come from corn, wheat or soy.

The biggest offender is corn. 

Corn is THE most abundant grain produced in America by far!

There is the ever-present high fructose corn syrup, cornstarch, corn flour, corn bran, dextrose, and much less obvious– leavenings and lecithin, mono-, di-, and triglycerides, the golden coloring added to foods, and even citric acid can all be derived from corn and corn bi-products.

Corn is milled, refined and restructured, and can become an amazing number of things, from ethanol for the gas tank to dozens of edible and not-so-edible food products.

Consider the thickeners in milkshakes, hydrogenated oil in margarine, modified cornstarch that binds the unrecognizeable meat in a chicken McNugget.

And then there is the unavoidable sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

This sneaky sweetener has invaded every nook and cranny of the food system.

Sadly, the commercial food industry has done a great job convincing the public that those 45,000 different items in the grocery store are real variety in food instead of clever rearrangements of the same basic ingredients with come chemical flavorings and food coloring to make it all different.

We have unknowingly become trapped in our own feedlots, and now are becoming a country of obese, sick  and apathetic people who care nothing about nutritional quality and the source of our food—simply because, “It tastes good.”

Unfortunately this very dysfunctional food system has also supersized appetites and created food addictions for the sweet and starchy artificially flavored 'food' creating big dollars for food companies in spite of the serious cost to our health and well-being.

And in America, most all conventionally raised meat can be traced back to corn: turkeys, chickens, pigs, and even cows (which would be far healthier and happier eating grass) are forced into eating corn.

Even our farmed fish supply is now becoming corn-fed, like the carnivorous salmon.

All of these grain raised meat then lose their natural nutrition and become full  of unhealthy, disease-causing fats.

There is a way to see exactly how much of your diet is from corn:

Corn has a very specific carbon structure which can be traced in any animal that consumes it.

If you compared a hair sample from an average American and a Mexican who eats a diet high in corn, you would be shocked to learn that the American would have a much larger amount of corn-type carbon in their system.

Todd Dawson, a plant biologist at the University of California-Berkeley says, "We are what we eat with respect to carbon, for sure. So if we eat a particular kind of food, and it has a particular kind of carbon in it, that's recorded in us, in our tissues, in our hair, in our fingernails, in the muscles," Dawson says.

In most Americans, the carbon test shows that about 70% comes from corn!!

“North Americans are like corn chips with legs,” says one of the researchers who conducts such tests.

So exactly what is wrong with eating such a corn-rich diet?

The base of the food pyramid is GRAIN–isn't that what we've been told is healthy? 

We are what we eat, but there is plenty of  evidence that this grain-heavy way of eating not only spreads illness, but waste, and ecological devastation around the world.

The other big problem with corn and a grain based diet, is that the average American diet consists of food products heavy in Omega 6. An average ratio would be about 25:1 of omega 6 to omega 3.

However, nutritional scientists state that mostchronic diseases start occurring and are detectable when the omega 6:3 ratio exceeds 4:1.

And, the optimum ratio, seems to hover around 1:1 which is the ratio found in grass-fed animals. 

Since all grains have high omega 6 to omega 3 ratios, it’s obvious to see that a grain-based food system creates a serious omega 3 deficiency!

All the way back in 70's scientists knew that grain-based foods, and grain-fed livestock products were one of the primary causes many of today's big chronic diseases such as:  Cancer, heart disease, depression, ADD, Alzheimer’s, obesity, allergies, and autoimmune diseases such as lupus and arthritis, diabetes, asthma, and more.

Obviously, to win the battle against all these diseases, we are going to have to make major changes to our diets, and no one food product can solve the problem by itself.

It's a HUGE change.

Primitive man lived on a diet of greens, vegetables, some tart fruits, some nuts, and mostly meat–all grass fed and naturally raised of course. 

That way of eating is often referred to as the Paleo diet, the Hunter Gatherer diet, or the Cavemen diet.

