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Thursday, April 26, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Cleanse Before and After
Many of you in my classes know I just finished a 7 day Ayurvedic Cleanse. It was a very interesting and beneficial experience for me. I have never done an ayurvedic cleanse before but since I have been so drawn the this medicine I decided to try one.
People ask me , why do a cleanse? I like to do one in the spring and the fall to jump start my digestive tract and to do a good spring or fall cleaning so that I feel like I got to push the reset button with my health. It is a good time to re-evaluate your eating habits and lifestyle. What I likd about this cleanse is that it allowed me time to contemplate not only my diet but my overall lifestyle and what shifts I needed to make.
During the cleanse I was only eating kitchari which is a dish made with split mung beans and white basmati rice and some healing spices. I was also taking some digestive herbs and drinking only hot water. This may sound like pure torture but it was not as bad as it seemed. The first few days I was eating my normal diet and ingesting some warm ghee in the morning, This pulls the toxins from the tissues so that the kitchari can them help your digestive tract remove them. Day one on kitchari was tough. There is no snacking and 3 meals a day only. Now granted some days I eat 2 meals due to my busy schedule and with this diet I was well fed during the three. I did crave so badly other foods and my coffee in the morning and fruits. I tried to just journal about why I craved these things since it was only my first day without them and I go other days without them without a thought. I found it interesting that I wanted them..it was like I wanted them because I could not have them..not because I truly wanted them. Day 2 was easier and then the rest of the days I was good. I started to feel so light inside. I was more in touch with my fullness and hunger. The suggestion is to ensure that your meals are peaceful and done in a relaxed and un-distracted manner. Not reading emails, talking on the phone or eating on the run. This was different for me! To actually sit still and eat without doing anything but eating...Wow! What I found is that I really didn't need as much food because I was paying attention to when I was full. You are also suggsted to rest and not exercise other than yoga. I found this was a must as my energy was low. Slowing down to eat and to just evaluate my life really made me notice how amped up I was most of time and not present with each step of my life. Amazing!
I finished the cleanse and probably lost about 5-6 pounds, felt very light and noticed my digestion really felt good and strong! I comitted to a daily meditation and yoga practice and found that during this time I learned that I do need to slow down and enjoy each activity of my day more. Savor each moment and try not to multi-task so much.. I think all of those things just leave me drained and missing out on the present. I fully recommend this cleanse which can be done in a 4 day or 7 or 9 or really any increment. I followed to guidelines of my Ayurvedic Practitioner, Nancy Schneider. If you want to read more about an Ayurvedic cleanse follow the link below:
Banyan Botanicals Ayurvedic Cleanse Information
You can download their cleanse booklet and even buy a cleanse kit from them. Another good source is:
Life Spa Ayurvedic Cleanse Information
I bought my herbs from this site and followed his Short Cleanse guidlines.
If you have any questions email me...I can also send you some different kitchari recipes!
People ask me , why do a cleanse? I like to do one in the spring and the fall to jump start my digestive tract and to do a good spring or fall cleaning so that I feel like I got to push the reset button with my health. It is a good time to re-evaluate your eating habits and lifestyle. What I likd about this cleanse is that it allowed me time to contemplate not only my diet but my overall lifestyle and what shifts I needed to make.
During the cleanse I was only eating kitchari which is a dish made with split mung beans and white basmati rice and some healing spices. I was also taking some digestive herbs and drinking only hot water. This may sound like pure torture but it was not as bad as it seemed. The first few days I was eating my normal diet and ingesting some warm ghee in the morning, This pulls the toxins from the tissues so that the kitchari can them help your digestive tract remove them. Day one on kitchari was tough. There is no snacking and 3 meals a day only. Now granted some days I eat 2 meals due to my busy schedule and with this diet I was well fed during the three. I did crave so badly other foods and my coffee in the morning and fruits. I tried to just journal about why I craved these things since it was only my first day without them and I go other days without them without a thought. I found it interesting that I wanted them..it was like I wanted them because I could not have them..not because I truly wanted them. Day 2 was easier and then the rest of the days I was good. I started to feel so light inside. I was more in touch with my fullness and hunger. The suggestion is to ensure that your meals are peaceful and done in a relaxed and un-distracted manner. Not reading emails, talking on the phone or eating on the run. This was different for me! To actually sit still and eat without doing anything but eating...Wow! What I found is that I really didn't need as much food because I was paying attention to when I was full. You are also suggsted to rest and not exercise other than yoga. I found this was a must as my energy was low. Slowing down to eat and to just evaluate my life really made me notice how amped up I was most of time and not present with each step of my life. Amazing!
I finished the cleanse and probably lost about 5-6 pounds, felt very light and noticed my digestion really felt good and strong! I comitted to a daily meditation and yoga practice and found that during this time I learned that I do need to slow down and enjoy each activity of my day more. Savor each moment and try not to multi-task so much.. I think all of those things just leave me drained and missing out on the present. I fully recommend this cleanse which can be done in a 4 day or 7 or 9 or really any increment. I followed to guidelines of my Ayurvedic Practitioner, Nancy Schneider. If you want to read more about an Ayurvedic cleanse follow the link below:
Banyan Botanicals Ayurvedic Cleanse Information
You can download their cleanse booklet and even buy a cleanse kit from them. Another good source is:
Life Spa Ayurvedic Cleanse Information
I bought my herbs from this site and followed his Short Cleanse guidlines.
If you have any questions email me...I can also send you some different kitchari recipes!
What You Need to Know About Sugar, Agave Nectar & Fructose
Link for article
By Tiffany Cruikshank
It's easy to be quick to judge when we don't have all the information, and I think many of us are judgmental of obesity, viewing it as an effect of overindulging. But is it really that easy? I don't know about you, but I can put down my fair share of food. And though I'm careful not to overeat, I can say that I know plenty of people much larger than myself who regularly eat much less than I do. As a healthcare practitioner I commonly see people who come in trying to lose weight and I can't tell you how many of them actually under-eat (which in and of itself can be a problem as well, but that's another story). For so many years we've been programmed to believe that weight loss is all about caloric intake and output - i.e., eat less and exercise more - BUT there’s so much more to this picture.
Nowadays we hear a lot of press about sugars and how harmful they are for out body, but let's look a little deeper from a science based perspective and then you can form your own opinion.
First off, our bodies basically run on glucose by breaking down carbohydrates to create APT or energy. Glucose and Fructose are both simple sugars. Sucrose (table sugar) is a 50/50 combination of fructose/glucose, and High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a 55/45 combination of fructose/glucose. That small difference is what makes HFCS that much sweeter than regular table sugar but it's also part of what makes HFCS so potentially toxic to our bodies.
The corn industry argues that sugar and high fructose corn syrup are basically the same and that they are both safe when eaten in proper doses. But what is a “proper dose?” With these ingredients hidden in practically every packaged food, most Americans consume an average of 140 pounds of sugar a year. In 1986 the FDA report said sugar is safe when consumed in the current amounts, which at the time was only 40 pounds per year. At what point is sugar unsafe?
So how does fructose function in the body? The pros -- well it doesn't trigger the insulin response that glucose does which makes it low glycemic (items like agave nectar -- yes I know, I used to love it too) because there's no glucose in it. Great news. However, because it doesn't trigger insulin the body can't tell when it's full, which leads to all sorts of unfortunate effects (it also suppresses leptin which tells you when you're full and does not suppress ghrelin which stimulates the appetite).
The other problem with fructose is the formation of AGE's (advanced glycation endproducts) - yes, the name is actually quite appropriate in this case. In this process proteins in your body are basically caramelized (glycated) and therefore permanently damaged. There is a strong connection between these AGE's and Alzheimer's, cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks, strokes, cataracts, arthritis, atherosclerosis and is thought to be one of the main reasons for the health problems associated with diabetes.
But above all, the liver takes the toll in the breakdown of fructose - even more so in its liquid form (e.g. juice, sodas) because it hits the liver all at once versus a whole apple with the fiber still intact. The metabolism of fructose in the liver causes an increase in uric acid (increasing inflammation, gout and blood pressure) and over time a fatty liver (one of the major causes of insulin resistance). Stay with me -- I know it can all be a little overwhelming.
So we have the damage that glucose and insulin do from a high carb diet now combined with the liver damage from fructose that only works to speed up the process of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome (linked to heart disease, diabetes and higher risk of cancer and associated with an ever growing waistline).
Research is suggesting that with as little as 3 juice or soda drinks a day, fatty liver can result in just 2 weeks. Notice I said juice or soda. I know many of you are thinking "but its juice!" But remember the chemical composition I mentioned earlier - fructose is fructose whether it’s in soda form or juice form. When you extract the fiber from fruit that is high in sugar, it acts the same way as soda would. Your body doesn't know the difference. Yes, there's a lot more to the story here. Fruit juice has antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to the body so don't throw it out completely, but know that the sugars in fruit juice are concentrated and act similar to soda in the body. This is why when I juice I usually mostly only use vegetables and I even go easy on high sugar veggies like carrots and beets. You can also dig up the nutritional content of fruits to see which have the highest sugar content because there is definitely a range of sugar levels within the fruits with some being much higher than others (bananas and pinneapple being especially high).
All of that aside, back to the science.
The effects on the liver explain why we are seeing obesity on the rise in babies and children and why we see 12-year-olds with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Pretty sad really, since packed foods are often cheaper and easier than their whole foods counterparts. Did you know that in most formula for babies over 40% of the formula is corn syrup solids and over 10% is sugar? As they get older they have pop tarts for breakfast, fruit roll ups for lunch, crackers with high fructose corn syrup for snacks with juice or soda most likely, then spaghetti with sauce from a jar with added sugars. Don't forget the straight up candy, drinks, cereals, popsicles, sauces, etc, etc. Did I mention 1 in 5 children in the US is obese? (The number of simply overweight kids is nearly twice that!)
Enter the skyrocketing cases of obesity, diabetes and heart disease in the last three decades. Oh my!
In Chinese Medicine we take an interesting approach to the sugar dilemma. We rarely talk about calories but what we do say is that it's important to have a fine balance of the six main flavors on the palate. They are sweet, salty, sour, bitter, spicy and bland. The key to nutritional health is eating the proper combination of these flavors depending on where your imbalance is, however for general health a balance of all of them is necessary. Of course there's a lot more to it but that is a major factor and to me it explains my theory that there are no "free" foods. So many times we eat sugar-free cookies and think its benign or fat free chips and feel ok about it. But it's really all just filler. Which brings us back to yoga and the ability to view our food as a therapeutic tool like our yoga practice. Not that we never eat to enjoy but that the majority of the time we eat to fuel our body & our brain rather than what looks good. So that we eat to create balance not imbalance.
