Blog: Nutrition and Exercise for Health and Weight Control

Fruits and Veggies - Power to Protect

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:09:10 +0000

Do you eat lots of brightly colored fruits and vegetables? The colors correspond to different plant chemicals or phytonutrients. Many fruits and vegetables contain flavonoids, a very large and diverse family of antioxidant phytochemicals.

Blueberries are the richest sources of potent antioxidants in our American diet, but the following foods are also high in flavonoid life-preservers:

Red and purple grapes and raisins
Legumes, especially black beans and kidney beans
Citrus, apples, red and purple berries
Tea, chocolate, tomatoes, hot and bell peppers
Onions, garlic, celery, kale and broccoli (more…)

Today’s Cooking Class - Speedy Asian Vegetarian

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:59:08 +0000

Two clients came to my inaugural cooking class today and we all enjoyed a great time sharing with one another and a wonderful lunch of brown rice topped with tasty stir fry and crispy tofu. Cooking started at 11:00 and we were done eating by noon.

Here’s the recipes although I really didn’t follow the stir fry very closely as I had different vegetables on hand and no seaweed. That’s one of the great things about stir fries - you can use whatever you have. Just try to have some green veggies and some orange and/or red to give plenty of contrast.

When I cut up the vegetables, I put the ones that take longer to cook in one bowl and the ones that cook quickly like tomatoes, peppers and summer squash in another. I start frying the harder veggies first and then add the others along with the garlic and ginger after a few minutes. (more…)

Melatonin for Health and Prevention

admin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 18:57:10 +0000

Melatonin is manufactured by the pineal gland in the center of our brain and secreted during darkness. Besides its well known functions of setting the biological clock and controlling circadian rhythms, melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant. It is able to significantly reduce levels of oxidative stress in the body due to damage by toxic molecules called free radicals. These reactive species are produced by the thousands every second of the day in most body cells as a normal byproduct of metabolism.

It’s Also in Food

According to Russel Reiter, Professor of Neuroendocrinology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, “Melatonin is found in all vertebrates and invertebrates, even in algae, slime molds and bacteria, so we not only produce it in our bodies, but we eat it in our diets.” Happily, this health enhancing hormone has been found to be present in walnuts in greater amounts than in any other plant food. Reiter conducted research that shows the melatonin in walnuts to be easily absorbed and utilized by the body. (more…)

Probiotics Keep Our Gut Happy - Part III

admin — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 20:53:16 +0000

Our diet and lifestyle have direct effects on the amounts of good and bad bacteria in our gut. Intestinal microflora can be adversely affected by stress, medications, poor diet, disease, aging, and a variety of other factors.

Probiotic bacteria require food to thrive and their preferred diet is dietary fiber. Fiber is a component of plant cell walls that lends form and structure to the plant. There exist many types of fiber and it’s primarily found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, seeds, and nuts.

When probiotic organisms digest fiber, they produce acids that keep the pH of our gastrointestinal tract low (acidic). Beneficial bacteria thrive in an acid environment while harmful bacteria thrive under alkaline conditions.

People who eat mostly refined and processed foods with very little roughage sometimes suffer from bacterial dysbiosis - an under population of beneficial bacteria along with an overgrowth of harmful bacteria. Subsequently, health problems can ensue from an overpopulation of disease-promoting organisms. (more…)

Probiotic Supplements - Part IV

admin — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 20:38:00 +0000

Bifidobacterium on lining of colon

Frequently supplements are needed to make up for what’s missing in the diet, repopulate after antibiotic therapy, or to improve the health of our digestive tract.

Following are some very different probiotics which contain greater viability and larger numbers of colony-forming-units than most of what you can find on the shelves in drug and health food stores.

Human Micro Flora

Seroyal is the U.S. provider of HLC High Potency and other probiotics made by Pharmax in the United Kingdom. The original samples of hundreds of different bacterial strains were originally isolated from healthy human intestinal walls in the 1940’s. Human formed colonies have been shown to grow and establish themselves faster in the intestinal mucosa and with longer lasting results than those grown from dairy or animal strains.

Four varieties of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are used in all of the HLC products. Lactobacillus predominates in the upper portion of the small intestines, while Bifidobacterium colonizes the lower portion. (more…)

Friendly Bacteria - Probiotics

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:49:36 +0000

Human white blood cell destroying pathogenic bacteria

Part I of a 4-part article.

