To fruit or not to fruit?

One of the hard things to give up on a low carb diet is fruit. But not all fruit is high carb, for example, half a cup of raspberries contains 3.5 grams of net carb, whereas half a cup of raisins contains 61 grams of net carb. That's 17 times more carbs for the same serving size!

When you're in a maintenance mode some low-sugar fruits may be suitable for the diet plan.
Here's an ordering of fruits by sugar content by about.com

1. Berries - lowest in sugar and high in antioxidants and other nutrients.

2. Summer Fruits - Melons, peaches, nectarines, and apricots are low in sugars.

3. Winter Fruits - Apples, pears, and citrus fruit are moderate in sugars.

4. Tropical Fruits - Pineapple, pomegranates, mangoes, bananas, and fresh figs are high in sugar (guava and papaya are lower than the others).

5. Dried Fruit - Dates, raisins, apricots, prunes, figs, and most other dried fruits are extremely high in sugar. Dried cranberries and blueberries would be lower, except that a lot of sugar is usually added to combat the tartness.

Food to prevent Heartburn?

The exact opposite from yesterday's post, here are 13 foods that fight acid refluc according to Health magazine.

1. Oatmeal  (I recommend steel-cut, not flaked or instant)
2. Ginger (in moderation).  very surprised this is viewed as calming instead of inflammatory
3. Aloe Vera - i've used it on cuts but never tried eating it
4. Salad - (hold the onions and tomatoes, fatty cheese & creamy dressing) - I have found my stomach did well with a lot of salads
5. Bananas - low acid value great for 99% of GERD sufferers. I used to eat a banana a day and stopped recently for a low carb diet. Now my GERD is acting up. Perhaps I need that daily banana.
6. Melon
7. Fennel - I had some for lunch today
8. Chicken & Turkey (skin free)
9. Fish & seafood (never fried)
10. Roots & Greens (Cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, etc)
11. Celery - boring but filling
12. Parsley - "For thousands of years, parsley has been used as a medicinal herb to settle the stomach and aid digestion".  We grow this outside. I'll have to eat more of it.
13. Couscous & rice - I do find I do better with rice

Food that cause Heartburn?

I'm not sure I agree with the list of Food To Avoid to Control Acid Reflux at About.com. I understand that acidic foods are a problem. But personally I've never noticed a problem with meat or dairy. Each person is unique ...

Food Group	Foods To Avoid
Fruit	• Orange juice • Lemon • Lemonade • Grapefruit juice • Cranberry juice • Tomato
Vegetables	• French fries • Onion, raw
Meat	• Ground beef, chuck • Marbled sirloin • Chicken nuggets • Buffalo wings
Dairy	• Sour cream • Milk shake • Ice cream • Cottage cheese, regular
Grains	• Macaroni and cheese • Spaghetti with sauce
Beverages	• Liquor • Wine • Coffee, decaffeinated or regular • Tea, decaffeinated or regular
Fats / Oils	• Salad dressing, creamy • Salad dressing, oil & vinegar
Sweets / Desserts	• Butter cookie, high-fat • Brownie • Chocolate • Doughnut • Corn chips • Potato chips, regular

Food Group	Foods To Avoid
Fruit	• Orange juice • Lemon • Lemonade • Grapefruit juice • Cranberry juice • Tomato
Vegetables	• French fries • Onion, raw
Meat	• Ground beef, chuck • Marbled sirloin • Chicken nuggets • Buffalo wings
Dairy	• Sour cream • Milk shake • Ice cream • Cottage cheese, regular
Grains	• Macaroni and cheese • Spaghetti with sauce
Beverages	• Liquor • Wine • Coffee, decaffeinated or regular • Tea, decaffeinated or regular
Fats / Oils	• Salad dressing, creamy • Salad dressing, oil & vinegar
Sweets / Desserts	• Butter cookie, high-fat • Brownie • Chocolate • Doughnut • Corn chips • Potato chips, regular

Food Group	Foods To Avoid
Fruit	• Orange juice • Lemon • Lemonade • Grapefruit juice • Cranberry juice • Tomato
Vegetables	• French fries • Onion, raw
Meat	• Ground beef, chuck • Marbled sirloin • Chicken nuggets • Buffalo wings
Dairy	• Sour cream • Milk shake • Ice cream • Cottage cheese, regular
Grains	• Macaroni and cheese • Spaghetti with sauce
Beverages	• Liquor • Wine • Coffee, decaffeinated or regular • Tea, decaffeinated or regular
Fats / Oils	• Salad dressing, creamy • Salad dressing, oil & vinegar
Sweets / Desserts	• Butter cookie, high-fat • Brownie • Chocolate • Doughnut • Corn chips • Potato chips, regular

Food Group Foods To Avoid For Acid Reflux

Fruit
Orange juice
Lemon
Lemonade
Grapefruit juice
Cranberry juice
Tomato

Vegetables
French fries (too much fat?)
Onion, raw

Meat
Ground beef, chuck  (I love hamburger)
Marbled sirloin
Chicken nuggets
Buffalo wings  (too spicy?)