So here's a recap of all the heavy science, and what I feel are the most important things to take away from this information.
1- Avoid fruit juice and soda like the plague.
2 - Remember sugar and high fructose corn syrup are basically the same and fructose creates age-accelerating damage in your cells.
3 - Read your labels and stay away from packaged foods as much as possible since they almost always have added sweeteners of some sort.
4 - Remember nothing is free. There are no "free" sweets or "free" foods, enjoy from time to time but leave it to that.
5 - The internal balance of your body is a delicate balance, why are you eating what you're eating?
Don't forget to balance it with some fun from time to time, it's good for the soul!
About Tiffany Cruikshank
Tiffany is the Acupuncturist and Yoga Teacher at the Nike World Headquarters in Portland, Oregon, runs 200 and 500 hour yoga teacher trainings and has been featured in various articles, video and print ads including ads for Nike and Lululemon. She travels the globe inspiring people all over the world to live their lives to the fullest and and her book, Optimal Health For A Vibrant Life, is a 30 day detox for yogis.
13 Refreshing Smoothie & Green Juice Recipes
By Mandy Burstein
Here in southern California where the sun shines bright and healthy living is always on the mind, the “liquid meal” trend has totally captivated our focus. Where fitness is a huge part of our lives and for some of us, a career, green juices and smoothies are redefining foods as fuel in order to maximize athletic output.
As a yoga instructor, I am constantly chatting with students and fellow teachers about their latest and greatest juice or smoothie recipe, excitedly exclaiming “kale, berries, chia!” or some variation of that in passing between classes. Perfect as the first meal of the day, as a mid-day pick-me-up or as a post-workout recovery, juices and smoothies keep you feeling fully satisfied, yet light as a feather.
Here are some tried and true favorite recipes from our San Diego juicing community to yours:
1. Erica’s Morning Zest: Grapefruit, Ginger, Carrot and Pear
2. Jenny’s California Dreamin: Mango, Banana, Avocado, Spinach and Vanilla-flavored Almond Milk
3. Marlene’s Mega Meal: Strawberries, Blueberrries, Banana, Almond Butter, Maca, Whey Protein Powder and Avocado, blended with soy milk.
4. Nina’s Green Lemonade: Kale, Spinach, Celery, Cucumber, Lemon, Apple and for an extra zing, add Ginger
5. Michelle’s Green Goddess: Kale, Spinach, Apple and Pineapple
6. Marianna’s Lunch in a Cup: Beets, Carrots, Celery, Fennel, Cucumber, Orange, Pineapple, Green Apple and Kiwi
7. Zaina’s Protien & Potassium Packer: Avocado, Banana, Vanilla-flavored Hemp Milk, Spirulina, Coconut Water, Fresh Orange Juice, Pinch of Cinnamon (or cayenne pepper for the spice lovers)
8. Alejandra’s Simple & Sweet: Coconut water, Mango, Whey Protein
9. Melissa’s Berry Delicious: Blueberries, Strawberries and Spinach
10. Melissa’s Tropical Madness: Mango, Pineapple, 100% Pure Orange Juice and Kale
11. Heather’s On-the-Go : Banana, Blueberries, Spinach, and Almond Butter
12. Kaitlyn’s Fruity Fiesta: 6 cups Concord grapes, 2 Golden delicious apple, 2 pieces Ginger and 1/2 cup Blackberries
13. Mandy’s Morning Mantra: Strawberries, Pineapple bits, Orange Juice, Almond Butter, Chia Seeds, Almond Milk, Vanilla-flavored Whey Protein Powder and drizzle Honey
Remember, when recipes call for juice, try to always use 100 percent pure, fresh-squeezed juices to ensure it is not from concentrate and there are no added preservatives or unnecessary sugars, slowing down your digestion.
I invite you to share you latest tried and true healthy concoctions below, contributing to our community of juice and smoothie lovin’ yogis.
About Mandy Burstein
Mandy Burstein is a La Jolla-based yoga instructor and creative writer who is passionate about empowering people to become their highest selves, both on and off the mat. Mandy teaches ocean-inspired Vinyasa Flows, Yoga for Teens and Stand-up Paddleboard Yoga, and leads international yoga retreats.
To follow her movement towards a healthier and happier world, please visit her website Yoga Luna, her blog “The Zen Girl Chronicles” or find her on Facebook.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Pre-Diabetes Part 3: The Truth about Sweeteners (Natural and Artificial)
John Douillard, DC
Having a sweet tooth is normal, right? Almost every kid has one, and as we mature we learn to control it. Don’t we? While some people do a good job managing their sugar intake, many others have fallen prey to a culture and food industry that thrives off of the sweet taste. Even health-conscious consumers, who spend a lot of time and resources making sure their diet is clean, often struggle with sugar addiction in unexpected ways. Though they aren’t the usual culprits, “health food” treats - including dried fruit – can also perpetuate an addiction to the sweet taste. Please join me as I take you on a journey explaining how our culture’s sugar addiction has been renamed, relabeled, and hidden behind even the “healthiest” of foods – and its devastating impact on our health.
Six Tastes – But We Eat Mostly One!
The sweet taste is not a bad thing. In fact, according to Ayurveda there are six tastes that are all to be taken at each meal. A “balanced meal” is determined by the inclusion of all six tastes: sweet, sour and salty—which our culture loves—and bitter, pungent and astringent, which we in the west seem to avoid. According to Ayurveda, eating excess amounts of sweet, sour and salty foods causes the accumulation of kapha, which is directly linked to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, free radical damage and some cancers, to name a few. Kapha is a principle in nature made up of the elements earth and water. It is heavy, congestive and sticky. Foods like sweets, chips and pickles have these heavy properties that can create congestion and stagnation in the body, often leading to congestive disorders like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Conversely, the bitter taste found in leafy greens, the pungent taste found in ginger and spices, and the astringent taste found in cucumbers and pomegranates all antidote these kapha conditions.
The “I Gotta Have It” Hormone
Why are sweet cravings so much more common than cravings for the bitter taste of leafy greens? The answer lies in your brain: the taste of sweet activates dopamine receptors in the brain, which are responsible for most addictions. Dopamine is the "I gotta have it" hormone. When you see that chocolate cake or other favorite sweet, dopamine levels rise and strengthen your desire for that sweet. It really doesn’t matter if it is a refined sugar or an all natural molasses, agave, honey or date sugar product—as far as the brain in concerned, it is all the same. While it is true that the natural sugars have more fiber and B vitamins to help the body cope with the sweet explosion, the brain makes quick use of it regardless of the source, and the pancreatic insulin will be challenged either way to quickly move that sugar surge out of the blood.
Fructose – A Safer Alternative?
Many “natural sweeteners” on the market today contain fructose as the sweet factor. Agave, for example, has a lower glycemic index than table sugar but is still a highly processed product that contains 90% fructose, compared to high fructose corn syrup, which is only 35-55% fructose. Fructose may not spike insulin like table sugar but it is still linked to diabetes, obesity, insulin resistance and high cholesterol. Fructose is metabolized in the liver and quickly converted into belly fat and cholesterol, and not used by the body for energy (in nature, bears gorge on fruits in the late summer in an effort to begin storing the fat they will need through the winter). Fructose is also a challenge for the liver to break down and, in excess, creates toxic metabolic waste products. The problem is not fructose itself, but in the concentration. The fructose content of fruits is very small compared to the amount we ingest in the form of concentrated sweeteners. Today, the number one source of calories in the US is high fructose corn syrup.
Fructose-Driven Sweeteners
Honey: 47% fructose
Agave: 70-90% fructose
High Fructose Corn Syrup: 35-55% fructose
Insulin Resistance: The Not-So-Sweet Truth
All sweeteners, no matter the source, will spike insulin levels and raise the blood sugar much higher than we were designed to handle, as well as strain the liver, which is intimately involved in sucrose and fructose metabolism. Excess sugar also overwhelms the muscle cells’ ability to use the sugar, and they eventually stop responding to the signals of insulin. This leads to a condition called insulin resistance. As a result, the levels of sugar in the blood stay dangerously high for an extended period of time.
Sugar and Wrinkles
The excess sugar is converted into fat and often stored around the belly, elevating the levels of cholesterol. Excess glucose also sticks to proteins in the blood in a degenerative process called glycation. Glycation is the process of sugar molecules attaching themselves to proteins in the body. It causes damage to two very important proteins: collagen and elastin, which are responsible for the health and elasticity of the skin. Yes this leads to wrinkles, but more importantly, the health of the skin that lines the arteries, heart, gut and lungs is compromised.
Here is a list of the most common sweeteners, found on the labels of many foods, that I suggest to reduce or eliminate:
Agave Barley Malt Brown sugar, Brown Rice Syrup, Coconut Sugar, Corn sweetener, Corn syrup, Date sugar, Dextrose, Fructose, Fruit-juice Concentrate, Glucose, High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Honey, Invert Sugar Lactose Maltose Malt syrup Maple Syrup Molasses Raw sugar (Turbinado, Muscavado, and Demerara) Sucrose Syrup
Artificial Sugar Risks
In an attempt to appease the insatiable desire for sweet, the food industry has created artificial sweets that are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, but calorie free. There are many issues with these artificial sweeteners: 1. They send a sweet taste to the brain and never deliver any real energy. This drives an even stronger message of hunger and desire for sweet.
2. Most are made of excitotoxins that over-stimulate, exhaust and deplete the nervous system.
3. Some are made of small amounts of known carcinogens.
4. Artificial sweeteners have been found to actually increase weight gain, as they disturb metabolic hormones like leptin and insulin.
The Big Three
Saccharin – also known as “SweetnLow”: at very high doses causes bladder cancer in rats. Though this has never been reproduced in humans, it still carries a health warning on the label. It is made from sulfonamides, which are known allergens and may cause severe allergic reaction.
Aspartame –also known as “Nutrasweet”, or “Equal”: of the 166 studies done on aspartame, almost half of them have funding ties that trace back to the manufacturer. Of the studies that were done independently, 100% of them found health issues related to aspartame. Aspartame contains about 10 percent methanol by weight, also known as wood alcohol, which is broken down into formaldehyde, and then formic acid, in your body. The body simply doesn't have the mechanism to completely break this down. In the book, Aspartame Disease, Dr Roberts reported that 80% of the food additive complaints to the FDA were from aspartame.
