I’m going to make a bold statement straight away. You can lose weight and never count a calorie. This seems like health-nut blasphemy, I know. Counting calories can make you into an insane person. In some cases it simply doesn’t make sense. Eating natural, whole, nutrient-rich foods is the best way to a healthy, active and slimmer lifestyle.

The general principal behind weight loss is a simple one: you have to burn more than you consume. This totally works- its only logical, but it could be completely unhealthy. Take anorexia for example. It works, too, but is obviously not the way to go about things. This is my main problem with only counting calories. You could fill an entire day of “100 calorie packs” of cookies, crackers, etc, and never consume any real nutrients you need. So you could essentially be filling your belly with calories,but not supplying your body any of the things it needs to run properly. What is good about those diet foods anyway? You can justify all you want and say they taste “pretty good for 50 calories” or whatever, but we all know most of it tastes like cardboard. I realize I recommend some less-than-scrumptious foods, but there is a reason for eating them. Maybe you don’t want to eat that pile of roasted vegetables, but you know they contain tons of vitamins, minerals, fiber and protein (yes, some veggies have protein ie: leafy greens). I happen to enjoy a big mess of veggies. Most low calorie processed foods don’t care about anything except keeping that calorie number low, not what nutrients (or anti-nutrients) they contain. Bottom line is they don’t DO anything for you.

Counting calories is very imprecise, unless you carry your kitchen scales around with you everywhere. There are many sites to look up calorie count, but you may not know what they used to measure the count. Calories are different in raw chicken and cooked chicken. Your pasta sauce may have olive oil in it, while the website you check measured a pasta sauce without oil and will result in totally different calorie numbers and fat grams. There are simply too many variables in life to make counting every calorie realistic. Restaurants do not make every single dish exactly the same with exactly the same amount of ingredients, so how do you know that meal is only 550 calories? You can’t.

But guess what. Vegetables and fruits are naturally low in calories! On Weight Watchers, they allow you to eat as many fresh fruits and vegetables as you want. They usually don’t even factor into their point system- they’re freebies, if you will. Doesn’t it make sense to eat a majority of foods that are low in calories and high in nutrients? Your body is fueled by what it needs, without being weighed down by what it doesn’t need. I’ve talked before about the importance of good fats, and that’s where many of your calories will come from. Again, it’s illogical, to me at least, to compare an avocado and some Snackwells cookies based on calories. You know how good avocado is for you, but it is probably higher in calories than those cookies because it is high in fat.

Get your priorities straight. Eat what you need to live your best life. Think about when you eat a bad meal. It makes you tired and want to lay around which is clearly not conducive to weight loss or an active lifestyle. When you have proper fuel, you will be properly energized for whatever your day may have in store for you. Read the ingredients on everything. If the list of ingredients is longer than your arm and looks like another language, PUT IT DOWN. Know that you are eating real food and not fillers and preservatives.

By: Ashley Dance

Every now and again we like to talk about spices and spicing up your life. Today we want to talk about an excellent spice in a little bit more detail: Cayenne Pepper.

Cayenne packs a mighty punch in heat, flavor, and nutrition. Cayenne contains capsaicin which gives it the heat and the bite! Ouch! It stimulates the body’s blood flow and improves circulation, particularly to the extremities, which can be desensitized by disease and chronic illness.

Cayenne pepper also acts as a digestive aid. It helps to create hydrochloric acid which is necessary to breakdown and digest food. Also, being that it is anti-inflammatory, cayenne can help heal stomach ulcers and rebuild the tissue in the stomach.

One of cayenne’s most fascinating features is that it can be used to bring patients out of a heart attack. When administered quickly enough, cayenne can stop a heart attack within 30 seconds as it regulates blood flow, changes the elasticity of veins and capillaries, and changes blood pressure. Also, it has been reported that capsaicin (the main ingredient in cayenne) was found to destroy prostate cancer cells.

Cayenne pepper’s list of healthful benefits could go on and on. We like to use it in everything from smoothies, to chocolate, to meat/poultry, and in classic mexican dishes. Add some spice to your life today!

Our clients know that we have high standards for the type of food we eat and recommend. It is hard enough to find decent offerings on most menus–so when we see a restaurant that we feel is doing a great job, we want to bring it to your attention.

The Silly Goose in East Nashville is just such a restaurant. We love that The Silly Goose strives to find local, organic, sustainably produced, minimally manipulated food. They are all about high quality ingredients and so are we. Some of their suppliers include Delvin Farms, Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, Noble Springs Dairy, and Provence Breads.

