Take a Quiz- Which Do You Think is Healthier?
- Eggs OR Egg whites?
- Butter OR Margarine?
- Pretzels OR an avocado?
- Grass fed beef burger OR vegetarian meatless soy burger?
- Oatmeal OR a veggie omelet?
- 100 Calorie Snack Pack OR an Apple with Almond butter?
My Answers Have Changed Over Time!
If you had asked me a few years ago and again today, I would have given you completely different answers. Over the years I have done quite a bit of research into nutrition, and as I have learned more my opinions have evolved. Here are my answers today. Keep reading to learn what changed my opinion, and how this has improved my life. I've seen the same improvements in the lives of my patients.
Answers Now:
- Eggs- There are beneficial nutrients in the egg yolk, that you would miss out on if you just eat the egg white.
- Butter- Butter has a few very simple ingredients while margarine is highly processed and is full of damaged and denatured fatty acids including trans-fats that are harmful to our bodies.
- Avocado- I have learned how important it is to eat healthy fats and avocado is a great source. Pretzels on the other hand have long ingredient lists and almost no nutrients.
- Grass Fed Beef- Meat from a good healthy source is a great source of protein and omega 3 fatty acids. Processed meatless products, on the other hand, consist of a long list of highly processed ingredients. Soy itself makes people produce more estrogen that can throw off their hormone balance.
- Omelet- Eggs and veggies offer more beneficial nutrients than oats! They are also a good balance of fat, protein, and carbohydrate while oatmeal is pretty much purely carbohydrates.
- Apple with Almond Butter- While this might have more calories than the snack pack, it offers more nutrients (vitamins and minerals) and less artificial processed ingredients.
What is the difference? I care about eating good nutrients, and no longer worry about how many calories I eat.
Conventional Wisdom - What I Used to Think
About 8-9 years ago, I kept track of every single bite that I ate. I measured foods and counted every last calorie. I knew how many calories I was supposed to eat for my weight and activity level. I thought that if I burned more calories than I consumed, then I should lose those dreaded 10 pounds. I knew that the caloric value of a pound was 3500 calories, so if I kept a 500 calorie deficit every day, I should lose 1 pound/week. There were two problems.
- It was tedious and hard to track.
- More important, it did not work as expected! Even when the equation was tipped toward losing weight, the weight did not come off!
I could never understand why the simple calories in / calories out equation did not give me the results I expected. I also avoided fat (because it has lots of calories), and thought that eating too much fat would make me gain even more weight.
A Revelation - What I Learned
About 4 years ago, I went to a nutrition seminar series that TOTALLY changed my way of thinking. I learned that our bodies are MUCH more complex than a simple calories in / calories out equation to be balanced. The body is an amazing and complex system and food is used for much more than energy. What we eat causes HORMONAL CHANGES that impact whether we are in storage mode, or fat burning mode. Eating the right foods allows our bodies to function at its best and heal itself as needed. Eating the wrong foods causes other inflammatory reactions in the gut that can wreak havoc on our whole bodies. These inflammatory reactions cause everything from acid reflux to acne to heart disease and diabetes.
For example, let's look at how the body processes carbohydrates. Eating processed carbohydrates (breads, pastas, pretzels, tortillas, cookies, cake, crackers, chips, granola bars, etc.) spikes blood sugar. The body attempts to reduce it's blood sugar back to normal by releasing a hormone called insulin. This triggers the body to store the extra glucose (sugar) in fat cells. Since I ate these carbohydrates at every meal- and even as snacks between meals, I was constantly spiking my blood sugar, releasing insulin, and storing the extra glucose in my fat stores. While I thought I was eating a good low calorie diet, what I was really doing was starving my body of key nutrients (due to my lack of vegetable eating), and staying in fat storage mode. No wonder I had a hard time losing weight- I was eating too many carbohydrates to get my body into fat burning mode and use my body's fat stores as fuel.
What I eat now (and you should too!):
REAL FOOD! Foods that humans have been eating for thousands and thousands of years. Foods that our bodies have grown accustomed to processing. Nothing that was made in a factory (yes that means bread and pasta- even the whole grain kind). Nothing that has big long ingredient names you can’t pronounce. Nothing that was genetically modified (we’ll talk more about this a different day, but it’s way more common than you might think!)
- Vegetables- I eat as many as I want and am hungry for! No need to count anything. Ideally, they come from a local farmer and are in season. I try for at least 6 servings, 2 at each meal, sometimes more!
- Meat- Best from HEALTHY animals that got to eat their natural diets and walk (or swim) around while they were alive. I have some everyday- it is important for getting certain vitamins like B12. I try to get my meat by the whole animal and even eat the organ meat (containing so many good nutrients) and use the bones to make broth!
- Fruits- I eat 1-2 servings/day. I look for locally grown in season fruit when possible.
