News and Rants (slightly informative)

Spring has arrived, bringing with it the promise of warm weather to come. You know what happens when the weather warms up? People put on bathing suits. Are you ready to bare it all on the beach? If not, no worries, there is still time. Follow these 12 steps to get your abs beach ready: Step One: Do Some Burpees.  Can burpees really help flatten your abs? You bet. Incorporate a few minutes of burpees into your workouts to burn extra calories and tighten your core. Here's how to do a burpee: 1) Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. 2) Drop to a squat with your hands on the ground. 3) Kick feet back while lowering into a push-up. 4) Return to the squat position. 5) Jump up with arms overhead. Step Two: Reduce Sodium.  Did you know that salt causes water retention? Puffy skin is not going to make your abs look great in a bathing suit! Take the time to pay attention to the sodium content of your food. Limit salt intake by not eating packaged foods and by putti...

Hey now, With the Holiday season in full swing here are my thoughts on what's happening around you. Remember if you don't know what happened before you, you don't know what's happening around you. "Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb." - Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Churchill was not just known for his years as a  leader he also had a  healthy appetite and a wonderful sense of humor. In most of his quotes, there is a tinge of truth mixed with a bit of that English dry sense of humor. For this reason, they hit you right between the eyes, yet retains a subtle gentleness that does not offend anyone. If you look at this in the context of a good diet, you see how it isn’t something with a beginning...

You knew there was a bit of an over-emphasis (borderlining obsession) about cholesterol, right? Before we jump into some myths let's make sure we're on the same page when it comes to what exactly cholesterol is. Myth #1: “Cholesterol” is cholesterol While cholesterol is an actual molecule that it is bound to while it's floating through your blood is what's more important than just how much of it there is overall.   In fact, depending on what it's combined with can have opposite effects on your arteries and heart.   Yes, the opposite! So cholesterol is just one component of a compound that floats around your blood.   These compounds contain cholesterol as well as fats and special proteins called “lipoproteins”.   They're grouped into two main categories: ●      HDL: High-Density Lipoprotein (AKA “good” cholesterol) that “cleans up” some of those infamous “arterial plaques” and transports cholesterol back to the l...

How to Read the New Nutrition Facts Tables The Nutrition Facts table is on the side of most packaged foods. It’s often found close to the ingredient listing. The purpose of it is to help consumers make better nutrition decisions. When people can see the number of calories, carbs, sodium, etc. in food, they should be able to eat better, right? Whether you like the Nutrition Facts table or not, let’s make sure you get the most out of it, since it’s here to stay! Here’s my four-step crash course on reading the Nutrition Facts table. Step 1: Serving Size The absolute most important part of the Nutrition Facts table is to note the serving size. Manufacturers often strategically choose the serving size to make the rest of the table look good. Small serving = small calories/fat/carbs. So, it's tricky. All the information in the table rests on the amount chosen as the serving size. And, since every manufacturer chooses their own, it’s often difficult to compa...

Migraine headaches can be terrible. The pain, vision problems (including aura), nausea, etc. can be debilitating; especially if they stick around for hours or even days. Migraines affect about 15% of adults, so they’re fairly common. And, while the exact cause is not known , there are lots of known triggers. Many foods and drinks are common triggers of migraines. You may have noticed certain foods, and drinks trigger your migraines. Sometimes the migraine comes on within an hour of the food/drink. Other times it may happen several hours, up to a day later. Avoiding these triggers can help. One of the main ways these foods and drinks trigger migraines is by their action on the blood vessels in the brain. When the brain's blood vessels constrict and then dilate (widen), this seems to cause migraines. Many of the foods I'm listing below affect the constriction and dilation of blood vessels during a migraine If you or someone you care about suffers from migraines,...

Salt: The Delicious Health-Buster (And What to Use Instead) Yes, there are lots of different kinds of salt: pink, iodized, kosher, sea, etc. They come from salt mines in the ground, or from evaporating the water out of salt water. What they all have in common is that infamous mineral that I’m going to talk about below: sodium. In food, salt is used for both flavor, and as a preservative. Salt helps to preserve food by drawing out the water that bacteria and mold need to grow. Hence, preserving the food from spoiling as quickly. Would you be surprised to know that 75% of our salt intake comes not from the salt shaker? It comes from processed foods. Snacks like chips, pretzels and salted nuts are included here. But so are canned foods, pickled foods, boxed foods, deli meats, restaurant food, and fast food. Salt vs. Sodium Salt is actually "sodium chloride." It's about 40% sodium and 60% chloride; this means that one teaspoon of salt (5,000 mg) con...

Multivitamins are exactly what they sound like: multi ple vitamins . They're supplements that contain several different vitamins in each one. They can also contain several minerals and other ingredients like amino acids or fatty acids. And because there are multiple ingredients, there are low doses of each ingredient. In fact, they are the most commonly used supplements in the world! There are 13 vitamins and at least 16 minerals that are essential to health. You need certain amounts of all of these nutrients for optimal health. In fact, nutrient deficiencies can impact reproduction, growth, and regulation of bodily processes. Lots of people say that if you follow a "balanced diet," you'll get enough vitamins and minerals. I personally would love to believe it … but it's just not true. Many people are eating way too much-processed food that is devoid of nutrition. There's a lot of research that shows many people don't get enough vitami...

Weight loss advice is so common (and contentious) now. There are competing opinions everywhere. I say, forget about "who's right" and let's focus on "what's right." Because what gets results is what I'm focusing on in this post. I respect you too much to make empty promises and try to sell you on something that doesn’t work. There are too many weight loss myths out there. I’m going to tackle the top ones I come across in my practice. Myth: Calories cause weight gain, and fewer calories are the path to weight loss Calories are important for weight loss. If you eat and absorb a ton more than you use, then your body’s wisdom will store some for later. Calories matter. But, they are not the “be-all and end-all" of weight loss; they're important, but they're the symptom, not the cause. Let's think about the reasons people eat more calories. Let's focus on the causes. People eat too many calories, not because they'r...