Month: April 2013

Mother Natures Super Red, Super Beets

Wallace Bishop I.N.H.C, C.N.C.Leave a comment

I love beets and beets are super nutritious and come in different types. The most popular are red and gold.

Beets Are Superfood!
Beets Are Superfood!

Beets offer many vitamins and minerals and have powerful antioxidant properties. Even though they have a lot of sugar, if you eat the beet in its natural form with the fiber still attached it has a low glycemic load.  This is where blending by using a device like the NutriBullet is better than juicing.

Beets contain the Vitamins, A, C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, Folate and Betaine and the minerals, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, sodium, selenium, manganese, copper and phosphorus.

What makes beets red?

One of the major benefits of beet juice it that it has a pigment called betalain. It is a powerful antioxidant, is anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal. There is also research that indicates that betalain may show anti-cancer activity. By being able to help your body detox at the cellular level, betalain boost overall immune function. Don’t be shocked it your urine or stools are pink or red after eating a lot of beets. For most  people this is normal of course depending on how much you eat.

Beets are very rich in betaine. Betaine has a few special properties that are worth talking about.

Homocysteine Reduction/Heart Heath

Betaine works with B6,B12 and Folate to reduce homocysteine. Homocysteine is a natural by-product of our metabolism and if not controlled it can increase the risk of heart disease and cancers! In addition, beets are good sources of magnesium and potassium which help support healthy blood pressure.

Physical Performance

Betaine enhances physical performance due to it ability speed up the bodies breaking down of fat and protein. Beets are also rich in glutamine which has been shown to boost performance and support healthy digestive function. Betaine also helps your body’s metabolism, which in turn may help you lose weight while maintaining your muscle tissue. As a result, your physical performance may be optimized. Recent studies have shown that drinking beet juice a couple of hours before a bicycle race actually improved the physical performance of pro bicyclist.

Liver Health

Another benefit of betaine is the positive effect it has on the health of your liver. The cells in your liver produce betaine naturally, so getting more betaine through your diet helps keep your liver function at its best. Remember one of the livers functions is to process fat and betaine speeds up the breaking down of fats. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, it may also protect you from fatty deposits that can form in your liver as a result of alcohol abuse, diabetes and obesity.

Immune function

There a compounds such as indoles in addition to the antioxidants in beats that studies show improve our bodies immune capability.

Overall, beets are wonderful vegetables raw and cooked.  Even the beets tops are highly nutritious and are like eating chard or kale.  The green leafs are high in vitamin A (127% RDA), Vitamin C (50% RDA), vitamin K (500% RDA) as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper and magnesium, sulfur, silica and choline. Make beets a regular part of your diet and reap the health benefits.

Healthy Wishes
Wally Bishop C.N.C.

WebND

Viveshake

The contents of this blog is not and should not be  considered medical advice. This blog is for informational purposes only. Always consult with your doctor before making any dietary or lifestyle changes. Never quit taking prescription medications unless advised to do so by your doctor.

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Frustrated With Weight Loss?

Wallace Bishop I.N.H.C, C.N.C.1 Comment
Wally's Before and After Profile Pic
What Healthy Living Did for Me!

Let’s face the truth! Most people make losing weight much too complicated. It doesn’t need to be. Listed below are the pitfalls most people make when trying to lose weight.

Doing anything temporally will give you temporary results! You have to get this, a diet is temporary.