- Healthy fats- Like coconut oil, Real Butter (from healthy grass fed cows), animal fats, avocados, some nuts. Fats are a vitally important energy source. There are some fatty acids (like Omega 3s) that our bodies can’t make, so we HAVE to eat them. Eating fat does not make you fat!
Foods that I used to consider healthy that I avoid now: Fat free yogurt, skim milk, granola bars, pretzels, whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread, oatmeal, and processed soy/vegetarian substitutes.
The great thing about REAL FOODS is that there isn't a group of scientists trying to make the perfect combination of fat, sugar, salt and chemicals to make them addictive (the very reason it is hard to eat just one potato chip or oreo!). Mother nature doesn't use cheaper ingredients to improve the bottom line, or add chemicals to lengthen the shelf life. Real food is what it is. Eat as many vegetables as you want. If you eat more, you get more nutrients. You will stop because the natural fiber will make you feel full.
How These Changes Have Improved My Life:
• Lost Weight
During my senior year of college, when I was most serious about calorie counting, my weight was 172. My current weight is 160. The extra 10 pounds I was so worried about melted right off, and stayed off, when I gave my body better, "real food" ingredients to work with!
• Acne and Allergies Cleared Up
Before I also mentioned that eating processed foods leads to inflammation in our bodies. I suffered from seasonal allergies and acne as long as I can remember. I had no idea that both conditions were inflammatory in nature. Since I changed my diet. I have seen huge improvements in my skin and my seasonal allergies. I wish I would have known years ago that eating these whole unprocessed foods would help my skin to become clearer and reduce my seasonal allergy symptoms.
Obviously, in our fast paced society it can be hard to avoid all processed "food", The first step to becoming healthier is to understand what is healthy and why. As you learn more, you think about how food (or food like products) affects your body. It is not the CALORIES that are important, it is the NUTRIENTS.
Shoot me an email or chat with me on my facebook page to let me know how you did on the quiz, and if you learned anything from reading my story!
Dr. Jamie Thomure
There is a buzz about bees in the media lately. The bee populations have been declining. Why is this so important?
“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” --- attributed to Albert Einstein
Did you know that one in every three bites of food originates from plants either pollinated by honeybees or other pollinators (butterflies and moths)?
Although there is not one leading cause for the decline in the honey bee population, several recent occurrences have become the perfect storm and are being blamed for this sudden decline.
- Chemicals. The emergence and dramatic increase in the use of pesticides and herbicides has a detrimental effect on bees. The chemicals are ingested as the bees make their regular pollination rounds. A specific class of pesticides called neonicotinoids causes particular concern. These synthetic pesticides are commonly used in farming and home landscaping and are a featured ingredient in many standard brand name gardening products. Unfortunately, there is no label that a pesticides or insecticide may be harmful to bees, and the active ingredient has many different names including Acetamiprid, Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, Imidacloprid, Nitenpyram, Thiocloprid, Thiamethoxam.
- Electromagnetic radiation. Another modern day convenience, cell phone and wireless communication towers, has dramatically increased the amount of electromagnetic radiation in the atmosphere. This radiation is thought to effect the ability of the honey bee to navigate its way back to its hive. A study done at a German University found that honeybees would not return to their hive when cell phones were placed nearby.
- Global Warming. Scientists suspect that global warming has caused an increase in the population of mites, viruses, and fungi that are known to attack bee colonies. Furthermore,dramatic hot and cold temperature swings may interfere with bee populations accustomed to more consistent seasonal temperatures.
What is the impact?
A Whole Foods in Providence, Rhode Island demonstrated the drastic impact that the loss of honeybees and other pollinators could have on our food (see photos). They removed the food from their shelves that would no longer exist without these valuable insects. 237 of 453 products (52%) had to be removed. More than 85% of the plant species on Earth require pollinators to exist. Among the most popular produce items to be removed include apples, onions, avocados, carrots, mangos, lemons, limes, honeydew, cantaloupe, zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, cucumbers, celery, green onions, cauliflower, leeks, bok choy, kale, broccoli, and mustard greens.
What can you do? In order to turn this around, commit to being part of the change.
- Buy organic. Organic food is not only better for your health, it’s one of the simplest ways you can support the health of pollinating insects.
- Be conscious of the products you are using. There are many ways to solve lawn and garden pest problems without using harsh chemicals. Use google to find natural remedies.
- Garden. When you grow clean flowers and fruit, you provide healthy plants for bees and other pollinators to pollinate.
- Joelle Kurczodyna NTP
Every month I attend a seminar called the "Functional Forum", a meeting to help clinicians use the latest scientific discoveries to take better care patients with complex chronic diseases. Last week, the keynote speaker was one of my favorite medical doctors/authors.
