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Sugar – How can something so Sweet be such a Trouble Maker?

April 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’ve blogged before about my feelings on sugar.  A friend sent me a link to this interesting (very long, but worth it) article written in the New York Times about sugar.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp

The article discusses, in detail, research that shows how sugar impacts conditions such as insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome (a pre-cursor to diabetes), type II diabetes, and heart disease.

I have been reading about this very thing in my nutrition course recently, so I was really interested to read the article.

Lots of people talk about sugar as “empty calories”, as the article states, and therefore, on the premise that too many calories make you fat (which is what many people live by), sugar is a definite culprit for weight gain.

However, sugar is not just empty calories.  Sugar is much more than that.  Anything that we consume has to go through the body’s digestive system.  This starts with saliva in the mouth, dropping down the esophagus, into the stomach, pancreas and liver, with different enzymes and substances meeting in the duodenum before entering the small intestine, then large intestine, and finally coming out the “other end”.  Of course, that is a little simplified, but you get the gist.

During digestion, resources within the body are used up.  This is how the system is supposed to work, but when you eat nutrient-rich foods like vegetables, whole grains, sea vegetables, or beans, the body is not just using up resources, it is taking in new resources!  It’s a give and take situation.

When the body digests sugar (or other very refined foods), these precious minerals and enzymes in the body are also used up, but this time, NOTHING good is given back to the body.  Sugar is just a “taker” in the digestive process.   So, if you’re consuming a lot of sugar/refined foods over time, your body will eventually run out of the nutrients it needs to keep going.  Your body will become incapable of maintaining it’s natural blood pH level of 7.4, which means all other operations within the body are hindered and/or halted.  Yikes.

Besides all the serious issues it can cause to your blood health, and therefore organs, over-consumption of sugar can also contribute to hair loss, brittle nails, dry hair, pre-mature aging, and macrobiotics experts even conclude that it makes you more susceptible to skin cancer.

Now, just to clarify, when I talk about sugar, I’m not just talking about white sugar.  I’m talking about all kinds of sugar.  High-fructose corn syrup, powdered sugar, brown sugar, maltitol, brown cane sugar, and artificial sweeteners all have the same impact.

Read the article – I hope you enjoy it and learn something!  Maybe you’ll think twice next time before saying yes to that piece of chocolate cake :)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp

To your health,

Kimberly

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: , , , ,

A Great Workout without a Gym

April 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Here is a great workout you can do without a gym – even without equipment – if you don’t have a kettle ball, you can try stuff around the house.  I’ve used canned goods before…

Anyway, the workout is from a friend’s blog – an awesome San Diego related blog –

Here is the workout:   http://solvision.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/my-new-favorite-workout/

I love these kinds of workouts where you’re doing different exercises, remain moving the whole time, and burn LOADS of calories.  It keeps your muscles guessing – you will get sore muscles where you didn’t even know you had muscles.

Enjoy!

To your health,

Kimberly

Filed Under: Fitness Tagged With: , ,

Why would a Vegan diet help IBS?

April 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

For one woman, Taylor, going vegan has certainly helped her IBS. Check out her story here:

http://www.thekindlife.com/post/taylor-kicks-ibs-to-the-curb

My take on Taylor’s success has to do with acid/alkaline balance in the blood.  The modern diet today is full of acid forming foods (protein, dairy, refined sugars/carbs, artificial sweeteners, caffeine)  and a lot of times lacking in alkaline foods (fresh vegetables, good quality sea salt, sea vegetables, seeds).

The blood’s pH level should be at or around 7.4 at all times.  The body works as hard as it can to maintain this pH level, even if we are feeding ourselves lots of foods that make this very difficult.  Over a period of time, if the body is consistently working in overdrive to try to maintain a healthy pH level, it will eventually start malfunctioning due to the blood acidity (e.g. screwy digestive system). Some common symptoms of blood acidity are toenail fungus, candida, athlete’s foot, and all other infections.  Blood that remains slightly acidic allows bacteria to grow, thus causing infections.  Much more serious problems will develop if the blood remains this way for many years, including clogging up the digestive system so that it can’t digest foods properly.

With all that said, why would a vegan diet help this acidic situation?  Well, a couple of the obvious points are protein and dairy.  Whilst vegans will still get protein from things like tofu, beans, and whole grains, these foods are not nearly as concentrated in protein as meat or poultry.  Vegans also won’t have any dairy.   Leaving meat and dairy out, hopefully this person will simply add lots of fresh vegetables, some fresh fruit, a few sea vegetables, and some alkaline seasonings (sea salt, miso, shoyu) to their meals and voila, you’ve got a really balanced diet, one that supports the body’s desired pH level.  In fact, this is what you would call a macrobiotic diet.

Now, I realize there any many vegans and/or vegetarians who do not get a balanced diet.  There are many people who end up eating lots of refined foods, like packaged vegetarian meals, low quality bread, white rice, non-dairy cheeses/milks, and sugary “health foods” that are plentiful at any health food store.  This kind of a diet does not support your body.  If you eat this way, you can’t think that you are treating your body well just because you’ve cut out meat and dairy.  You need to get the whole foods like grains and vegetables.

