Pecans Have It All

Pecans have it all. Besides being one of the most elegant, versatile and rich-tasting nuts you can put on your plate, they offer up a package of health benefits that’s very impressive. In fact, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend eating 4 to 5 servings of nuts each week.

The Mayo Clinic conducted a study which found that all nuts are nutrient dense and naturally cholesterol free. Not only are nuts cholesterol free but, studies have suggested that eating pecans may help reduce LDL cholesterol levels, leading to a reduction in the risk of heart attacks and coronary artery disease. The serving size for nuts is about one ounce, which equals about 15 pecan halves. Pecans are a great staple for vegetarians, because one serving of pecans can take the place of the protein found in an ounce of meat. Pecans are also a rich source of oleic acid, the same type of fatty acid found in olive oil. Researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago recently found in laboratory tests that oleic acid has the ability to suppress the activity of a gene in cells thought to trigger breast cancer. While this area of study is still in its early stages, the researchers say it could eventually translate into a recommendation to eat more foods rich in oleic acid, like pecans and olive oil. Researchers from Loma Linda University in California and New Mexico State University in Las Cruces , New Mexico , have confirmed that when pecans are part of the daily diet, levels of “bad” cholesterol in the blood drop. Pecans get their cholesterol-lowering ability from both the type of fat they contain and the presence of beta-sitosterol, a natural cholesterol-lowering compound. Eating 1 ½ ounces of pecans a day, when its part of a heart-healthy diet, can reduce the risk of heart disease. Moreover, a study published in the June 2004 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that pecans, hazelnuts, and walnuts contained the highest antioxidant levels of all nuts tested. The same natural compound that gives pecans its cholesterol-lowering power, has also been shown to be effective in treating the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland in men. About two ounces of pecans provides a dose of beta-sitosterol found to be effective. In addition, a recent laboratory study from Purdue University found that gamma-tocopherol, the type of vitamin E found in pecans, has the ability to kill prostate cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. Last but not least, despite the widely held belief that “nuts are fattening,” several population studies have found that as nut consumption increased, body fat actually decreased. To Your Health, John

Sunny Facts - Vitamin D And You

A study by researchers at the University of California found that solar ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation can significantly reduce the risk of 16 different types of cancer by naturally stimulating the production of vitamin D in the skin. The study's authors are Cedric F. Garland, Dr. P.H., from the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and William B. Grant, Ph.D., director of the Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center (SUNARC). "Enhancing vitamin D status appears to be the single most important simple thing people can do to reduce their risk of cancer, apart from avoiding tobacco and moderation in the intake of alcohol," say Cedric Garland and William Grant. It has been frequently reported that those who work outdoors have a reduced risk of developing melanoma. The reasons appear to be twofold: • They develop a tan that blocks the penetration of ultraviolet radiation so it can't produce the free radicals that can lead to melanoma. • They produce lots of vitamin D.

The researchers recommend that people get their vitamin D from exposure to natural sunlight. Fair-skinned people who live in sunny regions of the country can produce about 1,500 IU of vitamin D in 20 minutes of exposure at noon if only 10 to 20 percent of their body is exposed -- such as chest, back and arms. People should try to expose more of their skin surface for a shorter amount of time, rather than stay in the sun longer with minimal skin exposure, the study says. Darker-skinned people may need up to four times as long to make the same amount of vitamin D as fair-skinned people. The study recommends wearing hats to avoid prolonged sun exposure on more sensitive parts of the body, such as the face, and to keep moving when in the sun. Garland and Grant caution fair-skinned people to avoid over-exposure, since the skin produces sufficient vitamin D in just 20 minutes a day. To Your Health, John Hall

10 Simple Tips For Kicking Sugar Cravings

1. Avoid Processed Junk Foods You know from watching 'Hungry For Change' that sugar and processed foods can be as addictive as heroin. Eating sugar artificially stimulates a region of your brain called the nucleus accumbens, to produce dopamine, the pleasure neurotransmitter. Soon dopamine levels drop and we start to feel “flat”...or a bit “down”. We crave this pleasant, feel-good feeling again...so sugar leads to addiction. 2. Boost Your Serotonin Serotonin, aka “the happiness hormone,” can be raised through a natural low glycemic diet, daily exercise and plenty of deep restful sleep. When you have sufficient serotonin, you are less likely to have cravings for sweets. 3. Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With All Natural Stevia The all-natural sweetener, stevia, has zero calories, does not raise blood sugar levels and is 300 times sweeter than sugar. If you have sugar cravings and want to satisfy your sweet tooth safely, stevia is your best bet. Stevia comes in a liquid and powder form from your local health food store.

