Things to Avoid

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F The Holidays

November 25, 2014

inBalance, Debra, diets, Health, Holidays, Inspiration, Things to Avoid

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So yes, the holidays are coming up. Do. Not. Panic.

I always find it interesting that people feel they need to “prepare” themselves for the holidays and surrender themselves to inevitable weight gain. Why? What’s changed? We are faced with temptations every day – what makes one day of Thanksgiving and one day of Christmas (or, in some cases, 8 days of Chanukah) so different?

It’s all hype, people.

It is society creating a situation that only helps them later find perfect topics for main stream gossip magazines or the next “diet” craze. There’s a reason January finds a surge of New Year’s resolution gym memberships and new clients for Weight Watchers. We are supposed to gain weight. We are supposed to lose control. According to researchers at the National Institutes of Health, most Americans never lose the weight they gain during the holidays – the pounds just add up year after year making holiday weight gain a contribution to adult obesity.

Stop the madness.

Two months out of the year should not dictate a loss of control. I’m gonna re-tell a little secret I have revealed in the past: It’s a lifestyle, not a diet. It’s about making the right choices 80% of the time and indulging the other 20%. It’s about balance, self-control and discipline; wanting to feel good inside and out. It’s about portion control. It’s about choosing the foods that make you feel good, not the ones that make you irritable, exhausted and bloated.

So, you eat a bit more on the actual holiday. Eat less the next day and balance it out. Or exercise an extra day that week. The same you would do on any other regular day of the year. Eating should be an enjoyment in life – not something we forbid ourselves and then binge when we finally allow ourselves to eat. Binging is an unfulfilling cycle that will never end.

I have been the same size for nearly 10 years (minus 2 pregnancies with extremely large babies). And, there are days I have single-handedly done some damage on a ½ gallon of ice cream. The difference is it didn’t send me off on a binge. I had what I wanted and moved on. I realized I feel better when I am in control of what I eat and when I feed my body with good foods and nutrients. I feel lighter, happier and healthier.

It’s not rocket science. Enjoy the holidays and rock that crab dip. Then get back on track.

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Fill’er Up

October 8, 2014

inDebra, Food, Health, In The News, Nutrition, Things to Avoid

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Ever wonder why a fast food burger is so cheap when it claims to be “real meat”? Or why you may always feel so sick when you eat certain foods? And what exactly is soy lecithin or cellulose gum?

The World Of Fillers
The food industry has seemed to perfect an efficient way to produce high quantities of food at a very low cost. They have developed food fillers – additives in processed foods that healthy_unhealthy offer dietary fiber or some other non-nutritive purpose to help bulk up the weight of food with less expensive ingredients. This is often the case in the meat processing industry with products like hamburgers and sausages and is also found in packaged goods. In many cases, it does not involve the interest in the health of the consumer.

There has been a growth in curiosity about food fillers since the wide-spread McDonald’s pink goo debacle (more info here: http://huff.to/1asIo8a). All of the rumors and hype around the content of McDonald’s food by consumers forced McDonald’s to create a rebuttal and openly expose their food preparation process (not sure the final product is much more appealing than the pink goo 😉

There are generally two types of fillers:

Non-meat fillers
These fillers are often made up of starchy, high carbohydrate binders that have low nutritional value and include fiber additives like wheat, corn, flour, cottonseed and cellulose fibers from bamboo and other plants. They tend to include maltodextrine, a processed food additive made from starch and can include soy proteins.

Meat Fillers
You’re gonna love this one. Many types of filler in the meat industry are composed of MDM – mechanically deboned meat – or, in other words, pieces of the left-over animal carcasses that are not typically ingested. You will mostly find these fillers in poultry meat (mostly poultry in shapes or solids like chicken nuggets and deli meat – not fresh, whole chicken breasts in the package).

Extenders
These fillers are used to extend the meat further (ie. hamburgers) and typically contain more protein. Ingredients usually include soy proteins, yeast, plants, etc. You might find a little cereal, a little blood, some internal organs ….no, I’m not making this up. Think SPAM. Didn’t you always wonder what was in that little can?

So What Do We Look Out For?
Our Americanized food often contains these fillers and hides them in the ingredient lists of packaged food with names we don’t recognize or comprehend (I am often perplexed myself!). What to look out for:

Typically, if you can’t pronounce or recognize the name of any ingredient in an ingredient list on a package, you should try not to consume it. Mystery ingredients are often fillers.

Foods formed in shapes (nuggets, dinosaurs, sticks) are often the culprit of fillers.

High-fructose corn syrup = not good. It can turn a normally healthy food into a not so healthy food and is often accompanied by other cheap and processed ingredients.

Artificial colors or flavors – not so much. These are “non-food” ingredients.

Soft drinks, including juice, soda, diet soda, etc…do not offer much nutritional value and are often comprised of just sugar and artificial ingredients. Even 100% juice removes the beneficial fiber.

It goes back to the same premise – Try to eat organic, whole foods and avoid processed and fast food when possible.

