Dec
12
2011
DON’T EAT WHEN YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY!
We are all guilty of eating when we are not really hungry. Some call it stress, while others say they just need to have something to keep them busy. Others say they don’t know why they are eating-they just eat and eat and eat. Is it due to the TV commercial for that juicy burger or oven hot pizza? How about just sitting and watching television. Have you worn out the path to the kitchen?Whatever the reason is, it's not hunger that is stimulating this “extra” eating. And this “extra” eating piles on the calories, lots of them! In between snacks and non hunger related snacking made up of carbs and fats are responsible for a large amount of the overweight and obesity we are seeing. So how do we change this persistent habit? A new study by a group of researchers at the University of Minnesota led by Kerri Boutelle, Ph.D. and published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, demonstrates that by improving the responses to the clues of truly being hungry and decreasing the responses to non hunger related eating, children can be trained to respond better to hunger and less to other stimuli (e.g. television commercials focusing on food). Boutelle and her group were also able to train children to understand body clues better and to respond better to being satiated ...
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Dec
05
2011
WOMEN WHO EAT LOTS OF VEGETABLES HAVE A LOWER RISK OF STROKE
Dr. Susanne Rautiainen and her research group from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, reported in the journal: Stroke, that after collecting data on the dietary habits of women, they found that those women who consumed the highest amount of antioxidant containing foods (foods that have elevated levels of vitamins C, E, carotenoids, flavonoids and phytochemicals-fruits and veggies and grains) had a lower risk of stroke. Lesson-Make half your plate fruits and veggies-especially if you are a woman!!!
VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES AND EFFECT ON BRAIN FUNCTIONING
Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine presented data recently showing that in a test group of young men, ages 18 to 29, that were told to play a violent video game for ten hours, MRI studies and cognitive testing performed afterwards revealed changes in brain function, and cognitive behavior. These changes did revert back almost to baseline, after a week of not playing the games. Lesson: parents, be careful with what video games your children are playing in your home and at the homes of friends. There is an abundance of violent and incredibly popular video games coming out daily, for all of the techno-game boxes and these games seem to obtain viewing access in many homes with young children. Be aware, stay informed and stay connected !
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE GOES UNTREATED IN MANY ...
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Apr
23
2011
Hello my fans and welcome to Salad Adventures 102- the second part of how to make the best salad choice. I know it seems easy. Just choose the lettuce, throw in a few tomatoes and bing badda bing, you are done. Well, it doesn’t stop there. What about the peppers, or the radishes or the cucumbers? What color tomatoes should you use? Which lettuce- the Romaine or the Radicchio? Do I add grilled chicken or maybe sliced steak? What dressing do I use? You can see the choices and options are endless. And if you are at a salad bar with people behind you waiting for you to make your choices, the pressure is on!
The most important guide to choosing a salad is to keep it healthy and eat the best in each class. Forget the fried anything’s! Grilled chicken is fine- fried is not!! Most salad croutons (you know those crunchy and sometimes soggy pieces of bread that they throw on Caesar and other salads) are baked and fried in oil- so you don’t need those extra carb and fat calories- so forget them. Fresh fruit and dried fruits provide natural sugar sweeteners, fiber, vitamins and antioxidants and are okay in moderation. Just remember that even though they are healthy and natural by themselves, fruit (fresh or dried) still counts for carbohydrate calories and content in the ...
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Mar
20
2011
Hello my Best Diet in The Universe fans, are you ready to continue? We are at day four. Yes, you made it through three incredible days and you are almost finished with one week. How do you all feel? The feedback has been fantastic. Most of you have lost weight-the majority has lost over five pounds. Wow, just in three days. A few have lost over ten pounds! That’s amazing. Remember, on a diet like this, the weight loss is slow. This is a type of diet that can act as a maintenance program as well. Some people lose weight very quickly. While others lose slowly. It’s your metabolism ( that means how fast or slow your body burns energy) and how strict you are on this diet. Either way, this diet will make you healthy. Eating nuts, fruit, olive oil, yogurt, fish, vegetables-sounds very Mediterranean. And you are right. It is! The Mediterranean diets, in my opinion, are the healthiest diets in the world. Many studies* have shown beneficial effects of following the foods eaten in the Mediterranean countries. Helping heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and obesity are just some of the positive health benefits.
So welcome to another episode of Man (or woman) versus diet!! In the right corner here we have you-a wonderful son, father or husband; or daughter, mother, wife, ready to do battle for truth, justice and ...
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Mar
03
2011
Okay, lets take a step to the side my dieting fans. You have been on the three day diet. From the feedback so far, most have felt good and feel thinner. There may not be a large amount of weight dropped in these first three days, but your body is getting adjusted to the new eating pattern. Its an adjustment in your stomachs digestion mechanics and an alteration in your metabolism. We’ re trying to switch on the fat burning part of your internal engine. And we are starting its burning at a slow level. Most low carb (and zero carb) diets are dramatic in the first few weeks. I have been on plans where you are not allowed to have any carbohydrates for two weeks. Wow, that’s strict. Yep! And yes, you lose a good amount of weight, but it gets put back when you start eating carbs again. The Best Diet In The Universe, adjusts your body’s metabolism slowly so you are able to eat carbs all the way through from the first few days and continue through maintenance. After all, most diets have several stages: a strict phase one, followed by a less strict phase two followed by a maintenance phase three and four. As I mentioned previously, you can lose weight on any diet you follow. It’s the re-gaining that’s the problem. I was watching the ...
