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Holiday Food Consumption Strategies

First and foremost, almost everyone always recommends eating in moderation and we do too. Here are some healthy eating alternatives for the holidays:

1. Keep vegetables as close to raw as possible and steamed vegetables are healthier and tastier!
2. Consider a salad.
3. Use spices and herbs on veggies instead of butter or a creamy sauce.
4. Trim as much fat as possible from meat before cooking.
5. Serve some fresh fish or seafood.
6. Use wholegrain breads for stuffing.
7. Cook stuffing separate to the meat so it doesn’t soak up fats during cooking.
8. Buy or bake some pita bread to use with dips instead of chips. Add vegetable strips for variety.
9. Salad dressings can liven up a salad without adding major amouints of fat or calories. Try lemon juice, vinegar and fresh herbs.
10. Water fills you up, has no calories or side effects, is cheap and will help you rid your body of toxins.
11. Only put out some of the available food so people don’t over stuff themselves. More can always come out as required.
12. With alcohol, moderation is the key.

Happy Holidays!!!


BOTTOM LINE: Healthy actions are not found in resolutions and healthy eating alone. Healthy actions result from a health oriented mentality and the development of healthy lifestyle habits and what better time to begin? Healthy actions include stopping bad health habits before starting new healthy ones. How about making commitments to drinking an adequate amount of water, wearing your seat belt, taking your nutritional supplements and being regular with your chiropractic care?

Polyphenols to a Longer, Healthier Life

What are polyphenols?

Polyphenols are naturally-occurring chemicals in plants and recent studies have concluded that polyphenols have antioxidant characteristics that may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and various types of cancer.
Professor Gary Williamson, Professor of Functional Foods at Leeds in Britain, lectures on the idea that foods maximize a person’s chances of living a longer life, as well as increasing the quality of life by reducing the possibilities of incurring certain diseases.
Dr. Williamson list a number of foods that are especially healthful. Some of his list include:
1. Apples
2. Berries…including blackberries, blue berries, strawberries, raspberries
3. Black and green teas
4. Oranges, peaches and plums
5. Broccoli
6. Cereal bran
7. Cherries
8. Spinach
9. Red Grapes
10. Red Onions
11. Cherry tomatoes

While, like anything else, all of these should be consumed in moderation. Williamson noted. “Epidemiology studies support the protective effects of polyphenol-rich foods. Lack of these components in the diet, because of low intake of fruit and vegetables, increases the risk of chronic disease.”

Bottom Line: The fiber and protein in nuts make you feel full longer and likely lead to eating less later. Some studies have suggested nuts may slightly increase your body’s ability to burn calories, and as much as 17% of the fat in nuts passes out of the body undigested. Again, as with the foods rich in polyphenols, moderation is always the word of the day. Is there a common denominator to these stories? Other than tea, all of the best foods for you are raw fruits, vegetables and nuts!!!

Aggressive Drug Marketing and Your Health

An article published in the December 2, 2008 edition of the British Medical Journal by David Kao, a fellow in cardio-vascular medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center entitled, “What can we learn from drug marketing efficiency?” found that: “quicker drug approvals and sophisticated marketing campaigns may be putting more patients at risk of dangerous side effects but the same techniques might be put to use to protect them.”

Kao said the 1992 Prescription Drug User Fee Act, which authorizes fees from companies to beef up the FDA and speed drug approvals, cut the time needed to review a new drug by half from 1986 to 2002. The revenue from the fees collected accounts for 43% of the FDA budget for drug oversight. There’s no way this process could be helping drug safety. Kao also stated, “the closer to deadline that a new drug is approved, the more likely it is to later need strong safety warnings or to be withdrawn.”

An example Kao cites is a relatively new drug by Merck for diabetes. "Once approved, the drug maker began a multifaceted marketing campaign…the product web site was functional within 90 minutes of approval, and within 8 days, Merck had reached 70% of target doctors and made first deliveries to pharmacies. Within 14 days, discussions were completed with managed care organizations covering 73% of the insured U.S. population."
Kao said he was not implying that the drug will endanger any patients.

Madison and Autism

This is a must-see!

