May 14, 2012

Fish Oil For Depression?

Happy fish oil

It seems like fish oil will cure anything that ails ya’ these days. And in some ways, it can – here’s how it works.

Inflammation, the current health buzzword, is both the cause of many health problems and the result of many health problems, causing more problems. Inflammation is part of the natural healing process, but can get out of whack when we don’t have all the nutrients we need to resolve the process. We get stuck in a kind of emergency state, and the day-to-day operations can falter. Resulting in chronic inflammation.

The types of fats we eat influence our inflammation, because omega-3 fats are necessary for the resolution phase of inflammation, and omega-6 fats are necessary for the start-up phase of inflammation. And we are getting way too many of these omega-6 fats in the form of vegetable oils and processed foods, and way too few of the omega-3 fats, which are found in fatty fish, flax nut/seed oils. So inflammation gets started but not finished, leaving us feeling less than our best and contributing to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, etc.

What does this have to do with depression, you ask? Here’s the longish but oh so interesting answer.

Each cell is surrounded by a membrane, made up mostly of fats along with some proteins. This barrier uses the oil and water don’t mix principle to keep cells intact in our watery bodies. The membrane of each cell is not just a fence keeping the inside parts of the cell together – it actively decides what gets let in and out, kind of like those bouncers at the door of a hot new night club. Complex neurotransmitter signals and reactions open the membrane, allowing it to activate transporters which bring in what the cells need. Or not.

Just like every nightclub needs pretty young things to make it cool and hip, our cells need pretty young nutrients to stay in business.

Interestingly, the type of fats we have in the cell membrane also determine its flexibility – saturated fats are not flexible, and too many of them can make cell membranes too stiff. Trans fats make our cell membranes unable to work properly at all, which is why eating them contributes to so many diseases. So, omega-3s are the Justin Timberlake/Katy Perry hotties, while trans fats are the creepy old guys with the hairpiece and polyester suit.

Inflammation causes the cell membranes to become too stiff, so the transporters can’t do their jobs. In the brain, this means that serotonin, and tryptophan (which our bodies use to make serotonin) can’t get into our cells. Serotonin is necessary for mood regulation, and a lack of it contributes to depression.

To bring it around, adding omega-3 fats in the form of fish oils can reduce the inflammation response in the membranes of our brain cells, allowing more serotonin and tryptophan into our brains. Which can lead to a better mood. As my family will tell you, more serotonin is good, especially for Mama. As long as I don’t dance in public.

This is a simplistic explanation of omega-3 fats and inflammation, but it gives you the general idea of what is going on inside our heads. So, like I always say, we take vitamins to make us feel better, and here’s another way those fish oils (or krill oil) can help us feel better. Start with a quality supplement that delivers 1,000 mg/1 gram a day of EPA and DHA (the best omega-3 part of the oils), higher EPA than DHA has been shown to be best for the brain. Of course, if your physician has you on a higher dose, go with that.

How do you know a quality supplement? It will have a USP label and clearly state that the oil has been purified and is free of mercury and other contaminants. And the EPA/DHA amounts will be clearly listed. If they give you fishy burps, keep them in the freezer or take them at night.

So, there you go, more incentive to take those fish oils your doctor recommends. If you eat fatty fish like salmon and mackerel at least 3 times a week, and eat at least an ounce of walnuts and pumpkin seeds every day, you may not need a supplement – just be honest with yourself about what you really eat. This is one case where a little extra doesn’t hurt, and may really help.

Note: This post is for information purposes only – if you are currently being treated for depression or are seeking help for depression please discuss this with your physician. I am not a doctor, just a nutritionist.

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April 30, 2012

Fast Food Linked to Depression

The more fast food you eat, the greater your risk of developing depression, according to a study recently published in Public Health Nutrition (March, 2012). This study had 9,000 participants and was well-researched by a team in Spain – a large study that we can’t ignore. People who regularly consume fast food have a 40% increase in depression compared to people who do not eat fast food. This correlation was “dose-dependent,” meaning that the people who ate smaller amounts of fast food had a lower percentage increase in depression rates, and the rates of depression increased as the consumption of fast food increased.

