Healthy for a Happy Life

After my recent physical, my doctor told me I had a vitamin D deficiency and instructed me to start taking supplements. Ever the sceptic, I did a little research before following her advice, and I was surprised to learn that vitamin D is absolutely essential to good health and, in some cases, it is life-saving. Consider three important facts.

1.  Vitamin D fights disease:

• By decreasing the risk of heart disease, according to findings in Circulation.
• By reducing the risk of developing the flu, according to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  
• By lowering the risk of multiple sclerosis, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
• By lowering blood pressure, according to research published by Joe Cannon in Supplement Clarity.

2.  Vitamin D improves mental health:

• By regulating mood and warding off depression, according to a study in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

3.  Vitamin D boosts weight loss: 

• By suppressing appetite, according to a study in the British Journal of Nutrition.
• By boosting the effectiveness of a lower calorie diet, according to the WEBMD Archives.

And one last piece of good news about Vitamin D: it does not matter how you take it. You can take Vitamin D on an empty stomach, with food, from the sun, in oil, or as a powder.  The main concern is to get enough to reach levels of 50-60 ng/ml and reap amazing health benefits!

Imagine yourself standing in the freezer section at your local supermarket. The florescent lights illuminate a dizzying array of colored cardboard boxes full of “food products.” You put on your glasses and examine the packages, looking for the item with the least amount of additives. You toss a few items in the cart and make your way to the check-out line, relieved to get out of the store and into your car.

Now picture yourself talking to a local farmer. A gentle breeze blows through your hair as the morning sun kisses your face. The farmer is telling you about his latest harvest of peaches, as you pop a slice in your mouth. After tasting several delicious fruits, you choose your favorites and walk away with a pleasant memory.

Which one of these scenarios paints the best picture? If you have any doubts, consider these five reasons you should shop at a local farmers’ market:

1. Farm fresh tastes better. Fruits and vegetables you find at the grocery store are often several days old before they reach the aisles, and most supermarket produce is shipped in refrigerated trucks from thousands of miles away. Produce from your farmer’s market, on the other hand, was probably picked that morning, making it as fresh as if you had grown it yourself. In addition, items from a farmer’s market are usually picked at the peak of their ripeness when natural sugars are at their best.
2. Farm fresh is better for you. Enjoying produce at the ultimate level of ripeness not only tastes better, but it also provides more nutrition. Enjoying perfectly ripe produce provides a number of antioxidants, which clean free radicals out of your bloodstream and reduce signs of aging by minimizing wrinkles and preserving the texture of skin. Another benefit of ripe fruit is anthocyanins, which provide anti-inflammatory properties, protect brain function, help prevent cardiovascular disease and reduce the risk of cancer. Another great source of antioxidants that is available at your local farmer’s market can be found in raw, local honey. In addition to antioxidants and enzymes, raw local honey contains pollen, which provides you with allergy prevention. Not to mention the fact that raw local honey tastes much better than the commercial, mass-produced honey. As we were recently reminded by the deadly outbreaks of E. coli in romaine lettuce, there is also less chance of illness with farm fresh foods. Such incidences occur mostly in large industrial settings, where food is mass-produced and packaged in mass amounts.
3. Farm fresh is better for the environment. The chemical-free, organic methods purported by local farmers are better for the environment. Unlike local farmers, giant factory farms grow massive amounts of produce and ship it around the world. These same behemoths drive many local family farms out of business. For the sake of efficiency, industrial farming favors monocultures, where a single field only grows one type of fruits or vegetables. Monocultures sap the soil of essential nutrients, leaving it barren and virtually unplantable. As a result, the soil becomes more susceptible to disease and pests. In general, industrial farming is hard on the land, depletes the soil of nutrients, uses industrial chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and utilizes environmentally unfriendly practices that are not sustainable over the long-term. Many supermarkets receive their produce from hundreds or thousands of miles away. This involves a significant use of fossil fuels for shipping on refrigerated trucks and rail cars. Famer’s market produce doesn’t have to travel far to get from the farm to your table, significantly reducing the use of fossil fuels. Along with conserving fossil fuels, small family farms produce less environmental waste in the form of carbon monoxide, pesticide use, chemical fertilizers, and packaging. They are also less likely to utilize giant processing and sorting machines that contribute to environmental decay. Finally, farmer’s markets usually operate in the open air and thus do not require electricity or heating.
4. Local farming supports the local economy. As mentioned earlier, the numbers of family farms have decreased over the years as they succumbed to the increasingly stiff competition from giant conglomerate-run farms that produce massive amounts of produce. Purchasing fruits and vegetables from farmer’s markets, however, supports your community and local family farms, giving them the valuable capital they need to keep operating while providing consumers an alternative to mass-produced foods.
5. Farmer’s markets are fun! Unlike their supermarket counterparts, farmer’s markets are the source of many pleasant memories. Your local farmer’s market can also be a great family activity and a nice way to interact with members of your community.

