Summer Drinks and Weight Gain

In the summer we tend to drink alcohol then in the winter months. Sitting on the dock at the cottage with a beer, or enjoying a bottle of wine with friends in the backyard, living in Canada, we tend to take advantage of the couple months of warm weather we have by treating every evening like an all inclusive vacation. But remember, everything in moderation!

Facts About Beer & Wine:

Did you know,

- That’s because it’s difficult for your body to use alcohol calories for energy that those calories usually get turned into fat

- A gram of alcohol is worth 7 calories, compared with a gram of protein or carbohydrate, worth 4 calories each.

- One glass of white wine is almost 200 calories!

- A light beer ranges 100 calories with approximately 5grams of Carbs!

- A average beer ranges between 150-250 Calories!

Remember to drink in moderation, keep your cool with a glass of water and if you’re drinking beer, go light!

Wine is always a great treat and one glass of red wine can really be beneficial to the body. Yet over consumption of wine can lead to generous weight gain that you won’t be feeling to “summery” about.

And if you tend to drink a lot one night, as hung over as you are the next day, TRY TO WORK OUT! Weight loss is like math, calories in vs. calories out.

And remember to always drink responsibly!

Happy Wednesday!

The Healthiest Foods on Earth

Touted as the most important meal of the day, breakfast stands true to its value and importance in healthy aging and living. How about this for a wake-up: Recent research indicates eating a healthy breakfast may help you lose weight, perform better at work, and lower your risk of heart disease and obesity. Healthy breakfast choices are easy and simple to whip up with the same great taste but better nutritional value. This will help you lose the weight and in turn lower your risk for a number of ailments.

Here are healthy breakfast choices to start your day right.

Slice and Enjoy: To enjoy all the healthy benefits of your favourite fruits, eat them immediately after cutting. This is to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and antioxidants the fruit has to offer because prolonged air exposure destroys key nutrients of the fruit.

Make Breakfast the Biggest Meal of the day: In a study conducted at Virginia Commonwealth University, “participants who ate a 610-calorie breakfast rich in carbs and lean protein (including milk, whole-wheat bread, turkey, eggs and cheese) for eight weeks lost more than 21 percent of their body weight, compared to just 4.5 percent for the eaters who consumed a 290-calorie breakfast. The first group also reported less hunger and fewer cravings overall.”

Buy a Good Juicer: Almost all frozen and canned juices can contain preservatives and added sugar. Getting a juicer or citrus press to make freshly squeezed drinks at home are a more healthy choice, not only do they taste better but they have all the nutritional value frozen and canned juices don’t have.

Instant oatmeal: Considered the holy grail of healthy breakfasts for most, yet many don’t stop to think all they are just adding water to oat cereal packed with lots sugar and sodium. Select a brand with less than 5 g of sugar and 170 mg of sodium, or better yet take a few minutes to cook quick oats and serve with skim milk and fruit.

Cereal: Cereals can pack up to 600 calories and 30 g of fat – before you add milk! So be sure your cereal choice is high-fibre or a whole-grain variety. (Whole/rolled should be in the first ingredient) Grab a measuring cup to ensure a single serving and so you don’t over pour because it’s easy to do so.

Pick a Wholesome Protein: Enjoy eggs, low-fat dairy, soy or lean meat every morning: Protein is highly satiating and promotes calorie-burning. Add a side of complex carbs such as whole-grain toast, oatmeal, fruit or veggies. Fibre balances blood sugar for sustained energy and helps regulate cholesterol also increasing your metabolism.

Enjoy a Second Cup of Coffee or Tea: “A study conducted at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands found that drinking coffee or tea in moderation reduces your risk of heart disease. Researchers studied more than 37,000 people over 13 years and found that those who enjoyed two to four cups of java a day had a 20 percent lower risk of heart disease than those who drank less than two. Ditto for tea: Those who sipped three to six cups daily had a 45 percent lower risk than those who consumed less than one cup.”

