The other day, as I was presenting my one-minute commercial about my mind/body work to a networking group,  I realized how many people just flat don’t know what I’m about to tell you.  First, remember that no matter what life throws at you, it’s your response that makes the difference.  What you choose to do with the challenge makes all the difference.

So if you are challenged, what’s the first thing you should do?

Take a deep breath.  Not just any old gut-sucking-in breath–a breath through your nose.  A very deep breath through your nose.  Try it.  Right now.  You’ll notice how it slows everything down–your respiration rate, your heart rate, your thoughts–that’s because the steady stream of air passing over the nerves in your nasal passages sends the message to your brain that everything is fine.  Relaxation hormones are recruited and released by your brain.  You feel better.  Calmer.

You can think.

If you instead respond to a challenge by breathing rapidly and feeling panicky, your brain gets the message that something’s wrong, and slips into reptilian mode:  fight or flight.  Cortisol surges, your heart rate increases, you breathe even more quickly, and there you are, with an entire battalion of hormones at the ready and racing into your blood stream, but you are stuck in your chair.  Result?  Stress.  Stress is just a body flooded with these hormones with no where to go.  That’s toxic.

So next time life throws you a challenge, remember, take a deeeeeep breath through your nose.  And exhale slowly.  And fully.

It will change your life.

Besides walking around in your house.  Unless you’ve been to the beach lately, I bet you don’t remember.

Do yourself a favor—no—do your feet a favor, and kick off your shoes.  Make your feet do the job they are so marvelously designed for:   supporting your body weight.

That’s why one quarter–that’s 1/4–of all the bones in your body are in your feet.

Have issues with plantar fasciitis or your achilles tendons?  Walk barefoot more often.  Let those bones and their accompanying ligaments and tendons and tissues work together, balancing their efforts with each step.   They need to move freely in order to move  you–efficiently and safely.

Check out the history and science of feet wrapped–and unwrapped–in one great adventure story.  Read the book, Born to Run.   Barefoot, of course.

Well, in a word, YES.

We only need about 500mg (a 1/4 teaspoon) a day to keep our fluids balanced, and our muscles twitching properly.  The American Heart Association recommends eating less than 2300 mg per day–that’s about a teaspoonful.

Anyone surprised?

Many health experts consider high dietary sodium levels to be one of the nation’s top health threats.  Dr. Stephen Havas, Adjunct Professor of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, says that reducing the sodium content of packaged and restaurant foods by half would save at least 150,000 lives per year.

How?  Well, according to the American Heart Association, at least 70% of the sodium in the average American diet is coming from the food itself, not from a salt shaker. When American meals are prepared in food factories instead of family kitchens, salt is used in liberal and sometimes dangerous proportions.  In a report released in March, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that more than 130 million Americans are consuming too much salt and putting themselves at risk for serious illnesses.

Ever grab a quick meal at Chili’s or Denny’s or Olive Garden or Red Lobster?

Perhaps the “Guiltless Chicken Sandwich” on the menu at Chili’s restaurant?  Although it only has 490 calories and 8 grams of fat, it also has a whopping 2,720 milligrams of salt, which is more than is recommended for an entire day.   So much for guiltless…

Just so you don’t think I’m picking on Chili’s, Red Lobster, Denny’s, and Olive Garden serve food that has four days worth of sodium in a single meal.   And we haven’t even looked at the frozen entrees we find at the supermarket.

“As a physician, I have grave concerns about these sodium levels, and grave concerns about an elderly person or someone with hypertension eating even one such meal,” Havas said. “The body can have a hard time getting rid of that much salt, potentially leading to fluid retention and accumulation in the lungs. Consuming that much sodium can have severe consequences.”

Remember our lesson on label reading?  Well, pull it up and re-read it.  You are going to need to look at sodium content, because even  if you’re not eating out, and not salting your food at the table, you may still be getting way too much salt from the packaged and processed foods in your pantry.  Canned vegetables, boxes of crackers, cereal–if you start looking for it, I guarantee you will be shocked where you find it.