Dairy
Sour cream
Milk shake
Ice cream
Cottage cheese, regular

Grains
Macaroni and cheese (? is it the dairy or the grain?)
Spaghetti with sauce (acidic)

Beverages
Liquor
Wine
Coffee, decaffeinated or regular
Tea, decaffeinated or regular

Fats / Oils
Salad dressing, creamy
Salad dressing, oil & vinegar

Sweets / Desserts
Butter cookie, high-fat
Brownie
Chocolate
Doughnut
Corn chips
Potato chips, regular

Six Surprising Superfoods

An article by Men's Health magazine reminds me of Woody Allen's movie Sleeper. When he wakes up from frozen sleep he learns that the foods he thought were unhealthy, like steak and chocolate, are actuallyvery healthy. Everything he knew about food & nutrition was wrong!

Here are six food that you might think are "bad" but probably are not

1. Full-fat cheese: "one of the best muscle-building nutrients you can eat" and "even when men ate 10 ounces of full-fat cheese daily for 3 weeks, their LDL (“bad”) cholesterol didn’t budge."

2. Iceberg lettuce: famous for having NO nutritional value but in reality"half a head of iceberg lettuce has significantly more alpha-carotene, a powerful disease-fighting antioxidant, than either romaine lettuce or spinach."

3. Mushrooms:I saw a sign at an Asian grocery that described mushrooms as the vegetable that does not taste like a vegetable. The fungi metabolites "have been shown to boost immunity and prevent cancer growth"

4. Pork chops: "contains almost five times the selenium—a mineral linked to a lower risk of prostate cancer—of beef and twice that of chicken"

5. Red Pepper flakes: "consuming a gram of red-pepper flakes—about half a teaspoon—30 minutes prior to a meal reduced calorie intake by 16 percent."

6. Vinegar: "when people consumed 2 tablespoons of vinegar with a high-carb meal, their blood sugar was 23 percent lower"

12 Confusing Foods

"You heard that eggs can be high in cholesterol, so you dutifully switched to whole grains for breakfast. Next, you swapped out red meat for fish—only to later learn that fish can contain dangerous levels of mercury...and eggs may not harm your heart after all. 'With all of the different reports and headlines, it’s no wonder that many people get confused,' "

So begins an article by Prevention Magazine on 12 Confusing Foods.

1. Coffee - Prevention notes that coffee has antioxidants and other minerals that are good for you. Of course one could argue that cigarettes with added vitamin D would be "healthy". I disagree with Prevention here and suggest one needs to look at the whole food effect and not just a few favorable components.
2. Wine - as with coffee above, wine has antioxidants. But here Prevention is more clear - at most one glass a day because wine also has negative effects. They fail to note that grape juice can provide many of the same health benefits.
3. Potatoes - is healthy food often served in unhealthy ways (fried, with butter, etc)
4. Cheese - great for calcium but high in fat calories. Depending on your diet this may be a good thing.
5. Fish - "benefits far outweigh the risks" However, the FDA advises that young children, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and women trying to become pregnant steer clear of fish that contain the most mercury, including swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and tile fish. [What's a tile fish?]
6. Chocolate - dark chocolate is good for the heart according to recent studies. Eat in moderation.
7. Red Meat - "Go lean. Look for cuts with “loin” and “round” in the name—and limit yourself to 18 ounces a week. That translates into around six 3-ounce servings (imagine a deck of cards)."
8. Nuts - "Ounce for ounce, nuts pack in more calories than most other snacks. But the surprising truth is that nuts are one of the best foods for weight loss."
9. Beer - see wine
10. Soy - a healthy food in "healthy people" but causes hormone-like effects (Estrogen) that may raise the risk of breast cancer. Ask your doctor before consuming large amounts of soy.
11. Eggs - a great food but limit to one a day
12. Margarine - Avoid any product with the words “partially hydrogenated” on the ingredient list.