What happens 1 hour after drinking soda?

Do you want to be healthy? Drinking soda is bad for your health in so many ways; science can’t even state all the consequences. Here’s what happens in your body when you assault it with a Coke:

Within the first 10 minutes:

10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. This is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake, and the only reason you don’t vomit as a result of the overwhelming sweetness is because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor.

Within 20 minutes:

Your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat.

Within 40 minutes:

Caffeine absorption is complete; your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream.

Around 45 minutes:

Your body increases dopamine production, which stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain – a physically identical response to that of heroin, by the way.

After 60 minutes:

You’ll start to have a sugar crash.

Sources:
Nutrition Research Center October 24, 2007

Chiropractic May Lower Your Blood Pressure

Maintain An Active Lifestyle For Good Health

An active lifestyle is an essential ingredient in the recipe for life-long health. It should come as no surprise that active seniors have better metabolism than those that are not active. A new study, published in the Quarterly Journal of Medicine (2008;101:713–21) found that older people are less likely to have the cluster of markers that indicate metabolic syndrome—excess abdominal body fat, poor blood sugar control, high triglyceride levels, and low HDL (”good”) cholesterol levels—as well as better insulin sensitivity when they maintain an active life.

Scientists think that the individual components of metabolic syndrome are likely to have a single cause: insulin resistance.
In people with insulin resistance, insulin’s signal that blood sugar levels are high is not picked up by the cells. Disruption in this critical feedback mechanism results in chronically elevated insulin levels (and sometimes high blood glucose levels), which then contribute to increased fat deposition in the abdomen, increased triglycerides, negative changes in blood lipids, and atherosclerosis.

“Our study demonstrates that physical activity is inversely associated with insulin resistance and several related risk factors, and that low leisure-time activity is a predictor of metabolic syndrome in the elderly,” the study’s authors said in their conclusion. They added that preventing insulin resistance could lead to multiple simultaneous benefits for active seniors, including lower risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

BOTTOM LINE: Preventing metabolic syndrome requires both an active lifestyle and a healthy diet. Some of the dietary habits that will help people of all ages avoid insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome include:
• Eating lots of fruits and vegetables
• Making fish like salmon, herring, and tuna part of your diet 1-2 times each week
• Avoiding excessive animal fats and hydrogenated oils
• Choosing high-fiber, whole-grain carbs like brown rice, barley, quinoa, and multigrain cereals.

What You Need To Know About Cholesterol Lowering Drugs

The January 28, 2008 edition of Business Week focuses on the drug, Lipitor and asks the question, “do cholesterol drugs do any good?”

The basic premise that statin drugs are worth the risk is taken into question and, by and large, research suggests that the benefits of statins such as Lipitor are overstated.

James Wright is a professor at the University of British Columbia and is the director of the government-funded Therapeutics Initiative, whose purpose is to pore over the data on particular drugs and figure out how well they work. He found that for those patients without active heart disease (the majority of patients prescribed drugs like Lipitor), there was no benefit in people over the age of 65, no matter how much their cholesterol declines, and no benefit in women of any age. There was no overall reduction in total deaths or illnesses requiring hospitalization—despite big reductions in "bad" cholesterol. "Most people are taking something with no chance of benefit and a risk of harm," says Wright.

In clinical trials of statins, side effects were relatively rare which may be a result of biased reporting. In the real world, approximately 15% of patients suffer side effects. After muscle aches, common complaints include cognitive problems ranging from mild confusion to loss of memory.

One clinical trial also showed a relationship between statin use and cancer risk but that trial was considered not worth considering by the guidelines author (paid by drug maker Pfizer.

BOTTOM LINE: The safety of statins in long-term use "is an incredibly important question for which we have very little data," says Dr. Beatrice Golomb of the University of California at San Diego. Steve Hoffman, a chiropractor in San Diego reports that though prescribed Lipitor years ago, refused and transformed his “dangerous” cholesterol levels with food combining for his metabolic type, regular chiropractic adjustments and nutritional supplementation…all with NO side effects!