Healthcare Management Degree Guide recently completed a comprehensive research graphic called “Food Isn’t Food Anymore: The Frightening World of Fillers”. It’s a helpful resource in identifying what to look out for in food labels. It’s worth looking at the easy to read graphs: http://www.healthcare-management-degree.net/food-fillers/

How do you keep a tab on what ingredients to look for when shopping? Hint: I added a “Food Notes” onto my phone so when I food shop, rather than spin my brain on remembering what to look for and what to avoid, I reference my list and continue to add to it as I learn.

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Best Oils to Cook With and Which to Avoid

October 2, 2014

inFood, Health, Lisa, Nutrients, Nutrition, Things to Avoid, Vitamins

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Is olive oil or coconut oil better for you? Which oils are safe to cook with and which ones should you avoid? All of the information out there can be confusing. Even though an oil might be deemed healthy, it may not stay healthy when heated.

When you’re cooking at a high heat, you want to use oils that are stable and don’t oxidize or easily turn rancid. When oils undergo oxidation, they react with oxygen to form free radicals and harmful compounds that shouldn’t be consumed. Saturated fats and monounsaturated fats are rather resistant to heating, but oils that are high in polyunsaturated fats should be avoided when cooking. oil_and_pan

Best Oil Choices for Cooking:

Coconut Oil

This is one of the best choices for high heat cooking. It is made up of over 90% saturated fatty acids, making it very resistant to heat. This oil is semi-solid at room temperature and it can last for months and years without going rancid.

Coconut oil has powerful health benefits: It is particularly rich in a fatty acid called Lauric Acid, which can improve cholesterol and help kill bacteria and other pathogens. Also, the fats in coconut oil can boost metabolism and increase feelings of fullness as compared to other fats.

When buying, look for virgin coconut oil or raw on the label – they offer better flavor and more health benefits. Smoke point is 350°. Refined coconut oil can be used occasionally for recipes, which require heats over 450°, but make sure it isn’t hydrogenated or treated with hexane.

Clarified Butter (Ghee)

Grass-fed ghee is rich in the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K2. It is also rich in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) — the essential fatty acid found almost exclusively in grass-fed animals, which is now believed to protect against cancer, heart disease, and type II diabetes.

Because the milk solids have been removed from ghee, the elements in dairy that many people are sensitive to, have been removed. The removal of the milk solids also allows you to use ghee at a higher temperature -up to 485° F.

Olive Oil

No surprise here, olive oil is a heart-healthy fat that that contains beneficial antioxidants and has also been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. Make sure to choose high quality extra virgin olive oil. It has many more nutrients and antioxidants than the refined oil olives and it tastes much better.

And contrary to many reports, high quality, extra virgin olive oil can be used for high heat cooking as it has a high smoke point (365°- 400°).

Note – there have been many reports lately about unsavory olive oil dealers who have been combining olive oils with cheap vegetable oils. As a result, you might be unknowingly ingesting unhealthy oils. It is very hard to determine if an olive oil is pure. Artisan or locally produced olive oils tend to be your safest bet. Olea olive oils are 100% pure olive oil. They can be found at oleaestates.com.

Avocodo Oil

Avocado is an excellent choice for frying as it has a very high smoke point (475°- 520°). The composition of avocado oil is similar to olive oil. It is primarily monounsaturated, with some saturated and polyunsaturated mixed in. It can be used for many of the same purposes as olive oil. You can cook with it, or use it cold.

Oils to Avoid When Cooking:

Industrial Seed and Vegetable Oils:

These are highly processed, refined products that are much too rich in Omega-6 fatty acids. The world health organization’s (WHO) recommended ratio for omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is about 4:1. However, the average ratio American’s ingest ranges from 10:1 to 25:1! (Look out for a future blog post on Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s).

Based on this overconsumption of Omega 6’s, it is recommended to avoid the following oils altogether, whether cooking with them or simply using them cold.

Soybean Oil
Corn Oil
Rapeseed Oil
Sunflower Oil
Grapeseed Oil
Safflower Oil

Canola Oil

Canola Oil should be avoided as well due to its harsh processing method. To create canola oil, rape seeds (what canola oil is made from) are heated to high temperature so that the oil can be extracted. This oil is then refined, bleached and deodorized Processing the oil under high heat causes it to go rancid, which is why industrial carcinogenic bleaches and deodorizers like hexane are needed. Additionally, about 87% of canola oil is genetically modified.

Fish Oil and Flaxseed Oil:

These are high in omega-3s, but should not be heated because they are sensitive to oxidation.

Nuts and Peanut Oil:

There are many nut oils available and many have amazing flavors, but due to their high level of polyunsaturated fats, it is recommended to avoid them when cooking.

There is one exception. Macadamia nut oil is mostly monounsaturated (like olive oil) and has great properties and is safe for cooking

Happy cooking 🙂

Elizabeth Girouard • October 22, 2014

Great article Lisa! Thanks for the useful information.
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