Think Nutrition! - Blog

The cholesterol and calorie myths BUSTED

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 14:38:06 GMT

Confused about health numbers, here’s some
help to sort them out:
1. Cholesterol as a marker of CVD (cardiovascular disease) isn’t a helpful indicator!

** 44 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of drug or dietary interventions to lower LDL-C in the primary and secondary prevention literature, which show no benefit on mortality[8]. Most of these trials did not reduce CVD events and several reported substantial harm. Yet, these studies have not received much publicity.

2. Calories are not the enemy, where calories come from matters most.

*** Current thinking about obesity and related diseases holds that quantifying calories is the principal concern and target for intervention. The basis for this directive is that consumed calories, regardless of their sources, are equivalent; i.e. ‘a calorie is a calorie’. Rather, a focus on the sources of those calories consumed (i.e. processed versus real food) and on the metabolic changes that result from consuming foods of different types needs to be addressed[26]. In particular, calorie-focused thinking is inherently biased against high-fat foods, many of which appear to be protective against obesity and the diseases of metabolic syndrome, and supportive of refined starch and sugar replacements, which are clearly detrimental, and exclusive of their calories and effects on weight gain[27],[28].

3. Monitor INSULIN RESISTANCE numbers to get a more accurate picture into chronic disease risk. Fasting blood glucose above 100 is problematic (below 85 is best) & A1c below 5.7% is the target.

People with insulin sensitivity have the lowest disease risk of all!

https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/news-and-analysis/opinion/insight/the-cholesterol-and-calorie-hypotheses-are-both-dead-it-is-time-to-focus-on-the-real-culprit-insulin-resistance/20203046.article

What's up with all this fasting talk?

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 14:01:19 GMT

I'm sure you're aware of all this new fasting research for longevity. What's the research saying about the benefits and who's most apt to benefit from occasional fasts?

1. It can increase mitochondrial health of each cell in your body. If we remember from way back in science class, our mitochondria is the power house of our cells. It's where a very important component for energy is produced called, ATP. Improved mitochondria=more energy. I think we all agree this is very beneficial in our demanding lifestyles we live.

2. It decreases overall inflammation throughout the body. To be honest, anyone living in the modern world has some degree of inflammation. This could help reduce chronic health disease risk, as well as increase longevity potential.

3. Fasting can help our microbiome, which are those great helpers that live throughout our digestive tracts helping to digest our food for energy, boosting our immune systems (70% of immunity is housed within our digestive traces), and making important vitamins such as vitamin k, b vitamins, and essential short-chain fatty acids that keep the integrity of our digestive system healthy.

4. Autophagy is increased. Autophagy is our bodies method of cleaning up dead cells that need to be destroyed for better health and function in all organs of the body.

The key to fasting is deciding a method that works for you and your lifestyle without much added stress. The most important thing to remember during a fast is that autophagy is stimulated by high fat, and very little protein. Staying well hydrated is very important to keep the body feeling well, while removing the compounds out that your body is trying to clean-up. I typically will do a 12 hour nightly fast, keeping my dinner 3 hours away from bedtime. 16:8 is another popular method, where you fast 16 hours and eat for 8 within a 24 hour cycle.

One product that makes fasting easy and my practice supports is Prolon, the 5 day fast-mimicking diet. This plan you can purchase from me and it takes the guess work out of it by giving you all the plant based nutrition you require to gain the above benefits mentioned without feeling deprived. If interested give me a call or shoot an e-mail to get started.

Those that should avoid fasting are those prone to or have a history of an eating disorder, pregnant or lactating mothers. Other than those groups, fast on and heal your body!

References:  https://prolonpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/a-revolution-is-coming-april-2018.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31218007
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31302001
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28918936

MIND diet, the new way of thinking sharper for a lifetime

Wed, 27 Jan 2016 16:38:21 GMT

Are you ever a little concerned for yourself or your loved ones in regards to Alzheimer's disease? or just general cognitive decline over the lifespan? I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be an inevitable fact of aging. There are specific actions you can embark on to protect your brain. Research is showing a diet similar to the mediterranean diet, titled the MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) can help you accomplish just that.