Foods to Help With Diabetes

Diabetes rates have doubled in the past 10 years. Current research suggests that following a healthy diet pattern is a positive way to reduce the risk of diabetes.
New research published in Diabetes Care (2008;31:1777–82) found that, along with maintaining a healthy body weight and exercising regularly, diet can be a powerful ally in the fight against diabetes.

• Make those grains whole. When shopping for bread and cereals, avoid products with the word “enriched” in the ingredient list. These grains are refined, not whole.

• Snack on fruit and nuts. The combination of carbohydrates from fruit plus protein and healthy fat in nuts can satisfy your urge to snack.

• Sprinkle some seeds. Try a tablespoon or two of flaxseeds or sunflower seeds in your yogurt and cereal.

• Stick with low-fat dairy. Skim or 1% milk, part-skim mozzarella cheese, and low- or no-fat yogurt are good choices. Limit whole milk, cream, and ice cream to special occasions.

• Go for the greens. Add kale, chard, or other green leafy vegetables to soups and stews.

• Enjoy coffee… in moderation. 1-2 cups per day may lower diabetes risk. Any more than this and you may run into trouble with side effects such as insomnia and rapid heart rate.

• Choose healthy proteins. Try for more fish, chicken, or soy products and other lean proteins. Limit red meat to 1-2times per week and stick to a 3-ounce serving.

"Green" Approach Towards Health

With today’s quickening pace of life and their accumulated stress levels, more people find themselves troubled by conditions related to their mental health. Many report getting tired easily and with pain centered on the back and neck both with and without attendant headaches.

Yet, when these same people go to a hospital and have a physical, their MD often reports finding nothing wrong with them physically. If the MD finds nothing wrong then he/she has little to offer. This is when people might consider turning to what might be the “GREENEST” approach to good health, namely chiropractic.

We consider Chiropractic “GREEN” because it is one of the safest, drug-free and non- invasive therapies available. While nothing is put in the body that may be toxic, nothing is removed from the body either. Chiropractic respects the internal environment of the person much the same way as the “GREEN movement” is respectful of out external environment says Dr. Steve Hoffman, an acknowledged expert in this field.

Additionally, many find chiropractic after other, more traditional, more invasive and more dangerous and toxic approaches have failed. And, it is on these people, failed by the medical establishment, that chiropractic has survived and thrived for over 100 years.

While most patients feel immediate relief following chiropractic care, the important thing to note is to seek chiropractic first!

BOTTOM LINE: The “GREEN” movement is about sustainability and being environmentally conscious. We see how the overuse of drugs is now polluting our water. How many drugs and hormones are we, and our children, absorbing from our own water supply. Chiropractic has never prescribed drugs and has never contributed to this problem. If more people were to take a responsible and sustainable approach to their health, both our internal and external environments would benefit.

How to Fit in Fitness

Current exercise recommendations call for 30 minutes or more of moderate physical activity, five days per week. Sound impossible? Not when you consider there are 1,440 minutes in a day. Can't you take a mere two percent of your time and devote it to staying in shape? If you think it's not that easy, think again.


Timing is everything. Monitor your daily activities for one week, and then identify at least three 30-minute time slots per day that you could devote to physical activity.


Support makes sense. Make sure your friends and family know you are dedicated to consistent physical activity, and ask for their support. You can recruit others to join you, too, which will make it much easier to stay focused.


Rest your brain (and bank account). There are plenty of activities that don't require particular skill or cash, such as walking, cycling, jumping rope or swimming.


Don't be afraid to multitask. No, that doesn't mean you should try to do the bills or plan the family holiday party during your designated 30-minute exercise window. It does mean you can jump rope while watching TV, wrestle with the kids, take a family bike ride (which is good exercise for everyone), or do housework or gardening.

So, now that you know how to fit in fitness, what are you waiting for? Find the time, stay on course and enjoy a healthier, happier life. There's no better time than now to start. Your doctor can help outline an exercise program suitable to your needs.

What Your Body Needs!