If you’re suffering with IBS or other digestive ailments, try a vegan diet for a few weeks and see how you feel.  Or if that seems out of the question, at least try substituting some of your meat meals for a plant source of protein like lentils.  You might find you feel wonderful!

If you have any experience with IBS, things that have helped your IBS, being vegan or vegetarian, or anything similar, I would love to hear about it!

To your health,

Kimberly

 

 

Filed Under: Food Intolerance & IBS Tagged With: , , , ,

Veggie Burger Recipe

March 30, 2011 By 2 Comments

Here is a fun article about Veggie Burgers that I came across:

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/come-back-veggie-burger-all-is-forgiven/

At the end, there is a delicious sounding recipe for Thai Carrot Burgers.  I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds fab.

As the article says, and I totally agree based on my many experiences with various veggie burgers, it is important to understand that veggie burgers should NOT try to be beef burgers, or turkey burgers, or any other kind of meat burgers.  Veggie burgers are a totally different expression of a burger!  If you can remember that, even the most determined meat eaters can enjoy them.

To your health,

Kimberly

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , , ,

The Keys to Living Longer

March 27, 2011 By 2 Comments

I am currently reading a fascinating book, “The Blue Zones” by Dan Buettner.  The book is about 4 specific places in the world where there is a higher concentration of centenarians (people who live to at least 100) than in other places.  The author travelled to these places to interview some of the locals who were in their 90′s and 100′s, most of whom were still self-sufficient.

The four places travelled to were (1) Sardinia, Italy, (2) Okinawa, Japan, (3) Loma Linda, California, and (4) Costa Rica.

I’d like to highlight what the author’s perception is about why each of these places supports a longer than average, healthy life.  Today, I’ll give you the Sardinian lifestyle summary:

From “The Blue Zones“, by Dan Buettner:

  • Eat a lean, plant-based diet accented with meat.  The main staples of the Sardinian diet are whole-grain bread, beans, garden vegetables, and fruits.   Also traditional is pecorino cheese made from grass-fed sheep.  This cheese is high in omega-3 fatty acids.  Meat is a Sunday/holiday treat only.
  • Put family first.  Sardinia has strong family values.  This helps with lower rates of depression, suicide, and stress.
  • Drink Goat’s milk.  Goat’s milk may protect against inflammatory diseases such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
  • Celebrate elders.  Grandparents play a huge role in the lives of their grandchildren.  This may mean kids grow up to be healthier and better adjusted.
  • Take a walk.  Sardinian men traditionally are shepherds.  In order to carry out their work, they walk at least 5 miles a day.  This is great cardiovascular activity and keeps bones, joints, and muscles working, but it isn’t really strenuous.
  • Drink a glass or two of red wine daily.  All of the centenarians Dan Buettner spoke to in Sardinia drank red wine moderately.  Cannonau wine, which is traditional in Sardinia has 2-3 times the level of flavonoids as other wines.  This part of their lifestyle may also help with stress.
  • Laugh with friends.  The men in Sardinia would often end their work day by gathering with other men and laughing at and with each other.   This can be great for stress and just for general well-being.

Based on the above, it shouldn’t be that hard to take up some of these practices.  There is nothing written above that is very complicated, expensive, or hard to achieve no matter what climate you live in.  In fact, some of them are simply social practices!

I’ll give you the tips from the other three places over the coming weeks.   Stay tuned!

To your health,

Kimberly

 

Filed Under: Wellness Tagged With: , , , , ,

How to Prevent Radiation Damage

March 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

This is so topical – I had to share it.  The author of this article, William Spear, was a guest speaker in my macrobiotics class this week – this is an awesome source of information about how to take easy steps to prevent radiation damage:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-spear/radiation-emergency-measu_b_835464.html

And here is an easy recipe for Miso soup, from Meg Wolff:

BASIC MISO SOUP
½ to 1 inch piece wakame sea vegetable (available at most health-food stores) per cup of soup
2 ½ cups of spring water
½ to 1 cup finely sliced vegetable (such as carrot, daikon radish, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leek or shiitake mushroom. Use one or more vegetables.)
¾-1 teaspoon of miso paste per cup of soup (2 for this recipe)
1 teaspoon finely chopped scallion garnish per cup of soup

Place the wakame in a small cup of water to soak until tender (5 minutes). Finely slice the wakame and place it in a saucepan with fresh spring water or filtered tap water. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium heat.

When the water is boiling, add the vegetables. Simmer all until tender, about three to five minutes. In a mug or small bowl, add the miso paste in a small amount of water and stir until blended. Pour the diluted miso into the lightly simmering broth and cook for five more minutes. Serve garnished with chopped scallion. Serves two.


To your health,

Kimberly

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , , , ,

The Soy Story

March 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The debate about soy is never-ending.  Soy has become so popular in recent years, that I’m sure there are people out there that have way too much of it.  There is soy milk, soy cheese, soy meat alteratives, and soy is in lots of packaged foods.