Here is a thought: Corn has the ability to fatten up a beef steer much faster than pasture-grazing does–although it makes the cattle themselves unhealthy and sick as well.

Cattle that have spent four to six months in a feedlot eating grain, have four to six times more fat, twice as much saturated fat, and as little as 1/10 the quantity of omega 3 fatty acids compared to meat from grass-fed cattle.

Of course, this does create big, fat cattle that grow in about half the time as grass fed, the cattle become as sick or sicker than we humans from eating corn and grain.

Corn and grain do not agree with cow's sensitive systems and cattle get GERD, ulcers, and other serious digestive issues. Another big issue with corn is that it is also very low in calcium and can lead to broken bones in the cattle.  Farmers then add soybean meal and it makes the problem worse!  The calves grow way too fast with the extra protein and end up with even weaker bones.

I don't know about you, but I am beginning to draw some parallells here… Is it any wonder that we, as people have so many cases of osteoporosis, GERD, ulcers, and digestive issues?

Do we want to follow in their ‘hoof’ steps?

 

Slowly but surely many of us are. Are we turning into a national feedlot of people?

Let's not be cattle but humans  who can think and who want to be healthy, strong and lean like our primitive ancestors.

 

The combination of a wide variety of grass-fed meats, free-range poultry, wild caught fish, and grass fed dairy products would certainly go a long way to help.

Let's be individuals in our dietary choices and make the decision to not follow the herd. The Fat Burning Kitchen Program will show you how to eat well, avoid grain, have effortless weight loss, and exceptional good health.

 

Till next time, stay healthy and lean!

 

References David Kamp, Deconstructing Dinner, New York Times, April 23, 2006.

Michael Pollan, What’s Eating America, Smithsonian, June 15, 2006

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, If we are what we eat, Americans are corn and soy, CNN 9/22/07

Tim Flannery, We’re Living on Corn!, The New York Review of Book

What They Didn’t Tell You About Cholesterol

I talk to so many well-informed, health-conscious people who are concerned about eating a healthy diet, but the one thing that comes up over and over again is this 'cholesterol-phobia' towards cholesterol and saturated fats.

And if you pay attention to mainstream media, you are probably convinced that high cholesterol and saturated fat intake will lead directly to heart disease.

Well guess what ? That's not necessarily true.

There have been several research studies showing that cholesterol IS NOT the villain in heart disease, but the media and mainstream medicine have yet to adopt this fact.

And so, it is little known–but very valuable–information. Why the big Secret??

While statin drugs (cholesterol lowering medications) are one of the top selling medications in the US, and as the drug companies continually seek to lower the cholesterol level guidelines for administration of these drugs, there is no absolutely no motivation to stop this moneymaking practice.

The drug companies want you to be convinced that you MUST lower your cholesterol in order to live a long and healthy life and avoid heart disease.

Physicians have been taught for the past four decades that cholesterol is dangerous and that it must be lowered at all costs. The "cholesterol is harmful" hypothesis, although never proven, has come to be accepted as an unquestionable fact by physicians and patients alike.

Sad to say, any information that points towards cholesterol being beneficial, tends to fall upon deaf ears.

Well here is a startling fact– Did you know that approximately 75% of the people who suffer heart attacks have cholesterol levels within the 'normal' range?

Just how did this whole "cholesterol will kill you" hypothesis come about?

Back in 1799, an English physician found a waxy substance in the coronary arteries while doing an autopsy. Another English physician, Joseph Hodgson, looking at the same waxy stuff, came up with a theory for it. Hodgson suggested that inflammation was actually the reason the waxy substance was in the arteries. Hodgson's theory, though, ended up mostly ignored.

When another physician, Dr. Ansel Keys observed that death rate from heart attacks were much lower in areas where the food supply was low during World War II, it was assumed it was because people were eating less fat. But the researchers overlooked the fact that these people were also eating less sugar and starchy foods. And so, the connection was established with dietary fats and heart disease.