Did you know that over 400 species of microorganisms call your digestive system home and the majority are not only beneficial, but are absolutely essential for good health? Until we are born, we are completely sterile of microbes, but once outside the womb, we rapidly accumulate bacteria and possess approximately the same ratio as an adult by age four.

Bacteria Outnumber Body Cells

In fact, scientists believe that 100 trillion microorganisms reside within the human body - as much as 10 times more than our actual body cells! In other words, 90% of the cells within the human body are from single cell organisms who reside primarily in the mouth, gastrointestinal tract, and vagina.

If you wonder how this can be possible, it’s because our body cells are so much larger than microbes. For example, red blood cells are approximately four times the size of intestinal bacteria and some of our individual muscle cells take up more space than thousands of microorganisms! (more…)

Part II - Benefits of Probiotics

admin — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:14:49 +0000

A healthy population of probiotic bacteria significantly reduces risk for colon cancer through the following:

They keep levels of carcinogenic enzymes in the gut low.
The acid pH they create is associated with lower incidence of cancer.
Lactic acid bacteria bind with carcinogenic substances formed in cooked meat (heterocyclic amines), rendering them harmless.

Here are a few ways beneficial bacteria improve our nutrition.

The acid environment they create facilitates the absorption of minerals, particularly calcium, iron, and magnesium.
These bacteria are able to synthesize vitamins, particularly the B vitamins and a form of vitamin K.
They create enzymes which aid digestion such as lactase by lactic acid bacteria, necessary for the digestion of lactose or milk sugar. (more…)

Reduce Risk for Breast Cancer - Part 1

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:30:51 +0000

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death due to cancer worldwide. (Lung is first, primarily due to smoking). The American Cancer Society (ACS) recently released a report declaring that at least half of all cancer-related deaths could be prevented through lifestyle changes and earlier detection.

Dairy and Legumes

Consuming 2 to 3 servings of low-fat dairy each day is linked to lower breast cancer risk, according to ACS research that studied a group of postmenopausal women. Similar reduction was not observed among those who took calcium supplements.

Eating a couple of servings per week of beans and lentils appears to significantly lower breast cancer risk, according to research conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health. This is believed to be due to their high content of antioxidant flavonols. Legumes are also rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber. (more…)

Reduce Risk for Breast Cancer - Part 2

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:05:24 +0000

Iodine and Sea Vegetables

Next to the thyroid gland, iodine is most concentrated in breast tissue where it helps to normalize the impact of estrogen. Iodine effectively turns off estrogen receptor sites in the breast. When iodine is insufficient, breast tissue overreacts to estrogen and this can result in cancer promotion.

Unfortunately, depletion of iodine in soils as well as low consumption of iodine-rich sea vegetables and seafood has led to nationwide suboptimal intakes. Try including varieties of sea weed in your diet. Wakame is good in soups with miso (fermented soybean paste). Kombu is often cooked with beans and is reputed to make them more digestible..

Hijiki and Arame are tasty when soaked in warm water for a few minutes and then cooked briefly with some chopped onion and carrot slices sauteed in sesame oil. Add a few slivered almonds and a little soy sauce for a dish that’s a perfect accompaniment to fish.

Dulse is good in salads and the powdered form can be sprinkled over vegetables, rice, or any food that can be enhanced by its salty flavor. Nori is used in making sushi rolls (see my Recipes page). Oriental stores also carry seasoned Nori strips that are good eaten alone or with other foods. (more…)

Exercise Boosts Immune Response

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:29:32 +0000

Did you know that your immune system is actually the orchestrated effort of systems of cells working to identify and knock out invading forces and protect your body? The activity of these groups is greatly promoted by both regular physical activity and optimal diet, but in different ways.

The Battle is Engaged

Natural killer cells and neutrophils provide our body’s first line of defense against bacteria, viruses, and other invaders. The strength and number of these cells depend on diet and exercise.

Moderate exercise gives a surge in immunity that lasts for hours afterwards. A regular program of brisk walking enhances the production of both scout cells that seek out invaders as well as the immune cells that kill them.

Health Insurance

Good nutrition gives overall strength and stability to the immune system via protective antioxidants and nutrients from whole plant foods - fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, seeds, and nuts. Healthy diet can prevent on-going chronic inflammation of tissues and organs - the underlying cause of most degenerative disease in industrialized nations.

Exercise also gives protection against illness. A good goal to aim for is at least 45 minutes a day of moderate physical activity. Research has shown that if sedentary people start a program of brisk walking for this amount of time most days of the week, their sick days fall by about half. Therefore, to increase productivity and prevent illness, go for a walk!