Are You Ready To Pay More For Soda?

...that's right! 
It is probably coming..

The United States once held the position of: industrialized country with the most severe weight problems.

..Only to be passed by Mexico(70% overweight, 32.8% obese)... 


so what did Mexico do?


THEY BEGAN TAXING SODA! 

Starting in January of 2014, Mexicans have had to pay a 10% tax on soda.








what did this do?

           Sugary Drink purchases decreased by 10%

           Non-Sugary Drink purchases increased by 7%

           Plain Water purchases increased by 13%
**first quarter of 2014 compared to 2013**







Talk of this tax is gaining 
momentum in California. 

San Francisco has bee crunching numbers and is estimated that the funds raised would total $35 million to $54 million annually.

What will that money go to?

children’s nutrition and physical education programs.






What are your thoughts and concerns on this?

Feel free to leave feedback in the comments, I am REALLY interested in what you think!




To find out what sugar is doing to you, click here.

Less Is More With Melatonin & The Little Known Importance of Sleep

Research is showing that the ordinary 3mg tabs of melatonin is less effective at treating insomnia. 

The recommended dose is 0.3mg, 10x less than a typical OTC melatonin tab.

I worked in a psychiatric facility, and patients were often prescribed 3mg as the small dose, and up to 9mg as the large dose. 
                   This is 10-30x the effective dose!


Studies also suggest that taking the higher dose leads to higher plasma melatonin levels during the day, making people feel less energetic.


To see a slightly more in depth article from MIT, click here.

Getting a good night of sleep is ESSENTIAL to having good energy. The 3 most important things to good health are good nutrition, exercise, and SLEEP!



Side Effects of POOR SLEEP include:

• High blood pressure
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Stroke
• Obesity
• Psychiatric problems, including depression and other mood disorders
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
• Mental impairment
• Fetal and childhood growth retardation
• Injury from accidents
• Disruption of bed partner's sleep quality
• Poor quality of life

Useful tips for getting a better night's sleep COMING SOON!  (:

That Banana Has A Lot Of Sugar!

HEY! that banana has a lot of sugar in it! 
...about 14g to be exact.


Well, I have yet to write about the difference between natural fruit sugars and added sugar, but to put it short and sweet, the sugar from processed foods do not contain the amount of fiber a fruit does. The importance here lies within how your body metabolizes a rush of sugar(soda) VS a nice steady release of sugar(fruit).

In my video, I talked about bananas containing inulin, which is a prebiotic. 

Prebiotics feed your intestinal bacteria, keeping everything in the gut happy. Since your gut bacteria is your first line of defense for your immune system, we can see why the fiber is important. 

The banana also contains about 17.6% of our Vitamin C intake, so another good nutrient for our immune system.


Potassium and Vitamin C aid in oxygen 
transport throughout the body, to renew 
and revitalize you skin.


Bananas are good for post work-out recovery 
and muscle response.

Bananas also help your kidneys and eliminate fluid retention.. which can give you a more youthful appearance. 

I love eating bananas plain, but i also enjoy putting almond or cashew butter on them, as well as adding them to smoothies.

1 banana

1 handful of strawberries

1 cup of coconut milk, or more!

a couple ice cubes.



...and you have a banana-strawberry smoothie!  

Be sure to watch my YouTube video about Bananas if you have't seen it!

the SUGAR challenge!

I want everyone, for one day, to watch the sugar content on your food labels. And tell me how much sugar you are consuming.

Like right  now. 
Start today  or tomorrow.


The American Heart Association recommends:



     20g for women.


     36g for men.


     12g for kids.



***1 soda has more sugar than our recommended daily amount

**Take a look at your recommended daily allowance, then take another look at these drinks... 
....now add that to all of the food you consume with added sugar, and it makes sense as to why we struggle with weight loss.

..plus all of the not so obvious issues we run into.

 Here's a nice list of other things you can acquire from an excess amount of sugar:

Obesity

Diabetes

Heart failure/disease

Cancer

High blood pressure

Restrain the immune system

Poor memory

Acne

Tooth decay

Learning disorders

Depression

Headaches and migraines

Yeast infection

I am curious, mostly. But I also think it's ridiculous how much sugar gets into our food. Food that normally wouldn't have, or simply doesn't need sugar.


Sugar has been proven scientifically to be addictive. (studies have been conducted at Yale and Princeton)

Sugar increases inflammation- especially in cardiac tissue, which can damage the heart and result in heart disease.

The Pancreas has to work on overload when you put excess amounts of sugar in your body, so it's releasing a ton of insulin, until your body is unable to utilize it effectively, thus pumping out more and more, and voila, you have type 2 diabetes.
12,000-24,000 people lose their sight to diabetes EVERY YEAR.

