Feb

10 Foods You Should Never Eat

If you don’t already know what’s slowing you down, it may be in what you eat. Groceries stores can quickly become the enemy when they sell you pesticide covered fruits and vegetables, genetically modified organisms, and synthetically produced goods full of chemicals for preservatives. Check out this list of things you should always avoid:

1. Nonorganic Strawberries

Robert Kenner, director of Food Inc. and founder of FixFood.org

The Problem: While filming Food Inc., Kenner says he wanted to film strawberry farmers applying pesticides to their fields. “The workers wear these suits to protect themselves from the dozens and dozens of known dangerous pesticides applied to strawberries,” he says. “When I saw this, I thought to myself, if this is how berries are grown, I don’t really want to eat them anymore. I haven’t been able to eat a nonorganic strawberry ever since.” Unfortunately, for the food-concerned public, he wasn’t able to get the shot of these farmers. “I guess they didn’t think it looked too appetizing.”

The Solution: Opt for organic! The Environmental Working Group, which analyzes U.S. Department of Agriculture pesticide-residue data, has found 13 different pesticide residues on chemically grown strawberries.

2. Diet Soda

Isaac Eliaz, MD, integrative health expert and founder of The Amitabha Medical Clinic and Healing Center in Sebastopol, CA

The Problem: Dr. Eliaz stays away from any diet soda or foods, sugar-free candies, and gum containing artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame K, and neotame, among others. “The safety data on these sweeteners is shrouded in controversy and conflicts of interest with the manufacturers of these chemical compounds,” Dr. Eliaz warns. “Independent research strongly suggests that when metabolized in the body, these sweeteners can cause health-related issues and problems related to metabolism and weight gain, neurological diseases, joint pain, digestive problems, headaches, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, chemical toxicity, and cancer, among others.”

The Solution: If you’re craving a soda but want to avoid the shady sweeteners, fake food dyes, and preservatives found in popular brands, try a bottle of Steaz zero-calorie green tea soda or Bionade, a fermented soda that’s majorly popular in Europe.

3. Anything from McDonald’s

Joel Salatin, sustainable farmer and author of This Ain’t Normal, Folks

The Problem: McDonald’s isn’t just about food-it’s about food mentality, according to Salatin. “It represents the pinnacle of factory-farming and industrial food,” he says. “The economic model is utterly dependent on stockholders looking for dividends without regards to farm profitability or soil development.”

Fast food typically is loaded with all sorts of the ingredients mentioned earlier in our list-genetically engineered corn, food dyes, artificial sweeteners, and other bad actors in the food supply. The type of farming that supports this type of food business relies on harmful chemicals that not only threaten human health, but also soil health.

The Solution: Learn to cook! You might be surprised to find that paying extra up front for a pasture-raised chicken can be cheaper than buying prepared fast-food chicken. For instance, cooking a chicken and then boiling down the bones for a rich, disease-fighting stock can yield up to three meals for a family! (Here’s how to make homemade stock.) Find sustainable farmers at LocalHarvest.org.

4. Canned Tomatoes

Frederick vom Saal, PhD, professor of biological sciences at the University of Missouri

The Problem: The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, or BPA, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Studies show that the BPA in most people’s bodies exceeds the amount that suppresses sperm production or causes chromosomal damage to the eggs of animals. “You can get 50 micrograms of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that’s a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young,” says vom Saal. “I won’t go near canned tomatoes.”

The Solution: Choose tomatoes in glass bottles (which do not need resin linings), such as the brands Eden Organic and Bionaturae. You can also get several types in Tetra Pak boxes, such as Trader Joe’s and Pomi.

5. Bread

William Davis, MD, cardiologist and author of the New York Times best-seller Wheat Belly

The Problem: Modern wheat is nothing like the grain your mother or grandmother consumed. Today, wheat barely resembles its original form, thanks to extensive genetic manipulations of the 1960s and ’70s to increase yields. “You cannot change the basic characteristics of a plant without changing its genetics, biochemistry, and its effects on humans who consume it,” Dr. Davis notes.

