Warning: Diets are Toxic to Your Health

You have probably heard the saying that "diets don't work". Well, it is true. Research shows that people who chronically diet tend to continue gaining weight over the years. Diets can, and often do, result in weight loss. However, the weight loss from these diets is typically short lived as they are too restrictive and cumbersome to stick with for any length of time.

Many of us in the nutrition and fitness industry throw around the term "lifestyle change" as a way to explain that the changes you make in your diet and activity level must "stick" in order to maintain weight loss. That recommendation to make a "lifestyle change" is then followed by rules like "no sugar", "no junk food", "cut back on carbs", "don't eat meat", "exercise daily", or "never eat fast food again". That puts us back at square one with the "diet mentality".

To truly make a "lifestyle change" we have to abandon the ideas of diets, restrictions, and quick-fixes. I strongly encourage you to read Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole, M.S., R.D. and Elyse Resch, M.S., R.D., F.A.D.A., C.E.D.R.D. The authors of this book discuss how to eat intuitively by listening and trusting your own hunger and fullness signals. We were born with this ability; however, many of us have moved away from using this simple tool to regulate our food intake. There is also an emphasis on enjoying food and allowing yourself to make room in your life for foods that often seem forbidden on diets.

The principles of intuitive eating are as follows:

"1. Reject the diet mentality.
2. Honor your hunger.
3. Make peace with food.
4. Challenge the food police.
5. Feel your fullness.
6. Discover the satisfaction factor.
7. Cope with your emotions without using food.
8. Respect your body.
9. Exercise-feel the difference.
10. Honor your health with gentle nutrition."
Tribole, E., Resch, E. Intuitive Eating. NY: St. Martin's Griffin, 2012.

If you truly want to change your lifestyle, mend your relationship with food, and reach a healthy weight, Intuitive Eating is the book for you.

Exercise Makes You Happy!

Exercise is medicine. I believe that a large amount of disease (mental and physical) and other ailments would decrease in our country if more movement and less sitting were going on. The impact of exercise on depression has been examined by many researchers and results look pretty promising.

Exercise appears to improve depression more quickly than medication alone and decrease relapses. Some researchers even believe that medication can be decreased or discharged from some patients' medical plan. There is very strong evidence that exercise helps to reduce anxiety levels.

Aside from the reduction in depression and anxiety, exercise is known to evoke a positive mood and improve confidence and self-esteem.

Going out for a walk once a week will most likely not make a huge difference in the factors listed above. While some walking is better than nothing, best results occur when people exercise regularly (at least five times each week) and when they stick to their exercise regimen. Also, vigorous exercise proves to be more effective than moderate exercise.

Another interesting note is that people tend to benefit from group exercise. Not to say that exercising alone won't be beneficial. However, the comaraderie that occurs while breaking a sweat with other people in aerobics classes, cycling, or a group of runners may help to give your mood a little extra boost.

So for anyone battling the stresses of life, struggling to beat depression, fighting off anxiety, or just wanting to be a little happier, get out there and start breaking a sweat!

A New Favorite Snack

I recently bought Chobani's Champion Greek Yogurt for kids in the "very berry" flavor. The yogurt came as a 4-pack, so I had one container for each of my children and an extra for me! I sliced fresh strawberries and mixed it in each container. What a delicious snack!

Each container had about 100 calories and was low in fat and sugar compared to many other yogurts. I would definitely recommend this as a great snack for children or adults.

Of course Chobani yogurt is expensive, but I bought it on sale with a dollar off coupon, so it was very affordable that way.

Happy snacking!

The Latest On High Fructose Corn Syrup

I recently attended a webinar that examined high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and its impact on weight gain, high blood sugar, high blood lipid levels, high uric acid levels, and increased blood pressure. The conclusion from the three health professionals was that we ultimately cannot blame HFCS for the previously stated health issues.

While I was working on my degree in nutrition, I was taught that HFCS was a bad ingredient in foods and that it should be avoided. Naturally, that has been my thinking, so I was taken aback by the new information in the webinar.

The research reviewed in the webinar basically showed that whenever humans ingest a diet that is calorically appropriate, they suffered no ill effects from replacing some of their carbohydrate intake with HFCS. Whenever diets were higher in calories than needed by the body; and some carbohydrate was replaced by HFCS, ill effects were present. The conclusion was that HFCS are safe; however, just like any other added sugar, eating too much will cause weight gain.

Keep in mind that these studies share the limitation that it is difficult to keep subjects on a specific diet for a long period of time. That fact makes it difficult to truly know the long-term effect of any diet.

I went back and looked at several studies to form my own opinion, and I have to say that the professionals in the webinar were really on target. This was truly surprising to me. However, the sentiment does make a lot of sense. We spend so much time trying to place the obesity/chronic disease epidemic on a particular nutrient, food, fast food chain, advertisement, drink, etc that we forget that all of these things work together. A bowl of ice cream certainly won't make you obese; however, always grabbing the low nutrient/high calorie food WILL make you obese.

Remember that HFCS is only in processed foods because it is a man-made sugar that includes glucose and fructose. It is very similar to sucrose (table sugar), but it doesn't occur naturally. Therefore, if you're eating a lot of HFCS, you are also eating a lot of processed foods. It is well accepted that the more whole foods and less processed foods you eat, the better off you will be.

