Category: Nutrition

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The Battle of The Bulge: Why Carbohydrates Matter

My Story

In early 2003, I was in my late twenties. I gained six pounds as a result of the increased appetite that had accompanied a course of medication. At 140 pounds, I was heavier than I had ever been. While I was not officially overweight for my 5’6″ frame, I felt sluggish, had trouble fitting into my clothes and knew that I had to do something about it. Attempting to lose weight by counting calories, I tried the highly advertised Slim Fast Diet: “a shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch and a sensible dinner”. I bought two cases of those cans of creamy shakes, and stuck to the diet strictly. Instead of losing weight, after two weeks I had put on another two pounds.

I was determined to get back to my normal size, so it did not take me long to re-discover the low-carb road to weight loss. I jumped on the Atkins diet bandwagon and lost ten pounds in only a few short weeks. I permanently banished the morning pilgrimage to the bread shop and I removed sodas, fruit drinks and pasta from my diet for good. I also cut out the daily takeaway lunch loaded with rice and peas, macaroni pie, potato salad and ground provisions. I missed the taste of these delicious foods, but I didn’t miss the effects. My after-lunch, afternoon blahs were gone. I felt alert and energetic all day.

Since then, I have adopted the low-carb approach as a lifestyle. I don’t count calories, but I am vigilant about consuming excess sugars and starches. There have been occasional periods where I have over-indulged. I have gained weight, suffered the accompanying sluggishness, and then forced myself to get back on track. However, over the years I have consistently maintained a healthy average weight and BMI. Today, at age 37, I have maintained the weightloss and stayed trim. I also have enviable blood pressure, blood sugar, triglyceride and cholesterol levels.

Update: After finally giving up all wheat products  363 days ago for specific health reasons, I now weigh 115 lbs—20 lbs less than I did in high school. I am planning on taking up yoga to gain flexibility and a bit more muscle.

The Truth About Weight Gain

I learned that gaining weight doesn’t mean that you are over-eating, that you are greedy, or that you lack self-control. It simply means that you have habitually eaten the wrong foods. Maintaining a healthy size is less about how much you eat, and much more about what you eat. Here’s why carbohydrates matter, not just for weight control, but for overall health and well-being.

What Happens When We Eat Carbohydrates

Of the three types of energy sources available from our food (carbohydrates, proteins and fats), carbohydrates are the easiest to break down. Through the process of digestion, which starts in the mouth, our bodies quickly convert carbohydrates into simple sugars. When we eat a high carbohydrate meal, such as a large bowl of white rice or a plate of pasta, our blood sugar levels spike, and we have almost instantaneous energy available as glucose. The downside of this quick and efficient source of energy is that too much glucose in the bloodstream is highly toxic.

Insulin: The Fat Storing Hormone

The pancreas works to keep blood sugar levels stable through the process of homeostasis. As soon as the blood sugar level is higher than ideal, insulin is secreted to remove excess glucose from the bloodstream. First it tells the muscles and liver to convert excess glucose into glycogen and store it. These glycogen stores have limited capacity, and so next, it makes sure that the remaining glucose from your rice or pasta meal gets converted into fat. This fat is stored in both the liver and throughout the body. These excess fat stores are easily seen as the “spare tire” around your waist line.

Glucagon: The Fat-Burning Hormone

Glucagon is the other hormone secreted by the pancreas. It is essentially a glucose-releasing hormone. When blood glucose levels begin to drop, such as between meals or when you are sleeping, glucagon sends the message to the liver and muscle cells to release the glucose stores from glycogen. When these glycogen stores are depleted, it also starts the fat-burning process, where the “rainy day” fat stores also get converted into glucose for energy.

The Carbohydrates We Eat and Drink Make Us Fat

All carbohydrates, both starch and sweets, are converted to simple sugar in the digestive process. The more carbohydrates we put into our mouths, the more sugar gets released into our bloodstreams. The more sugar in our bloodstreams, the more insulin that is secreted. The more insulin secreted, the more fat that is stored. In an unending cycle, carbohydrates are turned into fat by our bodies. As we continue to overload our bodies with carbohydrates, the insulin-receptors in our cells don’t respond as quickly, and the body begins to secrete more and more insulin just to deal with even small amounts of sugar in the bloodstream. Excess insulin is produced and secreted and converts more and more glucose into stored fat. An ever-expanding waistline is the result, and is a sure sign of excess insulin secretion.