In this country, it’s a major source of flavor–especially on what I call dead food.  Salt is a very sharp, strong flavor, and often it completely masks any other flavors in our food.  So it can be very difficult for people to stop using it.  Foods will seem bland.  You’ll have to be patient.  It takes a week or two for your palate to adjust.  Taste buds that haven’t been needed for years will have to re-acquaint themselves with the subtle flavors of fruits and vegetables and  other spices.  (The same holds true for sugar.  It is a strong, sharp flavor, hence its dominance–and it’s cheap, especially in the form of corn syrup, hence its prevalence.)

So, this is all to say, watch your sodium intake.  Read the labels.  Buy unsalted.  And don’t be surprised if you have trouble at first.   Just try to eat as close to clean (unprocessed) as possible, and give it time.
You’re worth it.

You’ve heard a lot about health care these past weeks, but I bet you haven’t heard this.

I was listening to an interview of Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and when asked if he had any thoughts about the health care system, he quickly responded by saying he had one thing to propose. “We should pass one law,” he said. “We should make it the law that insurance companies must insure pre-existing conditions.”

What a fabulous idea! Think about it. Currently, if you change jobs, and change insurance companies, but you had recently been diagnosed with Type II diabetes, your new insurance company won’t have anything to do with you. But if they were forced to take over the expense of caring for you, I bet they would suddenly become very interested in preventing what is a very preventable disease.

Right now, we reward people for destructive behavior. The deal is, smoke cigarettes, eat horribly, stop moving, and in 15 or 20 years, when the sludge and muck in your body brings on its premature decline, doctors and insurance companies will work hand-in -hand to put you on what I call life-support for the next 20 or 30 years– prescription meds, surgery, parts replacement, and whatever else science comes up with– until you die. And who pays for that? We do. That’s the theory of insurance. Spread that risk out as thinly as possible.

Problem is, two things:   1.  too many people are now at risk, and  2.  these drugs and treatments and surgeries are extremely expensive and show no signs of becoming more affordable. They do not follow the law of supply and demand. In this country, the demand increases by double digits each year–and so does the cost.

But if we change this one thing–no more exclusions–everything shifts. The repercussions just don’t stop. Really.

First, consider that type II diabetes and much heart disease and many, if not most, cancers are preventable–by doing the right things.

So, imagine if we were being asked by our doctors–dare I say prescribed?–to exercise and move our bodies? And get massages? And find physical strength and balance? And our insurance covered it?  We’d all RUN to a fitness facility.

And we would be out meeting people we don’t ordinarily see. Our social fabric would expand and strengthen. Entire wellness industries would thrive. Children would be taught to make good choices. We’d have alert bus drivers and pilots, air traffic controllers, construction workers, teachers. People would function on all cylinders. And that’s only half of the equation.

We’d also have to clean up our food supply, because nutrition is crucial to good health. That would require lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, picked when ripe, processed and transported minimally–which means a return to smaller farms and local eating–a movement that’s already begun.   Of course, that doesn’t work everywhere, but for as much as it does, it adds up to a profound impact on our diets.  And our soils.  If we return to smaller, more diversified farms we don’t need to use petro-chemicals on our crops and animals, all of which end up in our water supply and our ocean sea life, and us. The Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico, today the size of Rhode Island, might actually rebound.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

One small change.  One enormous impact. Like so many things I’ve written about this year. I think this is the best health care plan out there.

What do you think?

Are you as sick of the carb debate as I am?

Let’s get straight to the heart of it:  what are carbs anyway, and why should we care?

Here’s a definition straight from my personal trainer textbook, so it’s simple enough for gym rats, ie, muscle-heads (not me, of course….), to understand:  “Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy….Glucose, the end result of carbohydrate digestion, is essential in maintaining the functional integrity of nerve tissue, directs the rest of your body’s maintenance, and IS THE SOLE SOURCE OF ENERGY FOR THE BRAIN under normal circumstances.”