4. Drink Plenty of Water You may sometimes think that your body is asking for sugar, when in fact it’s dehydrated and really craving water! Try this simple delicious cravings-buster lemonade: In 8 oz. of water, add the juice of ½ lemon and 5 drops of stevia. You could also try a warm cup of green tea, sweetened with stevia with your meals. This way your sweet taste is satisfied and you won’t want a dessert. 5. Keep Your Blood Sugar Stable Eat several small, healthy meals throughout your day instead of three large portions to avoid dips in blood sugar. Your evening meal should be one of the preferred gluten-free grain-like seeds (quinoa, millet, buckwheat, amaranth). If you do this, your body will produce more serotonin, you’ll feel happier and you’ll sleep much better at night.

6. Have Plenty of Greens Loaded with nutrition greens help boost your energy and help reduce cravings for sugar and processed foods.Green juices are an amazing way to add life giving and detoxifying plant chlorophyll to your bloodstream. As Jason Vale says in 'Hungry For Change', "juicing is the ultimate fast food, it is a 15 minute nutrient express to health". Some of my favorite and simple green juice recipes include: Green Juice Recipe Ideas: - Celery, lemon and pear (or apple) - Celery, cucumber, lemon (leave the skin on) and pear (or apple) - Celery, cucumber, kale, lemon and pear (or apple) - Celery, cucumber, lemon, parsley and pear (or apple) I also like to stir whatever green powders I have on hand, try barley grass, wheatgrass, spirulina or chlorella powders.

7. Eat More Sea Vegetables Loaded with vitamins and minerals, seaweed or sea vegetables make for a a great addition to salads and meals! They are mineral-rich while eating anything with sugar immediately depletes minerals from your body. Sprinkle dulse flakes on your salad or an avocado. Add seaweed to your soups for a rich salty and mineral flavour. mmm...

8. Eat and Drink More Fermented Foods and Drinks Fermented foods and drinks can be one of the most important ways to reduce or even eliminate cravings for sugar. Try live fermented kefir, sauerkraut, kim-chi, kombucha tea, natural plain yoghurt, coconut kefir or any of your favourite fermented foods. You’ll be amazed at how the sour taste of fermented foods and drinks relieves the desire for sugar and processed foods.

9. Learn Meditation & Stress Reduction Techniques Meditation can help ward off cravings by helping reduce stress. Stress creates the hormone cortisol, which increases your blood sugar. This is a vicious cycle that damages your adrenals and creates sugar cravings. Try a yoga or meditation class before or after work to calm your body and mind.

10. Try EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) If you’re looking to shift the desire for sugar, lose weight, stop a habit of binging or eliminate any addiction, you owe it to yourself to learn about EFT. EFT is an easy tool that anyone can learn in minutes. You simply tap on emotional acupressure points on your body while repeating key statements that help shift your body, mind and habits. To Your Health, J

