Healthy Weight Loss Part 2 - Energy & Stress

Energy levels and stress can be significant obstacles in any weight loss program. Unfortunately, we often find ourselves in a situation where we have little energy and way too much stress - which I'm betting is the opposite of where most of us want to be. With low energy levels and elevated stress, it's hard to want to exercise and burn calories. It's also easier to make a misstep and fall off our healthy diet plan. That's the sad nature of stress when it comes to a weight loss plan.

Stress is a lifestyle in this country. The stress response was a pretty good thing for our ancestors - it kept them alive - running from things that wanted to eat them for lunch. But in the present day, we feel the stress response when we are stuck in our cars; when we have a bill that throws off our budget; when our kids miss the bus. The issue is that the response that made our ancestors run for their lives is the same biochemical response we have when we are stuck in traffic. Hormones are released that give us the strength and ability to fight or flee the things that stress us. Adrenaline (also called epinephrine) provides instant energy - and it decreases our appetite at first, but that doesn't last very long. Cortisol, which is also released during the stress response, is designed to help us replace the energy we lost after the stress is gone. And it likes to hang out in our bodies for a while. Constant stress means cortisol remains elevated. This results in an increased appetite and a constant feeling of hunger. Let me put it this way: your brain and your endocrine system don't know that you didn't run for your life after you were stuck in traffic for 45 minutes. They just know you are stressed, and they are still going to respond with the chemical signals to refill your nutritional engine - and that is going to make you feel hungry.

So what do we do?

1. I'm going to say that evil word - EXERCISE. Exercise is the best way to relieve stress. I know; I know...you don't have the energy to exercise. I'll get to that, but first let me just plant that word in your head - "exercise". It makes perfect sense that exercise would help relieve stress. When you're stressed, don't you have this overwhelming urge to move? To just move something? Your hands; your arms - whatever - that is supposed to happen. Remember? Fight or Flight. Yes, exercise will burn calories, but it will also release biochemicals that can counter the negative effects of those stress hormones. You don't have to work out for 2 hours a day to reap the benefits of exercise. It could be just 20 minutes a day. You can find 20 minutes. (I shoveled by driveway today for 30 minutes - exercise accomplished.)
2. Take adaptogens or a blend of them. Adaptogens are incredible plants (or fungi) that modulate our stress response. They help our brains and bodies deal with stress. Remember when I said that our brains and bodies don't know we didn't run for our lives? Well, adaptogens help our brains realize that we didn't run for our lives and they adjust hormonal output accordingly. Taking adaptogens, such as Rhodiola rosea, Panax ginseng, and Cordyceps sinensis daily can help to normalize cortisol levels; boost immune system function; improve sleep quality, and oh yeah - they give you energy! The stamina and endurance kind of energy. The "I can get up and walk for 20 minutes" kind of energy. The "I don't need to go to Starbucks" kind of energy. Adaptogens aren't stimulants, so they don't push your central nervous system beyond its limits. They don't cause a crash. They help you maintain your energy levels throughout the day and give a good sense of well-being.
3. Get a good night's sleep. Sleep is so important to stress-control. A lack of sleep will elevate your cortisol levels. Can't get a good night's sleep? Adaptogens will help with that.
4. Relax. Make time to relax. Doesn't matter what it is - whatever makes you feel calm. Devote that time to yourself. Every day.

Realistic Weight Loss and Weight Management - Part 1

Weight loss and weight management are struggles for millions of Americans. We are inundated with images in print, commercials, billboards, emails and pop-up ads on the next latest and greatest weight loss miracle. The simple fact is that there is no miracle. There is no magic bullet, magic pill, magic shake, magic whatever that will “melt” off pounds of fat and keep them off. First and foremost, the goal of weight loss should be about health. We are all aware of the dangers of being overweight – higher risk of poor heart health; higher risk of diabetes, cancer; and on and on. We need to realize and accept that people come in all shapes and body types. Not all of us are meant to be stick-thin. Some of us are meant to have curves; some of us are meant to be more muscular. We need to work within our own unique frames to achieve a realistic healthy weight. Healthy weight loss and healthy weight management takes work – it takes a lifestyle change. A healthy, balanced diet, exercise and stress management are the keys to maintaining a healthy weight.

Eating healthy doesn’t necessarily mean completely overhauling your diet in one day. For any diet change to be successful, it needs to be realistic. The ultimate positive impact comes only if you can commit to the changes. It’s ok if you make changes to your diet gradually, over time. But before you should make any changes, you should know what you need to change. You need to know where to start. So many of us lead incredibly busy, stressful lives and some of us honestly don’t know what we put into our bodies in a single day. We’re in a hurry. We grab whatever we can and wolf it down. Jot down everything you eat and everything you drink for 4 or 5 days. Be honest with yourself. If you run to Starbucks three times in one day, write it down. Somewhere in those days, you will find something you can and should change. I gave that Starbucks example because I’ve done that. I love me some Starbucks! My goal for the month of January is to not completely eliminate my grande vanilla latte ritual, but to reduce to once a week. That will save me (dare I say?) 1500 calories per week. 1500 calories!!! That’s an entire day’s worth of calories from one simple change!

