Documentary | “Food Matters”

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“You are what you eat”

We hear this time and time again, but what, if anything does it really mean to us.

Came across a documentary,  Food Matters, which goes into some fair depth (it’s 77 minutes long!) and gives some insight into the relationship between nutrition, health and our relationship with food here in the western world.

Among other things, the documentary also looks at:

1. Our [western] society’s “Taking a pill to cure an ill” approach and it’s obsession with use of drugs.

2. Methods of cleansing the body and the concept that “Food can affect your mood”

3. Cancer and the war against it – how it works and the ability of the human body to fight it… or not.

4. “Education” vs. “Medication”

5. “Superfood” diets – The argument foroOrganic, plant based, and raw foods

I’ll admit, it does come across a bit “The Secret”-ish in the way it is presented, BUT it does highlight important points -

1. Why is it that most of us pay more attention to what we wear than what we eat and

2. That a healthy diet is an important component to us feeling our best and achieving happiness.

See direct link to documentary here.

What are your thoughts?

b Freakin’Fabulous

Photo: Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Paunchy business

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The simplest way to cut calories is to cut your portions sizes. Period. Either eat less of what you’d normally eat, or eat on a smaller plate. Once.

Here are twenty ways you can enjoy the munch without growing a paunch.

Just a few calories that are cut in each, but when you think of the fact that these are simple cuts that you can do multiple times a day, it can definitely add up – ask your waist. How did it get there? Surely we didn’t set out to be round-around-the-middle in our spare time. The ish creeps up on you man.

Rather than cut out things entirely during the day and then binge on them when the stress hits you (usually at night) why not try substitutes instead? Sounds a hell of a lot more doable than deprivation; lets face it, if we had that kind of will power we wouldn’t be looking at our high-school pics longly, *sigh* now would we?

A few things to try:

1. Eat the fruit instead of drinking the juice

2. Have whatever you’re having on a whole grain sandwich instead of a bagel.

3. Order pasta with Marinara instead of Alfredo sauce.

4. Scramble 4 egg whites instead of 2 whole eggs.

5. Remove the slice(s) of cheese out of the sandwich

6. Use mustard instead of mayo

7. Wherever possible, take beverages (tea, iced tea etc.) unsweetened

8. Ditch the mashed potatoes or fries as a side for a baked potato with butter (0nly)

9. Have sparkling water with lemon rather than soda.

10. Drain the heavy liquid from the fruit cocktail can before eating

11. Order the white rice rather than the fried

12. Eat the birthday cake without the frosting

13. Eat the brownie rather than the apple pie à la mode

14. Have the ice cream in a bowl. The cone is just extra calories

15. Use chicken broth (low-sodium is best) instead of oil to sauté meat and veggies.

16. Replace the oil or butter in cakes with unsweetened applesauce.

17. When preparing packaged foods that call for butter or oil, like rice and stuffing, use a broth instead.

18. Go for the medium instead of the XXL drink

19. Go for the grilled meats instead of the stewed or breaded ones. Actually, avoid anything breaded, they not only add more calories but the bread also absorbs more oil.

20. Have a glass of wine rather than 2 beers.

So the solution? Be present when you are having your meal. There are lots of little ways to cut calories if we take the time to think rather than just inhale.

Doable? Absolutely.

FreakinFabulous

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Photo credits: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Health Tip: Smart Start

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Yes, studies have shown that starting the day right with a breakfast that is high in fibre and low in sugar can give your body the boost it needs, the boost that most of us think we can get from coffee.

But what about replenishing the fluids lost during sleep?

Your body loses quite a lot of it’s water content during this time.

Drinking an 8 oz glass of water soon after waking up would replace the water that your body has lost.

Doing so will also give your metabolism a boost, enabling you almost immediately have more energy.

Find pure water boring? Add freshly squeezed lemon or lime, or spike it with a dash or two of pure cranberry juice (read non-sweetened). This will add a touch of flavour, as well as vitamin C, a powerful anti-oxidant.

Whatever you do stay far away from commercially packaged, flavoured water.

