Beetroot Juice: The new cardiovascular cure-all???

Check this out!  I don't usually get too excited about a new wonder drug -- but what happens when the new wonder drug is juiced up plant product?  Beetroot?  I'm not sure how that is going to taste.  Or if your teeth are going to become permenantly purple but....

Researchers are finding that the nitrates in beetroot juice lower blood pressure (the high the pressure the more effective it is!), increase our ability to exercise, and improve physical performance in events like the Tour de France.

How's this all possible?  And what are the downsides?

Well...the nitrates in the juice relax the blood vessels and cause working muscles to require less oxygen for a given amount of work.

As for the downsides.....taste, maybe?  Research has shown results with 250 ml of juice.  Seems like a very small price to pay to possibly avoid having to take blood pressure meds!

What do you think?

How to keep your kids Intuitive Eaters

This morning there was a very interesting piece on NPR talking about techniques for developing picky eaters into people who like a wider variety of foods.  Click on over  -- you might learn something that changes your eating behaviors, too!

A Thanksgiving Day appreciative look at our Gut and what it does for us

Vitamin D related to childhood obesity

Many of us are worried about what are children are getting, how much exercise they are getting, and how those things relate to their weight (and ultimately their health).

In walks a study from the University of Michigan, that takes a look at blood levels of Vitamin D and how it relates to weight gain. (Low levels indicate increased risk for weight gain).

The best source of Vitamin D is when our bodies are stimulated to manufacture it's own Vitamin D by exposure of the skin to sunlight.  So here's my question:

Are the kids with lower levels of Vitamin D the ones spending most of their time inside (as opposed to outside playing in the sunshine)?  It seems possible to me that if we sent our kids outside to play more, their levels of Vitamin D would go up and their weight would go down due to the fact they were outside moving around!

Simple enough and a Win-Win situation.  Tell me what you think.

Click here to see the Science A GoGo article.

A Kanasas State University Professor goes on the "Twinkie" Diet

Ok -- there is a LOT of confusion out there about "healthy" eating, healthy weight and portion control.  Think you have it all figured out???  You may need to think again!  Click here to read how this university professor ate Twinkies, Little Debbie snack cakes, Doritos, and the like and LOST WEIGHT, reduced his cholesterol, reduced his triglycerides and became healthier by current health standard.

This is definitely food for thought!

What we can learn from our Kids

I just read a wonderful article in the Atlantic about how some schools are using creative (and dare I say common-sensical) presentations to get our kids to choose healthier food options instead of the cookie and chocolate milk stand-bys.

Maybe we should consider like-minded changes for our own homes, too.

Halloween Candy Spending facts

According to the National Retail Federation, the average American will spend $66.28 on Halloween this year. Second only to costumes, candy eats up the largest chunk of this budget with American families spending an average of $22 each Halloween on confections.

OH MY GOODNESS!!  Who knew???

Sports drinks do not mean health drinks

Okay, this is a pretty big no brainer if you take time to think about it.  There has been a ton of research recently about perceptions of food based on the context it is presented to the consumer.  (Think "anything at Subway must be healthy because Jerod lost a bunch of weight and it's slogan is "Eat Fresh") -- so not necessarily true!

This next study talks about sugar-sweetened sports drinks, who's drinking them, and how much they are drinking.  Many times, kids are presented with these drinks as "Healthy Options" to soda because they are related to sport -- again, not necessarily true. 

Sports drinks do have large value in certain situations -- those who have lost salt and water (whether athlete or senior citizen) can benefit from the replacement factor sports drinks offer.  But if the kids are just drinking them instead of water when their shleppin' around school, then need to know it's the wrong tool for the job.

Do you want to be part of the solution ???

Jamie Oliver has thrown out a challenge to the world -- How can we engage our kids to like/LOVE fresh, real, whole foods -----




Do you have a great idea?  Do you need some good ideas for your own home?  Help the world or let the world help you....click here!

Percentage of Adults who eat 2 or more fruits per day --

Only 32.1% of adults in Michigan eat 2 or more fruits per day!  Want to see how other states compare?  Click here for a cool, interactive map!

Trying to decide on which diet to try next?

Okay -- if you originally started reading the Eating Coach blog, you will know I am an advocate of NOT DIETING to lose weight.  I will make the distinction here just to be clear -- I am not a fan of weight loss through cutting out things that you like to eat.  Honestly, if your strategy is to do without your favorites, how long are you going to last?  Forever?  I think not.

But -- if you are going to diet to lose weight as a means of addressing a particular health concern, this article provides some insight on whether to go low-fat or low-carb to achieve your goals.

The most important part:  pick areas of change you can live with.  Otherwise, you will put in all that hard work losing the weight only to gain it back when you go "off" your diet and return to your "normal" behaviors.

Wondering if your suppeiments are effective? How about "Are they safe?"

Supplements are a booming business -- and they are not regulated by the FDA (because they are neither food nor drugs).  There is lots of talk about the effectiveness of any given supplement but what about their safety?  Are they doing you more harm than good?

"Of the more than 54,000 dietary supplement products in the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, only about a third have some level of safety and effectiveness that is supported by scientific evidence," says Consumer Reports.

And yet, reports from Nutrition Business Journal say the US spent $26.7 billion in 2009.

The key?  Do your homework.  Where are your supplements being manufactured?  In the US?  China?  Mexico?  Have there been rigorous scientific studies done?

And perhaps, lastly, if you are eating a varied and nutritionally dense, whole food based diet, do you really need supplementation???

For more information on real-food eating, check out the book In Defense of Food.

Chocolate Milk as a Recovery Drink???

We have all seen the cool Gatorade commercials -- we know we need to rehydrate with carbs and electrolytes after we exercise (especially when the heat index is at 90+).  But what about chocolate milk?

Studies in the last couple years, have indicated that chocolate milk is as good or better as a recovery drink (post-exercise) even than the sports drinks with protein added.

The cool thing is that it is less expensive ----  and rich in calcium and Vitamin D, too. 

Trying to get pregnant (or not) ?

Here's something interesting....the other day our intern came across the first mention of the link between trans fats and infertility I have ever heard.

A Harvard study (if you click on this link--you need to scroll down the page to find the article) just came out indicating that:

• For every 2 percent increase in the amount of calories a woman got from trans fats instead of carbohydrates, her risk of infertility increased by 73 per cent.
• For every 2 percent increase in calories from trans fats instead of Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats, her risk of infertility increased by 79 per cent.
• For every 2 percent increase in the amount of calories from trans fats instead of monounsaturated fats, her risk of infertility more than doubled.

Why has this not been more widely publicized???

America has a drinking problem!

Oh my goodness!!  This is exactly what I am hoping to connect you with!  Men's Health has done some great visual imagery here to help you see how we are all consuming way more sugar than is good for us.  No wonder diabetes is sky rocketing!