Content is a daily radio script from my KHIS radio
spot - tune in at 6:15 (CST) every morning to Justin and Meredith’s morning
show on 89.9 FM.
Hi followers! Due to popular demand, I am going to start including some links for videos and websites to help transform your health! The first one is on losing weight and keeping it off - with some of my FAVORITE people - Dr. Gemma Newman, Brenda Davis, RD, Dr. Neal Barnard, and more! Here is the first and it is 45 minutes in length. Live longer and live stronger everyone!
The traditional medical view on obesity, as summed up nearly a century ago: “All obese persons are alike in one fundamental respect—they literally overeat.” While this may be technically true, this is in reference to overeating calories, not food. Our urge to overeat is selective -we do not crave cabbage, do we? We have an inborn preference for sweet, starchy, fatty foods because it is where the most calories are concentrated. Fruit and vegetable preferences of four-year-old children correlate with calorie density - preferring bananas over berries and carrots over cucumbers. It is not just a preference for sweetness - they prefer potatoes over peaches! How do we overcome this inborn drive to maximize calories with every forkful? More to come this Wednesday!
In the United States, our #1 risk for death is the American diet! It claims more lives than any other risk factor and the good news is that the damage it has done can be undone with healthier eating habits. It is Transition Tuesday and a great way to transition to healthier eating is to start with breakfast! Instead of highly processed cereal with cow's milk, make overnight oats with cinnamon, stevia, raisins, and almond milk. Instead of white bread toast with butter, or a high-fat, high-calorie muffin, get your grains with whole grain bread and make muffins with applesauce and plant-based alternatives instead of eggs - like chia seeds. As you are transitioning, remember to ask yourself, "How bad do you want to feel good?" Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!
If we are born with a drive to maximize calories, it does not help that the food industry strips foods down into almost pure calories—straight sugar, oil (which is pure fat), and white flour. First, they remove the fiber – running brown rice through a mill to make white removes two-thirds of the fiber. Turning whole wheat flour into white loses 75 percent of fiber, which is so important to our health. In fact, calories are condensed in the same way plants are turned into addictive drugs! It is by concentration, crystallization, distillation, and extraction - which then activates the same reward pathways in the brain. Processed foods are engineered to addict us, but you can break that addiction by plantifying your plates a bit more every day!
“Food addiction” is a misnomer because we do not suffer out-of-control eating behaviors to food in general. We do not compulsively crave carrots, for example. Milkshakes are packed with sugar and fat: two of the signals to our brain of calorie density, so we crave them. In terms of cravings, the most problematic were cheese, meat, and highly processed foods, like donuts. Those that were the least problematic were fruits and vegetables. Start breaking those addictions by transitioning to plant-based whole foods to live longer and live stronger! Type in "transitioning to a plant-based diet" to find lots of resources :)
It is Fix-it Friday and how about a bowl of great grains called “BROL”? BROL stands for barley, rye, oats, and lentils. Barley, rye, and oat groats are the entire grain and are available in markets or online. Purple barley and black lentils, just like darker-colored fruits and vegetables, are the highest in antioxidant power. BROL is a powerful prebiotic mix, the best thing for our good gut bugs, which helps ALL our organs. Mix a cup each of barley, rye, and oats with 6 cups of water and cook in your instant pot for 30 minutes. The lentils cook faster so fix them alone with 2 cups of water. Mix them all together and dish it up like oatmeal, then add some fresh chopped pineapple, blueberries, pomegranates, raisins, chopped nuts, cinnamon, dark chocolate powder, ground flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds – anything you want. Add almond milk and stir it up. It is SO great for your magical gut microbiome!
We have all heard the phrase, “More is not always better” – today in our country, malnutrition is one that is excessive – in calories, saturated fats, added sugars, and salt. In the year 2000, 30% of us were obese – today it is over 42%. Obesity increases the risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Elevated cholesterol, associated with eating high levels of meat, butter, and cheese, along with eating too little fiber and healthy fat, increases our risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease. High blood pressure, also devastating to our health, is a result of not getting enough activity, excessive salt intake, being overweight, smoking, and not managing stress well. Much of why individuals have diabetes is due to lifestyle, such as being overweight, having low physical activity levels, and increasing amounts of abdominal fat. Being overweight or obese is reversible – and the healthiest way is to have Meatless Monday for more days!
And from LAST Year!
It is not commonly known that being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing cancers such as uterine, breast, ovarian, kidney, liver, pancreas, thyroid, and colon cancer. Yes, the acronym for our Standard American Diet is “SAD,” and it drives our weight issues. But there’s super news – we have a choice! We do not have to continue the destruction of our bodies and future selves – we can do quite the opposite. For those interested in eating more plant-based food and healthier, the No Meat Athlete Cookbook is great, and the Food Monster App has thousands of delicious recipes. Plantify your plates and have a terrific Tuesday everyone!
The concept that “protein is good and the more the better” along with “protein quality” definitions that favor animal protein fosters the impression that eating more meat, eggs, and dairy is healthy…but this is in direct opposition to nutritional guidelines based on research. But isn’t protein, protein? It is not – unlike animal-based protein, plant protein is low in branched-chain amino acids, which improves metabolic health. People who eat more protein tend to live shorter lives – due to the increased consumption of animal protein and it is resulting in health issues. Plant protein does just the opposite. Replace animal protein with plant protein to live longer and live stronger and have a wonderful Wednesday!
This is interesting! Those who suffer from allergies appear to have decreased risk of certain cancers! Their immune systems may be working overtime to fight pollen and dust, and at the same time taking out cancer cells as well. Wouldn’t it be great to boost our immune systems without suffering allergies? We can! Mushrooms, with their array of unique "myco" nutrients, may do the trick. And adolescents living in areas where more grains, veggies, and nuts were consumed were significantly less likely to have wheezing, allergic issues, and allergic eczema. Children that eat two or more servings of veggies a day have only half the odds of suffering from allergic asthma. Those who suffer from seasonal allergies may also benefit from drinking green tea. We live in an area where allergy season lasts almost all year round – give these tips a try and see what happens!
We are launching something new today - "Fix it Friday" where we will share a recipe with you! Labor Day weekend is HERE, and it is a great time to grill veggies - easy with kabobs of mushrooms, peppers, onions, sweet potatoes - anything you like and put them on the grill. I microwave the potatoes a bit because they take longer. A grilled "cauliflower steak" is awesome - slice a huge head and spray with a little olive oil or avocado oil and grill on both sides. But we need a grillable veggie burger! Try Beyond Burgers OR make your own to be the healthiest:
Easy Grilled Veggie Burgers by the Minimalist Baker
1 cup of cooked brown rice
1 cup of raw walnuts that you have heated in a skillet
for a few minutes.
1/2 Tbsp of olive oil
1/2 medium white, finely diced onion
1 Tbsp of chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika.
1/2 Tbsp salt
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans that are rinsed off and drained.
1/2 cup of panko crumbs for gluten-free or breadcrumbs
3 to 4 Tbsp BBQ sauce
Heat up the oil and onion and sauté them. Add the cooled walnuts to a blender with the spices and blend them. In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a fork and add all the other ingredients. Mix the well and add more BBQ sauce if it is dry. Make patties and put them on the grill! It sometimes helps to put oil on the grill.