Now that summer seems to have finally arrived, summer festivals, barbeques, beach parties and social gatherings are in full swing although they often include unhealthy food options. For those who are health conscious (or trying to be), the extra fat and calories add up quickly, leading to possible weight gain or a decrease in nutrition levels. Learning how to navigate the food temptations of summer will be the key to a successful summer nutrition plan during the hot and hazy days.

Finding healthy summer nutrition options will be the root of your success this season. While most summer events feature less than healthy options like burgers, fries, cakes and hot dogs, you can make the healthier choice. Choosing a veggie burger, grilled chicken, vegetables or a salad minus the fries are the best choices, it reduces your fat and calorie intake. Another suggestion is sharing your high-calorie dish with a friend; you get a taste without going overboard.

Summer nutrition also includes staying hydrated especially when enjoying outdoor activities. Water is your best option, as high-calorie sodas, juices or alcohol will not be suffice to battle the heat. Keep a bottle of cold water with you whenever you go out in the summer to avoid extreme thirst. In addition, taking advantage of the wide array of fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables will boost your nutrient, vitamins and mineral levels.

Have a healthy summer with healthy food options, while still enjoying the simple things!

Now that summer has finally arrived, people are anxious to enjoy the sunny days by taking part in outdoor recreational activities. Pleasant as this may be (heating up your body after a long, cold winter), it is important to be aware of how excessive heat can affect your body. Most people have heard of heat stroke, heat exhaustion and heat cramps, but few are aware that these are three different conditions, and that they must be treated separately. It is important to be able to recognize the signs of heat stroke, heat exhaustion and/or heat cramps and know how to respond should they occur.

Of the three conditions, heat stroke is the most serious. Heat stroke is the overheating of the body that occurs when the body’s sweat mechanism breaks down. This condition can be fatal, and therefore, it is important to identify the signs of heat stroke and react immediately. The typical symptoms of heat stroke are: hot, flushed, dry skin; rapid pulse; rapid breathing; and a very, very hot body temperature (40-41C). These symptoms may be preceded by a headache, dizziness, or fatigue and may progress to cause disorientation, unconsciousness or convulsion. When the signs of heat stroke are evident, act immediately to quickly lower the body temperature by: removing clothing and placing the person into an ice bath or sponging them with rubbing alcohol; administering fluids (water); and, calling for an ambulance.

Despite the fact that heat exhaustion is less serious than heat stroke, symptoms should be taken seriously if they are present. Heat exhaustion occurs when there is excessive depletion of salt and water from the body. The sweat mechanism is still working, but there is a drop in blood pressure due to a decrease in blood volume. The symptoms are pale, moist, cool skin; normal or slightly below normal body temperature; slow, weak pulse; shallow breathing; and, confusion and weakness. When you suspect someone is suffering from heat exhaustion, find a cool place and rest the person on his or her back with the feet slightly elevated and the head lowered. Administer small, frequent amounts of clear fluids, keep the person warm to prevent chills and, finally, do not allow the person to resume activity.

Heat cramps are another common annoyance of summer exercise. These cramps are usually caused by a loss of sodium chloride (salt) due to profuse sweating during strenuous activity and high atmospheric temperatures. The onset of heat cramps is usually abrupt and should be dealt with by replacing fluid and salt to the body. Massaging the area may also be helpful.

Stay cool and enjoy your summer!

Drinking plenty of fluids on a daily basis is essential to maintaining body hydration and replacing lost fluids.  This is especially important during the hot, hazy summer days, particularly when engaging in recreational activities.  Proper fluid intake can help improve athletic performance, the ability to complete daily activities and can also improve your overall personal health.  Staying hydrated depends on your activity, your environment, and your physical condition.

Staying hydrated is an important part of bodily functions and systems. The body must have enough water to effectively remove heat from working muscles, produce energy, and process foods.  This “water” is part of the blood and is called plasma.  Therefore, if the amount of plasma decreases too much, physical performance is hampered.

Working muscles produce a lot of heat by burning energy.  When you exercise, plasma works like water in a car radiator, constantly circulating throughout the body, picking up heat and carrying it to the skin where it is removed from the body, mainly from sweat.  The more intense the exercise, the more heat produced and the more water lost from the body.  As the body loses water, it cannot produce energy as well or remove heat as efficiently. By staying hydrated you can avoid the risk of developing a heat injury.