The liver converts sugar to fat.

Sugar weakens neutrophils- which are a type of white bloods cells.
Sugar also interferes with the transport of vitamin C from the intestine, which also weakens your immune system function.

Sugar is a leading contributor to obesity, which affects more than 1/3 of the U.S. population.

60-70% of diabetics have nerve damage, which can lead to lower limb amputations. (working in healthcare, I have seen a TON of diabetic-related amputations. they are nothing short of uncommon)

Here's one for the ladies: SUGAR DAMAGES COLLAGEN. once collagen is damaged, it becomes dry and brittle, resulting in WRINKLES!!

SUGAR SUPPRESSES BDNF!! 
If you haven't read my blog about our brains shrinking, read it HERE! 




It is VERY important that you don't perceive a lack of sugar as depriving yourself of anything.

So be kind to your body and love yourself enough to make well-informed decisions about your health.





To sum up sugar consumption: If you want to be fat, look really old, minimize your brain's ability to learn, and acquire an insane amount of health problems, keep overindulging.




Read a study published by PubMed HERE about consuming a diet high in fat and refined sugar. 
If you want, of course! 

AVOCADO LOVE

Not only are avocados packed with nutrients, but they are SO delicious. If you don't like avocados, maybe you haven't had a good one. They can be tricky to buy. They are ready to eat if the flesh yields slightly when pressed... a hard avocado is not ready, and a real mushy one is bad.

To prepare: Cut lengthwise in half down to the pit, twist, separate the halves, pierce the pit with a knife, then pull to remove.

If you're not going to eat the entire avocado immediately, it will brown. I usually squirt some lime on it to preserve the color, but some people also use vinegar. 

A rich source of monounsaturated fat makes avocados really good for your heart and helps lower cholesterol.

High in Vitamin E to boost your immune system!

Contains lutein which helps protect against eye cataracts and other age-related degeneration of the retina.

Avocados are also a really good source of Magnesium! 

Magnesium is good for proper growth and maintenance of bones. It's also required for nerve and muscle function. It also helps you have good BOWEL MOVEMENTS!! (:

This right here is my homemade guacamole! It is so creamy and delicious, and here is how you make it!

     3 avocados

     1 small onion

     1 handful of little tomatoes, or whatever kind of tomatoes you like. I've used just about               

        every kind.

    1/2 lime

         Salt to taste

Mush the avocados up! 

Cut the onion and throw it in, stir that up!

  Cut the tomatoes up however you like! Throw them in! Stir it up!

    Add some lime to preserve the beautiful lime green color!

And add salt to taste!

You can also eat them plain, which I do. And on salads. Or on hamburgers. They are so creamy. They add a really great texture to foods.

SO EAT YOUR AVOCADOS! and LOVE THEM!!

FUN In The Kitchen!

     4 EASY RECIPES! RIGHT HERE. JUST FOR YOU! (:

ROASTED ASPARAGUS WITH MUSHROOMS!!

Check Out The Recipe HERE!!

           

   MEXICAN CUCUMBER SALAD!!

     Check Out The Recipe HERE!!

            

SAUTÉED KALE!!!

Check Out The Recipe Here!!

(Kale is SO good for you, try adding it to any vegetable mix or omelets)

                                                         

    SPAGHETTI SQUASH!!

      Check Out The Recipe HERE!!

       






  **I LOVE the spaghetti squash! It's like, you get the satisfaction of eating pasta, but it's all vegetable. and it is SO easy to make. Don't let the spaghetti squash intimidate you if you have never cooked one! Just cut it in half- remove the seeds- oil up the pan-  throw it on your pan! pulp side down!- cook that squash for about 45 minutes on 350 until you can easily puncture it with a knife!**

                YOU CANNOT SCREW UP A SPAGHETTI SQUASH!!!



Once you cook more and more vegetables if you haven't cooked a lot of vegetables, you will become more familiar with the time it takes to cook them. Rarely do I follow a recipe, because I hate buying stuff I will use ONE TIME. So if you don't want to add..
                  GROUND MYSTERY SPICE**
..you don't have to. Make it your own and experiment.
Although, SPICES RULE!!

Expand your use of spices! Get some fresh ginger! or cumin! Experiment! There are some pretty amazing health benefits to spices!

“Using herbs and spices expands your palette without extra calories and may decrease the amount of salt, fat, and sugar you use without sacrificing flavor,” 
 Kate Geagan, MS, RD, author of Go Green,Get Lean: Trim Your Waistline with the Ultimate Low-Carbon Footprint Diet.

Still unsure about the benefits of Spices?!
Click here to check out a list of 8 different spices & how to cook with them!