Dr. Keys proposed a diet high in vegetable oils and low in animal fat, and dieticians, physicians, and medical researchers all jumped on the "cholesterol is harmful" bandwagon too.

But, despite its popularity, the "cholesterol is harmful" theory remains unproven. Conclusive proof that cholesterol itself is harmful does not exist.

In fact, just the opposite is true. People with high cholesterol have been scientifically shown to actually live the longest. Really??

Consider the findings of Dr. Harlan Krumholz of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University, who reported in 1994 that elderly people with low cholesterol died twice as often from a heart attack as did elderly people with high cholesterol.

In fact, most studies of elderly people have shown that high cholesterol is not a risk factor for coronary heart disease.

In fact, studies have repeatedly found that senior citizens with high cholesterol levels tend to live longer than their peers with low cholesterol values. As a group, elderly people with higher levels of cholesterol outlive those with low levels of cholesterol.

Researchers at Texas A&M University also discovered that low cholesterol levels affect muscles, including the heart muscle, and reduce gains in strength while exercising. These findings were recently published in the Journal of Gerontology.

At the conclusion of the study, the researchers found that there was a direct association between dietary cholesterol intake and strength.

Cholesterol actually plays an important role in muscle repair and rebuilding. So considering that the heart, too is an important muscle, why would we want to make our muscles weaker?

There are over twenty studies that show cholesterol is actually beneficial to the health.

In fact, the studies concluded two main facts:

-There is little benefit in lowering cholesterol levels below 260 mg/dL in elderly people.

-Efforts to lower cholesterol increase the risk of developing cancer and shorten life span.

Ok, so what causes heart attacks then?

In 1976, one of the most promising theories about the cause of atherosclerosis and heart disesase, was proposed by Russell Ross, a professor of pathology, and John Glomset, a professor of biochemistry and medicine at the Medical School, University of Washington in Seattle.

These scientists suggested that atherosclerosis is the consequence of an inflammatory process which results from a localized injury to the lining inside the arteries. This injury results in inflammation and the plaques that accumulate from cholesterol in the blood vessels are simply healing lesions. Injury from inflammation may result from high blood sugar levels and other inflammatory substances in the blood like an excess of omega 6 fats, and trans fats.

Think of it this way: if you fell, injured yourself and skinned your knee, then a scab resulted from the body's attempt to heal the injury, would you blame the scab for being the problem?

No–the skinned knee is the result of an injury, right? The scab is not at fault, it is simply the body trying to heal the injury, which ulitimately resulted from a fall.

Same thing with the cholesterol theory. We are blaming the wrong thing.

Cholesterol is a repair substance. Higher levels of cholesterol do not clog arteries. Injury and inflammation cause the arteries to clog up.

So regardless of your overall cholesterol numbers, it is the ratio of HDL and overall cholesterol that matters.

HDL is the component in cholesterol that actually cleans up the plaque in arteries, so obviously striving to keep that number high is key.

How to raise HDL?

Following the diet in The Fat Burning Kitchen Program will get your cholesterol ratios in the healthy range very quickly.

Increase your intake of omega 3 rich foods such as grass fed meats, wild caught fatty fish, organic free range chickens and eggs, grass fed dairy, nuts and olive oil. Reduce your intake of all grains and starchy foods.

Reducing starchy grains in the diet lowers the triglyceride levels–one of the key factors in heart disease. Avoid all sugars (don't forget high fructose corn syrup is in almost everything) and keep blood sugar at a stable level. High blood sugar levels increase inflammation in the blood vessels.

Constant high blood sugar levels not only increase the risk for diabetes, and in turn heart disease, but also lead to metabolic syndrome with weight gain, insulin resistance and damage to the blood vessels.

Avoid omega 6 fats found in vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil and more, increase inflammation in the body. Most any processed food contains one of these types of oils–or even worse trans fats! (Trans fats are any type of 'hydrogenated' oil which are extremely damaging to our bodies.)

