Movie Review

'Food Matters' is a controversial documentary about the role of nutrition in healing disease and achieving and maintaining health. This film looks at the state of health care today, our over-reliance on medications, treating symptoms rather than curing disease and the financial reasons for this system.

"'Food Matters' is a hard hitting, fast paced look at our current state of health. Despite the billions of dollars of funding and research into new so-called cures we continue to suffer from a raft of chronic ills and every day maladies."

"‘Food Matters' seeks to uncover the business of disease and at the same time explore the safe, cheap and effective use of nutrition and supplementation for preventing and often reversing the underlying causative aspects of the illness."

Some of the suggestions in this film some may find rather extreme, and I'm not ready to accept that megadoses of vitamin C are the cure for cancer, but I do believe that our poor nutritional status as a society is at the helm of the chronic disease epidemic that surrounds us. And the fact is, research dollars are mainly going towards more drugs instead of nutrition and lifestyle because healthy people aren't profitable for drug companies. This film is definately worth a watch... http://www.foodmatters.tv/

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Save Energy with "Meatless Monday"

For those of you who could never be a full-time vegetarian, going vegetarian for even one or two meals per week can have a positive impact on your health, grocery bill and the environment.

By decreasing the amount of meat in your diet, you can reduce your cholesterol and saturated fat intake and take a slice out of your grocery bill. As an added bonus, you’ll be “eating green”.

Did you know more than a third of all fossil fuels in the U.S. goes towards animal agriculture? In addition it takes far more energy and limited resources (water and crops) to produce livestock than plant proteins. According to ecologists at Cornell University, “Animal protein production requires more than eight times as much fossil-fuel energy than production of plant protein” and “consumes resources far out of proportion to the yield.” Livestock production accounts for one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions.

Broiler chickens are said to be the most efficient use of fossil energy, and beef, the least. Chicken production consumes energy in a 4:1 ratio (to protein output), while beef is 54:1. Lamb is 50:1 Turkey 13:1, Pork 17:1 and 26:1 for eggs.

With water becoming more and more a limited resource, it’s important to note that grain-fed beef production takes a whopping 43,000 liters of water for every ONE kilogram of food produced. Chickens, again, is substantially less at 3,500 liters, and legumes and grains require the least water, with soybeans: 2,000 liters per kg; rice, 1,912L; wheat, 900L; and potatoes only 500 liters.

More meaty facts:

• More than half the U.S. grain and nearly 40 percent of world grain is being fed to livestock rather than being consumed directly by humans.
  
• The billions of livestock animals in the United States consume five times as much grain as is consumed directly by the entire American population.
  
• For every kilogram of high-quality animal protein produced, livestock are fed nearly 6 kg of plant protein.
  
• On average, animal protein production in the U.S. requires 28 kilocalories (kcal) for every kcal of protein produced for human consumption.

Some ideas for delicious meatless meals:

Vegetarian Chili

Chickpea Curry or Channa Masala (link)

Lentil soup

Tofu Stir-fry

From "Livestock Production: Energy Inputs and the Environment" by David Pimentel
Read the Cornell article at: http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/aug97/livestock.hrs.html

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Fitness Tip

Check out another great fitness tip from Kalev Personal Training...

"This week’s Personal Trainer exercise is the pull up. A great way to work a group of the major muscle in your body at the same time… biceps, rhomboids, lats, forearms, and core to stabilize. Thought you couldn’t do pull-ups without a bar? Think again, here is a unique and innovative way to do pull-ups at home or in any hotel room."

View a video of this and other great exercises at www.kalevtraining.com/personaltrainerblog

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What to eat before a workout

In the gym I often get asked “What should I eat before a workout? How soon should I eat before and after I workout? What should I eat?”.

What you eat and when plays a huge role in endurance, strength, fatigue and more. Serious athletes need to have a regimented nutrition plan to help them improve their sport performance and prevent fatigue, but even recreational exercisers (that’s most of us) will see a huge benefit by getting proper nutrition before, during and after exercise.