In his book, Dr. Davis makes the case that modern-day wheat is triggering all sorts of health problems, everything from digestive diseases like celiac and inflammatory bowel disease to acid reflux, obesity, asthma, and skin disorders. “If there is a food that yields extravagant, extraordinary, and unexpected benefits when avoided, it is bread,” says Dr. Davis. “And I don’t mean white bread; I mean all bread: white, whole wheat, whole grain, sprouted, organic, French, Italian, fresh, day-old

Feb

The Stretch Factor

Flexibility is as important to your health as cardio exercise. There are many doctors who believe that stretching does not decrease your risk of injury, but this is one doctor who does. Lengthening and toning your muscles aids in the ability to respond to rapid muscular changes–so when you slip on the ice, your body is able to catch itself and not tear a muscle. Prepping your muscles doesn’t always prevent injury–you may have a genetic proclivity for injury–but it should change the way your body adjusts to these rapid changes. Try these stretches for flexibility 60seconds each, 1x/day post exercise to increase your stretch factor.

Flexibility is recognized as an important component of physical fitness. Like other components of fitness, flexibility is more important for some sports than others. For example, long distance runners tend to be relatively inflexible because the activity of running does not require large deviations in motion. However, sprinters, and especially hurdlers, require excessive hip motion for sprinting and hurdle clearance. Not only are flexibility requirements sports-specific, but they can also be joint- specific. In general, athletes must have sufficient musculoskeletal flexibility to meet the demands of the sport, otherwise top performance will not be achieved and injury risk will increase.

An individual

Feb

Bone Mineral Density and The Athlete

Start thinking about Bone Mineral Density. It’s an important factor in injury prevention, now and in your future health–and it’s cumulative. That means if you’re an athlete and aren’t getting the proper nutrition, rest and relaxation your body needs now, you’re setting your body up for failure later.

Bone Mineral Density is a cumulative history of energy availability, hormonal fluctuations, genetics, good nutrition, behaviors and environmental factors. As you get older, bone mineral density falls as our muscular infrastructure changes. When you do damage to your body, by starving/binging yourself, exercising too hard, not getting enough sleep and allowing stress to become a regular component in your life, you seriously alter your future body.

Jan

Low Carb Clementine Almond Cake

This whole clementine cake is a classic Sicilian recipe, which I adapted from a book by Nigella Lawson. This cake is made using whole clementines that have been boiled until tender, then pureed into a smooth, intoxicatingly flavored paste.

Since it is flourless it’s easy to make this low carb by baking with natural sweetners. The low carb recipe is by Alejandra Ramos of Always Order Dessert.

Flourless Clementine Almond Cake Recipe
Adapted from a recipe by Nigella Lawson

Ingredients
4 clementines (about 13 oz)
6 large eggs
1/2 cup erythritol + 1/2 cup granulated Splenda (OR) 1 cup granulated white sugar
2 1/4 cups of ground almond meal (or 9oz of almonds finely ground)
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

Directions
Place the clementines in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let simmer 1 1/2 hours, until very tender. Remove from water, then chop and remove seeds. Add the remaining boiled clementine (everything but the pits) to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line a springform baking pan (this is a sticky cake; you NEED a springform pan).

In a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs for 5 minutes until very light and frothy. Add the sweetener or sugar, ground almonds, almond extract, salt, and baking powder and beat again for 5 more minutes until very light. Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake 50 minutes to 1 hour or until set. Let cool in the pan, then unmold and serve.
Low Carb Note: Using the mix of sweeteners that I used, the cake works out to about 9g of net carbs per serving, which is fantastic. (The cake has 10 servings.)

Jan

Beefspace: Fast Food Density in America

Expert data nerd Stephen Von Worley has created Beefspace, a great visualization that depicts the density of major fast food chains across the country. Using information from AggData, Von Worley assigned each fast food chain a different color and then plotted the locations.

Here’s how he explains his method:

The colors now represent the three most influential chains at each point, weighted by cumulative force at a 4:2:1 ratio, where black is McDonald

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Jan

CoreFit Healthy Diet

The CoreFit healthy diet… Eating real food. Balancing out your vices with your good choices. Not pretending you need to eat perfectly every second of the day. Giving yourself a break, mentally and physically. Reiterating that food is nourishment for this icy cold day.

-Shayna

Herbs De Provence Roast Chicken

1 Whole Roasting Chicken

1 lb Whole Organic Carrots, sliced big and chunky

1 lb Whole Organic Celery, sliced in 2-3in segments

2-4 Organic Yellow Onions, peeled and roughly sliced

2-4 Cloves Organic Garlic

2tbsp Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a roasting pan place washed chicken, breast side up, pat with paper towels to dry and cover with 2tbsp olive oil. Massage in and cover chicken. Sprinkle herbs de provence over chicken and salt and pepper. Place cut veggies in and around chicken. Throw in the over for 1-2hrs, 20min/lb.