I love attending talks like this. First, because I'm a bit of a nerd so it's always fun to learn new ideas. Second, because they inspire me. This talk confirmed that I am on the right track with the messages I am sending to all of you, which inspires me to keep it up!
Who was this speaker?
Terry Wahls MD. The author of The Wahls Protocol.
Why does she inspire me?
Dr. Wahls is a medical doctor who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the early 2000s. She looked to experts for the best treatment possible for her disease. She went to the Cleveland Clinic, where doctors prescribed medication to suppress her immune system. To her surprise, she got worse. She knew that MS was a progressive disease, but she did not expect it to progress so quickly. Soon Dr. Wahls was limited to a tilt recline wheelchair, and could not support her own body weight.
Dr. Wahls decided that she was an intelligent doctor and there must be a better solution, so she went to the research. She found potential experimental drugs, but decided they would be too difficult to get quickly, and that they might not even work. Her next line of research was nutrition. Little do most people know that medical doctors have little, if any, training in nutrition. She found some studies on how certain nutrients might be helpful, but she did not know what foods contained those nutrients. She started using her body as an experiment, giving it as many nutrients as possible. Much to her surprise. her condition improved. In 1 year, she went from being in a wheelchair to bicycling 18 miles! She stopped taking the medication, and realized that the nutrients in real whole foods were healing her body! She was amazed at how the body can heal itself when you give it what it needs, and remove the junk that is getting in the way and causing the body to attack itself!
What did I learn at the seminar?
Dr. Wahls explained that autoimmune disease means that the body is attacking itself. but it manifests itself in different ways in different people:
- Multiple sclerosis: the body attacks the myelin surrounding the nerves.
- Diabetes: the body attacks the insulin producing cells in the pancreas,
- Psoriasis: the body attacks the skin,
- So many more: I have a list of well over 100 autoimmune conditions if you are curious about something specific!
Dr. Wahls is relentless to get studies done to show that nutrition protocols are effective. It has been an uphill battle because there are no big companies with financial interest in seeing this happen. She has finally received grant money to fund her research and the initial results are phenomenal!
She currently works at a VA hospital. She has been working with veterans who struggle from conditions like obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, pain, post traumatic stress/traumatic brain injury, and sexual dysfunction. She has realized that the protocols that helped with her multiple sclerosis are also helpful for these veterans. The veterans that have complied with her protocols for 100 days have seen improvements with all of these conditions WHILE LOWERING their medications! That's right, they were able to take less pain medication, less blood pressure medication, etc- while having fewer symptoms! She has also been granted money to begin a comprehensive randomized nutrition study on MS patients.
So what does this mean for you?
First, it means I am re-inspired to keep telling you to eat real food (vegetables, meats, some fruit) and to ditch the crap (all things processed). I know that you might think I am a broken record, but it is so important for any condition or pain that you are struggling with. If you aren't giving your body all of the right ingredients and nutrients, you can't expect it to heal properly and perform the way it is supposed to perform.
Second, I was inspired by Dr. Wahls to be more direct with people who ask for my help. If you want to see real changes and improvements in your health. you might need to make some big changes! Dr. Wahls expects 100% compliance from her patients for 100 days. This seems like a big commitment, but when it is your health were talking about, you are worth it! Making big changes will get you real results which will inspire you to keep going.
If you are curious about the changes Dr. Wahls made to her diet,
watch her Ted Talk on You Tube.
Start thinking about changes you'd like to make.
If you are ready to make some changes, and need help figuring out how to get started, please Contact Me!
If you know anyone suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or any other autoimmune disease. please share this with them!
Re-usable water bottle and lunch box that contains salad (with hard boiled egg, bacon, cucumber, tomato, and avocado), container of homemade vinaigrette dressing, hash with potatoes, zucchini, onions and kale, and a homemade chocolate chip muffin
Pack a Lunch that Keeps You Full and Focused All Afternoon
This week I was chatting with a teacher friend who said "It's only 3 weeks into the school year, and I'm already tired of my lunch . Help!".
Focus on nutrient-dense, REAL foods!
Fill lunch boxes with quality fats and proteins to maintain energy all afternoon. Resist the temptation to pack typical lunch foods that are refined and processed (i.e. bread, crackers, chips, cookies, pop, juice boxes, candy, etc). These convenient foods might be easy to grab and stick in the lunch box, but the high sugar and carbohydrate levels cause blood sugar to spike after lunch. When it crashes down, it can cause you to lose energy. You will be ready for a nap before the afternoon is over On the other hand, a lunch with fat and protein keeps blood sugar even, making you feel satisfied and engaged all afternoon.
Eat leftover dinner for lunch
Think about lunch when you make a delicious dinner. Make extra, and remind yourself that you'll have a good lunch if you don't eat it all. We put the leftovers into grab-and-go glass containers when cleaning up the dinner. In the morning, just pop the leftovers into your lunch box.