Bottom Line

Honestly, after reading the Prevention article, I'm still confused. Food X is packed with good stuff but limit to one a day? What kind of advice is that? There's no shortage of "safe" foods that are packed with vitamins and minerals, for example spinach. I'm reminded of Stock Analysts that NEVER say sell; it's always but or hold a stock. Somehow they can never find anything bad to say about a stock. Or Entertainment News shows that flatter celebrities because they do not want to be denied access to the stars. Is Prevention afraid of losing sponsors if they say don't eat this or don't drink that?

Beware of These Snacking Habits

Prevention magazine warns of six Bad Eating Habits to Break,

"For too many of us, snacking has become so automatic that our brains barely register the hand-to-mouth motion. ... A 2010 study from the University of North Carolina found that most of us eat nearly 600 calories a day—roughly a third of our food—in snacks rather than meals."

1. You're Good All Day But Pig Out At Night
   This may be because you're starving yourself by day. Eat a real breakfast and a filling lunch and try to save calories on dinner instead.
2. 2. You Stuff Your Face Before Dinner
   Are you starving when you get home from work and just cannot wait for dinner? Find healthy snacks like raw veggies or sugar snap peas. Drink water or have a clear broth soup.
3. You Can't Stop Eating In The Car
   Don't eat in the car!!! Avoid the temptation of drive thrus. If you must nibble on something, try gum or carrot sticks.
4. You Work At Home
   Keep a log of your daily activities, including every time you get up to eat. You may be surprised at how much time you're wasting. Also keep work and home separate by eating ONLY at the kitchen table, not in your work area.
5. You Graze At The Office
   I do this too much. Keep natural snacks like nuts at hand and avoid the "healthy" snack bars, etc, in the vending machines.  Force yourself to get up and eat your snack in the lunchroom or somewhere not at your desk. Drink more water.
6. Your Kids' Snack Habits Are Contagious
   Kids burn a lot of calories. When I look back I'm amazed at what I could eat in college and not gain weight. As an adult stick with real foods and avoid munching on cookies, oreos, pop-tarts, that your kids enjoy.  

Oh shit! Eat more Fiber?

One of the remedies frequently recommended for constipation is "eat more fiber". This always seems odd to me. If my stool is too hard, why would I want to eat something fibrous and non-digestible that adds yet more bulk to my waste?

The theory is that more bulk helps to push "food" through the colon more quickly as the body. The longer food stays in the colon, the more water is pulled out of it, and the harder it gets. Foods with little fiber, like white bread, form a squishy lump that resist the muscular contractions of the colon - imagine trying to squeeze jello through a tube.

Many years ago our large German Shepard ate some flour that I used to coat chicken. A few days later he started to bulk up - his stomach was expanding. A Vet determined that the dog's intestine was blocked by a lump of dough. He opened the dog up, messaged his gut, the lump became unstuck, and everything started to flow again. Afterwards the dog was fine but our checkbook sure took a hit.

Bottom Line

From WebMD,

"The average American gets about 11 grams of fiber daily, much less than we need, according to the American Dietetic Association. Women should aim for 21 to 25 grams of fiber daily. Men should aim for 30 to 38 grams of fiber daily. The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends eating at least nine servings (four 1/2 cups) of fiber-filled fruits and vegetables each day, including apples, oranges, broccoli, berries, pears, peas, figs, carrots, and beans. Some people get stomach cramps and gas when they increase their intake of fiber. Change your diet gradually and increase fluids to reduce these discomforts."

EverdayHealth.com recommends:

• Fruits: pears, apples, berries, oranges, tangerines
• Vegetables: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, squash, potatoes
• Legumes: beans, lentils, peas
• Grains: whole-wheat breads, brown rice, bran, oatmeal
• Nuts and seeds: almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts

Low Carbs & Constipation

My wife & I are following a low carb diet (again) and both of us are experiencing constipation. I had not realized this is a common side effect of low carb diets.

Where are some recommendations found online:

Drink more water. 8-10 glasses a day.

Eat five servings of low-carb vegetables daily -- broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, brussels sprouts, red bell pepper, onions, mushrooms, zucchini and lettuce -- for the fiber

Eat smaller portions at meals.

Exercise -- walking is good for the bowels

Drink barley juice or wheat grass, these contain chlorophyll, a natural laxative.

Try a natural fiber supplement like wheat bran, oat bran, psyllium husks and ground flaxseed.  Start with a small dose, 1 tsp, and increase gradually as needed to a max of 2 tbsp. per meal. Always drink at least 8 oz. of water at the same time. If taking medications consult your doctor as fiber supplements may affect the release of your medications.