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Mar
01
2011
Hello my wonderful dieters and welcome to day number three of The Best Diet In The Universe. By the feedback I have been getting, you are all doing great. Some of you are eating the snack, while others are skipping. That’s okay. This is a diet based on moderation. And the in between snacks are there if you get hungry. Also I have been advised that the portions are big. That’s okay too. I was very lenient with portion sizes. If you can cut back-great. But if you are one of the “I’m starving” types, there is enough food for you too! Most of you are okay with the selections. There is fish for you fish lovers and meat for you carnivores. Either way, the plan should be able to accommodate all of you. And as for the exercise, I am thrilled that most of you are doing it! Yes, I must tell you that I am overwhelmed that you all are doing so well. So are you ready for day number three? Let’s get this party started!
Vamos al dia tres! That’s lets go to Day 3
Breakfast: today we start with oatmeal-preferably FIT KIDS, MONKEY BRAINS or any natural Quaker Oatmeal types without preservatives or added sugar. One serving. Any flavor! Also throw some fresh blueberries, strawberries or raspberries in the oatmeal. What is “some?” Some is a few-a few ...
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Feb
28
2011
Okay, so you survived day one on The Best Diet In The Universe. This is a really simple program to help you lose extra, added weight and get back into shape. This is a plan to get you back into your tight clothes. This is a plan to let you open your eyes in front of the mirror again. This is a program that you can follow forever. After experiencing most of the major (and minor ones also) diets out there today, I found that you can lose weight on all of them. That’s right-all of them. Whether it’s a low fat, low carb (Atkins, South Beach), high protein, complex carb, Zone, Glycemic Index, organic, raw foods, juice or starvation diet-the answer is yes, all of them work. But, what about re-gaining the lost weight? In fact, the statistics from research (Traci Mann- Associate Professor of Psychology-UCLA) on people that go on diets show that 2/3 of all dieters re-gain the weight and over 80 percent gain extra weight on top of those pounds they initially lost! What! That’s startling. It's called the yoyo effect. Up and down, back and forth, gain and loss and gain more. I am sure you all have heard this term. Yes, my friends, we can lose those unwanted pounds on virtually any diet plan we follow-but don’t you want to keep the excess baggage off? ...
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Feb
27
2011
Hello fans. I have just come back from a week long cruising adventure aboard one of Celebrity’s newest ships called ECLIPSE. In one word it was-amazing! I decided to experience a week on the ocean, in one of the latest mega ships to cruise in the Caribbean and write about it to you, my adoring fans. From the abundance of food, quality, and food choices to the excellent service, it was a great time away and I recommend the cruise highly! However, as a result of this review and of course tasting the delicious food offerings, I am now going to go on a post cruise diet. That’s right, I am going on a specially prepared diet-The Best Diet In The Universe-and you can follow it with me! I will give you the goal amount of calories for each meal-but since I believe in moderation, nothing will be specific. I think too many times, we focus on the numbers, when we should be focusing on the food and the exercise. Oh, did I forget to mention exercise. Yes, that’s right, along with the food details, there will be an exercise to follow as well.
Now I know that most of you are ready to take off a few unwanted pounds. You are tired of that extra bulge around your waist. You are tired of the pants ...
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Dec
25
2010
Happy holidays to all my friends. I was reviewing many news stories on nutrition and fitness and decided to devote this column to one of the most teachable items that we all encounter-the nutrition label. Yes, that’s right, the label found on virtually every food item. You know, the one that tells us how many calories are in a serving, how many servings are in a container, how many grams of salt, fat, protein and carbohydrates the item contains. Come on, you all know what I am talking about. Well, this label is a wonderful way to teach children about food. Not to mention, a means to educate ourselves. And if we can teach our children what a serving size is, and how many calories are in a serving, we can enlighten and empower our youth to understand what and how much they should be eating and it will be a tool for making good food choices throughout their lives.
Let’s go over some nutrition label factoids:
The serving size: One package may contain more than one serving — so encourage your child to use the serving size on the label to discover the total number of calories and nutrients per package.
The calories: look at the amount of calories in one serving. Calories provide a measure of how much energy you get from a serving of this food. Remember, most diets for ...
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Sep
06
2010
I read an article recently that indicated the incidence of childhood obesity in the kindergarten population of most cities is still high. How can this be? There has been a dramatic change in the constituents of the diets-notably the elimination of transfats, the switch to low fat dairy products, the elimination of sweetened drinks and candies from school vending machines, the increased postings of nutritional information and the restriction on salt. So how can the majority of our kids still be obese and overweight? Okay-let’s break this down. In some school systems, besides the dietary changes, there is a push for more exercise time. As noted previously in this column, there is even a push to change recess into a structured exercise program. That’s important since a healthy child is one that has a balance of good nutrition and physical fitness. Adding more nutrition and fitness education into the curriculum from pre-school through middle school is also showing positive effects (Dr. Gary D. Foster-Director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University, Philadelphia-June 27th, The New England Journal of Medicine). So why are our kids still over weight? Well, as we all know, our kids spend only a portion of their day at school-between six to eight hours. The rest of the afternoon and evening is devoted ...
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