Why Modern Society Keeps Getting Fatter and Fatter

Studies show that the most commonly eaten food in modern western society is white flour in the form of bread, crackers, pasta, pretzels, bagels, pita, roti skins, batter and a host of other foods. The second most commonly consumed food is the white flour plus sugar combination found in cakes, pies, cookies, muffins, pancakes, waffles and donuts. The problem is that our bodies were not designed to be inundated by a constant supply of carbohydrates, and particularly not huge volumes of high-glycemic load carbohydrates which spike our blood sugar levels and keep them spiked. Continually snacking throughout the day makes the situation worse, as our bodies’ fat storing mechanism never gets turned off.

The process of quick carbohydrate to fat storage was designed to be for emergency storage purposes. Our hunter-gather ancestors consumed very few carbohydrates, and got most of their energy through the digestion of protein and fat from animal sources, as well small amounts of carbohydrates from foraged root vegetables and berries. In such times, we consumed only a small fraction of the grains and sugars we eat today. An estimated 58% of dietary protein and 10% of the fat we eat can be converted into glucose within the body.  There is really no such thing as an essential carbohydrate, and our bodies can do just fine with just a limited supply of carbs.

Other Effects of Excess Insulin Production

Excess insulin production creates an imbalance in hormonal secretion and sends delicate organ systems off kilter. Your liver manufactures cholesterol from carbohydrates when there are high levels of insulin present. This is why even vegetarians on a low-fat diet who consume no dietary cholesterol often have very high cholesterol levels. Even if you are successful in keeping the extra pounds at bay through exercise, you may still find yourself developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases.

The Solution

Whether you are overweight or not, and whether you exercise or not, if you are eating too many carbohydrates, you are slowly forcing your body into an unnatural state of being. The solution to better overall health and fitness is to break the harmful chain reaction by reducing the carbohydrates we consume.

1. Start by eliminating empty processed carbohydrates such as bread, rice and pasta. Your body does not need them. They are a source of empty calories which make you unhealthy. Processing strips natural foods of their fiber, vitamins, flavonoids and other nutrients. Choose unprocessed fresh veggies instead, and fill your plate with green and brightly colored vegetables, fruits and salads.
2. Don’t drink sweetened drinks. Just two sodas or fruit drinks per day equates to consuming a five-pound bag of sugar every month. Get into the habit of drinking two liters of water per day. Drinking water helps to counteract the harmful imbalances created by insulin over-secretion and can help set your body in fat-burning mode.

 

End Note: Recommended Reading

These books have kept me on track over the years and I highly recommend them:
‘Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It‘ by Gary Taubes
‘Suicide by Sugar‘ by Nancy Appleton, PhD
‘Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life– and How YouCan Get Back on Track‘ by Connie Bennett
‘Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health‘ by William Davis, MD
‘Enter The Zone: A Dietary Road map‘ by Barry Sears, PhD
‘Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, Revised Edition‘ by Robert C. Atkins, MD
‘Eat Right 4 Your Type: The Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Achieving Your Ideal Weight‘ by Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo

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Thirteen Teaspoons of Sugar

Staying Well-Hydrated is Essential to Maintaining Good Health

One afternoon, I held an informal meeting with my Contact Center team. Working in a contact center can be both stressful, and draining. Being in close proximity with so many people, and being on the phone all day can take its toll. Near the end of the meeting I asked for a show of hands from everyone who was drinking at least 2 liters of water daily. I’ve posted before about the importance of staying hydrated (see link here). The hot summer months put many of us at even further risk of dehydration, and expose us to a host of illnesses including colds, flus and unwanted infections (again, see here).

