The American Heart Association ( AHA) recommends no more than 6 teaspoon of added sugar for women and 9 teaspoons of added sugar per day for men.

In general it is recommended for kids to have no more than 3-6 teaspoon of added sugar per day.

For most people some added sugar is okay, unfortunately we are having 19.5 teaspoon of sugar per day.

Natural Sugars

There are natural sugars that are in fruits such as fructose, and in dairy in the form of lactose, that are better for us and don’t count as added sugars.

When it comes to looking at sugars, try to pick an item that has 0-7 grams of sugar per serving.  An easy calculation is that 1 tsp. of sugar is equal to 4 grams of sugar, so if your yogurt states 7 grams of sugar that is 1.75 tsp. of sugar. This will help in not exceeding the recommended sugar intake per day.

As we are shifting to decrease our sugar intake, more and more research is showing that we are consuming too much artificial sweeteners which have their own problems.

The best way to cut down on sugar is to use in moderation, and if using sugars, try to use natural forms to sweeten foods.

Top 7 Natural Sweeteners

1 Raw honey

2 Stevia

3 Dates

4 Coconut Sugar

5 Fruits puree- Banana, Apple Sauce, Natural Fruit Jam

6 Monk Fruit Extract

7 Natural Maple Syrup

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Exercise

Jump start your metabolism, burn fat and improve cardiovascular health by exercising at least 20 minutes a day.

Sugar

Cane sugar is the number one enemy for lowering immune system and decreasing gut health.  Start being more conscious of the sugar content in the foods you choose to eat.  The simple rule is always to try picking items that have 0-5 grams of sugar per serving.  Indirectly, your caloric intake will decrease by choosing items that are lower in sugar.

Apple Cider Vinegar

End your day with 1 tsp. of apple cider vinegar with a small amount of honey.  It is a great probiotic and helps to digest food faster by increasing stomach acidity.

Experiencing heartburn? A tsp. of apple cider vinegar will help resolve it.

Apple cider has also shown to help lower belly fat, lower blood sugar and helps to lower cholesterol.

Recipe for Red Cabbage and Apple Salad With Vinaigrette

Hydration

It’s important to keep bodies hydrated at all times.  In adult men, 60 percent of their body is water and 55% in adult women.

As we get older, our metabolism slows down and our bodies have a harder time flushing out waste so it becomes even more important to drink plenty of water to flush away waste and detox our bodies.

Diversity

Latest research has shown that you can actually lose weight and boost immune system by adding more color to meals.

Nuts and seeds are also great ways to add more flavor and color to foods.  Increase omega and fiber intake by just simply adding 1 Tbsp. of sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds to oatmeal, granola, yogurt or even salads.

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There are traditional foods that are served during the holidays that are hard to replace, but an important step to remember is to eat in moderation and avoid skipping meals.

Protein

Always start your day with a high protein breakfast.  The protein will help to maintain your blood sugar and will help you from overeating.  Having eggs or a protein shake are great examples of ways to start your day with protein.

During the holiday parties, always go for the protein choices first and then with the rest of the food items.

Portion Size

Always choose the smaller salad plate instead of a tray-liked one.  Plate sizes have dramatically expanded over the years.  Think of yourself as a food critic and sample each dish rather than overloading your dish with different types of food.

Remember there is always an opportunity for you to bring food home with you so no need to eat like this is your only meal for the day.

Bring your own

It’s always a great idea to bring your own dish to share.  Try bringing a healthy dish, one that is low in fat, high in veggies and great source of protein.

Moving

Making every effort to get in more steps helps to jump start the metabolism.  Exercising before any holiday parties is a great way to start your day.  Even something as simple as parking your car further away from your destination so you have to walk a little will help get that heart rate going.

Tall and Thin

When it comes to drinks, reach for a tall, thin glass rather than a short squatty one when pouring yourself drinks.  This is especially helpful for holiday drinks like eggnog or alcohol.

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Carbohydrates

Simple carbohydrates, such as refined grains, white bread, white rice, sugar, fruit juice and most breakfast cereals don’t have enough energy to fuel exercise. As a result they compel the muscles to use protein as energy, leading to loss of muscle tissues. Complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal, sweet potatoes and whole grains, on the other hand, provide slow-energy.  It means that they are stored in muscles as glycogen and help to power your workouts. When it comes to doing long cardiovascular workouts, it is best to start with a complex carbohydrate rather than a simple one. This is called carb-loading and helps to avoid muscle tissue loss.

Ultimate Pre-Workout Foods

Fruit Smoothies High- Protein Oatmeal Banana Apple with Peanut butter Yogurt Parfait

Protein

The breakdown of protein depends on the type of exercise and the intensity of exercise, but it is important to replenish the body’s protein after a workout to avoid muscle protein breakdown. Protein has essential amino acids that help to repair and rebuild muscles.  Having a protein bar containing at least 20 -40 grams of protein or a protein shake with the same amount will help to build new muscle tissue.  