If that does not work, try a fiber supplement -- such as Metameucil or FiberCon.

Diet Mistakes

Yesterday my wife & I ordered a slice of pizza; there was pepperoni (which everyone knows is bad for you) and a chicken with veggies. My wife was favoring the "healthy" chicken until I noticed that the calories were listed and the chicken slice was the more caloric. Why? Perhaps more fat & cream in the white sauce used? It wasn't obvious.

Often we think we are eating healthy but make the wrong choice. Here are six diet mistakes from Prevention magazine:

1. Dunked veggy sticks - carrot & celery sticks are a great snack, until you dip them in peanut butter or ranch dressing, or blue cheese. If you must dip, try Greek yogurt, salsa, humus, or black bean. Also try vegetables with more zing like jimaca or radish.

2. Sweet potato fries - yes sweet potatoes are healthier than normal spuds but don't eat them fried (ditto for zucchini). Try a baked sweet potato instead.

3. Too much Olive Oil - extra virgin olive oil is healthy, but not in excess. Use just a mist or wipe of oil while cooking instead of pouring it in.

4. High Calorie Salad - salads can be healthy but not when loaded with cheese, nuts, dried fruit, croutons or high-cal dressing.

5. Coffee with extras - coffee, black, is a classic diet drink. But whipped cream, milk, syrup and the million of other things you can add at any coffee shop make the drink a calorie landmine.

6. Marinades - chicken by itself is healthy, when covered with BBQ sauce, not so much.

Bottom Line

You have to look at the whole dish when on a diet. Any food can pack on pounds when eaten to excess or with accompanied with high calorie flavorings.

Carb Substitutes

“Man does not live by bread alone, even presliced bread.” - D.W. Brogan

Today I found an excellent list of carb substitutes on myThirtySpot.com and this fits in so well with yesterday's topic of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load.

1. Use summer squash for hash browns.
2. Replace mashed potatoes with pureed cauliflower. If the taste bothers you, try mixing cauliflower with potatoes to lower the carb count. Parsnips also mix well with potatoes but there's very little carb reduction with parsnips.
3. Use sliced zucchini for pasta noodles. This one I've used and it works great. My wife uses a mandolin with a Julienne cutter and then sautee the zucchini strips and pours spaghetti sauce on top.
4. Use spaghetti squash for spaghetti. Very easy to make and when the cooked squashed is scraped with a fork, the result is spaghetti like strands.
5. Cottage cheese pancakes? I never noticed this one when I used the South Beach Diet plan. Mix cottage cheese, oatmeal, eggs & a few spices in a blender for a "pancake" batter. What I have tried is almond flour and chick-pea flour for pancakes. The taste was fine but the texture was not the same.
6. Use Tempheh for Scalloped Potatoes
7. Make Mac n Cheese with diced vegetables
8. Use less pasta and more beans or veggies in a pasta salad
9. Use low-fat string cheese for chips? Slice & bake for "chips"
10. Use Portobello mushrooms as a mini-pizza crust - YUM. This does work But don't overcook, portobellos will lose liquid and collapse when overcooked.
11. Use sliced eggplant in place of lasgna noodles
12. Use lettuce (napa or romain) as a wrap instead of bread for sandwiches

Bottom Line

See myThirtySpot.com for the full recipes. Bon Appetit!

A carb is a carb is a carb?

"I was gaining weight very rapidly and read about the idea of restricting carbohydrates as an alternative to going hungry. I had a big appetite, so that was the only thing I would even consider."
- Dr Robert Atkins

In diet books the total calories in a food item is calculated by Fat * 9 + Protein * 4 + Carbs * 4 when each is measured in grams. This assumes the body is a perfect food processing machine that will convert the entire food into energy. But that's not true. Some foods digest quickly, some slowly, some perhaps not at all.

In 1980 at the University of Toronto, Dr David J Jenkins and colleagues decided to test real food on real people to see what effect each food had on blood sugar so they could give better advice to diabetics. They fed volunteers 50g of carbohydrate from one type of food and measured the blood glucose level over the next two hours. The total area under the glucose curve was called the Glycemic Index. Foods with a high GI are digested quickly and give a sugar rush or spike that is often associated with weight gain and high insulin demands for diabetics.

