Best Weight Loss Breakfast

What single food do you think is most linked with weight loss?  Celery? Chicken breasts? Neither.

A detailed 20-year study conducted by Harvard School of Public Health looked at food choices and weight changes in over 120,000 health professionals. Those who lost weight or maintained a healthy weight ate the most yogurt. They also ate the most nuts.

The study also showed a slight fat-burning advantage to whole milk products over skim and low fat dairy – more evidence that fat may help in the war on fat.

Interestingly, whole milk yogurt and nuts, both fat-rich, are not at the top of most diet lists.

Co-author Dr. Frank B Hu explains yogurt contains healthful bacteria that in animal studies increase production of intestinal hormones that enhance satiety and decrease hunger.  The bacteria may also raise the body’s metabolic rate. Studies show fat people and animals harbor unhealthy GI bacteria.

If you want to take this one step further, choose plain whole goat’s milk yogurt topped with freshly ground flax or chia seeds, almonds and other nuts.  Fruit adds sugar to a protein meal, which will not help in your quest for weight loss.

Goat yogurt contains double the fat-burning short and medium-chain fatty acids of cow’s milk.  These fats not only help you lose weight, they nourish your GI tract.  Cow’s milk does not have this level of fat-burning potential and can actually lead to bloating and other digestive problems.

Ground seeds and nuts add a nutty, almost grain-like sweetness and texture, plus  you get  metabolism-boosting properties from the omega-3 fats of flax and chia seeds.

Dariush Mozaffarian, epidemiologist and lead author of the study said in an interview, “What you eat makes quite a difference.  Just counting calories won’t matter much unless you look at the kind of calories you’re eating.”

My favorite breakfast has long been a big bowl of creamy goat yogurt topped with ground flax seeds and other nuts. It is filling, energizing and satisfying.  It is also one reason I have reached a comfy size 2 without cutting fat or calories.

Tempting treats are everywhere.  Chocolate gift boxes sit under the tree, dessert leftovers lurk in the kitchen and holiday cookies beckon us from festive platters.  Hostesses greet us with eggnog and wine.

“Oh, have some, its Christmas,” we’re admonished.  How do we survive this without looking a bit like Santa with chest pain?

Go for the fat.  I know this goes against everything you’ve been told, but a close look at the science confirms this is the best way to survive the holidays (and life) with your arteries clean and waistline lean.

Recently my pant size dropped from a perfectly acceptable size 4 to a loose size 2.  Have I been dieting?  No.  I’ve increased the butter, duck fat, foie and cheese.   I also have more energy than ever and rarely get sick.

How do we love both the holiday goodies and our body?  Think savory.  Go for the cheese plate not the cookie platter.  Eat olives and nuts, not fudge.  Nosh on popcorn, not candy canes.  Re-gift the almond roca and grab a handful of raw almonds.  Skip the sweet mulled wine and get a glass of tannin-plush zinfandel.

Try soft herbed goat cheese in endive leaves, not on bread.   Roll a slice of lox around some capers and thin slice of sweet onion.

If sugar craving are the problem, start your day savory.  Have eggs scrambled with spinach and feta.  Have a few slices of bacon instead of jam on toast.  Skip the fruit, honey and sugared coffee in the morning and you will diminish sugar cravings later.

I already know the Christmas Eve table this year will be teaming with potatoes, sugared carrots, fruity breads, fudge, gingerbread and pies.  I however, will have as much fun as everyone else feasting on the local cheeses, olives, smoked salmon, duck pate, Swedish meatballs, roasted Brussels sprouts and creamy nettle soup.  I will toast the holiday with an earthy pinot noir.  In the morning I will happily slip into my loose size 2 jeans and celebrate Christmas day with family. What can be more fun than that?

We’ve long known alcohol increases breast cancer risk in women.  The latest Harvard Nurses’ study shows it only takes 3 glasses a week – bad news for women who like to toast through the holidays.

For each added glass risk goes up another 10%.  Party drinkers are most at risk, and not only for breast cancer: Heavy drinking increases risk of colon and other cancers, heart disease and liver disease.

Wine can be calming and helps with digestion when sipped with a meal.  Moderate alcohol intake protects against heart attacks, strokes and gallstones.  Like many of life’s joys however, alcohol has a dark side, and for women, that includes breast cancer.

Now for the good news.  If you drink, but consume extra folate, you offset the breast cancer risk. Folate  is perhaps best known for preventing spinal defects in the unborn, but in adults folate prevents heart disease, depression and other cancers, including colon cancer.

