Archive for the 'Nutrition' Category

13
Oct

MyPyramid.gov, Nutrition Made Simple

By petar 0 Comments
Categories: General and Nutrition

If you are looking for a great website that has tons of information about proper nutrition, then look no further. The people over at the USDA have outdone themselves with the creation of MyPyramid.gov. This is the official website for the new Food Pyramid and has lots and lots of great stuff on there. You can learn about all of the food groups in great detail. The best thing about the site, in my opinion, though is the Pyramid Tracker. The Pyramid Tracker requires for the user to input all of the foods that they ate for that day, and then analysis their nutritional intake. The analysis provides a breakdown of all the macro and micro nutrients that the person got within their diets and compares that with the recommended daily intake.

Proper nutrition is obviously a major component within living a healthy lifestyle. What you put into your body has a big impact on what comes out (figuratively speaking). This site is an excellent resource in helping people make the right nutritional decisions and the tracker is a great tool for knowing exactly where they stand in relation to their daily requirements.

I highly recommend that you check it out, it’s easy to use and pretty cool.

13
Aug

LSAT Question

By petar 3 Comments
Categories: General, Nutrition and Weight Loss

An actual LSAT Question:

Frequently, people who diet to lose weight become trapped in a vicious cycle. When those people diet, they not only lose weight, but their bodies becme used to fewer calories and become accustomed to functioning at that lower rate of caloric intake. As a result, when they stop dieting and go back to eating amounts of food that would have just maintained their weight in the days before the diet, they take in far more calories than they need. Those ecess calories produce excess weight.

The passage above best supports whihc one of the following conclusions about people who diet to lose weight?
(a) They are bound to end up weighin more than when they started dieting.
(b) They should not diet if they desire to maintain their reduced weight.
(c) They must not go back to eating pre-diet amounts of food if they are to maintain their weight at the reduced level resulting from dieting.
(d) They will have to eat even less than the amount of food allowed by their diets if they are to avoid gaining weight after they stop dieting.
(e) They never can go back to their pre-diet caloric intake without regaining all of the weight lost by dieting.

29
Jul

The Glycemic Index: Helping You Sort out Good Carbs from Bad Carbs

By petar 0 Comments
Categories: Nutrition

The glycemic index is a great tool that is at the core of a number of different diets. The reaon why it works so well is because it helps differentiate good carbohydrates from bad carbohydrates. It works by ranking the effect of different carbs on blood glucose levels. There are three categories: low, medium, and high. Carbs with low glycemic index cause a small fluctuation on blood sugar and insulin levels, whereas those with a high index produce quicker fluctations. Smaller fluctuation is the key to weight loss and reducing the risk of heart disease. Therefore, the glycemic index helps us choose the right food for our bodies.

The official site of the glycemic index has a database of the different GI for different foods and I highly recommend that you check it out. But in the meanwhile, here is a short list of the most common foods that we eat broken down into their respecting GI ranks.

High
Glucose, sucrose, honey, cane syrup, maple syrup, corn syrup, white potato, carrots, parsnips, raisin, banana, plums, white rice, cornflakes, wheaties, and whit ebreak.

Medium
Sweet potato, green peas, oranges, grapes, watermelon, fig, yogurt, milk, whole grain bread, spaghetti, oatmeal, and brown rice.

Low
Fructose, cauliflower, asparagus, string beans, kale, lettuce, lentil beans, kidney beans, broccoli, apple, peach, pear, cherries, and barley.

18
Jul

drink more water!

By petar 1 Comment
Categories: Nutrition and Weight Loss

WATER!

DRINK MORE WATER!

Did that get your attention? Good.
I’ve been told that I am obsessed with water. Well there is a reason for it. Water is very important to our bodies. It’s so important that it takes up 55-55% of our bodies. There’s a lot of it, because it does a lot. First, it carries nutrients and other chemiclas to our cells and carries wastes out of it. Second, it regulates our body temperature. Third, it prevents dehydration. Dehydration, loss of body fluid caused by an inadequate amount of water, leads to fatigue, loss in performance, sugar craving, and a strain on the heart. Fourth, it controls metabolic function. Meaning, that drinking more water will increase your metabolism. Fifth, it keeps your liver fundctioning properly.
Thats a lot of stuff! Important stuff.

Given that water is responsible for all of these things, an adequate supply of water is necessary. Are you drinking enough though? Here’s how much water you should be consuming:

According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine,
-On average, 96 ounces per day. 8 ounces for every 25 pounds carried above ideal weight.
-Even more if you are exercising briskly or in a hot climate.
In addition to that also,
-16 ounces 2 hours before exercise
-20-40 ounces for every hour of exercise
-16 ounces after exercise
Basically, you should be drinking your 96 ounces outside of the water that you drink during exercise.

If you are running to the bathroom, then you are doing it right. It is hard to adjust to, but I guarantee you that if you keep a good intake of water, you will see great improvement in body composition and functioning. So drink up!

