The Skinny on carbohydrates

Carbohydrates: How many do you need in a day?

This is a crazy topic with lots of info out there and yet seemingly hard to understand. My wife and I use a BodyMeida armband that measures most everything we do in a day, including sleep patterns and total food intake. The food intake is done by us entering our food we've eaten for the day with the nutritional information included. At the end, we can see how many calories we burned, and everything else that came with the food we ate for the day. The BodyMedia then lets us know if we ate too many carbs or not enough, too fats, etc… All this gets a little overwhelming but it is interesting to see the numbers at the end of the day. This, of course, is only as accurate as the info we put into the computer. I got to wondering one day what my carbohydrate consumption should be each day. How would one find that info out and should we care, really?

As I was following the Eat To Live , carbs didn’t matter, as long as I ate green leafy veggies, beans and the like; which tells me there are good carbs and bad carbs. We need to choose whole, unprocessed plant foods that ensure we are getting the best nutrient rich foods possible for our bodies to digest. For example: if you are tempted to eat white bread, a better choice is 7 grain bread, enriched pasta try cracked wheat instead. If you want a chocolate chip cookie, go with strawberries and skip the loaded carbs that will raise your glycemic level. Look for foods high in fibers; they will give you lots of micronutrients; which in turn will keep your glycemic levels from spiking.  When buying packaged foods, always check the labels and look for “Whole grains” hopefully no corn syrup or something that ends in “ose,” which is a sugar product. I still follow the Eat To Live program because it works, no guessing.

What are goods carbs? Here’s a list of what I have found to be good carbs: beans, peas, wild rice, fresh fruits, barley, and oatmeal just to name a few. However, carbs that I usually avoid are white flour, cold cereals, fruit juices, sugar, and sweeteners. These high-glycemic carbs do not offer nutrition which will add fat, they suppress the immune system and not good for any of us. My rule of thumb is to avoid anything with “white.” I like what Dr. Fuhrman says, “The whiter the bread, the sooner you’re dead.’ (page 115, Super Immunity)

So, how many carbs do I need each day? Typically we don’t count carbs unless you are doing so as a diabetes-management program. I have researched several math formulas that figure out the daily amount per person, which usually say about ¾ of your calories should come from carbs. This assumes that you are eating nutrient rich plant based foods that are not processed and as intact as nature intended.  If that is the case, then don’t bother counting the carbs, just don’t avoid them either. Each healthy raw veggies, dark green leafy salads and beans everyday and you will be doing a great job feeding your body the nutrients it needs and you will lose weight or maintain, whichever, stage you are in. Avoid processed foods, most beneficial nutrients are gone and that is more important to watch than the carbs intake. In fact, most people think that carbs equals fat, not true. Carbs are the building blocks, the fuel our body’s use each day to sustain us. Simply choose something other than white simple carbs and go for the complex carbs found in nature. By making informed choices you will see results and feel great everyday! Your glycemic level won’t go up and down and you will burn a steady stream of calories, which is what we are trying to strive for in our journey on health.

To your health,

Bill

What are ANTIOXIDANTS and why do I need them?

It’s a great question that I asked and have researched only to find they date back to the beginning of time! The oceans are rich with minerals and seawater provides a perfect condition for antioxidants to grow and they, in turn, protect the sea life from free radicals. Who knew? I knew seaweed was excellent for our bodies and eat it most every week, but I didn’t think much beyond that. Here’s what I have found.

The hunter/gathers got their food for thousands of years, mostly eating vegetables, fruits and lean wild meat, along with nuts and fish. We have called this time, “the survival of the fittest” and you know, they were right on target. It was the perfect diet for them and for us today.

Jump forward thousands of years to Emperor Hadrian (122AD), a Roman Commander who ate vegetables, fruits, fish, olive oil and nuts, we call the Mediterranean diet, which he shared with his military and people. Hadrian lived to be 62, pretty old for those days and by Roman standards. His diet may have had a positive affect!

Before antioxidants were known, engineers were using antioxidants to prevent metal from corroding. No one thought about how that principle might work on us humans. If it prevented corrosion on metal, what would it do to our system?  In 1954, Denham Harman, a Medical Physics at U.C. Berkeley discovered the role of free radicals and aging. He explored how this food type processed in our systems. He found numerous things happening and began to explore the role of antioxidants in our foods.