Use leftover chicken and bones to make chicken soup tomorrow!

Jan

The Virgin Diet; She’s Not That Innocent

By Shayna Robinson, MSPT, PhD
CHICAGO–January is ripe with people trying to sell you something new; how to lose weight in 7 days by standing on your head and eating some obscure fruit one can only attain by trekking through the rain forest in some remote location. Most of these “new” diets have some sort of scientific-sounding “hook” or “secret” that is oftentimes just a re-branding or new packaging of older ideas. Enter The Virgin Diet.

J.J. Virgin–before you make a joke– is a health and fitness expert, and according to her website, “is a Certified Nutrition Specialist, a Certified Health and Fitness Instructor with advanced certifications in Nutrition, Personal Training and Aging and Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition.” She has been a diet and fitness adviser to a number of celebrities including Gene Simmons, Ben Stiller, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tracie Thoms, Janeane Garofalo, and Brandon Routh.

The “Hook”
The Virgin Diet claims that the weight gain is about inflammation; namely that certain foods interact with our system, stressing it to a point of hormonal release and fat storage. It claims eliminating certain foods, from 7 different groups, will alleviate these symptoms.

The Evidence
About a third of the general population believes that they have food allergies. Research shows that only about 5% actually do. Part of the problem is the confusion about the term food allergy, which is different from a food intolerance or food sensitivity:

A food allergy is a very specific immune response to a particular food protein. The immune system responds to exposure of that protein by producing an immunoglobulin called IgE. The body responds by releasing histamine which (depending on the severity of the response) causes itching, hives, difficulty breathing, wheeziness and possibly prophylaxis.
A food intolerance is when a specific enzyme necessary to digest a food is absent. This is the case with lactose intolerance or gluten intolerance (gluten-sensitive enteropathy). Symptoms can include GI upset, diarrhea or constipation, rash or nasal congestion. They are usually not life-threatening.
A food sensitivity is an unpleasant reaction to certain foods, such as getting heartburn, cramps or nausea after eating a particular food. You do not always get the same symptoms when the food is eaten.

It’s no surprise that the 7 foods that Virgin eliminates also happen to be those which are most likely to cause food allergies (peanuts, eggs) or intolerances (soy, dairy, gluten, corn, sugar). If you have a problem with a particular food, eliminating it from your diet will certainly help with the symptoms (like diarrhea or rashes) it is causing.

Dec

Gene Therapy: A Cure For Cancer

At a meeting of The American Society of Hematology on Sunday, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania presented their findings on what very well could be a genetic therapy cure for cancer.

The concept utilizes a disabled form of HIV that genetically alter the patients own T cells to attack malignant B cells. Providing the patient with something better than a drug–a lasting way for the immune system to fight cancer.

University of Pennsylvania researchers developed the experimental treatment that has been tested on 12 patients,

Dec

The Athlete and The Anti-Inflammatory

Bullet Points:

Ibuprofen use prior to or during exercise, hampers the ability of muscles to rebuild themselves after exercise

Frequent use of ibuprofen, causes higher overall levels of bodily inflammation

In America, the average athlete has been trained to think that an ibuprofen will heal any injury. In fact, 70 percent of

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Dec

Core Cleanse

Gwyneth Paltrow does it. 21 days of cleanse before her filming. So when my clients are looking for a magic bullet, I talk about diet and exercise. The best sustained weight loss comes from gradual reductions in fat and calories from your diet, but there is a quick sure fire way to boost your metabolism and drop weight quickly before an event.

Enter the Core Cleanse. A 7 day all veggie and water diet, this cleanse optimizes your bodies ability to absorb precious vitamins and minerals, boost your metabolism and use calories efficiently. It starts with 16oz of green tea with honey and cayenne in the morning, a large lunch from an approved list of veggies and a dinner shake, all totaling 1200 calories. This goes on for 7 days and many people don’t have the ability to finish it, but if you can muster through it, you will drop weight and look ridiculously slim.

During the cleanse, it’s best not to ramp up your exercise routine. You want to go easy on yourself since you are taking in less calories than usual.

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