Chocolate – Good for you?

Everyone likes chocolate, ok well the vast majority I am sure as soon as you say everyone someone will not agree.  Anyway my guess is that you have heard the recent studies that say chocolate is good for you, right?  And if you are like me that is when you stopped listening to the report. All I need to know is that it is good for me. J

Ok well that really isn’t all you should know.  According to an article on about.com written by Mark Stibich, Ph.D, dark chocolate is where the health benefits flourish.  He states that chocolate is made from plants and contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables.  By now you probably know that the darker the vegetable the better.  The benefits come from flavonoids which act as antioxidants.  Dark chocolate contains nearly 8 times the number of antioxidants found in strawberries!  Are you thinking what I am thinking…. strawberries dipped in dark chocolate, win win!

Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure and lower LDL cholesterol by up to 10%.  Other benefits of dark chocolate include: it tastes good, it gives a feeling of pleasure, it contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant, and it contains caffeine, which is a stimulant.

Now you may also be aware that chocolate contains a lot of fat.  Here is some more good news.  Mark Stibich states that the fats in chocolate are 1/3 of each, oleic acid, stearic acid and palmitic acid.  Palmitic is the only one, which raises cholesterol and the risk of heart disease.  Oleic acid is also found in olive oil (healthy fat) and stearic acid is saturated but seems to have a neutral effect on cholesterol.

This is the part where we tend to stop listening.  Although dark chocolate is good for you it still contains calories.  One bar of dark chocolate contains about 400 calories. If you would eat half of that for 200 calories you need to be sure that you exchange something else so that you still remain in check for total daily calorie count.  While dark chocolate has claim to health benefits milk or white chocolate do not.  To be dark chocolate it must have 65% or higher cocoa content.

So just remember these few tips and enjoy dark chocolate everyday!

1.      Go for the dark chocolate

2.      Skip the caramel and nougat they just add sugar and fat and defeat your purpose.

3.      Avoid washing it down with milk.  It is said that a glass of milk could prevent your body from absorbing the antioxidants.

4.      And probably the most important to avoid hampering your journey…balance your calories.  Be sure to make the exchange not add to you daily balance.

So grab some dark chocolate and forget the guilt!

Ignore the product label and head straight for the ingredients list!

Ok so this series of “How bad is it?” has been interesting and a little frustrating for me.  You can find just about anything on the Internet, including just what ever it is you want to hear.  This week I decided to research whole grains, triggered by my search on good carbs, bad carbs.  I used to think that complex meant good and simple meant bad, well if you read my article last week you found that both categories have both good and bad.  So how in the heck do you make your grocery list and keep your sanity without spending hours and hours at the store?  Ignore the front labels and looking at the back.  The nutrition label is helpful but the real test is the ingredients. 

The less ingredients the better if you are looking at something like bread.  You hear a lot about whole wheat bread, so I switched to whole wheat bread.  Then that wasn’t the right stuff it needed to be 100% whole wheat. Now I am finding even that is not truly the best.  Here are some examples:

This is ingredient list on a package of 100% Whole Wheat bread

“Whole Wheat Flour, Water, Gluten, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Yeast, Cracked Wheat, Salt, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Molasses, Raisin Juice Concentrate, Ethoxylated Mono-And Diglycerides Calcium Propionate (Preservative), Honey, Soy Lecithin.”

Remember a couple weeks ago we talked about the partially hydrogenated and we hear about fructose corn syrup all the time and these are towards the beginning of the list meaning they have a greater proportion in the mix.  If you are unaware of ingredient lists here is a little tip.  The ingredients are listed in order of proportion so whole wheat flour has the largest measurement of all the ingredients listed and soy lecithin has the least.

So another option, this loaf of bread said Natural 100% Whole Wheat:

“Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour [Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Reduced Iron, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) Folic Acid], Water, Cracked Wheat, Whole Wheat Flour, Yeast, Barley, Honey, Fructose, Wheat Gluten, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Wheat Bran, Malt, Ethoxylated Mono-And Diglycerides, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Calcium Propionate (Preservative), Caramel Color, Whey, Soy Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Soy Lecithin, Nonfat Milk.”