Reasons To Eat Better

Diseases that travel with obesity include, but are not limited to: 

          heart attack
          heart failure
          stroke
          diabetes
          cancer
          dementia
          cirrhosis of the liver

By 2030, the United States will be 65% overweight and 165 MILLION Americans will be obese.

S.L. Gortmaker et al., "Changing the Future of Obesity: Science, Policy, and Action." Lancet 378 (2011): 838-47


From 1980-today, Carbohydrate intake has increased from 40% to 55%

P.Chanmugam et al., "Did fat intake in the United States Really Decline Between 1989-1991 and 1994-1996?" J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 103 (2003): 867-72.


A study done in 2005 showed that despite the increase in medical care availability, our children will be the first generation of Americans who die before their forebears.

S.J. Olshansky et al., "A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the United States in the 21st Century," New Engl. J. Med. 352 (2005): 1138-45.




The waste in medical expenditure is now $147 BILLION / year.

Expected to increase to $192 Billion by 2020.




For my friends who love graphs:

          this is the incline in childhood obesity since 1971-2012.

16.9% of 2-19 year olds are obese, with another 14.9% overweight.
    That is 31.8% of children who are overweight OR Obese.(in 2012)


I'm using these statistics to build awareness that we DO have a problem, and to show there ARE solutions. 

Be mindful of your health.  

You really are what you eat, and if your body is a living, breathing, organic machine, then you should fuel it as such.


Eating better doesn't have to be more expensive,

            Here's 10 effective ways to eat healthy, cheap!

I am a Fat Lady!

If you are anything like me, you have a hard time remembering which fat is which.


                    "Eat healthy fats!" 
                                                             "Don't eat not healthy fats!"



But which is which!?

Saturated Fat

saturated fat comes from animal sources such as poultry, red meat, and full-fat dairy products.






          


         Note: Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature. Coconut oil is in this fat category, HOWEVER, coconut oil is about 75% Medium Chain Triglycerides, or MCTs(MCTs are essential for boosting your metabolism). Coconut oil contains more MCTs than any other food source. You can purchase supplemental MCT oil here. Or you can wait to decide if MCT oil is right for you when I talk more about the benefits and how to use it.





Trans Fat

Small amounts of Trans Fat are naturally occurring in some fatty parts of meat and dairy, but artificial Trans Fat occurs when hydrogen is added to liquid oil, turning it into a solid fat. Artificial trans fat is utilized in food products by companies because it is cheap and prolongs shelf life, stability, and texture. 

Examples include - "partially hydrogenated oil", doughnuts, cookies, margarine, spreads, shortening.

Saturated Fats and Trans Fats are known to be the bad or unhealthy fats. I would agree to stay away from ALL Trans Fat, But there are definite health benefits to some saturated fats, ESPECIALLY EGGS! (:

The Unsaturated fats below increase your HDL(GOOD CHOLESTEROL), and lower your LDL(BAD CHOLESTEROL). Eating foods high in unsaturated fats can lower your risk for cardiovascular disease.





Monounsaturated Fats

These fats come from oils (olive, safflower, canola, sesame), AVOCADOS!







Polyunsaturated Fats 

These fats come from many plant based oils, seeds(flax, hemp, sesame), nuts(almonds, walnuts), and fish(salmon, mackerel, herring, trout). 

NOTE: OMEGA-3 fatty acid from fish are easier for your body to process than plant-based Omega-3 fatty acids.

Many foods contain different fats, for example, the Avocado contains polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and saturated fats.. But it has mostly monounsaturated fat.

There are more health benefits to the (mono/poly)unsaturated fats, but there are certain saturated fats I DO recommend such as grass fed beef, eggs, and coconut oil.






to sum things up:



NO TRANS FAT!

SOME SATURATED FAT

CONSUME PLENTY OF YOUR POLY/MONO UNSATURATED FATS!!

why should i drink Water? (:

                         Drink Water!
          You are made up of about 70% water(depending on age & gender). Your body is literally made up of water. So drink up and drink plenty.

                         Water                                           NOT Water

                       spring water                                              coffee
                     distilled water                                      soda & diet soda
                     filtered water                                           sweet tea
                      mineral water                                       flavored water

                   
Why is drinking water so important?!
          Because it aids in maintaining a healthy weight, it flushes out toxins, it improves skin complexion, it lubricates and cushions joints, and it is SO delicious and thirst quenching! (:

          If you struggle with water that tastes gross, maybe it's your tap water. Look into purchasing a water filter or distilled or spring water.             

                                                      

                       
          Staying hydrated is one of the most important things you can do for your body.

    If you are thirsty, you are probably already dehydrated, so make sure you carry a water bottle with you at all times.

  
      If you are not getting enough water, some signs of dehydration that you may not even realize include, but are not limited to: headache, lethargy, low-energy, muscle cramps, confusion, dry skin.