  • Change your diet gradually– Many people jump right in and and totally change their diet to the extreme. They go from the typical American diet rich in processed foods to a very restrictive diet. Any time you make sudden change in your diet and lifestyle you highly increase your risk of failure. Make the change slowly. Instead of taking foods away try adding healthy foods to your diet. You will begin to crowd out the harmful foods with healthy foods. Replacing breakfast with a nutritious balanced meal replacement drink like Vive is a great way to begin the change.
  • Stop Stressing about life and losing the weight.  Because we make it so complicated we get overly stressed. If you have stress from work or home you need to manage it or remove the source. Stress will make it almost impossible to lose much weight. In addition stress kills!
  • Eat enough calories– Many people begin by drastically cutting food intake thus calories too much. If you go below 1200 calories for more than a couple of days your body senses a famine has arrived and it lowers your metabolic rate to conserve energy. You can even gain weight if you cut calories to much. If you stay in a severe calorie reduction under (800 calories or less, like anorexia) you body shifts to the catabolic effect of starvation and your body will begin to consume muscle and organs for its nutrition needs.
  • Do Not Skip Meals! You need to eat at least 5 times per day. It keeps blood sugar balanced and energy available. It also keeps the metabolism boosted. A healthy meal replacement shake is an option and can serve your body well. I recommend Vive, it was created for weight loss and energy and is packed with an abundance of nutrition!
  • Drink plenty of water– Many will not drink enough water. It takes water to release and burn fat for energy. Water is so important for your health!
  • Exercise– If you are obese you can lose weight for a short time by just cutting calories, however that will eventually slow and then stop. You must move more. Exercise does many wonderful things for our body. One benefit is that it speeds up our metabolic rate causing us to burn more calories through out the day! Just walking is a great exercise. Increase your speed and time as your fitness and health improves. Before beginning any exercise program please consult with your doctor for their approval. Walk twice per day to speed up the weight loss!
  • Stop weighing everyday! You weight can change up or down five or more pounds in any given day. You will set your self up for disappointment by weighing all of the. Weigh your self every two weeks. Do it first thing in the morning immediately after waking up and after your first urination.
  • Stop beating your self up! No body is perfect. Treats are allowed, even unscheduled ones. The next time you eat make a healthy choice. Bashing your self, will make you eat more.
  • DO NOT DIET!  It is our mindset to use the word diet and when we do we automatically set up in our mind that we will change our diet and lifestyle for a period of time and then come back home to that awesome food that got us fat to begin with. Plus because you have starved your body (both calories and nutrients) before, your body senses this and begins to subconsciously increase your desire for fatty and sugary foods. Sure you lose 30 pounds and then you gain 50 back. Dieting will only make you fatter one diet at a time! Think lifestyle change!
  • Nutrition Nutrition Nutrition!!!!  When you body is getting loads of nutrients it begins to clean and detox getting rid of toxic materials you have stored for years. Your body does not like to let go of fat unless it can detox adequately. Your body stores toxins in your fat. Depleted nutrient stores in your body get filled up and topped off. Then the bodies systems begin to come back into harmony with one another. Blood sugar begins to balance,cravings begin to disappear, energy improves, thinking improves, your hair and skin begins to glow. Your body starts regenerating itself to a new healthy one.

The bottom line is that weight loss and health do not come from a “diet” they comes from living a healthy lifestyle. That’s it. Adopt a healthy way of living and watch your body change!

Healthy Wishes.

Wally Bishop C.N.C.

The contents of this blog is not and should not be  considered medical advice. This blog is for informational purposes only. Always consult with your doctor before making any dietary or lifestyle changes. Never quit taking prescription medications unless advised to do so by your doctor.

Sugar! the Poison We Can’t Resist!

Wallace Bishop I.N.H.C, C.N.C.2 Comments

Sweet Poison

I am not sure why we Americans don’t see it. Sugar is the biggest threat to our health but we keep consuming it is excessive amounts. Plus, food manufacturers love it because it makes you eat more and more and more of their sugary foods.  We American’s simply can’t resist it! Doctors love it because it’s a guarantee most of you will be seeing them in the near future .

It’s Poison, also, Sugar makes us fatter.  When you eat refined sugar, if you don’t quickly use it as energy, insulin turns it into fat! It’s addictive,  accelerates aging, reduces immune function, impairs mental and neurological function, can destroy your brain, heart and organs, creates systemic inflammation, gives some people a buzz and destroys bodies. Does this sound healthy??

Not all sugar is bad. Sugar from plants foods like carrots, beets, strawberries and bananas can be good for us if they are eaten in their whole form. Healthy sugars are important because our brain and central nervous system rely totally on sugar or glycogen (stored sugar in the body) for their energy. Our muscles love sugar or glycogen to produce energy for high energy needs.  Fruit juice is very high in sugar so even though nutritious it is too high in sugar, eat the whole fruit.

People get addicted to sugar. They love the taste and the quick energy it releases. However they can’t see the pervasive damage being done to their blood vessels, brain, heart and other organs.