Many people think nothing of eating a double cheeseburger, medium fries and a medium cola. If you dissect this "meal," you'll find that on average, it contains an unbelievable 68 grams of fat (17 teaspoons), almost half of which are saturated; 15 grams of trans fatty acids; 150 mg of cholesterol; 1,200 mg of salt; and 20 teaspoons of sugar (all from the cola)! If you factor in that the fries were probably cooked in hydrogenated cottonseed oil, one of the most heavily pesticide-laden crops in the world, and that the meat, if overcooked, could contain carcinogens, or if undercooked, could result in food poisoning from E. coli, you may agree it's time to find a new all-American meal.

The Bad Guys: High levels of saturated fat are consistently linked with elevated blood cholesterol levels, heart disease, insulin resistance and several forms of cancer. Most Americans eat about 40 grams of saturated fat every day, which is twice as much as is considered healthy. Animal products are the greatest source of saturated fats in the Western diet.

For many years, trans fatty acids were considered a relatively minor player in health and disease. Although their impact on total cholesterol is not quite as profound as it is with saturated fats, the overall damage to heart health is worse. Trans fatty acids not only raise total cholesterol, but also lower LDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol) and potentially increase triglycerides. Gram for gram, the adverse effect of trans fatty acids is estimated to be two to four times greater than that of saturated fatty acids. The most common sources are crackers, cookies, granola bars, chips and other snack foods, baked goods, margarine, shortening and deep-fried fast foods.

Cholesterol is made by animals, not plants; all animal foods contain cholesterol, while plant foods are all cholesterol-free. The next time you buy any plant-based food like peanut butter that says "no cholesterol" on the label, realize that is just a sales gimmick. There are several concerns about eating too much cholesterol because it can cause blood cholesterol levels to rise, increasing the risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke. The recommended daily intake of cholesterol is less than 200 mg, which is a little less than the amount of cholesterol in one egg yolk.

The Good Guys: Science has known for a very long time that vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds are healthful foods. Researchers assumed that the substances that made these foods so good for us were the vitamins, minerals and fiber. They were right, but only partly. In the past 20 years, scientists have discovered a whole new set of protective compounds packed within every whole-plant food: phytochemicals and antioxidants. Phytochemicals are natural substances that protect plants against attacks from insects. When we eat plants, these same powerful little protectors go to work on our behalf, with remarkable human health benefits.

Many phytochemicals are strong antioxidants, neutralizing destructive free radicals. Some phytochemicals provide anticancer support, helping the body rid itself of potent carcinogens. Others protect against cardiovascular disease by helping to reduce the formation of cholesterol, lower blood pressure, decrease blood cholesterol levels, reduce blood clot formation, open blood vessels and decrease damage to blood vessel walls. The list of significant beneficial activities of phytochemicals includes anti-inflammatory, anti-yeast, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and immune-enhancing benefits. Which foods are the most efficient phytochemical factories? Vegetables and fruits stand out as being particularly important, although legumes (beans), grains, nuts and seeds are also excellent sources. Choosing a wide variety of colorful, whole-plant foods is the key to a phytochemical-rich diet.

Hopefully this gives you a good starting point for improving your health. Limit your intake of saturated fat, trans fatty acids and cholesterol, and eat more whole foods, including seven to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables every day to maximize your phytonutrient and antioxidant protection. Talk to your doctor for more information.

Relationships

I want to start off by saying how sorry I am for not posting in the past week. I was in Orlando at a seminar listening to Robert Kiyosaki, who wrote Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Joseph Micheli, who studies successful companies and writes about the experience they create in their business. You can guess that this past week has been powerful and I have never been as proud as I am today about the direction I am taking with my life. Inspiring, motivating, and empowering people to make the right health choices for themselves and their families is what my dream and vision is all about.

There has recently been one aspect of my life I have especially focused on and that is building relationships. I have on average been meeting a new person every hour and making sure to remain in contact with them to see how I can best serve them. When I offer my service to them I have noticed that they are willing to serve me back just like the law of give and receive. I have met people in PR, media, real estate, graphic design, accounting, healthcare, consulting, and more recently a man who teaches Spanish to employees of an airline company. Every single one of these people are driven, focused, and dedicated to helping anyone who is willing to learn and keep an open mind.