Here is the third example:

Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, Water, Yeast, Salt, Calcium Propionate

Catch the differences? I bet you did. They both have partially hydrogenated soybean oil and high fructose corn syrup...junk.  But if you didn’t notice the second option says unbleached enriched wheat flour, this is borderline fake whole wheat bread.  The difference with this and white bread is probably one process, which removes the color.  I don’t know that for a fact I did not research the process.  The third example is the best for three reasons that come to my mind immediately.  There is only 5 ingredients, I know what they are and how to pronounce them and it does not include the partially hydrogenated and fructose.  Had we just looked at the product label we likely would have migrated towards the Natural 100% Whole Wheat, right?

Next time you go to the store check out the ingredients…if you don’t know what they are your body doesn’t either.

Good carbs, bad carbs, no carbs…

The world of carbohydrates is so confusing! There’s good carbs, bad carbs, complex carbs, simple carbs….Agh.  Lets see if we can clear this up by figuring out just what they are, what they do and where they come from.

What are they and what is their purpose? Carbohydrates are a simple union of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.  There that clears that up. Just kidding.  Actually the definition of carbohydrate is just that.  That does nothing for me so lets discover the purpose.  Carbohydrates are broke down to two groups simple and complex.  Simple carbohydrates are found in things like refined sugar, candy, fruit and milk.  Complex carbohydrates are found in grain products such as breads, crackers, pasta and rice.  Both groups have some not so great choices and better choices.  Fruit and milk are obviously better choices than candy and unrefined grains, such as wheat flour, are better choices than refined grains such as white flour and white rice.  The refining or processing removes nutrients and fibers so if they are unrefined they still contain these vitamins and minerals.  Unrefined grains are rich in fiber, which helps your digestive system work well.

When you eat carbs your body breaks them down to simple sugars, which are absorbed in the bloodstream.  So why not just eat them as simple sugars?  As the sugar levels rise in the body the pancreas releases a hormone, insulin.  Insulin is needed to move the sugar from the blood to the cells where the sugars can be used as energy.  With simple sugars this process goes fast, with complex carbs this is a slower process.   When this process occurs fast you are more likely to feel hungry again sooner, when it goes slow you feel full longer.

So why the low carb/no carb diets?  Cutting carbs restricts so many of the foods that are normally accompanied by fat that dieters often end up cutting their total calorie intake.  The body draining glycogen stores for energy causes the initial rapid weight loss.  Each glycogen gram used releases 3 grams of water with the result being almost immediate weight loss due to increased urination.  After about 2 weeks increased urination ends and so does the rapid weight loss phase.

Fats

This weeks topic in “I know it is bad for me but just how bad is it” is fat.  The minute we think about a “diet” or eating healthy we think eliminate fat or fat-free.  Let’s look a little deeper into fat.

You can hear fat talked about with different names such as saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and monounsaturated fat, lipids, trans fat, etc. There are 4 main categories of fats; I will break it down for you in hopefully more common terms.

Saturated Fats – These are the biggest dietary cause of high bad cholesterol or LDL levels.  This is the fat you want to avoid or limit to 10% of your calories.  These fats are found in animal products such as butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream, cream and fatty meats.  Some vegetable oils such as coconut, palm and palm kernel oils also contain saturated fats. Most other oils contain unsaturated fats and are healthy. Saturated fats are considered “bad fats”

Unsaturated fats – When used in place of saturated fats, these fats actually help to lower blood cholesterol.  However they still have a lot of calories so you still have to limit consumption.  Most liquid vegetable oils are unsaturated.  The exceptions were listed above. There are two types of unsaturated fats: Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated. Some examples of mono include olive and canola oils, poly examples include fish, safflower, sunflower, corn and soybean oils.  Unsaturated fats are considered “good fats”.

Trans fatty acids – These fats form when vegetable oil hardens in a process called hydrogenation and can raise LDL or bad cholesterol levels.  They can also lower HDL or good cholesterol levels.  Trans fatty acids are often found in processed foods, fried foods, commercial baked goods and margarines.  Good news is this fat has gotten such a bad rap that it is being eliminated in processing.  This is where you see a lot of products labeled “No trans fat”.  Not to be confused with fat free but it is at least taking out the worst of it.

Hydrogenated and Partially hydrogenated fats - This refers to the process listed above in Trans fatty acids.  This includes products such as butter and margarine. Foods made with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils should be avoided because they contain high levels of trans fatty acids, which are linked heart disease.  You will find this in the list of ingredients the above three are listed in the nutrition label although it is not always separated.