Here are the general guidelines for foods to include or avoid in the MIND diet:

It tends to be true that what benefits the heart, benefits our brains since they work off the same principles, a steady flow of oxygenated blood and specific nutrient requirements for optimal functioning. Since my expertise is in neuro-nutrition I would go a step further with this diet and add a few more principles to it:
1. Exercise, move, get going...the more blood flow to our brains the better you will think and feel.
2. Purchase organics when you are able to, many studies are showing correlation with pesticide residues in human bodies being linked with neuro decline over the age span. DDT, glyphosphates, and many others are showing a linkage.
3. Maintain steady blood sugar. Eating with whole foods in mind at each meal with carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats combinations. Diabetics are at a three-fold risk of cognitive impairment later in life and Alzheimer's has been called "type 3 diabetes" by several functional medicine practioner's as it seems failing neurons no longer respond appropriately to glucose, the brains main source of fuel.

Have questions, I'd love to hear from you. Please feel free to post a comment or e-mail.

1.Martha Clare Morris, Christy C. Tangney, Yamin Wang, Frank M. Sacks, David A. Bennett, Neelum T. Aggarwal. MIND diet associated with reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2015; DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.009
2. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/studies-link-ddt-other-environmental-toxins-to-late-onset-alzheimers-disease/
3. Messier C, Tsiakas M, Gagnon M, Desrochers A, Awad N. Effect of age and glucoregulation on cognitive performance. Neurobiol Aging 2003;24: 985-1003.
4. Barbieri M, Rizzo MR, Manzella D, et al. Glucose regulation and oxidative stress in healthy centenarians. Exp Gerontol 2003;38:137-43.

Think you can indulge in high sugar, refined food choices on weekends, think again?

Sat, 23 Jan 2016 14:45:42 GMT

In the journal of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research it has recently been reported, that eating healthy choices during the week and then indulging in some less than stellar food choices may in fact impact our health in the same manner as eating junk food consistently. Although this study involved subjects of the rat kind, it may be extrapolated to humans too. "The findings indicate that intermittent exposure to junk food three days a week is sufficient to extensively shift the gut microbiota towards the pattern seen in obese rats consuming the diet continuously," Professor Margaret Morris, the Head of Pharmacology at UNSW said (1).

The rats were given a diet of 3 choices for 16 weeks: 1. healthy diet 2. consistent diet of junk 3. cycled between the healthy diet with 4 days of this pattern, followed by 3 days of junk food diet. You may be wondering what happened?

Well the negative effects observed in the cycled diet to the gut flora were the same changes seen in an all junk food diet, which was very different than in the first group that maintained a health diet daily. Also, the less than stellar diet reduced the abundance of microbial species capable of metabolising flavonoids, which have been suggested to not only assist in weight loss but also exert neuro-protective functions within the brain. Lastly, the caloric intake of the cycled diet rats varied widely from those that maintained their healthy eating, by eating as much as 30% more energy.
What's the take home message on this: choose wisely, even on weekends and vacation trips, your GI health will thank you. The best way to do this is to make selections from nutrient dense food groups, even if craving something sweet or salty. For example, think about crunchy sea salt or curried baked garbanzo beans or sliced fruit topped with raspberry or lemon syrup.

Nadeem O. Kaakoush, Sarah I. Martire, Mukesh Raipuria, Hazel M. Mitchell, Shaun Nielsen, R. Fred Westbrook, Margaret J. Morris.Alternating or continuous exposure to cafeteria diet leads to similar shifts in gut microbiota compared to chow diet. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 2016; DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201500815

High-Fructose diet during teen years sets stress response for life

Sat, 29 Nov 2014 13:46:15 GMT

As promised I would start to discuss some of the recent research in the nutrition world. This one I found of particular interest since it’s during a life cycle period where there seems to be a lot of stress already, during adolescence. Neuro-Nutrition has been shown to be so important for our best thinking and therefore feeling as a result.

What if your teenager eating fast food and a highly processed diet was setting their long term mood thermostat? Well it appears, that might be what is actually occurring. Researchers from Emory University have discovered that mice fed a high-fructose diet during adolescence led to higher stress response leading to set the neuronal pathways for depression and anxiety. Yet, this same finding wasn’t evident in the adult mice fed the same high fructose diet. “It also stimulates neural pathways that affect how the brain responds to stress, which can have important behavioral effects, including the worsening of symptoms related to depression and anxiety. Such effects are of particular concern during the teen years, which is a critical time for the development of the brain's stress response, “as noted by lead author Constance Harrell of Emory University in Atlanta 1.

So what is a high fructose diet anyways you may ask? Fruits and vegetables naturally contain fructose, as does honey. Those foods most likely aren’t the issue. It’s more like this problematic list of high fructose sources:

·         High Fructose Corn Syrup

·         Agave Nectar

·         Processed foods containing adding sugars

·         Sugar-sweetened beverages

·         High Energy Drinks

Sources: 1. Emory Health Sciences. "High-fructose diet in adolescence may exacerbate depressive-like behavior." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 November 2014. .

