Saturday, April 4, 2009

Deciphering the Nutrition Facts Label

Deciphering the Nutrition Facts Label: Do You Know What You're Eating?

How much calcium is in macaroni and cheese? Which brand of macaroni and cheese has the least fat? The best way to find out this information and more is to read the food label. All food packages bear the Nutrition Facts label, which is full of useful information to help you eat more healthfully.

Let's look at a sample label for macaroni and cheese to find out what's inside.

Serving Size

The serving size tells you the amount of food that the nutrient information given on the label is based on. Pay attention to the serving size, including how many servings are in a package, and compare it to how much you actually eat. In the sample label above, one serving of macaroni and cheese equals one cup. If you ate the entire package, you would eat two cups, which means you would also consume twice the amount of the nutrients listed on the label.

Calories and Calories From Fat

Calories are a measure of how much energy you get from food. Calories come from three sources: fat, protein, and carbohydrate. The label tells you how many of the calories in one serving come from fat.

Important Nutrients
The top half of the nutrition label lists nutrients that can strongly affect your health. They can be divided into two groups: those to limit and those to get enough of.

Nutrients to Limit

These are the nutrients that can have adverse effects on your health if they are eaten in excess. For example, too much fat, too much cholesterol or too much sodium may increase your risk of certain chronic diseases including heart disease, some forms of cancer, and high blood pressure. Saturated fat is particularly damaging to your heart and arteries. Unsaturated fats, which are not required to be listed on a label, but are often listed when they are contained in a food, are a healthier type of fat. Most of the fat you eat should be the unsaturated type (this includes both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated). Each gram of fat, regardless of whether it is saturated or unsaturated, provides nine calories.

Another kind of fat on the label is trans fats. Most trans fats come from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils as found in vegetable shortenings and some margarines, which are commonly used in baked goods. Trans fats, along with saturated fats and cholesterol increase the "bad" lipids in your blood, putting you at higher risk for heart disease.

Eating too many calories in general can lead to overweight and obesity. Being overweight is a risk factor for many health conditions including type 2 diabetes and osteoarthritis. Therefore, it is essential to also note the total calories listed on the label.

Nutrients to Get Enough of

These are a few of the nutrients that are beneficial to our health, and many Americans may not get enough. These include vitamins A and C, the minerals calcium and iron, and fiber. Calcium can help decrease the risk of osteoporosis and possibly high blood pressure, while Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant. Fiber, which helps to maintain regularity, is also believed to help decrease the risk of certain chronic diseases.

Total Carbohydrate
Here, you can find the total grams of carbohydrate in the product. One gram of carbohydrate provides four calories. Total carbohydrate includes dietary fiber and sugars, which are both listed on the label, as well as other forms of carbohydrate.

The Percent Daily Value (%DV)
The percent daily values are listed in the right-hand column of the Nutrition Facts label. These percentages tell you whether the nutrients in a serving of food contribute a lot or a little to your total daily nutrient intake, 5% or less is "a little" and 20% or more is "a lot."

For example, one serving of macaroni and cheese provides 2% of the daily value for Vitamin C. This is a little and therefore this food is not a good source of Vitamin C. Be sure to eat other foods rich in this vitamin (fruits and vegetables) throughout the day. On the other hand, one serving of macaroni and cheese provides 20% of the daily value of calcium. This is considered a lot; making this food a good source of calcium. You'll still need to eat other calcium-rich foods throughout the day to reach 100% of the daily value, but this food provides a significant amount.

What Is My Daily Value?

The percent daily values are based on recommendations for a 2,000 calorie diet, and are outlined in a table below the Nutrition Facts label. The information in this table is exactly the same on all food products (small food products may not have this table if there is not enough room to display it). These values are based on expert dietary advice for the amount of certain nutrients you should consume over the course of the day.

People's actual calorie intakes can vary widely around 2,000 calories, so you may need greater or lesser amounts of these nutrients based on your actual calorie intake. However, the daily values provide a good starting point to refer to. For example, just knowing that one serving of macaroni and cheese contains 12 grams of fat is not very helpful. But to know that this 12 grams accounts for 18% of the total amount you should have in a day is a more useful way of interpreting it. Also, referring to the note that 5% is a little and 20% is a lot, one serving of macaroni and cheese is closer to "a lot" than "a little" amount of fat.