To find a farmer’s market near you, check out the National Farmers Market Directory on the United States Department of Agriculture’s website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/local-food-directories/farmersmarkets

You may remember Joe Cannon from my post “Stepping Out for Health.”  Joe is a great mentor and instructor and now he needs help to save his website.  His website Supplement-Geek.com has been offline for over a week, because the owner of another supplement website convinced his internet service provider that Joe was violating his trademark.  This argument is completely false, and Joe can prove that he existed for years before this other guy’s site was around. 

The major problem is that Joe never trademarked his site and the other guy did.  And although their sites are very different, this perpetrator threatened Joe’s internet service provider, keeping Supplement-Geek.com offline.  To exacerbate matters, this guy, who sells supplements, is demanding that Joe give him ownership of Supplement-Geek.com.  This immoral and illicit activity has forced Joe Cannon to spend thousands of dollars of his own money in legal fees.    

Joe’s website provides excellent advice and all the content is completely free and unbiased.  Please consider reading Joe’s story on his GoFundMe page.  https://www.gofundme.com/save-supplementgeekcom

It’s that time of year again when more people resolve to lose weight than any other time of year. As we take down the holiday decorations and determine our New Year’s resolutions, here are a few tips from some nutrition experts to help you succeed:

1. Establish a sense of purpose – understand why you want to lose weight.

As registered dietitian, Angela Lemond suggests, “Good reasons why you want to lose weight include having more energy and maximizing overall health. I have yet to have a person be successful in long-term weight loss for just a number on the scale. It must be a deeper, more meaningful reason."

2. Create realistic goals.

Willow Jarosh, registered dietitian and coauthor of the upcoming "Healthy, Happy Pregnancy Cookbook" states, "Before crafting your goals, look at where you are in terms of your eating habits. With your determined New Year’s resolutions, it can be tempting to create super lofty goals and just focus on the big picture, which can be daunting and wind up sapping motivation. Instead, build in challenging-yet-doable food goals from your starting point. Be sure to revisit and revise these goals as you move forward.” If you have smaller goals that push you out of your comfort zone little by little, they'll add up to major results later in the year and lasting results that you can be proud of this time next year.

3. Leave your fruit on the counter.

Caroline Kaufman, registered dietitian and blogger at www.CarolineKaufman.com, tells us to "Clear all the food off of your counters except for a fruit bowl. A study out of Cornell University found that people who keep fruit out weigh 13 pounds less than those without visible healthy snacks. Interestingly, those who left cereal on the counter weighed an average of 20 pounds more than those who stashed it in the cupboard. It's hard to rely solely on willpower, especially when you get home from work at the end of a long day, so make it easier on yourself by taking willpower out of the equation."

4. Get at least seven hours of sleep.

Pat Baird, registered dietitian, author, speaker and founder Confident Health, reminds us that "People who sleep less than seven hours per night tend to weigh more. The National Institutes of Health confirms that sleep deprivation leads to obesity and chronic disease. This takes some planning, but, in the end, it pays off with pounds off."

5. Keep track of what you eat and drink.

Ilyse Schapiro, registered dietitian and coauthor of "Should I Scoop Out My Bagel?: And 99 Other Answers to Your Everyday Diet and Nutrition Questions to Help You Lose Weight, Feel Great, and Live Healthy" says that a food log is key: "Don't underestimate the power of a food log – it can be tedious, but it really does help. Research shows that people who record their food intake lose twice as much weight as those who don't keep track of their food. Whether you're writing it down, sharing it with a friend, talking to a nutritionist or using a food journal app, tracking what you eat can help keep you in check. It will also make you more aware of your choices and will usually cause you to think twice before making an unhealthy decision. Most people will cut down their calories and be smarter about what they eat when they see it in writing. Dropping pounds will usually follow."  

6. 6. Fill up on veggies.

"My best weight-loss tip is to eat more vegetables. I know this sounds trite, but after looking at hundreds of food journals every year from my clients, the one food group that is missing is the vegetables one! As long as they are not fried or swimming in oil and fat, they are very low in calories, provide great phytonutrients (the colors of the plants are loaded with health benefits) and contain lots of fiber," states Felicia D. Stoler, registered dietitian and author of "Living Skinny in Fat Genes: The Healthy Way to Lose Weight and Feel Great"

7. Spring clean your pantry.

Finally, registered dietitian and nutrition and culinary consultant for Hispanic Food Communications, Inc. Sylvia Klinger suggests, "Clean up your pantry and kitchen from top to bottom. Make sure you place highly nutritious foods in the front, less nutritious foods in the back and discard any unwanted temptations.”

