Despite a diet stuffed with cream, butter, cheese and meat, just 10 per cent of French adults are obese, compared America's colossal 33 per cent. The French live longer too, and have lower death rates from coronary heart disease - in spite of those artery-clogging feasts of cholesterol and saturated fat. This curious observation, dubbed 'the French paradox', has baffled scientists for more than a decade. And it leaves us diet-obsessed Americans baffled.
Instead of an addiction to 'invented foods' full of hydrogenated oils, E numbers and preservatives, the French way, even today, focuses on the careful preparation of unprocessed foods. It's why French women ration themselves to one rich, dark square of real chocolate rather than hogging-out on a preservative-laden, pre-frozen, half-chemical wedge of pseudo-foodo. Snobbery, alongside vanity, is an asset in the war against weight. (Consider, by contrast, the disheartening fact that the market for ready meals in the US grew by 39 per cent from 1999 to 2003; the $3 billion market for 'food bars' is expected to more than double by 2009.)
Eating in France is a social activity. There are several ,but small courses, with plenty of time between courses for the physiological feedback to kick in. In America we eat more pre-prepared foods and ready-meals; we eat fast food both in and outside the home. We have single, large meals, and family members will eat different foods at different times... Fast food is, by definition, eaten fast, so there's no time for that physiological feedback.'French people, it seems, naturally exercise strict portion control. In their study of why the French remain so much slimmer than Americans, the researchers from the University of Pennsylvania came to the remarkable conclusion that it was because the French ate less. 'Based on observation in Paris and Philadelphia,' they wrote, 'we document that the French portion sizes are smaller in comparable restaurants, in the sizes of individual portions in supermarkets, individual portions specified in cookbooks, and in the prominence of "all-you-can-eat" restaurants in dining guides.'
TO listen to President Obama’s speech on Wednesday night, or to just about anyone else in the health care debate, you would think that the biggest problem with health care in America is the system itself — perverse incentives, inefficiencies, unnecessary tests and procedures, lack of competition, and greed.
No one disputes that the $2.3 trillion we devote to the health care industry is often spent unwisely, but the fact that the United States spends twice as much per person as most European countries on health care can be substantially explained, as a study released last month says, by our being fatter. Even the most efficient health care system that the administration could hope to devise would still confront a rising tide of chronic disease linked to diet.
That’s why our success in bringing health care costs under control ultimately depends on whether Washington can summon the political will to take on and reform a second, even more powerful industry: the food industry.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three-quarters of health care spending now goes to treat “preventable chronic diseases.” Not all of these diseases are linked to diet — there’s smoking, for instance — but many, if not most, of them are.
We’re spending $147 billion to treat obesity, $116 billion to treat diabetes, and hundreds of billions more to treat cardiovascular disease and the many types of cancer that have been linked to the so-called Western diet. One recent study estimated that 30 percent of the increase in health care spending over the past 20 years could be attributed to the soaring rate of obesity, a condition that now accounts for nearly a tenth of all spending on health care.
The American way of eating has become the elephant in the room in the debate over health care. The president has made a few notable allusions to it, and, by planting her vegetable garden on the South Lawn, Michelle Obama has tried to focus our attention on it. Just last month, Mr. Obama talked about putting a farmers’ market in front of the White House, and building new distribution networks to connect local farmers to public schools so that student lunches might offer more fresh produce and fewer Tater Tots. He’s even floated the idea of taxing soda.
But so far, food system reform has not figured in the national conversation about health care reform. And so the government is poised to go on encouraging America’s fast-food diet with its farm policies even as it takes on added responsibilities for covering the medical costs of that diet. To put it more bluntly, the government is putting itself in the uncomfortable position of subsidizing both the costs of treating Type 2 diabetes and the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup.
That’s why it’s easy to imagine the industry throwing its weight behind a soda tax. School lunch reform would become its cause, too, and in time the industry would come to see that the development of regional food systems, which make fresh produce more available and reduce dependence on heavily processed food from far away, could help prevent chronic disease and reduce their costs.
Recently a team of designers from M.I.T. and Columbia was asked by the foundation of the insurer UnitedHealthcare to develop an innovative systems approach to tackling childhood obesity in America. Their conclusion surprised the designers as much as their sponsor: they determined that promoting the concept of a “foodshed” — a diversified, regional food economy — could be the key to improving the American diet.
All of which suggests that passing a health care reform bill, no matter how ambitious, is only the first step in solving our health care crisis. To keep from bankrupting ourselves, we will then have to get to work on improving our health — which means going to work on the American way of eating.
