More reasons to skip skim (in case grey coffee isn't reason enough)

We’ve said it before…if you do dairy (and we do), you have to skip the skim. It’s better for your weight, your skin, your bones and your fertility. Recent research adds further evidence to our skim-stance. A study published in Circulation analyzed the blood of 3,333 adults for 15 years. It’s difficult to “skim” over (had to) their findings.  People who consumed more full-fat dairy had a 46% decreased risk of getting diabetes. Another study published in the American Journal of Nutrition looked at obesity risk with full fat versus low fat dairy among 18,438 female participants. Those who consumed the most full-fat dairy products lowered their risk of being overweight or obese by 8%.

At Foodtrainers, we believe fat makes you thin. Fat keeps you full. It’s crucial for your skin, hair, nails and Vitamin D absorption. Cutting back on calories by cutting out fat typically results in eating more sugar/carb calories. And when your sugar and carbs increase your body stores more fat (remember the “fat free” 90s?).

Aside from skipping skim, fermented dairy is your best bet.  Fermented dairy contains probiotics that help your weight, cravings and mood.  These good bacteria break down some of the lactose. If you find dairy difficult to digest, fermented dairy may be easier. We adore four percent Siggi’s yogurt, Maple Hill Creamery plain kefir and Nancy’s (probiotic) cottage cheese. And it’s not fermented but Ronnybrook’s half and half and their glass bottles make life better.

Hate to say we told you so (well before fat was where it's at), but PLEASE skip the skim and grey coffee… you’re welcome. 

Speaking of dairy, Lauren and I are checking out a new cheese headquarters this week… details to follow!

You Should Drink Coffee and The Best Coffee to Drink

Bulletproof coffee photo via weightlossguru.com, keep forgetting to take my own

Saturday,  while getting a haircut, I flipped through a magazine. I wouldn’t suggest this diversion as a lot of cutting occurred as I read probably because I was annoyed with a certain article. Asked for her opinion of the Paleo diet an expert quoted offered “it’s never good to remove a whole category of food” a sentiment already filed in my collection of worthless diet advice. I’m not against category slashing. If there’s a reason to give up gluten or dairy or sugar that leaves you feeling better with improved digestion or more energy, breakups are fine. If you tell me you’re swearing off soda or icky sweeteners, cold cereal and “faux” whole wheat bread, I’m going to cheer you on versus hold you back. But if you tell me you’re giving up coffee, I’m going to ask why?

There is no problem with coffee, there’s a problem with too much coffee (over 2 cups) or what you put in your coffee. For example, that skim milk and Splenda should be at the top of your nutritional worry list. I’m not here to say “coffee in moderation is OK”. If you read regularly you know I’m not a fan of feeling “OK” or the useless word moderation. I’m here to say coffee can make you healthier.

Coffee may reduce your risk of type 2 Diabetes. With Parkinson’s, it lowers chances of both the disease and with some related movement symptoms as well. Coffee reduces the incidence of certain cancers such as bladder and kidney and impacts Alzheimer’s disease. Coffee is a well-established exercise helper or ergogenic aid. In fact, because tolerance increases I have athletes cut back (not cut out!) caffeine in the week leading up to an event so that they get the maximum effect on race day, sneaky. Interestingly coffee also affects GI flora. And Let’s not forget those Ikarians with the enviable life spans. “The Secret May Be in the Coffee”

There are a few coffee considerations. First, your cup of coffee (and maybe your second) should be consumed by lunchtime or right after. I don’t want to boost your health and disrupt your sleep. Even if you think “caffeine doesn’t bother you” it may affect the quality of your sleep. Speaking of quality, all coffee isn’t the same. Choose organic coffee (coffee is a pesticidey crop) and be careful not to brew it using bleached coffee filters.Yes you can roast your own coffee, there are only so many DIY projects I can handle so I don't roast but chime in if you do.

I’ve been a splash of grass-fed, organic half and half, in my coffee girl for some time.  During a twitter chat, someone suggested coconut oil in coffee. Soon after this mention I was fielding questions about  "Bulletproof Coffee" from clients. This concept is now all over the blogosphere. I was intrigued as I had never heard of it but also curious that this mixture combines two foods that conventional wisdom tells us are bad butter! and coffee.

Bulletproof Coffee was developed by Dave Asprey, an entrepreneur who has lost a tremendous amount of weight and was greatly affected by a cup of “butter tea” he had while traveling.  Dr Weil actually wrote that butter in teas has long history and via Google I learned butter is used in coffee in Ethiopia and parts of India. The Bulletproof recipe calls for MCT oil and unsalted butter blended with coffee. I thought this sounded weird and frankly vile until I realized butter is made from cream. Bulletproof coffee is said to increase alertness, more than black coffee, to keep hunger at bay until lunchtime and to urge the body to use fat for fuel.