Drinking Sodas is like Having a Liquid Dessert

After the meeting, I spoke with one young agent who told me that she had been recently unwell and had been put on a diet by her doctor. Sprite in hand she told me of her recent success with finally drinking her herbal tea without sugar, and of her valiant efforts to reduce her sugar intake. Without missing a beat, and admittedly not even stopping to consider whether it would hurt her feelings, I grabbed her Sprite bottle. Reading the label out loud, I informed her that there were 52 grams of sugar in that one bottle. Most people have no idea of the significance of 52 grams of sugar. This unsuspecting young lady skipped putting two teaspoons of sugar in her tea, only to consume THIRTEEN teaspoons of sugar in her 16 oz. bottle of Sprite.

Read Food Labels and Drink More Water

Sprite is not a substitute for water. If you want something bubbly, try sparkling water with a splash of lemon, but by all means stay away from sweetened soft drinks. The moral of the story is to learn to read and understand food product labels. One teaspoon of sugar is roughly 4 grams. Therefore, the next time you pick up that that container of healthy, fruity Yoplait yogurt, read the label. You will see that it  actually contains about EIGHT teaspoons of sugar. Yikes!

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6 Easy Ways to Lower Your High Blood Pressure Now

A staff member walked into my office today and told me she had just come from spending an hour at the doctor’s office. She is a young, vivacious and attractive young woman who has high blood pressure (160/90) and now has to take two different types of medication. She is not alone. 99.95% of the modern population is at risk of developing high blood pressure, and one in three adults have the disease, but may not even know it.

High blood pressure (HPB) occurs when the force with which the heart pumps blood through the blood vessels and around the body is too strong. Over time the high pressure of the blood causes overstretching of the arterial walls and tiny tears in the blood vessels. These tears leave scarring and lead to plaque buildup, the formation of blood clots, and the development of heart disease and stroke. HPB, also known as hypertension, is also linked to kidney failure, heart attacks, and even dementia.

High blood pressure is often described as “the silent killer” because outward symptoms of the disease are so mild, that patients either go undiagnosed, or minimize the seriousness of their condition until it is too late. The good news is that there are things that you can do to cut your risk of developing high blood pressure or get it under control, if you take your health into your own hands now.

1. Eliminate Grains and Sugars from Your Diet

67% of high blood pressure patients are insulin resistant. Insulin resistance is also known as pre-diabetes, and is the body’s inability to properly process carbohydrates due to consuming a high sugar, high grain diet along with insufficient amounts of exercise. To fight insulin resistance, eliminate grains and processed sugars from your diet and banish the factory-made “white poisons” – bread, pasta, cookies, white rice. Fresh sweet potatoes and other ground provisions, breadfruit and green bananas are fiber-rich, vitamin packed and are readily available in the Caribbean. Eat copious amounts of dark green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and zucchini. Eliminate all sweetened soft drinks and sweet snacks. Think green!

 

2. Lose Weight

Being overweight or obese is one probably the primary risk factor for high blood pressure. If you can pinch an inch or two around your waist, you should get your blood pressure checked regularly, and commit to losing one pound every week until you have reached a healthy weight. Check your healthy weight ranges here and your BMI here. You should aim for a BMI of 25 or less.

3. Drink More Water

I have already posted here about the benefits of drinking water. This is of particular importance to high blood pressure patients, as it is critical to maintain the correct blood composition to stop straining your body’s cardiovascular system. Drink at least 8 glasses (2 liters) of water every single day. If you are overweight you will need to drink more. This is one of the best “medications” for high blood pressure you could ever take.

4. Exercise

Incorporating regular exercise into your routine is one of the most effective ways to lower blood pressure naturally. Regular exercise helps the heart work more efficiently to distribute oxygen to your body. Walking, which I wrote about here is one of the most inexpensive, easiest ways to include exercise into your lifestyle. Aim to walk briskly, swim or do yard work for 30 minutes four or more times per week. You may lower your blood pressure reading by up to 8 mmhg from exercise alone.

