Did you miss the teleseminar?
Here is the link to listen in to ‘Is your diet killing you?’
Is Your Diet Killing You?
It’s murder trying to follow many of today’s popular diets. From pills to calorie counting, it takes all your willpower to stick to a diet. You may feel like following the diet could kill you. With many potentially toxic elements and health-damaging behaviors involved with diets on the market today, the latest and greatest weight loss program might actually be extremely harmful to your health – potentially even deadly. You can learn more on October 7th at 6:00 PM central, when Optimal Body Balance Director Sheila Robertson and Dr. Chad Oler of the Natural Path Health Center present the teleseminar “Is Your Diet Killing You?” Dr. Chad and Sheila will discuss many of the potentially dangerous elements in popular diet plans. You’ll learn about: A hot new diet that contains a hormone produced by women during pregnancy, which can lead to headaches, mood swings, blood clots and confusion. The artificial sweeteners in many of the most popular diets, and their potential toxic chemicals. The alluring crash diets that can throw off your hormone balance and cause permanent damage. The severe calorie reductions, which won’t support normal brain function and lower your resting metabolism. We’ll also talk about how the most effective – and infinitely more healthy – method for losing weight is to overcome weight loss resistance. You’ll learn the basics of weight loss resistance, and how we’ve helped even the toughest weight loss cases where other diets have failed. Sign up Now! Speaking at the Teleseminar You’re going to learn from two of the brightest minds in the field of effective weight control and proper nutrition. Sheila Robertson Optimal Body Balance Program Director, Nutrition Coach Sheila recently received her Nutrition Coach certification, adding onto her extensive skills and expertise. As the Optimal Body Balance director, she’s helped some of the most difficult weight loss cases triumph where other diets or weight management programs have failed. Dr. Chad Oler Director of the Natural Path Health Center Dr. Chad is the creator of the Optimal Body Balance program, and the owner of the Natural Path Health Center. He’s been using sound nutritional guidance and metabolism monitoring to help his clients achieve healthier lifestyles and more productive lives. Ask Questions, Gain Insight Not only will you hear from both Dr. Chad and Sheila throughout the teleseminar, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in a live Q&A session. You’ll be able to ask questions anonymously about diets, your own struggles, or anything that’s on your mind. Gain the Knowledge to Make Healthy Choices It’s hard to resist the tempting offers thrown at you by popular diets. This teleseminar will help you look before you leap, understanding all the potentially deadly side effects of many of these diets. Not all of the issues we’ll discuss will be life-threatening, but they all lead to unhealthy side effects and long-term problems. Best of all, you’ll learn about the blueprint for beating weight loss resistance, the true cause to weight problems and the key for you achieving your optimal body balance! Sign up Now! Click to the left to sign in!
Jolene’s Update! Now down 56 pounds of fat!
I know that people look at before and afters and wonder – “How are they doing NOW?!” I just wanted to give you an update on Jolene. She has lost 56.5 pounds of fat and is determined to keep losing through the holidays. you can check out her video and hear her story.
Four Ways Your Diet May Be Killing You
How many times have you uttered these words: “My diet is killing me!”
Most likely you’re complaining about having to cut back on your favorite foods, or reducing calories, or whatever grueling behavior the diet demands.
Yet many diets can also “kill” you in a literal sense. Not necessarily immediately and perhaps not entirely on their own, but they can cause physical changes in your body that may be harmful to your health.
Here are four top diet techniques, and the reasons why they may be killing you: (more…)
What those beer commercials don’t tell us about alcohol
To quote the old honkey tonk favorite…”I like beer…it makes me a jolly ol’ fellow…”
Here is a great article from Dr. Chad that I had to re-post.
According to conventional wisdom, the infamous “beer belly” is caused by excess alcohol calories being stored as fat. Yet, less than five percent of the alcohol calories you drink are turned into fat.
