Thursday, December 17, 2009

Eat "nutty" to boost your health


Why do you need to eat "nutty"?
Generally, we should eat more nuts and legumes (lentils, beans) than the typical American diet. As you integrate more nutrient-rich nuts and legumes into your food regimen, you'll also end up eating less of the simple carbohydrates, so you can eat well with the low-glycemic food with less effort!

Eat 1-2 Brazil nuts per day to get the selenium you need. And you need the selenium so that you can keep your body's supply of at least 3 other nutrients intact: vitamin C, glutathione, and vitamin E.

If you don't like eating nuts, there is also the ground brazil nut protein powder that I add 1 tablespoon to my gluten-free pancake batter recipe or any other baking efforts to give that nutrient boost and extra crisp.

Selenium is a very important antioxidant and is known to be a depleted mineral from U.S. soil. If you've taken medications in the cortisol family, you are particularly vulnerable to selenium deficiency. Also, you can combat heart disease and arthritis by being a nutty eater.

Read more from this great resource guide.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Help Guides for the Holidays

Throwing a holiday party? Here are some great tips from my favorite food writers and chefs, to save yourself some stress. Learn from the pros!
7 Tips for Easy Holiday Entertaining

Need a healthy cookie recipe for a cookie exchange or potluck?
Pumpkin Cranberry Protein Cookies


Need to hide veggies for your finicky eaters?
Turkey-Veggie Meatballs


No time to pay attention to cooking? Use the oven and set the timer!
Roasted Root Veggies (Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips)

Sunday, December 6, 2009

"Weight Loss for Foodies" Radio Show

I'm thrilled to be a guest on Nancy Bruning's Radio Show this coming Thursday Dec 10th 9amPST/12noonEST.
We came up with the topic "Weight Loss for Foodies" and we'll talk about low-glycemic eating with fun foods!
If you can't call in with questions, please send me questions ahead of time. Also, it will be archived if you aren't able to join us live.

From my other entries, can you tell I am a self-identified "foodie" (AKA food-lover)?

Thursday, December 3, 2009

How to fight the colds and flus

Great article by Dr. Mercola

===EXCERPT OF THE ARTICLE===
THE Number One Way to Conquer a Cold or Flu: Vitamin D

Vitamin D is an amazingly effective antimicrobial agent, producing 200 to 300 different antimicrobial peptides in your body that kill bacteria, viruses and fungi.

In the United States, the late winter average vitamin D level is only about 15-18 ng/ml, which is considered a very serious deficiency state. It’s estimated that over 95 percent of U.S. senior citizens may be deficient, along with 85 percent of the American public.
...

The best source for vitamin D is direct sun exposure. But for many of us, this just isn’t practical during the winter. The next best thing to sunlight is the use of a safe indoor tanning device. If neither natural nor artificial sunlight is an option, then using oral supplements is your best bet.

Remarkably, researchers have found that 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day abolished seasonal influenza. This is somewhat surprising, as it is half the dose of what most adults need to achieve ideal levels of vitamin D

Please note that this is far greater than the recommended daily allowance (RDA) advised by public health agencies like the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recently doubled the RDA of vitamin D for children to 400 IU. This new guidance still falls absurdly short of what’s needed to keep kids healthy, especially during flu season.

In order to prevent the flu, children and adults need 35 IU of vitamin D per pound of body weight. So, for example, a child weighing 57 pounds would need 2,000 IU a day of vitamin D.

Adults typically need an average of 5,000 IU per day—but some adults have to take 20,000 to 30,000 IU daily to get their vitamin D level up to optimal levels. Exactly how adults absorb and process vitamin D so differently is still somewhat of a mystery, so the only way to know if your vitamin D level is therapeutic and nontoxic is by having your blood tested.

Not all vitamin D testing is accurate, so make sure your health care provider is ordering the correct test.
===END OF EXCERPT===

Look at your multivitamin--it is likely to have some Vitamin D, but not enough. Here's where you can get the supplement with the recommended 5,000 IU. Get started now, BEFORE you get sick this winter!