5. Reduce Sodium Intake

Eating a high-sodium diet can cause water retention. Water retention tends to exacerbate the hypertensive condition. Try to reduce the amount of salt you cook with and get out of the habit of adding extra salt to your food once it reaches the table. Try seasoning food with heart healthy herbs and spices such as basil, cumin and oregano as well as onions and garlic. Break the salty snack habit by eliminating potato chips and other salty snacks from your diet, and try snacking on unsalted nuts or small amounts of dried or fresh fruit instead.

6. Relax

Incorporating quiet time into your daily routine can help to eliminate the harmful impact of stress on your body and mind. Practice sitting for between 5 and 15 minutes every day, preferably in the morning. You can use this time to meditate quietly, while doing some deep breathing. You can also listen to calming music, do yoga or pray quietly. Actively incorporating relaxation techniques can help to reduce your blood pressure reading by up to 4 points in just a few weeks.

Incorporating all six of these easy lifestyle changes can help lower your risk of developing hypertension or reduce your blood pressure by up to 25 points if you already have the disease. Choose to live a happier, healthier more productive life. Here’s to your health!

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12 Nasty Illnesses You Can Prevent or Cure by Drinking More Water

A healthy body is made up of about 75% water. Every cell, organ and system in our bodies depends on water to work. We all know we should drink about eight glasses of water per day. Instead, we continue chugging on coffee, juice and sodas, while our bodies strain to function properly. Here are some particularly nasty conditions made worse by not drinking enough water.

1. Headaches

Dehydration is one of the most common causes of headaches in both adults and children. Our brains are up to 80% fluid and when we deprive our bodies of water, blood vessels narrow, and the supply of oxygen to the brain is cut off, sending off pain receptors in the lining of the skull.

2. Fatigue, Dizziness and Brain Fog

Dehydration causes enzymatic activity to slow down reducing the effectiveness of all systems in your body. As a result, you may feel light-headed, unable to concentrate and sleepy.

3. Susceptibility to Colds, Bronchitis and Flu

The mucous membranes of our respiratory systems depend on having enough water to stay moist.  When these membranes are too dry, they fail to trap infection-causing germs in the air we breathe. About to catch a cold? Drink more water and let your body do what it is designed to!

4. Constipation

When your body is deprived of water, too much liquid may be extracted from your food in the colon to give to other parts of the body. This may result in constipation.

5. Digestive Disorders

When you don’t drink enough water, your body does not secrete digestive juices in the proper proportions. As a result, your body is unable to effectively digest and fully extract all the nutrients from your food.

6. High and Low Blood Pressure

When you don’t drink enough water, your body may take water from your blood, increasing its concentration. Your heart then has to work harder to get oxygen to your tissues. Arteries, veins and capillaries have to try to adjust the volume of blood being pumped and this may result in high or low blood pressure.

7. Weight Gain, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity

Aside from the fact that thirst is often confused with hunger, dehydration causes our kidneys to stop functioning properly. The liver then has to help out the kidneys and as a result of that it slows down its rate of fat metabolism, causing us to gain weight.

8. Stomach Ulcers and Gastric Disorders

Some of the water we drink ends up as the mucous which protect membranes from being destroyed by the  digestive juices in the stomach. Dehydration dries out these membranes and can give rise to inflammation, stomach pain and ulcers.

9. Premature Aging of the Skin

Your skin is the largest organ of the body. Skin cells, like all other cells, are made up largely of water. Dehydration causes skin to be dry, tight and flaky, making it less resilient and more prone to wrinkling and skin disorders.

10. High Cholesterol

When we don’t drink enough water, our blood becomes concentrated and acidic. Overly acidic blood can damage our arteries or even cause embolisms of the brain, kidneys and other organs. To try to reduce this damage, the body produces excess cholesterol. Water is the cheapest and most effective cholesterol lowering drug.

11. Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections flourish when protective mucous membranes are dry. Regular urination helps to keep the bladder and urinary tract free from infection.

12. Rheumatoid Arthritis

Cartilage in our joints protects the bones in the joints from rubbing together. Dehydration dries the cartilage, causing it to try to compensate by taking water from the blood. A damaging hormonal chain reaction is then set off leading to the pain and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis.