They have so many great options, even sans pork (since we don’t do pork) and it is always hard to pick, but here is a sampling:

Spalding
Roasted almond couscous, sundried tomatoes, lemon,
sage, red pep. goat cheese, and grilled port. mushrooms

Papa Mace
organic quinoa, sweet potatoes, dry, cherries, pistachios,
grilled onions, manchego, carmelized orange vinaigrette

Simple
Baby greens, avocado, shaved fennel, tart apple
pumpkin seeds, and a chili-grapefruit vinaigrette.

Dorothy Bailey
Roasted beets, goats milk feta, sweet onion jam, local
arugula, sherry garlic vinaigrette, flatbread crackers

Zipper
Smoked salmon, honey black pepper goat cheese,
caramelized onion, baby arugula on toasted marble rye

Saylor
Grilled eggplant, roasted red pepper, avocado, basil,
arugula, lemon-kalamata olive aioli on grilled ciabatta

Citrus, Mint, and Ginger Green Tea

Not only is the food great, but the atmosphere is great as well. The decor is earthy and rustic, with distressed tables and mason jars–yet at the same time it is very clean and tidy with a modern touch, provided by the metal chairs and red chairs that pop in color. So if you get a chance, head over to The Silly Goose and you won’t be disappointed.

Many of you may know that we do not eat or recommend pork. First of all, we want to be clear that we do not feel bound or constrained in some way that we cannot eat pork. However, the first reason is definitely the best and surest reason: God in the Bible specifically instructed his people not to eat pork. Being Christians, we know that are not made right with God by keeping the law but through faith in Christ. Faith does not nullify the law–and the commandment is still good. So while we are free to eat what we wish, we choose for wisdom sake to not eat pork (or shellfish for that matter).

The additional reasons are also strong. Pigs are scavengers and will eat their own feces, and even dead carcasses. While it is also true that chickens and goats may also search through feces or eat unnatural items, the big difference is in the digestive processes of the animals. The chicken and goat has a process that cleans its food digestively, while the pig does not. The pig has a singular stomach much like humans and carries it viruses and worms without filtering them out. The pig, like humans, stores its toxins in their own fatty tissues. When consuming pork, this additional toxic load is transferred to you, the consumer.

Despite what all of these animals may eat, we definitely think they should be out on pasture in free range settings, eating grass and insects, and not in crowded pens or factory farms feeding on grains. So if one were to consume pork, there is still a difference in quality from pastured pork to feedlot pork.

A big concern with pork is that pigs frequently carry worms and can transfer an infection to humans called trichinellosis or trichinosis. The reason the CDC recommends freezing pork prior to cooking is precisely to kill off any worms. Um, yeah, I am gonna go with no on that one, and just avoid the pork all together. Pigs are carriers of multiple parasites, toxins, worms (Taenia solium tapeworm), and viruses (HEV, Menangle, Nipah). These can all lead to painful and debilitating conditions.

The reasons that we do not eat or recommend shellfish are very similar. Shellfish are bottom feeders and feed on parasites and dead skin, many times from dead animals. They do not have appropriate digestive and filter systems to purify toxins and parasites from their body and flesh. Most shrimp, for example, come from places where there are little to no restrictions on contaminants such as PCB’s and dioxins. Shellfish also are among the most well known allergens and one can react at any time, even after having consumed shellfish for years (most likely due to constantly being exposed to different toxins in the shellfish).

We hope that gives you some understanding to why we do not eat or recommend pork or shellfish, nor do we really even consider them food. As with all food that we do eat and recommend, we always promote getting the highest quality that you are able and eat nutrient dense and clean food. Enjoy your food, but always remember: eat to live, and not the other way around!

It’s that time of year again! The time of year where families, friends, and co-workers come together to give thanks, trim the tree, and EAT. It’s also the time of year when you freak out on your eating and gorge on all the wonderfully bad food that usually comes out of a can or feed lot. Instead of sabotaging your fitness and nutrition, why not learn how to be the star of the holiday season by cooking amazing food with amazing ingredients–now you can.

Life Fitness Academy is hosting a cooking adventure called “How To Survive The Holidays”!! In this cooking adventure you will enjoy a full holiday dinner with turkey, dressing, rolls, sweet potatoes, macaroni & cheese, and pumpkin pie! As you enjoy your meal, we will share some of the important ingredients that we used, tell you why they are good for you, as well as show you how to prepare some of the items!

This event will be hosted on:
Saturday, October 29th
12:00 pm
$15 for advance tickets
$25 at the door

**10% of all all proceeds will benefit The Nashville Rescue Mission

Get an education in healthy eating, while helping someone else during the holidays. Contact us for tickets or with any questions!

