I was fortunate to be invited by my friend and respected colleague Dr. Dan Stickler (aka: Ironman Executive) to do an interview for his amazing podcast.
We discussed the role of Genomics in Nutrition and Fitness. I think you will find the information enlightening, fresh and highly pertinent in helping YOU reach your health goals.
It’s true – there is NO need to count calories to lose weight. Crazy, right?! Research has shown that if you change your Carbohydrate, Protein & Fat ratios, you can lose weight AND that unwanted belly fat!
Brazil-inspired Cheesy Poofs… Turns out Brazilians eat tons of the starchy tuber yuca (or cassava). But while you’ll usually find it deep fried or used to make crepe-like Brazilian tapioca, why not go with these better-for-you “cheese” puffs by baking with not-that-hard-to-find yuca flour. And they use coconut oil and flax seeds to add healthy fats. The resulting “cheetos” are super light, have an almost cheesy flavor—and are not a bit fluorescent orange. Just don’t make them until your guests arrive, or you’ll eat them all before they arrive. 😉 Coconut Oil Yuca Cheetos 3 eggs 2 cups + 2 Tbsp yuca flour 1 cup whole milk (milk alternatives not recommended) 1 cup coconut oil 1 cup flax seeds 1 teaspoon salt Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat milk in saucepan until it boils. Mix the yuca flour with milk, coconut oil, and salt. Once fully mixed, add the eggs one by one. Mix until the texture is not soft. Put into pastry bag. Draw small rings on your baking sheet, two centimeters apart. Figures will grow
In 2015 we will know what is in EACH sip we are putting in our body. Vessyl is some crazy technology!! “Recently we’ve seen activity trackers become an important part of people’s daily lives.70-411
But the fact is, what we consume is an even bigger part of the equation when it comes to our overall health,” says Justin Lee, CEO of Mark One, the company that created the Vessyl. “By helping you automatically track what you are consuming in real time, we will empower you to make better decisions when it comes to your health.” If you’re indulging in a soda, you already know what brand of fizzy dark liquid you’ve poured into the cup. But the Vessyl also calculates the caloric makeup of the liquid and the total grams of sugar, fat, protein, sodium, and caffeine. The cup display can be individually customized to show only the metric most important to you. It also sends the liquid’s nutritional data directly to the Vessyl’s iOS or Android app through built-in Bluetooth technology. That kind of functionality is handy for helping people reach certain health goals, such as losing weight by monitoring calorie intake or regulating sugar consumption. Now, the question is…. will knowing what is in our drink impact whether we actually drink it or not?! Yet to be determined. 😉70-642
Muscle mass loss is no joking matter. And it happens to us all at an earlier age than I think we realize…. Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and function, is often considered an issue for the elderly, but it can begin much earlier in life. In fact, sarcopenia is a progressive process that can be characterized by approximately 3-8% reduction in lean muscle mass per decade after 30 years of age! Understand that sarcopenia is a progressive syndrome that can start when people are middle-aged, including the gradual, “domino-effect” decline in health that accompanies muscle loss. -It’s important to keep a regular exercise program. Including, lifting weights. – Make sure you get adequate amounts of protein with each meal. About the size of your fist is a great portion size to aim for.
By using the juices from the following foods to achieve a specific color, will ensure you achieve a beautiful (and chemical free) end result!
Green: spinach juice
Orange: pumpkin or carrot juice
Pink: raspberries or beetroot
Blue: blueberries
Purple: red cabbage or grapes
Yellow: yellow carrots, turmeric powder, saffron flowers
Using natural food colors will produce more of a pastel color than the commercially produced dyes so you may need to experiment if you seeking a very specific end result. However, the taste will be better, you won’t experience allergic reactions or side effects and your body will thank you!
Here are the 10 most important things you need to know about your gut microbiome:
1. You are more bacterial than cellular.
Bacteria outnumber your cells by a factor of 9 to 1. And the genes in your microbiome outnumber your own genome by a whopping 150 to 1!
2. You depend on the microbiome for crucial functions.
Humans evolved in a symbiotic relationship with the microbiome, which is why our bodies depend on our bacteria for so many basic biological processes. Friendly bacteria digest our food, govern our appetite, control our metabolism, orchestrate our immune system, influence our mood, promote mental sharpness, determine heart health, support bone development, produce crucial vitamins and other nutrients, manufacture natural antibiotics, and even help to determine our genetic expression!
3. We’re used to thinking of bacteria as our enemies, but most bacteria are allies.
The bacteria in our microbiome don’t just help us perform basic bodily functions, such as digesting our food. They also help us restore gut health and heal symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, depression, headaches, acne, eczema, colds, infections, joint and muscle pain.
4. Keeping the microbiome healthy with a wide variety of friendly bacteria is the key to health and weight loss.
Most bacteria seem to wish us well, organizing themselves into extraordinary arrangements to ensure good digestion and healthy weight. However, some bacteria promote inflammation (a response to stress) and other bacteria create sugar cravings! Too many unfriendly bacteria and we end up overweight, stressed, fatigued, and at risk for a wide variety of disorders, from acne to cancer.