Comparing Percent Daily Values
The percent daily value makes it easy for you to compare the nutrient contents of different brands of similar foods. But first check the serving size to see that it is the same; serving sizes are generally consistent for similar types of food. This can help you choose the product with the lower percentage of fat or the greater percentage of calcium, for example.

Sugars and Protein
There are no daily values for sugars and proteins.

There is no DV for sugars because there is no specific recommendation for the amount of sugar we should eat each day. The amount of sugar listed here includes both natural sugars (such as those that occur in fruits and dairy products), as well as sugars added during processing. To determine which type of sugars a food product contains, check the ingredient list.

Usually, there is no DV given for protein. This is because protein intake is not a major health concern for adults and children over the age of four. However, if a food package makes a specific claim about its protein intake, such as "high in protein," the %DV must then be included. The average American eats plenty of protein in his or her daily diet. Each gram of protein provides four calories.

Calcium

The DV for calcium is 1,000 (milligrams) mg per day. To determine the exact amount of calcium in a product, you'll need to do a little math, just multiply the %DV by 10. If a container of yogurt contains 30%DV; multiply this by 10, which will give you the value of 300 mg.

The DV is 1,000 mg, which is the recommendation for people ages 19-50. However, adolescents (ages 9-18) need 1,300 mg per day, and people age 50 and older need 1,200 mg each day. For these groups, strive for 130% and 120% of the daily value, respectively.

RESOURCES:

American Dietetic Association
http://www.eatright.org/

US Food and Drug Administration
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

Canada's Food Guide
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/

Dietitians of Canada
http://www.dietitians.ca/

REFERENCES:

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. US Food and Drug Administration website. Available at: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov . Accessed July 15, 2008.

Duyff RL, ADA. The American Dietetic Association's Complete Food & Nutrition Guide . Chronimed Publishing; 1998.

This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Ten Tips to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer

In 2008, an estimated 1.5 million people in the United States were diagnosed with cancer, including over 700,000 new cases in men and nearly the same number of new cases in women. There were also over 650,000 cancer deaths last year, which ranks cancer second only to heart disease as a leading cause of death

Cancer is caused by changes in genes that control the growth and death of cells. The disease develops when cells continue to grow and divide instead of dying off when they get older as they would normally do. As cancer cells multiply, they can damage nearby tissues and can also spread to other parts of the body and develop into new tumors. While improvements in detection, diagnosis, and treatment have increased the survival rate for many types of cancer, we also encourage doing all you can do to prevent the disease as a core strategy of your prescription for optimal health.

With prevention in mind, here are 10 things we can all do to reduce the risk of developing cancer:

1. Avoid tobacco products and second-hand smoke

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States for both men and women. Ironically, it’s also the most preventable type of cancer. Some 87-percent of lung cancer deaths are attributable to exposure to tobacco smoke including roughly 3,000 deaths each year in non-smokers due to second-hand smoke. Of the 45 million Americans who still smoke in 2007, 30-percent of male and 21-percent of female high school students reported using some form of tobacco in the prior month. If you smoke, take the necessary steps to quit for the health of you and your loved ones.

2. Achieve and maintain a healthy weight

Being overweight increases your chance of developing certain types of cancer, including cancer of the esophagus, colon and rectum, and pancreas. Obesity also increases the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women by roughly 50-percent, and endometrial cancer by about three fold. And carrying too much extra body weight is believed to account for up to 30-percent of kidney cancers in both men and women. Make smart food choices, control portion sizes, and fill up on fruits and vegetables to help manage your healthy weight and reduce your risk of cancer.

3. Get moving

The American Cancer Society recommends regular exercise as a way to prevent cancer. Regular exercise burns calories and can help you reach and maintain a healthy weight. Pick something that gets and keeps you moving like walking, hiking, cycling, swimming, team sports, and even dancing. Consider biking or walking to work, or take a walk during your lunch break. Be sure to gradually work up to 30-45 minutes of exercise a day for five or more days per week.

4. Eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains

Fruits and vegetables are naturally rich in dietary antioxidants like vitamin C, vitamin E, and a whole family of carotenoids that may help to protect your healthy genes from oxidative damage. Recent research suggests that eating tomatoes may help to protect against developing prostate cancer, while eating cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts may help to protect against bladder cancer. Fruits and vegetables are also rich in fiber which can speed the transit of food through the digestive system and may reduce the absorption of cancer-causing chemicals. So eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables may be the best way to ensure broad spectrum protection.

5. Fresh is best

Until about 20 years ago, stomach cancer was the most common cancer worldwide, perhaps due to cultural preferences for eating large amounts of salt-preserved foods such as cured meats and pickled vegetables. This finding underscores the point that when it comes to eating most foods, it’s generally best to eat fresh rather than salted, cured, or pickled. In general, the less processed the food, the healthier it will be for you.

6. Limit alcohol intake

Excess alcohol consumption is associated with increased risks of cancers of the oral cavity, throat, voice box, esophagus, liver, breast, and possibly the colon and rectum. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer diagnosed in women, and aside from carrying too much body weight, alcohol intake is the only other established risk factor for this disease. It’s recommended that men who drink alcohol should limit their intake to no more than 2 drinks per day, while women should limit their intake to no more than 1 drink daily.

7. Practice sun safety and check for changes in your skin

Ultraviolet radiation from the sun is damaging to your skin. The genetic damage it can cause to skin cells can lead to skin cancer, a disease that is increasingly common, especially among young people. Be aware that the sun’s peak time is between 10 am and 3 pm and that sunlight exposure can be intensified by up to 50-percent when reflected from sand, water, snow, ice, and concrete. When outdoors, cover up exposed areas and wear sun screen with an SPF of 15 or more. Know your skin and be aware of the location, size, and shape of moles and skin spots, and report any changes promptly to your physician.

8. Reduce your exposure to potential carcinogens

There are many substances in the environment with the potential to put you at higher risk for developing cancer. On the job, minimize your exposure to fumes, dust, solvents, and chemicals. Try to reduce your everyday exposure to potentially-toxic environmental chemicals in the home and…

Dust and vacuum regularly to rid your home of toxins attracted to dust
Open windows and use fresh air to freshen and minimize indoor pollution
Filter your drinking water to remove pollutants
Switch to green cleaning products that are safe but still powerful

9. Know your family history and get screened

Some 5-10-percent of cancers are due to a genetic predisposition to cancer. Family history is a risk factor for common types of cancer including breast, ovarian, colon, and prostate cancer. If you have a family history of cancer your physician may recommend genetic testing to see if you have the type of gene that can increase your chance of developing cancer. For individuals with an average risk of cancer, the following cancer screening guidelines are recommended:

Breast cancer: Women should begin yearly mammograms at age 40 and conduct regular breast self exams starting in the 20’s.
Colon and rectal cancer: Men and women should have one or more screening tests including a colonoscopy starting at age 50.
Cervical cancer: All women should begin cervical cancer screening no later than 21 years of age.
Prostate cancer: Men should have the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and digital rectal examination annually beginning at age 50.

10. Choose your dietary supplements wisely

Whether it’s vitamin D, folic acid, calcium, the antioxidants like vitamin C, vitamin E, and the carotenoids, fiber, or emerging phytochemicals, nutrition surveys have made it clear that your diet is unlikely to be providing all the essential nutrients and other dietary factors you need to be at your healthiest. And dietary supplement studies have yielded compelling evidence that supplements can help to reduce the chance of developing cancer in undernourished individuals.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington published a study in Nutrition and Cancer¹ that evaluated the association between dietary and supplemental zinc and prostate cancer in 35,242 men participating in the VITAL cohort, a study specifically designed to evaluate the impact of dietary supplements on cancer risk. In this study, long-term supplemental zinc intake was in fact associated with reduced risk of clinically relevant advanced disease.