Sucralose – also known as “Splenda”: - maybe the most toxic of all, sucralose is made from a list of chemicals that will make your head spin: trityl chloride, acetic anhydride, hydrogen chloride, thionyl chloride, and methanol, in the presence of dimethylformamide, 4-methylmorpholine, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetic acid, benzyltriethlyammonium chloride, and sodium methoxide. The chlorine, a carcinogen, raises most of the health concerns.
Sugar Alcohol Sweeteners
Sugar Alcohols have recently become a popular sugar substitute. They are naturally occurring in some fruits and are generally about half as sweet as sugar, unlike the artificial sweeteners mentioned above. They are neither sugar nor alcohol, they just resemble their molecular structure. However, they are not completely absorbed in the digestive system and can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea. They do contain some calories and carbohydrates, and as such are not truly sugar-free.
Examples of Sugar Alcohols:
Sorbitol
Mannitol
Xylitol
Erythritol
Isomalt
Lactitol
Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH)
Maltitol
“Diabetic Safe” Sweeteners Sweeteners that are advertised as being “diabetic and hypoglycemic safe,” such as Stevia, Lo Han, and Xylitol (a sugar alcohol) are better in some ways because they have little or no effect on blood sugar. However, if we realize that it is the addiction to the sweet taste that is the issue that is so chronically out of balance in our culture – then we can see that in at least one way, all sweeteners are accomplishing the same end - they give us our “sweet injection.” In doing so, they dull our ability to sense and be satisfied by the sweet taste of vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. Delaying the Inevitable It is my belief that substituting sugar with any of the above sweeteners will only postpone the inevitable. With 1/3 of the adult population already pre-diabetic, and estimates claiming the entire population in the next decade, it might be time to break the sweet-taste habit now. Does that mean you can never have a sweet? No. If you know for a fact that your fasting blood sugars are good, you may indulge once in awhile, but don’t make the sweet taste of sugar a regular part of your diet. Take Precautions Previously in this series on blood sugar and the epidemic of pre-diabetes, I cited research indicating the severe cardiovascular damage that takes place when the fasting blood sugar rises above 85ml/dL. I encourage everyone to own a glucose meter and test your fasting blood sugars regularly, and make sure to adjust your sugar intake if that fasting number starts to rise. If the fasting blood sugar creeps into the nineties, I suggest you avoid all sugars and reset your brain chemistry and taste buds to not desire sugar.
The (Perhaps Unexpected) Perks of Giving Up Sugar
Believe it or not, once you break the sugar habit, you will begin to taste the sweet flavors found in vegetables, nuts and whole grains and you won’t feel deprived. Not having sugar in your life is not depressing. In fact, many of the mood swings and emotional ups and downs are due to the rise and fall of blood sugar. Breaking this habit actually frees you from the rollercoaster ride of sugar highs and lows, and delivers a more stable, calm, and naturally joyful experience of life. Once your meals are balanced with all 6 tastes and the cravings for the sweet taste have been eliminated, then not only stevia but other natural sweeteners like molasses, honey, and others can be used in moderation.
Small Steps to Sweet Freedom
1. Increase greens in your diet. We should aim for eating one to even 2 pounds of vegetables a day. Remember that the gorilla, who has a very similar digestive system to humans, eats half its weight in veggies each day.
2. Add pungent spices, as well as bitter and astringent fruits and veggies to your diet. These will help balance blood sugar and offset your addiction to the sweet taste.
3. Avoid processed foods.
4. Read labels –if you don't recognize the ingredient as something natural, skip it.
5. Look at your plate – is there a protein, a whole starch (whole grains, potato, corm, sprouted bread), a source of good fat, and is the plate mostly green? Do your best to include all 6 tastes at every meal: sour (lemon is a good one) salty pungent (spicy) bitter (leafy greens) astringent (beans, pomegranate seeds, cucumber) sweet (sweet vegetables such as carrots and beets, squashes, grains such as millet and rice, to name a few!)
Having a sweet tooth is normal, right? Almost every kid has one, and as we mature we learn to control it. Don’t we? While some people do a good job managing their sugar intake, many others have fallen prey to a culture and food industry that thrives off of the sweet taste. Even health-conscious consumers, who spend a lot of time and resources making sure their diet is clean, often struggle with sugar addiction in unexpected ways. Though they aren’t the usual culprits, “health food” treats - including dried fruit – can also perpetuate an addiction to the sweet taste. Please join me as I take you on a journey explaining how our culture’s sugar addiction has been renamed, relabeled, and hidden behind even the “healthiest” of foods – and its devastating impact on our health.
Six Tastes – But We Eat Mostly One!
The sweet taste is not a bad thing. In fact, according to Ayurveda there are six tastes that are all to be taken at each meal. A “balanced meal” is determined by the inclusion of all six tastes: sweet, sour and salty—which our culture loves—and bitter, pungent and astringent, which we in the west seem to avoid. According to Ayurveda, eating excess amounts of sweet, sour and salty foods causes the accumulation of kapha, which is directly linked to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, free radical damage and some cancers, to name a few. Kapha is a principle in nature made up of the elements earth and water. It is heavy, congestive and sticky. Foods like sweets, chips and pickles have these heavy properties that can create congestion and stagnation in the body, often leading to congestive disorders like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Conversely, the bitter taste found in leafy greens, the pungent taste found in ginger and spices, and the astringent taste found in cucumbers and pomegranates all antidote these kapha conditions.
The “I Gotta Have It” Hormone
Why are sweet cravings so much more common than cravings for the bitter taste of leafy greens? The answer lies in your brain: the taste of sweet activates dopamine receptors in the brain, which are responsible for most addictions. Dopamine is the "I gotta have it" hormone. When you see that chocolate cake or other favorite sweet, dopamine levels rise and strengthen your desire for that sweet. It really doesn’t matter if it is a refined sugar or an all natural molasses, agave, honey or date sugar product—as far as the brain in concerned, it is all the same. While it is true that the natural sugars have more fiber and B vitamins to help the body cope with the sweet explosion, the brain makes quick use of it regardless of the source, and the pancreatic insulin will be challenged either way to quickly move that sugar surge out of the blood.
Fructose – A Safer Alternative?
Many “natural sweeteners” on the market today contain fructose as the sweet factor. Agave, for example, has a lower glycemic index than table sugar but is still a highly processed product that contains 90% fructose, compared to high fructose corn syrup, which is only 35-55% fructose. Fructose may not spike insulin like table sugar but it is still linked to diabetes, obesity, insulin resistance and high cholesterol. Fructose is metabolized in the liver and quickly converted into belly fat and cholesterol, and not used by the body for energy (in nature, bears gorge on fruits in the late summer in an effort to begin storing the fat they will need through the winter). Fructose is also a challenge for the liver to break down and, in excess, creates toxic metabolic waste products. The problem is not fructose itself, but in the concentration. The fructose content of fruits is very small compared to the amount we ingest in the form of concentrated sweeteners. Today, the number one source of calories in the US is high fructose corn syrup.
Fructose-Driven Sweeteners
Honey: 47% fructose
Agave: 70-90% fructose
High Fructose Corn Syrup: 35-55% fructose
Insulin Resistance: The Not-So-Sweet Truth
All sweeteners, no matter the source, will spike insulin levels and raise the blood sugar much higher than we were designed to handle, as well as strain the liver, which is intimately involved in sucrose and fructose metabolism. Excess sugar also overwhelms the muscle cells’ ability to use the sugar, and they eventually stop responding to the signals of insulin. This leads to a condition called insulin resistance. As a result, the levels of sugar in the blood stay dangerously high for an extended period of time.
Sugar and Wrinkles
The excess sugar is converted into fat and often stored around the belly, elevating the levels of cholesterol. Excess glucose also sticks to proteins in the blood in a degenerative process called glycation. Glycation is the process of sugar molecules attaching themselves to proteins in the body. It causes damage to two very important proteins: collagen and elastin, which are responsible for the health and elasticity of the skin. Yes this leads to wrinkles, but more importantly, the health of the skin that lines the arteries, heart, gut and lungs is compromised.
Here is a list of the most common sweeteners, found on the labels of many foods, that I suggest to reduce or eliminate:
Agave Barley Malt Brown sugar, Brown Rice Syrup, Coconut Sugar, Corn sweetener, Corn syrup, Date sugar, Dextrose, Fructose, Fruit-juice Concentrate, Glucose, High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Honey, Invert Sugar Lactose Maltose Malt syrup Maple Syrup Molasses Raw sugar (Turbinado, Muscavado, and Demerara) Sucrose Syrup
Artificial Sugar Risks
In an attempt to appease the insatiable desire for sweet, the food industry has created artificial sweets that are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, but calorie free. There are many issues with these artificial sweeteners: 1. They send a sweet taste to the brain and never deliver any real energy. This drives an even stronger message of hunger and desire for sweet.
2. Most are made of excitotoxins that over-stimulate, exhaust and deplete the nervous system.
3. Some are made of small amounts of known carcinogens.
4. Artificial sweeteners have been found to actually increase weight gain, as they disturb metabolic hormones like leptin and insulin.
The Big Three
Saccharin – also known as “SweetnLow”: at very high doses causes bladder cancer in rats. Though this has never been reproduced in humans, it still carries a health warning on the label. It is made from sulfonamides, which are known allergens and may cause severe allergic reaction.
Aspartame –also known as “Nutrasweet”, or “Equal”: of the 166 studies done on aspartame, almost half of them have funding ties that trace back to the manufacturer. Of the studies that were done independently, 100% of them found health issues related to aspartame. Aspartame contains about 10 percent methanol by weight, also known as wood alcohol, which is broken down into formaldehyde, and then formic acid, in your body. The body simply doesn't have the mechanism to completely break this down. In the book, Aspartame Disease, Dr Roberts reported that 80% of the food additive complaints to the FDA were from aspartame.
Sucralose – also known as “Splenda”: - maybe the most toxic of all, sucralose is made from a list of chemicals that will make your head spin: trityl chloride, acetic anhydride, hydrogen chloride, thionyl chloride, and methanol, in the presence of dimethylformamide, 4-methylmorpholine, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetic acid, benzyltriethlyammonium chloride, and sodium methoxide. The chlorine, a carcinogen, raises most of the health concerns.