Rather, the main effect of alcohol is to reduce the amount of fat or carbohydrate your body burns for energy, along with increasing your appetite and dramatically decreasing your testosterone levels.
Riding the Alcohol Train
The nutrients protein, carbohydrates, and fat can be stored in our bodies, but alcohol cannot. For this reason, it takes priority over everything else in order to be metabolized. It also means that all of the other processes that should be taking place in your body are being interrupted.
Rather than getting stored as fat, the main fate of alcohol is conversion into a substance called acetate. It is this sharp rise in acetate that puts the brakes on fat loss.
A car engine typically uses only one source of fuel. Your body, on the other hand, draws from a number of different energy sources, such as carbohydrate, fat, and protein. To a certain extent, the source of fuel your body uses is dictated by its availability.
In other words, your body tends to use whatever you feed it. Consequently, when acetate levels rise, your body simply burns more acetate, and less of everything else, including fat.
In essence, acetate pushes fat and carbohydrate to the back of the line. Said more simply, when you have alcohol in your system, your body will use almost nothing (no fat, no carbohydrate) for fuel except acetate (alcohol); therefore, anything you eat during the time you have alcohol in your system will almost certainly be converted into body fat.
Increased Appetite and Tumbling Testosterone
And it doesn’t stop there – not only does alcohol reduce the number of fat and carbohydrate calories you burn, alcohol can increase your appetite and lower your testosterone levels for up to 24 hours after you finish drinking.
Studies have shown that in the short term, alcohol stimulates food intake and can also increase subjective feelings of hunger. Why do you think you are ALWAYS asked if you’d like a drink before you eat at a restaurant? One study showed a 20% increase in calories consumed at a meal when alcohol was consumed before the meal. There was a total caloric increase of 33% when the calories from the alcohol were added. These additional calories can quickly contribute to weight gain and/or put the kibosh on weight loss.
Not only does too much alcohol put the brakes on fat loss, increase your appetite and cause you to stuff yourself, it’s also one of the most effective ways to slash your testosterone levels. Just a single bout of heavy drinking raises levels of the muscle-wasting hormone cortisol and increases the breakdown of testosterone for up to 24 hours.
The damaging effects of alcohol on testosterone are made even worse when you exercise before drinking – bad news for those of you that workout before a night on the town. This drop in testosterone will decrease muscle repair and muscle building, lowering your metabolism even further.
A bad mixer: Alcohol and a leaner body
Your waistline isn’t going to balloon overnight after a few drinks. However, alcohol will cause you to burn less fat, eat more and decrease your testosterone and metabolism. Over time, this will lead to detrimental changes in your health, including (most likely) packing on a few pounds – or making those pounds harder to lose.
While the odd drink now and again isn’t going to hurt, the bottom line is that alcohol and a leaner, stronger body just doesn’t mix.
Posted September 7th, 2010 by naturopathic doctor and filed in Alcohol
First Lunch, Second Lunch Cooking Class
Here are some of the recipes from our latest cooking class….First Lunch & Second Lunch. Some are old standards for me – but the gingery pork wrap was new (AND Yummy!)
Cashew Chicken Salad – from the Ultra Metabolism Cookbook
Dressing:
1 Tablespoon cashew butter
1 Tablespoon plain unseasoned rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon lime zest
Salad:
1 cup cooked diced chicken
2 cups shredded napa cabbage
2 sliced scallions
1 cup sliced carots
½ cup sliced red bell pepper
1 fresh orange, cut into chuncks
Garnish:
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tablespoons chopped cashews
Stir the dressing until smooth, set aside. Prepare the salad fixin’s and top with the dressing
Gingery Pork and Cucumber lettuce wraps
1/4 cup rice vinegar
½ teaspoon of agave nectar
Sea salt
2 Kirby cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 red or green jalapeno, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 pound of ground pork
¼ cup apricot preserve
½ cup spicy salsa
1 Tablespoon fresh gingers
Lettuce leaves for the ‘wrap’
Combine the vinegar, agave, salt and stir. Add the cucumbers and jalapeno and let sit, tossing occasionally for 5 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the pork, breaking up with a spoon until no longer pink, 5-6 minutes, stir in the preserves, salsa and ginger and stir. Fill each lettuce wrap with the pork and cucumber. You can substitute turkey or chicken for the pork.
