I thought this looked interesting because it didn’t take up much space. Kinda cool. Read about Your Ultimate Winter Home Gym where you only need 7 small items.
A Comparison of Primitive and Modern Diets and Their Effects: Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
Interested in Tooth Decay and what you can learn from the traditional diets? This is an great link by Weston A. Price with a wealth of information. It also has chapter and topic links so you don’t have to scroll through the whole thing. Click here for the ebook.
Digging Deeper: Mechanics behind the benefits of exercise to health and longevity
Exercise Protects You: Just a good reminder to keep exercising
Researchers found a molecule! Sounds boring right? Well when you put exercise and molecule together of course it made me curious. So this is the title that caught my attention: The molecule behind the benefits of exercise has been found.
So how does this molecule work (its name is β-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA)? You exercise, your muscle cells send out a signal to your fat cells. Then sparks fly and things start to happen. The signal is BAIBA-the molecule they found. Why are sparks flying? Your fat cells now have the permission to turn on its own genes that burn calories. What are the things that start to happen? Things start to drop like your fasting blood sugar levels, insulin, total cholesterol*, and triglycerides and a trend toward lowered BMI (body weight compared to your height). These things are summed up as some of the metabolic risk factors which contribute to metabolic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
So how do we minimize these metabolic risk factors? Keep your cells (the building blocks of your body) healthy. How? Eat right and exercise so you can make sparks fly and other things happen. Otherwise your cells are sending out some poorly made communication signals and your fat cells just say “Blah!”
Definition of Metabolism: the chemical processes by which a plant or an animal uses food, water, etc., to grow and heal and to make energy (Merriam Webster Online Dictionary). When the metabolic processes of the body are broken or impaired then the body fails to function normally and health problems occur.
*Read up on Cholesterol to get a better picture of why it is important to your body and what levels in your blood are considered beneficial or harmful. There is always more to the story.
Other explanations of the Metabolic Syndrome and Metabolic Health: article article
Article Abstract Reference with Diagram: Click Here
Milk Allergies: Need More Options?
A friend of mine (thank you Ann!) forwarded me this link, and so I thought I would share it. The author explains the possible dangers of synthetic vitamins namely Vitamin A and Vitamin D2 found in milk alternatives. Find article here: Coconut and Almond Milk in Cartons Not a Healthy Buy by Sarah in TheHealthyHomeEconomist. I also like that the author gives three different homemade alternatives to the alternatives: check out how to make your own rice, coconut, and almond milk here. Remember the things you eat the most of try to make the healthiest: that’s the best start to a healthier diet.
Its best to have your Vitamin A in beta carotene form and your Vitamin D in the D3 form. This is especially important for pregnant women–check your prenatals.
Informational: “Grass-Fed Basics”
Pasture Raised Animals
Did you want to dig a little deeper into the question: “Why is eating foods from grass-fed animals healthier?” Check out this article called Grass-Fed Basics by Jo Robinson. Basically do you want to eat foods from animals raised on processed foods or fresh pasture grown foods? Pasture raised animal food products have the correct proportion of nutrient and vitamins and minerals. For example, the ratio of unsaturated fat vs. saturated fat in meats is healthier in pasture raised animals. Its just all in the right proportion!
CrossFit: Is it the best fitness routine for your body?
Well, you get to decide. However, I found this article that brought up interesting points so I thought I would share it. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research published an article examining the effects of CrossFit high intensity workouts on aerobic fitness and body composition. Results showed an improved VO2 max and decreased body fat percentage in both men and women. Obviously, these are excellent results!! Within the article you find that 16% of the 54 participants quit the program due to overuse or injury and that is where the concern is based from. Can CrossFit actually be detrimental to your musculoskeletal system causing injuries?
An article from Outside Magazine shares their thoughts on CrossFit and injury to participants and the thoughts behind it. Outside Magazine also has another rebuttal article here.
In 2011 the military with the American College of Sports Medicine did a review on Extreme Conditioning Programs (EFC’s) which for example include CrossFit and Insanity. They found “That is an apparent disproportionate musculoskeletal injury risk from these demanding programs, particularly for novice participants, resulting in lost duty time, medical treatment, and extensive rehabilitation…..Moreover, certain distinctive characteristics of ECPs appear to violate recognized accepted standards for safely and appropriately developing muscular fitness and are not uniformly aligned with established and accepted training doctrine”
While I think those who excel in CrossFit are amazing, and as you know, I am all about people being fit and involved in a workout routine, I always had a hesitancy about certain aspects of CrossFit and such like it. Is my hesitancy founded on any particular research–no absolutely not. I am concerned about the weights and toll on the body and competitiveness that could push a person to injury even if you build up to it. The intensity and weights seem unnatural to me and that will always give me a hesitancy. Anyways, I want my hesitancy to be proved wrong because I am excited about CrossFit, and how it helps people get into fitness routine. Maybe these articles are good because it makes people take a pause and evaluate the independently run CrossFit Box’s staff expertise in proper exercise training.