High GI: white bread, most white rice, corn flakes and most breakfast cereals
Medium GI: whole wheat products, basmati rice, sweet potato, baked potato
Low GI: most fruits and vegetable, legumes, beans, whole grains, nuts

The GI was quickly put to use in new diet plans like the South Beach Diet which my wife and I used and did lose weight (for a awhile). This was a refinement over the Atkins plan which banned all carbs completely.

But critics soon pointed out flaws with the GI tables.
1. The tests examined one food at a time. Not food combinations. It was later discovered that adding vinegar, for example, will lower the GI. The presence of fat or soluble dietary fiber can slow the gastric emptying rate, thus lowering the GI.

2. Each test required 50g of carbs in the food consumed. Watermelon, which is mostly water with a little sugar, has a high GI but there are only about 8g of carbs per 100g serving size. To get 50g carbs for the test, volunteers had to eat nearly 7 servings of watermelon. Compare this to white bread which is half carb by weight and just two slices equal 50g carbs.

To address this second point, Harvard University created a new standard called the Glycemic Load that takes serving size into account. The GL is the GI * (carbs per 100g) /100.  Under this system, watermelon gets a low GL score.

Under the GL system white bread is very high, bananas on the boarder of medium and low and carrots very low.

Bottom Line

A detailed list of GI and GL values can be found at http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm 

Foods with a high GL should be eaten sparingly. Fill up on low GL items.

Crazy food or Fun food?

“Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays.”
-Henry Youngman

Attempts by restaurants to server healthy or diet food usually fails because when people go out to eat, they want a meal that entertains and tastes great. Why buy something simple, boring or with no taste? And yet, do restaurants go too far? Are they to blame when they create a meal that gives you a day or more worth of calories on one plate?

Men's Health is one of many groups that watches what's being served and warns of extremes and offers alternative with their Eat This, Not That books and articles. In a recent story they identify the Craziest Food Creations that were added to the NOT THAT list. But hey, I'm willing to live dangerously and try some of the following:

1. KFC Double Down (A bacon and cheese sandwich where the bread is replaced with two fried chicken breasts)
2. Burger King Meat Beast Whopper (how do you make a whopper even bigger? Add bacon and pepperoni)
3. White Castle Surf & Turf Sliders with Cheese (a cheese burger with a fish patty added. Photo above.)
4. Denny's Fried Cheese Melt (how can you improve a cheese sandwich? By inserting fried cheese sticks along with the melted cheese of course!)
5. IHOP New York Cheesecake Pancakes  (A cheesecake mixed inside a pancake? Crazy! I've got to try it.)
6. Applebee's Quesadilla Burger (With meat to fill a quesadilla, this is one big burger!)
7. Claim Jumper Widow Maker Burger (never heard of Claim Jumper but the Widow Maker contains enough fat to frighten the strongest of hearts - bacon, onion rings, avocado, mayonnaise, and a double serving of cheese)
8. Friendly's Grilled Cheese BurgerMelt  (Can't decide between a hamburger and a cheese sandwich? Have both. This burger uses two cheese sandwiches to replace the buns.)
9. Applebee's Provolone Stuffed Meatballs with Fettuccine (like cheese-stuffed crust pizza? How about meatballs stuffed with cheese?)
10. Burger King New York Pizza Burger  (looks like the burger is the size of a small pizza)

Bottom Line

Crazy? Tasty? Fun or Abomination? You decide.

Mama always said, "Eat your Vegetables"

“Green Eggs and Ham was the story of my life. I wouldn't eat a thing when I was a kid, but Dr. Seuss inspired me to try cauliflower.”
-Jim Carrey

Yesterday I discussed how only 56% of Americans are eating the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables. I also discussed why it might not be a good idea to address this shortfall by drinking more fruit juice or eating more fruit. An apply a day (as they say) keeps the doctor away but five apples a day may add pounds to the waistline.

What Americans really need to do is eat more vegetables. Fruit gets great commercials and is so easily available but vegetables outperform fruit in many ways. I think of bananas for potassium (467 mg per medium size banana) but an artichoke has more (595 mg). And that's nothing compared to a cup of beet greens with 1309 mg of potassium. Did you know that a cup of cooked broccoli has more vitamin C than an orange (101.2 mg vs 95.8 mg)!