According to a number of studies published in peer reviewed medical journals 400 to 600 micrograms (mcg) of folate per day cancels out the increased breast cancer risk, even in women who have four drinks a day.

I’m not giving you an excuse to drink. There’s still your liver, brain cells and reputation to think about.  Excess alcohol can kill in many ways.  But for women who worry about breast cancer and enjoy a drink at the end of the day, there’s a simple, proven solution found in food and supplements.

Start with food.  Liver is the richest source of folate, and appropriately served alongside alcohol in many cultures.  A three-ounce serving of liver provides over 600mcg of folate.  Greens, especially asparagus, cooked spinach and turnip greens contain close to 200mcg per cup. Good sources also include peanuts, lentils, garbanzos and other dry beans.

Wine and duck liver are at the heart of the French Paradox.  People living in southern France, the duck fat/foie gras region, live longer and have less heart disease than people living in any other part of France, and far longer than do Americans.

Breakfast cereals and processed grains are often fortified with folic acid, the synthetic form of this vitamin.  Although fortified grains help prevent deficiency, this synthetic version may not always be beneficial at high levels.

If you drink even modestly, a supplement may make a difference. Although synthetic folic acid is the more common supplement form, folate, the form found in food and the body, is most likely the better choice.

Thanks to The Wine Cellar Insider for use of their photo.

Cheers.

Do you see a pattern?  First: Proposed legislation to restrict supplements.  Then, public outcry followed up by a steady stream of reports showing harm from supplements. The truth is supplements have never killed anyone and can safely and effectively replace pharmaceuticals.

Take vitamin C.  Although John’s Hopkins scientists have shown vitamin C can inhibit growth of tumors with no harm, this is not an option offered by oncologists, nor covered by the media.

How about vitamin D?   A plethora of studies show it cuts cancer risk by 60-77%.  Although it takes 5000IU or more of vitamin D to get this benefit, the media reported that you take no more than 600-800IU.

Drugs, used properly, take over 100,000 lives each year, and in many cases shorten lifespan.

A recent study showing early death in women taking supplements was doctored to get you thinking just what you are….. “Maybe I should stop taking my supplements?” That is what the pharmaceutical industry wants you to do.  Could they be threatened by the alternatives?

Big Pharma spent $20 billion in 2008 on promotion of drugs, with a big chunk going to the media, and another to doctors.  The latest study was published in a journal owned by the American Medical Association (AMA), an organization already associated with conspiracy and known to promote drugs while discouraging access to natural therapies.

The study was conducted by mailing over 30,000 women 3 surveys over 18 years asking them to recall what supplements they were using, a study that fails to answer many questions, including quality and quantity of supplements and whether there was any cause and effect.  Could those with illnesses be opting for supplements more often? Could they be taking cheap one-a-days?.

Researchers adjusted the data to get the results they wanted.  Before the data massage, here’s what the study showed:
Vitamin B complex was associated with a 7% reduction in mortality
Vitamin C was associated with a 4% reduction in mortality
Vitamin D was associated with an 8% reduction in mortality
Magnesium, selenium, calcium and zinc were also associated with reductions in mortality

Hundreds of other studies show benefits from these supplements.  As for iron and synthetic vitamin E, we already know these can be problematic.  Don’t take them.  Get educated.  We should be getting iron from food and taking natural vitamin E, not synthetic.

I have been watching clients effectively treat disease with appropriate supplements for over 25 years. If you are lucky you know one of the few doctors who quietly treat patients using supplements. Doctors can lose their licenses for using supplements instead of drugs.  Look for health advice from sources not connected to the AMA or pharmaceutical industry.  Always question the media.

Fall is walnut season.  Just a couple handfuls of these delicious nuts a day help fend off cancer and heart disease.  By publishing the studies that prove it, Diamond Foods, Inc. was informed by the FDA that their walnuts are to be classified as drugs and their unauthorized health claims subjected their product to seizure or injunction.

Diamond Foods pulled all mention of walnut health benefits off their site.  This kind of thing tells me walnuts must have real medicinal benefits and threaten drug sales.  FDA officials are often former or future drug company employees.

Let’s see what the FDA censored.

Research shows walnuts help fend off cancer and heart disease. In one study mice genetically programmed to develop breast cancer 100% of the time, developed cancer only half the time when fed walnuts. In those that got cancer, the rate of tumor growth was cut by half when the animals were fed walnuts.

