Whole Grain Reality

Every day someone walks into my office touting a statement by a health-care professional or newspaper on the importance of whole grains.

Thank goodness the Food Guide Pyramid is dead, which promoted large amounts of carbohydrates and “whole grains.”

Since I see the everyday effects of whole grains on weight, insulin resistance and disease I have a different perspective.

Let’s start with the difference between insulin sensitive and insulin resistance.

Insulin Sensitive – those whose metabolisms work like a charm and can eat most anything they want – when eating several slices of bread or a bowl of pasta their body secretes insulin which happily metabolizes the carbohydrates quickly without much effect in the body.

Those who are insulin sensitive are normally quite thin with little or no weight issues.

Insulin Resistance – those whose metabolisms are sleepy, sluggish or just plain stubborn.  Upon eating a slice or two of bread their insulin laughs, with the sugar sitting outside the body’s cells waiting to get in like a child not allowed into the playroom.  The longer it sits there the carbohydrate cravings escalate and the fatigue sets in.

Those with insulin resistance carry their weight in the middle, although they can carry weight proportionately in the body.  Those with severe insulin resistance normally carry all their weight in the middle, with thin arms and legs.

Insulin resistance can be present at birth or can show up at different times in life:  childhood, puberty, pregnancy, menopause, and ages over 50 since there are levels of insulin resistance.  One can have slight insulin resistance or severe which manifests as type 2 diabetes.

If you are insulin sensitive healthy whole grains such as quinoa, brown rice, millet, barley, bulgur, and whole wheat bread are appropriate and healthy for your body.

If you are insulin resistant eating whole grains can increase insulin levels leading to weight gain, increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, etc.

Take home message:  If you are insulin resistant it is advantageous to eat your carbohydrates in these forms:  fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, squash and small amounts of root vegetables.  Focus on protein at each meal and healthy fats to balance.  Your reality requires keeping whole grains to a minimum if you want to control your weight and health.  Try my Apple Blueberry Compote as pictured - healthy, sweet and contains no whole grains!

Lifestyle, DNA and Telomeres: Is there a Magic Mix?

Are we medically advanced to correct or reset our DNA?

Many times a week I hear this statement:

"I need to lose weight, and change my health.  Is there a magic mix for me and is there anyway to get a jumpstart on it?"

One of my favorite things to do is helping clients put the puzzle pieces of their lifestyle mix together to help faciliate change.  What that looks like is individual for each person.  There is some magic to know about but eventually it boils down to good old-fashioned planning and a "stick to it attitude."

Let’s start with the magic:

Research shows when you start making changes in 4 lifestyle areas your genes sense the change within 2 weeks.  This means your body changes the way it responds to your DNA within 14 days to making the way for lowering blood pressure, blood glucose levels, weight, and even how quickly your body ages.

And those 4 lifestyle factors are?

1. What you eat and drink
2. Whether you smoke or not
3. How physically active you are
4. How much stress you have – both physical and environmental

Researchers at UCSF and Kaiser Permanente studied the telomere length (DNA complexes on the end of chromosomes) in 110,000 participants.  Telomeres shorten with aging and if telomeres get critically short your risk of dying increases exponentially. 

This study showed 10% percent of people with the shortest telomeres had more than 20% higher risk of dying during the 3-year study than those with longer telomeres.  This increased risk was about the same for those who drank 20-30 alcoholic beverages per week or smoked for 2-30 years.

So what’s the take home message? 

Don’t smoke, be physically active on a daily basis, control both physical and environmental stress as much as possible and eat healthfully.  Not as easy as it sounds but here’s a few tips:

1. Plan your food for the week.  The number one thing my clients tell me is if they are organized with their food they can execute healthy eating  - this requires regular grocery shopping, taking some time each week or day to cook healthy meals to take to work or heat up after work.
2. Either plan 30 minutes of a workout each day or opportunistically find 3 sets of 10 minutes per day to move your body. 
3. Control environmental stress and food pollutants  - shop on the perimeter of the grocery store and buy foods with less ingredients and additives/preservatives.  Plan to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night to help with regular daily stress and wellness in the body.

It’s surprising how few people actually are able to execute the above goals.

Reasonable lifestyle changes make a huge difference in living longer healthier lives and may be simpler than you think if planned out.  The small changes will soon pay a large dividend - and may have better odds than the current stock market.

Find your routine and stick to it for at least 6 weeks.  One of my clients who inspired this blog finally decided after struggling for a few years to stick to the healthy eating plan we designed for her and exercise most days of the week.  She’s now at it for over 200 days and has lost 30 pounds with 10 left to go.  Because she’s been consistent, slow and steady she’s winning the lifestyle race – and that’s magic for her telomeres and DNA.

And that my friends is the winning recipe.

What about those “Baby” Carrots?

I have a routine on Saturday mornings and that includes walking to the Santa Monica Cloverfield/Pico Farmer’s market.

My first stop is to see Dolores who sells the most amazing carrots.  For $2.00 I buy a large bunch of different size carrots that lasts me for lunches for the week. 

I only recently started liking carrots.  I have never cared for cooked carrots, and baby carrots in the store tasted so artificial to me.  Even fresh carrots at the store always tasted like dirt so I just avoided them.  Then one day I smelled the freshness of carrots at the Farmer’s market and decided it was time for a change.