Sugar Alcohol Sweeteners
Sugar Alcohols have recently become a popular sugar substitute. They are naturally occurring in some fruits and are generally about half as sweet as sugar, unlike the artificial sweeteners mentioned above. They are neither sugar nor alcohol, they just resemble their molecular structure. However, they are not completely absorbed in the digestive system and can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea. They do contain some calories and carbohydrates, and as such are not truly sugar-free.
Examples of Sugar Alcohols:
Sorbitol
Mannitol
Xylitol
Erythritol
Isomalt
Lactitol
Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH)
Maltitol
“Diabetic Safe” Sweeteners Sweeteners that are advertised as being “diabetic and hypoglycemic safe,” such as Stevia, Lo Han, and Xylitol (a sugar alcohol) are better in some ways because they have little or no effect on blood sugar. However, if we realize that it is the addiction to the sweet taste that is the issue that is so chronically out of balance in our culture – then we can see that in at least one way, all sweeteners are accomplishing the same end - they give us our “sweet injection.” In doing so, they dull our ability to sense and be satisfied by the sweet taste of vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. Delaying the Inevitable It is my belief that substituting sugar with any of the above sweeteners will only postpone the inevitable. With 1/3 of the adult population already pre-diabetic, and estimates claiming the entire population in the next decade, it might be time to break the sweet-taste habit now. Does that mean you can never have a sweet? No. If you know for a fact that your fasting blood sugars are good, you may indulge once in awhile, but don’t make the sweet taste of sugar a regular part of your diet. Take Precautions Previously in this series on blood sugar and the epidemic of pre-diabetes, I cited research indicating the severe cardiovascular damage that takes place when the fasting blood sugar rises above 85ml/dL. I encourage everyone to own a glucose meter and test your fasting blood sugars regularly, and make sure to adjust your sugar intake if that fasting number starts to rise. If the fasting blood sugar creeps into the nineties, I suggest you avoid all sugars and reset your brain chemistry and taste buds to not desire sugar.
The (Perhaps Unexpected) Perks of Giving Up Sugar
Believe it or not, once you break the sugar habit, you will begin to taste the sweet flavors found in vegetables, nuts and whole grains and you won’t feel deprived. Not having sugar in your life is not depressing. In fact, many of the mood swings and emotional ups and downs are due to the rise and fall of blood sugar. Breaking this habit actually frees you from the rollercoaster ride of sugar highs and lows, and delivers a more stable, calm, and naturally joyful experience of life. Once your meals are balanced with all 6 tastes and the cravings for the sweet taste have been eliminated, then not only stevia but other natural sweeteners like molasses, honey, and others can be used in moderation.
Small Steps to Sweet Freedom
1. Increase greens in your diet. We should aim for eating one to even 2 pounds of vegetables a day. Remember that the gorilla, who has a very similar digestive system to humans, eats half its weight in veggies each day.
2. Add pungent spices, as well as bitter and astringent fruits and veggies to your diet. These will help balance blood sugar and offset your addiction to the sweet taste.
3. Avoid processed foods.
4. Read labels –if you don't recognize the ingredient as something natural, skip it.
5. Look at your plate – is there a protein, a whole starch (whole grains, potato, corm, sprouted bread), a source of good fat, and is the plate mostly green? Do your best to include all 6 tastes at every meal: sour (lemon is a good one) salty pungent (spicy) bitter (leafy greens) astringent (beans, pomegranate seeds, cucumber) sweet (sweet vegetables such as carrots and beets, squashes, grains such as millet and rice, to name a few!)
For A Leader By John O’Donohue
May you have the grace and wisdom
To act kindly, learning
To distinguish between what is
Personal and what is not.
May you be hospitable to criticism.
May you never put yourself at the center of things.
May you act not from arrogance but out of service.
May you work on yourself,
Building up and refining the ways of your mind.
May those who work for you know
You see and respect them.
May you learn to cultivate the art of presence
In order to engage with those who meet you.
When someone fails or disappoints you,
May the graciousness with which you engage
Be their stairway to renewal and refinement.
May you treasure the gifts of the mind
Through reading and creative thinking
So that you continue as a servant of the frontier
Where the new will draw its enrichment from the old,
And you never become a functionary.
May you know the wisdom of deep listening,
The healing of wholesome words,
The encouragement of the appreciative gaze,
The decorum of held dignity,
The springtime edge of the bleak question.
May you have a mind that loves frontiers
So that you can evoke the bright fields
That lie beyond the view of the regular eye.
May you have good friends
To mirror your blind spots.
May leadership be for you
A true adventure of growth.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Why Flexibility Is Important to Your Health
By Julie Wilcox
There are many reasons why having a flexible body is essential to our health and well-being. As a young child I was very flexible because I was a gymnast and dancer. Both gymnastics and dance require extreme stretching of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. They also work aggressively on the mobility of joints. I could do the splits every which way amongst many other things.
When I went to college I focused only on cardio. I ran, did the elliptical, jumped rope, and rollerbladed. Sometimes after my workouts I stretched mildly but not often enough. By the time I graduated at twenty-two, I noticed I was far from being able to do the splits. Then over that summer, not quite clear about the meaning of my newfound flexibility deficits, I attempted a back handspring. The back handspring was successful through completion, but I cracked my right elbow when my hands hit the ground. Though my brain recalled exactly what to do, I had neither malleable enough muscles nor mobile enough joints to absorb the shock of the trick.
Three years later, when I was twenty-five, I took my first yoga class. As a novice to yoga I was quick to learn thanks to my gymnastics and dance backgrounds. Low and behold however, I soon discovered that I could neither do cow face arms nor double lotus. My body was imbalanced. While perfectly capable of doing many simple and complex postures, I was also unable to do many asanas.
At that juncture, I realized that flexibility is one of the first things to go as our bodies enter adulthood and continue to age (assuming we are not dealing with an illness). In order to remain flexible, we constantly need to be on top of stretching via yoga and/or other body opening efforts. Athletes especially need to be conscientious about stretching to avoid injury, which is why so many pros like Lamar Odom, Hope Solo, LeBron James, Baron Davis, Blake Griffin, J.L. Lewis, and Justin Gimelstob are now doing yoga. As a yogi for the past fifteen years, I have conquered many of my former flexibility limitations but not all them. Maintaining and enhancing one’s flexibility is a life-long process.
Flexibility Helps To:
1. Prevent everyday injury including: muscle and disc strains that occur when turning over in bed or getting out of bed; shoulder tweaks that result from doing tasks on the job that involve lifting or reaching; back aches due to transitioning to standing from sitting, bending down to pick something up, or even walking up and down the stairs
2. Improve your posture
3. Lengthen your muscles for a longer leaner look
4. Make playing with your kids and babies easier and less injurious (remember that touch football game during which you overstretched you hamstrings?)
5. Allow you to feel more free, open, calm, content, and confident from the inside out
6. Spread prana (life force) into your cells, which invigorates your spirit
7. Make cardio activity a lot lighter and easier
8. Enhance sports performance (i.e. better arm and shoulder extension and rotation for swimmers and basketball players, longer strides for runners, deeper knee bends and hip flexion for skiers) as well as to parry blows that come with strong athletic endeavors
9. Travel more comfortably because of the ability to sit in many different positions and do things with your body in confined spaces you otherwise could not do
10. Need I say get through the Kama Sutra?
Published April 18, 2012 at 4:50 PM
About Julie Wilcox
Julie Wilcox is the founder of The Julie Wilcox Method (JWM), an innovative approach to healthy living encompassing fitness, yoga, and nutrition. An expert across all three categories, Julie blends her life-long passion for athleticism with the mind, body, and spiritual aspects of yoga, as well as with healthy, moderate, and sustainable diet advice. Co-founder of the acclaimed ISHTA Yoga studios, Wilcox has created The Julie Wilcox Method for a fresh, easily accessible, and multi-faceted approach to all elements of yoga for anyone everywhere!
Wilcox began her career in health and wellness as an aspiring Olympic gymnast, later transitioning to dance. Although she ended her dancing career to study at Harvard, she was determined to maintain the same level of discipline and fitness she had always known.
Website: juliewilcoxmethod.com
Facebook: juliewilcoxmethod
Twitter: @JWilcoxMethod
YouTube: juliewilcoxmethod
There are many reasons why having a flexible body is essential to our health and well-being. As a young child I was very flexible because I was a gymnast and dancer. Both gymnastics and dance require extreme stretching of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. They also work aggressively on the mobility of joints. I could do the splits every which way amongst many other things.
When I went to college I focused only on cardio. I ran, did the elliptical, jumped rope, and rollerbladed. Sometimes after my workouts I stretched mildly but not often enough. By the time I graduated at twenty-two, I noticed I was far from being able to do the splits. Then over that summer, not quite clear about the meaning of my newfound flexibility deficits, I attempted a back handspring. The back handspring was successful through completion, but I cracked my right elbow when my hands hit the ground. Though my brain recalled exactly what to do, I had neither malleable enough muscles nor mobile enough joints to absorb the shock of the trick.
Three years later, when I was twenty-five, I took my first yoga class. As a novice to yoga I was quick to learn thanks to my gymnastics and dance backgrounds. Low and behold however, I soon discovered that I could neither do cow face arms nor double lotus. My body was imbalanced. While perfectly capable of doing many simple and complex postures, I was also unable to do many asanas.
At that juncture, I realized that flexibility is one of the first things to go as our bodies enter adulthood and continue to age (assuming we are not dealing with an illness). In order to remain flexible, we constantly need to be on top of stretching via yoga and/or other body opening efforts. Athletes especially need to be conscientious about stretching to avoid injury, which is why so many pros like Lamar Odom, Hope Solo, LeBron James, Baron Davis, Blake Griffin, J.L. Lewis, and Justin Gimelstob are now doing yoga. As a yogi for the past fifteen years, I have conquered many of my former flexibility limitations but not all them. Maintaining and enhancing one’s flexibility is a life-long process.
Flexibility Helps To:
1. Prevent everyday injury including: muscle and disc strains that occur when turning over in bed or getting out of bed; shoulder tweaks that result from doing tasks on the job that involve lifting or reaching; back aches due to transitioning to standing from sitting, bending down to pick something up, or even walking up and down the stairs
2. Improve your posture
3. Lengthen your muscles for a longer leaner look
4. Make playing with your kids and babies easier and less injurious (remember that touch football game during which you overstretched you hamstrings?)