That gives you a little bit of background on types of fats.  Fats actually have a function in your diet.  Fat is one of the three nutrients, along with protein and carbohydrates, which supply the body with calories and is essential for proper functioning of the body. Essential fatty acids are not made by the body therefore must be obtained from food.  There are supplements such as fish oil that can be added to help you with getting enough good fatty acids.  However anytime you use a supplement you should use it as just that to supplement your diet not to take place of it.  So just what does the fatty acids do for us?  They help in controlling inflammation, blood clotting, and brain development.  But that is not all…they also help maintain healthy skin and hair and move vitamins A, D, E and K through the blood stream.

So cutting fat is a little more involved than just switching to fat free.  This does not mean you want to look for higher fats because they are essential.  The typical American diet has plenty of fat the trick is to minimize and move towards the good fats.  This is something to keep in mind…If the fat is in liquid form when it is cool it is better for you than if it hardens when cool (saturated).  Butter and animal fats harden when cooled use them sparingly, olive oil or vegetable oil stay at a liquid state so they are better for you.  This doesn’t mean you can use them freely they still have calories and plenty of them so you still need to cut them to a responsible amount.  Another thing to think of reduced fat or fat free is not always best, it depends on what it is and this will take some time to figure out.  One which comes to my mind is peanut butter, reduced fat peanut butter is stripped of the good fats you are better off using a natural blend.  How is that for a little food for thought?  Watch your food labels it is very interesting.

Soda...

This week I am going to kick off a series "I know its not good for me but just how bad is it?"

Let's start with soda, we all know it is not good for us and we still drink it.  I myself find it sometimes easier to avoid things more often if I understand more about what it is doing to me.  I don't tend to drink a lot of soda anymore but I do get on a kick once in a while where it seems that I drink one everyday.  And I find most often it is the carbonation I crave not so much the taste of the soda.  So I did some research on the effects of soda and then some suggestions on what to replace it with.  Bad news first, some of these I knew but some of it I didn't.

1.  A well-known effect is increased risk of diabetes and obesity.  This is what we hear most about.  Each soda increases your risk by 1.6 times.  That is quite a bit for a single can of soda.

2.  Soda has high counts of phosphorus and little to no calcium.  Not a shock but here comes the part that was new to me...If you get high levels of phosphorus and low levels of calcium in your blood, your body will resort to taking calcium from your bones. This is a major factor contributing to osteoporosis.  And children who drink soda have a higher risk of breaking bones.

3. The sugar in one can of soda damages the white blood cells ability to ingest and kill gonococcal bacteria.  What is that you may ask. (I did)It is the bacteria that cause gonorrhea. Further information on gonorrhea....well that is a whole new topic we won't go into that.

4. Soda has the same ph level as vinegar! If vinegar and soda were both put on metal they would both cause it to rust.  You have probably heard "to clean battery cables use Coke" it really works imagine what it does to our insides.

5.  Large amounts of aspartame can lead to brain tumors.  Now I did not do much research into this as to what levels are considered large and such but if you have concerns about this I would suggest digging a little deeper.

6. The acid in soda dissolves tooth enamel.  You would often think that it would be the sugar but it is the acid.  So which soda is the worst?  You would think it would be Coke after the battery cable cleaning but it is...MOUNTAIN DEW! Followed by Arizona Iced Tea, Sprite and Ginger ale. These were 2-4 times as corrosive as the colas.  A&W Root Beer showed no damage. Hmmm..Root beer floats any one! Okay scratch that last thought.

These findings left me thinking... So how much is a safe level to consume?  Obviously to completely eliminate would be best but I like the idea of all things in moderation.  What I found is a can a day is probably not going to kill you but your safest bet is to minimize it to occasional consumption.  So what are some healthier alternatives? Here is a list:

Green Tea, Jeltzer (mix 1 part your favorite fruit juice with 3 parts Seltzer), Stevia, Tonic & Lime with a sprig of fresh mint (I would guess you should probably leave out the Gin on a regular basis), Red Wine is fine in moderation (4oz a day for Women, 2 drinks for men), Low sodium vegetable juice, soy milk, tea infuser or coffee without cream and sugar.  The jeltzer thing caught my eye because as I stated before I tend to crave the carbonation more than anything and when that is the case vegetable juice just is not going to cut it. Should have wrote this before I went grocery shopping. So think twice next time you pop a top on another soda.  See what you can come up with for alternatives it just might give you the boost you needed.

