Piña Colada Smoothie

Ingredients

1 scoop Vanilla protein powder
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup fresh, ripe pineapple chunks
6 ice cubes
1Tbsp. Ground Chia Seed, optional
1/2 packet stevia- sweetened to taste, optional

Directions

Combine ingredients in blender. Blend on high for one minute. If you use frozen pineapple, you can reduce the amount of ice cubes.

Recipe courtesy of Jennifer from Servings

Produce Puzzle

Until recently, I thought those little stickers with numbers on fruits and vegetables were only meaningful to the cashier.  As it turns out, they are supposed to give us information as to how the fruit or vegetable was grown.

A code will consist of either 4 or 5 digits.  A five digit code that begins with the number 9 is organically grown.  The United States government defines organically grown food as food grown and processed using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. 

If a label contains just 4 digits, or 5 digits with the first number being a "0", the food was conventionally grown.

If a label contains five digits and begins with the number 8, the food is a genetically modified organism (GMO).  GMOs are seeds that have had their DNA manipulated for various reasons.  For example, most of the corn produced in the United States is genetically modified to produce its own insecticide. 

So it all sounds simple enough.  Select 9s for organic, 0s or four digits for conventionally grown, and 8s for GMOs.  However, as you might imagine, there is a lot of controversy and much that remains unknown about the effects of GMOs on our health.  Possible concerns are the development of allergies, or that insects will become resistant to the crops that have been genetically modified. 

So how common are genetically modified foods in your store's produce department?  Foods that are frequently genetically modified include corn, wheat, tomatoes, rice, potatoes, soybeans, lentils, and squash.  However, when researches scoured the produce departments of 4 large supermarkets in Florida, they could not find a single fruit or vegetable code that began with an 8.  How could that be?  The guidelines for labeling produce are voluntary!  Consumers are wary of GMOs and when asked, most Americans said they would avoid purchasing them.  As a result, most companies are simply putting conventional codes on their GMOs. 

So for now, and most likely for a number of years, the only sure distinction you can make based on the label is organically grown versus conventionally grown.  However, Whole Foods Market just became the first retailer in the United States to require labeling of all genetically modified foods sold in its stores.  But as we know, change is slow, and the new requirement will not be fully implemented until 2018. 

Super Heart Healthy Smoothie

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 tbps. chia seed

1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 packet stevia (optional)

Directions

Simply blend until smooth!

Recipe courtesy of Dr. Melina Jampolis.

Why so good? Almonds are healthy fat and vitamin E. Strawberries are full of vitamin C and anti-oxidants. Chia seeds are full of heart healthy omega 3 fatty acids and are a cholesterol soluble fiber!

Cholesterol Controversy

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 71 million American adults (33.5%)  have high LDL, or "bad" cholesterol.  If you are one of those 71 million Americans, should you be concerned that your "high" cholesterol level puts you at increased risk for heart disease?

Our goal is for you to be able to make knowledgeable and informed decisions when it comes to your health.  Sorting through the abundance of research and determining which studies may be valid is a daunting task.  Not every "new finding" will be validated by subsequent research, and abandoning sound or conventional treatment can result in serious consequences.  However, there is a growing amount of research and medical opinion to support questioning the use of statin drugs to treat high cholesterol.  Consider the following points.

The drug industry is big business and is powerful.  As of 2009, the cholesterol-lowering industry was generating approximately $29 billion per year.  Pharmaceutical companies have also been influential in altering the definition of high cholesterol in order to increase the number of people who are eligible for cholesterol medications.  According to K.L. Carlson, MBA, author of "The Great Cholesterol Scam", "Cholesterol guidelines have been created to increase pharmaceutical profits, not to improve peoples’ health. I know from my experience as a pharmaceutical sales representative for a statin drug. We were trained to emphasize to physicians the new lower LDL guidelines that were ostensibly created by health experts. The truth is the majority of the experts who created the lower guidelines have multiple financial ties to pharmaceutical companies. One expert was found to have ties to ten drug firms."

A new national study has shown that nearly 75 percent of patients hospitalized for a heart attack had cholesterol levels that would indicate they were not at high risk for a cardiovascular event, based on current national cholesterol guidelines.  The author of the article who cited this study went on to suggest that the guidelines for determining what defines high cholesterol levels should be lowered even more.  But what if  "high cholesterol" is not the major risk factor for heart disease that we have been led to believe?  In fact, a recent study in Norway says women with high cholesterol live longer and suffer from fewer heart attacks and strokes than those with lower cholesterol.  A French study reported in the medical journal Lancet stated that the death rate for elderly women with the lowest cholesterol levels was 5 times greater than that of other subjects in the study.  Numerous other studies have also shown that both men and women with the lowest cholesterol levels died earlier of all causes, including cardiovascular events.

There is a growing body of evidence that points toward factors other than high cholesterol as being the primary causes of heart disease.  According to the Harvard Medical School, "What you eat can fuel or cool, inflammation, a key driver of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions."  In their Family Health Guide they state, "Chronic low-grade inflammation is intimately involved in all stages of atherosclerosis, the process that leads to cholesterol-clogged arteries. This means that inflammation sets the stage for heart attacks, most strokes, peripheral artery disease, and even vascular dementia, a common cause of memory loss."  A primary contributor to inflammation is a diet high in refined foods such as white bread, white rice, and sugars. 