We have to be smarter about what we put in our mouths. We have to realize that what we choose to eat has a direct effect on our health. I want to live a long healthy life. If you do too, get this book...today!What's better for you --- whole milk, 2% milk or skim? Is a chicken labeled "free range" good enough to reassure you of its purity? How about "grass fed" beef? About milk: I'll bet most of you voted for reduced or non-fat. But if you'll turn to page 153 of "In Defense of Food," you'll read that processors don't make low-fat dairy products just by removing the fat. To restore the texture --- to make the drink "milky" --- they must add stuff, usually powdered milk. Did you know powdered milk contains oxidized cholesterol, said to be worse for your arteries than plain old cholesterol? And that removing the fat makes it harder for your body to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins that make milk a valuable food in the first place? About chicken and beef: Readers of Pollan's previous book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma", know that "free range" refers to the chicken's access to grass, not whether it actually ventures out of its coop. And all cattle are "grass fed" until they get to the feedlot. The magic words for delightful beef are "grass finished" or "100% grass fed".From a book reviewer:
Food. There's plenty of it around, and we all love to eat it. So why should anyone need to defend it?
Because most of what we're consuming today is not food, and how we're consuming it -- in the car, in front of the TV, and increasingly alone -- is not really eating. Instead of food, we're consuming "edible foodlike substances" -- no longer the products of nature but of food science. Many of them come packaged with health claims that should be our first clue they are anything but healthy. In the so-called Western diet, food has been replaced by nutrients, and common sense by confusion. The result is what Michael Pollan calls the American paradox: The more we worry about nutrition, the less healthy we seem to become.
But if real food -- the sort of food our great grandmothers would recognize as food -- stands in need of defense, from whom does it need defending? From the food industry on one side and nutritional science on the other. Both stand to gain much from widespread confusion about what to eat, a question that for most of human history people have been able to answer without expert help. Yet the professionalization of eating has failed to make Americans healthier. Thirty years of official nutritional advice has only made us sicker and fatter while ruining countless numbers of meals.
I have decided to try to go completely organic in what I eat. I'll have to talk to the spouse about it, and I may need to make separate food, but I am really committed to it. This blog, my project, is not just about losing weight, it is about taking care of my body and my health. The paperback version of this book is $9.00 on Amazon...go there now.Tip of the Day101 cookbooks on facebook...and her blog. Heidi is reknowned for her blog as a great place to learn to cook fresh, healthy food! Her recipes are easy to follow and use ingredients you may not have ever tried before....but the one thing they all have in common is that they are so darn tasty! You'll be eating vegetarian in no time...and you'll be enjoying it!The best way to start, after reading the book, is to go to these two sites:
The double broccolli quinoa is a great way to introduce yourself to this marvelous littlegrain....try it!!
our view from the Lake House
Hey, now even Starbuck's is getting on board and offering a gluten free orange cake...and it's not a crappy cake, it's made with whole ingredients!
About five years ago, I started this project of losing weight and getting healthy. I wanted my 50's to be my best years yet. I made a lot of changes in my diet, I joined a gym and went regularly and I made sure to walk and move every day. I've added some yoga, strength training and even little pilates to my regimen. So, I know I am a lot healthier than I was five years ago. Things are tighter and I'm stronger, and discovering my gluten intolerance and taking it out of my diet has banished all the chronic health conditions I had suffered. But....and I hate to admit that it bothers me.....I don't weigh any less than when I started. I have bounced up and down within the same five pounds since I began in earnest five years ago. I'm a dress size smaller, so the hard work I've done has changed my body for the better....but I'm still "obese". 
What are MUFAs?Oils
Pick your MUFA: Canola oil, flaxseed oil, olive oil, peanut oil, pesto sauce, safflower oil, sesame oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, walnut oil
Use them like this: Stir-fry with sesame, peanut, or canola oil; pan-fry in walnut or olive oil; cook with safflower, soybean, or sunflower oil; use flaxseed oil in salad dressings (flaxseed oil cannot be used for cooking)
One serving equals: 1 tablespoon
Recipe: Leafy Grilled Chicken Salad with Creamy Balsamic Dressing
Nuts and Seeds
Pick your MUFA: Almonds, Brazil nuts, natural peanut butter, dry-roasted cashews, dry-roasted peanuts, dry-roasted sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, roasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts
Use them like this: Eat as a snack; sprinkle on a salad
One serving equals: 2 tablespoons
Dark Chocolate
Use them like this: Any way you crave!
