Be The Boss Of Your Health

Thankfully the internet can prove anything you want.  Seriously.

Our (Randy and I) education in healthy and fitness covered thorough exploration and EXPLANATION of how our food is made up of energy – aka CALORIES.  From actual text books, not promotional websites.

This week I am going to give you some stunning news: no amount of alcohol is helpful in any weight loss or fat loss dream.  NONE.

That is the tip of the iceberg on how disastrous alcohol is for our bodies though.

Carbohydrate (complex and simple) provides 4 calories per gram, protein provides 4 calories per gram, and fat provides 9 calories per gram.  Alcohol has 7 calories per gram!

Why is this significant?

Because, if you are trying to fill your body with NUTRIENTS to work harder, build muscle and get stronger you need to consume nutrient-dense foods!

What does “nutrient dense” mean?  Simply put:  calories that contain lots of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals!  They are foods packed with VALUE that will help your body, not take away from it’s natural processes (or tax them).

Without getting too detailed, you can find nutrients in complex carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, peas), fats (mono and polyunsaturated are what you should go for like avocado, olive oil, corn oil, peanut oil, some fish) and proteins (lean meats, green vegetables like kale, broccoli).

The lists of NUTRIENT DENSE and NUTRIENT FILLED foods is enormous.

BUYER BEWARE. Read labels.  Marketing has invaded our market (grocery) and the definition of buzzwords like “healthy” “wholesome” “natural” “organic” “lite” “Low Fat” “Low Calorie” “artificial” are just a FEW the packaging will contain yet behind the curtain you’ll see a list of ingredients you might not actually understand.  DON’T GIVE UP!

Nowadays when we shop we look at ingredients.  They do list them in order of quantity within the item which is great.  We go for the least words we don’t understand and even better 100% words we understand!

A quick example of how many ways you will and can see a SWEETENER in an item.  For the record, these are not all bad or man-made!  Treacle, for example, is another word for molasses , sugar and corn syrup combined (and just happens to be one of Harry Potter’s favorite treats).

I found 44 different words you might see on a label:

acesulfame
agave
agave nectar
aspartame
barley malt extract
brown rice syrup
brown sugar
corn sugar
corn sweetener
corn syrup
crystiline fructose
dehydrated cane sugar juice
dextrin
dextrose
evaporated cane juice
evaporated cane syrup
fructose
fruit juice concentrate
glucose
golden syrup
high fructose corn syrup
honey
invert sugar
lactose
malt syrup
maltodextrin
maltose
mannitol
maple syrup
molasses
neotame
raw sugar
rice syrup
saccharin
saccharose
sorbitol
sorghum syrup
splenda
sucralose
sugar
syrup
treacle
turbinado sugar
xylose

You have control over what you put into your body and you are RESPONSIBLE for it too.

Go for the least amount of processing done on a food as possible.  Additives can ruin what you think is “healthy”.  Sodium is “natural” but you need to watch the amount you consume!

“Healthy” should be defined as filled or packed with nutrient-rich ingredients in my world.

The healthier we eat, the better our bodies should work.  It’s not a miracle.

Alcohol contains no proteins, minerals or vitamins.  When we consume it our body manages it like it would FAT and converts alcohol sugars into fatty acids.  To make it worse, alcohol inhibits the absorption of important nutrients our body needs:  thiamin, b12, folk acid and zing.

Just looking into thiamin (or vitamin B1) ALONE is shocking.

According to studies published by the National Institute of Health  low levels of B1 were present in the following diseases:  diabetes, alzheimer’s disease and heart failure!!  Three of the TOP KILLERS in our world right now.

Forget trying to lose fat: how about STAYING ALIVE and living a BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE?

Let’s stay focused on trusting the process:  eat healthy and exercise daily – keep moving across the planet.

Removing alcohol from your diet will only make your body happier from the inside out.

Daily intake, in my opinion, is harmful to your waistline as well as your health.  That would be called a HABIT and it is tough to break habits.

Maybe a glass of wine once in a long while, in the perfect conditions you can make (for me, sitting on our back porch with the pets or kids around), with the highest quality or favorite bottle you can swing would be a better plan.

That’s my new plan.  I’ve got to start hunting for a bottle of  Opus One.  Camp finishes June 10th for a week off and the SoCal evenings are the best in June!