A U.C. Davis Study found mice fed two ounces of walnuts a day developed prostate tumors only half the size of those in mice fed soy bean oil.

According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, walnuts help lower unhealthy cholesterol.

Hundreds of studies show walnuts or the fats they contain benefit human health.  Read this for more on how the FDA censors this information.

Walnuts are one of the only nuts rich in omega 3 fats and vitamin E, which fight cancer, nourish brain cells and reduce inflammation. Buy them fresh or in the shell for flavor and health benefits. Store shelled walnuts in your freezer.

Here’s a recipe for a decadent walnut sauce perfect for transforming broccoli or asparagus into a healing culinary delight.  Thanks to Science Daily for the photo that ran along with their article on how walnuts help improve motor skills in older adults.

Creamy Walnut Pesto

1 cup freshly shelled walnuts, lightly toasted (bake at 300 F 10 minutes)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp softened pastured or organic butter
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp minced red onion
1 tsp sea salt

Drop garlic into food processor. Then add walnuts and salt and process until coarsely chopped.  Add onions and pulse a few times.  Add butter and olive oil and process until blended.  Use at room temperature and pour onto broccoli, asparagus or chicken.

Supplement Cures

Taking quercetin (an antioxidant found in fruits) can halt a sinus allergy in minutes.  A client of mine from New York was on prescription drugs for allergies.  She was surprised she could not only breathe clearly but smell roses for the first time in years after taking a quercetin capsule instead of her meds.

Taking magnesium helped reduce anxiety and provided relief from PMS for a young mother I recently counseled.

Taking vitamin D can cut cancer and heart disease risk by half.

Taking vitamin C can prolong life by 6 years.

A male client of mine in his early 70’s suffered a painful enlarged prostate and was facing surgery and a host of potential side effects.  After taking saw palmetto and pygeum extract his prostate returned to normal.

Your freedom to choose these natural remedies may end this year.  A new bill introduced by Sen Dick Durbin (D-Ill) will treat supplements like drugs, making them very expensive or unavailable at all.

The FDA’s open comment period expires on September 30 this year.   You can help fight this threat to your health options by writing your representative and tell them to vote no on S 1310, the Dietary Supplement Labeling Act of 2011.

For more detail plus a step-by-step guide to contacting yoru representatives click here.

The FDA, once considered a watchdog for consumers, is now more of a client to drug companies.  Many drug company executives are now on the payroll of the FDA! 

Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, accused the FDA of being a servant of the drug industry.  Industry influence has gotten so bad that the FDA employees “are inhibited from acting against drug company interests,” she says.

If you want to let the FDA know what you think, click here to take action.

An estimated 106,000 hospitalized people die each year from properly prescribed drugs.  Another two million suffer serious side effects.  Few to no one dies from dietary supplements.

I have worked with supplements for over 25 years.  They can be a safe and effective alternative to drugs and surgery.  You can bet this threatens a multi-billion pharmaceutical industry.  It takes minutes to take action to protect this freedom.

Photo thanks to:  http://healthwyze.org

Low Salt Diets, Depression and Heart Attacks

Is salt as bad as they say?

To some, salt is synonymous with heart disease.  However this still debated. A recent study in JAMA found those heavy handed with the salt shaker are not more prone to high blood pressure and actually less likely to die of heart disease than those eating low salt.

This wasn’t the first study to link salt with longer life.

When confused by science I often step back and look at the world.  Who eats the most salt?  Who lives the longest? The answer to both:  The Japanese and the French.  All that salt doesn’t seem to be killing them off.

Just like with confusion over fats and sugars, the answer to the salt question may be less about quantity and more about quality.

Unrefined salts (sea salt, Himalayan, Celtic salts) contain sodium and chloride balanced with 75-80 trace minerals essential to life.  Refined salt used in processed foods, on the other hand, is heated  to  damagingly high temperatures, stripped of naturally occurring minerals and often contains nasty chemicals and sugar.

Sodium and chloride are necessary for cell function and our nervous system.  Salt is one of the few sources of chloride, a component of hydrochloric acid, the key to protein digestion and parasite protection.  Sodium enables us to make bile, which helps us digest fats.

Salt, like fat, is a natural mood booster.  It keeps us from getting depressed.  Could that be the government’s worry?

This year the government imposed stricter than ever, telling most of us to keep it below 2300 mg, and under 1500mg  for those over 51 years or in high risk groups.  The majority of us, me included, consume far more salt than that.