5. Allow you to feel more free, open, calm, content, and confident from the inside out
6. Spread prana (life force) into your cells, which invigorates your spirit
7. Make cardio activity a lot lighter and easier
8. Enhance sports performance (i.e. better arm and shoulder extension and rotation for swimmers and basketball players, longer strides for runners, deeper knee bends and hip flexion for skiers) as well as to parry blows that come with strong athletic endeavors
9. Travel more comfortably because of the ability to sit in many different positions and do things with your body in confined spaces you otherwise could not do
10. Need I say get through the Kama Sutra?
Published April 18, 2012 at 4:50 PM
About Julie Wilcox
Julie Wilcox is the founder of The Julie Wilcox Method (JWM), an innovative approach to healthy living encompassing fitness, yoga, and nutrition. An expert across all three categories, Julie blends her life-long passion for athleticism with the mind, body, and spiritual aspects of yoga, as well as with healthy, moderate, and sustainable diet advice. Co-founder of the acclaimed ISHTA Yoga studios, Wilcox has created The Julie Wilcox Method for a fresh, easily accessible, and multi-faceted approach to all elements of yoga for anyone everywhere!
Wilcox began her career in health and wellness as an aspiring Olympic gymnast, later transitioning to dance. Although she ended her dancing career to study at Harvard, she was determined to maintain the same level of discipline and fitness she had always known.
Website: juliewilcoxmethod.com
Facebook: juliewilcoxmethod
Twitter: @JWilcoxMethod
YouTube: juliewilcoxmethod
14 Mind-Blowing Facts About Sugar (Infographic)
By Jason Wachob
Sugar is in the headlines a lot lately, with some experts even calling it toxic. Did you know that the average child consumes 32 teaspoons of sugar a day?! This is just one of the many mind-blowing facts in this infographic from TotalHealth.
**Click on the link to view"
What do you think?
Published April 16, 2012 at 12:20 PM
About Jason Wachob
As Curator and one of the founders of MindBodyGreen, Jason's goal is to make wellness accessible. After years of trading equities and traveling around the country running a national organic cookie company, Jason was told that he required back surgery. He opted for yoga and is now completely healed. Jason has been featured in the The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He has a BA in History from Columbia University, where he played Varsity Basketball for four years. Jason lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife. You can follow him on Twitter @JasonWachob
Sugar is in the headlines a lot lately, with some experts even calling it toxic. Did you know that the average child consumes 32 teaspoons of sugar a day?! This is just one of the many mind-blowing facts in this infographic from TotalHealth.
**Click on the link to view"
What do you think?
Published April 16, 2012 at 12:20 PM
About Jason Wachob
As Curator and one of the founders of MindBodyGreen, Jason's goal is to make wellness accessible. After years of trading equities and traveling around the country running a national organic cookie company, Jason was told that he required back surgery. He opted for yoga and is now completely healed. Jason has been featured in the The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He has a BA in History from Columbia University, where he played Varsity Basketball for four years. Jason lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife. You can follow him on Twitter @JasonWachob
Last call for Mexico Yoga Retreat!
Yogis, we are a month away from leaving for my May Tulum Yoga Retreat and if you were thinking that a warm weather retreat was just what you needed..come with us!
May 17-23, 2012 in Tulum, Mexico about 90 minutes from Cancun at Amansala Resort. If you can picture white "air conditioned sand" as they call it, aqua, clear ocean, and an island chill atmosphere then you are on the right page to how healing and amazing this place can be.
If you are interested email me at jstein78@aol.com
Click on "Events" to get pricing information. The "bring a friend discount" still applies..each of you get $150 off the price of the retreat. :)
May 17-23, 2012 in Tulum, Mexico about 90 minutes from Cancun at Amansala Resort. If you can picture white "air conditioned sand" as they call it, aqua, clear ocean, and an island chill atmosphere then you are on the right page to how healing and amazing this place can be.
If you are interested email me at jstein78@aol.com
Click on "Events" to get pricing information. The "bring a friend discount" still applies..each of you get $150 off the price of the retreat. :)
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Spring Vegetable Risotto
Serves 6
30 minutes or fewer
This fast, no-stir risotto has all the creamy goodness of its traditional counterpart. A pressure cooker slashes the cooking time to just 15 minutes (compared with the 45 minutes it usually takes to make risotto). Try this technique with other risotto recipes as well.
2 ½ tsp. olive oil
2 small fennel bulbs, chopped (2 cups)
8 green onions, chopped (1 cup)
1 small leek, white and light green parts chopped (1 cup)
5 cloves garlic, minced (5 tsp.)
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
3 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup chopped fresh mixed herbs, such as dill, tarragon, and basil, divided
4 oz. aged goat cheese, grated (1 cup)
1. Heat oil in pressure cooker over medium heat. Add fennel and green onions, and sauté 6 minutes, or until softened and beginning to brown. Transfer half of fennel mixture to small bowl; cover and keep warm.
2. Add leek, garlic, and rice to remaining fennel mixture, stirring well to coat ingredients with oil. Stir in broth, and bring mixture to a boil.
3. Lock pressure cooker lid in place. Increase heat to high, and bring to high pressure. Lower heat just enough to maintain high pressure, and cook 5 minutes.
4. Reduce pressure with quick-release method, or according to equipment instructions. Gently remove lid,
taking care to avoid escaping steam. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, and season with salt and pepper,
if desired.
5. Divide risotto among 6 bowls. Top each serving with reserved fennel mixture, remaining herbs, and goat cheese.
30 minutes or fewer
This fast, no-stir risotto has all the creamy goodness of its traditional counterpart. A pressure cooker slashes the cooking time to just 15 minutes (compared with the 45 minutes it usually takes to make risotto). Try this technique with other risotto recipes as well.
2 ½ tsp. olive oil
2 small fennel bulbs, chopped (2 cups)
8 green onions, chopped (1 cup)
1 small leek, white and light green parts chopped (1 cup)
5 cloves garlic, minced (5 tsp.)
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
3 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup chopped fresh mixed herbs, such as dill, tarragon, and basil, divided
4 oz. aged goat cheese, grated (1 cup)
1. Heat oil in pressure cooker over medium heat. Add fennel and green onions, and sauté 6 minutes, or until softened and beginning to brown. Transfer half of fennel mixture to small bowl; cover and keep warm.
2. Add leek, garlic, and rice to remaining fennel mixture, stirring well to coat ingredients with oil. Stir in broth, and bring mixture to a boil.
3. Lock pressure cooker lid in place. Increase heat to high, and bring to high pressure. Lower heat just enough to maintain high pressure, and cook 5 minutes.
4. Reduce pressure with quick-release method, or according to equipment instructions. Gently remove lid,
taking care to avoid escaping steam. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, and season with salt and pepper,
if desired.
5. Divide risotto among 6 bowls. Top each serving with reserved fennel mixture, remaining herbs, and goat cheese.
Gingery Quinoa Salad with Apples, Peas, and Coconut
Serves 6
30 minutes or fewer
Vegetable juice gives this grain salad a gorgeous color, a hint of flavor, and a hefty boost of vitamin C and beta-carotene.
⅓ cup chopped almonds (1 ½ oz.)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
½ cup chopped onion
2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
1 cup quinoa
1 ½ cups beet-carrot or carrot juice
1 cup frozen peas
1 medium apple, diced
⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1. Toast almonds in saucepan over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes, or until fragrant and beginning to brown, stirring often. Cool.
2. Wipe out saucepan; add oil and onion. Sauté onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until translucent, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in ginger, quinoa, and juice, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed.
4. Remove from heat, and scatter peas over cooked quinoa. Cover, and let stand 10 minutes, until peas are thawed.
5. Stir apple, coconut, and almonds into salad. Serve warm or at room temperature.
March 2010
30 minutes or fewer
Vegetable juice gives this grain salad a gorgeous color, a hint of flavor, and a hefty boost of vitamin C and beta-carotene.
⅓ cup chopped almonds (1 ½ oz.)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
½ cup chopped onion
2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
1 cup quinoa
1 ½ cups beet-carrot or carrot juice
1 cup frozen peas
1 medium apple, diced
⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1. Toast almonds in saucepan over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes, or until fragrant and beginning to brown, stirring often. Cool.
2. Wipe out saucepan; add oil and onion. Sauté onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until translucent, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in ginger, quinoa, and juice, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed.
4. Remove from heat, and scatter peas over cooked quinoa. Cover, and let stand 10 minutes, until peas are thawed.
5. Stir apple, coconut, and almonds into salad. Serve warm or at room temperature.
March 2010
Friday, April 13, 2012
Pre-Diabetes Part 1: Is Your "Healthy" Diet Silenty Causing Pre-Diabetes?
John Douillard, DC
Did you know at least one-third of Americans are at imminent risk of becoming diabetic?
If you experience food cravings, mood swings, anxiety and depression, irritability and/or fatigue, you might unknowingly be at risk. The scary truth is, even a “healthy” diet can put you in the danger zone.
You may have heard that diabetes is climbing at an alarming rate. But staying out of the diabetic range is not enough—high blood sugar, even within the so-called “normal range,” has been shown to increase the risk of dying of a heart attack or stroke by 40%, as well as chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, kidney disease, and neuropathy (2).
In this first installment of our series on pre-diabetes, join me as I delve into why and how this silent killer develops, and why most people that already have it don’t know it. Most importantly, I will offer the real-life strategies that have helped stave off and even reverse pre-diabetes for many of my patients.
Blood Sugar 101
It’s important to understand why and how blood sugar rises, and how common, even “healthy” diets, can prompt the progression of pre-diabetes:
As sugars—even “natural sugars”—and simple carbohydrates are digested, they force the pancreas to produce excess insulin, which is needed to escort the sugars out of the bloodstream and into the cells.
Over time, when the insulin levels are driven up again and again several times a day, the pancreas becomes worn out and the cells can become resistant to taking in any more sugar.
Excess sugar in the blood, unable to be absorbed by the cells, keeps the blood sugar unnaturally high. It lingers there until the insulin stores it as fat, often (but not always) causing abdominal fat, obesity, and high cholesterol.
Excess blood sugar also attaches to proteins that may damage or thicken the arterial wall, directly increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease (2), clots, inflammation, cancer, heart attack and stroke, and more. (4)
Most People Who Have Pre-Diabetes Don’t Know It
Here are some staggering statistics: while one third of the American population currently qualifies as Pre-Diabetic, an incredible 90% of them do not know it. (9)
Moreover, many of them maintain what would commonly be considered a “healthy” diet.