Increase your intake of B vitamins. B vitamins are known to lower levels of homocysteine, a key inflammatory component in heart disease.

And of course, STOP smoking, smoking raises LDL cholesterol levels, raises inflammation in the blood vessels and increases chances of having arterial plaque buildup in the arteries.

Avoid These Grains!

 

Cave men didn't eat grains; at least nowhere close to the form we eat today.

But our country has been steadily increasing its consumption of grain for the past 30 or more years. Along with that are the rising numbers of obese and overweight people.

In the 1970’s, the average American ate 85 pounds of flour, 84 pounds of sweeteners, 8 pounds of fried potatoes, and 39 pounds of cooking oil.

Even then, not so good.

Fast forward to the nineties…

By 1997, each of us was consuming 122 pounds of flour, 105 pounds of sugar or other sweeteners, 20 pounds of fried potatoes, and 50 pounds of vegetable cooking oils.

That's almost a pound of knowingly bad-for-you foods per day!

And that doesn’t count a whole lot of other junk food…but clearly, the reason many are overweight or obese today. And today, flours are more refined than ever, missing fiber  and essential nutrients. Processed white flour (alias "enriched wheat flour" or "wheat flour") is missing the two most nutritious and fiber-rich parts of the seed: the outside bran layer and the germ (embryo).

Eating a high starch diets will make you feel fatigued, malnourished, constipated, jumpy, irritable, depressed, and vulnerable to chronic illness.

And, refined/bleached wheat and corn flour fuels high blood sugar levels. High blood sugar leads to insulin release, immediate fat storage, and further hunger.

The more refined foods a person eats, the more insulin must be produced to manage it. This leads to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and weight gain. The refined carbohydrates turn to glucose very quickly once in our systems, stimulating the body to produce insulin.

A vicious cycle occurs: insulin promotes the storage of fat, making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, inflammation and atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

"Enriched flour,"  is very misleading, because only four vitamins and minerals are typically added back, compared to the 15 nutrients and essential parts of the grain that are removed, along with most of the fiber and other beneficial substances such as antioxidants that are removed.

Eating wheat can cause one to feel lethargic, foggy, groggy, puffy and bloated, irritable and depressed.

Many would never connect these symptoms with eating grains; but weight gain, emotional, physical, and mental symptoms are fairly frequent with gluten sensitivity.

Gluten is the protein portion of wheat, rye and barley. It is so widespread in standard processed food today; it is very hard to escape. Unfortunately gluten sensitivity is on the rise (notice the “gluten free” sections at the grocery store?) and it can cause a host of problems.

Best to avoid processed flours altogether!

The American food supply is also heavily based on corn.

Bumper crops of corn help to keep corn prices low which in turn helps to keep many of the items we buy at the store low-priced. Contrary to popular belief, corn is a grain, not a vegetable, and is really not appropriate as a dietary staple for several reasons—one of them being that corn has a high sugar content.

When civilizations such as the Mayans and Native Americans changed their diet to a corn-based one, rates of anemia, arthritis, rickets, and osteoporosis skyrocketed.

Our bodies were not made to exist on grain-based foods. This evidence shows up in the archeological records of our ancestors. When archaeologists looked at skeletons of native Americans in burial mounds in the Midwest who ate corn as their primary staple, there was a 50% increase in malnutrition, four times as much incidence of iron-deficiency, and three times as much infectious disease, compared to the more hunter-gather ancestors who primarily hunted and did not eat grain.

Keep in mind that we are not just talking about corn-on-the-cob (sweet corn) here… we are also talking about corn cereals, corn chips, and other modern corn-based foods that are promoted by food companies as “healthy”.