The Japanese get from 8000mg -15,000mg or more per day.   The The French, famous already for their fat intake,  traditionally consume around 10,000 mg per day.  As they reduce their salt and fat intakes, their waist lines and rates of death are increasing.

Of course we can suffer consequences from excess salt, just as we can from excess water, but are we?

Have you cut your salt intake too much?   If you are fatigued, have weak adrenals, feel dizzy upon standing or have low blood pressure, you may need more salt.  A fasting chem panel should show your sodium and your chloride to be in normal ranges.

If you have high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease, you probably need to cut back on processed foods, including refined salt.

Switch to fresh produce, meats, fish, poultry and legumes and add your own sea salt.

If you aren’t getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night,  you may be headed for type 2 diabetes, a heart attack, stroke and even early death, says the research.

Your belly may be growing fatter as well.  Sleeping 5 hours? Your risk of obesity goes up 50%.

I can attest to blood sugar challenges, memory impairment and overall malaise from lack of sleep lately thanks to a new puppy with size-appropriate bladder.

This is temporary for me.  How about you?  The health consequences should be enough to get you into bed by 10pm.  If it’s insomnia you’re dealing with, the following tips may help.

Sleep Tips

Hit the sack by 10pm, the magic hour that helps induce sleep. We get a second wind after 10pm. Get up by 6. Too much sleep leads to the same problems as not enough.

Get hot and sweaty in the late afternoon.  A workout or hot bath several hours before bed induces sleep as the body cools.

Avoid sugary foods or alcohol at night.  Both can induce rebound low blood sugar, which can wake you up.

Try sleep-inducing herbs in tea or capsule form: valerian, skullcap, chamomile, passion flower, hops.

Take the tissue cell salt: magnesium phosphate

Take 1-3 milligrams melatonin 30 minutes before sleep.  (this also reduces breast cancer risk).

For more sleep-inducing help, email me.  If you have an effective sleep tip, leave your comment here.

Speed Fat-Burning

Springtime puts many of us in a frenzy to shake off winter fat.  What is the quickest way to go about burning fat without sacrificing health?  Fasting?  Low fat? Atkins?

I’ve watched people gain and drop fat for over 25 years.  Here’s my top 5 tips for healthy, speedy fat loss. It is based on what I have observed after working with people for years.  It may not be what you read in the media.

1. Lose the sugar.  Sugar, whether from fruit juice, candy, cookies, sodas, ice cream or bran muffins, turns into fat rolls faster than anything else.  Ask any weight lifter.  Sugars flesh us out.  Sweeten with lo han or stevia, not sugar.

2. Eat more non-starchy veggies.  Broccoli, mustard greens, asparagus,  kale and other greens help the liver detox, cleanse the colon, flush excess fluids, and boost energy, which helps burn fat too.
Cook them with beneficial fats for best results.  Good fats enable us to absorb the nutrients and they help burn fat.

3.  Sleep 8 hours.  Getting 6 hours of sleep increases obesity risk by 23%.  Down to 5 hours?  Your risk just went up 50%.  Go to bed by 10 and get up early.

4. Eat more omega 3’s, less omega 6’s.  Omega 3 fats (from fish, greens, walnuts, flax)  in your cell membranes stimulate metabolism.  Excess omega 6’s (from vegetable oils) pack on fat and slow metabolism.

5. Move. Walk, dance, clean the garage.  Movement, especially interval training and resistance workouts, will speed your progress.

Share your own tips here.

Spring is the time to load up on leafy greens.   Consumed daily, they help the liver detox, speed weight loss, provide antioxidants for eyes and skin, and boost energy.

Hate making, or eating, greens?  Kale chips are the answer: They are always a big hit at my dinner parties, even with kids, and they are  simple to make.  They are as addictive as potato chips so make a lot.  Enjoy them guilt-free.

For other great veggie recipe ideas, including Spring greens, check out Cook4seaons web site.

Kale Chips

1 large or 2 small bunches kale
4 T. melted butter or olive oil or a combo
optional: 2 T. minced garlic
sea salt

Wash and dry each leaf.  Cut center stem from kale leaves. Cut each leaf in half.  If using garlic, add to pan of warm butter/oil.  Dip one side of each leaf  in butter/olive oil mix.  Space evenly on parchment lined cookie sheet, sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake at 350 F until edges just begin to turn brown,  12-15 minutes, check often.  Place in festive bowl in place of potato chips.