The best way to drink

TGIF! I don’t know about you but my week was super busy and today isn’t any exception.

Monday night I attended a launch party for Bobbi Brown’s new book Beauty From the Inside Out. I contributed a section to this beautiful book, “About Alcohol”. Bobbi, like us at Foodtrainers, enjoys a cocktail but also likes sorting out the best way to incorporate alcohol and still feel (and look) good.

She had a pretty coconut water, seltzer and vodka mason jar mixture at the party.

Oddly enough, also this week, Men’s Journal wanted a nutritionist to chime in on hangover helpers. Now I personally do not encounter hangovers very often. For the most part I’m a one and done drinker but I also follow our 1:1 rule. More on that here. I know there are some health experts who do not drink and others who do not wish to publicize if they do. We're all for transparency in life (and with (clear) cocktails too.

Are you someone who likes a drink or prefers to pass? What do you drink? Do you think alcohol can be part of an otherwise healthy lifestyle?

Should wellness companies "promote" alcohol?

I realize she's not a "company" but some find this humor offensive

For some reason, I’ve encountered multiple accounts of sobriety lately. My friend Aidan Donnelley hosted Elizabeth Vargas for one of her “Happier Hour” book events. Elizabeth’s book tells her story about anxiety and alcoholism. Aidan has written about and been fairly public with her sobriety as well. I also read Love Warrior, Glendon Doyle Melton’s memoir. And most recently, a friend turned me on to the Home podcast, specifically an episode about eating and addiction. The nutritionist interviewed tells her story about her issues with alcohol. I think the topic of women and alcohol is an important one. I know, from years of counseling, that for many people alcohol may not be a major problem but it’s not a non-issue either. A lot of clients worry about their drinking, being open and having conversations privately or publicly is vital.

I come to the table from a slightly different vantage point. I like a cocktail. I like making cocktails, I like sharing cocktails with friends and here and there I like a drink after a busy, stressful day. While I often joke about being a Tulanian, my relationship with alcohol is a healthy one. Except for special occasions, I tend to have one drink and could easily go a stretch without a drink depending on my social schedule. I am only describing my habits to present an example of drinking that’s not damaging.

A popular wellness website recently posted a lighthearted quote about wine. I was taken aback by some negative commentary. Some called it irresponsible, others felt it promoted drinking. It’s tricky. I’ve expressed disappointment with celebrities who endorse soda. And if you struggle with food addiction- the barrage of unhealthy food ads can be triggering. While I empathize with anyone struggling with addiction, I don’t think we can expect the world to see things through our lens. Depending on the person, a post or quote about coffee, alcohol or cake will be interpreted differently.

Alcohol isn’t healthy.  I’d love the resveratrol research to turn wine into a health food, it isn’t going to. If you don’t drink, there is no reason to start; however, many of our Foodtrainers’ clients do drink. For some, I suggest cutting back (for starters single digits for drinks for men, less than 7 for women per week). Others want to know the “best” drinks to choose or how to mitigate some of the side effects of alcohol. More often than not, clients are relieved to see that we drink and eat pizza. I’d sort out if drinking is an issue for you. If you’re spending time thinking about that, you probably have your answer. If you’re looking for help cleaning up your food or alcohol act, our Whipping Week sign up started today We’re 2/3 full so grab your spot if you want one.

Curious what you think, should wellness brands “support” drinking?

Maybe the "drunchies" are to blame.

So we’ve covered what to drink before; you know us Tulanian girls aren’t afraid of a good time and love our Tanteo tequila and Titos (ok and Veev, too) more than the average person. What you drink and how often are crucial variables when it comes to your health and weight, but it’s also what happens to your food after drinking and the next day that can make or break your jean “zippage”.

We’ve all been there (some of us longer ago than others), after a late night and a little too much to drink suddenly those fries don’t sound like such a disaster. Or, maybe you were just out to a boozy dinner and you decide to have a little counter buffet when you get home. 

And guess what? It’s not just willpower, research shows that alcohol stimulates appetite and makes you crave higher fat, salt-filled foods. Not only does hitting the bottle make you more hungry initially, you will only continue to eat more at the meals following (hello hungover brunch or missed workout, nice to see you again).

So a few too many drinks in, and you touch the things (at least it’s not people anymore) you would never touch. What’s a cocktail-appreciating person to do?

At Foodtrainers we suggest a  less than 100-calorie optional “dessert”  after dinner I like to say if you’re drinking, you are drinking your dessert and Kate Hudson agrees. But if late night munchies are going to happen, we need a plan in place.