This may shock you, but I believe sugar and sugar like foods (processed flour products) are probably the biggest cause of all illness and disease. It creates so much stress on the body, lowers the immune system, wrecks havoc on the hormonal system and creates systemic inflammation. The harm being caused is wide-spread and long-lasting.

Sugar has made its way into almost every food stuff man is processing and refining. Sugar is added to bacon. luncheon meats, mayonnaise, peanut butter, dried fruit, fruit juices, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, prepared foods, cereal, granola, cookies, flavored milk, soft drinks, coffee drinks and hundreds if not thousands of other foods. Milk has about 3 teaspoons of sugar per 8 ounce glass.

The purpose of the added sugar is to make you eat more of the food it is in. It’s all about money. If you keep buying it, the food manufacturers will keep selling it. Stop buying it and they will begin to make healthier foods.

Your best defense is learning to read food labels and being able to find all the different names of sugar. When reading the food label pay special attention to the serving size and the grams of sugar per serving. Try to limit the amount of sugar you consume to 6 grams or less per serving. Look for foods that have 3 or more grams of fiber per serving.

Sugars Many Names

When reading the food ingredient list on the food label look out for these names. I would also include agave nectar as a sugar to avoid. It is higher in fructose that HFCS and is a processed sugar.

  1. Barley malt
  2. Beet sugar
  3. Brown sugar
  4. Buttered syrup
  5. Cane juice crystals
  6. Cane sugar
  7. Caramel
  8. Corn syrup
  9. Corn syrup solids
  10. Confectioner’s sugar
  11. Carob syrup
  12. Castor sugar
  13. Date sugar
  14. Demerara sugar
  15. Dextran
  16. Dextrose
  17. Diastatic malt
  18. Diatase
  19. Ethyl maltol
  20. Fructose
  21. Fruit juice
  22. Fruit juice concentrate
  23. Galactose
  24. Glucose
  25. Glucose solids
  26. Golden sugar
  27. Golden syrup
  28. Grape sugar
  29. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
  30. Honey
  31. Icing sugar
  32. Invert sugar
  33. Lactose
  34. Maltodextrin
  35. Maltose
  36. Malt syrup
  37. Maple syrup
  38. Molasses
  39. Muscovado sugar
  40. Panocha
  41. Raw sugar
  42. Refiner’s syrup
  43. Rice syrup
  44. Sorbitol
  45. Sorghum syrup
  46. Sucrose
  47. Sugar
  48. Treacle
  49. Turbinado sugar
  50. Yellow sugar

Flour Based Products

Flour (ground up grains) turns to blood sugar as rapidly as does white table sugar! Most breads, cereals, cookies, crackers and pastries have a high glycemic value. They raise blood sugar rapidly. Not all grain based products have higher glycemic load values. Whole Grains when eaten in their natural form release sugars slowly.  Steel cut oats have a lower glycemic load value that rolled oats.  Enriched and refined flours have little fiber allowing the starch to turn to blood sugar rapidly. Even whole grain breads can cause a quick release of blood sugar because part of the bodies digestive process has already been performed.  To my knowledge the lowest glycemic bread is Ezekiel Bread.

Use Natural Sweeteners like stevia and raw honey. They offer health benefits and do not impact blood sugar levels as severely as refined sugars do.

In summary, to reduce your risk of developing a sugar related disease or adverse health condition avoid or limit simple carbohydrates by eating more vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains (limit to 4 servings per day). Stay away from non natural sweeteners like Splenda and aspartame. Use natural sweeteners, however, learn to enjoy foods that are less sweet. Break that sugar addiction, kick it to the curb and enjoy life. I recommend stevia or raw honey as the healthiest sweeteners.

Healthy Wishes

Wally Bishop C.N.C.

WebND

The contents of this blog is not and should not be  considered medical advice. This blog is for informational purposes only. Always consult with your doctor before making any dietary or lifestyle changes. Never quit taking prescription medications unless advised to do so by your doctor.

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Magnesium the Wonder Mineral!

Wallace Bishop I.N.H.C, C.N.C.1 Comment
Cocao (dark chocolate) is one of the richest sources of magnesium!
Cocao (dark chocolate) is one of the richest sources of magnesium!

