Are you Committing to a Healthier You?

Today, are you starting the week 2 mini-pledges for cutting processed foods from your diet?

• If you don't know what I'm talking about, visit my page Commit to a Healthier You to find out more.
• If your answer is YES, then today is an exciting day because you are ready to start the 2nd mini-pledge called “Real” beverages – Beverages will be limited to coffee, tea, water, and milk (only naturally sweetened with a little honey or 100% pure maple syrup). One cup of juice will be allowed throughout the week, and wine (preferably red) will be allowed in moderation (an average of one drink per day).
• If no, what's stopping you? Perhaps you've already accomplished this goal, then good for you! If you're not sure you can or want to give up your sodas, give it a try. It's just one week! I can almost guarantee that you will see an increase in your energy and a decrease in your cravings. Dropping this bad habit can also save you money and cut way back on the number of plastic bottles that need to be made and recycled.

Keep checking back this week for more tips (or research) on ways to accomplish this goal. And frequently visit the blog where I found this challenge, 100 Days of Real Food; here's the link for tips on this week's pledge, “Real” beverages.

Start today by:

• Adding more water into your diet; put a little fruit in your water for a nice splash of taste!
• Sweetening your coffee with honey rather than table sugar.
• Eating grapes, an orange or other juicy fruit to quench your thirst. This will also help maintain your week 1 commitment of consuming more fruits and vegetables!

I STRONGLY believe for many reasons that unhealthy beverages (high sugar, artificial flavors, artificial colors, unnecessary calories, etc.) should not be consumed, especially on a daily basis. Not by you, not by your children. Here's an excerpt from an article called 10 Ways to Detox from Sugar in 10 Days, by Dr. Mark Hyman.

Don’t drink your calories: Any form of liquid sugar calories is worse than solid food with sugar or flour. Think of it as mainlining sugar directly to your liver. It turns off a fat storage machine in your liver, leading to dreaded belly fat. You don’t feel full, so you eat more all day and you crave more sugar and carbs. It’s also the single biggest source of sugar calories in our diet. That includes sodas, juices other than green vegetable juice, sports drinks, sweetened teas or coffees. One 20-ounce soda has 15 teaspoons of sugar; Gatorade contains 14 teaspoons of the stuff in one bottle. One can of soda a day increases a kid’s chance of being obese by 60 percent and a woman’s chance of type 2 diabetes by 80 percent. Stay away!


Action Item: Take the week 2 mini-pledge today!

For Further Reading: Healthy Beverage Guidelines from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Latest Research

After reading this article from NPR, this is a great time to mention research and results.

The Full-Fat Paradox: Whole Milk May Keep Us Lean

Science and research are wonderful, absolutely necessary, and at times contradictory to what you've believed or been told for years. There are hundreds if not thousands of research articles published daily that do not make the news. It takes a story that's a little controversial to really hit the headlines. 

I do believe that full-fat products can keep people lean when those people are eating a healthy, diverse diet. Full-fat products can be beneficial to those not getting enough calories and questionable to people with health concerns. The problem with news outlets promoting parts of research studies - not pointing my finger at this one - is that some people take that as a free pass to eat all the dark chocolate they want or skip high-intensity exercise or never eat a specific food again. When you read stories like this, stop and consider your diet and how this may or may not fit in with what you are already doing. For example, we drink skim milk in our house (if we're not drinking almond, soy or coconut milk) and most of the time eat full-fat cheese since the low-fat products often include added ingredients. Will I switch to full-fat milk? No, I don't like the taste. Will I now eat full-fat cheese with a little less guilt? You betcha!

Action Alert: Keep reading nutrition research articles, but use it as a tool to make better decisions not as a free pass to eat something you want or skip something you don't like!

For Further Reading: Many people skip dairy altogether for a number of reasons, "Dairy Food Substitutes—The Sky's The Limit."