You have heard it countless times before – breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  It is true.  Here are five reasons you should eat a healthy breakfast, including new evidence that suggests that skipping breakfast contributes to heart disease. 

1. A healthy breakfast protects your heart

A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, links skipping breakfast with hardening and narrowing of arteries, also known as atherosclerosis.  For the study, researchers analyzed the eating habits of over 4,000 people.  The subjects were then split into three groups, based on how many of their daily caloric intake was attributed to breakfast: less than 5%, between 5 and 20%, and more than 20%.  Only about 3% of people fell into the first category, meaning they skipped breakfast entirely and only had coffee, juice or another beverage. The majority, about 70%, ate very little for breakfast, such as toast, while less than a third, approximately 28%, ate substantial morning meals.

Being in one of the first two categories, either skipping or skimping on breakfast, was associated with several risk factors for heart disease. People who ate less than 5% of their daily calories at breakfast were 2.5 times more likely to have generalized atherosclerosis, meaning their arteries had early signs of plaque in different locations, compared with those who ate healthy breakfasts. Those who skimped on breakfast were also at increased risk for early signs of plaque in their arteries. 

In a recent study that involved almost 27,000 men, researchers found that those who didn’t eat a morning meal were 27 percent more likely to develop heart disease than those who did.  The research indicated that  people who skipped breakfast gained weight and were at an increased risk of high cholesterol and blood pressure—all of which raise the risk of heart disease. 

2. A healthy breakfast lowers your risk of type 2 diabetes

Studies have shown that a healthy breakfast helps avoid fluctuating glucose levels, which often lead to diabetes. A study reported by Consumer Reports found that when men did not eat breakfast, they raised the risk of type 2 diabetes by 21%.  For women, skipping breakfast was an even greater risk factor.  Women who skipped breakfast even just a few times per week were 28% more likely to develop diabetes than women who routinely enjoyed a healthy breakfast.  And a note of caution to those of us who skip breakfast in a rush to get to work:  full-time workers who skip breakfast are at an even greater risk of type 2 diabetes as researchers predicted that job stress tends to raise glucose levels even more. 

3. A healthy breakfast gets you moving

A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition determined that people who ate breakfast were more physically active than their breakfast-less counterparts.  This may be due to the fact that a temporary increase in blood sugar provides an energy boost.  It is also interesting to note that, while those who ate a healthy breakfast consumed more daily calories overall, they did not gain weight because they were more active and had an increased metabolism.

4. A healthy breakfast may give you a mental edge

A study from the University of Milan found that a healthy breakfast enhances memory, creativity, mental processing speeds, attention span, verbal skills, and learning capacity.  These same scientists reviewed 15 studies and found that these benefits were derived from the stable glucose levels that a healthy breakfast provides.

5. A healthy breakfast may help manage your weight

Studies have found that a person who skips breakfast usually has a greater waist circumference, a larger higher body mass index, and higher blood pressure, cholesterol, and fasting glucose levels.  Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute wrote that skipping breakfast causes hormonal imbalances and alters circadian rhythms, contributing to people eating more calories, and perhaps more unhealthy foods, later in the day. 

In summary, you can enjoy a lot of health benefits from making, or sustaining, a daily healthy breakfast.

When you are shopping for water these days, the choices can seem overwhelming.   The variety of drinks claim additional health benefits with added vitamins and minerals, but are they really better for you?  Probably not, say the experts at Consumer Reports. 

The most important factor regarding fluid intake is the hydration factor.  Leslie Bonci, a dietitian and the director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, says, “Any liquid is going to be hydrating, even coffee.” She asks, “Do vitamins and minerals add to hydration? No. What’s hydrating is the fluid.”

According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 90 percent of Americans get enough of the important nutrients and therefore do not need fortified drinks. In addition, many of these beverages are loaded with unnecessary preservatives, sodium, food coloring, sweeteners, and other additives.

In an analysis of 20 flavored and fortified beverages, here is what the experts and Consumer Reports found: 

Sports drinks

These beverages were developed to help replace electrolytes, carbohydrates, and fluids lost through perspiration. Most of these sports drinks have a lot of sugar. A 16-ounce container of Bodyarmor, for example, costs $2.70, has 140 calories and 36 grams of sugar. A 16.9 fluid-ounce bottle of Pepsi, in comparison, contains 210 calories and 58 grams of sugar.  These added sugars may increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes and obesity.  Other sports drinks that have lower calories may not have added sugar, but they might have artificial sweeteners, which may carry their own set of health risks. 