However, long before a heat injury occurs, the body tries to protect itself by increasing the amount of water in plasma.  Since some water is stored in muscles, the body will begin to move water from muscles to the plasma in an attempt at staying hydrated.  Muscle cramps may occur, followed by fatigue.  Your heart rate also increases as the body tries to circulate the remaining plasma more quickly to remove excessive heat.  As a result, the body works at a higher than normal intensity, which ultimately leads to premature exhaustion.

Thirst is not a reliable indicator of fluid needed and, therefore, should not be relied upon to determine when to top up your fluid intake.  In addition to staying hydrated, drinking water or juice with meals and drinking fluids during physical activity should be part of your regular routine.  To decrease the risk of heat injury and to maintain a high performance level, athletes should train themselves to drink 8 fluid ounces of water every 15 minutes during intense exercise.

This “weed” is probably not on your healthy-aging or longevity list but science says it merits a second look. Dandelions, long considered a pesky weed deserving of nothing more than death by pesticide is no longer a gardener’s nightmare. Pesticides have become the new bad guy due to its ingredients and the adverse effects of the chemical. In fact, dandelions are so well respected it appears in the U.S. National Formulatory, and in the Pharmacopeias of Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, and the Soviet Union. It is also one of the top 6 herbs in the Chinese herbal medicine chest. Health benefits of dandelions have long been known and used primarily in the east, as for the west, we zap them.

Nutritionists spout health benefits of dandelions, despite how lowly the weed. Below are 4 important functions of dandelions – hold on to your seat and thrown convention out the door.
Dandelions stimulate digestion and liver de-tox: For centuries non-western cultures have used “bitters” for digestion stimulation. Dandelions contain taraxin, which promotes the flow of bile from the liver and hydrochloric acid from the stomach. Also resolves constipation issues.

Dandelions and Your Bones: “The super-greens are packed with vitamins and antioxidants, especially bone-building calcium and bone-protecting vitamin-C and Luteolin. Alkaline foods are important in preventing and treating osteoporosis.”

Dandelions and Your Skin: Dandelion milk or sap (the white stuff) is highly alkaline with germicidal, insecticidal and fungicidal properties and can treat superficial skin issues like eczema, ringworm, itching. The detoxifying greens can also be used as a natural acne remedy.

Other health benefits of dandelions include: acts as a tonic and gentle diuretic to purify your blood, cleanse your system, dissolve kidney stones, and otherwise improve gastro-intestinal health; cleanse your skin and eliminate acne; improve your bowel function, working equally well to relieve both constipation and diarrhea; prevent or lower high blood pressure; prevent or cure anemia; lower your serum cholesterol by as much as half; eliminate or drastically reduce acid indigestion and gas buildup by cutting the heaviness of fatty foods; prevent or cure various forms of cancer; prevent or control diabetes mellitus; and, at the same time, have no negative side effects and selectively act on only what ails you.

Deciphering what foods to avoid these days is a very daunting task; with tons of information floating around it seems everything you choose is bad for you in one way or another. Usually, when told to stay away from certain types of foods the common denominator is nutrition and calories, well not this time. In a recent article published, seven experts in the fields of both food and the environment (scientists, doctors and farmers) were asked just one simple question: “What foods do you avoid?” The answers ranged from canned tomatoes to conventional milk, some even hard to believe but they are experts after all and should have a good idea of what is going on within their respective industries.

Below is a list of what foods to avoid next time you go shopping.

Canned Tomatoes: An endocrinologist and expert on synthetic oestrogen bisphenol-A (BCA), won’t go near canned tomatoes. “Tin cans are lined with a resin containing BCA which is especially a problem with canning tomatoes, as the acid in tomato breaks this down in dangerous amounts.”

Conventional Beef: For fat cows farmers implement a diet of grain, corn and soy. The end product is meat that is nutritionally inapt, after all cows were meant to eat grass. Studies show that grass-fed beef compared to corn-fed has a much higher content of vitamins, minerals and the heart-healthy, anti-inflammatory fats. Look for “grass-fed” or “pasture-fed” organic beef which is much better.