Ultimate Post- Workout Foods

Egg omelette Protein shake Protein bars Tuna with toast Eggs with toast & avocado

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With the holidays coming up it is important to stop and think about your body.  We tend to put our bodies in a lot of stress without even realizing it.

The stress hormones released from our bodies produce “flight” or “fight” responses.  They protect the body and prepare our bodies for quick reactions; however, it’s the chronic stress that can affect the overall health of the body.

Anxiety, depression, insomnia are just some ways that the body gets affected with chronic stress.

Different types of Meditation

1. Concentration Meditation/ Mindfulness Meditation

This is the traditional form of meditation. It involves focusing on a single point and can be as simple as following your breath.  Music can be a great tool for this type of meditation, or just simply by focusing on a single word like saying “Om”.

Close your eyes. Sit still. Don’t talk.  Take a deep breath, Exhale slowly. From your shoulder and just breathe.

As a beginner, I suggest to initially start meditating for a few minutes and then work up to longer durations.

Benefits:   Reduces stress and helps to relax the mind and body.

2. Moving Meditation

This kind of meditation allows your thoughts to flow freely while moving.  Some examples are tai chi, qigong and walking meditation.

Benefits:  Reduces stress by allowing the body to have an outlet, whether physical/mental or spiritual to release its energy.  Stimulates creative thinking and problem solving.

3. Creative Meditation

This is a harder type of meditation where you have to get into a “creative zone”.  Great to do with a group that is doing the same thing.  This type of meditation allow new creative ideas to flow through your body by using different techniques such as brainstorming, free writing and just simply thinking.

Benefits: Taps into creation of new ideas. Allows creative expressions. Encourages creative collaboration.

Whatever type of meditation that you choose to do, the goal is to relax your body and let your thoughts move into a creative flow.

The key is to be consistent and to make time every day to sit, breathe, and connect with yourself.

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Makes 2 cups

2 cups water, chicken broth, or vegetable broth
4 ounces (1/4 block) silken or firm tofu
1 to 2 scallions
2 tablespoons red or white miso paste

Optional: can add swiss chard or kale to up nutrition

Instructions

1. Cut the tofu into very small cubes, 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch on each side. Slice the scallions very thinly.
2. In a saucepan, bring broth to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat.
3. Place the miso in a small ramekin or measuring cup. Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the broth and pour it over the miso. Whisk with a dinner fork or whisk until the miso is entirely dissolved in the water and no lumps remain.
4. Pour the dissolved miso back into the simmering broth.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the tofu to the miso. Simmer just enough to warm the tofu, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not boil the miso once the tofu has been added. (If adding optional greens, add before adding the tofu).
6. Just before serving, scatter the scallions over the top of the soup.
7. Pour the miso into individual bowls and serve.

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Benefits

They are especially important in the digestive system, but also help increase nutrient absorption and support the immune system.

When we think of bacteria we think of something that causes disease, but our bodies are full of bacteria.  Probiotics are the good guys.

We can incorporate probiotics through different foods and through supplementation. By incorporating a variety of probiotics, we can offer the body different types of beneficial bacteria to help it in different ways.

Supplementing with Probiotics

When using supplements, you want to try to pick a probiotic that is refrigerated since these are live bacteria and want to choose one containing different strains of friendly bacteria.

There are 7 types of friendly bacteria

• Lactobacillus acidophilus
• Lactobacillus bulgarius
• Lactobacillus reuteri
• Streptococcus thermopiles
• Saccharomyces boulardii
• Bifidobacterium bifidum
• Bacillus subtilis

 Eating Foods Rich in Probiotics

Probiotics food is rich in bacteria, and usually the more fermented the product, the richer in probiotics.

5 Foods Rich in Probiotics

1. Miso

This soup made from fermented soy is high in good bacteria.

2. Yogurt & Kefir

Rich in lactobacillu, bifidus and acidophilus. Make sure label states live bacteria and choose low sugar products. For individuals with lactose problems, Kefir would be a great option.

3. Sauerkraut

This fermented cabbage mixture contains lactobacilli plantarum and has been shown to give the immune system a big boost.  Helps with digestion of lactose and great for reducing the growth of yeast (great for women who develop continual yeast infections).

4. Kombucha

Kombucha is a fermented drink made from tea, sugar, bacteria and yeast. Besides helping with digestion, it has a myriad of benefits such as fighting candida overgrowth, mental clarity, detoxes the liver and helps reduce symptoms of depression and fibromyalgia.

5. Kimchi

Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made from salted and fermented vegetables.  It is rich in probiotics and great for gut health.

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How to make the 6 menu item most popular during Thanksgiving

1.  Turkey

Turkey is the main dish during this time and the best way to not add extra calories is to avoid eating the skin.

2.  Stuffing

You may be surprised to know that stuffing is often the highest calorie builder in the entire dinner. Depending on how it’s prepared, it can be close to 500 calories per serving.

One way to make it healthier is by using chicken stock during its preparation instead of fat.

Removing the cornbread and just using bread along with lots of vegetables like onion, apples and celery can also help trim down the calories.

Another option to making it healthier is not to stuff into the turkey…it’s leaner if cooked separately.

