Healthy Tips for the New Year

If you're like most people, you probably have great intentions of starting out the new year on a healthy foot. I know I am.

And I thought I was... until I attended two nutritional talks in two days.

It just so happened that the women's group in my community and my church's mom's group had their monthly meetings back to back and both groups had scheduled speakers to talk about living a healthier lifestyle.

They both had very interesting things to say, and I learned so much from them, that I thought maybe you'd like to hear some highlights from both speakers.

So, here goes...

SUGAR

Personally, this is something our family struggles with a LOT. My boys are totally addicted to sugar. It's become an increasingly difficult issue to tame as they get older. They have been trained (by yours truly) to have dessert every night after dinner. It's a terrible habit of mine and one that I wish I didn't pass on to my kids. So, when the speaker started discussing our country's sugar addiction, she was definitely speaking to me.

She said the average adult consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, while the average child consumes 32 teaspoons.

THIRTY TWO TEASPOONS?!?! Are you kidding me?!?

That's crazy.

But then she started talking about all the hidden sugar in things like ketchup, yogurt, orange juice, etc. and I realized that my kids are definitely consuming that much - and probably more - most days.

She taught us how to read food labels better, because most food is measured in grams on the label. She said that 1 tsp equals 4 grams. So for example...

Here's the label from a container of Chobani blueberry Greek Yogurt:

20 grams of sugar = 5 teaspoons of sugar

Can you imagine sitting down with the plain version of Chobani Greek Yogurt, which only has 9 grams of sugar (approx. 2 tsp) and dumping 3 additional teaspoons of sugar on top??? Kinda defeats the purpose of eating the "healthy" Greek yogurt in the first place.

She did give lots of tips on how to tame the sugar beast, by substituting natural sweeteners like maple syrup and agave nectar, and eat more naturally occurring sugars like fruit when possible. This helps "trick" the brain into not wanting that piece of chocolate.

Oh, and one last tip, she said Gatorade is "The Devil." Between the dyes and the sugar (or chemicals in the low-calorie versions) it was her big "no-no" for kids when they are playing sports.

WATER

So we all know we need to drink more water. Every nutritionist will tell you that. But how much?

I've heard so many different amounts through the years that I was totally confused.

One of the speakers gave a long complicated scientific math equation for how much water per pound the average body needs to help stay hydrated and flush toxins out of your body on a daily basis.

But then she simplified it and said, a woman who weighs 130 lbs needs to drink 1 gallon of water a day. So, if you're like me and you weigh more than 130 lbs you should be drinking more than a gallon of water a day.

Personally, I carry water around with me all day long.

I have several large insulated glasses with straws that I drink out of at home, and I have an insulated water bottle that I take with me in the car. But even with that, I'm not 100% sure that I drink a full gallon of water every single day.

So, I'm going to buy a gallon jug of water tomorrow and see how much I go through during the day. I'll report back here soon. :)

EATING SCHEDULE

I've heard that eating small meals throughout the day is the best way to keep yourself from overeating at meal times. And I totally believe this.

What I didn't know, was that by having small "meals" or snacks that are high in fiber every 2 1/2 hours (along with drinking water throughout the day) helps to pull toxins out of your liver. 

Why is that important?

Because your liver controls a lot of the hormones in your body that control your metabolism. And if your liver isn't releasing toxins on a regular basis, then it cannot function properly to release the right amount of hormones, and thus your metabolism slows down.

So, if you want to have a well-running metabolism, eat smaller meals high in fiber throughout the day and drink lots of water!

MISCELLANEOUS

There was so much information in both of the talks that I would never have enough time to share all of it here, so I'll just share some interesting miscellaneous tips that I think you would find interesting:

• Eat more eggs and beans. They are an inexpensive way incorporate high protein foods without having to spend a lot on chicken. She suggested having eggs with at least one meal a day, and if possible, buy hormone-free eggs if you have small children that you are feeding.

• Use virgin coconut oil or bacon grease (WHAT?? Really? Yahoo!) when cooking high temperature items that cannot tolerate olive oil. DO NOT use vegetable oil.

• Make and use bone broths as often as you can. If you need chicken for a recipe, cut up a whole chicken, put it in a Crock Pot, cover with water, add some seasoning and let it sit all day until the chicken falls off the bones. Then drain out the broth and freeze it to use in soups or recipes that call for chicken broth. You can also do the same thing with beef bones. These soups will be high in zinc - that comes from the bones - which is excellent at boosting the body's immune system. 

• Try using Ezekiel bread sometimes (found in your grocer's freezer section). It's sprouted grains instead of processed wheat, which is so much better for your digestive system.

• She also gave us a handout on "The Most Powerful Food Combinations" which is a fascinating read, but here are a couple of examples:
• Tomatoes & Avocados - the lycopene in tomatoes is an antioxidant called caratenoid, which reduces cancer risk & cardiovascular disease. The healthy fats in the avocado make the caratenoids more bio-available, or have a more useful effect on the body.
• Peanut Butter & Whole Wheat Bread - this is good news in our house because Parker loves his PB sandwiches! Apparently the specific amino acids absent in wheat are found in peanuts. These amino acids help build and maintain muscle, especially as you get older.
• Blueberries & Grapes - or really any fruit combo for that matter. The antioxidant effects of consuming a combination of fruits together is more powerful than when eaten alone.

So now that I've been totally inundated with health and nutrition information, I feel like I need to make some serious changes in our house. Starting with eliminating the nightly bowl of ice cream after dinner. If they want something sweet, they can have fruit or a small piece of dark chocolate.

The ice cream and cookies need to be special occasion treats. Everything in moderation.

And speaking of moderation, that is the one thing that I loved about both speakers. They both said they didn't want anyone to leave feeling bad about themselves or the way we feed our families. It was more about empowering us with the knowledge to make better choices.

And I hope that's what I've done with this post; just given you some food for thought (literally) and hopefully you'll make at least one better food decision today.