I tried this with coconut oil (coconut oil contains MCTs or medium chain triglycerides) as I like the coconutty taste and Kerrygold unsalted butter. I used 1tsp of each for starters blended with 1 mug’s worth of coffee.  Asprey calls for more butter (1Tbs) and oil (1-2 Tbs) but "digestively" I would work your way up. You combine the butter, oil and freshly brewed coffee in a blender for approximately 10 seconds. I have experimented with a sprinkle of cinnamon and cardamom as well. You can stir the ingredients in your coffee, skipping the blending step, but it doesn’t incorporate well. When you blend it it froths up. Think of it as a coffee breakfast smoothie.

If you’re wondering how this works, coconut oil helps your body utilize fat for fuel, it’s also a natural immune booster. Grass fed butter is much higher in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) which was a popular supplement a couple years back. CLA also helps reduce body fat, specifically abdominal fat. If you combine these two ingredients with coffee you have something that’s potentially life changing and “weight changing” as well. And if nothing else, it’s distracting me from my haircut.

Are you a coffee drinker? Have you ever tried to give up coffee? Why? Have you heard of Bulletproof coffee? Or encountered buttered tea or coffee in your travels?

Do You Know What Happy Calories Are?

I’ve previously outed myself; I watch pretty lousy TV, American idol included.

A new season of Idol started last week. As much as it pains me to watch the judges sip from their gigantic coke-emblazoned tumblers. I understand corporate sponsorship and here it is loud and clear. What got me way too worked up at a time I was counting on mindless relaxation was the Coke commercial that debuted during this episode. Not to worry if you missed it, it’ll air again during the Super Bowl pre-game show.

The commercial begins with that combination fart/explosive sound of a can of soda opening. The caption reads “happy calories”.  When I think of soda, I think of diabetes, sugar, caramel coloring, reproductive issues, osteoporosis and many other far from happy things. Coke is going to sort this out for me.

Cue the music and one of my favorite singers, Ingrid Michaelson’s song Be Ok. It’s catchy. If you don’t know it you can listen here.  I have since found out the song has been used to promote Motts applesauce and Ritz Crackers and has been used on numerous television shows.

The lyrics start “I just want to be ok, be ok, be ok, I just want to be ok today.” I have nothing against okay-ness. What I take serious issue with is figuring out a sneaky way to present Coke as OK. You see, there are 140 calories in a can of regular Coke and Coke shows you how you can burn these negligible 140 calories laughing, dancing and walking your dog. So that’s OK right? Drink “happy calories”, laugh, dance and we’re all good?  Word from the Coke camp was they felt people had skewed notions of the calories in soda and they wanted to set the record straight or so they say. I say crooked.

During Idol I tweeted to Ingrid Michaelson, because I am like that and couldn’t help myself, “is drinking coke ok”? Shockingly she didn’t respond but was tweeting that same night about overeating granola.  I guess after all the money from the endorsements, any calories are “happy” to her.

Coke and all soda for that matter are not ok. Chemicals aren’t something you laugh off.  Coke can twist the truth and employ all the pretzel logic they’d like and it’s still Coke. I promise you they do not have your happiness and wellbeing in mind in that advertising office (David The Agency).

 It’s one thing to sell something that’s unhealthy. It’s unacceptable to justify how it can be part of a healthy lifestyle.  Can you imagine if the same reasoning was used for Vodka? “I just want to be ok, be ok, be ok and that includes having a martini everyday?” Then cut to all the ways you can burn off that vodka?  It’s so much easier to tap your feet to the catchy song and tune this all out but we can’t really afford to do so.

Do you think Coke’s tactics with this commercial are reprehensible or just part of advertising? What do you think can be done to tell Coke that walking your dog doesn’t undo the soda damage? How do you feel when a musician, actor or other public figure you are a fan of endorses something like this (Beyoncé and Pepsi caused a stir recently)?

Why Your Working May Not Be Cutting It

From Mashable Infographic

We first started to realize just how bad sitting was when we read A.J. Jacob's Drop Dead Healthy (great book).  Since that time, there have been numerous studies concluding that sitting for long periods of time is wreaking havoc with our weight and health. We had our intern Katelynn sort out the sitting issue and suggest ways for us to maintain our professional lives without gaining weight and harming our health. And Katelynn’s video is a must watch (awesome).

You’re probably sitting down right now while reading this and I’m sitting right now while writing this. The problem is that our bodies are physically designed to stand up regularly and to move around. Excessive sitting is defined as sitting for more than six hours a day and very easy to  “accomplish” with an office job and a modest TV habit. Think about it, a couple of hours in the morning, two more at lunch, a couple of shows at night, you're there. According to The New York Times, “the average adult spends 50 to 70 percent of their time sitting.” That’s half of your life as we say T2C (tush to chair).  A recent U.S. News and World Report article showed that even 3 hours per day could have deleterious effects, uh oh.

