Beware of Trendy Health Food – it May Not be Your Best Bet

Here is Part 1 of Gina Laverde article that tells you the inside scoop on trendy food.

I am very inspired by our generation’s growing concern for health. We continue to test the norm, and find the answers that work best for us. But, BEWARE – as soon as people like us start thinking, corporations tend to jump on the bandwagon. Now that health is a trend – there’s so much opportunity to make a buck.

What can be cooler than yogurt these days? Companies that used to sell these creamy treats as a low-fat alternative to ice-cream are now claiming that this stuff actually boosts your immune system and controls your weight?

The idea behind the scenes is the pro-biotic. Pro-biotics are amazing little organisms that already live in your gut. They help ward off infection and balance out any bad bacteria and viruses. The word pro-biotic actually means pro-life. So, yeah – they are good.

But, what the yogurt companies do not reveal is that most of their “live and active cultures” are actually dead. And furthermore, the rest can easily die in your stomach acid as they make way to their destination. And even furthermore, since the sale of raw dairy is MOSTLY illegal in the U.S. – all commercial dairy has been homogenized and/or pasteurized. This process kills the natural enzymes and bacteria that live in the milk, and turns them into histamines. Have you heard of these guys? Histamines cause allergic reactions.

So, if the yogurt cultures were actually “alive” and the dairy “raw” the enzymes would act to assist in your digestion of the dairy, make it into your gut and flourish.

Before you spend your money and test your health on any pro-biotic you should know that many of the pills (like acidophilus) that are sold commercially contain mostly dead organisms as well. It’s very hard for a pro-biotic to make it passed your stomach. Some of these products claim to have seven billion or 30 billion per capsule – but, what you’d like is for a claim of how “alive” they are. The box should also contain info on how the bacteria are preserved (i.e. freeze-dried).

Pro-biotic foods, which have been used for centuries may be a better way of re-introducing that healthy bacteria into your system. Health food stores in my area can’t keep enough Kombucha Tea in stock. This fermented tea is actually very potent because it is able to sneak passed your digestive acids and settle in your gut.

Because of their potency, Kombucha and other raw pro-biotic foods may cause detox or die-off symptoms. In essence this is a good thing, but moderation is key. The Kombucha bottle recommends one bottle a day to keep healthy. When your body releases toxins, it can mimic illness – so drinking a whole bottle on your first taste can be really painful.

I encourage you to make all of your health decisions conscious ones – weigh all sides and introduce new remedies in moderation. Some books that offer a well-rounded view of the benefits of pro-biotics, and the truth behind them are: The Body Ecology Diet, by Donna Gates; and Nourishing Traditions, by, Sally Fallon. Both also have websites.

Brain Fitness

Little Miss Brain gives her two cents on how to keep your brain young and fit!

… and I promise it’s almost nothing like the boot camp in Full Metal Jacket.

A new study concluded a training program focusing on improving thinking and concentration can improve mental acuity. The study primarily focused on attention training in older adults who have a harder time blocking out distractions due to how the brain changes with age.

“In the one-on-one sessions, subjects are asked to ignore distracting information and tasks get harder as the eight-week training progresses. For the group sessions, participants learn new information relevant to healthy aging and are tested on their ability to apply the new information. All participants had an fMRI scan while they completed a task that required them to look for target words or numbers while ignoring distracting sounds. The scans showed brain activity in areas related to both sight and sound. Follow-up fMRIs showed that in the group receiving the one-on-one training, activity related to sight was increased, while activity related to sound was decreased. In addition, performance on the task was improved.”

Essentially this “brain training” is a powerful statement regarding how much control we have over how our brains function. Interesting. And for those of us who might not fit into the “older adult” category?

“There are a growing number of activities, from crossword puzzles to Sudoku, promoted as ways to keep our minds young,” said Jennifer Mozolic, a Wake Forest graduate student who presented the results."

Too bad I hate Sudoku.

Get Your Kids off the Couch This Summer & Out In the Sun!

Filed under: Fitness, General Health, Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids

With school out and your young kids at home, they've got a lot of extra time on their hands. The mere mention of fitness and taking them away from the TV or their favorite video games can often evoke reactions usually reserved for doing chores, getting haircuts, or visiting the dentist.

To make fitness less tedious for everyone, print physical games and actual exercises on strips of paper, color-coding to distinguish the games from the exercises. On 'fitness day', once or twice a week, have everyone draw and complete an exercise or play a game -- this works best with 3 to 8 year olds. Cheer each other on while completing each exercise and at the end, make them show their muscles. I don't know a kid yet that doesn't love to show them off.

Fun Tip: Get a polaroid camera and take instant photos to post on the fridge of their accomplishments and you'll soon see them excited about 'fitness day'.

thxs Tanya Ryno