It wasn’t until the 1980s and into the 90s that antioxidants were fully understood and identified as phytochemical food components. Scientists began to measure the adsorption and the therapeutic values of antioxidants. Antioxidants were coming of age and coming out of the closet.

WHAT ARE ANTIOXIDANTS AND WHAT DO THEY DO?

They are nutrients in plant based foods, known as phytochemicals and you find them in deeply colored fresh veggies and fruit. They have this power to destroy free radicals and turn them into waste that the body then eliminates.  Antioxidants go around our system finding cells to destroy and save you from disease, cancer and aging. Eating them as part of your main diet you will protect yourself from getting sick, you’ll find your skin is clearer and the whites of your eyes are brighter, plus your fingernails will be whiter too. The effects are everywhere and are seen through our skin, eyes and nails. You’ll not feel better; you’ll be healthier and stronger when it comes to fighting off illnesses and more.

What is this thing called a “free radicals?” It is a molecule with one electron missing, which leaves free radicals very unstable. As you might imagine they attack stable molecules taking their electrons and thus making that stable molecule a new free radical (unstable) and making a new free radical to damage the body. It’s a crazy/viscous cycle.

Antioxidants support our cardiovascular system, supports our healthy cells, boosts our immunity, slows down the effects on aging and recent studies suggest they assist in weight management as well. We need to eat the dark leafy greens, deep colored veggies and fruits knowing they will fight off the harmful molecules in our system and protect us from disease and cancer. Knowing all this, doesn’t it make more sense to eat a plant based food along with fruits and nuts? Our ancestors ate this way and I believe it is the way our God created us. He knew what we needed. Make a decision to eat raw and slightly cooked foods, less meat (or no meat), more beans and nuts to boost your health and slow down the aging process. I now know what antioxidants are and how they work in my system, which helps me, understand why the food I eat make me a healthier individual. I need to know the “why” so I can use it to my advantage and now you can too.

To your health,

Bill

Ra w Food and Weight Loss

Below is an article from one of the leaders in the Raw Food world and a great coach. Karen Knowler opens up and tells a very honest story about her weight and her journey. I found it so compelling that I wanted to share it here. At the end of the article, Karen has her website details if you want to learn more about her.

Many people are attracted to raw foods as a tool for weight loss; in fact that was one of my own most compelling personal motivations way back in 1993. After all, to eat a diet that was mostly fresh fruits and vegetables can only mean a lean, mean fighting machine surely?

Well, yes and no.

This week’s article is an insight into how raw foods can help you lose weight but also how, no matter what you eat (yes, even raw), you can also keep weight on!

My own raw food/weight loss story is probably the best way I can illustrate what’s possible (and isn’t) with raw foods. I’m sure if you are struggling with weight loss, or have struggled in the past, something about my story will help or resonate with you, and hopefully give you more insights into your own weight loss journey.

As mentioned, in 1993 I found out about raw foods and as I still had some weight to lose, the promise of creating or “unveiling” my perfect body was of course way too alluring not to give it a shot.

So off I went bringing in more raw foods left right and centre, and making the rest of my meals as healthy and wholesome as possible. Rather surprisingly (to me) I found this not only easy, but way more delicious than any other way of eating I had previously tried. In fact the only cooked foods I really ate after about a year were cooked veggies, pasta sauces now and again, whole grain rice, pasta, bread and potatoes.

Within the first year my body did look incredibly different. Not only was I eating a truly great predominantly raw and living foods diet, but I was also exercising and leading a very fulfilling life, living in an environment I loved and loving my job too. I had never looked or felt better, ever. I was 22 years old.

Everyone at work couldn’t quite understand what I was doing, thinking I was on a diet, and yet everyone was commenting on how well I looked and my obvious weight loss, and yes, how happy I was too. In fact over the first two years or so of dabbling with raw foods, I lost something in the region of 20 lb completely effortlessly. I just ate great raw foods, moved a lot, and got on and enjoyed my life.

Yet, within a year or three, despite still eating predominantly or even all raw foods, my weight had started coming back on again, and I was a rather rotund raw foodist to say the least! In fact, to look at me you wouldn’t have known I was on any kind of healthy eating plan, apart from the fact that I looked a lot younger than my years and still had unstoppable energy.

So while I was still mostly raw, my “results” were very different. How so? Well, this is what most of today’s article is about. This article will illustrate how raw food is great for weight loss, but as always, it’s only part of a much broader picture.

So what had changed over the course of the first four or so years?

