Sugar Water

I went to an APS (Association for Psychological Science) convention this weekend in Washington D.C. with Brian. There were many talks about the all types of psychology research, such as environmental, cognitive, and social. There was one talk that interested me the most. It was called, "Is there the courage to change America's diet?" and it was given by Kelly Brownell, a professor at Yale University. In short, his research found that you can feed people all the knowledge there is about what is good for them and what is bad for them, but it doesn't work. Environment plays a big role in how and what we eat. For example, fast food restaurants are cheap, easy, and fast. However, they are also the worst thing you could eat being high in saturated and trans fats, calories, sodium, etc. You can easily consume over your recommended daily amount of calories, sodium, and fat. Portion sizes are much too large in restaurants and they often don't have too many healthy options. Changing the environment around you is the easiest way to lose weight. That's exactly what I did! I completely changed the way I ate by changing my environment. I rarely buy anything that is bad for me. I try, when I do go to restaurants, to find a restaurant that has many healthy options. A law was passed in NYC stating that no restaurants can have trans fats in their food. It's a start, but there is much more that needs to be done.
Did you know that companies pay to have their products placed in a certain location in grocery stores? When you walk down the cereal aisle what shelf is the kids sugary sweet cereals on? Companies will pay the grocery store to have those types of cereal on lower shelves so kids can grab them. In fact, grocery stores make more money selling shelf real estate than they do on product mark ups. 
What do you think about Vitamin Water? The beverage, fortified with vitamins and using words such as "defense," "multi-v," and "restore", tricks people into thinking this product is healthy when in fact it is SUGAR WATER. The Canadian newspaper, The Gazette, states that "after water, sugar is the most significant ingredient in vitaminwater in terms of quantity, containing the equivalent of about eight teaspoons of sugar in each individual bottle. In addition to its name, each bottle of vitaminwater is labelled as a 'nutrition enhanced water beverage' and marketed as a beneficial alternative to sugary soft drinks, even though a standard 591 ml bottle of vitaminwater contains 32 grams of sugar, compared to 42 grams of sugar in a 355 ml can of Coke and 38 grams of sugar in Sprite. The American Heart Association recommends the maximum daily consumption of added sugars is 25 grams for women and 37.5 grams for men." Therefore, only one bottle of Vitamin Water would lead to excess sugar consumption for women and close to an entire days worth of sugar for men.
These food companies are masters at advertising and are allowed to do as they please, thus manipulating Americans into believing they are consuming healthy items. Soda is the worst. It is an empty calorie drink, which means that you are consuming calories that have little or no nutritional value. Here is a list of foods that are considered to have empty calories which can lead to weight gain:

• Sweets, candy, ice cream, soda.
• Refined grains, such as white rice or white bread.
• Margarine or shortening.
• Butter or lard.
• High fat foods such as hamburgers, hotdogs, fried chicken, pizza, donuts, and french fries.

 In my experience of substituting empty calorie foods for more nutrients dense foods, it doesn't take long to get use to the healthier stuff. For example, butter and oil - you don't have to use it on everything. Try using vegetable broth when sauteing or if you wish to use oil, try using less and a healthy oil, like extra virgin olive oil. Instead of using butter, try I Can't Believe it's Not Butter or none at all. I don't even use butter anymore and I really don't miss it at all. Actually, when I am eating in a restaurant I can tell right away when they use butter. It tastes and feels so greasy to me; I don't even like it anymore. I prefer the taste of vegetables' natural flavor, maybe even a little salt, fresh ground pepper, and some fresh herbs. Experimenting with substitutes is the best way to find what will work for you. By simply eating less empty calorie foods you are on the way to being a healthier person.
Here is the link to the news article on Coca-Cola's Vitamin Water:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Health+Canada+expert+wonders+what+water+Coca+Cola/4833642/story.html

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Unsaturated Fat, Saturated Fat, and Trans Fat

Did you know that your body makes cholesterol for its needs and does not need any cholesterol from your diet?
Cholesterol is made by the liver naturally. It is found in animal food products, but not in plant food products. Although cholesterol is essential and important to mammals, high blood cholesterol increases the risk of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the  thickening of the arteries which can reduce or even block the blood flow to the heart, brain, kidneys, and other body parts. This increases your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and other circulatory problems.
If your cholesterol intake is high then your liver will normally make less. Dietary cholesterol is found in egg yolks, cheese, beef, poultry, pork, and shrimp. Dietary cholesterol intake doesn't harm you as much as total fat intake, which can indirectly effect cholesterol. There are essentially four categories of fats - saturated, trans, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Saturated fats and trans fats are quite the culprits. These are the bad fats that you want to avoid, as they can lead to the higher cholesterol and atherosclerosis. Saturated fats are in cheeses, some oils, meat products, cream, milk, butter, and some prepared foods.
Trans fats are a completely different beast. While they are chemically, similar to the (good) unsaturated fats (soon to be discussed), a hydrogenation process makes them extremely bad for your health and cholesterol. A good place to find trans fats are in processed foods, such as McDonalds. Research indicates that trans fats are extremely detrimental to your health. This has even led some countries, such as Denmark and Switzerland, to nationally ban trans fats.
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the good fats you want in your diet. Monounsaturated fats tend to lower bad cholesterol (LDL - low density lipoprotein) while possibly raising good cholesterol (HDL - high density lipoprotein). Avocados, peanuts, olive oils, and canola margarine are foods that are rich in monounsaturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats have two main classes: omega-3 and omega-6. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are found in canola oil, soybean oil, and fish. Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats are found in safflower, sunflower, and corn oils. You can also find polyunsaturated fats in nuts, seeds, fish, algae, leafy greens, and krill..
So, when your diet is high in saturated and trans fats you run the risk of elevating your blood cholesterol level, which in turn can lead to health issues. Foods with high saturated fats can increase your blood cholesterol level indirectly, even when nutrition facts indicate there is not cholesterol in the food. However, when saturated fats are balanced with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, little elevation in LDL (bad) cholesterol occurs. You should try and limit saturated fat intake (like beef), while maintaining high levels of monounsaturated fat intake (like avocados) and polyunsaturated fat intake (like fish). An overall balance should be the goal; even too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Being mindful, of the different good and bad fats, is one element that contributed to my weight loss. I wasn't trying to "diet", I was just trying to be healthy.
Here is a recipe I tried yesterday and I was very impressed. It was extremely delicious and had healthy fats! It substitutes the oil  in salad dressing with avocado. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2908