Choose a late night/lush food prior to imbibing. You want to keep it as light as possible, but if everyone around you is ordering pizza and grilled cheese sandwiches you need to have an option too. My recommendations for clients are usually popcorn, Brussels Bytes, dark chocolate or Matt’sMunchies (how appropriate). Have your snack set aside before going out and a giant cup of water to “soak up” the alcohol. If it’s been a long night, charcoal is worth a try.  And then get to bed.

You know the Grandma saying, nothing good ever happens after 2am, well there’s no place that’s truer than in the kitchen.

As for the next day… no, grease does not help a hangover but you know what does? DRAM Apothecary's hair of the dog drops and Gaia's organic milk thistle. I have been known to order it from Amazon Prime for friends during parties, cuz I’m that much fun.

Egg yolks also have a compound called cysteine that help break down alcohol toxins, so order a veggie omelet (no, bacon egg and cheeses do not count). Also suggested is to either sweat it out or sleep it off.

In an ideal world, you’re not having more than 1-2 drinks in a night… and the older I get the more I realize even that can make you hungover. But party and then post party “nosh” responsibly.

(Today's post by the younger Tulanian/Carolyn)

Do you get the drunk-munchies or drunchies? What do you find helps? 

Will this popular, healthy drink make you drunk?

If you’re not kombucha-conscious, kombucha is a fermented tea. It tastes tart and is slightly bubbly. It was been brewed and consumed for thousands of years. Kombucha is made using something called a SCOBY (which I thought was Scooby for the longest time) but stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast.  And this is what results in a finished beverage teeming with good bacteria and good yeast yum yum.

I’ll admit my bias; I love the stuff. I first enjoyed the gingerade from Synergy, love the blue green from BKkombucha, the cayenne Kombucha from Heathade and most recently fell in love with the milder kombuchas from Organic Avenue. Everyone at our office is dying to try Buchi’s sea buckthorn kombucha. Buchi- can you help us out?

I have always been aware kombucha contains trace amounts of alcohol. But while wine is generally 10 to 14 percent alcohol and spirits 40-something percent kombucha usually is .5 percent. So I was shocked when a client came in saying, “I had a few sips of kombucha and I felt something, was I drunk?” I hadn’t ever heard that, I thought about GT Dave the Synergy brand founder who drinks a gallon or two of kombucha a day “like it’s his job” oh wait, it is.

Back in 2010 there was a blip for the kombucha producers. Many kombuchas were pulled from the shelves. There was investigation into the alcohol content. The more sugar in kombucha the more alcohol it can ferment. Generally speaking the longer kombucha ferments, the more alcohol produced. Companies looked at their protocols to see how they could eliminate the alcohol without compromising the benefits. You can pasteurize and “solve” the problem but in order to have the probiotic benefits, kombucha needs to be raw/unpasteurized. Companies found ways to reformulate their brews, probably changing the SCOBY in order to control the alcohol content. Generally speaking unless in recovery/AA or pregnant continue to knock back kombucha.

Detractors will say “no real evidence” but as a superstar nutritionist (who has been at this for way longer than I have) said on a phone call last week “for many things in our field there will never be studies.” Kombucha is helpful for joint pain (contains building blocks for glucosamine) and helps with digestion (many clients report reflux improvements). Ironically, given the subject matter today, kombucha’s beneficial effect on the liver makes it an excellent hangover remedy.

So why did my client feel loopy? I dug around, spoke to some fermentation experts and there’s something I was unfamiliar with called histamine intolerance. Some people react to fermented foods with symptoms that mimic drunkenness as they lack an enzyme called DAO that breaks the histamine down. You can read more about histamine intolerance here.  There are digestive enzymes you can use if the thought of avoiding fermented foods (which help with mood and cravings not to mention immunity and more) worries you.  My only issue with kombucha is that Lindsay Lohan loves the stuff, ick. Are you a kombucha drinker? Do you make your own? Should I try? Do you have a favorite brand? Any kombucha concerns?

With food (and only food), guy-like is the way to go

While I like to think my messaging and posts are unisex, weight loss advice tends to be female-centric. Male clients who read LBT give me a hard time  “the book is great but did you need to have a dress on the cover?” Or “I’m not wearing a bikini any time soon.” With Father’s Day approaching our plan was to focus on Dude Foods for our June Newsletter. Then, as we dove into the research on this dietary gender divide something occurred to me…when it comes to weight loss, should we all be more manly with our methodology?

More savory

Women tend to have more overall cravings than men. Ninety-seven percent of women report food cravings (no surprise) while for men it’s under seventy percent. Women also tend to crave sweet foods more often (and chocolate is the number one craving, yup) while men crave savory. So, what should you do? I love chocolate (good, dark, 70% chocolate) but after three days quitting sugar I am not looking for it. You can quit sugar with us for the remainder of the month or add non-sweet foods to your diet.  Start with breakfast I’m loving eggs with hot sauce, paleo bread with coconut butter and plain yogurt with cinnamon and cardamom.