Well, firstly, what I ate had changed quite dramatically. Yes, it was still mostly raw foods, but it wasn’t raw and living foods. I was relying more on fresh fruits, nuts, dried fruits, lots of avocadoes, and I also wasn’t exercising much anymore. I also was eating when I wasn’t always hungry. And sometimes I was overeating long after my hunger had been satisfied.

If you don’t already know it, then eating when hungry is the number one rule of weight loss, whatever food you might be eating. The body quite simply knows when it has had enough and will tell you. Then it’s up to “us” to stop, put the fork down and walk away. Having had countless conversations about this coupled with my own experience, I have to say, however, that learning or being able to do this on a cooked and processed diet is a lot more difficult than it is on a high or all raw diet. A LOT more difficult, if not impossible at times, as quite simply the body’s inner harmony can become easily disrupted in the presence of unhealthy foods, which usually only stimulate it, thus making the messages a lot more difficult to hear. So the quality of the conversation you have with your body is always going to be directly proportional to the quality of your food.

As I was already eating mostly or all raw foods and yet was still eating when I wasn’t hungry, what was that all about?

Well, again, things had changed. Now I was no longer happy with my life, my job, my living environment and everything about my external life felt wrong. This meant that my internal life was pretty miserable too, which meant that I ate. And I ate when I wasn’t hungry, which meant that I was overriding the messages from my body (which was desperately trying to help me regain balance), which meant that I was not only out of alignment in my everyday life, but that I was now ignoring my body and just eating raw anyway, but in this chapter mostly unconsciously. Eating raw had now become just a habit, just something I did.

So the whole raw experience for me had started off so beautifully in a perfect and wonderful setting (i.e. a great life) but it all went pear-shaped (literally!) when my life circumstances and inner world came out of balance and harmony.

And as with everything in life, one large or small choice can set up a whole chain of events. One thing leads to another until we are either in greater harmony than before, or less harmony – we can never stand still.

Over the past few years I have been asked a lot about my own weight loss and gain, and thankfully my more recent (and final) loss. Having been through the raw food wringer I feel I really have got a handle on what stops people losing weight despite what foods they are eating, and largely they are emotional. When the heart is hungry the hand tends to reach out, and down the chute goes the “love”. And this love can take the form of a cheese sandwich, or a raw coconut cookie, or a raw chocolate smoothie. Anything goes!

For real and long lasting weight loss, all areas of life need to be looked at. How happy are you at home, in your relationship, in your work, in your everyday life? How emotionally, spiritually, mentally and physically fulfilled are you? As long as you feel empty inside you will likely have a tendency to fill it up with something, anything, and that, more often than not, will be food. And that might be cooked or raw.

One of the main reasons why I am a raw food coach as well as a raw food teacher, is that over the years through much trial and tribulation I have come to know the secrets to leading a truly wonderful raw life. Having lived both sides of the fence I know now, without a shadow of a doubt that it really is a whole person journey. To live on live foods for the rest of your life you will need to bring the rest of your life up to speed with you, and that can mean looking at all those things that bother you, that you’d really rather just sweep under the carpet and forget about, or that you feel are way too much work to address so ignore them for as long as humanly possible. Well, as you also know, unfortunately they may be out of sight but they’ll never be out of mind. Without a peaceful mind, having a peaceful body is a very hard thing to accomplish indeed! I now work with people to address these issues in a loving and supportive environment, because I know that just pointing these things out isn’t always enough. Sometimes you need someone on your side who “just knows”.

For my own part, not only did I transform every area of my life, but I also transformed possibly every aspect of the way I looked at life, what I chose to believe about it, the people I surrounded myself with, the amount of freedom I gave myself to be true to myself and to follow my own path, wherever that took me. I also needed to heal certain patterns that had stood in the way of weight loss, and pay really close attention to what I believed about myself and my weight to finally let it go forever.

Thankfully today, I am leaner, slimmer and stronger than I have ever been. My life has never been fuller but I have never been more able to handle it. Surprisingly to many I actually weigh more than I did back in 1994 when I first lost my “cooked food body” but today I wear smaller clothes than I did then, proving that my body has ditched the toxins, holds less water (no need to keep those toxins at hip reach!) and quite possibly has more muscle than ever before. I feel strong, powerful and alive! And this is why I coach. Because having the body that you want might not always be as easy as just eating raw foods!