Not having enough water causes so much bodily damage, that some health practitioners argue that it is the biggest health hazard facing modern populations. Some studies estimate that up to 75% of adults are chronically dehydrated.

Tips to Start Developing the Water Habit

1. Always have water within reach. Fill up a one-liter bottle of water to take with you everywhere and refill it during the day.
2. Start slowly. If you really don’t like water, start by diluting all sodas, juices and sweetened drinks with half water.
3. Reduce caffeine. Coffee, tea and colas are diuretics; they rid your body of  water, and eliminate useful electrolytes.
4. Use a straw. You will drink a lot more without even trying.
5. Develop a routine: drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning, one before you go to work, one when you get home and another one right before bed.
6. Keep track of your progress or enlist a buddy. Reward yourself for drinking your eight glasses per day.
7. Add a slice of lemon or a squirt of lime juice for zest and flavor.
8. Get bubbly. Sparkling water or club soda are just as effective at hydrating your body, and some people (like me) find it even more enjoyable and refreshing.

 

 

 

 

 

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5 Ways to Make Eating Healthier a Habit

Half way through the first month of each new year, many of the well-meaning resolutions we make to eat healthier and lose weight have all but faded away. We all want better lives, but changing ourselves requires changing our bad habits, and developing new good ones.

Can You Pinch an Inch?

Stand in front of the mirror. Can you pinch an inch around your waist? Then you, like 1.5 billion people on the planet today, are probably overweight. Carrying around extra pounds can interfere with our self-esteem, drain our energy and cut our personal effectiveness. Getting lean will decrease your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Here are five specific things you can do to discipline yourself into developing a habit that will translate into better health and a slimmer waistline in the future:

1. Eat and Drink Mindfully

If you’re not paying attention to what you’re putting into your body, how will you know if you’re really eating healthily? Nourishing your body should be an experience you take the time to enjoy. When you eat and drink, take the time to do so mindfully. Instead of eating or drinking in a rush, savor each sip and bite. Chew your food properly and savor the flavors. Consider taking the time to mindfully prepare your own meals instead of settling for fast food.

Click on to MyFitnessPal.com and set up an account, or download the smart phone app. Record all your meals, snacks and drinks every day for a week.  This will give you an understanding of portion sizes, calorie content and nutritional information of the foods you eat every day. You will be surprised to find out exactly what you’re putting into your body.

2. Drink Water Instead of Sodas and Juice

When it comes to putting on extra pounds, sugar is our number one enemy. Liquid sugar is the sneakiest culprit. Just drinking one 16 oz bottle of Coke per day can translate into 20 extra pounds of fat in just one year. Start saying no to sweetened beverages. Instead of drinking sodas, juices and sports drinks, fill up a one liter bottle of water every morning and take it with you. Refill it once during the day. Do it for 30 days and see how you feel.

3. Cut out the Starch

There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. Our bodies do not know the difference between a spoonful of rice and a lollipop –they both get converted into glucose in the bloodstream. Eat less rice, pasta and potatoes; share your dessert, trade your morning cereal for an egg or sardines, give up bread and have tomatoes or cucumbers instead. Eat more healthy protein at meals to end snacking. Cut down on eating unhealthy carbohydrates and stick with it for 30 days. You will feel better and weigh less.

4. Set a Goal and Write It Down

Get a physical done. Find out what your cholesterol and triglyceride levels are.  Calculate your body mass index (BMI) using this BMI Calculator. Find out if you’re in the healthy range and how you compare to other men or women of your age. Set a goal for yourself  and a time frame you want to do it in. It could be to lose two inches off your waist, to fit into your favorite pair of jeans again, or to get into the healthy BMI range, but write it down and set yourself a deadline.

5. Weigh Yourself Once per Week

Willful ignorance keeps many of us from realizing that we are gaining weight and becoming  unhealthy. We dread getting on the scale, because deep down, we know that we will not like what we see. Make it a habit to weigh yourself at least once per week, if not every morning. Keep track of your progress by entering your weight on MyFitnessPal.