One look at the Nutritional Facts on the label will indicate that these drinks often come packaged with more sugar and salt than a healthy diet would allow for just replacing liquids that have been lost overnight.

Start your day off right by just replacing just the liquids that have been lost, rather than putting your daily calorie bank in deficit before you even have a meal. Save the extra calories that come with ‘flavoured water’ for something fun why not, like dessert perhaps.

Follow with that high fibre, low sugar breakfast.

Tip: a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese doesn’t fall into the ‘high fibre, low sugar’ category.

Photo: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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What a pain in ye eyeball.

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Mr. Migraine.

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What a pain nightmare.

The headache from hell that just keeps mutating, just before it starts to rot inside your mental.

The type of pain that makes you think that in your past life you used to butcher squirrels for coats and now karma has finally come to get you. Boo!

The type that can lead one to behead another for simply letting their little light shine… through an open window.

Keep that little light of yours under a bushel dammit you think to yourself, for all those tiny people drumming incessantly in your head is far from cute.

You’d tell the drummers to stop, but you risk opening your eyes, not that you’d see anyways cause your left eyesight went MIA-mi. Just the thought of your apparent lack of control over your body workings makes you smile… oh,…. there goes the little pa-rump-pa-pom-pom-ers again, only you know it’s not Christmas cause these guys come with a little fella in the band who scrapes his nails on the blackboard music sheet.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech.

Day in day out, there is no respite from this torture. Only death will save you now.

What is a migraine?

Trusty old Wikipedia says that a migraine is a neurological syndrome characterized by altered bodily perceptions, severe headaches, and nausea. Physiologically, the migraine headache is a neurological condition more common to women than to men.

Just great.

The typical migraine headache affects one half of the head, is pulsating and lasts from 4 to 72 hours. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting,  increased sensitivity to light (photo phobia) as well as sound (phono phobia).

About one in three people who suffer migraine headache receive some sign that the migraine will soon occur. This can be some aura or experience in the form of an unusual visual, olfactory, or other sensory experience.

Interesting isn’t it? Not exactly being able to see into the future, but close. Still, this is nothing that migraine sufferers don’t already know. What we would really benefit from rather is how to STOP this beast.

Common migraine triggers

As it turns out, common triggers for migraine attacks include:
- Allergies
- Bright lights or sounds
- Odors/perfumes
- Stress
- Skipping meals
- Alcohol
- the Menstrual cycle and Menopause and
- Certain foods, including red wine, cheese, figs and diary products including chocolate*

Migraine Management

What the doctors say:

Knowing such, an important factor in migraine management is preventative treatment, which would largely be lifestyle changes – from proper nutrition plus perhaps taking nutritional supplements, increased exercise, to just plain avoiding the migraine triggers. Engaging in such constructive behaviour may result in reducing the duration, painfulness and/ or frequency of the migraines. 

Of course when all else fails, there’s always the option of reaching far enough to grab a handful of those pain killers, and swallow hard, not that I’m promoting drug abuse. Naturally, Smarty Pants, this doesn’tfix anything, it just eases the pain to allow you to get your life in order before the next attack that’s bound to happen if you don’t change something soon.

This however is not a fool proof remedy you say, as the surely the above only addresses the problem in about 60% of us, if so much. What about the others?

What the herbalists say:

Well, there’s always holistic medicine.

Thing is, as high as they may sound sometimes, their advice concerning migraines is pretty much the same thing, minus the crazy pill popping of course. 

Their view is that migraines are caused by a lack of serotonin to the the brain, and that lack of sleep, and the effect of foods, yadda yadda, are thought to be the causes. 

Some recommendations include increasing your intake of:

- Ginger,
- Water
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
- Food high in fibre.

Also reducing your intake of
- Sugar
- Alcohol
- Soda and
- Salt as preventative measures.

Well there goes the fun. We come back to proper nutrition again. 

Direct sunlight is also thought by herbalists to cause migraines, so avoiding it may be a good idea. The idea goes something like this – when the sun rises, the very hottest rays irritate the blood vessels and cause them to shrink thereby causing pain. Moonlight walks are thought to help alleviate the pain. (See Ayurvedic Cure)

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Migraines are painful and debilitating. 