© 2012 Karen Knowler

Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

To your Brain Health

Many of us don’t think about brain health and getting old. Our brains need to be healthy as much any other organ in the body. Do you want Alzheimer’s later in life? I watched my grandmother suffer for more than 10 years with this disease. It is an awful thing that takes the person’s life from them but keeps the body alive. I know for a fact my grandmother would never have wanted that for her end years of her life. So the question then is, am I genetically predisposed to this? No, definitely not.

Research says if we do our part by preventing certain factors like obesity, diabetes, smoking and low to no physical activity we can stave off this disease. In fact you can actually boost your brain’s health! We need to move to keep the brain young. Art Kramer, Ph.D. at the University of Illinois believes that higher level of exercise will reduce dementia by as much 30%-40%. Exercising works the hippocampus area of the brain which works with memory formation. As we get older the hippocampus shrinks and that leads to loss of memory. However, exercise triggers the growth of nerve cells and promotes new nerve growth.

So how much exercise are we talking about? Roughly 150 minutes a week or about 20-25 minutes a day (6 days a week) of regular exercise will help maintain your brain’s health. The more you push your workout the more benefits you will get. What am I saying? Go for walks or do a workout, whatever you are capable of doing and as you get good that exercise try to increase the workout to a more moderate pace. Take your time though; we’re not here to hurt ourselves, just get the brain’s hippocampus area firing more nerve endings.

Another idea is to seek out new skills; this will spur the brain into new growth as well. Remember, “What fires together wires together.” It’s also true that you “use it or lost it.” Learn new things; challenge the brain with engaging activities that will help maintain the brain from losing its function. When the lights go out in the brain, they won’t come back on. Read, take a class, learn to sew or take up painting, any of these activities will boost your brain power and keep the lights on longer.

Eating the right foods can help, such as fish, veggies, fruits, nuts and beans. Yes, it is the Mediterranean style diet of eating like a Greek. Eating these foods will reduce Alzheimer’s by as much as 34%-48%. That is huge!! Eating the right foods can be a big factor in preventing this disease.  You can do that! A recent study shows that seniors who ate more leafy greens and fruit experienced a lower decline in cognitive brain function. You do that too, at your age you can get a stronghold on creating a healthy brain. Eating healthy aids the brain’s potential in boosting the nerve growth from one end to the other. Drink vegetable juice if you don’t eat veggies, this works just as well. You need at least three serving of veggies, beans and fruit each week for brain health. If you like spicy foods, the brain loves spicing it up and enjoys them as much as your taste buds do going down. Spices like, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, oregano, basil and vanilla are high in antioxidants, which builds brain power! Did you know American Indians have a lower incident of Alzheimer’s because they eat spices in most of their foods which then bonds with the plague that accumulates in the brain and releases the plague build up? What have we got to lose? Brain health isn’t that hard to maintain and as we get older, we can thank ourselves for the health we gave it years earlier. It’s another reason to eat right, get exercise and enjoy life!  I want you to be excited about your health and to feel your best NOW. None of us can afford to wait. Eating plant based foods, enjoying beans and downing 3-4 fruits a day is something I look forward to and I feel great inside and my skin (the largest organ in the body) responds by glowing with clear, bright eyes and a clean complexion. I want all of this for you and your life!  It’s time to think—brain health.

To your health,

Bill

Today is a new day. A day to make  choices and decisions about how you live and what goes in your mouth. For me, there are hard days and better days. Some days I’m hungry and want to eat anything and everything, I still have “food addicted” days. Some foods are no problem at all, like meats; I can live and never eat meat again. Sweets are a different story, I struggle at night with this on a regular basis and I must make choices. Sometimes I get busy with something and the struggle goes away, other times no matter what I do, the struggle is bigger than me (Sometimes I bomb). At these times I eat fruit, "juicy" fruit like an orange or a pear.  This may not work for you; we all find ways of coping and dealing with the stress of addictions. The night time is the worst for me, what about you?

Knowing I have food addictions (mostly under control), I have to plan ahead for when I get hungry. This is where meal planning becomes very important. I do plan my meals so I know what I’m going to eat and can look forward to it throughout the day. I don't want to get caught searching for food, that tends to be bad eating choices.  I eat a lot at each meal so I won’t hunger any time too soon. I need to plan and prepare so I have a good day eating without going off track.  Most days I am successful but there are days that eat the wrong food. I’m being honest and transparent for you so you know that successful people still have a hard time with addictions and old habits. BUT, I get right back on track and attempt to not let those foods become my life (and they don’t)!