A popular misconception is that if you get enough daily exercise, you’re exempt from the consequences of sitting. However, the truth is far from that. In fact, the person who exercises regularly but sits or watches TV for a combination of six hours has similar risk to someone who sits the same amount and doesn’t exercise. Regardless of your activity level, excessive sitters live two years less. Studies have found that prolonged sitting increases the rate of hear disease and diabetes while and slowing your metabolism.  People who sit too long reduce good cholesterol levels by 22 percent. And data presented at the American Institute for Cancer Research concluded sitting time is emerging as a cancer risk factor independent of weight or exercise habits. Excessive sitting can also lead to poor posture, knee pain, herniated discs and other back and neck.

So what is it that makes sitting so bad? Physiologically certain things happen when we sit. Lipase is what helps muscles absorb fat. While sitting, we don’t produce lipase so fat can be stored or end up in our arteries. Other research pointed out what happens within muscle when we sit, there's “the absence of skeletal muscle contractions, particularly in the very large muscles of the lower limbs,” When muscles don’t contract they don’t require fuel so blood sugar can accumulate in the bloodstream. This explains the sitting/diabetes connection.

Short of quitting a desk job or investing in a treadmill desk (we can dream) try standing versus sitting. As REM said (I thought REM was a typo when Lauren suggested I include this), “Stand in the Place Where You Are"extra points if you do the dorky dance. Stand while on the phone or watching your children play. When seated make sure you get up every 30 minutes. Aside from letting lipase do it’s fat zapping job, according to Dr. Hamilton, associate professor of biomedical sciences University of Missouri, standing will help you burn an extra 60 calories an hour. And because we have your back (and don’t want that back decorated in back fat), here are some exercise ideas you can implement while commuting or at your desk:

This youtube video Katelynn created could could change your life. 

As seen in the video:

Calf Raises

While doing these calf raises ‘the calves perform a motion called plantar flexior, and you can burn about 20 calories for 15 of these. Also stand on the bus or subway.

Water Bottle Workout

A 16 oz Poland Spring water bottle weighs approximately 1.08 pounds. The heavier the water bottle, the more it will help work your arm muscles. And for your feet at your desk these Yamuna reflexology balls are fantastic.

Swap Out Your Chair

Exchange your old wooden office chair for one that will give you a workout while sitting. Gaiam sells the perfect “Balance Ball Chairs” for your office. 

Dr. Alpa Patel, senior epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society, had this ot say about sitting “if you reduce sitting by five minutes an hour, at the end of a long day, you’ve shaved an hour of your total sitting time.” 

Are you sedentary or active during the day? How much would you guesstimate you sit? Did you realize sitting was so dangerous?

Spread the word, tweet us evidence that you're taking this information to heart. REM dance? Water bottle workout? Commute Calk Raises? Let's see it. 

Paula Deen: from Burgers and Butter to Diabetes and Drugs

Did y'all hear? Soon I'll sell the pills with my cookbooks- no need to change a thing.

Paula Deen, the queen of fried everything, has diabetes and a lot of people are fired up about it. Janet Helm, on her Nutrition Unplugged site, wrote that the size of Paula's following comes with a certain responsibility. Initially I disagreed. Though Paula takes unhealthy to new heights, that’s her shtick. I don’t necessarily feel chefs have a responsibility to cook the way I do. And whether it’s Paula Deen, Mario Batali or Ina Garten (who loves olive oil as much as Paula loves butter) I often adapt recipes keeping the flavor profile and cutting the calories. I don’t think Paula is any more responsible than the cupcake shop on my corner for my health.

I wouldn’t wish diabetes on anyone but, if anything, this reminds me of the 80’s Partnership for a Drug Free America commercial with the fried egg (this is your brain, this is your brain on drugs). If Paula was previously this smiley sugary chef now she’s the “this is what happens when you cook (and eat) like this.” The Paula Deen diabetes headlines will do more for people rethinking her cuisine then any adapted recipe ever could.

Many feel Paula has withheld this news. She has had diabetes for three years but hasn’t shared it publicly. On Today she told Al Roker “I wanted to wait until she had something to bring to the table.” What she meant is, she wanted to wait until she could announce her relationship with Novo Nordisk (her diabetes drug).  Oh yes, there’s a website too “diabetes in a new light” but let’s be clear the lifestyle filler is on the drug company’s site and they are paying her as their spokesperson.  When asked about her style of cooking Paula downplayed the food connection and said it’s “part of the puzzle” and then talked up genetics and stress as cofactors. This could’ve been spun so well. Paula could’ve said,  “I cooked like this for years and now I’m making some changes.” Instead, it’s I’ve cooked like this and now I’m taking a drug. I don’t know if I’ll be able to make my favorite Bobby’s Baked Chicken with Dijon and Lime (using Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise) ever again.