So how can a condition with such potentially far-reaching complications go unnoticed? Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Pre-Diabetes can cause symptoms in almost every system in the body.
Here are just some of the health risks associated with pre-diabetes (7):
Mood SwingsFood Cravings
Fatigue
Need for Stimulants
Premenstrual Syndrome
Sleep Disorders
Mental Fuzziness
High Level of Stress
Irritability
Early Puberty
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Increased Blood Coagulation
Accelerated Aging
Sleep Apnea
Heart Disease
Inflammation
Poor Circulation
Erectile Dysfunction
Hypertension
Low Vitamin Levels
Anxiety
Enlarged Male Breasts
Depression
Acne
Constipation
Stiff Blood Vessels
Alzheimer's Disease
High Cholesterol
Male Pattern Baldness
Cancer
High Triglycerides
Heartburn
GERD
Sugar Has Been Around for Ages – Why is It Posing a Threat Now?
Natural foods like energy bars, chai tea lattes, most yogurt, natural chips, whole wheat breads, dried fruits and even fresh squeezed fruit juices all deliver a blood sugar surge that may contribute to pre-diabetes.
There is more than one reason for the epidemic climb in blood sugar, and of course, simply eating more of the sweet stuff is a big part of the equation. But the fact is that we don’t always know what we are eating, and that is largely due to the rise in popularity of processed and refined foods.
While many of us equate the idea of “processed foods” with a certain kind of poor quality “junk food,” many of the items at the health food store are far from the natural state of the ingredients they were made from.
Jack Lalaine told me once a long time ago, "I never eat anything that has a wrapper." Prophetic advice from a nutrition icon. Just think, foods with wrappers are generally processed and then wrapped to help preserve them.
The human body wasn’t designed to ingest refined and processed foods. The more refined and processed the food, the quicker it will enter the bloodstream.
Natural Sweeteners – Are They Really “Natural?”
So-called “natural” sweeteners, like molasses, pure maple syrup, agave, date and beet sugars are all concentrates from the whole plant, and as such do not exist in nature. It is hard to refute the logic that if we were meant to eat refined carbs and concentrated sugars, they would exist in nature in that form.
Honey and stevia might be the only sweeteners that naturally occur in nature. I am a bee-keeper and love my bees, but I have to wonder if honey is actually meant for humans. With about 10 to 20 thousand stingers protecting each hive, it makes you wonder if nature intended for us to have any!
Moreover, the bees gather the nectar from thousands of flowers to manufacture the honey, so it really is a processed concentrate. I do think that raw honey has value for humans as a medicine and in extreme moderation as a sweet, but never for cooking or baking according to Ayurveda, or as the "healthy sweetener" it is touted as today. (Look for an upcoming newsletter in this series, in which I will discuss the properties of “natural sweeteners” at length.)
These sweeteners, along with simple carbs like packaged pastas, white rice, corn, potatoes, most breads, refined grains and most cereals, quicly break down into sugar and enter the bloodstream too fast for the body to safely handle them.
Gulping the Sweet Stuff Down
One of the most common and efficient ways to deliver a massive sugar surge to the body is to drink a sweet beverage. Many folks try “healthier” beverages which often just package sugar with a healthy-looking label and marketing. Let’s look at exactly how much of the sweet stuff is packed into the drinks that “keep us going.”
Simply drinking a 12 ounce Coke is the same as swollowing 10 tsps of table sugar (39g of sugar) (1). Imagine asking your 8 year old to sit at the table and swollow 10 tsps of sugar. If a child has a coke and a package of licorice (57g of sugar) at the movies, that’s pushing 100g of sugar in one sitting with no activity to help the body process it. Licorice is actually one of the better candies - one box of Dots alone delivers 111g of sugar!
One can of Hansen’s Cherry Vanilla Crème Natural Soda contains 43 grams of sugar!
A bottle of Vitamin Water - considered a healthy beverage - has 27g of sugar – it’s a jolt to anyone's brain chemistry and blood sugar.
8 ounces of Tazo iced tea contains 19g of sugar – but who drinks just 8 ounces?
The 24 oz Starbucks Venti Iced Green Tea has 51 g of sugar – that’s more like it!
8 ounces of orange juice: out of 27 grams of carbohydrate, 24 of them are sugar. It’s almost all SUGAR!
8 ounces of lemonade: out of 30 grams of carbs, 28 of them are sugar. We knew that lemonade wasn't about the lemons!
100% Pomegranate (8oz): 36 grams of carbs, 31 grams of sugar. Surprising, right? It’s still a ton of sugar.
Note: When you squeeze the juice out of a fruit, the fiber that slows down the absorption of the sugar is removed, and what you are left with is a juice of mostly sugar.
More Hidden Sugars
Soda pop, ice cream and candy are obvious sugar injections, but how many little injections of sugar are we getting all day? Chips, even the natural ones, break down extremely quickly into carbs. Cultures that ate a lot of potatoes were typically northern and always ate a big piece of meat with the potatoes to balance the blood sugar surge. Americans have chips with soda – Really!
Remember, simple carbohydrates in bread and other refined grains turn into sugars and behave the same way in the bloodstream.
Bread
One Slice of organic whole wheat bread has 28 grams of carbs, 3 grams of sugar, with a glycemic index of 73. That’s more than table sugar, which has a glycemic index of 59.
One slice of sprouted grain and seed bread (requires refrigeration) has 14grams of carbs, 0 grams of sugar, and a glycemic index of 37. With no major blood sugar impact, this is definitely the preferable choice!
Desserts
Organic wild berry low fat yogurt smoothie (6oz) has 23 grams of carbs, 23 grams of sugar.
Ben and Jerry's Peach Cobbler ice cream (1/2 pint) has 28 grams of carbs, 26 grams of sugar.
Take a Fresh Look at Your Favorite Healthy Snack
Check out the label on your favorite nutrition bar and you will find it loaded with sugars. Just because they are dates sugars, molasses, honey, dried mangos, raisins or fruit concentrates doesn't mean they are healthy. They are still an overwhelming blast to the pancreas and blood sugar.
Take a bag of dried mango – a good example because it has a medium amount of sugar compared to most fruits. Many of my patients used to go through one of these bags in a day, or even one sitting!:
100 grams of a ripe mango has 13.7 grams of sugar. 100 grams of the dried mango fruit—the same amount of mango—has 76 grams of sugar.
Note: Drying fruits concentrates their sugar content, dramatically altering their behavior in the body. The body was not meant to thrive on concentrates!
Please start looking at the labels of the health foods you buy. Read how many grams of sugar and total carbs are in each product. You might be surprised!
Warning: Check the serving size!
Often the serving size is very small, much smaller than the amount in the container you are purchasing. Because of this, the nutritional facts can be misleading. A bottle of juice, for example, often amounts to 16 ounces, but the serving size is 8 ounces. The amount of sugar in the whole bottle in this case is really double the number on the label.
The Real Natural Sugars
In nature, the carbohydrates we were meant to ingest and thrive on are vegetables - lots of vegetables.
The sugars in veggies are protected by the vegetable fiber and are delivered into the bloodstream in a slow and steady fashion. If we compare ourselves to the gorilla, the animal who has the most similar digestive system to humans, we will notice that they eat half their body weight in veggies per day. They do eat small amounts of meat—and the grains they get are raw, with all of the plant fiber intact.
I dont think we always have to eat like gorillas but I believe the amount of veggies they eat per day puts us to shame. To protect yourself from pre-diabetes and the many risks associated with it, you simply cannot eat enough veggies. That doesnt mean that real whole grains or some meat is bad - it is balance that the body likes.
Your Diet Is Your Best Defense
The best strategy to avoid and, in many cases, reverse Pre-Diabetes is with a diet free of simple and refined sugars. Try to avoid all sugars, sweeteners and the high-sugar-content mentioned in this article.
If you are going to eat shorter chain—or higher glycemic index—foods such as corn, white rice, wheat or potatoes - try to have them in the natural state rather than a refined version like corn or potato chips, or non-sprouted breads. Also eat these carbs with a protein source so they are not just un-opposed sugars entering your bloodstream.
Try to make three meals a day count. Make them balanced with a starch, like a whole grain, lots of green veggies, and a protein source such as fish, eggs, tempeh, nuts, seeds or meats. It is all about whole unprocessed foods and making each meal balanced, three times a day.
Stay Tuned: Next week, in part 2 on pre-diabetes, I will discuss the importance of assessing your risk for pre-diabetes and a Self Home Pre-Diabetes Screening that everyone should have.
Did you know at least one-third of Americans are at imminent risk of becoming diabetic?
If you experience food cravings, mood swings, anxiety and depression, irritability and/or fatigue, you might unknowingly be at risk. The scary truth is, even a “healthy” diet can put you in the danger zone.
You may have heard that diabetes is climbing at an alarming rate. But staying out of the diabetic range is not enough—high blood sugar, even within the so-called “normal range,” has been shown to increase the risk of dying of a heart attack or stroke by 40%, as well as chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, kidney disease, and neuropathy (2).
In this first installment of our series on pre-diabetes, join me as I delve into why and how this silent killer develops, and why most people that already have it don’t know it. Most importantly, I will offer the real-life strategies that have helped stave off and even reverse pre-diabetes for many of my patients.
Blood Sugar 101
It’s important to understand why and how blood sugar rises, and how common, even “healthy” diets, can prompt the progression of pre-diabetes:
As sugars—even “natural sugars”—and simple carbohydrates are digested, they force the pancreas to produce excess insulin, which is needed to escort the sugars out of the bloodstream and into the cells.
Over time, when the insulin levels are driven up again and again several times a day, the pancreas becomes worn out and the cells can become resistant to taking in any more sugar.
Excess sugar in the blood, unable to be absorbed by the cells, keeps the blood sugar unnaturally high. It lingers there until the insulin stores it as fat, often (but not always) causing abdominal fat, obesity, and high cholesterol.
Excess blood sugar also attaches to proteins that may damage or thicken the arterial wall, directly increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease (2), clots, inflammation, cancer, heart attack and stroke, and more. (4)
Most People Who Have Pre-Diabetes Don’t Know It
Here are some staggering statistics: while one third of the American population currently qualifies as Pre-Diabetic, an incredible 90% of them do not know it. (9)
Moreover, many of them maintain what would commonly be considered a “healthy” diet.