There are several reasons researchers give for the nutritional problems and the weight gain caused by a corn-dominated diet:

* Corn contains lots of sugar, which raises insulin levels, causes you to be hungrier and causes your body to store calories as fat. Don’t be mistaken, just because corn does not taste obviously sweet, doesn’t mean it isn’t full of sugars. Once eaten, your body quickly turns corn products into sugar.  Even the starches in corn products can be broken down quickly by your body spiking your blood sugar levels, and causing cravings for more carbohydrate-based foods.

* Corn is also an poor source of protein, usually deficient in 3 of the 8 essential amino acids: lysine, isoleucine, and tryptophan. The essential amino acids are so-named because they must be obtained from the diet, since the body is unable to manufacture them.

* Corn contains a high amount of phytate, a chemical that binds to iron and inhibits its absorption by the body. So, consequently, a diet high in phytate can make people more likely to have iron-deficiency anemia and fatigue. Phytate is also a nutrient blocker and inhibits other vitamins and minerals from being utilized.

* Corn is a poor source of certain minerals such as calcium and some vitamins such as niacin (B3). Deficiencies of niacin can result in a condition known as Pellagra, which is common in civilizations that eat a lot of corn. It can cause a variety of symptoms such as dermatitis, diarrhea, and depression. Since we are now a nation of corn-eaters, it wouldn’t be surprising that this is more common here than we realize.

It's not just people who eat too much corn.

A large amount of the nation's corn crop ends up feeding commercially raised cattle, which are cheaply fattened on corn and other grains before slaughter. Beef from corn-fattened cattle also has much higher ratios of inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids than healthier grass fed beef. Most meat in supermarkets comes from grain-fed animals.

Because corn and other grains are an unnatural diet and difficult to digest, cattle raised on corn develop higher stomach acidity, which is a breeding ground for the dangerous E. coli O157:H7, the deadly strain of the bacteria.

While eliminating refined grains such as corn and wheat (yes, it seems they are in everything!) can seem a very daunting task, the reward is a return to wonderful health, sparkling eyes, clear skin, clear thinking, weight loss as the body is once again able to extract appropriate nutrients from food, and a resolution of nutritional deficiencies from the lack of absorption.

Once you commit to eating a diet of whole and natural foods, you will begin to eliminate a large amount of these grains.

Although many grocery stores, health foods stores, and online companies are now offering a wide selection of wheat-free/gluten-free foods including breads, bagels, cookies, cake mixes, doughnuts, etc; it is best to avoid these as much as possible. While they are made without wheat, they still contain other refined and process grains and wheat substitutes such as tapioca flour and corn flour.

Best thing to do is avoid grains–especially wheat and corn–all together. Substituting another processed grain may bring about a small improvement, but not the drastic improvement necessary.

Try two weeks with no grain products. I guarantee you will see some drastic improvements in your weight and general outlook!

Till next time,

Stay healthy and lean!

 

 

cat Healing Chicken Soup

 

 

 

DSC 6815 Healing Chicken Soup

Catherine (Cat) Ebeling RN BSN, is a back-to-basics diet and nutrition specialist. In addition to her advanced degree in nursing from a major medical school, she has spent the last 30 years intensely studying diet, health and nutrition. She also has a book titled "The Fat Burning Kitchen, Your 24 Hour Diet Transformation" that has sold over 60,000 copies worldwide, and has helped thousands of people transform their lives, lose weight and improve their health.   

                       Her mission is to help others prevent disease and live their best life ever.    

               Nutrition made Easy. Simple.Smart.Nutrition.

Best Healthy Sweeteners

Our craving for sweets often ruins the most well intentioned lean body plan, and we succumb to
chocolates, handfuls of cookies, a slice of cake, a generous scoop of ice cream, or other such decadent
fare. The key ingredient in all of these items and essentially most of the sweets available on the market
is sugar or worse, high fructose corn syrup.

Too much sugar is often the culprit in sabotaging our diets, but it seems hard to avoid or resist. Sometimes you just crave a little something sweet. Artificial sweeteners are loaded into so many foods and snacks promoted as “diet” foods, but the long-term negative health aspects, as well as the potential weight gain is good reason
for you to avoid any and all artificial sweeteners.

