FOOD PAIRING: Yogurt & Granola

Some foods, when eaten together, are greater than the sum of their parts. One food might be healthy on its own, but when combined with a specific other food, it becomes a nutritional superstar. One such food pairing is yogurt and granola.

Choose the yogurt brands that contain live cultures of probiotic bacteria (it will say so on the carton). Probiotic bacteria are the healthy bacteria that live in your gut and help digest your food and keep things running smoothly. The whole grains found in granola act as prebiotics, which feed probiotic bacteria. Consuming yogurt and granola together provides probiotics for your gut, and prebiotics to help the probiotics grow and thrive.

If you’ve recently had an infection and took antibiotics, your gut might be lacking in probiotics, since the antibiotic can’t discriminate and kills the good bacteria along with the bad. Adding yogurt and granola to your diet while taking antibiotics and for a few weeks after will help replenish your gut of the healthy bacteria. Just be mindful to only use a tablespoon or two of granola, since it can be calorie dense.

So you lift weights?

This post is for those young men out there who want to be buff… whether you’re an athlete in training or a gym rat who wants sick abs and big arms. Lifting weights and working out your muscles is necessary to make them grow, but the foods listed below are perfect “ingredients” for human muscle. Put these in your belly, then lift weights, and watch your biceps grow.

1. Eggs. Eggs are the perfect protein. The protein in eggs has the highest biological value of any food, including beef. Biological value is a measure of how well a food supports your body’s protein needs. Make sure you eat the yolk too. In addition to protein, the yolk contains vitamin B12, which is necessary for fat breakdown and muscle contraction. Even though the yolk is high in cholesterol, research has shown that the cholesterol in egg yolks does not turn into serum cholesterol, and therefore does not increase your risk of heart disease. 
2. Almonds. Almonds are like medicine for your muscle. They are the best sources of the most absorbable form of vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol vitamin E. Vitamin E is important because it is a potent antioxidant that can help prevent free-radical damage after heavy workouts. The more vitamin E in your body, the faster your muscles will recover from a workout and start growing. A handful or 2 of almonds a day should be enough.
3. Salmon. This fish is swimming with high-quality protein and omega-3 fatty acids. To build muscle, you need to store new protein faster than your body breaks down the old stuff. Omega-3’s can help decrease muscle-protein breakdown after your workout and improve recovery. It can also help reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
4. Yogurt. Yogurt is the perfect work out food because it is an ideal combination of protein and carbohydrates for exercise recovery and muscle growth. Buy the variety with fruit on the bottom or add your own fresh fruit. The extra carbohydrates from the fruit will increase your blood insulin levels, which will reduce post-exercise protein breakdown.
5. Beef. Beef is a major source of iron and zinc, which are 2 nutrients crucial in muscle building. It’s also the #1 source of creatine with 2 grams in every 16 ounces. Creatine is your body’s energy supply for pumping iron and anaerobic exercise.
6. Olive Oil. The monounsaturated fat in olive oil can act as an anti-catabolic nutrient, or a nutrient that prevents muscle breakdown. It works by lowering levels of a cellular protein called TNF-a, which is a protein linked with muscle wasting and weakness. Use the extra-virgin variety because it has a higher level of vitamin E.
7. Water. Muscle, no matter where it is on the body, is 80% water. Even a small change in hydration status or body water can impair exercise performance and adversely affect recovery. Research has shown that protein synthesis occurs at a higher rate in muscle cells that are well hydrated compared to dehydrated cells. So basically, the more parched you are, the slower your body uses protein to build muscle. A good way to make sure you rehydrate after a work out is to weight yourself before and after each exercise session, then drink 24 ounces of water for every pound lost.
8. Coffee. Drinking coffee a few hours before anaerobic exercise will help you perform longer. Caffeine can directly stimulate the muscles and help you push out 5 more reps or sprint for 10 more seconds.

 

 

Reference: Campbell A. 8 Foods that Pack on Muscle. Men’s Health, 2013. <http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/muscle-building-foods>.