Nutritious lunch box ideas:
- Wrap a nitrate/nitrite-free lunch meat (Applegate Farms) around slices of avocado
- Breadless sandwiches! Check out these ideas for 15 breadless sandwiches: no bread sandwich ideas
- Homemade soup or leftovers in a thermos
- Chicken, tuna, or egg salad made with homemade mayo
- Salad with homemade oil and vinegar or ranch dressing (easy to make from homemade mayo)
- Guacamole with veggies
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Lettuce Wraps
- Handful of nuts
- Unsweetened dried fruit
- Homemade muffins (Freeze well) – These are a few favorites: cornbread muffins and banana muffins
- Good quality cheese, preferably from pastured cows
- Unsweetened, Plain, Full Fat Yogurt or kefir (try making your own yogurt)
- Apple or celery w/ nut butter
- Unsweetened applesauce - This is easy to make: crockpot applesauce
- Beef Jerky (make your own if you have a dehydrator!)
- Smoked salmon
- Homemade fruit snacks
- Coconut bombs
Having trouble imagining how to make these ideas into a lunch. Pick several items and pack them together for a lunch that will keep you satisfied until dinner.
Our favorite real food lunch combinations:
- Leftover dinner and a piece of fruit
- Chicken salad, celery with nut butter, and a few slices of high-quality cheese
- Two Hard boiled eggs, cornbread muffins smeared with real butter, and a mashed avocado (guacamole) with bell pepper slices
- Homemade soup in a thermos with plain yogurt topped with blueberries, nuts, and cinnamon
- Lettuce wraps with ham, cheese, and avocado slices, a handful of nuts with unsweetened dried fruit (easy trail mix), and applesauce
Remember that transitioning to a real food diet may not happen overnight.
If you aren’t ready to make your own mayo and ranch dressing, it's OK! Just keep moving toward eating more real foods and less packaged, processed, corporation-made "food". Many of the “modern convenience foods” that we buy automatically aren’t that difficult to make on your own. The real ingredients that you use at home are much better for you than the ingredients used in the processed foods in the middle aisles of grocery stores!
A couple of tips to help:
• Set aside a couple of hours each week to prep lunch items (i.e. cut veggies, make a big batch of soup or chicken salad, make and freeze muffins, etc) will make it easy when trying to get everyone out the door in the morning!
• If you have kids, encourage them to help choose, make, and pack their own lunch!
Your challenge this week is to try some of these ideas to make yourself a real food lunch. Let us know how it goes on Facebook.
Joelle Kurczodyna, NTP
Our Two Favorite Techniques for Cutting Vegetables
We realize that eating a real, whole food diet, void of convenience processed stuff, takes some time. Yes, it is easier to unwrap a pre-made pan of lasagna than it is to make it from scratch. Remember that the health benefits of eating real food far outweigh the time saved by the convenience of their processed counterparts. I love this short video by author and journalist, Michael Pollan that explains why homemade is better than corporation made.
Fruits and vegetables are important ingredients in most real food recipes. Learning to cut quickly is a key skill.
Chop or Dice Vegetables Quickly by Hand
Learning to chop veggies was a game changer. When I first started to eat more vegetables (usually 8+ servings a day), I was a SLOW chopper, so making a meal took forever. Once I learned this simple trick, chopping was so much faster. Follow these easy steps to chop any circular vegetable (onion, zucchini, carrot, eggplant, mushroom, etc):
- Make your first cut a cut in half long ways. and place the 2 flat sides down. Then the food doesn't roll away from you!
- Make quick slices in one direction (lenthwise).
- Slice in the other direction, across all the strips, as thin or thick as you need.
- Voila! You you have chopped or diced veggies.
Use a good sharp chopping knife! Don't be afraid of the big knife like the one pictured here. It makes the job easier! The more you chop, the faster you get!
Shred or Slice in the Food Processor
Dusting off the food processor might feel like a lot of work, but this tool can save you time. This is especially true when you are bulk cooking. Yesterday, I made a zucchini and eggplant lasagna. Using the slicer attachment, I had the veggies uniformly sliced in no time. I then switched to the shredder attachment. In less than 2 minutes, I shredded cauliflower into “cauli-rice” to go in a stir fry for another meal. This also works well for slicing vegetables to roast or shredding vegetables for many recipes, including egg casseroles.
Weekly Wellness Challenge
This week we challenge you to think about your chopping and make changes if necessary. Are you using the right knife? Are there any tools like a food processor that could make the job easier? Don't let the time it takes to prepare "real food" stop you from eating healthy! Try out these tips and let us know how it goes! Any other fruits or veggies you struggle to chop? Chat with us on facebook, and we'll try to come up with a tip for you!
- Dr. Jamie and Joelle