My journey has been over four years now (May is my fifth anniversary), I have followed this lifestyle for a year and a half on the Eat to Live  by Dr. Fuhrman (get the book and read it, it is my Bible on eating and living a healthy lifestyle). It has been a real eye opener and I have learned so much and experienced so many new foods and began creating recipes for myself and others who want them. It is my goal this year to pay my blessings forward and to bless others with what I’ve gained from studying under Dr. Fuhrman. I feel so much better, can do so much more and enjoy the way I look. Am I perfect, no way, happier—YES! Is it time for you to try something new? I might re-word the question by saying: How’s your lifestyle working for you? If not so well, then join me in living your life and breaking food addictions that are holding you back from being at the weight you want to be. You can do IT! Believe in yourself and accept help and support from me and others who are the journey too. Follow my blog and ask questions. You are not alone. In fact, this very act of beginning a lifestyle makes you a brave person and a healthier one at that.

To your health!

Bill

Pomegranates: Super Food from the past!

Pomegranates are from Asia and the Mediterranean but are grown in California too. Over the last ten years research has discovered that pomegranates have anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, anticarcinogenic properties that can help in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, erectile dysfunction, bacterial infections and ultraviolet radiation-induced skin damage. What doesn’t pomegranate do? You see by this list it must rank as a super food!

The juice and the seeds have properties that can prevent diseases including interference with tumor cell production, cell invasion and angiogenesis. The juice is excellent for so much of our everyday day that drinking it seems like a no brainer. When was the last time you drank the juice from a pomegranate? Exactly my point.

Let me list a few of the benefits of pomegranates:

1.      Inhibit breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, leukemia and prevents changes that promotes tumor growth.

2.      Has estrogen-like compounds that stimulate serotonin and estrogen receptors, improving symptoms of depressions.

3.      Its antioxotdative compounds that reverse anthersclerous and reduce blood clotting and platelet clumping.

4.      Reduces tissue damage in kidneys.

5.      Improves heart health.

I encourage you to begin buying and eating pomegranate seeds or the juice from a pomegranate. Here are a few tips on buying and opening a pomegranate. Buy firm fruit and keep in fridge for freshness. Cut the fruit through the center with a knife and spread apart to separate the two halves. Hold the fruit in one hand (seed side down) and using a wooden spoon over a large salad bowl begin banging the spoon on the fruit hard to release the seeds from the shell. Hit the fruit wherever there are seeds. It will release the seeds and you will most everyone out in no time.

You can eat the seeds plain, add to a salad, they freeze well and recipes are online to help you begin eating and experiencing the super food of pomegranate!

To your health,

Bill

Super Foods-Cruciferous Foods

What is a Super Food and how do I know it is a Super Food? What makes any food super? I had never heard of these things until I began researching and reading about foods. I had never thought about feeding my body foods that could fight cancer and diseases. In my research I found cruciferous vegetables like, kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, along with cauliflower and turnips. These are called crucifers because of their flowers. Each one comes in the shape of a cross, hence, crucifers.

These crucifers should be eaten at least three times a week, either raw and/or cooked. They have a detoxing property that supports the immune system into fighting off the diseases. When their cells are broken down they a chemical reaction occurs and this release the compounds needed to build and support our immune system. These cruciferous vegetables are twice as powerful as regular plants when it comes to decreasing cancer.

Today I want to introduce a raw salad using kale as the cruciferous vegetable; however, many people find kale to be bitter and somewhat hard to swallow in its natural state. In my research and experimenting I have found a recipe that makes it not taste wonderful but packs the anti-cancer fighting immune building properties. This raw salad is tastes great and easy to make, here’s how.

THE SALAD:

Take several kale leaves and cut off the main stem and discard. Cut the leafy greens into very small pieces, about ½ inch or smaller. Place in a bowl and then add about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of sea salt (table salt is too processed). With your hands begin rubbing the green leaves with the oil and salt until the leaves are glistening and thoroughly covered. Next cut an avocado in half, length ways and squeeze out the avocado meat into the bowl. Begin mixing that with the salad with your hands incorporating the avocado until it basically disappears. Lastly, cut a few grape tomatoes and drop into the salad mixture.

This is wonderful anti-disease fighting meal that will fill you up and is low in calories and packs a ton of super food power into your system. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

To you health,

Bill