Fortunately there are a variety of natural sweeteners that have been quite common in
supermarkets for a very long time, and are likely sitting on your shelf in your pantry at this
very moment.

Honey makes an excellent alternative to sugar and has some health benefits for you
compared to refined sugar. Although honey is still a form of sugar (and you need to be
aware of its caloric impact), one benefit of honey vs. refined sugar is that several studies
have found that raw honey can actually improve your body’s ability to process glucose. On
the other hand, refined sugar negatively affects your body’s ability to process glucose over
time.

Different types of honey contain different nutrients and health benefits, depending on types
of pollen and flowers the honey comes from. All honey possesses antibacterial agents and
act as an antioxidant. Honey contains vitamins B2 and B6, and is a good source of iron.
Consuming just a spoonful of honey each day can raise the antioxidant levels in our bodies,
and it is also the healthiest natural sweetener available for those with Type 2 Diabetes. Raw
honey can often be found at Whole Foods, local farm stands, and even some grocery stores,
and is by far the best you can get—and chock full of enzymes, as well as the above listed
nutrients.

Honey is a great replacement for sugar in many recipes, and because it is quite a bit sweeter,
you can use a smaller amount. The rule of thumb is about a 1/2-cup of honey per cup of
sugar. Also when cooking, you should also reduce liquids in the recipe by a 1/4 cup to
ensure proper consistency. Honey also serves to brown foods more easily as they cook, so
cooking temperatures should be lowered by 25°F.

Maple syrup is another product many of us have in the home and another natural sweetener
that can often be used in place of sugar. We are talking about real, pure, natural maple
syrup—not Aunt Jemima (which is just flavored corn syrup)! Real maple syrup is a good source of minerals and trace nutrients. As with honey, maple syrup is also a useful antioxidant, and possesses a good amount of zinc,
which can help prevent atherosclerosis and lower cholesterol, as well
as strengthen the immune system.

Maple syrup can be purchased in three specific colors or grades, each
denoting a particular flavor. The lighter syrups (grade A) will possess a more subtle flavor, while the darkest coloring (grade B or C) yields the strongest, sweetest flavor. The darker maple syrups typically contain higher
antioxidant and nutrient levels than Grade A maple syrup.

As with honey, you need to be aware of the high caloric level of maple syrup as it is still a
concentrated source of sugar, but it is definitely a better choice than refined sugar. My
personal preference is to use just a tiny pour of real maple syrup in my coffee instead of
white sugar. For teas, I prefer to use a small dab of raw honey instead of refined sugar.
Maple syrup is also great on oatmeal too.

Even though honey and maple syrup are slightly healthier options compared to refined white
sugar, your best bet is to still reduce your dependence on added sweeteners to food and
drinks by learning to adjust your taste buds to prefer less sweetness. As a matter of fact,
I’ve trained my taste buds over the years to prefer the taste of unsweetened iced tea these
days compared to years ago when I absolutely needed some added sweetener. Same with
coffee – although I still occasionally use a small dab of real maple syrup in my coffee, I’ve
adapted my taste buds to be able to enjoy a plain black coffee as well.

Blackstrap molasses is another option for a natural sweetener that can be used in baking. It
is a particular type of molasses that is rich in several essential vitamins and minerals,
including a good concentration of manganese, iron, calcium, potassium, and more. It is also
substantially lower in calories than other natural sweeteners.
Because molasses has a such a distinctive flavor, it may not be used as often as other natural
sweeteners as a replacement for sugar, but it can impart some foods with unique flavors,
such as baked beans and gingerbread.

A natural sweetener option that is calorie-free

Newer low or no-calorie sweeteners are just coming out. The healthiest of these is
stevia. Stevia comes from the leaves of a shrub native to Paraguay and Brazil, stevia has
been used as a sweetener for many years in South America. Stevia is about three hundred
times sweeter than sugar, and has all the benefits of a sweetener without being bad for you
or fattening. It’s truly natural, not some chemical compound from a laboratory, free of
calories, doesn’t promote tooth decay, and won’t elevate blood sugar levels, or cause weight
gain.