FOOD PAIRING: Salmon & Turmeric

Some foods, when eaten together, are greater than the sum of their parts. One food might be healthy on its own, but when combined with a specific other food, it becomes a nutritional superstar. One such food pairing is salmon and turmeric.

Salmon contains DHA, a healthy omega-3 fatty acid. The combination of DHA and curcumin, a potent antioxidant found in turmeric, could slow the growth of certain breast cancer cells more than when eaten separately. Start sprinkling turmeric on your salmon filet before or after broiling, baking, or grilling.

What fruit is in season?

Eating fruit in season helps you get the most flavor and nutrition at the lowest price. Use this guide to learn when different fruits are in season and create your grocery list accordingly. 

• Apples: august – november
• Avocados: february – november
• Blueberries: may – august
• Cherries: april – july
• Grapefruit: dec – april
• Grapes: july – december
• Melons: june – october
• Oranges: all year
• Peaches: may – october
• Pears: august – november
• Plums: may – november
• Raspberries: may – november
• Strawberries: march – november

 

*May vary by region or state

FOOD PAIRING: Green Tea & Lemon

Some foods, when eaten together, are greater than the sum of their parts. One food might be healthy on its own, but when combined with a specific other food, it becomes a nutritional superstar. One such food pairing is green tea and lemon.

Green tea has many powerful antioxidants. But these antioxidants, mainly catechins, may be destroyed before your body has a chance to use them. The Vitamin C in lemon helps to prevent the breakdown of these antioxidants in the digestive system, thus making sure your body has the opportunity to utilize all the wonderful antioxidants in green tea. Just a splash of lemon juice, or freshly squeezed lemon, added to your cup of tea will do the trick.

Dark Chocolate!

Believe it or not, eating a small amount of dark chocolate everyday is a healthy habit. Just make sure ti’s 70% cocoa or higher, and that you keep it to a small amount- about an ounce per day (one ounce is about 6 hershey kisses). Check out some of the awesome benefits you can expect from adopting this healthy habit!

 

Healthier skin: Cocoa boosts blood circulation to the fine capillaries in the top layer of your skin, helping them to draw more oxygen and nutrients that protect skin against dehydration and burns. Eating antioxidant-rich chocolate can lead to skin that’s smoother, less dried out, and more resistant to sunburn.

Healthier teeth: The sugar in chocolate candies can rot your teeth, but cocoa actually protects them. This is why you want to consume dark chocolate that is >70% cocoa. Cocoa bean husks contain antibacterial compounds that inhibit the formation of plaque and biofilms where cavity-causing bacteria can thrive.

Reduced cravings and weight gain: Researchers in the Netherlands found that simply smelling dark chocolate stimulates production of an anti-hunger hormone called ghrelin, and the effect lingers for about an hour. Cocoa is also rich in fiber and protein.

Healthier heart: Cocoa butter is high in saturated fat, but one-third of the fat is stearic acid, which your liver converts to a healthy monounsaturated called called oleic acid. Oleic acid lowers levels of the bad LDL cholesterol and boosts levels of the good HDL cholesterol.

Sharper focus: Cocoa flavanols boost circulation to the brain. Better blood flow in the brain can improve your ability to focus and perform cognitive tasks.

Less anxiety: Stress prompts your body to produce cortisol, a hormone that triggers the accumulation of visceral abdominal fat that builds up around your organs and can contribute to depression, heart disease, and stroke. Eating 40 grams (1 ounce) of chocolate every day has been shown to decrease your levels of cortisol, and help you feel calm and less anxious.

More effective workouts: Cocoa’s catechins and epicatechins (antioxidants) increase your muscle’s absorption of nutrients that create energy, which can help you get energized to work out and help carry you through your workout. Also, the anti-inflammatory compounds in cocoa can produce up to a five-fold decrease in your perception of soreness.

 

Reference: Main E. 7 (Legitimate!) Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate. Rodale News <http://www.rodalenews.com/print/13961>.

