YOSA supplement edition and the new “it” ingredient

We’re loving the #YOSA questions you’ve tweeted and emailed to us.

#YOSA is a feature we launched last week that stands for “yay or step away”. Carolyn is going to tackle a couple of supplements we were asked about.

We are not shy about our supplement obsessions. Eboost, probiotics, safslim. vitamin D, Sibu, evening primrose oil… you name it we’ll typically try it. But we have our limits of course. Since we’ve started YOSA-ing, my cousin asked me about a supplement making the rounds at her school. Actually, her friends were referring to it as a FRUIT and not a supplement, which allegedly helps with quick weight loss.

It’s called Garcinia Cambogia.. yay or step away?

Garcinia is derived from tamarind, an Indonesian fruit commonly used in Asian cuisine. The active compound in it is hydroxycitric acid (HCA), and some evidence (we’re talking petri dish-evidence) shows it decreases appetite and prevents your body from storing food as fat. Sounds fabulous but  when you look at the research, results are totally inconsistent. In some studies the group taking garcinia lost less weight. But most importantly, high doses of Garcinia extract caused toxicity and TESTICULAR ATROPHY in mice. Um, whether you have testicles or not, OW. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Okay, maybe a few people, but anyway...

Garcinia was  an ingredient in the infamous speedy supplement Hydroxycut that landed many people in the hospital with liver issues. So my conclusion on this yay or step away is STEP AWAY!

**side note, this doesn’t mean avoid tamarind, which actually has lots of nutrition benefits and does not have HCA in crazy high doses.

YOSA #2: We received this query from a client… “For some reason I get “backed up” during the summer…  What do you think of this Intestinal Movement supplement? #YOSA?

First things first, the ingredient list:

Proprietary Blend: Rhubarb Root, Peppermint Leaf, Wildcrafted Nopal Cactus, Ginger Root, Wasabi, Thyme Leaf, Oregano Leaf, Whole Leaf Aloe Ferox (Cape Aloe), Enzymes (Protease, Amylase, Cellulase, Lipase)

We were especially intrigued by rhubarb and cactus.  Rhubarb is one of the most widely used herbs in Chinese medicine and can act as a mild  or “gentle” laxative. Sounds lovely, right? So this (plus aloe, another little helper) should help you go without leaving you racing for the bathroom like violent laxatives. (As our snack queen says, VOM).

Another ingredient is nopal cactus aka prickly pear.  We spotted  in many forms (juice, chews etc.) all over the Fancy Food Show a few weeks ago. Nopal has many benefits it’s used to balance blood sugar, reduce inflammation and it has slight laxative properties. When were extra intrigued because of a particular study done at Tulane University (we’re proud alumni, what can we say) on its hangover prevention benefits.

So in this Health Force Intestinal Movement edition of yay or step away… a supplement that helps you “go” and prevents hangovers? we vote a resounding YAY…. For 1-2 weeks max then take a break!

Any #YOSA questions for us? Any supplements you've been hearing a lot about? Do you feel digestion is any different in the summer? And have you been hearing about nopal?

No reason hormones need to drive the bus.

There are certain annoyances we need to accept: a rainy day, unanticipated traffic, and a blister from a new pair of shoes.  However, when it comes to our bodies many of our issues can be solved or certainly ameliorated with food. For many of my clients, there is no greater source of dietary derailment than PMS and cycle-related issues can last over a week. That’s 25% of each month feeling and often eating off.  And it’s not just a female issue if you live with a crazy, bloated person, right?

You may know I’m not a fan of adding one food in for a desired effect. If you’re concerned about getting sick I’ll suggest you add multiple immune boosters and the same goes for PMS. Carolyn, Joanna and I created what we feel is the ultimate anti-PMS arsenal. In our Monthly Morsels newsletter today we mapped out a sample “Peace Out PMS” day of food, selected the best PMS supplements and I’m proud to introduce our super, duper PMS Kit.

The kit includes the following:

Cacao Magic-  from Philosophie our favorite, new line of smoothie powders. This cacao is really magic and a tonic for cramps, crankiness and appetite surges.

Natural Calm- powdered magnesium supplement is a “mood must”. Magnesium is helpful for PMS but most of us are deficient so many find it helpful as a daily ritual.

Probiotics- did you know most of our serotonin is produced in our guts? If you have “gut clutter” mood can take a hit. And when it comes to PMS that gut clutter will also lead to ultra bloat. A probiotic supplement is an insurance policy but probiotic foods are also necessary. Sunbiotics chocolate probiotic almonds contains both cacao and probiotics, how’s that for double duty (or doody).

Sweet Riot- these dark chocolate covered cacao nibs (look like chocolate rice krispies) are great a post-meal treat (one 1 calorie per piece!). Take that PMS weight gain.

Explore Asian Organic Black Bean Pasta- contains both magnesium and B6. We call B6 “be happy” because it  plays a key role in the production of mood neurotransmitters. Plus, how about pasta with 12g of fiber and 25g of protein per serving?  Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and add  asparagus (you can toss asparagus in pasta water for last 5 minutes) for bonus B6 and debloating action.

Heather’s Fennel Tummy Tea – these tea bags are jumbo size and potent.

Fennel is one of my favorite debloaters. A cup of tummy tea after dinner and that PMS pooch will not be there in the morning.

Of course these items are available a la carte. It just depends how horrendous your hormones are (ours can be pretty bad).

Do you suffer from PMS? What are your main symptoms? What’s in your arsenal?