Throughout history, people lifted “weights” based on tools needed for survival and the type of job they did. They ate off the land with the hidden arts of traditional cooking. And men and women were strong and powerful with body’s made for endurance. Lean muscles. Lots of reps with “lean” weights makes more sense to me. And as with any sport you do, crossTRAINING should be a requirement.
Beautiful Bone Broth: An Ancient Food Tradition in All Cultures
I have been perfecting my bone broth and its a beautiful thing. Can you see the gelatin consistency in the pictures? That is what you want it to look like. Beautiful!! All ancient cultures have some form of a bone broth whether made out of fish, beef, or chicken.
Although low in calcium, bone broth has other trace nutrients, namely the amino acids proline and glycine, that are essential to building strong bones. These amino acids are some of the key components to building collagen which is the structural component to bones, tendons, joints, skin, corneas, cartilage, the gut, and blood vessels. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, making up about 25%-35% of whole body content.
Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel has a well researched article called: Research Reveals Low Calcium Content in Bone Broth. A key point she brings up is that collagen is more important to bone strength and fracture resistance than calcium alone as it forms the cross links (or scaffolding/structural component) for your bones. Along with collagen supporting nutrients, it contains magnesium, phosphorus and silica–just to name a few. Bone broth is a wealth of easily absorbable and digestible minerals. So if your diet is low in calcium from milk you can benefit from bone broth for the re-mineralization and strengthening of your bones and joints. Yes, its a super food that should be incorporated into every kitchen in America.
Using a Mason jar to store broth in the refrigerator
Lets dig a little deeper into how gone broth is beneficial to joints and skin. Bone broth contains gelatin (mostly composed of the amino acids proline and glycine), glucosamine, and chondroitin which are good for your joints and skin. For example, glucosamine increases hyaluronic acid in our joints and skin. Hyaluronic acid helps lubricate your joints and improves skin moisture and smoothness (less wrinkles). Get this-Cellulite is not just too much fat collecting but a break down of the structural component of skin called collagen which keeps fat in its place.
Thought: Could adequate collagen in your diet help prevent or lessen stretch marks? Maybe.
Freezing as frozen cubes from an ice tray is a great way for adding to baby food or your own recipes
Another thought: I believe bone broth is especially good throughout a person’s lifetime to keep their skin and joints in top condition. Yes, we are a product of our genetics and what our ancestors ate, but we also can reverse predisposed genetic trends, keep the good genes working, and pass along healthy genes to our children. Find a great explanation of the benefits and nutrients found in bone broth and a recipe: click here.
Want to increase the gelatin content? Add chicken feet to your sock. To increase the your gelatin content in your diet 100% pure gelatin can be added to just about everything. For supplementation, taking about 2 tablespoons per day for an adult is a good rule of thumb. Two good sources are: Bernard Jensen Gelatin or Great Lakes Gelatin.
Some good informational reads:
- The surprising therapeutic benefits of gelatin.
- Guide to choosing gelatin powder: which kind to buy?
- Great article with a key point: With enough collagen arteries remain strong and plaque free. Remember the proline content of bone broth as you read this article
The Fat dilema: whole, lowfat, nonfat?
What type of fat is best?
Whole fat, lowfat, or non fat??? That depends. I am a big proponent of lowfat when its a recipe that has ingredients that are naturally lowfat. Make sense? For example, when I throw a party I make a lowfat pasta salad (easy to do gluten free as well), and I don’t throw in extra foods that would make it higher in fat then it naturally needs to be. Lets just leave it to veggies and pasta with a small amount of olive oil. That is what I mean by lowfat, if God intended the food to be lowfat then just leave it that way.
Let’s take milk for example. The two things done to processed milk is homogenization (reduce and disperse the fat particles) and pasteurization (heating to a specific temperature to kill microorganisms) . (Vitamin D and A is also added to milk but we are not discussing that here.)