Fast food, such as hamburgers and pizza, has been linked to depression in past studies as well. Commercial baked goods were also linked to increased rates of depression in this study.

Why? We don’t know exactly, but there are several good possibilities.

1. The trans-fats and oxidized fats found in these foods could impair neurotransmitter function in the brain.

2. The poor nutrient quality of these foods could be depriving the brain of necessary nutrients.

3. The preservatives and other chemicals in these foods could be detrimental to neurological functioning.

4. The blood sugar “roller coaster” that comes with eating lots of refined carbohydrates could impact the brain.

5. Or all of the above.

We know that foods high in healthy fats, B vitamins, vitamin D, and antioxidants are beneficial to the brain, so it makes sense that if we eat foods that do not have these healthy nutrients brain function would suffer. We also know that foods high in trans and oxidized fats hurt our cardiovascular system, which supplies the blood to the brain.

Regardless of the cause, eating these foods can lead to depression, not to mention heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. The food we eat should not be making us sick – it should be nourishing and bring joy, not depression.

So if you rely on fast food and pre-packaged baked goods on a regular basis, how do you stop?

It’s not realistic to think that we can quickly switch from the drive-through to home cooking every day. So here’s what you do.

Start buying better food. While you learn the skills of planning meals, grocery shopping, and cooking, you still need to eat. So  switch the fast food to something better. Instead of a burger, fries and a soda, go to a good local cafe for a fresh salad, soup or a good quality sandwich. Yes, this will be more expensive, but if you drink water instead of soda that will save you about $3.00, and cutting out the fries or chips saves another few dollars. Yes, it will feel weird at first, but stick with it and you will start to experience the taste of good, high-quality food. And you will start to feel better, I promise. Stop rolling your eyes at me, you will be a convert in a few weeks.

Instead of pre-packaged baked goods, find a local bakery that uses fresh ingredients and buy something there. You don’t need to bake your own bread to be healthy. Try their whole-grain choices, they are usually way better than the pre-packaged stuff. Then go to the grocery store or farm stand and get some fresh fruit for your snacks. You will find that an 80 calorie apple is way more satisfying than that 100-calorie pouch of artificially flavored junk.

Those of you who have been working with me for a while know that you will actually start feeling better. And you deserve to feel healthy and strong. Don’t let anyone, most of all yourself, tell you otherwise.

Next, sign up for my 10-Step Nutrition Foundation program. I designed it so you can get to a healthy diet in 10 weeks, step-by-step. Nothing crazy or weird, nothing you have to go to a specialty store to buy, just good healthy food made easy.

You can do this, one step at a time. Remember, every good food you eat impact your body in a positive way. And there is no such thing as perfect – just the enjoyment of naturally good food.

 

 

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April 9, 2012

Dem Bones

Osteoporosis is on the rise, and despite the tons of calcium supplements we’ve been taking, our bones are not getting significantly stronger. This is because it takes more than calcium to build bones, and all of them need to show up for the bone-building party to start.

So, who’s on the invitation list? Well, calcium is indeed the host of the party. Our bones are mostly made of calcium, and we don’t have bone without it. Vitamin D is the somewhat bossy social director, regulating how much calcium we absorb during digestion, and how much we release from our bones to keep our blood pH stable. Fortified dairy products, juices and fatty fish are our best food sources of Vitamin D.

Vitamin K is the life of the party. The mechanisms that actually put calcium into bone tissue, making bones strong, are dependent on Vitamin K. Vitamin K is also necessary for our blood to clot properly when healing a wound. Dark leafy greens, beef liver, and green tea are the best sources of Vitamin K. It is fat-soluble, which means it needs to ride along with fat to be absorbed during digestion. So use some olive oil on your greens, and have a snack with your tea. Note: if you are on a blood-thinner, talk with your doctor about balancing your Vitamin K intake.

Some other nutrients we don’t always think of influencing our bone strength are Vitamin C and the sulfur compounds in cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and kale). Both of these are necessary for building the bone tissue that binds the calcium. Here’s the vitamin C checklist. See how many of these high vitamin-C foods are also dark green veggies? And dark green leafy veggies (especially arugula) are also good sources of calcium. See how mother nature ties all this goodness together?