Organic local carrots are the only carrots I consume due to taste and health concerns.

Health concerns?

Baby carrots or small cocktail carrots you purchase in the beautiful bag in the store are really larger carrots put through a machine, which cuts and shapes them.

After this process the carrots develop a white or chalk-like appearance due to dehydration so they are dipped in a chlorine solution.  Small amounts of chlorine may not be dangerous as they are already present in tap water. 

However, when chlorine interacts with organic matter like veggies it can form toxins.  If you are consuming vegetables or salad washed in chlorine a few times a week you are exposed to these 2 toxins:  THMs (trihalomethanes) and HAAs (haloacetic acids), which are thought to be 10,000 toxic than chlorine besides being associated with cancer, heart disease and a host of other health issues.

Bottom line?

Buy organic or local whole unprocessed carrots and wash, peel and cut them yourself.  Besides saving yourself from possible toxins, you’ll get a crunchier tastier bite in addition to lots of beta-carotene, fiber and nutrients.

Quick Recipe Tip:  puree a few carrots with an apple and use for a topping mix for salads or Greek yogurt.

Do Flu Shots Really Work? How to Protect your Immune System Naturally

If you watched the news at all last week it was an onslaught of scares talking about the flu epidemic and how important it is to protect yourself and your family.  The clear message was:  do not pass go and immediately get a flu shot and don’t bother asking if there is another option.

With full disclosure, I am a skeptic with respect to flu shots so I had turned to some experts to write this particular blog.

After getting a flu shot 20 years ago when I worked at UCLA and having multiple aches and pains afterward, I opted to not get it again and have not had the flu.

The influenza vaccine contains 5 or 6 types of killed parts of a flu virus.  Each year they pick several to put in the vaccine.  How effective is it?

According to Tom Jeffrerson, MD, an epidemiologist with the prestigiousCochrane Collaboration, out of 99 healthy adults who receive an influenza vaccine, only 1 case of the influenza virus would be avoided saving someone having to take off half a day of work.

In addition, for those most at risk for influenza (under 2 years of age, and the elderly) the flu vaccine has very little if any effect.

He states that out of 100% of cases of flu-like symptoms only 5-7 % have influenza as a cause and the other 93-95 % are of unknown other viruses.

What can you do to avoid contacting the flu?

• Wash your hands frequently and try to avoid touching your face – many pick up viruses on doorknobs or by touching an object and then touching the face. 

• Take your Vitamin D3 - one study showed that taking 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day for one year virtually eliminated self-reported incidences of colds and flu. Some researchers are now referring to vitamin D as "the antibiotic vitamin" since it boosts protection in the white blood cells of antimicrobial compounds that defend the body against germs. Have your vitamin D levels measured by your health care professional and consider a supplement of at least 2,000 IU of D3 per day.

• Exercise regularly - research shows that individuals who exercise regularly have 50% higher protection against viruses, thanks to natural killer cells their bodies generate.   David Nieman from Appalachian State University research’s shows that walking moderately 30-40 minutes per day lowered colds and flus by 50%.

• Get your rest and eat as healthfully as possible – eating a balance of protein to strengthen the immune system is essential.   High starchy/sugar foods can weaken immunity.

Getting a flu shot will not ensure you avoid getting the flu.  Therefore, have a game plan is important to keeping healthy.  Wash you hands frequently, take your Vitamin D3, exercise regularly and avoid sugary foods – more work than getting a shot but much higher statistics in avoiding the flu.

Does skipping meals trim your waistline or slow Your Metabolism?

I commonly hear:

• I don’t have time to eat breakfast
• I have to be up too early
• I’m just too busy to schedule regular meals

Author and researcher Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D. writes about the “third meal.”

What exactly is she talking about?

Can you essentially get away with skipping a meal if you want to lose weight and lower your caloric intake?

The simple answer is no and the more complicated answer is there’s a payback.

When you wake up you’ve been fasting maybe 8-12 hours.  Your body needs fuel and is ready to work.  If you decide you’re not hungry, want to skip breakfast or skimp on breakfast to try to save some calories there are repercussions. 

Researcher Dr. Randy Seeley and the University of Cincinnati states:

“Individuals match intake to expenditure in a most accurate way (within 11 calories per day or 1 potato chip).  We cannot do this cognitively so there is an enormous amount of biology in this matching which has to come from the brain.”

So essentially your body has a certain number of calories it likes per day and the brain will cause you to default to that amount unless you are consciously strategically working towards a different agenda.

So if you truly want to lose weight and change that number you intake the take home message is:

1.  Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast, since it will lower your metabolism and back fire the rest of the day
2. Work on the balance of what you are eating - obtaining enough protein to calm your appetite and blood sugars, good fats for satiation, and healthy non man-made carbs (fruits, veggies, nuts/seeds, etc.) so your brain is happy with some sort of glucose on board
3. True mindful eating.  How much do you really need to eat to be just no longer hungry or satisfied versus full?  It could mean the difference between staying stuck with the same weight or weight loss

In the short run you may think you are helping your waistline by skipping meals but it is the long run that counts - you will essentially be trimming your metabolism instead – and NOT helping the weight or the waistline.

If you want to avoid being like this slug it is essential to eat regular meals to ensure your body trust you will feed it with regularity - one of the keys to a strong metabolism and change for the New Year.