One serving equals: 1/4 cup
Recipe: Chocolate Pudding with Bananas and Graham Crackers
Avocado
Pick your MUFA: Florida avocado, Hass avocado
Use them like this: Slice and serve with a salad or any entrée; mash with lime juice, salt and pepper and serve with chips; chop and fold into store-bought salsa
One serving equals: 1/4 cup
Recipe: Key West Chicken-Avocado Sandwich
Olives
Pick your MUFA: Black olives, black olive tapenade, green olives, green olive tapenade
Use them like this: Serve olives as a snack; sprinkle sliced olives on pizzas, salads, or pastas; spread tapenade on crackers or sandwiches
One serving equals: 10 large olives or 2 tablespoons of tapenade
Friday again already! You know what that means....weigh in day! It was bound to happen....my scale tells me I haven't lost an ounce this week. I was only discouraged for a minute though. Because I am counting calories, I know that, technically, I must have lost some fat somewhere and water weight will make the number on the scale fluctuate. I know that even on The Biggest Loser, the contestants have weeks when they don't lose ( or they gain) even though they haven't changed their routine or diet. My body has its own mind it seems. But, my body feels different so let's take out that tape measure and see.
Salty cheese, tomatoes, and basil make this a savory treat. Pair with a tossed green salad for a light summer supper.
6 servings (serving size: 2 slices)
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl.
3. Cut phyllo sheets in half crosswise. Working with 1 phyllo sheet half at a time (cover remaining dough to keep from drying), place phyllo sheet on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat phyllo sheet with cooking spray. Repeat with 2 more layers of phyllo. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese mixture. Repeat layers 5 times, ending with 2 phyllo sheets. Coat top phyllo sheet with cooking spray; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese mixture. Pat tomato slices with a paper towel. Arrange tomato slices on top of cheese, leaving a 1-inch border. Sprinkle with onions and the remaining 6 tablespoons cheese mixture. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle with basil leaves.
Wine note: A good wine for this dish won't overwhelm the delicate phyllo but will stand up to the salty cheeses and fresh basil. A favorite that fills the bill: Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc Reserva from the Casablanca Valley of Chile. The 2008 is $11. —Karen MacNeil
BEST: A bowl of slow cooking oatmeal topped with fresh berries and a hard boiled egg.
This meal is a nutritional powerhouse and easy to pull off if you make the oatmeal and the eggs the night before. Fiber and protein help slow down the digestive process, making you feel full longer and keeping your blood sugar steady. To make this meal even better, add good fats by spreading peanut butter or avocado on whole grain toast or an English muffin.
As surprising as it may be, the warm comfort breakfast food you ate as a kid is actually a powerful fat burning food source-oatmeal! Packed full of oats, soluble fiber, and protein, oatmeal boosts weight loss and fat burning processes as it keeps consumers feeling fuller longer.
The Fat Burning Powers of Oatmeal
Oatmeal's most powerful fat burning agent is its incredible fiber source. The fiber in oatmeal is soluble, which means that your body slowly moves this food product through your digestive tract, making you feel fuller and more satisfied for longer periods of time. Oatmeal, as well as most other unprocessed whole grains, is an outstanding source of fiber which boosts weight loss results; yet the other key benefit to oatmeal is its ability to stabilize blood sugar levels and boost the body's metabolic fat burning engines.
- Oatmeal and Fiber
As consumers of oatmeal feel more satisfied with the intake of fiber, dieters will feel less tempted to overeat or indulge in snacks or unhealthy temptations. When your hunger pangs are naturally suppressed, you are more capable of limiting the caloric and food intake; as a result, the body begins to feed on stored fat cells in order to generate energy. Simply by consuming oatmeal, the body should naturally go into a fat burning mode, resulting in the utilization of fatty cells for energy, support, and body functioning.
- Oatmeal and Blood Sugar Levels
As oatmeal boosts the body's intake of fiber, it simultaneously serves as a fat fighting agent because it stabilizes the body's blood sugar levels. Essentially, anytime you consume a food, your body converts the food into glucose, or sugar. This intake of food and rise in glucose levels leads to an immediate energy rush, followed by an inevitable energy crash, as eventually you feel lethargic, tired, and may even experience headaches after eating high-sugar or highly-processed foods. Unlike most foods, however, oatmeal has the opposite glucose-rising effect on the body. As oatmeal's fiber content allows the body to digest this food more slowly, the body does not react to this intake of food by immediately producing glucose and energy; on the contrary, oatmeal keeps the blood sugar levels more stable, as a steady amount of glucose is released at a steady and safe rate. As a result, you'll feel less tired after consuming this fat burning food, and you'll also be less likely to encounter an energy crash later in the day. The greatest fat burning benefit of this helpful side-effect is that the body's natural response to tiredness or fatigue is to crave or eat a sugary food or treat, as this will provide the body with quick and short-term energy. Because the body is less likely to feel fatigued when consuming oatmeal, dieters are ultimately less likely to crave sweeter foods and unhealthy snack options; therefore, dieters can again avoid temptations with minimal physical cravings or distractions, allowing the body to continue to burn up fat stores for energy supplies.