05
Jul

Restaurant Review: Chipotle

By petar 0 Comments
Categories: General and Nutrition

I remember the first time that I went to a Chipotle restaurant. It was when I was in the ninth grade and I was with a bunch of friends from school. I actually did not eat anything there because it did not appeal to me at the time. If I only knew what I was missing…

Three years later I finally had my first Chipotle burrito. I have been in love ever since. I remember that first bite that I took from that big and toasty chicken burrito…it was heavenly.

My passion for Chipotle has grown stronger over the years and there are three reasons for this: the food is always great, I never walk away hungry, and I am never guilty about what I am eating when I am there. All three are vital, but I think that the last one is the most important one. Chipotle is all about appealing to the health-conscious conusmer. It only uses naturally raised chicken, pork, and beef. These meats are from animals that have not been raised with antibiotics (and growth hormones in Cows). The food is all grilled, and not fried and you also get a glimpse of the kitchen, which eases your concerns about how the food is prepared.

These are all very good qualities which are responsible for my continued patronage at Chipotle. However, that does not mean that Chipotle is perfect. You always have to be mindful of all the extra ingredients (sourcream, cheese, etc) as well as the amount of calories that are packed into the gigantic meal. A burrito is well over 1000 calories. Therefore, its important to be vigilant about how energy-packed all of the individual ingredients are. The people at ChipotleFan.com have actually created a handy calculator which calculates the nutritonal content of various foods at Chipotle.

I think that Chipotle is perfect if you have a big appetite, but are conscious about what you want to put into your body. You can get a meal thats packed with calories, or, you can be careful and get away with not eating too much. Either way, you will get well-balanced meal of protein, carbs, and fats. And thats good enough for me.

Here’s the ideal “Get Fit” meal at Chipotle:
-bowl
-black beans
-not too much rice
-corn
-lettuce
-not to much cheese
-chicken
-water

This meal provides a good amount of protein necessary to sustain muscle growth. It is not loaded with carbohydrates and lacks flour. And lastly, has some fat which your body needs.

28
Jun

The Magic Ingredient

By petar 0 Comments
Categories: Nutrition

6867375.jpgIn 1970 two Danish researchers asked themselves, “why is it that heart disease is rare within the Eskimo population, despite their high-fat diet?” To answer their question Olaf Bang and Jørn Dyerberg traveled to Greenland to conduct a study. They found that though the Eskimo population in Greenland consumed a lot of fats, these were fats high in Omega-3s. Since then, scientists have linked Omega 3s to a healthy heart.

I found this anecdote in this month’s issue of Men’s Health. There’s an article called “The Government’s Big Fish Story.” Basically its about the many health benefits of Omega 3 fats. Omega 3 fatty acids are unsaturated fatty acids that are mainly found in fish, marine algae, plants, seeds, and nuts. Research has shown that a sufficient intake of Omega 3 reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke, Alzheimers, prostate cancer, and depression. Unfortunately not enough people are getting a healthy intake of Omega 3 in their diets. Therefore, the article implies that we reintroduce them to our diets either by eating more fish or taking fish oil supplements.

Our bodies need fat. But its important to put the right kind of fat in our body. More Omega 3s will get the job done. Give it a try and see the difference that they will make. Pick up the latest volume of Men’s Health or check out the article online to learn more.

20
May

Diets vs. Healthy Eating

By petar 0 Comments
Categories: Nutrition, Weight Loss and Body Composition

If diets worked, how come there are so many of them?”
-Tim Keightley

diet.jpgWhile most of us at one time or another have tried to go on some type of diet, few can say that they actually stuck with it and achieved long-lasting results. Why? They are too restrictive and hard to stick to. They are too extreme and are centered around a negative perception of eating, i.e. “eating carbs is bad, stay away from them at all costs.” A diet puts nutrition and eating in terms of negatives. However, that is the wrong way to look at them. As humans we do not respond well to negation. We don’t like it when our choices are restricted. And that is why diets are not very successful. They attempt to enforce a regimen that we cannot conform with.

That is the psychological explanation as to why diets do not work. But there is also a physical explanation. They are usually based on extremes. However, our bodies do not like extremes. They demand moderation and consistency. We eat because our bodies require a certain balanced amount of nutrients to function. The nutrients are divided into two groups: macro and micro. Macro are those that we need large quantities of: protein, fat and carbohydrates. Micronutrients are those nutrients that we need a smaller amount of: vitamins and minerals. For our bodies to function properly they need a proper amount of each of the nutriets. Unfortunately, diets are centered on cutting back on the nutrients that we need. Therefore, while there might be some short-term results, diets are hard on the body. By not getting the nutritients that the body needs, it is hard to sustain both the the results of the diet and a healthy life-style. I could go on and critique every diet that exists out there individually, but I have just described the fundamental reason as to why diets do not work.

Clearly, proper nutrition is important. Therefore, there is a distinction between healthy eating and diets. Healthy eating, as opposed to diets, is based on moderation and consistency. It is a positive outlook on eating because it does not place a restriction on what can and cannot be consumed. Rather, it limits the amount of consumpion of different foods. Healthy eating centered around portion-control allows for the body to obtain all of the nutrients that it needs without creating a surplus. This approach is much easier to follow than diets which makes it easier to maintain over a period of time.

What exactly constitutes healthy eating? That I will talk about in my next post.


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