That’s why we care about carbs.

You need to know there are 2 types of carbs:  simple and complex.  Of course you should eat mostly complex.  That’s why I encourage you to take all the refined foods out of your diet.  Eat whole grains.  Whole fruits.  Whole vegetables.  Those are complex.

When you live mainly (50% daily calories) on simple carbs like most Americans, and mostly from these 8 sources:  soft drinks; cake/doughnuts/pastries/pizza; potato chips; popcorn; white rice and breads; beer; and french fries, that’s high carbohydrate/low nutrition food.  So you get calories to burn, but no phyto-nutrients, no vitamins, no minerals, no fiber, no long-term fuels and amino acids for maintenance and repair.  And you don’t feel full for very long.  Your body is constantly asking for a fix, because it burns right through that simple stuff.

On the other hand, if you limit your carbs (think diet-in-a-book) like the all-protein-have-your -steak-and-put-butter-on-it-too-plan, your body will use protein for fuel (it’s not stupid.   No carb fuel?  Substitute!) which will seriously compromise your ability to build and maintain tissue.  If you do it long enough, you’ll develop something called ketosis—a potentially fatal condition–because you can’t break down fat.

So keep it simple.  Eat as many fruits and vegetables as you can.  Think of a serving size as a handful.  Mix it up.  Raw is great.  Steamed is fine.  Eat some nuts, too.  Every day.  And keep in mind that a glass of orange juice is nice, but it’s concentrated, so you’re getting more calories than just eating an orange, and you’re getting NONE of the fiber, the phytonutrients, the amino acids that you get from the piece of fruit.

When you put a grain into your mouth, make it a whole one.  Be sure to check the label on everything processed for trans-fats….it’s still legal to sneak them in there.

With all that in mind, I say:  Carb-ON!

Finally, the last word on label-reading!

We have to look at a few more things.  WARNING:  here comes the math….

Start with carbs.  When we read the carbohydrate data, remember that 1 gm of carbohydrates equals 4 calories.  You need to figure out how many calories you’re getting from the carbohydrates in this item.  If your daily goal is 1700-2100 calories, you’ll want to spread those carbs out during the day.  And if it’s all sugar–especially if it’s corn syrup in one form or another–consider putting it back!

And while you’re looking at the carbs, notice the dietary fiber info listed there.  You want to shoot for 20-30 gms of fiber per day.  Or 14 gm per 1000 calories.  Whichever is mathematically easier.  This is an important number.

The next thing to look at is protein which is given in grams.  You need about 0.8gm per kg of your body weight.  Because one kilogram equals 2.2 lbs, if you weigh 154lbs, you weigh about 70 kg, so you need about 56 gms of protein (or a bit less than 2 ounces).  More if you are working out.  Keep in mind that protein takes many forms, not just animal.  You get it from grains, legumes, seafood.

And finally, let’s look at fat.  It is also given to you in grams.  Remember that 1 gram of fat equals 9 calories, and you want 25-30% of your daily total caloric intake to be fat.  Let me say this clearly:  NO TRANS FATS.  Even if it says zero, be sure to read the ingredient list to be certain you do not see partially hydrogenated anything.  The majority of your fat should come from vegetable sources.  Fish is fine.  And very little animal fat.  If it’s liquid at room temperature, it’s ok.  But don’t scrimp on fat.  Your body needs it.  So eat it, and make it top quality.

While this labeling system is supposed to be helpful, it seems anything but.  It’s not even successful at keeping the food processors honest–watch out for the fake serving size.  You have to be on top of your nutrition game.  If you use that entire packet of salad dressing you got at the drive-through, are you actually eating 2.5 servings?  Is the serving size for the cereal realistic?

My advice and my practice is to eat as many foods in their original form as possible.  Keep the ingredient list short and sweet.  Think about the recipes your grandmother or great-grandmother used before foods became industrially whitened and denatured.  The ingredients in the package are listed in descending order with the ingredient in the largest quantity listed first.  Look for “whole” grains on the ingredient list and you’ll automatically get more fiber and protein.  And if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it.