So, is soy good for you or not?   It really depends on the source.

I just read this article from Alicia Silverstone’s website, that offers a straight forward answer to the question about soy:

http://www.thekindlife.com/post/the-deal-with-soyand-five-soymilk-alternatives

I think a great point to take away from this is “think natural”.  As I always say, if you stick with mostly natural foods, you usually can’t go wrong.

To your health,

Kimberly

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: , , , ,

Macrobiotic recipe: Aduki beans with Squash

March 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Here is a delicious macrobiotic recipe.  I absolutely love aduki (or adzuki or azuki) beans and I love squash so why not put them together.  Adding the kombu (a sea vegetable) increases the mineral content enormously.  A small serving of sea vegetables everyday is part of a macrobiotic diet.

Aduki Beans with Squash and Kombu

1. Wash and soak 1/2 cup of aduki beans with a 1-inch square piece of kombu for 2 to 5 hours.

2. Place kombu in bottom of the pot and add chopped hard winter squash such as acorn, butternut, or
buttercup. When squash is not available, substitute onions, carrots, or parsnips.

3. Add azuki beans on top of squash and cover with water.

4. Cook over a low flame until the beans and squash become soft. While cooking, you may need to add
cold water for a few times.

5. When beans are 80 percent done, add a few pinches of sea salt.

6. Cover and let cook another 10 to 15 minutes or until all the water has cooked down.

7. Turn off the flame and let the pot sit for several minutes before serving.

Note: During cooking, it is best not to stir the beans.

This recipe is from www.macroamerica.com, which is the school I’m taking my counseling course with.

Enjoy!

To your health,

Kimberly

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , , ,

30 days of Bikram Yoga

March 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

So, my Mom cut out an interesting article for me to read..from the College Times of Gilbert, AZ…completely random.

One of the staff writers for the newspaper won a one month pass to the Bikram Yoga Tempe and on her first day she found out that they were doing a 30 day yoga challenge – yes, that means 30 days in a row of Bikram yoga.  Yikes.  That would scare me.

If you haven’t heard of bikram yoga, it is yoga done in a room with 105F temperature and it lasts an hour and a half.  Some people call it “hot” yoga.  I would say that’s an understatement.  Bikram yoga takes you through 26 specific postures, always done in the same order.  It was created by someone called Bikram Choudhury.

Here are a few excerpts from the staff writer’s 30 day diary:

Day 1: Class was so hard, I had to leave in the middle of it to get vitamin water because I felt like I was dying!  I stayed through the whole class even though I wanted to leave.  I cried!  Not sure why, but I couldn’t stop.  It was so hard!  Got bursts of anxiety and thought I couldn’t breathe.   After class, I had such a bad headache I couldn’t even talk on the phone.  Just went home to rest and take care of myself.

Day 4: This was my first day taking electrolyte tablets and it was the best day yet!  Bought a sweat yoga towel today, super expensive for a towel ($55), but I get why people use them.  Regular towels get all bunched up on your mat throughout class, but these towels are made to stay put and soak up sweat.

Day 11: Great day, feeling amazing, even though I got drunk last night and stayed up until 3am.  I feel happier and more centered.  Started “that time of the month”.  Yay!  Class was so hard, it felt hotter than usual and I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it, but I did.  Glad it’s over, probably hard because period/drinking/not enough sleep and because I ate really badly and smoked.

Day 19: Heater wasn’t working right, so it wasn’t as hot in there at the beginning, but it kicked on and felt hotter than usual.  I’m getting much better at bending tree pose; I kept my foot on my hip as I stood back up!  Also getting better at rabbit.  Teacher was kind of rude, he made fun of me twice.  Once for fixing my hair.  I think positive feedback would be more helpful for us.

Day 23:  Bad day!  Very hungover, I’m stupid!  Drank too much vodka last night.  I was able to do the first hour, but when we had to lay on our stomachs, I felt so nauseous…Threw up after class.  So mad at myself for drinking that much after all the hard work I’ve done to cleanse my body.

Day 30:  Yay, I did it!  They congratulated me in class and clapped.  I got a certificate and a flashlight!…I’m so happy and proud of myself!

The staff writer went on to say that she lost 3 pounds, which I was surprised of.  She should have lost more than that, although maybe it was all the vodka :)   Pretty funny stuff.

To your health,

Kimberly

 

Filed Under: Fitness Tagged With: , ,

Alicia Silverstone Interview with a Vegan

March 3, 2011 By 2 Comments

I just watched this video on Alicia Silverstone’s website http://www.thekindlife.com/.

It is a little choppy (and I think the guy is definitely enamored with Alicia!!), but it’s a nice, down-to-earth interview with a “normal” person who decided on his own to be vegan.  He talks about the benefits he’s seen, and also the things he misses.

Check it out!

http://www.thekindlife.com/post/my-interview-with-veg-businessman-joel

To your health,

Kimberly

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: , , ,
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