Rethink your snack

 

A bag of Doritos or a piece of fruit… which should you pack in your child’s lunch box? Which should you choose for an afternoon snack? I’m sure you all know that fruit is the better option. But how much better exactly? Let’s compare…

1 serving of fruit = 60 calories

1 serving of fruit = 1 small apple, 1 pear, 1 orange, 1/2 banana, 1/2 large grapefruit, 17 grapes… these you can eat for 60 calories.

How many Doritos can you eat for 60 calories? FOUR! 

That’s right, I opened a snack size bag and counted them out myself. A lunch size bag of Doritos has only 16 chips and provides 240 calories. Or, for the same calories, you could eat four pieces of fruit. Now, which sounds more satisfying and fulfilling?

SUGAR

How many packets of sugar do you put in your coffee or tea? Two? Four? Maybe even six? Well I’m guessing you don’t open up 20 of those little sugar packets and pour them all into your 16 oz. cup of tea. That sounds like a lot right? 20 packets of sugar is way too much to consume in one drink, right? It’s common sense, isn’t it?

Well, apparently not for the food industry. Sugar makes things taste good, and when things taste good, people buy them. But maybe you wouldn’t buy them if you knew just how much sugar you are drinking when you consume one can of soda.

Want to know how many sugar packets the food industry added to that energy drink you bought at the gas station? Here’s how you can figure that out:

One sugar packet contains 2 grams of sugar. On the nutrition facts panel of your drink, look under the total carbohydrates for sugar, and it will tell you how many grams of sugar are in the drink. If this is your cup of plain tea that you added 4 packets of sugar to, then there are 8 grams of sugar in your drink. If you chose a bottle of lipton raspberry iced tea instead, your label will tell you that the bottle contains 40 grams of sugar. If each packet of sugar contains 2 grams, then the industry that sold you that bottle of iced tea added 20 packets of sugar to your drink for you.

And that’s not even the worst. A bottle of Sobe energy drink contains 34 packets of sugar. One can of pepsi or any regular soda contains about 21 packets of sugar. Even a 20 oz. bottle of vitamin water (sounds healthy right?) contains 16 packets of sugar.

Would you add 34 packets of sugar to your beverage of choice? Would you even add 16? Next time you’re at a coffee shop, count out 34 of those little packets of sugar and hold them in your hands. You probably won’t even be able to hold them all at once. Would you really consume that much sugar at once? As a consumer in this society, chances are that you have on multiple occasions. But now you know, and now you can avoid these ridiculously sugary beverages.

Try buying unsweetened iced tea and adding your own, reasonable amount of sugar. Or switch to diet or sugar free beverages that use artificial sweeteners. These artificial sweeteners are generally 20x as sweet as regular sugar, so you need only a tiny drop to produce a similarly sweet taste. But wait, don’t artificial sweeteners cause cancer? Some scientists have found that rats developed cancer when they fed them the equivalent of 2300 cans of diet soda a day. That’s not enough evidence to suggest that having a couple cans of diet soda a day will cause cancer in humans, not even close. Of course, your best bet would be to stick with water and unsweetened iced tea, but otherwise, I would say the artificially sweetened drinks pose less risk on your health. Chances are, you will become diabetic from consuming excess regular soda before you develop cancer from consuming excess diet soda.

Peanut Butter: Crunchy vs. Creamy

 

We all have our preference in whether we like our peanut butter creamy or crunchy, but what’s the difference in terms of nutrient content?  Both are equal or very similar in calorie, fat, carbohydrate, sugar, potassium, zinc, folate, sodium, and niacin content. But where do they differ? 

• Creamy has a touch more protein (8g compared to 7.7g)
• Creamy has more vitamin E (19% compared to 13%)
• Crunchy has less saturated fat (12% compared to 17%)
• Crunchy has more fiber (10% compared to 8%)

The winner? I would say crunchy, but it was a close fight. You could also try pairing natural peanut butter or almond butter, or other nut butters with you jelly.