And now for our usual disclaimer... if you are under a physician's care for high cholesterol, we are not suggesting you change your prescribed treatment without consulting your doctor.  We do want you to know, however, that there are some very valid questions being raised about whether or not high cholesterol levels are indeed a risk factor for heart disease.  In the words of nutrition and exercise coach, Justin Smith, "Better results will be achieved when we develop a more well-rounded focus on other risks for heart  disease, which include stress, toxins, a sedentary lifestyle and a poor diet. As an added bonus, these factors aren't treated with dangerous pharmaceutical drugs, but with simple, healthful lifestyle changes."

Fitness Machine Myths

True or False?

Setting the elliptical machine at a higher incline provides a better workout.

False.  Setting the elliptical at a low incline with the highest resistance at which you can maintain at least 120 RPMs is a much better option.  When you use a high incline on the elliptical you are actually using your body weight to propel the machine vertically.  A lower incline setting forces you to use your muscles to propel your legs and feet horizontally, therefore, requiring more effort.


Setting the treadmill at a higher speed or incline and using the handrails is better than going slower.

False.  Using the handrails on the treadmill prevents your body from working naturally when you walk or run.  Typically you would swing your arms in rhythm with your stride.  Holding onto the rails changes your posture and stride, and allows your core to be disengaged during your workout.  Over time, this can lead to imbalances and injuries.  The only time the handrails should be used is for safety.

The Fat Burning Program on the machine is the best choice for burning fat and losing weight.

False.  This option on cardio machines is very misleading.  Research does support that when you exercise at a lower percentage of your maximum heart rate, you burn a higher percentage of fat as fuel.  HOWEVER, since you are working at a lower intensity, you are burning fewer calories OVERALL.  A much better approach is to select the interval program or perform intervals manually by increasing your intensity or pace to a very hard effort for 30 to 60 seconds followed by recovery at an easy intensity for 1 to 2 minutes.  By doing intervals you will not only increase your calorie burn during your workout, but you will create an "afterburn" which will continue to burn calories post-workout.

Our preference is to be outside to walk, run, bike, hike, TRX, or whatever the activity may be.  But we realize that life and schedules don't always permit us to exercise outdoors, so for those times that you need to take your exercise indoors to cardio machines, be safe and challenge yourself to get the most out of your workout time.

Artichoke & Olive Tuna Salad

An unusual and rich flavor combination; serve this salad with sliced tomato on a bed of lettuce or on French bread

Serves: 5

Prep Time: 15 min

Total Time: 15 min.

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce c chunk light tuna, drained and flaked (canned chicken also works well)
1 cup chopped canned artichoke hearts

1/2 cup chopped olives

1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano, or 1/2 teaspoon dried

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Combine tuna, artichokes, olives, mayonnaise, lemon juice and oregano in a medium bowl.

-Eating Well

Are you ready for change?

Have you ever found yourself saying, "After my diet is over...", or "I have to lose 15 pounds for my son's wedding, or my high school reunion"?  If so, you are looking for a temporary fix to a long term problem.  What happens AFTER the diet or AFTER the wedding?  Most people gain back everything they lost, and more. 

Are you a complainer?   Complaining is a waste of time and if you are complaining you are using your energy to keep yourself stuck.  Complaining can be a way to avoid taking responsibility for change.  For instance, complaining that "everyone in my family is overweight" can be an excuse to avoid taking responsibility and adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Are you continually looking for the perfect weight loss plan or diet?  If so, you are stalling and wasting your time.  There is no "one size fits all" perfect weight loss plan.  Each of our bodies is unique, and we all have different schedules and deal with life's demands and pressures in varying ways.  All of these factors influence our ability to lose body fat and weight. 

If you are ready to dump to diet idea, stop complaining, and are willing to accept that there is no "perfect plan" that is going to get you to your weight loss goal, then you are ready for change.  Change is a process.  It happens through trial and error to determine what eating and exercising strategy works best for your personality and metabolism.  As we have emphasized before, make one manageable change at a time.  Once you have made that change a part of your lifestyle, move on to the next change.  Eventually you will have an eating and exercising program that will enable you to be successful in sustaining long term change.  "All appears to change when we change."  ~ Henri Frederic Amiel.

Sunday Sedona Hiking

  One ear up! Really windy at the top!

Rabbit ears! I wondered why he was giggling!

A partly cloudy day, fair weather temps and a spirit of adventure drove us to the great outdoors of the VOC for a hike. Earlier this week Christian and I had taken a meandering detour around the Village looking for a place to hike for the upcoming weekend. Curiosity made us want to try this area out, just to see what was beyond the road....so today we parked the truck out in a nondescript area of VVS road and trudged out into the wilderness with our backpacks and trusty Reznor, our 13 year old Jack Russell. Our imaginations ran wild as we climbed over rocks and through bushes to find the undiscovered Arizona wilderness! Imaginations really ran wild when we discovered large paw prints behind deer tracks!!! Was it a bear? Was it a cougar? Is it following us???!!! Fun afternoon, a great way to be active and one of those moments in time that I will treasure for life. Stay tuned...we spied a big mesa on the SE side of the VOC that we are getting ready to climb next! Who's in?