If you are working out intensely and perspiring heavily, you may need a sports drink to replace lost electrolytes.  If not, stick to water.  Drink it before, during and after exercise to replace lost fluids.  For more information on hydration during exercise, see my article titled “Healthy Hydration.” 

Coconut water

Sales of coconut water have skyrocketed in the past decade and are expected to double from its current global market of $2.6B to $5.4B in 2020.  Several of the coconut water companies claim their beverages offer better hydration.  Zico, for example, claims that its Pure Premium Coconut Water is a “miracle of hydration and replenishment.” 

The popularity of coconut water has also spurred a host of other unique beverages, with their own set of health claims.  The maker of artichoke water, for example, states that its product (which sells for $2.70 for an eight-ounce bottle) can “elevate antioxidants, increase metabolism, enhance digestion, and purify toxins.”  A maker of maple water, Happy Tree boasts that its Organic Raw Maple Water (which costs about $4 a serving) is 100 percent maple sap with “nothing added,” and has 48 calories and 12 grams of sugar in a 16-ounce bottle. Consumer Reports’ tasters described it as “sweetened water.”

If you want an occasional change of pace, coconut water and its unique cousins, may provide a nice, but relatively expensive, alternative. 

Vitamin water

Vitamin waters are another, very popular alternative.  Vitaminwater’s orange-flavored drink sells for $1.20 for a 20-ounce bottle and contains 150 percent of recommended vitamin C and 100 percent of three B vitamins.  However, since you do not lose vitamins when you sweat, you do not waste money on a vitamin water after exercise.  In addition, the Consumer Reports study cautions that fortified drinks may contain excess sweeteners.  A 20-ounce Pomegranate Cherry Sobe Lifewater, for example, has 25 grams of sugar and 100 calories.

An occasional vitamin-supplemented water is fine if it helps you hydrate, but still want to ensure you get your vitamins from a balanced diet.

Did you know that by the time you are thirsty you are probably already dehydrated? As Joe Cannon points out in his article “Preventing Hydration,” if your body is short just 2% of its required fluid level, it negatively impacts your body and your mind.  In addition to thirst, even “mild” hydration can cause dizziness, confusion, irritability, constipation, drowsiness, and fever.   Other signs of mild to moderate dehydration include headaches, stiff joints, nausea, cramping, dry mouth, muscle weakness, and sunken eyes. 

For athletes and people with physical occupations, dehydration also reduces the ability to perform properly, thereby increasing the risk of injury.  Joe Cannon’s research indicates that athletes and those with jobs that involve physical exertion; dehydration reduces athletic performance by 30%.  This is because water helps your body to exercise efficiently.  It lubricates your entire body and is a vital part of all of the chemical reactions that enable us to survive.     

Average adults should drink approximately half your body weight in ounces of fluid.  For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink 75 ounces of fluids.  Of course, this figure should be adjusted if you are exercising intensely, training in the heat, etc. 

Other tips for active adults:

1. Drink a glass of water before you exercise, several small amounts periodically during your workout, and a glass after your workout.
2. Drink enough fluids to replace approximately 150% of the weight lost during exercise.
3. If your workout facility doesn’t provide cups next to a water cooler, be sure to take your water bottle with you.
4. Hydration is not provided by water alone. Recent studies have debunked the myth that coffee is not a good source for hydration and indicate that coffee, in the amount that you normally consume, hydrates as well as water over a 24-hour period.  Also, remember that a healthy diet provides hydration as well.  For example, broccoli is 80% water!

Bearing all this in mind, it is possible to get too much of a good think.  Overhydrating can be just as dangerous as being extremely dehydrated.  The clinical term for over hydration is hyponatremia.  It is a condition in which the level of sodium in your blood dips to dangerously low levels.  When this occurs, your body’s water levels rise and your cells begin to swell.  This swelling occurs throughout the body, including vital organs such as the heart and brain.  Some of the symptoms of hyponatremia include headache, nausea, confusion, fatigue, loss of appetite, muscle weakness, spasms or cramps, seizures, vomiting, lack of consciousness and coma.  If you suspect a case of hyponatremia, get the victim to the emergency room as soon as possible.

To avoid this dangerous condition, follow the following advice:

1. Drink small amounts of fluid at regular intervals. You should never feel “full” of water.
2. Eat a small banana before you work out to provide your body with potassium.
3. When exerting yourself in hot conditions or for extended periods of time, drink a sports drink with sodium and potassium.
4. Eat a salted snack during and after long periods of exertion.