Another place to find lots of bone-building nutrients are the bones that go along with the meat we eat. With the current focus on quick, low-fat cooking, cuts of meat with bones in them are not as popular as they used to be. And how many of us make stock from bones anymore?

Here’s the deal, though. One of the best ways to get the nutrients necessary for strong bones is to get them from bones. Simmering the bones into stock low and slow allows these nutrients to melt into the liquid, giving our bones what they need to stay strong. Cooking meat on the bone also allows these nutrients to melt into the meat. So the very thing that makes these meals taste so good also makes us healthier. Juicy, yes?

Eating foods made from bones also gives us the natural glucosamines that can protect our joints and ease arthritis pain. Cows and chickens have joints, too. And theirs need the same nutrients ours do.

If you eat meat, a couple of times this week make cuts with the bone in (try to buy organic when you can), and then make stock from the bones and have some soup or stew. Add plenty of veggies for their vitamins and antioxidants, and to fill you up. I know, you are worried about all the saturated fat. First, you don’t need to eat a lot of the meat – a regular 3-4 oz. portion size is enough to get the benefits. Second, adding lots of vegetables to your plate fills you up with few calories, and protects your heart. Buy organic meats when you can and more of those fats will be healthy omega-3s. Healthy animals make healthy meals. If you are going to eat meat, make it the healthiest kind possible.

While cooking this way takes a little longer, it does not take any more work on your part. Dust off your old crock-pot, use the timer on your oven, and you can get dinner started then walk away and get something else done while it cooks. And make enough to enjoy some leftovers, so you can cook once and eat twice.

Keep this up for a while and you may have less joint pain naturally. Your bones will get stronger and more dense. And you will truly enjoy your home-made, non-processed meals. They may inspire you to throw a party.

 

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March 26, 2012

Calcium Supplements

Several big studies have been published in the past year about nutritional supplements, calcium in particular. And some say they help us live longer lives and prevent disease, and some say the opposite. While it is confusing, we can sort it all out. And hopefully not put you to sleep in the process.

Problems with Supplements

  1. Calcium without Vitamin D
  2. Taking too much
  3. Taking too much at one time

The studies that showed a negative effect of calcium supplements identified these three as the most likely problems. Studies that began a long time ago used the supplements that were popular then, which almost never had vitamin D included, and were often in very large doses or advised two doses to be taken together.

Almost all calcium supplements now come with vitamin D. They usually range from 100IU to 400IU per dose; I’ll show you how to figure out what is best for you. Note: if you are currently being treated for osteoporosis, your physician’s treatment recommendations trump anything written here.

Taking too much – calcium is not one of those nutrients that is harmless in really large amounts. Basically three servings of calcium rich foods a day are enough. If you usually have a piece of cheese or a yogurt each day, that counts as one. Dark leafy greens count as one, and so does fortified juice. Then check your multivitamin and any other supplements you take, along with fortified foods (like cereal) that you eat fairly regularly. If your breakfast is fortified juice plus cereal and milk, then cheese or yogurt at lunch, you are at two servings. If your multi has around 1/3 of your daily calcium, then you are at your goal and do not need an additional calcium supplement.

If you don’t get that much in your diet, say one serving on average a day plus a multivitamin, then have one calcium supplement a day, with a different meal than your multi. Each supplement should have around 400-600mg of calcium, and take only one at a time. If you are getting three good sources a day, then the small amounts in other foods usually make up the rest.

Then check the vitamin D in your multivitamin, and find a calcium supplement with enough vitamin D to get you to 800 IU a day total – unless your physician is testing the level of vitamin D in your blood and wants you to get more. Many of us need at least 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day. If your calcium supplement plus your multi don’t get you there, vitamin D supplements are easy to find and you can figure out the dose with your physician. IU stands for International Units, by the way, and is just another form of measurement.

You can take your calcium and vitamin D in separate pills, if you can’t find the right levels for you in a combined supplement. It all mixes together in the stomach, anyway.

There is no blood test to see if we are low in calcium. Calcium is essential to maintain our body’s proper pH balance, and it will rob our bones to keep enough in our bloodstream.