As a migraine sufferer, I decided to see if I could help myself and some of you, my suffering peeps out there, fight this horrible monster that attacks when least expected. Hope this helps

At the end if it all it seems like we are encouraged to:

Eat Better | Exercise more | Stress Less | Avoid Sun | Sleep

Seem easy enough. After all, according to GC if we do just that we’d alleviate a whole host of other issues as well.

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Forward ever…

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Sources:
Ayurvedic Cure – Migraine
Wikipedia – Migraine

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*For a full list see the Medicine Plus Medical Encyclopeadia.

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Relationships | Foul Romance

Joe was sharing an experience that he had the other day. He was going deep sea diving but before he even hit the water he could not help but think that all the fish had died in the ocean. 

“Should I say something?” he asked.

I mean I know what I’d do. Speak up and ship on the hell out of that piece.

But, I understand that this is a sensitive issue. That’s like having to answer your girl’s question “Does this make me look fat”. Your answer should be that either it does or doesn’t, but nothing more. Nothing about the fact that with her ‘natural’ curves she shouldn’t be wearing that, or nothing about horizontal stripes. Nothing that descriptive.

Or for example, answering your man when he asks if he’s the best that you’ve had. Tricky? Indeed. But at least whether you answer it truthfully or not you don’t have to smell it. Ew. 

The way I see it, if you choose to keep your reaction to yourself, your libido surely will speak. For some of us this is more obvious than others, isn’t it Jr.?

So I say if it’s a fling; you are never going to see this individual again and you don’t want to say anything, reach for the phone explain “Damn” you forgot something and bounce. Otherwise, keep it missionary and get it over with quickly. I wouldn’t take the time to figure out if it’s just a bad day, because as far as one night stands go you gotta bring it or you get left behind. No hard feelings. No long talking. Anything that frowses or limps on Hit-it-and-Quit-it night needs no explanation. 

But if you are in a long term relationship or are are having ‘something’ with the individual, unless you want to live through that hell for the rest of your time together, it may be best to say something. 

Now ladies and gentlemen I’m no doctor, so I can’t diagnose this, but my layman point of view would be that seeing some sort of person who specializes in that area would be a good idea, especially if it’s a condition that’s persistent.

I have absolutely nothing to back this up, but from what I’ve learnt in life, everything is correlated. Assuming that it’s not an STD, it’s possibly harmless. If it’s something that just ‘popped’ up maybe it’s :

- Diet related.
Garlic and onions maybe? I’ve also read that asparagus can bring on the funk as well. A diet rich in fruit acids like pineapple is thought to keep the smell pleasant, but as far as if this is scientifically proven I have no idea. 

- That time of the month.
Lets just say not only the personality gets thick during PMS.

Then too, if you are getting it in with your girl regularly unprotected, (*side eye* but no judgements), remember that your spunk is living matter and, like any other protein, it stinks when it starts decaying. So… it could be your fault guys.

I’ve also read that it can be possibly linked to smoking or having multiple partners. Apparently the privates no likey too much mixing and mingling between the proteins. That thought alone can bring on the frowz.

I’d say that maybe it’s a latex allergy but if it funks before you even get it in, I’d second guess that. 

Some other common things you can ensure, well common to me I guess, are:

- Wear clean undies daily. 
- Wash genitalia daily. Even if, for whatever reason, you don’t shower daily at least clean up the privates.

Ladies some particular no-nos:

– Extended wearing of thong underwear.
Two different types of bacteria going on down there, don’t want to mix them up. 

- Mystery fabric.
It just can’t breathe in lycra and other fabric that’s difficult to pronounce. Polyester underwear with spandex leggings is not a good idea. Nothing can breathe in that.

- Excessive douching.
Dries out area and removes good bacteria, or so I’ve read.

But in general, getting checked by a doctor is your best bet, even if it’s just to rule out that it’s not an STD in hiding. I mean Valentine’s Day is coming up and all, lets keep it fresh. 