What do you think of the Paula Deen news? Have you ever made her recipes? Isn't a chef working for drug company like a distillery teaming up with a liver transplant unit? 

Why does it take a diagnosis to change eating habits?

If you were to come into my office and look at my client’s food journals, whose eating do you think is the healthiest? Weight loss clients? Or maybe triathletes? Prenatal clients would be a good guess too but none of these answers are correct. Hands down my most proactive clients are clients who have recently been diagnosed with diabetes or cancer or experienced a life threatening condition. These clients do anything in their power to improve their future health or simply have a future. In a follow up to the "Fat Trap" article the Huffington Post interviewed Tara Parker Pope about her personal struggle with weight. In the article Tara admits to what I just described, “if I had an immediately life-threatening medical condition, I'd drop everything to take care of myself.” She would, most people, like my clients, would.

Why does it have to come to this? Part of it is denial. We know we’re mortal but cannot live our lives fearing cancer or heart attacks, allergic reactions or amputations. That would be paralyzing. And yet any one of us can find out at any time that our health is very different than we thought it was. Let’s pretend  this happened. I know it’s not nice to think about but what if you showed up in my office after finding out earlier this week you had cancer. I often see clients in this numb period when they’re figuring out their treatment plans and lining up their “team”.  What would I tell you do? It would differ depending on your diagnosis but for starters, cancer loves sugar so we’d look at sugar in your diet. I’m not just talking high fructose corn syrup but agave, honey, evaporated cane juice too. Second, I’d look at the amount of animal protein in your diet and suggest that chicken, beef, pork and turkey be cut way down. And forget that take out salad and grilled chicken, all chicken should be organic and all meat grass fed. All chemical cuisine would be gone- the sweeteners (blue, pink, yellow) and the soda and have you read the ingredients in your gum lately? We’d pack your diet with produce with something green all meals (including breakfast). In the scheme of things, with everything you’d be facing this wouldn’t be that hard. 

We think of squeezing in the time to food shop, cook or exercise but shouldn’t it come first? If not, why?

The Sweetest Thing

November is National Diabetes Month. Perhaps you are not one of the 24 million people in the US with Diabetes. For this reason, maybe you don’t give diabetes much thought. What if I told you. at the rate we're at 1 in 3 children born in the U.S. may have diabetes in their future? I was at Good Morning America this morning talking sugar for Good Morning America Health(I will add the link to the segment when I get it). The truth is, diabetes aside, most of us eat too much sugar. On average we have 22 teaspoons (88grams) of sugar a day. For women, that’s over 3 times the maximum amount we should consume.

I mentioned in a Halloween post last week that candy isn’t where we get most of this sugar. If you add soda and juice drinks together they account for 40 percent of our sugar intake. If we were to add coffee and tea-based drinks the number would be even higher. If you want to reduce your sugar intake or your children’s sugar intake start with a beverage intervention. Soda, smoothies, yogurt drinks, chai teas and mochas are full of sugar. Most of these items contain your day’s worth of sugar. Instead try Hint water, Ayala Herbal Waters, Ito En Teas Tea and Boylan’s seltzers for sugar free, sweetener free drinks.

As for better sweeteners, there is agave nectar, honey and stevia. You’re probably seeing these in many more products. Agave has received attention as a lower glycemic sweetener; this means agave raises your blood sugar less than sugar or corn syrup. It has a great taste and is fairly sweet. You don’t need a lot of agave to sweeten teas, dressings or on French toast or pancakes. Agave isn’t calorie free and should be portioned out. Organicville is a great brand of ketchup and Wings of Nature are delicious snack bars, both use agave for sweetness. As for stevia, I see it as a natural alternative to equal and splenda. Stevia is available in packet form; you’ll see it as Truvia and Purevia . Zevia is a stevia sweetened soda that a lot of people like. It is a very good option for diabetics. The downside to stevia is that some find it has a licorice-like aftertaste, see what you think.

In term of sugar free products, I am always a little leery. Many sugar free cookies, candies and gums use sugar alcohols. Sugar alcohols end in –ol, you’ve probably seen sorbitol, maltitol or xylitol on ingredient lists. These sweeteners do raise your blood sugar, though not as much as sugar and can cause GI distress (aka gas or diarrhea) in quantities exceeding 10 grams. I tend to feel that sweet begets sweet and the more sweet we eat, “sugar free” or sweetened the more we will crave. My advice would be to stick to 1 sweet a day whether that’s a coffee drink or a sweetened yogurt and to choose more natural sweeteners whenever possible. If we could do that, add some fiber to our diets (oatmeal, fruits with skin) and sprinkle some blood sugar lowering cinnamon on our food…that would be the sweetest thing.
Where do you get sweet in your day? What sweetener to you use?