If you are one of those people that can’t live without stuffing and can’t control how it’s made, then treating it like dessert and eating a small portion can be an ideal way not to add the unwanted extra calories.

3.  Mashed potatoes & Candied Yams

When it comes to eating potatoes, sweet potatoes and the Yukon Gold potatoes are the better ones to choose from. The good news is that they don’t need much flavoring since they are flavorful from the start so you can save up on the calories.

Instead of using Marshmallow for sweet potatoes, ginger and cinnamon can be a great option to lower unnecessary calories.

For the mashed potatoes, fat- free buttermilk is light and airy and is a good substitute for butter.  You could save yourself extra calories for dessert with this simple ingredient swap.

Always remember portion control when it comes to starchy vegetables, and for those willing to give it up, quinoa can be a great healthy substitute.

4.  Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is not bad if prepared from scratch. The canned ones are too high in sugar and preservatives.  There are great healthy recipes to lower its tart flavor and still control the amount of sugar that is being added.

5.  Pies

Desserts like Pumpkin, apple and pecan pie are traditional desserts that make Thanksgiving special for some of us.  The best is to eat the filling and avoid the crust if possible, otherwise enjoy them as if you were doing a test tasting experiment.

6.  Green Beans

Vegetables are the healthiest sides in a Thanksgiving dinner if they are not from a can and don’t have a lot of cream soups and butter added to them.  Use fresh green beans and other vegetables to up the nutrients.  Salad is also always a good choice.  Ideally, you would like half of your plate to consist of vegetables.

***

As you prepare your feast, keep in mind there are great healthy recipes substituting oil & seasoning for flavoring instead of butter and cream.  Make use of them whenever possible.

Make this Thanksgiving a memorable one by making healthy choices so that you can enjoy many more Thanksgiving meals to come!

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Moderation

The first thing to remember is moderation. The problem is that we hear something is good for us and we start using too much of it.  The American Heart Association is recommending the average male limits daily saturated fat intake to 30 grams per day; 20 grams for women. That’s about the equivalent of 2 tablespoons of coconut oil for men and 1.33 tablespoons for women. Most people are not going to surpass this in a day unless they are on a high fat Paleo diet or ketogenic diet.

Preparation

Coconut oil has saturated fa that can be good and bad for us depending on how we use it.  If we are consuming coconut oil in a raw form by adding it to salads, grains and vegetables once it has been prepared it is okay to use.  However, once we start using it as frying oil then we are changing its consistency and its nutrients.  Remember, it is still a saturated fat so frying can change its form to trans fat which will impact the cholesterol in our bodies.

Benefits

There are many benefits in consuming cold pressed coconut oil.

Most of the fats we consume take longer to digest, but MCFAs found in coconut oil provide the perfect source of energy because they only have to go through a three-step process to be turned into fuel vs. other fats that have to go through a 26-step process!

Coconut oil has two qualities that help it fight cancer: one, because of the ketones produced in its digestion. Tumor cells are not able to access the energy in ketones and are glucose-dependent. Two, as the MCFAs digest the lipid walls of bacteria, they also can kill the helicobacter pylori bacteria that has been known to increase the risk of stomach cancer.

In a study in India, the high levels of antioxidants present in virgin coconut oil (VCO) reduced inflammation and treated arthritis more effectively than leading medications.

Coconut oil is high in natural saturated fats. Saturated fats not only increase the healthy cholesterol (known as HDL cholesterol) in your body, but also help convert the LDL “bad” cholesterol into good cholesterols.  By Increasing the HDL in the body, it helps promote heart health and lower the risk of heart disease. Coconut oil also benefits the heart by lowering high triglycerides.

The important thing to remember is there are many healthy benefits of having coconut oil.  The key is to have it in its raw form and always try to have the cold pressed version which is less processed.

Also, remembering that it is still a saturated fat and not eating too much of it is very important.

Click for Green Smoothie Recipe

Click here for Coconut Yogurt Recipe

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As we head into trick or treat season, otherwise known as Halloween, kids are exposed to an excess amount of artificial food coloring and sugars contained in traditional Halloween treats.  But it’s also a time when kids should be encouraged to show their creativity and have fun with friends.  The key is to create fun and healthy snacks using fruits and vegetables that they will enjoy.

Try these delightful, easy to make recipes for a fun and healthy twist to Halloween snacking!

Directions

Cucumber and Hummus

Last but not least…

Smoothies are always a great way to add more vegetables into children’s diets.  The biggest problem is that kids are picky with texture and taste so making sure to combine the right combination of fruit and vegetables is key.  Using natural sweeteners such as honey or fresh juice is also a great way to optimize the taste.

I usually like to add a touch of protein to my kid’s smoothie.  I usually add 1 Tbsp. of Bone Broth to the recipe for an extra boost to the immune system.

Veggie & Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup peeled, chopped carrots

1 orange, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup of strawberries

1/2 frozen banana, chopped

1 cup of ice

1 Tbsp. of bone broth or 1 Tbsp. of Polarized bone broth (Great Lakes Collagen)

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