During the winter months you might find you need a little extra energy to throw around that snow, shovel under those tires and tredge those bags up the icy steps. Comfort food with that lean protein, right?
Eating the right kind of carb – prepared the right way – can give you the extra fuel source you need without compromising all the hard work you are doing with your body.
This question came in in the past week from another site for which I contribute Strength Training commentary, VitalHealthZone. Given that the writer and I share the same age, I thought it was purposeful to share my response, given perhaps the differences in our perspectives on managing peri-menopause and the required work, nutrition and support of a body over 40+
I think the Collagen I & III that I am taking (with Reservatrol) each morning for the past 4 weeks is doing not only wonders on my hair growth but my nails, skin glow and big time on my energy levels. So much so that I actually think it’s an ‘upper!’ Gesh! Read the rest of this entry →
This article appeared in the New York Times a few weeks ago and may be a helpful reminder as we approach the “eating season” in the coming holiday weeks. Short of the story, you must use it to lose it and do it by creating a caloric deficit.
but we get up!” So says the gospel by Donnie McClurkin from a few years back. I quoted it in response to a client’s admission of falling off her regimen of a clean diet for the past three weeks. Read the rest of this entry →
Juice, Vitamins and a Choline Cocktail. Choline Cocktail? Yeah I know. It doesn’t particularly sound like something you want to have at a party. I will say this though, if you drink it for 5-7 days before a party, you will probably enjoy yourself a whole lot more than if you didn’t.
I have begun reading a book, by Dr. Eric Braverman, entitled,
“Younger (thinner) You Diet;” It is about how understanding your brain chemistry can help you lose weight, reverse aging and fight disease. I figured if reading the book could help me (and my client/friends) do just two of the three things suggested in the title, we would be way ahead at the end of the game.
Turns out, the book is not particularly new information. It is all about natural health, natural healing and natural food nutrition and dietary habits. Not at all unlike, the content of the Perricone Prescription, his dietary recommendations are consistent because the rule of order is the same.
As the populace ages, we are all looking for the foods, activities, creams and potions that will help to keep us feeling, looking and living like time hasn’t passed…at least not by us so quickly.
Now for sure, I do not ever want to be 20 years old again. But I have to admit, having a 35-year old cast a wandering eye in my direction in passing down the street, does not feel bad at all. It should be no surprise, therefore that specifically using a regimen that will keep those eyes on me – or you – if you want them, that costs nothing but time and energy to make happen will be the order of the day going forward, for most, if not all of us.
What is in it? So what is in this miracle cocktail? Does it really make a difference?
Great stuff is in it. All identifiable in english. Yes, it has made a difference for the past 3 short weeks that I have been using it. More important is why I am
using it. According to Dr. Braverman’s research, extracted from the book, dopamine, which creates brain power, acetylcholine, which controls brain speed, serotonin, which keeps the brain in synch and gaba which maintains the rhythm of the brain, are all brain chemicals the can positively affect the way our bodies respond (or not) to food and thus our weight gain or loss challenges. Deficiency in any of them can lead to food addictions and subsequently obesity.
The book provides a little quiz to help the reader find the area of deficiency in terms of chemical imbalance based on your behaviours. So out of the four areas, my deficiency was most noted in acetylcholine which is why I sought out the vitamin support for it.
We all know that women over the age of 40 years of age have major shifts in our body’s chemical and hormonal balance. Everything seems to take more time, energy and work. This analysis of the brain’s chemical responses to one’s physical state just range crystal clear for me.
My Special Preparation
The Choline Cocktail comes in a powder form, very easily mixable with a hand blender/Mix & Go Cup. I have a little fresh pre-mix vegetable/juice blend that I love to make as a pre-cocktail to support the Choline Cocktail.
This is the added anti-aging mix that I know is the hardest part for most people. Yes, it adds a little more work to the process, yet the end result is absolutely delicious for the body and for your life.