The major players in nutrition for exercise are carbohydrate, protein and fluids.

Carbohydrate is the body’s main source of energy during moderate to high intensity activity, so you want to give your body carbs that it can breakdown easily beforehand. This is one time when simple carbs that are low fiber (white bread, Rice Crispies, etc) are better. Carbohydrates are also stored in the body as glycogen, to be used for energy later.

As you workout longer, your glycogen stores will diminish and you’ll need to give your body more carbs, such as a sports drink or gel, to keep going. These products should only need to be used for intense activity lasting more than an hour. Anything less than 60 minutes should be covered by your pre and post workout meals. Having simple carbs again after a workout will help replace glycogen stores. Exercise combined with carbs right after your workout can increase your glycogen storage, allowing you to run or swim further and harder the next time. Limiting carbohydrate intake will significantly decrease endurance, and can also lead to a breakdown of muscle tissue, and a decreased metabolic rate!

Protein is a major player in building muscle tissue and repairing it after training. Muscle is obviously important for strength, but is also a major fat burner so you want to keep it intact! There are some crazy ideas out there about how much protein is needed for training. Too much protein can mean unused Calories which are converted into fat. It can also disrupt the balance of other nutrients in the diet, increase calcium excretion, and lead to dehydration. The average athlete needs 1.2-1.4 grams per kilogram. Serious strength athletes or bodybuilders may need up to 1.6-1.7g/kg/day.

So here’s an example of what a before, during and after meal might look like:

Before: 2-4 hours prior you should have a regular meal consisting of carbs, protein and fat, such as a turkey sandwich, a yogurt and an apple. For extra energy, have another simple carb, low fiber, low fat snack (such as a small bowl of Rice Crispies with milk or a piece of fruit), within an hour before your workout.

During: If endurance exercise lasts more than 60 minutes, 30-60 grams of carbs should be consumed each hour for the duration of the activity to prevent hunger and maintain energy levels. This is equal to 2 cups of a sports drink (such as Gatorade), 1-2 gel pouches, ¼ cup of raisins or ½ bagel.

After: Rehydrate! Then, take in some simple carbs (such as juice) within 15 minutes of finishing a workout to replace glycogen stores. Eat another 50 grams of carbs with some protein within 2 hours after, such as a bagel with peanut butter, a fruit smoothie, or grilled chicken with rice.

Other Nutrition tips for a great workout:

*Try to have a protein source at each meal, such as meat, chicken, fish, tofu, eggs, milk, yogurt, hummus, peanut butter or cheese.

*Keep hydrated – thirst is not a good indication of hydration during exercise

*Make sure you’re eating enough. Restricting Calories can decrease endurance, strength and muscle mass!

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Slow Food

I love this… check out “Slow Food”, an international non-profit organization "founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world".

This organization is helping people learn to slow down, eat better, take care of the planet and each other.

"We believe that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work".

Movements like this are helping to bring back food that comes from your own backyard, not out of a wrapper; promotes local organic agriculture, homemade meals, eating around the table with friends and family, and enjoying great, healthy food and conversation!

www.slowfood.com

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Simple Pasta Recipe

This is a healthy, delicious and SUPER easy pasta recipe, that is high in taste!

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pasta
Garlic cloves
Freash Basil leaves
Sundried tomatoes in oil, sliced
Olive oil
Pepper
Asiago cheese, grated

This recipe is so easy, I don't even put amounts because it's near impossible to go wrong, and it all depends on your individual taste.

Start by boiling the pasta. In the meantime, mince your garlic and chop your basil leaves. When the pasta has just a few minutes left, sautee the garlic and sundried tomatoes in a bit of olive oil for a couple of minutes.

Drain the pasta and put in a bowl. Add the garlic and tomatoes, and toss with a bit more olive oil. Add the basil and pepper, toss again.

