Carbohydrates and total energy in various foods March 28, 2009

Carbohydrate needs increase for active people. Athletes should consume 55-60% of their total energy as carbohydrates. Consuming carbohydrates with in the first few hours of recovery can maximize carbohydrate storage rates.

Good sources include: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, 100% fruit juices (with no added sugar) and whole grain cereals.

 

Here is a chart below that includes carbohydrates and their total energy:

 

Food	Serving Size	Carbohydrate (g)	Energy from Carbohydrate (%)	Total Energy (kcal)
apple sauce	1 cup	50	97%	207
large apple	1 each	50	82%	248
whole wheat bread	1 oz slice	50	71%	282
brown rice-cooked	1 cup	100	88%	450
spaghetti- cooked	1 cup	50	75%	268
grape nuts cereal	1/2 cup	100	84%	473
mixed vegetables	1/2 cup	100	88%	450

Staying Healthy on a Budget March 12, 2009

Today everyone’s budgets are tight! Just because your budget it tight doesn’t mean you can’t eat healthy. Fruits and vegetables are typically more expensive than a box of mac and cheese, but it is important to still maintain your health in these tough times.

 

Here are a few tips in eating healthy on a tight budget:

 

-          Cut coupons from your Sunday newspaper

-          Buy fruits and vegetables at your local farmer’s market. They are cheaper and the money goes directly to the seller vs. the middleman when you buy it at the grocery store. Also majority of farmer’s market products are organic.

-          Next time you are out do some price checking. Buying in bulk doesn’t necessarily mean it is cheaper. I have compared prices with Costco and Target and I find that Target is generally cheaper (especially when I use the coupons I cut from the Sunday newspaper).

-          Bring your lunch to work/school. It is healthier, you know where you food came from and can save you up to $25 a week!

-          If you go out to eat, order water instead of soda. Water will help you metabolize food faster and carry nutrients to your cells.

-          Send an email to Amy’s Kitchen (http://www.amyskitchen.com/lemonslice/dear_amy/send_letter.php )stating you would like some coupons. You will get an email requesting your address to where they can send the coupons. (I just got mine yesterday!!)

-          Carry a snack with you if you are on the road a lot (bora bora bars, lara bars, nuts, peanut butter and jelly, raisins all travel well)—this works well too if you have kids.

-          Always carry a bottle of water with you. Better to stay hydrated throughout the day and it will help you to stay full and not over eat.

-          Look at your local grocery paper weekly for what is on sale. Try to buy products that are on sale as often as you can. This can save you a lot in the long run.

 

 

Healthier foods (whole wheat bread, fruits, vegetables) may be more expensive, but they will keep you fuller longer.  Eating healthy and saving money might require a bit of foot work, but it is worth it and your wallet will thank you!

 

Lastly, a friend recommend this site to me and I thought I would pass it along. The site is called Tip Jar: http://moderator.appspot.com/#16/e=3cfc

Cookies vs. Bananas and Strawberries February 19, 2009

When we eat, we want to choose foods that are high in nutrient density. This means eating the foods that give you the highest amount of nutrients for the least amount of energy (calories). Assume we had 3 cookies in one bowl and a banana and strawberries in another bowl and each bowl consisted of 150 calories. As you might conclude the bananas and strawberries are far more nutrient dense and supplies us with more nourishment per calorie.

 I believe eating more nutrient dense foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, brown rice…) is a better way to live. If we were to eat 2000 calories a day and it was filled with fast food, soda and candy we are going to be overweight and unhealthy. If we were to eat 2000 calories consisting of whole grains, fruits and vegetable, we would be healthier and have more energy. Some might think calories are just calories, but they aren’t. Sugar, fast food and processed products don’t offer any real nutrition leaving us tired and hungry for more. Eating fruits, vegetable and whole grains we are more likely to have more energy and feel fuller longer.

I challenge you for one week to take all the processed foods out of your life and eat more nutrient dense foods. Take note of how you feel and how much energy you have.

Nutrition… Before You Exercise February 17, 2009

Do you often wonder what you should eat before a workout? It isn’t necessarily what you eat before a workout that is so important rather than what you ate the few days prior to working out. It is important to keep your body fueled on an on going basis. Therefore, what you eat just before a workout isn’t as important as what you ate the few days prior to a long run, bike ride or hike, but is still important.

 

With all that said, there are three levels of intensity:

-         High intensity, shorter time; activity usually lasts an hour or less (2-5 mile run, intense workout at the gym, tennis, hockey)

-         Moderate intensity, moderate time; any activity that last between 1-3 hours long (half marathon, marathon, intense cycling or hiking)

-         Low intensity, longer time; anything that last longer than 3 hours (long walk, bike ride, ironman events)

 

The most important factor in eating before exercise is to make sure what you are eating is easily digestible.