I use my Juicer and 5-6 carrots, two apples (green and red), fresh ginger root, sometimes strawberries, maybe half a cucumber. I usually get more than 12 ounces of fresh juice which I then use to blend in the Choline Cocktail.
There is no taste from the added nutrients, minerals and amino acids of the Choline Blend except for a little additional sweetness. After a high protein breakfast of egg whites and turkey bacon, this vegetable/juice/choline drink definitely keeps it all together for me.
My legs (hamstrings, quads and glutes) are very strong, but following a few consistent weeks use of the cocktail regimen described above, along with my regular 30-60 minute workout schedule and protein-dominated diet, I can honestly say, I see a change in the body fat content in my system.
Look for part two to this post in another 30 days! Signing off now to go make some juice!
Ok, so you made the commitment to yourself to lose 20, 25 or 30 pounds. Congratulations! You have started moving forward already by taking that first step of establishing a goal. With that in hand, these five, tried and tested, rules of the road will help you keep your promise to yourself. Read the rest of this entry →
I have increased my protein intake significantly to support my increased activity levels. I am eating more quality proteins to support my lean muscle development. Just trying to kick it up a notch. Important for muscle as much as it is for women over 40 and particularly so for postmenopausal women. Read the rest of this entry →
I really have not been a fan of beets in my salad. I love the color, but personally haven’t been crazy about the vegetable itself. However, Martha Rose Shulman, New York Times Health columnist wrote a couple of articles this week about the health benefits of beets – and the greens – that made me take a second a look at using the food for health benefits. Read the rest of this entry →
NYTimes July 24, 2008, 2:40 pm – Tara Parker Pope
This needs to be read in it entirety from the Health News of the New York Times:
High-fructose corn syrup is a sweetener used in many processed foods ranging from sodas to baked goods. While the ingredient is cheaper and sweeter than regular sugar, new research suggests that it can also make you fatter.
In a small study, Texas researchers showed that the body converts fructose to body fat with “surprising speed,’’ said Elizabeth Parks, associate professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The study, which appears in The Journal of Nutrition, shows how glucose and fructose, which are forms of sugar, are metabolized differently.
In humans, triglycerides, which are a type of fat in the blood, are mostly formed in the liver. Dr. Parks said the liver acts like “a traffic cop” who coordinates how the body uses dietary sugars. When the liver encounters glucose, it decides whether the body needs to store it, burn it for energy or turn it into triglycerides.
But when fructose enters the body, it bypasses the process and ends up being quickly converted to body fat.
“It’s basically sneaking into the rock concert through the fence,” Dr. Parks said. “It’s a less-controlled movement of fructose through these pathways that causes it to contribute to greater triglyceride synthesis. The bottom line of this study is that fructose very quickly gets made into fat in the body.”
For the study, six people were given three different drinks. In one test, the breakfast drink was 100 percent glucose. In the second test, they drank half glucose and half fructose; and in the third, they drank 25 percent glucose and 75 percent fructose. The drinks were given at random, and neither the study subjects nor the evaluators were aware who was drinking what. The subjects ate a regular lunch about four hours later.
The researchers found that lipogenesis, the process by which sugars are turned into body fat, increased significantly when the study subjects drank the drinks with fructose. When fructose was given at breakfast, the body was more likely to store the fats eaten at lunch.
Dr. Parks noted that the study likely underestimates the fat-building effect of fructose because the study subjects were lean and healthy. In overweight people, the effect may be amplified.
Although fruit contains fructose, it also contains many beneficial nutrients, so dieters shouldn’t eliminate fruit from their diets. But limiting processed foods containing high-fructose corn syrup as well as curbing calories is a good idea, Dr. Parks said.
“There are lots of people out there who want to demonize fructose as the cause of the obesity epidemic,” she said. “I think it may be a contributor, but it’s not the only problem. Americans are eating too many calories for their activity level. We’re overeating fat, we’re overeating protein and we’re overeating all sugars.”