Taking too much at once – this is a big problem. When we take supplements, the large “dump” of nutrients into our system sometimes overwhelms the regulatory process that goes on in the cells that line our small intestine and absorb nutrients. This leads to absorption by passive diffusion, which is not regulated. Nutrients can enter the bloodstream without their proper molecular attachments. So they do not go where they are supposed to go and end up accumulating in places they don’t belong.

This is especially true of calcium. The absorption of calcium into our bloodstream is highly regulated, with vitamin D playing a major role. Too much or too little can make the kidneys work very hard to maintain the proper pH of our blood, and often excess calcium gets stored in soft tissue, to be dealt with later. These pods of calcium can cause problems if left too long, or if they get too big.

So, taking too much calcium on a daily basis never allows our bodies to clear out the excess. This is what causes problems. Not the occasional day of dairy (you know, a venti latte, grilled cheese, plus a pint of Ben & Jerry’s), but the daily overdose.

Finally, there are also calcium supplements that have magnesium and zinc added, they are often to help with sleep and usually have smaller doses of calcium, often around 100mg. These are a good way to help fall asleep naturally, just total your daily dose and make sure you are not getting over 1,200 mg of calcium a day from supplements and fortified foods.

Getting enough calcium has been shown to reduce the risk of both colon cancer and melanoma, along with supplying the necessary building blocks for healthy, strong bones and teeth. Talk with your physician the next time you are in the office to see if you are getting the right amount for you. Take in your bottles, make a note of any fortified foods you eat and the amounts of calcium and vitamin D in each serving, to help. No one will think you are crazy, I promise.

So, the bottom line is to supplement smart with calcium, and reap the benefits.

 

 

 

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March 19, 2012

Cancer and Sugar

Wonder what cancer cells eat? Glucose, or sugar. And pretty much only glucose. Cancer cells have lost most of the functionality of the normal cells they came from, including the ability to burn fat as fuel.

Most cancer cells lack mitochondria, which is the part of the cell that takes fat and breaks it down into usable fuel (Remember the Kreb’s Cycle from chemistry class?). They can only use glucose, which gives much less energy per molecule.  So they need a lot of glucose to keep dividing and wreaking havoc. Kind of like teenagers. And they get hungry just as fast.

So, how do we get the fuel we need and starve cancer cells at the same time? We can’t avoid all carbohydrates – our brain and blood cells use glucose for fuel too.  We don’t want to starve our blood and nerve cells – it makes them really cranky. There is a solution, and here’s how it works:

Cancer cells have glucose transport (GLUT) channels in their cell membranes, like most cells. Theirs are very sensitive to insulin, which means that to become active they first need to be stimulated by insulin entering the cell. In fact, cancer GLUTs are more insulin-sensitive than in other tissues, and have a lot of GLUTs just waiting for the signal. In contrast, our cells that only use glucose for fuel, like red blood cells and our brain tissue, have GLUTs that do not rely on insulin to become active. They take in glucose in a regular stream, to maintain healthy function and keep us alive.

Insulin stimulating glucose receptors inside a cell.

Muscle and fat, the main storage sites for glucose, have GLUTs that are sensitive to insulin so they can take up extra glucose and store it for future use. When our blood sugar is high, it gets channeled into these cells to keep our blood glucose level healthy and not waste energy. Brilliant, isn’t it? And we can use this to our advantage.

By keeping our blood sugar levels at the lower end of normal, we can literally starve any cancer cells in our bodies. By eating in a way that releases glucose into our bloodstream slowly, only a little insulin is released, and cancer cells only get a little of the glucose. Glucose only provides a little bit of energy per molecule, and gets used up fast. So the cancer cell is left with GLUTs that need insulin to work and very little insulin in your bloodstream. Which all means less fuel for cancer cells to use to divide and grow.

How do you keep blood sugar at the low end of normal? See this blood sugar post for a good start. Eating whole foods, plenty of vegetables, legumes, nuts, fruits and whole grains. It is very important to not avoid all carbohydrates – hypoglycemia (too-low blood sugar) doesn’t help anyone. Our brain tissue, nerve cells, and blood cells need glucose to function properly. Just avoid the white flour and sugar: white bread, cookies, cakes, crackers, pretzels, candy, chips, french fries, you know – the junk. Does is surprise you that cancer cells thrive on junk food? I am guessing not so much.