And as reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine², National Cancer Institute researchers found that among postmenopausal women, the greater their total calcium intake from dietary supplements and food up to about 1,300 mg per day, the lower was their risk of developing cancer. For men and women, a diet rich in calcium from supplements and food was associated with a lower risk of developing cancers of the digestive system such as colon cancer. These findings are consistent with randomized clinical trials which have shown that calcium supplementation reduces the recurrence of colon polyps, which are precursors to colon cancer

Clearly, dietary supplements play a key role in making up the nutrient shortfalls in your diet, and they provide a means of achieving optimal nutrient levels needed to achieve and maintain the best of health.

¹Zinc intake from supplements and diet and prostate cancer. Gonzalez A, Peters U, Lampe JW, White E. Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(2):206-15
²Dairy food, calcium, and risk of cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Park Y, Leitzmann MF, Subar AF, Hollenbeck A, Schatzkin A. Arch Intern Med. 2009169(4):391-401

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Sunday, March 15, 2009

Bring Back Breakfast

Bring Back Breakfast
The Neglected Meal

Gone are the days when it was unthinkable to start the day without a good hearty breakfast. Now, people have more excuses than you can shake a spatula at for why they can't or don't eat a morning meal. Do any of these sound familiar?

I don't have time.
I'm not hungry in the morning.
I'm trying to lose weight.
I don't like breakfast foods.
When I eat breakfast, I'm more hungry mid-morning.

The Case for Breakfast
We've all heard it: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But you know what, it's true. Here are some reasons why:

Breakfast is the time to refuel. After fasting for the 8-12 hours after dinner and during sleep, your body needs to replenish its energy supply. The brain is especially in need of a fill-up, because it has no place to store its main energy source: glucose, which comes from the foods we eat. Without eating you won’t be able to think or concentrate. Muscles also rely on glucose for a portion of their energy.

Eating breakfast is associated with better attitudes about work and school. People who pass on a morning meal are often tired, irritable, or restless in the morning. And kids who skip breakfast tend to be tardy or absent from school more often than those who eat breakfast regularly.

Eating breakfast is associated with greater productivity in the late morning. Kids who eat a morning meal perform better in school than those who don't. This is because morning hunger interferes with concentration, problem solving, and muscle coordination.

Eating breakfast regularly is associated with maintaining a healthful weight. According to the American Dietetic Association, kids who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight. There has also been extensive research to show that adults who skip breakfast are more likely to be overweight and obese.

Breakfast can add to the healthfulness of your diet. For example, research has found that people who eat breakfast regularly have higher total intakes of the following:

Vitamin C
Calcium
Thiamin
Riboflavin
Iron
Fiber

No More Excuses
Now it's time to let go of those excuses.

I don't have time. A little planning may help.

Have quick foods on hand:
Dry cereal, have a variety of types for mixing
Single-serving containers of yogurt
English muffins or whole wheat bread or bagels
Fresh, canned, or dried fruit
Instant oatmeal
Spend time on the weekend or a weeknight preparing easy-to-grab foods for the week:
Make your own muffins, breads, or granola
Hard-boil several eggs
Make pancake batter and keep it in the fridge; in the morning, ladle some on the griddle and top with fresh fruit
The night before, whirl together a breakfast shake, milk/yogurt, fruit, ice, and wheat germ, and store in the fridge
Pack foods that you can eat on the commute or at your desk:
A Ziploc bag of dry cereal or trail mix
Cereal bar or granola bar
Can of vegetable juice

I'm not hungry in the morning. Eat something small, such as toast, juice, or an egg, at breakfast time. Bring along a snack for when you are hungry mid-morning.