Serve with a nice bowl of asiago cheese, and let your guests decide how much they want to add.

Enjoy!

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Carbohydrate Addiction

Carbohydrate addiction: fact or fiction? According to new evidence, more and more researchers are saying “fact”! Carbohydrates are emerging as a serious addiction, both mentally and physiologically, and as a major contributor to the obesity epidemic.

But not all carbohydrates are created equal. It’s the high GI (Glycemic Index) carbs that are contributing to our bigger waistlines.

The problem lies in the quick boost of energy from a spike in blood sugars, then a low as insulin is released, followed by a feeling of hunger again. High GI foods are more addictive since the effects are felt quicker and wear off quicker than a low GI food. Making matters worse, the insulin release signals more fat storage, leading to weight gain.

Although the Glycemic Index has been used for years to measure the effect of a food on blood sugar, it is now being looked at as a possible predictor of how addictive a food is too. "GI may be the element of food that, like nicotine in cigarettes, predicts its addictive potential".

Where are all these high GI, addictive foods coming from? Processed foods! White bagels, white breads, white rice, etc. Food producers are removing nutrients, fiber and taking the fat out of foods, which increases the proportion of carbohydrates in the food. Fat also plays a role in foods, it alters the texture, taste, and makes you feel fuller longer. Replacing the fat with more carbs may cue you to eat more of that food. No one’s advocating switching to a high-fat diet, but I think the message (to me, anyways) is to eat foods how nature intended… with the grain and natural fat intact!

It’s not just the carbohydrates, but the relationship to the food. Highly palatable (ie: really tasty) food stimulates the same part of the brain as drugs, making people with addictive-type personalities more susceptible to overeating behaviour.

But, there is hope… food addiction researchers are meeting in Houston this week “to create public awareness and develop guidelines to identify foods that cause obsessive, uncontrollable cravings.” This opens up the argument “are all Calories created equal?” and breaks new and exciting ground for nutrition research!

Researchers say the solution could lie in changing the way breads and cereals are processed.

Source:

http://www.canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=1194140

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Are Microwaves Dangerous to your Health?

I recently came across a website for a documentary I wanted to watch. On the website was an article about microwaves and how they may be extremely dangerous to human health, blaming everything from brain damage to decreased hormone production on this little, convenient appliance. Being a skeptic at heart, and not knowing anyone who has dropped dead from “nuking” a burrito, I had to look into this more…

The article asks “Is it possible that millions of people are ignorantly sacrificing their health in exchange for the convenience of microwave ovens?”. The article goes on to state many alarming “facts” such as: “microwave oven manufacturers are suppressing the facts and evidence” and lists the following as supporting evidence…

The authors mention a lawsuit against a hospital in Oklahoma in 1991 in which a microwave was used to warm blood for a transfusion. Although blood is regularly warmed, microwaves are not usually used. In this case, the patient died as a result. The authors use this as evidence that microwaves must be doing something terrible to the insides of our bodies when we eat microwaved foods. But it may not be so simpe. My guess is that what happened is not a result of some hidden effect the microwave had on the blood, it’s a result of it doing what it’s supposed to do… It cooked the blood! Blood contains proteins, which when heated, are cooked! My guess is that cooked blood doesn’t flow as well in your veins. When proteins are cooked they are “denatured”, and although this is fine for your stomach to handle, blood probably doesn’t fair as well. Heating the blood to too high of a temperature in a regular oven would probably do the same thing. And when I looked into this I found the truth: the incident did happen, but the jury found that her death was due to a blood clot, not the microwave.

I’m not saying that microwaves don’t cause ANY damage, there’s no way to know 100% either way. But when articles like these that misrepresent information to support another agenda is just wrong. All in all, this article is just a bit dramatic and one –sided for me. I did a bit of research into the issue myself, and couldn't find any credible evidence against microwave use.