If you are looking to meet more people and expand your network than just say the proverbial "hello" to anyone who will listen. This interaction doesn't only happen at networking groups but it happens every second we walk by someone on the street.

I am writing this because at some recent networking events I have been to there are so many people focused on sell, sell, sell. My focus is to just open up relationships. I find that when I do this the quality of the people I meet increases even though the quantity is not as high.

How many people do you meet a day? Are you getting follow-up contact information? Are you serving for the sake of serving and giving for the sake of giving? Do you uplift people when you talk to them and find out how you can benefit their lives?

Randy Pausch Touches More Lives

A couple weeks ago I posted a link on a man named Randy Pausch who gave a last lecture at Carnegie Melon. This past May he addressed the graduating class and I felt like I had to share this beautiful speech. It is only 7 minutes long, so please take the time to preview it below.



If you have not seen the "Last Lecture" than please go back 2 weeks and watch that inspiring video.

Triumph!

Abraham Lincoln says, “That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.”


A few weeks ago I challenged all of you to set a goal on achieving a level of physical fitness. I had a vision that all of you would train for a 5K, 10K, or some other organized race that would resonate with you. Thankfully, I received powerful feedback from all you and the results were inspiring. Some of you took it upon yourself to begin a 4 week training program to build a base then run a 5K for charity. Others of you have taken it upon yourself to set a goal for next year to run a half-marathon. I congratulate all of you and hope you can email me more of your stories so that I can share them with others.

The picture above is from my first triathlon I completed on October 5. On a list of 101 goals of mine stood "Complete Triathlon". I can now officially check this off and move on to another goal and dream. The point is I want all of you to make a physical fitness goal and take action. I want all of you to achieve a level of physical fitness where you are content. I want all of you to live lives full of abundant health and superior quality of life. The only way to do this is write it out then take action.

What action steps are you taking to improve your level of physical fitness?

Lower Your Cholesterol

Check out this article that I found on Cnn.com.

Article On CNN.Com

About one in two American adults has borderline or high cholesterol levels, which increase one's risk of heart attack and cardiovascular disease.


Statins, medications that lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, are now among the most prescribed drugs in the country (and the world). But medication is only part of the solution: To keep cholesterol under control, maintaining a healthy weight and diet is just as important as taking a daily pill.

The guidelines for treating high cholesterol from the National Cholesterol Education Program recommend that patients try to lower their cholesterol through Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC), which include exercise and a healthy diet, before starting a statin.

Lowering your cholesterol through eating habits and exercise means you can avoid the risk of side effects from medication entirely. Indeed, the only side effects of TLC you'll encounter are more energy, weight loss, and better overall health.

To help decrease your cholesterol without a statin -- or to supplement the statin you're already taking -- follow these guidelines from the TLC diet.

Reduce saturated fat to no more than 7 percent of total calories, and cholesterol to no more than 200 milligrams per day

Saturated fat is likely to raise blood cholesterol more than any other food in your diet (except for, perhaps, trans fats, which are slowly being phased out of many foods). A goal of just 7 percent of total calories is no more than 16 grams per day for most people. To stay within these boundaries, eat more of a plant-based diet with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and limit red meat, full-fat dairy products, baked goods, and fried foods. Read about more foods to avoid

Read labels and try to track your daily saturated fat grams until you get an idea of how much your typical food choices contain; don't rely solely on the Percent Daily Values listed, since they're based on the diet of someone who doesn't have high cholesterol and thus can eat slightly more saturated fat. An added bonus: Lowering your saturated fat intake means you'll help lower cholesterol intake as well, since saturated fat and cholesterol tend to be found together.

If you're overweight, reduce calories and work toward your ideal body weight

It's unclear exactly why being overweight tends to increase blood cholesterol, but too much abdominal fat is particularly heart-unhealthy. Video: See why your spare tire is so dangerous

Women should strive to keep their waist circumference below 35 inches and men below 40. If you are overweight, losing just 10 percent of your body weight can provide a significant health improvement. Use this interactive tool to see your weight-related health profile.