Kirstie's Organic Misstep

Kirstie looks a little like Fergie here, no?

I don’t know about you but I find it hard not to root for Kirstie Alley; she’s quirky and likeable. I root for Kirstie Alley as I do for all my clients, hoping that they can make the positive changes with their eating that they are seeking. After years of counseling I am fairly good at reading genuine readiness. Until recently, Kirstie seemed to want weight loss but there was an awkwardness, you got the sense there was something being withheld. I caught a glimpse of Kirstie on Dancing with the Stars and she was fantastic. I observed the previously missing ingredient, which was self-belief.

Kirstie Alley has slimmed down further since the show. Many of her weight-related tweets have said things to the effect of I’m not on any diet it’s just organic eating and exercise. Oh yeah…and I have this company I founded called Organic Liaison too.  I had heard bits and pieces about Kirstie’s company and have to say I liked that there was an emphasis on organic food and farmers markets. I was curious to learn more.  When I went to the site disappointment set in. My “dodgy detector” was beeping away. Pricey supplements are center stage. The worst part is that there are no ingredients listed for any of the supplements.  This is a serious red flag. Aside from the lack of information there’s automatic monthly billing which just rubs me the wrong way. If you'd like to come with me on this disturbing ride watch this video. Kirstie shows you a box full of bottles and says "it's all you need for a month."  Some of the concepts the supplements address: sleep, relaxation and GI function are sound but without ingredients this is shady.

As far as the organic component, despite my initial interest you can’t help but feeling the organic umbrella is nothing more than a hook.  There’s information on farmers markets but you don’t need to pay a monthly fee for that. Many people criticized Kirstie’s insinuation that pesticides in our food may affect our metabolic levels. While this has yet to be proven, I wouldn’t entirely dismiss that notion. There’s also the “liaison” component of a menu planner, journal, group chat and blog. This type of service can be found on other sites for a lot less money. You are forking out money for the pills. Sad.

The other question I had in reviewing the materials was whether being overweight or having lost weight makes you an expert (Daphne Oz I’m talking to you too).  Sure, this seems to be working for Kirstie or she’s thinner right now but we don’t know about Kirstie or this regime long term. There are no studies or long-term data to support some rather serious claims.

Kirstie looks great; the woman is 60 years old. She also has a dance instructor that travels with her and a lot more support in place than an online chat room. If Organic Liaison was about putting high quality ingredients into your diet, it would have my vote. As for taking things without knowing the ingredients or dosage…I graduated from college already.

Have you read about Organic Liaison or known anyone who has tried it? What do you think of the concept? Do you think Kirstie Alley is someone to take weight loss advice from? If there was a pill that could make you loose weight but you weren't allowed to know what it was, would you take it?
Skincare giveaway winners will be announced Wednesday, comment by Tuesday for a change to win.

Multipurpose Foods

I was really excited when The Daily Green came to me with the following story idea. A reader submitted a question asking if we could eat all the things a multivitamin contains and if so how. My gut reaction was of course we can…. See if I was right  by going to The Daily Green’s site where you can read about my findings, food rules to avoid popping pills and fantastic “multipurpose” recipes.
Do you take a multivitamin or certain separate supplements? Do you think you could follow my Foodtraining rules instead?

Lauren's Little Helpers

I think everyone has a friend or family member who takes a ton of vitamins. Perhaps they have a shelf in the medicine cabinet devoted to their supplements or those little boxes with the days of the week written on them. I’m not one of those people. I tend to believe we can get most of the nutrients we need from a balanced diet. So I don’t take a multivitamin or calcium supplement. Yet I do take a couple of things. I don’t take all of these daily and I’m not saying you should take them, these are my little helpers:

E3 Live is my newest “dietary assistant”. I wrote about my 5 day raw/vegan experiment  and I feel a big part of its success was the morning chlorophyll. Fred Devito, one of the exhale founders, told me about E3Live. E3 Live is a blue green algae supplement. The first morning I took it I went to yoga and have to tell you my energy was noticeably different. Plus, I take a shot of E3 live and since I rarely take shots of anything else these days it’s sort of fun.

Eboost- I’ll admit, when I’m not exercising I’m not the best plain water drinker. Clients will notice I usually have orange or lime slices in my water at work. I do not use splenda or NutraSweet so a bunch of the low calorie drink mixes are out. Eboost is a green tea based drink that comes in little envelopes or tablets. I love the pink lemonade flavor. Today I doubled the pleasure and had E3Live and EBoost!

I am an omega 3’s fan. I think if there’s any cure-all when it comes to nutrition, omega 3’s may be the answer. Omega 3’s are important for athletes (they are natural anti-inflammatory), for heart health, for mood and perhaps for weight loss (or fat loss). I rotate between Coromega and Nordic Natural brands.

 I first found out about Zyflammend from a sports medicine doctor. Zyflammend is turmeric and ginger based supplement. Both ginger and turmeric have anti-inflammatory properties. Think of this as natural Advil.

 Natural calm is a powdered magnesium supplement. Magnesium is depleted in times of stress or by excessive exercise. As the name implies magnesium can also make you feel calmer. Magnesium can also help you “go”. I was at a party recently and someone, after reading my potty talk post , told me she thinks of me every day. I’m was flattered (sort of) but do think being regular (and calm)    seriously improves ones quality of life.
And it helps her on her way, gets her through  her busy day! Do you take any supplements? Which ones?