Tomato Soup from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 med. Onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 ¾ quarts of veggie or chicken broth
Olive oil
12 large ripe tomatoes
A small bunch of basil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Peel and roughly slice the carrots, dice the celery, peel and roughly chop the onions, peel and slice the garlic, put the broth in a sauce pan and heat until boiling. Put a large saucepan on med heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add all your chopped and sliced ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon, cook for about 10 minutes. Add the boiling broth to the pan with your tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on. Remove the pan from the heat, add basil, salt and pepper and then puree your soup until smooth. Add in a poached tomato, sliced HB eggs, chicken, turkey or beans for protein. Other mix in ideas; mascarpone, creme fraiche or sour cream.
Egg Salad Dip and veggies with French Dressing
Dressing:
Peel and finely chop ¼ of a clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Add all of the above into a jar and give it a good shake
Add the dressing to mashed up hard boiled eggs and serve with veggie ‘chips’
100 Reasons Why Sugar is Ruining Your Health
Sugar can suppress your immune system.- Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body.
- Sugar can cause juvenile delinquency in children.
- Sugar eaten during pregnancy and lactation can influence muscle force production in offspring, which can affect an individual’s ability to exercise.
- Sugar in soda, when consumed by children, results in the children drinking less milk.
- Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses and return them to fasting levels slower in oral contraceptive users.
- Sugar can increase reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can damage cells and tissues.
- Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, inability to concentrate and crankiness in children.
- Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
10. Sugar reduces the body’s ability to defend against bacterial infection.
11. Sugar causes a decline in tissue elasticity and function – the more sugar you eat, the more elasticity and function you lose.
12. Sugar reduces high-density lipoproteins (HDL).
13. Sugar can lead to chromium deficiency.
14. Sugar can lead to ovarian cancer.
15. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.
16. Sugar causes copper deficiency.
17. Sugar interferes with the body’s absorption of calcium and magnesium.
18. Sugar may make eyes more vulnerable to age-related macular degeneration.
19. Sugar raises the level of neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
20. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
21. Sugar can lead to an acidic digestive tract.
22. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.
23. Sugar is frequently malabsorbed in patients with functional bowel disease.
24. Sugar can cause premature aging.
25. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
26. Sugar can cause tooth decay.
27. Sugar can lead to obesity.
28. Sugar increases the risk of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
29. Sugar can cause gastric or duodenal ulcers.
30. Sugar can cause arthritis.
31. Sugar can cause learning disorders in school children.
32. Sugar assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections).
33. Sugar can cause gallstones.
34. Sugar can cause heart disease.
35. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
36. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
37. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
38. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
39. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
40. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
41. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
42. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E in the blood.
43. Sugar can decrease the amount of growth hormones in the body.
44. Sugar can increase cholesterol.
45. Sugar increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which form when sugar binds non-enzymatically to protein.
46. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.
47. Sugar causes food allergies.
48. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
49. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
50. Sugar can lead to eczema in children.
51. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
52. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA.
53. Sugar can change the structure of protein.
54. Sugar can make the skin wrinkle by changing the structure of collagen.
55. Sugar can cause cataracts.
56. Sugar can cause emphysema.
57. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
58. Sugar can promote an elevation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL).
59. Sugar can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body.
60. Sugar lowers enzymes ability to function.
61. Sugar intake is associated with the development of Parkinson’s disease.
62. Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide.
63. Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat.
64. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
65. Sugar can damage the pancreas.
66. Sugar can increase the body’s fluid retention.
67. Sugar is the number one enemy of the bowel movement.
68. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
69. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
70. Sugar can make tendons more brittle.
71. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
72. Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women.
73. Sugar can adversely affect children’s grades in school.
74. Sugar can cause depression.
75. Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer.
76. Sugar can cause dyspepsia (indigestion).
77. Sugar can increase the risk of developing gout.
78. Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in the blood much higher than complex carbohydrates in a glucose tolerance test can.
79. Sugar reduces learning capacity.
80. Sugar can cause two blood proteins – albumin and lipoproteins – to function less effectively, which may reduce the body’s ability to handle fat and cholesterol.
81. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
82. Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness, which causes blood clots.
83. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance – some hormones become underactive and others become overactive.
84. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
85. Sugar can cause free radicals and oxidative stress.
86. Sugar can lead to biliary tract cancer.
87. Sugar increases the risk of pregnant adolescents delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
88. Sugar can lead to a substantial decrease the in the length of pregnancy among adolescents.
89. Sugar slows food’s travel time through the gastrointestinal tract.
90. Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stool and bacterial enzymes in the colon, which can modify bile to produce cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.
91. Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men.
92. Sugar combines with and destroys phosphatase, a digestive enzyme, which makes digestion more difficult.
93. Sugar can be a risk factor for gallbladder cancer.
94. Sugar is an addictive substance.
95. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.
96. Sugar can aggravate premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
97. Sugar can decrease emotional stability.
98. Sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese people.
99. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit disorder
100. Sugar is addictive!
By Nancy Appleton PhD & G.N. Jacobs
Excerpted from Suicide by Sugar
A breakup letter
My dearest White Bread,
I think you know what I’m going to say. You HAVE to know that this has been coming for a long, long time. It’s time for us to go our own ways. I need to quit you.
It’s not that I don’t love you, because I do. I know that I shouldn’t but I do. I love you simply as you are. I also love you toasted or french toasted or as a grilled cheese. I’m the one clapping like a two year old every time you are brought to the table in a basket. Even though it’s not politically correct anymore – most people have matured and now prefer your grainer sibling. Not me. Never me. If I can’t have you – I don’t want any.
It’s not you, it’s me. I know many people who do just fine with you in their lives (just look at those French people and their fantastic baguettes) I just can’t keep sneaking around like this anymore. I deserve better. You make me want you over and over and I can’t let it go. You make my gut feel bad and my blood sugars spike and then crash. You are damaged, fake and HAVE NO VALUE and yet – I want you.
This relationship is not healthy for me – it’s toxic and I’m going to have to just break it off. You are making me sick. I don’t even know how you keep sneaking back into my life. I never buy you, I don’t choose you but whenever I see you (or smell you or squeeze you) I can’t help myself.
My friends never liked you, they can see through your sneaky outer crust and can tell that you are not a ‘health food’.
So, if you see me walking past you in the market – just look the other way. Pretend we’ve never met. Don’t try to tempt me with the softness of your bread or the beautiful white center that toasts up to a delightful treat. If you think you can just ‘show up’ at my table and expect to be welcomed – you have another thing coming.
Good bye sliced goodness. We are over.
Mini Meals – on the go.
We had a wonderful class filled with good food and lots of laughs! We used lots of local foods that were fresh and yummy. Enjoy!