To sugar-crazy, and diet conscious Americans, stevia should be incredibly popular and well
known, but up until recently, it was not allowed in food or easily found. The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) banned stevia in 1991. Why? Like many proponents of stevia, the
sugar industry has a hand in the FDA’s strict stance. The FDA ban allowed it to be sold as a
dietary ‘supplement’, and it can be found in most health food stores in the supplement aisle,
right next to the vitamins. Most of the time, it is pretty difficult to find and never in the
sugar or sweetener aisle…until now.

In the many years that stevia has been used in South America, and Japan, no ill health
effects have ever been attributed to its use.

Just this year, US-based beverage giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola reported they were looking
to switch from (or at least offer customers the choice) Splenda for a sweetener they have
more invested in: Rebaudiosides A (Reb-A), developed from stevia.
The actual name of the plant is stevia. The stevia plant also contains the sweeteners Reb-A,
B, C, D and E; dulcoside A; and steviolbioside. “We’re testing stevia and Reb-A in a variety
of products, but it absolutely comes down to taste,” said Joe Tripodi, chief marketing officer
for Coca-Cola.

Like all the previous low-calorie sweeteners out there, there have been some conflicting
stories on the health benefits and safety of stevia but it has been approved by the FDA as a
general-purpose sweetener since December 2008.

In 2005, Coca-Cola and the food giant Cargill began to work on their own form of the
sweetener. The companies are now marketing their stevia sweetener as Truvia. You may see
food items now sweetened with Truvia. Coca-Cola is initially using Truvia in two of its
Odwalla juice drinks and in the new Sprite Green.

PepsiCo’s stevia sweetener is being marketed as PureVia, and like Truvia, the marketing is
pushing the fact that it is natural. “This is a potential game-changer among zero-calorie sweeteners,” said Lou Imbrogno, PepsiCo’s senior vice president of Pepsi Worldwide Technical Operations, at a press
conference in July 2008. PepsiCo’s partner is using stevia in its Sobe Lifewater drinks and in
a new line of Tropicana orange juice, Trop50.

Stevia is the standout sweetener in the marketplace, because it is what the public is looking
for in a low-calorie sweetener to replace the questionable and not-so-natural Splenda and
NutraSweet chemical artificial sweeteners.

Stevia’s sweetness comes from its leaves. The stevia leaves are milled, and a freshwater
brewing method is used to extract the sweetness. This extract is then purified further until a
very high purity Reb-A is obtained.

Splenda’s creater, McNeil Nutritionals is getting in on the stevia craze as well. In March,
Sun Crystals All-Natural Sweetener was launched, which combines stevia with pure cane
sugar. This will be marketed as being as natural as sugar with half the calories.
NutraSweet has reported that they were not worried about stevia.

But coincidentally, the company is working on its own NutraSweet Natural made with
stevia! At least now they can compete head-to-head with stevia in the market.
While the previous chemically-processed artificial sweeteners have been connected to lung
tumors, breast tumors, and other rare types of tumors; several forms of leukemia, and
chronic respiratory disease in several rodent studies, as well as rashes, headaches, and other
serious and nasty side effects, stevia, Reb-A and its derivatives seem to be the safest of all
low-calorie sweeteners for the moment.

You can find stevia blends for your own use at this site: Naturally Stevia

Try Stevia in your favorite beverages like coffee, tea, lemonade, and more. Depending on
the brand and type of Stevia you use, the taste may vary. Some of the health food store
varieties had a “green” aftertaste, but really not bad—just something to get used to. Now
that Stevia is becoming more mainstream, the taste has improved. And some Stevia comes
in liquid form with great flavors like vanilla, toffee, lemon, etc. Give it a try!