Healthy Tips, Sunshine, and Skin Products

Holistic Habits by Cheryl A. Mothes, Ph.D. Natural Health Nutrition Counselor

Content is 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.

 There are compelling reasons to favor plants over animals when it comes to protein.   For example, comparing beans to meat, beans are one of the highest fiber foods, whereas meat has none.  Beans are also high in great phytochemicals and antioxidants, whereas meat has almost none.  On the other hand, beans have nearly zero saturated fat, cholesterol, added hormones and antibiotics, chemical contaminants, and endotoxins, whereas meat is moderate to high in each of these components that are important to avoid.  FYI, phytochemicals are the good guys in plants that prevent chronic illness, whereas endotoxins are the bad actors in meat, and are breakdown products of bacteria that increase inflammation.  It’s meatless Monday everyone and a good time to swap out meat for beans at least once a day to live longer and live stronger!

There is PLENTY of sunshine right now and it’s important to be reasonable when getting sun, getting some each day but not too much.  Some people say they are going outside to get some Vitamin D, which sunshine does provide, but it does much more.  Sunshine triggers the release of nitric oxide which has been shown to relax the inner muscles of our blood vessels, so it reduces blood pressure and increases our blood flow.  It also boosts serotonin, which helps our emotional well-being and many other functions.  Rather than avoiding sunshine, get a few minutes – like 10 or 15 – each day and make sure you never burn.  Chemical-free sunscreens are now widely available and should be used, also.  Have a terrific Tuesday everyone! 

The iron stores are lower among plant-based eaters than among those who eat meat.  Interestingly, this may be an advantage, as high iron stores are associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.  Iron INTAKE is usually similar for plant-based and meat-eating people, but the iron in plant foods is less AVAILABLE to our bodies than animal products.  The richest plant sources of iron are nuts, beans, seeds, fortified cereals, and tofu.  There are also great vegetables that enhance iron absorption, including onions, carrots, and tomatoes, as well as citrus fruits and spices like pepper, turmeric, and ginger.  Check the health on your shelf to live longer and live stronger everyone, and have a wonderful Wednesday!

We sometimes forget that by making healthy choices we not only live longer but also live better. 
The choices we make reduce pain, give us more mobility, reduce stress in many ways, boost our mental health and happiness quotient, and help us do the things we need and WANT to do.  And it’s never too late to change!  There are people in their 70s and 80s who have transformed their lives by lifestyle changes – eating foods that are nutritionally sound and minimize chronic disease.  Interestingly, we are now the most malnourished society in the world– because of overconsumption of food and the results of being overweight, obese, and diet-related chronic diseases.  Whole food and plant-based diets are the most effective in reducing weight (we don’t tend to overconsume broccoli ) and preventing disease.  Plants make us feel better and function better.  Plantify your plates with beautiful fruits, nuts, vegetables, beans, grains, and seeds – the sky’s the limit!

Let’s end the week with 10 healthy eating tips for the whole family!

Increase the variety in your foods. 

• Make water your beverage of choice.
• Avoid highly processed foods.
• Lower your salt intake.
• Read food labels.
• Be smart about food marketing - eat whole to avoid any marketing ploys.
• Make your meals at home.
• Make meals appealing and fun!
• Eat with others.
• Last, eat "mindfully".

Have a fantastic Friday everyone!

Reference:  Nourish:  the Definitive Plant-based Nutrition Guide for Families by Reshma Shaw, MD and Brenda Davis, RD 

And a Blast from the Past!

Last week we focused on family health and here's more - when it comes to nutrition in our country, there are some dark clouds but also silver linings.  In the U.S., nearly half of the calories consumed are from low nutritional quality carbs, with high consumption of processed meats.  We have mentioned processed meats a lot over the months, so let's get specific:  processed meats are lunch meats, sausage, hot dogs, brats, ham, and bacon.  And the reason they are problematic is they have high levels of salt, nitrites, and other chemical additives that result in stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.  There are glimmers of improvement though - since 2000, we have increased our intake of whole grains, nuts, and seeds and cut back on sodas and other sugary drinks.  Red meat consumption has also gone down a little - but processed meat consumption has not.  It's meatless Monday and a perfect time to move to less meat for your families, more health, and more feeling great!  Have a marvelous Monday everyone!