I'm trying to lose weight. Several studies have found that people who eat breakfast tend to weigh less and be more successful at losing weight than those who do not eat breakfast. Skipping breakfast sets you up to be ravenously hungry later in the day, which can lead to overeating. Of course, you still need to make healthful choices. Be aware of portion sizes. For example, many bagel-shop bagels and muffins are much higher in calories than you think. Also, stay away from some of the traditional, fatty breakfast foods, including:

Bacon
Breakfast sausage
Hash browns
Biscuits with gravy
Doughnuts and pastries
Foods with lots of cheese

I don't like breakfast foods. Anything can be a breakfast food:

Last night's leftovers and a piece of fruit
Grilled cheese and tomato sandwich
English muffin with peanut butter and banana
Bagel topped with avocado spread and sliced fresh tomato
Cheese, crackers, and fruit
Tomato soup and crackers
Pita stuffed with low-fat cheese and salsa
Cottage cheese with fresh or canned fruit and graham crackers
Smoked salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber on a bagel
Baked potato topped with cottage cheese or salsa

When I eat breakfast, I'm more hungry mid-morning. Hunger pangs are a healthy, normal signal from your body. Bring along a snack for these times. Or try eating a little more protein or fat with breakfast to keep you satiated longer.

Back to Breakfast
Eating a healthful breakfast helps prepare your mind and body for the day ahead. Try some of these ideas to bring breakfast back into your routine.

RESOURCES:

5-a-Day Breakfast Tips
http://www.5aday.gov/tips/index.html

Fruits and Veggies Matters
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

Dietitians of Canada
http://www.dietitians.ca/

Health Canada
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The Benefits of CoQ10

Review Provides Evidence of CoQ10 Benefits

At a Glance

A review of CoEnzyme Q10 supplementation confirms its beneficial role in heart, muscle, and neurological health.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

How to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Eating a Diet Rich in Fruits and Vegetables

Here's Why:
Produce has certainly earned its healthful reputation. It's rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals and fiber, while being low in calories and fat. All of these factors contribute to many health benefits, such as:

Lower blood cholesterol levels
Decreased risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease
Decreased risk of certain types of cancer
Lower blood pressure
Lower risk of overweight and obesity.

Here's How:
A total of five fruits and vegetables each day may sound like a lot, but a serving is probably smaller than you think.

One serving of fruit equals:

1 medium piece of fruit, such as an apple, banana, orange, pear or peach
1/2 grapefruit
1/2 cup chopped, cooked, or canned fruit, including berries and grapes
1/4 cup dried fruit
3/4 cup 100% fruit juice

One serving of vegetable equals:

1 cup raw, leafy vegetables, such as spinach, romaine lettuce and broccoli
1/2 cup of other vegetables, cooked or chopped raw
3/4 cup 100% vegetable juice

Within your five daily servings, try for one rich in Vitamin A or beta-carotene and one rich in Vitamin C.

Produce rich in Vitamin A and beta-carotene (which is converted to Vitamin A in the body) include:

Pumpkin
Sweet potatoes
Carrots
Mangoes
Spinach
Cantaloupe
Kale
Apricots
Tomato juice
Nectarines
Papayas
Peaches.

Produce rich in Vitamin C include:

Bell pepper
Papayas
Oranges and orange juice
Broccoli
Strawberries
Grapefruit
Cantaloupe
Tomatoes and tomato juice
Potatoes
Cabbage
Spinach
Collard greens.

To reach five a day, eat some of the following foods at each meal,

For breakfast:

Fresh or dried fruit mixed with cereal or oatmeal
Bagel or English muffin topped with onion and tomato or cucumber and cream cheese
Glass of tomato juice with a spear of celery.

For lunch and snacks:

Bake a sweet potato (microwave on high for 5-8 minutes) and top with black beans
Stir fresh fruit into yogurt
Pop open a can of mandarin oranges
Dip carrot, celery, red pepper, and zucchini sticks into hummus, yogurt, or low-fat dip.

For dinner:

Roast vegetables, onion, squash, peppers and eggplant and spread on a pizza crust with tomato sauce and cheese
Top baked potatoes with steamed broccoli, beans and salsa
Add dried fruit to rice and stuffing
Grate carrots and zucchini into pasta sauce.

For dessert:

Top frozen yogurt with sautéed apples, fresh peaches or canned pineapple
Choose a fruity dessert, such as a cobbler, over a heavier treat, such as cheesecake.

RESOURCES:

American Dietetic Association
http://www.eatright.org

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

Canadian Council on Food and Nutrition
www.ccfn.ca

Dietitians of Canada
http://www.dietitians.ca/

REFERENCES:

American Heart Association website. Available at: http://www.americanheart.org .