So how can a condition with such potentially far-reaching complications go unnoticed? Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Pre-Diabetes can cause symptoms in almost every system in the body.
Here are just some of the health risks associated with pre-diabetes (7):
Mood SwingsFood Cravings
Fatigue
Need for Stimulants
Premenstrual Syndrome
Sleep Disorders
Mental Fuzziness
High Level of Stress
Irritability
Early Puberty
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Increased Blood Coagulation
Accelerated Aging
Sleep Apnea
Heart Disease
Inflammation
Poor Circulation
Erectile Dysfunction
Hypertension
Low Vitamin Levels
Anxiety
Enlarged Male Breasts
Depression
Acne
Constipation
Stiff Blood Vessels
Alzheimer's Disease
High Cholesterol
Male Pattern Baldness
Cancer
High Triglycerides
Heartburn
GERD
Sugar Has Been Around for Ages – Why is It Posing a Threat Now?
Natural foods like energy bars, chai tea lattes, most yogurt, natural chips, whole wheat breads, dried fruits and even fresh squeezed fruit juices all deliver a blood sugar surge that may contribute to pre-diabetes.
There is more than one reason for the epidemic climb in blood sugar, and of course, simply eating more of the sweet stuff is a big part of the equation. But the fact is that we don’t always know what we are eating, and that is largely due to the rise in popularity of processed and refined foods.
While many of us equate the idea of “processed foods” with a certain kind of poor quality “junk food,” many of the items at the health food store are far from the natural state of the ingredients they were made from.
Jack Lalaine told me once a long time ago, "I never eat anything that has a wrapper." Prophetic advice from a nutrition icon. Just think, foods with wrappers are generally processed and then wrapped to help preserve them.
The human body wasn’t designed to ingest refined and processed foods. The more refined and processed the food, the quicker it will enter the bloodstream.
Natural Sweeteners – Are They Really “Natural?”
So-called “natural” sweeteners, like molasses, pure maple syrup, agave, date and beet sugars are all concentrates from the whole plant, and as such do not exist in nature. It is hard to refute the logic that if we were meant to eat refined carbs and concentrated sugars, they would exist in nature in that form.
Honey and stevia might be the only sweeteners that naturally occur in nature. I am a bee-keeper and love my bees, but I have to wonder if honey is actually meant for humans. With about 10 to 20 thousand stingers protecting each hive, it makes you wonder if nature intended for us to have any!
Moreover, the bees gather the nectar from thousands of flowers to manufacture the honey, so it really is a processed concentrate. I do think that raw honey has value for humans as a medicine and in extreme moderation as a sweet, but never for cooking or baking according to Ayurveda, or as the "healthy sweetener" it is touted as today. (Look for an upcoming newsletter in this series, in which I will discuss the properties of “natural sweeteners” at length.)
These sweeteners, along with simple carbs like packaged pastas, white rice, corn, potatoes, most breads, refined grains and most cereals, quicly break down into sugar and enter the bloodstream too fast for the body to safely handle them.
Gulping the Sweet Stuff Down
One of the most common and efficient ways to deliver a massive sugar surge to the body is to drink a sweet beverage. Many folks try “healthier” beverages which often just package sugar with a healthy-looking label and marketing. Let’s look at exactly how much of the sweet stuff is packed into the drinks that “keep us going.”
Simply drinking a 12 ounce Coke is the same as swollowing 10 tsps of table sugar (39g of sugar) (1). Imagine asking your 8 year old to sit at the table and swollow 10 tsps of sugar. If a child has a coke and a package of licorice (57g of sugar) at the movies, that’s pushing 100g of sugar in one sitting with no activity to help the body process it. Licorice is actually one of the better candies - one box of Dots alone delivers 111g of sugar!
One can of Hansen’s Cherry Vanilla Crème Natural Soda contains 43 grams of sugar!
A bottle of Vitamin Water - considered a healthy beverage - has 27g of sugar – it’s a jolt to anyone's brain chemistry and blood sugar.
8 ounces of Tazo iced tea contains 19g of sugar – but who drinks just 8 ounces?
The 24 oz Starbucks Venti Iced Green Tea has 51 g of sugar – that’s more like it!
8 ounces of orange juice: out of 27 grams of carbohydrate, 24 of them are sugar. It’s almost all SUGAR!
8 ounces of lemonade: out of 30 grams of carbs, 28 of them are sugar. We knew that lemonade wasn't about the lemons!
100% Pomegranate (8oz): 36 grams of carbs, 31 grams of sugar. Surprising, right? It’s still a ton of sugar.
Note: When you squeeze the juice out of a fruit, the fiber that slows down the absorption of the sugar is removed, and what you are left with is a juice of mostly sugar.
More Hidden Sugars
Soda pop, ice cream and candy are obvious sugar injections, but how many little injections of sugar are we getting all day? Chips, even the natural ones, break down extremely quickly into carbs. Cultures that ate a lot of potatoes were typically northern and always ate a big piece of meat with the potatoes to balance the blood sugar surge. Americans have chips with soda – Really!
Remember, simple carbohydrates in bread and other refined grains turn into sugars and behave the same way in the bloodstream.
Bread
One Slice of organic whole wheat bread has 28 grams of carbs, 3 grams of sugar, with a glycemic index of 73. That’s more than table sugar, which has a glycemic index of 59.
One slice of sprouted grain and seed bread (requires refrigeration) has 14grams of carbs, 0 grams of sugar, and a glycemic index of 37. With no major blood sugar impact, this is definitely the preferable choice!
Desserts
Organic wild berry low fat yogurt smoothie (6oz) has 23 grams of carbs, 23 grams of sugar.
Ben and Jerry's Peach Cobbler ice cream (1/2 pint) has 28 grams of carbs, 26 grams of sugar.
Take a Fresh Look at Your Favorite Healthy Snack
Check out the label on your favorite nutrition bar and you will find it loaded with sugars. Just because they are dates sugars, molasses, honey, dried mangos, raisins or fruit concentrates doesn't mean they are healthy. They are still an overwhelming blast to the pancreas and blood sugar.
Take a bag of dried mango – a good example because it has a medium amount of sugar compared to most fruits. Many of my patients used to go through one of these bags in a day, or even one sitting!:
100 grams of a ripe mango has 13.7 grams of sugar. 100 grams of the dried mango fruit—the same amount of mango—has 76 grams of sugar.
Note: Drying fruits concentrates their sugar content, dramatically altering their behavior in the body. The body was not meant to thrive on concentrates!
Please start looking at the labels of the health foods you buy. Read how many grams of sugar and total carbs are in each product. You might be surprised!
Warning: Check the serving size!
Often the serving size is very small, much smaller than the amount in the container you are purchasing. Because of this, the nutritional facts can be misleading. A bottle of juice, for example, often amounts to 16 ounces, but the serving size is 8 ounces. The amount of sugar in the whole bottle in this case is really double the number on the label.
The Real Natural Sugars
In nature, the carbohydrates we were meant to ingest and thrive on are vegetables - lots of vegetables.
The sugars in veggies are protected by the vegetable fiber and are delivered into the bloodstream in a slow and steady fashion. If we compare ourselves to the gorilla, the animal who has the most similar digestive system to humans, we will notice that they eat half their body weight in veggies per day. They do eat small amounts of meat—and the grains they get are raw, with all of the plant fiber intact.
I dont think we always have to eat like gorillas but I believe the amount of veggies they eat per day puts us to shame. To protect yourself from pre-diabetes and the many risks associated with it, you simply cannot eat enough veggies. That doesnt mean that real whole grains or some meat is bad - it is balance that the body likes.
Your Diet Is Your Best Defense
The best strategy to avoid and, in many cases, reverse Pre-Diabetes is with a diet free of simple and refined sugars. Try to avoid all sugars, sweeteners and the high-sugar-content mentioned in this article.
If you are going to eat shorter chain—or higher glycemic index—foods such as corn, white rice, wheat or potatoes - try to have them in the natural state rather than a refined version like corn or potato chips, or non-sprouted breads. Also eat these carbs with a protein source so they are not just un-opposed sugars entering your bloodstream.
Try to make three meals a day count. Make them balanced with a starch, like a whole grain, lots of green veggies, and a protein source such as fish, eggs, tempeh, nuts, seeds or meats. It is all about whole unprocessed foods and making each meal balanced, three times a day.
Stay Tuned: Next week, in part 2 on pre-diabetes, I will discuss the importance of assessing your risk for pre-diabetes and a Self Home Pre-Diabetes Screening that everyone should have.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Nedd Ludd's Charred Brussels Sprouts
Nedd Ludd is one of my favorite restaurants in Portland. I have had this dish there and really enjoyed it. The Oregonian featured this recipe and after making it I felt this was just as good as ordering it there! I love brussel sprouts and the charred lemon flavor is really nice and refreshing!
1 lb of brussels sprouts
1 T olive oil
pinch of coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp red chile flakes (this has a lot of kick, use 1/4 tsp if you are not into that)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Preheat broiler to high. Place a cast iron skillet on the middle rack of the oven to preheat.
Cut sprouts in half and discard outer leaves. In a large bowl, toss sprouts with olive oil, salt and chile flakes. When the skillet begins smoking add the sprouts and broil stirring once or twice until charred but soft and not burnt...about 10 minutes.
Toss the sprouts with lemon juice and more oil and salt if desired.
Enjoy!
1 lb of brussels sprouts
1 T olive oil
pinch of coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp red chile flakes (this has a lot of kick, use 1/4 tsp if you are not into that)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Preheat broiler to high. Place a cast iron skillet on the middle rack of the oven to preheat.
Cut sprouts in half and discard outer leaves. In a large bowl, toss sprouts with olive oil, salt and chile flakes. When the skillet begins smoking add the sprouts and broil stirring once or twice until charred but soft and not burnt...about 10 minutes.
Toss the sprouts with lemon juice and more oil and salt if desired.
Enjoy!
To die for Roasted Cauliflower
From the Oregonian
I admit that cauliflower is not my favorite vegetable but this recipe is to die for. You will think this is candy! It is quick and easy which makes it all the more appealing!
1 medium head of cauliflower
3 T olive oil
1 T Dijon mustard
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp herbs de Provence
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut cauliflower into medium chunks (it will reduce as it cooks).
In a large bowl, add olive oil, mustard, and seasonings and whisk until well incorporated and smooth. Add cauliflower to bowl and toss to coat.
Spread cauliflower in an even layer on a baking sheet and roast until tender and golden brown (about 20-25 minutes).