Microwave Popcorn: Poisonous packaging issue: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is used to line popcorn bags, and when heated in the microwave leaks straight onto your movie munchies. In some studies, UCLA has linked this compound to infertility.

Conventional Potatoes: “More than any other vegetable, non-organic potatoes are heavily sprayed with herbicides, pesticides and fungicides throughout every stage of their growth, harvesting and storage. So much so that potato growers never eat the potatoes they sell and grow their own separate plots without all the chemicals.”

Farmed Salmon: In a scientific study conducted on fish contamination, high levels of DDT and PCB’s (carcinogens) were found, so much, that the director for the Institute for Health warns that any more than one salmon meal every 5 months increases your cancer risk. “This is particularly scary considering that in Australia, the only fresh Salmon we have access to is farmed; this includes “Atlantic” Salmon. These fish are crammed in pens and fed all manner of junk from soy and hydrolyzed chicken feathers and pellets.”

Watercress, is a green leafy vegetable found in grocery stores and probably does not grab your attention much or even at all. An underestimated vegetable, watercress has one of the highest nutritional values amongst vegetables. Like its healthy, nutritious commonly used relatives, broccoli and cabbage, watercress has numerous health benefits. In addition to this watercress health benefits have been utilized since the time of Egyptian Pharaohs and is recognized as one of the oldest leafy vegetables used.

Watercress is among the most highly nutritious vegetables, many great herbalists wrote about the revitalizing power of watercress. Hippocrates - who once said “let food be thy medicine” – was known to feed watercress to his patients. Watercress health benefits can be attributed to the nutrient content. It is an excellent source of vitamin B1, B2, B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, manganese, and carotenes. Watercress also contains a source of calcium, fiber, iron and copper. These are but a few health benefits of watercress that can aid you in healthy-aging and longevity. Below are a few more benefits – if you’re still not convinced…

Additional Health Benefits of Watercress:

Watercress contains anticancer properties.

Watercress helps protect the eyes because it contains a high level of two carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin.

Watercress helps to normalize cholesterol and blood pressure.

Watercress can help improved memory, mental function and to retard ageing.

Watercress is a powerful cleanser of the body, especially the bloodstream.

Watercress helps improve digestion by regulating the flow of bile.

Watercress is valued for clearing and improving the complexion.

Watercress leaves are used as a poultice for the relief of enlarged prostate gland. The poultice can also treat swollen feet and sprained ankles.

Watercress is a good source of iodine, which is important to the function of the thyroid gland.

Watercress is rich calcium which can strengthen the bones and teeth.

Cancer, the vicious disease with no end in sight doesn’t seem to stop until it has taken everything along with it. Usually ending in death it is hard to imagine a cure anytime soon. A recent study suggests cancer fighting vegetables are the way to go for prevention, longevity and healthy-aging. A compound in parsley and other plant products like celery, including fruits and nuts, has been found to prevent certain “breast cancer tumor cells from multiplying and growing.”

Apigenin, a common compound found in plant vegetables like parsley and celery, was given to rats with breast certain type of breast cancer. Amazingly, the rats that were exposed to the apigenin developed fewer tumors and experienced noteworthy delays in tumor formation. Apigenin in celery and parsley seem to block the formation of new blood vessels within tumors, in doing so essentially cutting off nutrient supply to the tumor and slowing development. Cancer fighting vegetables are quite overshadowed by the large amount of pharmaceutical presence within the market, money being the incentive.

“For example, 2001 study revealed that women who consumed at least 2.5 servings of fruit and vegetables daily as adolescents were 46 percent less likely to develop ovarian cancer. I can’t think of any drug that can beat those prevention odds.”

Generally speaking cancer fighting vegetables are good for you but remember when eating vegetables the bigger the variety and larger the volume – the better the outcome. For some, that would mean tailoring their veggie consumption to a specific nutritional type. For others, this may mean juicing their veggie and fruits. This is an easy method that protects the micronutrients in fruits and vegetables from being altered and losing its nutritional value.

Enjoy a fresh bowl of your favourite veggies right now and start cancer prevention today!