In conclusion, eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. It is okay if you have a little bit of HFCS every now and then, just don't over-do it!


http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fructose-corn-syrup/AN01588

http://www.ajcn.org/content/88/6/1715S.full.pdf+html

http://www.ajcn.org/content/88/6/1733S.full.pdf+html

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/139/6/1242S.full.pdf+html

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/139/6/1219S.full.pdf+html

http://ajl.sagepub.com/content/4/6/515.abstract

http://www.jacn.org/content/28/6/619.full.pdf+html


http://annals.org/article.aspx?volume=156&issue=4&page=291

http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/35/7/1611.abstract

Caffeine and Athletic Performance

Scientists have been studying the effect of caffeine on athletic performance for quite some time. Based on the evidence that exists, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) currently reports that 3 to 9 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight can improve endurance athletic performance (lasting up to 2 hours) and short-term, intense exercise (lasting about 5 minutes).

Example:

Body weight = 150 lbs

150 lbs / 2.2 = 68.2 kgs

68.2kgs X 3 mg caffeine = 204.6

68.2kgs X 9 mg caffeine = 613.8

So a person who weighs 150 pounds would need between 205 mg and 614 mg of caffeine. A cup of coffee has at least 100 mg of caffeine.

Studies have shown that caffeine can help to increase power output and speed. Unfortunately, studies cannot confirm that caffeine in the form of coffee will elicit the same results because caffeine was administered in pill form. Fortunately, caffeine does not cause dehydration as commonly thought.

Practical advice: If you are using gels or sports drinks with caffeine in them, know that they are safe and they may even improve your performance. Do not ever try something new on race day! Do not overdo the caffeine. By that, I mean that more is not always better. Be sensible, do not take so much caffeine that you are jittery, and don't expect this to help you win the race. Train, train, train!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19757860

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11583104

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1665890

http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/caffeine

http://www.acsm.org/docs/current-comments/caffeineandexercise.pdf

A Hidden Danger For Runners...

You're outdoors on a nice day getting exercise. What could be bad about that? While you're doing your body "good" by running, you may be ruining the appearance of your skin and putting yourself in danger for skin cancer. Of course, anyone who participates in outdoor sports is at risk for this.

This summer, and ALWAYS, make a commitment to wear sunscreen when you run outdoors. Remember that ultraviolet rays are still busy damaging your skin even on cloudy days. In fact, I got the worst burn of my life on a very overcast day when I was a kid. I will never do that again! However, I know that I still make silly decisions. Last October I went out for a run and came back with a burn. Even if I hadn't gotten a burn, I know there still would have been damage to my skin after being outside in a tank top and shorts for an hour and a half. If you're having trouble making yourself take the time to apply sunscreen, ask yourself, "Do I really want to have ugly sun-damage spots on my skin and look ten years older than I really am?" Even if you escape skin cancer, the sun will likely derail your plans for graceful aging.

Choose a broad spectrum sunscreen and reapply every two hours, even if the sunscreen claims to be sweat resistant. Check out this article for information about new FDA guidelines for sunscreens. Be sure to use an ounce of sunscreen to achieve the full benefits of skin protection.

In addition to sunscreen, don't forget other protective measures. Invest in some running sunglasses, such as my favorite, Tifosi. A hat or visor are also really good ideas to keep the sun off of your face. Hats are best if you have any exposed scalp.

We are so fortunate that we live in a time when sunscreen is available. Let's take advantage of this great invention and protect our skin.

Glutamine for Endurance Athletes

Glutamine is an amino acid that has gained popularity among endurance athletes as an important post-workout nutrient. (Amino acids are the building blocks of protein). Many athletes take supplements or consume sports drinks that contain glutamine in order to improve immune function.

Glutamine is an important fuel for immune cells and is typically decreased in the body after endurance exercise. Immune function is known to be lowered after endurance exercise as well, so the idea that supplementing with glutamine post-workout would improve immune function does make sense. However, evidence shows that even when glutamine supplementation is used, immune function still suffers after endurance exercise. In fact, studies have not been able prove that a low level of glutamine in the body causes a higher rate of infections. So, even though there is a reduction in glutamine, and it is used by immune cells for energy, it doesn't appear to be the magic bullet for avoiding infections in the over-trained athletes.

It is interesting to note that immune function does improve in moderately trained individuals, but suffers in sedentary people. Moderation wins again, my friends. (Regardless, I can't tear myself away from marathon training!) Another important point is that glutamine is a non-essential amino acid. That means that your body can manufacture the nutrient all by itself. However, you should definitely increase your calories after a long work-out and include protein. Glutamine is a highly abundant amino acid in many foods including red meat, fish, poultry, legumes, and vegetables. There is no need to buy an expensive supplement or drink that contains this amino acid because we have found that it doesn't show efficacy in improving immune function and you can get it from your regular diet.



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Gleeson, M. Dosing and efficacy of glutamine supplementation in human exercise and sport training. J. Nutr. Oct 2008; 138(10):2045S-2049S.

Parry-Billings M, Budgett R, Koutedakis Y, Blomstrand E, Brooks S, Williams C, Calder PC, Pilling S, Baigrie R, Newsholme EA. Plasma amino acid concentrations in the overtraining syndrome: possible side effects on the immune system. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1992 Dec;24(12):1353-8.

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