On an interesting side note, cancer researchers are studying the use of insulin to make chemotherapy more successful. The theory is to link chemo to glucose, flood the body with insulin, and get more of the chemo into the cancer cells. Yes, some will go into the muscle and fat tissue, but since they are not quickly dividing cells they will be less damaged. A good portion of this research is being done at MD Anderson in Houston.

Please remember that fighting cancer with nutrition is most effective when it is done along with your medical treatment. Eating well in incredibly important but is no substitute for the treatment recommended by your physician.

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March 12, 2012

Blood Sugar

Okay, so many of you are wondering how something that does not even taste sweet, like a piece of bread, can raise blood sugar more than something that tastes sweet, like a pear. And what the heck is blood sugar, anyway?

Here’s the deal: sugar is a kind-of generic term, and there are several types of “sugars” in the foods we eat and in our bodies. Glucose is the one our bodies use for energy, and it is what we measure to determine your blood sugar level. It looks like this:

 

Fructose is another sugar molecule, found most often in fruits. Lactose is a sugar molecule found in dairy products. They are all similar, but a little bit different in where the atoms attach to each other. Most of our cells have GLUTs in their membranes – glucose transporters – that allow glucose to enter the cell and then be burned for energy. These transports are very specific to glucose, they don’t just let in any sugar. We’ll talk more about how these work in a minute.

Sucrose, or table sugar, is one molecule of glucose attached to one molecule of fructose. Fructose does not hang around in our bloodstream, waiting to be picked up by cells and used for energy. Fructose goes to the liver, and then is made into any number of things. Lactose is a glucose molecule attached to a galactose molecule. Galactose is another sugar that tends to be absorbed by the liver and turned into other things as well. Confused yet?

Since our cells use glucose for fuel, that is the sugar that goes through our bloodstream to feed them. While the other sugars taste sweet too, they do not have any direct affect on our blood glucose level.

Starches found in breads, cereals, grains, beans, etc. are basically long chains of glucose molecules. The whole shebang goes to the bloodstream, not just half. They look like this in scientist shorthand:

So even though they may not taste as sweet, they have a bigger impact on our blood sugar. Starting to see how this works? Good.

These sugar and starch molecules all get broken apart by enzymes in our digestive system. Enzymes are basically matchmakers that attract molecules and place them in the exact configuration necessary to create a biological reaction. In this case, breaking starch molecules apart so they can be absorbed. There are many types of enzymes to help us with digestion – in fact every reaction in the body is sped-up by our enzymes – but for today we will focus on the ones that help us digest sugars.

The speed at which these enzymes break up the sugars and starches determines how quickly they are available for absorption. And it is the quick rise in blood sugar that can cause problems. Enzymes can only work on the surface area of the food being digested, so the more surface area that is available to them, the quicker they get the job done. Food that takes longer to break down in the digestive system provides a slower release of sugar. That is why the flour particles in bread, which are so small they provide lots of surface area, raise our blood sugar faster than a wheat berry, which has a relatively small amount of surface area.

Other molecules, like proteins, fats and fibers getting in the way also slow the process down.

Why is slower better? Good question. Insulin works by activating the GLUTs in muscle and fat cells, enabling them to take up and store large amounts of glucose and get it out of the blood before it does damage anywhere. It takes some time for the digestive system to signal for the release of insulin, and then for it to work throughout the body. So our blood glucose level gets really high before insulin brings it back to normal. In the meantime, extra glucose molecules are attaching themselves to other cells and hindering their functioning, sometimes causing real damage. If glucose is absorbed slowly into the blood, insulin has time to work and keep everything in balance.

Why do we need blood sugar at all? Glucose is the only fuel for nerves, the brain, and red blood cells, so we need a steady supply of it for those tissues. Organs also use mostly glucose for fuel. That is why their GLUTs are not dependent on insulin to be “turned on.” But I digress.