I commonly hear fellow athletes or my clients complain of muscle cramping, muscle fatigue and a lack of good sleep. They seldom think they could be deficient in magnesium. However, odds say it may be!  They up their magnesium and issues are solved in many cases.

Magnesium is a macro-nutrient, which means we need more of it than some of the other minerals and we need magnesium daily. Minerals are critical for our health, however magnesium is required in over three hundred (300) different body functions making it a mineral you need readily available in your body. 

Of all the minerals, it is my opinion that for Americans, magnesium seems to be one of the most important because it is required in so many body functions. You can go several days or even weeks before needing certain vitamins, however you must have some intake of most minerals at least every couple of days. If you are really active, ill or sweating a lot you will need them everyday.  Minerals are used by the body and excreted easily.  If you are using diuretics, exercising intensely or sweating profusely, a diet deficient in the electrolytes, magnesium, potassium, sodium and chloride can cause severe health problems requiring a sudden need for emergency medical treatment.

How Does a Magnesium Deficiency Affect the Body?

Do you get adequate magnesium in your diet? More than half of Americans are deficient in magnesium and some sources say nearly 80% of Americans are deficient.

Most troubling is the result of a study of 7,764 people over 10.5 years.  It found those with the lowest magnesium levels have a much greater risk of dying from ischemic heart disease “Men and women whose urinary magnesium was among the lowest 20% of subjects had an increase in the risk of ischemic heart disease that was 60% higher than the remainder of the participants, and a risk of fatal ischemic heart disease that was 70% higher.  Additionally, magnesium helps inhibit platelet aggregation and enhance the synthesis of nitric oxide, which helps relax the blood vessels. Furthermore, increased magnesium intake has been associated with a lower risk of diabetes—a disease that significantly elevates the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Magnesium is a nutrient that is essential to more than 300 activities in our bodies. Magnesium provides your muscles the ability to relax, it moves calcium out of your blood and into bones, it is required to keep blood circulating and the heart beating and it is essential to keep your nervous system and brain healthy. It also helps reduce anxiety.

If you have muscle cramps, particularly at night, the odds are great that you may be lacking magnesium; if you have trouble sleeping you may be low in magnesium, if you are fatigued it could be a lack of magnesium. If you have high blood pressure it may be due to insufficient magnesium, if you are diabetic, low levels of magnesium may be involved, magnesium is critical for carbohydrate fat and protein metabolism to create energy. Magnesium helps keep the heart in a healthy rhythm and is necessary for cellular reproduction.

Magnesium is required for good bone health. Magnesium moves calcium out of the blood and into bones making them stronger. In fact, a large percentage of the magnesium in your body is in your bones. Magnesium is critical for heart health. It helps blood vessels relax reducing blood pressure and is also required to make certain detoxing compounds and for a strong immune system.

The role magnesium plays in the body is so diverse that it is difficult to find a body system that is not affected by magnesium deficiency. Our immune system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, nervous system, muscles, kidneys, liver, hormone-secreting glands, and brain all rely on magnesium for healthy metabolic function.

What Affects Magnesium Absorption?

Magnesium absorption is reduced by many factors including colas, coffee, salt and caffeine. Also certain medications like diuretics will deplete magnesium from our bodies. Refined and processed foods also deplete our bodies of magnesium.

Good Food Sources of Magnesium

  • Spinach
  • Dark Chocolate
  • Swiss Chard
  • Oat Bran
  • Rice Bran
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Halibut
  • Soybeans
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • Almonds
  • Sesame Seeds
  • Black Beans
  • Cashews
  • Cantaloupe
  • Black strap molasses
  • Mustard Greens
  • Turnip Greens
  • Collard Greens
  • Green Beans
  • Salmon
  • Flax Seeds
  • Sea Vegetables
  • Kale
  • Celery
  • Bell Peppers

 

To ensure you get adequate magnesium daily, a diet rich in a variety of foods is key.  The NutriBullet unlocks nutrients in a way other blenders or juicers cant can’t so load it up with magnesium rich foods every day.

Healthy Wishes

Wally Bishop C.N.C.

WebND

The contents of this blog are not and should not be considered as medical advice. Always consult with your doctor before making any dietary or lifestyle changes. Never quit taking prescription medications unless advised to do so by your doctor.

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