Yesterday we talked about some improvements in our nutrition in the past 20 years, but we still have

many opportunities to change for the better.  Would you like to guess where the worst foods come from?  Yes, fast foods.  85% of food eaten from these establishments are what they call "poor quality" - doing more damage than good.  Full-service restaurants and employee cafeterias were only a little better - more than half of it being bad for us.  Grocery stores have actually seen some improvement - we see it - lots of veggies and fruits when we walk in.  They now have reduced to only 33% being poor quality.  The moral of the story is?  Shop at the grocery store, or those few restaurants that have healthy options.  Have a Terrific Tuesday everyone and power up your plates to help your family be its healthiest!

We've been talking about trends in nutrition and some "silver linings' in mostly dark clouds when it comes to nutrition.  Take a guess at where the biggest improvements have been made... school cafeterias!  Yes, since 2003, the percentage of "bad for you" foods have gone from 56% to 24% - cut by more than half!  Nutritional standards for schools were improved a LOT by the Healthy Hunger-free Kids Act - they increased the requirements for whole grains, fruits, greens, and beans and reduced the amount of added sugars, processed foods, and refined grains.  YAY!  Schools today are the top location for overall nutritious eating in our country - good for our kiddos!  Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!  

This week we've been talking about our nutritional status as a country, and how big improvements were made in our schools when it comes to nutrition.  Studies show that the single greatest thing we can do for our health is to eat whole foods, including vegetables, fruits, high-quality protein, whole grains, and healthy fats.  Poor nutrition leads to inflammation of our cells which leads to a host of health problems.  To start an anti-inflammatory diet, eliminate foods that are the worst culprits:  gluten, corn, and sugar.  Crowd those culprits out with those good, whole foods to live longer and stronger! 

It's Friday's holistic habit of the day and we are talking about how we "feed" our skin. 

Yes, everything we slather on it, take a bath in, spray on it, or have injected into it can be loaded with chemicals.  There are so many great alternatives now that are botanical, natural, organic, and harmless rather than harmful.  Take a look at the health on YOUR shelf and take everything off that has chemicals in it, and either stop using it completely or find a healthy alternative - deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, perfumes, cleansers, creams, cosmetics, soaps, and lotions should be checked.  Once you've cleaned up the personal products, dig into your home cleaning products and do the same.  We breathe it, touch it, and absorb it, so it matters to our health.  Have a fantastic Friday everyone!  

Bad Research, Bad Foods, but Good Fitness

Holistic Habits by Cheryl A. Mothes, Ph.D. Natural Health Nutrition Counselor

It is important to use reputable resources when looking at research studies in nutrition, medications, or other health-related topics. For example, one study’s headline was that patients who ate a cheese diet, meat diet, and low-fat diet ended up with the same cholesterol levels. How can that be? It is important to find out who sponsors studies:  this study was sponsored by the dairy industry. To make sure the subjects ended up with the same cholesterol level, they added lots of coconut oil and COOKIES to the "low-fat" diet! The same was done to compare dairy products with dairy alternatives and to compare meat diet results with tofu diet results. They stuffed the tofu with lard! At least the meat industry had a footnote that said tofu would not normally contain the addition of lard. NutritionFacts.org does its best to make sure studies are sound. On this Meatless Monday, look for validated studies, and know that they consistently show more plants mean better health.

Yesterday we talked about valid studies in nutrition. This is interesting…the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has the following sustaining partners:  the Sugar Association, candy bar, and soda companies, the corn syrup organizations, and the meat, dairy, and egg industries. The meat industry did a study showing that eating red meat does not negatively affect cardiovascular disease risk factors. They did this by swapping one meat for another – using chicken or fish rather than red meat. Regarding cholesterol, white meat like chicken and turkey is just as bad as red meat, and fish may be even worse. The good news is when studies compare meats to plant-based foods there is significantly lower cholesterol for plant-eaters. Trade one serving a day of meat with nuts or beans, and you can lower cholesterol, a key risk factor for the #1 killer of men and women. Have a terrific Tuesday everyone and power up your plantified plates today!

Yesterday we mentioned swapping one meat serving each day with nuts or beans. A single serving of nuts every day is associated with a 22 percent reduction in the risk of premature death. Millions of deaths could be prevented by this one change! And it is not only swapping the meat out and the nuts in – there are fewer heart attacks even for vegetarians if they eat more nuts. Some keys to consuming nuts:  more variety is better, eat raw nuts (never roasted and not salted), soak them overnight to dial-up their good enzymes, and because they are dense in calories the serving size is important, so you do not eat too many! One serving size a day would be fourteen walnut halves, twenty-four almonds, sixteen cashews, forty-five pistachios, and eighteen pecan halves - a little less than ¼ cup. It is a wonderful Wednesday to power up your plates with nuts!