Really, I do everything I can to avoid reading labels.  Every morning, I pack food to take to my studio:  a sandwich including lettuce, spinach, tomatoes (unless it’s pb&j) on whole grain something, a banana, apple, grapes, carrots, celery–whatever raw fruits and veggies I have on hand–and I then munch this food all morning.  And I don’t have to read anything.  Easy.  Simple.  Real food.  No calculator necessary!

We haven’t even talked about the percentage column….do we really want to go there?  How about instead, we focus on eating as many raw fruits and veggies–organic when possible–as we can every single day.  Seems like a good trade–eating all the phyto-nutrients and enzymes that we possibly can instead of doing that math…

I’m going to leave it at that.  If you want to know all about the percentage of daily intake, let me know.  Meanwhile, I’ve got some grapes to eat here…

Reprieve– no math today.  Well, a little–just a look at proportions.

Since we’re reading the ingredient list looking for trans-fats, let’s stay there for a moment.

Notice the list of ingredients on anything you intend to put into your body.  Ingredients are listed here in order of quantity, and the order is descending.  So the first thing on the list is the largest quantity of the ingredients.  That may mean the little cracker you want to eat with your cheese is made mostly of sugar or white flour.

Speaking of flour, if it says “wheat flour” that is not the same as “whole wheat flour.”  The simple “wheat flour”–which companies are eager to promote–is actually refined, nutrition-deficient powder that’s at the root of many illnesses.  It should say “formerly wheat flour.”  It delivers calories, but not much else.

So what you want to look for is “whole wheat” or some other whole grain ingredient.  This single word–whole–is what provides the actual nutrition.  It means you’re eating the husk and all the micro-nutrients that the plant worked so hard to create.   If it’s not “whole” wheat, it’s wheat’s ghost, which like any poltergeist, looks like something but is actually nothing.  No phytonutrients,  no fiber, no vitamins, very little protein–calories, but no nutrition.   And now that you’re reading labels and looking for top quality foods, that’s unacceptable.

If we are going to watch what we eat, we are going to need to learn to read the nutrition label on food packages.  I know.  I hear the moans.  You’re moaning with good reason.  Turns out, those labels aren’t always completely honest, and we will need to do some math.

And rather than explain every line, I will touch on the 5 or 6 most important things to know, this week and next.

First, notice that the labels contain 2 kinds of information.  First, it tells you general information in the footnote on the bottom.  And second, it gives you information specific to the item, including serving size, calories, and grams of each component listed.

So let’s talk about serving size first.  Do you actually use only 2 tablespoons of salad dresssing on the salad you pulled from a fast food window?  Do you know what 2 tablespoons of dressing looks like?  Usually, the dressing package holds 2.5 SERVINGS of dressing.  So if you’ve squeezed the entire package on the salad, and patted yourself on the back for choosing a salad, there’s a good chance you’ve consumed somewhere around 600 extra calories by eating that salad with all the dressing.  And we haven’t even begun to discuss the dressing’s ingredients.

But perhaps the most important thing to know about the serving size is since the FDA has mandated disclosure of Trans-fats on food labels–it must be reported if it totals more than 0.5gms per serving–some clever manufacturers are reducing the serving size to keep the gms/serving just below 0.5gms.

This means you must pay close attention to serving sizes because the last thing you want to ingest is trans fats.  If you put a dish of trans fats on your deck, no animal will eat it, and six months from now, it will not have changed.  That stability is what makes hydrogenated fats so attractive to food manufacturers who need products that can sit on warehouse shelves for weeks–perhaps months–without deteriorating.

Ok.  This might take more than two installments.  But it’s extremely important to be able to read these labels, so for the couple of few weeks, we’ll take a close look.

Everyone’s heard by now that we need to add anti-oxidants to our diets.  Especially since we’ve all been exercising and moving more!