US Department of Agriculture website. Available at: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome .

Jiang R, Jacobs DR Jr, Mayer-Davis E, et al. Nut and seed consumption and inflammatory markers in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Am J Epidemiol. Feb 1, 2006;163(3):222-31.

Kuriyama S, Shimazu T, Ohmori K, et al. Green tea consumption and mortality due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes in Japan: the Ohsaki study. JAMA . Sep 13, 2006;296(10):1255-65.

Vlachopoulos C, Aznaouridis K, Alexopoulos N, Economou E, Andreadou I, Stefanadis C. Effect of dark chocolate on arterial function in healthy individuals. Am J Hypertens . Jun 2005;18(6):785-91.

The Importance of Multivitamins

When you review your diet of the past week, ask yourself, “Did I eat the right amount of fruits and vegetables every day?” (Five servings for children, seven servings for women and nine servings for men.) If you can say “yes” – congratulations! If you are like most people you did not reach that goal. And, if you are like most of us, you did not eat all of your fruits and vegetables from an organic source; so, the fruits and vegetables may have been lacking in nutrition. This is why I suggest TriVita NutraFruits. It's the quick and easy way to help you reach your goals.

Staying on top of our nutrient reserve is important. Our bodies make millions of new cells every day: heart cells, brain cells, bone and blood cells. Every time a cell dies it should be replaced. If you do not have the right amount of nutrients to construct a new cell you will either make an incomplete cell or none at all. The outcome is bad in either case, so we really need to keep all nutrients on board at all times. This is why we suggest a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement .

Supplements
The word supplement means in addition to something – to make up for a deficiency. Vitamin and mineral supplements should be taken in addition to a healthy diet. They make up for the deficiency we face due to the poor nutrient density in our foods. They also help out when our diet is less than perfect.

However, supplements won’t make up for bad dietary choices. We simply must commit ourselves to eating healthier foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Still, most of us realize that we don’t always attend to our diet perfectly. We get busy and don’t always think ahead. After all, we eat to live; we don’t live to eat!

Balance
A multiple vitamin and mineral supplement should reflect the nutrient levels of a normal, healthy diet. In other words, if a nutrient normally appears in the diet at a particular level, this level should be reflected in the vitamin. Vitamins C and B-12 are notable exceptions because our ability to absorb them decreases with age. Even more important than the level of the nutrients is the balance of nutrients. The correct proportion of nutrients needs to be maintained. Otherwise, the supplement will create a greater imbalance than it was meant to solve.

A good example of this is the Norwegian Vitamin Trial for heart health (NORVIT). This trial involved a vitamin cocktail that had the right ingredients. But it was so horribly out of balance that it resulted in the deaths of some of the participants by creating severe nutrient imbalances.

How can you tell if your multivitamin supplement is imbalanced? One way is to notice your urine after you take the supplement. If it turns bright yellow or orange after taking a vitamin you can suspect that this supplement is imbalanced. Now, to be fair, the person taking the vitamin may be imbalanced instead. This happens if someone has eaten an imbalanced diet for some time. Still, it is more often the supplement that is imbalanced, not the person.

Conclusion
So, was that discussion about supplements valuable to you? I hope so. Remember, there are a lot of voices speaking to you about everything from which toothpaste to use to which car to buy. You simply must find a voice you can trust.

Take Control of Your Health

Eat the right amount of fruits/vegetables daily with NutraFruits
Children: 5 servings
Women: 7 servings
Men: 9 servings

Focus on organic produce whenever possible
Eat high quality protein daily (34 to 71 grams)
Eat Omega-3 fats every day (flax, walnuts and some fish)
Take a balanced multiple vitamin/mineral supplement
VitaDaily AM/PM (what I take!)

Take an EFA supplement like OmegaPrime
Take Vitamin B-12 every morning
Take Vitamin C every morning and at bedtime

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Weight Loss for the New Year

Don’t Be Slowed Down by Weight Loss Speed Bumps

This is the perfect time of year for an encouraging article on keeping your weight loss goals. Why? Because nearly half of all people in North America make New Year’s resolutions – and the most common resolution is to lose weight.