New York City’s public school system made a substantial change to go to “No Meat Friday’s” to introduce healthier food choices to their kiddos. They have meatless tacos, black beans, corn salads, and many other plant-based options that are high in protein and more nutritious. The Mayor of NYC is vegan and committed to helping improve the health of the city’s youth and the environment. The rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, and other diseases have been on the rise for years, yet if you go into the schools, the food they are offered only accelerates this healthcare crisis. Here are the sad facts:  only 7% of school-aged children eat the recommended daily serving of fruits, and only 2%, yes only 2%, of all children eat enough vegetables. School meals can make a difference! On this fantastic Friday, why not encourage the schools your children attend to help them be healthier?

 Reference:  Nourish: “The Definitive Plant-based Nutrition Guide for Families”, by Reshma Shaw, MD, and Brenda Davis, RD 

An Oldie, but a Goodie!

Family Health and Fitness Day is this Saturday so let us get a jump start on it! Of COURSE, we think of food as the way that we set up the potential for health...or the potential for disease. In fact, our food is the single greatest tool we have in the fight against diseases. IT'S MEATLESS MONDAY so power up your plate to help YOUR family be their healthiest by choosing these foods and beverages:

Avocados, Beans, and Berries

Broccoli, Olive Oil, and Leafy Greens

Flax, sunflower, pumpkin, and Chia Seeds

Herbal and green teas, mushrooms, and Nuts

Quinoa and other Whole Grains

Sweet Potatoes and Turmeric

Here is to your family's health and listen in tomorrow for the "what not to consume" list!

We have been focusing on family health and fitness and on Monday we listed many foods and beverages to help your family be as healthy as possible. Today, here is the list of those that can wreck our family's health:

Alcohol - it DIRECTLY damages brain cells and is linked to breast cancer plus a whole lot more

Butter and margarine - choose avocado oil, canola oil, olive oil, or the plant-based spreads that taste just like the real deal

Cheese, meat, and chicken are all high in bad fats - in fact, chicken is the main source of cholesterol in our diets now!

Fried foods, fast foods, processed foods (like chips, cookies, frozen foods, and most bread), and all "sweets" including sugary drinks - yes...juices and sodas.

Have a Terrific Tuesday everyone and the power of the plate will help your family be its healthiest!

God wants us to live longer and stronger and feel better and better! It is Family Health and Fitness Day this Saturday and let us talk about Fitness. Here is a sad fact - never in our history have we been less physically active than we are right now. So, we can all improve! One of the clearest relationships between exercise and health has to do with blood flow - yes, aerobic exercise. a morning walk, hiking with the kids, chasing the dog with her frisbee, or climbing the Stairmaster at the gym are all examples - they get your blood flowing. Resistance training is also important - no matter WHAT your age, lifting weights is helpful because it reduces bone loss, maintains muscle, increases balance, and helps our brains! Stay tuned for more details and have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Thursday's tip for a healthier family is to help them to unwind, yes, stress affects everyone, no matter what our ages. Stress increases cortisol levels, digestive problems, and sleep issues, it causes depressed immune function that makes us more vulnerable to infections and cancer, insulin resistance, and mental health issues like depression and anxiety. So, wow - it is important to find ways to unwind! Here are some ways:  

Meditation 

Walking outside

Doing yoga

Listening to music (YAY KHIS!)

Simplifying your lives

Cultivating healthy relationships, and 

Living a purpose-driven life - think about all these ways to help your family boost their health!

It is Friday's holistic habit of the day and we are finishing the week on Family Health and Fitness tips - Tomorrow is Family Health and Fitness Day! It is all about good nutrition and avoiding unhealthy food and beverages. Including in your life aerobic exercise, like walking and bicycling, lifting some weights at every age, "downshifting" to reduce stress, and getting plenty of sleep. We have said so many times that it is our lifestyle choices that make the difference. Many experts have given up on trying to help us change our lifestyles, but new research shows it is much more achievable than we think! Lifestyle change DOES require focus and effort - it only works if it is constant and intensive so that it results in new habits. We CAN make it a priority... so we can live longer and stronger for Christ! Have a fantastic Friday everyone!