February 2006

February 3, 2006 - Junk Food Advertising Getting Nasty

I just couldn't believe the absolute dishonesty in the way that chips have been advertised recently on Australian TV.

The chips packaged in small snack sizes and sold in a large bag of 24 were advertised as a "healthy" option for kid's lunch boxes because they were only 100 calories each when eaten individually. The woman in the advertisement announced that nutritionists recommend that snacks should be around 100 calories.

Well - calories aren't all that matters !!!!

My son was there when this advertisement came on the TV and guess what his next question was ? Yes, Can I have a packet of chips ?

My reply was that chips are nice, but they're sometimes food, not everyday food. And that's where I feel that this kind of advertising is harmful. Advertising works because it drums the message into us. The more they say it, the more we believe it. The masses will believe all sorts of things if it is said enough and that's why it is so effective. So when junk food is subtly advertised as health food, that's when I start to get angry.

Foods Not For Weight Loss

February 4, 2006 - Great Kids Nutrition Site

I just stumbled across this site Kidnetic, and thought that it might be of interest to those who have trouble getting the kids to eat nutritious food. Let's face it, who doesn't.

Let me know what you think.

Health and Wellness

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February 9, 2006 - Put Carbs Back On Your Menu

I visit the gym on average twice a week. I happened to go today. While completing my routine, I watched the TV screens absent-mindedly. Over and over again, at the bottom of the screen, the words were repeated "Put Carbs Back On Your Menu".

It got me thinking that carbohydrates are becoming more and more acceptable or are more readily included in diets that are considered by the general population to be healthy. While I do recognize that low-carb diets can work, I have never had much faith in them, because they are too far removed from a normal diet. Once the low-carber reaches their goal weight, the temptation is to go back to their old diet, which is sure to happen, and the weight comes back, sometimes with a vengeance. Of course, it does depend on the individual.

For many years now athletes have known that carbohydrates offer their body quick bursts of energy for use when competing. Some athletes have been known to eat high glycemic index carbohydrates such as honey or jelly (jam) sandwiches (sometimes 10 at a time).

The sports medicine book I have recommends that athletes eat before competing a meal high in complex carbohydrates, low in sugar or simple carbohydrates, low in protein and low in fat, include at least 3 glasses of liquid and be easily digestible[1] in order to maximize their performance.

Something like a plain bowl of spaghetti with three cups of water perhaps.

But not everyone is the same. Some will find that they get good exercise workouts after consuming lots of meat or a high protein shake. There will be no perfect macro-nutrient mix for everyone.

Other experts recommend that when considering how to best fuel your workouts, make sure you're eating a balanced diet. That's really just common sense - I think you'll agree. [2]

As a general guideline, I believe that the above recommendations could act as a good starting point to experimenting with the best foods for you to eat before going to the gym.

Happy experimenting.

Source:

[1] Mirkin, G. (MD), Hoffman, M. (1982) The Sports Medicine Book Lansdowne Press. p. 69.

[2] Is It Better To Eat Before Or After Exercise

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February 16, 2006 - Just when you thought it was safe

This page at the Center For Science In The Public Interest is dated somewhere in 2003, but I thought it worth making a note of it on the blog.

The American Dietetic Association and The Corporate Sector

February 16, 2006 - Study Gives Egg-Citing Eggs A Foot In The Weight Loss Door

Got nothing but 2 eggs in the fridge and determined to have a good breakfast ?

Preliminary evidence shows that eating scrambled eggs for breakfast within a balanced diet may prove to be beneficial for weight loss.

A study published in the Journal of American College of Nutrition has found that something in eggs may help you to feel fuller for longer.

The study was funded by the Egg Nutrition Center and the US Department of Agriculture. It was carried out jointly by Saint Louis University, Wayne State University and the Rochester Center for Obesity and Treatment and found that "an egg breakfast had a greater satiating effect compared to a bagel breakfast".

28 overweight women were either given:

2 eggs scrambled, 2 slices of toast and reduced calorie fruit spread;
1 3.5 inch diameter bagel, 2 tbspns cream cheese and 3 oz. of non fat yogurt.

The egg breakfast contained 17g of fat while the bagel breakfast contained only 11 g of fat. The egg breakfast contained 18.4 g of protein and the bagel breakfast contained 13.6 g of protein. Both breakfasts contained equal amounts of calories and were of equal weight.

After eating the breakfast that they were given, the participants were given fullness and food craving questionnaires to fill out 15 minutes afterwards. They repeated the questionnaire tests twice after this, 90 minutes apart. The women were given lunch (pasta with marinara sauce and sliced apples) 3.5 hours later and then told to go home and keep a food diary for the next 24 hours.

The results show that the women who had eaten the egg breakfast ate less for lunch and ate less the next day as well. The researchers were certainly happy with this result but recognize that further research needs to be done to confirm that eggs play a role in reducing energy intake for weight loss.

So eggs may play some small role in reducing the amount of food you eat, but then again, further research does need to be completed. While the research is a valid piece of research, it was funded by the Egg Nutrition Center who obviously has an interest in the promotion of egg consumption.

As I was reading this research, I wandered whether they would have found a similar result if they had compared the consumption of a bowl of wheat bran with similar caloric and weight values ?