OK. So you know where you can start, but where to go from there? There are many, many well-balanced diet guides out there, and I’m not here to endorse or recommend just one of them. But here’s what I will tell you:

1. Stay away from fast food and processed foods as much as you can. Eliminate the junk! There is nothing nutritious about these types of foods and they don’t belong in anyone’s diet.

2. Do not starve yourself. Eating 500 calories a day is not only incredibly unhealthy, it will likely lead to your body consuming its own muscle tissue, which will lead to WEIGHT GAIN in the end.

3. Eat fresh fruits and veggies. Incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into your daily diet is important for many reasons. They are nutrient-dense foods. This means that they pack a ton of nutrition in a very small calorie package. That 5 oz tub of spring mix in the store – that’s ONE SERVING! They are a good source of fiber – which helps keep you feeling full.

4. Trade refined grains for whole grains. Whole grains offer more complete nutrition and added fiber. They also have a lower impact on blood sugar levels.

5. Eat fat –the right fat. Don’t be fat phobic. Our bodies need fat. You just need to eat the right kind of fat, such as the omega-3 fats found in cold water fish and the type of saturated fats found in coconuts. I’m not saying you should start cooking in lard, but don’t avoid high-fat foods simply because they are high in fat.

Weight loss and weight management has been and always will be more about what you put into your body. You must use more calories during the day than what you put in. It will be easier for you to cut calories if your daily diet focuses on fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains – as these foods are nutrient-dense and low in calories. This allows you to eat a bigger portion of them without adding a tremendous amount to your overall daily calorie intake.

Fight Your Sugar Cravings

In one year, the average American will consume over 45 pounds of sugar. That’s enough sugar to fill a wheel barrow. In addition to that type of sugar (sucrose), the average American will consume another 4 gallons of added sugar (high fructose corn syrup) in a year. The bulk of the added sugar comes in the form of soft drinks and sodas. It comes as no surprise that many Americans have a difficult time cutting sugars from their diets.

There are a variety of reasons, both physical and emotional, as to why we reach for the sweet stuff.

Cravings for sugar have a lot do with the way the body manages the sugar levels in the bloodstream. When we eat simple carbohydrates, like a sugary snack or a soft drink, it raises the blood sugar almost as quickly as an injection of sugar straight into the veins. In response, the pancreas releases large amounts of the hormone insulin. Insulin triggers cells throughout the body to pull the excess glucose out of the bloodstream and store it for use at a later time. This exaggerated effort to remove glucose can lead to a functional hypoglycemia – a condition in which blood sugar levels are too low. Now with the glucose removed, the excess insulin in the bloodstream leads to craving more sugar which then exacerbates the condition and continues the cycle. Repeatedly overloading the bloodstream with sugar can reduce the body’s ability to respond to insulin, called insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition.

Sugar cravings and an appetite for sweet things could be hardwired into our brains. As newborns, our first food is lactose – milk sugar. It is the taste that we prefer from the moment we are born. Carbohydrates, including simple sugars, stimulate the release of serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for making humans feel happy. Sugar also stimulates the release of endorphins. Endorphins are a group of hormones secreted within the brain and nervous system that have a number of functions. One of those functions is to activate the body’s opiate receptors and induce a pain-killing and relaxing effect. There are some researchers who believe that this particular reaction to sugar is similar to an addiction to cocaine or heroin. It has a numbing effect on the body.

On top of all that, sugary foods just taste good and we tend to reward ourselves with treats. This reward system makes us crave sweet foods even more and is difficult to overcome. The end-results of this cycle of craving and eating and craving and eating are decreasing the body’s ability to process glucose and insulin efficiently, which could ultimately lead to diabetes, weight gain and a great deal of stress.

So what can we do? There are a few simple steps that people can incorporate into their daily lives to help control those cravings

· Grab some fruit. Keep an apple around or some grapes handy for those times you want something sweet. You’ll get the sugar you’re craving, and you’ll also get some fiber and beneficial antioxidants.

· Move. Get up; walk around. Remove yourself from your surroundings for a few minutes to get your mind off of it.

· Eat regular meals. When we wait too long between meals, we run a greater chance of grabbing what is quick and easy – and usually packed with sugar and fat instead of what will nourish our bodies. Eating every 5 hours max can help stabilize blood sugar levels.

· Avoid artificial sweeteners. Not only do these chemicals do nothing for sugar cravings, they may also have a negative impact on your weight. i.e. they make you fatter.

· Give in – but just a little. Don’t completely deprive yourself. Schedule a regular reward time – like Friday afternoon. And keep it small. And if you are going to reward yourself – indulge. Buy the best chocolate and savor it in small bites.