So, how do we slow down the absorption of glucose into our blood so we have just enough? Those “other” molecules help a lot. Fiber is basically starch that doesn’t fit into our enzymes and therefore can’t be digested. It forms gels and nets that trap sugar molecules inside; only as they move around sugars kind of escape and become available to enzymes. Proteins and fats just get in the way – remember all of these guys are mixed up together in the stomach, no matter how separate they may be on your plate.

By eating sugars and starches that come with fiber – like vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains – and adding foods with some protein and healthy fats, we keep our blood sugar steady. And all of our organs happy.

 

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February 24, 2012

Your Hemoglobin A1c

It seems everywhere I hear people talking about their Hemoglobin A1c tests, concerned about being pre-diabetic, and not really sure what it all means. Your answers are here!

The Hemoglobin A1c test, or H-A1c, measures the average amount of glucose in your blood over the past 3-4 months. It is not altered by what you ate for breakfast the day of the test, or what you are the day before. And many doctors are now looking at it much more closely, moving more and more people into the pre-diabetic or “pre-pre-diabetic” range if it gets a little high.

So, a few years ago any number under 6 was fantastic, and a level under 7 was nothing to worry about. The diabetes epidemic in this country has changed those views, and now many physicians want to see their patients with H-A1c levels under 5.6. By making dietary changes at this point, many people can avoid developing Type 2 Diabetes and the health complications that go along with it. Yes, you can lower this number just by changing up your diet a little.

If your levels have come back higher than you and your physician want them to be, the first thing to do is look at your lifestyle over the past three months or so. If you had your test done in January, this result will reflect the months of October, November and December. Not exactly most people’s healthiest time of year. Halloween, Thanksgiving, you get my drift. If that is the case, throw away the leftover candy, cut out the extra breads and sweets, and test again in June. You may be just fine.

If not, or if your levels are too high and have been steadily moving upward, here’s what to do:

  1. Cut way back on sugar. Candy, cookies, ice cream, all those things. Have an occasional dessert with dinner, but cut out all the little sweets during the day. And the late night sweets. Keep your hands busy, go to bed early, have some herbal tea – whatever works. Sugar is like that friend who pretends to be nice then spreads your secrets around town. Dump her.
  2. Limit starches like bread, white rice and white potatoes. No more than one starch per meal; and avoid bread when you can. Simple starches in these refined foods are quickly converted to glucose in your bloodstream. Switch to whole grain starches like quinoa, brown rice, farro, wheat berries, and polenta. Sweet potatoes are fine. Their fiber slows digestion, meaning fewer spikes in blood sugar. Pasta is actually fairly easy on the blood sugar (as far as starches go), do you don’t have to avoid it completely.
  3. Add plenty of vegetables at lunch and dinner. I am not worried about “sugary” vegetables like carrots – that is not what got you here. Try for four or more servings of veggies a day.
  4. Have two servings of whole fruits each day, and limit juice. While fruit can be sweet and sugary, cut out the added sugars and white starches first. Fruits are so full of vitamins and antioxidants they should be the last things on your list to cut. Apples, pears, and berries are best for lowering blood sugar.
  5. Cut out sugary drinks. Soda, lemonade, coffee drinks, sweetened tea, and flavored waters can all cause big spikes in blood sugar and significantly raise your H-A1C levels. This is a no-brainer that will deliver big results.
  6. Add beans and legumes as protein sources. Their fiber can really modulate blood sugar levels.

After three months of following these guidelines, have another test. Your levels should go down, and you will probably be feeling better, too.

If you want the scienc-y details on the test, here you go. Hemoglobin is the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to the cells throughout our bodies; in adults about 98% of our hemoglobin is Hemoglobin A, and about 7% of that is Hemoglobin A1. Glucose molecules tend to stick to Hemoglobin A1, especially Hemoglobin A1c (we have A1a, A1b, and A1c), and once they are stuck they are very difficult to unstick. This is called glycosylation.

So the Hemoglobin A1c test measures the amount of glycosylated Hemoglobin (GHb) in our blood stream. This value is reflected as a percentage – the percent of Hemoglobin A1c that has been glycosylated. Since our red blood cells have a lifespan of 100 – 120 days, this percentage reflects what has been going on in our bloodstream for the past 3-4 months.