Scale Addiction

Weight loss. Two words feared in the female language. From the day they are born, females hear their mom’s, aunts, sisters, friends, neighbors and Barbie on TV talking about it. They learn that the term weight loss to a woman is synonymous to ‘libido’ is to a man. So why? For the past 40 years, Americans have been taught to focus on a silly little dial with numbers (or an LED screen). And that these numbers define their self- worth, their progress, their true inner core of being a woman. The more weight you lose…the better you are doing. The less you lose…you are lazy, or worse, just destined to be overweight. Marketers have learned this is the main selling point in peddling their products. “Lose 10lbs in 10 days on the _______________(fill in the blank) new overnight miracle cure” What’s interesting about this whole concept in weight loss is that America and the UK are the only countries who really focus on weight loss. Don’t believe me? Try buying a ‘weight loss’ scale in Japan, Norway or Columbia. This concept of ‘weight loss’ is foreign (pun intended). So where did the whole ‘weight loss’ thing begin? No one is sure but it’s my belief that it begun around 1950-1960 when doctors began setting up offices where they would measure their customers height and weight. Then once a year, the client would come in and the customer’s weight was taken again. Naturally,if they lost weight, their health had improved. If they gained weight, their health likely suffered. So when the doctors began seeing this correlation, they realized that losing weight was healthy and gaining weight was not. With the influx of media channels (TV, radio, print), saavy marketing companies began using this whole weight loss correlation as a way to market good health. Today, it’s marketed as get happy, feel sexy, regain your confidence or turn his head again. So what’s the rub with ‘weight loss’? Well….we believe that weight loss as a long term indicator is a great measurement of progress. Weighing yourself once a month or every two months helps keep you accountable. Scale addiction… Most people we deal with have become addicted to the scale. They get up at 8am, weigh themselves. They go and pee…they weigh. They eat, they weigh. They workout, they weigh. They pee again, they weigh. By the end of the 3rd day of their new miracle cure diet, they have weighed themselves 50 times and they finally give up out of frustration. They’re amazed that their friend Betty lost 10lbs in 1 day on this diet so therefore they believe the problem lies with them. On a short term basis, weight loss is deceiving and ultimately defeating. It’s a worthless tool that will drive you crazy. My simple recommendation, don’t do it. I believe in focusing on routines. These routines become habit. Habit becomes lifestyle change. Then, and only then, does healthy weight loss occur. What’s great about this philosophy is that when you stop focusing on a number, you actually begin focusing on the core of the problem. Your habits. The mental agony of weight loss is when you don’t see the ‘number’ (results) you are promised or hope for, you then begin blaming yourself (or cursing God…or your husband J). You then begin believing that you were just meant to be overweight. You then give up. Here’s the main key you must learn about this whole crazy weight loss thing. Eat the right food and your body burns body fat as fuel. Eat the wrong food and your body creates body fat after it uses some of this ‘wrong food’ as fuel. When your body burns body fat, you experience ‘weight loss’ . It takes your body several days to burn body fat. Some people burn fat faster than others. The simplistic theory that 3500 calories = 1lb of fat simply does not hold true. Thus, you must stop believing you will lose 50lbs in 2 months. Good health and weight loss take time. The great news: You can begin changing your habits immediately. Okay then, what do I do now? So if I discourage weight loss as a measurement what do I recommend you use to monitor your progress so that you do not waste more of your precious time or energy going down another useless diet/fitness/weight loss path? (*I wish I had a cute acronym like ‘S.E.X.Y’ or ‘R.I.P.P.E.D’ to add some ‘umph’ to my summary below but I do not). a. First Understand & Accept – you must understand and accept that health and fitness takes time. You will begin ‘feeling’ the results within a matter of days. You will experience sugar withdrawals. When you cut out simple starches, sugar, fructose from your diet, your body will react. This is a sign that your body is shifting it’s ‘fuel source’ from the wrong foods to your stored body fat b. Patience – ignore the noise. Learning to ignore the noise around you and in your head is 99% of the battle. You must remind yourself you are changing your life and not worrying about weights or dates. Remind yourself that patience is what you must focus on to learn health. c. Size Reduction – your clothes, bra strap, jewelry, etc will get looser. This is the outward noticeable sign. Don’t expect to get in a size 2 before your high school reunion. Just know you will reduce SEVERAL sizes over the next 12 months. (one of our 1,700 trainers told me a great illustration he uses for his clients regarding weight loss vs. size reduction, it goes something like this…”Imagine you weigh 180lbs and wear a size 14. Then tomorrow, we get in a rocket ship and go to the moon. On the moon, you would weigh only 30lbs…however you are still in a size 14. The lesson…focus on size reduction. It’s the true barometer of how you are doing!) I tell a lot of clients if they want to lose weight fast, simply stop eating and walk 3 hours a day (of course I am not serious). They will lose weight but when they begin eating again, the fat fairy will come back with a vengeance along with her 2 cousins ‘Cellulite and Panty Lines’. You must stop focusing on the numbers of a dial. You must address the core of the problem… eating habits. Not less, not starvation. But simply the wrong foods So…what are your eating habits?

Superfoods, Weight Loss, and You!

You may have asked yourself what is it that makes a food "super"? According to Dr. Steven Pratt, who coined the term in 2004, a food must meet certain criteria to be classified as a superfood. The food must contain nutrients which improve and enhance one's longevity, it must be backed by peer reviewed scientific studies outlining their health benefits, and it must be readily available for consumption in the general public. Apples, blueberries, broccoli, garlic, oats, tomatoes and walnuts are just a few among many nutrient dense superfoods. According to Dr. Pratt's website, "These foods were chosen because they contain high concentrations of crucial nutrients, as well as the fact that many of them are low in calories. Foods containing these nutrients have been proven to help prevent and, in some cases, reverse the well-known effects of aging, including cardiovascular disease, Type II Diabetes, hypertension and certain cancers." The fact that many of these superfoods are low in calories and nutrient dense would suggest that they are perfect for weight loss. Dr. Pratt said, "The most common thing I hear is how much weight people lost without trying to lose weight." He goes on to say, "It's the non-diet diet. It's food you can eat for a lifetime." To Your Health, John Hall