And most importantly, don’t beat yourself up if you slip. Changing eating habits is a process that takes time and patience.

What's in Your Honey - and What's Not

We are big fans of honey here at Redd Remedies. We love to try different kinds of honey – Manuka, buckwheat, Himalayan. It’s all good to us. But I think it’s safe to say that our favorites are of the local variety, especially the wonderful local honey raised by bees at Anna’s house, who works here in the Redd office.

Honey is one of the oldest medicinal foods on Earth. The health benefits of honey range from quelling a cough to helping burns heal. Many of us think of the iconic honey bear container when we think of honey. But what might be surprising is that the honey in that little plastic bear may have been smuggled into the United States. And it likely contains heavy metals and antibiotics. Mercury with your tea, madam?

Millions of Americans are unknowingly consuming honey that comes from China despite the fact that most countries around the world do not accept imports of Chinese honey. And according to some consumer groups, this honey contains dangerously high levels of antibiotics and heavy metals. To avoid detection at the U.S. border, China will ship its honey through other countries like India before it comes into the U.S. They also use a process called ultra-filtration which removes all traces of pollen from the honey so that it cannot be traced back to its country of origin. A recent investigation of honey on U.S. store shelves showed that 75% of the honey purchased from stores such as Walmart, Target, and Costco had all of the pollen removed. But all of the samples from farmers markets and natural food stores had normal levels of pollen. So did most containers labeled organic.

This is just another glaring example of why we need to support local farmers, local bee keepers and organics. Take a trip to your local health food store and check out the honey of their shelves. They are likely to have a local variety. Oh, and they use those cute honey bears too.

It’s Halloween and you know what that means – candy. Lots and lots of candy.

Candy bars, lollipops, that nasty chewing gum that loses its flavor in 10 seconds flat. What other time would you eat a Tootsie Roll?

Working in this industry, doing the job that I do, I am constantly aware of all the bad dietary choices that are spread out in front of me – and my kids for that matter. I consider myself quite vigilant in making sure we eat a healthy, balanced diet – without candy as a food group. But this time of year is the one time of year that I will let my kids go crazy for a night. Halloween is fun and let’s face it – carrot sticks and celery aren’t fun. Getting a pencil or pennies in your pillowcase or your little jack-o-lantern bucket isn’t fun. Admit it. You avoided that house like the plague when you were younger.

This is the one time of year that we get to be a little silly. We get to pretend to be something or someone we’re not. We get to watch the excitement on our kids’ faces when she puts on that Cinderella ball gown and feels like a princess for a night. It’s fun. And I can calm down for this one night. I can allow my kids to be kids and to stuff their faces with candy. No one says I have to let my kids eat all the candy they bring home. They won’t. It will be gone come November 1^st. That’s the rule.

I can also hand out candy to all the little Cinderellas, Spidermen, witches and goblins that come to my house and still feel good about it. Organic lollipops exist – free of artificial flavors and colorings. Organic, fair-trade chocolate exists. Yeah, it’s still candy but at least I can feel good about giving it out…Or I can be that house that hands out pennies.

If candy is what is going to get us out once year to mingle in the neighborhood, to smile for an entire evening, to say hello to people we rarely speak to, then so be it. There are far worse things in this world than a Tootsie Roll.

Since When Does Listerine Fight the Flu?

I was going through my Sunday paper, perusing the weekly ads to compile my grocery list for the week when I came across a particular big-box store’s ad with a feature called “Fight the Flu”. In our world of dietary supplements, we would not dare to use such language, because it’s illegal. The FDA does not allow such claims on a dietary supplement. But I guess it is okay to say that Listerine “fights the flu” and it must be okay to say that Allegra Allergy “fights the flu”, or even a box of tissues. Honestly, the only product on that page that actually “fights the flu” was the Clorox wipes. How can they say that all these products fight the flu when clearly, they do not? Since when does Listerine fight the flu???

As part of the team at Redd Remedies that decides on product claims and the statements included in our supporting literature, I often times find myself frustrated at finding a legal way to communicate what our products do for people’s health. At times, I wish we could just say what science has proven to be true and factual. I find it more frustrating when I see ads or products that claim things that are pretty much not true and at times completely ridiculous.

My frustration stems from the fact that, as an industry, we have rules to follow. Like them or not, they are law and we have to follow them. The more companies out there willing to blatantly ignore DSHEA (the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act, 1994), the more people will falsely believe that we are not a regulated industry. I also don’t appreciate the fact that some of these claims are just predatory and come from a place of greed.

We started Redd to help people get their lives back – back to a place where they are comfortable; where they can function at a normal and healthy level; where they can be happy. We don’t claim to cure. We don’t promise a magic bullet. We respect the laws set in place and will comply and function within them. We have reached 10’s of thousands of people operating in that manner and we will continue to do so.