The higher the amount of glucose in our blood at any one time, the more Hemoglobin gets glycosylated. That is why spikes in blood sugar bump up this number. Smaller, steady amounts of glucose in the blood keep it normal.

This test is also used to see how well diabetes treatment is controlling blood sugar levels. It sure would be nice to see that become much less necessary.

Any questions? Let me know. I have answers. Oh, how I have answers.

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February 6, 2012

Sleep

istockphoto File #: 18331664

Beautiful sleep

My dogs have no guilt about taking a nap whatsoever. Right in the middle of the day. Heck, in the middle of the morning. The warm spot on the couch or chair, in the sun, snoring away with abandon. And while yes, they are lazy, they are also intuitive and smart. Just like they know clothes do not make the man, they know that sleep is essential for us to function.

No significant physical change can happen in our bodies without enough sleep. There. I said it. This crazy “I only need four hours of sleep!” as some sort of bragging right needs to stop. There is no moral superiority for those who manage to get by on less sleep, and research shows time and again that they are no more productive, actually they are less productive, than those who get enough. Whew.

When I look at research about sleep, the cut-off for sufficient sleep is seven hours. That’s right. Less than seven hours a night is officially sleep deprivation. People who get less than seven hours a night get sick almost three times as much as those who get eight hours or more. Yes, that’s three times, an increase of 300%.

Why? Good question. Sleep is when our body heals itself, repairs tissue damage from the day, and detoxes itself. Sleep is when our neurons organize that happened to us during the day and file it into long-term memory. Sleep is when our stress hormones are turned off and our metabolism resets itself.

When it is dark our bodies produce the hormone melatonin, which makes us sleepy. Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant, fighting chronic inflammation and repairing damage to our cells’ DNA so that when those cells divide they make new healthy cells. Damaged DNA leads to cells becoming cancerous. Chronic inflammation leads to heart disease and diabetes. Melatonin also helps protect nerve tissue in the brain from the protein damage that leads to Alzheimer’s Disease. It can also prevent headaches from forming the next day.

So why don’t we just take melatonin in a pill and get on with staying up half the night? It doesn’t work that way. Researchers are not sure why, but getting the melatonin in a pill helps us for only about three months, then it stops working so well. And while melatonin is a powerful hormone, it is not the only benefit of sleep.

We crave carbohydrates throughout the day when we are tired. We all know what this means to our waistlines, not to mention our blood sugar and cholesterol. The stress that causes our bodies to hold onto fat in case we need to flee or survive a famine is turned off when we are asleep. Most of us desperately need this, especially if our days allow for very little de-stress time. And our failing memories need sleep. We need to remember our stories so we can tell our grandchildren.

Our over-caffeinated, sleep deprived bodies need us all to go to bed. There is no honor in not sleeping, only a lack of creativity and good judgement. Did you know that if you get less than six hours a night you will be impaired when driving your car? It’s like driving under the influence of alcohol. Sorry if I seem a little preachy – I’ve got a bee in my bonnet.

If you think you can’t possibly leave something undone, stop it. Lots of us lead perfectly happy lives with a few dust bunnies under the couch and our clothes a little wrinkled. Look over your day, and there will be things that don’t have to be done, or at least don’t have to be done by you.

If you are trying to change your eating habits for the better, and start an exercise habit, sleep is essential. Changing our habits is hard, and tired brains do not do it well. Neither do tired bodies. And getting sick? It doesn’t help anyone.

So go to bed early tonight, and find a way to sleep as late as you need to at least one morning a week. Try to get at least 7.5 hours a night – that’s five complete 90-minute sleep cycles. A few days of this and you will be amazed at how productive you become.

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Filed Under: Eating Unawares, Fighting Cancer, General, Health, Healthy Weight, Train the Brain 1 Comment
January 23, 2012

Keep Calm and Carry On

Many people I’ve been talking with lately are feeling like they have been knocked down and can’t get up. Between the holidays, family issues, health problems, work (or lack of work), and life-in-general hardness, weight has crept back up and it is easy to slide down that slippery slope into hopelessness.

I’ve been there, and here’s a way out. Actually, you have probably been there before, too, and found a way out, around, or above.