Fewer Snacks

 It was interesting to see research supporting the fact that men snack less. Men, on average, have about two snacks a day whereas women have over three. Two is indeed the magic number We have some of our favorite savory snacks in our Dude Food Kit. Brussels sprout chips and the most amazing nuts in the world are not to be missed.

Less Fat Phobic- this is a big one. I still see clients who are petrified to skip their “skim” or look at me as though I secretly want them to gain weight when I suggest nuts or coconut oil. Men are not afraid of fat in their diet (and do not necessarily eat the good ones) but the right fats will make you thin. Think fish, avocado, seeds and coconut.

Eat Less Fruit- I am not anti fruit. I know many people were surprised that I suggested one fruit per day in the book. Nothing is going to happen if that one becomes two some days. Something is going to happen if you love summer fruit a little too much and have four a day, every day justifying it by saying “I eat only healthy, clean foods.”

Booze is OK but not girly booze

 Men drink more alcohol than women, men also metabolize alcohol differently than women (a topic for another day). I’m not here to tell you to booze it up. I am saying to be less “girly” in your drink choices. “On the rocks” will do much more for you than tonic ever has.

If I’m going to be totally honest, when you look at all the studies men are not necessarily eating healthier than women. The stereotypical dude foods they are far from a nutritionist’s dream however, while women may know where it’s at with so, so many things (this goes without saying) men’s overall approach to food that’s more fuel oriented and less guilt-ridden, less snacky and less sweet is probably the way to go.

From the criteria above are you more manly or girly in your food choices? Do you believe men and women fall into these catergories when it comes to food? If you’re quitting sugar with us how’s it going?

Boston (but no marathon)

Thank you for those who tweeted "are you running?" Um no.

I’m in Boston for Dr Weil’s Nutrition and Health Conference. This is a conference I look forward to and have attended twice before in New York and also San Diego. Presenters, at any event,  are always a mixed bag and sometimes the sessions you expect to be best are not the highlights. Dr Robert Lustig opened the morning yesterday. His name may sound familiar as he figured prominently in 60 Minutes sugar segment; he’s also the endocrinologist quoted in the NYT early puberty article. Dr Lustig presented on fructose. I was really excited but not for the biochemistry lesson he started in with. There were two fun facts, after 45 minutes, first that 80% (wow) of supermarket items have some sugar. And second, Lustig’s “4 foods of the apocalypse”

Trans fats

Corn Fed Beef

Ethanol (alcohol)

Fructose

No surprises on the list but imagine if America worked on decreasing all of these…

The highlight of the day was a seminar on food and fertility by Dr Victoria Maizes who works with Dr Weil at the University of Arizona and I’ve seen present on diet and cancer before.  She is a fantastic speaker and offers suggestions versus mandates.  It startling when you look at the fertility data. Many women postpone having children to focus on work while fertility starts to decline in our 30s. As far as diet, it matters more vis-à-vis fertility as we get older, if that makes sense. So what’s been associated with decreased fertility?

1. Cereal- many foods were tested and cold cereal, likely because of glycemic index, decreased fertility more than most others
2. Nonfat milk- you know, if you read regularly, I’m not a skim fat but while nonfat milk decreases fertility whole dairy improves it.
3. Trans fats – a 2% increase in trans fats was associated with a 73% increase in infertility, think packaged products and read labels for hydrogenation. Trans fats were on Lustig’s list above and they really are about as bad for us as we thought, it not worse
4. Soda but not necessarily all caffeine

What foods improve fertility?

1. Whole Dairy
2. Fish/omega 3's- many women cut out fish due to mercury phobia and this is a mistake. Omega 3’s decrease miscarriage risk, postpartum depression and certain pediatric cancers.
3. Prenatal vitamins- I am not such a multivitamin all in one fan but feel strongly, after this presentation, that both men and women trying to conceive should be taking one (though not the same one).

What happens in utero and what women do before they conceive really, as Dr Maizes said “wires you for the rest of your life”. So I can focus on my mother and how screwed I am or I can try to pass this information on.  And finally, infertility isn’t always discussed and has to be one of the hardest things to go through. I have a sister to struggled with IVF and I tried for a long time with my older son. Dr Maizes reminded us of the compassion needed. I also think “tools” are helpful so please, if appropriate, pass this information along. And congratulations to all the Boston runners, well done.

 I have to get over to the Westin for today’s sessions. I’ll tweet @Foodtrainers about  them if you want to hear more.

Are you eating much of the apocalyptic foods? Or are you limiting fish due to mercury concerns? What do you think makes a good speaker or presentation?