The Amazing Kernel

According to research completed in March 2001 by Dr. K. Phillips of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the sunflower kernel is rich in a number of nutrients that have been shown to protect against cardiovascular and other diseases and to act as antioxidants and anti-carcinogens. When considered in aggregate, this amazing kernel packs a powerful nutritional punch. Sunflower kernels contain high levels of vitamin E, betaine, phenolic acids, and choline. In addition, the kernel is a good source of arginine and lignans. Each of these compounds, while perhaps unfamiliar to the layperson, has been studied by the scientific community and shown to offer a variety of health benefits. Vitamin E (Tocopherols): May protect against cardiovascular disease. Betaine: May protect against cardiovascular disease. Phenolic acids (chlorogenic acid): Antioxidant and anti-carcinogen. Choline: Plays a role in memory and cognitive function. Arginine: Potential heart benefits. Lignans: May protect against heart disease and some cancers; lowers LDL cholesterol and triglyceride.

Sunflower seeds offer an easy way to add some crunch, taste, and nutrition to a variety of foods. Toss them over your salad, mix them in with popcorn, serve them a la carte, or even add them to your fresh baked, whole grain breads and muffins. To Your Health, J

8 Tips for Avoiding the Holiday Pounds

It's that time of year. The leaves turn majestic hues of red and gold. The air becomes fresh and crisp. We can finally put an extra blanket on the bed and cuddle up with a cup of hot tea. Yes, it's fall. We just spent 8 months killing ourselves to get into that bathing suit, but now we've replaced it with a worn pair of jeans and a much more relaxed attitude towards food. After all, it's the holiday season, and no one'll notice a few extra pounds under layers of clothes. A little extra weight just gives us a New Year's resolution to focus on, right?

Wrong. According to a study by researchers at Sweden's Linköping University, those 4 weeks of celebrating can actually lead to long-term weight gain. Essentially, the researchers took a group of healthy young people, increased their caloric intake by 70 percent, and lowered their exercise levels. They also had a control group whose diets weren't altered. At 4 weeks, the participants in the test group had gained an average of 14 pounds. After 6 months, and no longer on an increased-calorie diet, only a third of these participants had returned to their original weight. After 1 year, the test group members were each still an average of 3.3 pounds heavier. After 2 and a half years, the "gluttonous" group continued to gain, while the control group still maintained a stable weight. Now, most of us don't increase our calories that drastically for 30 days straight. Sure, there's Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving leftovers, Hanukkah, the work Christmas party, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day, not to mention the extra sweets, cocktails, and (ahem) fruitcake. But according to the New England Journal of Medicine, the actual average weight gain over the holidays is only 1 pound. (They obviously didn't poll my family or friends.) So what's the big deal? The problem is, a year later, the vast majority of people have not removed that pound. Continue this pattern over 30 or 40 holiday seasons and the problem becomes—quite literally—huge. So how are we supposed to get through the holidays without gaining weight? Here are eight effective ways to get yourself ready to beat the holiday bulge. 1) Buy clothes that fit right now. This first tip might be a bit pricy, but it's a great motivational aid in staving off weight gain. A new addition to your wardrobe in a size that shows off your summer body can be all you need to prevent those extra pounds from creeping on. Imagine that beautiful holiday dress or great pair of pants, then imagine being unable to zip them up thanks to sugar cookies. Yeah, no one wants that. So before you begin the festivities, go buy yourself something perfect to wear to your parties and hang it someplace visible, so it serves as a constant reminder. Perhaps on the TV where you play your P90X®, INSANITY®, or TurboFire® videos, or in front of that treadmill that might be starting to collect a little dust in the corner, or on your refrigerator door . . . that way, if it doesn't fit quite the same way the next time you try to slip into it, you know it's time to get back to work. 2) Write it down. We try to write down everything we eat, right? We spend countless hours each month staring at a food diary, adding up our calories, and seeing if we got the correct balance of macronutrients. And then the holidays happen, and our little book ends up in the bottom drawer. It's almost like we're hoping that if we didn't write it down, it didn't happen. Unfortunately, the scale doesn't fit in that bottom drawer. The truth is, if we would write down the not-so-perfect meals and treats, we could find a way to compensate for them, at least a bit. For example, you have a peppermint brownie in the break room at work, which you know is carbohydrates and fat. Eat one less portion of carbohydrate and one less portion of fat for your dinner. It's not ideal, but it'll help. Or perhaps you couldn't resist Mom's homemade scones for breakfast. You could plan on an extra 20 or 30 minutes of your workout tonight. The point is, if we write it down, and do the math, we can lessen the damage. It isn't a good long-term plan, but to help compensate for a few slip-ups, it can help. 3) Keep exercising. Most fitness trainers will tell you the slowest point of their year is between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Sure, their clients schedule workouts with the best of intentions, but then they cancel them for parties and gift shopping. It's hard to remain balanced when you have a million things to do and gifts to buy. Yet the greatest gift you can give yourself is to stay focused on your fitness