Enjoy!
I admit that cauliflower is not my favorite vegetable but this recipe is to die for. You will think this is candy! It is quick and easy which makes it all the more appealing!
1 medium head of cauliflower
3 T olive oil
1 T Dijon mustard
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp herbs de Provence
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut cauliflower into medium chunks (it will reduce as it cooks).
In a large bowl, add olive oil, mustard, and seasonings and whisk until well incorporated and smooth. Add cauliflower to bowl and toss to coat.
Spread cauliflower in an even layer on a baking sheet and roast until tender and golden brown (about 20-25 minutes).
Enjoy!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
10 Quotes to Inspire Your Yoga Practice
By Bridget Riepl
I experience something different every time I step on my mat. On my "best" days I can breathe freely, twist like a pretzel, spring up into handstands and find my mantra for meditation. I’ll end with a savasana more satisfying than a 24 layer chocolate cake (which IS worth the calories!)
On my worst days, I don’t have the energy to salute the sun. I feel as flexible as granite and my plank pose looks more like dhanurasana than anything else. Perhaps worst of all, I check the clock–multiple times.
The fluctuations in my practice have taught me an incredibly important lesson: There is no such thing as a “perfect” practice. The only thing “perfect” about yoga is the opportunity it presents – the opportunity to be present and honor that place within all of us which is of love, truth and peace. Easier said than done? Maybe. But believe me, I am trying.
Here are ten quotes I refer back to for inspiration on those most difficult days:
1. "If you want the rainbow, then you must have the rain." ~Annette Hanshaw
2. "You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state." ~ Sharon Gannon
3. "Remember, it doesn’t matter how deep into a posture you go – what does matter is who you are when you get there." ~ Max Strom
4. "You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?" ~ Rumi
5. "Yoga is almost like music in a way; there's no end to it." ~ Sting
6. "If I'm losing balance in a pose, I stretch higher and God reaches down to steady me. It works every time, and not just in yoga." ~Terri Guillemets
7. "In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher." ~ Dalai Lama
8. "When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky." ~Buddha
9. "Anyone who practices can obtain success in yoga but not one who is lazy. Constant practice alone is the secret of success." ~ Svatmarama
10. "If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete." ~ Jack Kornfield
And of
course, we can never forget what Nike teaches us...."Just do it."
About Bridget Riepl
Bridget Riepl was certified through In Balance Yoga and teaches yoga all along the Jersey Shore, at Evenflow Yoga, Inner Calm Yoga, and Yoga Basin. Bridget is eternally grateful to her teachers and their teachers for sharing their voices, strength, creativity and knowledge. She is thankful for her students being the most important part of the yogic life that she loves.
I experience something different every time I step on my mat. On my "best" days I can breathe freely, twist like a pretzel, spring up into handstands and find my mantra for meditation. I’ll end with a savasana more satisfying than a 24 layer chocolate cake (which IS worth the calories!)
On my worst days, I don’t have the energy to salute the sun. I feel as flexible as granite and my plank pose looks more like dhanurasana than anything else. Perhaps worst of all, I check the clock–multiple times.
The fluctuations in my practice have taught me an incredibly important lesson: There is no such thing as a “perfect” practice. The only thing “perfect” about yoga is the opportunity it presents – the opportunity to be present and honor that place within all of us which is of love, truth and peace. Easier said than done? Maybe. But believe me, I am trying.
Here are ten quotes I refer back to for inspiration on those most difficult days:
1. "If you want the rainbow, then you must have the rain." ~Annette Hanshaw
2. "You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state." ~ Sharon Gannon
3. "Remember, it doesn’t matter how deep into a posture you go – what does matter is who you are when you get there." ~ Max Strom
4. "You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?" ~ Rumi
5. "Yoga is almost like music in a way; there's no end to it." ~ Sting
6. "If I'm losing balance in a pose, I stretch higher and God reaches down to steady me. It works every time, and not just in yoga." ~Terri Guillemets
7. "In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher." ~ Dalai Lama
8. "When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky." ~Buddha
9. "Anyone who practices can obtain success in yoga but not one who is lazy. Constant practice alone is the secret of success." ~ Svatmarama
10. "If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete." ~ Jack Kornfield
And of
course, we can never forget what Nike teaches us...."Just do it."
About Bridget Riepl
Bridget Riepl was certified through In Balance Yoga and teaches yoga all along the Jersey Shore, at Evenflow Yoga, Inner Calm Yoga, and Yoga Basin. Bridget is eternally grateful to her teachers and their teachers for sharing their voices, strength, creativity and knowledge. She is thankful for her students being the most important part of the yogic life that she loves.
7 Vegetarian Superfoods for Protein
By Stephanie Barroilhet
When we think of protein automatically we think animal products. We hear from doctors and nutritionist that we should limit the amount of animal products we consume in order to have a healthy balanced diet. Many of us do not know that there are plenty of vegetarian sources of protein on the market today that are great alternatives.
The popular vegetarian sources of protein that some of us know of are Tofu, Edamame (Soybeans), Beans, Lentil, Nuts and Seeds which are great sources of protein either alone or combined with whole grains. Most of us know that vegetarian sources of protein are better for our health because they are easier to digest which means less strain on our digestive system.
I am sure you have heard of superfoods, these are nutrient dense foods that can assist the body in the metabolism of foods, improve digestion, help aid weight loss and provide an array of vitamins and minerals our body needs to have a healthy immune system. Superfoods can supply a plant-based diet such as vegetarian or vegan diet with sources of essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibre, chlorophyll, and a complete, balanced gluten-free sources of a complete protein.
Here's a list of seven awesome superfoods that have a high amount of protein:
1. Wild Blue-Green Algae - This superfood is more of a complete protein (60%) than beef or soy. It is high in many vitamins and minerals which will help your body by providing more energy and improve brain function. Use: Add a few tablespoons to smoothies and drinks.
2. Spirulina- Highest form of protein found anywhere in the world (70%). This superfood is a great recommendation for those seeking to lose weight and maintaining great health. Use: add a few tablespoons to smoothies and drinks. One ounce contains 16g of protein
3. Bee Pollen - These granules created by bees from flowering plants is another nutrient dense food that has 5 to 7 times more protein than beef. Other than all the immune supporting properties bee pollen is a great antidote for fighting off allergies, particularly sinusitis and hay fever. Use: Sprinkle on salad, smoothies, and cereal (hot or cold)
4. Goji Berries -These red berries are not only a source of complete protein with 18 amino acids but have 500 times more vitamin C per ounce of oranges. Use: Add to smoothies, granola/ trail mix, and salads
5. Quinoa - This seed often mistaken for a grain is source of complete protein and is gluten free as well. Use: Replace rice, flour, oatmeal, and make interesting delicious salads
6. Hemp - Complete source of protein (36%) Hemp is also a rich and balanced source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 including the rare form of GLA (Gamma Linoleic Acid). GLA has been shown to help maintain heart health, healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels and aid in hormonal balance.
7. Chia Seeds - this is a perfect food, containing essential fatty acids, protein, as well as being a soluble fiber.
All of the superfoods mentioned are a complete source of protein and some have higher amounts of protein than any animal protein (i.e. Steak= 25% of protein).
About Stephanie Barroilhet
Stephanie is the founder of Nutrition At Hand, she believes in "Eating Right Today for a Healthy Tomorrow". She is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Wellness Consultant for TrueStar Health practicing in Toronto, Ontario. Stephanie mainly focuses on helping clients achieve permanent weight loss as well as preventing disease and illness with whole natural foods and high quality supplements.
When we think of protein automatically we think animal products. We hear from doctors and nutritionist that we should limit the amount of animal products we consume in order to have a healthy balanced diet. Many of us do not know that there are plenty of vegetarian sources of protein on the market today that are great alternatives.
The popular vegetarian sources of protein that some of us know of are Tofu, Edamame (Soybeans), Beans, Lentil, Nuts and Seeds which are great sources of protein either alone or combined with whole grains. Most of us know that vegetarian sources of protein are better for our health because they are easier to digest which means less strain on our digestive system.
I am sure you have heard of superfoods, these are nutrient dense foods that can assist the body in the metabolism of foods, improve digestion, help aid weight loss and provide an array of vitamins and minerals our body needs to have a healthy immune system. Superfoods can supply a plant-based diet such as vegetarian or vegan diet with sources of essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibre, chlorophyll, and a complete, balanced gluten-free sources of a complete protein.
Here's a list of seven awesome superfoods that have a high amount of protein:
1. Wild Blue-Green Algae - This superfood is more of a complete protein (60%) than beef or soy. It is high in many vitamins and minerals which will help your body by providing more energy and improve brain function. Use: Add a few tablespoons to smoothies and drinks.
2. Spirulina- Highest form of protein found anywhere in the world (70%). This superfood is a great recommendation for those seeking to lose weight and maintaining great health. Use: add a few tablespoons to smoothies and drinks. One ounce contains 16g of protein
3. Bee Pollen - These granules created by bees from flowering plants is another nutrient dense food that has 5 to 7 times more protein than beef. Other than all the immune supporting properties bee pollen is a great antidote for fighting off allergies, particularly sinusitis and hay fever. Use: Sprinkle on salad, smoothies, and cereal (hot or cold)
4. Goji Berries -These red berries are not only a source of complete protein with 18 amino acids but have 500 times more vitamin C per ounce of oranges. Use: Add to smoothies, granola/ trail mix, and salads
5. Quinoa - This seed often mistaken for a grain is source of complete protein and is gluten free as well. Use: Replace rice, flour, oatmeal, and make interesting delicious salads
6. Hemp - Complete source of protein (36%) Hemp is also a rich and balanced source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 including the rare form of GLA (Gamma Linoleic Acid). GLA has been shown to help maintain heart health, healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels and aid in hormonal balance.
7. Chia Seeds - this is a perfect food, containing essential fatty acids, protein, as well as being a soluble fiber.
All of the superfoods mentioned are a complete source of protein and some have higher amounts of protein than any animal protein (i.e. Steak= 25% of protein).
About Stephanie Barroilhet
Stephanie is the founder of Nutrition At Hand, she believes in "Eating Right Today for a Healthy Tomorrow". She is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Wellness Consultant for TrueStar Health practicing in Toronto, Ontario. Stephanie mainly focuses on helping clients achieve permanent weight loss as well as preventing disease and illness with whole natural foods and high quality supplements.
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