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Cucumber The Great

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I can make all sorts of jokes about the benefits of a whole, raw cucumber, but it’s not that kind of party today, at least not with this post. As it turns out the good ole’ cucumber can serve a lot of other purposes…

I was sent this information that was featured in The New York Times sometime late last year as part of their “Spotlight on the Home” series, that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.

I haven’t tried them all yet, but maybe I’ll pick up a couple long, thick, firm ones and put them to a different type of use today

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber.  Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower?  Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds?  Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long.  The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool?  Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite.  Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache?  Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free.  Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge?  Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don’t have enough time to polish your shoes?  Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge?  Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don’t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa?  Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don’t have gum or mints?  Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a ‘green’ way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel?  Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won’t leave streaks and won’t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake?  Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

Chomp, chomp. Tasty!

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Thanks for looking out Gis!

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Nutrition | Gluten free breakfast

For those of us who are plagued with a gluten allergy, but enjoy a hot breakfast and are watching our sugar intake, consider taking a trip to your local health food store and grabbing the ingredients for the breakfast below.

It can even be customized for the lactose intolerant.

You will need:

1 tablespoon of 3-4 of the following grains, in any combination of your choice, raw or roasted:

- Buckwheat 
- Quinoa
- Millet
- Rolled barley
- Rolled oats

*** Adding some slivers of ginger, especially during the winter season, can help guard against the seasonal sniffles and colds***

The expansion factor of these grains is ridiculous, so anything more than 4 tablespoons, even for the large eaters like myself, especially when you add the toppings, can end up as waste.

1 cup skimmed milk or soy/ rice/ almond milk for the lactose intolerant, sweetened or unsweetened – your choice. 

For a lower fat option, cook with half cup water and half cup milk. Feel free to add more water depending on how soft or crunchy you like your cereal. 

Combine in a medium sized saucepan, not too small because again, the volume expands, and bring to a slow boil.  Slowly maintain, as vigorous boiling will cause the mixture to boil over.

Of course, using a medium, rather than a small saucepan would prevent any accidental boil overs before you get the heat setting just right.

Add (optional)
- 2-4 dashes of cinnamon/ nutmeg/ pumpkin spice, whichever fancies you
- 1 tablespoon Teff grain

It can take a minute to cook, well more like 20 minutes, so soaking the grains the night before helps.

I’d usually wake up, combine the ingredients, put on a medium fire and go take a shower. By the time I’m done my hot piping breakfast is about ready.

Top with your choice of:

- Dried currants/ raisins/ cranberries and/or chopped dried fruits like figs or apricot. These add natural sweetness to the mix.

- Fresh fruit – whatever is seasonal that you like. Strawberries, blueberries, apples, pears… tart, sweet, whatever you like.

- Sliced nuts like almond or chopped ones like walnuts

- Raw (or roasted) seeds like sunflower/ pumpkin seeds

With all those dried fruits, especially raisins and dried apricots you really shouldn’t need more sugar, but you can mix in a little agave nectar (rather than sugar) if you choose.

High fibre, protein packed and customizable… now if only everything can walk into your life that that! … but I digress.

Will be sure to get you off to a great start in the morning, and have you make it past those mid-morning munchies!

Thanks: Bamboo Chaser
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Health | Best foods

Help your body fight off disease by incorporating these foods into your diet.

Preparing these foods crispy fried, candied, salted or creamed definitely doesn’t count.

Whole grains e.g. Oats

This whole-grain delivers cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre and energy-providing carbohydrates without spiking blood sugar levels. Oats also keeps blood pressure in check.

Prepackaged already sweetened ‘oatmeal’ breakfast cereals contain high amounts of sugar.

Try cooking quick or rolled oats with milk, soy or almond milk and topping with cinnamon, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, diced dried fruit like apricot, currants or figs to add sweetness, or the good old cranberries (mentioned below) for a tart kick.

Also consider topping with diced fresh fruit like blueberries or strawberries. The possibilities are endless. Use a little agave nectar rather than sugar for added sweetness.

Too much work? Try Original or MultiGrain Cheerios. 