5. The microbiome is the key to weight loss.
One of the most exciting developments is the huge number of research studies showing that when you rebalance your microbiome, you can boost your metabolism and shed fat. This was a discovery I made in my medical practice some years ago, so I was excited to see more evidence emerging to confirm an approach whose success I had already witnessed with thousands of patients.
6. A balanced microbiome is crucial to mental function and emotional health.
Your brain depends on biochemicals known as neurotransmitters to process thought and emotion. If your microbiome is out of balance, you are likely to end up anxious and/or depressed, suffering from fatigue, memory problems, and brain fog.
7. Stress can unbalance the microbiome in just a single day.
The lifespan of a bacterium is about 20 minutes. So 24 hours represent about 1,500 years in bacteria time. In just one day, you can alter your microbiome’s balance by killing off unfriendly bacteria online casino and allowing friendly bacteria to proliferate. Supporting your microbiome with probiotics, prebiotics, and healthy foods can make an enormous difference very quickly.
8. Probiotics are live bacteria that help balance the microbiome by supporting friendly bacteria.
You can take probiotics in capsule form, or you can take natural probiotics in the form of fermented foods: yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchee, and pickled vegetables. Taking a daily probiotic and loading up your diet with fermented foods can help you boost your metabolism and lose unwanted weight.
9. Prebiotics are the foods and nutrients that feed the friendly bacteria in your microbiome.
You can take them as powders and capsules, or you can eat whole foods that are rich in inulin, arabinogalactans, and fiber. In my book, I call these “Microbiome Superfoods.” They include asparagus, carrots, garlic, jicama, leeks, okra, onion, radishes, and tomatoes, as well as the “Microbiome Superspices,” turmeric and cinnamon.
10. The microbiome is the basis for the medicine of the future.
This year, the Mayo Clinic published a primer about how physicians might incorporate research on the microbiome into their clinical practice, proclaiming, “understanding the basic concepts about the interactions between humans and their microbiome will be as important to clinicians as understanding concepts of genetics or germ theory.”
I couldn’t agree more.
The microbiome has been dubbed “the forgotten organ,” but I think it’s high time doctors remembered it! Meanwhile, now that you know about your microbiome, you can start supporting it with probiotics, prebiotics, and “Microbiome Superfoods.” Your whole body will thank you for it.
Do you constantly think about food? Are you feeling hungry all the time?! Well, it may be case of the QUALITY of foods you are eating instead of the QUANTITY. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/opinion/sunday/always-hungry-heres-why.html?_r=0 The good news about shifting the quality of your diet patterns, is that you may not have to rely on that silly ‘willpower’ anymore. Once your body is able to reduce how much insulin it produces – by eating more good fats and less refined carbohydrates – it can get back to supporting you in your weight loss efforts instead of fighting you on it every step of the way. ‘People in the modern food environment seem to have greater control over what they eat than how much. With reduced consumption of refined grains, concentrated sugar and potato products and a few other sensible lifestyle choices, our internal body weight control system should be able to do the rest. Eventually, we could bring the body weight set point back to pre-epidemic levels. Addressing the underlying biological drive to overeat may make for a far more practical and effective solution to obesity than counting calories.’ I say…. Bring ON those good fats!! 😉
Could this explain my obsession with kale?! Seems my brain is guiding me in the right direction. Who knew?! Kale represents an important lesson for all of us eaters about the power of food choices to transform our health. My ultimate measure of a food is its power to support brain health, and it is clear that more kale in your diet means a happier, healthier, sexier you — all the basic signs that your brain is running well. “How does kale do this? What’s the miracle in that crunch? Let’s start with the power of phytonutrients, molecules in plants that do amazing things. One called sulfurophane travels from your kale smoothie to your liver where it amps up your body’s natural detox power. Another called kaempferol is truly the fountain of youth — it turns on the genes that promote longer life. (Move over red wine resveratrol.) Add to this mix carotenoids, which Harvard University just linked to one’s overall sense of optimism, and glucosinolates, a known cancer fighter, and it is clear that kale is good medicine.” And… “It is a key co-factor need to make the specialized fats called sphingolipids that create the structure of our brain cells, and it promotes brain cells being more resilient by influencing gene expression. Vitamin K is also needed for bone health, and kale happens to be a great source of another bone-builder. Studies of calcium absorption from kale have shown its absorption to be superior to milk! That’s because unlike many other greens such as spinach, kale has almost no oxalates that impair absorption. Kale also has a lot of protein for a leafy green. Add to this iron, folate, and vitamin B6, all needed to make brain molecules like serotonin and dopamine, and it is clear that kale is brain food.” Plus, can anyone claim ownership of this phrase “eat more” except for perhaps Hippocrates himself. (“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.) So take this as medical advice for your brain health: Eat More Kale America and know you are building a better brain. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/drew-ramsey-md/health-benefits-kale_b_3529768.html
Michelle Ricker RDN