When you take a food and change it from its naturally designed state always take a pause and do your research. And know this –you can research all you want, but there generally is nothing conclusive in research unless its based on the design of nature—what was recommended one day changes in the next day in my experience. What may be the hype today is not the hype tomorrow. I have seen a trend in research such as this. Research always points back that the healthiest foods are: foods designed and left unchanged as you found it in nature. And the traditional ways to prepare the fresh whole foods are the best ways for your body to utilize the nutrients. Not a vitamin pulled out here or milk changed there.
Okay back to the milk discussion. Unless you have access to non-homogenized whole milk, nonfat may be the way to go due to the way the fat particles are processed in the commercial whole milk. But its not a win win situation. Does that mean nonfat milk is better for you? No, there is a 2013 study published in JAMA Pediatrics that suggests that drinking nonfat milk could actually cause you to gain weight compared to those who drink 2% or whole milk. This could possibly be due to the skim milk being less filling so one may compensate by eating more refined carbohydrates. And refined carbohydrates have a high glycemic index which raises blood sugar levels and triglyceride levels. Also, nonfat milk may have milk powder added to it. The process in which the skim milk powder is made causes the formation of a ton of nitrates and particles of left over cholesterol to oxide and oxidized cholesterol hardens your arteries. Here is an article in the Atlantic Times called The Controversial Life of Skim Milk that highlights some of history of skim (trim milk as the New Zealanders call it).
So raw whole milk is best but you must do your research on that and make your own decision if that is the right choice for your family. (Note: Jimbos in California carries raw milk if you are looking to get it from a grocery store). If you opt out of dairy all together, its important to learn how to make a good bone broth and incorporate that into your meals and recipes. Or see my post about milk alternatives.
What about meats? Grass fed, free range is best because the animal’s muscles (what you eat as meat) are not sedentary so the fat ratio and make up in the muscle is that of a active muscle not a sedentary one, making the meat healthier. If you are not able to get grass fed, free range, then probably the leaner choice is best, and you can add your own heat stable oil in the cooking process.
I am all for whole fat fruits such as avocado, olives, and coconut and whole fat milk if it is raw or non-homogenized. And give me a piece of free range/grass fed or game meat raised like nature intended. And eggs? One of the best breakfast foods out there, full of cholesterol and 5 grams of fat in the yolk. Enjoy!! More information on saturated fats click here. Check out my post on A1 vs A2 milk.
Saturated Fat and Heart Disease: Fact or Fiction?
Does Saturated Fat Cause Heart Disease?
Natural and unprocessed is best–its my rule of thumb and its the way I was raised. Thanks Mom!!
It was previously thought that a reduction in saturated fat would reduce the incidence of heart disease. In 2010 the American Journal of Nutrition did a study on the evidence of that statement (view the abstract here). Their conclusion was that there was no significant evidence to link saturated fat to heart disease. The study also stated that more research was needed find out if ingredients used to replace saturated fat had any link to heart disease namely sugars.
There has been some talk/interest of this again in 2013 but it looks like the nutrition field and those professionally involved in it were already on top of this a while ago so I wanted to point out that fact. Also, does this mean that you can drink whole milk–think again–check out my post on homogenized milk. Ask yourself: What’s the source and how is it processed?
Salad in Jar: How to make your own
Salad in a Jar: How to make your own
After I saw how to make oatmeal in a jar, I found this idea and thought it fun and fabulous!! Also, very healthy and convenient for those who want to bring their meals to work. Basically, you take a mason jar and fill with your favorite salad ingredients. Wait! There is a method to the concept. This site give a step by step (with pictures) and pintrest of course has tons of ideas for the process, and you can see my own brief explanation below. Remember you have the power to make the recipes healthy or not so no fear just modify if you need to. Just think simple and tasty.
Steps in a Nutshell: Get out your mason jar!!
1. Bottom layer: Salad dressing (otherwise it gets everything soggy ~ the reason behind the tall mason jar)
2. Second layer: Heavy veggies next ~ tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, carrots, celery, etc…
3. Third layer: Protein (optional) ~ chopped eggs or meat, etc…
4. Fourth layer: Lettuce
5. Fifth layer: Nuts and seeds (optional)
6. Paper towel* to soak up condensation (just tear part of a paper towel to fit)
*I put a paper towel on the bottom of the container or bag that holds my lettuce to make it last longer and stay crisper in the refrigerator so here you just put the towel on top.
Click here for some recipe ideas I found: Free E-Book or Kindle Book: Salads to Go, Recipes, Recipes