Read this article for yourself and you decide:
http://www.foodmatters.tv/what-is-your-microwave-doing-to-your-health.html

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Vegetarians, vegans and calcium

Vegetarians and vegans can be at risk for a low calcium intake, along with other nutrients. It is possible to reach the recommended amount of calcium from plant sources though. Swiss chard, kale and collard greens are high in calcium. A cup of cooked collard greens has 25% more calcium than a cup of milk!! Watch out for spinach though. Although it too is high in calcium, it contains oxalates which make it more difficult for the body to absorb the calcium.

The recommended amount of calcium for adults is 1000mg per day, and increases for adolescents (1300mg/day) and post-menopausal women (1200mg/day).

Vegetarians and vegans can also ramp up their calcium intake and help keep their bones strong with these sources:

• Fortified soy or rice beverage (200-300mg per 1 cup)
• Calcium-fortified Orange Juice (300mg per 1 cup)
• Tofu (300mg per 2oz)
• Dried figs (168mg per 4 figs)
• Soya cheese (180mg per 40g)
• Chickpeas (90mg per 8oz)
• Collard greens, cooked (357mg per 1 cup)
• Tempeh (215mg per 1 cup)

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Nutrition and Fitness

As most of you know, a healthy lifestyle involves more than just a good diet. Check out this great fitness blog full of training advice and demonstrational videos by one of Vancouver's top trainers! I will be featuring training advice from Kalev from time to time, but here's the link to get started!

http://kalevtraining.com/personaltrainerblog/

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Did you know...

Vitamin D is an important fat-soluble vitamin which helps your body absorb Calcium. It is produced naturally by the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight, however most people living in Canada and other northern parts of the world don't get enough sun during the winter (Oct-March) for this to occur. Sunscreen use and skin pigmentation can also reduce the amount of sunlight absorbed.

To help meet your needs, Vitamin D is added to a number of foods, such as milk and margarine. I have heard they are going to be adding it to yogurt soon as well.

After age 50, your vitamin D needs increase, and Calcium and Vitamin D are increasingly important to maintain bone strength and prevent osteoperosis. It is recommended that those over 50 take a Vitamin D supplement of 10mg (or 400IU) per day.

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Can Garlic Fight Cancer?

You've probably been told once or twice to eat garlic as a strategy to prevent or treat the common cold... but cancer?

New research is looking at garlic in a new light. Some studies have found that garlic may play a role in the prevention and treatment of cancer, and have the ability to slow the growth rate of cancer cells. This is thought to be thanks primarily to a compound called "allylsulfide" and its derivatives, which are potent and bioactive. The cancer-fighting abilities of garlic may also be due to thhe fact that garlic takes up a lot of Selenium from the soil when it grows, and Selenium also has many anticancer effects.

However, other studies have found that the potential effects of garlic and its derivatives are only modest in reducing the risk of cancer. At this time, there are simply not enough large scale studies to many any solid claim regarding garlic and cancer. Still, garlic is a great, low-calorie way to flavour foods. And with so many potential health benefits (even if they're only marginal), it certainly can't hurt.

Reference: Editorial: Can garlic reduce risk of cancer? Richard S Rivlin

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Did you know...

Green Beans are among the least nutritious vegetables - Green peas have 3x more fiber, 40% more iron, and 25% more Vitamin A and C than green beans.

Swordfish frequently exceeds the allowable level of methyl mercury, as opposed to cod, which is rarely contaminated.

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Environmentally-Friendly Regional Diets

I was recently looking through the most recent issue of the Public Health Nutrition and found an article titled "Towards health-promoting and environmentally-friendly regional diets" by Bere and Brug. This is the first time I've seen an article in a scientific journal focusing on the importance and practicality of balancing a healthy diet and environmental sustainability.

The authors argue that dietary recommendations should then be tailored to the area in which the dietitian or nutritionist is working, to accomodate foods found locally, to preserve the environment and, at the same time, promote maintenance of culture, such as the Mediterranean diet.

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