Within a few weeks the number of people sticking to their resolve declines dramatically. Given the importance of improving our behavior, an encouraging word from an ally may be just the thing we all need to keep our resolve!

Mechanics of weight loss
Let’s review the best advice for weight loss that we have gathered from expert sources over the last several years.

How
Reduce your caloric intake to match your basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR represents the number of calories your body needs at rest; in other words, your body burns these calories through basic functions. So, BMR represents the ideal number of calories you should eat in a day.

Increase your activity to burn one to two pounds of fat per week.
When
Never eat within two hours of bedtime.
Morning exercise is a bit better than evening exercise.
Never consume more than 400 calories in an hour.
What
Eat according to an organized plan. For example, the South Beach, Ornish and Mediterranean diets all provide customized dieting tools.
Do both aerobic and resistance exercises most days of the week.
Why
Your sense of purpose will help drive your success.

Speed bumps
Somewhere along the way you are going to experience discouragement, disappointment or despondency. It may be when:

You hit a weight loss plateau.
You see others doing what you used to do and the old habits pull at your heart.
Your inner voices – I call them my “council of critics” – start to tell you lies about failure and success.

What do you do when you hit a speed bump?

The answer to this question does not lie in the “how, when, what” of weight loss. The answer lies in the “why.” Your personal “why” gives you energy. It inspires you, motivates you, and drives you to complete your goal.

Remember to let your desire fuel your action; let your actions harmonize with your sense of purpose. Simply be resolved to live a life of purpose and you will have the energy to get beyond the speed bumps.

Common setbacks
Unsupportive family: Losing weight with an uncooperative family is very difficult. In fact, diet failure is far more common among people with kids at home than among empty-nesters. A great solution is to turn those sources of distraction into cheerleaders. Recruit your family into your support group. Ask them for help and you may be surprised how helpful a supportive family can be.

Parties and gatherings: Parties and family gatherings are another trigger for setbacks. Food and a festive environment are catalysts for overeating and skipping exercise. Careful planning in advance can really help with food selection and an exercise schedule. And if you do overindulge, remember the “calories in, calories out” rule and increase your exercise for a week or two to burn off the extra calories.

Emotional speed bumps: Depression, discouragement and despondency are also common triggers for diet failure. Remembering the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness can be a good antidote. For instance, Essential #6 teaches us that we need to give and receive love for excellent health. Love moves us to commit ourselves to a life of purpose. Purpose is the reason for action. Therefore, love can help us avoid fear, shame and doubt.

Conclusion
When we commit ourselves to such noble pursuits, do they not deserve our very best attention? We need to define our purpose as the foundation for success. Purpose is an important motivation to help us reshape our thinking. Purpose is the antidote to self-sabotage.

Ponder each of these 10 life-changing essentials for healthy living. You will soon see that each of these gems reflect the light you need to see beliefs that no longer serve your best interests. You can confront self-sabotage and slay the dragons that keep you from reaching your goals. Also, learning and living the 10 Essentials provides you with powerful tools to reshape your attitudes into the very ones that can help you to reach your goals, live the life you want and fulfill your purpose.

Take Control of Your Health

Plan a balance of calories and activity for lifetime weight control
Eat the optimal amount of fruits and vegetables daily
- Men: 9 servings
- Women: 7 servings
- Children: 5 servings
Plan 30 minutes of aerobic activity most days of the week
Do resistance training 2-5 times per week
Supplement to support the four stages of weight loss:
Energy and Metabolism: Leanology Weight Loss Capsules help increase metabolism and energy to support your body’s ability to burn more calories at rest.
Cortisol and Stress Management: Leanology Weight Loss Capsules help to limit cortisol production in your body – cortisol is the stress-induced hormone that can lead to abdominal fat.
Appetite Control: Leanology Appetite Control Chews help reduce the natural hunger signals in your body, minimizing cravings.
Blood Sugar Control: Leanology Nutritional Shakes help your body use the nutrients you eat as energy, rather than storing them as fat.