Mini Meals for On the Go – Optimal Body Balance Cooking Class – Sheila Robertson
Evolution Tomato Salad – from the Food Revolution Cookbook
1 ½ pounds of ripe tomatoes
6 Tablespoons of EVOO
2 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar (or white balsamic)
Fresh Basil
Handful of black olives
15 oz can on cannellini beans
1 can of tuna
Salt and pepper to taste
(If you want to keep evolving this salad try adding red onion and feta cheese)
Evolution Cucumber Salad – from the Food Revolution Cookbook
2 Cucumbers
6 Tablespoons of EVOO
2 Tablespoons of Lemon juice
Fresh mint
1 Tablespoon of natural yogurt (non dairy options are available)
Handful of black olives
½ fresh red chile
Add in cooked shrimp or bagged salmon for your protein
Iced “Coffee”
Brew your favorite Techeeno
Add 1 scoop of Vanilla Protein powder
¼ cup of Milk of choice
Ice and then blend
Dilly Beans with Nitrate Free Salami and fruit
3 oz of cooked chicken, blanched green beans with mustard dip and a granny smith apple
Sliced Egg Sandwich with herb mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon vegan mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 hardboiled eggs
1/c cup watercress
Season with salt and pepper
1 slice of pumpernickel bread
Mix the first 4 ingredients and make ½ a Sammie.
Add 1 cup of veggie crudités or 1 cup of veggie soup to round out the meal
Cherry Tomato and Feta Salad (whole living website)
Halve 3 ounces of cherry tomatoes and mix with 1 ounce crumbled low-fat feta cheese. Dress with 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon olive oil; season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with fresh oregano. Add 1 cup of melon on the side.
Ricotta, Herbs, and Cucumber(whole living website)
Stir 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, parsley, or dill into 1/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Spread on toast; top with cucumber. Add 1 cup of berries on the side.
The Perfect Hard-Boiled Egg
Cover eggs with cold water by 1 inch. Bring water to a boil. Keep covered and remove from heat. Let stand 13 minutes. Drain and run under cold water. (To spice it up, cut the egg in half and top with a dash of salt mixed with paprika; pepper and lemon zest; or chili flakes.)
Tropical Fruit Parfait
In a small jar, layer 1/2 cup fruit cut into 1/2-inch cubes (kiwis, mangos, and pineapples are nice) with 1/4 cup greek style yogurt (or goat yogurt or coconut yogurt). Top with 1 tablespoon toasted sliced almonds. Have with a side salad.
Party Starters…Great appetizers and ‘dish to pass’ recipes
Party Starters
Optimal Body Balance Cooking Class by Sheila ‘Party in an Apron’ Robertson
Caprese Stackers
Tomatoes – try the smaller ones so they are bite sized
Mozzarella cheese (we used buffalo cheese)
Fresh Basil
Make a dip of balsamic vinegar, EVOO and some fresh cracked pepper. (We also added fresh oregano in the oil mix)
Layer the delicious items and hold together with a tooth pick. Put the dressing in the middle for dipping.
(We also used seasoned tofu in place of the cheese for non-dairy crew)
Antipasto Plate
Assemble hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, olives, roasted red peppers, nitrate free salami or prosciutto.
Feel free to add in tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, hummus and veggie ‘chips’ if you are not making the other recipes.
Endive with Olive Tapenade
Use whole endive leaves and layer ½ Tablespoon of olive tapenade. To make this a great mini meal add in some protein – try cold shrimp, chicken, tuna or even hard boiled egg
Easy, Spicy, Deviled Eggs
Cut the HB eggs in ½ lengthwise and pop out the yolk. Mash the yolk with Latinaise (from Ojai) and some chives. Re-fill the egg whites with the mixture.
Crisp Green Beans in a Mustard Sauce
Blanch the green beans by dropping the cleaned beans in boiling water for approx. 1 minute. Remove from the heat, then chill the beans. Make the dipping sauce out of mustard, oil and white balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle the tops with a little sea salt.
Salmon Stuffed Tomatoes
Make little cups out of your tomatoes by scooping out the middle. Make the salmon mix by adding salmon, lemon, EVOO, sea salt, Italian seasonings and chives. Place this mix into the little cups
Chocolate and fruit
Mix together 1 whole bar of unsweetened baker’s chocolate with ½ cup grape seed oil and 1 cup of agave nectar. Heat through until smooth. Dip in your favorite fruits. Strawberries, Pineapple, banana all work great.
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