Whatever your view about eggs, whether you are critical of their cholesterol content, or like them because of their omega 3 content, eggs are a cheap, versatile and nutritious inclusion in the diet in moderation.

Consult your doctor or dietitian for individual advice before you decide to alter your diet or increase egg consumption. In general, 1 egg is considered to be equivalent to 1 oz. of your meat allowance according to My Pyramid, so if you're eating an 1800 calorie diet, 5 oz. is your meat allowance. If cholesterol does not worry you, an egg a day for breakfast would not be out of the ordinary.

Source:

Jillon S. Vander Wal, PhD, Jorene M. Marth, MA, RD, Pramod Khosla, PhD, K-L Catherine Jen, PhD and Nikhil V. Dhurandhar, PhD, FACN Short-Term Effect of Eggs on Satiety in Overweight and Obese Subjects Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 24, No. 6, 510-515 (2005) Abstract

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February 17, 2006 - What You Can Gain From Personal Training and What You Can Lose - Part 1

Joey Atlas, Exercise Physiologist and Personal Trainer

Within the coming weeks, I will be sharing with you a Q and A session with Joey Atlas, Personal Trainer and co-founder of National Personal Trainers Day. He is President of GAC Personal Training in Florida and author of "But, Hip and Thigh Makeover". He has over 17 years of personal training experience and holds a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology.

First of all, I would like to thank Joey for giving up his time to answer my questions. I wanted to gauge from Joey what effect personal training can have and how accessible is it to the average person. In the coming weeks, I will publish his responses. The first of which appears below:

Jenny "Could you explain why personal trainers place an emphasis on training and working out year round, instead of just in January."

Joey The biggest misconception about hiring a trainer is that you have to meet with one 3 times a week or there is no use in hiring one. While that may be true for some people it is not true for many. A good trainer can meet with a client once each week or once every other week. The key here is providing the client with a personalized program to follow & then meeting for updates, questions, new program review, re-evaluations & goals analysis, etc.

Someone who is motivated to make permanent changes in their well-being shouldn't need a trainer more than once a week. The crucial element is having the right information to follow. With the right info in hand, all the client has to do is follow the directions. A good trainer should be available by phone and email in case a client needs that professional input or clarification or maybe just some psychological fuel for motivation.

This type of arrangement also makes having a trainer more affordable.

The fitness commitment should be year round, not just after the holidays. The healthy lifestyle is not just about weight loss, it's about complete fitness, all the time. I don't mean everybody has to be a fitness junkie or a gym rat - that is not what lifelong health is about.

Its about protecting and caring for the gift of life that each person has been blessed with. It truly is an obligation and responsibility that each human must take upon themselves, and should want to take upon themselves.

A good trainer can be a vital element in anyones quest to learn how to live healthily.

Joey Atlas - visit Joey's Blog at - http://joeyatlas.blogspot.com

Please note that there is no financial or any other relationship, between Savvy Fat Burning Food and Joey Atlas, National Personal Trainers Day, or his affiliated companies. Joey Atlas and his affiliated companies has not received payment for his responses, which he has provided purely for the benefit of readers at Savvy Fat Burning Food and the general public.

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February 23, 2006 - Creatine 101

This is not an exhaustive summary of creatine and what it does, but it serves as an introduction to the supplement.

Creatine very simply is an amino acid that is both manufactured in the body and supplied in the diet. Creatine acts as a partner with ATP (the body's energy source) to extend the initial energy burst of energy that ATP supplies.

Studies have also found that creatine can increase growth and repair of muscle fibers.[1] According to Sportscience your body uses about 2g of creatine a day.[2]

Bodybuilders and athletes have used creatine supplements (usually creatine monohydrate) since the 1970's to increase muscle strength and size, but is there a benefit for the individual who just wants to get fit and lose weight ?

Creatine does moderately increase muscle growth during strength training and the body spends more energy on maintaining muscle than it does on fat. In theory, significant benefits could be gained, because an increase in muscle mass means the body has to burn more calories to maintain the muscle, thereby increasing the basal metabolic rate. Creatine may make you gain weight, but this weight gain may be more likely to be muscle rather than fat. Also there may be no significant effect if you take creatine supplements without exercising.

Creatine still remains a controversial supplement. While there is no evidence to suggest that creatine does, some have reported that it causes muscle cramping and greater incidents of muscle strains.

It has also been noted that creatine can cause weight gain due to intracellular water retention, however, research suggests that the water retention that occurs is not out of proportion with the weight gain.[3]

Some concern has also been voiced about the effect of creatine supplementation on the kidneys. Creatine is processed by the kidneys and then discharged from the body in the urine. There have been claims that creatine supplementation causes urinary concentrations 90 times greater than normal, leading some experts to suspect that long term use may cause kidney damage.

Research completed in this area in 2002 comparing American footballers who took creatine monohydrate to those who did not over a period between 0.25 of a year to 5.6 years found no differences between the two groups in levels of creatinine (by-product of creatine).[4]. Some however, still warn that those who have kidney disease should not take creatine supplements.

For more information on creatine visit:

University of Michigan

Facts About Fitness on Creatine side effects: Fact or fiction?. Read about our affiliate partner's Facts About Fitness Research Membership

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