For a high intensity workout it is best to fuel your body with simple carbohydrate (fruits, dates) because once you eat them they go straight to the liver for immediate energy.

For a moderate workout it is good to fuel your body with about 5% protein, 35% fat and 60% carbohydrate. A good example would be a lara bar and some apple sauce.

For a low intensity workout it is important to be more balanced and eat something that is more along the range of 10% protein, 70% fat and 20% carbohydrates. An example would be 100% whole wheat pancakes with flax seed old and a banana.

 

As you can see the first thing our body wants during an intense work out is simple carbohydrates and once that is depleted, it moves on to complex carbohydrates.

A lil note on protein:

Some people think protein is good just before a intense work out, but what they don’t know is that too much protein requires more fluid to be metabolized than carbohydrates or fat, therefore, many people suffer from muscle cramping. More so if they aren’t hydrating daily. Protein is also meant for building muscle rather than fueling it.

Keeping hydrated daily will also decrease the amount of stress that is placed on the body, which will allow the body to work harder and perform better and usually requires less recovery time.

 

Side Note: I usually try to keep these posts short and sweet and this one just got out of hand. I hope it kept your interest and maybe you learned a thing or two. Again, you have to find what works for you, but hopefully you can use this as a mini guideline.

Food for the liver January 15, 2009

With all the junk we eat these days our liver gets overtaxed. Our liver is suppose to extract all the fat soluble toxins that our kidneys can not handle. When we eat a lot of processed food (fast food, chips, cookies, cakes, frozen meals) our liver gets over worked and isn’t able to extract the toxins from the body, therefore, the fat stores within its own tissue.

 

Below are a few liver supporting foods that we should add to our daily diets:

 

-         kidney beans

-         raw almonds

-         peas

-         soybeans

-         raw salads with fresh vegetables

-         fruits

-         leafy green vegetables

 

Next time it is 2pm in the afternoon and you want to reach for that mid afternoon snack reach for some raw almonds or some fresh fruit and a large glass of water. Water is also known to flush out toxins and cleanse the liver. Enjoy!!

Anti-Inflammatory Foods January 13, 2009

My friends bother was talking about doing an anti-inflammatory diet and that sparked the idea of this blog post! I am hoping he will blog about his experience!

 

Did you know that certain foods can decrease inflammation? Cherries are often known to ease inflammation as well as the seasoning turmeric. According to the University of Arizona turmeric may help prevent rheumatoid arthritis. Omega 3 is also known to greatly decrease inflammation. Omega 3 can be found in salmon, flax seeds and walnuts. Also the best vegetable juice to reduce inflammation is cucumber and celery.

 

Obviously, if there are foods that can reduce inflammation there are certainly foods that contribute to inflammation. Want to take a wild guess at what foods are “pro” inflammation? If you guessed sugar, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages you are right! Red meat is also a big contributor to inflammation as well as white flour, eggs, fried foods and vegetable oils like corn and soybean oil.

 

It is so easy to fall in to the “quick” meals and processed food life style, but we are what we eat. Everything we eat is going to affect our body in one what or another whether it is now or later in life. I encourage you to eat more fruits and vegetables and limit or eliminate all processed foods from your diet. Your body will thank you!

Carbohydrates December 30, 2008

Now a days people are always trying to watch their carb intake. What you need to know is that we need to eat carbs to keep our body functioning. We are required to eat at least 130 grams of carbs a day just to supply energy to our nerve cells, including those of the brain. Instead of cutting carbs out of our diet we need to take out the bad carbs and add more good carbs to our diet. Examples of good carbs would be: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, brown rice and sweet potatoes.  Examples of bad carbs would be refined sugar, sodas, white breads and white pastas.

We should realize that carbs don’t make us fat… it is all the sugar and all the processed foods that make us fat.

Cutting carbs greatly reduces our nutrient intake.  People may lose weight on these low carb/no carb diets, but it is not a healthy way to lose weight.  Not to mention when you don’t have enough carbs you get irritable and shaky. Who wants to feel that way?!

When we consume enough good carbs it helps prevent the production of ketones as an alternative energy source. Excessive ketones can result in high blood acidity and ketoacidosis, which alters basic body functions and damages tissue.

People are always looking for that quick fix and to tell you the truth there is no quick fix and there will probably never been one. The best thing you can do is change your eating habits and exercise daily to keep healthy.

Remember you can never go wrong with too many fruits, vegetables and whole grains in your diet.