In November my sweet Shih Tzu, Whisper, was diagnosed with Lymphoma. This was not only heartbreaking in itself, but brought up a lot of sad memories from losing my husband George (may his memory be eternal) to cancer 12 years ago. Like a sucker punch to the stomach. Then we all got the flu. Sequentially. By then we were way behind on preparation for the holidays. Craziness, lots of take-out, zero exercise, restless sleep. Not a pretty picture.

Because I’ve been there before, and getting people out of this is what I do for a living, I made a plan. Actually, not a formal plan, just a few grasps at what I knew would help. My Christmas list included a gift certificate for my favorite yoga studio (Core Power Yoga - thanks Jeff!) and a Vitamix. (These are not affiliate links, just FYI.) We have burned through three Magic Bullets and it was time to step up to the big boy of blenders. Now I had what I needed to get some exercise and green smoothies, both of which are essential for me to be my best self. Along with the joy of opening presents! And doing something positive leads to better sleep, more energy to cook at home, and way less stress.

Whisper, now in remission, and very happy

While my exercise and smoothies made absolutely no difference to Whisper, now she is in remission and doing well. She credits the french fries we got after chemo and all the extra treats. Just thought you’d want to know.

So, here’s what you do when life sucker punches you:

Think about what you need to be your best. Usually sleep is at the top of the list, so do what you need to do (record Castle and Hawaii Five-O) to get at least seven, and even better eight hours a night. I mean it, you are making yourself very vulnerable to every virus that comes around if you are exhausted. That doesn’t help anybody.

Next, think about what type of movement your body really likes. Don’t worry about how quickly it will take off the pounds, just get your body moving with whatever feels good. For me, hot yoga – actually warm yoga – is the ticket. I thought I would hate it, but I love it. So whether it is walking, swimming, dance, yoga, Zumba, Tai Chi, it doesn’t matter. Just do it and feel good.

Now get some green veggies on your plate. Nourish your body so it can heal itself from the stress (or the flu) and give you a dose of energy every day. Start taking care of yourself, even if it seems like there is no time, and you will find yourself able to accomplish so much more. Put on a pot of magic bean soup, toss a salad, and be comforted.

Nourish you soul as well. Family time, relationship time, YOU time. Even 10 minutes can make a big difference in how you feel. Especially if it helps you avoid checking out with a bag of Chips Ahoy or a pint of New York Fudge Brownie. I’m not giving you links to those.

Treat yourself the way you would treat your best friend, or your child. With kindness, compassion and love. It is the only thing that works. Baby step by baby step, you can make it. And then you can lead the ones you love.

 

 

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Filed Under: Fun in the Kitchen, Happiness, Health, Healthy Weight Leave a Comment
January 9, 2012

Nourishment

As this new year gets going, many of us are struggling with the resolve to lose our extra weight. Or just overcome the cravings for junk, sweets, bread and cheese, cute shoes, etc. And it is really hard.

Our bodies do not like this kind of change, and we are obviously getting something we need from filling these cravings. Energy, in the form of sugar. Salt, which we need when we are stressed and anxious (our bodies use it to make cortisol). Bread and cheese, to calm us down and give us a little hit of feel-good. Shoes, well we don’t really need to go there.

The trick to changing these habits is to really nourish our bodies. We are getting plenty of calories, but not enough nutrients. And our bodies will crave more food until we have all the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants we need.

So, instead of beating ourselves up for giving in to these very strong cravings, lets try giving ourselves the nourishment we need. This nourishment comes in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans – you get the idea. Colorful, natural, whole and delicious foods.

After a few days of truly nourishing yourself, you will find those cravings a lot easier to shake. They will turn from strong yearnings to just habits.

Remember the other ways our bodies need nourishment: sleep, exercise, sunlight, and touch. Getting plenty of those will nourish not only your body but your soul. And our souls need nourishment, too.

So prep some salad greens, grab some veggies and fruits at the market, and plan a few home-cooked meals for the next week. Once you start thinking about food in terms of nourishment for yourself and your family, instead of the enemy of your waistline, this whole thing gets easier. If you want an easy plan, sign up for the 10 habits on the right side of this page. It will get you started  - quick and painless.

Just think how great next year will be, when none of your resolutions have anything to do with your thighs.

 

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