Here are some ideas from Rodale.com for including more vegetables in your diet:

1. Jazz them up with hummus, low-fat dip, or sauteed with spices
2. Carry a bag of baby carrots as a quick snack
3. Stock up at farmer's markets and ask their advice for cooking vegetables that are new to you
4. At meals, half of your plate should be filled with vegetables so you'll get 2 servings each at lunch and dinner. 
5. Enjoy veggie soup
6. Add veggies to items you cook like casseroles, pasta, (carrot) muffins, (zucchini) breads, etc
7. Wash and eat the skins of fruits and vegetables (Do they really need to add, except for bananas and pineapples?)
8. Frozen vegetables are very healthy and may be cheaper than fresh
9. My boss has started using a juice press to make vegetable drinks. My wife used to press wheat grass for her mother but it's an acquired taste (ick!)
10. Use more salsa!
11. When eating out, start with a salad instead of a calorie-ridden appetizer.
12. Try grilling vegetables on your BBQ.

Bottom Line

Vegetables can be fun. Try it!

(after trying a bite)
"Say!
I like green eggs and ham!
I do!! I like them, Sam-I-am!"
-Dr Seuss

You Are The Apple Of My Eye

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
-Martin Luther

Americans have been told to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables every day but we aren't listening. Only 56% of adults say that they eat five servings or more at least four days of every week. And to make matters worse the advice itself may be flawed or misapplied.

Most (all?) fruits are forbidden on low carb diets. Yes fruits come packed with vitamins and minerals which do the body more good when eaten naturally than when swallowed in pill form. But after thousands of years of cross-breeding, many fruits we eat are now loaded with fruit sugar (fructose). Sweeter fruit tastes "better"; personally I much prefer a sweet Gala apple to a tart Granny Smith. Fruits with a high fructose load include apple, pear, guava, honeydew melon, pawpaw, papaya, quince, star fruit, watermelon, grapes, raisins, figs, dates, and currants. Oranges (to my surprise) get a favorable rating with fructose equal to or less than the glucose.

According to ScienceDaily.com,

"There's a fair amount of evidence that starch-based foods don't cause weight gain like sugar-based foods and don't cause the metabolic syndrome like sugar-based foods," said Dr. Richard Johnson, the senior author of the report, which reviewed several recent studies on fructose and obesity. "Potatoes, pasta, rice may be relatively safe compared to table sugar. A fructose index may be a better way to assess the risk of carbohydrates related to obesity. ...  fructose may have the unique ability to induce insulin resistance and features of the metabolic syndrome that other foods don't do so easily"

Another factor to keep in mind is that fruit (in moderation) should be eaten, not drunk. A serving size of juice is 6 oz, the size of a martini glass or small wine glass. A large dixie cup is 5oz. Many people feel cheated when given such a small glass of juice and receive instead a 10oz or larger sized glass. A coffee mug holds 12-16 oz. It's way too easy to swallow the juice (and calories) of an entire orange in just a few swallows and still want more. Most fruit juice contains no pulp so instead of satisfying hunger, the sugar in the juice spikes hunger and does little to satisfy it. Beware also of "fruit drinks" which are mostly fruit flavored sugar water.

Bottom Line

Advertisers have been quite successful in selling fruit as healthy. But it turns out you can get higher concentrations of vitamins and minerals in vegetables with much less sugar load. Tomorrow I'll look at ways to encourage more vegetables in the diet.

P.S.
Here's an interesting article on a study about why sugar makes us fat (and sleepy)
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/why-sugar-makes-us-sleepy-and-protein-wakes-us-up/

Why You're Not Losing Weight

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.
-Abraham Lincoln

LifeScript.com (healthy living for women) suggests 10 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight.  See the article for the full story and recommended lifestyle changes.

1. Not enough muscle
   Muscles burn calories all day long.
2. Your parents were fat
   Your body shape will very likely look like your parents'. If your parents are overweight, you'll have to be super diligent to avoid the same fate.
3. You're older
   A slower metabolism is common with aging. Look at a young child and how they simply cannot stay still; they are constantly fidgeting. Whereas adults will sit for hours in front of a PC or TV. Get up and move about more frequently (and rebuild those flabby muscles).
4. Evolution
   In cultures where starvation was common, bodies became very efficient at saving every calorie eaten. Normal eating packs on weight and dieting just kicks in the starvation protection mode.
5. Drugs
   Some common drugs for high blood pressure, depression, etc have a side effect of making you hungry or stimulating fat storage. Talk to your doctor to see if this is the case and what options you have.
6. Underestimating portion sizes
   Meal sizes have grown to giant proportions. Keep in mind that a serving of meat (3 oz) is the size of a deck of cards and a mere 1/2 cup is a serving size of pasta.
7. Eating while distracted
   It's way too easy to chow down while on the PC or watching TV and empty an entire bag of chips or popcorn, etc. Give food your full attention while eating so your stomach and brain have time to catch up.
8. Your diet is too restrictive
   You will get cravings and a diet must factor this in. A slice of pizza, ice cream, a doughnut, etc. You can't have these every day but a diet should allow for a personal favorite now and then.
9. Splurging
   You have a great diet plan BUT you'll make a exception for a birthday party, or a night out at a restaurant, or some other event. One splurge meal can cancel out a week of dieting.
10. Overestimating Exercise
    Exercise burns amazingly few calories. A 30-minute power walk might burn 200 calories of which you regain 100 with one can of soda.