BEER

 

Let’s talk about everyone’s favorite beverage: beer. (Just in time for your favorite irish holiday). The good new is, research has shown that alcohol is actually pretty healthy in moderation. It contains antioxidants that protect your cells and can help raise your HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol). What do I mean by moderation? Two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. I’m not saying you can’t have more than that on a saturday night, I’m just saying you can no longer high five yourself for being healthy while sipping on your third drink.

Nowadays, when you walk into a bar or stroll down the beer isle in the supermarket (unless you live in one of those absurd states that doesn’t sell beer in grocery stores), you will find many different brands and types of beers. If you want to know how they differ in taste, you should probably just sample them all yourself. In terms of their calories and nutrition, here’s some info for you: 

 

American Lager: These are the lightest in color and most heavily carbonated. Their recipes veer toward rice and corn as opposed to barely and hops. These ingredients add little flavor but help keep costs low. Examples: Budweiser, Michelob, Coors, Miller Genuine Draft, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Corona Extra, Foster’s Lager, Labett Blue, Yuengling. Caloric Range: 135-155

Light Lager: In an attempt to cut calories, these beers have less alcohol (2.5-4.2% compared to 5%) and fewer carbohydrates than American lagers. They are considered the least flavorful of all beers, but the best way to get drunk and keep your figure ;). Examples: Coors Light, Bud Light, Budweiser Select, Miller Lite, Michelob Ultra, Sam Adams Light, Amstel Light, Beck’s Premier Light. Caloric Range: 55-125

Pilsner: These beers are pale, light, and crisp. They tend to be tan and gold in color, but have slightly heavier bodies and less carbonation than lagers. Their recipes rely on four primary ingredients: barley, hops, water, and yeast. Examples: Victory Prima Pils, Pilsner Urquell, Czechvar, Bitburger, Lakefront Klisch Pilsner, Lagunitas Pils. Caloric Range: 120-170

Wheat Beer: These beers are created by thinning out the barley with significant doses of wheat during the fermentation process.Wheat carries a heavier load of protein, which creates a thicker head and cloudier look. Examples: Blue Moon, Shock Top, Hefeweizen, Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat. Caloric Range: 150-170

Pale Ale: These are crisp and carbonated, but with the bitterness of a pilsner. Examples: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Bass Pale Ale, Anchor Liberty Ale, Young’s Bitter. Caloric Range: 140-180

IPA: Stands for India Pale Ale, these are ales with a little more “oomph”. They bring in loads of hops to cut through the sweetness of the barley, which leaves a lingering bitter taste on the tongue. Imperial IPAs are hop heavy and the strongest in terms of bitterness and alcohol. This also makes them high in calories, but they also contain more polyphenol antioxidants, which can lower your cholesterol and decrease your risk of cancer. Examples: Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Stone IPA, Redhook Long Hammer IPA, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, New Belgium Ranger IPA. Caloric Range: 180-240

Porter: Defined by strong barley flavors with mild hops. They are generally black in color but aren’t quite as dark as stouts. They can taste like toffee and roasted nuts or sweet licorice and toast due to the roasting of the barley.Thy are medium- to full-bodied beers that go down thick and smooth like chocolate milk. Examples: Fuller’s London Porter, Anchor Porter, Yuengling Porter, Michelob Porter, Samuel Adams Honey Porter, Black Butte Porter, Flying Dog Porter. Caloric Range: 140-220

Stout: This is the darkest breed of beer. They pull much of their flavor from the sugars in roasted barley, but balance this with a slightly heavier reliance on bitter hops. They tend to be creamy with undertones of coffee and chocolate. They also tend to contain less alcohol (about 4%) unless labeled “extra stout” which can be as high as 8%. Examples: Sierra Nevada Stout, Beamish Irish Stout, Samuel Adams Cream Stout, Guinness. Caloric Range: 125-230

 

 

Reference: Eat This, Not That. Your Essential Guide to Beer. <http://eatthis.womenshealthmag.com/slideshow/your-essential-guide-beer>.