Choosing the Best Fat Burning Oatmeal Products
While dieters will benefit from traditional or instant oatmeal, individuals can also try out new and scientifically engineered oatmeal products in order to experience enhanced fat burning benefits. For example, companies today, such as Quaker Oats and Kashi, sell oatmeal varieties that are higher in protein. When paired with the natural benefit of fiber, this added protein boost will help consumers feel even more satisfied and satiated, again reinforcing the body's ability to limit caloric intake while burning stored body fat.
When perusing the oatmeal aisle at the grocery store, however, avoid the sugar-laden sweeter varieties, as an excess in sugar will essentially eliminate all of the fat burning potentials that oatmeal has to offer. If you can't eat your oatmeal plain, add some nuts, a small amount of honey (as this is a natural and unprocessed sugar), or a handful of blueberries into your bowl. This will add a bit of natural flavor without stealing all of your fat burning benefits! Also, as you are experiencing enhanced fat burning benefits, keep in mind that a steady intake of oatmeal as part of a regular diet also lowers harmful cholesterol levels, and lowers risks of certain cancers, such as colon cancer. Eat up, lose weight, and enjoy all of the wellness perks of oatmeal.
So, I'm off to the health food store today to get a big bag of gluten free oatmeal. I'll cook up a big batch to keep in the fridge so I just have to microwave it in the morning.
Tip of the Day
So, I found a recipe using black beans AND apples:The Definitive Flat Tummy Rules
You have to include fiber in your diet
If you want to lose weight and trim inches off your waist, fiber is HUGE. And the reason it's huge is because it fills your stomach with much fewer calories. It also keeps you feeling full much longer. To sum it up, fiber enables you to not only eat less now, but also later in the day.
But you need plenty of fiber to accomplish this. The FDA advises 25 grams of fiber a day. But, that's not nearly enough if you want to flatten your gut now and keep it that way. You should shoot for a minimum of 20 grams of fiber per day. And it's not difficult to do. I'll show you how easy it is.
Go to Wal Mart and pick up a can of black beans and three apples. Eat that every single day. How hard it is that?
Black beans should only be used a side dish. They should not be the main course of your meal. With that said, you can fit black beans in just about kind of meal.
You can probably figure out how to eat 3 apples a day. Just substitute an apple for that king-size bag of chips you devour 20 minutes before going to bed.
Walk Up and Down Stairs
If you have stairs in your home or the building you live in, tie on some shoes and get stepping.
All you need to do is walk up and down them for 10 minutes a day, 5 days per week. Better yet, do it every single day.
Don't tell me you can't do that!
That may not seem like much, but you'll notice immediate and long-term benefits. If you commit to this for just two weeks, you'll see what I mean.
See, how easy it all can be?
All you have to do is follow these 2 easy flat tummy rules and your stomach will be something you'll be showing off sooner than you think.
Here's a great way to enjoy those summer fruits!Makes 3 servings, 1 cup each
1 ¼ cups orange juice
1 ripe medium banana, peeled and sliced
1 cup frozen blueberries, blackberries or raspberries
½ cup silken tofu
2 ice cubes, crushed (see Tip)
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
Combine orange juice, banana, berries, tofu and crushed ice in a blender; cover and blend until smooth and frothy. Sweeten with sugar, if desired. Serve immediately.
Tip: An easy way to crush ice is to place cubes in a heavy-duty plastic bag and break them with a rolling pin.
Per serving: 135 calories; 2 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol;
27 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 19 mg sodium; 376 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (93% daily value).
I've never liked math and I don't have much of an aptitude for numbers ( I'm an artist after all). But the numbers don't lie!
feel like I found the method of understanding that will make it easier for me to stay on track each day, knowing what my target is and knowing that it works. I kind of feel like Dorothy when she is looking for answers from Glinda the Good Witch "Why Dorothy, you've always had the power, you just had to discover it for yourself!"
It’s the type of fat that matters in addition to how much you consume. Reducing your intake of some types of fats reduces the risk of several chronic diseases, but other types of fats are absolutely essential to our health and well-being.
To understand good and bad fats, you need to know the names of the players and some information about them:
Okay, so you realize you need to avoid saturated fat and trans fat… but how do you get the healthy monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and omega-3 fats everyone keeps talking about?
It is incredibly easy to make your own salad dressing. ....and you won't get all that sugar and chemicals in the bottled kind. And, it just tastes better!Here is a link to lots of Healthy Salad dressing recipes
Healthy eating starts with knowing the facts about what you are putting in your mouth. Reading nutrition labels can help you make wise food choices; knowing how to read the "Nutrition Facts" on a food label and not relying on phrases like “healthy” or “low-fat” is a key step. Being in better control of your eating habits helps you to feel in better control of other aspects of your life. Food is not the enemy; it has sustained us for millennia. Eating should be an adventure and not an ordeal.