Perspective is key…

No matter what changes you are making in your life there are always discouraging moments.  It is not wrong to feel this way although if you continue to let the same things pile up and wear you down it is going to make you want to quit.  You know that quitting isn’t the answer even if it feels like what you are doing is pointless.  On a journey for a healthier lifestyle such as ours the scale is often the trigger of these feelings and when week after week you don’t see a loss or even see a gain it can pile up and make you want to quit.  This is when perspective is key. 

Is your glass half full or half empty?  Ever notice that when you focus on the negative it seems to multiply?  Its like fueling a fire…If the gas line to the fire is wide open it will burn forever, if you cut off the source the fire will burn itself out.  The fuel for this fire is our thoughts.  Even though the scale may not be telling you what you want to hear, these changes have so many benefits that are not visible to the eye. “Don’t judge a book by its cover” the inside is making so many changes it is going to take time.  You didn’t gain 50 pounds overnight you are not going to lose it overnight!  Here are some suggestions that may help you fight the discouragement and continue on with your journey.

1. Read a book – find a book that is motivational to you.  This doesn’t mean that it has to be a self-help book although there are some good ones out there.  It can be a fiction book with a happy ending or a novel or whatever you like to read.  Focus on this book until you feel your discouragement subside.
2. “You possess what you confess” – I seen this saying in an article and I think I like it.  Remember how I mentioned that when we gain we use the “muscle weighs more than fat” card even though we know it is more the junk we have been feeding our bodies?  This saying makes me think about that.  We have to stop with the excuses and confess to ourselves! Meaning be honest with yourself about what you are doing.
3. Revisit journaling!  As we progress on our journey we often start slipping on our journaling.  Or maybe you are keeping up with it but are just numb when you write it not really paying attention to the list.  Jump back to faithfully writing in a food journal. If you bite it write it!  If you are still doing this look back over it and you may find the culprit of the weight loss halt.
4. STRESS!  Stress is a major factor.  Are you overdoing it?  Is your life a bit hectic lately?  What can you do to release a bit of stress?  Take some time for yourself and let a little go.
5. Rest! – We lead very busy lifestyles and often don’t give our bodies the rest it needs.  Be sure to give yourself time to rest and recover.  A little TLC.

Cut the fuel to the fire, change the thoughts that are feeding the discouragement.  This brings to mind another favorite quote for me….

“Change your thoughts, change your world”

Competition

How do you feel about competition?  Ever notice that sometimes everything seems like a competition.  Some of my past topics have discussed comparing yourself to others and a younger you but something I tend to overlook is what effect does my competitiveness have on the people around me.  I don’t like to lose but then again who does?  I am talking more about the uninvited competition.  We all have that one acquaintance that is always one step ahead and makes damn sure you know about it.  Just like we all have that friend, I am sure at some point or another we are viewed as that person by others after all I wouldn’t think that people set out to torment a friend on a regular basis.  Often times the people we feel we are competing against don’t even realize their actions.

On this journey, I am talking about the person that just happens to be a size smaller than you and wants to hand down their fat clothes to you.  In some instances you might not give it much thought but in others it can completely torment you.  Imagine (or maybe you have experienced it too) handing a pair of jeans to a friend and saying: “here I bought these jeans but they are just WAY to big for me I thought maybe you could fit them” instantly I am offended.  So on the defense I try them on and can’t get them up let alone think about buttoning them.  Even though I am in the best shape I have ever been right now I feel like a beached whale and completely awful about myself.  Now imagine if you would have said, “I bought this pair of jeans that don’t fit would you like to try them?” You still have the same intentions but my self-esteem is still in tact whether they fit or not. 

Make sure you picture yourself on both ends of that scenario.  Does it make you feel better by knowing that you are that much smaller?  Or how about that the other person thinks of you as smaller but not really in a size aspect?  To me this whole thing is a self-esteem issue.  You feel great about your success and it makes it even better if you are more successful than anyone else.  Don’t try to deny it; it is the way of our society, ever heard of “keeping up with the Jones’? Who doesn’t want to be the Jones’?

But we have to remember you are the only one that can put a value on your self-esteem/self worth.  Meaning someone else does not set whether you are self worthy or not.  Only you decide that so the size difference only matters if you let it.  Obviously that is easier said than done.  On the flip side, consider how you are making others feel.  I am going to leave you with this question:

If you could climb Mt. Everest but could tell no one, would you still do it?

If you could wear a size 5 jeans but never mention it would you still be so worried about the number on the tag?