Of the most common food borne infections, half are found in poultry, pork, beef, and other meat products. A study, as noted by the Washington Post, showed the pathogens that have the greatest burden on society as a whole.

In order of ranking, the study found that the greatest burden economically was from campylobacter in poultry which sickens approximately 600,000 people per year and costs $1.3 billion. In second place was toxoplasma in pork, a nasty parasite that costs an approximate $1.2 billion per year. Third ranked was listeria in deli meats at a cool $1.1 billion a year. All told, the top ten pathogens tied to specific foods cost society approximately $8.1 billion in one year.

The most disease and distress was caused by salmonella, but it was not tied to one specific food as salmonella can be found in produce, eggs, poultry, and other foods. Overall salmonella cost society $3 billion.

One of the best ways to avoid food borne pathogens is to seek out high quality food! Look for pastured poultry and grass-fed beef, find out where your produce is from and look for local farms that you are able to see how they grow their food.

If you do get foodborne illness, some of the things that can greatly help are lots of probiotics, raw apple cider vinegar, and depending on the situation, activated charcoal. Hopefully you never have to deal with foodborne illness, but judging from its prevalance, you may just face it someday. Now go fight!

A recent article examined the contents of many popular foods these days. We are just going to highlight a few:

“1. The package for Gerber Graduates for Preschoolers’ juice treats pictures a bounty of fresh fruits — oranges, grapes, peaches, cherries, pineapples and berries — yet one look at the ingredient list will tell you there’s no orange, peach, cherry or pineapple in the food and there’s less than 2 percent raspberry juice concentrate. What you do get is four teaspoons of refined sugar in every serving, thanks to a hefty dose of sugar and corn syrup. Gerber isn’t the only culprit, though. Plenty of food companies serve “made with real fruit” claims that they can hardly back up.

3. Assume that your bowl of strawberries and cream Quaker instant oatmeal is full of strawberries? Think again. In truth, the “strawberries” are dehydrated apples that are dyed red. Similarly, the peaches and cream variety has dehydrated apples that are dyed a peachy hue and doesn’t contain any real peaches.

4. Who needs carrots when you can have “carrot-flavored pieces”? Betty Crocker’s Supermoist Carrot Cake Mix is mostly flour, sugar and corn syrup, with a few carrot-flavored pieces for good measure. Made from (more) corn syrup and flour plus corn cereal, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, carrot powder and artificial coloring, the ingredient list reads like a fifth-grade science project. If you can’t spare the time to make a cake from scratch, you’re better off with Duncan Hines, which lists dehydrated carrots as the third ingredient after flour and sugar.”

Be careful out there, you never know what might be in your “food”.

Make sure you look closely when buying organic, or when buying any food for that matter. Sometimes the labeling can be tricky. Foods can be labeled:
A. certified organic,
B. made with organic ingredients, or
C. contains organic ingredients.

The levels are associated with percentages:
A. 100% Organic – nothing but organic ingredients and processing aids (label: certified organic)
B. 95% Organic – up to %5 nonorganic ingredients and must not be produced using excluded methods [gmo, sewege fertilizer, or radiation] (label: certified organic).
C. 70-95% Organic – 5-30% nonorganic ingredients that can be just about anything, but not produced with GMO’s, sewage fertilizer, or radiation. They can contain pesticides. (label: made with organic ingredients)
D. 70% Organic – really means less than 70% organic ingredients and can contain as little as 30% organic ingredients and up to 70% nonorganic ingredients. The nonorganic ingredients can be just about anything, it can be GMO, it can use sewage fertilizer, it can use pesticides, and it can be irradiated. (label: contains organic ingredients)

So what is the takeaway from all of this? Read the ingredients that you are buying, it is best to know where the food is coming from and how it is processed (buy local if possible), and if buying organic, you have some more assurances if 100% of the ingredients are organic as opposed to partial… even though with getting food from an outside source, you never know.

Sources: Farm Wars

Soy has been proclaimed as a health food for the past several years. While it has some benefits, it depends on the manner in which it is consumed. Fermented soy products like tempeh, miso and soy sauce are safe and somewhat beneficial to eat. The unfermented soy products are the ones to avoid.

90% of the soybeans used to make substances like soymilk and meatless entrees are genetically modified, red flag number one. Second, soy has one of the highest percentages of pesticide residue. Lastly, the unfermented soy has to be processed in many ways to be digestible at all. Soy is not edible in its natural form. Manufacturers extract soy protein isolate to use in their products by mixing the beans with an alkaline solution to remove fiber, then precipitated and separated using an acid wash and, finally, neutralized in an alkaline solution. The last step is to spray dry the resulting curds at a high temperature to produce a high protein powder. Nitrates, which are carcinogens (cancer causing), are produced during spray drying. A variety of artificial flavors are added to the soy substance, including MSG.