Bottom Line

To paraphrase the quote at top, you can fool your body some of the time but not all of the time. Diets may work short term but a body will adjust to lower food intake and burn less calories making a diet less effective over time. And the period immediately after a diet is dangerous because the body has been trained during the diet to efficiently use every calorie so a return to normal food levels is like a feast with lots of opportunity for fat storage to restore what the body knows was lost.

Long term weight manangement requires lifestyle changes. Not famines or gimmicks.

Healthy Diet Tricks

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.
- Irv Kupcinet

The solution to losing weight is simple in theory - just eat less. But that's not so easy in real life. The body does not want to diet and hunger pangs can drive anyone to "breaking" their diet. How can you diet and not feel hungry all the time? Women's Health magazine recommends these Healthy Appetite Supressant Tricks.

1. Eat Protein at Breakfast
Many studies show that breakfast is essential to healthy weight. You think you're being clever by skipping breakfast but the body will overcompensate by wanting to eat extra food throughout the day to make up the loss. A good breakfast should include at least one ounce of lean protein like Canadian bacon, egg whites, or low-fat yogurt. Protein keeps you fuller than other nutrients and takes your body more time to digest and absorb leaving you feeling fuller longer.

2. Eat Potatoes
Many diets portray potatoes as carb-heavy villains but a plain, medium-size spud is just 100 calories. (It's the butter, sour cream, frying oil, etc that packs on the weight. This recommendation does NOT apply to chips or french fries.) Potatoes contain appetite-slaying superpowers with a special type of starch that resists digestion. Because potatoes take a while to break down, they stay in your intestine longer, delaying the onset of hunger pangs.

3. A little Fat is good
Oleic acid, an unsaturated fat found in olive oil, nuts, and avocados, helps quash hunger. Just watch your portions; unsaturated fats should make up about 20 percent of your total calorie intake. Try snacking on two tablespoons of natural peanut butter, an ounce of nuts, or a quarter of an avocado.

4. Exercise
Exercise not only burns calories but also helps you eat less. 60 minutes of high-intensity cardio can reduce appetite for up to two hours afterward.

5. Grapefruit
Eating half a grapefruit can lower your postmeal levels of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar and fat metabolism.

6. Chew Sugarless Gum
People who chewed gum for one hour in the morning consumed 67 fewer calories at lunch and didn't compensate by eating more later in the day.

7. Use your nose
One study claims that people who inhaled a peppermint scent every two hours ate 2,700 fewer calories per week than they normally did. Smelling food can trick your brain into thinking you've eaten. Personally I have my doubts - I've always associated smelling food with triggering hunger. What might work is using your nose while eating - get the max experience out of your food by using all your senses as you eat.

Bottom Line

The trick in dieting is NOT not eating but eating wisely. (and exercise)

Hunger Squashing Snacks

Diets, like clothes, should be tailored to you.
- Joan Rivers

What did you think of yesterday's blog on Healthy Appetite Suppression Tricks? Continuing the same topic, here are Hunger Squashing Snacks also from Women's Health magazine.

1. Warm toasted nuts
Combine pecans, almonds, peanuts, ^ cashews - with chili powder, black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne. Roast in a 400 degree F oven for 10 minutes.

2. Ants on a Log
A stick of celery with peanut butter and dotted with raisins.

3. Edamame
Boil a few cups of frozen edamame until tender. Drain and toss with a light coasting of sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and kosher salt.

4. Homemade Trail mix
Combine 1 cup almonds, walnuts, or cashews (or a 1 cup mix of all three) with 1/2 cup sunflower seeds and 1 1/2 cups dried fruit: raisins, apricots, apples, prunes, and/or banana chips.

5. Hummus
Spread hummus inside a pita and add sliced tomato, onion, and lettuce.

6. Stuffed Peppers
Stuff cherry peppers or bottled Peppadew peppers with soft goat cheese or mini balls of fresh mozzarella.