goals and get your workout in. Shopping getting in the way? Do it online and save some time. Parties getting in the way? Just show up later. Who cares if everyone else is a couple of cocktails ahead of you? You'll be healthier, and you won't have to worry about the embarrassing YouTube® videos in the morning. Just stay consistent, even if it's inconvenient. You'll be much less likely to look like Santa (both belly-wise and red-nose-wise) at the end of the month. 4) Eat before parties. Most holiday parties don't focus on low-fat, low-calorie refreshments, so unless you're organizing the event, the best damage control is to show up with a full tummy. Make sure you eat your meals and snacks throughout the day, and try to eat a healthy meal before attending any party. If you're going straight from work, prepare a healthy and filling snack to eat on the way. You'll be a lot less likely to swim in mayonnaise dips and pigs in blankets if you're full. 5) Get junk out of the house. The majority of people don't get into their car at midnight, drive to the store, buy the ingredients for cookies, bake them, and then stay up to eat them. But if those homemade cookies that Linda in accounting made for you are already on your kitchen counter, you better believe you'll find a way to justify it. Frankly, at 12:30 AM, after a rotten day, for most of us there's nothing like a few cookies to drown our sorrows. The secret is to get the garbage out of the house. Send it to work with your significant other, donate it to a bake sale, re-gift it to your 100-pound friend with the perfect metabolism, or just dump it in the trash. Linda will never know. If you have holiday dinner leftovers, box them up for your guests individually and send them home with them. If your family still sends you that Pepperidge Farm® cookie assortment, invite a bunch of people over for a pre-party party and serve 'em up before the drinks. Try not to be wasteful, but get the less-than-healthy temptations out of your reach. 6) Offer to prepare healthy fare. This suggestion won't be well received by those of us who'd rather spend Thanksgiving sitting around watching football than toiling in the kitchen, but if you do the cooking, you have the control. Your family could have a tasty and satisfying meal without ingesting thousands of calories and fat grams. The way the turkey is prepared, the type of stuffing, how vegetables are made,

whether the cranberries are real, and countless other things can make or break the healthiness of a meal. There are tons of cookbooks out there, plus recipes in this and past newsletters, that can help you out. Yes, it does require a bit of work. But you're part of the Beachbody community. You can do anything! 7) Choose wisely and proportionally. Something occurs during a holiday meal. It's like a Las Vegas buffet—we feel like we have to eat some of everything. We feel almost like those foods will never exist again, and this is our last meal on the planet. This year, why not try to eat only your favorites, as in two or three items, and keep the portions to the size of your palm? If you're still hungry, try to fill up on veggies (preferably ones that aren't drowned in butter or cream-of-mushroom soup). If you want dessert, lean toward a small slice of pumpkin pie (220 calories) as opposed to pecan (a heftier 543), leaving out the hydrogenated nondairy whipped topping if possible. If you're going to have an alcoholic beverage, go with a flute of champagne (100 calories) as opposed to that rum-laced eggnog (with more than four times more calories, at 420). Just a few wise choices will save you a ton of calories, and probably a significant amount of heartburn as well. 8) Don't beat yourself up. Quite possibly the worst thing you can do is beat yourself up over a bit of holiday indulgence. Yes, it does stink to backslide after working your tail off. But sometimes it doesn't stink as much as dealing with your mother when you turn down her brisket and potato pancakes. Sometimes, we don't have time to go to work, buy a Christmas tree, decorate it with our kids, make dinner, oversee homework, tuck kids in bed, and spend an hour doing our Beachbody workout of choice. We can only do our very best. Mentally beating yourself up will only make you feel worse, which never helped anyone get back to their fitness program. So if you happen to gain that 1 extra pound this holiday season, be part of the rare group who actually follows through with their New Year's resolution and manages to shed it again. A week of hard work and a slight calorie deficit should do the trick. Resolutions don't come easier than that! A wise person once said, "The toughest part of a diet isn't watching what you eat. It's watching what other people eat." That really is the crux of the problem with dining out in public. When you're surrounded by people who are consuming the equivalent of their body weight in fat grams, it's really tough to stick to that chicken breast and steamed veggies. But if you have a game plan, you're more likely to walk out with both a satisfied tummy and a satisfied mind. So spend a few minutes on researching, on eating, and on exercising beforehand, and be strong when you get there. The effort will be worth it, and you might even be an inspiration to your dining partner. What greater reward is there than that? Oh, yeah—a six-pack.