Soy also contains isoflavones. Some say they are beneficial, but there is overwhelming evidence that they cannot be good for you. Isoflavones are similar to the hormone estrogen, and your body reacts the same to them. For instance, drinking two glasses of soymilk a day is enough to alter a woman’s menstrual cycle. In soy-based infant formula there is the equivalent of five birth control pills that infants drink per day. It has been linked to infertility in men and early onset of puberty in females in western cultures. Many claim soy reduces the risk of cancer and use Asian culture as an example of this. While Asians have fewer cases of breast, uterus, and prostate cancer, they have a high rate of esophagus, stomach, liver and pancreas cancers in addition to thyroid and digestive cancers. Digestive cancers imply a connection to food sources. Laboratory rats given soy exhibit the thyroid and digestive cancers, too.

Soy is also full of anti-nutrients. They contain enzyme inhibitors. Enzymes are necessary to break down proteins and other nutrients and soy makes it more difficult on the body to get what it needs from food. One inhibitor is called Hemagglutinin, which is a clot-promoting substance. It causes red blood cells to clump together so oxygen is not as easily transported. Cooking or processing does not denature these inhibitors, but they are reduced to manageable levels after a long period of fermentation.

There are more negatives than positives when it comes to soy products. Stick to fermented soy like tempeh, miso and soy sauce. If you think about it, it’s incredibly unnatural to make a meat flavor and texture out of a soybean anyway. Let’s use what nature has given us without massive amounts of processing to keep our bodies fueled. There are plenty of nutrient rich whole foods out there just waiting to be eaten!
By: Ashley Dance

The Great Organic Debate

To eat organic or not to eat organic? That’s the question. So let’s take a closer look.

First off, organic food is produced by farmers who use renewable resources and conserve soil and water to sustain a quality environment for future generations. Even though it’s future-minded, going organic serves us in the present, too. For example, organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is also produced without using most conventional pesticides, fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge, bioengineering or ionizing radiation.

Before a product can be labeled organic, a government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too.

The USDA has identified for three categories of labeling organic products:

100% Organic: Made with 100% organic ingredients
Organic: Made with at least 95% organic ingredients
Made With Organic Ingredients: Made with a minimum of 70% organic ingredients with strict restrictions on the remaining 30%, including no GMOs (genetically modified organisms)
And know this: Natural foods are NOT organic. They don’t contain additives or preservatives, but they can be grown with pesticides or GMOs. Additionally, natural foods are not regulated.

Craig Minowa, Environmental Scientist of the Organic Consumers Association says, “There is an abundance of studies showing that organic food is healthier and safer for consumers than nonorganic products.” He continues, “Synthetic pesticides are designed to kill and have been in use for about half a century. Applying hundreds of millions of gallons of such chemicals to the human food supply [through conventional farming] is clearly having its impacts on the populace, from increased cancer rates, to neurological disorders to endocrine disruption.”

Speaking of pesticides…

In 1998, Chensheng Lu, a researcher at the Department of Health at the University of Washington, began testing children in the Seattle area to try to detect pesticide residues in their urine.” Lu was looking for organophosphates, the family of pesticides spawned by the creation of nerve gas agents in World War II. Organophosphates can create mild anxiety, respiratory paralysis, neurobehavioral damage, cancer and reproductive disorders.

The 110 two-to-five-year-olds Lu studied had higher levels of pesticide metabolites (the markers produced when the body metabolizes the chemicals), but one child had no signs of any pesticide metabolites. The difference? That child‚Äôs family ate mostly organic. Fascinating, huh? Lu thought so, too, and received funding from the EPA to conduct more research. Here’s what they found.

When Lu’s research team substituted organic foods for a conventional diet in children for five days, they could find no evidence of pesticide metabolites in the children’s urine. When Lu’s team reintroduced conventional foods to the kids, however, the metabolites returned.

“The transformation is extremely rapid. Within eight to 36 hours of the children switching to organic food, the pesticides were no longer detected,” Lu said. He added, ‚ÄúThe level returns immediately when you go back to the conventional diets.”

Now that’s pretty convincing evidence.

Article from: http://www.extraordinaryhealth.com/
Copyright © 2010

This information is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be used in place of an individual consultation or examination or replace the advice of your health care professional and should not be relied upon to determine diagnosis or course of treatment.