7. Breadless Sandwich
Top a slice of Swiss cheese with a slice of deli turkey and a spoonful of hummus or guacamole. Roll it up and eat.

8. Cheese cubes
Cut fresh mozzarella into 1/2-inch cubes. Skewer on toothpicks with pitted green olives and sundried tomatoes.

9. Popcorn
Pop a bag of popcorn. While it's still hot, add a half cup grated Parmesan and chopped fresh rosemary. No need to add salt, Parmesan is quite salty and adds a protein to the snack.

10. Tuna
Combine a can of tuna with your favorite salsa. Use Triscuits for scooping.
(personal note - that sounds like a lot of tuna to me and be moderate with the Triscuits, they pack a few calories)

11. Elvis Special
Cover a slice of toasted wheat bread with peanut butter and banana slices. (Optional) Top with a drizzel of honey.

Bottom Line

A good snack will always include a protein so you fill fuller longer. Complex carbs are good too but watch out for sugars and processed carbs.

Free Radicals

Sex is good, but not as good as fresh, sweet corn.
~Garrison Keillor

Free Radicals sounds like a leftist rallying cry, "Free the Radical 8". But inside the human body you don't want radicals roaming free. Radicals are atoms or molecules which lack one or more electrons which would complete atomic orbital shells. They grab an electron from some molecule in your body which then becomes a radical itself and grabs from someone else in a chain reaction until the process is halted by an antioxidant. An antioxidant can give away an electron and not become radicalized itself.

Free radicals are blamed for aging, DNA mutation and causing cancer. So some people think they'll be healthier taking massive doses of antioxidants. But the story is not so simple. Some radicals are needed - the immune system uses radicals to destroy infections and invaders. Overdosing on antioxidants could weaken your own self-defenses.

Many antioxidants you consume in a pill won't help. The body regulates its level of vitamin C and most of a massive intake will just pass through the body and be pissed away. You may have better luck with Vitamin E being stored in the body where it can do some good.

Natural sources of antioxidants include Carotenes and Flavonoids. Carotene gives carrots their orange color. Flavonoids give bright colors to other fruits and vegetables. At salad bars I now pick items of different colors to enrich my salad. This includes bright red beets which I would not normally eat but, hey, what else provides that unique color?

Bottom Line

If you eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colors, your diet is naturally rich in thousands of antioxidants and you should not need to boost it.

Diet Snacks

“The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook”
-Julia Child

From Prevention Magazine: Healthy Snacks:6 High-Protein Foods. Excerpted from The Active Calorie Diet by Leslie Bonci, RD.

1. Jerky - [on our recent vacation in the Midwest we ate aligator and snapping turtle jerkey in Wisconsin]  Jerky is low in fat, savory and takes awhile to chew. Go for low salt jerkey if you can find it.
2. Roasted soy nuts - almonds, peanuts and cashews are great too (in limited quantity). Try soy nuts for some variety.
3. Cheese packs - not just for kids. My wife enjoys the Laughing Cow mini-wedges and cheese sticks.
4. Protein bars like Luna. Bars are typically 170-200 calories.
5. Hard-cooked eggs - "one of nature's most perfect portable foods." 
6. Fat-free or low-fat milk - perfect pre- or post-exercise snack.

Bottom Line

For more diet ideas check out the Hungry Girl blog.

Appetite Suppressant Tricks

"My biggest mistake, the avocado. Made the pit too big!"

George Burns as God in the movie "Oh God"

Women'sHealthMag.com offers these ideas for eating less:

1. Eat Protein at Breakfast: at least 1 ounce of meat, egg or yogurt will keep you filling full, longer
2. Eat Potatoes: potatoes contain a starch that is difficult for the body to break down so it will be in your digestive system longer. Try a baked potato (100 calorie) or potato salad (without the mayo). Don't use french fries or potato chips since the oil spikes the calorie count on these.
3. Not all fat is bad: oleic acid, which is found in the unsaturated fat of olives, nuts, peanut butter and avocadoes, can help quash hunger.
4. Exercise: 60 minutes of high-intensity cardio can reduce appetite for up to two hours afterward
5. The return of the Grapefruit diet? : grapefruit lowers your postmeal levels of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar and fat metabolism.
6. Chew gum (sugarless of course!) : people who chewed gum for one hour in the morning consumed 67 fewer calories at lunch

Bottom Line

Dieting is hard. Use the tricks that nature provides to curb the hunger pains.