Please enjoy Dr. Lustig's presentation on excess sugars and their effects on our kids. If you like this information and want help implementing these changes in your families diet contact us, Think Nutrition!

Pseudo Nacho Tostada's

Fri, 28 Nov 2014 23:23:45 GMT

This is what you call last minute dinner post-Thanksgiving feast. And yes, I do usually have pre-made pickled red onions ready to go in the fridge, so much flavor.

Looking for a post-Thanksgiving Fiesta style dinner? Well for some reason, I was. In a quick hurry scrounged through the fridge & pantry to find these items to make what I call the Pseudo Nacho Tostada.

Here are the simple ingredients and steps:
Step 1 Pickled red onions:
-1 red onion sliced
-2tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar
-2Tbsp. water
-1.5 tsp. brown sugar
-pinch of sea salt
Place sliced red onion in a collander and rinse with boiling water. Next add all ingredients together in a storage bowl or glass of choice and refrigerate overnight for flavor.

Final Bean Nacho/Tostada

Step 2:
Begin assembly of tostada's on baking sheet covered with parchment paper to save clean-up time. Lay each tostada shell out, swipe with 1-2Tbsp. refried beans (Amy's refried beans are what we used), next layer picked onion slices, fresh argula, and top with monterey jack cheese or Daiya cheddar cheese or jack if you require dairy free. Bake in oven until cheese is bubbly at 350 for approx 10 min. Top with dollop of guacamole and devour with pleasure.

Gluten free Pecan Pie

Wed, 26 Nov 2014 20:20:18 GMT

Pecan pie without CORN SYRUP you say! Yes, it's possible, delicious, and more traditional than its goopy corn cousin. I adapted the recipe from Whole Foods Market Classic Pecan Pie with a graham cracker crust I made up as I went along. As a testament to how good the pie is, hubby grabbed a slice before I could even take a picture, still hot. Here is the recipe quick & easy:
Crust:
-6Tbsp butter or coconut oil melted
-2/3 cup gluten free graham cracker crumbs
-2/3 cup gluten free bread crumbs (I used Katz gluten free bread crumbs)
-1/4 turbinado sugar or other unrefined sugar cane
For crust mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Using a springfoam 9' pan lined with parchment paper, press the crumb mixture into bottom and partly up the sides. Next onto the filling....
Pecan Filling:
-2 Tbsp butter or coconut oil
-3 organic eggs
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 cup organic maple syrup
-1/2 cup packed brown sugar
-1 1/2 cups pecans
Start by whisking the eggs until blended in a bowl. Whisk in syrup, sugar, vanilla, butter and salt next. Stir your pecans intothe egg/syrup mixture, then pour into prepared gramham cracker pie crust. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool before serving.

Enjoy! I know we will this Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving to you & your families from Think Nutrition.

Adzuki Bean Bowl

Thu, 20 Nov 2014 16:56:59 GMT

Fresh Arugula & Onion make this bowl delish!

All these Chipolte restaurants going up in our neighborhood make me crave a bean bowl with fresh veggies. Enter Adzuki bean bowl on a bed of fresh Jasmati rice.

-15oz. can of BPA free Adzuki beans
-Prepare 1 cup of rice of your choice with Organic chicken broth
-1 tsp. cumin
-1/2 tsp. paprika
-1/2tsp chili powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/2 cup diced white onion
2-cloves of garlic
1 cup fresh arugula leaves

Saute onion in saucepan for 5 min with garlic added last 2 min. Add beans & all spices into the saucepan over low heat. Remove from stove, add Arugula immediately to wilt slightly. Serve bean/veg mixture over your rice & enjoy your Chipolte-esque quick bean bowl.

Zucchini Noodles a la' artichoke bruschetta & toasted walnuts

Fri, 31 Oct 2014 16:34:36 GMT

From my heart to yours

Lunch in a flash....Have no worries the spiralizer is here. I tried zucchini noodles today topped with:

Store bought Artichoke Brushetta
2 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 Tbsp. Organic olive oil
1Tbsp Coconut oil Herb Garlic butter for a lovely topping

Saute the noodles by themselves for 2 minutes in the olive oil, add the remaining ingredients (except Coconut oil Herb Garlic Butter) continue to cook for 2-4 additional minutes to desired al' dente texture. Remove from pan, serve with dollop of herb butter.