Add 5 to 10 grams of soluble fiber a day

Soluble fiber is found in oats, beans, fruits, and vegetables -- it's why products like Cheerios can claim heart-healthy benefits. Soluble fiber helps trap cholesterol in the digestive tract so that it passes through your body rather than getting into your bloodstream. Eating oatmeal breakfasts and having whole fruits as snacks can get you closer to this goal.

Add 2 grams of plant stanols and sterols to your daily diet

Plant stanols and sterols are natural compounds found in vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds that compete with cholesterol for absorption into the bloodstream from the gastrointestinal tract and thus decrease the amount of cholesterol that makes it into your system. Stanol- and sterol-enhanced foods and beverages have become commonplace in supermarkets, from margarines and spreads to orange juice. For best results, eat foods containing plant stanols and sterols with meals twice a day.

Practice therapeutic lifestyle changes

These adjustments, combined with exercise and consultations with a doctor, make up the TLC program. By following this plan, you may be able to avoid the cost, hassle, and potential side effects of prescription drugs -- or at least keep your dose down.

10 Tips From Deepak Chopra

1) The natural human biorhythm is to sleep between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. This means you should be in bed, with the lights out, by 10 p.m. and be up by 6 a.m. If this is difficult for you, keep in mind that people naturally followed this pattern before the advent of electricity. When the time switches in two weeks ideally you should be in bed by 9 PM since this is equal to 10 p.m. prior to the time switch.

2) Decrease your mental activity after dinner. Journaling may help in this process by allowing you to put your anxieties on paper and get them out of your mind.

3) Make preparations for the next day, such as determining what you’d like to accomplish, so you don’t have to think about it.

4) Take a hot bath for up to an hour with calming fragrances (lavender, vanilla, sandalwood) 30 minutes before bedtime. Use the bath to let go of your daily stress, include soothing lights and music and massage your body with oils.

5) Use your bed for sleep and sex only. Even reading should be done elsewhere, unless it has a calming effect, such as spiritual literature.

6) Turn all lights off. Lie on your back and focus on they way your body feels (your mind-body awareness) and on your breathing.

7) Try reciting a mantra for five minutes. This could be some sort of favorite sound or prayer that you recite continuously.

8) Something warm, like a hot water bottle, may help soothe your anxieties, especially when placed between the navel and bottom of rib cage.

9) If you wake during the night, try repeating some of the techniques above or massaging your head or feet.

10) If you find it difficult to sleep in your bed, pick another area of the house to sleep in.

Lose 11 Pounds in 11 Weeks

I am about to give you the simple step to losing a pound a week. Since there are 11 weeks left in 2008, how does 11 pounds sound?

In order to lose a pound of fat you must burn 3500 calories. If you were to burn 500 calories a day that would equate to 3500 calories a week equalling 1 pound. Since many of us would rather not workout hard enough to lose 500 calories a day how about we split the 500 to 250 for diet and 250 for exercise. So now if you reduce your daily calorie intake by 250 and workout so that you burn 250 calories then you will satisfy your daily quotient.

If your having trouble with this then all you would need to do is not drink 2 cokes a day. Otherwise look on the back of one of your daily foods and eliminate it if it equals 250 calories.

If your having any difficulties with the exercising part then please email me for different tips to help you burn 250 calories.

This is equivalent to walking for 1 hour a day.

Heart Healthy: Part 3

In addition to all of the nutrients discussed over the past two weeks, here are basic yet important nutrients for maintaining a healthy, strong heart:

CoEnzyme Q10 - vitamin-like substance for overall heart strength and stability.

Vitamin E - powerful antioxidant that can protect against the development of heart disease.

Vitamin C - works in conjunction with Vitamin E to promote heart strength.

Fish Oil - contains Omega 3 fatty acids which can protect the heart.

Calcium - assists in heart function among other health benefits.

Magnesium - stabilizes the heart's electrical system and helps with heart problems.

Selenium - promotes a healthy heart by facilitating circulation.

L-Carnitine - increases energy production in heart tissue.

Ginkgo Biloba - gingko extract increases blow flow to the heart.

Hawthorn Berry - hawthorn extract improves all functions of heart muscle.

Maitake - maitake extract can help reduce blood pressure and ease blood flow.