Green and Leafy veges e.g. Spinach

It’s hard to beat spinach as a green and leafy for vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Spinach is also high in calcium and vitamin K, which is great for the lactose intolerant among us.

Eat alone, steamed or sauteed with onions, garlic, green peppers, mushrooms and herbs for flavour. Cooking with cream and excessive salt will reduce it’s overall health benefit.

Legumes e.g. Black beans

Beans (legumes not peas!) in general are packed with protein, fibre and yummy nutrients such as magnesium, folate and iron. They keep the heart happy by controlling cholesterol and blood pressure.

Keep salt and sugar levels down when cooking a mean bean stew. Flavour using herbs and spices instead. Consider adding garlic, onions and diced veges like celery for added depth in flavour profile. Also cook with oils like canola, sunflower or olive oil which are free of trans fatty acids.

Antioxidant berries e.g. Cranberries

Packed with anthocyanins, bacteria fighting substances, cranberries also help heart health by inhibiting the build-up of the bad LDL cholesterol.

Found in it’s usual preparations  however, cranberries are usually laced with sugar – in juices or in most commercially packaged snacks. These don’t count as ‘healthy’.

Nuts e.g. Walnuts and Almonds

Like salmon, nuts in general especially walnuts and almonds, contain significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. They also contain magnesium, folate and the anti-oxidant vitamin E.  

Eat nuts fresh or roasted. As you would imagine that I’d say, eating them sugar coated or candied doesn’t count.

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All-in-One Meals

Eating properly doesn’t have to be a production, and need not require cast and crew. 

Cooking up a healthy, nutritious meal can require little effort and just one pan – be it a skillet, a Crock-Pot or slow cooker, a wok or a saucepan.

Stews, soups, pies, jambalayas (pelau anyone?), or stir fries, the variety of foods you can make by just combining all the ingredients in one pan are endless.

You would need at least one type of all of the following:

- Protein
- Vegetable
- Grain or Starch 

and add appropriate seasonings to taste and it’s on like boil’ corn. 

Switch up the esthetics of the food. Tease your eyes and boost your nutrition by substituting vegetables of different colours and  switching to different proteins and grains/ starch from time to time. Also, switch up the taste by experimenting with different herbs and spices, and leave excess sugar and salt out of the mix. For sweetness for example, add some sweet potatoes/ yams to the mix.

Just toss the ingredients into the slow cooker before you head to work, turn that baby on, and come home to a hot, satisfying home-cooked meal.

Alternatively, toss in the ingredients into the cooker at night, close the lid and go to sleep. You’ll wake up to a hot meal that you can pack yourself for lunch.

Slow, simmered, root vegetable foods are rich, flavourful and exactly what the doctor has ordered for the winter blues or end-of-year family get togethers. 

You save time, energy and money, and best of all, you have less dishes to wash!

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Maintaining the flab

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Personal health is tied very closely to financial health.

A person is considered obese if s/he is morbidly overweight, i.e. the person is at a risk of dying based on health complications that s/he has developed because of his/her weight.

Obesity is very expensive. Suze Orman, internationally acclaimed personal finance expert, shared some interesting tidbits on Obesity in America with the contestants of NBCs “Biggest Loser”, Season 8.  

Apparently, research has shown that:

- Obese people earn less than people who aren’t obese, on average about $7,000 per year. 

This is based on a number of factors including more sick days taken, and the increased cost to the employer for things such as health care insurance.

- On average, a family who eats just one meal at home every day can save up to $8,760 in just one year.

The average daily cost of the meal was calculated at $24.

- Americans spend $4.4 billion dollars per year on gastric bypass surgery.

With an average cost of $20,000 per surgery, that works out to 220,000 people per year.

- Obesity related healthcare issues cost Americans $147 billion dollars per year, 63% more than is spent on cancer related issues.

- An individual who has moved from being at an obese weight to his/her ideal weight would on average save $1 million dollars, in health care and other costs related to obesity, over 40 years.

Wowzers.

Makes you want to drop and do 3 sets of 12, STAT.

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