Here’s a very easy, very summery way to do this.
Brew ice tea.
Wait–I know–you haven’t time.  But what if I told you it’s possible to do this without boiling the water, waiting for it to cool, and then diluting it with ice?

Try this:  before you go to bed tonight, take a glass pitcher, fill it with about 1 1/2 – 2 quarts of filtered, room temperature water.  Add about 2 tablespoons of loose tea or a few tea bags which add up to approximately 2 tablespoons.  Stir.  Put it into the refrigerator.  Go to bed.

In the morning, remove the pitcher, strain, and enjoy!  I’m really lazy, so I only strain it into the glass as I use it, rather than strain the entire pitcher every morning.  So far, no harm done.

This works with virtually any tea or infusion.  This week, I’ve made jasmine, green, ceylon, mint, and a ceylon/mint blend.  The tea is smooth and refreshing, very different from the hot brewed flavor.

Try it!  And let me know how you like it.

Today, we’re reading food labels.

WARNING:  here comes the math….

Start with carbs.  When we read the carbohydrate data, remember that 1 gm of carbohydrates equals 4 calories.  You need to figure out how many calories you’re getting from the carbohydrates in this item.  If your daily goal is 1700-2100 calories, you’ll want to spread those carbs out during the day.  And if it’s all sugar–especially if it’s corn syrup in one form or another–consider putting it back!

And while you’re looking at the carbs, notice the dietary fiber info listed there.  You want to shoot for 20-30 gms of fiber per day.  Or 14 gm per 1000 calories.  Whichever is mathematically easier.  This is an important number.

The next thing to look at is protein which is given in grams.  You need about 0.8gm per kg of your body weight.  Because one kilogram equals 2.2 lbs, if you weigh 154lbs, you weigh about 70 kg, so you need about 56 gms of protein (or a bit less than 2 ounces).  More if you are working out.  Keep in mind that protein takes many forms, not just animal.  You get it from grains, legumes, seafood.

And finally, let’s look at fat.  It is also given to you in grams.  Remember that 1 gram of fat equals 9 calories, and you want 25-30% of your daily total caloric intake to be fat.  Let me say this clearly:  NO TRANS FATS.  Even if it says zero, be sure to read the ingredient list to be certain you do not see partially hydrogenated anything.  The majority of your fat should come from vegetable sources.  Fish is fine.  And very little animal fat.  If it’s liquid at room temperature, it’s ok.  But don’t scrimp on fat.  Your body needs it.  So eat it, and make it top quality.

While this labeling system is supposed to be helpful, it seems anything but.  It’s not even successful at keeping the food processors honest–watch out for the fake serving size.  You have to be on top of your nutrition game.  If you use that entire packet of salad dressing you got at the drive-through, are you actually eating 2.5 servings?  Is the serving size for the cereal realistic?

My advice and my practice is to eat as many foods in their original form as possible.  Keep the ingredient list short and sweet.  Think about the recipes your grandmother or great-grandmother used before foods became industrially whitened and denatured.  The ingredients in the package are listed in descending order with the ingredient in the largest quantity listed first.  Look for “whole” grains on the ingredient list and you’ll automatically get more fiber and protein.  And if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it.

Really, I do everything I can to avoid reading labels.  Every morning, I pack food to take to my studio:  a sandwich including lettuce, spinach, tomatoes (unless it’s pb&j) on whole grain something, a banana, apple, grapes, carrots, celery–whatever raw fruits and veggies I have on hand–and I then munch this food all morning.  And I don’t have to read anything.  Easy.  Simple.  Real food.  No calculator necessary!

We haven’t even talked about the percentage column….do we really want to go there?  How about instead, we focus on eating as many raw fruits and veggies–organic when possible–as we can every single day.  Seems like a good trade–eating all the phytonutrients and enzymes that we possibly can instead of doing that math…

I’m going to leave it at that.  If you want to know all about the percentage of daily intake, let me know.  Meanwhile, I’ve got some grapes to eat here…